Street roots., July 20, 2012, Page 8, Image 8

8
DALAI LAMA, from page 1
desperate. On some level, I am also
homeless. But being homeless sometimes is
useful, because you realise that in many
places you can find a new home. If you have
just one home, in some way you can get
stuck in that.
D.B.: In recent years we have seen within the
street paper movement many new people
becoming vendors as a result of the global
recession. People haven’t got enough money to
live on or lose their jobs and end up on the
streets. What do you feel about austerity
measures introduced by governments to tackle
the crisis?
D.L.: This is a very complicated situation.
Immediately, I think governments have the
responsibility for the country as a whole, so
sometimes maybe these measures are
necessary. But if you take an overall view,
the real causes of the present difficulties
started with the past governments and some
companies. I think, without a proper plan in
place, they are simply concerned about
immediate profit and are not concerned
about the long-term conséquences. From
that level, of course not seeing it from an
individual person, but government or
organisations which have the responsibility,
the results now are due to their own actions.
Only now, when difficulties have come, they
put some sort of restrictions in place. It is
complicated. Either way, for thousands of
people, their livelihood is almost zero, which
is really very, very sad. Very sad. But then,
how to handle these things, I don’t know.
Two dr three years ago, one newspaper, I
think in Mexico, reported of one family
whom, because of the economic difficulties,
had to abandon their dog. The dog was now
truly homeless. There was a picture of the
dog and he looked very sad. Now really
nobody took care of him. When I saw that
picture, I myself almost felt some kind of
hopelessness. Taking that to a human level,
you can certainly see how life has become
more difficult.
However, whenever I meet people who are
in a difficult situation, I always share with
them, in spite of a lot of difficulties, as a
human being you should keep self-confidence
and work hard. Due to certain difficulties, if
you completely loit your self-confidence,
hope and will, then inevitably difficulty will
continue and it will lead to real disaster. So it
is very, very essential to keep hope and
determination.”
D.B.: You have often said about your own
situation that it is important to keep hope. In
your autobiography you write that as far back
as in 1953 you were convinced that ‘no matter
how bad things become, they will eventually get
better.’ Given the current situation in Tibet,
how do you succeed in that?
D.L.: In my own case, at age 16,1 lost my
freedom. Difficulties had already started.
Then, at 2 4 ,1 lost my own country. Over the
last 52 years, there have been a lot of
problems. The news from within our own
country has mostly been very heart-breaking
street roots
July 20, 2012
news, very sad. In the meantime, Tibetans
have put their trust in me, trust and hope. I
cannot do much, so sometimes I really feel
hopeless and desperate. But then, as I
mentioned earlier, it is much better to keep
my own enthusiasm and optimistic attitude,
rather than allowing myself to completely
lose hope and demoralize. That is of no help.
So to other people I also say that no matter
what difficulties, we should keep our self-
confidence and determination.
D.B.: When people fall upon such hard
times, including in your country, how do you
manage not to let feelings of anger, frustration
or hatred take over?
D.L.: Our emotion is a m aster check
through our intelligence. On an intellectual
level, we analyse each situation. If a situation
is as such that we can overcome it, there is
no need to worry. If there is no way to
overcome a situation! there also is no use in
too much worrying, as usually worry brings
frustration and frustration brings anger. It is
therefore always better to try not to worry
too much. The emotion itself cannot do that,
but with the help of human intelligence we
can do that. I think whether God-created or
nature-created, emotions are sometimes very
troublesome. So God or nature also provided
us with a kind of counter-balance, which is
human intelligence. When animals face a
problem, they almost crash and black-out.
But us human beings, because of our
intelligence, we have a way to judge and
measure our response. That is my view.”
D.B.: In your autobiography “Freedom in
Exile, "you blame the Chinese state media for
misleading the people by grossly
misrepresenting the situation in Tibet from the
1950s onwards. How important is the role of
independent media in today’s society?
D.L.: Independent media are extremely
im portant The media, as I see it, are almost
like a third eye. Now, sometimes the third
eye itself is a little bit biased (laughs). That is
a problem. If media first objectively analyse
and then report and make a story known to
people, their role is extremely helpful and
very effective. When I meet media people, I
tell them that they should have a long nose
and investigate all sides; not just the front
side, but also behind. They m ust undertake
thorough investigation to find out what the
reality is. People have every right to know
the reality, particularly in democratic
countries. Media should undertake full
investigations, present their findings
objectively, without a biased view and then
inform the public. If they work this way, they
have a very important and great role to play.”
