The Dalai Lama in Central Park

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is one of Central Park’s most notable visitors and speakers. According to the NY Times, His Holiness “made his first appearance in the park in 1991, at a meditation session that drew about 5,000 people.” The Dalai Lama spoke in Central Park’s East Meadow on two occasions, on August 15, 1999, before an audience of 200,000 people, and again on September 21, 2003, to an estimated 65,000 people. 

Central Park ~ August 15, 1999

The Dalai Lama’s 1999 public talk in Central Park was sponsored by the Tibet Center and The Gere Foundation. The New York Times published an article at the beginning of His Holiness’ four-day visit to New York that culminated with the Central Park talk. The New York Times wrote:
 
"'It is good that everybody knows the Dalai Lama,'' said Tenzing Ukyab, owner of the two Tibet Arts & Crafts stores in downtown Manhattan. ''He has compassion for everybody. He talks about peace for the whole world, not just the Tibetan people. And it is good that everybody knows the Tibet situation.'"

With 13th Visit, Dalai Lama Has Gone From Obscurity to Celebrity by Barbara Steward, August 11, 1999 https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/11/nyregion/with-13th-visit-dalai-lama-has-gone-from-obscurity-to-celebrity.html

The following day, The New York Times underestimated the crowd size by about 160,000. More importantly, Amy Waldman's reporting on the content of His Holiness' speech and participants' experiences was excellent. Waldman's August 16, 1999 New York Times article conveyed the essential points of His Holiness' message on the importance of mind training for developing compassion and his advice on how to practice compassion:

"My life, when I look back, has not been easy," he said, referring to his years in exile and China's repression of Tibet. "One thing I learned," he said, "was that compassion, a sense of caring, thinking about other's welfare, that sort of mental attitude brings me inner peace."

Just as he practiced his mental transformation, he said, every human being has equal potential to do so -- maybe more. And then he took the crowd through eight prayers to train the mind. "I have nothing to offer you, miracle things -- nothing," he said, by way of saying it would not be easy.

He stressed a few central themes, lacing them with jokes and personal anecdotes: Problems would not be solved by material things. Anger is destructive. The way to inner peace is nonviolence, which he said was not just the absence of violence, but "the manifestation of compassion." But, he said, nonviolence does not mean that "we remain indifferent about problems -- we must fully engage."

He stressed the increasing interconnectedness of all human beings in a global world, so that "the destruction of your neighbor is actually the destruction of yourself."

He talked about the great wealth in America, and the great poverty, and said that the capitalist system should be used to make money -- and the socialist system to help the poor benefit from the profits.

He encouraged society to embrace those -- whether criminals or persons with AIDS -- that it had cast out.

He said inner spiritual development was not necessarily linked to religious faith and he encouraged the crowd to weave the practice into their own religious traditions. 

40,000 in Central Park Hear Dalai Lama on Peace by Amy Waldman, August 16, 1999  - https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/national/regional/081699nyc-dalai-lama.html

The full text of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 1999 Central Park talk was published in An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life, by The Dalai Lama, edited by Nicholas Vreeland (2001). The full text [was] also available online in Amazon’s An Open Heart “Look Inside” feature. Regarding An Open Heart, Buddhist scholar, teacher and humanitarian Geshe Pema Dorjee said, “If you read just one book by the Dalai Lama, read this one. It has everything.” 

Here’s the description of the extraordinary Central Park event, in An Open Heart:

“Finally, the Sunday morning of the talk arrived. We rather anxiously drove His Holiness from his hotel to the East Meadow, just off Fifth Avenue and Ninety-eighth Street, where he would enter Central Park. His Holiness asked how many people were expected. We told him we would be delighted with 15,000 to 20,000, but we simply didn’t know. As we made our way up Madison Avenue to the site, we strained to look up the side streets to see if there was any sign of people. As we approached Eighty-sixth Street, we began to see the crowded sidewalks and people moving toward the park.

