The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected].
By: Shashi Kei
The Dalai Lama is in Sweden on a visit that from the beginning has been marked by controversy. Even before he touched down in Malmo, a group of distressed people were already waiting to meet him, seeking restitution for the sexual violations inflicted upon them by Tibetan personages close to the Dalai Lama and have come under his protection. Before the dust had even settled on that issue, the Dalai Lama sparked another furore that may yet tip over an already delicate and highly volatile issue – the immigration crisis and rising xenophobia in Europe.
In addressing a conference in Malmo, Sweden, the Dalai Lama callously proclaimed that “…Europe belongs to Europeans” and that ultimately refugees should “develop their own country”. In other words, refugees should not be allowed to remain in European countries forever. What the Dalai Lama said needs to be put into context to expose the tremendous harm his words will surely create. Malmo today is home to a large population of immigrants and refugees, and the Dalai Lama’s words come at a time when resentment against migrants and refugees are escalating in the European Union countries. The Dalai Lama’s statement directly targets an already disadvantaged and marginalized group of people facing increasing contempt by Europeans. It does not matter if the Dalai Lama seems to start off his message in a benevolent tone by asking Europe to receive, help and educate refugees seeking asylum when his ultimate message is to deny these refugees the opportunity to establish new homes and lives in Europe.
The Tibetan spiritual leader’s statement triggered angry responses, with one observer calling the Tibetan spiritual leader a “hypocrite” and “bootlicker”, and another calling him “a bigot of the first order”. Yet another felt his words and views were more aligned with those of “a neo-Nazi white supremacist”. While it may appear inappropriate to tag a Nobel Laureate and a Buddhist monk with such adjectives, outrage towards the Dalai Lama is not without its own justification.
“The Dalai Lama is a hypocrite”
Most migrants and refugees in Europe today come from war-torn countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Eritrea and Kosovo. Syria, for one, is a country that has persisted in a ruinous civil war that has witnessed a full inventory of war-related abominations including chemical weapons unleashed on innocent people. Virtually all of these refugees have suffered devastated lives, lost loved ones and many suffer crippling mental states due to trauma and severe stress. For these people, Europe represents a fresh start so it is shocking that the Tibetan spiritual leader, himself a refugee who has benefited significantly from the kindness of India and the people of the world, would deny the same kindness to others. This is even more surprising when you consider how the Dalai Lama goes along with the Tibetan people’s portrayal of their leader as a Buddha and the divine embodiment of compassion.
When the Dalai Lama made the statement that refugees should develop a country of their own, he calls attention to the diaspora of Tibetan refugees, approximately 150,000 strong who have been in exile for the last 60 years. The Dalai Lama is their head and he has set up an exile government, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in Dharamsala, North India. As refugees, the Tibetan people enjoy much more than others. To begin with, no other refugee group or displaced persons have been allowed to set up a “government” with its own political, legal and bureaucratic structures within the jurisdiction of another country. And yet, the Dalai Lama’s CTA regards itself as a legitimate Tibetan State and functions like one, with its own Parliament, Cabinet and even Judiciary. Most countries of the world extended diplomatic-level treatment to the CTA’s officials as well as the Dalai Lama. Across the globe, organizations and people of all races, creed, religion and nationality have donated countless millions of dollars to the ‘Tibetan cause’ over the past 60 years, again out of kindness. None of this however, has made any impact on how the Dalai Lama views others who have been similarly struck with the ravages of war and conflict.
Members of the Tibetan diaspora, both in India and those scattered around the world, are also known to be some of the wealthiest in the world, even if the financial disparity between ordinary Tibetan refugees and those of the Dalai Lama’s inner circle is significant. While most Tibetan refugees take on casual jobs as waiters and kitchen hands, subsist with seasonal work as laborers or sweater sellers or otherwise eke out an existence with meager earnings from various cottage industries, there is an upper strata of Tibetans who hail from the ruling families and monastic elite of old feudalistic Tibet. These are the Dalai Lama’s people who have largely retained the old tradition. These Tibetan ‘refugees’ are rich beyond imagination and occupy high positions in the CTA, controlling the CTA’s shadowy network of fund-raising agencies. The Dalai Lama himself makes approximately $20-25 million a year from book royalties and speaking engagements channelled through a series of tax-free structures, eventually ending up in his personal control.
In the meantime, it is estimated that at least $50 million a year is generated by the many ‘Tibet centers’ around the world set up to spin the well-worn yarn of China’s oppression and the grievances of the Tibetan refugees. In truth, many Tibetans, especially officials in the CTA, have secured dual citizenships or permanent residency in Europe, the US, Canada and India. There are no other known refugees groups in the world with the wealth and privileges of the Dalai Lama’s people. At the same time, the CTA makes it taboo for ordinary Tibetan refugees to consider Indian citizenship which many are legally entitled to. These people are needed to maintain the façade of hardship that defines the Dalai Lama’s struggle.
