TIBETSPACE

WOESER, SUICIDE & TIBET

As Spring arrives here in the United States, and as the Tibetan New Year passes with great incident and suffering, Woeser, the astute and talented Tibetan commentator in China, has posted a piece in The Epoch Times on the recent flurry of suicides in Tibet. 

Suicide, of course, is a distinctly human form of tragedy.  While all of the major world religions take a stance on it--Buddhism sees suicide largely as yet another destructive act that arises from delusion--for each of us, particularly for those of us who have lost loved ones to such an act of self-destruction, suicide often seems an authentic gesture of sorts, a final message that living, however miserably, could never deliver. 

And so on February 27, 2009, after the Chinese canceled the Great Annual Prayer Festival in Sichuan, a 24-year-old monk from Kirti Monastery lit himself on fire and ran through the streets carrying a photograph of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  The Chinese police shot him repeatedly.  He was removed to a hospital, and as of several weeks ago, nothing was known about his health, or whether he lived or died.  (Read a brief report at The Huffington Post.)

His name was Tabey, and this was the message he delivered to the Tibetan people, the Chinese, and the world community:  life in Chinese-occupied Tibet had become impossible for him in this incarnation.

Was this a reasonable action?  Most of us, deluded as we are, are currently incapable of answering this question.  It is said that Quang Duc, the Vietnamese monk who was famously photographed by Malcolm Browne in 1963 in Saigon, was actually the second choice for the immolation.  The story is told that a much younger monk had set himself the task, and when Quang Duc learned of this, he said, "No, no, you're too young for this, you have much life left; let me do it."  And so, doused with gasoline, he sat down, and he delivered his message.

Perhaps true renunciation leads certain individuals to see the full consequences of suicide, to understand that a temporary, but fully conscious evacuation of this particular mind-body complex can lead to greater awareness among those of us who are left behind to witness it.  And perhaps greater awareness can ultimately lead to an alleviation of suffering . . .

Maybe.  I don't know; I'm certainly not qualified to make such judgments.  But I do know that our witness to these suicides is vitally important; and that our witnesses will range along a broad spectrum; and that this spectrum extends from the Tibetans who recently declared a hunger-strike to death in front of the Chinese embassy in Brussels to the casual reader who remarks the untimely and tragic death of a fellow humang being.

All of these responses matter, and all of them ultimately register at the subtlest level of our consciousness.

So it is vitally important that we witness these suicides in Tibet; that we grapple with them as each of us are able; that we do not forget the starkness and bleakness that arise when we contemplate them; that we transform this starkness and bleakness into an authentic and durable compassion for the suffering they reflect; and that we use this starkness and bleakness to develop the knowledge that reveals to us the causes from which this suffering springs.

Maybe that's obvious.  But in the face of suicide and hunger-strike--in the face of high-octane human suffering--it's worth repeating.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR, MARK YOUR HEARTS: LOSAR, 25 FEBRUARY

When Losar arrives this year, it marks the 60th anniversary of the Chinese invasion, the 50th anniversary of the ultimate occupation.  Special events are being planned.  And of course March 10, Tibetan Independence Day, is huge this year. 

So wherever you are, whatever you're doing, if you have an interest in Tibetan matters, simply pay attention.  Pay attention to the blogs, keep up with the Chinese media (remembering that state-controlled media offer up their own state-controlled form of truth, and that gives us essential information about the state's self-conception), write a letter or two, exercise your compassion.

It's all we can do, it's what we can do, and if we can do it consistently, mountains will move, things will change.

CHINA SPANKS FRANCE . . . AGAIN!

After crumbling under China's schoolyard bullying this summer, French President Sarkozy sent his wife to meet with His Holiness.  Now, having agreed to meet on December 6 with His Holiness in Poland--not even on French soil--the French President is once again feeling the wrath of the Chinese government.  The language of the current disapproval is true to form:  vague, foreboding, angry, threatening, self-important.  China realizes that the Dalai Lama has garnered Western support for many of his causes, and this of course enrages the Chinese. 

