A Tibetan youth named Dugkho set himself ablaze in Ngaba’s Soruma township on Saturday. It is not known if he is still alive.
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
Just in the last few weeks, another two Tibetan youths have set themselves on fire in the name of the Dalai Lama. This brings the number of Tibetan self-immolations to 164 since 1998. The bulk, if not all of the Tibetan self-immolators shouted pro-Dalai Lama slogans, as if reading from a set script. They died extremely excruciating deaths, believing that somehow their demise would serve the Dalai Lama’s purpose. Tibet was lost to the Chinese in 1959 and it would be almost 40 years later before the first case of Tibetan self-immolation happened. This itself is interesting and begs the question ‘how’ the Tibetan people came to believe that killing themselves is a noble way to serve their beloved God-King.
Dalai Lama supporters such as Robert Thurman shamelessly uses the tragic deaths of Tibetans to promote his own commercial operations.
Suicide by any means is antithesis to what the Dalai Lama is supposed to embody – the teachings of the Buddha that states, amongst its core beliefs, that all lives are precious and that it is a sin take any life, even if it is one’s own. The Dalai Lama and his exile government known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) who are based in Dharamsala, trot around the world to sell the idea that the Tibetan struggle is in fact a struggle between Communism and Buddhism. In this they claim ownership to the tenets of Buddhism. And yet it seems acceptable to deform the Buddha’s teachings when it suits the Tibetan leadership’s purpose.
At the height of Tibetan self-immolation in 2012 (which saw 86 deaths, the highest in any one year), the question asked by Boston University scholar and regular CNN Blog contributor Stephen Prothero was what the Dalai Lama was doing to stop the Tibetan people from taking their own lives needlessly. Prothero’s question was valid because to the Tibetan people, the word of the Dalai Lama is not only law but also a religious edict. In short, whatever the Dalai Lama decrees must be obeyed and as Prothero so aptly asks, why did the Dalai Lama not use his “vast storehouse of moral and spiritual capital to denounce this ritual of human sacrifice”? (Source: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/12/my-take-dalai-lama-should-condemn-tibetan-self-immolations/)
In Prothero’s article, he cited the Dalai Lama’s response reported in The Hindu when a similar question was posed. The Dalai Lama had said,
“This is a very, very delicate political issue. Now, the reality is that if I say something positive, then the Chinese immediately blame me. If I say something negative, then the family members of those people feel very sad. They sacrificed their own life. It is not easy. So I do not want to create some kind of impression that this is wrong. So the best thing is to remain neutral.”
The memorial for Thupten Ngodrup was erected by the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) on the circumambulation path around the residence of the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala. It is honored with regular ceremonies by TYC. Why glorify self-immolations when it only encourages more to follow suit in committing suicide?
The Dalai Lama’s comment appears diplomatic but it belies an ugly truth. Is the life of a human being not worth more to the Dalai Lama than what others might think of him? The reality is, the Tibetan leadership is anything but neutral when it comes to the idea of Tibetans taking their own lives in protest against China. As spine-chilling as it is to see a human being in sheer agony as flames melt his flesh away, this dramatic spectacle goes a long way towards keeping the Tibetan leadership’s political agenda fresh in the consciousness of the world public. And what about the lives of the Tibetan people? Here, it is important to remember that prior to 1959 when Tibet was lost completely to Mao’s troops, virtually all of the Tibetan populace were regarded merely as chattel, and not citizens.
A few months before the Dalai Lama made that comment to The Hindu, he had praised the courage of those who engage in self-immolation and blamed the self-immolations on “cultural genocide” by the Chinese. In saying that those Tibetans who killed themselves were gallant, the Dalai Lama showed his approval and in fact endorsed suicide. Taking the cue from the Dalai Lama, in September 2012, the CTA convened the Second Special Meeting of Tibetans in Exile, and in that time proclaimed Tibetan self-immolation as the highest form of non-violence, hailing its victims as “national heroes” and insisting that self-immolation is “Bodhisattva deed” (Source: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-04/15/c_134152496.htm)
The Dalai Lama’s government even memorialized one of the first self-immolators, Thupten Ngodup, by constructing a stone bust in his image and placing it in Dharamsala right in the heart of the Dalai Lama’s government. In doing so, they effectively deified Thupten Ngodup, glorifying his act of suicide. This and the CTA’s launching a book in 2012 that praises the ‘heroic acts’ of the Tibetan people killing themselves, resulted in the highest number of suicides in that year.
Or watch on server | download video (right click & save file)
This video shows Tibetan Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay and members of the Department of Information & International Relations launching a book that glorifies self-immolation and describes each self-immolator in glowing terms. Why the same resources could not be used to published books that discourages self-immolation, exposes how useful Tibetan deaths are to the CTA’s campaign.
