Friends of Tibet

2012-01-07T22:37:00.002+05:30

Alert for Chinese Terror Threat to Dalai Lama

(PTI | January 7, 2012)

MUMBAI: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama may be harmed by six Chinese nationals who are likely to sneak into India, intelligence inputs received by the Mumbai police have warned. According to city police sources, the inputs reveal the name of one Chinese national of Tibetan origin - Tashi Phuntsok - who was waiting to sneak into India with the intention of gathering intelligence on the Tibetan administration in exile and to cause harm to Dalai Lama.

"Dalai Lama keeps visiting Mumbai and other places in the state. The threat to Dalai Lama need not be underestimated. Loss of Chinese passports and recovery of Chinese passports need to be reported promptly, so that the concerned agencies could question them thoroughly. In this regard, the activities of the followers of 'Shugden' cult (an anti-Dalai Lama group) need to be kept under strict vigil," the intelligence report said. The six suspects, in all likelihood, were from China's secret service, the sources said.

"Some Tibetans may be inspired by Chinese to harm Dalai Lama. A good number of Chinese youth enter India on business visa, ostensibly for some clandestine activities. It is likely that they may try to visit certain areas prohibited for Chinese like Tibetan camps," they said.

2012-01-03T10:41:00.002+05:30

Politicisation of the Nobel Peace Prize
(By Madanjeet Singh)

I was under the impression that it was perhaps due to oversight that Mahatma Gandhi was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, so I was shocked to read in the International Herald Tribune that the Nobel selection committee denied the Peace Prize to the apostle of non-violence not once but five times — the last in 1948, days before his assassination. The excuse that the Nobel Prize cannot be awarded posthumously is unacceptable, considering that two Swedish nationals, Erik Axel Karlfeldt (Literature, 1931) and Dag Hammarskjold (Peace, 1961), and a Canadian, Ralph M Steinman (Medicine, 2011), were awarded posthumously.

Alfred B Nobel's laudable initiative would have helped erase the stigma that he was a manufacturer and dealer in arms, had the Nobel committee not politicised the prize. Eyebrows were raised when US President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at a time when the US was escalating the war in Afghanistan.

How brash the politics can get was shamelessly demonstrated when the Dalai Lama won the Peace Prize in 1989, and the chairman of the Nobel committee said that it was "in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi" — he might as well have added how blatantly the West was using the laureate as a pawn against China.

(A UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Madanjeet Singh is the founder of South Asia Foundation.)

2011-12-28T08:35:00.001+05:30

THE BUDDHA

By Tsoltim N Shakabpa

No matter what our creed

He bestows upon us

The path to salvation

No matter what our color

He discriminates not

But rewards all who do good

No matter what our race

He sets no boundaries

And welcomes all into His fold

He is colorless in appearance

Countless in compassion

Bottomless in wisdom

He was Siddharta

He who achieves His aim

And became The Buddha

The Awakened and Enlightened One

Copyright: Tsoltim N Shakabpa (2012)

* Tsoltim N Shakabpa is a prolific and innovative Tibetan poet with 8 books of inspiring poems to his name.

Boycott Chinese Products: Swami Ramdev

2011-12-10T21:53:00.001+05:30

(Press Trust Of India, December 10, 2011)

Stating that India has competition only from China in becoming an economic superpower, Swami Ramdev said in Panaji on Saturday that every patriotic Indian should stop using China-made products. "The countries like America and Russia are losing their economic prosperity due to increasing debt. Japan is a small nation to be a super power. India has competition to become economic superpower only from China, which is also progressing rapidly," he stated. Calling China an enemy country, Ramdev said "that every patriotic Indian should stop using China-made products. We should not support anything that would help China become a superpower. I appeal the people to adopt Swadeshi," he added.

The Yoga Guru also said that iron ore exports to China should be stopped. "China does not export its single gram of iron ore while we sell major part of our ore to them. We should use technology to upgrade the ore and use it in our domestic steel manufacturing units," he added. Swami who was here for Goa Bachao Abhiyaan to stop illegal mining, also said the country should not accept any kind of foreign investment.

"We don't want foreign investment or foreign agreements. We don't want foreign language for progress of the country. We don’t want foreign interference in the independent country," he said in reference to the recent controversy over FDI in retail sector.

'Passport Photos'

2011-12-09T13:16:00.001+05:30

'Passport Photos' the documentary film by Black Coffee Productions and Think Tibet was screened at the Insight Film Festival at Manchester.

The 2-day festival held on the 3rd and 4th of December focuses on films of faith, offering a forum through which faith can be explored, discussed and understood. Lobsang Thardoe, program and project manager of Think Tibet represented the filmmakers and producers at the festival. He participated in the workshop by FRANK COTTRELL BOYCE on script writing and screenwriting workshop by Henry Swindell, writer manager for BBC writers’ room north of England.

On the second day of the screening, he was invited to speak on the film and about Tibet. Speaking of his experience, Lobsang says, “It was wonderful to be here at the Insight Festival. I had the opportunity of meeting the Lord Mayor of Manchester, who was the Chief Guest, and speak briefly about Tibet.” Passport Photos was selected out of 300 documentaries received from worldwide and received an official selection award.

Lobsang will meet supporters of Tibet and other associates of Think Tibet in London and Manchester.

‘Passport photos’, is a short documentary film comprising of a collection of conversations with young urban Tibetans, all named Tenzin. They talk about their lives, families, dreams and what it means to be living in exile.

The film ‘Passport Photos’ competed its post-production work in 2010, the film was first premiered at the IBN Arabi Film Festival in Murcia, Spain on January 31, 2011. Following the rave reviews and critics’ thumps-up for this niche film, it was screened at seven other 2011 International Film Festivals; Vientianale International Film Festival, Laos, Dawson City International short Film Festival, Canada, MCM International Short Film Festival, Netherland, Outbox International Short Film Festival, Lebanon, Kimera International Film Festival, Italy, Australian Refugee Film Festival, Australia and I’ve seen Films International Film Festival, Italy.

The film “Passport Photos’ has been directed by Preetam Koipillai in collaboration with Tenzin Jangchup Lingpa and Lobsang Thardoe. The film has screened in eleven countries in thirteen international film festivals during 2010-2011.

2011-11-28T16:00:00.001+05:30

India, China Battle It Out Over Buddhism

By Vijay Kranti: The sudden decision of India and China to drop the meeting of their special representatives only a day before it was scheduled in Beijing has brought a cold war on Buddhism out in the open.

China decided to drop the meeting as New Delhi reportedly turned down its demand to keep the Dalai Lama away from a four-day Global Buddhist Congregation that began in New Delhi Sunday. This glitch automatically puts off the later defence secretary level annual dialogue of Dec 8-9.

Both sides have publicly downplayed the issue but there is far more behind the scene than what meets the public eye.

The Chinese leadership is determined to make China the supreme Buddhist power. The sudden love affair with Buddhism arises more from anxieties related to the Tibetan spiritual ruler Dalai Lama, than a change in heart on religion.

China's Communist rulers are focused at building up enough credibility in the international Buddhist community to have their way on the selection of the Dalai Lama's new incarnation before he dies. The Chinese believe that a friendly Dalai Lama will solve their Tibet knot that has found frequent expression through public uprisings and self-immolation sprees since 1951.

It was the unexpected Tibetan uprising of 1989 that made Chinese leaders realise that a Tibetan generation who had never seen the Dalai Lama and who grew on daily staple of Communist propaganda was to blame. Following a serious review at the third 'Tibet Work Forum' in 1991, China adopted a new policy in Tibet which accepts religion as a tool of winning hearts.

As part of this strategy, Chinese Communists have selected at least two top ranking lama incarnations of Karma Pa and Panchen Lama in 1993 and 1995 respectively. Gedhun Choeky Nyima, the six-year-old who was recognized by the Dalia Lama as the 'real' Panchen Lama, still remains under Chinese custody 18 years later.

While Chinese candidate Giancin Norbu has yet to be accepted by Tibetan masses, the Karma Pa escaped to India to join the Dalai Lama on the eve of New Year of 2000.

To the supporters of the Dalai Lama, the selection of these two senior incarnate lamas are dress rehearsals for China to impose a baby of its own choice as the Dalai Lama once the incumbent is no more.

Leaving behind Mao's distaste for religion, Beijing hosted the first World Buddhist Forum in 2006 in Zhejian province and the second in March 2009 in Wuxi. The latter attracted over 1,700 delegates from 50 countries. In both meetings, Giancin Norbu was paraded as the senior most representative of Buddhism in the world.

This aggressive marketing by China as the real Buddhist powerhouse of the world has not gone down well with India, where the Buddha attained enlightenment. New Delhi too has launched its own Buddhist conferences in Singapore, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. There will be similar shows in Nepal and Vietnam.

While the current posturing by New Delhi and Beijing over border dialogue shows where their real concerns lie, the new religious theatre is bound to lead to new fireworks.

IANS

2011-11-17T15:36:00.001+05:30

US-Australia Military Alliance: A New Threat to Asia

(Creative Resistance, November 17, 2011)

Mumbai: Running out of ideas to tackle the growing number of Occupy Wall Street protests back at home, the US President Barack Obama is now on a trip to the Big Brother country Australia with his new 'Asian Mission'.

During his first official visit to Australia, Obama unveiled the American plans to deploy 2,500 US Marines in in the Northern Territory in the next couple of years. This was declared during his meeting with the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Though Obama repeatedly said that the "latest military ties between US and Australia is not aimed at China or India", it is evident that Washington is determined to teach its Asian 'allies' the region a military lesson.

While speaking to a small gathering of supporters, Sethu Das, Co-founder of Creative Resistance said "the deployment of American personnel in Australia is a bigger and serious threat to the Asian region than the threat by China. Unity among Asian nations seems to be the only way to deal with this new threat from the United States." He also added that "Pressure Groups in Asian countries particularly in India have already started campaigns to educate people about the growing threat from the presence of American military personnel and the need to secure peace and harmony in Asian region."

According to Wikipedia, the United States military is deployed in more than 150 countries around the world.

SENSATIONAL SENSATIONS

2011-11-08T10:07:00.000+05:30

By Tsoltim N Shakabpa

Acclamation!
I have a gumption
To kindle a revolution

Adoration!
I have veneration
For the Dalai Lama and His devotion

Aspiration!
I have a mission
To force China's expulsion

Determination!
I have an ambition
To rid China's evil mission

Elation!
I have a motivation
To regain my people's jubilation

Inclination!
I have a compulsion
To free my nation

Inspiration!
I have a fixation
To stop the domination

Rejuvenation!
I have an excitation
To make some gyration

Sensation!
I have a notion
To cause some commotion

Stimulation!
I have an action
To halt the colonization

Temptation!
I have a potion
To end the demonization

Vocation!
I have an aspiration
To win Tibet's salvation

Sensational sensations have I
That cry out to me to do or die

(Copyright: Tsoltim N Shakabpa - 2011)

Tibet Programme in Chennai (Oct 17, 2011)

2011-10-24T09:40:00.000+05:30

Huber MR, Friends of Tibet Secretary for Tamil Nadu and Pondichery region speaks at a special program organised by the Tibetan community in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on October 17, 2011 commemorating the Indira Gandhi National Open University to Honour with Doctorate given to His Holiness the Dalai Lama on September 5. In his speech, Hubert spoke about how the Tibetan community in exile in India can blend with local people pertaining to their oneness and brotherhood.

THE STRUGGLE FOR A FREE TIBET

2011-10-21T23:23:00.001+05:30

By Tsoltim N Shakabpa

The self immolations in Ngaba, Tibet

Were selfless sacrifices to freedom get

From the illegal and brutal occupation by China

That grasps us in the vestibule of her wicked vagina

Now it's up to us to show our support

And the free people of the world exhort

To lend a hand at freeing Tibet

And finally put China to bed

Copyright: Tsoltim N Shakabpa 2011

DEVIL IN DISGUISE

2011-10-14T09:11:00.003+05:30

She buys influence with money
Lies to paint a rosy picture of Tibet
She rules autocratically in the name of nationalism
Destroys human fetuses in the name of population control
She illegally occupies smaller nations in the name of liberation
Denounces religion while praying for money and more power
She savagely silences voices of freedom in the name of national interest
Develops the infrastructure of Tibet in order to militarily position herself better
She minimizes minority races by populating their regions with masses of Han people
Calls the Dalai Lama a wolf in sheep's clothing while behaving like Lucifer in disguise
She entices foreigners to cheaply purchase goods made by tormented prisoners under duress
Subdues social networking in her own country while promoting social communism in the outside world
She professes to limit North Korea's nuclear tests while surreptitiously feeding her nuclear intelligence
Blatantly does she permit the sale of cheap contaminated goods but when caught blames the manufacturers
She hacks the e-mails and websites of freedom seekers while calling for transparency in Western governments
Silent during the people's revolution in the Middle East she praised the people only when they were victorious

She's a devil in disguise!

Copyright: Tsoltim N Shakabpa (2011)

2011-10-03T15:18:00.001+05:30

Prof Samdhong Rinpoche to Inaugurate Gandhian Varthamanam

Prof Samdhong Rinpoche, former Kalon Tripa will inaugurate and deliver a key note address during the five-day long event at Trichur on October 5, 2011 at 3pm. Shri Narayan Desai who spent about 20 years with Mahatma Gandhi at Sbarmathi Ashram at Sevagram and other places will do a Gandhi Katha (Gandhi Stories) for three hours every day for five days during this event. About 500 activists from the state are expected to attend this five-day event at Salsabeel Green School, Kiraloor, Thrissur.

Mahatma Gandh?'s biography 'My Life is My Message' is set to have a Malayalam translation. The book penned by Narayan Desai, son of Mahatma's Principal Secretary late Mahadev Desai, originally in Gujarati is getting translated to another Indian language for the first time. The book in four volumes will have about 200 pages in A4 size and will have about 2000 pictures associated with Mahatma, some of them very rare ones. The book will be released by Chief Minister Oomen Chandy at a function to be held Gandhi Bhavan, in Thiruvananthapuram on October 3, 2011.

To know more, email: kerala@friendsoftibet.org

Voices of Tibet

2011-09-30T08:45:00.000+05:30

By Tsoltim N Shakabpa

Though our countrymen in Tibet

Have been forcibly silenced

I smell the wind in Tibet howl with bitterness at the autocratic rule

I see the yaks of Tibet grunt with anger at the illegal occupation of our land

I hear the babes in Tibet cry out with exasperation at the destruction of our culture

I taste the clouds over Tibet foam with commination at the extinction of our language

I feel the thunder across Tibet roar with frustration over our fruitless efforts to negotiate

I feel the forests of Tibet rustle with vexation at the burglary of our treasures

I see the rivers of Tibet surge with restlessness at the imprisonment of our compatriots

I taste the snowcapped mountains of Tibet melt with rancor at the lies the illegal rulers tell

I smell the sun over Tibet burn with aggravation at the migration of foreigners into our country

I hear the Potala of Tibet scream with impatience for the return of the Dalai Lama to His throne

Though the voices of our countrymen in Tibet have been silenced

My five senses are attuned to the voices of the environment in Tibet

Loudly, clearly and fiercely clamoring for a free and peaceful Tibet

With a democratic system under the auspices of the Dalai Lama

Copyright: Tsoltim N. Shakabpa: 2011

Statement of HH the Dalai Lama on His Reincarnation (September 24, 2011)

2011-09-24T21:54:00.002+05:30

Introduction

My fellow Tibetans, both in and outside Tibet, all those who follow the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and everyone who has a connection to Tibet and Tibetans: due to the foresight of our ancient kings, ministers and scholar-adepts, the complete teaching of the Buddha, comprising the scriptural and experiential teachings of the Three Vehicles and the Four Sets of Tantra and their related subjects and disciplines flourished widely in the Land of Snow. Tibet has served as a source of Buddhist and related cultural traditions for the world. In particular, it has contributed significantly to the happiness of countless beings in Asia, including those in China, Tibet and Mongolia.

In the course of upholding the Buddhist tradition in Tibet, we evolved a unique Tibetan tradition of recognizing the reincarnations of scholar-adepts that has been of immense help to both the Dharma and sentient beings, particularly to the monastic community.

Since the omniscient Gedun Gyatso was recognized and confirmed as the reincarnation of Gedun Drub in the fifteenth century and the Gaden Phodrang Labrang (the Dalai Lama’s institution) was established, successive reincarnations have been recognized. The third in the line, Sonam Gyatso, was given the title of the Dalai Lama. The Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, established the Gaden Phodrang Government in 1642, becoming the spiritual and political head of Tibet. For more than 600 years since Gedun Drub, a series of unmistaken reincarnations has been recognised in the lineage of the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lamas have functioned as both the political and spiritual leaders of Tibet for 369 years since 1642. I have now voluntarily brought this to an end, proud and satisfied that we can pursue the kind of democratic system of government flourishing elsewhere in the world. In fact, as far back as 1969, I made clear that concerned people should decide whether the Dalai Lama’s reincarnations should continue in the future. However, in the absence of clear guidelines, should the concerned public express a strong wish for the Dalai Lamas to continue, there is an obvious risk of vested political interests misusing the reincarnation system to fulfil their own political agenda. Therefore, while I remain physically and mentally fit, it seems important to me that we draw up clear guidelines to recognise the next Dalai Lama, so that there is no room for doubt or deception. For these guidelines to be fully comprehensible, it is essential to understand the system of Tulku recognition and the basic concepts behind it. Therefore, I shall briefly explain them below.