D.B.: Street papers often cover issues that
would otherwise go unreported. What stories
regarding your own country are the most
important ones that need to be told?
D.L.: As for the Tibetan issue, it is that
the very nature of the Tibetan struggle is
strictly non-violent and very much in the
spirit of reconciliation. Therefore, our
struggle needs worldwide support. It must
succeed, because if it fails, it will encourage
A lifelong journey - in summary — B y Danielle Batist
The Child Leader
The 14th Dalai Lama was bom July 6,
1935, in a small village just outside the
current boundaries of Tibet. His parents,
who named him Lhamo Dhondub, were
farmers with several other children.
When he was two years old, a search
party of Buddhist officials recognized him
as the reincarnation of the 13 previous
Dalai Lamas, and he was enthroned
before he turned four. He was educated at
a monastery and went on to achieve the
Geshe Lharampa Degree, a doctorate of
Buddhist philosophy.
But in 1950, when he was 15, the troops
of Mao Tse-tung’s newly-installed
Communist government marched into
Tibet. As soldiers poured into the country,
the Dalai Lama — his title means Ocean of
W isdom — assumed full power as head of
state.
In May 1951, China drew up a 17-point
agreement legitimizing Tibet’s
incorporation into China. When Tibetans
took to the streets in 1959 demanding an
end to Chinese rule, troops crushed the
revolt, and thousands of protesters were
killed.
The Dalai Lama fled to India on foot and
settled in Dharamsala, in the north of the
country, which is now home to the Tibetan
govemment-in-exile. He was followed into
exile by about 80,000 Tibetans, most of
whom settled in the same area.
those people who carry a different method,
including force and violence.
Also, some aspect of the Tibetan story is
not just a political matter, but an
environmental issue. The Tibetan Plateau
(part of the Himalayas) plays a greatly
important role in global warming. Nearly all
major rivers in that part of the world rise on
the Tibetan Plateau, so the preservation of
Tibetan ecology is not only in Tibetan
people’s interest More than one billion
people’s lives depend on these rivers.
Another top priority is the preservation of
Tibetan culture, which is a culture of peace, a
culture of non-violence and compassion. It is
not only an ancient culture, but also one that
is very relevant in today’s world. We live in
an increasingly materialistic world, which is
all about consumerism. And there are moral
problems which sometimes lead to violence,
particularly among the youth. Whenever they
face problems! the response of some of them
has become more violent”
D.B.: You have 4.5 million followers on
Twitter and 4 million fans on Facebook and
many people discuss your ideas and teachings
online. One of your recent popular tweets read:
“I am increasingly convinced that the time has
come to find a way to think about spirituality
and ethics beyond religion all together." Why do
you believe that?
D.L.: Obviously among seven billion
human beings there is quite a big portion of
people who have not much interest in
religion. And within the group of believers,
again I think, there is quite a big portion of
people not very serious about it. For many,
religion has become just a daily ritual, but is
not taken seriously. So the indication that
they may attend Sunday church or a temple,
including Buddhist, does not mean much.
They pray to Buddha or God, but in their
real life they have no hesitation to get
involved in creating injustice, telling lies,
corruption, bullying and cheating. These
activities are, I think, against every major
religion and traditional teaching. That
indicates that a group of religious believers
has a lack of conviction.
Traditional spiritual teachings and
principles are an immense benefit to one’s
self. The people who do not take their
religion seriously lack this knowledge, and
religion is of no relevance to their lives.
Therefore, we need a wider way to spread
the conviction that moral ethics are really
the basis of a happy life. This is true on an
individual level as well as on a family,
community and humanity level. That is
something common for all major religions
and traditions, as well as non-believers.
Everybody wants to be happy and have a
happy family.
Many people have the attitude that if you
have money or power, your life becomes
something meaningful and makes you happy.
That is a mistake. Happiness and sorrow
itself are part of the mind; they are a mental
experience. The real way to reduce pain and
sadness and increase happiness and
joyfulness must be found through mental
training. Some of my friends are very rich,
they have plenty of money. And of course,
9
street roots
July 20, 2012
been in exile for over 50 years and have become
one of the world’s most recognizable global
figures. How do you manage to stay connected
to the lives o f ordinary people inside and
outside Tibet?
"We need a wider way to spread
the conviction that moral ethics
are really the basis of a happy
life. This is true on an individual
level as well as on a family,
community and humanity level.
That is something common for a ll
major religions and traditions, as
well as non-believers. Everybody
wants to be happy and have a
bappy family.