We took His Holiness to the holding tent behind the stage and went to peek through the curtain. We were overwhelmed to see that the entire East Meadow was filled beyond capacity. It was a beautiful and thrilling sight. We later learned that more than 200,000 people had peacefully gathered there. The area was filled with blessings. The rain that had been falling earlier had stopped. With a massive sound system and video monitor ready to project his teachings to the enormous crowd, His Holiness stepped onto a stage decorated with flowers and a single wooden chair placed in the center.

His Holiness chose to speak in English. Through his simple style he inspired all present to engage in virtuous ways. Surely, many of those present generated bodhicitta, the aspiration to attain full enlightenment in order to help others. We might imagine that upon returning home, all in attendance shared the experience with family and friends, thereby inspiring even more virtuous thoughts and actions. Others read about the event or saw it on television. Consequently, millions of people generated good thoughts as a result of that morning in Central Park.”

An Open Heart, pp. 185-187 - this excerpt from the Afterward is also available on Amazon's “Look Inside”

The Dalai Lama in America: Live in Central Park, with an Introduction by Richard Gere (audio, abridged) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0743508998/

Richard Gere introduced His Holiness at Central Park’s East Meadow (August 15, 1999).

Richard Gere: 
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a religious leader and a head of state. Since Tibet was a Buddhist country and quite isolated, it had not maintained a modern army. And China’s communist forces very quickly overwhelmed Tibet’s modest defenses by 1950. Until 1959 the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan goverment strove for peaceful co-existence with the Chinese, who had promised not to alter the governance of Tibetan or dismantle its Buddhist traditions and culture. By the mid-1950’s it became clear that China had not intentions of honoring these promises, and rebellions began to break out against the Chinese all over Tibet. On March 10th 1959, a popular uprising erupted in Lhasa, the capital, when it was reported the Chinese planned to abduct the young Dalai Lama. The Chinese suppressed this uprising with brute force, killing thousands, and the Dalai Lama fled into exile with 80,000 Tibetans.

Believing that they’d be able to return soon, they set up makeshift camps in India and elsewhere, and throughout the Himalayan region. But to this day the Dalai Lama has not been able to return, as I’m sure all of you have seen the story in Kundun, the film of last year. Every year, still, thousands of Tibetans escape the repression in Tibet, finding their way over the high Himalayas, mostly in the worst part of the winter, in very little clothes, tennis shoes, thousands make their way — sometimes three, three and half thousand a year - get through. Thousands more die on that journey, but they still continue to try to make this incredible journey out of Tibet.

The exiled government of Tibet is now set up in Dharamsala in northern India, where the Dalai Lama has devoted himself to helping the Tibetan people regain control over their destiny and to continue Tibet’s rich and ancient Buddhist traditions. In doing this, he has traveled all over the world, and his universal messages of compassion and total non-violence have reached an ever growing international audience. In recognition of his efforts and achievements, the Dalai Lama has been conferred countless awards, and honorary degrees, and doctorates, and in 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.

And as it was stated in the Nobel Committee’s statement, “The Nobel Committee wants to emphasize the fact that the Dalai Lama, in his struggle for the liberation of Tibet, consistently has opposed the use of violence. He has, instead, advocated peaceful solutions, based upon tolerance and mutual respect, in order to preserve the historical and cultural legacy of his people. The Dalai Lama has come forward with constructive and forward looking proposals for the solution of international conflicts, human rights issues and global environmental problems.

Now, just so you know what the program is going to be today, His Holiness will speak for about an hour and a half, you know, the weather willing. The first part of that will be on the Eight Stanzas of Mind Training (by Langri Tangpa, 11th century), which is a particularly important text, and one that is important to all Buddhists. After that, His Holiness will confer initiation, as it were, in a declaration of altruism, and that will be the end of the program. So, it is my great great pleasure now, to introduce to, all are friends, no strangers here, The Dalai Lama.  (Applause)

The Dalai Lama: 
Hello. Good morning, brothers and sisters. (laughs) I am here just to share some of our common interests. That is, of course, I believe — every human being, by nature, wants happiness and does not want suffering. And certainly, I believe, the very purpose of our life, is happiness, joyfulness. And then, here, I believe, every human being has the same potential to create inner peace, and through that way, happiness and joyfulness. [end of free audio]

From An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

In An Open Heart, the Dalai Lama continues:

Whether we are rich or poor, educated or uneducated, black or white, from the East or the West, our potential is equal. We are all the same, mentally and emotionally. Though some of us have larger noses and the color of our skin may differ slightly, physically we are basically the same. The difference are minor. Our mental and emotional similarity is what is important.

