The Faith Column

202 comments from readers

Lucy James
29 August 2008 at 12:14

And is it not more forward-looking to take the politics out of the religion, whether in Tibet, China or wherever? For everyone to have the freedom to practise Buddhism free from political or cultural constraints? “Tibetan Buddhism” is for Tibetans, but we also need English Buddhism, American Buddhism, Brazilian Buddhism, Indian Buddhism, global Buddhism. (Also, if Tibetan Buddhism and politics remain mixed, it is harder for the Chinese to allow religious freedom within Tibet because then to grant religious freedom is to grant political power.)

Lucy James
29 August 2008 at 12:21

Talking about "guesthouses" not letting you in, please see today's blog www.WisdomBuddhaDorjeShugden.blogspot.com

There it shows the posters saying "No Shugden practitioners allowed". It also shows how the discrimination policy has spread to Dharma Centres in the West. It shows the wall at Ganden monastery, separating monk from monk. It shows the wanted posters put up in Queens for the monks attending peaceful WSS demonstrations. It has videos of Tibetans and others giving testimonies. It aso has a wealth of other videos, background articles, and regular updates on this whole subject. There is also a website: www.WisdomBuddhaDorjeShugden.org that is very useful for background information.

Thank you Mr Gorter for writing these blogs and thank you New Statesman for allowing our voices to be heard.

Tibet for Tibetans
29 August 2008 at 12:21

::KNOWN SHUGDEN CULT MEMBERS ON WANTED LIST::

Known Shugden cult members, Lobsang Chodak & Tenzil Choezim are listed on the C.B.I (Indian equivalent of the F.B.I) WANTED LIST: (see CBI Website Wanted List),

in connection to the triple murder of Geshe Lobsang and two students. The CBI state that the two have sought refuge with the Chinese Government in Tibet.

Amnesty International on Dorje Shugden

(AI, USA | June 1998)

Amnesty International (AI) has received and studied a large amount of material alleging human rights abuses against worshippers of the Tibetan Buddhist deity Dorje Shugden. These alleged abuses are reported to have happened largely in Tibetan settlements in India. None of the material AI has received contains evidence of abuses. AI campaigns on the grave violations of human rights in Tibet.

EXTRACT FROM AMNESTY REPORT

Douglas Chalmers
29 August 2008 at 12:24

Governments-in-exile are ever doomed. Poland was a classic example of an expatriate refugee elite who wished to preserve their monarchy and their precious status quo from the pre-WW2 years.

In the end, though, it was the peasant workers in Poland who brought about the changes that triggered the collapse of the entire Soviet Union and brought down "the Wall". That IS democracy.

Things are already changing in Tibet, have already changed for the better, and there is nothing that the old guard in exile can do about it. Their life is now in the West where they live. The difference is that China is succeeding now whereas the former USSR failed in its own existence.

If they want to help, they can folllow the example of the KMT businessmen from Taiwan who helped the PRC in mainland China with their expertise and investment and efforts to improve things. But they had to bury their past enmities first.

Tibet is not and has not been the main centre for Buddhism for quite some time. Ever since the 1800's invasion by Nepal and the later invasion in 1903 by Britain, things have changed. Even Sri Lanka is no longer the centre it once for Buddhism was as the dominant Singhala contend with the Tamil minority and spill blood.

The monks in Burma/Myanmar have proved by their actions that theirs is a better path. Those in Taiwan also fund the teaching and dissemination of the Buddhist literature around the world. All the Tibetans can do is moan about themselves when they are comparatively well looked after as an autonomous region of One China.

Robert Thomas
29 August 2008 at 12:46

TibetforTibetans is, as he did on the previous post mis-quoting and changing the menaing of the Amnesty quote. It is not that "None of the material AI has received contains evidence of abuses", but that "None of the material AI has received contains evidence of abuses which fall within AI's mandate for action".

The meaning of "actionable human rights abuses" s is explained as " (the) linked criteria of state accountability and the exercise of state force, neither of which could clearly be identified within the CTA context" because TGIE is not a "state". (ref Human Rights in Global Perspective, Routelidge ISBN 0-415-30410-5).

Robert Thomas
29 August 2008 at 12:51

Hey TibetforTibetans, i'd like to add "BuddhismforEveryone" as another thought. Plus, to further your interesting statement concerning the suspects of the terrible murder of Geshe Lobsang, did you know that "KNOWN DALAI LAMA FOLLOWERS ALSO ARE SUSPECTED OF CRIMES" and "90% OF ALL CRIMES ARE COMMITTED WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE CULPRIT EATING BREAD!" In other words, your points bring us no nearer to any meaningful truth.

Friendoftruth
29 August 2008 at 12:56

These last days I gave the political background of the religious persecution of the Dalai Lama against the Dorje Shugden practitioners.

Today I would like to extract from the Shugdensociety.info’s treasury the information about the escape of the Dalai Lama from Tibet and the influence of oracles in his decisions.

SPIRIT WORSHIPPING?

The demonstrations staged against the Dalai Lama this summer of 2008 had placards demanding: STOP LYING. Of course, for those who don’t know about the issue it’s terribly shocking to read such words. But the truth is that the Dalai Lama and his government, as soon as they realized that they were at risk because of this issue, started denying its existence. The extent and intensity of the untruthful statements is difficult to catalog but it entails the twisting of historical data, and alternate discourses –one for Tibetans, another for Western ears.

The Dalai Lama is saying that he prohibited the practice of Dorje Shugden to preserve Buddhism from becoming spirit worshipping. But the presence of Protectors of the Dharma is as old as Buddhism and all 4 sects of Tibetan Buddhism have a multitude of deities like Dorje Shugden.

And he himself, the Dalai Lama, consults oracles almost on a daily basis. This was the subject of “A scratch on the Teflon Lama”, an article by Newsweek that –although ignoring his attacks on the human rights of the practitioners– points nevertheless to the fact that “All Tibetan Buddhists worship protector gods and spirits like Dorje Shugden” and that “…he, too, believes in gods and spirits”.

And among those hundreds of celestial beings he chose only Dorje Shugden to defame? Obviously the “protection from spirit worshipping” is just an invention to justify the religious persecution.

Here it’s worth mentioning the influence of oracles in the thoughts and decisions of the Dalai Lama, quoting directly from the Shugden Charitable Society material.

THE STATE ORACLE OF TIBET

BECOMES JEALOUS OF DORJE SHUGDEN

The reasons for the Dalai Lama's ban on the Protector have become a source of much speculation. One easily recognized factor is the increasing influence of the state oracle over the Dalai Lama since the 70's.

The Tibetan state oracle system goes back to a pre-Buddhist time and consultation of the state oracle has proven constructive at times, but also destructive at other times. For this reason, the state oracle was not consulted during the Dalai Lama’s escape in 1959.

The Escape of the Dalai Lama

All details of the remarkable escape of the Dalai Lama and his entourage to India were arranged by a secret committee consisting of the two tutors of His Holiness, the abbot of Sera-Mey, a few reliable members of the cabinet, the Lord Chamberlain, and the leader of the Khampa Guerilla organization. But the key to the miraculous escape was the advice and guidance given by Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche after secretly consulting Dorje Shugden through his most reliable oracle, the Panglung Kuten.

Multiple efforts to distort this historical truth by publishing new 'historical' books, films etc. where the intervention of the Protector is ignored cannot change the facts of history, still intact by the presence of living eye-witnesses of the time: some old monks, who accompanied His Holiness on that secret journey as his life guards are still living; their testimony was shown on Swiss TV in January 1998. They now sadly are victims of this discrimination. Mr. Lithang Atar, an active member of the Khampa-guerilla, left his testament for the world on a video-recording, before he passed away in 2006.

The great help of Dorje Shugden not only for the escape but also in earlier circumstances had pleased the Dalai Lama so deeply, that he composed a beautiful praise to the deity. Both in Tibet and in exile he showed him his great favour, so that even in his private ritual monastery, Namgyal Dratsang, the puja of this Protector was regularly offered along with pujas for a host of other protector deities of ancient Tibet and past and present Dalai Lamas.

This caused the state oracle to become deeply jealous and it began to exert a deceptive influence on His Holiness and some other persons in order to change the positive picture of Dorje Shugden.

VARIATIONS ON SLANDER

Once started, the slander varied and worsened year by year.

1-First the state oracle started off saying, "Dorje Shugden is a powerful deity, only to be worshipped by beings with high realizations. However worshipping this deity would upset Goddess Palden Lhamo (a superior protecting deity, who does not have an oracle)".

2-Then he said "the deity is appropriate to be worshipped by an individual, but not by a group".

3-Then it was "Dorje Shugden is a deity, suitable to others, but not to the successor of the 5th Dalai Lama and those working for the Gaden Phodrang Government established by the 5th Dalai Lama."

4-At another occasion: "Dorje Shugden is a spirit born out of a Kagyupa-monk who hated the Tibetan government, and not the incarnation of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen" (as it is well-known).

5-At other times: "Dorje Shugden is the spirit of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen, whose Samaya bond to the 5th Dalai Lama was not good, thus it is harmful for this government."

6-Then he said: "Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen was a good lama, whose works of composition are praiseworthy, therefore Dorje Shugden cannot be the spirit of such a master."

7-And then: "Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen himself was a false Tulku, who came to be among the candidates for the 5th Dalai Lama and failed to be chosen, but through clever tactics of his mother on the first Panchen Lama Choe Kyi Gyaltsen, he was recognized as the fourth reincarnation of Panchen Sonam Dragpa (the teacher of 3rd Dalai Lama), but was then born as an evil, trouble-making spirit to harm the Tibetan government.”

8-Finally the state oracle adopted as his assistants two new oracles, a man and a woman that came from Tibet, claiming to speak for a certain Tibetan god and goddess. They at once joined in his efforts of denouncing Dorje Shugden. Their slander of Dorje Shugden took its heaviest form in the beginning of the nineties, by blaming him as "a Chinese demon, responsible for everything that goes wrong in the Tibetan government, most harmful for the freedom of Tibet, and heaviest of all, harmful for the life of His Holiness”.

This last one was the reason for the ban on Dorje Shugden given by the Dalai Lama himself.

_____________________________

This information deserves to be not only remembered but also put in a certain context given by Ven. Helmut Gassner, who was years ago an interpreter for the Dalai Lama. His extraordinary, moving article (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/articles/HelmutGassner01.pdf) called "Dalai Lama Dorje Shugden" portrays the Tibetan leader as a person most impressionable, very easily influenced by others.