The most disturbing issue here is that the Dalai Lama and the CTA could have very easily put a stop to these needless deaths. The ease with which the Dalai Lama turned the Buddhist practice of Dorje Shugden into a crime is ample proof that the Dalai Lama’s word is law. The practice of the Dharma protector Dorje Shugden was an established practice with deep roots amongst the Tibetan monastic elite and yet it was banned by mere utterances of the Dalai Lama, which the CTA duly transformed into law. Various CTA-controlled agencies were deployed and they made it not only taboo but also dangerous for anyone to be associated with Dorje Shugden worshippers. The Dalai Lama’s diktats were carried into the monasteries with express instruction to act on Shugden monks and expel them. Why the same efforts and intensity were not implemented to stop the Tibetan people from killing themselves, is telling.
As a matter of fact, the Dalai Lama and CTA could bring Tibetan self-immolations to a complete halt simply by following the same formula they used to force Shugden Buddhists to abandon their faith. Those who refused were excommunicated by the beloved Dalai Lama which is a fate worse than death for virtually all Tibetan people. Instead of literature propagandizing against the practice of Dorje Shugden, the CTA could easily have printed books and pamphlets warning people that committing suicides creates the cause for one to take rebirth in the lower realms. This is a very powerful deterrent for a deeply superstitious, if not religious, people.
The Dalai Lama’s government allows such memorials for the Tibetan self-immolators whom they regard as martyrs, inside the main temple complex in Dharamsala. When potential self-immolators know that their God-King praises the act of self-immolation by allowing such memorials to be erected, how does this in any way dissuade future suicides?
The online spaces both on the Dalai Lama and the CTA’s official websites that carry warnings against the worship of Dorje Shugden could instead be repurposed to discourage self-immolation. After all, isn’t saving Tibetan lives much more important and a worthier cause than infringing on the religious rights of Shugden Buddhists? And most powerfully, the Dalai Lama could have conveyed his objection to his people self-immolating during his religious and secular talks and events. If the Dalai Lama had done this and stated clearly that to disobey him displeases him and is tantamount to reducing his lifespan, which is one of his justifications to ban the Dorje Shugden practice, Tibetan self-immolation would be unthinkable. Families of would-be self-immolators would forbid their family members from even considering it, especially after witnessing how families and friends of Shugden worshippers were made outcasts and segregated.
And yet the Dalai Lama and CTA took any of these measures that are well within their means.
It is also important to note that the Tibetan leadership seem to focus their glorification of self-immolation on Tibetans inside China. If indeed killing oneself is as noble as the Dalai Lama and CTA seems to indicate, then surely the Tibetan leadership should lead by example and be the first to set their own family members aflame and then themselves. Why should the death of a Tibetan in exile be any less honorable than the death of a Tibetan inside China? Presently the Tibetan leadership-in-exile profit from the death of their own people in China as each self-immolation is turned into another pretext to ask for more financial aid and political support and condemnation of China.
As the journalist and special investigator Dr Andrea Galli noted in his paper “The violently peaceful struggle for Tibet” published by Modern Diplomacy, the intentions of the Tibetan leadership towards self-immolations is clear in the way the CTA invests its attention and effort. Dr Galli reports,
“The exiled Tibetan leadership has allegedly released a Self-immolation Guide on the Internet – an instruction manual to incite and instruct Tibetans residing within China to burn themselves. The author of this manual is Chabdak Lhamo Kyab, who served for two terms as a member of the Tibetan government in exile, known now as the Central Tibetan Government (CTA) and was the head of a clandestine resistance movement and also a public relations counsellor of the Dalai Lama. He now resides in France.
The Self-immolation Guide is a book consisting of four parts: the first part advocates the idea that self-immolators are great, honorable and intrepid heroes and that both these male and female heroes should always be prepared to sacrifice themselves for a just cause. The second part gives detailed instructions on preparations for self-immolation, including picking important days and places, leaving written or recorded last words, and asking trustworthy friends to help record videos or take photos. The third part introduces self-immolation slogans, instructing victims to always shout the same slogans. And the fourth part illustrates other activities that might accompany self-immolation.”
(Source: https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2018/04/16/the-violently-peaceful-struggle-for-tibet/)
It is chilling to realize how virtually all of the 164 self-immolators conducted their suicide according to the Guide published by the Tibetan leadership, the very people who are supposed to be the guardians of their people.
Dr Lobsang Sangay who, in 2012 in his capacity as the Prime Minister of the Tibetan people, launched a book that defies Tibetan self-immolators and provides potential self-immolators with a guide to carry out their act.
