Welcome! Be happy. You have reached The Real Janna Weiss.
Wisdom Heart promotes healthy minds based on science, secular ethics, generosity, kindness, compassion and universal responsibility so that we may all contribute to and help create a kind, peaceful, ethical and compassionate world together.
May all beings be happy.
Image of His Holiness the Dalai Lama enthroned in a monastery in Eastern Tibet
WHAT IS CHINA DOING IN TIBET?
WARNING: This video contains graphic images.
The People's Republic of China invaded Tibet in 1949 and, since then, Tibet has remained under its iron-fisted control.
As of Dec 1, 2012, 90 Tibetans have self-immolated, with one in 2009, 12 in 2011, and 77 in 2012. 28 self-immolations took place this past November alone, with as many as 5 in one day.
SELF-IMMOLATION IS...
...the act of setting one's body on fire as a form of political protest as witnessed in Vietnam, Czechoslovakia and Tunisia.
Do you know this is happening in Tibet?
If you don't, you're not alone. According to TIME Magazine, self-immolation is one of the top underreported news stories of 2011.
Today, Tibetans are reaching out to you.
-Students' Protest Amdo, Tibet 2012-
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE BURNING THEMSELVES?
They are students, mothers and fathers, monks and nuns, nomads and farmers.
SELF-IMMOLATION IS A COMPLEX ACT. THE QUESTION IS, WHAT COMPELS THEM TO DO IT?
-OCCUPATION OF TIBET BY P.R.CHINA-
POLITICAL REPRESSION
The photos of His Holiness the Dalai Lama are banned and the Chinese Communist Party controls the monasteries.
ECONOMIC MARGINALIZATION
70% of the businesses in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet, are owned or run by Chinese. 40% of Tibetan high school and college graduates are unemployed.
CULTURAL ASSIMILATION
Tibetan has been removed as the language of instruction and replaced with Mandarin.
ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION
Over 100 different kinds of minerals are found in Tibet and billions of dollars of mineral resources are exploited.
At the end of 2015, 1.4 million Tibetan nomads will have been forcibly settled.
WHAT ARE THE TIBETANS CALLING FOR?
Return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and freedom.
THE SELF-IMMOLATORS' LAST WORDS...
"Father, being a Tibetan is so difficult. We can't even say our prayer before the Dalai Lama's portrait. We have no freedom at all..." ~Tenzin, 23 year old herdswoman, mother of a 6 year old boy
"...the Chinese Communist Party arrests and tortures those who demand Tibetan rights. They defame the Dalai Lama and anyone who does not recognize Tibet as part of China will disappear or be assassinated." ~Gudrup, 43 years old, writer
"Tibet has been invaded, repressed and cheated by China. We self-immolated for our misery and lack of basic human rights as well as for world peace."~-Sonam, 24 years old, student
"Dignity is the spirit of a nationality, the courage for justice, the compass leading to future happiness [...] It is the wisdom to distinguish right from wrong." ~Sopa Rinpoche, 42 years old, monk
Ngawang Norphel self-immolated on June 20, 2012 "My people have no freedom of language. Everybody is mixing Tibetan and Chinese... What has happened to my Land of Snow? What has happened to my Land of Snow? ...This [self-immolation] is for the sake of Tibet. If we don't have our freedom, our cultural traditions and language, it would be extremely embarrassing for us. We must therefore learn them..."
Ngawang Norphel died a month after recording this message.
Tibetan Parliament-In-Exile
From the beginning of the self-immolations, the Tibetan leadership has appealed to Tibetans in Tibet not to resort to drastic actions.
Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, democratically elected political head, addressing a Special Tibet Support Groups Meeting, Nov 2012, Dharamsala, India:
"As a human being, we don't want to see anyone die like that, and it is a natural reaction for a human being to say, "Please, don't die like that." That's why the Central Tibetan Administration has made repeated appeals to Tibetans inside Tibet not to resort to drastic actions, including self-immolations, but it persists. Now, as a Tibetan, what do you do? As a Tibetan, you show solidarity, because they are dying for Tibet and for Tibetan people."
DESPITE THE CENTRAL TIBETAN ADMINISTRATION'S REPEATED APPEALS, SELF-IMMOLATIONS PERSIST.
How many more Tibetans must die before the world wakes up and intervenes?
Stand in solidarity with Tibet now.
I STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH TIBET.
Do you?
Here is what you can do...
Join the Solidarity with Tibet campaign called by Sikyong Lobsang Sangay and the Kashag.
Share this video. FB, Twitter, The Marker, Tapuz...
Department of Information and International Relations
Central Tibetan Administration
Dharamsala, India
2012
-----
As of Jan 27, 2013, 100 (102) Tibetans have self-immolated in Tibet.
WARNING: contains graphic content that may be disturbing to some viewers
We called all the Tibetans and also supporters to come here to do this candlelight vigil.
With these two self-immolations who are already dead now -
the count has gone to 51.
It is really really sad for us that we are -
we seem to be counting the numbers
but this is how the situation has come to and it's too difficult to say
where it is leading to
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
A Human Perspective on Tibet's Self-Immolations
On February 27, 2009, a young monk named Tapey set himself on fire outside of Kirti Monastery, located in Tibet.
After prayers at the monastery were cancelled, Tapey doused himself in fuel and set himself alight.
He was shot by the People's Armed Police and the fire was extinguished. He is alive and was seen recovering in a hospital in May of this year.
Since then, Tibetans across the region have been protesting repression by the Chinese government through the same means.
The self-immolators have come to include nuns, monks, laymen, nomads, mothers, fathers.
On January 14, 2012, 20 year old Lobsang Jamyang set himself on fire in Ngaba County, Tibet.
He was taken away from the scene by Chinese authorities and reportedly died two days later.
Gyaltsen is his cousin.
Gyaltsen:
My cousin, Lobsang Jamyang, was comparatively small when I was in Tibet.
It was actually eight years back.
I was really really fond of him and he was really really passionate about Tibetan issues and very much nationalistic.
Just two years ago, he told one of my brothers that he was going to do something different, just wait and watch.
