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: Ringzin Tsomo
DELHI – There is more disappointment in store for the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), who are the Tibetan leadership based in Dharamsala. It comes in the wake of Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale’s memo discouraging Indian officials from attending events hosted by the CTA. It has now come to light that the main event of the CTA’s year-long #thankyouindia2018 campaign has been moved from Delhi to Dharamsala.
Planned for 1st April 2018, the event was due to be held in Thyagaraj Sports Complex, a 5600-capacity stadium. When news first broke about the Honorable Gokhale’s note, it was speculated that the CTA shifted the event from high-profile Delhi to low-profile Dharamsala for fear of a spectacularly bad turnout by the Indian ministers. After all, no one would cancel a major event just three weeks before it is due to be held, solely on the basis of newspaper reports and without first corroborating with the ministers’ personal assistants.
Yet, we now know that the event was moved from Delhi to Dharamsala at the behest of the Indian government, known colloquially as “The Centre”. Why would the Tibetan refugees’ biggest sponsor, who has given them millions of dollars in tax-free aid as well as rent-free land for 60 years, suddenly make such a request? The only logical conclusion is that this is a clear sign of their eagerness to mend their relationship with China. As a consequence of this move:
- The Chinese leadership in Beijing now knows Delhi is serious about mending their relationship, which severely deteriorated over the course of 2017 to the point it nearly culminated in conflict. In Beijing’s eyes, this incident will reflect diminishing Indian support for the Tibetan leadership and if they so request, Delhi will in the future continue to respond with pressure on the CTA.
- To a lesser extent, Delhi also knows the CTA will be cooperative towards any future requests and will continue to expect such cooperation from them. Any resistance or hesitation will be viewed as the Tibetans’ reluctance to support Indian foreign policy.
- For the arrogant Tibetan officials who act with impunity, sometimes even getting into street brawls with people who do not share their views, this incident will show all Tibetans that in the face of a real administration, their own government is impotent and without any actual power. They exist on the basis of another party allowing them to exist and when push comes to shove, they have many masters to answer to. The CTA has no power over their own future – living in India, they are allowed to operate thanks to the kindness of India. In attempting to fulfil their political aspirations, their success rests in the hands of China. In trying to improve the Tibetan standard of living in exile, their abilities are controlled by the generosity of sponsors (whether governmental or private individuals).
- The news of the CTA being compelled to move their event from Delhi to Dharamsala will hurt Tibetan morale greatly. This is especially true of the Tibetans who live in Tibet, who rely on the CTA to express and act upon their aspirations for independence or an autonomous state. It is inevitable that this news will cause many people to lose hope and confidence in their leadership.
- The loss of hope, combined with the knowledge that their own leaders are powerless, will encourage more people to protest against Sikyong Lobsang Sangay and his government. Already Tibetans in exile are unhappy with Lobsang Sangay’s leadership, protesting him wherever he travels to. In recent times, two people have threatened to self-immolate against the CTA, as a result of his poor leadership. This added embarrassment and loss of morale may encourage others to speak up against Lobsang Sangay and his government.
- On the topic of poor leadership, the #thankyouindia2018 campaign was the brainchild of Dhardon Sharling, the secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations, who took great pride when announcing this campaign. No doubt her office will be blamed for the execution of this poorly-planned campaign that has met with nothing but embarrassment after embarrassment.
- In defending herself against these criticisms of her successive failures, Dhardon Sharling will invariably have less time to attack groups she perceives do not support the CTA, like Dorje Shugden practitioners whom she was very proud to release a video and book against. She will no longer have the political clout necessary to be so brazen in attacking other people.
- Dhardon Sharling is not the only one who will have to deal with a decline in political support. In seeing India rescind their support for the Tibetans, it may embolden other countries to deny them too. After all, India has been the Tibetans’ biggest sponsor for the last 60 years. Not only have the Tibetans received huge tracts of rent-free land, but they have not paid taxes for the millions of dollars in aid they have received. If India will rescind their support for the Tibetans in favor of a better relationship with China, it may encourage other nations to do the same because a precedent has already been set by the country from whom no one would have expected this.