Past and future lives

In order to accept reincarnation or the reality of Tulkus, we need to accept the existence of past and future lives. Sentient beings come to this present life from their previous lives and take rebirth again after death. This kind of continuous rebirth is accepted by all the ancient Indian spiritual traditions and schools of philosophy, except the Charvakas, who were a materialist movement. Some modern thinkers deny past and future lives on the premise that we cannot see them. Others do not draw such clear cut conclusions on this basis.

Although many religious traditions accept rebirth, they differ in their views of what it is that is reborn, how it is reborn, and how it passes through the transitional period between two lives. Some religious traditions accept the prospect of future life, but reject the idea of past lives.

Generally, Buddhists believe that there is no beginning to birth and that once we achieve liberation from the cycle of existence by overcoming our karma and destructive emotions, we will not be reborn under the sway of these conditions. Therefore, Buddhists believe that there is an end to being reborn as a result of karma and destructive emotions, but most Buddhist philosophical schools do not accept that the mind-stream comes to an end. To reject past and future rebirth would contradict the Buddhist concept of the ground, path and result, which must be explained on the basis of the disciplined or undisciplined mind. If we accept this argument, logically, we would also have to accept that the world and its inhabitants come about without causes and conditions. Therefore, as long as you are a Buddhist, it is necessary to accept past and future rebirth.

For those who remember their past lives, rebirth is a clear experience. However, most ordinary beings forget their past lives as they go through the process of death, intermediate state and rebirth. As past and future rebirths are slightly obscure to them, we need to use evidence-based logic to prove past and future rebirths to them.

There are many different logical arguments given in the words of the Buddha and subsequent commentaries to prove the existence of past and future lives. In brief, they come down to four points: the logic that things are preceded by things of a similar type, the logic that things are preceded by a substantial cause, the logic that the mind has gained familiarity with things in the past, and the logic of having gained experience of things in the past.

Ultimately all these arguments are based on the idea that the nature of the mind, its clarity and awareness, must have clarity and awareness as its substantial cause. It cannot have any other entity such as an inanimate object as its substantial cause. This is self-evident. Through logical analysis we infer that a new stream of clarity and awareness cannot come about without causes or from unrelated causes. While we observe that mind cannot be produced in a laboratory, we also infer that nothing can eliminate the continuity of subtle clarity and awareness.

As far as I know, no modern psychologist, physicist, or neuroscientist has been able to observe or predict the production of mind either from matter or without cause.

There are people who can remember their immediate past life or even many past lives, as well as being able to recognise places and relatives from those lives. This is not just something that happened in the past. Even today there are many people in the East and West, who can recall incidents and experiences from their past lives. Denying this is not an honest and impartial way of doing research, because it runs counter to this evidence. The Tibetan system of recognising reincarnations is an authentic mode of investigation based on people’s recollection of their past lives.

How rebirth takes place

There are two ways in which someone can take rebirth after death: rebirth under the sway of karma and destructive emotions and rebirth through the power of compassion and prayer. Regarding the first, due to ignorance negative and positive karma are created and their imprints remain on the consciousness. These are reactivated through craving and grasping, propelling us into the next life. We then take rebirth involuntarily in higher or lower realms. This is the way ordinary beings circle incessantly through existence like the turning of a wheel. Even under such circumstances ordinary beings can engage diligently with a positive aspiration in virtuous practices in their day-to-day lives. They familiarise themselves with virtue that at the time of death can be reactivated providing the means for them to take rebirth in a higher realm of existence. On the other hand, superior Bodhisattvas, who have attained the path of seeing, are not reborn through the force of their karma and destructive emotions, but due to the power of their compassion for sentient beings and based on their prayers to benefit others. They are able to choose their place and time of birth as well as their future parents. Such a rebirth, which is solely for the benefit of others, is rebirth through the force of compassion and prayer.

The meaning of Tulku

It seems the Tibetan custom of applying the epithet ‘Tulku’ (Buddha’s Emanation Body) to recognized reincarnations began when devotees used it as an honorary title, but it has since become a common expression. In general, the term Tulku refers to a particular aspect of the Buddha, one of the three or four described in the Sutra Vehicle. According to this explanation of these aspects of the Buddha, a person who is totally bound by destructive emotions and karma has the potential to achieve the Truth Body (Dharmakaya), comprising the Wisdom Truth Body and Nature Truth Body. The former refers to the enlightened mind of a Buddha, which sees everything directly and precisely, as it is, in an instant. It has been cleared of all destructive emotions, as well as their imprints, through the accumulation of merit and wisdom over a long period of time. The latter, the Nature Truth Body, refers to the empty nature of that all-knowing enlightened mind. These two together are aspects of the Buddhas for themselves. However, as they are not directly accessible to others, but only amongst the Buddhas themselves, it is imperative that the Buddhas manifest in physical forms that are accessible to sentient beings in order to help them. Hence, the ultimate physical aspect of a Buddha is the Body of Complete Enjoyment (Sambhogakaya), which is accessible to superior Bodhisattvas, and has five definite qualifications such as residing in the Akanishta Heaven. And from the Body of Complete Enjoyment are manifested the myriad Emanation Bodies or Tulkus (Nirmanakaya), of the Buddhas, which appear as gods or humans and are accessible even to ordinary beings. These two physical aspects of the Buddha are termed Form Bodies, which are meant for others.

The Emanation Body is three-fold: a) the Supreme Emanation Body like Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha, who manifested the twelve deeds of a Buddha such as being born in the place he chose and so forth; b) the Artistic Emanation Body which serves others by appearing as craftsmen, artists and so on; and c) the Incarnate Emanation Body, according to which Buddhas appear in various forms such as human beings, deities, rivers, bridges, medicinal plants, and trees to help sentient beings. Of these three types of Emanation Body, the reincarnations of spiritual masters recognized and known as ‘Tulkus’ in Tibet come under the third category. Among these Tulkus there may be many who are truly qualified Incarnate Emanation Bodies of the Buddhas, but this does not necessarily apply to all of them. Amongst the Tulkus of Tibet there may be those who are reincarnations of superior Bodhisattvas, Bodhisattvas on the paths of accumulation and preparation, as well as masters who are evidently yet to enter these Bodhisattva paths. Therefore, the title of Tulku is given to reincarnate Lamas either on the grounds of their resembling enlightened beings or through their connection to certain qualities of enlightened beings.

As Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo said:

“Reincarnation is what happens when someone takes rebirth after the predecessor’s passing away; emanation is when manifestations take place without the source’s passing away.”

Recognition of Reincarnations

The practice of recognizing who is who by identifying someone’s previous life occurred even when Shakyamuni Buddha himself was alive. Many accounts are found in the four Agama Sections of the Vinaya Pitaka, the Jataka Stories, the Sutra of the Wise and Foolish, the Sutra of One Hundred Karmas and so on, in which the Tathagata revealed the workings of karma, recounting innumerable stories about how the effects of certain karmas created in a past life are experienced by a person in his or her present life. Also, in the life stories of Indian masters, who lived after the Buddha, many reveal their previous places of birth. There are many such stories, but the system of recognizing and numbering their reincarnations did not occur in India.

The system of recognizing reincarnations in Tibet

Past and future lives were asserted in the indigenous Tibetan Bon tradition before the arrival of Buddhism. And since the spread of Buddhism in Tibet, virtually all Tibetans have believed in past and future lives. Investigating the reincarnations of many spiritual masters who upheld the Dharma, as well as the custom of praying devotedly to them, flourished everywhere in Tibet. Many authentic scriptures, indigenous Tibetan books such as the Mani Kabum and the Fivefold Kathang Teachings and others like the The Books of Kadam Disciples and the Jewel Garland: Responses to Queries, which were recounted by the glorious, incomparable Indian master Dipankara Atisha in the 11th century in Tibet, tell stories of the reincarnations of Arya Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion. However, the present tradition of formally recognizing the reincarnations of masters first began in the early 13th century with the recognition of Karmapa Pagshi as the reincarnation of Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa by his disciples in accordance with his prediction. Since then, there have been seventeen Karmapa incarnations over more than nine hundred years. Similarly, since the recognition of Kunga Sangmo as the reincarnation of Khandro Choekyi Dronme in the 15th century there have been more than ten incarnations of Samding Dorje Phagmo. So, among the Tulkus recognized in Tibet there are monastics and lay tantric practitioners, male and female. This system of recognizing the reincarnations gradually spread to other Tibetan Buddhist traditions, and Bon, in Tibet. Today, there are recognized Tulkus in all the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Sakya, Geluk, Kagyu and Nyingma, as well as Jonang and Bodong, who serve the Dharma. It is also evident that amongst these Tulkus some are a disgrace.

The omniscient Gedun Drub, who was a direct disciple of Je Tsongkhapa, founded Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Tsang and took care of his students. He passed away in 1474 at the age of 84. Although initially no efforts were made to identify his reincarnation, people were obliged to recognize a child named Sangye Chophel, who had been born in Tanak, Tsang (1476), because of what he had to say about his amazing and flawless recollections of his past life. Since then, a tradition began of searching for and recognizing the successive reincarnations of the Dalai Lamas by the Gaden Phodrang Labrang and later the Gaden Phodrang Government.

The ways of recognizing reincarnations

After the system of recognizing Tulkus came into being, various procedures for going about it began to develop and grow. Among these some of the most important involve the predecessor’s predictive letter and other instructions and indications that might occur; the reincarnation’s reliably recounting his previous life and speaking about it; identifying possessions belonging to the predecessor and recognizing people who had been close to him. Apart from these, additional methods include asking reliable spiritual masters for their divination as well as seeking the predictions of mundane oracles, who appear through mediums in trance, and observing the visions that manifest in sacred lakes of protectors like Lhamoi Latso, a sacred lake south of Lhasa.

When there happens to be more than one prospective candidate for recognition as a Tulku, and it becomes difficult to decide, there is a practice of making the final decision by divination employing the dough-ball method (zen tak) before a sacred image while calling upon the power of truth.

Emanation before the passing away of the predecessor (ma-dhey tulku)

Usually a reincarnation has to be someone’s taking rebirth as a human being after previously passing away. Ordinary sentient beings generally cannot manifest an emanation before death (ma-dhey tulku), but superior Bodhisattvas, who can manifest themselves in hundreds or thousands of bodies simultaneously, can manifest an emanation before death. Within the Tibetan system of recognizing Tulkus there are emanations who belong to the same mind-stream as the predecessor, emanations who are connected to others through the power of karma and prayers, and emanations who come as a result of blessings and appointment.

The main purpose of the appearance of a reincarnation is to continue the predecessor’s unfinished work to serve Dharma and beings. In the case of a Lama who is an ordinary being, instead of having a reincarnation belonging to the same mind-stream, someone else with connections to that Lama through pure karma and prayers may be recognized as his or her emanation. Alternatively it is possible for the Lama to appoint a successor who is either his disciple or someone young who is to be recognized as his emanation. Since these options are possible in the case of an ordinary being, an emanation before death that is not of the same mind-stream is feasible. In some cases one high Lama may have several reincarnations simultaneously, such as incarnations of body, speech and mind and so on. In recent times, there have been well-known emanations before death such as Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje and Chogye Trichen Ngawang Khyenrab.

Using the Golden Urn

As the degenerate age gets worse, and as more reincarnations of high Lamas are being recognized, some of them for political motives, increasing numbers have been recognized through inappropriate and questionable means, as a result of which huge damage has been done to the Dharma.

During the conflict between Tibet and the Gurkhas (1791-93) the Tibetan Government had to call on Manchu military support. Consequently the Gurkha military was expelled from Tibet, but afterwards Manchu officials made a 29-point proposal on the pretext of making the Tibetan Government’s administration more efficient. This proposal included the suggestion of picking lots from a Golden Urn to decide on the recognition of the reincarnations of the Dalai Lamas, Panchen Lamas and Hutuktus, a Mongolian title given to high Lamas. Therefore, this procedure was followed in the case of recognizing some reincarnations of the Dalai Lama, Panchen Lama and other high Lamas. The ritual to be followed was written by the Eighth Dalai Lama Jampel Gyatso. Even after such a system had been introduced, this procedure was dispensed with for the Ninth, Thirteenth and myself, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

Even in the case of the Tenth Dalai Lama, the authentic reincarnation had already been found and in reality this procedure was not followed, but in order to humour the Manchus it was merely announced that this procedure had been observed.

The Golden Urn system was actually used only in the cases of the Eleventh and Twelfth Dalai Lamas. However, the Twelfth Dalai Lama had already been recognized before the procedure was employed. Therefore, there has only been one occasion when a Dalai Lama was recognized by using this method. Likewise, among the reincarnations of the Panchen Lama, apart from the Eighth and the Ninth, there have been no instances of this method being employed. This system was imposed by the Manchus, but Tibetans had no faith in it because it lacked any spiritual quality. However, if it were to be used honestly, it seems that we could consider it as similar to the manner of divination employing the dough-ball method (zen tak).

In 1880, during the recognition of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the Twelfth, traces of the Priest-Patron relationship between Tibet and the Manchus still existed. He was recognized as the unmistaken reincarnation by the Eighth Panchen Lama, the predictions of the Nechung and Samye oracles and by observing visions that appeared in Lhamoi Latso, therefore the Golden Urn procedure was not followed. This can be clearly understood from the Thirteenth Dalai Lama’s final testament of the Water-Monkey Year (1933) in which he states:

“As you all know, I was selected not in the customary way of picking lots from the golden urn, but my selection was foretold and divined. In accordance with these divinations and prophecies I was recognized as the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and enthroned.”

When I was recognized as the Fourteenth incarnation of the Dalai Lama in 1939, the Priest-Patron relationship between Tibet and China had already come to an end. Therefore, there was no question of any need to confirm the reincarnation by employing the Golden Urn. It is well-known that the then Regent of Tibet and the Tibetan National Assembly had followed the procedure for recognizing the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation taking account of the predictions of high Lamas, oracles and the visions seen in Lhamoi Latso; the Chinese had no involvement in it whatever. Nevertheless, some concerned officials of the Guomintang later cunningly spread lies in the newspapers claiming that they had agreed to forego the use of the Golden Urn and that Wu Chung-tsin presided over my enthronement, and so on. This lie was exposed by Ngabo Ngawang Jigme, the Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, who the People’s Republic of China considered to be a most progressive person, at the Second Session of the Fifth People’s Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region (31st July 1989). This is clear, when, at the end of his speech, in which he gave a detailed explanation of events and presented documentary evidence, he demanded:

“What need is there for the Communist Party to follow suit and continue the lies of the Guomintang?”

Deceptive strategy and false hopes

In the recent past, there have been cases of irresponsible managers of wealthy Lama-estates who indulged in improper methods to recognize reincarnations, which have undermined the Dharma, the monastic community and our society. Moreover, since the Manchu era Chinese political authorities repeatedly engaged in various deceitful means using Buddhism, Buddhist masters and Tulkus as tools to fulfil their political ends as they involved themselves in Tibetan and Mongolian affairs. Today, the authoritarian rulers of the People’s Republic of China, who as communists reject religion, but still involve themselves in religious affairs, have imposed a so-called re-education campaign and declared the so-called Order No. Five, concerning the control and recognition of reincarnations, which came into force on 1st September 2007. This is outrageous and disgraceful. The enforcement of various inappropriate methods for recognizing reincarnations to eradicate our unique Tibetan cultural traditions is doing damage that will be difficult to repair.

Moreover, they say they are waiting for my death and will recognize a Fifteenth Dalai Lama of their choice. It is clear from their recent rules and regulations and subsequent declarations that they have a detailed strategy to deceive Tibetans, followers of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and the world community. Therefore, as I have a responsibility to protect the Dharma and sentient beings and counter such detrimental schemes, I make the following declaration.

The next incarnation of the Dalai Lama

As I mentioned earlier, reincarnation is a phenomenon which should take place either through the voluntary choice of the concerned person or at least on the strength of his or her karma, merit and prayers. Therefore, the person who reincarnates has sole legitimate authority over where and how he or she takes rebirth and how that reincarnation is to be recognized. It is a reality that no one else can force the person concerned, or manipulate him or her. It is particularly inappropriate for Chinese communists, who explicitly reject even the idea of past and future lives, let alone the concept of reincarnate Tulkus, to meddle in the system of reincarnation and especially the reincarnations of the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas. Such brazen meddling contradicts their own political ideology and reveals their double standards. Should this situation continue in the future, it will be impossible for Tibetans and those who follow the Tibetan Buddhist tradition to acknowledge or accept it.

When I am about ninety I will consult the high Lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Tibetan public, and other concerned people who follow Tibetan Buddhism, and re-evaluate whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue or not. On that basis we will take a decision. If it is decided that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should continue and there is a need for the Fifteenth Dalai Lama to be recognized, responsibility for doing so will primarily rest on the concerned officers of the Dalai Lama’s Gaden Phodrang Trust. They should consult the various heads of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions and the reliable oath-bound Dharma Protectors who are linked inseparably to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas. They should seek advice and direction from these concerned beings and carry out the procedures of search and recognition in accordance with past tradition. I shall leave clear written instructions about this. Bear in mind that, apart from the reincarnation recognized through such legitimate methods, no recognition or acceptance should be given to a candidate chosen for political ends by anyone, including those in the People’s Republic of China.