Seeing the Dalai Lama going around the world influencing world leaders it sounds improbable that he could be so impressionable. This seems to be the case, though. What is dreadful is to observe that in a display of late adolescent rebellion one day he decided to abandon the influence of his holy teachers and chose to lend an ear to politically motivated characters and a bunch of oracles. So much suffering was thus originated!

_____________________________

Reading all the material about this matter one can perceive the different levels of motivations for the Dalai Lama's actions. Someone has mentioned that the great Lamas said that the Dalai Lama was ill. Although we don't know the exact meaning of this statement right now, it's something to keep stored in our minds as an important piece of information.

Of course, with old age coming upon him there is no much time left for great changes now in his mind. But who knows? Miracles can happen. For us, beyond our duty to expose the truth to the world, we have hidden in our heart the impossible dream, the wild hope that one day we are going to have back with us the Dalai Lama of our youth, that smiling projection of our mind's most sublime aspirations.

May be one day his terribly mistaken obsession against a holy Buddha Protector and against the practitioners of Je Tsongkapa's teachings will end.

May all happiness prevail for all beings!_____________________

Intothevoid
29 August 2008 at 13:25

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Let no man judge another.

Stay with the root guru in your heart.

People suffer the world over, this is samsara, our training ground, lest we forget.

Dharma is omniescent - it is the dharma that pacifies the mind, not its teachers.

Everyone suffering everywhere should be prayed for at all times.

All want to be happy, some are deluded, and many suffer, from both sides of this debate.

Conventional truths are relative to ones own perspective.

Continue to dissolve the conventional into the ultimate truth of emptiness and no one will stray.

The dieties evolved of today are sign posts, refuges - choose and take refuge in the ones that point

out the path to your individual enlightenment - and let no one tell you you are wrong.

No one has dominion over your mind aside from you.

If your sangha involves you in politik, spiritual or otherwise - then practice alone according to your good heart.

All barriers and divisions are false, raised only by the mind of mankind.

All must take down the sails that invite the storms of negativity to distract them from the bodhisattva path.

May all equalize themselves with others before uttering a word.

Do not wait for enlightment to be charitable.

Many across this world need you now.

May all be compassionate and tolerant during these times.

Buddha be praised.

bengrimwood
29 August 2008 at 14:49

Personally, I don't think the Dalai Lama is making a power grab for the four scools for his own ends in order to return as the supreme ruler of Tibet, he has waited a bit late in life for that and I don't think it is in his heart, it just doesn't seem to add up. He has even said that should they return he would be delighted to return to simple yogic and meditation practices. It has been extremely interesting to read on pre-annexed Tibet this week though. I hope if the Tibetans return from exile there will be a modernization and the Dalai Lama will return to his normal role. As far as the Shugden ban, I am not a practioner of his myself but it seems a shame HHDL considered it necessary, it has certainly had negative repercussions. He seems to have taken the view that Shugden is a sectarian and as someone who has not been against the Ri-me movement, that would naturally be offensive to him. Well, one thing is for sure, both sides will be well prepared for September 12th. Delhi's High Court will be an interesting place. I don't think anyone from any side could state with certainty that ultimate truth is on their side and what the karmic repecussions will be for each side. To do so would be horrible judgmental as Mr intothevoid says.

Gail D
29 August 2008 at 15:05

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sjsY3UgFto

perhaps shows the reason why it is time for a change.

Gail D
29 August 2008 at 15:10

To measure how deep the crisis goes, consider the following statement by Ngawang Tenpa, Officer of the Cholsum organization, the largest regional group in Tibetan politics:

"It is possible to think of a time when we will make friends with the Chinese, but with these (Dorje Shugden) people - never."

These blogs have mainly been about the influence of the Dalai Lama's actions on Tibetans in India and elsewhere. The question is, does this affect Western Buddhists?

Western Buddhist Centers with a connection to the Dalai Lama have also been signing declarations promising not to engage in the Shugden practice or to allow into their Center anyone who does.

In the FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition) Handbook, Lama Zopa says:

"All those who offer service or teach in FPMT centers are committed to follow the advice of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. As an example, His Holiness has prohibited the practice of the so-called protector, Do Gyel (Shugden), so teachers or others affiliated with the FPMT should not engage in this practice."

This also extends to ordination. From the IMI/FPMT website:

Students considering ordination should also:

* have had Buddhist refuge for at least five years,

* have lived with lay vows for at least three years,

* NOT be a Shugden practitioner,

* be at least 20 years of age, etc etc

This is even though Lama Zopa says about himself and his teacher, the Founder of the FPMT:

"Of course, Lama and I practiced Dorje Shugden for many years. That was always the main thing that Lama did whenever there were problems to overcome. At the beginning of every Kopan course, Lama always did Shugden puja to eliminate hindrances."

This suppression of religious freedom and private belief amongst Western practitioners is even more ironic and tragic given that about 70% of their lineage Gurus were renowned Dorje Shugden practitioners! Where is their lineage now? It seems to start and end with the Dalai Lama (who is, interestingly enough, placed alone and above all the other great Lamas on the lineage Guru page, including his own teachers). The Dalai Lama is clearly destroying the established and ancient spiritual lineage not only of Tibetan Dorje Shugden practitioners but of Westerners too.

This February, the Dalai Lama sent the FPMT Centers the same referendum as in India with the two questions about (1) whether they reject the Protector Dorje Shugden and (2) whether they support Dorje Shugden practitioners.

This so-called "poll" does not lead to actual physical persecution as the Dalai Lama has no political power in the West to back it up (though, he does control the disbursement of considerable financial resources to these centers). But causing Westerners to swear that they are going to discriminate against others based on their religious faith is not only non-Buddhist, but creates disharmony and mistrust between the many European and American FPMT Buddhist Centers and the many Western Buddhist Centers who do rely upon Wisdom Buddha Dorje Shugden.

Many Dorje Shugden practitioners in the West, both Westerners and Tibetans, have been forced to remain anonymous for fear of becoming a target of the Dalai Lama's criticism and developing a bad reputation. They are falsely accused of being demon-worshippers, Chinese agents, sectarian cult members, and so on. Because of the Dalai Lama's unquestioned reputation in the West, the media have often believed him over the explanations of Dorje Shugden practitioners, and so have portrayed Dorje Shugden practitioners with a negative bias.

Gail D
29 August 2008 at 15:12

Sadly, it does not end there.

This is the latest discrimination by the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT)

Dorje Shugden practitioners are now completely outcast from the FPMT in the West as well, even though the Founder of the FPMT, Lama Yeshe, practiced Dorje Shugden until his death, as did many of the lineage masters mentioned on their teachers page. Lama Yeshe’s senior disciples relying upon Dorje Shugden have already either had to go underground or give up their life commitment to Lama Yeshe in order to stay as a teacher or ordained person in the FPMT. Now they have to do this merely to attend teachings. This is a sickening echo to the Jim Crow “separate but equal” laws segregating blacks and whites in the American south, except that Shugden practitioners are now officially not just separate but unequal.

From the FPMT website: "Restriction: FPMT has recently issued a new policy regarding the Shugden practice in accordance with the wishes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Lama Zopa Rinpoche has expressed the wish "not to have a guru-disciple relationship with anyone who is practicing Shugden."

This is a clear policy of discrimination against other Buddhists. It is extraordinary that it has been enacted, let alone advertised on their website, in this 21st Century.

Since Lama Zopa is still the nominal head of the FPMT, this means that Tibetan politics has now irreversibly permeated the FPMT. It means that not even Lama Zopa's precious teachers, Trijang Rinpoche (or his reincarnation) or Lama Yeshe, would be allowed to attend Lama Zopa's teachings.

FPMT members have long accused the Dorje Shugden practitioners in the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) of being a sectarian cult. The irony is that the NKT is an open and tolerant organization that has never turned anyone away from a teaching due to their religious beliefs. That this religious belief is the 400-year old practice passed down through generations of fully accomplished Buddhist masters, including half the lineage Gurus of the FPMT, is beyond comprehension.

Lucy James
29 August 2008 at 16:05

Gail, it is interesting to see the effects of the Dalai Lama's policy on Buddhism in general, not just in Tibet. But on this subject, I have also thought that this dark cloud could have a silver lining. And please take the following just as my personal opinion.

An earlier poster quoted this:

*Ewa (interviewer): "Your Holiness, what would you say to the Western "Buddhists" for whom the Tibetan political issue is completely distant from the religion, which they have so enthusiastically adopted?"

*H.H. the Dalai Lama: "Oh, that is wrong! Tibetan freedom is very much linked with the Tibetan Buddhism. Without Tibetan freedom, the Tibetan Buddhism cannot survive..."

Perhaps if the Dalai Lama were the true head of Buddhism worldwide and Tibet were the only true home of Buddhism (so he needs everyone’s undying support to save it from being overrun by Chinese), it would be a mistake to question him and better to preserve the status quo. But these things are not true.

As I mentioned earlier today, is it not more forward-looking to take the politics out of the religion? To have the freedom to practise Buddhism free from political or cultural constraints? “Tibetan Buddhism” is great for Tibetans, but we also need English Buddhism, American Buddhism, Brazilian Buddhism, global Buddhism. (We already have, of course, Sri Lankan Buddhism, Taiwanese Buddhism, and so on.)

I therefore disagree with the Dalai Lama's assessment that "without Tibetan freedom, the Tibetan Buddhism cannot survive.". I think Tibetans can practice the Buddhism of their forefathers in any country they find themselves in where the government allows freedom of religion (including and increasingly, we pray, in China). This is not a political statement. I am not commenting on whether or not Tibet should be free in general -- simply on the connection between this freedom and the survival of the Buddhism that comes through Tibet. It is an emotive argument often used against us for opposing the Dalai Lama on religious freedom issues, but I don't think it is correct.

The immigration officer in my line a few days ago was an African American with a gentle expression, who eagerly asked me not the usual questions of where I’d been and why, but “Are you a Kadampa?” (Kadampa is another word for Gelugpa, or Ganden, used by the followers of Atisha and Je Tsongkhapa). As I expressed astonishment at his powers of perception, he whipped out his rosary to show me that it was exactly like the one I was wearing on my wrist. He then whipped out a well thumbed Western Kadampa Dharma book called “Eight Steps to Happiness” , which he clearly reads whenever he gets the chance. He told me he attended Kadampa Buddhist teachings nearby.