- The incident will also inspire more media to report the truth about the CTA, which papers like The Guardian have been doing in recent times. The CTA and His Holiness the Dalai Lama are no longer the untouchable darlings of the media, as they have become embroiled in scandal after scandal related to everything from money laundering, to sexual assault, to embezzlement, to suppression of religious and media freedoms.
- No longer will people believe in the sincerity of the CTA. If the CTA were genuine in wanting to thank India, they would have gone ahead with the event at its planned venue, regardless of the turnout by the Indian ministers. In moving it to a location that bears no significance to the actual Indian population (Dharamsala is not an economic or political center for them), it reflects their real motivation for organizing the event to begin with. In actuality, the #thankyouindia2018 campaign was only organized in response to accusations of Tibetan ingratitude, which has been on the rise since the 2016 sweater market fire at Lal Qilla, Delhi. The whole campaign was intended to paint the Tibetans as having attributes such as gratitude, and therefore being deserving of more aid and assistance.
- If Tibetans are not interested in events that celebrate and commemorate their own significant history, they will not be interested in events celebrating others. Now that it is known the CTA were told to move to Dharamsala, it seems certain that had it continued in Delhi, the event would have been very poorly-attended. However, the situation will not improve by moving it to Dharamsala – for their own events which hold significance to the Tibetans themselves, fewer people are turning up each year. For example, during the Democracy Day celebrations in 2016, only 200 people turned up.
- The unparalleled prestige of holding an event in Delhi cannot be matched by an event held in Dharamsala. Unlike Dharamsala, the city of Delhi is a world capital, a global economic powerhouse and the administrative seat of the world’s largest democracy where the highest-level government decisions are made. Dharamsala, of course, bears nowhere near the same level of prestige.
- Allowing the event to take place in Delhi would have been the Indian government’s indirect support for the CTA. A Delhi-based event would have been very high profile and required security clearance, permits, etc. from the authorities. At this “sensitive time” in Sino-Indian relations, there is no way the Indian leadership would have allowed the CTA to host such a big event in the administrative capital of India at the cost of Indian foreign relations.
- The CTA has to remember the Indian government has already issued a memo against attending any CTA-hosted events. If their event had continued in Delhi and no one turned up, it would have been even more glaringly obvious that the ministers did not want to go or could not go, because they are all located just around the corner in the same city. In fact, prior to the news that the event had been moved to Dharamsala, it was revealed that former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declined to attend. Many other ministers, including the Deputy Prime Minister, did not RSVP.
- By telling the CTA to move it to a more controllable location like Dharamsala, the Indian government essentially saved the Tibetans from potential embarrassment. If the Chinese leadership continues to protest against the event, it will be much easier now for the Indian government to respond by saying Dharamsala is the CTA’s own territory, so they cannot do much to stop them.
- This is not the first time that Tibetans have been forced to downgrade. Most significantly, they were previously known as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile (TGiE). After the Chinese lodged complaints about the illogical nature of two governments operating in one country, the TGiE were forced to downgrade to “Central Tibetan Administration”, certainly less prestigious and powerful-sounding when compared to having ‘government’ in one’s title. This downgrade was very painful to the Tibetans, and something that Tibetan thinkers and essayists like Jamyang Norbu complained about.
- The CTA needs to stop living in the past when they still commanded the world’s sympathy. This fiasco clearly shows they are not respected, and no longer have the sympathy and attention of the many countries who have supported them financially throughout the years. All it took was one memo from one minister to another, which was followed by a note to all officials, to send their year-long campaign into a tailspin.
It has been speculated that the Indian government themselves leaked the Foreign Secretary’s memo to discourage other people, such as Bollywood stars and Indian entrepreneurs, from attending CTA events in lieu of the ministers. If that is indeed the case, the CTA can look forward to even more poorly-attended events for the rest of the year. Interestingly, the memo and cancellation of the event was widely covered by the Indian press, but not by the Tibetan ones. Clearly the Tibetan papers are embarrassed by what most have correctly perceived as declining Indian support for the Tibetan leadership.
