A Man of Peace Faces Chinese Tyranny
The current and 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, comes from a lineage of leaders dating back to 1391. Buddhists believe the Dalai Lama is one of the incarnations of Avalokitesvara, which is the bodhisattva of compassion. He is often given the title "His Holiness" before his name. "Dalai" means "ocean" in Mongolian and "Lama" is the Sanskirt work for "guru" or "teacher." The Dalai Lama describes himself as "a simple Buddhist monk."
After the Dalai Lama has died, his monks sent out on search for a reincarnation of his soul in a small child. Using possessions of the previous Dalai Lama, the monks look for the child to be familiar with the items as a sign of the reincarnation. The search typically requires a few years. He is then taken to Lhasa and trained by other Lamas.
The 14th Dalai Lama was born the spiritual leader of Tibet on July 6, 1935 to a farming family in northeastern Tibet. He began monastic education at the age of six. At the age of 23 he took his final examination at the Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, during the Monlam (prayer) Festival in 1959; he passed with honours and was awarded the Geshe Lharampa degree, which is equivalent to a doctorate of Buddhist philosophy.
He was called upon to assume full political power of Tibet in 1949 after the Chinese invasion. In 1959, he was forced to escape into exile after the uprising in Lhasa by Chinese troops. Until the exile, the Dalai Lama resided in during the winter at the Potala Palace and spent summers at the Norbulingka palace and park. Since, he has lived in Dharamsala in Northern India where the Central Tibetan Administration also resides.
In 1987, the Dalai Lama proposed the Five Point Peace Plan for Tibet as steps towards a peaceful solution to a threatened Tibet. He hoped Tibet would become a sacred place; a zone of peace in Asia. However, China has failed to respond to the various proposals for peace.
Zhang Qingli, the party chief of China's Tibet Autonomous Region, has accused the Dalai Lama of engaging in activities unrelated to religion, saying he is an unworthy religious leader and "unworthy of the title" of Dalai Lama. Zhang said "I still can't figure out how he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. What peace has he brought to the world?" The party chief also labeled the Dalai Lama as a double dealer, saying his so-called "middle way" was in fact thinly disguised independence. In the Dalai Lama's "middle way" he seeks a "greater Tibet" which would enjoy more autonomy than Hong Kong and Macao, said Zhang. As soon as the Dalai Lama abandons his separatist ideas, the door to talks is always open, Zhang said.
Previously, the chairman of the Tibetan government, Champa Phuntsok, described the Dalai Lama as "a politician in Buddhist robes and Italian shoes."
As a man with visions for world peace, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle to liberate Tibet. Even in the face of Chinese aggression, he advocates non-violence. He is the first Nobel Laureate to be recognized for his concern for the environment. He has travelled to over 60 countries and met with heads of state, people of different religions, and many well-known scientists. | |
Your Comments About Dalai Lama | Comments to date: 6. The most recent comments are below.
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Friendoftruth New York | Posted at 11:44pm on Sunday, August 24th, 2008 | THE DALAI LAMA PERSECUTES BUDDHISTS AND THE WORLD PAYS
NO ATTENTION
I find it very interesting that no single body picked up on this:
"and those who defied his writ were thrown out of their jobs, mocked in the streets and even had their homes smashed up by heavy-handed officials from his government-in-exile."
This is not old history, this is happening right now. Children are being thrown out of school in the Tibetan settlements of India, because their parents didn't want to abandon their religious belief in Dorje Shugden. Some school teachers, same. They are not numerous, but certainly brave.
In Tamil Nadoo, among 70 families that sell clothes in Ooty's market place, 4 still dare be DorjeShugden devotees. Only 3 weeks ago they had to seek police protection from the other Tibetans, unleashed against them by the Dalai Lama's injonctions.
Last Jan/Feb-08, the monks of great university/monasteries like Sera, Drepung, Ganden, as well as the rest of Tibetan monasteries in India and Nepal were ordered by the Dalai Lama to "vote" against DorjeShugden, and to take a double oath: not to worship it, and not to have any relationship with the practitioners.