Therefore to label the Dalai Lama a hypocrite may be rude but is not void of the truth. The Dalai Lama will be hard-pressed to answer why he has failed to follow his own counsel and that even after 60 years, the Dalai Lama’s CTA has not sought to return to their homeland or develop their own country. Instead the CTA scuttles every opportunity for reconciliation with China that might actually result in the Tibetan people finally returning home, which the Dalai Lama said every refugee should aim to do. Neither has the Dalai Lama spoken against those who have moved out of the settlement camps in India to set up homes ashore. To the CTA, these people are ambassadors of the Tibetan struggle against China but the same view and treatment are not accorded to the refugees in Europe.
The Tibetan Machiavelli
The Dalai Lama’s Malmo statement does not make sense. What it does do however is expose his shrewdness as a politician. In recent years, there has been rising discontent towards existing immigration policies in various European Union (EU) countries. In Sweden, just like in Italy, Hungary, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, there is a surge in popularity of political parties that are anti-immigration. In the meantime, there is growing pressure on the incumbent governments of Germany, France and the United Kingdom to adopt anti-immigration and anti-refugee policies. In 2016 while visiting Germany, the Dalai Lama said that Germany should not become an Arab state, alluding to the significant population of immigrants to the country from Muslim countries. And it is this ultranationalistic and Islamophobic tune the Dalai Lama is playing and beckoning the people of Europe to dance to.
The Dalai Lama’s racist statement against Muslims making Europe their home is extremely dangerous. For a man of peace and compassion who has made millions preaching the word of interfaith harmony, who has sold countless books based on that theme, and who has filled stadiums to preach peace to all brothers and sisters of the globe, it comes across as very strange that he is targeting Muslims. If the Dalai Lama’s logic is to be followed, it would not be remiss for anyone to say that America is for Americans, South America is for South Americans, Australia is for Australians, Asia is for Asians, and Africa is for Africans. According to the Dalai Lama’s logic and statement, Muslims should be the only religious group who are not allowed to migrate anywhere in the world, or to reside anywhere apart from their native lands and countries of origin. This is a very dangerous statement for the Dalai Lama to make because it seems as though he is targeting Muslims. If he is not, why does this shrewd diplomat not make any reference to any other refugees in Europe, for example his own Tibetan people who have been in Europe since the early 1960s and have been happily settled there for decades now?
The Dalai Lama’s objective is plain enough. In recent years, popularity and support for the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan cause have waned. For instance, in 2017, Sweden announced that it would no longer recognize the CTA’s yellow book as a valid international travel document. This is tantamount to not recognizing the CTA as a legitimate body that can issue valid travel documents. Sweden was not the only one as an increasing list of nations began to sway away from the Tibetan Cause, primarily due to China’s far-reaching economic might and the unravelling image of the Tibetan leadership as one scandal after another erupts.
As the current European leadership realigns their priorities away from the Tibetans, the Dalai Lama’s chosen method to address this is to capitalize on the wave of ultranationalism sweeping across Europe, stoking resentment towards existing European governments who have backed away from openly supporting the Dalai Lama’s political agenda. Doing so would again enamor the European people, eager for a shift in immigration policies, to the Dalai Lama. In addition, changes in European governments would provide the Dalai Lama with opportunities to build fresh alliances. The attrition is of course the lives of the helpless refugees hoping to rebuild broken lives. It also does not matter that the spiritual leader’s words would create enmity towards refugees and immigrants who have already settled in Europe. Clearly when it comes down to a choice between humanity and compassion or political agenda, the latter wins hands down. This should not be a shock to anyone because the history of Tibet shows the Dalai Lamas to be feudal theocrats who wield religion as powerful instruments of control and influence.
The Dalai Lama’s use of Buddhism to serve his politics is also visible in the Dorje Shugden conflict, which the Dalai Lama ignited in 1996 and the CTA has executed since. The Dorje Shugden conflict deeply divided the Tibetan community and in that way, the Dalai Lama has been able to control the Tibetan people more thoroughly than any other Dalai Lama before him, pitting one group against the other. The Shugden conflict also presented the Dalai Lama and CTA with an alibi for the multiple failed promises made to the Tibetan people to return them to the homeland. Again, the moral and spiritual decay resulting from mixing politics and religion is deemed acceptable attrition.