The Tibetan media have correctly appraised the situation but the same cannot be said of the CTA, who have demonstrated in the past that their normal reaction is to blame someone else. Given the CTA’s history, there is therefore the very real possibility that attacks against Dorje Shugden people will temporarily increase, since the Tibetan leadership need to retaliate and have to find a scapegoat for their failures. They need some means of redirecting their people’s anger and frustration against them, towards an easy target that has been unfairly vilified for 20 years.
Over time however, as more and more people join the Indian government in disassociating with the Tibetan leadership in favor of a relationship with China, the CTA will have no choice but to humble down. It has been 60 years of unchecked spending and unaccounted-for donations, and 60 years of everyone lauding them as paragons of the non-violent model of political struggle. These past six decades have led to a government that is arrogant, overreaching and overestimating their own influence and power.
Unfortunately, all of this news will only serve to disappoint His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who truly loves the Tibetan people and will perceive this incident as a loss of support for the Tibetan cause, and conclude that his people are not doing their job. This will not be the first time that the Tibetan leadership have disappointed His Holiness the Dalai Lama who has given his life to his people and unfortunately, because the CTA are driven by greed and self-gain, it will not be the last. Over and over again, they have embarrassed the Tibetan people and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to the point one has to wonder if it is intentional or something else. Because the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result and given the CTA has spent 60 years antagonizing the Chinese, and has no results to show for it, perhaps it is finally time they try a friendlier approach to Beijing before it is too late.
The below screenshots display the calendar and schedule that was planned for the #thankyouindia2018 event in Delhi which were later removed due to the changing of venue.
THE HINDU: Government’s discomfort was ‘conveyed’ to Tibetan leadership on Dalai Lama events in Delhi
SCROLL.IN: Tibetan administration calls off one Dalai Lama event in Delhi, shifts another to Dharamsala
OUTLOOKINDIA.COM: Dalai Lama’s Mega Events Cancelled After Government Asks Leaders, Officials To Keep Away To Please China
THE INDIAN EXPRESS: Dalai Lama events in Delhi cancelled, Tibetans shift ‘Thank You India’ function to Dharamsala
FIRSTPOST: After controversial Cabinet note, Tibet’s govt-in-exile shifts event marking Dalai Lama’s 60th year in exile to Dharamsala
FINANCIAL EXPRESS: Dalai Lama event in Delhi cancelled, ‘Thank You India’ programme shifted to Dharamsala, here is why
Addendum: Dalai Lama snubs Indian leaders as he is perhaps upset they snubbed him
Following on with the story that Indian officials asked the Central Tibetan Administration to move their celebrations away from Delhi, the Dalai Lama is reported to be be upset that the incident took place. In return, he has rejected attending an event which the President of India, Narendra Modi will be attending, showing his dissatisfaction.
Addendum: Indian minister rejects Central Tibetan Administration
Indian minister Kishan Kapoor did not turn up to an official Tibetan function to commemorate the 59th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day. As a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Dharamsala constituency and State Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Kishan Kapoor was originally announced as the Chief Guest for the event. In light of recent events, with the leak of an official Indian government memo directing ministers and officials not to attend Tibetan-related activities, it is clear that Kishan Kapoor was towing the line.
Following the cancelation of “Thank You India” events in Delhi and the banning of the Tibetan Uprising Day rallies in the India’s capital, it is clear that the Indian government think attending such events may harm Sino-Indian ties. Kishan Kapoor’s absence is a clear indication that the Indian government is now placing more importance on pleasing China than worrying about Tibetan sentiments. After all, it is in global interest that India and China mend their relationship. No one wants to see another Doklam standoff.
Addendum: Not Delhi or Dharamsala stadium, but a temple compound
After Indian ministers refused to attend the “Thank You India” events organised by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), officials have even asked the Tibetan leadership to move the event to Dharamsala instead of Delhi. The Indian officials did not want to jeopardize improving relations with China. Unfortunately, the venue of the event was re-located to a temple compound in Dharamsala, rather than a stadium. These incidents are clear signs that India is starting to abandon the Tibetans to get on China’s good side. Any country would do the same when it comes to the welfare of its citizens. This is even more so for India, because the Tibetans have never repaid India’s kindness. It does not make sense for India to continue to protect the Tibetans and jeopardize India-China relations. 1.3 billion Indians are definitely more important than a handful of Tibetans.