It was winter, winter in January.
One of my friends appeared and said, "Your cousin got self-immolated."
I was shocked.
No, no, no, no, it's not possible.
Just before the self-immolation, he actually -
actually he came into the main city where he self-immolated, on a motorbike.
When they reached the main city they went to a restaurant, and then he went to the toilet but he never came back.
When the friend saw him, he was actually on fire on the street, just back down there.
After just a few minutes, Chinese personnel came and beat him.
He was actually took away and then died or maybe killed.
And my cousin left only ash.
-Come to learn. Go to serve.-
He had the same aims and dreams like us.
He definitely wanted to live happily, live long,
serve the parents and enjoy the life.
Yeah, we're going to do prayer.
Prayer cannot replace every activity, and he did not die for prayer.
I think he didn't expect the world and all Tibetans and the Dalai Lama were going to pray him, that's why he's going to die.
No, he didn't expect for that.
All people are saying the self-immolations of Tibetans so good
but when they sleep, they sleep very happily.
No worrying about it.
But when I go to sleep, I think of him.
-Don't pray when it rains, if you don't pray when the sun shines.-
The feeling of a relative and the common people are really different.
It's totally different.
I came to realize that.
Choepel:
Now, to tell you about my relationship with Tenzin Choedon...
We are from the same family.
Tenzin Choedon's father is my brother.
On February 11, 2012, 18 year old Tenzin Choedon set herself on fire in Ngaba County, Tibet.
She self-immolated below a bridge near Mamae Nunnery, where she was a nun. Tenzin died on the way to hospital.
Choepel* and Sonam* are her uncles.
*name has been changed
Choepel:
When she was a baby, she used to sit on her mother's lap.
One day she fell sick and was brought to our monastery where we held prayers and she stayed with us for two days.
After that, I did not meet her again.
Sonam:
She was closest to me in the family.
When she was a baby she would stay with us, and at night when I had to leave,
she would cry a lot and would not let me go.
Choepel:
Later, she joined the same nunnery where her aunt and my sister are nuns.
I remember contacting them by phone.
She was small at the time and a bit shy when she talked to me.
I used to tell her to study hard at the nunnery.
I was in Chauntra town spending time with a relative during our holidays from the monastery.
Perhaps it was February 11 when I received a call from my nephew who lives in another town, and he told me about Tenzin Choedon.
There was an elderly woman who first saw it -
she said a nun came down from the nunnery drinking some oil-like liquid,
at the same time she was shouting for the Dalai Lama's return to Tibet,
and for freedom for Tibet.
Then, all of a sudden, she set herself on fire while still shouting slogans.
For a little while she leaned against a boulder and then she fell down.
Sonam:
The Chinese authorities took away her body.
If they had returned the body, we would have held the necessary prayers and cremation rituals, but they just returned her ashes to her family.
For quite some time, I couldn't focus on my studies.
All kinds of thoughts came into my mind and I felt an acute sense of loss for such a young life.
Choepel:
It made me very sad that a woman and a nun did such a thing to make the world aware of the Tibetan struggle. Among the Tibetans, such a young life was lost.
-Dharamshala to Dal Lake...
Main Square
You Are Here...-
Tseten:
I live in Mcleod Ganj and I work at a small restaurant.
I have three brothers and Ngawang Norphel's father is the eldest of the three.
On June 20, 2012, 22 year old Ngawang Norphel and his friend, Tenzin Khedup, 24, self-immolated in Kyegudo, Tibet.
Ngawang was taken to hospital by Chinese authorities. Tenzin died at the scene.
Tseten* is Ngawang's uncle.
*name has been changed
Tseten:
He is from Trindu Village in Nyelam Township and he was born on December 2, 1989.
He was the first grandchild in our family, so he had always been the favorite and was very obedient. Even as a six year old, he used to herd about 300 sheep on his own.
People used to tease him, telling him they couldn't figure out who the lamb was and who the shepherd was because he was so small and used to get lost among the sheep.
While attending school in Nyelam Township, he also worked part-time, as money was scarce for villagers.
He did all sorts of different jobs. Since he was good in both Tibetan and Chinese, he also worked as a translator for traders, including Chinese tradesmen.
I heard about the self-immolation of Ngawang and his friend Tenzin Khedup, but I didn't know one of them was my nephew, because they first reported that Ngawang was from Amdo.
Later, when I got more information, I knew it was him.
That's why I didn't know. I saw some videos and pictures which confirmed it was him and I felt reassured. But it doesn't mean that I feel no compassion or sadness for his loss.
I believe he did a great deed.
[-Save Tibet-]
When my brother saw his son Norphel in the hospital, at first he could not recognize his son, who was badly burnt.
Then my brother heard Norphel crying and calling him, "Father! Father!"
That's how he recognized his son.
He would have made a good life for himself.
Following his self-immolation, Ngawang Norphel was taken to a nearby hospital, where he remained for over a month.
The following footage was obtained by a group of monks while he was in hospital.
He still did not know the status of his friend Tenzin Khedup.
Ngawang Norphel:
What happened to Tenzin Khedup?
Where is he?
Is he dead?
IS HE DEAD?
I don't wish to recover.
My only wish is that by doing this I've raised awareness about what is happening in Tibet.
As a human being you need freedom, language, culture, scripture, you need these things -
If you don't have them, what kind of human are you?
Ngawang Norphel succumbed to his injuries on July 30, 2012, exactly 40 days after his self-immolation.
Sonam:
Damchoe is my nephew and also the younger brother of Tenzin Choedon.
On August 27, 2012, former monk Damchoe, 17, and
his cousin, Lobsang Kelsang, 18, self-immolated outside of
Kirti Monastery in Ngaba County, Tibet.
Kirti Monastery is at the heart of the self-immolations and
has also been the site of intense political protests over
the past three years.
Both Damchoe and Lobsang died later that evening.
Choepel:
After Tenzin Choedon's self-immolation, I used to talk with Damchoe on the phone, and for quite some time. Our phone conversations were never conducted in a normal way, since all of us knew the phone was tapped.