The Tibetan cause, however you define it, is being played out, however you feel about it, on the world stage, with a distinguished group of commentators and power-brokers in the audience.  When we consider the ongoing and epic tragedy in the Congo, for example, and acknowledge how comparatively little attention it is receiving, we also have to acknowledge, as the Chinese have been forced grudgingly to do, that the Tibetan campaign has been waged with considerable skill and adroitness. 

Commentators on the American political scene have already suggested that the Obama campaign, developed over the past four years, is worthy of extended analysis.  Let me suggest that His Holiness's campaign, waged over the last half-century, falls into the same category. 

An honest question:  Has there ever been a similar case, where a people living in utter geographical and political isolation, moves from complete anonymity on the world stage to a position of such widespread recognition and approval as that of the Tibetans in the 21st century? 

We might debate the effects of such recognition, of course.  We might wonder at the motivations involved, both of the Tibetans who engineered the campaign and the Westerners, particularly, who have so eagerly embraced the campaign.  But that the Tibetan crisis has reached the world's attention can't be denied. 

And this, of course, is what angers the Chinese.  Stay tuned, as the Tibetans convene in Dharamsala next week for a very important meeting.  The Chinese propaganda machine will be chugging along at full speed.

SPERLING DISCUSSES HISTORIC TREATY AND OTHER ITEMS

Elliot Sperling, professor of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University, spoke briefly about the Tibet-Mongolia Treaty of 1913 that has long been a sore spot for China apologists who have difficulty denying the frank implication of Tibetan independence that underlies the very treaty's existence.  A new copy of it emerged recently and stands to have an impact on the talks in Dharamsala. 

China is also lashing out at the meetings in Dharamsala slated for next week, as well as at India for allowing them to happen. 

Some things never change, and so the deliberations that recently occurred in China between the Chinese and the Tibetans reportedly yielded no results.  This is unsurprising, sobering, and instructive, particularly in light of the the upcoming conference in Dharamsala. 

With a bang or a whimper?  . . .  How will the meetings next week conclude?

GETTING READY FOR THE MEETING IN DHARAMSALA

As the November 17th meeting in Dharamsala approaches, there are several things that we might read to prepare ourselves to understand whatever resolutions are reached on that fateful day.  I've already recommended Shadow Tibet, and I'll recommend it again:  there are essential pieces posted there.  Also, much discussion has appeared recently concerning rangzen (independence), the Middle Way approach, and the Dalai Lama's role in leading the Tibetan people through the coming months and years.  The following website contains both clear explanations of the relevant ideas, and it also has helpful links at the bottom of the page to the original speeches where His Holiness articulated his founding ideas (click here). 

MORE ESSENTIAL READING FROM JAMYANG NORBU

Many of the readers of this blog regularly visit Jamyang Norbu's blog, Shadow Tibet, and will aready know that Jamyang la has recently posted an essay on the November meeting in Dharamsala.  If you haven't already read  "Making the November Meeting Work," please stop by and have a look at it.  It's always a pleasure to agree with Jamyang la--paraphrasing TS Eliot on Samuel Johnson:  Jamyang la is a dangerous man to disagree with--and in this recent piece, he makes many of the same points I've made in this blog concerning the importance of the upcoming meeting.  Of course, Jamyang la makes his case with far greater knowledge and authority than I am able to do, so many thanks to him for his sharp insights into the Tibetan political process.  As Americans, looking from the outside in, we stand to learn a great deal from columns like these.  Again, many thanks to Jamyang la for his time and effort in writing this piece.

Also, you will learn a great deal as well from the comments added by Jamyang la's readers . . . they are a diverse and opinionated group, so leave time for them too.

'CHINA-WATCH' ADDED TO TIBETSPACE

An article of faith:  I believe that mindlessly opposing China and Tibet damages the Tibetan cause in the long run, while at the same time hindering movements within China for an open society.