Thinley Woeser
June 8, 2018
Things are going to be very different for Tibetans in India from now on as Sino-Indian relations get warmer by the day. India has vowed to firmly adhere to the one-China policy and ensure Tibet-related issues are handled ‘properly’. This means India will tighten her grip on all Tibetan-related activities. So, the trouble-making Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) better watch themselves and not create further problems that may antagonise China. This is something India will no longer tolerate.
Peljor
June 14, 2018
Ex-Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche caught sleeping in a meeting
The representative of the Dalai Lama and former prime minister of the Tibetan government in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche during an important meeting having a nice sleep. The Tibetan government in-exile are run by people like this who have no control over their body and manners. They only stay awake in the meeting if there is FREE aid money coming their way to line their pockets. Shameful how Samdong Rinpoche is sleeping in the middle of a meeting and he represents the Tibetan government in-exile. This is why after 60 years Tibetan leaders have failed to get Tibet back but blame others for their failures. Shame!
http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1528941530.mp4
Dorji Damdu
June 28, 2018
The Dalai Lama has emerged as the biggest talking point during informal Sino-Indian bilateral talks during 2018, such as the Wuhan Summit. This is all due to concerns related to the Dalai Lama’s health. China wants the Dalai Lama to travel to Tibet, knowing that it would most probably be a one-way ticket. India on the other hand initiated the talks, shunning the Dalai Lama and kowtowed to China’s rising power. Their aim was to strike a deal to resolve border issues.
Sonam Wangchuk
June 28, 2018
The Central Tibetan Administration may be delighted to read the Daily O’s claim that His Holiness the Dalai Lama was the main subject of discussion during the recent informal summit in Wuhan between Prime Minister Modi of India and President Xi of China. However, it is said that the discussion was prompted by the Dalai Lama’s ailing health, and that China and India entered into discussion to avoid a sequel to the 73-day stand-off between two countries. Perhaps the dialogue between His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s representatives and Beijing may finally resume since Prime Minister Modi and President Xi are being brought into the picture.
Yangdon Dhondup
June 29, 2018
Here is another article that gives a bleak assessment of the situation regarding the Dalai Lama and of the Tibetan cause. It mentions clearly how Tibet is losing out to China and why. It also explains why Lobsang Sangay is feebly respected by the Tibetan diaspora. The articles does not foretell good news for the Tibetan diaspora, in fact it does not even give a possible outcome for what is going to happen to them. It shows how the Dalai Lama is losing influence over world leaders from countries like the Netherlands to the United States. Such articles are becoming increasingly common because they reflect the situation for the Tibetans in-exile and their leaders.
Tsering Drolhma
July 8, 2018
UNRULY TIBETANS FIGHTING AT DALAI LAMA BIRTHDAY PARTY AGAIN
July 2018-NYC- Tibetans fighting at some birthday celebratory event for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They set up a throne in the back, place Dalai Lama’s picture, and they fight, push, shout, scream at each other right in front of the throne of Dalai Lama and it’s filmed. That is the level of the Tibetans overall. Tibetans are not gentle, Buddhist, peace-loving, tolerant people as they portray to the world. They are rough, rude, hateful, vengeful, violent, regionalistic, narrow minded and will create trouble wherever they go. Very feudal. They always resort to vulgar words and violence. There are some moderate Tibetans, but on the whole they are very violent people who do not practice Buddhism. The average Tibetan know nothing of Buddhism and do not practice. Buddhism is just a meal ticket for them to get to another country. Their support of Dalai Lama is blind and only to be politically correct and they never practice what he teaches. Disgraceful to see a group of violent Tibetans fighting at a Dalai Lama birthday event. Shameful.☹
Tibetans are not welcomed wherever they go. Bhutanese kicked them out. Nepal hates Tibetans. India has no more use for the ‘refugee’ Tibetans and their temples made of gold. After 60 years they cannot get their own country back. What a bunch of losers and useless government people they have.