And so the issue raised by Stephen Prothero is only the spiny tip of a poisonous vine. The roots grow much deeper and extend into Dharamsala’s corridors of power. The Tibetan leadership’s silence on these suicides and weak rebuff of self-immolations indicate that the Dalai Lama’s people taking their own lives is deemed acceptable as the primary symbol of its opposition to China. For certain it is not a case of the Tibetan leadership not being able to stop the Tibetan self-immolation but a case of how these gruesome deaths serve the agenda of the Tibetan leadership. Tibetan self-immolation may have begun as the people’s protest against China but after 164 needless deaths, it is an attestation to Dharamsala’s callousness and its abject failure to inject hope into the hearts of its own people. As Stephen Prothero so aptly puts it, “The Dalai Lama isn’t just a Noble Peace Prize winner. He is also a man of peace. It is time in this crisis that he started to act like one.“
For further reading and coverage:
- Tibet Burning (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/guest-writers/tibet-burning/)
- The real reason the Tibetan leadership does not condemn self-immolations (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/the-real-reason-the-tibetan-leadership-does-not-condemn-self-immolations/)
- Self-immolations have failed the Tibetans (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/self-immolations-have-failed-the-tibetans/)
- Both Karmapas urge Tibetans to stop self-immolation (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/news/both-karmapas-urge-tibetans-to-stop-self-immolation/)
- Monk threatens Tibetan leadership with self-immolation? (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/monk-threatens-tibetan-leadership-with-self-immolation/)
- Tibetan leadership allows 151st tragic self-immolation (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/tibetan-leadership-allows-151st-tragic-self-immolation/)
- Boy self-immolates, Sikyong is responsible (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/news/boy-self-immolates-sikyong-is-responsible/)
[CNN] My Take: Dalai Lama should condemn Tibetan self-immolations
by Stephen Prothero
Click to enlarge (Source: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/12/my-take-dalai-lama-should-condemn-tibetan-self-immolations/)
English
Indonesia
Tibetan
Wake Up
December 11, 2018
As Stephen Prothero so aptly puts it, “The Dalai Lama isn’t just a Noble Peace Prize winner. He is also a man of peace. It is time in this crisis that he started to act like one.“
The answer is never because he is not a man of peace but a politician at heart. Even the mass Kalacakra initiations he gives is to bind people to him and owe him spiritual allegiance. That’s why he gives more Kalacakra initiations than anyone else in the history of Tibetan Buddhism.
The Western people love him but they are in love with his image and in fact they know little about this politician. The Tibetans love him by cultural habit and peer pressure.
To the Dalai Lama, the more Tibetans burn the brighter it illuminates his agenda.
Chokyi
December 11, 2018
Here is a fundamental teaching from the graduated path to liberation:
The Ten Advantages (of a precious human life)
The Five Circumstantial Advantages
1. A buddha has come.
2. HE has taught the Dharma.
3. The teachings have survived.
4. There are followers of the teachings.
5. There are favourable conditions for Dharma practice.
The Five Personal Advantages
1. Being a human being.
2. Born in a central land.
3. With faculties intact.
4. Lifestyle not harmful or wrong.
5. With faith in the three pitakas.
It goes without saying that committing or assisting and preventing suicide when you can all create terrible, horrible, karma.
And this the Tibetan leadership condones. Why? Politics not spirituality of course. QED
Sonam
December 12, 2018
Dalai Lama lies, people die.
Tracy
December 12, 2018
The CTA will not ask the Tibetan in Tibet to stop self-immolating. They need more cases for them to ask for more money from their sponsors. They are making money at the expenses of someone’s life.
For the past 60 years, the CTA has been receiving donations from people for their survival in India. The money comes very easy, no hard work, just play the victim. They get millions of dollars from the sponsors but no one really knows where the money goes. Recently, it was found that Lobsang Sangay siphoned USD1.5 million!
The more sufferings the CTA can present to the sponsors, they more money they can get. Self-immolation is the perfect case for the CTA to get more sympathy from their sponsor thus more donation. For this, they will never ask the Tibetans to stop self-immolation.
Alfred Nobel
December 13, 2018
The world knows that if the Dalai Lama were to just say it clearly, loudly and unreservedly that no Tibetan should attempt suicide in the name of a free Tibet, that there are other avenues and ways other than this to show their wishes, and that it goes against the grain of Buddhist teachings, Tibetans would pretty much stop self-immolation.
To not have done this means condoning, and with the Tibetan leadership in tow to glorify these acts via press conferences, media releases, speeches and websites including on http://www.tibet.net itself, makes them all culpable of assisting suicide.
There is no confusion in this matter.
If the Dalai Lama is Buddhist as he and his people say they are, then suicide should never be assisted, glorified or taken advantage of as political propaganda.
If not, then they are all just playing Jekyll and Hyde with us fools who have even awarded him with the Nobel Peace Prize.
Anonymous
December 15, 2018
Did you know there is actually a guidebook published by the CTA to guide people to self-immolate? No government in this world will advise their people to kill themselves for the country, the CTA is the only one. I am even more surprised that the Dalai Lama encouraged it. Didn’t the Buddha said if we kill ourselves, we will go to the lower realms?
