H.H. Dalai Lama Attends Graduation Ceremony at the College for H.T.S. Sarah
His Holiness the Dalai Lama Attends Graduation Ceremony at the College for Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarah Dharamsala, HP, India, 26 April 2016 – It was a bright spring morning today as His Holiness the Dalai Lama drove down through Dharamsala town and on through the neat tea gardens below Chilgari. Jacaranda trees were in bloom and flocks of brilliant green parakeets swooped across the road on the way to the College for Higher Tibetan Studies (CHTS) at Sarah. His Holiness was met on arrival by Institute of Buddhist Dialectics (IBD) Director, Ven Geshe Kalsang Damdul and Principal of the College, Ven Geshe Jampal Dakpa, who escorted him into the assembly hall.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama arriving at the College for Higher Tibetan Studies (CHTS) at Sarah’s assembly hall in Dharamsala, HP, India on April 26, 2016. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
After praises had been recited to Manjushri and the Seventeen Masters of Nalanda, Secretary Passang Tsering thanked His Holiness for acceding to the College’s request that he preside over this year’s convocation ceremony. Geshe Kalsang Damdul welcomed the guests and dignitaries and acknowledged His Holiness’s kind leadership of the Tibetan people. He noted that the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics was founded on His Holiness’s birthday 6th July in 1979 and proceeded to give a short report about what has happened since then.
To begin with 29 students began to study the Perfection of Wisdom and the view of the Middle Way in a course intended to last 10 years. Eventually this curriculum was extended to include aspects of the Nyingma, Sakya and Kagyu traditions as well. Teachers were invited from Namdroling Monastery in Bylakuppe. Meanwhile students also attend Dzongsar Institute in Chauntra and Palpung Sherabling in Bir. In addition to study of the classic Indian Buddhist texts, students also study tantra in a course that now lasts 16 years.Read the rest of this entry »
La scomparsa del Tibet
La catena americana Kentucky Fried Chicken ha aperto a marzo il primo fast food a Lhasa. Il mondo ha appreso la notizia che anche i buddisti tibetani si sarebbero convertiti al pollo fritto a causa di uno scontro accademico con il governo di Pechino.Esuli e sostenitori dell’indipendenza del Tibet avevano chiesto al colosso della ristorazione Usa che nel locale si parlasse anche il tibetano e non solo il mandarino, come nel resto della Cina, e che il personale venisse assunto scegliendolo tra la minoranza locale. I vertici di KFC non hanno risposto, ma le autorità cinesi hanno definito «ridicola» la proposta. Pochi giorni dopo è emerso che tra i quaranta dipendenti del fast food, trentadue sono di etnia han, maggioritaria in Cina. Otto i tibetani. Quanto ai menù, sono stati stampati solo in mandarino.
Per chi segue da decenni la colonizzazione cinese del Tibet, la notizia non è affatto frivola e la scelta dei tempi per nulla casuale. Negli stessi giorni di marzo, anno 1951, l’armata rivoluzionaria di Mao Zedong invadeva Lhasa e nello stesso mese del 1959 il quattordicesimo Dalai Lama venne costretto a fuggire in India. Mentre esattamente dieci anni fa il leader spirituale dei buddisti pregava personalmente KFC di annullare l’apertura di una sede tibetana. La ragione aveva fatto sorridere: le stragi dei polli violano i valori tibetani. Read the rest of this entry »
H.H. Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu Sign Interfaith Climate Statement
Nobel Peace Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu
His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu Joins 270 Religious Leaders to Sign Interfaith Climate Statement
DHARAMSHALA: Nobel Peace Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu joined over 270 leaders of the world’s major religions including Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism to express support for a strong climate action on Monday, 18 April. It was submitted in New York to the U.N. climate Chief Christiana Figueres. Click here for the statement.
The interfaith statement comes ahead of the gathering of national leaders at the United Nations on Friday, 22 April, to sign the landmark climate pact agreed in Paris – a necessary step towards its entry into force.
“Caring for the Earth is our shared responsibility. Each one of us has a “moral responsibility to act,” as so powerfully stated by the Pope’s Encyclical and in the climate change statements by Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and other faith leaders,” the interfaith statement reads.
“Humanity is at a crucial turning point. We as faith communities recognize that we must begin a transition away from polluting fossil fuels and towards clean renewable energy sources. It is clear that for many people significant lifestyle changes will have to be made. We must strive for alternatives to the culture of consumerism that is so destructive to ourselves and to our planet,” it says.
