A man who actually DID something . . . .
OK, something a little different from the non-ending political debates.
I learned today of the death of E. Gene Smith - somebody I'm willing to bet that none of you here ever heard of. Gene was someone I had only met twice so I couldn't even call him a friend. However, I wanted to mention his passing here because his life was a source of inspiration for me in many ways.
Around here we spend a lot of time talking politics and yammering on about this and that. Gene didn't do much talking. He shut his mouth and got things done. Gene's death got to me thinking about the relative value of actions versus words.
So what did Gene Smith do?
He almost single-handedly saved the history of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism from destruction by the Chinese.
In the 60's Gene Smith was working in India as a specialist in near-Eastern documents for the Library of Congress. After the invasion of Tibet Gene realized that the Chinese were doing everything they could to destroy all traces of written Tibetan history. The Chinese burned whole libraries and collections in their attempt to eradicate Tibetan culture. Gene made it his personal mission to stop that process and save Tibetan history.
For 50 years Gene devoted his life to finding, acquiring, and saving Tibetan historical writings. In that time he managed to save more than 25,000 ancient manuscripts dating back to the 12th century from destruction by the Chinese. Many of those documents are the last surviving copies of the great scholars of Buddhism's golden age. He traveled the world digging up hidden collections, purchasing old manuscripts from Tibetan refugees, and bartering for every scrap of parchment he could find.
Gene passed the most important works to libraries and universities around the world. The rest he piled floor to ceiling in his home until the day when they could be transferred to a permanent facility. His collection is now housed in a special library in New York City where the documents are being scanned and made available on the net so that they will never face the risk of destruction again. Nearly all scholarly work on the history of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism is now based on the documents that Gene Smith managed to save.
Now, I know many of you are going to say "So what?" about all this. Gene Smith didn't cure cancer. He didn't invent a gas saving fuel injector. He didn't liberate a country from a dictator.
I think what Gene Smith did was even more important.
Gene Smith showed the world that one man could make a damn big difference just by gettin' off his ass and doing something rather than just talking about it.
While the politicians issued condemnations and the protesters wrote angry letters Gene went out and almost single-handedly saved the history of the Tibetan people from the bonfire. Maybe that's not a giant accomplishment in the grand scheme of things, but it shows how even one humble man can achieve great things.
Gene won't be remembered by many or for long. That's the fate of many of his ilk. But his legacy will persist and add value to human existence for a long, long time - and that's a far better fate than most people will ever be able to claim.
I wish Gene peace and thank him for keeping a chapter in the history books that we almost lost forever.
Cheers,
Mazo.
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