D.L.: Inside Tibet, there were a few
occasions whilst traveling where I was mixing
with ordinary people. Some people asked
me: ‘Where is the Dalai Lama?’ Then I told
them: ‘Oh, the Dalai Lama is over there’.
Then, afterwards, I held a public meeting and
I recognized one lady whom I had talked to
in disguise. When she saw my face and
realised it was the same person, she could
not believe it (laughter). Such things were
always quite fun. My main motivation for
mixing with them was to get clear
information about what was going on. When
people know you are the Dalai Lama they
may not be as frank as to an ordinary monk.
Living in a free country, my contact with
people is open. And from the responses from
the audiences I meet nowadays, it seems that
they also have that kind of attitude towards
me. That means I get the right information
and a real picture of the reality. In the past,
even my own officials aflswered not very
clearly if I asked them about something. So I
always asked the sweepers, who were
uneducated, innocent people. They would
always tell me whatever they had heard
straightforwardly, including criticism about a
Regent, criticism about some high officials
and high Lamas. They had no hesitation to
tell me all the negative things like that
(laughter).”
v
D.B.: Our street paper vendors around the
world face different kinds o f social and
economic difficulties, but when asked what the
hardest thing about their situation is, their
answer is often the same: the feeling of
loneliness. A search party recognised you as the
14th Dalai Lama when you were two years old;
you spent your childhood am ong adults in
monasteries and faced the huge responsibility of
protecting y o u r people from foreign invasion
and being their spiritual leader at age fifteen.
With your experience of loneliness in your life,
what advice would you give to them?
P H O T O B Y S IM O N M U R P H Y
because they are a wealthy person, they are
also quite influential in society. But as a
person, they are very unhappy, I noticed
that. That shows that money, vanity and
power are not an adequate source of
happiness.
D.B.: Since 2009, 3 7 people have set
themselves on fire, according to the Tibetan
Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.
That figure covers the latest incident in Lhasa
on May 27, the first in the capital, where one
young man died and another got seriously
injured. China has responded to the wave of
self immolations by banning foreign visitors to
Tibet. How do you feel about the fact that some
of your fellow countrymen go to such extremes
to make their voices heard? And do you think
China’s efforts to cover up the protests from the
outside world are effective?
Exile in India
In exile, the Dalai Lama began the task
of trying to preserve the culture of the
Tibetan people and publicize their plight on
the world stage. He appealed to the United
Nations and persuaded the General
Assembly to adopt resolutions in 1959,
1961 and 1965 calling for the protection of
establishment of Tibet as a zone of peace.
But he did not move from his stance of
the Tibetan people.
He has met political and religious
leaders throughout the world and visited
the late Pope John Paul II on several
occasions. The Dalai Lama has advocated
a “middle way” to resolve the status of
T ib et— genuine self-rule for Tibet within
Tibetan people.”
China.
In 1987, amid protests in Lhasa against
the large-scale relocation of Han Chinese
into Tibet, the Dalai Lama proposed a five-
point plan, in which he called for the
nearly a decade. Discussions resumed in
2002 and have continued intermittently but
peaceful resistance and in 1989 was
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The
committee praised his policy of non­
violence, which it called “all the more
remarkable when It is considered in
relation to the sufferings inflicted on the
D.L.: Totalitarian regimes, including
China, at least in the last several decades,
have put too much emphasis on cruelty. Fear
and distrust have become part of their fives.
Therefore, they always try to hide reality.
The 1.3 billion Chinese people have every
right to know the reality. And once all these
1.3 billion Chinese people know the reality of
their situation, they also have the ability to
judge what is right and what is wrong. That is
why censorship is immoral. However,
censorship is still happening every day. In
the long run, it is very harmful for them,
because in order for the Chinese government
to have a more constructive role on the
global level, trust and respect from the rest
of the world is very essential. Censorship and
the restriction to let people come and go are
very harmful in developing trust or respect.
So I am hoping that eventually, Chinese
leaders will realize that such methods are
the wake of unrest in Tibet in March 2008
— the worst in 20 years. Protests sparked
with no apparent progress.
Tensions between China and the
Tibetan govemment-in-exile worsened in
D.L.: In my own case, if I only think of
myself as “I am a Tibetan” or “I am
Buddhist,” that in itself creates a kind of
distance. So I say to myself: ‘Forget that, I
am a human being, one of the seven billion
human beings. By saying that, we
immediately become closer. If people put the
emphasis on their situation by thinking “I am
poor” or “I am homeless” or “I am in a
difficult situation,” they put too much of an
emphasis on a secondary level. I think that
this also is a reality, but still another reality is
that we all are human being, one of the seven
billion human beings on this planet. I know
that in a practical sense that might not be of
much help, but emotionally, it can be very
helpful.