“We must reflect on the true nature of our interrelationship to the Earth. It is not a resource for us to exploit at our will. It is a sacred inheritance and a precious home which we must protect. United with the shared hope that arises from faith, we the undersigned believe that the means, desire, and will to care for Earth and all life can and will become action as our political leaders ratify the promises made in Paris – and thus safeguard the greater promises of this generation and of all those to come,” the statement concludes. Read the rest of this entry »
Where is the Panchen Lama?
Where is the 11th Panchen Rinpoche, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima?
Commemoration of the 21th anniversary of the disappearance of His Holiness the 11th Panchen Lama.
Twenty-one years ago, Tibets Panchen Lama was abducted together with his family from their home in Tibet and since then no one ever has seen or heard from either the Panchen Lama or his family. The Panchen Lama was 6 years old, a child.
All calls for information about the whereabouts of the genuine Panchen Lama were unanswered and the Chinese never have provided any proof where the Panchen Lama or his family were, let alone if they are unharmed and in good health. The 11th Panchen Rinpoche, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is a figure of utmost religious and political importance in Tibet. The Panchen Lama is involved in selecting the next Dalai Lama and vice-versa. Sadly ever since the abduction of the young Panchen Lama in 1995, the Chinese Government has not given any positive response to genuine requests by the Tibetan government in Exile, Tibetans and the International Community, that the young Panchen Lama be given freedom to carry on with his religious trainings like all his predecessors.
April 25th will mark the 27rd Birthday of His Holiness the 11th Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima.
When celebrating the Birthday of His Holiness, we urgently must once again, together with Tibetans and Tibet supporters, appeal to all Governments and Human Rights leaders worldwide, to demand China’s Communist Regime respond immediately to the following urgent questions: (and every year they are the same:
a) Where is the Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima? Why, if he is in such good condition of health and his family the same, can we not visit him and why the secrecy?
b) on behalf of the Tibetan people and Buddhists the world over, can you prove to the UN that ‘Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family’ is in good mental and physical health?
c) When shall international Human Right groups, Tibet supporters and
We hope that everyone shall do whatever they can in their own capacity to raise once again urgent attention to this tragedy at the hands of the Chinese and their (Chinas CCP) relentless attempt to eradicate anything genuine *Tibetan*. Read the rest of this entry »
Manifestanti tibetani detenuti vengono picchiati, derubati e poi rilasciati
I coraggiosi manifestanti tibetani.
Manifestanti tibetani detenuti vengono picchiati, derubati e poi rilasciati Un gruppo di lavoratori tibetani, arrestati l’8 aprile dopo aver protestato per la perdita dei loro posti di lavoro in circostanze poco chiare, sono stati picchiati e derubati dalla polizia cinese prima di essere rilasciato due giorni dopo. Il gruppo di 29 persone sono stati presi in custodia dopo essersi raccolti di fronte agli uffici governativi a Machu (in cinese Maqu) contea di Kanlho nella Prefettura Autonoma Tibetana. “ In seguito sono stati picchiati dalla polizia, che ha anche danneggiato e confiscato i loro telefoni cellulari e hanno portato via i loro anelli d’oro. I manifestanti chiedevano un risarcimento per le perdite e i danni alle loro proprietà,” ha dichiarato una fonte di RFA, parlando in condizione di anonimato. “I [manifestanti] sospettano che al loro appello per il loro lavoro sia stato dato un senso politico e che le autorità stiano ora facendo del loro meglio per danneggiare le loro prospettive future”, ha affermato la fonte, aggiungendo che i lavoratori licenziati hanno spiegato che non avevano motivazioni politiche dietro la loro protesta. “Erano lì solo per chiedere che il loro lavoro fosse ripristinato”, ha detto. http://www.laogai.it/manifestanti-tibetani-detenuti-vengono-picchiati-derubati-rilasciati/
H.H. Dalai Lama Visits to Springdales School and IIT, Delhi
His Holiness the Dalai Lama Visits to Springdales School and IIT, Delhi New Delhi, India, 9 April 2016 – His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s public activities began today with an interview with Anchal Vohra, Foreign Affairs Editor & Senior Anchor for CNN-IBN. Her questions were direct, she began by asking what he would say to the victims and perpetrators of the Paris and Brussels attacks if he met them. His Holiness replied that he would start by pointing out that both parties are human beings and both want to live a happy life and don’t want suffering. He said such events do not arise independently. He views them as symptoms of 20th century mistakes.