We share troublesome emotions as well as the positive ones that bring inner strength and tranquility. I think that it is important for us to be aware of our potential and let this inspire our self-confidence. Sometimes we look at the negative side of things and then feel hopeless. This, I think, is a wrong view.

I have no miracle to offer you. If someone has miraculous powers, then I shall seek this person’s help. Frankly, I am skeptical of those who claim extraordinary powers. However, through training our minds, with constant effort, we can change our mental perceptions or mental attitudes. This can make a real difference in our lives. 

If we have a positive attitude, then even when surrounded by hostility, we shall not lack inner peace. On the other hand, if our mental attitude is more negative, influenced by fear, suspicion, helplessness, or self-loathing, then even when surrounded by our best friends, in a nice atmosphere and comfortable surroundings, we shall not be happy. So, mental attitude is very important: it makes a real difference to our state of happiness.  

I think that it is wrong to expect that our problems can be solved by money or material benefit. It is unrealistic to believe that something positive can come about merely from something external. Of course, our material situation is important and helpful to us. However, our inner, mental attitudes are equally important -- if not more so. We must learn to steer away from pursuing a life of luxury, as it is an obstacle to our practice.

(Ibid. pp. 5-7)

Poet-and-so-much-more Brian Hassett summed up the sheer awesomeness of the 1999 East Meadow occasion in a poem titled

Dalai-Rama!

or

the Light at the End of the Tunnel

is the Twinkle in Your Own Eye!

 
And here’s the spoiler for Brian Hassett’s radiant “heart-warmer” poem:
 

Don Farber captured His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 1999 visit in images. Don Farber's Central Park photos, numbered 278-299, are posted here: http://www.buddhistphotos.com/Don_Farber_Photography/Dalai_Lama_NYC.html 

The Dalai Lama in New York by Marta Macbeth, Snow Lion Newsletter, Autumn 1999

His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Central Park September 21, 2003  (Image from Phayul.com)

Central Park ~ September 21, 2003

On September 21, 2003, the International Day of Peace, two years after the September 11 attacks, the Dalai Lama once again spoke for peace and nonviolence in Central Park.

The day after His Holiness’ 2003 talk, the New York Times captured, in just a few lines, the Dalai Lama’s humor, humility and key message of compassion, not only for friends and strangers, but also for so-called enemies:
 
“I have nothing to offer, no special thing,'' he said with a chuckle. ''Just some blah, blah, blah.''

''More compassion automatically opens our inner self,'' he said. ''Too much self-centered attitude closes our inner door.''

''The very concept of war is out of date,'' he said to applause. ''Destruction of your neighbor as an enemy is essentially a destruction of yourself.’'

Secular Ethics: The Dalai Lama's Vision for a Peaceful Humanity

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is not only a religious leader, but also a great promoter of secular ethics for all humanity. His Holiness' words of peace, compassion and wisdom are a great blessing and inspiration for Central Park employees, volunteers and visitors, New Yorkers, all Americans and all members of our one common human family.

May His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso, enjoy long life, good health and the realization of all his holy and extraordinary wishes for inner peace and world peace for all.

