a land of Tibet

Through My Eyes

With work in the Grove and going to see HH the Dalai Lama I haven't had time yet to work on the sculpture of Tara Drolma. It was at Madison Square Garden in NYC and was a talk about being a Buddhist in the 21st century.

It was a very worthwhile teaching and he also commented on many other things some of which I didn't understand because my knowledge of Tibetan is still very limited. But an article by Bhuchung D. Sonam on Phayul describes his discussion of the Tibetan crisis.

"Please do not go under depression because of the current situation. We do not have to be cowed down,” the Tibetan leader said. The crackdown in Tibet by the Chinese Government has been intensified since last year. Under such circumstance and atmosphere, the Tibetan leader said, many Tibetans undergo depression and some even resort to suicide.“The Tibetan situation now is at live and death case. The Chinese policies are designed to do away with Tibetan identity and culture,” the Nobel laureate said. “But the truth will never go away.”

The Dalai Lama mentioned a conversation he had with a recent arrival from Tibet, who told him that the more the Chinese suppression the stronger the Tibetan spirit of resistance grows."

It reminds me of a few moments at the beginning of his teaching. A group of children sang the Tibetan National Anthem and we all sang it along with them. Then they continued on to sing the American National Anthem and I continued to sing along with them and realized I was singing pretty much by myself after a certain point. " and the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air" on the face of it is not very well aligned with the Buddhist path.

But if you know the story it is very much right for the moment.

" And the rockets red glare

the bombs bursting in air

gave proof through the night

that our flag was still there "

The writer is Francis Scott Keyes and, after seeking the release of a prisoner, he is now himself a prisoner held on the deck of a British fighting ship as their navy, the most powerful on earth, pounds away at the fort that protects the city of Baltimore. And it is their rockets and bombs that are revealing through the darkness that the flag is still flying. Rockets and bombs were as terrifying then as they are now- but the only thing he was thinking of was that he could still see that flag out there- and that America had not surrendered. The American ideals of liberty, freedom and rule by the people would remain.

So it is in Tibet. The more ruthless the CCP becomes the more the Tibetan national identity is revealed to the world in spite of every effort that is made to smother and hide it- for their assaults are revealing it through the darkness they have sought to impose.

His Holiness has made an enormous concession in saying that Tibet will remain a part of China. In response the CCP has made no compromises in return. It is much easier for world leaders to accept the notion of things staying as they are with the CCP making a concession here and there while covertly continuing to ruthlessly suppress the Tibetan way of life. But the refusal of the leadership to work with His Holiness will be their undoing for time is running out for them. The truth grows in scope and intensity and no amount of diplomatic language spoken in the corridors of power will hide it away in the end- for the real power is out among ordinary people in the world and it grows greater as time passes.

Each and every single day.

There's a lot more to add but as usual two as one we'll add to the notes later beautiful one!

* courtesy of A Luminous Diamond (Bright) Crystal Show productions. The information for

the sketches is courtesy of the Footprint Tibet handbook by Gyurme Dorje.

( please click here to return to my spinning for you!)


	Through My Eyes * With work in the Grove and going to see HH the Dalai Lama I haven't had time yet to work on the sculpture of Tara Drolma. It was at Madison Square Garden in NYC and was a talk about being a Buddhist in the 21st century. It was a very worthwhile teaching and he also commented on many other things some of which I didn't understand because my knowledge of Tibetan is still very limited. But an article by Bhuchung D. Sonam on Phayul describes his discussion of the Tibetan crisis. "Please do not go under depression because of the current situation. We do not have to be cowed down,” the Tibetan leader said. The crackdown in Tibet by the Chinese Government has been intensified since last year. Under such circumstance and atmosphere, the Tibetan leader said, many Tibetans undergo depression and some even resort to suicide.“The Tibetan situation now is at live and death case. The Chinese policies are designed to do away with Tibetan identity and culture,” the Nobel laureate said. “But the truth will never go away.” The Dalai Lama mentioned a conversation he had with a recent arrival from Tibet, who told him that the more the Chinese suppression the stronger the Tibetan spirit of resistance grows." It reminds me of a few moments at the beginning of his teaching. A group of children sang the Tibetan National Anthem and we all sang it along with them. Then they continued on to sing the American National Anthem and I continued to sing along with them and realized I was singing pretty much by myself after a certain point. " and the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air" on the face of it is not very well aligned with the Buddhist path. But if you know the story it is very much right for the moment. " And the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there " The writer is Francis Scott Keyes and, after seeking the release of a prisoner, he is now himself a prisoner held on the deck of a British fighting ship as their navy, the most powerful on earth, pounds away at the fort that protects the city of Baltimore. And it is their rockets and bombs that are revealing through the darkness that the flag is still flying. Rockets and bombs were as terrifying then as they are now- but the only thing he was thinking of was that he could still see that flag out there- and that America had not surrendered. The American ideals of liberty, freedom and rule by the people would remain. So it is in Tibet. The more ruthless the CCP becomes the more the Tibetan national identity is revealed to the world in spite of every effort that is made to smother and hide it- for their assaults are revealing it through the darkness they have sought to impose. His Holiness has made an enormous concession in saying that Tibet will remain a part of China. In response the CCP has made no compromises in return. It is much easier for world leaders to accept the notion of things staying as they are with the CCP making a concession here and there while covertly continuing to ruthlessly suppress the Tibetan way of life. But the refusal of the leadership to work with His Holiness will be their undoing for time is running out for them. The truth grows in scope and intensity and no amount of diplomatic language spoken in the corridors of power will hide it away in the end- for the real power is out among ordinary people in the world and it grows greater as time passes. Each and every single day. There's a lot more to add but as usual two as one we'll add to the notes later beautiful one! * courtesy of A Luminous Diamond (Bright) Crystal Show productions. The information for the sketches is courtesy of the Footprint Tibet handbook by Gyurme Dorje. ( please click here to return to my spinning for you!)