Better Save Tibet NOW

I was in the city this afternoon, witnessed the torch run and blogged from my mobile.

Click here.

Meanwhile, Ven Dhammaratana of the Buddhist Maha Vihara organized a Multi Faits Peace Prayer for Tibet and Olympics 2007 at the BMV in Brickfields. See photos here.

Press Statement from Vajrayana Buddhist Council of Malaysia

Subject: Press Statement from Vajrayana Buddhist Council of Malaysia

Dear Dharma Friends,

Press Statement

The Vajrayana Buddhist Council of Malaysia would like to support the call (NST report dated 16 April 2008) by the Chief High Priest of Malaysia Rev. K. Dhammaratana Thera that politics should be kept out of the coming Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Hence, in conjunction with the arrival of the Olympic torch to Malaysia on 21 April 2008, and as consistently advised by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, we would like to urge all our Member Organizations, all other Tibetan Buddhist Societies/ Centers in Malaysia and the general public, not to disrupt the Olympic torch relay.

Instead, the Vajrayana Buddhist Council of Malaysia would like to urge all our Member Organizations, all other Tibetan Buddhist Societies/ Centers in Malaysia and the general public to show our concern over the recent deeply saddening and tragic events in Tibet and the surrounding regions in China in a peaceful way.

Therefore, we pray that the Beijing Olympics will be a peaceful and most successful Olympic Games in its series and achieves the Olympic Charter goal in contributing towards the building of a healthy, peaceful and better world through sports.

In conjunction with this message, we encourage our Member Organizations and all other Buddhist organizations to embark on a month of prayers culminating with the occasion of the Wesak Day Celebration on 19 May 2008, for the following purposes:

That there may be continual peace and harmony for all the citizens and residents in Malaysia and all countries in the world.
That there be peace and harmony, compassion and equality for all the trouble spots in the world, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur, Gaza, Myanmar and Tibet.

Yours in the Dharma,
Pek Chee Hen
Secretary
Vajrayana Buddhist Council of Malaysia

2 Schools of Thought?

It is interesting the Star published this news, "In Tibet Two Schools of Thought" syndicated from the China Daily.

More about Tibet here.

I do not disagree there are 2 school of thoughts as published in the article, one must not forget the fundamentals of the issue in Tibet. One thing we know that from the understanding of the Buddha's teachings is the law of karma - simple put, it is about causes and action. People react in violence because of some reason or cause -what are they and more importantly how do we resolve it. This article is too simplistic to just point that violence is wrong - we know it is wrong -what caused it?

It seems a simple solution, the difficult part is seeing the problem(s), acknowledging there are issues that needs to be dealt with, and to deal with them on a leveled playing field. Not one party "stronger"/more powerful than the other.

I have my know Tibetans who have personally suffered in the process to "Chinese-nize" the Tibetans and I could see and feel their pain. While do not blame some people for using the violence route of resolution, it would be moralistic to judge their action from a place that have not experienced severe violence and tragedy. I do share their grief. (more on marginalization of Tibetans here)

The peaceful route is usually long (sometimes too long) and I guess that patience is running out. The Dalai Lama has refrained and have urged restrain and we should continue to encourage that if any meaningful long-terms resolution were to come out. We should all continue to encourage it.

I hope the violence will stop and quickly get on to the discussion table to work things out.

Pray, metta that the Tibetan be well.

An Appeal to the Chinese Leaders by Dalai Lama

photo: lobsangwangyal.com

Source: http://www.dalailama.com/news.220.htm

Today, I extend heartfelt greetings to my Chinese brothers and sisters around the world, particularly to those in the People's Republic of China. In the light of the recent developments in Tibet, I would like to share with you my thoughts concerning relations between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples, and make a personal appeal to all of you.