The double standard
One angry reader accused the Dalai Lama of being a bigot while another referred to him as a ‘white supremacist’. Again, harsh words but one needs to explore if there is any truth behind such resentful words.
If Europe belongs to Europeans, would the same logic not apply to Asiatic and African countries? If so, then how come the Dalai Lama has not censured the European nations for its vicious and colonial past? Great Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands were amongst some of the most brutal colonial powers that conquered and annexed militarily-weaker nations. India, China, South East Asia and Africa fell prey to these conquests and were mute witnesses to their people becoming slaves, to the destruction of their cultures and to the criminalizing of their religions. The people who were conquered were forcibly anglicized. How come India, China and Africa were not allowed to remain as they were, unmolested? How come the Aborigines of Australasia were not entitled to retain their identity and culture? How come the Natives of the Americas were denied the right to their lands and way of life? Why does the Dalai Lama not address these issues and instead advocate only for pure European nations? Are Asian and African people not also entitled to be themselves?
And as one critic pointed out, the Dalai Lama neglects the simple fact that some European nations have an active role in conflicts around the world that have turned ordinary people into refugees. Today the most aggressive imperialist country in the world is the United States of America, which the Dalai Lama regards as a friend and an ally. At the same time, the US has directly and indirectly initiated armed conflicts in the Middle East and around the world, and yet the Dalai Lama has not once condemned the USA or indeed any other European nation.
Since Europe belongs to Europeans, should the thousands of Tibetans settled in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, England and so on return back to India or perhaps China? Why is it that the Dalai Lama only targets certain refugees to say that they are not allowed to stay in Europe? Why does he make an exception for his own Tibetan people? Why are the Tibetans allowed to stay in Europe and make Europe their home, he should be asked? Why the double standard? Perhaps Europe should start deporting all the Tibetans out of Europe since they are not Europeans and they do not belong there. The Dalai Lama and his Tibetans should get a taste of his own racist xenophobic statements. Remember, according to the Dalai Lama, Europe is for Europeans. So let us enact the Dalai Lama’s new immigration policy for Europe by immediately deporting Tibetans from Europe now.
The true character of the Tibetan leadership
The reality is, the Dalai Lama’s words betray the true character of the Tibetan leadership. Not so much the guardians of Shangri-La or some sort of utopic paradise, but more an oppressor of the people. Today the CTA proclaims that it is a democracy but its highest law, the Tibetan Constitution, exposes this deception. Everything in the Tibetan Constitution reads like ultimate power is vested in the people and it appears to be so, if not for the few lines that says that every law promulgated by the Constitution is in fact subject to the will of the Dalai Lama, the god and king of the Tibetan people, the consummate politician and the autocrat who has held on to power longer than any living monarch, dictator, despot, Prime Minister and President of any government in the world. What is more, the reign of the Dalai Lama is not limited by borders nor can any international law contain the Dalai Lama’s influence and reach. So powerful is the Dalai Lama that his government can even proclaim citizens of other nations to be criminals and authorize what is effectively a campaign against the worshippers of a religion operating well within the laws of a country. It is therefore nothing for the Dalai Lama to influence the immigration policies of Europe.
Dalai Lama: FAR RIGHT Nationalist &
Tibetan Supremacist
Or watch on server | download video (right click & save file)
[PressTV] Dalai Lama says Europe
belongs to Europeans, not refugees
ashrao
November 1, 2018
China and India are becoming closer and in a recent meeting have agreed on some points. One of these points is that the Dalai Lama will not be allowed to carry out any more political activities against China on Indian soil. Being a spiritual leader, why is he so political anyway? The Indian leaders are slowly silencing the Dalai Lama and the Tibetans in India. The Dalai Lama and his Tibetan government in-exile regime had better make friends with China already. They should either go back to Tibet/China or become Indian citizens and remain silent.
Potter
November 8, 2018
A powerful article, a must-read! Makes people wonder, why are they so biased against China when all the other countries are doing exactly what China is doing but behind the facade of ‘democracy’? 👎
Drolma
November 11, 2018
The political statement the Dalai Lama made is getting more offensive and ridiculous. Before this incident in Sweden, the Dalai Lama has already made a very bad statement on Nehru in India and he didn’t learn from his lesson. In less than 2 months, he made another shocking statement in Europe.
The Dalai Lama told the refugees in Europe to go back to their countries while he has been a refugee in India for the past 60 years. What gives him the right to say that? This has upset many people especially when the Dalai Lama is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He is supposed to promote peace and harmony but here he is creating tension between the host country and the refugees.