On his sister's self-immolation, he said she self-immolated for the welfare of Tibetans and for the right to practice Buddhism. And since she did this with wide-reaching concern, he said he felt proud of what she did.
Sonam:
His name is Damchoe.
So Lobsang Damchoe, as it was reported, was wrong?
Sonam:
Yes, that was the wrong name.
His name was just Damchoe.
When I heard about Damchoe's self-immolation, I instantly thought of his sister Tenzin Choedon who had already died, and Damchoe did it the same way, and I felt unbelievably strong emotions. To think of a brother and sister from the same family, the same parents, dying one after another.. We felt terrible and shocked. I don't think this will happen again in my family, but in Tibet, it will happen again...
-Sacrifice of Life for Tibet-
...because the Chinese government is heightening restrictions and repression, and arresting many Tibetans whenever self-immolations happen, like they did after Damchoe and Lobsang self-immolated. A human being cannot live forever under constant repression.
Choepel:
Now my hope is...
both of them burned themselves and they are gone from this world.
The reason and objective for which they burned their bodies is,
in Tibet and around the world, to establish truth, to solve a problem, and realize a necessary goal.
Kalzang:
My name is Kalzang.
So, I do teaching here at this center in Cowichan Valley.
I'm from Rebkong -
Gyawo, Rebkong, Amdo, Tibet.
On November 15, 2012, 18 year old Khabum Gyal self-immolated in Rebkong, Tibet.
His was the seventh self-immolation to take place in the region that month. He reportedly died the same day. Kalzang is a family friend.
Kalzang:
Khabum Gyal -
he's a neighbor of one of my relatives back in that area.
That's how I know his father.
We're all from the same tribe.
We have 12 villages.
So, we have only one nomad village, so he's from the nomad village.
There's the town that we call Luchu Village.
There's a town...
There's one road to go to Rebkong City, in the main city that we call Rongwo...
So, when he came, the crossroads, then he did the self-immolation.
Soon after I heard that was happened - a self-immolation happened,
I called his neighbor and said, can I talk with him?
He said, he's very like - sad, and he couldn't talk this moment and he said, "Call another time."
Now, after that, I try, the phone is cut off.
The only picture, I got it from last night, far away from there, like four hours away from there by car. Somebody from there took all the way.
When he went there, they sent me these pictures .
One thing that makes me surprised, the surprise is such young person, like him,
to see the big view about Tibet.
-Free Tibet-
He's third generation after Chinese occupied Tibet.
So third generation is more awake on what's happening in Tibet,
what government is doing in Tibet.
They can see that.
They can reach each other very easily, from different parts of Tibet - through phone, through Internet, they can reach very easily.
So, they see this danger, and therefore, they want to speak out.
It's really hard to express my feeling, really.
I don't want any Tibetan lose their life in this way.
But other hand, no matter you do self-immolation or not,
if you really bring up any word or action about Tibet,
you will go to jail.
You can lose your life that way as well.
So the younger generation says it's the same.
Are you waiting to die or you do something.
How many Tibetans need to take a life 'til the world speaks?
In the protest for freedom, countless other Tibetans have lost loved ones through self-immolation.
As of December 10, also International Human Rights Day, the count has reached 95 and continues to climb at an alarming rate.
To date, more than 80 self-immolations have occurred in 2012.
November saw 28 of them alone.
And there are fears that more self-immolations will take place unless the Chinese government listens to and addresses the grievances of the Tibetan people.
Every Tibetan can have the potential to do something different.
They do not have to do it collectively.
For example, personally, what I am going to do, one thing, is that -
in every day, in every year, on the very day of my cousin's self-immolation,
I am going to plant a tree.
And I think, after forty years, fifty years, when I am getting old,
I can see around forty or fifty trees.
I can sense that I have bring my cousin back.
Produced and directed by Katie Lin
Production Assistant Tendar Tsering
With special thanks to
The friends and relatives of Lobsang Jamyang, Tenzin Choedon and Damchoe, Ngawang Norpheland Khabum Gyal
Kirti Monastery (Dharamsala)
Tibetan Children's Village
speaking on the authenticity of the recognition of
His Holiness the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje
English translated from the Chinese:
First, generally speaking, we can say that most young people, especially what Westerners refer to as teenagers, at the time when His Holiness was at that age...
In general, when we talk about teenagers, they're always a little impetuous or can always make some mistakes.
But we can very easily sense His Holiness the Karmapa's very natural great compassion and a kind of dignity, unlike ordinary beings.
One can especially feel His Holiness' heartfelt aspiration to benefit all sentient beings.
He is always thinking how to benefit all sentient beings and to promote the precious teachings of the Buddhadharma.
In this sense, it's really very incredible, at such a young age.
So, in fact, we can really very easily feel the power of His Holiness' virtue, his great compassion and strong aspiration.
This is something we can all personally feel ourselves.
In the unique perspective that comes from the Tibetan tradition, we say that His Holiness the Karmapa, in his previous life, was also the 16th reincarnation.
At the time the [16th] Karmapa entered parinirvana, he also clearly left a prophetic letter regarding this reincarnation, that stated who the parents of the next reincarnation would be.
Therefore, His Holiness the 17th Karmapa is the very authentic reincarnation, who took rebirth among human beings.
Therefore, we can say that this distinguished tradition of the Karmapas, down to the 17th reincarnation today, is a very pure reincarnation lineage.
Moreover, His Holiness has constantly returned, for the benefit of all sentient beings.
From this reincarnation of His Holiness, we can see, from childhood, that many of his thoughts and ideas are very different from ordinary beings. It's incredible.
Rinpoche has a very deep feeling, a feeling that many of the things that His Holiness has done and many of his ideas are His Holiness the 16th Karmapa's.
Moreover, his aspiration is for the Buddhadharma, for the benefit of all sentient beings, and the compassionate wish to relieve suffering.
May His Holiness the Dala Lama, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa and all the precious teachers of Tibet have long life, good health and the realization of all their holy and precious wishes.
May His Holiness the Dalai Lama return quickly to Tibet, may the Buddhadharma flourish in Tibet,
may the Tibetan people be free.