Anchal Vohra interviewing His Holiness the Dalai Lama for CNN-IBN in New Delhi, India on April 9, 2016.
“In the early 20th century military force was like a symbol of national pride. Leaders like members of the royal families would be members of the military. Citizens would heed calls for mobilization and proudly join up. In the later part of the 20th century this changed. There was resistance to the Vietnam War. Then, when it came to the Iraq crisis, millions across the world expressed opposition to war. Many people have concluded that violence and military action are not a solution to problems. It is in the nature of violence that its results are unpredictable and often violence leads to counter-violence.”
Vohra asked again what was the 20th century mistake and His Holiness clarified that it’s the idea that violence provides a solution, that in victory, the optimum result is the destruction of your enemy. He said that we are now so interdependent that destroying our enemy is to do damage to ourselves. The reality has changed yet our thinking still follows old patterns.Read the rest of this entry »
The Brahmaputra is the next test for Beijing and New Delhi.
The Brahmaputra originates in Tibet, where it is known locally as the Yarlung Tsangpo.
The Brahmaputra is the next test for Beijing and New Delhi.
On April 18–19, the Chinese and Indian defense ministers will meet in Beijing to discuss border issues. At the top of the agenda will be how to improve stability along the border, where both countries have overlapping sovereignty claims. Chinese military incursions across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) into Indian-controlled territory, most recently in March , have been a particular source of tension between Beijing and New Delhi. At the same time, the two sides should not ignore another point of friction in the LAC region—and a potential source of security cooperation—the transboundary Brahmaputra River.
The Brahmaputra originates in Tibet (where it is known locally as the Yarlung Tsangpo), and meanders across the LAC and into the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. This is one of two major contested regions along the Sino-Indian border, the other being Aksai Chin to the far west (where most of the recent Chinese military incursions have taken place). Chinese troops conducted a major offensive in Arunachal Pradesh as part of a border conflict with India in 1962, before withdrawing pending negotiations. Beijing claims sovereignty over this territory, which it refers to as “southern Tibet,” while New Delhi regards it as rightfully India’s territory under a 1914 treaty. The river then continues through Indian territory and into Bangladesh, where it ultimately flows into the Bay of Bengal.
Among the world’s major international rivers, the Brahmaputra ranks low in terms of institutionalized management. Countries along the Nile, for instance, have formed the Nile Basin Initiative to encourage peace and security, while states in the lower Mekong region have formed the Mekong River Commission (of which China is an observer, but not a full member). By contrast, there is no institution capable of promoting cooperation between the Brahmaputra’s three major riparian states – China, India, and Bangladesh. Read the rest of this entry »
Gyaye Phuntsok muore dopo anni di torture in carcere
Gyaye Phuntsok muore dopo anni di torture in carcere L’anziano che ha subito abusi per più di 16 anni dai suoi carcerieri cinesi è morto dopo essere stato costretto a letto e incapace di camminare fin dal suo rilascio.
Gyaye Phuntsok (85), è morto il 21 marzo, quasi due decenni dopo aver subito percosse invalidanti e torture in carcere.
“Era da tempo maltrattato in carcere,” afferma a RFA, Yeshe Tenzin, citando fonti di Chabcha (in cinese, Gonghe) nella contea della provincia di Qinghai, dove era stato tenuto Phuntsok.
“E’ stato torturato, lasciandolo incapace di stare in piedi a causa delle gravi lesioni alle gambe insieme a molte altre ferite sul suo corpo”, ha detto Tenzin. Phuntsok era stato costretto a letto dal suo rilascio nel 2000, dopo aver scontato una pena detentiva di due anni.
“Aveva sofferto per lungo tempo da gravi problemi di salute”, ha detto Tenzin. “La sua condizione è peggiorata, ed è morto in casa.”
Tutto era iniziato dopo un viaggio in India nel 1992 per incontrare il leader spirituale in esilio del Dalai Lama, Tenzin ha detto.
“Dopo il ritorno a casa, ha costruito un tempio su un’isola nel Qinghai Lake, ma è stato in seguito arrestato dopo che la polizia ha sequestrato le scritture religiose che aveva portato dall’India, insieme a messaggi personali scritti a lui da Sua Santità il Dalai Lama”.
Phuntsok è stato poi condannato nel 1998 per un periodo di due anni in prigione, dove le torture subite lo hanno reso incapace di stare in piedi.
