August7

Through My Eyes

Saturday August 7

(We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he tells of his invitation to India and the Buddha Jyanti celebrations!)

" I always felt that so long as Phuntsog Wangyal retained the confidence of Chairman Mao, there was hope for Tibet. After he had left for Peking once more, I therefore submitted a request to General Chiang Chin-wu that he be posted to Tibet as Party Secretary. At first the idea was accepted in principle, but there was a long gap since I heard anything more.

At the end of 1957, a Chinese official informed me that Phuntsog Wangyal would no longer be coming to Tibet because he was a dangerous man.I was amazed to hear this, as I knew that Chairman Mao thought highly of him. The official explained that there were several reasons, the first and foremost being that when he had lived in Kham, before coming to Lhasa, Phuntsog Wangyal had organised a separate Tibetan Communist Party which was not open to membership by Chinese nationals. For this crime he had been stripped of office and detained. Eventually, he went to jail, where he remained, officially designated a 'non-person' , until the late 1970's. All this despite his being a sincere and dedicated Communist, as anyone could see. It made be realise that the Chinese leadership was not truly Marxist, dedicated to a better world for all, but really highly nationalistic. Actually, these people were nothing but Chinese chauvinists posing as Communists: a collection of narrow-minded fanatics.

Phuntsog Wangyal is still alive, though very old now. I would very much like to see him once more before he dies. I continue to have a high regard for him as an old experienced Tibetan Communist. The present authorities in China are aware of this and I still have hopes we might meet again.

One very welcome guest to Lhasa during the spring of 1956 was the Maharaj Kumar of Sikkim, Crown Prince of the tiny state which lay along part of our border with India not far beyond Dromo. He was a delightful man: tall, quiet, gentle,calm, with large ears. With him he brought wonderful news contained in the form of a letter from the Indian Maha Bodhi society, of which he was President. This organisation, which represents Buddhists throughout the subcontinent, was inviting me to attend the Buddha Jyanti celebrations to mark the 2,500th birth anniversary of the Lord Buddha.

I was ecstatic. For us Tibetans, India is Aryabhumi, the Land of the Holy. All my life I had longed to make a pilgrimage there; it was the place that I most wanted to visit. Furthermore, an expedition to India might provide me with the opportunity to speak with Pandit Nehru and other heirs of Mahatma Gandhi. I desperately wanted to be able to make contact with the Indian government, if only to see the way democracy worked. Of course, there was a chance that the Chinese would not let me go, but I had to try. So I took the letter to General Fan Ming.

Unfortunately, Fan Ming was by far the most disagreeable of the local Chinese authorities. He received me politely enough. But when I explained the reason for my call he grew evasive. He did not think that it sounded like a good idea. There were many reactionaries in India. It was a dangerous place. Besides, the Preparatory Committee was very busy and he doubted whether I could be spared. 'Anyway,' he said, 'it's only an invitation from a religious society. It's not as if it was from the Indian Government itself. So don't worry, you don't have to accept.' I was devastated. It was obvious that the Chinese authorities intended even to prevent me from carrying out my religious duties.

A period of several months went by during which nothing more was heard about Buddha Jyanti. Then, sometime about the middle of October, Fan Ming contacted me to ask who I wanted to nominate as leader of the delegation: the Indians needed to know. I replied that I would send Trijang Rinpoche, adding that the delegation was ready to go as soon as he gave final clearance. Another two weeks went by and I gradually began to put the whole thing out of my mind when suddenly Chiang Chin-wu, who had just arrived back from Peking, came to tell me that the Chinese Government had decided that it would be all right for me to go after all. I could hardly believe my ears. 'But be careful,' he warned me. 'There are many reactionary elements and spies in India. If you try to do anything with them, I want you realise that what happened in Hungary and Poland will happen in Tibet.' ( He was referring to the brutal Russian response to rebellion in those countries.) When he had finished speaking, I realised that I should conceal my great joy and instead do my best to appear to be very anxious. I indicated that I was genuinely surprised and concerned at his information about imperialists and reactionaries. This reassured Chiang and he adopted a much more conciliatory tone."

(Only an invitation from a religious society; the General didn't certainly didn't understand India! I promise to add more tomorrow...)

*( please click here to read of the day with me )

* This is from the book Freedom in Exile The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth

Dalai Lama of Tibet.

( Please see my spinning for you!)

( Tahshi Deleh gentle one! Kehrahng kusu debo yinpeh? I began the day working in our studio spinning for you and then working a bit more on the weaving of the backstrap for your loom. This actually meant spinning more of the fibers which I've become quite practiced at as you know well! Then I headed up to the Grove to scythe around the trees and native plants, repair the fences a bit and put out some more repellant for Groundhog inside the fence while putting out some food for him outside. Hopefully, this will work, or at least slow him down a bit! Then I returned to our studio to work on our a land of Tibet. You'll notice the usual changes in the pages. I've set up our a land of Tibet pages a bit differently this time it's just to make publishing them a bit easier. I'm going to put the pages up on our infosite; I'll put this up so we can rest.

And so, as always we'll continue two as one on to tomorrow

my one gentle beautiful patient swift dream bright

long dark mane in sunlight

so for now I bid goodnight...Simjah Nahngo!)


