October 15

Through My Eyes

Saturday October 15

(We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he tells of the death of his brother Lobsang Samten.)

" His experience as a member of the first fact-finding mission had affected him profoundly. He could make no sense of Chinese indifference to Tibet in the face of such obvious suffering and unhappiness. And whereas previously he had always been full of jokes and fun ( he had a highly developed and very vulgar sense of humour), subsequently he fell into long periods of depression. I do not think it an exaggeration to say that he died of a broken heart.

I deeply regretted Lobsang Samten's death, not only because we were so close, but also because I was unable to be with him during his fatal illness. The last time I saw him was on a visit to Delhi, where he was attending to some business connected with his work as director of the Tibetan Medical Institute. Rather than return to Dharamsala by bus with his wife, he had decided to remain an extra day to carry on with his work. he would then travel back with me. But on arrival at the train station, he had a change of heart. His business was not quite finished so, despite the opportunity of a lift home, he felt that really he ought to stay. This was typical of him. he never put himself first. A day later he went down with flu for no apparent reason. This progressed to pneumonia complicated by jaundice and he was dead within three weeks.

Whenever I think about Lobsang Samten today, I am struck by his humility. He always paid me the same respect as an ordinary Tibetan, and did not really treat me as a brother. For example, whenever I arrived home or left to travel somewhere, he invariably lined up with the people at the gate to my residence to greet me or to wish me a safe journey. And not only was he humble, but he was also very compassionate. I recall once mentioning to him something about the leper colony at Orissa in eastern India. Like me, he was deeply impressed with any kind of work dedicated to relieving the suffering of others. So when I told him that I was wondering whether the Tibetan community in exile could do anything to help them, he burst into tears and said that he personally was ready to do anything he could.

Following my visits to America in 1979, 1981, and 1984, many people in that country had expressed a desire to do something for Tibet. As a direct result of this, in July 1985, ninety-one members of the US Congress signed a letter to the then President of the People's Assembly in Peking, Li Xiannian, expressing support for direct talks between the Chinese Government and my representatives. The letter urged the Chinese to 'grant the very reasonable and justified aspirations of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his people every consideration'.

For the first time, Tibet had formal political support- something I took as an encouraging sign that the justice of our cause was finally beginning to be recognised internationally. Further evidence of this was a surge of interest among people in other countries, who started to take similar steps.

Then, in early 1987, I received an invitation to address the Human Rights Caucus of the US Congress in Washington DC. I accepted gladly. A date was fixed for a visit during the autumn. In the meantime, a number of my old friends suggested that I should use this opportunity to put forward some definite goals for the Tibetan cause with which supporters of justice around the world could identify. This struck me as good advice and I began to formalise some of the ideas that I had had in mind over the past few years.

Just before I was due to leave for America, Congress published a new report on human rights violations in Tibet. In this, it was noted that its 1985 letter to President Li Xiannian had been ignored: ' there has been no evidence of any consideration [ of the Dalai Lama's very reasonable and justified aspirations] being granted by the People's Republic of China.'

After arriving in America, I delivered my address on Capitol Hill on 21 September 1987. The proposals that I outlined have since become known as the Five-Point Peace plan. It is comprised of the following points:

1 The transformation of the whole of Tibet into a zone of peace.

2 Abandonment of China's population transfer policy which threatens the very existence of the Tibetans as a people.

3 Respect for the Tibetan people's fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms.

4 Restoration and protection of Tibet's natural environment and the abandonment of China's use of Tibet for the production of nuclear weapons

and dumping of nuclear waste.

5 Commencement of earnest negotiations on the future status of Tibet and of relations between Tibetan and Chinese peoples. "