The CTA and Lobsang Sangay are real murderers, they may not have murdered someone themselves but the guidebook they published that encourages people to self-immolate is already a big crime. Up to date, more than 160 people in Tibet have sacrificed their lives for a cause that has not shown any result after 60 years. The thing is why are there more people self-immolate in Tibet but not outside of Tibet?
The CTA encourages the Tibetans in Tibet to self-immolate because they are more gullible and not exposed to the outside world. They are not aware of what the CTA is doing, how the CTA is using these self-immolation cases to get donations for themselves. The CTA has not done anything good but only evil deeds, causing pain and sufferings to their own people.
Eli Buchen
December 17, 2018
There is nothing peaceful about immolating. It is one person who willingly submits himself to go to hell for a brief few minutes, either before dying or to create a future of immense suffering for him or herself. Yes the immolation damages that one person immolating only on a physical level, but it also creates trauma in people’s minds those who witnessed it and gives a really bad example to others, that they can and should do the same.
What is worse is that this act has no benefit to Tibetans in any way, it may benefit the CTA to have such weapons to take potshots at the Chinese, and get more funding from ignorant Western powers to stop suffering in Tibet.
Yes CTA and the Dalai Lama can put a stop to the immolation like how they silenced the Dorje Shugden so many years ago.
gyatso
December 20, 2018
👎👎👎👎👎👎👎
why die for these bad guys? why??? parents give us body why no value your life? for tibet independence we should live and not die, why cta no stop this? why cta make our live so hard and poor? we are all around the world cannot go homeland tibet ,no unite and always argue for independence, but so many years no independence? why???? why fight china? we know china so strong we cannot fight, just be good friends and we all go back tibet. tibet is good now, we all must go back. dont die for nothing. stupid.
👎👎👎👎👎👎👎
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.
the truth
December 25, 2018
One of the teachings that I first received from my precious Lama was that life is precious! Especially when we are born with all senses intact and perfect. We are so blessed to be able to even hear the dharma let alone practice it. HH think that it will upset China or the family is utterly absurd and wrong. This is human life we are talking about. Why are the people so attached to a country?
Dorje Shugden people are being harassed and discriminated ever since the ban began so why not deal with this important issue as well. Internally there is fighting among CTA and Tibetans why make things more complicated.
These two issues will never end so long as HH doesn’t step up as a religious head. Please put an end to these cruel acts once and for all.
Mia Dex
December 25, 2018
This is one of source income for CTA. Glorified those who had, they claimed “sacrifice” their life as demonstration to China, in hope of Free Tibet. Moreover, launching book for promoting self immolating is mucky way of politics. This was really sad these innocence being brain washed by corrupted governments. I would wonder if they were dole by CTA.
Dondrup Shugden
December 26, 2018
“No Killing” is one of the vows of Buddhists who take refuge in the 3 Jewels. Suicide through self immolation is definitely a weird and disgusting way of killing.
It is a very good question WHY the Dalai Lama does not stop suicide by self immolation?
From what I read, is the Dalai Lama be so vicious and in order to get at the Chinese Authorities He is willing to sacrifice Tibetans lives?
As a man of peace, the Dalai Lama is wrong to remain neutral in order not offend either the self immolation individual’s family or the Chinese authorities. He must stand for the precious human life which is hard to obtain and should be used to benefit others with the Dharma to extinguish the vicious cycles of samsara. Tibetan lives should not be used for political gains.
As a Dorje Shugden devotee, I have experienced many discrimination dished out by the CTA and also the Dalai Lama. So it is definitely possible for the Dalai Lama and CTA to deploy all their resources to stop self immolation and be very effective as they have been in implementing the ban on Dorje Shugden.
Tenzin K
December 26, 2018
Self-immolation by the Tibetan is used by the Tibetan leadership to get more fund. Tibetan leadership play the sympathy card and blame all this scarifies to China. Being the leader for the Tibetan in Exile, why Tibetan leadership didn’t take up the responsibility to stop their people from burning themselves? It doesn’t make sense that the Tibetan leadership can imposed a ban to Dorje Shugden practice which causes so much suffering but can’t do anything to discourage them from burning themselves. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the King and very influential. If he would ask the people to stop self-immolation I believe the people would stop. How many more innocent people need to die for the Tibetan leadership selfish act?
Voice of Tibetan
December 26, 2018
“…if I say something positive, then the Chinese immediately blame me. If I say something negative, then the family members of those people feel very sad. They sacrificed their own life. It is not easy. So I do not want to create some kind of impression that this is wrong. So the best thing is to remain neutral.” – H.H the 14th Dalai Lama
I can’t believe that H.H gave such an excuse to be “neutral” & allow his people to self immolate with such “cause” that is not going to create any positive effect to their friends & family members who are alive, he don’t want to get trouble from China & don’t wish to look bad in the eyes of Tibetans.