http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1531033672.mp4
Tsering Drolhma
July 15, 2018
The letter:
It is about the incident that happened at His Holiness’s birthday celebration in NYC recently July 6, 2018. Some members of Tibetan woman association approached to Parliamentarian Tenpa Yarphel during the ceremony and complained that his comments regarding Nechung was disrespect to the protector and His Holiness. They also said him that he made many Tibetan people sad with his comments. And told him not to do that again in the future. Then Dhondup Tseten stood up and shamelessly touched those women. That incident almost made the ceremony stopped. To keep maintaining the relationship between Tibetan Woman Association and Tibetan Parliament Representative, TWA are asking for an apology letter from Dhondup Tseten for touching their members.
(It is so sad that in the fake democracy of the Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala you cannot say anything against a leader or criticize. Too bad)
Carolle McAquire
July 11, 2018
Dalai Lama for debate, discussion to reconcile opposing viewpoints
The Dalai Lama always says we should have honest face to face discussion so misunderstandings are resolved especially on religious issues. Why does the Dalai Lama refuse to meet the Dorje Shugden followers who number in the hundreds of thousands to resolve the Dorje Shugden issue. Many letters have been submitted to request audience since 1996 and he and his office does not reply. Dalai Lama’s spirit of open debate and resolutions is not across the board. Too bad. Carolle McAquire
http://www.uniindia.com/dalai-lama-for-debate-discussion-to-reconcile-opposing-viewpoints/states/news/1285325.html
Bonnie Fider
July 12, 2018
WHY DOES RICHARD GERE AND DALAI LAMA SUPPORT SOGYAL THE DISGUSTING ABUSER?
As long as you are friends with the Dalai Lama, your actions are excusable, no matter how horrendous they may be. Even something as heinous as sexual abuse of over 60 women can be overlooked when the perpetrator is friends with the Dalai Lama namely Sogyal Rinpoche. Why rush to join the chorus of Hollywood voices condemning Harvey Weinstein’s criminality, but remain silent against Sogyal’s exploitation and abuse of women? Richard Gere was vocal in condemning against all the abuses and attacks against women by Harvey Weinstein. But silent on Sogyal Rinpoche. BBC has a full length documentary on Sogyal’s abuses as you can view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWhIivvmMnk. Yet Richard Gere can take photos with the disgusting and abusive Sogyal. Is it because one group of women are worth protecting and the other are not? If it is not for that reason, then it can only be because Sogyal is the Dalai Lama’s friend. The Dalai Lama’s condemnation against Sogyal is very light and it’s disappointing. I guess since Dalai Lama supported Sogyal so much, he can’t be seen as wrong in doing so. Politics is sad.
Sherab Wangmo
July 12, 2018
TENMA VERY ANGRY WITH SIKYONG LOBSANG SANGYE AND PENPA TSERING
Tenma deity takes trance of her oracle in Nechung Monastery in Dharamsala, North India. The deity is highly displeased and angry at Sikyong Lobsang Sangye and Penpa Tsering. She is scolding them by waving her arms at them and throwing rice at them. You can see Penpa Tsering shielding himself. These two has always been corrupt and extremely self-serving. Naturally the oracles of the Dalai Lama take trance and are very angry.
http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1531344206.mp4
Suresh Ratna
July 13, 2018
SUMAA has been consistent in their efforts to evict Tibetans from Arunachal Pradesh as the Tibetans are known to exploit benefits given to locals. The Central Tibetan Administration, especially their so-called ‘president’ Lobsang Sangay, made the situation worse by rubbing salt in the wound, making a statement that Chief Minister Pema Khandu is an ardent follower of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a lifelong friend of the Tibetan people. This was right after Khandu announced the adoption of the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy in Arunachal Pradesh.