The Dalai Lama

Dharamshala

(Translated from the Tibetan. www.tibet.net)

2011-09-24T21:51:00.002+05:30

HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA

by Tsoltim N Shakabpa

Whether or not you are a God King

As the Tibetans describe you

Or a wolf in sheep's clothing

As the communist Chinese describe you

Or a simple monk

As you describe yourself

You bring love and compassion to humanity

Harmony among all religious and racial creed

And are a divine inspiration to the world

We thank you, Your Holiness

May your voice of harmony

Spirit of compassion

And ocean of wisdom

Embrace our universe

'Till the end of time

Copyright: Tsoltim N Shakabpa: 2010

2011-08-30T15:10:00.003+05:30

China Fears Anna Effect, Closes 6,600 Sites

(By Tendar Tsering, Phayul, August 29, 2011]

Dharamshala: While the hugely popular anti-corruption movement led by Indian social worker Anna Hazare forced the parliament to graft stricter anti-corruption laws, the Chinese government Sunday banned 6,600 sites following growing numbers of netizens in China discussing a possible movement in China against corruption. The ban comes as a result of fear in Beijing of Chinese netizens openly calling for an Anna Hazaretype of revolution in China to battle corruption.

Chinese netizens praised Hazare for bringing thousands onto the streets to jointly fight corruption while drawing a contrast with their home country where anger at corruption is widespread, but protests are rare and not tolerated. On the microblogging site Sino Weibo a Chinese posted, "when will an anti corruption movement take place in China."

Another user of China’s Twitter equivalent wrote "let us wait for an Anna Hazare to be born in China."

The ministry of industry and information technology (MIIT) said that 6,600 websites in China have been canceled, and many user accounts on the Sino Weibo have been blocked for at least one month following official investigations.

"Banned and blocked because these sites are suspected of spreading rebellious ideas and having a negative influence on the people " he ministry said. The shut down on public sites was jointly launched by the State Internet Information Office, MIIT, the Ministry of Public Security and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce according to the official Xinhua news agency.

2011-08-25T22:32:00.002+05:30

DEFINING A NATION

By Tsoltim N Shakabpa

The glory of a nation

Can be found in its people

Not in its rulers

The ruin of a nation

Can be found in its rulers

Not in its people

The wealth of a nation

Can be found in its values

Not in its money

The heart of a nation

Can be found in its streets

Not in its citadels of power

The joy of a nation

Can be found in its heart

Not in its celebrations

The beliefs of a nation

Can be found in its people's silent prayers

Not in its politicians' loud speeches

The power of a nation

Can be found in its beliefs

Not in its guns

The future of a nation

Can be found in its will

Not in its power

Copyright: Tsoltim N. Shakabpa - 2011

2011-08-10T09:26:00.002+05:30

I HAVE A TARGET

By Tsoltim N Shakabpa

I have a target

That some day

Our children will stand atop the plateau of a free Tibet

And wash away the ravages the Chinese left behind

I have a target

That one day

The Tibetan spirit will be exalted

And the Chinese power muffled

I have a target

That one day

The children of the Chinese who raped Tibet

And the children of the Tibetans who suffered under Chinese rule

Will sit down together at the table of friendship

I have a target

Now until our kingdom come

To make the Chinese leave Tibet

And to return the Dalai Lama to his rightful throne

I have a target

Not a dream

Copyright: Tsoltim N. Shakabpa - 2011

2011-08-02T13:34:00.000+05:30

Statement by WUC President Rebiya Kadeer about Kashgar attacks

Press release – For immediate release

01 August 2011

Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org

Tel. 0049 (0) 89 5432 1999 or e-mail contact@uyghurcongress.org

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) unequivocally condemns Chinese government policies that have caused another outbreak of violence in East Turkestan. Without a substantial change to policies that discriminate against Uyghurs economically, culturally and politically the prospect of stability in East Turkestan is remote.

According to Chinese and overseas media reports, incidents of bloodshed on the streets of Kashgar occurred between July 30 and 31, 2011. The tragic events over the weekend in Kashgar took place less than two weeks after a day of violence in the southern city of Hotan. Due to the tight control of information and the imposition of a street curfew, the WUC is unable to confirm the accuracy of information from Chinese state media of events in Kashgar. Latest reports conflict in the number of dead and injured from the alleged series of attacks in Kashgar. Chinese state media has accused Uyghur individuals for carrying out the attacks. There is no doubt that without providing any substantive evidence, the Chinese government will accuse these individuals of links to international terror organizations. Without independent verification of such accusations, the WUC must remain skeptical.

I do not support violence. I am saddened tperhat Han Chinese and Uyghurs have lost their lives. At the same time, I cannot blame the Uyghurs who carry out such attacks for they have been pushed to despair by Chinese policies. I condemn the Chinese government for the incident. The Chinese government has created an environment of hopelessness that means it must take responsibility for civilian deaths and injuries caused by their discriminatory policies.

The WUC has repeatedly urged the Chinese government to immediately stop the implementation of unjust policies in East Turkestan. The WUC has also insisted that Chinese officials end the institutionalized national and racial discrimination against Uyghurs that deprive Uyghur youths of a future. During the May 2010 “Xinjiang Work Forum” held in Beijing, the WUC sincerely called on the Chinese government to discuss the future of East Turkestan with legitimate representatives of the Uyghur people. Nevertheless, the “Xinjiang Work Forum” went ahead without the participation of a single Uyghur, whose rights as an autonomous people are highlighted in the Chinese Constitution and the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law.

Instead of pursuing a policy in East Turkestan that seeks to engage the Uyghur population, the Chinese government has chosen the way of violence and an armed brutal crackdown. There is no sign that Chinese authorities will discontinue its crackdown in East Turkestan. The Chinese government firmly believes in using the power of the gun to suppress the voice of Uyghurs instead of listening to it. Regardless of the dangers posed to those who do dissent, Uyghurs continue to express their unhappiness with Chinese policies; however, Chinese authorities have not heeded any of these expressions of discontent.

Despite the ruthless massacre of peaceful demonstrators, the active suppression of Uyghurs, mass death sentences handed down to Uyghurs during and after July 5, 2009 in Urumchi, the Chinese government has not achieved peace or stability in East Turkestan. Uyghurs in East Turkestan have resisted Chinese rule in a variety of ways. There have been more than 20 bloody incidents since July 5, 2009. An attack on a police station in Aksu on September 18, 2010, the incident in Hotan on July 18, 2011 and the latest bloodshed in Kashgar between July 30-31l, 2011 have been among the most widely reported by media.

Why did the bloodshed happen in Kashgar?

We remind the Chinese government that unless there are genuine and meaningful policy changes that respect the legitimate rights of Uyghurs in East Turkestan there could be more of these outbreaks of unrest to come, as people have no other choice to express their grievances. Uyghurs across the region are denied any kind of freedom of speech or assembly that permit displays of public displeasure with government policies. On July 5, 2009, when Uyghur protestors attempted to peacefully request protection from the state against violent attacks, they were met with gunfire from Chinese security forces.

The Chinese government has to ask itself why do Uyghurs so desperately resist knowing that they will be killed or executed. The answer should be very clear. Uyghurs have lost all hope. There are no Uyghur families who cannot tell a story of arrest, torture or death.

There are many Uyghur grievances in Kashgar that need to be addressed by the Chinese government. A government mandated demolition of the hub of Uyghur culture and tradition in the ancient city of Kashgar has made people very angry. The Chinese authorities have been transferring millions of Han Chinese to the area and in doing so polluted the environment of Kashgar. The Chinese government has provided housing, jobs, education and other opportunities for these immigrants while most Uyghurs suffer from a lack of economic opportunity. Thousands of young Uyghur girls and women, most of them from the Kashgar region, are forcibly transferred to factories in eastern China to supply cheap labor. Religious freedoms in Kashgar are next to none and have been restricted further as Muslims enter the holy month of Ramadan. Chinese authorities have launched strike hard campaigns and arrested countless Uyghurs on politically motivated charges. These policies do nothing but create hatred. Many of the Han Chinese immigrants from China discriminate and humiliate the Uyghur people on a daily basis simply because the Chinese government treats Uyghurs with such disdain.

Uyghurs in East Turkestan have patiently waited for a humanitarian reaction from the international community to the brutal suppression. As time passed, the Uyghur people’s hopes have gradually ebbed away. The inaction and unresponsive attitude of the international community over the mass killing of Uyghurs during and after July 5, 2009, the death sentences of young Uyghurs in trials that fall far below international standards, the forceful deportation of 20 Uyghurs from Cambodia and the recent repatriation of mandated UNHCR refugee Ershidin Israel from Kazakhstan to China are contributing factors to this sense of hopelessness that the Uyghur condition will ever improve.

Therefore, I urge the international community to listen to the grievances of Uyghurs now in order to prevent future disasters in East Turkestan.

I also call on the Chinese government to learn the right lessons from these tragedies and give up military crackdown as the only form of solution. I still firmly believe that mutual understanding and dialogue is the only way to resolve conflict and to reach a solution based on compromise.

I also appeal to Han Chinese people living in East Turkestan to side against government brutality towards Uyghurs and stop being used by the communist government for further escalation of ethnic tension between them and Uyghurs, the rightful owner of the territory.

It is time for the Han Chinese immigrants to ask a sincere question; why have the opportunities that have been presented to them as immigrants from thousands of miles away not been offered to local Uyghurs in East Turkestan?

I urge the Chinese authorities to be transparent and to give access to international media to report incidents like the one in Kashgar and to allow human rights organizations as well as Uyghur organizations to investigate conditions in the area.

2011-07-21T10:08:00.001+05:30

FLY IN THE EYE

By Tsoltim N Shakabpa

A fly flew into her eye

Which led to a pain

Which led to a sore

Which will lead to an ulcer

Which will lead to cancer

Which will lead to death

We are that fly

In China's eye

Copyright: Tsoltim N. Shakabpa - 2011

2011-07-20T19:45:00.002+05:30

TRIBUTE TO HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA

By Tsoltim N Shakabpa

Your Holiness!

As a leader

You inspire me

As a simple monk

You teach me humility

As a man of harmony

You make me conciliate

As a teacher

You restore confidence in me

As a compassionate person

You wash the worries from my mind

As the Dalai Lama

You draw me to you

Copyright: Tsoltim N. Shakabpa - 2011

2011-07-14T22:35:00.000+05:30

REDISCOVERING THE FIVE SENSES

By Tsoltim N Shakabpa

I see what I shouldn't see

I hear what I shouldn't hear

I taste what I shouldn't taste

I smell what I shouldn't smell

I touch what I shouldn't touch

Through it all

I discover what I shouldn't discover

And find that I am enlightened

By all the things I shouldn't do

Copyright: Tsoltim N. Shakabpa - 2011

2011-07-03T09:17:00.001+05:30

A Candle Light Vigil for Tibet

(By Pooja Maheshwary, The Hindustan Times, July 3, 2011)

Support group commemorates victims of the Uyghur uprising on World Tibet Day this Wednesday, air documentary on the movement

This week, Tibet support groups across the globe will be seen celebrating World Tibet Day as spiritual leader Dalai Lama celebrates his 76th birthday on July 6. On the other end of the spectrum, the day also marks the second year of the gruesome Uyghur uprising, which shook East Turkestan in 2009. In Mumbai, Friends of Tibet, a people's movement that focuses on political issues of Tibet will commemorate the victims of the uprising. They hope to create awareness by exposing China's bad record against human rights by observing a candle-light vigil and showcasing a documentary about their struggle.

Says Sethu Das, Founder-President of Friends of Tibet (India), "The purpose of celebrating World Tibet Day is to help restore essential freedom for those living in Chinaoccupied Tibet and to bring to light the genocidal threats faced by them. We also wish to celebrate the unique beauty and value of Tibetan culture and thought."

Talking about the documentary 'The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom' that will be screened on Wednesday, Das says, “It is informative and educational to anyone who wants to know more about the ongoing Tibetan struggle. It was screened at the Mumbai International Film Festival in 2010 and was the winner of Silver Conch Award. This is a good opportunity for those Mumbaikars who have not seen it before."

2011-07-03T00:01:00.000+05:30

World Tibet Day to be Celebrated on July 6

(By Harold Mandel, Mandel News Service, June 30, 2011)

There has been excitement in the air here in Syracuse among Buddhists regarding the coming World Tibet Day celebrations. This day has extra special meaning to Buddhists here because it is being celebrated on the 76th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama has long served as the spiritual leader of the Syracuse Buddhist community.

Colleen McKown has reported for The Tibet Post International "World Tibet Day Celebrations Set for July 6". This will be the second annual World Tibet Day for Tibetans and Tibet supporters. Buddhists here in Syracuse are anxiously waiting to join in the celebrations and plan to view the documentary "The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom" while also observing the anniversary of the Uyghur Uprising in East Turkestan.

Richard Rosenkranz, a former US senate correspondent and Pulitzer Prize nominee, along with the Dalai Lama's younger brother Tendzin Choegyal, founded World Tibet Day in 1998. It is the hope of this event to help increase awareness of the genocide which is occuring in Tibet while also supporting the restoration of basic freedoms in Tibet and celebrating Tibetan culture. The birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been chosen for this event with an interest in attracting a large number of participants.

Friends of Tibet, has been encouraging supporters of Tibet to become involved with World Tibet Day. Friends of Tibet has released a statement, "We need to act now: Tibetan people in occupied Tibet are facing cultural genocide; it's urgent we act immediately. As one response to this, we are trying to make WTD as big as possible in size and scope--through observances by Tibetan Associations and support groups along with educational campaigns in schools and colleges around the world."

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been inspired by the potential of World Tibet Day. He has said "World Tibet Day has opened many hearts to fundamental rights of the Tibetan people to preserve our culture and to practice our religion freely. The event has greatly raised public awareness to the present threat to the very existence of the Tibetan people." More information about World Tibet Day is available online at http://www.worldtibetday.org.

2011-06-30T20:09:00.000+05:30

CYCLE OF LIFE

By Tsoltim N Shakabpa

China lives today

In the warmth of the summer sun

While Tibet is dying

In the chill of the winter cold

But as is true in the cycle of life

With birth comes death

And with summer comes winter

Thus China's winter and death will come

As will Tibet's birth and summer come

Copyright: Tsoltim N. Shakabpa - 2011

2011-06-26T09:59:00.000+05:30

China Strengthens Hold on Nepal, Comes to India's Doorstep

(By Jayadeva Ranade, DNA, Friday, June 24, 2011)

A series of recent events reveal that China’s geo-strategic policy has Nepal firmly in its cross-hairs and is determined to bring it definitively under its influence. China has now recommended a proposal with potentially far reaching implications, especially for India. Intended to achieve multiple objectives, it retains the focus on Nepal while seeking to neutralise Tibetan activism, undermine the Dalai Lama’s influence, including in Nepal, consolidate China’s political and economic influence in Nepal, and help China achieve its long-term strategic goal of bringing Nepal irrevocably under its influence. Success in the last two means that China will have crossed the Himalayas and established its influence up to the lower foothills bordering India.

When the Chief of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) visited Kathmandu this April, he signed a USD 19.8 million defence agreement directly with Nepal’s Army, ignoring the protestations of Nepal’s Ministry of Defence. Following the visit, the Beijing-based and supported Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation has now proposed a $3 billion Development Plan for Buddha’s birthplace, Lumbini, ostensibly ‘with no strings attached’. Beijing, which for the first time in 2006 officially described Buddhism as a peaceful ‘ancient Chinese religion’ and has held two World Buddhist Forums, apparently continues to seek legitimacy from the Buddhists.

Composition of the board of the Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation hints strongly at Party and PLA links. Nepal’s Maoist leader Prachanda, is the Foundation’s Vice Chairman has attended two of its events in Malaysia and Singapore in October 2010 and March 2011 respectively. He claims a major role in getting China’s support for this project. Xiao Wunan, a senior Chinese Communist Party cadre who is Deputy Director of an office of China’s National Development and Reform Commission in Western China, is Executive Vice President of the Foundation. He is also Vice President of the World Buddhist Peace Foundation, which helps organise the Beijing-sponsored World Buddhist Forums, and was formerly Vice President of the editorial board of the journal Study on Maoism. The Executive Director of this Foundation is Eric Tay, who graduated in 1993 from China’s Air Force Institute of Engineering. He owns companies in Beijing and Shenzhen which invest in commodities and energy resources.

This cheque-book diplomacy by Beijing reinforces earlier road and rail projects linking Lhasa with Kathmandu and promises a huge cash infusion to a country with a GDP of barely USD 12.5 billion. Plans envisage construction of temples, an airport, a highway, hotels, convention centres and a Buddhist University. Expectations are that Lumbini, which presently attracts 5,00,000 tourists annually and is just a two hours drive from India’s Gorakhpur, will become a trans-border tourist attraction spawning numerous ancillary service enterprises, generating a steady revenue stream. Xiao Wunan has said he hopes the Lumbini project brings together all three Buddhist Traditions, namely Mahayana, Tibetan Buddhism and Theravada. The proposed university will rival the one planned at Nalanda. Unstated is that these construction projects will be awarded to Chinese companies and probably PLA-affiliated sub-contractors, or engineering personnel will be employed. This implies long term Chinese presence, and going by the experience of many countries in Africa, the mushrooming of illegal Chinese settlements along Nepal’s borders with India.