May peace reign throughout the world.
Updated Apr 3, 2014:
More than 114 Tibetans have self-immolated for the return of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan freedom. Please see what you can do: http://www.SolidaritywithTibet.org/outreach
THE BURNING QUESTION: Why are Tibetans Turning to Self-immolation? Department of Information and International Relations Central Tibetan Administration Dharamshala, India
Since China invaded Tibet in 1949, it has ruled with an iron fist. The ongoing series of self-immolations are acts of protest against China's polices in Tibet.
Today Tibet is under military lockdown. The trigger is Beijing's paranoia over Tibetans setting their bodies on fire, turning themselves into human torches for freedom.
From February 2009 to August 2012, the toll was 51 self-immolations, 40 dead and the others' fate largely unknown.
-Map: Self-immolations in Tibet (As of August 27, 2012)-
Monks, nuns, lay men and women, mostly young and robust, soak themselves in flammable liquids and shout slogans while the flames consume their flesh.
Their stages are town squares, crowded markets, government headquarters and military camps, public places and any locations that symbolize China's iron-fisted rule over Tibet.
Unlike the self-immolation by monks in the 1960s during the Vietnam war, and Bouazizi's action in Tunisia which ignited the Arab Spring, Tibet's human sacrifices are yet to bring any tangible results.
- The Lede: Glimpses of a Chinese Town Under Lockdown-
The world's response has been mainly muted, with foreign media and tourists banned from entering Tibet. Who sees, knows, and can truly understand what is happening there?
-In the latest of a spate of self-immolation protests against Chinese policies, a 19-year-old Tibetan monk set himself on fire on Monday in the rugged western Chinese town of Aba, the advocacy group Free Tibet said in an e-mailed statement. It was the 23rd self-immolation by a Tibetan since last...-
In 2008, the year that led up to these self-immolations, the scene was different.
The media and visitors were welcomed to marvel at Beijing's Olympic games. But instead of basking in glory, China faced an uprising across Tibet. A rebellion erupted against 59 years of deeply resented colonial rule.
Immediately, paramilitary troops and armored tanks were deployed, and cameras of foreign correspondents and citizen journalists recorded the true face of human rights in Tibet.
The uprising in Tibet became headline news, and so Beijing's lockdown began.
Emboldened by the recession and financial woes in the West, and facing political uncertainty at home, China's leadership is in denial over the wave of self-immolations recurring in Tibet.
Despite the overwhelming military and police presence in protest hotspots and imposition of de-facto martial law, cries of "Return the Dalai Lama to Tibet!" "We want freedom!" and, "No human rights in Tibet!" keep erupting spontaneously from Tibetan bodies spurting flames.
Does Tibet have a history of self-immolations?
The answer is 'No.'
Buddhism teaches that all sentient life is precious. During the darkest decades of suffering under Mao's Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution there were cases of suicide, but never displays of humans publicly torching themselves.
So, this begs the question:
Why is this happening now?
-China lock-down seals off Tibetan unrest-
With Internet and phone lines blocked, and media and foreign tourists banned, it has been hard to grasp the reality of Tibet's current situation.
Reporters Without Borders described media access to Lhasa as even worse than Pyongyang.
-"Out of sight of the world, a major crisis is unfolding. Even Pyongyang has an international media presence, which is not the case in Lhasa."-
When a team of journalists from BBC and CNN attempted to reach the regions of most self-immolations in eastern Tibet, claimed by China as Sichuan, they were detained, questioned and threatened with laws of the [inaudible.]
-WORLD NEWS TODAY, BBC WORLD NEWS- The police held us for 9 hours. They tried to force us to sign a document promising that we would not attempt to enter Tibetan areas again. When we refused, well, then they threatened us. They said that within two days, our visas could be cancelled, and we could be expelled from the country.
-SICHUAN-
Having cut Tibet off from the watching world, China then launched into a campaign of disinformation through state media.
-Map: Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture-
The self-immolators are either described as violent terrorists, mentally unstable, or ignorant villagers knowing nothing about today's world.
Since the majority of those who have set fire to themselves, are young, and monks or former monks, Beijing propaganda claims that rather than being politically motivated, they have been brainwashed by religious leaders and their teachers.
-THE DALAI CLIQUE AND THE SELF-IMMOLATION EVENT-
The blame is then diverted across the Himalayas to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his so-called Dalai Clique in India.
They stand accused of offering cash incentives for any debts or injuries through self-immolation, and actually engineering and fomenting this new resistance to China's rule over Tibet.
This documentary addresses the background, the fundamental causes and events that led to this fiery outburst of protest across the plateau.
Perhaps more importantly, it will explain how Tibetans themselves view these unprecedented actions, and articulate their hopes for an outcome that will make all the suffering worthwhile.
-A single spark...-
On February 27, 2009, a 20-something monk at Kirti Monastery, heard that the authorities had cancelled that day's major religious ceremony.
Within half an hour, Tapi was in the main square of Ngaba town, soaked in oil, waving the banned Tibetan flag, shouting slogans as he set himself on fire.
Before the flames were extinguished, he was shot by the People's Armed Police, and then his body was dragged away.
This was the first in Tibet's chain of self-immolations. Whether Tapi is dead or alive is uncertain.
For Mao Zedong, religion was poison, and for today's leadership in Beijing, Tibet's monasteries and nunneries are still their prime targets.
The late 1990s saw classic Mao's era methods and campaigns introduced to control monks and nuns.
First, patriotic education was imposed, and later, Democratic Management Committees took over the day-to-day running of Tibet's religious establishments.
Since then, monastic education places love and loyalty for the Great Motherland on a higher throne than studying and practicing the Buddhadharma.
Monks and nuns spend half their days memorizing party propaganda, but most painful of all, they are forced to sign pledges denouncing His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Surveillance and control have spiraled across the plateau since 2008's spontaneous uprisings.
A communist party cell is now embedded in all Democratic Management Committees, and government officials directly rule religious establishments.
Given this targeted control over Buddhist life, it is no coincidence that out of 51 self-immolations until August 2012, 30 are from Ngaba, and 20 are by young monks and former monks.
