bye bye feudalism? - some Tibetan enlightenment

Thanks to Sarah for sending me this info on the history of Tibet, apropos of nothing at all. I was never a big fan of the Dalai Lama; not that I had anything against him, he seemed harmless enough, and his message sounded positive, if a little vague and ineffectual. I suppose what has most irritated me is the sort of people he often attracts, the ‘enlightenment-chasers’, though he has, as this article indicates, stressed the material needs of his people over and above the spiritual – even advocating Marxism, much to the chagrin of his CIA backers no doubt.