Those who didn't take the oath (a few hundred monks in Sera and Ganden) have become untouchables. They are forbidden to go to the main temple and the debate ground, no more food for them from the monastery's kitchens nor its shops, nobody in the settlements can sell them food nor can they go to a restaurant, nobody can talk to them.
They know that as soon as the eyes of the world are off the Dalai Lama, after the Olympics, they are going to be physically expelled from their beloved Alma Mater.
Now the taking of the oaths is being brought to the West; it started already in the FTMP Centers -followers of the Dalai Lama against the beliefs of their own founder Lama Yeshe.
The Dalai Lama's followers around the world are being trained right now in this: it is good and religious to swear to shun others because of their religious belief.
Who knows the destruction of painfully acquired Western values concerning human rights this policy of the Dalai Lama is going to bring. Their destruction already started.
In Western countries, Dharma people "suspected" of being faithful to the old Lamas (the highest Lamas of Tibet were the ones for almost 4 centuries upholding DorjeShugden) are immediately victims of slandering campaigns through emails and phone calls, and are accused of being ghost or devil worshippers.
Defenders of the Dalai Lama, please, just stop for a second and reflect: "How would I like it that someone calls my workplace or my students and tell them that I am member of a satanic cult?" Think about it, people.
As if it were a good reason to give him the right to persecute others, people are saying that the Dalai Lama is the guardian of Buddhist orthodoxy. This is not a Buddhist concept. In a general way because Buddhism accepts all internal religious beliefs as corresponding to the needs of different minds and doesn’t harbor the notion of persecuting heresy, and in particular because there is no level of authority in the Buddhist religion to order or implement a religious persecution.
And again, even if he had the right to do it, how come the Dalai Lama goes around the world preaching religious tolerance among religions and at the same time unleashes the worst of Tibetan and Western passions against a group of believers?
You should be aware that the Dalai Lama is not "protecting Buddhism" against an obscure cult. He is destroying the teachings of an old Buddhist lineage, and the practice of learned and saint Lamas of Tibet of the last centuries.
Furthermore, there is a point that nobody is touching. This Dorje Shugden persecution by the Dalai Lama is not a religious issue really. It has been used by the political leader in order to distract Tibetans from the fact that he gave up Tibetan independence on his own, without seeking their opinion.
Tibetans in exile are an emotional lot, and their love for their Motherland runs very deep. They would never have accepted without a big fight the idea of giving up the independence of their country.
To avoid their opposition, the Dalai Lama threw into their midst this DorjeShugden escapegoat, and told them that this Deity harmed his health and the cause of Tibet. Distracted by this anguish, Tibetans focused on persecuting the practitioners.
There is a transparent, obvious chronology that reveals this political motivation. But it is invisible due to the fame of the Dalai Lama and the absence of critical discernment in the press ... with noble exceptions.
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LuAnne United States | Posted at 6:43am on Sunday, April 27th, 2008 | His Holiness the Dalai Lama is truly a being of light. He radiates love wherever he goes. His Holiness is truly a gift to the planet.
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Lauri Canada | Posted at 4:27pm on Saturday, January 26th, 2008 | In this earth plane of human intelligence (and at this environmental crossroad in time/space) there is a need for icons that show us an living example of what it is to live in harmony with nature at its highest level -- if we are to survive as a spieces. You do that for millions of people. I personnally draw strength from your example. Thank you.
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jannifer USA NEW YORK | Posted at 12:38pm on Monday, October 1st, 2007 | you are the greatest leader of the world. your people.your country we needed so much. as earth needed water. air and heat, without all these eliments no way to stand.so please keep courages and may you live as long earth remain. your honest. your compassion. your speech is the most powerfull which bring the everybody into right act.
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Karuna Karma America | Posted at 2:11pm on Thursday, September 27th, 2007 | His Holiness The Dalai Lama is the peace hero of whole world, His Nationality is Tibetan,not a chines, His act speech has millions of power to show a right path to every sentient being, you see him as a man indirectly he can reincarnate whereever he want and he is a being free from suffering, May he live happy and healthy for sake of all the beings. Respected.
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