What struck me talking to him is that he was a regular modern person who practices Buddhism freely in his daily life and culture without feeling the need to buy into the politics, culture or mystique of Tibet, or the antipathy to China, and so on. He was not Tibetan, had not experienced their political history at all, and yet miraculously the Buddhism that came from India and Tibet through the kindness of his spiritual teachers was now changing his life.

If the myth and strait jacket of the Dalai Lama as the Pope of Buddhism and Tibet as the Buddhist Shangri-la are dispelled (through the Dalai Lama's own political heavy-handedness), this could pave the way for the Buddhism that originally came from India and then Tibet to adapt and survive for longer. It could become a democratic, culturally appropriate, practical, modern-day Buddhism, which could then take root all over our troubled world. It could mean that culturally diverse Buddhist masters (male and female) are free to maintain Buddhist traditions in every country. It could just help millions of regular people achieve their potential for inner peace and compassion.

Dharmakara
29 August 2008 at 18:41

The idea that "without Tibetan freedom, the Tibetan Buddhism cannot survive" is as ridiculous as saying a monk is not a monk without a temple. It reeks of "identity" and "clinging" all rolled up in one, it has nothing to do with the Buddha-dharma.

Geronimo
29 August 2008 at 19:20

Dalai Lama & Free Tibet :

U.S. CIA , Nazi SS , Slavery , Serfdom

Genocide in Tibet , Cultural Genocide

Compassion & Vegetarian , Nobel Peace Prize

Religious Freedom & Persecution , Human Rights

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Truth of History = Not to be Brain-washed

The Chinese provincial system was implemented by its Mongol rulers of the Chinese Yuan Dynasty in the late 13th century and then the Qing Dynasty. During the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Mongolia and Tibet or XiZang (Tibet Autonomous Region) were tied together in the Manchus’ imperial management through their mutual military and religious influence, and the military role of the Mongols in the service of the Chinese Qing empire. The Chinese Mongolian–Tibetan enterprise was central to the Qing Dynasty to maintain a delicate balance of multi-ethnic power within united China.

Soon, the Russians used force to consolidate control over Chinese Mongolia.

The British, through India, tried to consolidate its control in the Chinese Tibet.

Together, the Russian and British unseated the dependency management of the Chinese Qing Empire and undercut the Chinese historical connections of the Tibet or XiZang (Tibet Autonomous Region) , and the Mongolia.

Mongolia was a Chinese province (1691-1911), an autonomous state under Russian protection (1912-19), and again a Chinese province (1919-21). Later, taking advantage of the extreme turmoil situation in China, the Russian again interfered in Mongolia (Russia was bound in Inner Mongolian affairs by Secret treaties with Japan). In 1921, the Soviet troops occupied the Outer Mongolia and supported the independence of Outer Mongolian in 1924. In the Yalta conference, the Russian promised US to break the neutrality pact with Japan, instead declare WWII against Japan. In return, US agreed to Soviet's colonial privileges in China and also agreed to the independence of Outer Mongolia from China as part of a secret deal behind China's back. Therefore, in 1949 the Russian forced China which had just coming to power after years Chinese Civil War, into accepting the permanent separation of the Outer Mongolia from China in 1950.

Ironically, in reality, the independent Outer Mongolia was quite obvious an anomalous creation by the foreign powers because MAJORITY of the Mongol population are actually living across the border INSIDE the current Chinese Inner Mongolia region.

British invaded the Chinese Tibet twice, i.e. in 1888 and 1903 and occupied Lhasa in 1904. The British's intention was to separate Tibet from Chinese control, but with only limited success. Instead British started to encourage the Tibetans to seek independence. Therefore, later British suggested dividing Chinese Tibet into Outer and Inner Tibet based on the forced model of the Russian over Mongolia. However, China is determined not to make the same mistake to the Taiwan , Tibet influenced by the foreign powers behind Dalai Lama which was clearly documented in the released files in the CIA archive from the U.S. Dept. of State related to Dalai Lama and his U.S. CIA's secret war in Tibet.

In Oct 1998, Dalai Lama finally confessed that they were funded by the U.S. CIA to train and pay for guerrilla warfare against China, the Tibetan government-in-exile said in a statement. It added that the subsidy earmarked for the Dalai Lama was spent on setting up offices in Geneva and New York and on international lobbying against China.

Since 13th century during the Chinese Yuan Dynasty, the Chinese government had already directly adminstered the Tibet. China directly created the 1st Grand Lama. In 1571, Altan Khan, a descendant of the first Emperor of Chinese Yuan Dynasty Kublai Khan, received the title Shunyi Wang ("Obedient and Righteous King") from the Longqing Emperor of Chinese Ming dynasty. In 1578, Altan Khan invited Sonam Gyatso, a Tibetan monk of the Gelug (Yellow Hat) school to Mongolia. On his arrival, the Khan addressed him in Mongol by the name of Dalai Lama. Therefore, Sonam Gyatso later gave himself the title of 3rd Dalai Lama, and retrospectively gave the same title to his 2 predecessors. Since then, ALL subsequent Dalai Lamas including the current 14th Dalai Lama would have to be installed the same way in accordance with this centuries old Chinese-Tibetan administrative tradition, i.e. approved by the central government and with an attending Chinese minister.

However, due to the Lama's recognized divine status and its association with the political power and benefits, Tibetan high priests often used their influence to bribe and cheat the ancient selection process of the next child to be the reincarnated Dalai Lama successor for their own benefits. As a result, five Dalai Lamas were either killed or murdered by their own high priests or other courtiers. Finally, to stop the endless killing and murder by the Tibetan high priests, in 1792, the Chinese Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty instituted a system of selecting the next child Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama by means of a lottery with all the names and birth years of the selected competing child candidates written in 3 languages, i.e. Manchu, Chinese and Tibetan, on ivory slips which were then placed in a golden urn to be used in the Chinese Emperor approved lottery procedure for selecting the next successor. Since then, the lottery selection procedure had always been followed as the Chinese-Tibetan administrative tradition except in the situations of which the Chinese Emperor would issue an order waiving the use of the golden urn.

On Feb 22, 1940, Tenzin Gyatso was enthroned as the current 14th Dalai Lama at the Potala Palace in a ceremony presided over by Wu Zhongxin, minister of the Commission for Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs of the Republic of China (1911-49). The nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek, ordered that he be confirmed as the reincarnated soul boy of the 13th Dalai Lama without the requirement to carrying the established method of drawing lot from the golden urn. In fact, the Chinese government even allocated 400,000 silver dollars to cover the expenses of the current 14th Dalai Lama's enthronement ceremony.

In the book "Shangri-La" is a mythical Himalayan utopia, earthly paradise guided by the lamasery of the Tibetan Buddhism.

Was Tibet the harmonious place of Shangri-La Human Rights under Dalai Lama ? :

Before 1959, "Free Tibet" was only a dream in a serfdom and slavery society under the current 14th Dalai Lama. Most land and wealth were owned by few lamas and rich secular landlords. The MAJORITY i.e. 95 % of Tibetan population were just serfs and slaves without ANY Human Rights. Serf were under a lifetime slavery to the lord's land or the monastery’s land with no pay, schooling or medical care. The Human Rights of the serfs were as worse as the Tibetan slaves. Unlike the slaves, the serfs also had to support themselves. The overlords had no responsibility for the serfs at all. Pretty serf girls were usually taken by the owner as house servants or slaves without any Human Rights . Young boys were regularly taken and trained as monks, commonly sexually mistreated in the monasteries. The serfs were also saddled by numerous taxation items with old debts sometimes passed down from generation to generation. Serfs and slaves were told their lack of freedom and Human Rights were due to the bad karma in their previous lives. Many ran away and resisted. Once captured, the favored torture and mutilation included eye gouging, the pulling out of tongues, hamstringing, and amputation etc. The punishment law was codified in the 13th century by the Sakyapa sect, derived from the Yasa (statute-book) of Genghis Khan, like the penal system of the European Middle Ages, was extremely cruel.

For details, refer to Friendly Feudalism: the Tibet Myth.

At first, the Chinese government moved slowly, relying mostly on persuasion to change Tibetan's serfdom system. No aristocratic or monastic property was confiscated, and feudal lords continued to reign over their hereditarily bound serfs. However, for the rich lamas and secular lords, the Communist intervention was an unmitigated calamity. With the extensive support and funding from the U.S. , Dalai Lama and CIA staged a proxy war. However, the majority of the serfs and slaves refused to join in and soon the US CIA proxy war failed and fled to India.

Together, the U.S. , Britain, India and other Western countries continue so called "Free Tibet" movement to this day through the disguised U.S. government agency the National Endowment for Democracy NED : CIA of the 21st century, described by the NED’s first acting president Allen Weinstein : "A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA" . . . . NED , AEI , FNF are behind the "Crimson Revolution" for Tibet. The Tibetans' riot in 2008 before the Beijing Olympic games could be another U.S. CIA's "Great Game".

In the meantime, many Western media greatly distorted or fabricated the reporting of Tibetan riot : part 1 , part 2 , 3 which had evoked a Canadian angry response, and triggered the birth of a chinese netizens' anti-CNN website. Under pressure, CNN was forced to respond with its CNN statement on Tibet coverage which was immediately rejected by the netizens with Statement on "CNN statement on Tibet coverage". After the riots in Tibet, CNN Jack Cafferty said "I think they're basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they’ve been for the last 50 years". His comment has forced CNN president to issue its 2nd formal apology to the Chinese people after the CNN's 1st apology was rejected by China.

It is an extreme irony that U.S. wanted to abolish the black African Slavery in America through US civil war , but in China , U.S. had tried its very best to preserve the Slavery and Serfdom in Tibet through U.S. proxy war.

It is another extreme irony that U.S. ensures the Separation of the Church and State in its Constitution , but in China , U.S. had tried its very best to preserve the Theocracy in Tibet through U.S. proxy war.

Again another extreme irony that U.S. regarded the secession of its Southern states as rebellion and was put down by U.S. Civil War, but in China , U.S. had tried its very best to separate Tibet from China through U.S. proxy war.

Whatever wrongs and oppressions introduced by the Chinese government after 1959, NO one could deny the fact that Chinese government did "Free Tibet" by abolishing Tibetan Slavery and Serfdom system and restored most Human Rights, eliminated the many crushing taxes, started work projects, and greatly reduced unemployment and beggary. Expropriated the landed estates owned by lords and lamas, distributed many thousands of acres to tenant farmers and landless peasants, established secular schools, thereby breaking the educational monopoly of the monasteries. And constructed running water and electrical systems in Lhasa.