~
The Dalai Lama in Central Park tweets by @RealJannaWeiss
https://twitter.com/RealJannaWeiss/status/1162032546198241281 August 15, 2019
https://twitter.com/RealJannaWeiss/status/1147805702175567872 July 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/RealJannaWeiss/status/1029800944870014976 August 15, 2018
https://twitter.com/RealJannaWeiss/status/1028882927789195266 August 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/RealJannaWeiss/status/1017266274307584000 July 12, 2018
https://twitter.com/RealJannaWeiss/status/1017270047159484416 July 12, 2018
https://twitter.com/RealJannaWeiss/status/1014328395264675841 July 3, 2018

Healing Violence

Mental health means non-violence. The moment physical, verbal or mental violence arises, mental health is absent. The Dalai Lama, the neuroscientist Richard Davidson and Daniel Goleman (author, Emotional Intelligence, Destructive Emotions, A Force for Good) use the term: emotional hygiene, mental hygiene. 

We are, by nature, non-violent creatures. We do not have fangs, or claws for grasping prey. We do not enjoy eating raw meat dripping with blood. We prefer the colors, smell and taste of fruits.

The human mind is capable of causing enormous harm. The human mind, the same mind, has enormous potential to do good, to benefit countless others.

It’s very important that we get to know our mind, how it functions, what are its constituent parts, what are the causes for happiness and inner peace, and what are the causes for suffering and violence. If we do not familiarize ourselves with our own mind, with how the wish to harm others arises in the mind, and with the importance of applying antidotes against harmful intent, against the wish to harm others, when it arises in the mind, we ourselves will not be happy. The wish to harm others is itself a moment of suffering.

The Public Health Model to Heal Violence explains how the wish to harm others arises in the mind. The model presents the mental causes for the wish to harm others. Breaking the model down into more steps shows how violence arises in the mind in finer detail. 

In Israel, and outside Israel, there is a lot of violence. People are violent towards one another, in the family, in the community, and at every level. If we want genuine peace, we will need to change.

Tibet was once a very violent society. The Tibetans internalized the importance of education for non-violence, and for 1300 years (with some gaps here and there, like during the reign of King Langdarma), the Tibetans created a compassionate society, a society that values virtues such as humility, patience, contentment, rejoicing in the joy of others, respect, kindness, honesty.

The different religions are precious precisely because they are treasuries of methods and ways to cultivate virtues, good qualities. Secular people also need practical knowledge in cultivating virtues and reducing violence.

It’s possible to overcome the wish to harm anyone. In Judaism, the person who overcomes the wish to harm anyone is called a hero (גיבור, gibor),

Peace Pilgrim on the true hero:

"It concerns me when I see a small child watching the hero shoot the villain on television. It is teaching the small child to believe that shooting people is heroic. The hero just did it and it was effective. It was acceptable and the hero was well thought of afterward.

"If enough of us find inner peace to affect the institution of television, the little child will see the hero transform the villain and bring him to a good life. He’ll see the hero do something significant to serve fellow human beings. So little children will get the idea that if you want to be a hero you must help people."

Peace Pilgrim Book pp. 117-118 (p. 135 of the PDF)

Peace Pilgrim, Steps Toward Inner Peace, 30 languages

—
The path to peace runs through the heart.
“Anything that softens the heart.”
A meaningful life is a life spent helping others with sincerity and kindness.
Dialogue is the path to peace.  
The Middle Way Approach
http://mwa.tibet.net/
Public Health Model to Heal and Eradicate Violence
http://therealjannaweiss.blogspot.com/2014/08/getting-to-root-of-violence-integrative.html

--
Translated from Hebrew http://cafe.themarker.com/post/3425779/
 

Tibet Will Be Free

Dedication ~ May His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet and all the precious teachers of Tibet enjoy long life, good health and the spontaneous realization of all their wishes.

June 5, 2009

-REPORTERS, FRANCE 24-

Sophie Claudet: Hello and welcome to this new edition of Reporters.

Sophie Claudet: This week we go to North India, to Dharamsala, home to the Tibetan government in exile and its head, the Dalai Lama. 
The Buddhist spiritual leader fled Tibet for Dharamsala in 1959, after a failed uprising against China's communist rule.
He has since set up a government and an assembly in what has come to be known as Little Tibet.
While denouncing China's treatment of Tibet as cultural genocide, the Dalai Lama does not want independence for His country, but rather, autonomy.
And, in line with Buddhism, He's of course a strong proponent of non-violence. His strategy is contested among Tibetans. However, some are ready to take arms to root out Chinese occupation. But it may never come to that.
The Dalai Lama's oracles have predicted that Tibet will soon be free again.
Capucine Henry, Amandine Roche and Arnaud Gidon traveled to Little Tibet and met the Dalai Lama's oracles. Let's watch their report.