D.B.: In your autobiography you refer to the
invaluable experiences you had when you
traveled in disguise. You said it was a chance to
find out “what life was really like" for your
fellow countrymen and women. You have now
Photographer Simon Murphy donated the
photographs for this interview. For more of
his work, see www.simonmurphyphotographer.
com. ©International Network o f Street
Papers, www.street-papers.org
Self-immolations
Lobsang Sangay was elected prime
has blamed exiled Tibetans and the Dalai
stop his visit and threatened to pull out of
Lama for Inciting them.
the city, but the council insisted the visit to
by the anniversary of the 1959 uprising
minister of the Tibetan government-ln-exile
turned into riots on the streets of Lhasa,
In northern India. In April 2012 he urged
Violent protests were also reported among
Tibetans not to celebrate Losar, the
Tibetan communities in neighboring
regions. China says at least 18 people
were killed by rioters. Tibetan groups say
as many as 200 people died in a
address a business convention was
Diplomatic rows
By stepping back from political power
private.
It was the latest low-level diplomatic
last year, it was believed that the Dalai
Lama could find it far easier to travel and
tussle between China and Britain since
for those “who have sacrificed and
suffered under the repressive policies of
be seen greeting Western leaders who
the Chinese by meeting the exiled Tibetan
traditional new year, and instead to pray
Prime Minister David Cameron angered
the Chinese government.”
can often be reluctant to meet him amid
Buddhist leader in London in May. China
At least 35 Tibetans have set
themselves on fire since March 2011 in
worries it could upset diplomatic and trade
told Britain's envoy to Beijing the meeting
ties with China. However, diplomatic rows
had “seriously interfered” with China’s
his political responsibilities to an elected
protest against China’s six-decade rule
over Dalai Lama visits have continued in
representative and proclaimed he would
over Tibet, according to Tibetan rights
internal affairs.
The now 77-year-old Dalai Lama
only continue as Tibet's spiritual leader.
groups. At least 27 have died, most of
recent months.
During his U.K. tour in June, the Dalai
The move was seen as a way to transform
them Buddhist monks in Tibetan parts of
Lama walked into an Olympic row with
reporters that Beijing's displeasure over
the Tibetan government-in-exile into a
more assertive and democratic body in the
Sichuan and Gansu provinces, next to
China on a visit to Leeds, the city chosen
his foreign trips were commonplace. “That
what China calls the Tibet Autonomous
as the base for the Chinese Olympic team
always happens. It’s almost like routine.”
face of Chinese pressure.
Region. China branded the self-
this summer. The BBC reported that
(Sources: Reuters and BBC)
immolators “terrorists” and criminals and
China had urged Leeds City Council to
www.street-papers.org / INSP
crackdown by Chinese security forces.
Increased tension
Despite their disagreements, the Dalai
Lama has continued to seek dialogue with
Beijing. Talks between the two sides broke
down in 1993 and there were no more for
very short-sighted, narrow-minded and
unreasonable. I think that they will realize
these things and that eventually, they will
change. The Chinese Prime Minister Wen
Jiabao on many occasions expressed that
China needs political reform, and he even
mentioned that China needs Western-style
democracy. That includes freedom and free
information and transparency. So I hope that
things eventually will change. It is in their
own interest, which is very important for
them to realize.”
The events (self-immolations) that have
happened in Tibet are, of course, very, very
sad. In one way it shows that Tibetans very
much believe in non-violence. They do not
want to harm others, so they harm
themselves by burning themselves. This is
certainly an indication of desperation. There
is no question about that. In term s of right or
wrong ... Firstly, it is a sensitive political
issue. But from the Buddhist view point,
every action, whether it is positive or
negative, ultimately depends on the
motivation. For those people whose
motivation is mainly a more compassionate
one of sincere faith in Buddha Dharma, it is
different. But at the moment, it is very much
driven by anger and hatred, and then it is
basically negative. We cannot generalize, we
have to look case to case from a Buddhist
viewpoint. But politically, I always consider
Tibetan people inside Tibet as my boss. For
the past 52 years, I consider myself as the
free spokesman of the Tibetan people. So
from that level, I have no right to judge the
boss’ activities.
In March 2011, the Dalai Lama handed
shrugged off the controversy, telling
it '