Population at the time inside Tibet was only about 2 .5 million. Patrick French, the former "Free Tibet Compaign director" told the truth : "The Free Tibet Campaign in London and other groups have long claimed that 1.2 million Tibetans have been killed by the Chinese since they invaded in 1950. However, after scouring the archives in Dharamsala while researching my book on Tibet, I found that there was no evidence to support that figure". This is independently confirmed by Professor Sautman, a reseacher specialized in studying Tibetan populations , and Professor Goldstein, Co-Director of The Center for Research on Tibet. Both confirmed: "They use the figure of 1.2 million Tibetans dying from the 1950s to the 1970s, but no source for this is given. As a lawyer I give no credence to statistics for which there is no data, no visible basis" for the genocide. The same conclusion that the accusation does not stand on any basis, has been reached by almost all academic scholars and many pro-Tibet advocaters.

Barry Sautman, Associate Professor of Social Science at the Hong Kong University said, "In fact the state sponsored transfer to Tibet is on a small scale.... Most people serve only 3 years and then return to China. Those who move on their own to the Tibet Autonomous Region usually return to China in a few years.... These facts are supported by Australian and U.S. demographers. Claims of [Han] ethnic swamping in Tibet are misleading...." and greatly exaggerated by the Tibetan exiles. If fact, the same thing happens in all other countries when people move around due to economic developments. It is just as many Tibetans move outside to other neighbouring provinces for the economic opportunities.

The Chinese authorities admit their "mistakes" particularly during the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution when the persecution of religious beliefs occurred in the entire China, NOT just Tibet. Since then, many monasteries have been restored. As of 2007, Tibetan Buddhism was still practiced widely and tolerated by officialdom. Religious pilgrimages and other standard forms of worship were allowed but within limits. All monks and nuns had to sign a loyalty pledge that they would not use their religious position to foment secession or dissent. And displaying photos of the Dalai Lama was illegal since he is still branded as a separatist by the governmenmt.

"Rather than finding Tibetan tradition being destroyed by Chinese", concludes Tyler Denison in his cultural research, titled "Reaffirmation of 'Ritual Cosmos': Tibetan Perceptions of Landscape and Socio-Economic Development in Southwest China", published in 2006, "I witnessed firsthand the importance of Kawa Karpo and the ritual cosmos in the lives of the Tibetans of Deqin county: it has not been diminished......."

Barry Sautman, associate professor of Social Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in his study "Tibet and the (Mis-)Representation of Cultural Genocide, "Instruction in primary school is pretty universally in Tibetan. Chinese is bilingual from secondary school onward. All middle schools in the TAR also teach Tibetan. In Lhasa there are about equal time given to Chinese, Tibetan, and English". Being fluent in Chinese and English also broaden their future employment opportunities.

It is an extreme irony that Dalai Lama and exiles themselves abolished Tibetan and adopted English as the SOLE language in their schools, and only became bilingual in 1994. The Tibetan exiles leaders shed their own traditional culture, sends their children to expensive English boarding schools. As the Dalai Lama's authorised biographer, Roger Hicks, describes in details how Dalai Lama's younger generation has become largely "Cultural Genocided" by exiles themselves and the West.

Despite flaws, rights in China have expanded. A Pew Global Attitudes survey published in July 2008 found an astounding 86 % of Chinese were content with their country’s direction, double the % in 2002. Only 23 % of Americans polled said they were satisfied in the same survey.

The West often view China through the prism of the Cultural Revolution and the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown and believes that the Chinese public is media manipulated through the information control by Beijing. If the Chinese had access to real facts, Westerners think, the public attitudes would be different. The reality is that some of the strongest anger toward the West is coming from liberal Western-educated Chinese intellectuals who have access to accurate information. Unlike in 1989, when Chinese all over the world, including scholars and students from the mainland, protested against the government Tiananmen massacre. This time, Chinese people have taken to streets in support of Beijing. After the Tibetan riot and Olympic relay disruptions, such rallies have taken places in many cities of Europe, US, and Canada . Many Westerners who still believe the new China is the same as the old, are utterly ignorant or ideological, perhaps both. Contrary to many who believe the Olympic is a government propaganda showcase, in reality, the ordinary Chinese enthusiastically support the Beijing Olympics. For the Chinese, the Olympic games is the realization of a dream deferred more than 100 years by the colonial invasion, colonial exploitation, revolution, civil war and misrule.

For the past 30 years, China has undergone dramatic changes, so is Tibet with its living standard being dramatically improved after Dalai Lama's slavery & serfdom era. As the Tibet historian A. Tom Grunfeld points out, "Tibet has roads, schools, hospitals, a burgeoning middle class, internet cafes, karaoke bars, discos, and some 100,000 tourists annually. Religion is widely practiced. There is a continue upsurge of practicing traditional arts, crafts, poetry and painting by the Tibetans benefited from the infrastructure and growing tourist visitors.

Giant injections of state capital in major infrastructure projects have been driving growth in Tibet in recent years, with GDP rising an average of 12% per annum. China government subsidies 75% of the TAR's GDP. New air and rail links made possible growth in needed tourism. Incomes have been rising for both rural and urban residents.

However, because Tibetans have already fallen so far behind because of the past serfdom and slavery system under Dalai Lama, the skills differentials has polarized Tibet's economy. While a minority of Tibetans have been rewarded with state jobs, the majority of Tibetans, who are poorly equipped to access new economic opportunities, have been marginalized. Even Tibetan employers in Lhasa and other Tibetan areas admitted that they hire non-Tibetans because they are more skilled and more willing to work regular hours. The managers cited Tibetans' dearth of skills, lack of experience in working fixed hours, and a cultural disposition not inclined to obediently comply.

Tibetans are being left behind by the rapid pace of economic development are complex, and do include cultural and language differences. Non-Tibetans have access to wider networks, capital and better information. But there is NO systematic discrimination of Tibetans by employers—in fact Tibetans are accorded preferential treatment in state jobs. The service industry leaders in Tibetan areas indicates that local employers (Tibetans and non-Tibetans alike) would happily hire Tibetans if they could do the job. Unfortunately, most Tibetans, especially rural Tibetans, simply do not meet employers' needs. The inequality is NOT just a Tibetan local problem, it is a national problem for the whole China's rural farmers being left behind which is closely linked to the skills demanded during economic development.

Contrary to widespread belief, the Chinese One-child policy is ONLY imposed onto the Han enthic Chinese. The One-child policy is NOT imposed upon the rest 55 minorities enthic Chinese including the Tibetan. Tibetan families are allowed to have a maximum of 3-childs. If over, just pay a very small fines or may be denied some child services of which none were available under the Dalai Lama's serfdom system. However, the penalty is often NOT imposed. On the contrary, the Han Chinese families with more than one child are always face much harsher penalties. "Tibetan families in Tibet average 3.8 children, even larger than Tibetan families in India. In 1990 Tibetans were 95% of the Tibet's population. There has been no dramatic change in the region's ethnic balance." said Barry Sautman.

In Chinese Tibet, there is now one monk or nun for every 35 Tibetans, "the highest of any Buddhist country... much higher than the relation of ministers and priests to parishioners in any Christian country in the world...."

More info: see PBS rational debate about Tibet.

Tibet is one of the 5 autonomous regions in China, i.e. the governor and most officials must be Tibetans. The life expectancy is now 65 almost double of 35 during the Slavery and Serfdom under Dalai Lama. The literacy has been raised from 5 % to 80 % by breaking the educational monopoly of Dalai Lama's monasteries. During Dalai Lama's era, the medical care served only the ruling classes, leaving the majority of serfs and slaves with little or no medical care. Now, free medical care is available. Taxes in Tibet are virtually nonexistent. Tibetan farmers, unlike Han Chinese farmers, receive tax-free leases of land. A preferential tax code and low-interest loans are available to Tibetans for their business. Tibetans are allowed to carry their traditional long fighting knife. Education is either free or low fee including university and better funded than most Chinese schools. The Tibetans students, being one of the minorities ethnic Chinese, receive additional 15 points as bonus mark which is not available to any of the Han Chinese student in the China's gaokao - National College Entrance Examination, the most pressure-packed examination in the world for the universities.......etc.

Contrary to the widespread belief, China, in fact, is the ONLY nation on Earth that "discriminates" the majority ethnic in order to protect the minority ethnics including the Tibetans.

The contrast is much sharper, if compared with the treatments received by the native indians in US , the First Nation natives in Canada , the aboriginals in Australia , the indigenous Anui in Japan.

The French senator Jean-Luc Melenchon, in an TV interview said, "It is unbelievable to see certain people who were arguing terribly about the separation of the church and the state, and find it is normal concerning Tibet.... We can't ask for universal rights and then find it normal to see theocracy in Tibet... They can even accept absurdity saying China invaded Tibet. The intervention of Chinese army was due to the Tibetan feudal lords refused to abolish the serfdom... There is NOT a single country in the world who recognizes Tibet (as a state)... Neither did Kosovo demand any independence, but it ended like this, with a US military base. So do not pretend to be naive ! and say that no geopolitical or geostrategic issues are behind this. People are manipulated ! We put forward the events in Tibet and we forget to mention that those incidents started with the Han businessmen massacred [by the Tibetans]......".

Contrary to widespread belief, the Dalai Lama does NOT represent Tibet at all. It is because Tibetan Buddhism has 4 main schools : Gelug , Nyingma , Sakya , Kagyu. The Dalai Lama belongs to the Gelug (Yellow Hat sect). Even within Gelug, he is only one of the 2 most respected "living budda", the another one is Panchen Lama. The Dalai Lama ONLY represent the Tibetans of North Central Tibet (centered with City of Lhasa), which is about 30 % of entire Tibetan population. In the other areas : the entire South Central Tibet (centered with City of Xigaze) worships Panchen Lama only. The Eastern Tibet only believes the NyingMa (the Red Hat sect). Therefore, the Dalai Lama does NOT represent ALL Tibetans.

In June 2008, in a meeting with members of the European Parliament, the Chinese Tibetologists were asked why the Dalai Lama is still branded as a separatist while he has repeatedly said he is seeking autonomy of Tibet, not independence, that has been well received across the world. However, very few people care to understand the true nature of Dalai Lama's autonomy, not independence, 'Middle-Way Approach' : The Dalai Lama has demanded the withdrawal of Chinese troops from Tibetan populated areas and the relocation of other ethnic groups, which have been living there for hundreds of years. He also asks for rights to establish representatives in foreign countries. These autonomy proposals threaten China's sovereignty, said the researcher.