This $3 billion overture to Kathmandu is, interestingly, accompanied by Beijing’s apparent decision to shed its earlier aversion to non-formal contacts with prominent Tibetans and Tibetan entities. This subtle, but significant, shift was noticed during Governor of Sichuan, Jiang Jufeng’s 3-day visit to India this April. Jiang Jufeng met privately with Dolkar Lhamo Kirti, President of the Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA) and Samten Choedon, TWA’s Vice President, at the Maurya Sheraton Hotel, Delhi. They discussed the protests in Kirti Monastery where 300 monks are in jail since March 16. Accepting their petition, Jiang Jufeng assured the matter would be examined.

This is the first time a visiting senior Chinese official privately met exiled Tibetans in India. It could be a tactic to divide the exiled Tibetan community, or an attempt by both sides to find new methods at accommodation. The latter is suggested by the Tibetan community’s failure to stage routinely organised protests during the visit of former hardline Tibet Party Secretary, Zhang Qingli, to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji this May.

(The author is a former additional secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India.)

2011-06-14T14:37:00.002+05:30

TO OUR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

By Tsoltim N Shakabpa

Every move you make

Every vow you break

We'll be watching you

Every law you pass

Every cash you mass

We'll be watching you

Every word you say

Everyone you pay

We'll be watching you

O can't you see

We're your constituency

And we hope you'll be

A worthy trustee

Try and see it our way

Time will tell you if we're right or wrong

See it only your way

And we may not follow you for long

Try and heal all our aches

So that we may become strong

Try to feel all our quakes

And you'll see for what we long

You represent us

And we always trust

You will have the skill

To fulfill our will

We will stand by you

As long as you see it our way

We'll be true to you

As long as you don't go astray

We will respect you

As long as you honor our toil, prayers and wishes

We will honor you

As long as you respect what the Dalai Lama teaches

So gather your strength and win our freedom

So that we can all enjoy our kingdom

Copyright: Tsoltim N. Shakabpa - 2011

2011-06-03T13:34:00.002+05:30

"If you don't like my ideas, sorry to have wasted your time"

(Claude Arpi Interviews Lobsang Sangay, Rediff.com, June 3, 2011)

On March 10, the Dalai Lama dropped a bombshell: he had decided to stop all political activities. In one way, it solved the problem of 'succession' as all the executive powers were now to be concentrated in the elected prime minister. A few days after the announcement, the ballot box spoke out: Dr Lobsang Sangay, born in India 43 years ago and educated first in India and then at Harvard Law School, was elected as the new Kalon Tripa (prime minster).

Many in the Tibetan community saw Sangay as a Tibetan Obama. 'Change' was the buzz word in Dharamsala, home of the Dalai Lama in Himachal Pradesh. Even the Tibetan charter (constitution) had to be amended to reflect the change: Article 1 of the charter now terms the Dalai Lama as the "human manifestation of Avaloketeshvara, the guardian and protector of the Tibetan nation," but with no political power.

Claude Arpi travelled to Dharamsala to record the newly elected prime minister's views on the election campaign, his objectives, his government's relation with China and the changes he would like to bring about in Tibetan society. Dr Lobsang Sangay candidly answered all the questions put forth to him.

Can you say a few words about yourself; your 'Indian' life and your 'American' life?

Both my parents fled Tibet in 1959 along with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. My father was a monk during the guerilla resistance; he fought some battles, then he came to India. All his family members were left behind in Lithang in Kham province. From my mother's side, all the family members managed to come to India, with the exception of one, who went back to Tibet to fight the Chinese army; he never returned. I grew up in a very small Tibetan refugee settlement between Darjeeling and Sonada in West Bengal. From there, I went to the Central Tibetan Schools of Sonada and Darjeeling. Then, I attended school at St Stephen's in Darjeeling and later went to University of Delhi where I obtained degrees in arts and law.

In 1995, I left for the United States as a Fulbright scholar (it was originally for two years, but later I got other scholarships). I pursued MA at Harvard Law School and completed my PhD in 2004. While I was in Delhi, I was elected as a Tibetan student leader, and later joined the Tibetan Youth Congress as a member of the National Central Committee (CENTREX).

When did you decide to start campaigning for the post of Kalon Tripa?

At first, I did not have plans to run for the post of Kalon Tripa. Till the fall of 2009, I did not attend any special course. I remained in Harvard Law School, with the East Asian legal studies programme, mostly working on China-related programmes.

In early 2009, the Tibetan community started talking about the election of the Kalon Tripa, even a website was created. By fall 2009, I started to take courses in leadership, communication, election campaign and so on. By spring 2010, it became serious; some national organisations began nominating me. I thought, "OK, why not give it a try". On Radio Free Asia, they had this weekly programme on democracy and the rule of law. I was often asked questions like, 'how to improve our legislative system?'

My answer was, "Candidates should go to the people, candidates should debate amongst themselves; they should share their policies and platforms, they need to be well-informed". I said this all along. When this platform for the Kalon Tripa elections was offered to me, I thought I should do what I always preached: "Go to the people and debate about policies". This was really appreciated by the people. Sometimes thousands turned out in monasteries, in schools, refugee settlements, everywhere. It was a first. I never asked for votes, I just said, these are my ideas, "If you don't like them, sorry to have wasted your time".

Do you have a vote bank or banks?
I have the vote bank of the younger generation, but also the older generation, above 60. The monks also voted for me, and often women.

There is a famous picture of you just coming out of the booth and many nuns are looking at you in a beatific way. Did they vote for you?

Yes, they voted for me.

Tibet expert Robbie Barnett wrote in Foreign Policy that it is the first time that the election of a prime minister, not recognised by any government, was reported so widely in every corner of the planet. It is the (Tibetan) people's recognition all over the world. It appeared in all the main newspapers: The New York Times, the Washington Post, Le Monde, London Times, etc. I was told that even a village newspaper in Switzerland reported about the campaign.

Was it enriching for you?

In the beginning, during the first round, the candidates visited only a few places, but for the second round (it was a two-round election), the three candidates travelled to all the settlements. It was very enriching because for the first time during a campaign, candidates had to face the people, face their tough questions. We had to face the difficult terrain, the high altitudes of Ladakh, we crossed the Brahmaputra river and went to the border of Tibet, then all the way down to the hottest settlement in Maharashtra and then down south to places in Karnataka, and also to Europe and America.

It was indeed very enriching. It was more difficult than any other campaign where you remain in your own constituency or at the most, you conduct a national campaign. Ours was a cross-continental campaign from Europe to Asia. It was a widely reported and testing campaign.

You got 55 per cent of the votes as compared to 80 per cent for Samdhong Rinpoche in the previous elections. Soon after his first election, he had told me that he would not have accepted the job if he had got only 50 or 55 per cent of the votes. He wanted to be the prime minister of ALL Tibetans. Are you the prime minister of all Tibetans?

I feel that I am the PM for the entire community in exile as well as the Tibetans in Tibet; this, for several reasons. First, I understand why Samdhong Rinpoche says that. He had a stature; he was a great scholar, speaker of the parliament (who is higher than the Kalon Tripa as per protocol). That is why he could have this expectation, but he did not have any opposing candidate.

I was competing against a former prime minister and the most seasoned Tibetan foreign minister. In a democratic election, if you receive 10 per cent more votes than any other candidates, it is considered as a landslide. I had 17 or 18 per cent more than the second candidate. The Tibetans in Tibet also voted!

How?

They went to the monasteries to pray, lit butter lamps, went to mountain tops to burn incense, they sent me kathags (ceremonial scarves) and messages, some even through Facebook. After I won, people of Kham and Amdo provinces in Tibet sung songs. One song speaks of the Three Lions (two Lions on the Tibetan flag and Sangay, 'lion' in Tibetan); another one quoted my campaign theme -- 'the Legacy of my late Father'. Indirectly, they voted for me. Most importantly, I was blessed and authorised by His Holiness, who devolved his political powers to the elected leader. I have a historical legitimacy which, combined with the democratic legitimacy (the actual votes) and the indirect vote from inside Tibet, I have all these mandates.

2011-05-31T09:29:00.000+05:30

Dalai Lama’s Historic Move

(By Vijay Kranti, The Pioneer, May 31, 2011)

By giving up his political and executive powers to elected representatives of the Tibetan ‘Government-in-Exile’, the Dalai Lama has struck a blow to China’s hopes of using a puppet as his successor to assume temporal authority over the people of Tibet. That Beijing is both nervous and frustrated is demonstrated by the statements that have followed the Dalai Lama’s twin decisions

The Dalai Lama has finally succeeded in introducing changes in the Tibetan Constitution for which he has been working for over 50 years. Last Sunday morning he appended his signature to these changes, bringing to an end a 469-year-long chapter of theocracy in world history. Now he is neither the Head of State nor the Chief Executive of the Gaden Phodrang — the Tibetan Government.

Ironically, after giving up his political and executive powers to elected representatives, the 76-year-old ‘Humble Monk’ has emerged as a far stronger match for his Communist detractors in China than he used to be until a week ago. The Tibetan ‘Government-in-Exile’ now has a much more powerful Prime Minister and Parliament to take Beijing head on.

The Communist rulers of China cannot but be frustrated and miserable to find that in one stroke this monk-statesman has knocked out their hopes of finding a ‘permanent solution’ to their Tibetan problem by installing a puppet as the successor to the Dalai Lama. That move would be meaningless now.

The Dalai Lama’s colleagues in the ‘Government-in-Exile’, who are used to taking commands from him and have been pleading with him since March 14 not to give up his temporal powers, will take their own time to understand the real impact of his decision. From Monday, May 30, onwards, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, will have only an advisory role as far as the ‘Government-in-Exile’ is concerned and much more time for international travel and meetings.

The Gaden Phodrang has been in place since 1642 when the second Dalai Lama was made the spiritual and temporal head of Tibet. Under this system the Dalai Lamas enjoyed enormous powers, collectively equivalent to those of the British Monarch, the US President, the Prime Minister of India, the Pope and the North Korean Communist President in their respective systems.

The latest reform concludes the first of the two historic tasks the Dalai Lama had set for himself in 1959 when he fled his occupied country and became its exiled ruler. His next task will be replacing the current reincarnation-based selection process for his successor as Dalai Lama to one by nomination.

As per his plans, his successor will be nominated during his own lifetime and will be an acknowledged scholar and an enlightened monk. This means that unlike the previous 14 Dalai Lamas, the 15th Dalai Lama will not be a child discovered through a traditional religious process and certified by a team of designated senior lamas as the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama.

In the amended Constitution the provision of the traditional all-mighty ‘Council of Regents’ — a group of senior monks, Ministers and bureaucrats that takes over all powers of the Dalai Lama in the event of his death — also stands abolished. This change will automatically protect the ‘Government-in-Exile’ from any possible machinations by the Chinese during the 20-year-long ‘bardo’ — the period between the death and rebirth of a person. There are instances when China interfered in Tibet’s affairs using its influence on individual members of the ‘Council of Regents’.

The real significance of these developments would be better understood from China’s reaction since the Dalai Lama announced the changes on March 10 and 14. Angry and almost abusive statements emanating from Beijing reflect the level of the Chinese leadership’s nervousness and helplessness. China has been hitting at the Dalai Lama, the ‘Government-in-Exile’ and the Prime Minister to vent its anger.

On the Dalai Lama’s plan to change the system of selecting future Dalai Lamas, Beijing used its most prominent Tibetan collaborator, Pema Choeling, Governor of Tibet Autonomous Region, to talk to the international media during the National Congress. Pema Choeling chose to give the Dalai Lama a lesson in Tibetan culture and tradition.

Advising the Dalai Lama to honour “Tibetan traditions and rituals”, he said, “We must respect the historical institutions and religious rituals of Tibetan Buddhism... Tibetan Buddhism has a history of more than 1,000 years, and the reincarnation institutions of the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama have been carried on for several hundred years... I am afraid it is not up to anyone whether to abolish the reincarnation institution or not.”

Reacting to the Dalai Lama’s decision to hand over his political and administrative powers to elected representatives, a Chinese spokesperson declared the ‘Tibetan Government-in-Exile’ an “illegal entity which was formed only to split China...” Commenting on the election process among exiled Tibetans and the prospects of Lobsang Sangay becoming the new ‘Prime Minister’, the spokesperson branded him a “terrorist” as he was an active leader of the Tibetan Youth Congress during his days in Delhi University.

These reactions reflect China’s anger and frustration over the Dalai Lama preempting and jeopardising their future plans on Tibet. Following the 1989 Tibetan uprising in Lhasa and their subsequent strategy meeting on Tibet in 1991, Beijing has been pursuing a dual policy on religion in Tibet. In addition to maintaining controls in Tibet, it has been promoting China’s “pro-Buddhism” image abroad by presenting Tibet as an international tourist destination; aggressively sponsoring and participation in international Buddhist conferences; sponsoring Buddhist events in Buddhist countries; winning over as many as possible Tibetan ‘living Buddhas’ (incarnate lamas) inside Tibet; and, making inroads among the Tibetan religious institutions set up in foreign countries.

As part of this strategy, Beijing has already undertaken an exercise to select two prominent Tibetan incarnate lamas – the Karmapa (1993) and the Panchen Lama (1995) in Tsurphu and Shigatse respectively. Although the Karmapa has since sought shelter in India, five-year-old Gedhun Choeky Nyima is till under arrest. Tibetans have refused to accept the Chinese sponsored Panchen Lama. But that has not deterred Beijing from undertaking a similar exercise to find a successor to the present Dalai Lama.

Beijing today enjoys the privilege of having two Panchen Lamas under its physical control. It is in a position to parade dozens of ‘living Buddhas’ in front of Chinese and international TV from Tibet. It can also secure the services of senior Buddhist scholars and leaders from client countries who would happily endorse any Chinese sponsored ‘reincarnation’ of the Dalai Lama whenever the necessity arises.

But by giving up his temporal powers and proposing to change the succession system, the Dalai Lama has demolished the hopes of Beijing.

(The writer is a commentator on Tibetan affairs and the author of several books on Tibet.)

2011-05-21T22:29:00.001+05:30

Asset or Liability? No Farce!

(By Kulamarva Balakrishna, Vienna, May 20, 2011)

Land of the pure Pakistan´s Prime Minister uncle Yousef Raza Gilani has returned home with a pregnant asset, a declaration by his Chine counter part that any attack on Pakistan would be considered by the truncated three in one China as an attack on Mandarin China. Does it mean China is a party to all Pakistani aggressions based on the "offensive defense" doctrine. China did say so when it sent the people´s liberation army to get involved in the division of Korean peninsula. Korean peninsula does not make a half of Pakistan by area or population.While Korea is exclusive proximate to China by geography Pakistan is more distant.North

Korea

is wedded to Mandarin Chinese ideology of Communism.

Pakistan

is an Islamic Sharia republic, where Chinese engineers and workers face dangers.In 2007 the sharia republic headed by a self chosen military president had to send troops in the Lal Mazjid, which did not mean a communist mosque, to ensure kidnapped Chinese in Pakistan are released safe. In 2008 November/December Pakistani troika rulers following their cowardly commando attacks on Bombay civilians,suggested to India settle its dispute with Pakistan at Beijing,former Peking.India did not take it seriously.So long

Pakistan

remains a member of the United Nations it has a responsibility to take its own sovereignty seriously. Its international relations are to be carried through its own missions, not through third party missions.But In the Northwest bordering Durand Line dividing Pakistan and Afghanistan there is a chunk of bad land where

Pakistan

remains occupied thus depriving it effective sovereignty. Does the Chinese declaration makes it obligatory for the mullah Mandarins to regain

Pakistan

sovereignty there? Is that to be understood now? Is that the Chinese advice to the Americans respect Pakistani sovereignty where it has disappeared? Besides, there is an unwritten understanding between Pakistan and the

United States

that the U.S.help the land of the pure re-establish sovereignty in that bad lands without setting boots on the soil.That is the basis of U.S.missile attacks from drones above. It is named "anti- terror war partnership". But Abba toba toba tobaAbad was not so far known publicly as "occupied" by terror boss. American Navy SEALS,besides,did not send missile bombs there instead set boots on ground,an infringement although against an unchallenged occupation by the declared common enemy.Mandarin China needs to explain if its declaration covers the garrison military academy town event as well. The points made by me above can not be covered by an oral declaration during a formal address on the occasion of an eternal guest, may be no more than past sixty bloody years.American commitment for defending Western Europe from aggression is not based on mere declaration. It is based on North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a binding multilateral agreement. There is no parity. That apart, let me let in my readers to a secret that the Pakistani Prime Minister requested Mandarin China, the deeper than the oceans and higher than Himalayas all eternal weather friend to open a flood gate of external aid before breaking bridge with Uncle Sam Dagobert of the United States of America. The Mandarin were not in a position to do so. Instead they just agreed to open a branch of the International Bank of

China

that can do no more than helping mutual trade promotion.The ambiguous declaration then was meant to serve as a balm.Pakistani media mughlas have smelt the balm. This then is also the secret of the success of the patch up mission of Afpak special envoy of Obama and the decision to go on the joint anti terror war.At stake for Pakistan is not only the U.S.dole out of billions of dollars but also the donations of more than a dozen countries under the banner of Friends of Democratic Pakistan,FoDP. With all the drum beating of the claim as tomorrow´s sole global super power Mandarin China has no balls to feed the left over Pakistan even though after cut to a half.Even when Pakistan was being cut, the eternal friendship was on.That was the time for test the friendship,missed by China to let down Pakistan. Take it easy, the

China

visit of uncle Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani then was no more than a farce.

