December 24

Through My Eyes

Saturday December 24

(We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he tells of his perspective of Communism in China.)

" When I visited China in the early 1950's, I could see that a lot of people had given up everything in order to help bring about a transformation in society. Many bore physical scars from the struggle and most were men of the highest principle who genuinely sought to bring about real benefits for every person in their vast country. To do this, they constructed a party system which enabled them to know every last detail about one another, right down to the number of hours' sleep each one needed. They were so passionate about their ideals that they would stop at nothing to achieve them. And in their leader, Mao Tse-tung, they had a man of great vision and imagination, someone who realised the value of constructive criticism and frequently encouraged it.

Yet in no time at all, the new administration became paralyzed by petty in-fighting and squabbling. I saw it happen in front of my own eyes. Soon, they began to exchange fact for fable, to tell falsehoods whenever it became necessary to show themselves in a good light. When I met Chou En-lai in India on that occasion in 1956 and told him of my fears, he replied by telling me not to worry. All would be well. In reality, things only changed for the worse.

When I returned to Tibet in 1957, I found the Chinese authorities openly persecuting my people, though simultaneously I was constantly assured there would be no interference. They lied without hesitation , just as they have ever since. Worse, it seemed that the vast majority of the outside world was prepared to believe this fiction. Then, during the 1970's, a number of prominent western politicians were taken to Tibet and came back saying that all was well there.

The truth remains that, since the Chinese invasion, over a million Tibetans have died as a direct result of Peking's policies. When adopting its resolution on Tibet in 1965, the United Nations stated plainly that China's occupation of my homeland has been characterised by 'acts of murder, rape and arbitrary imprisonment; torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of Tibetans on a large scale'.

I remain at a loss to explain how this happened, how the noble ideals of so many good men and women became transformed into senseless barbarity. Nor can I understand what motivated these people within the Chinese leadership who actively counselled the total destruction of the Tibetan race. It seems that China is a country which has lost its faith, as a result of which the Chinese people have themselves endured unspeakable misery over the past forty-one years- all in the name of Communism.

Yet the pursuit of Communism has been one of the greatest human experiments of all time, and I do not deny the I myself was very impressed with its ideology at first. The trouble was, as I soon discovered, that although Communism claims to serve 'the people. - for whom there are 'people's hotels', 'people's hospitals', 'people's armies' and so on- 'the people' does not mean everyone, only those who hold views that are held by a minority to be 'the people's views'.

Some of the responsibility for the excesses of Communism rests squarely on the West. The hostility with which it greeted the first Marxist Governments accounts in part for the often ludicrous precautions they took to protect themselves. They became suspicious of everything and everyone, and suspicion causes terrible unhappiness because it goes against a fundamental human trait- namely one person's desire to trust another person. In this connection, I remember, for example, the absurd situation of my visit to Lenin's room in the Kremlin during my visit to Moscow in 1982. I was watched over by an unsmiling plain-clothes security man who was clearly ready to shoot in an instant, while a woman guide mechanically explained the official history of the Russian Revolution.

However, in as much as I have any political allegiance, I suppose I am still half Marxist. I have no argument with Capitalism, so long as it is practised in a humanitarian fashion, but my religious beliefs dispose me far more towards Socialism and Internationalism, which are more in line with Buddhist principles. The other attractive thing about Marxism for me is its assertion that man is ultimately responsible for his own destiny. This reflects Buddhist thought exactly.

Against this, I set the fact that those countries which pursue Capitalist policies within a democratic framework are much fewer than those which pursue the Communist ideal. So ultimately I am in favour of humanitarian government, one which aims to serve the whole community: the young, the old and the disabled, as much as those who can be directly productive members of society."