Arnaud Gidon: A few kilometers from Dharamsala, on the road to the Himalayas, these men and women have walked for hours, to come and listen to the prophecies of this little six year old girl. Her name is Shambhavi. They believe she is the reincarnation of a Hindu goddess.

Shambhavi: I want Dalai Lama blessing. I want Tibet freedom. Tibet got very happy freedom.

The Dalai Lama holds her hand as a sign of respect. He has come specially to this Hindu temple to receive her blessing and her prayers.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Thank you all for coming. I would first like to tell you that this little girl is a saint. For the second time in a year, this saint has come all the way from South India, only to see me.  She has come to tell me about her premonitions.

Arnaud Gidon: Like these Hindus, he believes in the child's predictions.
(To Shambavi) What did you dream about? What have you to say?

Shambhavi: Only one more and one time only.

Shambhavi's mother: Okay, come on, speak up. Speak up.

Shambhavi: Dalai Lama had bad health; that this in dream. Only this one.

Arnaud Gidon: Shambhavi is sure of herself. She threatened to go on a hunger strike if her parents didn't take her to the Dalai Lama

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: She came to see me and give me some kind of warning. I may get some illness. Now, this time, also you see, she came, and this time mainly, you see, she wanted to perform some sort of offering, puja, for Tibetan sort of freedom.

Arnaud Gidon: The pilgrims flock around Shambhavi, to know what the future holds for them.

Shambhavi: 2012, 2012 January.

Shambhavi's mother: 2012 January...

Man: Things will be well in 2012 January. In 2016 they'll go back to Tibet. They'll go back to Tibet, the Dalai Lama and all the Tibetans, they'll go back to Tibet.

Shambavi's mother: They will live happily from 2016 onwards.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you.... Oh yes, yes. Thank you, thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.

Arnaud Gidon: In Dharamsala, little goddess Shambhavi's predictions on the health and future of the Dalai Lama are being taken seriously. In the spiritual leader's temple, a public ceremony is organized. Trances and prayers are used to wish a long life to the spiritual head.
This man in ceremonial garb is one of the three state oracles of the Dalai Lama. He is a medium who can communicate with the gods. In the Tibetan tradition, it is not a state secret, but an institution. The Dalai Lama takes no political or spiritual decision without first consulting his three oracles.

In 1959, it was on their predictions that the Dalai Lama decided to flee Tibet. The oracle determined the exact date, and the spiritual leader's itinerary to Dharamsala. It has been almost fifty years to the day, that the Buddhists first fled Tibet to escape Chinese communism.

In the small Nechung monastery, Tibetans fall over each other to ask the oracle whether this long forced exile will soon end. The ritual is always the same. The monks start by calling up the spirits. Until the medium goes into a trance, a deep religious silence descends on the temple, so all can hear the voices of the gods through the body of this man.
Only an enlightened few can translate this very ancient Tibetan dialect. The sacred words of the oracle are scrupulously recorded and translated by the monks.
The oracle faints. The ceremony is over.
A few minutes later, the prophesies are translated. The expert, Geshe Dorje, a Buddhist master with a PhD in Philosophy, he is one of the few people in the world to understand and speak the language of the gods.

Geshe Dorje, Buddhist Master: It is already translated, today, the oracle... yeah...

Arnaud Gidon: So, what does the oracle say? What is his message for the Tibetan people? This information is usually kept secret, but, finally, in a confiding mood, Geshe Dorje agrees to tell us part of the secret.

Geshe Dorje: The Dalai Lama going to China. Then, after, no problem China. Really. The Dalai Lama going, then teaching, then people, open mind, just like sun, sunshine. Yeah. Just like sunshine, at that time, I think. Many people die, really. Very happy, then... Yeah. Many old people waiting here, 80 years, 90 years, very old. "When Dalai Lama coming?" then they saw Dalai Lama, they are very happy, shocked, I think. Also Chinese, really.