I am deeply saddened by the loss of life in the recent tragic events in Tibet. I am aware that some Chinese have also died. I feel for the victims and their families and pray for them. The recent unrest has clearly demonstrated the gravity of the situation in Tibet and the urgent need to seek a peaceful and mutually beneficial solution through dialogue. Even at this juncture I have expressed my willingness to the Chinese authorities to work together to bring about peace and stability.

Chinese brothers and sisters, I assure you I have no desire to seek Tibet's separation. Nor do I have any wish to drive a wedge between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples. On the contrary my commitment has always been to find a genuine solution to the problem of Tibet that ensures the long-term interests of both Chinese and Tibetans. My primary concern, as I have repeated time and again, is to ensure the survival of the Tibetan people's distinctive culture, language and identity. As a simple monk who strives to live his daily life according to Buddhist precepts, I assure you of the sincerity of my personal motivation.

I have appealed to the leadership of the PRC to clearly understand my position and work to resolve these problems by "seeking truth from facts". I urge the Chinese leadership to exercise wisdom and to initiate a meaningful dialogue with the Tibetan people. I also appeal to them to make sincere efforts to contribute to the stability and harmony of the PRC and avoid creating rifts between the nationalities. The state media's portrayal of the recent events in Tibet, using deceit and distorted images, could sow the seeds of racial tension with unpredictable long-term consequences. This is of grave concern to me. Similarly, despite my repeated support for the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese authorities, with the intention of creating a rift between the Chinese people and myself, the Chinese authorities assert that I am trying to sabotage the games. I am encouraged, however, that several Chinese intellectuals and scholars have also expressed their strong concern about the Chinese leadership's actions and the potential for adverse long-term consequences, particularly on relations among different nationalities.

Since ancient times, Tibetan and Chinese peoples have lived as neighbors. In the two thousand year old recorded history of our peoples, we have at times developed friendly relations, even entering into matrimonial alliances, while at others we fought each other. However, since Buddhism flourished in China first before it arrived in Tibet from India, we Tibetans have historically accorded the Chinese people the respect and affection due to elder Dharma brothers and sisters. This is something well known to members of the Chinese community living outside China, some of whom have attended my Buddhist lectures, as well as pilgrims from mainland China, whom I have had the privilege to meet. I take heart from these meetings and feel they may contribute to a better understanding between our two peoples.

The twentieth century witnessed enormous changes in many parts of the world and Tibet too was caught up in this turbulence. Soon after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the People's Liberation Army entered Tibet finally resulting in the 17-point Agreement concluded between China and Tibet in May 1951. When I was in Beijing in 1954/55, attending the National People's Congress, I had the opportunity to meet and develop a personal friendship with many senior leaders, including Chairman Mao himself. In fact, Chairman Mao gave me advice on numerous issues, as well as personal assurances with regard to the future of Tibet. Encouraged by these assurances, and inspired by the dedication of many of China's revolutionary leaders of the time, I returned to Tibet full of confidence and optimism. Some Tibetan members of the Chinese Communist Party also had such a hope. After my return to Lhasa, I made every possible effort to seek genuine regional autonomy for Tibet within the family of the People's Republic of China (PRC). I believed that this would best serve the long-term interests of both the Tibetan and Chinese peoples.

Unfortunately, tensions, which began to escalate in Tibet from around 1956, eventually led to the peaceful uprising of March 10, 1959, in Lhasa and my eventual escape into exile. Although many positive developments have taken place in Tibet under the PRC's rule, these developments, as the previous Panchen Lama pointed out in January 1989, were overshadowed by immense suffering and extensive destruction. Tibetans were compelled to live in a state of constant fear, while the Chinese government remained suspicious of them. However, instead of cultivating enmity towards the Chinese leaders responsible for the ruthless suppression of the Tibetan people, I prayed for them to become friends, which I expressed in the following lines in a prayer I composed in 1960, a year after I arrived in India: "May they attain the wisdom eye discerning right and wrong, And may they abide in the glory of friendship and love." Many Tibetans, school children among them, recite these lines in their daily prayers.