Two nuns who died are from a nearby nunnery. With Kirti Monastery and Ngaba town under lockdown, policed by crack military units of the People's Liberation Army, it is clear that Kirti monks are being further radicalized.
Their monastery is now a de-facto prison.
And to further enhance patriotism in monks and nuns, since November 2011, portraits of four leaders of communist China, plus the PRC's flag, must be displayed in all monastic buildings.
-Lhasa 2008-
To achieve Hu Jintao's 'harmonious society,' Beijing now spends more on domestic security, including policing and surveillance, than on its defense budget.
In Eastern Tibet's Ngaba county alone, spending on public security in 2009, was five times higher than in the non-Tibetan regions of Sichuan.
The escalating outlay is certainly due to the spate of self-immolations and related protests, and in turn, the heavy security presence leads to social confrontation and the alienation of all Tibetans.
Although the PRC has produced no credible evidence that Kirti Monastery has been involved in the self-immolations by its monks and former monks, both the local community and Kirti residents are taking the blame.
The aftermath of every fiery action sees police raids, and arrests, road blocks, and intimidating parades of military force.
In retaliation for Kirti Monastery's monk, Phuntsok, setting fire to himself in March 2011, armed paramilitary troops placed the monastery under siege, cutting off food and water supplies.
The patriotic education campaign was stepped up and made compulsory.
A month later, ten military trucks drove 300 Kirti monks away for political indoctrination, under the guise of 'legal education.'
The fate of those who didn't return is in doubt.
Today, for a monk to get leave from his monastery, three letters by guarantors are demanded.
In addition to civilian and military police patrols, a special unit has been deployed to Ngaba to strike hard against violent terrorist activities.
-Dharamsala, India-
-Kirti Rnpoche Abbot of Kirti Monastery-
"China's constitution protects the right to believe or not to believe in religion. A Buddhist may be defined as the one who seeks refuge in the Three Jewels: the Buddha, his teachings and his community.
Tibetan Buddhists revere their spiritual masters and His Holiness the Dalai Lama as their Buddha.
Although China claims to protect religious freedom, the so-called 'patriotic education campaign,' forces Tibetan monks and nuns to denounce their spiritual masters.
They are not allowed to maintain any relation with their spiritual masters. They are not allowed to follow the teachings of their spiritual masters.
This is causing unbearable pain in the hearts and minds of Tibetan people. They will, however, not forsake their objects of refuge, even at the cost of their lives.
Since 1959, the Tibetan monasteries have been the main target of crackdown.
They are viewed as the hotbed of reactionaries, the main target of the hostility of the Chinese officials.
-Lhasa 1989-
Since campaigns after campaigns were waged inside the monasteries, the situation today has reached a breaking point.
Tibetan monasteries are the centers of learning and scholarship. They are the preservers of Tibetan cultural heritage. They are not a tourist spot or a museum.
The Chinese policies have turned Tibetan monasteries into sightseeing objects, and money-making entities, a place where they entertain tourists by hosting elaborate masked dance shows.
-Kirti Rinpoche, Abbot of Kirti Monastery-
Let alone the restriction on the Tibetan monasteries, the Chinese authorities have gone so far as to modify Tibetan Buddhism to suit their political ends.
This is absolutely impossible. You can't stop flames from leaping up or waters flowing down.
Tibetan Buddhism is based on scientific principles. You can't make arbitrary changes in Buddhism and conform it to the polices of the Chinese Communist Party."
Prison sentences of 10 to 13 years were given to three Kirti monks in September 2011, for allegedly helping 20 year old Phuntsok set fire to himself, and sheltering him inside the monastery until he died.
China condemns self-immolation as an extreme act of violence by terrorists, and a gross violation of the fundamental principles of Buddhism.
-Jiang Yu, Spokesman, Chinese Foreign Ministry-
"This behavior, which ignores life and violates moral standards, should be condemned. We note that, after these incidents, the overseas Tibet independence force, the Dalai Clique, has not denounced this extreme behavior, but publicly glorified it."
Tibetan religious scholars are educated to know better. The explanation of Sopa Rinpoche carries added authenticity.
-Tulku Sonam Wangyal- "This learned lama, in his early 40s, died on January 8, 2012, in Amdo Golok.
Before drinking kerosene and lighting his robes, he recorded the following message:
...I am giving away my body as an offering of light to chase away the darkness, to free all beings from suffering...
I am sacrificing my body with a firm conviction and a pure heart just as the Buddha bravely gave his body to a hungry tigress [to stop her from eating her cubs]."
-Forced settlement of Tibetan nomads...-
While a majority of the self-immolators are monks and nuns, nearly half of those who have burned themselves have their roots in traditionally nomad regions of Tibet.
Out of a population of 6 million, it is the 2 million hardy and independent nomads whose lifestyles and livelihoods have suffered the most under the communist yoke.
Today, 1.5 million of them are corralled into state-controlled villages. This was the background of Rinchen, a mother of four, who set herself alight on March 4, 2012, near the military camp close to Ngaba town.
Since her husband died, she had been raising her children, ranging from a few months to early teens, alone.
"We need freedom!" she shouted as the flames engulfed her body.
-Zamthang, Tibet-
This dying cry for freedom, by a single parent, exemplifies the crisis building up inside Tibet.
The mood of resistance to the Chinese Communist Party is strong,
The nomads of Tibet have been free to graze their yaks and sheep across the lush grasslands of the high plateau for over four thousand years.
But when Beijing introduced compulsory settlement in 1998, the official reason was that overgrazing is leading to environmental degradation and soil erosion.
Until then, nomads and the complex habitat, had co-existed in productive harmony for millennia.
These resettlement villages in remote locations, offer no chance of employment, and without livestock, the inherited skills of nomads have no value.
With unemployment the accepted norm, many females have been forced into the sex trade, while they watch their men-folk turn to alcohol.
Knowing that the lands they are surrounded with are rich in minerals, rare earths, ores and other natural resources that the PRC is hungry for, the nomads of Tibet only see their future as bleak.
