lotusinthemud

archbishop desmond tutu to the dalai lama: we stand with you

We the undersigned Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, human rights leaders and concerned individuals wish to express our concern at the current deterioration of the human rights situation in Tibet, and the apparent breakdown of the talks between the Chinese government and emissaries of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. We are dismayed at the lack of any concrete progress toward resolving the conflict over the autonomy and religious freedom of the Tibetan people, and urge all parties involved to redouble their effort to achieve this vital goal.

the mongols, manchus, china and buddhist tibet

By Thubten Samphel

---

There’s a new law in force in China these days that says the Chinese authorities in future would choose reincarnating Tibetan lamas. Partly in anticipation of such a move and mostly to keep pace with the changing times, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said he has been toying with different methods to choose his successor. This standoff between Tibetan Buddhism and the Chinese Communist Party has brought international media spotlight on this unique system of selecting Tibetan spiritual leaders and on one culture’s spiritual beliefs and a state’s political ambitions.

Buddhists believe that highly realized beings have the capacity to choose where and when they want to be reborn. It’s a matter of putting the efforts of a lifetime (or, in most cases, lifetimes) to adjust one’s internal mechanism to reach the level when one could project one’s spiritual qualities over time and space. These qualities enable highly realized beings to manifest themselves simultaneously in several places, as the historical Buddha did when he was seen teaching at several places at the same time. Or, over many lifetimes, rebirth after rebirth, and in different life forms, as the Buddha did and which forms the basis and the moral of the classic book, the Jataka Tales.

The Chinese authorities once considered all this voodoo, a leftover from Tibet’s dark, feudal superstitious past. Back in 1954, Mao Zedong told His Holiness the Dalai Lama, “Religion is the opiate of the people.” Later, the Tibetans were told that there could not be “two suns in the same sky: communism and Buddhism.”

This forthright Chinese attitude to their culture cost the Tibetan people dear. At the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1969, Tibet had lost about 6,000 monasteries. The inmates of these centres of learning had either fled or been imprisoned or died. Tibet became a land of lost content. This is the equivalent of saying that one fine day India finds all its universities in ruins and nothing is seen or heard of all the promising students and brilliant faculty members.

tibet news digest 31 january 2009 - 13 february 2009

TibetInfoNet - www.tibetinfonet.net
News Digest 31. Jan 2009 - 13. Feb 2009
==============================

- Two sentenced in Kardze
- Four nuns and two laymen sentenced in Kardze
- Details of Kardze Protests Emerge
- Seven monks arrested, abbot missing in Chamdo
- Nine monks sentenced, other committed suicide
- More Tibet unrest cannot be ruled out - officials
- Tibetan nomads, farmers may be losers in China's ecology protection plan
- So far 76 sentenced for 2008 unrest in TAR
- Dalai Lama: situation as "very tense"
- China wants to "improve" regional autonomy
- Many Tibetan areas closed to foreigners

his holiness the dalai lama congratulates barack obama

(The Tibet Post International 6 November 2008) His Holiness the Dalai Lama congratulated United States President-elect Barack Obama on his election win in a message sent Wednesday November 5, 2008.

Obama defeated opposing candidate Senator John McCain to become the first African-American elected President of the United States in the election held on Tuesday November 4, 2008.

In his message, His Holiness wrote, “I am encouraged that the American people have chosen a President who reflects America's diversity and her fundamental ideal that any person can rise up to the highest office in the land.  This is a proud moment for America and one that will be celebrated by many peoples around the world.”

As a United States Senator and Presidential candidate, Obama has repeatedly voiced his support for the Dalai Lama and the struggle of the Tibetan people for greater human rights in Tibet. In a statement following the uprisings in March of this year Obama said, “If Tibetans are to live in harmony with the rest of China's people, their religion and culture must be respected and protected. Tibet should enjoy genuine and meaningful autonomy.”

The President-elect and His Holiness last met at a US Senate Foreign Relations Committee event in 2005. During the Dalai Lama’s July 2008 visit to the United States they corresponded through telephone and post but were unable to meet face-to-face due to Obama’s tight campaign schedule.

The Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile also sent their congratulations to the new President-elect. In their  congratulatory message, Speaker Karma Chopel wrote, “During the course of the electioneering, we have noted with satisfaction your interest in the Tibetan issue and your growing support for the Tibetan cause. Your distinguished predecessors, irrespective of their party affiliations, have supported the Tibetan issue strongly and have had a close and friendly relationship with our leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. We hope that you will not only maintain the tradition but give an added thrust in view of the strong resentment shown openly by our people living under the Chinese rule in Tibet,”

Full text of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s message to President-elect Barack Obama:
November 5, 2008

H.E. Barack Obama
President-elect of the United States of America
Washington, DC
U.S.A.

Dear President-elect Obama,

Congratulations on your election as the President of the United States of America.

I am encouraged that the American people have chosen a President who reflects America's diversity and her fundamental ideal that any person can rise up to the highest office in the land.  This is a proud moment for America and one that will be celebrated by many peoples around the world.

The American Presidential elections are always a great source of encouragement to people throughout the world who believe in democracy, freedom and equality of opportunities.

May I also commend the determination and moral courage that you have demonstrated throughout the long campaign, as well as the kind heart and steady hand that you often showed when challenged.  I recall our own telephone conversation this spring and these same essential qualities came through in your concern for the situation in Tibet.

As the President of the United States, you will certainly have great and difficult tasks before you, but also many opportunities to create change in the lives of those millions who continue to struggle for basic human
needs.  You must also remember and work for these people, wherever they may be.

