So what if Britain didn’t want to meet the Dalai Lama?

[vajratruth]

I think there is a difference between Britain rejecting the Dalai Lama as a holy monk-sage and Britain rejecting the Dalai Lama, the politician. In the years since His Holiness’s escape from Tibet, he has successfully branded himself as a “simple monk” who became synonymous with world peace and cultural and religious tolerance. Except for China there is no country in the world that has not in the past welcomed the Dalai Lama as a citizen of the world and messenger of hope and all good things.

But the “simple monk” has also been forced to be a politician during a very difficult time in Tibet’s history and this is where his own government has failed him terribly by refusing to take up responsibility for their own country and instead sent a religious man to pitch against a rising super power.

Not much political gains were made by the Tibetan Government, first the Tibetan Government In Exile and now the Central Tibetan Administration during the honeymoon period which spanned half a century when the Dalai Lama was romancing the world and now the world economies, faced with an ongoing aftermath of a barrage of global financial meltdowns have to choose between harsh political and economic reality or quixotic idealism.

Britain like many other countries see China as a possible salvation to the world economic woes and as China start to gain prominence globally, and as countries all over shift their stance towards China, and even as the US moderate its policies towards the rising super power, the CTA remained in its village mentality.  And instead of harnessing the goodwill that the Dalai Lama has generated over the years and formulate a sensible strategy that could draw China to the negotiation table, and instead of focusing its attention on moderating the expectations of its own people towards a fully fledged Tibetan independence, the CTA channeled its resources into persecuting its own people.

The CTA failed His Holiness The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people it was meant to represent when it failed to assume ownership of its role to unite the people. Imagine if the CTA has stepped in quickly to curb early rumblings of sectarian rivalry that may have arisen out of esoteric philosophical differences between the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Imagine if it had advised and supported the Dalai Lama to court the Chinese Government instead of western powers that China deemed as hostile to its growth.

I am not saying that the Dalai Lama is incapable. On his own, His Holiness has managed to do so much to bring attention to the plight of the Tibetans but there is no political leader that does not need strong support and good advice from his own cabinet and think tank. And so today we the result of the world’s most renowned spiritual figure being turned down by heads of state or otherwise being shown out the back door literally.

[Ensapa]

But the “simple monk” has also been forced to be a politician during a very difficult time in Tibet’s history and this is where his own government has failed him terribly by refusing to take up responsibility for their own country and instead sent a religious man to pitch against a rising super power.

Not much political gains were made by the Tibetan Government, first the Tibetan Government In Exile and now the Central Tibetan Administration during the honeymoon period which spanned half a century when the Dalai Lama was romancing the world and now the world economies, faced with an ongoing aftermath of a barrage of global financial meltdowns have to choose between harsh political and economic reality or quixotic idealism.

I am not saying that the Dalai Lama is incapable. On his own, His Holiness has managed to do so much to bring attention to the plight of the Tibetans but there is no political leader that does not need strong support and good advice from his own cabinet and think tank. And so today we the result of the world’s most renowned spiritual figure being turned down by heads of state or otherwise being shown out the back door literally.

As echoed by many people around the world, religion and politics should not mix. The CTA should actually take the helm from the Dalai Lama and not leave it up to the Dalai Lama to help them build bridges with other nations and to champion the Tibetan cause as that is not HHDL's function. The CTA might have been successful with plonking HHDL into this situation for more than half a decade now, but HHDL is aging and all the visits around the globe would surely have taken a toll on his health. Is independence that important, even more important than HHDL's life? Who is actually shortening HHDL's life here, Dorje Shugden or CTA?

[lotus1]

Indeed: "so what?"

This is telling of the narrowness of the CTA - that so much attention would be put on enforcing a silly, illogical religious ban when, as leaders of an exiled people, they could do with focusing on much larger issues, international relations and their global standing. While larger nations are focusing on the dire financial situation of the world,  the CTA and Tibetans focus on the petty issues of controlling individuals' religious choices.

I think the point about gratitude is an important one - that the Tibetans have in fact lived on the kindness of so many nations - both in India/ Nepal and in many countries in the West. And yet they will still pick on the one time that support is not extended to them. It's certainly not like the British owe them anything.

It is not so much the act but the prevailing attitudes behind these actions that show the Tibetans to be really rather incapable of doing very much to lead their people and keep them together. If they cannot maintain unity within such a small population of only 100,000, how can they begin to think of achieving a larger freedom and be reunited with their home country? Would a huge super power like China really take seriously a small population who cannot even control their small exile community?

Fully agreed with what beggar has said. There is no point for CTA to focus into poor me story about how people look at them. In fact, they should look into how to lead their people and unite their people. Especially they should not create schism among their people and neglect the human rights for the Shugden practitioners.

Respect is to be earned. If you have lead your people living in harmony, peace, prosperity and unity, you will naturally gain the respect from other countries. 

[tsangpakarpo]

The Dalai Lama has gone around the entire world to meet highly distinguished world leaders. But think about it..what has the Tibetans as a whole gained from that?