	Through My Eyes Saturday August 7 (We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he tells of his invitation to India and the Buddha Jyanti celebrations!) " I always felt that so long as Phuntsog Wangyal retained the confidence of Chairman Mao, there was hope for Tibet. After he had left for Peking once more, I therefore submitted a request to General Chiang Chin-wu that he be posted to Tibet as Party Secretary. At first the idea was accepted in principle, but there was a long gap since I heard anything more. At the end of 1957, a Chinese official informed me that Phuntsog Wangyal would no longer be coming to Tibet because he was a dangerous man.I was amazed to hear this, as I knew that Chairman Mao thought highly of him. The official explained that there were several reasons, the first and foremost being that when he had lived in Kham, before coming to Lhasa, Phuntsog Wangyal had organised a separate Tibetan Communist Party which was not open to membership by Chinese nationals. For this crime he had been stripped of office and detained. Eventually, he went to jail, where he remained, officially designated a 'non-person' , until the late 1970's. All this despite his being a sincere and dedicated Communist, as anyone could see. It made be realise that the Chinese leadership was not truly Marxist, dedicated to a better world for all, but really highly nationalistic. Actually, these people were nothing but Chinese chauvinists posing as Communists: a collection of narrow-minded fanatics. Phuntsog Wangyal is still alive, though very old now. I would very much like to see him once more before he dies. I continue to have a high regard for him as an old experienced Tibetan Communist. The present authorities in China are aware of this and I still have hopes we might meet again. One very welcome guest to Lhasa during the spring of 1956 was the Maharaj Kumar of Sikkim, Crown Prince of the tiny state which lay along part of our border with India not far beyond Dromo. He was a delightful man: tall, quiet, gentle,calm, with large ears. With him he brought wonderful news contained in the form of a letter from the Indian Maha Bodhi society, of which he was President. This organisation, which represents Buddhists throughout the subcontinent, was inviting me to attend the Buddha Jyanti celebrations to mark the 2,500th birth anniversary of the Lord Buddha. I was ecstatic. For us Tibetans, India is Aryabhumi, the Land of the Holy. All my life I had longed to make a pilgrimage there; it was the place that I most wanted to visit. Furthermore, an expedition to India might provide me with the opportunity to speak with Pandit Nehru and other heirs of Mahatma Gandhi. I desperately wanted to be able to make contact with the Indian government, if only to see the way democracy worked. Of course, there was a chance that the Chinese would not let me go, but I had to try. So I took the letter to General Fan Ming. Unfortunately, Fan Ming was by far the most disagreeable of the local Chinese authorities. He received me politely enough. But when I explained the reason for my call he grew evasive. He did not think that it sounded like a good idea. There were many reactionaries in India. It was a dangerous place. Besides, the Preparatory Committee was very busy and he doubted whether I could be spared. 'Anyway,' he said, 'it's only an invitation from a religious society. It's not as if it was from the Indian Government itself. So don't worry, you don't have to accept.' I was devastated. It was obvious that the Chinese authorities intended even to prevent me from carrying out my religious duties. A period of several months went by during which nothing more was heard about Buddha Jyanti. Then, sometime about the middle of October, Fan Ming contacted me to ask who I wanted to nominate as leader of the delegation: the Indians needed to know. I replied that I would send Trijang Rinpoche, adding that the delegation was ready to go as soon as he gave final clearance. Another two weeks went by and I gradually began to put the whole thing out of my mind when suddenly Chiang Chin-wu, who had just arrived back from Peking, came to tell me that the Chinese Government had decided that it would be all right for me to go after all. I could hardly believe my ears. 'But be careful,' he warned me. 'There are many reactionary elements and spies in India. If you try to do anything with them, I want you realise that what happened in Hungary and Poland will happen in Tibet.' ( He was referring to the brutal Russian response to rebellion in those countries.) When he had finished speaking, I realised that I should conceal my great joy and instead do my best to appear to be very anxious. I indicated that I was genuinely surprised and concerned at his information about imperialists and reactionaries. This reassured Chiang and he adopted a much more conciliatory tone." (Only an invitation from a religious society; the General didn't certainly didn't understand India! I promise to add more tomorrow...) ( please click here to read of the day with me ) This is from the book Freedom in Exile The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet. ( Please see my spinning for you!) ( Tahshi Deleh gentle one! Kehrahng kusu debo yinpeh? I began the day working in our studio spinning for you and then working a bit more on the weaving of the backstrap for your loom. This actually meant spinning more of the fibers which I've become quite practiced at as you know well! Then I headed up to the Grove to scythe around the trees and native plants, repair the fences a bit and put out some more repellant for Groundhog inside the fence while putting out some food for him outside. Hopefully, this will work, or at least slow him down a bit! Then I returned to our studio to work on our a land of Tibet. You'll notice the usual changes in the pages. I've set up our a land of Tibet pages a bit differently this time it's just to make publishing them a bit easier. I'm going to put the pages up on our infosite; I'll put this up so we can rest. And so, as always we'll continue two as one on to tomorrow my one gentle beautiful patient swift dream bright long dark mane in sunlight so for now I bid goodnight...Simjah Nahngo!)