The Dalai Lama and the Tibetans are lucky to have India welcome them. Even though they are refugees, they are allowed to move freely in India or even own their own business. They don’t really suffer much but yet they received so much support from the west. For Dalai Lama to say this, it makes people think he has no sympathy for these refugees at all.🙁😮😲
Dawa Tsering
November 25, 2018
“The bottom line is its not about whether anyone trusts or likes China but whether China can help these countries advance their own respective national interests. And the answer is yes. Correspondingly the question is whether any country can afford not to access China’s vast consumer market moving into the future. Not doing business is bad for local economies and no one will elect or re-elect a government that presides over a failing economy.”~NY Times
Thupten Lungrik
November 25, 2018
Everyone is expecting a communist China to fail. But in fact China is getting stronger and bigger and more powerful. China proves communism can work to the chagrin of ‘democratic’ countries such as the US who is jealous and threatened of their own status quo. China will continue to grow according to the New York Times.
Jampa Samten
November 27, 2018
India and China now pushing ahead with resolution of their border disputes. It looks like India is finally ready to officially drop the Tibet card.
Excerpt:
“India and China will have “early harvest” talks on their vexed border dispute as many agreements have been reached by both sides since their top leaders met in Wuhan, Beijing said on Monday”.
Sino-Indian ‘early harvest’ spells scorched earth for Tibetan dreams.
Too bad for Tibetans in India. Too bad for Tibetan leadership. Their karma coming back soon for all the harms they have done.
Sonam Wangdue
December 2, 2018
Dear Lobsang Sangye and Tibetan Govt in exile in Dharamsala,
How come after 60 years you are still not at the G20 meetings? How come you cannot get your country back? How come the world economies and power are shifting towards the East which is China? How come you cannot get Tibetan autonomy, or freedom or any leeway with China? How come your negotiations with China is a failure and you produced nothing?
You run around begging for FREE MONEY from Europe, Australia, Japan, Canada, Taiwan and US for 60 years now but no one in your refugee community has made it big or successful? Where did all the money go? In your pockets? How come all your Tibetans from India/Nepal are going back to Tibet or leaving to the west. How come your schools in India are empty? How come Dharamsala is emptying out?
How come you are getting weaker and more world governments are ignoring you? How come more are paying attention to China? Less governments are willing to pay attention to you and the Tibet cause? Where is all your rangzen groups? How come they are not effective? Maybe they are disillusioned with your corruption, lies and underhanded tactics and human rights abuses using religion to divide your own people?
What happened to you? Why are you and your community your Tibetan ‘parliament’ such losers and failures? How come you cannot achieve anything?
Are you going to continue to beg for more FREE MONEY to fund your trips, houses, children’s education, vacations, five star hotels, nice brocade chubas, expensive accessories, and properties. You know the ordinary Tibetan in India has gotten nothing in financial help of the hundreds of millions in aid for that last 60 years you Tibetan exiled government pocketed. Is that why your Tibetan people in India and Nepal are all leaving to back to Tibet and the west? You failed?
Your policies and work are not effective.
Too bad.
Thaimonk
December 3, 2018
TIBETANS SHOULD NOT HAVE MONKS AS LEADERS, THAT IS A BIG MISTAKE
Note what Namdol Lhagyari said is progressive and unlike the usual Tibetan rhetoric:
“The problem I see right now is how reliant we are on one individual,” Namdol Lhagyari, 32, the youngest member of Tibet’s exile parliament, said. “I understand that every freedom movement requires one role model, one leader, who would push everyone in the right direction, bring everyone to one goal. But he has reached an age where we will have to prepare ourselves for a post-Dalai Lama.”
Source: https://themediaproject.org/news/2018/12/3/as-the-dalai-lama-ages-tibetan-exiles-turn-to-secular-unity-over-sacred
👎
These are important points to remember:
1. Tibetan lamas and monks SHOULD not enter politics. They should not hold positions of power, leadership and political roles. It will demean the Dharma. They are not trained, nor qualified nor have the credentials to be in government. They also do much damage to religion as people start to respect them less. The lines between respecting them as spiritual beings (sangha) and speaking against them when they are in government and make wrong decisions become blurred.
2. Monks and nuns should not get involved with the running of the country but should stick to education. Giving good education to the public about ethics, morality and in some cases Buddhism. No one wants to see a political monk or nun. Because it contradicts the very reason they renounced the worldly life in order to enter a life of contemplation, learning, meditation and gaining enlightenment.
3. Look at other countries where Buddhism is strong where sangha is sangha and never get involved with government or being public officials. In Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Sri Lanka etc where there are tens of thousands of sangha, you don’t see them in the government at all. Local or national governments both do not have sangha. Even in Christian countries you don’t see priests in government. That is Tibet’s big mistake to place monks/high lamas in so many government positions and as public officials. Very dangerous for the country as it has proven with Tibet and Tibetans.