Fonte: Radio Free Asia, 27 mar 16
English article: Bedridden For Years After Torture in Jail, Tibetan Man Dies at 85 Uomo tibetano muore dopo anni di torture in carcere | Laogai Research Foundation Italia ONLUS @LaogaiRFItalia on Twitter | LaogaiResearchFoundationItalia on Facebook http://www.laogai.it/uomo-tibetano-muore-anni-torture-carcere/
His Holiness the Dalai Lama Speaks at the American Embassy School
His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaks at the American Embassy School
His Holiness the Dalai Lama Speaks at the American Embassy School
New Delhi, India, 8 April 2016 – Before leaving for the American Embassy School this morning, His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave an interview to Sanjoy Majumder of the BBC. Majumder began by asking how we can defeat violence in the name of religion. His Holiness told him that while there may be a need to take short term measures, we also have to think about how to stop this in the long run. One way is to increase contacts between people of different faiths to improve understanding between them, bearing in mind that all religions carry the same message of love and observe tolerance and forgiveness to protect it. As to whether support for the cause of Tibet is diminishing, His Holiness suggested that while newer causes may attract attention, there is still great concern and support for Tibet. At the same time the Tibetan people’s spirit remains strong. As more and more Chinese resume an interest in Buddhism they come to appreciate the value of the Tibetan tradition. However, reality is concealed from many people in China, because of wholesale censorship. His Holiness asserted that the 1.3 billion Chinese people have a right to authentic information and have the ability to judge right from wrong on the basis of it. Ultimately the power of truth is stronger than the power of the gun.
In reply to a question about his reincarnation His Holiness repeated that his decision that whether or not one is sought will rest with the Tibetan people. Read the rest of this entry »
His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Meeting on Secular Ethics Curriculum
Meeting on Secular Ethics Curriculum New Delhi, India, 7 April 2016 – To start the day in Delhi this morning, His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave an interview to Sonia Singh of NDTV Dialogues before an audience of Indian and Tibetan students. It will be broadcast first tonight. Topics included what he had learned from Nehru, the prospects for his reincarnation and whether he still hopes to see Tibet again in this life. Read the rest of this entry »
H. H. the Dalai Lama: Basic human nature is compassionate.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama with NDTV’s Sonia Singh for a special session of NDTV Dialogues, 7 April 2016.
H. H. the Dalai Lama: Basic human nature is compassionate. Interview to NDTV.
NDTV: Hello and welcome to this very special edition of the NDTV Dialogues, on the show with us His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He is one of the world’s most respected and loved spiritual leaders. He is also a Nobel Laureate for Peace and described by many as a rock star as well. He is joining us and thank you very much Your Holiness for being with us on the NDTV Dialogues.In your 80th year it’s a time when we see violence around us in the world. Terrorism is being seen as a common threat, whether it’s victims in India, we’ve seen it in Lahore in Pakistan, in Brussels, in Ankara; are you still optimistic for world peace? Buddhism has preached peace throughout, how do you preach world peace at a time like this?
HH The Dalai Lama: Since I think the last 30 years I have serious had discussions with scientists and also some educationists and other knowledgeable people. Then some occasions the scientists they mentioned basic human nature is more compassionate. They have some reasons and I am not going to necessarily repeat the reasons. So then when I heard that, I really am convinced now that basic human nature is more compassionate, therefore there is hope. If basic human nature is anger or negative emotion then no hope. And then of course I am Buddhist. Read the rest of this entry »
His Holiness the Dalai Lama Visits Vana Retreat Centre Dehradun
His Holiness the Dalai Lama Visits Vana Retreat Centre Dehradun Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, 6 April 2016 – Tibetans young and old, lay-people as well as monks and nuns lined the road from the Rajpur Helipad to greet His Holiness the Dalai Lama when he landed there this morning. A short drive brought him to his destination, the wellness retreat at the verdant 21 acre Vana Malsi Estate just off the Mussoorie road.
Veer Singh welcoming His Holiness the Dalai Lama on his arrival at the Vana Retreat Centre in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India on April 6, 2016. Photo/Jeremy Russell/OHHDL
His host, Veer Singh welcomed him as he stepped out of his car and then escorted him on an electric buggy to the Kila, the center’s main building, where 450 people from many parts of the world eagerly awaited him. Referring to His Holiness as a torch bearer of the Buddha’s message, Veer Singh was brief and to the point in expressing delight that he had come to Vana and requested him to address the gathering.