2011-05-05T15:50:00.002+05:30

Bin Laden Deserves Compassion: Dalai Lama

(May 5, 2011, UPI.com)

Los Angeles: Osama bin Laden's actions merited justice but the man himself deserves compassion, the Tibetan government in exile said, clarifying a Dalai Lama statement. The Nobel Peace laureate said bin Laden's Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist actions, killing nearly 3,000 people, "must be brought to justice," but "we must have compassion and a sense of concern" for bin Laden as a human being, the government in exile said in a statement.

The clarification -- distinguishing between "the action" and "the actor" -- followed a Los Angeles Times report saying the Tibetan Leader Tuesday told a University of Southern California audience: "Forgiveness doesn't mean forget what happened. ... If something is serious and it is necessary to take counter-measures, you have to take counter-measures." The Times said the spiritual leader made the statement after saying bin Laden as a human being may have deserved compassion and even forgiveness.

The newspaper said the Dalai Lama's remarks "appeared to suggest that the United States was justified in killing Osama bin Laden." Not true, said the government in exile. The Dalai Lama, 75, suggested "the counter-measure, no matter what form it takes, has to be compassionate action," the government in exile statement said Wednesday. At the same time, he said practicing forgiveness "did not mean that one should forget what has been done," it said. Religious scholar Andrew Harvey says in his 2009 book "The Hope" the Dalai Lama made clear to him in 1989, when he won the Nobel Peace Prize, he was not a dogmatic pacifist.

"In certain very rare, extreme cases, force may be necessary," Harvey says the Dalai Lama told him in an interview in Oslo, Norway. "But the only people who could be hoped to use such force economically and with compassion would be those who had undergone a long spiritual discipline and a long training in non-violent resistance," Harvey says the Dalai Lama added.

The Dalai Lama is making his first U.S. visit since announcing in March he would step down as the Tibetan government in exile's head of state.
-----------------------------------------------------------
May 09, 2011

Dear friends,

What His Holiness the Dalai Lama wanted to convey was: "You hate a person for his deeds. Once a person gets punished for his deeds, his soul should be treated with compassion."

Osama Bin Laden was killed in a military operation just as Duryodhana and Ravanna. But both received a compassionate treatment at deathbed by Lord Krishna and Ram. Bin Laden too should have been treated with compassion. Not only him, any enemy killed in action or battle has to be treated with compassion. This is what the Americans did not do. Because this Philosophy is neither learned nor taught in the West. It is an Eastern Philosophy. The right thing would have been to hand over the body to his sons and daughters for them to complete there last rituals instead of dumping the body it in the sea which must have been expected of a civilised state.

Please note that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is now only a religious monk, and just as Buddha pardoned Angulimal, once a person realises his mistakes or receive the punishment for his deeds he must be treated with compassion.

Best regards

Rohit Singh

rohit.singh@friendsoftibet.org

2011-05-04T22:09:00.000+05:30

Let Us Practice Compassion

By Tsoltim N. Shakabpa

The practice of compassion

Doth take many forms

Mindful of how despondent

The infirm, poor and dying were

Mother Theresa gave them a loving home

Mindful of how many innocent lives

Osama Bin Laden could annihilate

Obama rid the world of Osama

Let us too practice compassion

And rid China of oligarchy

Let us practice compassion

And let the voices of freedom be heard

Let us practice compassion

And rid the world of Chinese hegemony

Let us practice compassion

And free Tibet from Chinese occupation and repression

Let us practice compassion

And deliver the Han people in Tibet back to their homeland, China

Let us practice compassion

Copyright: Tsoltim N. Shakabpa - 2011

2011-05-02T21:31:00.003+05:30

Do What Animals Do

By Tsoltim N Shakabpa

Sing like a lark

Roar like a lion

Coo like a dove

Twitter like a bird

Hiss like a snake

Scream like a pig

Chant like a falcon

Chatter like a monkey

Trumpet like an elephant

Sting like a bee

Fight like a tiger

Soar like an eagle

Strut like a peacock

Spin webs like a spider

Remember like an elephant

Pursue like an animal in heat

Endure like a multitude of ants

Unite and attack like a swarm of bees

Do what animals do

And Tibet will be ours

Copyright: Tsoltim N. Shakabpa - 2011

2011-04-28T11:51:00.002+05:30

What to Expect from the Dalai Lama's Political Successor

(April 27, 2011, Time.com)

Lobsang Sangay, a 43-year-old Indian-born legal scholar educated at Harvard, was elected prime minister of the Tibetan government in exile after claiming 55% of votes cast by the Tibetan exile diaspora. His victory comes on the heels of the Dalai Lama's announced departure from political life — a move that marks a new phase in the history of the Tibetan exiles' struggle with China. Robbie Barnett, director of the Modern Tibetan Studies Program at Columbia University and a noted expert on Tibet and the Tibetan government-in-exile, penned this note for Global Spin on what to expect from Sangay as he takes office in Dharamsala.

The new leader has never led before, either in government or any other organization, so is as an unknown in terms of skills and personality. And despite his imminent retirement from his secular role, the Dalai Lama will remain active in public life and will be the only giant in Tibetan affairs, both inside and outside Tibet.

So in practical terms, the changes that the new prime minister can bring will be relatively small and local. If he achieves even some of these, it will be a significant success, because nothing is easy if one is running a government that no-one officially recognizes, that is under constant attack from China, and which relies on symbolic standing rather than actual authority.

Sangay got into power by being young and speaking of new initiatives, by leveraging the name of his former university in America, and by making promises on the campaign trail. Even if all else fails, his insertion of youth and campaign promises into Tibetan politics is a new and valuable contribution – but now he will need to honor those commitments. That means improving living conditions for those Tibetans living in difficult straits in refugee settlements in India, and making a real difference to much-criticized educational standards in exile schools. He will also need to address the hemorrhaging of the exile community in India caused by the flood of Tibetans like himself who have moved, often illegally, to the US and other western countries. And he will have to inject new energy into the slow-moving exile bureaucracy in India, long hampered by traditional clerical practices and ingrained cautiousness. All of this will take managerial and diplomatic skills which are as yet untested.

Will he make a difference to the wider Tibetan issue? So far he has said that he will follow the Dalai Lama's policy of pursuing negotiations with China and seeking only autonomy with the Chinese state – but his support for this is, he says, only because this is "the official policy of the Tibetan Government in Exile", not because of any personal commitment. And he has already gone beyond existing policy by refusing to discount future Tibetan independence, which he says "one cannot rule out or rule in." Such tough talk will make negotiations hard (and the Chinese press has already labeled him "a terrorist" because he was a member of a pro-independence exile group two decades ago). In addition, he has never been to Tibet and, like most Tibetans brought up in exile, has not taken it on himself to learn Chinese. But talks with China are extremely hard in any case, since China remains in a hardline phase, and the exile parliament is anyway expected to ask the Dalai Lama to continue to oversee the talks process. In the final analysis, the future of the wider Tibetan issue is determined by Tibetans inside Tibet, rather than by the exiles. So even if the exiles' new prime minister lives up only to his campaign promises on domestic issues, it's likely that he'll be welcomed. And if he doesn't, his appointment still will have marked a new and robust stage in the development of exile political life.

2011-04-24T23:00:00.002+05:30

Friends of Tibet Letter to The Ombudsman of The Hindu Newspaper

April 24, 2011

To,

The Reader’s Editor,

The Hindu, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Dear Sir,

Let us not reduce the ongoing-war of words between N Ram, the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of The Hindu and the rest of the management team members to a battle within the corporate boardroom of the firm. What is going on is in fact a battle between N Ram and the readers of The Hindu.

Ever since N Ram took charge of the newspaper in 2003, organisations like Friends of Tibet and a dozen Tamil organisations in Tamil Nadu are fighting the anti-Tibet, anti-Tamil and anti-India stand of N Ram and his team of carefully selected journalists who were misusing the power in the name of courageous journalism. Friends of Tibet was forced to launch a campaign called 'Save The Hindu' (www.friendsoftibet.org/save/) to fight the N Ram regime, a campaign which enjoyed the support of majority of The Hindu journalists. At the peak of the campaign when journalists employed with the newspaper came forward to support the campaign openly, N Ram threatened Friends of Tibet with criminal and civil defamation. In the meanwhile, hundreds of Hindu readers had stopped reading and subscribing the newspaper as a matter of principle. The activists of Friends of Tibet, TSAM and Tamil organisations like May 17 Movement had organised protests in front of the Kasturi Buildings in Chennai several times. We had written to the Hindu Ombudsman regarding our concerns which were never answered. (More details about Save The Hindu campaign and a case-study, please visit: www.friendsoftibet.org/save/)

We are happy that N Ram and his left-hand in journalism Shri Siddharth Varadarajan are finally exposed by their own men - Shri N Ravi and the sacked members. Friends of Tibet thank N Ravi for his bold and courageous statement criticising the "pronounced pro-China tilt of The Hindu newspaper, blacking out or downplaying any news that is less than complimentary to the Chinese Communist regime." We thank them because no one in the past had ever shown the courage to criticise the heavyweights and the captains of paid-news culture in Indian journalism.

Saving the 127-year-old national newspaper from the wrong hands is the responsibility of each and every reader and employee of The Hindu. Act now!

Friends of Tibet

www.friendsoftibet.org

2011-04-23T23:55:00.001+05:30

The Hindu Editor Sacked For Exposing Paid News

(Tehelka Bureau, April 21, 2011)

New Delhi: The family feud of the owners of The Hindu daily has intensified further, with N Ram, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, teaming up with some directors to keep his cousin N Ravi away from the post of the next editor-in-chief. Ram has appointed Siddharth Varadarajan in Ravi's place, who till now was the strategic affairs editor of the newspaper. Varadarajan also headed the national bureau of the newspaper in Delhi.

Ram was supposed to have retired last May when he turned 65, and Ravi was to take over from him as the new editor-in-chief. But, now Ravi finds himself in the wilderness. He points out how Ram had earlier tried to remove another family member, N Murali, as the managing director of the company. Ravi also points out the Ram had thrown out another family member Malini Parthasarathy, who held the post of the executive editor, from the newspaper.

Ravi has shot out a letter to all employees of the newspaper, protesting against his removal by the board of directors in a "supposed" meeting held on Monday. Following is Ravi's letter titled "The recent happenings in The Hindu" and written on April 20:

"Even as we are entering the second, and what might turn out to be a prolonged, phase of conflict and turbulence in the institution, I write to seek your understanding.

"In a shocking display of bad faith that has left me deeply anguished, N. Ram and some of the directors at the meeting of the Board on April 18, 2011 have sought to remove me and appoint as editor Siddharth Varadarajan who joined The Hindu in 2004.

You are all aware that I have been working in a wholly professional capacity for several decades ever since I joined the newspaper as a reporter in 1972. During this period, I have been fortunate to enjoy your cooperation and help in taking the newspaper forward. After 1991 when I took over as editor, our team transformed The Hindu from a Chennai-centred daily with just one page of local news to a well recognized national newspaper with extensive local and state coverage spread over four pages, and attractive features. We started a lively engagement with the leading issues of the day with extensive coverage and diverse viewpoints. We sought to uphold editorial integrity, seeking accountability from institutions and public officials without fear or favour.

"Though the economy then was not so buoyant as during the later period, between January 1991 and June 2003, the circulation of The Hindu increased from 4,52,918 copies (July-December 1990) to 9,33,458 copies (January-June 2003) or by 4,80,540 copies or 106.1%. In the more recent period, The Hindu has been losing market share, and from being level with the Hindustan Times, it has now fallen far behind that newspaper. Findings from the most recent market survey present a depressing picture of reader perception of unappealing content and a pronounced bias towards the left.

"It is a matter of public record that N Ram, Editor-in-Chief, was to retire on May 4, 2010 on turning 65 and I was to take over as Editor-in-Chief under the arrangement agreed upon. However, in a shocking display of bad faith, Ram went on to renege on his commitment to retire and the whole process of editorial succession came to a standstill.

"During the conflict created by Ram’s breach of faith, Ram and a group of directors on the Board removed the powers and responsibilities of N. Murali, Managing Director in a vindictive move that was overturned by the Company Law Board, Chennai Bench that also came out with a severe indictment that their action was lacking in probity, good faith and fairness. Barely four months after the indictment, Ram and his group of directors have turned on me with the same lack of probity, good faith and fairness and have sought to remove me and impose a plan of editorial succession that is totally at variance with the longstanding tradition and practice in the institution and is also contrary to the directions of the Company Law Board.

"Almost a year past the agreed retirement date, his position having become untenable in the face of the Company Law Board order, Ram seems bent on taking all the editorial directors—most are in their 50s—into retirement with him with a scorched earth policy to ensure that no one in the family succeeds him. Instead of coming up with a succession plan, he and some of the other directors have come up with a plan of wholesale removal. In a sudden change of rules and under the specious plea of separating ownership from management, along with my removal as editor, Nirmala Lakshman is to be forced to 'step down' as joint editor and Malini Parthasarathy as executive editor.

"Apart from the basic unfairness of the removal, the move seeks to entrench several of the distortions that have crept into the editorial framework since 2003 when Ram was appointed Editor-in-Chief by stealth over the protests of four of us. Among the issues that I have raised with the other directors during the discussions in the Board and outside are: the unmerited coverage of certain political favourites on specific directions; excessive coverage of the activities of the left and some of its leaders; for reasons that are bound to emerge sooner rather than later, turning the newspaper into an apologist for A. Raja through the 2G scam coverage, remaining deafeningly silent on his resignation in the face of mounting evidence even when demanding the resignation of Suresh Kalmadi, Ashok Chavan and Yeddyurappa in similar circumstances; pronounced pro-China tilt, blacking out or downplaying any news that is less than complimentary to the Chinese Communist regime; and contrary to the practice in any mainline newspaper, the Editor-in-Chief indulging in an unceasing self-glorification campaign, publishing his own ribbon cutting pictures and reports of his activities and speeches with a regularity that would put corporate house journals to shame.

"The Hindu as an institution had in the past valued its editorial integrity over all else. In the recent period, editorial integrity has been severely compromised and news coverage linked directly to advertising in a way that is little different from paid news. A meaningless distinction has been sought to be made between walls and lines, and the walls between editorial and advertising are sought to be replaced by “lines” between them. Very recently, those of us who were not privy to the deal making learnt to our shock that a major interview with A. Raja in defence of the telecom licensing policy published on May 22, 2010—that was referred to by the Prime Minister in his press conference--involved a direct quid pro quo in the form of a full page, colour advertisement from the Telecom Ministry that was specially and hurriedly cleared by the Minister personally for publication on the same day in The Hindu. The contrast between such a deed and pious editorial declarations including the campaign against paid news cannot be starker. To continue with such practices, the editorial structure is sought to be changed, with the editor being made subordinate to an executive board comprising a majority of business side executives. The undermining of the primacy of the editorial function is an attack on the very soul of The Hindu. In the context of these distortions that have crept into actual practice, the high sounding code of editorial values that is sought to be publicized now would seem no more than empty rhetoric.

"This round of turbulence comes at a time when all manner of investors are looking to gain influence and control over the media, and competition is increasing with newspapers striving to attract the attention of readers through better, more contemporary and enriched content. As part of the journalistic team, all of you have contributed so much to the growth of The Hindu and are vitally interested in the task of moving forward in a highly competitive environment even while observing the highest standards of editorial integrity. I feel strongly that when a distorted picture has emerged based on selective leaks, information on the happenings cannot be restricted to the confines of the boardroom and all the journalists as stakeholders need to be taken into confidence.

"It is in this spirit that I am sharing my views with you all. I also write to you with the confidence that the unfair and untenable move will not be allowed to prevail. In the task of upholding the editorial principles that are so dear to all of us, I appeal for your support and understanding."

2011-04-21T11:41:00.000+05:30

Tibetan Encyclopedia Provides Evidence of Ancient Brain Surgery

(Lhasa, Tibet, April 20, 2011)

Brain surgery was practiced by doctors at least 2,900 years ago, a specialist on Tibetan culture and literature said Wednesday after four decades of research on the Tibetan Tripitaka, an ancient encyclopedia. "The 2,900-year-old Tibetan Tripitaka states clearly why and how brain surgery was carried out," said Karma Trinley, an associate professor from the Tibetan language and literature department of Tibet University in Lhasa, capital of Tibet.

Karma Trinley, an avid researcher and reader of classic Tibetan literature, Buddhism and calligraphy, began studying the Tripitaka in 1970. "It describes in detail how a young Indian doctor watched brain surgery being performed by a veteran surgeon," he said. The young Indian doctor, whose name was similar in pronunciation to the Tibetan name Tsogyel, was not allowed to join the surgery, but merely stood by with the patient's permission, according to the Tripitaka.