4. Monks, nuns and high lamas should do dharma practice, produce books, videos, give teachings, guide the public, do funerals, blessings, be a nurturer, study dharma, build real temples, keep existing temples spiritual, animal shelters, environmentalists, be mediators, help with orphanages, shelters, the poor, half way houses, poor houses, and basically all sorts of charities that benefit the mind and body of sentient beings that is NOT GOVERNMENT BASED. If sangha gives good education, they can produce kind and good leaders to run the country.
Tibetans should never never never allow Sangha (monks, nuns and spiritual personages) to be involved with government, politics and rule of law because it ends up in disaster. That is how Tibet lost it’s country and will never get it back. There are too many monks in the Tibetan Parliament and as leaders remember Samdhong Rinpoche as the prime minister of exiles. That was very bad. The King of Tibet currently is a monk. How does that look? Very political.
Tibet made that huge mistake and Tibet will never recover from it.
Forum: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=6226.0
Thaimonk
December 5, 2018
Differences between Dalai Lama and CTA president put Tibetan politics in a tailspin
By Rajeev Sharma, November 27, 2018 SouthasianMonitor.com
Tibetan politics is in a tailspin as there are signs of serious differences between the 14th Dalai Lama, unquestionably the supreme and undisputed leader of the Tibetans, and Lobsang Sangay, president of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).
The immediate provocation is the unceremonious cancellation of the 13th Religious Conference of the Schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon Tradition, which was scheduled between November 29 and December 1 year in Dharamshala. Insiders have revealed that the conference was cancelled by Lobsang without consulting the Dalai Lama.
Even more intriguing is the timing of the move. Knowledgeable sources in the Tibetan establishment in India disclosed that Lobsang made the move while the Dalai Lama was travelling back from Japan, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop it.
Tibetan politics is turning out to be a cloak-and-dagger mystery. According to sources, Lobsang waited until the Dalai Lama was on his way to the airport before ordering the Department of Religion and Culture to cancel the event. Interestingly, the cancellation of the conference is available by way of an announcement in English on the CTA website.
The CTA’s Department of Religion and Culture announced that owing to the sudden demise of the supreme head of the Nyingma tradition, Kathok Getse Rinpoche, who passed away this week in Nepal and in respecting the sentiments of the followers of Nyingma tradition, the 13th Religious Conference of the Schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon Tradition was being indefinitely postponed.
The department cited that many lamas and representatives of the Nyingma tradition were unable to participate because of Rinpoche’s passing away.
On November 22, the CTA organised a prayer service to mourn the demise of Rinpoche, the 7th supreme head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. Rinpoche passed away following an accident on November 19 in Pharping, Nepal. He was 64.
Sources say the Dalai Lama is furious with Lobsang Sangay for trying to take credit for his negotiations with China about returning to Tibet.
Sangay claimed that the Dalai Lama has failed for 60 years in negotiations with China, but he has the power and ability to succeed. This is also an indication of how weak the Dalai Lama’s current position is. Sangay knows that the Dalai Lama has been negotiating with China about returning and he’s trying to position himself to take credit for it. Had this happened a few years ago the Dalai Lama would have had him removed, but since his cancer has become terminal, Sangay has been consolidating his position among the exiled community. He controls the press department of the Tibetan government-in-exile and has done so since he ousted Dicki Chhoyang.
For the record, the head of the department, which cancelled the conference, was appointed by Sangay.
By the time the Dalai Lama returned to India the event was cancelled and announcements were issued to the media while he was still in the flight, which would have prevented a confirmation with the Tibetan leader and nothing could have been done to stop it. The reason given for the cancellation was the death of a senior monk.
Sources said that the real reason for the CTA president to keep the Dalai Lama in the dark was because the latter would decide again whether to back the Karmapa as his successor. The Karmapa issue has been a major reason of discord between the Dalai Lama and the CTA president. Sources spoke about a telephonic conversation between the Dalai Lama and Sangay in this regard on November 22 when the former was in Japan.
During this conversation, furious arguments broke out between the two. The Dalai Lama is said to have “shouted” at Sangay, saying that the Karmapa wouldn’t be chosen and that he wouldn’t be dictated terms by anyone. In this conversation, the Dalai Lama used some expletives in Tibetan language which he did not expect Sangay to understand as the CTA president doesn’t know the language. However, a Lobsang aide is said to have translated what the Dalai Lama said.
This marks the most significant power play ever between the different factions within the Tibetan exile leadership. In other words, it’s now an all-out battle between the Dalai Lama and Lobsang Sangay over the future of the exile community, which may worsen in the days to come.