Another article of faith:  I also believe that awareness of human rights violations and our capacity to do something constructive about these violations begins with information.  Clear information, divorced from political motivation, broadens our consciousness concerning human suffering.  Period.  And this, in turn, increases our fundamental stores of compassion.  Luckily, there's a one-stop website that will help us with our task of increasing awareness:  Human Rights Watch.  Stop by often, subscribe to its feed, read its stories, imagine that the characters of those stories are your family members. 

The fact that they happen to be other people's family members, after all, is simply an accident of birth.

To add my own small effort to the global project of raising awareness, I have added a new feature to TIBETSPACE that I have named China-Watch.  Here I will post links that highlight China's increasing use of preemptive anger, the kind of anger that gives rise to those ominous pronouncements promising China's stern disapproval if a certain course of action is undertaken by a member of the international community.  Particularly actions regarding Tibet or human rights.

These threats, of course, reveal many things about China's aging leadership:  their paranoia, their bullying mentality, their neurotic obsession with Tibet and His Holiness--particularly with his universal popularity--and their fear of other countries deciding to support many of the concerns that are central to his platform:  human rights, non-violence, egalitarianism, and compassion. 

And of course these domineering qualities are part and parcel of all totalitarian regimes. 

But in this case, one of the victims of Chinese oppression--the Tibetan people--have something that many such victims do not have.  They have an international voice, and it is in the spirit of deepening the context for that voice that I offer China-Watch.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FASTING & NON-VIOLENCE DRAWS NEAR

His Holiness has agreed to join an international non-violent action on Saturday, August 30 sponsored by the Tibetan Solidarity Committee.  (See full story here.)  The movement begins at 7:00 a.m., and will come to a close 12 hours later.  Participants may choose to fast in whatever way is most amendable to them--they may avoid all food and liquid for the 12-hour period, or varying degrees thereof, but all are encouraged to spend the day reflecting upon those who are currently suffering under oppressive regimes.  Fasts of this sort, particularly in America, allow us to develop, however minutely, a sympathetic awareness of deprivation.  And if this seed develops into a stronger commitment to alleviate human suffering within our own orbit, then so much the better for all of us.

"We consider this as extremely important non-violent action taken by Tibetans under the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in a very critical period for Tibet, particularly the post-Olympic period," Kalon Tripa Prof Samdhong Rinpoche said.

LHAMO POSTS: TIBETAN WOMEN AT THE FOREFRONT . . . AGAIN

Another posting arrived from Lhamo, our tireless correspondent in Dharamsala.  Again, we are indebted to her for taking time out of her busy day to keep us informed of what's happening within the Tibetan community in India.  This piece is particularly enlightening regarding the ways in which Tibetan women have responded to the task of survival in their host country (see my recent posting on this subject).  It also announces a world wide, 12-hour fast on August 30 in support of the Tibetans.  More here later.


With the Olympics in full swing, and with the rising status of China, and with the odds overwhelmingly against them, Tibetan women in Dharamsala seeking every opportunity to garner support for their cause and for their imperiled culture today, August 16, celebrated the Rakhi Purnima festival.

Raksha Bandhan (the bond of protection) is a Hindu festival, which celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters. The sister ties a rakhi (a holy thread) on her brother's wrist expressing her love and seeking his protection, while the brother accepts the responsibility with a vow to protect his sister for the rest of her life.

In a somewhat unusual scene, Tibetan women, clad in green chupas (Tibetan national dress) could be seen in the streets of Dharamsala today, buying sweets and eyeing the Indian shops that displayed their colorful rakhis.

"We are tying rakhis on the wrists of our Indian brothers today" said Kelsang Youdon, the president of the regional Tibetan Women's Association here. "India has been a big brother to us since the time of the Buddha and the Mahatma. Today, the situation in Tibet is grave, and we need our big brother's support."