( Goals that still need striving for as you know well beautiful one! 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 in our studio spinning for you and tidying up a bit then headed up gang rinpoche ngah tso gi to continue bringing food to the trees and native plants. We had to go the long way around as usual as the water still quite high but the water and electric lines still seem just fine. When the stream has receded a bit we'll start the pump again to clear it then work on preparing the water system for winter. Anyway,with we two working as one pulling strongly and patiently together work in the Grove went quite well and we've gotten enough done to make up for the days of rest that we've had during the rain! After that I rested by your Medlar tree as usual then headed to our sacred place as we weren't able to get there yesterday. Then I returned to our studio to work with the equipment then on our a land of Tibet. I hope you liked the rainy day pictures. Two as one we've fixed a few more mistakes on the pages. 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 October 15 (We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he tells of the death of his brother Lobsang Samten.) " His experience as a member of the first fact-finding mission had affected him profoundly. He could make no sense of Chinese indifference to Tibet in the face of such obvious suffering and unhappiness. And whereas previously he had always been full of jokes and fun ( he had a highly developed and very vulgar sense of humour), subsequently he fell into long periods of depression. I do not think it an exaggeration to say that he died of a broken heart. I deeply regretted Lobsang Samten's death, not only because we were so close, but also because I was unable to be with him during his fatal illness. The last time I saw him was on a visit to Delhi, where he was attending to some business connected with his work as director of the Tibetan Medical Institute. Rather than return to Dharamsala by bus with his wife, he had decided to remain an extra day to carry on with his work. he would then travel back with me. But on arrival at the train station, he had a change of heart. His business was not quite finished so, despite the opportunity of a lift home, he felt that really he ought to stay. This was typical of him. he never put himself first. A day later he went down with flu for no apparent reason. This progressed to pneumonia complicated by jaundice and he was dead within three weeks. Whenever I think about Lobsang Samten today, I am struck by his humility. He always paid me the same respect as an ordinary Tibetan, and did not really treat me as a brother. For example, whenever I arrived home or left to travel somewhere, he invariably lined up with the people at the gate to my residence to greet me or to wish me a safe journey. And not only was he humble, but he was also very compassionate. I recall once mentioning to him something about the leper colony at Orissa in eastern India. Like me, he was deeply impressed with any kind of work dedicated to relieving the suffering of others. So when I told him that I was wondering whether the Tibetan community in exile could do anything to help them, he burst into tears and said that he personally was ready to do anything he could. Following my visits to America in 1979, 1981, and 1984, many people in that country had expressed a desire to do something for Tibet. As a direct result of this, in July 1985, ninety-one members of the US Congress signed a letter to the then President of the People's Assembly in Peking, Li Xiannian, expressing support for direct talks between the Chinese Government and my representatives. The letter urged the Chinese to 'grant the very reasonable and justified aspirations of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his people every consideration'. For the first time, Tibet had formal political support- something I took as an encouraging sign that the justice of our cause was finally beginning to be recognised internationally. Further evidence of this was a surge of interest among people in other countries, who started to take similar steps. Then, in early 1987, I received an invitation to address the Human Rights Caucus of the US Congress in Washington DC. I accepted gladly. A date was fixed for a visit during the autumn. In the meantime, a number of my old friends suggested that I should use this opportunity to put forward some definite goals for the Tibetan cause with which supporters of justice around the world could identify. This struck me as good advice and I began to formalise some of the ideas that I had had in mind over the past few years. Just before I was due to leave for America, Congress published a new report on human rights violations in Tibet. In this, it was noted that its 1985 letter to President Li Xiannian had been ignored: ' there has been no evidence of any consideration [ of the Dalai Lama's very reasonable and justified aspirations] being granted by the People's Republic of China.' After arriving in America, I delivered my address on Capitol Hill on 21 September 1987. The proposals that I outlined have since become known as the Five-Point Peace plan. It is comprised of the following points: 1 The transformation of the whole of Tibet into a zone of peace. 2 Abandonment of China's population transfer policy which threatens the very existence of the Tibetans as a people. 3 Respect for the Tibetan people's fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms. 4 Restoration and protection of Tibet's natural environment and the abandonment of China's use of Tibet for the production of nuclear weapons and dumping of nuclear waste. 5 Commencement of earnest negotiations on the future status of Tibet and of relations between Tibetan and Chinese peoples. " ( Goals that still need striving for as you know well beautiful one! 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 in our studio spinning for you and tidying up a bit then headed up gang rinpoche ngah tso gi to continue bringing food to the trees and native plants. We had to go the long way around as usual as the water still quite high but the water and electric lines still seem just fine. When the stream has receded a bit we'll start the pump again to clear it then work on preparing the water system for winter. Anyway,with we two working as one pulling strongly and patiently together work in the Grove went quite well and we've gotten enough done to make up for the days of rest that we've had during the rain! After that I rested by your Medlar tree as usual then headed to our sacred place as we weren't able to get there yesterday. Then I returned to our studio to work with the equipment then on our a land of Tibet. I hope you liked the rainy day pictures. Two as one we've fixed a few more mistakes on the pages. 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!)