Heinrich Harrer, the author of "Seven Years in Tibet" based on which produced a film by Hollywood, was a member of Nazi SS sent to Tibet by Hitler and Heinrich Himmler. The Dalai Lama invited this Nazi SS member to become his personal "mentor" and "teacher" from early age until the 50s, and was given a top post in the Dalai Lama government in exile. Dr. Bruno Beger, another member of Nazi SS who performed lethal medical racial experiments, was also given a top post in the Dalai Lama government in exile. Augusto Pinochet, supported and funded by CIA, the Butcher of Chile whom the Dalai Lama urged not to be sent to Spain for trial of his crimes against humanity. Details about Dala Lama & Nazi SS : 1 , 2 , 3.

However, Heinrich Harrer, member of Nazi SS, did not paint a rosy picture about Tibet. In his world famous travelogue, Seven Years in Tibet, he writes : "The power of the monks in Tibet is unique and can only be compared to a strict dictatorship".

Dalai Lama declared himself an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi ' s Non-Violent Resistance. Gandhi sought to deter violence between ethnics by living among the Muslims and embarked on a hunger strike against violence. Gandhi starved himself nearly to death, only broke his fast as weeping rioters laid down their machetes at his feet. However, Dalai Lama has never really tried to use direct action to leverage his authority when there was violence in Tibet.

In Tibet, the climate conditions have made it impossible to become a vegetarian monk because the year-round agriculture for producing the vegetable is impossible. The solution was to rely upon a class of individuals to slaughter animals. So the re-interpretation of Buddha's teaching was that it was OK to eat meat if the animal wasn't killed directly for you. But today, the climate conditions are no longer the constraint because of the convinience of food transportation.

At Kalachakra for World Peace 2006, presided over by His Holiness. All the food served to the 200,000 people attending the ceremony was vegetarian. Dalai Lama made a speech in Tibetan criticized factory farming and meat consumption, and said : "If the human community is based on principles of peace, it will lessen the sufferings caused to millions and billions of animals .... are killed and they suffer so much."

Contrary to the widespread belief again, His Holiness himself is NOT a vegetarian. In 1995 Seattle public talk, Dalai Lama said he tried being a vegetarian all the time but found it too difficult and said he eats meat every other day. Dalai Lama now claims that he eats meat on his doctor's advice on liver complications from hepatitis. However, checking with other doctors but none agrees that meat consumption is necessary or even desirable for a damaged liver.

When he attended a state dinner hosted by French President Jacques Chirac, Dalai Lama refused the vegetarian meal and insisted to be served with braised calf’s cheek and crayfish stuffed with shrimp, and said, "I'm a Tibetan monk, NOT a vegetarian". Many worldwide vegetarian and animal activitists have since petitioned His Holiness to convert to a vegetarian for the sake of Buddhism Compassion but are ignored by His Holiness.

Again another extreme irony : the Dalai Lama, a spiritual leader with Buddhism compassion refused to give up his meat eating habit , and was owner of numerous Slaves and Serfs , with Nazi SS as his personal "mentor" and "teacher" , together with the U.S. CIA, initiated a violent proxy War, was ironically awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 by diminishing the Nobel Peace Prize and Religion to dirty political tools.

Dalai Lama is U.S.'s "Man of Peace" : In an interview, Dalai Lama said he was for Non-Violence "whenever possible", but WAR is justified at times. The particular wars that he thought okay were World War II and the U.S. war on Korea. He thinks the war on Vietnam started out right but ended up badly. Badly for whom, he doesn't say. He praised the U.S. WAR of Afghanistan calling U.S. bombing a "liberation" of the Afghans, invasion and occupation of Iraq WAR might be justified . In 2003, Dalai Lama says Terror may need a VIOLENT reply. Therefore, he was awarded with top U.S. Congress's Gold Medal by Bush in 2007.

Yet again another extreme irony, Dalai Lama himself is now being sued for repressing Tibetan's religious freedom as a "totalitarian dictator", rather than a reincarnation of the Buddha of Compassion. The lawsuit was initiated by the 13th Kundeling Rimpoche in the high court of Delhi in India in 2008 and their lawsuit petition again Dalai Lama. In Nottingham reported by BBC, Buddhists protested Dalai Lama's religious persecution of Dorje Shugden sect of Tibetan's Buddhism. Dalai Lama - Buddhist dictator and hypocrite. Swiss public televion: Oracle that helped Dalai Lama now banned by him. Part 1 . 2 . 3.

The temporal power struggle between Dalai Lama of the Gelugpa sect and the Shugden community actually goes back centuries in the old Tibet.

Since 1996, the Dalai Lama decreed that the worship of Dorje Shugden was 'evil' and issued a formal decree for everyone to stop practising the Dorje Shugden prayer. "In Britain and America, the Dalai Lama is a religious hero. But for many he is a religious dictator" said Kelsang Pema, a leading member of the Western Shugden Society, a group of Buddhists who worship the 'wisdom deity' Dorje Shugden, "Anyone who criticises the Dalai Lama is written off as a Chinese puppet". "Anyone who continued to follow Dorje Shugden got it in the neck" and were threatened, attacked, or home ransacked.

In 2008, the Dalai Lama issued a new proclamation requiring all Tibetans to sign a declaration forsaking the practice forever. Thousands of monks and nuns who refused to sign, were expelled from their monasteries and nunneries, forbidden to associate with other Tibetans. Dalai Lama has even gone on record as saying his own Spiritual Guide and his predecessors through the centuries were wrong, claiming that the Deity known as Dorje Shugden, was actually 'evil'. More details.

Monks vs. Monks : For decades until 1976 when he was 50, Dalai Lama himself included the 400-year-old Buddhist prayer Shugden in his daily prayers.

The Free Tibet Campaign former director Patrick French, writes "Cuddly Dalai Lama is our fantasy creation". Unfortunately, anything which criticizing or contradicting to the exile Tibetan community, regardless the historical truths or the reality of the past and current Tibet, lead not to a self-critical stance towards their own viewpoints, but rather one was insulted and thus considered to be prejudiced, brushes aside and denigrated as the Chinese propaganda.

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June 11, 2008 . "The Dalai Lama has come to Australia to talk about love and compassion but he is not practising what he is preaching," said Kelsang Lhachog, many of them Buddhist monks and nuns chanting "Dalai Lama, Stop Lying" and "Give Religious Freedom" in Sydney, Australia. More details.

July 13, 2008 . Over 400 monks and nuns from 16 countries protest Dalai Lama at Lehigh University and Watch protest video. Those who practice Shugden were expelled and denied their jobs, children schools, medical care and some homes burnt.

July 18, 2008 . Dalai Lama supporters clash with Buddhist sect in New York.

July 20, 2008 . Dalai Lama's visit sparks monks protest in Philadelphia. Kelsang Pema, a spokeswoman for the Western Shugden Society, used the term "Hollywood Monk" in describing the Dalai Lama who is "fostering a campaign of intimidation, humiliation and ostracism" against Tibetans and religious freedom.

July 20, 2008 . 4-member Chinese Tibetologist delegation arrived in New York to promote understanding of Tibet issue, found that many people in US are ignorant about Tibet. "Some legislators even haven't heard about the fact feudal serfdom once existed in Tibet" he said.

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The so-called "Free Tibet" "Human Rights" case is an EXACT COPY of the Iraq War :

Started in 2004, Brithish PM Tony Blair admitted that WMD which is vital to the case for the Iraq war, was wrong. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that he hasn't seen "any strong, hard evidence" to link Saddam Hussein and the al-Qaeda terrorists who staged the 9/11 attacks.

Then, a CIA report by US arms inspector of Iraq Survey Group in 1,000 pages concluded U.S. "Almost All Wrong" on Iraq's WMD Weapons.

Finally in 2005, after 2 years intensive search with 1,200 experts, U.S. finally quit the WMD search. Unfortunately, the WMD was the main reason for US to "pre-emptive" invade Iraq. End to search for WMD seals doubts about pre-emption. Later a new presidential commission reported, "We conclude that the intelligence community was dead wrong in almost ALL of its prewar judgments about Iraq's WMD".

The "Dead Wrong" on Iraq WMD completely destroyed U.S. credibility.

In Apr. 2005 CIA final report: No WMD in Iraq: "After more than 18 months, the WMD investigation and debriefing of the WMD-related detainees has been exhausted" Mr Duelfer, head of the Iraq Survey Group (ISG), wrote in the 92-page addendum.

Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the U.N. said, "It was not in conformity with the U.N. charter... From the charter point of view, it was illegal."

U.S. illegal Iraq War based on lies, NOT approved by the U.N., is the biggest blunder in modern history. Ironically, it was also under the same cover of "Human Rights" and "Democracy" and lies to brainwash into a brutal War ------> to get the Iraq's OIL.

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Dharmakara
29 August 2008 at 19:38

Many pro-Tibet supporters downplay the the fact that serfs and slavery was still occuring prior to the Dalai Lama fleeing in 1959, but the National Geographic Society has quite a bit of footage in their archive vaults from their own visits to the region.

Geronimo
29 August 2008 at 20:15

Dalia lama returning to Tibet is a grand idea and I hope he decides to return to his birth place before he passes.

It would bring closure and comfort to the 5,900,000 Tibetans in China and help the aristocratic Tibetans an opportunity to finally merge into their adopted homeland and begin to contribute to the society in constructive ways.

I think it imperative that the exiles begin to grasp the fundamental concepts of the democratic priciples of western countries.

They must come to grips that we seperate church an state and there will never be a theocratic government in the USA or any other western countries.

This would afford the Dalia lama incredible opportunities to bring an income to his fellow Tibetans with the droves of tourist who would certainly come to Tibet to visit the Last Dalia Lama.

Dharmakara
29 August 2008 at 20:39

Yes, the DL returning to Tibet before passing away is a grand idea, but an unrealistic one. China's position on the DL is no different than the US position on Castro, where they won't deal with Cuba until Castro passes away.

Geronimo
29 August 2008 at 20:44

Wishful thinking!

Dharmakara
29 August 2008 at 20:48

There's nothing wrong with hoping for it to happen, that China will take a step forward and show that it is willing to enagage in meaningful dialogue on the issue of Tibet, but the government in exile will not be returning.

Geronimo
29 August 2008 at 23:42

Ethics on parade and who is teaching what? It must be samsara!

QUEBEC - A controversial new ethics and religious culture class to be taught in Quebec schools as of next week is getting a nod from the Dalai Lama, who will travel to the province next year to show his enthusiasm for it.