( The Dalai Lama's perspective on Communism and Capitalism. 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 with a run then returned to our studio to spin for you then worked on backing up more pictures. After that I worked with the equipment awhile then continued tidying up. It's a big job with lots of things to repair and rearrange so I spent most of the day on it. After that I worked on our a land of Tibet. I hope you liked the pictures on the pages from our sacred place. You notice I'm wearing a different shirt each time so you can see how they look. You've seen me wearing that design already so I didn't worry as much about it's being in view. I'm going to put the pages up on our infosite; I'll put this up a bit early 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 December 24 (We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he tells of his perspective of Communism in China.) " When I visited China in the early 1950's, I could see that a lot of people had given up everything in order to help bring about a transformation in society. Many bore physical scars from the struggle and most were men of the highest principle who genuinely sought to bring about real benefits for every person in their vast country. To do this, they constructed a party system which enabled them to know every last detail about one another, right down to the number of hours' sleep each one needed. They were so passionate about their ideals that they would stop at nothing to achieve them. And in their leader, Mao Tse-tung, they had a man of great vision and imagination, someone who realised the value of constructive criticism and frequently encouraged it. Yet in no time at all, the new administration became paralyzed by petty in-fighting and squabbling. I saw it happen in front of my own eyes. Soon, they began to exchange fact for fable, to tell falsehoods whenever it became necessary to show themselves in a good light. When I met Chou En-lai in India on that occasion in 1956 and told him of my fears, he replied by telling me not to worry. All would be well. In reality, things only changed for the worse. When I returned to Tibet in 1957, I found the Chinese authorities openly persecuting my people, though simultaneously I was constantly assured there would be no interference. They lied without hesitation , just as they have ever since. Worse, it seemed that the vast majority of the outside world was prepared to believe this fiction. Then, during the 1970's, a number of prominent western politicians were taken to Tibet and came back saying that all was well there. The truth remains that, since the Chinese invasion, over a million Tibetans have died as a direct result of Peking's policies. When adopting its resolution on Tibet in 1965, the United Nations stated plainly that China's occupation of my homeland has been characterised by 'acts of murder, rape and arbitrary imprisonment; torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of Tibetans on a large scale'. I remain at a loss to explain how this happened, how the noble ideals of so many good men and women became transformed into senseless barbarity. Nor can I understand what motivated these people within the Chinese leadership who actively counselled the total destruction of the Tibetan race. It seems that China is a country which has lost its faith, as a result of which the Chinese people have themselves endured unspeakable misery over the past forty-one years- all in the name of Communism. Yet the pursuit of Communism has been one of the greatest human experiments of all time, and I do not deny the I myself was very impressed with its ideology at first. The trouble was, as I soon discovered, that although Communism claims to serve 'the people. - for whom there are 'people's hotels', 'people's hospitals', 'people's armies' and so on- 'the people' does not mean everyone, only those who hold views that are held by a minority to be 'the people's views'. Some of the responsibility for the excesses of Communism rests squarely on the West. The hostility with which it greeted the first Marxist Governments accounts in part for the often ludicrous precautions they took to protect themselves. They became suspicious of everything and everyone, and suspicion causes terrible unhappiness because it goes against a fundamental human trait- namely one person's desire to trust another person. In this connection, I remember, for example, the absurd situation of my visit to Lenin's room in the Kremlin during my visit to Moscow in 1982. I was watched over by an unsmiling plain-clothes security man who was clearly ready to shoot in an instant, while a woman guide mechanically explained the official history of the Russian Revolution. However, in as much as I have any political allegiance, I suppose I am still half Marxist. I have no argument with Capitalism, so long as it is practised in a humanitarian fashion, but my religious beliefs dispose me far more towards Socialism and Internationalism, which are more in line with Buddhist principles. The other attractive thing about Marxism for me is its assertion that man is ultimately responsible for his own destiny. This reflects Buddhist thought exactly. Against this, I set the fact that those countries which pursue Capitalist policies within a democratic framework are much fewer than those which pursue the Communist ideal. So ultimately I am in favour of humanitarian government, one which aims to serve the whole community: the young, the old and the disabled, as much as those who can be directly productive members of society." ( The Dalai Lama's perspective on Communism and Capitalism. 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 with a run then returned to our studio to spin for you then worked on backing up more pictures. After that I worked with the equipment awhile then continued tidying up. It's a big job with lots of things to repair and rearrange so I spent most of the day on it. After that I worked on our a land of Tibet. I hope you liked the pictures on the pages from our sacred place. You notice I'm wearing a different shirt each time so you can see how they look. You've seen me wearing that design already so I didn't worry as much about it's being in view. I'm going to put the pages up on our infosite; I'll put this up a bit early 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!)