From a spiritual point of view, it is a blessing for us to meet the Dalai Lama as he is the emanation of the great Bodhisattva Chenrezig. At the very least, meeting this great being will plant a dharma seed in our mind. It is much more that just that but lets keep it simple for now.

But from a secular view, what benefits do both sides get? The Dalai Lama has met many world leaders for many years now but Tibet still remains under the control of China. I strongly believe this will remain the same for a long time to come.

Instead of all the fighting and jealousy and self immolation, why don't both Tibet and China unite to be a great powerhouse instead of Tibet being the loser right now? I do not think China will treat the Tibetans badly if they decide to unite. What is the point? Tibet is part of China so of course they will take good care of their own citizens.

With this, the Dalai Lama and all Tibetans can return to their home country AND the Dalai Lama can do much more. Can you imagine the Dalai Lama giving teachings in Tibet with the presence of over millions of people coming from various parts of China? and thousands of others flying in from various parts of the world?

Tibet will shine once again!! This may be a dream now but this dream is easily achievable. COME ON CTA, think!

[Ensapa]

Indeed: "so what?"

This is telling of the narrowness of the CTA - that so much attention would be put on enforcing a silly, illogical religious ban when, as leaders of an exiled people, they could do with focusing on much larger issues, international relations and their global standing. While larger nations are focusing on the dire financial situation of the world,  the CTA and Tibetans focus on the petty issues of controlling individuals' religious choices.

I think the point about gratitude is an important one - that the Tibetans have in fact lived on the kindness of so many nations - both in India/ Nepal and in many countries in the West. And yet they will still pick on the one time that support is not extended to them. It's certainly not like the British owe them anything.

It is not so much the act but the prevailing attitudes behind these actions that show the Tibetans to be really rather incapable of doing very much to lead their people and keep them together. If they cannot maintain unity within such a small population of only 100,000, how can they begin to think of achieving a larger freedom and be reunited with their home country? Would a huge super power like China really take seriously a small population who cannot even control their small exile community?

Fully agreed with what beggar has said. There is no point for CTA to focus into poor me story about how people look at them. In fact, they should look into how to lead their people and unite their people. Especially they should not create schism among their people and neglect the human rights for the Shugden practitioners.

Respect is to be earned. If you have lead your people living in harmony, peace, prosperity and unity, you will naturally gain the respect from other countries.

As much as they should not focus on poor me stories, they still do and they still use it as a means to promote their Tibetan independence, especially on all the self immolations going on, mainly because they dont have anything else to show the world. It would be great if there was a great Tibetan architect somewhere, or a Tibetan who have achieved something really good for the community of people he or she is living in outside of Dharamsala but achieved it using Tibetan means and it is really something to be celebrated and talked about, then perhaps, the Tibetan cause would have a bit more weight than its current state.

[WisdomBeing]

Since Britain is the country being highlighted in this post, and i live here, let me give my tuppence worth. There is no country in the world who is selfless. Everyone has an agenda and understandably so. It's because each country is responsible for its citizens. i am sure David Cameron would be more than happy to have cups of tea with HH the Dalai Lama and it would look good to most people if he were to do so, however, it would NOT look good to the Chinese.

This was proven in point when David Cameron and his Deputy Nick Clegg met HH the Dalai Lama when he visited London in May 2012, which prompted a senior Chinese Communist Party leader, Wu Bangguo to cancel his visit to UK. It is simply not politically expedient for any member of the British government to meet with the Dalai Lama. It is sad but true when the question is asked - what does Britain get for standing up for the Tibetans? Yet we do. But we can only do what we can - i.e. request via diplomatic means.

"We urge the Chinese authorities to exercise restraint. ... We strongly support the resumption of meaningful dialogue to resolve the underlying grievances of Tibetan communities," British Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire said in London following a European Union statement on self-immolations in Tibet region. (19 December http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=784120 - interestingly enough, i didn't see this statement reported in local news or maybe i missed it)

However the response was that the Chinese said that we were interfering with their internal affairs. So what do people expect us to do? Cut off trade with China? China won't suffer but we will. It is a fact of life that the whole of Europe is weak. When we are weak, we do not fight with the strong. Again. Sad truths.

So let our government be. They are already doing the best they can for Tibet, when they have so much more headaches at home to contend with.

[Ensapa]

Since Britain is the country being highlighted in this post, and i live here, let me give my tuppence worth. There is no country in the world who is selfless. Everyone has an agenda and understandably so. It's because each country is responsible for its citizens. i am sure David Cameron would be more than happy to have cups of tea with HH the Dalai Lama and it would look good to most people if he were to do so, however, it would NOT look good to the Chinese.

This was proven in point when David Cameron and his Deputy Nick Clegg met HH the Dalai Lama when he visited London in May 2012, which prompted a senior Chinese Communist Party leader, Wu Bangguo to cancel his visit to UK. It is simply not politically expedient for any member of the British government to meet with the Dalai Lama. It is sad but true when the question is asked - what does Britain get for standing up for the Tibetans? Yet we do. But we can only do what we can - i.e. request via diplomatic means.