The head of the Canadian branch of the Dalai Lama Foundation said Friday the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader will pay a two-day visit to Montreal in October 2009 to meet with teachers and teachers-to-be.

"The Dalai Lama has always championed teaching ethics to children in the school system and when he learned that Quebec was introducing this curriculum, he was very happy," said Thubten Samdup, a Montrealer with Tibetan origins.

Samdup told the Nobel Peace Prize winner about Quebec's new class during a recent trip to India, where the Tibetan government-in-exile is based.

The mandatory, non-denominational religion and ethics class will be taught in Quebec's elementary and secondary schools starting next week. Until now, schools have had three options to chose from: Moral Education, Catholic Religious and Moral Instruction, and Protestant Moral and Religious Education.

Students will still learn about the important place of Catholicism and Protestantism in Quebec's religious heritage, but the new curriculum also will focus on other religions such as Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and native spiritualities. For the ethics part of the course, students will reflect on issues such as responsibility, tolerance and justice.

The new class sparked a heated debate in the province and a few hundred parents - mostly Catholics and Protestants - are engaged in a bitter fight with the province's Education Department to be awarded the right to exempt their children from the course. They are worried that if their kids learn about other religions on top of Catholicism or Protestantism, they will become confused by too many choices.

But this spring, the Quebec Assembly of Catholic Bishops decided to give the new class a chance and said it is now up to the families and not to the schools to pass on religious beliefs.

Samdup, a longtime advocate of the new class, convinced the Dalai Lama to come to Quebec to share his views about ethics and religion. He said the spiritual leader will not use his visit to promote Buddhism.

"He will emphasis his opinion that anything we can teach our children when they grow up to become decent human beings and better citizens is very important."

Samdup said Quebec has taken a very bold step in going ahead with this course that, he thinks, could become a model for the rest of the country.

"Our world has become so interdependent today that we really have to know each other, different cultures and traditions, so that we can live in harmony," he said.

Neither the Quebec Education Department, nor a provincewide coalition that has been a vocal opponent of the new curriculum, would comment on the Dalai Lama's position.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 00:03

Geezer: If you're going to point out such things about NKT, why do you lack the courage to point out that these problems exist in one form or another within all branches of Buddhism?

geezer
30 August 2008 at 00:17

Dharmakara, Why does NKT/WSS deny everything?

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 00:21

Sound like you were not ready to become an ordained anything. Maybe you should go to Afghanistan and work off some negative karmas?

Life is work and as you get older, even simple task become blissful.

Like having chilren to raise. You find yourself without a life and your every moment is dealing with another's person needs. Do kids ever thank you for all that a parent is required to perform for them. Not necessarily! One does all of this out of love and duty.

Hang in there and blaming others for our own actions. Mom and Dad expect this type of issues to occur as their children stretch their legs and find their mettle.

I'm certain you'll make a good parent with the list you've accumulated.of dissappointments.

geezer
30 August 2008 at 00:24

Sorry dharmakara, No other branches of Buddhism says like NKT/WSS say "they are PURE and others are not". Other branches of Buddhism practise SECTARISM like NKT/WSS. Their Lama's do not preach teachings from the Yellow book of Shug-dhen.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 00:30

geezer: it's not an isolated problem in regard to NKT and the last time I checked the Dalai Lama has never exactly been a champion of accountability and transparency. Such issues need to be dealt with sincerely and with committment... this begins when the first lay member of any group stands up and lends his or her voice to addressing the issue, doing so with compassion.

Too many times these issues only come to light when a person has left a group, not while they are standing in the middle of it.

Within any tradition, whether it is Buddhist or not, there will be those who do not suffer from moral and ethical ineptitude... stand with those people and you will uphold the Dharma regardless of any particular tradition.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 00:34

geezer: No other branches of Buddhism say "they are PURE and others are not"? Boy, only if the walls of the world's temples and monasteries could talk about what's stated in whispers and behind closed doors (LOL).

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 00:58

Geezer: I'm not defending anyone, but pointing out the fact that there is a disease within institutionalized Buddhism when these things cannot be challenged from within the instituion itself.

Only a blind man refuses to see that there are hungry ghosts within all traditions and organized religions. What should we do? Difinitely not adopt a spirit of denial to it, but remove them without recourse, even if it's a senior teacher or chief monk of the Sangha.

There are many good and upright teachers that can be found in all traditions, regardless of the the flaws of the instituion itself, so stand by the side of those teachers and only those teachers.

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 01:05

You could always do as I did after I had revelations about organized sanghas. Head for the mountains and count tumbleweeds for 5 years. It's good to be about 50 miles from anyone to clear your head. The company of Deer, Elk,Coyotes,Bears, Turkeys, Eagles and Hawks. All have something to offer to calm the disruption of our Love Streams.

Maybe Findhorn is closer for you.

It sounds like you have overloaded your circuits and need to release some steam.

Wilderness is calming and the abscence of others can be more rewarding than hanging on the fringe of cities.

Here, The West Is The Best.

Get out of Dodge and hear the silence of the winds.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 01:09

Ah, even Findhorn has its problems and hungry ghosts roaming among its members. The "holier-than-you" attitude can only exist when one fails to recognize the the skeltons in their own closet... or in some cases large cemetaries 2 bodies deep. (LOL)

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 01:17

Then I guess all religious institutions need to follow Geronimo's lead... no problem with that, but if moral and ethical ineptitude is not addressed it will exist there as well. Human nature is human nature.

Excuse my language, but people have only two choices in regard to this... they can continue to bitch about or do something about it.

geezer
30 August 2008 at 01:22

THAT'S WHAT NKT/WSS SHOULD DO. DO SOMETHING ABOUT THEIR PROBLEM BEFORE THEY BITCH ABOUT OTHERS. GET THEIR OWN HOUSE IN ORDER.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 01:23

And the same is so with the Dalai Lama.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 01:31

"Look within!

You are the Light.

Take refuge in yourself.

Do not take refuge in others.

The Light is the Dharma.

Take refuge in the Dharma.

Do not take refuge in anything,

other than the Dharma."

The Buddha is "Buddha" because of the Dharma; the Sangha is "Sangha" because of the Dharma; and the Dharma, which is changeless in time and space, is highest in the world.

The truth needs no lineage, it is here in the present moment without past or future.

geezer
30 August 2008 at 01:33

HHDL DOES NOT PRACTISE SECTARISM AND DOES NOT SUPPORT THE HATED YELLOW BOOK OF SHUG-DEN.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 01:39

No, the Dalai Lama doesn't practice sectarianism, but does he practice Buddhism? Just because it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and qwacks like a duck, it doesn't mean it's a duck.

"So one day, if the Dalai Lama becomes a mass murderer, he will become the most deadly of mass murderers" --- the DL speaking of himself in the third person and what do psychologists have to say about speaking in the third person? Hmmmm....

geezer
30 August 2008 at 01:48

YES, SHUGDEN PEOPLE MURDERED GHESHA LOBSANG AND HIS TWO STUDENT IN A SHUGDEN RITUAL. GO AND ASK THE INSPECTOR OF DHARAMSHALA.. TRUE SHUGDEN STYLE.

A HINDU IS NOT ALLOWED TO EAT BEEF AND MUSLIM IS NOT ALLOWED PORK IN THEIR INSTITUTION, ORGANISATION AND MOSQUE, TEMPLES. THEY HAVE TO FOLLOW RULES AND LAWS. CAN THEY SAY THEY HAVE NO FREEDOM.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 01:50

The quote above came from an interview with Amitabh Pal in 2006. Here's the full statement so it can't be taken out of context:

"In the 1930s, one Mongolian leader became a very, very brutal dictator and eventually became a murderer. Previously, he was a monk, I am told, and then he became a revolutionary. Under the influence of his new ideology, he actually killed his own teacher. Pol Pot’s family background was Buddhist. Whether he himself was a Buddhist at a young age, I don’t know. Even Chairman Mao’s family background was Buddhist.

So one day, if the Dalai Lama becomes a mass murderer, he will become the most deadly of mass murderers."

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 01:52

Yes... and the Dalai Lama allowed meat to be served at several of his fundraiser dinners here in the US. Your point?

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 01:55

And by the way, when a person is accused of a crime they are innocent until proven guilty... at least here in the US... you know, the bastion of democracy.

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 01:55

Hey Geezer! You can go off all you want about your dissappointments. But lay off with the Murder accusations. I think you're being alittle too sour grapes!

You're starting to sound like you are having your monthly.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 02:01

Geromimo: I kind of figure if he wants to rant, let him... it just shows the readers of this article how unstable fanatical supporters of the DL actually are.

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 02:11

That's too sad! I hope he finds his own demons an gives them areal thrashing for upsetting him so much!

Peace & Blessings

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 02:15

May all sentient beings find release from suffering.

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 02:22

LOVE IS ALL THERE IS!

ALL WE NEED IS LOVE

ALL ARE FREE TO EXPRESS THEIR LOVE WITHOUT FEAR

EXPRESSING LOVE RELEASES US FROM OURSELF CHERISHING!

RELEASE FROM SELF CHERISHING IS FREEDOM TO LOVE ALL OTHERS

LOVING ALL OTHERS MAKES ONE HAPPY

HAPPINESS BRINGS JOY TO ALL

BRINGING JOY TO ALL OTHERS IS A GOOD THING

IT A VISCIOUS CIRCLE OF LOVING

MAYBE LOVE-INS SHOULD BE OUR NEW PRACTICE

geezer
30 August 2008 at 02:37

A group of devout Buddhists claiming adherence to Shugden have threatened the physical safety of the Dalai Lama.1 This same group has also made attempts on the life of Thupten Wangyal, the former abbot of Jangtse College, as well as other high ranking dignitaries in the Tibetan religious community. This group has even been implicated by the Indian government in murder of the director of the institute of Buddhist dialectics, Lobsang Gyatso, in Dharmasala, India

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 02:38

No geezer, in the US they are innocent until proven guilty. Your behavior reminds me more of the hooror tales from the days of the KKK and when lynch mobs roamed the streets.

Were you in the room when the murders occured? These horrible crimes occured in the dark of night, a few hundred yards from the DL's own residence if i remember correctly, but no one heard a thing... someone just creeped in there in the middle of the night and did this? In Dharmasala of all places?