(The writer is a columnist and strategic analyst who tweets @Kishkindha)
Source: http://southasianmonitor.com/2018/11/27/differences-between-dalai-lama-and-cta-president-put-tibetan-politics-in-a-tailspin/
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This interesting article has much food for thought:
1. Dalai Lama is angry and shouting expletives as Lobsang Sangay. Everyone knows the Dalai Lama is in full control. He claims he’s retired from politics but this is just to say what the west wants to hear so he can continue getting funding. It looks good to the west that he voluntarily gave up power and this makes him look progressive. But the Dalai Lama controls everything from behind and if you don’t agree with his decisions, he will be furious. Every Tibetan knows this well.
2. Interesting the article mentions Dalai Lama’s cancer is terminal. Everyone knew this but the Dalai Lama tries to cover this point up. Why? Who knows? What is the problem if people knows he has cancer. Tibetan govt tries to play it down.
3. Dalai Lama is angry as his successor will only be on his terms and no one else may dictate to him the terms as Lobsang Sangay tried to do so since it is not a democracy in practice. As all Tibetans know, the Dalai Lama is the Lama-King and he has full power and no one may contradict him. The face he shows the west (soft, friendly, diplomatic, easy-going, democratic) is all just for the west. The face Dalai Lama shows his Tibetan people (fierce, King, angersome, in charge and must be obeyed) is how it really is. Tibetans know the Dalai Lama controls everything and fully manages all politics. People are not happy with this but dare not speak up as there is no democracy.
Writer Rajeev Sharma is telling the situation like it really is. Finally the truth is coming out. Tibetan government in exile is a regime in every sense of the world that depends on all the hundreds of millions of free dollars it has been taking from the west, Japan, Australia and so on. It exists on free money. It is not a good government and has failed all negotiations with China due to the Tibetan leaders’ arrogance. Why arrogance? They think the world will force China to do what Tibetans leaders want and that they are so important on everyone’s agenda. Tibetans are on no one’s top agenda and China is an economic and military super power. China will not and will never kowtow to the Tibetan demands. It is the Tibetans who must beg China to be friends and get some concessions if at all possible. No country has ever dared stand up to USA, but China has and China is growing in power yearly. Everyone is scrambling to be China’s friend and saying goodbye to the Tibetan cause. Tibetan cause is the thing of the past and no economic benefits to support Tibetan cause.
These days every country votes in leaders that can better their country’s economy due to world recession. So every country has to do business and trade and aid with China to improve their economy. If you side with the Dalai Lama and Tibetan govt in exile in India, what do you get? Nothing! So leaders of every nation realize this now and will continue to make friends with China and say goodbye to the Dalai Lama. Dalai Lama on a personal level may be rich, famous and sells a lot of books, but that won’t get Tibet back. That won’t win the support of leaders of the free world and other nations.
Belinda Mae
December 8, 2018
Belinda Mae
December 8, 2018
Belinda Mae
December 8, 2018
Mountains
December 25, 2018
“What does Empress Cixi and the 14th Dalai Lama have in common?”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has a ‘method’ in his very powerful rule.
The Dalai Lama will always say it is not up to him and it’s up to his people. He gave up his power to the people. But it is not really up to his people. His people and his parliament must seek his approval for all decisions or carry out his will. If you ask his people do they want a 15th Dalai Lama after him, they have to say yes as the current one (14th) is watching them and you have to be politically correct to say yes. Who dares to say no? You don’t want to displease him. Who dares to say we want genuine democratically elected leaders. Remember, none of the Dalai Lamas were ever democratically elected (the penny drops). All the Dalai Lamas sit in power on the throne till the end of their lives.
Also how the next Dalai Lama will be found, the current Dalai Lama will definitely set the mechanics during his lifetime and then sit back and say, it’s the people who wanted it this way. It’s the people who wanted another Dalai Lama. Of course they have to say that. If they say they don’t want another Dalai Lama after this one, it is tantamount to treason. It will offend the current Dalai Lama and make him upset. In order for a stateless leader like himself to continue to get millions in aid for free as he has been for 60 years, he must appear democratic. How will he get money to support his vast expenditure of his lama court, if no free donations in the millions are given? So behind the scenes, Dalai Lama pulls all the strings but in front, he acts like he is doesn’t know anything and not involved and his elected leaders are running the show. Nothing can be further from the truth. Just like the last empress Cixi of China. She always enthrones little emperors handpicked by her from her royal family and extended families and controlled their power and ruled China from behind them as their regent during their adolescence. As a woman she could not be the emperor or ruler of all China, so she was clever and put young kids she chose from her royal families on the throne to be their regent and controlled them from behind the gauze curtain. She was suppose to hand power back to them when they reach the age of maturity to rule China, but she never did. She would place the young emperors on the throne during audiences and sit behind a curtain and dictate orders to the ministers in the name of the emperor as their regent. So in this way, she was acting in the name of the emperor (regent), but actually she was in full control. When time came to hand power over to the emperor, she would have them poisoned. Then place another new very young emperor on the throne. She did this for decades.
