September 4

Through My Eyes

Saturday September 4

(We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he tells of his visit to the holy sites of India!)

" When I saw him next, the Indian Prime Minister had with him a copy of the Seventeen-Point 'Agreement'. Again, he urged me to return to Tibet and to work with the Chinese on the basis of the 'Agreement'. There was no alternative, he said, adding that he must make it clear that India could be of no assistance to Tibet. He also told me that I should do as Chou En-lai said and return to Lhasa without stopping at Kalimpong. But when I pressed him on this point, he suddenly changed his mind. 'India is a free country, after all,' he said. ' You would not be breaking any of her laws.' He then undertook to make all the necessary arrangements for the visit.

It was February 1957 when I journeyed by train with my small entourage to Calcutta. On the way, I remember that my mother, unaware of any restrictions and feeling totally unrestrained, brought out a small stove and cooked a most delicious thugpa (traditional Tibetan noodle soup). After our arrival in the capital of West Bengal, we remained a few days before flying north to Bagdogra, where the foothills of the Himalayas begin their craggy ascent from the hot immensity of the Indian plains. For the final leg of the journey we travelled by jeep. When we reached Kalimpong I went to stay in the same house, owned by a Bhutanese family, that my predecessor had stayed in once during his period of exile in India. They gave me the very same room that he had used. It was a strange feeling to be there under such similar circumstances. The family of this very friendly household was that of the Bhutanese Prime Minister, who was later assassinated. There were three young sons, the smallest of which took a great interest in their guest. He kept coming up to my room as if to check up on me. Then, laughing, he would slide down the banisters.

Not long after my arrival I was met by Lukhangwa, my former Prime Minister, who had recently arrived from Lhasa, ostensibly on a pilgrimage. I was very pleased to see him, although I quickly discovered that he was utterly opposed to my returning home. My two brothers, who had likewise travelled to Kalimpong, agreed with him and now began to try to persuade me to stay. The three of them also begged the Kashag not to let me return. Whilst in Bod Gaya, my brothers had made contact with a number of sympathetic Indian politicians, one of whom-Jaya Prakash Naryan- had promised on some future appropriate occasion to raise India's voice in support of Tibetan freedom. My brothers, Lukhangwa and one or two others were certain that when this happened, Nehru would be forced to support Tibetan independence. After all, it did not benefit India to have Chinese troops on her northern border. But I was not convinced. I asked Ngabo Ngawang Jigme ( the leader of the delegation which had been forced to sign the Seventeen-Point 'Agreement'), who was also in my entourage, what he thought. His advice was that if it were possible to come up with a definite plan, then it might be worthwhile to consider staying. But in the absence of anything concrete, he felt that I had no alternative but to return.

I consulted the oracle. There are three principal oracles whose advice the Dalai Lama can seek. Two of them, Nechung and Gadong, were present. Both said that I should return. Lukhangwa came in during one of these consultations, at which the oracle grew angry, telling him to remain outside. It was as if the oracle knew that Lukhangwa had made up his mind. But Lukhangwas ignored him and sat down all the same. Afterwards he came up to me and said, 'When men become desperate they consult the gods. And when the gods become desperate, they tell lies!'

My two brothers were adamant that I should not return to Tibet. Like Lukhangwa, they were both powerful and persuasive men. Neither could understand my hesitation. They believed that with the very existence of the Tibetan people under threat, it was essential to confront the Chinese in any way possible. The best way to do this, they felt, was for me to remain in India. It would then be possible to seek foreign support, which they were sure would be easy to obtain. They were convinced that America would help us.

Although there was no talk at this time of an armed struggle against the Chinese, my brothers, unbeknown to me, had already made contact with the American Central Intelligence Agency. Apparently, the Americans felt that it was worthwhile to provide limited assistance to the Tibetan freedom fighters, not because they cared about Tibetan independence, but as part of their worldwide efforts to destabilize all Communist governments. To this end they undertook to supply a limited amount of simple weaponry to the freedom fighters by air drop. They also made plans for the CIA to train some of them in techniques of guerilla warfare and then parachute them back into Tibet. Naturally, my brothers judged it wise to keep this information from me. They knew what my reaction would have been."

( We've just discovered two more oracles of Tibet! 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.

Through my eyes

( Please see my spinning for you!)