The book said that the patient was suffering from a severe headache and repeatedly knocked his head on hard objects to ease the pain. When Tsogyel saw the surgeon trying to operate on the patient's brain with a pair of tweezers, he shouted that the tweezers had to be heated first.

"Tsogyel was a well-reputed doctor and was good at all medical practice except brain surgery," said Karma Trinley. "But the surgeon followed his advice and the surgery later proved successful." He said Tsogyel's advice on sterilization helped raise the success rate of surgery at the time. Tsogyel later became a skilled surgeon himself.

The Tripitaka is the earliest collection of Buddhist writings. The information contained in the writings was originally passed down orally, and was finally written down in the third century B.C. The Tibetan Tripitaka was translated from Sanskrit language of ancient India. It contains two parts, the Tangyur and the Kangyur. The Kangyur is a collection of teachings of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, adopted by his disciples after his death. The Tangyur is a collection of notes and interpretations on the Kangyur, provided by Indian and Tibetan Buddhist masters, scholars and translators. It covers philosophy, logics, literature, linguistics, art, astronomy, medicine, architecture and calendar calculation.

"The Tibetan Tripitaka contains Sakyamuni's classifications of 440 ailments that were believed to be associated with wind, bile and phlegm, and were categorized accordingly," said Karma Trinley. He added that many of the medical theories in the book are still used by Tibetan doctors today.

Evidence of ancient brain surgery was first found in 1998, when archeologists unearthed human skulls with mended cracks on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. These cracks indicated that craniotomies were probably performed by the Chinese over 5,000 years ago. Before the Tibetan Tripitaka's description of brain surgery was discovered, researchers used to disagree on the purpose of ancient craniotomies, said Karma Trinley.

"Some believed it was a religious ritual to dispell evils or bring happiness, while others held that it was a therapy used by witches and wizards," he said.

2011-04-20T22:14:00.000+05:30

"Ancient Wisdom for the Modern World"
(Friends of Tibet: Kerala, April 13-16, 2011)

With the Guide and Visionary: The Men-Tsee-Khang sponsors and supporters from India and Europe with His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama during the 50th Anniversary of Men-Tsee-Khang in Exile on March 22, 2011. Dr Tsewang Tamdin (Director, Men-Tsee-Khang), Tsering Dorjee (General Secretary, Men-Tsee-Khang), B Ramakrishna Raju (National Alliance for People's Movements), Dr Nandita Krishna (Director, CPRA Foundation), Sethu Das (President, Friends of Tibet: India), Sanjay Shah (Swastik Enterprises), Ravi Thakur (Ibex Jispa), Jaya Maheshwari and others. (Photo: Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama)

Dharamshala and Kochi: "The contended attitude of one's achievement is the main hindrance in one's own progress," said His Holiness the Dalai Lama while lauding the achievements the Men-Tsee-Khang in exile. He was addressing a gathering a more than 400 people consisting mainly of doctors, staffs and sponsors of Men-Tsee-Khang from India and Europe during the 50th Anniversary of the institution on March 23, 2011 at Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. The Dalai Lama also asked the staffs of Men-Tsee-Khang, the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute in exile to focus on advancing in the field of research and analysis in collaboration with other medical systems and by sharing of traditional understanding and knowledge with others. Soon after the week-long celebrations, discussions, exhibitions and seminars at Dharamshala, the seat of the Tibetan Exile Government, the Tibetan doctors from different parts of the country returned to their respective camps and settlements to continue their work. Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar and Dr Tara Ngawang Lodoe once again travelled to Kerala from Himachal Pradesh where they spend four consecutive days every month treating patients mainly from the state. The seventh Tibetan medical camp was held in Kochi from April 13-16, 2011. The camp was held at the usual venue of Ashirbhavan, Ernakulam and was attended by many who had been discarded by modern medicine. The volunteers of Friends of Tibet (Kochi) were always there to receive and attend the patients and transact their ideas to the doctors and vice versa. With the increasing number of participants with every camp, one can assume that the people of Kerala have started their acquaintance with the Tibetan medicines. The last day of the medical camp was a memorable one with the presence of Dr Vandana Shiva, social and environmental activist and an advisor to the Tibetan Government-in-Exile in India in their endeavor to promote and convert the farming land given to the Tibetan farmers organic replacing modern farming methods of chemicals and fertilisers. During her informal visit, Dr Shiva shared her thoughts on various relevant topics with Friends of Tibet and Men-Tsee-Khang representatives.

Friends of Tibet Campaigners and Men-Tsee-Khang staffs with Dr Vandana Shiva, social and environmental activist during the 7th Tibetan Medical Camp at Ashirbhavan, Kochi on April 16, 2011. Founder of Navdanya, Dr Shiva is an Advisor to the Tibetan Government-in-Exile in India in their endeavor to promote and convert the farming land given to the Tibetan farmers organic replacing modern farming methods of chemicals and fertilisers. (From Left: VJ Jose, Tsering Sonam, Ngawang, Sethu Das, Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar, Dr Vandana Shiva, Dr Tara Ngawang Lodoe, Sreejith Sasi and Eldtho Mathew.)

2011-04-20T22:10:00.003+05:30

Sethu Das, Founder-President of Friends of Tibet (India) with His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama during the 50th Anniversary of Men-Tsee-Khang, Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute of the Dalai Lama on March 22, 2011. (Photo: Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama).

2011-04-19T22:57:00.000+05:30

To Accept Or Not To Accept

By Tsoltim N Shakabpa

I can accept

The dark clouds looming over my head

I can accept

The fierce winds blowing in my face

I can accept

The scorching sun blinding my eyes

I can accept

The monsoon rain soaking my body

I can accept

Nature doing its thing

But I can't accept

The Chinese decimating my people

I can't accept

The Chinese subverting my culture

I can't accept

The Chinese ruining my environment

I can't accept

The Chinese ruling my country

I can't accept

The man-made evil acts of China

2011-03-15T10:13:00.000+05:30

A People Reincarnated

(By Tenzin Tsundue, Hindustan Times, March 14, 2011)

Last Thursday, when the Dalai Lama made his 52nd State of the Occupied Nation's Speech on Tibetan National Uprising Day, it wasn't Chinese officials alone who voiced scepticism at his remarks but also Tibetans who reacted with apprehension and anxiety. The Dalai Lama has repeatedly spoken about his desire to retire from his political role. But this time he outlined his decision and is clearly determined to bring it into effect. The annual uprising ceremony on March 10 was first addressed by the Kalon Tripa, head of the government-in-exile's cabinet, Samdhong Rinpoche, who before the Dalai Lama had announced his retirement was beseeching the Tibetan leader to "not take such a step". Already the Dalai Lama's office had received hundreds of letters from individuals and organisations imploring him not to 'abdicate'.

What the Tibetans are resisting is not what most of the media are highlighting. The Dalai Lama will neither be looking for a successor nor will he cease to be visible. Also, this is not an answer to China's promise that it will install its own Dalai Lama. It is actually the decisive step to preparing the post-Dalai Lama scenario.

So most young Tibetans, I think, will be supporting the Dalai Lama in what is a visionary move to create a new leadership so as to spearhead the struggle and keep the nation united (with whatever limitations) while he is still watching over Tibetans. What this final transition of power really means in practical terms for the populace and the Tibetan government-in-exile is that the Dalai Lama will devolve all the nine key powers vested in him by the Charter for Tibetans in Exile.

Legally, the Dalai Lama appoints and can dismiss the chief justice and his two assistants, the chief election commissioner and the auditor general. Though the Kalon Tripa is directly elected by all Tibetans in exile, and his seven other ministers must receive a two-third majority vote from the parliament, His Holiness can dissolve the eight-member Kashag (cabinet) and the 43-member parliament as he did in 1990. All resolutions passed by the parliament, including the annual budget, must be sent to him for his endorsement, and without that they do not become law.

Having all these powers safely placed in the hands of the Dalai Lama is one thing. The worrying question is: who will be vested with these powers if it isn't the Dalai Lama? Which is why the officials running the Dharamsala-based government are at their wits' end debating this imminent and massive legislative amendment, thinking how to finesse such fundamental changes to the Charter. In the new mechanism the government might resort to innovative resources such as using the provisions to jointly elect (through an electoral college) a 'Silon' (a prime minister) or a 'desi' (a regent) who traditionally ran the political scenario in the interim years between previous Dalai Lamas.

On Monday, the Dalai Lama's statement to the Tibetan parliament suggested an amendment to the Charter by the setting up of a Council of Regency. More than the technical aspect of these changes that will evolve in time, the people's genuine apprehension today is of credibility, confidence, effectiveness and, most of all, the absence of the Dalai Lama's steadying hand in the government.

Democracy, when exercised among the Tibetans here in India, looks small, even petty like a ping-pong ball that's constantly being tossed between the Dalai Lama and his people. The leader, loved, trusted and worshipped — and with a mandate far higher than one provided by elections — doesn't want an elected head of State to be leading while the people he is entrusting his powers to are tossing the ball back to the Buddha. Tibetan 'Lama' democracy has been characterised by a never-ending ping-pong rally between the Dalai Lama and his reluctant people. Now, it's time for change.

The Dalai Lama announced five days ago: "Now we have clearly reached the time to put this [change] into effect." Some Tibetan MPs feel that the Dalai Lama is almost inflicting this change on them. But the Dalai Lama's political reforms of Tibetan society date right back to the days in Tibet when he was enthroned in 1950 at 15 to lead his country, then in the process of being invaded by its northern neighbour, Mao Zedong's People's Republic of China.

Who would have known that in 1959 — when the 24-year-old leader set up his first government in exile with three ministers who had escaped with him from Tibet; inaugurated the first parliament with 13 members on September 2, 1960, and then introduced the Constitution in 1963 — the complete cycle of this democratisation process over 51 years would end with the Dalai Lama forcing the community to stand on its own feet in March 2011?

The forthcoming election on March 20 for an all-powerful Kalon Tripa and a parliament-in-exile with much-enhanced authority is, therefore, a turning point as new leaders will play pivotal roles in shaping the Tibetan people's future. The government-in-exile will evolve as a new structure sustaining the leadership. Tibetan politicians — unlike Tibetan businessmen — are not risk-takers. Perhaps this is because they come from sectarian and provincial constituencies that are symbolic and create no direct link with their votebanks.

With the Dalai Lama's latest statement, change is now certain. But it will come into effect gradually.

(Tenzine Tsundue is a Tibetan writer and activist. The views expressed by the author are personal.)

2011-03-14T11:34:00.000+05:30

Message of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the Fourteenth Assembly of the Tibetan People's Deputies

March 14th 2011

To the members of the Fourteenth Assembly of the Tibetan People’s Deputies,

It is common knowledge that ancient Tibet, consisting of three provinces (Cholkha-sum) was ruled by a line of forty-two Tibetan kings beginning with Nyatri Tsenpo (127 BCE), and ending with Tri Ralpachen (838 CE). Their rule spanned almost one thousand years. During that time, Tibet was known throughout Inner Asia as a powerful nation, comparable in military power and political influence with Mongolia and China. With the development of Tibetan literature, the richness and breadth of the religion and culture of Tibet meant that its civilisation was considered second only to that of India.

Following the fragmentation of central authority in the 9th century, Tibet was governed by several rulers whose authority was limited to their respective fiefdoms. Tibetan unity weakened with the passage of time. In the early 13th century, both China and Tibet came under the control of Genghis Khan. Although Drogon Choegyal Phagpa restored the sovereignty of Tibet in the 1260s, and his rule extended across the three provinces, the frequent change of rulers under the Phagmo Drupas, Rinpungpas and Tsangpas over the next 380 years or so resulted in a failure to maintain a unified Tibet. The absence of any central authority and frequent internal conflicts caused Tibet’s political power to decline.

Since the Fifth Dalai Lama’s founding of the Ganden Phodrang Government of Tibet in 1642, successive Dalai Lamas have been both the spiritual and temporal leaders of Tibet. During the reign of the Fifth Dalai Lama, all the 13 myriarchies or administrative districts of Tibet enjoyed political stability, Buddhism flourished in Tibet and the Tibetan people enjoyed peace and freedom.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Tibet not only lacked adequate political governance, but also missed the opportunity to develop effective international relations. The Thirteenth Dalai Lama assumed temporal power in 1895, but was compelled to flee to Mongolia and China in 1904, due to the invasion of British forces, and to India in 1910, when the Manchu China invaded. Once circumstances allowed him to return to Tibet, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama re-asserted Tibetan sovereignty in 1913. As a result of what he had learned in exile, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama introduced modern education and made reforms to strengthen the government of Tibet. Although these steps produced positive results, he was unable to fulfil his overall vision, as is evident from his last political testament of 1932, the year before his death. Despite the lacklustre political leadership and short-comings of the regents and their administrations, the Ganden Phodrang Government has on the whole provided stable governance for the last four centuries.

Since I was young, I have been aware of an urgent need to modernize the Tibetan political system. At the age of sixteen, I was compelled to assume political leadership. At that time I lacked a thorough understanding of Tibet’s own political system, let alone international affairs.

However, I had a strong wish to introduce appropriate reforms in accordance with the changing times and was able to effect some fundamental changes. Unfortunately, I was unable to carry these reforms any further due to circumstances beyond my control.

Soon after our arrival in India in April 1959, we set up departments with Kalons (Ministers) in charge of education, preservation of culture and the rehabilitation and welfare of the community. Similarly, in 1960, aware of the importance of democratization, the first Commission of Tibetan People's Deputies was elected and in 1963 we promulgated the Draft Constitution for a Future Tibet.

No system of governance can ensure stability and progress if it depends solely on one person without the support and participation of the people in the political process. One man rule is both anachronistic and undesirable. We have made great efforts to strengthen our democratic institutions to serve the long-term interests of the six million Tibetans, not out of a wish to copy others, but because democracy is the most representative system of governance. In 1990, a committee was formed to draft the Charter for Tibetans-in-Exile and a year later the total strength of the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies (ATPD), the Tibetans in exile’s highest law-making body, was increased. In 1991, the Eleventh ATPD formally adopted the Charter for Tibetans-in-Exile and assumed all legislative authority. Given the limitations of our life in exile these are achievements of which we can be proud.

In 2001, the Tibetan people elected the Kalon Tripa, the political leader, directly for the first time. Since then, I have been in semi-retirement, no longer involving myself in the day-to-day administration, but able to dedicate more time to general human welfare.

The essence of a democratic system is, in short, the assumption of political responsibility by elected leaders for the popular good. In order for our process of democratization to be complete, the time has come for me to devolve my formal authority to such an elected leadership. The general lack of experience and political maturity in our democratic institutions has prevented us from doing this earlier.

Given that the line of Dalai Lamas has provided political leadership for nearly four centuries, it might be difficult for Tibetans generally and especially those in Tibet to envisage and accept a political system that is not led by the Dalai Lama. Therefore, over the past 50 years I have tried in various ways to raise people’s political awareness and encourage their participation in our democratic process.

In my 10th March statement of 1969, for instance, I stated, “When the day comes for Tibet to be governed by its own people, it will be for the people to decide as to what form of government they will have. The system of governance by the line of the Dalai Lamas may or may not be there. In particular, the opinion of the forward-looking younger generation will be an influential factor.”

Similarly, in my 10th March statement of 1988, I stated, “As I have said many times, even the continuation of the institution of the Dalai Lama is for the people to decide.” Since the 1980s, I have repeatedly advised the Kashag, ATPD and the public that Tibetans should take full responsibility for the administration and welfare of the people as if the Dalai Lama were not there.

I informed the Chairman of the Thirteenth ATPD and the then Chief Justice Commissioner that I should be relieved of functions related to my political and administrative status, including such ceremonial responsibilities as the signing of bills adopted by the legislative body. However, my proposal was not even considered. On 31st August 2010, during the First Tibetan General Meeting (organized by ATPD), I explained this again in detail. Now, a decision on this important matter should be delayed no longer. All the necessary amendments to the Charter and other related regulations should be made during this session so that I am completely relieved of formal authority.

I want to acknowledge here that many of my fellow Tibetans, inside and outside Tibet, have earnestly requested me to continue to give political leadership at this critical time. My intention to devolve political authority derives neither from a wish to shirk responsibility nor because I am disheartened. On the contrary, I wish to devolve authority solely for the benefit of the Tibetan people in the long run. It is extremely important that we ensure the continuity of our exile Tibetan administration and our struggle until the issue of Tibet has been successfully resolved.

If we have to remain in exile for several more decades, a time will inevitably come when I will no longer be able to provide leadership. Therefore, it is necessary that we establish a sound system of governance while I remain able and healthy, in order that the exile Tibetan administration can become self-reliant rather than being dependent on the Dalai Lama. If we are able to implement such a system from this time onwards, I will still be able to help resolve problems if called upon to do so. But, if the implementation of such a system is delayed and a day comes when my leadership is suddenly unavailable, the consequent uncertainty might present an overwhelming challenge. Therefore, it is the duty of all Tibetans to make every effort to prevent such an eventuality.

As one among the six million Tibetans, bearing in mind that the Dalai Lamas have a special historic and karmic relationship with the Tibetan people, and as long as Tibetans place their trust and faith in me, I will continue to serve the cause of Tibet.