Tibetan refugees create a lot of problems for the locals no matter where they are, especially in Arunachal Pradesh. They take the locals’ land and resources without giving anything in return, making the locals furious to the extent that they are now demanding a written undertaking from the Tibetan refugees not to claim Indian citizenship and STC/PRC in Arunachal Pradesh. It is time to impeach Sangay for a better leader to guide and take care of the Tibetans in India before the wrath of locals evict Tibetans from the state or even the country for good.
Christie Donald
July 14, 2018
Hollywood is one of the most influential groups of people who have promoted the mysticism of Buddhist Tantra to the world. Together with the media, they have packaged Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan lamas into a fantasy Utopia, filled with God-like beings who are able to lead people along the quick path to enlightenment.
This propaganda has been widely exploited by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) to garner support, especially financial aid, for the so-called Tibetan Cause and the Tibetan struggle against Chinese rule. Little does the West, including Richard Gere and the so-called Buddhist Professor Robert Thurman, know that efforts from China to improve the infrastructure and standard of living for the Tibetans in China have created opportunities for Tibetans to grow and be successful. This is something that is rarely seen in exile under the governance of the CTA.
This false image that has been promoted for the past 60 years or so is now slowly fading away as more and more victims come forward, exposing the sexual abuse they have suffered under the hands of Tibetan lamas like Sogyal Rinpoche. The root of the problem is clear, people are greedy and lazy while wanting quick success and attention. Since they get these from the Tibetan lamas like Sogyal, they are willing to accept the exploitation. This is further driven by fear that they would no longer be seen as the privileged ones in the inner circle if they do not clutch at their lamas and be seen showing tremendous devotion to their gurus. With only a superficial knowledge of Buddhism, this cult-like group of Hollywood stars and American politicians like Richard Gere continue to generate respect and love for their skewed version of the “Dharma”, while real Buddhist masters are relegated to the side lines.
Tsewang
July 26, 2018
Tai Situpa’s Karmapa candidate’s escape to USA and continued stay in USA is a huge embarrassment to the Dalai Lama and Tibetan government in exile. The Karmapa said he is very sad with his situation in his recent video (youtu.be/AdI4DMRFkm4?hid).
Dalai Lama wants Tibet to be part of China
August 7, 2018
Dalai Lama says returning to China is better for Tibetans-What do rangzen (Tibet Independence fighters) people fighting for Tibet’s freedom do now??? Have we wasted our time?
Suddenly the Dalai Lama keeps insisting he wants to be a part of China. How about all the tens of millions of dollars in money and so much time and resource poured into the Free Tibet movement for 57 years in exile. Is that all wasted? Is that all down the drain? How can the Dalai Lama turn around on us like that?
If Dalai Lama returns to Tibet/China, then he is telling the world China is good for Tibetans and we Tibetans want to be a part of China. Is that correct? So Dalai Lama is telling the world that Tibet is a part of China? After so many years of saying we want independence and our country was eaten and now Dalai Lama is sending what message to the world?
How will India feel after hosting the Dalai Lama for so many years? – This one minute video shows the Dalai Lama August 2018 saying he feels Tibet should be a part of China! -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xLKINuIrtE
Dalai Lama wants Tibet to be part of China
August 8, 2018
Dalai Lama says returning to China is better for Tibetans-What do rangzen (Tibet Independence fighters) people fighting for Tibet’s freedom do now??? Have we wasted our time?
Suddenly the Dalai Lama keeps insisting he wants to be a part of China. How about all the tens of millions of dollars in money and so much time and resource poured into the Free Tibet movement for 57 years in exile. Is that all wasted? Is that all down the drain? How can the Dalai Lama turn around on us like that?
If Dalai Lama returns to Tibet/China, then he is telling the world China is good for Tibetans and we Tibetans want to be a part of China. Is that correct? So Dalai Lama is telling the world that Tibet is a part of China? After so many years of saying we want independence and our country was eaten and now Dalai Lama is sending what message to the world?