-Tibetan language and freedom...-
Like many nomad children, Tseringkyi started school when she was ten. But her zeal made up for lost time. According to her cousin, she always had a book in her hand while tending the family's livestock.
Passion for learning turned to despair on the day she heard that the authorities were switching the language of instruction in schools in her native Amdo from Tibetan to Chinese.
On March 3, 2012, just before the start of the spring semester, Tseringkyi emerged from a public toilet in the market of a local town. Gasoline soaked blankets wrapped around her body were bound tight with wire.
As the flames leapt over her head, she raised a defiant fist, before slumping to the ground. She died on the spot. Tseringkyi was twenty.
Language has become an explosive issue across Tibet. As Chinese has taken over from Tibetan as the only official channel of official communication and dominates the entire education system, monolingual rural Tibetans feel like foreigners in their own land.
By devaluing their language, Tibetans are being deliberately marginalized. This policy denies them employment.
In 2006, Lhasa University students, protested when 98 out of 100 government jobs went to Chinese stream graduates.
That left two posts for Tibetan language applicants.
And in September 2010, hundreds of angry graduates from Lhasa's institute of Tibetan traditional medicine demonstrated in front of T.A.R. government offices.
Their banners demanded an increase in work opportunities.
A year later, student demonstrations erupted in the northeast, when the teaching of Tibetan in highly literate Amdo was to be fully downgraded.
The massive gatherings were widespread and the banners read: "Equality of nationalities," "Freedom of languages.
These protests soon spread from Amdo to Beijing, with 400 students demanding freedom of language at the Minorities Nationalities University in the capitol.
Tibetan, both written and spoken, is the very bedrock of the nation's identity, religion and culture.
Being one of Asia's seminal languages and one of its four oldest, Tibetan also has unique historical value.
As a Tibetan blogger best put it, "Taking away a person's language is not the same as taking the bread out of someone's pouch. It is like having your tongue pulled out of your mouth."
-China's colonial policies...-
Until May 27, 2012, there had been no self-immolations in Tibet's historical capital, Lhasa. Undaunted by the pervasive military and police patrols that day, Thargey and Dorje Tsedan protested against China's rule over Tibet by torching themselves in front of the sacred 7th century Jokhang Temple.
Thargey was 25 and Dorje, 19. Both had moved to Lhasa from eastern Tibet and were working in a restaurant.
The twin immolations in May led to several hundred Tibetans from eastern provinces currently living in Lhasa, being arbitrarily expelled. This was part of a drastic security clampdown to avert Tibetan protest, a militarization that is still very visible on the streets of Lhasa.
A Chinese net citizen reports, "Lhasa is crawling with riot police. In gas stations, temples, power stations, intersections - everywhere there are riot police carrying guns. There are even armored cars patrolling the pedestrian walkways."
Another observer comments, "When taking pictures in front of the Potala Palace, you can't sit or lay down on the ground. Otherwise, Uncle Riot Police will come and get you."
Kalsang Gyaltsen Bawa, China Analyst:
"China's current Tibet policy is based on two fundamental principles, economic development and social stability.
Under their policy of maintaining social stability, the entire blame for the current lack of stability in Tibet is heaped on the so-called Dalai Clique, which is His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan administration in exile.
Everything that happens in the Tibet, including activities related with the preservation of Tibetan religion, culture and language, all these are labelled as inciting separatism and endangering state security, and under this pretext, the Chinese authorities have adopted a policy of unrestrained use of force and an extreme policy of arbitrary detention, torture and killings.
This is one of the main reasons behind the current crisis in Tibet.
Secondly, under the slogan of economic development, the Chinese authorities have initiated campaigns like the Rail Tibet project, and promotion of tourism and development of infrastructure.
However, the real policy behind these campaigns is to facilitate Chinese population transfer into Tibet.
After flooding Tibet with Chinese people, their aim is to dilute Tibetan religion, culture, and linguistic identity.
The people inside Tibet therefore fear that the ultimate aim behind China's current Tibet policy is to wipe out the very identity of Tibetan people.
There was, as a result, a series of protest movements inside Tibet. The main cause behind the current crisis of self-immolations by Tibetans is therefore China's defective policies in Tibet."
In Lhasa today, there are reportedly more Chinese than Tibetans, more soldiers than monks, and more surveillance cameras than windows.
Thubten Samphel, Director of Tibet Policy Institute: "It is no coincidence that the increasing number of self-immolations in Tibet took place when His Holiness was in the process of devolving all his political authority to an elected Tibetan leader.
In this way that the Tibetans in Tibet regret the fact that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is no longer Tibet's political leader.
And this comes as a cause of deep remorse. All of them, without exception, want His Holiness to return to Tibet, and they feel that His Holiness, leading the Tibetan people in his political role, is no longer an option.
On the other hand, I feel there's a sense of alienation amongst young Tibetans in Tibet, that in exile, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has devolved his political authority to an elected leader. So, when Tibetans see this event, they feel that, given a chance, Tibetans have the capacity to elect a leader whose authority has been inherited from the traditional institution of the Dalai Lama.
So, this.. when there were developments from Tibet, in the exile community, there's a sense of alienation; at the same time, there's a sense of deep regret, that this ability of Tibetans to elect their political authority is denied to them by a reluctant, very stubborn leadership in Beijing.
So, I feel, these two factors might have played a role in the number of self-immolations we see in Tibet."
In spite of Beijing's punitive colonial policies in Tibet, alienating every section of the population, the PRC's propaganda machinery insists that self-immolations are being instigated and choreographed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his associates in exile.
-Hong Lei, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman-
So what is the Central Tibetan Administration's position on this burning issue?
Since the Dalai Lama devolved his political and administrative role to a fully elected leadership in 2011, we now turn to the new elected leadership under the administration of Kalon Tripa Dr. Lobsang Sangay with Dicki Chhoyang, as a Kalon of Tibetan Department of Information and International Relations.