Although Article 31 of the Charter spells out provisions for a Council of Regency, it was formulated merely as an interim measure based on past traditions. It does not include provisions for instituting a system of political leadership without the Dalai Lama. Therefore, amendments to the Charter on this occasion must conform to the framework of a democratic system in which the political leadership is elected by the people for a specific term. Thus, all the necessary steps must be taken, including the appointment of separate committees, to amend the relevant Articles of the Charter and other regulations, in order that a decision can be reached and implemented during this very session.

As a result, some of my political promulgations such as the Draft Constitution for a Future Tibet (1963) and Guidelines for Future Tibet's Polity (1992) will become ineffective. The title of the present institution of the Ganden Phodrang headed by the Dalai Lama should also be changed accordingly.

With my prayers for the successful proceedings of the house.

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

11th March 2011

Note: Translated from the Tibetan original, which should be considered final and authoritative.

2011-03-14T11:20:00.003+05:30

The news item "Dalai Lama's Quitting Poses New Challenges" carried by The Brunei Times/Asia News Network guides the Tibetan voters in exile by carefully identifying the "Pro-US and Pro-EU Kalon Tripa" candidates. Wonderful Journalism!

"Elections will soon be held to pick a new 'prime minister' who will be the likely new face of Tibetan exile politics since the Dalai Lama has chosen to stick to his religious duties alone. Of the three men in the fray, the top two candidates are said to be pro-US. The front runner, Dr Lobsang Sangay, is a visiting professor at Harvard University, where he earned his doctorate. The other two men are Lobsang Namgyel, from an aristocratic Tibetan family and who is also pro-US, and Tashi Wangdi, a veteran who ran the Dalai Lama's Bureau for several years and who is seen as having pro-European views."

2011-03-13T22:00:00.000+05:30

The Future Is Here & The Leader Has Seen It

(By Tenzin Tsundue, Sunday Times of India, March 13, 2011)

Once, in the 1970s, when the Tibetan exile government in Dharamsala had only one telephone, a secretary called the Dalai Lama’s office which was two kilometers uphill on the ridge of McLeod Ganj. The secretary called the Dalai Lama’s PA, Lama Tara la. The voice on the other end said the PA was not in his office and asked if he could take a message. On enquiring who was on the line the voice said “Tenzin Gyatso”. No one of that name worked in that office. So the secretary asked “Tenzin Gyatso who?’’ It was then that the secretary’s tubelight blinked. He was talking to the Dalai Lama himself. He immediately hung up. Tibetans love making jokes about government officials. Over the years people spiced up the story by saying the secretary knelt down and offered three prostrations to the telephone.

When we meet Chinese activists and intellectuals, our debates are contradictory on almost all historical narratives. But about the origins of the Dalai Lama there are no two stories. In 1578, the grandson of Genghis Khan, Altan Khan, invited Tibet’s spiritual leader, the incarnate lama Sonam Gyatso, to Mongolia and gave him the title ‘Talé Lama’ meaning ‘Ocean of Wisdom’ – now anglicized as ‘Dalai Lama’. His two predecessors were posthumously named the First and Second ‘Talé Lamas’. The Fourth, Yonten Gyatso, was a Mongolian. And Altan Khan’s son, Gushri Khan, using his sweeping military might, helped the Great Fifth Lobsang Gyatso and installed him as the ruler over all Tibet. Since then the Dalai Lamas have been our spiritual and political leaders.

But the relationship between the Tibetan populace and the Dalai Lama is older than this 400-year history. From our parents and grandparents we learn early in childhood that our guru is the incarnation of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of love and compassion, and that he had even earlier in history come to serve the Tibetan people. In the almost 200 years of Tibetan empire building, from the seventh to the ninth centuries – as Buddhism arrived from India – the Tibetans were the most brutal warriors, plundering China, invading Mongolia, expanding their empire into the land of the Pathans in the west and India to the south. In the seventh century Avalokitesvara is believed to have manifested as the 33rd emperor of Tibet, Songtsen Gampo, who first helped Buddhism flourish in the Land of Snow.

But the relationship between the Tibetan people and the bodhisattva of compassion goes back to the very origins of the Tibetan race. We believe that we come from the coupling of the Avalokitesvara monkey avatar and the ogress, the avatar of the female deity Tara. This makes all Tibetans the children of the Dalai Lama.

The Tibetans may not have had a strong standing army, nor learned to exploit their rich resources to make bombs, but they have someone they are rightly proud of – the ‘Wish-fulfilling Gem’, Chintamani, the Yeshin Norbu as His Holiness is known in Tibetan. Tibetans working close to him address him as ‘Kundun’’, the holy presence, while His Holiness signs his name simply Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso.

Of all of his 14 lives, this Dalai Lama has been the most relevant to Tibetans personally, touching every life. The suffering Tibetan people under Chinese occupation – as more than a million, one sixth of its population died from starvation and torture – found unity under his leadership. As the head of the numerically dominant Gelukpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama has won the hearts of believers of all other sects by his non-sectarian practice and lineage teachings. History will hold him to be the most iconic Dalai Lama ever, although he’s spent most of his life in exile, even calling himself son of India.

Today, instead of preparing for his next incarnation, the Dalai Lama is investing his faith in something more modern and sustaining – Democracy. This has been his long-standing vision: To create a system and culture of accountability within the Tibetan community. Instead of begging His Holiness to lead us on, we must come forward and take up the challenge he is handing over to us, his children.

2011-03-11T12:37:00.000+05:30

The Dalai Lama Will Always Be ‘Honoured Guest’: India

(PTI, March 10, 2011)

India on Thursday indicated that there will be no change in the hospitality extended to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama even after his stepping down from the present formal position as he was an 'honoured guest' of the country. "His holiness the Dalai Lama is an honoured guest in India. And he is a spiritual and religious leader," ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson said when asked if India will have any problem if the Tibetan leader continues staying in the country even after his retirement. Earlier, the 76-year-old Nobel Peace Laureate, who has been at the forefront of a six-decade-long struggle for freedom of Tibetans, announced he would step down as political head of Tibetan government-in-exile but will remain the spiritual leader and continue to advocate 'meaningful autonomy' for Tibet.

2011-03-10T12:09:00.002+05:30

Statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the 52nd Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day

Today marks the 52nd anniversary of the Tibetan people’s peaceful uprising of 1959 against Communist China’s repression in the Tibetan capital Lhasa, and the third anniversary of the non-violent demonstrations that took place across Tibet in 2008. On this occasion, I would like to pay tribute to and pray for those brave men and women who sacrificed their lives for the just cause of Tibet. I express my solidarity with those who continue to suffer repression and pray for the well-being of all sentient beings.

For more than sixty years, Tibetans, despite being deprived of freedom and living in fear and insecurity, have been able to maintain their unique Tibetan identity and cultural values. More consequentially, successive new generations, who have no experience of free Tibet, have courageously taken responsibility in advancing the cause of Tibet. This is admirable, for they exemplify the strength of Tibetan resilience. This Earth belongs to humanity and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) belongs to its 1.3 billion citizens, who have the right to know the truth about the state of affairs in their country and the world at large. If citizens are fully informed, they have the ability to distinguish right from wrong. Censorship and the restriction of information violate basic human decency. For instance, China’s leaders consider the communist ideology and its policies to be correct. If this were so, these policies should be made public with confidence and open to scrutiny.

China, with the world’s largest population, is an emerging world power and I admire the economic development it has made. It also has huge potential to contribute to human progress and world peace. But to do that, China must earn the international community’s respect and trust. In order to earn such respect China’s leaders must develop greater transparency, their actions corresponding to their words. To ensure this, freedom of expression and freedom of the press are essential. Similarly, transparency in governance can help check corruption. In recent years, China has seen an increasing number of intellectuals calling for political reform and greater openness. Premier Wen Jiabao has also expressed support for these concerns. These are significant indications and I welcome them.

The PRC is a country comprising many nationalities, enriched by a diversity of languages and cultures. Protection of the language and culture of each nationality is a policy of the PRC, which is clearly spelt out in its constitution. Tibetan is the only language to preserve the entire range of the Buddha’s teachings, including the texts on logic and theories of knowledge (epistemology), which we inherited from India’s Nalanda University. This is a system of knowledge governed by reason and logic that has the potential to contribute to the peace and happiness of all beings. Therefore, the policy of undermining such a culture, instead of protecting and developing it, will in the long run amount to the destruction of humanity’s common heritage.

The Chinese government frequently states that stability and development in Tibet is the foundation for its long-term well-being. However, the authorities still station large numbers of troops all across Tibet, increasing restrictions on the Tibetan people. Tibetans live in constant fear and anxiety. More recently, many Tibetan intellectuals, public figures and environmentalists have been punished for articulating the Tibetan people’s basic aspirations. They have been imprisoned allegedly for “subverting state power” when actually they have been giving voice to the Tibetan identity and cultural heritage. Such repressive measures undermine unity and stability. Likewise, in China, lawyers defending people’s rights, independent writers and human rights activists have been arrested. I strongly urge the Chinese leaders to review these developments and release these prisoners of conscience forthwith.

The Chinese government claims there is no problem in Tibet other than the personal privileges and status of the Dalai Lama. The reality is that the ongoing oppression of the Tibetan people has provoked widespread, deep resentment against current official policies. People from all walks of life frequently express their discontentment. That there is a problem in Tibet is reflected in the Chinese authorities’ failure to trust Tibetans or win their loyalty. Instead, the Tibetan people live under constant suspicion and surveillance. Chinese and foreign visitors to Tibet corroborate this grim reality.

Therefore, just as we were able to send fact-finding delegations to Tibet in the late 1970s and early 1980s from among Tibetans in exile, we propose similar visits again. At the same time we would encourage the sending of representatives of independent international bodies, including parliamentarians. If they were to find that Tibetans in Tibet are happy, we would readily accept it.

The spirit of realism that prevailed under Mao’s leadership in the early 1950s led China to sign the 17-point agreement with Tibet. A similar spirit of realism prevailed once more during Hu Yaobang’s time in the early 1980s. If there had been a continuation of such realism the Tibetan issue, as well as several other problems, could easily have been solved. Unfortunately, conservative views derailed these policies. The result is that after more than six decades, the problem has become more intractable.

The Tibetan Plateau is the source of the major rivers of Asia. Because it has the largest concentration of glaciers apart from the two Poles, it is considered to be the Third Pole. Environmental degradation in Tibet will have a detrimental impact on large parts of Asia, particularly on China and the Indian subcontinent. Both the central and local governments, as well as the Chinese public, should realise the degradation of the Tibetan environment and develop sustainable measures to safeguard it. I appeal to China to take into account the survival of people affected by what happens environmentally on the Tibetan Plateau.

In our efforts to solve the issue of Tibet, we have consistently pursued the mutually beneficial Middle-Way Approach, which seeks genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people within the PRC. In our talks with officials of the Chinese government’s United Front Work Department we have clearly explained in detail the Tibetan people’s hopes and aspirations. The lack of any positive response to our reasonable proposals makes us wonder whether these were fully and accurately conveyed to the higher authorities.

Since ancient times, Tibetan and Chinese peoples have lived as neighbours. It would be a mistake if our unresolved differences were to affect this age-old friendship. Special efforts are being made to promote good relations between Tibetans and Chinese living abroad and I am happy that this has contributed to better understanding and friendship between us. Tibetans inside Tibet should also cultivate good relations with our Chinese brothers and sisters.

In recent weeks we have witnessed remarkable non-violent struggles for freedom and democracy in various parts of North Africa and elsewhere. I am a firm believer in non-violence and people-power and these events have shown once again that determined non-violent action can indeed bring about positive change. We must all hope that these inspiring changes lead to genuine freedom, happiness and prosperity for the peoples in these countries.

One of the aspirations I have cherished since childhood is the reform of Tibet’s political and social structure, and in the few years when I held effective power in Tibet, I managed to make some fundamental changes. Although I was unable to take this further in Tibet, I have made every effort to do so since we came into exile. Today, within the framework of the Charter for Tibetans in Exile, the Kalon Tripa, the political leadership, and the people’s representatives are directly elected by the people. We have been able to implement democracy in exile that is in keeping with the standards of an open society.

As early as the 1960s, I have repeatedly stressed that Tibetans need a leader, elected freely by the Tibetan people, to whom I can devolve power. Now, we have clearly reached the time to put this into effect. During the forthcoming eleventh session of the fourteenth Tibetan Parliament in Exile, which begins on 14th March, I will formally propose that the necessary amendments be made to the Charter for Tibetans in Exile, reflecting my decision to devolve my formal authority to the elected leader. Since I made my intention clear I have received repeated and earnest requests both from within Tibet and outside, to continue to provide political leadership. My desire to devolve authority has nothing to do with a wish to shirk responsibility. It is to benefit Tibetans in the long run. It is not because I feel disheartened. Tibetans have placed such faith and trust in me that as one among them. I am committed to playing my part in the just cause of Tibet. I trust that gradually people will come to understand my intention, will support my decision and accordingly let it take effect.

I would like to take this opportunity to remember the kindness of the leaders of various nations that cherish justice, members of parliaments, intellectuals and Tibet Support Groups, who have been steadfast in their support for the Tibetan people. In particular, we will always remember the kindness and consistent support of the people and Government of India and State Governments for generously helping Tibetans preserve and promote their religion and culture and ensuring the welfare of Tibetans in exile. To all of them I offer my heartfelt gratitude.

With my prayers for the welfare and happiness of all sentient beings.

The Dalai Lama

10 March 2011

2011-03-09T22:23:00.000+05:30

China to Dalai Lama: You Must Reincarnate

To preserve power, communist party forbids Tibetan leader from choosing spiritual successor

Patrick WinnMarch 8, 2011

Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, gestures as he speaks during a students gathering at the Mumbai University in Mumbai on February 18, 2011. The Dalai Lama on February 18 said that recent popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia sat firmly in the tradition of non-violent protest espoused by the likes of India's independence icon, Mahatma Gandhi (Punit Paranjpe)

History dictates that when the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism dies, his successor is reborn as a child. The highest monks then begin a multi-year search for the reincarnated Dalai Lama so they can unveil their new leader.

And that's how it better go down when the current 76-year-old Dalai Lama dies, senior Chinese communist party officials say.

As Reuters reports, Tibet's governor insists the current Dalai Lama follow tradition and reincarnate. The party is clearly uneasy with the Dalai Lama's suggestion that he might select the next leader himself or even put it to a vote. He's previously said the next Dalai Lama could also be female.

Why would the communist party care? Because they've controlled Tibet since a 1950 invasion. They abhor the influence of the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile as an icon of Tibetan independence.

China reserves the right to approve all high monks within the faith. That's why the second-highest ranking monk is disputed. There's a Chinese appointment, who is not acknowledged by most followers and lives in protective custody, and a person chosen by the current Dalai Lama.

Selection of the next Dalai Lama will likely suffer the same confusion. It's quite likely world governments will be forced to choose which Lama they acknowledge: China's selection or the senior monk's proclaimed Lama.

When the current Dalai Lama came along, China was not yet the world power it has become. His sympathy within the Western world's halls of power was well entrenched by the 1970s -several decades before China's big boom.

In the future, it will be interesting to see whether international heads of state, including the U.S. president, are willing to risk insulting China by backing a Dalai Lama the communist party hasn't approved.

2011-03-06T18:31:00.002+05:30

My dear Tibet supporters and fellow Tibetans,
The Tibetan new LOSAR 2138 cracked open yestrday. I hear that the Chinese government has sent home all non-residents of Lhasa out of the capital area just before the new year. Traditionally Losar is celebrated for five days, or atleast the first three days, where, on the third day the community come together to raise the flag poles and string the colourful prayer flags on to the trees and on the mountains. Strangely all government staff in 'TAR' region have been ordered to report to work on the third day of the new year.
Usually gifts are shared with friends on the asupicious ocassion. I am sharing with you all a poem I composed yesterday. My losar gift to all.
-tenzin tsundue
dharamsala

SOMEWHERE I LOST MY LOSAR

by Tenzin Tsundue

Somewhere along the path, I

lost it, don't know where or when.

It wasn't a one-fine-day incident.

As I grew up it just got left behind,

very slowly, and I didn't go back for it.

It was there when as a kid I used to wait

for the annual momo dinner,

when we lined up for gifts that came

wrapped in newspapers in our

refugee school, it was there when

we all gained a year together, before

birthdays were cakes and candles.

Somewhere along the path, I

lost it, don’t know where or when.

When new clothes started to feel

stiff and firecrackers frightening, when

our jailed heroes ate in pig sties there,

or were dead, heads smashed

against the wall as we danced

to Bollywood numbers here,

when the boarding school and uniforms

took care of our daily needs, when

family meant just good friends,

sometime when Losar started to mean

a new year, few sacred routines,

somehow, I lost my Losar.

Somewhere along the path, I

lost it, don’t know where or when.

Colleged in seaside city, when it was

still Bombay, sister’s family on pilgrimage,

uncle in Varanasi, mother grazing cows

in South India, still need to report

to Dharamsala police, couldn’t get train tickets,

too risky to try waiting list, and it’s

three days, including return journey

it’s one week. Even if I go,

other siblings may not find the time. Adjusting

timings, it’s been 20 years without a Losar.

