這是一個描素喜馬拉雅山上的一個部落的故事。故事發生位於尼泊爾西北方一個名叫dolpo的村莊。這個與世隔絕的山村中，每年最大最重要的事，就是要帶著犁牛背著自己村莊的鹽，長途拔涉橫越整個山峰， 去另一個部落交換糧食。
故事一開始，聰明又有活力的年輕人卡瑪帶領牽犁牛隊回到部落，除了帶回全村的糧食外，也載回老酋長的兒子拉帕的遺體。
老酋長堅持長子的死是因為卡瑪想要篡位。又是一年一度的換糧之旅，老酋長不服老，堅持以酋長之尊，親自帶犁牛隊翻山越嶺到另一個村莊交換糧食的任務，於是到寺院去找當喇嘛的小兒子諾布相助。諾布本來不從，後來想起高僧的啟示:如果有兩條路，就選擇最難走的那一條。頑固好強酋長老爸聽了這段話，滿面豆花...
犁牛隊出發的良辰吉時，都得由喇嘛算星象來決定。所以老酋長是要依上天的指示才能出發。看在年輕人卡瑪的眼中，簡直迂腐又宿命，便組合了村中幾個年輕力壯的小伙子就先出發了。
於是年輕的犛牛隊先出發，老酋長所帶領的"老弱殘兵"根據星象決定的日子延後幾天出發。逞強的老酋長為了追上年輕的犛牛隊，選擇一點惡魔的捷徑，還好只犧牲了一條犛牛與兩包鹽當作是賣路費。終於兩支隊伍途中相會，年輕人卡瑪嘖嘖稱奇。
繁星點點的夜空下，老酋長使用古法測天候，鹽巴放在火上烤，吱吱作響表示好天氣，反之表示報風雪即將到來。放在火上烤的鹽巴沒有作聲，於是不管大家已經精疲力竭，老酋長堅持立即啟程以避開暴風雪。年輕人卡瑪寧願相信親自體驗的晴空萬里，才不在乎"鹽的預言"，所以留下來繼續休息。
老酋長再堅強的毅力也無法戰勝衰弱的體力，終於落在人群之後不支倒在雪地上。幸好被一路趕上來的卡瑪救起。老酋長終於盡棄前嫌，讓卡瑪接任酋長。
這一段交換糧食的旅程，在老酋長的喇嘛小兒子的眼中，就像是一堂無價的人生課程，喇嘛回到寺院之中將這一趟行旅全部的過程畫在牆上，叫大家都記得這一次難得的成長旅程。全片在青康藏高原上拍攝，風景壯麗 氣勢磅礡。本片原著配樂同時榮獲法國凱薩獎、影藝學院最佳原聲帶大獎本片原著配樂同時榮獲法國凱薩獎、影藝學院最佳原聲帶大獎。
編劇: Nathalie Azoulai, Olivier Dazat, Louis Gardel, Jean-Claude Guillebaud, Eric Valli
導演: Eric Valli
發音: Tibetan, German with English subtitles
演員: Thinlen Lhondup, Karma Wangiel, Lhapka Tsamchoe, Karma Tenzing, Gurgon Kyap
法國製片，發片時間: March 30, 2001
通往地域的鐵路:青藏鐵路
本月，從北京到圖博(Tibet)首都-拉薩，世界最高的鐵路最後一段完工後全線通車，這是中國在科技發展上成績斐然的最佳佐證。但同時也是圖博人民在自己 獨特的宗教,文化和語言的認同上，面臨來自中國嚴重威脅的開始。借用一位長期被中國監禁，最後死在獄中的圖博高僧的一句話，這條線路對圖博來說是「緊急狀 態和黑暗時代」來臨的前兆。
橫跨世界屋脊的鐵路，加速駐留在圖博的中國軍隊的擴大，加速天然資源的破壞與濫用，並加速流入圖博的漢人的增加，造成圖博人更邊緣化。在圖博首都拉薩，圖博人已經成為少數族群。
自1950 年中國侵佔圖博以來，數千圖博的佛教寺院和宗教設施遭到破壞，數十萬計的圖博人的生命遭到犧牲。現在，中共壓制宗教的手腕變得巧妙，無法被外界得知。許多修道院部分已 被重建，但通常只是淪為觀光客的旅遊景點。 圖博人簡直不可能獲得完整的宗教教育。 甚至放一張達賴喇嘛的相片，也會被當成犯罪遭判刑。
因鐵路工程的關係，許多圖博人因而失去了他們的土地，而遊牧民族被迫在城市中安頓。土地和宗教都被剝奪的話，圖博的文化就要消失。特別是土地本身就被視為是神聖土地的圖博。
儘 管自己的文化因這條鐵路的完成而遭到破壞，但大部分的圖博人不可能享受到這條鐵路所帶來任何的經濟利益。花了40億美元的青藏鐵路，成為中國在西域開發 政策上，最野心勃勃且代價最高的元素。但這項工程是以共產黨的舊策略和政治目的為基礎，鐵路建設的主要受益人將是留駐圖博的中國軍隊，中國企業和在當地定 居的漢人。在中國所掌控的的經濟環境下，大部分的圖博人無法接受完整的教育與漢人競爭，更別想要嚐到成功的果實。
對共產黨的精英而言， 青藏鐵路的通車是豐功偉業的象徵。－青藏鐵路的完工，就是達成了早在 40 年多前毛澤東想要併吞圖博的野心。悲哀的是，青藏鐵路的通車，強化了中共打壓圖博的政治環境。圖博自治區的共產黨書記，張慶黎說:共產黨要向達賴喇嘛和他的支持者們發動「決死一戰」。
中國國家主席胡錦濤在7月1日主持揭幕典禮， 青藏鐵路正式啟動。1980年 代後期，還是地區黨書記的胡錦濤，曾經對拉薩發佈戒嚴令，將數以千計的圖博人嚴刑考打和監禁。圖博人們沒忘記胡錦濤過去壓制圖博所扮演的腳色。胡錦濤更是 這項使圖博人陷入災難的圖博積極開發計劃的起草人。這項開發計劃以中國都市為藍圖，強迫圖博人漢化，完全不考慮圖博人在高原上好幾世紀的生活習慣。因此 達賴喇嘛憂心忡忡，不斷呼籲要有圖博人參與土地開發計劃。
真正的「大躍進」，應該是留給圖博人可以在經濟開發上活躍的空間，保護圖博人的宗教文化和認同，應該請達賴喇嘛來決定圖博的未來。 自從 2002 以來，在長達十年的外交僵局之後，北京和達賴喇嘛的代表之間進行幾次的協商，但是目前中國的承諾仍然充滿不確定。
以智慧和同情心為信條，提倡互相依賴和非暴力，這個圖博的寶貴文化和宗教深深根植在圖博這片土地和圖博人民的心中。
圖博的佛教知識應該在這片土地上永續生存這件事，對圖博人或對全人類而言都是非常重要。圖博的文化遺產不該在中國躍進的路程上被破壞殆盡!
Railroad to Perdition
By RICHARD GERE
Published: July 15, 2006
THE opening this month of the final segment of world’s highest railway, from Beijing to Lhasa, Tibet, is a staggering engineering achievement and a testimony to the developing greatness of China. But it is also the most serious threat by the Chinese yet to the survival of Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity. In the words of a well-known Tibetan religious teacher who died after many years in a Chinese prison, the railway heralds “a time of emergency and darkness” for Tibet.
This railway across the roof of the world will result in an expanded Chinese military presence in Tibet, accelerate the already devastating exploitation of its natural resources and increase the number of Chinese migrants, marginalizing the Tibetan people still further. In the capital, Lhasa, Tibetans are already a minority.