How will India feel after hosting the Dalai Lama for so many years? – This one minute video shows the Dalai Lama August 2018 saying he feels Tibet should be a part of China!
http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1533732491.mp4
Yoezer
August 8, 2018
While the government of Nepal has framed a policy to tighten the noose around non-governmental organisations, they have welcomed 30 Chinese NGOs to enter the country. These NGOs will penetrate the country’s social sector at the grassroots level. This is the first time such a large number of Chinese NGOs have entered Nepal at one time. Nepal is increasingly open to Chinese influence, a sign that ties between both countries are strengthening, while India’s influence is being reduced. The time has passed for India’s monopoly to remain uninterrupted in Nepal as opportunities to engage with China are being welcomed.
Jampa Lhundup
August 8, 2018
The Nikkei Asian Review is a highly reputable news platform. They are not tabloid in any sense of the word. What they publish is reputable and thoroughly reliable. They mention clearly in an article published August 7, 2018 that the Dalai Lama has a terminal illness. The Prime Minister of India knowing this is now conciliatory towards China. He understands that the Dalai Lama cannot be used as a pawn in irritating China any further. Negotiations are progressing that after the passing of Dalai Lama, his government in-exile will close. The end.
Ayana
August 9, 2018
Why doesn’t the United States and its allies end Refugee Status for the useless Tibetans? They have been refugees for 60 years now and don’t tell me they still cannot get their lives back in order?
Tibetans really know how to put on a good show and use people, take their money and do nothing in return.
Lhakpa Dhendup
August 10, 2018
What will the all the people around the world and in Tibet do now? Dalai Lama says he is happy that Tibet is a part of China and should remain a part of China. So many Tibetans self-immolated for Tibet to be independent and now Dalai Lama did a 360 degree turn and says he wants to go back to Tibet and China and Tibet should be a part of China. So unbelievable. So many are angry and disappointed.
Dalai Lama should set things right
August 12, 2018
Dear Dalai Lama,
Since you started the cruel ban against the 350 year Dorje Shugden practice, how has it benefit your Tibetan society and Buddhism in the world? Things have become worse and most educated Tibetans can see this. They don’t speak out not because they don’t see your ban as wrong, but you instill fear in them and not respect. It is like fear of a dictator. I am sorry to say so. Everyone is divided. There is no harmony. Before your ban there was more harmony and unity.
By enacting the ban, you split the monasteries, split so many families, split regions in Tibet apart, split your disciples from you, split your own gurus from you, split Tibetan Buddhism apart. You have created so much disharmony.
It is not democratic what you have done to ban a religion within your community. You always talk of tolerance and acceptance and democracy and yet you do not accept and tolerate something different from your beliefs. When people practice Dorje Shugden you ostracize them, ban them from seeing you, ban them from using Tibetan facilities. You know you have done that. There are videos that capture your speech and prove this point. You even had people expelled from monasteries just because they practice Dorje Shugden. Some of the monks you expelled have been in the monastery for over 40 years. Many older monks shed tears because of this.
Many young educated Tibetans lost confidence in you as they saw the damage the Dorje Shugden ban created and they lose hope. Many have become free thinkers. They reject what you have done. So many people in the west left Buddhism because of the confusion you created with this ban against Dorje Shugden which is immoral.
You could of had millions of people who practice Dorje Shugden to support, love and follow you, but you scared them away. They are hurt and very disappointed. They loved you and respected you deeply before the ban. It has been 60 years and you have failed to get Tibet back. Your biggest failure is not getting Tibet back after 57 years in exile. Now you are begging China to allow you to return to Tibet to the disappointment of thousands of people who fought for a free Tibet believing in you. So many self-immolated for a free Tibet and now you want Tibet to be a part of China with no referendum from Tibetans. Just like a dictator, you decide on your own. It was your government and you that lost Tibet in the first place. Your policies and style of doing things do not benefit Tibet and Buddhism. You have been the sole ruler of Tibet your whole life and you still have not gotten our country of Tibet back for us. Our families and us are separated. Yet you create more pain by creating a ban to further divide people. Please have compassion.
No other Buddhist leader has banned or condemned any religion except for you. It looks very bad. You are a Nobel laureate and this is not fitting of a laureate. You should unite people and not separate them by religious differences.