With my prayers and good wishes,

Yours sincerely,

THE DALAI LAMA

    

                 ::link
::via Barbara

activists unfurl gigantic "free tibet" banner on beijing building

BEIJING — Foreign activists scaled a landmark building in Beijing on Friday to unfurl a "Free Tibet" banner over the top of an Olympic Games billboard, in the latest unauthorized protest during the games.

Students for a Free Tibet said five people _ three Americans, a Briton and a Canadian _ were detained by police after hanging the banner from the new headquarters of state-owned China Central Television, which is still under construction.

::article and photograph here

the dalai lama in france

The Dalai Lama has begun a 12-day visit to France by blessing a Buddhist institute on the edge of Paris.

The exiled spiritual Tibetan leader will spend most of the duration of the Olympics in France.

Plans to meet President Nicolas Sarkozy were dropped, though the Dalai Lama will meet lawmakers on Wednesday.

Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama of stirring up unrest in Tibet and warned Mr Sarkozy of "serious consequences" if he met him.

::link

Bowing to pressure? Although I hope not, I suspect it may be so.

spontaneous prayer gatherings across the tibetan plateau for quake victims

Lhasa, Tibet (China) -- Spontaneous prayer gatherings have been held in monasteries across the Tibetan plateau for victims in the earthquake affected areas. The temples have also collected money and donated materials for the relief work. ::link

<< Jokhang Monastery in Lhasa

According to the British charity the Tibet Foundation, these monasteries include: Drepung Monastery in Lhasa, Longwu Temple in Kumbum County, Qinghai Province, Ger Den Temple in Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, Kumbum (Chinese: Ta'ersi) Monastery in Kumbum County (Chinese: Huangzhong) in Tsoshar (Chinese: Haidong) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, Lithang Monastery in Lithang County (Chinese: Litang) in Kardze (Chinese: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, Xi Busha Temple and Xia Deray Temple, both in Tsekhog County (Chinese: Zeku) in Malho (Chinese: Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Qinghai Province, and Rong-an Temple in Chentsa County (Chinese: Jianzha), Malho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, as well as many monks at other temples...............

His Holiness the Dalai Lama sent a message of sympathy to the Chinese people a day after the earthquake struck Sichuan, saying: "I am deeply saddened by the loss of many lives and many more who have been injured in the catastrophic earthquake that struck Sichuan province of China. I would like to extend my deep sympathy and heartfelt condolences to those families who have been directly affected by the strong earthquake on 12 May 2008. I offer my prayers for those who have lost their lives and those injured in the quake."

k.d. lang's statement on tibet

k.d. lang, Buddhist practitioner (and one of my favourite musicians), writes:

4.23.08

What we are seeing now in Tibet is just the tip of the iceberg. I don’t think my generation really even knows the extent of what has happened to the Tibetan people. It’s like a band-aid that has been ripped off to reveal that the wound is still raw. It’s unfortunate the Olympic Games are being impacted by this situation, but it presents a rare opportunity to bring focus to the heartbreaking situation of the Tibetan and Chinese people who have suffered serious human rights abuses. The oppression should be stopped.  

Authorities have taken Tibetans and Chinese citizens from their monasteries and homes and held them in locations without the knowledge of their families. These authorities should be held accountable.  

The genuine popular aspirations of the Tibetan people – for freedom to practice their religion and to preserve their culture – should be protected and fulfilled. An open dialog with HH Dalai Lama, without pre-conditions, should be established. International agencies and journalists should have access to Tibet. Agencies like the Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders, should be allowed entry so that they can provide proper medical assistance to those who have suffered.  

The Tibetan culture is part of our global heritage. Its original personality and purity needs to be kept intact. I urge the world community to focus their efforts to protect the Tibetan culture, so that it can continue to be a source of inspiration for the rest of the world.

tibet update 21st may 2008: sowing dissent and undermining the dalai lama

Trouble stirred up by the Shugden supporters (including the NKT) et al, playing into the hands of the Chinese. And the Shugden supporters gain!:

The Tibetan Buddhist deity, Dorje Shugden, whose worship
can be traced back to the 17th century, is presenting the Dalai
Lama  and the Central Tibetan Administrations with problems
that will simply not go away. The followers of the deity, though
minor in terms of numbers, continue to attract labels of
sectarianism and fundamentalism, which they counter with
accusations of autocracy and intolerance on the part of the exiled
Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala and the Dalai Lama in particular.
Although arcane to outsiders, in recent years the dispute has been
had a disproportionate effect on contemporary Tibetan politics both
inside and outside Tibet.

On 28 April 2008, Shugden devotees organised a press conference
in New Delhi.The declared intention of the event was to publicly
express concerns about what the group’s perceived persecution at
the hands of the Tibetan exile community.The speakers, however,
were shrill in their criticism of the Dalai Lama, who they portrayed
as an arbitrary ruler effectively preaching violence and responsible
for the protests that took place in Tibet during spring 2008. Their
condemnation echoed, in parts literally, comments made by the
Chinese authorities against the Dalai Lama.

Controversial Dorje Shugden worship has always been divisive,
but the controversy around it has heated up with the ostensible
support of the Chinese authorities for its devotees within Tibet.
The press conference in Delhi came after months of tension
following the arrival in India of a group of Shugden followers from
Tibet in Autumn 2007, i.e. long before the protests of spring 2008.
It also appears to be connected to protests that Shugden devotees
have vowed to carry out against the Dalai Lama in the West,
particularly during his  forthcoming visit to the UK where, with the
New Kadampa Tradition, the group has its main western following.

china softening towards the dalai lama?

TAIPEI (Reuters) - A senior Chinese official has asked whether Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama would agree to attend the Beijing Olympics to ease recent tensions, a Tibet government-in-exile legislator said on Monday.

The Dalai Lama would consider going, the law maker said.

::read more