For so many years, so many lives that have been sacrificed, what has been done by the CTA to improve the living condition of many Tibetan? Except more loss of lives,more tears, blood and disappointments, what good has the CTA done!
They just created more wars within our own community! They make our lives cheap & worth nothing! No one really care about us..no one..
Samayakeeper
December 26, 2018
It seems that the Dalai Lama cares more about his reputation than the loss of lives through self immolation. By remaining quiet is like sending out the message that it is okay to go ahead and commit suicide. But the Dalai Lama was very vocal and passionate about putting down Dorje Shugden even at the cost of families breaking up, where innocent people got hurt, maimed and even killed. That does not paint the picture of a compassionate man who goes around preaching loving kindness.
Quote by the Dalai Lama:
“This is a very, very delicate political issue. Now, the reality is that if I say something positive, then the Chinese immediately blame me. If I say something negative, then the family members of those people feel very sad. They sacrificed their own life. It is not easy. So I do not want to create some kind of impression that this is wrong. So the best thing is to remain neutral.”
Belinda Mae
December 26, 2018
Don’t they feel a bit guilty themselves for publishing a manual for self immolators. Don’t they feel pain and pity instead of saying that self-immolators are great, honorable and intrepid heroes and that both these male and female heroes should always be prepared to sacrifice themselves for a just cause. These are all just plain ignorant and selfish minds.
Richard Tamlak
December 26, 2018
I haven’t seen a country’s leader would keep quiet on such issue that happen in their own country. It’s really pretty ironic to see that the Dalai Lama believed to be the reincarnation of Chenrezig, but he let his people committed suicide by the most cruel way in the world, self-burning, and yet he keep quiet, but his government, the CTA keep busy about banning Dorje Shugden, force people to stop practicing Dorje Shugden, publish book to tell their people how bad is Dorje Shugden practice. But, again, they keep quiet on suicide issue, and they can launch a book to encourage self-immolation??? They, the CTA is out of their mind! I don’t know which leader in the world would do that other than Tibetan Leadership!
Tashi ryan
December 26, 2018
A leader should protect his people not make his people sacrifice. By keeping quiet is almost like encouraging the act of self immolation which doesn’t really change the course of the situation.
Tianni
December 26, 2018
How many of you can accept to sacrifice oneself which is self immolation for the benefit of the country. Furthermore it is not one person sacrificed but continually happening and the number is increase to more then 160 peoples and the worst it can’t change the situation in Tibet and the suffering of Tibetans. Personally I can’t accept this, there will be many ways we can do for the benefit of the country. From reading the article, it is very obvious that self-immolation is a tool for CTA , and after 164 Tibetans sacrificed themselves for the country, has CTA ever ask themselves a question “where to go from here” . or CTA did ask this question for their own benefits.
Bennie
December 26, 2018
Self immolation for tibetan refugee has become meaningless for tibetan freedom. Important is for CTA have dialog with China and not sarcrifice their own people life and the wrong thing to use this symphety to foreign country to get more money. This must stop immediatly.
Babu
December 29, 2018
There are so many Tibetans had killed themselves by burning themselves to death. Why the Tibetan leadership did not step in to stop their own people from committing suicide? So many beautiful lives are lost for a lost cause. What they did have not made any changes to the cause that they are fighting for. The only difference they made is just more sympathy money for the CTA.
CTA should have sent out memos or public announcement to educate their people that it is not a wise thing to do. However, CTA went and glorify those self-immolators and made them national heroes. This is a very inappropriate thing to do because they are indirectly encouraging their own people to go kill themselves.
No government in the world will encourage their own people to take their own lives. Why is the CTA doing this? This is because they are benefitted from all the attention that the self-immolation incident generates which is more donation due to more sympathy. That is why CTA has not actively or aggressively stopped their own people from killing themselves.
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
Anonymous
January 5, 2019
I don’t know if you notice, there are more Tibetans in Tibet self-immolate than the Tibetans outside Tibet. The Tibetans in Tibet are less exposed to the information outside, they can be easily manipulated. For the Tibetans outside Tibet, they are more exposed and they know self-immolation will not help them to get their country back that is why they are not burning themselves to death.
The fact that the CTA glorifies self-immolation is an indirect way of encouraging more to burn themselves. The CTA needs more people to self-immolate so they can use these cases to condemn China and ask for donations from the sponsors. The CTA is making money at the expense of someone’s life.
It is quite disturbing that the CTA did not try to stop people from self-immolating but they actually encourage that.They knew it very well that self-immolation will not help them to get their country back, why are they not stopping the Tibetans from doing that? The CTA is so selfish, they only care about the money.