In 1974, following serious discussions with my Kashag (cabinet), as well as the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the then Assembly of the Tibetan People's Deputies, we decided to find a Middle Way that would seek not to separate Tibet from China, but would facilitate the peaceful development of Tibet. Although we had no contact at the time with the PRC - which was in the midst of the Cultural Revolution - we had already recognized that, sooner or later, we would have to resolve the question of Tibet through negotiations. We also acknowledged that, at least with regard to modernization and economic development, it would greatly benefit Tibet if it remained within the PRC. Although Tibet has a rich and ancient cultural heritage, it is materially undeveloped.

Situated on the roof of the world, Tibet is the source of many of Asia's major rivers; therefore, protection of the environment on the Tibetan plateau is of supreme importance. Since our utmost concern is to safeguard Tibetan Buddhist culture - rooted as it is in the values of universal compassion - as well as the Tibetan language and the unique Tibetan identity, we have worked whole-heartedly towards achieving meaningful self-rule for all Tibetans. The PRC's constitution provides the right for nationalities such as the Tibetans to do this.

In 1979, the then Chinese paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping assured my personal emissary that "except for the independence of Tibet, all other questions can be negotiated." Since we had already formulated our approach to seeking a solution to the Tibetan issue within the constitution of the PRC, we found ourselves well placed to respond to this new opportunity. My representatives met many times with officials of the PRC. Since renewing our contacts in 2002, we have had six rounds of talks. However, on the fundamental issue, there has been no concrete result at all. Nevertheless, as I have declared many times, I remain firmly committed to the Middle Way approach and reiterate here my willingness to continue to pursue the process of dialogue.

This year, the Chinese people are proudly and eagerly awaiting the opening of the Olympic Games. I have, from the start, supported Beijing's being awarded the opportunity to host the Games. My position remains unchanged. China has the world's largest population, a long history and an extremely rich civilization. Today, due to her impressive economic progress, she is emerging as a great power. This is certainly to be welcomed. But China also needs to earn the respect and esteem of the global community through the establishment of an open and harmonious society based on the principles of transparency, freedom, and the rule of law. For example, to this day victims of the Tiananmen Square tragedy that adversely affected the lives of so many Chinese citizens have received neither just redress nor any official response. Similarly, when thousands of ordinary Chinese in rural areas suffer injustice at the hands of exploitative and corrupt local officials, their legitimate complaints are either ignored or met with aggression. I express these concerns both as a fellow human being and as someone who is prepared to consider himself a member of the large family that is the People's Republic of China. In this respect, I appreciate and support President Hu Jintao's policy of creating a "harmonious society", but this can only arise on the basis of mutual trust and an atmosphere of freedom, including freedom of speech and the rule of law. I strongly believe that if these values are embraced, many important problems relating to minority nationalities can be resolved, such as the issue of Tibet, as well as Eastern Turkistan, and Inner Mongolia, where the native people now constitute only 20% of a total population of 24 million.

I had hoped President Hu Jintao's recent statement that the stability and safety of Tibet concerns the stability and safety of the country might herald the dawning of a new era for the resolution of the problem of Tibet. It is unfortunate that despite my sincere efforts not to separate Tibet from China, the leaders of the PRC continue to accuse me of being a 'separatist'. Similarly, when Tibetans in Lhasa and many other areas spontaneously protested to express their deep-rooted resentment, the Chinese authorities immediately accused me of having orchestrated their demonstrations. I have called for a thorough investigation by a respected body to look into this allegation.

Chinese brothers and sisters - wherever you may be - with deep concern I appeal to you to help dispel the misunderstandings between our two communities. Moreover, I appeal to you to help us find a peaceful, lasting solution to the problem of Tibet through dialogue in the spirit of understanding and accommodation.

With my prayers,

The Dalai Lama

March 28, 2008

Contact: Chhime Rigzing Chhoekyapa, Secretary Cell: +91 (0)9816021879

Tenzin Taklha, Joint Secretary Cell: +91 (0)9816021813