Kalon Dicki Chhoyang, Department of Information and International Relations:
"The position of the Central Tibetan Administration with regards to self-immolation is very clear. As early as [2009] when the wave of self-immolations began, we made an appeal to Tibetans inside Tibet, not to resort to drastic actions. Now, despite our appeals, the self-immolations have persisted, and, given the situation, we feel a moral obligation to speak on their behalf, to the international community, to explain the reasons behind these political acts of protest.
Looking at the profile and the background of the self-immolators, we can see that their distress was related to different policies, namely policies related to religious freedom, language, environment, and also the forced settlement of Tibetan nomads.
If one asks, "What is the way forward?" - it is dialogue. As we expressed, the Kashag, on behalf of the Central Tibetan Administration, in the statement that we issued in June 2012, when the two special envoys tendered their resignation for the Sino-Tibetan dialogue, we remain firmly committed, not only to non-violence, but also to the Middle Way approach, which seeks to resolve the issue of Tibet through genuine autonomy within the framework of the Chinese constitution.
The international community, despite the fact that the Chinese government has returned a deaf ear to requests to send fact finding delegations and also to give access to the international media to Tibetan areas where the self-immolations took place, the international community must not remain an idle bystander.
The way that the international community handles the issue of Tibet sends a very clear message, a very important message to other political movements, that may not be as firmly committed as we are to non-violence.
Does it pay to stick to non-violence to find a solution to a conflict?
So, the message is sent, not only to other political movements, but also to future generations.
World leaders love to speak about peace, about non-violence, about finding resolutions to conflict without armed confrontation.
Tibet is an opportunity to live up to these principles.
Talking about these principles is devoid of any meaning, if we cannot embody them through actions when we're dealing with real life situations such as the crisis we're facing inside Tibet.
Tibetans inside Tibet have the courage to stand up for their rights, even if it's at the cost of their life.
All we ask for, is for the international community to have the courage to use their freedom to help the Tibetan people secure theirs.
-As this documentary went to air in September 2012, 51 Tibetans have been confirmed to have self-immolated inside Tibet.-
-41 of the 51 are known to have died following their protest.- ~ ~ ~
Every moment of our existence is illusory - existing, but not inherently existing, yet precious and important in terms of how we relate to others.
People once thought the earth was flat and that the sun revolved around the earth. Whoever claimed otherwise was roasted at the stake or lost his head. The majority opinion turned out, in retrospect, to have been mistaken. These changes in understanding reality led to revolutionary changes for all humanity - from transportation and trade routes, to space exploration and the development of the Internet.
Past and future lives are an accepted and well-known fact in all Asian countries and among the Druze people. Either reincarnation exists or it doesn't - only one answer is correct. Reincarnation cannot be refuted. However, abundant evidence exists that supports the existence of past lives. A change in our understanding of reality, regarding the way in which we exist, may bring significant changes in our daily conduct, for example, with regard to decisions and policy concerning environmental protection, peace and war, economics, generosity, altruism and more.
Geshe-ma Kelsang Wangmo
Geshe-ma Kelsang Wangmo, a German woman, today a nun in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and the first woman to complete the long geshe degree program for advanced Buddhist studies, recommends watching the first of the documentary films about reincarnation presented here.
Following the publication of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Statement Regarding the Issue of His Reincarnation, I thought to share these films, so that we may learn and understand how we and sentient beings exist.
There are future consequences to our thoughts, speech and actions, far beyond this life. I grew up in Western society, at least in this lifetime, studied science, and left a large question mark over the topic of reincarnation for many years. I listened to personal stories about ghosts and spirits, from Americans, Mexicans, Indigenous people, and about reincarnation from Druze people. Today I no longer have any trace of doubt.
The Tibetans say several things about doubt that would be worthwhile for us to know. According to one view, doubt is considered a wrong view and an obstacle to enlightenment. But it is also possible to make conscious and beneficial use of doubt. There are three kinds of doubt: doubt tending to the right, doubt tending to the wrong, and neutral doubt. If we keep an open mind, neutral doubt, and examine things deeply, we will be able to gradually develop doubt tending to the right, and then gradually attain a correct and precise view regarding the way in which reality exists. Ultimately, a clear and knowing mind is free from doubt. With the wish that we may all progress towards lasting happiness, genuine inner peace and full enlightenment, here are several films, as well as several references and links. Happy viewing.
The Boy Who Lived Before
Ever since he was two years old and first started talking, Cameron
Macauley has told of his life on the island of Barra. Cameron lives with
his mum, Norma, in Glasgow. They have never been to Barra.
47 min
Past Life of James
The Unexplained James III World War II Pilot Reincarnated
Geshe-ma Kelsang Wangmo lectures in English and is currently teaching in Israel November 19 - December 9, 2012. Geshe-ma's Israel teaching program (Hebrew & English) or contact Dharma Friends of Israel - Yedidei Hadharma b'Yisrael dharma.friends.il at gmail dot com Further Reading
"A strange disease that has become an epidemic." - Matthieu Ricard
When we have finally laid the altruism-egoism debate to rest, once and for all, we will all have great cause for rejoicing for the well-being of humanity and the planet. Scientific research clearly and unequivocally demonstrates that altruism leads to a deep and profound sense well-being. His Holiness the Dalai Lama tells us, "Everyone wants happiness. No one wants suffering." It is astounding that in the 21st century, we still have doubts about, even promulgate, what leads to human suffering. Unless and until we 'get it right,' we will continue to suffer. One very good mantra worth reciting, a good antidote for our present human condition, is: "Others before self."
Matthieu Ricard, a meditation adept, has been dubbed "the happiest man in the world." Matthieu Ricard's measure of happiness is shown 4.5 standard deviations off the bell curve for the rest of humanity, represented by 150 controls.
Prof. Richard Davidson and Matthieu Ricard
Here is the latest from Ven. Matthieu Ricard's blog, on Ayn Rand, a major contributor to human suffering.
Is This the Right Model for a Great Nation? by Matthieu Ricard Monday, October 29, 2012 Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan recommends the reading of Ayn
Rand’s writings to all his collaborators. Does the United States of
America truly want to have a leader whose ideal is to promote
selfishness in society? I am convinced that selfishness makes life
miserable not only for all those around us, but for ourselves as well.