The kalama Sutta is quite clear that we should not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing, upon tradition, upon rumor, upon what is in a scripture, upon surmise, upon an axiom, upon specious reasoning, upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over, upon another's seeming ability, nor upon the consideration the monk is our teacher.

geezer
30 August 2008 at 02:42

I WAS TO JOIN NKT BUT ONE OF THE FORMER NKT SURVIVORS SAVED ME. OTHERWISE I WOULD HAVE BEEN DELUDED LIKE YOU GERONIMO AND DHARMAKALA. I AM JUST HAPPY I DID NOT START IT AT ALL.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 02:47

I'm not a member of the NKT and my own tradition certainly wouldn't accept anyone who rants and raves as you do... no Buddhist community would.

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 02:52

Then why did you lie and tell all of the made up stories? It is wrong to Bear False Witness against your brothers and sisters. Did your parents not teach you this before you ruined all of your friends and family relationship? As you said earlier in your false accounts of being an actual Sangha memeber of the NKT.

I just think you are either bi-polar or on some kind of speed.

Really to lie so ardently on a respected English paper is not very kind or convincing.

It must be contagious to lie to cover the lies being perpetuated by the exiled tibetan government.

Shame on you for being a bad boy!

I'll have to tell your parents about this one.

geezer
30 August 2008 at 02:56

THAT'S WHAT I SAY. WHAT GOES UP HAS TO COME DOWN. IF YOU ACCUSE AND ATTACK HHDL, NYINGMAPA, KAGYU, BON AND SAKYA. NEWTON'S LAW APPLY, EVERY ACTION HAS EQUAL AND OPPOSITE REACTION.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 03:02

Geezer: I'm sure that Geronimo will agree with me when I say: "Go in peace to live another day and darken another doorstep."

geezer
30 August 2008 at 03:11

NKT/WSS, DSS........ IF YOU REALLY THINK THERE IS INJUSTICE TO SHUGDEN PRACTIONERS IN INDIA. INSTEAD OF WASTING SO MUCH MONEY ON PROTESTING AGAINST HHDL. SENT THESE MONEY TO SHUGDEN PEOPLE AND OPEN SCHOOLS, CLINICS, HOSPITALS, SETTLEMENTS, MONASTERIES.

RATHER THEN DEFAME BUDDHA DHARMA AND HHDL.

Tenzin
30 August 2008 at 03:57

Also, Geezer, it is so not cool to quote reams and reams of text in general, and especially from an old discredited version of Wikipedia. There has been a great deal of collaboration and editing of the entry for Dorje Shugden and Dorje Shugden controversy on Wikipedia, with editors from both sides of the divide, and the result is something that is actually far more balanced than what you have cut and pasted here. I hope people know to read it with a large pinch of salt!! I won't insult the readers by cutting and pasting the new Wikipedia articles but hope they'll be able to go and check them out (if they got this far, which of course is highly unlikely. I think Geezer has managed quite successfully to sabotage all attempts at civilized conversation!) Oh well, back to business as usual with the hateful messages from Dalai Lama supporters. It was fun while it lasted.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 03:58

Tenzin: Thom and I have been talking back and forth porivately and already came to the same conclusion... i figured you guys were just sitting out the conversation so Geezer could discredit himself through his one vitriolic behavior.

metta

Tenzin
30 August 2008 at 04:05

Actually, apologies to you Thom, your comments were just self-defense!! I hadn't read all Geezer's posts when I wrote that first one. They are even more petty, irrelevant to the argument at hand, axe-grinding, and illogical than I thought. Hmmmm. Still, I am not sure whether I can be bothered any more to address him directly, he won't listen anyway.

Please, moderator, can you put a stop to Geezer's childish domination of the thread.

Tenzin
30 August 2008 at 04:07

Okay Dharmakara, apologies to both you and Thom. I should have just sat out of this! You are very right. Please accept my apologies. Anyway, it was very nice discussing this all with you and I appreciate your perspective. Time to go do some meditation. Thank you.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 04:14

Tenzin: No apologies are necessary. And none of you should give up hope... the truth will be revealed about all of this. My own preceptor, Shan-jian Da-shi, has even instructed me to reach out to the Shugden groups and I'm going to be contacting our Theravada friends in Bangladesh to see if they might be able to offer some humanitarian support since the Chittagong Hills are outside of the reach of the DL and his supporters.

Lucy James
30 August 2008 at 04:25

The best way to deal with Geezer and other trolls or spammers is probably just to report them to the New Statesman. It says on their contact page:

To report comments on articles or to make a complaint about New Statesman content please email: comments@newstatesman.co.uk

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 04:34

geThen why did you lie and tell all of the made up stories? It is wrong to Bear False Witness against your brothers and sisters. Did your parents not teach you this before you ruined all of your friends and family relationship? As you said earlier in your false accounts of being an actual Sangha memeber of the NKT.

I just think you are either bi-polar or on some kind of speed.

Really to lie so ardently on a respected English paper is not very kind or convincing.

It must be contagious to lie to cover the lies being perpetuated by the exiled tibetan government of the Dalia lama's lies.

Shame on you for being a bad boy or girl! Tibetans always post they way they protest in New York, spit and spattle with screeching cries of despair.

I'll have to tell your parents about this one.

ge _zer,

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 04:36

I did that three [3 ] times alreay.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 04:40

Geronimo: We need to have compassion for all living beings, as well as patience... even for Geezer

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 04:41

...but that doesn't mean we should ever accept bad behavior.

Friendoftruth
30 August 2008 at 04:49

Dharmakara,

I think to remember that you have a website, a kind of hub for all Buddhist traditions, is this right?. If you already mentioned it in this space, sorry, it's almost impossible with the long ravings of some of our mother sentient beings to find it. Could you post it please, and a way to locate you?

Since this extraordinary 4 days are drawing to an end, I would like to thank you for your generous, pure friendship and support. It's a rare occurrence, so precious and appreciated!

I would like to thank all of those who participated in this discussion. One way or another we all contributed to expose the truth of this matter to the world.

About our angry child, the imaginary exnkt, my heart aches for him, I sincerely request your prayers, even if this causes him another round of rage, it doesn't matter. He must be very alone, in a way I think he's here seeking our company.

I don't think he is this side or that side, he is just alone with his thoughts. May our powerful Mañjushri take care of him!

Ok guys, have a good life! How I miss our Forum in Dorjeshugden.com! That was our virtual home. Salve Beggar!

Thank you kind people of the New Statesman. Please do not forget our issue. Please now sit down and read carefully through all the material posted here, and reach your own conclusions.

You have compensated for such a long neglect from the people of the Press! Thank you again.

Love to all.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 04:54

Mahabodhi IP

http://www.mahabodhi.net

You can contact me through the website and if any of you need free hosting or internet service let me know.

Metta.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 06:17

Thurman's scholarship is flawed at best --- in a recent interview he stated the following:

"...since the Soviet Union deconstructed, the Chinese have become more frightened, more determined to hold on to real estate that is not theirs. Not just Tibet, but also Mongolia, Xinjiang, even Manchuria."

The last time I checked Mongolia had a peaceful Democratic revolution and was still a parliamentary republic with free elections held every four years, something a high school student usually learns in a political science course.

So much for scholarship.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 07:20

I only have heard of one "Douglas Chalmers"... a professor at Yale. Is this you?

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 07:28

I do not understand what you are trying to say, geezer

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 07:33

Sorry! I meant Douglas, .

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 07:35

Geronimo: Are you saying that "Douglas Chalmers" is "Geezer"?

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 07:37

I don't know... you might have been right the first time (LOL)

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 07:56

Yep!

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 08:03

Geronimo: Chalmers was the one mouthing off on the previous article and Tenzin called him on it. i don't know if he'll answer your request for clarification or not... yesterday he made a comment about someone orchestrating the riots in Tibet, but he didn't clarify that statement either.

Douglas Chalmers
30 August 2008 at 08:13

Dharmakara: "...I only have heard of one "Douglas Chalmers"... a professor at Yale...?"

Ha ha, what a geezer you are. I don't know of any enlightened individuals at Harvard - are there any at Yale, either? LOL

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 08:18

It is part of Bob Thurman's intellegencia network that keep the authorship of their book royalties endorsement by the Dalia lama in tact. Bob squeezes all the authorities that have cropped up over the last 20 years to say and support all kinds of disinfromation about the Dalia lineages.

I always like the one when Bob said so enthusiastically that 'All Dorje Shugden Devotees were just like the Taliban. Just like the Taliban'.

Brandishing swords as in "The Charge Of The Light Brigade".frenziness.

What can I say? He said this in, was it Newsweek?

At the same time the Taliban were cutting women's heads off in the Kabul Soccer Field.

He's funny all right! A real stitch!

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 08:20

I don't know of any enlightened individuals at Yale or Harvard, but on the other hand none of us here have to look to far to find an arrogant fool.

Have you ever tried to talk to a person or do you prefer to talk down to them when you're not the center of attention?

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 08:22

Sorry Doug! Your Ha Ha gave you away again. Mutiple posting personalities seem to be vogue these days. So many avatars with made up characters. It's really faily impressive and almost works, But you always go on to long and give yourself away

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 08:31

That's exactly what what me wife thought and she was skimming the post this evening .

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 08:46

Actually this guy might be a professor from Columbia which explains everything. Need I say more? ROFLMAO

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 08:52

We're all human. Aren't we?

Buddhist Humanism is a philosophy which encompasses all Buddhist teachings from the time of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, to that of the present day. The goal of Buddhist Humanism is expressed within the Bodhisattva ideal, by becoming an energetic, enlightened, and endearing person dedicated to the welfare and liberation of all sentient beings.

Buddhist Humanism focuses more on issues of the world, the suffering which occurs, rather than on how to leave the world behind; on caring for the living, rather than the dead; on benefiting others, rather than benefiting oneself; and on universal liberation, rather than cultivation for only oneself.

Buddhist Humanism has six characteristics:

Humanism - The Buddha was neither a spirit, coming and going without leaving a trace, nor was he a figment of one’s imagination. The Buddha was a living human being. Just like the rest of us, he had parents, a family, and he lived a life. It was through his human existence that he showed his supreme wisdom of compassion, ethical responsibility, and prajna-wisdom. Thus, he is a Buddha who was also a human being.

Emphasis on Daily Life - The Buddha placed great importance on daily life as spiritual practice. He provided guidance on everything, from how to eat, dress, work, and live, to how to walk, stand, sit, and sleep. He gave clear directions on every aspect of life, from relations among family members and between friends to how we should conduct ourselves in the social and political arenas.