In a modest symbolic ceremony held at the courtyard of Tsuklagkhang (the main Tibetan temple) here, the members of RTWA tied the sacred thread of rakhi around the wrist of Indian brothers and in turn appealed them to help their sisters, who are living a life of utter hopelessness under the Chinese rule.  Members of the local taxi and auto unions also participated in the celebration.

Describing India as “peace-loving, non-violent and the biggest democratic country in the world, Kelsang urged India to support the Tibetan cause more openly.

Meanwhile in Delhi, after the second batch of six men were forced to the hospital on August 14, the Tibetan Youth Congress has today launched the third batch of hunger strikers without food and water.  The third group of fasting Tibetans include Dhondup Tsering, 63,  Tsering Tashi, 21,  Thupten Tsewang, 20, Jampa Kelsang, 33,  Nawang Samten, 26, and Tashi Gyamtso, 31.

The Tibetan Solidarity Committee—comprised of the Kashag and the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile--on the other hand has decided to hold a worldwide mass prayer and fast on 30th August.

Kalon Tripa, the chairman of the Tibetan Cabinet has also issued a personal request to all Tibetans and Tibet supporters to observe this 12-hour symbolic fast and prayer on 30th August 2008 for world peace and, particularly, for the departed souls of the Tibetan people in recent months in Tibet.

"We consider this as an extremely important non-violent action taken by Tibetans under the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in a very critical period for Tibet, particularly the post-Olympic period," says Kalon Tripa.

"I personally request you and your organization to kindly participate in this fast and prayer and encourage many other people to join us in this effort to reduce our own defilements and to create wisdom and compassion in the minds of the oppressor."

The Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas will certainly support and participate in this action.

CHINA'S ON A ROLL: 'RE-EDUCATING' ELDERLY WOMEN & JUST SAYING NO TO PEACE & iTUNES

With the closing ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics clearly in sight now, China has gone into a frenzied suppression of all people and all things that might potentially spoil its bid to enter the modern world.  Two elderly women, for example, who were forcibly evicted from their  homes in 2001, have applied five times to stage a protest in the approved 'protest zones.'  Yesterday, these women, aged 77 and 79, were interrogated for ten hours, and ultimately sentenced to one year of re-education through labor (see story here).  I suppose, as the bumper sticker reads, the beatings will stop when the attitudes improve?  And in another report, you'll learn that China has blocked access to the iTunes online store after it was discovered that Olympic athletes were actually downloading the CD, Songs for Tibet, which I mentioned in yesterday's posting.  Silly athletes, in need of re-education.

Also:  not a single protest has been approved in China during the Olympic games, even though promises were made to allow them in the approved areas (a policy that is often in effect in this country as well, although here they are more routinely approved.)

There's more, and I couldn't make this up:  While French President Nicolas Sarkozy declined to meet with the Dalai Lama during his 12-day visit to France because the Chinese--let's face it--told him he couldn't, the job has been handed to the French Human Rights Minister Yama Rade. 

Who? 

Qin Gang, a representative from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, stated that "we hope the French side respects China's concerns and will deal carefully with the important and sensitive issues." 

Read:  We know that the French Human Rights Minister will refuse to speak of the continuing human rights abuses in Tibet and the oppression of the Chinese dissidents in Beijing and elsewhere, particularly during the run-up to the Games, whose essential spirit--if you believe in essential spirits--we have thoroughly and triumphantly violated.

I need to state this clearly for my own benefit: Beijing gets the Olympics and steps up its human rights abuses as protests mount; the IOC remains not only silent, but supportive of the oppressive regime; and China begins a regular, thorough, and unrelenting program of propagandistic abuse of those heads of state who have enough nerve (Nicolas Sarkozy didn't; Gordon Brown didn't) to meet with one of the world's leading ambassadors of peace and tolerance who happens to have under that robe of his a Nobel and Congressional Gold Medal . . .

Does anyone find this cheeky, or bullying, or troubling, or manipulative?

But not to worry:  His Holiness, while in France, will meet with Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, heiress, international super-model, and Madame President of France. 

O to be a fly on that wall . . .