Arnaud Gidon: A few hours after the ceremony, the Tibetans try, one by one, to find out more about the oracle's predictions.

Nechung Monastery Monk: Where are you from?

Woman: Lhasa. And my family is still there. That's why I want to know if I'll see them again one day.

Nechung Monastery Monk: I can't tell you all, you know, it's a secret, but it all goes well. The oracle says the Tibetan government in exile will soon take important decisions.

Sonam, Tibetan refugee: I believe him. Everyday, when I pray in front of him, I have some special feeling, and something like special power, he give to me, and I feel like he always encourages me, whenever I pray to him. After I finish praying to him, then in my heart I have a full belief, and then, I feel more happy, after I prayer for him.

Arnaud Gidon: In Dharamsala, it is difficult to gauge what the Tibetan parliament in exile thinks of the oracle's predictions.
(To parliamentarians outside) Do you believe in the predictions of the oracle?

Monk: I don't know. I don't know. To ask...

Tibetan man: Oh, we don't know anything about Nechung.

Tibetan man 2: Geshe-la would be a…

Narrator: Questions are unwelcome. Here the spiritual authority is not questioned.

Monk: Ah, yes, yes, yes. I am monk! [laughs]

Arnaud Gidon: The parliamentary spokesperson finally answers our question.

Penpa Tsering, Speaker of the Parliament: The concept of protecting deities is to help you in achieving things where humans are not able to understand the circumstances.

Tibetan man 3: We cannot decide, so then we'll ask him, you know, which way we should go. So he'll advice us, give us the guidelines, the true guidelines, the right way.

Woman narrator: The right way?

Tibetan man 3: Yeah, we are very very very sure about what he says. We believe it.

Woman narrator: Are you very sure?

Tibetan man 3: Sure, sure, sure, sure, sure.

Arnaud Gidon: To be a Buddhist is, above all, to think positively and to refuse war as a means to saving Tibet. But for some time now, the impatience and anger of the younger generations has been gaining ground in the community. These Tibetan youth are ready to take up arms. Their leader is Lhasang Tsering, often referred to as the Devil.

Lhasang Tsering, Founder, Tibetan Youth Congress: Why is there a state oracle of Tibet? If the Tibetan parliament and the Tibetan kashag are not consulting… My problem is that when national leaders whose duty it is to make decisions and to be responsible and answerable for those decisions are then using the system of oracles. There is a price for freedom and the price for freedom is not paid in silver and gold. It is paid in the currency of life and blood.

Arnaud Gidon: These young teenagers have just reached Dharamsala. They are welcomed by Tsering Chenga, another of the Dalai Lama's state oracles. Tsering does not believe in war. Faced with this delicate situation, she tries to calm the hotheaded youth.

Tibetan youth: Yes, we managed to escape from the Chinese. We were afraid, but at least they did not catch us. We climbed the mountains in the snow. It was very cold during weeks and weeks.

Tsering Chenga: [laughs] These children don't know how to speak properly. They are yak farmers. The Chinese are saying that they educate Tibetans, but this proves the contrary. All these young people are not educated. [laughs]

Tibetan youth: I don't know what to say. I don't know how to talk. You know, we just arrived at the refugee center.

Tsering Chenga: At the refugee center there are different types of people. Become friends with cheerful and positive children. Get close to radiant people. This is the future of humanity. I'm not going to talk about my trances. No, I'm going to talk about essential matters, what humanity needs to hear to evolve. The 21st century looks like a very modern century from the outside, but times are serious. Our hearts are suffering from the inside, and we have reached the limits. We're killing each other! We must give light to ignorance and regain consciousness. Let's help and love our enemies.  That's how we will save Tibet and all humanity.

Arnaud Gidon: How will Tibetan culture be saved?
The urgency of the situation has brought together the greatest experts of the science of the mind for an historic conference.