Helen
January 8, 2019
In China, many Tibetans burnt themselves to death thinking they will be able to free Tibet. So far, there were more than 150 cases of self-immolation in Tibet. Lives were sacrificed but there was no result or even progress in the Free Tibet movement.
The CTA knows very well self-immolation will not help in their cause. If it worked, it would have worked when the first person self-immolated. However, the CTA still encourages the Tibetans to self-immolate by glorifying it.
The CTA needs to have more poor-me stories to earn sympathy from the sponsors so that they can get financial support from them. Therefore they did not want to stop the Tibetans from burning themselves but they encourage more people to do that. The CTA is the only government in the world who use their own people’s lives for their personal interest.
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.
Jing Jing
January 12, 2019
There must be some very strong spiritual reason in the mid of the self-immolators made them set fire and burned themselves to death. Bearing with so much pain and suffer. Knowing that one will take rebirth in 3 lower realms but killing themselves. Have they been brainwashed? Do they actually understand or know the true reason for doing this? No changes have been made after so many lives have been lost for Tibetan course. Self-Immolation only bring more income to CTA. In where in this world their leader encourage their people to burn themselves for their own country? Why sacrificed lives but nothing has been done yet blamed to Dorje Shugden die the failure of Tibetan course?? Tibetan should wake up and really look into the real reason of the sufferings right now. It’s not about Dorje Shugden but CTA that created all these for their own benefits.
Thaye Dorje Rejects Dalai Lama
January 13, 2019
Very significant
A hair cutting ceremony can be done when someone is going to be a monk. Or when a person is being recognized as a tulku. Besides that, it’s rare there are hair cutting ceremonies for others reasons except for certain pujas.
Also the master who does the hair cutting should be someone of ‘high standing’, greatly respected and if possible a high lama with blessings. Many attendants of young tulkus will seek hair cutting ceremony with the highest or very respected lamas of their lineage. Many like to get this done by HH the Dalai Lama these days. So it is very unusual that Karmapa Thaye Dorje has his son’s hair cutting done by Luding Khenchen Rinpoche who is Sakya and not even Karma Kagyu which Karmapa Thaye Dorje belongs to. This signifies a few things:
1. Definitely Karmapa Thaye Dorje’s son is not becoming a monk at such a tender age. So the hair cutting signifies it is a incarnate lama or tulku.
2. To have his son’s hair cut should be done by Dalai Lama but instead they have this done by Luding Khenchen Rinpoche shows an outright avoidance of Dalai Lama.
3. Also Karmapa Thaye Dorje is telling Dalai Lama and CTA (Tibetan govt in exile) that they don’t need them. Karmapa Thaye Dorje does not need Dalai Lama or CTA to make it. They will be fine on their own. It is a very strong message to everyone.
Remember, the Karmapa Thaye Dorje has never taken one single photo with the Dalai Lama. Why is that? Because Karmapa Thaye Dorje and followers reject the Dalai Lama.
Carole McQuirre
February 1, 2019
I’ve been operating an online hate group on FB against the NKT. I use to be a part of that organization. I loved my guru Geshe Kelsang, but I didn’t like some of the underlings who ran the organization. I was there for over a decade and it was time for me to be given a position of a teacher and have the respect I felt I deserved. I didn’t get what I wanted and I felt angry and slighted. It reminded me of my abandonment issues I’ve had throughout my life. I’ve never belonged anywhere and people usually left me and I just couldn’t stand it. I got my personal emotional issues mixed up with my spiritual direction. I projected my personal issues onto my teacher and the organization and I have done that so many times in my life ruining good situations.
I left NKT and told whoever would listen to me who I was abused in NKT. I started a FB page to encourage other ‘victims’ to speak out against NKT. Being the vast organization that NKT is, it was not difficult to find other people who had left for one reason or another and had things to say against NKT. Our little group even got close to some of the events coordinators of the Dalai Lama and we were given a chance to take pictures with Dalai Lama which we promptly did. The photo with the Dalai Lama we thought gave us some validation towards our stance against NKT-but it backfired. It gave us a high to have a photo with the Dalai Lama but after a while we realized we can never be close to the Dalai Lama. We can never get the care and amount of teachings we use to get from Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Being close to the Dalai Lama is like celebrity worship not so much as having a personal guru who is there for us.
I regret opening my FB page as it vented out my rage and it was the platform for many other people who had blame and anger issues to collect vast amounts of negative karma. We were never able to have any cases or legal suits against NKT with all of our bantering because there was nothing substantial or genuine in the so called abuses we claimed we received while in NKT. NKT continues to grow while the rest of us who left are nowhere in life. Nowhere in our spiritual practice and just living empty lives. For me I’ve gotten tired of the page I’ve started and FB and it’s a horrendous effort to go there to post things or read any comments. Barely anyone visits the page anyways these days. How much can people vent out their anger at someone or something which is not to blame in the first place?