Somewhere along the path, I

lost it, don’t know where or when.

Losar is when we the juveniles and bastards

call home, across the Himalayas and cry

into the wire. Losar is some plastic flowers

and a momo party. And then in 2008

when our people rode horses, shouting ‘Freedom’

against rattling machine guns, when they

died like flies in the Olympics’ spectacle,

we shaved our heads bald and threatened

to die by fasting, but failed. I

couldn’t die, it’s forbidden by law.

Somewhere along the path, I

lost it, don’t know where or when.

Somewhere, I lost my Losar.

2011-02-25T11:24:00.000+05:30

One-family, One-dog Law in Shanghai

(TNN, February 25, 2011)

Shanghai: Shanghai has adopted a one-dog policy, passing a law limiting homes to one canine each as it tries to curb the growing popularity of man's best friend in China's leading metropolis. The law takes effect May 15, the official China Daily reported Thursday. Under the law, dog owners must also give their pets' puppies to eligible no-dog households or to government-approved adoption agencies before the pups reach three months, the report said. Anyone currently owning two or more licenced dogs will be allowed to keep them, it added dog ownership has grown alongside China's fast-expanding middle class.

2011-02-16T12:51:00.000+05:30

JIGME NORBU

By Tsoltim N. Shakabpa

Jigme Norbu

He sure did do

What he could do

To stage a coup

'Gainst China's Hu

He walked and walked

For Tibet talked

And never balked

Though he was mocked

And often stalked

He's a hero

Without ego

Like in Cairo

He dealt a blow

To Hu, our foe

Though he is gone

We must go on

Now we must spawn

And carry on

Till freedom dawn

2011-02-15T11:55:00.000+05:30

State To Take Over 73 Tibetan Properties

(By Lalit Mohan, Tribune News Service, February 14, 2011)

Benami properties of the Tibetan government-in-exile will later be leased out in the name of the Dalai Lama Trust

Dharamshala: The Kangra district administration has expedited the process of vesting the 73 benami properties declared by the Tibetan-government in-exile in the name of the state government. Under the process, the Kagyu sect monastery that is home of 17th Karmapa, Ugyen Trinley Dorjee, since he fled from China would also be vested in the name of the government. After the property is vested in the name of the Himachal government, the Tibetan government-in-exile would have to move an application to get property on lease as per the policy of the former Virbhadra Singh government.

The Tibetan-government in-exile had moves a case for the regularisation of its 73 benami properties in and around Dharamsala under the policy brought by the Himachal government in 2005. As per the policy the declared benami properties of would be initially vested in the name of Himachal government and then be allotted to The Dalai Lama Trust after 10 per cent of the market value of the land is deposited with the government. The counsels of Tibetan government-in-exile informed The Tribune that they have been pressing on the authorities concerned that declared benami properties should be transferred in the name of The Dalai Lama Trust as per the policy adopted by Himachal government in 2005. The Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, RS Gupta, when contacted, however, said that declared benami properties of Tibetans had not yet been vested in the government. The process for transferring these properties on a long-term lease can only be started after these properties are vested in the name of Himachal government.

Point of contention: The district administration is of the view that the Tibetans should deposit 10 per cent of the present market value to get the properties regularised. The present market value of land in Mcleodganj ranges between Rs 2 crore to Rs 25 crore per kanal. By these standards, the Tibetan government-in-exile would have to shell out crores of Rupees to get the possession of land regularised by way of lease. The Tibetan government-in-exile, however, is insisting that government should charge the market value of 2005, the year in which the policy to regularise the properties was brought, for regularisation.

Possible solution: The population of Tibetans refugees in Himachal has been increasing ever since they first came here in 1960. The increase in number of refugees is attributed to both natural growth of their population and further influx of Tibetans. In the year 2010 only 3500 new Tibetans have been registered with the foreigners’ registration office at Dharamsala.

While the government cannot do anything regarding the natural growth of Tibetans, it should check the further influx of refugees. Giving refugee status to Tibetans fleeing from Tibet cannot be an unending process. The government should consider a ban on granting refugee status to new migrants from Tibet who mostly enter the country via Nepal. The Centre should come out with a plan to establish new settlements elsewhere in the country to reduce the growing pressure on Himachal Pradesh accommodate their increasing population.

2011-02-09T23:30:00.000+05:30

Sceptre and Altar: The Karmapa Case

(By Brahma Chellany, January 2, 2010, Live Mint)

The intrigue surrounding one of Tibetan Buddhism’s highest figures has compelling political implications

The police seizure of large sums of Chinese currency from the Indian monastery of the China-anointed but now India-based Karmapa Lama—one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism—has revived old suspicions about his continuing links with China, and forced him to deny that he is an “agent of Beijing”.

The Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama and the Karmapa Lama are the three highest figures in Tibetan Buddhism, representing parallel institutions that have intermittently been at odds with each other. China, seeking to tighten its grip on Tibet, has worked to control the traditional process of finding the reincarnation of any senior lama who passes away.

In 1992, Beijing helped select and install the seven-year-old Ogyen Trinley Dorje as the 17th Karmapa Lama. He became the first reincarnated “living Buddha” recognized and ratified by Communist China. But in 1999, Dorje made a stunning escape to India through Nepal. This attracted the world’s attention, but the apparent ease with which he and his entourage managed to flee also caused deep suspicion.

Earlier, in 1995, China had installed its own marionette as the Panchen Lama after its security agencies abducted the Tibetans’ six-year-old appointee. The official Panchen Lama simply disappeared. Now Beijing is waiting for the current Dalai Lama—who is over 75 and has had bouts of ill health—to pass away so that it can anoint his successor. The Dalai Lama, however, wants his successor to come from the “free world”. This has set the stage for the emergence of two rival Dalai Lamas—one chosen by Beijing, and the other by the Tibetan exile movement.

In fact, there are already two rival Karmapa Lamas—the Chinese-appointed one lives in the Dalai Lama’s shadow in Dharamsala, while the other has set up shop in New Delhi. The Indian government has sought to maintain peace by barring both contenders from the sacred Rumtek monastery in Sikkim.

In that light, the discovery of 1.1 million yuan and large sums of other foreign currency has ignited a fresh controversy over Dorje. While his supporters have staged protests against the police raid and questioning of their leader, Indian officials have expressed apprehension that China may be funding Dorje as part of a plan to influence the Karmapa’s Kagyu sect, which controls important monasteries along the Indo-Tibetan border.

Himalayan communities have historically been closely integrated. But with Tibet locked behind an iron curtain since the 1951 Chinese annexation, local Himalayan economies and cultures have weakened. Tibetan Buddhism, however, still serves as the common link, with the Karmapa’s Kagyu sect a powerful influence on the Indian side.

The cash haul has reopened a question that arose in 1999: Was Dorje’s flight to India stage-managed by Beijing, or was he a genuine defector who simply got fed up with living in a gilded Chinese cage?

China had several possible incentives to stage his “escape”. One reason could have been to strengthen his claim to the title at a time when the rival contender (backed by important interests in India, Bhutan and Taiwan) appeared to be gaining ground. A more potent reason was the fact that the Kagyu school’s holiest institution is the old Rumtek monastery, where the sect’s all-powerful “black hat” is located. The hat, believed to have been woven from the hairs of female deities, is the symbolic crown of the Karmapa. Had Dorje remained in Tibet, he could have lost out to his rival.

Beijing would also have drawn comfort from the fact that in the murky intra-Tibetan politics, its Karmapa, oddly, had the Dalai Lama’s backing. The latter belongs to the contending Gelug school and, according to Tibetan tradition, has no role in selecting or endorsing a Karmapa. Yet, driven by political calculations, the Dalai Lama gave his approval. Historically, the Dalai Lamas and Karmapa Lamas had vied with each other for influence until the Gelug school gained ascendancy over the Kagyu order.

The last Karmapa died in 1981, and the raging controversy over the successor also epitomizes a struggle for control of the $1.5 billion assets of the Kagyu order, the richest in Tibetan Buddhism. Indian security agencies were supposed to have kept Dorje under close surveillance, yet today they suspect him of receiving funds illicitly from China.

Unlike its increasingly vituperative attacks on the Dalai Lama, China, tellingly, has not denounced (or derecognized) its Karmapa, although his flight to India signalled its failure to retain the loyalty of a supposed puppet. The Mandarin-speaking Dorje has occasionally criticized the Chinese government —he accused it of wanting “to create this ethnic conflict” in Tibet. But Beijing has refrained from attacking him, making clear it wants him to eventually return. The cash haul, of course, has been greeted by the rival Karmapa as “exposing” his challenger. Control of the Rumtek monastery is now embroiled in rival lawsuits.

The Karmapa-centred puzzle, the shadowy politics and the intrigue are just a forerunner of what India can expect when two duelling Dalai Lamas emerge after the present incumbent passes from the scene. The Dalai Lama is India’s greatest asset vis-à-vis China. And India must have a plan to positively influence the succession to the post, rather than merely be at the receiving end as in the Karmapa affair.

2011-01-29T22:38:00.000+05:30

Karmapa: Fin Ministry seeks report from HP Govt

(CNN-IBN, January 29, 2011)

New Delhi: On the controversy surrounding the Karmapa Lama, the Finance Ministry has asked for a report from the Himachal Pradesh government. While the Karmapa was questioned by a three member team of Himachal police, his treasurer Shakti Lama has been sent to police custody till February 5. His secretary's house which was sealed was searched by the police on Saturday. Currency worth Rs 6 crore has been seized out of which Rs 1.14 lakh is in Chinese Yuan. The wads are in serial number leading the police to suspect that it was for a specific purpose.

Meanwhile, teams are in Delhi and elsewhere to look for source of money. Police suspect money used for buying land to set up trusts, monasteries, schools especially in Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. The Himachal police had recovered Ra 1.6 crore during a raid at Karmapa' office in Dharamsala on Thursday. One person was arrested from Karmapa's office. The Karmapa Lama may be questioned over suspected links to China, especially in connection with monasteries along the border.

The speaker for the Tibetan parliament-in-exile has denied all charges and said Karmapa is clean and that he has nothing to do with financial dealings. Karmapa speaks only Chinese and is being aided by a translator in his conversation. Sources say 1.14 lakh Chinese Yuan is in serial number. Such a large consignment can only be meant for particular purpose.

2011-01-29T20:56:00.002+05:30

THE DALAI LAMA

By Tsoltim N. Shakabpa

He is not God

Nor a hot rod

He is a spirit

Destined to circuit

This troubled earth

To make it worth

A heavenly bliss

And evil dismiss

To deliver mankind

From samsara entwined

Bestowed upon us by our karma

He is the indomitable Dalai Lama

2011-01-28T11:39:00.000+05:30

Police Raids in Karmapa Monasteries; Currency Worth Crores Seized

(Hindustan Times, January 27, 2011)

Cracking down on black money, Police on Thursday arrested a close aide of 17th Karmapa Ugyen Trinley Dorje from a Tibetan monastery close to Dharamsala recovering huge amount of foreign and Indian currency stacked in his private room. After it received vital information on the black money being used for transaction of benami land deals, the police raided Gyoto Tantric Monastery at Sidhbari village - the transit home of Ugyen Trinley Dorje- who heads powerful Kagyu Karma sect of the Tibetan Buddhism. Police extended its raids to the monastery after it had arrested two persons, Ashotosh and Sanjay in Una on Wednesday and recovered one crore rupees from their possession.

In a joint operation launched by police teams from Una and Dharamsala, police raided the private residence of Rabgay Chojan- an accountant at the Gyoto Tantric monastery, responsible for maintaining accounts of foreign donations offered to Ugyen Trinley Dorje. During raids the police party recovered bundles of United States Dollars, Euro, Chinese yuan and Indian Rupee amounting to four crore rupees.

Apart from this stacks of t Australian dollars have also been recovered at monastery. “ Right now we cannot disclose that how much money had been stored inside room in the monastery” said Kangra SSP Daljeet Singh Thakur when reached over telephone, while he declined to share more details saying that the raids were still continuing. Following the inputs, Rabjay was arrested in the wee morning hours and taken to Una for registration since a case has been registered against him at town’s police station. The police was not sure whether the foreign currency recovered was part of donations offered to Karmapa by his devotees. Sleuths also recovered some significant document revealing about certain benami land transactions.

Ugyen Trinley Dorje who made a dramatic escape to India from Tsurphu in Tibet, a decade ago was inside his residence when the police was raiding the monastery. Karmapa also known as the Black hat Lama is also seen as the future leader of Tibetans after Tibet’s exile leader Dalai Lama.

2011-01-27T11:05:00.000+05:30

"The Healing Touch From Tibet"

(By Aprajita Sarcar, January 25, 2011)

Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar, Dr Tara Ngawang Lodoe, Tsering Dikyi and Tsering Dolma of Men-Tsee-Khang were given a reception at the Nagarjuna Ayurvedic Centre at Okkal, Kalady, Kerala on January 22, 2011. Ajayaraj Palasseri (Director), Dr V Madhavachandran (Manager, R&D), Dr K Krishnan Namboodiri (Chief Physician), Dr C Manoj Kumar (Chief Physician), Eldtho Mathew and Sethu Das of Friends of Tibet next to them. (Photos: Friends of Tibet)

Kochi: A six-year-old girl asks her father what a Rangzen Band stands for. Her father picks up the material and reads about the band and explains that it was made for Tibetans who were jailed fighting for the Independence for their country. The discussion between them continues while her mother consults a Tibetan doctor. As I sat at the reception counter for the 5th Tibetan medical camp at Kochi in Kerala, I wondered if this discussion had occurred in any other programme that Friends of Tibet had organised till now. In a unique way of spreading awareness about the Tibetan cause, Friends of Tibet has organised camps which disseminate information about Tibet, through its medicines and its healers.

Asking about the nature of the programme is difficult. It is like any other medical clinic that people resort to, but the difference lies in the fact that they carry home, not just packets of pills with Tibetan writings on them, but also pamphlets that make them aware about the basic facts of the Tibet issue. Plus, they are being directly treated by the people in exile, the Tibetan doctors — Dr Dorjee Rapten Nasher and Dr Tara Ngawang Lodoe. They, along with two accompanying staffs were from the Men-Tsee-Khang or the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They were counselling the constant stream of patients, which began at 9am and with a lunch break, until 7pm. The patients varied from those suffering terminal illness, to simple 'dandruff issues', as one of the Friends of Tibet Volunteers said. The gathering mass of patients resorting to therapies alternative to Allopathic is evident in the reception of the camps in Kerala: close to 200 patents were enlisted at the end of the four-day medical camp. And a majority of appointments were by patients who were coming back for continued treatment.

Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar of Men-Tsee-Khang presents a 'Blue Buddha' painting to Dr C Manoj Kumar, Chief Physician of Nagarjuna Ayurvedic Centre at Okkal, Kalady, Kerala on January 22, 2011. Dr V Madhavachandran (Manager, R&D) next to them.

The venue of the camp, this time was the Ashirbhavan in Kacheripaddi, near the Town Hall. The site attracted many members of the institution that ran the camps, including the security guard and administrative staffs. Medicines were dispensed free for some patients who could not afford them. At the end of the day, the medical practitioners themselves were the ones who demarcated the difference between the camps that have been organised till now, and the ones by Friends of Tibet. Dr Dorjee Rapten Nasher said that he had overseen many such camps, but the ones at Kochi dispersed the best information about Tibetan medicine and its history, to its patients. "Tibetan medicine will now forge a new link with the Indian masses, and hopefully, help them understand and empathise with Tibet. Camps like these are going to bring closer, the faraway land of Buddhism and Lamas to the dinner tables of Malayali families, and thus forge a new link for those common mass of Indians, who sought refuge in the healing powers of the exiled Tibet," he said.

Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar, Chief Medical Officer of Men-Tsee-Khang Bangalore branch delivers a lecture on 'Pulse Diagnosis' at the Nagarjuna Ayurvedic Centre, Okkal, Kalady, Kerala on January 22, 2011. The talk was followed by a question and answer session and the screening of the documentary: 'Blue Buddha: The Lost Secrets of Tibetan Medicine' by Aerlyn Weissman.

Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar explains the Tibetan Medical Thangka on 'The Root of Physiology and Pathology' to Dr V Madhavachandran (Manager, R&D), Dr K Krishnan Namboodiri (Chief Physician) and Dr C Manoj Kumar (Chief Physician) of Nagarjuna Ayurvedic Centre, Kalady, Kerala.

Aparajita Sarcar of Friends of Tibet (Delhi) with AK Tharanath and VJ Jose of Friends of Tibet (Kerala) during the 5th Tibetan Medical Camp at Ashirbhavan, Ernakulam on January 19, 2011.

2011-01-24T22:27:00.000+05:30

"Tibet Will Live Again"

By Tsoltim N. Shakabpa

Our snow peaks are melting

Our forests are wilting

Our rivers are putrefying

Our animals are starving

Our monasteries are crumbling

Our people are moaning

Our nation is dying

And China is celebrating

But have no doubt

Our peaks will be white with snow again

Our forests will flourish again

Our rivers will cleanse again

Our animals will eat again

Our monasteries will rise again

Our people will rejoice again

And Tibet will live again

If only we do not lose hope

And continue our struggle for freedom