-Translating the Words of the Buddha: Khyentse Foundation Translation Conference-

Arnaud Gidon: After a week of initiation, the keepers of the secret teachings of the Buddha have decided to translate the complete texts of the Buddha in the next 25 years.

Robert Thurman, a very close friend of the Dalai Lama for the last 45 years, and one the world's most influential specialists on Tibetan Buddhism, this visionary, who is a confidante to the spiritual chief, is in agreement with the oracles.

Robert Thurman, Writer and Tibet Specialist: I have this other vision… the Dalai Lama's own vision, He and whichever president of China will go hand in hand to the United Nations and in the United Nations they will declare, and they'll bring Al Gore there, and they will declare that the whole of the Tibetan plateau is a global peace park, an environmental preserve, a nature preserve, and they will restore the headwaters of all the rivers of Asia.

Arnaud Gidon: These oracles from the roof of the world agree, and predict a radiant future for Tibet and the return of the saintly Dalai Lama to His palace at Lhasa.

-Report by Amandine Roche, Capucine Henry, Arnaud Gidon, Emmanuelie Zabala-

Sophie Claudet: Well, one of the reporters behind this fascinating story is with us from New Delhi via satellite. Hello, Capucine Henry, and welcome to the show.

Sophie Claudet: At the beginning of your report we see the prophecies of a six year old girl who says Tibet will be free in 2012. Why this date?

Capucine Henry, France 24 Correspondent, New Delhi, India: Alors. It's true. We have to be very cautious when we're talking about this date, 2012, because it's prophecies and predictions, and, obviously, it's not science. But, it's true that the date, 21st of December in 2012, these are dates that even the oldest civilizations, have been looking at this, the Mayan civilization, the Egyptians and the Indians, so current astronomers consider that the 21st of December 2012, the sun will rise and will be aligned with the galactic center which emits the most cosmic radiation. So, from that point on, the sun's activity on the earth will be more powerful than ever in the past, so mystics talk about 'returning to the light,' the great civilizations talk about going into the Age of Aquarius, and the Tibetans don't really talk about 2012 specifically, but they talk about moving into a new form of consciousness. The Dalai Lama's oracles say we won't be able to live other than being in total harmony with the forces of the light, otherwise we could even die.

Sophie Claudet: Capucine, it seems unlikely that Tibet will be freed of China's rule following a political settlement, considering that ongoing negotiations between the Tibetan government in exile and the Chinese authorities have reached a complete deadlock, so, how will it happen? How will Tibet become free in 2012?

Capucine Henry: It's true that the negotiations between the Tibetan government and the Chinese government are at a standstill. The Dalai Lama, though, has come to a point where he considers that negotiating with the Chinese leaders is in vain, is futile, so he's trying to set up a new strategy, in fact, where he's trying to work directly with the Chinese people, and reach the hearts of the Chinese people. So the strategy… He's trying to set up this strategy, trying to implement it, because he considers that the Chinese people, 1.3 billion inhabitants, that really hold the power in China, are capable of pushing the Tibetan cause forward.

Sophie Claudet: Okay, very quickly, Capucine, in closing, how will the Dalai Lama manage to convince the Chinese people rather than the Chinese authorities?

Capucine Henry: Well, the Dalai Lama is increasingly getting positioned as the spiritual leader of Tibet. Remember, He's semi-retired politically. He's working with a lot more intellectuals, inviting them in from China to Dharamsala. He's working with the Chinese and Tibetan… He's created the association for Chinese and Tibetan friends, and three radio stations, where you have reporters and journalists, Tibetan people communicating with the outside world, and the ultimate strategy that the Dalai Lama is planning on using - He considers that Taiwan can perhaps be a player or a bridge between China and Tibet, maybe the entry into Tibetan culture in China.

Sophie Claudet: Well, thank you very much Capucine, for being with us from New Delhi with us today. That's all the time we have for today unfortunately. Do join us again next week for another edition of Reporters. Goodbye.

--

May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all beings be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Hebrew translation ~ תרגום בעברית