In the years after China’s invasion of Tibet in 1950, thousands of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and convents were destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of Tibetans perished. Today the suppression of religion is more subtle and less visible to outsiders. Many of the monasteries have been partly rebuilt, but often they are simply showplaces for tourists. Obtaining a complete religious education in Tibet is usually impossible. Even having a photograph of the Dalai Lama is a criminal offense.
Many Tibetans lost their land to make way for the railway, and Tibetan nomads are being forced to settle in cities. Without land and religion, cultures disappear. This is particularly true in Tibet, where the land itself is regarded as sacred.
And even as their culture is undermined by the railway, most Tibetans are unlikely to enjoy any economic benefits from it. With a price tag of more than $4 billion, the Tibet railway is the most ambitious and costly element of China’s current drive to develop its western regions, known as the Great Leap West. But its construction was based upon the Communist Party’s old strategic and political objectives, and its main beneficiaries will be the Chinese military units stationed there, Chinese companies and Chinese settlers. Most Tibetans don’t have access to education that would allow them to compete in the economic environment created by China’s policies, nor are they welcome to share the fruits of its success.
The opening of the railway to Tibet could not have a greater symbolic importance to the Communist elite — it is the achievement of a goal set by Mao more than 40 years ago as part of a strategy to complete Tibet’s integration into China. And sadly, the opening of the railway takes place in an environment of intensified political repression. The new Communist Party chief in Tibet, Zhang Qingli, has said that the party is engaged in a “fight to the death struggle” against the Dalai Lama and his supporters.
China’s president, Hu Jintao, formally opened the railway on July 1. In the late 1980’s, when he was party chief of the region, he presided over the torture and imprisonment of thousands of Tibetans through the imposition of martial law in Lhasa. The Tibetans have not forgotten Mr. Hu’s role in the oppression of their people. President Hu was also personally involved in drafting the fast-track development policies that have been such a disaster for most Tibetans. They are based upon an urban Chinese model and do not take into account Tibetans’ needs, views or the way of life that has sustained them on the high plateau for centuries. The Dalai Lama has spoken frequently about the urgent need to involve Tibetans in the development of their land.
A true “great leap” would make room for a Tibetan role in economic development, protect Tibetan religious culture and identity, and welcome the involvement of the Dalai Lama in decision-making on Tibet’s future. Since 2002, there have been several rounds of dialogue between Beijing and the Dalai Lama’s representatives, following a decade-long diplomatic stalemate, but at present China’s commitment to the process is uncertain.
Tibet’s precious culture and religion, with its principles of wisdom and compassion and its message of interdependence and nonviolence, are rooted in the Tibetan landscape and Tibetan hearts. The survival of Tibetan Buddhist knowledge in its own land is vital for the world, as well as the Tibetan people. China’s journey toward greatness must not include the further destruction of this heritage.
Richard Gere, an actor, is the chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet.