She was literally the power behind the throne. She could not be dethroned in this way yet she held all power. Like this, she ruled China till her death which was near impossible for any woman to do so. The last emperor Puyi she placed on the throne before the kingdom fell to civil war. (This spawned the movie by director Bernardo Bertolucci “The Last Emperor” and the emperor was played by John Lone.) When time came for the maturing emperors to take actual power from Dowager Cixi during her regencies, she would have them poisoned and install another young emperor and continue to be the regent. In this way, she stayed in power. She didn’t get a chance to poison Puyi because she passed away (rode the dragon to heaven) during his adolescence.
The other only female ‘emperor’ in Chinese history is We Xetian (Empress Wu). Another very incredibly intelligent woman who beat the men around her at their own game and ruled China as a woman.
The Dalai Lama started the Dorje Shugden ban. It came from him and only he can start it. But now he says, it is not him. Because it would make him look bad if he admits the ban came from him which it did. He claims everyone in the monasteries took a vote and they voted Dorje Shugden out. Ignorant western audiences wouldn’t know any better. They had no choice but to vote Dorje Shugden out or the abbots of the monasteries would be dishonorably discharged by the Dalai Lama himself. He places them in power and he can remove them. All Abbots of the great Gelug Monasteries are chosen by the Dalai Lama himself. He can remove them from power anytime, therefore the abbots are frightened of the Dalai Lama. Dalai Lama says he just advised to not practice Shugden, but his people, the abbots in charge, the monasteries took it to another step and outlawed Dorje Shugden and it’s the will of the people. So his ban on Shugden appears democratic. It was up to them. But it is not. He rules behind a ‘gauze’ curtain that he handed his power over to his personal ‘Puyi’ (Lobsang Sangay).
The Dalai Lama cannot show the world he is in full charge, because he would be seen as a dictator and therefore lose all free aid money which he and his government subsist on. Dalai Lama is behind the gauze and holds all power and Lobsang Sangay ‘Puyi’ is on the throne. Strangely similar to Empress Cixi. If Lobsang Sangay does things that does not please the Dalai Lama, you can bet your bottom dollar, he will be dethroned. Again, no Dalai Lama was ever democratically voted into a lifetime of power.
Photos-Empress Cixi of China.
Tsering Ngodup
December 29, 2018
‘Karmapa’ Ogyen Trinley no longer recognised by Indian govt as 17th Karmapa. Indian government is not happy he did not show respect to India for all the years he took refuge in India. He simply renounced his Indian protectorate papers and took a Dominican republic passport. He could have had the courtesy to let Indian government know beforehand and thank them.
Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/67279793.cms?&utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
Sonam Choephel
January 3, 2019
As the so-called spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama strictly abstains from drinking alcohol in accordance to traditional monastic codes. However, it has recently been reported that the religious leader owns his own vineyard in Switzerland! Apparently, various celebrities, including the likes of Roger Moore, Sepp Blatter and Zinedine Zidane have all made trips to the vineyard. What will people say when they find out that a Buddhist monk, who promotes abstinence from alcohol, owns a vineyard that produces wine for sale? This is certainly not going to sit well with his image of a religious leader and member of the Buddhist monastic order.
http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1546557813.mp4
Jampa Youdon
January 10, 2019
Dear Tibetan government-in-exile (Dharamsala),
Sharmapa Rinpoche is the highest authority in the Karma Kagyu after Karmapa. By age-old tradition, Sharmapa is the one that confirms the real incarnation of Karmapa. He recognized Thaye Dorje as the genuine Karmapa. But Dalai Lama endorsed Orgyen Trinley as the real Karmapa. Dalai Lama is a great lama but there has never been a tradition of him recognizing a Karmapa.
Both ‘Karmapas’ have big followings in and out of Tibet. So which one should we follow? We have to follow the genuine Karmapa. If we follow the fake one, we will get fake teachings, fake lineage and no results. We can even take rebirth in the lower realms.
Only the Tibetan leaders can tell us which is the real Karmapa. You have told us which one is the real Panchen Lama. We follow the Panchen of your choosing. Since then we have condemned China and condemned the fake Panchen Lama. Now it is the same situation with Karmapa. We have denounced the fake Karmapa and ask him to step down. He is destroying the Karma Kagyu Lineage.