"We urge the Chinese authorities to exercise restraint. ... We strongly support the resumption of meaningful dialogue to resolve the underlying grievances of Tibetan communities," British Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire said in London following a European Union statement on self-immolations in Tibet region. (19 December http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=784120 - interestingly enough, i didn't see this statement reported in local news or maybe i missed it)

However the response was that the Chinese said that we were interfering with their internal affairs. So what do people expect us to do? Cut off trade with China? China won't suffer but we will. It is a fact of life that the whole of Europe is weak. When we are weak, we do not fight with the strong. Again. Sad truths.

So let our government be. They are already doing the best they can for Tibet, when they have so much more headaches at home to contend with.

All the British can offer, it seems to me, are pleas towards China that they may exercise restraint on the Tibetans or at least allow them more freedom, things that I am sure that China will not entertain. There is nothing much basically that will convince China to free Tibet no matter how many nations plead to China that they should give independence to Tibet because China is strong and they are the biggest economic power at this point of time and they are not showing signs of slowing down anytime soon while the european countries are starting to break down. 2013 is not a good year for Europe, so even if they support the cause, nothing much can be done for the actual freedom of the Tibetans.

[DharmaDefender]

I just wanted to share this with everyone. Someone posted on the Facebook post (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/the-controversy/so-what-if-britain-didnt-want-to-meet-the-dalai-lama/) with the following:

Jigmee Dorjee Sherpa
The British PM is a thug,an absolute Elitist,look at how his government is treating the Julian Assange/wikileaks case...pure evil!wat do u expect!?human rights/Rule of law never felt this shitty...i believe it'll only worsen! and r we ready?

I thought it pretty disgusting how little gratitude the bloke has. Its reflective of the general Tibetan attitude isnt it? Take a persons money and accuse the donors of all sorts of things, just because they dont agree with their opinions. Its quite immature to be honest... banning things, accusing people just because you cant play nice.

No wonder Tibetans havent got back their country... having taken and taken and taken from everyone, theyve been creating the karma all this while for the Chinese to take their most precious thing from them, which is their country.

The Tibetans have this fanatical, undying love for the Dalai Lama, but it does not mean that they are always doing the right thing, and neither does it mean that the love and devotion that they have for the Dalai Lama a pure one. As Dharamsala gets hooked up to the internet, the emergence of more and more rude Tibetans on various websites have emerged. They are found on youtube, on facebook and even on the comment that Dharmadefender has posted. I dont know if they just prefer to use violence to solve everything or express their anger as if they have a right to do so, but one thing for sure is that attitude will get them nowhere.

Well I once read something on the Internet that is a little un-PC...arguing on the Internet is like running in the Special Olympics. Even if you win, your still retarded. So now when I meet a Tibetan online, unless their open-minded I really dont give a toss what they have to say. Why should I bother about the opinions of a race that seems intent on the self-implosion of its faith and culture, when there are 6 billion other people who can take up Dorje Shugden as a practice?

Anyway, un-PC comments aside, regarding the Tibetans - since their anger is so obvious online, you must wonder what facing one of them is like when theres no barrier of the Internet to keep you safe.

In other news, unemployment in Spain has hit a high with 26% of Spaniards being unemployed as 55% of young people have no jobs. Can you blame European governments for not being so concerned about the Tibetan situation, when their own economies and political systems are in meltdown?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2267619/Spanish-unemployment-leaps-new-high-26-55-young-people-work.html

[Ensapa]

Well I once read something on the Internet that is a little un-PC...arguing on the Internet is like running in the Special Olympics. Even if you win, your still retarded. So now when I meet a Tibetan online, unless their open-minded I really dont give a toss what they have to say. Why should I bother about the opinions of a race that seems intent on the self-implosion of its faith and culture, when there are 6 billion other people who can take up Dorje Shugden as a practice?

Anyway, un-PC comments aside, regarding the Tibetans - since their anger is so obvious online, you must wonder what facing one of them is like when theres no barrier of the Internet to keep you safe.

In other news, unemployment in Spain has hit a high with 26% of Spaniards being unemployed as 55% of young people have no jobs. Can you blame European governments for not being so concerned about the Tibetan situation, when their own economies and political systems are in meltdown?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2267619/Spanish-unemployment-leaps-new-high-26-55-young-people-work.html

I also recall that Tibetans see themselves as a product between an ogress and a monkey, with the monkey being an emanation of Chenrezig and as such, they inherited the ferociously of the ogress and the kindness and tenderness of the monkey. Perhaps it is this 'cultural' belief that they are clinging on to that makes them feel like they are entitled to behaving in a certain way. I can only imagine the chaos that would happen if the Dalai Lama was not there to hold them back. But as we can observe now, the latest influx of Tibetans are getting more and more wild...not a good sign. They're supposed to be more civil. CTA isnt doing their job right.