Dalai Lama urges understanding across religious traditions

The Dalai Lama taught about wisdom, compassion, and the nature of the self, but not politics in two, two-hour Dharma talks Saturday at the University of Michigan. Speaking to a reverent crowd of thousands, he urged people to adhere to their own traditions, saying that a multiplicity of traditions and religions serves the diversity of human beings. He said that while some people find different religions threatening to the point of embracing fundamentalism, "genuine harmony on the basis of mutual respect is essential." The spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet said that as he learns about Islam, Christianity and Judaism through personal experience "my genuine admiration and respect to those traditions grows."

Hours before the first lecture, some of that diversity gathered outside.

Chinese students from University of Michigan prepared for non-violent protest before Dalai Lama's presentation. About 50 students gathered at the peak of the protest. Liang Zhang, a University of Michigan graduate student in electrical engineering and president of the Chinese Student and Scholar Association said, “The theme of this rally is to support the Beijing Olympics and to protest the violent behavior that’s been taking place during the Olympic Torch run. Also to protest political interference in the Olympics." He added, “I think we have to listen to voices from different sides and different perspectives -- not only from Dalai Lama and not only from Chinese government, but from more vast points of view."

Arjia Rinpoche heads the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington, IN. During the Cultural Revolution he was required to work in a labor camp. After release from the camp, he served as Abbot of Kumbum Monastery, one of Tibet's six great monastic universities and held high positions in the Chinese government. One of the eight high lamas of Tibet, he escaped Tibet in 1998. Referring to the presence of demonstrators at Crisler Arena he said, "This is a free country so you can have demonstration or protest without any fear of gunshot. In Tibet, unfortunately we cannot do that.” He continued, “My concern is that only through genuine dialog and negotiation can solve the problem, either violence or crack down with guns doesn’t work."

Dalai Lama coming to Michigan to uplift

"Michiganders need some upliftment" in the midst of their economic suffering, said Rimpoche Nawang Gelek, the man who invited the Dalai Lama for this week's visit to Ann Arbor.

Gelek Rimpoche, the founder of Jewel Heart, a Buddhist organization headquartered in Ann Arbor, told Michigan Messenger that he invited the Dalai Lama to Michigan "to lift the sadness in the air over the state" and to bring "a little something bright, a little happiness inside so we can take a second look at our economic situation." A startling and generous thought, given the world's attention on the controversy surrounding China's summer Olympics and last month's deadly violence in Tibet.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama will visit Ann Arbor April 19 and 20 to teach on "Engaging Wisdom and Compassion." His visit to the United States this month comes amid increased tension in Tibet over Chinese rule and worldwide calls for a boycott of this summer's Beijing Olympics. The Dalai Lama said Friday that he does not support a boycott of the Olympic games and has repeatedly called for an end to violence in Tibet. He also said in Seattle last week that he is not seeking the separation of Tibet from China.

Describing himself as "an independent Michigander," Gelek Rimpoche is a 69-year-old Buddhist teacher and former Tibetan monk who fled Tibet in 1959 after the Chinese takeover. He plans to make a statewide "post-Dalai Lama tour." "Whatever message he gives I will repeat," he said. "I have not the capacity of the Dalai Lama to uplift people, but still the message has a blessing."

He did not speculate about any particular resolution to the crisis in Tibet, but said rather "my concern is to stop the suffering."

"China wants Tibet. Alright, China, you can have it, if you treat people like human beings just like themselves," Gelek Rimpoche said. He pointed out that China has actually made political and social progress since the time of Mao and the Cultural Revolution. "Compared with that, they have come a long way."

As for Chinese presence in Tibet, he said that even after 50 years, China has failed to win the hearts and minds of Tibetans. And, with vast economic and military power and "beautiful public relations," China has the "complete upper hand on everything except the sympathy of the world."

While Gelek Rimpoche hopes that the Dalai Lama's visit will be uplifting, he allows for the possibility of protesters and cautions supporters to practice "non-engagement." His concerns seem apt. Monday, in Seattle, hundreds of pro-China demonstrators picketed at the University of Washington, where the Dalai Lama was receiving an honorary degree.

His advice to people attending the Dalai Lama's presentations in Ann Arbor, should there be anti-Dalai Lama protest: "You can listen, you can think and make your mind by your own intelligence, but don't try talk to them and try to convince them they're wrong. That is my main point. That can create trouble, and I hope that will not happen."