Read the full article
Tibet is referred to by magical names such as Shangri-la and Shambhala, and is truly miraculous from our perspective, but not for the Tibetans. The Tibetans, who developed and established a science of mind in their culture, from the time Buddhism came to Tibet 1300 years ago, analyze and understand the causes and conditions for the different states of consciousness and phenomena. Phenomena do not exist independently. Therefore, every common phenomenon in Tibet that I will describe, has its own causes and conditions.
Tibetans are very practical. If certain causes and conditions cause suffering, these need to be analyzed and abandoned. If other causes and conditions bring happiness, these should be adopted and practiced. The conceptualization of happiness needs to change in a well thought out manner - what brings ostensible happiness does not bring lasting happiness. Within an instant, or several instants, momentary pleasures become sources of dissatisfaction and suffering. Altruism, generosity, patience, honesty, a life in accordance with moral values, bring lasting happiness and genuine inner peace of mind. Honestly looking inward, combined with applying logic, can bring release from mental suffering.
Common In Tibet
Thukdam, rainbow body, tulkus, tummo, srok-rlung (say: sok-loong), are common in Tibet. What are these?
Thukdam is a state which a spiritual teacher remains in for several days following death, when the mind has not yet disconnected from the body. In this profound meditative mental state, known as "the clear light" state, the body does not decay. A Tibetan lama remained in thukdam for 18 days and was examined by three teams of scientists, with the latest and most advanced neuroscientific equipment. When the consciousness detaches from the body, there are clearly recognizable signs, such as red moisture appearing in the nose and the head going limp. Thukdam is common in Tibet. When I was in Lhasa, a monk from Drepung Monastery remained in thukdam for 11 days.
The Tibetans believe that we Westerners bury too quickly. The consciousness of a person who has not trained his mind at all will disconnect immediately from the body. Rituals for the dead are very important in Tibet. During the 2008 massacre in Tibet the Chinese took bodies to incinerators outside the city to burn them... There are four kinds of "burial" in Tibet: earth, water, fire and sky burial. Here is a Tibetan sky burial:
A very beautiful, unique and interesting film about Tibetan funeral rituals, with a narrative by Leonard Cohen, is "The Tibetan Book of the Dead" (Part 1, 45 minutes).
The rainbow body is an actual biological phenomenon, observed by thousands of people in the course of the 1300 years since Buddhism arrived in Tibet. The rainbow body is a well-known and common phenomenon in Tibet. Sometimes, when a spiritual practitioner dies, in the days following his death, rainbows of light are emitted from his body. Over the course of about a week, the body gradually shrinks, until only hair and nails are left, and sometimes not even those.
A spiritual teacher told us about his teacher, who, before his death, asked his students to cover his body with an orange cloth and not to touch the body for a week. During the week, as the students recited prayers beside the body, they watched the body gradually shrink until it disappeared completely. The teacher was present at the event. Another teacher told us about an old woman who went off to a cave to meditate for several months. Every day her meal was brought to her. One day she asked not to bring her food for a week. After a week, she was found dead, with rainbows of light being emitted from her body. It is said that the rainbow body is especially common among ordinary spiritual practitioners, not famous spiritual teachers, but people that no one had noticed the depth of their spiritual practice until their death.
Sometimes, when a spiritual teacher dies, a full circular rainbow appears in the sky. I witnessed this phenomenon during the Lhasa massacre in March 2008.
The tulku tradition is a uniquely Tibetan tradition that was established several hundred years ago. This is the tradition of finding the reincarnation of the spiritual teacher about a year or two after his (or her) death. The tulku tradition has been documented in several films, including "The Unmistaken Child" by Nati Beretz and "My Reincarnation," about the spiritual teacher Namkai Norbu Rinpoche's son, who is half Italian. The phenomenon was described in the feature film, "The Little Buddha," about an America boy who was recognized as a tulku by Tibetan lamas. A Tibetan tulku can be born anywhere in the world, among any people or culture. The Karmapa was the first tulku in Tibet. Today, the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje is the 17th in the Karmapa lineage. The Dalai Lama is the 14th reincarnation in the lineage of the Dalai Lamas. The birth of a tulku is usually accompanied by signs, such as the parents' dreams, appearances of birds or animals before the birth and other special signs. Various methods exist for the correct recognition of tulkus. When spiritual teachers write their biographies, they often describe their previous reincarnations. Women can also be tulkus.
"The Unmistaken Child" by Nati Beretz (trailer):
"My Reincarnation" by Jennifer Fox (trailer):
"Little Buddha":
Tummo is an advanced meditative practice in which Tibetan monks and nuns raise their body temperature. In the snowy mountains of the Himalaya, monks and nuns hold tummo contests, in which a series of wet sheets are placed on the practitioner, and whoever dries the most sheets is the winner. Tummo has been studied at Dr. Benson's Harvard University laboratory:
Srok-rlung and rlung, trance states arising from intensive meditation are common in Tibet, especially in monasteries. Srok-rlung and rlung are always treated properly in Tibet and "no one stays that way." I have written more about rlung and srok-rlung in the last post, Trance and Mental Health.
The Tibetans, world experts on the mind, have been collaborating with neuroscientists for about 25 years. Mental illness is rare in Tibet. However, thukdam, rainbow body, tulkus, tummo and rlung are common in Tibet. There is much to learn from the Tibetans. One doesn't need to be Buddhist in order to benefit from the wisdom of the Tibetans. Tibetans respect all cultures, appreciate cultural diversity and recognize the value of the many religions of the world. Tibetans are generally patient, non-judgemental, accepting, and warm hearted people - of course not all. Bodhisattvas, spiritual practitioners with an altruistic and compassionate outlook, are common in Tibet. The only way to develop inner peace of mind is by practicing ethics as a foundation and basis. If one wants to learn from the Tibetans, one should approach with a sincere, egoless and nonjudgemental attitude.
Blessings for happiness and truthfulness :)
Published in Hebrew August 8, 2012 and a featured blog post on the home page of The Marker Café.