I don’t have the courage to apologize to my teacher or rejoin NKT because I am a coward. I’ve always been a coward looking for the easy way out. But I am thinking about it. I realize my mistakes. I realized my mistakes which comes from me.
Karma Kagyu School Does Not Need Dalai Lama
February 10, 2019
Karmapa Thaye Dorje Ignores the Dalai Lama
(1) Decades ago, the Shamarpa asked the Dalai Lama to endorse Thaye Dorje as the Karmapa. Shamarpa proved to the Dalai Lama that Thaye Dorje was the Karmapa. The Dalai Lama still refused as it will make the Dalai Lama look bad for endorsing Ogyen Trinley. ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJJXYAz3Bz0
It is known that Tai Situ Rinpoche recognized Ogyen Trinley by stealth. Tai Situ Rinpoche used the Dalai Lama’s fame to promote his Ogyen Trinley candidate in order to secure the Karmapa wealth of many generations.
(2) Even though the Dalai Lama endorsed Ogyen Trinley as Karmapa, Thaye Dorje could not be restrained and continues to grow immensely in popularity all over the world. Even without the Dalai Lama’s endorsement, the Karmapa Thaye Dorje is growing in importance. Tai Situ Rinpoche thought that without the Dalai Lama’s endorsement, the Karmapa Thaye Dorje would fall and become nothing. He was wrong.
(3) Shamarpa Rinpoche had asked the Dalai Lama to at least ordain Thaye Dorje as a monk when he was very young and the Dalai Lama refused. This refusal hurt Shamarpa and the Karmapa Thaye Dorje very much. The Dalai Lama sidelined Shamarpa Rinpoche and Thaye Dorje. It was a grievous insult and detrimental interference. In the Karma Kagyu tradition it is the Shamarpa who is the first and foremost to recognize the Karmapas and only in his absence do other regents recognize the Karmapas. Not only did the Dalai Lama interfere in Karma Kagyu affairs but the Dalai Lama took sides. That caused so much fighting and disharmony within the Karma Kagyu school of Buddhism. Tai Situ Rinpoche was wrong not to consult with Shamarpa Rinpoche in all of this.
(4) The Dalai Lama had no business interfering in Karma Kagyu traditions by recognizing a Karmapa. In the history of the Karma Kagyu school, there has not been one Karmapa recognized by a Dalai Lama nor did they ever need the Dalai Lama’s endorsement. This interference by the Dalai Lama has caused the Karma Kagyu school to take two sides and broke them up and created much disharmony. The disharmony, fighting and mud-slinging as to which one is the real Karmapa has continued to this day in 2019.
(5) Shamarpa Rinpoche passed away in 2014 and it is up to the Karmapa to recognize his incarnation without the endorsement or interference of the Dalai Lama.
(6) Now the Karmapa Thaye Dorje recognizes his son born in 2018 as Shamarpa Rinpoche’s incarnation and he does not ask the Dalai Lama to endorse this incarnation. He does not need it. The Dalai Lama has done enough damage. This will shift the dynamics of the Karma Kagyu school again in favor of the Shamarpa Rinpoche’s side. Unfortunately, it will make Ogyen Trinley look strange and left out in the cold. Within the Kagyu school, the Shamarpa is the next highest incarnation after the Karmapa. The Karmapas always recognized Shamarpas and vice versa. It shows that the Karmapa Thaye Dorje has the full authority to recognize the next highest incarnation within their school on his own. This Shamarpa will be spiritually trained by the Karmapa Thaye Dorje himself without the influence of the aged Dalai Lama and his government-in-exile which most Karma Kagyus consider a regime.
(7) During the Kagyu Monlam prayers in Bodhgaya on January 2019, Thaye Dorje was there leading the Monlam (New Year’s prayers) and so was the Dalai Lama in Bodhgaya, giving teachings in another location nearby. The Dalai Lama, while in Bodhgaya, wanted to meet Thaye Dorje but Thaye Dorje refused. Thaye Dorje avoided the Dalai Lama. It was an insult to the Dalai Lama that he had to accept for all the damage he had done in their Karmapa affair and Karma Kagyu school.
The Dalai Lama had sidelined Shamarpa and Thaye Dorje when asked to endorse Thaye Dorje decades ago. Now that the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley has run away to the USA, the Dalai Lama wants to be friendly with Thaye Dorje so that he can get on the Karma Kagyu school’s good side. Without the Dalai Lama’s permission, the two Karmapas met in France and decided to mend the rift. This will make the Dalai Lama look bad. Even the Dalai Lama did not think in such a big way or a middle way to help mend the rift. Too bad and too late for the Dalai Lama to make friends with the Karma Kagyu school of Buddhism.
So much damage has been done. But the Karmapa Thaye Dorje is on the way to mending all this.