“Brothers and sisters,” His Holiness began, “when Analjit Singh, who has become a close friend, invited me to come, I couldn’t refuse. I really appreciate the work you are doing here and I’m glad to see that people have come from far and wide. One of the things I’m committed to doing is sharing with others my sense that as human beings we are all the same. I am more comfortable thinking of myself as just one of the 7 billion human beings alive today. If I were to think of myself as the Dalai Lama, as somehow different from others, it would leave me lonely and create a barrier between me and others. “During almost the whole of my life, I’ve been witness to killing and violence. When I was born the Sino-Japanese conflict was about to break out and the conditions that gave rise to the Second World War were stirring in Europe. After that came the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Throughout this period, many people suffered and were killed. Here and now we’re living in peace and comfort, but at the same time in other places many people are dying as a result of anger and other negative emotions. If things continue this way, the 21st century will end up being as violent as the century that went before. Violence always brings suffering and yet no one wants suffering, we all want to live in peace.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tibetano si suicida per porre fine alla tortura in prigione
Tibetano si suicida per porre fine alla tortura in prigione Un uomo tibetano arrestato dalla polizia cinese con l’accuse sconosciute si è suicidato in carcere per porre fine alle brutali torture subite per mano dei suoi carcerieri.
Tassi, 30 anni, membro della famiglia di Deyang, è morto l’11 marzo nel centro di detenzione di Tsangshul a Markham nella contea Chamdo, della Prefettura della Regione Autonoma del Tibet.
Era stato preso in custodia dalla polizia poco prima dell’anniversario della rivolta del 1959 contro il dominio cinese.
“E’ stato picchiato duramente e torturato durante la detenzione, diventando così disperato da togliersi la vita”, riferisce una fonte. Non è ancora chiaro come si è tolto la vita. Read the rest of this entry »
Tibet: la polizia spara sulla folla e uccide due persone
Tibet: la polizia spara sulla folla e uccide due persone Sono settimane di tensione quelle si vivono per le strade della provincia di Sichuan, nella ragione autonoma del Tibet, dove il 30 marzo la polizia cinese ha aperto il fuoco contro la popolazione.
Secondo quanto affermato da Ven. Golog Jigme, ex prigioniero politico ora residente in Svizzera, diverse sarebbero i tibetani rimasti colpiti, due dei quali si presume siano morti, seppur non sia hanno ancora conferme ufficiali.
Sono invece conosciuti i motivi dell’efferata azione da parte della polizia, la quale ha agito in modo del tutto sproporzionato a seguito di uno scontro tra un residente e un commerciante musulmano. Quest’ultimo, infatti, sarebbe stato accusato dal tibetano di aver rubato un camion trasportante bestiame, rubato presso il villaggio tibetano di Horsul 2. Read the rest of this entry »
Dalai Lama on obsolescence of war
Dalai Lama on obsolescence of war
He says, “War, or any form of organised combat, developed alongside civilisation and seems to be part of history and of the human temperament.”
The Embodiment of Compassion assures, “The world is changing, and we have understood that we cannot solve human problems with weapons. The disputes that result from differences of opinion should be settled gradually through dialogue.”
“Obviously, wars produce conquerors and conquered, but only temporarily,” Tenzin Gyatso reasons. “The victories or defeats resulting from wars cannot last very long. Moreover, our world has become so interdependent that the defeat of one country has repercussions throughout the rest of the world and leads directly or indirectly to suffering and loss for each one of us.” Read the rest of this entry »
Gyaye Phuntsok muore dopo anni di torture in carcere
Gyaye Phuntsok muore dopo anni di torture in carcere L’anziano che ha subito abusi per più di 16 anni dai suoi carcerieri cinesi è morto dopo essere stato costretto a letto e incapace di camminare fin dal suo rilascio.
Gyaye Phuntsok (85), è morto il 21 marzo, quasi due decenni dopo aver subito percosse invalidanti e torture in carcere.
“Era da tempo maltrattato in carcere,” afferma a RFA, Yeshe Tenzin, citando fonti di Chabcha (in cinese, Gonghe) nella contea della provincia di Qinghai, dove era stato tenuto Phuntsok.
“E’ stato torturato, lasciandolo incapace di stare in piedi a causa delle gravi lesioni alle gambe insieme a molte altre ferite sul suo corpo”, ha detto Tenzin. Phuntsok era stato costretto a letto dal suo rilascio nel 2000, dopo aver scontato una pena detentiva di due anni.
“Aveva sofferto per lungo tempo da gravi problemi di salute”, Read the rest of this entry »