( Tahshi Deleh gentle one! Kehrahng kusu debo yinpeh? I began the day in our studio spinning for you then on the weaving which continues to go quite well with us two working as one! After that I headed up our precious snow mountain to continue the scything and a bit more on the fencing. The Tenger certainly created a wondrous show up there! After that I returned to our studio to work on our a land of Tibet. We'll have to find out more about the other oracles! One of them may be the one at Lake Lhamo Lhatso. Two as one we've fixed a few more mistakes on the pages from last week as usual. 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 September 4 (We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he tells of his visit to the holy sites of India!) " When I saw him next, the Indian Prime Minister had with him a copy of the Seventeen-Point 'Agreement'. Again, he urged me to return to Tibet and to work with the Chinese on the basis of the 'Agreement'. There was no alternative, he said, adding that he must make it clear that India could be of no assistance to Tibet. He also told me that I should do as Chou En-lai said and return to Lhasa without stopping at Kalimpong. But when I pressed him on this point, he suddenly changed his mind. 'India is a free country, after all,' he said. ' You would not be breaking any of her laws.' He then undertook to make all the necessary arrangements for the visit. It was February 1957 when I journeyed by train with my small entourage to Calcutta. On the way, I remember that my mother, unaware of any restrictions and feeling totally unrestrained, brought out a small stove and cooked a most delicious thugpa (traditional Tibetan noodle soup). After our arrival in the capital of West Bengal, we remained a few days before flying north to Bagdogra, where the foothills of the Himalayas begin their craggy ascent from the hot immensity of the Indian plains. For the final leg of the journey we travelled by jeep. When we reached Kalimpong I went to stay in the same house, owned by a Bhutanese family, that my predecessor had stayed in once during his period of exile in India. They gave me the very same room that he had used. It was a strange feeling to be there under such similar circumstances. The family of this very friendly household was that of the Bhutanese Prime Minister, who was later assassinated. There were three young sons, the smallest of which took a great interest in their guest. He kept coming up to my room as if to check up on me. Then, laughing, he would slide down the banisters. Not long after my arrival I was met by Lukhangwa, my former Prime Minister, who had recently arrived from Lhasa, ostensibly on a pilgrimage. I was very pleased to see him, although I quickly discovered that he was utterly opposed to my returning home. My two brothers, who had likewise travelled to Kalimpong, agreed with him and now began to try to persuade me to stay. The three of them also begged the Kashag not to let me return. Whilst in Bod Gaya, my brothers had made contact with a number of sympathetic Indian politicians, one of whom-Jaya Prakash Naryan- had promised on some future appropriate occasion to raise India's voice in support of Tibetan freedom. My brothers, Lukhangwa and one or two others were certain that when this happened, Nehru would be forced to support Tibetan independence. After all, it did not benefit India to have Chinese troops on her northern border. But I was not convinced. I asked Ngabo Ngawang Jigme ( the leader of the delegation which had been forced to sign the Seventeen-Point 'Agreement'), who was also in my entourage, what he thought. His advice was that if it were possible to come up with a definite plan, then it might be worthwhile to consider staying. But in the absence of anything concrete, he felt that I had no alternative but to return. I consulted the oracle. There are three principal oracles whose advice the Dalai Lama can seek. Two of them, Nechung and Gadong, were present. Both said that I should return. Lukhangwa came in during one of these consultations, at which the oracle grew angry, telling him to remain outside. It was as if the oracle knew that Lukhangwa had made up his mind. But Lukhangwas ignored him and sat down all the same. Afterwards he came up to me and said, 'When men become desperate they consult the gods. And when the gods become desperate, they tell lies!' My two brothers were adamant that I should not return to Tibet. Like Lukhangwa, they were both powerful and persuasive men. Neither could understand my hesitation. They believed that with the very existence of the Tibetan people under threat, it was essential to confront the Chinese in any way possible. The best way to do this, they felt, was for me to remain in India. It would then be possible to seek foreign support, which they were sure would be easy to obtain. They were convinced that America would help us. Although there was no talk at this time of an armed struggle against the Chinese, my brothers, unbeknown to me, had already made contact with the American Central Intelligence Agency. Apparently, the Americans felt that it was worthwhile to provide limited assistance to the Tibetan freedom fighters, not because they cared about Tibetan independence, but as part of their worldwide efforts to destabilize all Communist governments. To this end they undertook to supply a limited amount of simple weaponry to the freedom fighters by air drop. They also made plans for the CIA to train some of them in techniques of guerilla warfare and then parachute them back into Tibet. Naturally, my brothers judged it wise to keep this information from me. They knew what my reaction would have been." ( We've just discovered two more oracles of Tibet! 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. Through my eyes ( Please see my spinning for you!) ( Tahshi Deleh gentle one! Kehrahng kusu debo yinpeh? I began the day in our studio spinning for you then on the weaving which continues to go quite well with us two working as one! After that I headed up our precious snow mountain to continue the scything and a bit more on the fencing. The Tenger certainly created a wondrous show up there! After that I returned to our studio to work on our a land of Tibet. We'll have to find out more about the other oracles! One of them may be the one at Lake Lhamo Lhatso. Two as one we've fixed a few more mistakes on the pages from last week as usual. 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!)