Tibet Update

Tibetan protesters try to storm Chinese embassy in Nepal
"KATHMANDU, Nepal--A group of 200 Tibetan exiles and Buddhist monks tried to storm the Chinese Embassy visa office in Nepal's capital on Sunday but police beat them back with bamboo batons.

At least 130 protesters were arrested and some of the demonstrators and policemen were injured in the scuffle."

Chinese claim proof of Tibetan plot
"China's state-run media reported that Chinese police had a written confession from an unidentified Tibetan monk who said he received orders from supporters of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, to help incite the riots."

Security tight as Olympic flame arrives in China
" BEIJING (Reuters) - The Beijing Olympic flame was welcomed by cheering children amid tight security in China on Monday, a symbolic start to the Games that has been overshadowed by unrest in Tibet and concerns over human rights."

Beijing on guard against Tibet protesters
"Security will be tighter than normal in Tiananmen Square - where pro-democracy protests in 1989 were crushed by force - for a ceremony to welcome the Olympic flame.
The torch will then leave on a four-month worldwide relay that includes stops in Tibet."

What is happening in Tibet?

(UPDATE: PLEASE ALSO READ Dalai Lama urges understanding across religions
Tibet Update from March 30
Dalai Lama supports Olympics and human rights
For those who need a Michigan angle...His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be in Ann Arbor April 19-20, 2008.)

I just made the mistake of looking at photos documenting recent violence in Tibet. New protests broke out today at two monasteries in Lhasa.

On the weekends, when I have time to be unproductive, I venture into regions of news and information that should derail a well-educated, comfortable American -- maybe even bring tears. Thanks to the internet, Tibet is closer to us now than it was in 1959 or even 1992, for that matter.

You can explore different sides in the situation from the comfort of your favorite chair with a cup of tea and a muffin. It feels obscene and voyeuristic. People in Tibet have been killed by the Chinese for protesting Chinese rule. The Chinese government defends its development policies, accuses the Dalai Lama of masterminding the protests, and says the upcoming Olympics will go on as planned.

The Dalai Lama alleges Chinese troops, planted as agitators and posing as monks, instigated violence. And comfortable people around the world are wringing their hands over yet another politicized Olympics. Supporters of the Tibetan people around the world are protesting and getting arrested.

Xinhau reports that former Nepali consul general in Lhasa Tamla Ukyab "said he personally witnessed the profound changes that have taken place in Tibet, which has risen from an underdeveloped area to a region that enjoys fast economic growth and social stability."

Voice of America reports that "Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, says China's policy of resettling Chinese people to Tibet amounts to what he calls 'cultural genocide.'"

India-based SifyNews.com today says

"In his most serious allegation against Beijing since unrest gripped Lhasa and other places this month, the Dalai Lama said that China had disguised its troops as monks to give the impression that Tibetans were instigating the riots.

"In one picture we see a (monk) holding a sword, but it is not a traditional Tibetan sword. We know that a few hundred soldiers have been dressed like monks," said the Dalai Lama, who has been living in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule."

The Scotsman today has published a commentary by Victor Spence titled China's oppression of Tibet must be stopped. He writes:

THE fragile and highly energised situation we are witnessing in Tibet does not come out of a vacuum.
Cultural genocide, oppression and discrimination in Tibet began nearly 50 years ago, and once more the country has reached boiling point.

The Tibetan youth who have rebelled against their oppressors are walking on thin ice. They risk a complete eradication of the Tibetan identity and decades of work by the Dalai Lama and supporters of the Tibetan cause.

The Chinese leadership has been spoiling for a "fight to the death" for years – a phrase coined by their most senior representative in Tibet. The timing doesn't suit China, with the Olympics just months away.

The international focus this puts on China provides an ideal opportunity for the international community, including Edinburgh, to play their part.

There is indeed growing prosperity in Tibet, but the Tibetans, it seems, are the last to benefit – if at all.

They are discriminated against in education, employment, health, enterprise and other matters.

Tibetan Buddhism is controlled by China: it is illegal to own a photograph of the Dalai Lama. Tibetans who support the Dalai Lama are arrested and tortured. Read more...

March 27,2008 from Reuters:

What can you do in this moment? Strip away your comfort and every illusion that keeps you blind to suffering of others. Seek the part of yourself that knows compassion. Sit there, uncomfortable and awake. Join in silence or prayer for the dead. Don't wait for Sunday; every moment is holy. Om mani Padme Hum...