This issue has torn the Karma Kagyu sect in half. There are many who are so confused and some gave up Tibetan Buddhism altogether because of this. We must solve the confusion. This does not look good for the Tibetan government in exile because the confusion was started by Tibetan government. I support Dalai Lama and Tibetan government. But so many of us need to know the real Karmapa already. Don’t remain silent. Which one is the real Karmapa.
Tibetan government in exile, you have created two Gelugs (Pro-Dorje Shugden and against), you have created two Panchen Rinpoches, two Karmapas, two Dromo Geshe Rinpoches, two Kundeling Rinpoches and so on. When are you going to solve all the confusion. You are destroying Tibetan Buddhism.
Rohit Sharma
February 22, 2019
Contemplate this:
Indian journalists sound desperate when they talk about terrorist attacks on India. As this article correctly states, there is little that India can do to address terrorism as they seem to operate from Pakistan. To deal with the terrorists, Indians will have to literally attack Pakistan which it cannot do.
Well, there is something India can do which is to stop Dharamsala’s terrorist activities against China being executed from Indian soil. The Tibetans have been attacking China for decades, yet they say they wish to return to Tibet. How do you return to a place you constantly criticize? The Dalai Lama is literally begging China to allow him to visit the Five Peaks of Manjushri pilgrimage site in China and also his birthplace in Amdo, Tibet. But if the Dalai Lama keeps criticizing China, why would they sit at the bargaining table with him? India allows for all of this to happen on Indian soil, so that would irritate China.
Yet India wants concessions from China on the terrorist issue. Meanwhile, Beijing equates Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader Hafiz Saeed to India supporting the Dalai Lama against China for five decades now. Furthermore, India wants China to speak up against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) Masood Azhar. But India does not speak up against Dalai Lama. Whether the world thinks the Dalai Lama is the good guy or not, he is a thorn in China’s side so anyone that supports him is not supporting China. Similar to the situation, LeT’s Hafiz Saeed and JeM’s Masood Azhar are a thorn in India’s side but they do not bother China and her allies, so why should China do anything about them? If India does something on the Dalai Lama, then it would be fair to ask China to do something about their support of Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Masood Azhar. Simple equation.
These reports are really bare-faced hypocrisy. It implies one nation is helpless against terrorists because the terrorists camp out in another country. But that did not stop the US from heavily bombing Iraq on the basis that it was harboring terrorists. The US did not hesitate to overthrow the government and murder its leader Saddam Hussein.
It is also very hypocritical that the same journalists who are outraged at China’s annexation of Tibet are quiet about Israel’s annexation of Palestine.
It is interesting to note that most terrorist attacks are aimed at the US and her allies. Everyone conveniently forgets that the US has been throwing their weight around for decades and can even determine which leader they want in other countries.
Back to India – if China can convince North Korea to have détente with the US, China can similarly help India with the JeM. India simply has to give up the Tibet card. The article is also a one-sided opinion piece because India faces as many terrorist threats from Bangladesh, with just as many terrorist camps, but because Bangladesh is not China, their involvement is not mentioned.
India is a great country. China and India as friends will be able to influence the globe literally economically and, eventually, militarily. But India has to play fair. By supporting the Dalai Lama, India will get nothing and furthermore, it will be a stumbling block to China’s 1.4 billion people becoming friends with India’s 1.3 billion people.
The Dalai Lama has to be compassionate and stop speaking against China because he has to consider the difficulty he places India in as his host. Each time he criticizes and allows his refugees to protest against China and ask for western support, it makes China look bad. So if the Dalai Lama wants China and India to become closer and benefit each other economically then he has to be silent on this already.
The Diplomat’s Prarthana Basu sums it up very well by saying in the article below that “Now with another terrorist attack infuriating India’s populace, the mystery behind this Chinese silence remains unsolved. While most attribute China’s apparent silence as a favor to Pakistan, as both continue to maintain their “all-weather friendship,” others argue that China holds India responsible for granting political asylum to the Tibetan leader Dalai Lama, whom Beijing equates to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader Hafiz Saeed.”
John
September 19, 2019
Dalai Lama had forgotten that he and the Tibetan in India are refugees too and should understand the sentiment of being refugees. It’s not by choice but by a situation that makes them leave their homeland. Dalai Lama and Tibetans that live in India are considered very lucky to have India to host them for 60 years with so much help and benefit to them. Tibetans are allowed to preserve their culture and tradition and build the monastery and many other things. The Indians even see that the Tibetans are living in better condition than them and the Indians are already starting to request the Tibetan to leave India.