You said Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi did not do right to the Rohingya people in Myanmar due to religious differences, but you are doing the same thing to the Shugden Buddhists within your own society. There is a parallel in this. You separate the Shugden Buddhists from the others in Tibetan society.
You have lost so many people who would have loved and supported you. You have lost so much support around the world. The Shugden Buddhists who love you number in the millions. When you are fast losing support from governments and private people, it will not do you well to lose more.
After you are passed away in the future, the rift you created between the Dorje Shugden and non-Dorje Shugden people will remain for a while and that will be your legacy. Disharmony. You will be remembered for this. Not as a hero but a disharmony creator.
Dorje Shugden will spread and further grow, but you will be no more as you are a human. No one wishes you bad and in fact we hope you have a long and healthy life, but we have lost so much hope and have so much despair because of you. All the hundreds of Dorje Shugden lamas, tulkus and geshes are maturing and there are hundreds of Dorje Shugden monasteries in Tibet who will not give up Dorje Shugden. You have made a mistake. These hundreds of teachers and teachers to be will spread Dorje Shugden further in the future.
The gurus that gave us Dorje Shugden as a spiritual practice and you have called these holy gurus wrong and they are mistaken in giving us Dorje Shugden. How can you insult our gurus whom we respect so much? If they can be wrong, then you can be wrong. Then all gurus can be wrong. So no one needs to listen to any guru? You have created this trend. It is not healthy. Your own gurus practiced Dorje Shugden their whole lives. Your own gurus were exemplary and highly learned.
Dalai Lama you have created so much pain with this ban against so many people due to religion. You are ageing fast. Are you going to do anything about it or stay stubborn, hard and un-moving. You show a smile and preach peace and harmony wherever you go. But will you do the same to your own people? Please rectify the wrong you have done. Please before it is too late. You can create harmony again or you can pass away in the future with this legacy of peace. May you live long and think carefully and admit what was a mistake in having this unethical ban against Dorje Shugden religion.
Ojas
August 14, 2018
Supreme Court of India JUSTICE Mr. MARKANDEY KATJU (RETD) writes that Tibet is much better under the Chinese than it was under the lamas who only wanted to make the populace slaves. It was feudal and it will never return to the backwardness again.
Vardaniya
August 20, 2018
The cracks in Tibetan society are starting to show, and it is now coming to the attention of local Indians who have all but identified the Tibetan leadership as the source of the divisions. According to this author, disunity amongst the Tibetans is now creating problems for Indian law enforcement agencies, and this disunity may culminate in young Tibetans holding silent grudges against their host country. It is incredible that after six decades of generosity from India, Indians are now facing the very real possibility Tibetans can be ungrateful towards India. The Tibetan leadership totally failed to impart positive values upon their exiled community, like gratitude for those kindest to them and the need to repay these kindnesses with real, tangible results. It’s also very unlikely that the Tibetan leadership will now start to do this, after six decades of failing to do so. Indians need to realise this, and see that there is no benefit for their nation to align themselves with the Tibetan leadership, and there never will be.
Maya
August 24, 2018
Although the Dalai Lama has offered an apology, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) still expressed their disappointment over his controversial comment on Nehru, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC). Dalai Lama called Nehru self-centred.
The Congress said Dalai Lama being a foreigner should shun and refrain from interfering in the internal as well as external affairs of India.
Thupten Lungrig
September 20, 2018
His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s speeches create headlines nowadays not because they bring wisdom and enlightening thoughts, but rather unpleasant feelings and disapprovals. From the sexist quip in 2015, his gaffe on Nehru, and his recent comment about Europe that caused him to be labelled as White Supremacist, there is now one more to add onto the list. In order to be congenial and consistent with the image of a Nobel Peace Laureate, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been issuing statements, especially about Islam, such as redefining Jihad as an interior struggle.
More and more people are expressing their doubt, with some even directly pointing out the mistakes in the Dalai Lama’s speech. This pattern of speech of strong statements that ends up in denial or apology seems consistent with his advice concerning the practice of Dorje Shugden. With the reasons behind the ban shifted so much over time, perhaps there really was never any validity behind the ban at all.