Karma Tsogyal
Vivek
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.”
Mountains
April 27, 2019
1st Time Dalai Lama Finally Admits His Illness Was Serious
In the past it is customary to cover up the Dalai Lama’s illnesses. It could be to not worry his flock. It could also be to not show the world he is just another vulnerable human being. Or it could be he does not want to disappoint people to show he is not a god? Whatever the reasons, the Dalai Lama and regime are well known for covering up his serious illnesses. In the past few years he had cancer of the prostate and that was covered up till the press dug it up. Now with this new video just out April 2019, Dalai Lama admits he was recently very ill. It was serious.
Unfortunately the Tibetan cause will die with the Dalai Lama when he passes. He did nothing to groom up a new leader as he is a dictator. A ruler for life. He has been in power for over 60 years. He will never groom up another person to replace him because he is touted as a god.
http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1556343635.mp4
Ngawang Jigme
May 31, 2019
Unlike 5 years ago, Tibetan leader Lobsang Sangay is not invited to Prime Minister Modi’s swearing-in ceremony this time. It is clear that PM Modi of India snubs the Tibetan leadership once again in favour of deeper ties with China. The Tibetan leadership finds itself increasingly isolated as nobody wants to offend China by lending any support to the ungrateful Tibetans.
Drolma
June 23, 2019
The Tibetan leadership is incapable of doing any good to anyone at all. They are concerned about their own interest, their money and their power. The Tibetans including the Dalai Lama are only their tools to use to achieve their personal agenda.
Not only the Tibetan leadership wants its people to remain as refugees, but they also manipulate them to sacrifice their own lives so they can use the self-immolation cases to further condemn China. Lobsang Sangay always uses these self-immolation cases to ask for more money from the west. They encourage the Tibetans to self-immolate by glorifying the act.
Most of the self-immolation cases are in China mainly because the Tibetans in Tibet are more gullible, they don’t know what is happening outside of Tibet. Thus, they can be easily manipulated. The other reason is that the Tibetan leadership is using self-immolation cases to create havoc in China.
Anonymous
August 16, 2019
Just accept it, the Tibetan government will not stop self-immolation immediately. Why would they? They are the one who encourage Tibetans to self-immolate by glorifying the act. They need the self-immolation case to show to the world how they are victimised when the CTA is the one who victimise Tibetans.
The CTA releases a self-immolation manual to guide Tibetans how to self-immolate and what to say in their suicide note. Which government in the world its people to sacrifice their life for the country in this way? No one wants to sacrifice anyone to achieve a goal. The CTA is totally off on a tangent.
CTA will not stop Tibetan from self-immolate, this will not happen. Self-immolation is a tool for them to beg for more money from the sponsors, this is the reality. This is how selfish the CTA is.
Kelsang
August 16, 2019
CTA only focuses on money and neglected their own people’s welfare. Just look at how they handled the situation when Tibetans started to self-immolated to raise awareness against China. The CTA did not advise their people to stop the act and waste precious lives. In fact, they released a manual on how to carry out effective self-immolation.
They do not care about the life and death of their own people. Their intention is to milk as much of advantages from the people. They are the worst government that anyone can have. It is better for the Tibetans to leave India and join China.
The condition in Tibet is improving now and the quality of life is getting better. Many Tibetans have moved out of India and successfully found a better life for themselves. Anyone who is still staying back in the Tibetan settlements should move out before it is too late.
Tara
September 15, 2019
For whatever reason, Tibetan leadership should strongly stop Tibetan from self-immolation. Tibetan leadership should ban this action as hard as to how they ban Shugden practice. Shugden practices don’t harm anyone but the ban causes so much suffering to many Shugdenpa.
Tibetan leadership should create awareness of stopping Self-immolation instead of using it to get funding. This kind of mindset is not right as to how can they exchange lives with money. Tibetan leadership plays the sympathy card to get funding from people and why people have scrifies in such way? Dalai Lama pls stop this.
Chodag
October 19, 2019
Self-immolation cannot help the situation and it’s not a solution for any issue. Sacrificing oneself as such is not right and CTA and Dalai Lama should stop this. They cannot use as a sympathy card for donation. This is totally not acceptable. Tibetan leadership can imposed on Dorje Shugden ban so harshly, they can impose a stop for self-immolation too but why don’t they do that? One reason that I can think of is they use this act to get the donation. CTA will put the blame on the Chinese for the act. This is totally irresponsible where they know they can do something to stop but they don’t.
The world is watching how CTA operate and they can see what is going on and able to see what is logical. CTA cannot hide from their dirty mind game and no one will support them anymore when people start to see their true nature.
T
December 27, 2019
This is the reality, the CTA is not taking care of their own people, they are more interested in making money for their own. Why would a government encourage its people to self-immolate? Why would a government want its people to remain stateless with uncertainties in their lives?