Altruism - The Buddha was born into this world to teach, to provide an example, and to bring joy to all beings. He nurtured all beings, for he always had the best interests of others in his mind and heart. In short, his every thought, word, and action arose from a heart filled with deep care and concern for others.

Joyfulness - The Buddhist teachings give people joy. Through the limitless compassion of his heart, the Buddha aimed to relieve the suffering of all beings and to give them joy.

Timeliness - The Buddha was born for a great reason: to build a special relationship with all of us who live in this world. Although the Buddha lived over 2,500 years ago and has already entered nirvana, he left the seed of liberation for all subsequent generations. Even today, the Buddha’s ideals and teachings serve as a timely and relevant guide for all faiths and traditions.

Universality - The entire life of the Buddha can be characterized through the Buddha’s spirit of wanting to liberate all living beings, without exclusion. The Buddha loved beings of all forms, whether they were animals or humans, male or female, young or old, Buddhist or not.

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 08:54

Do you mean? Could it be?" Maybe Bob?

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 09:09

No, not Thurman... There's a "Douglas Chalmers" at Columbia who got his PhD at Yale, but I seriously doubt a professor emeritus would be carrying on in such manner --- but he's up there in age, as a retired professor, so he might be the one who is calling himself "geezer" here as well

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 09:29

You must have never seen Bob carry on, then?

He'll say anything to be right.

Dharmakara
30 August 2008 at 09:45

Oh, I've seen him carry on, but I don't think it was him

Lhakpa Himalaya
30 August 2008 at 11:25

early 20th, in Shanghai, once was the biggest commercial center of Aisa, there was a park called Huangpu Park, and at its entry there was a signboard says: " Chinese and dog are not allowed to enter in".

So yes you can have your english buddhism, american buddhism... But make sure that the buddhism still remains a buddhism once adopted by you westerner, that socalled democracy was firstly introduced from the west ,and now it has been proved by key western couuntries that democracy can be adjusted to china's huge market.

geezer
30 August 2008 at 11:48

g

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 18:54

That's "Chief" to you! John Old Geezer,

Your photos says it all!

Douglas A. Chalmers

International Affairs Building, Room 829

Professor of Political Science

Phone: 212-854-6675

www.columbia.edu/~chalmers/

dac2@columbia.edu

PLease give Bob my regards

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 19:14

12th Annual Meeting of General body of Ngari Kyithun association.

The meeting was held at Ngari Kyithun hall in Dharamshala from 18 to 20 of August, 2008.

Except:

4 Agenda

What is the best to do about properly fulfilling the words and thoughts of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, keeping the nectar of his words and well-being in our heart?

Resolution

When Ngari association offered long life and oath swearing, [the dalai lama] said it is important to maintain pure commitment among Tibetan. In particular, the Dalai Lama repeatedly advises regarding the Dholgyal (Shugden). Therefore, we, the inside and outside people of Nagri of Tibet, will accept and swear not to contradict the instructions by Tibetan Government in exile and the nectar like advices by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Democracy at work in the theocratic dictatorial world of the Dalia lama. Unelected and untrue in his obligations to freedom loving peoples of the world.

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 19:44

Here is one of Douglas Chalmers' postings:old geezer

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20080307_obama_a...

When you click on his name it takes you here:

http://ddchalmers.spaces.live.com/

Clearly both of these pages belong to the same person posting at the New Statesman, but this is the webpage of Prof. Chalmers at Columbia and he's difinetly a "geezer":

http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/academics/directory/dac2-fac.ht...

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 19:57

Peace & Blessings!

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 20:35

Dalia lama's politcal machine is on message with the KKK

The Golden Era of Indiana (1900-1941)

A majority of people have an already formed image of the Ku Klux Klan in their minds. Men, dressed in white robes and hoods, riding throughout the countryside harassing blacks. Most believe that the Klan is an extinct organization, once comprised of rednecks and racist southerners. However, unfortunately, the Klan is still alive in Indiana. There was a time in Indiana when Klan membership could help an aspiring political career. Leonard Moore from the University of California has carefully analyzed Klan membership documents of Indiana and discovered that 250,000 white men in Indiana (about 30% of the native-born Caucasian men in Indiana) joined the Klan in the early 1920s.[1]

The Klan has appeared and disappeared more than four times throughout its history. It is the constant bad dream for a free American society to deal with. Just when you think it’s gone, it rears its ugly head once more. In its various forms and incarnations, the Klan has not entirely remained a southern-dominated organization. White supremacy has always been its goal, but its anger and hatred has been used against other minority groups than just black Americans.

Its first appearance in American history was in the South, organized for only a short number of years between 1865 and 1872. The group was started by a group of 6 men from Pulaski, Tennessee, mainly as an elaborate game and roleplay of wearing eerie costumes while riding on horseback. It didn’t take long for the Ku Klux Klan (its name, supposedly, derived from the Greek word kuklos, which means “circle”) to go from a fraternal organization to a vigilante group bent on violence. An ex-Confederate general, Nathan Bedford Forrest, was chosen to be the Klan’s first leader.

Forrest headed up a committee that made the Klan a secret society with elaborate and, sometimes, bizzare titles: grand wizard, grand dragon, titans and cyclops. The Klan was filled with members of the recently defeated Confederate army. Their focus was threefold: to strike back at the federal Reconstruction government, to put the blacks “back in their place,” and to chase the white carpetbaggers back North.[2] Because many southerners believed that the North was using the Reconstruction to hand over the South to illiterate blacks, the Klan was a way for southern whites to strike back.

The first Klan attacked with a fierce vengeance. This first Klan set the violent tone of the future organization. Anyone, either black or white, would meet a violent death if they stood in their way. The Klan’s tools of intimidation included lynching, shooting, stabbing and whipping. They perceived their mission as defenders of the white way of life. They also saw themselves as protectors of white women and the property of their birth. The government, however, saw them as bloodthirsty criminals.

The government stepped in and ordered Nathan Forrest to disband the Klan. He reluctantly agreed and the secret organization of terror dissolved in 1869. However, violence towards blacks continued even after the dissolution of the Klan. The Klan’s reign of terror was temporarily over.

The Klan would have been forgotten if Thomas Dixon, Jr., a novelist, hadn’t produced a romanticized version of the Klan’s history. Dixon claimed that the Klan was fighting for a just cause, defending their honor from wild blacks and white criminals. In 1915, almost 10 years after Dixon’s writings, film maker D.W. Griffith used his book as a basis for a new movie. The new movie was entitled, Birth of a Nation and it was praised in the South and crucified in the North. The South saw it as a true depiction of the raw deal of Reconstruction, while the North saw the film as a way to legitimize racial hatred and violence toward minorities. However, when President Woodrow Wilson, a southern Democrat, saw the film and remarked that it was “all too terribly true,” the rest of America flocked to see this new epic.[3]

When Birth of a Nation debuted in Atlanta, Georgia on December 7, 1915, an advertisement appeared in the Atlanta newspaper calling for southern white men to join “A High Class Order for Men of Intelligence and Character.” This was, of course, the new rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan. This new Klan was, basically, a fraternal social club for white supremacists.

The first imperial wizard of this second Klan movement was a former Methodist preacher named William Simmons. He was interviewed in 1928 as to why people joined this new Klan movement. Simmons said:

I went around Atlanta talking to men who belonged to other lodges [Masons, Woodmen of the World] about the new Ku Klux Klan. The Negroes were getting pretty uppity in the South along about that time. The North was sending down for them to take good jobs. Lots of Southerners were feeling worried about conditions. Thirty-four men belonging to various other lodges, promised to attend a meeting in [attorney E.R.] Clarkson’s office. And on the night of October 26, 1915, we met. They were all there. Two of them were men who had belonged to the old Klan. John W. Bale, speaker of the Georgia legislature, called the meeting to order. He was the first man in America to wield a Klan gavel. I talked for an hour and we all decided that the idea would grow. We voted to apply for a state charter.[4]

In November of 1915, Simmons and the new klansmen held their first initiation ceremony and cross burning. With Birth of a Nation providing free recruiting advertisement for the Klan, membership soared.

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, the Klan grew in strength. America now had to be ‘protected’ from the Germans and others: Catholics, Jews, Socialists, blacks and union leaders. Membership in the Klan was a way for citizens to help out the war effort in Europe by making sure American soil was kept ‘pure.’ The Klan was quickly becoming something universal and not just a southern racist group. William Simmons now realized that the Ku Klux Klan could now become a national fraternal movement.

D.C. Stephenson and the Indiana Klan

A man named Joe Huffington was chosen by Simmons and other top Klan officials to start organizing the Klan in Indiana. Huffington’s first base of operations was located in Evansville, Indiana. In the late summer of 1920 he began preparations to bring the Klan to Indiana. It was not long before Huffington met a young man named D.C. Stephenson.

D.C. Stephenson was born, probably, in Texas and soon would become the most powerful and influential man in Indiana. Stephenson found himself, eventually, in Evansville working as a salesman of bonds for the L.G. Julian Coal Company. By 1921 he was helping Huffington recruit for the newly formed Indiana chapter of the Klan. He was making a pretty good living with both jobs.

The Klan had a large vocabulary of secret words and titles that Stephenson had to learn. William Simmons was known as the imperial wizard, the top office of the Klan. Other office titles included: kligrapp, kludd, nighthawk and Cyclops. Their secret meetings and gatherings were known as klonvocations. Membership fees were called klecktoken.

D.C. Stephenson, like all other new members, had to swear an oath of allegiance to the Klan and a vow of secrecy. New recruits were asked 9 questions:

Is the motive prompting your ambition to be a Klansman serious and unselfish?

Are you native born, white, Gentile, American citizens?

Are you absolutely opposed to and free of any allegiance of any nature to cause, government, people, sect, or ruler that is foreign to the United States of America?

Do you esteem the United States of America and its institutions above any other government, civil, political, or ecclesiastical in the whole world?

Will you, without mental reservations, take a solemn oath to defend, preserve, and enforce these same?

Do you believe in Klannishness and will you faithfully practice same toward your fellow Klansmen?

Do you believe in and will you faithfully strive for the eternal maintenance of White Supremacy?

Will you faithfully obey our constitutions and laws, and confirm willingly to all our usages, requirements, and regulations?

Can you always be depended on?[5]

Did D.C. Stephenson take the oath seriously? No one really knows. Stephenson's public speeches aren't filled with the racist rhetoric as many of the other leaders of the Klan. He usually left the hate speeches up to others in the power structure of the Klan. His talent was centered around organizing the Klan in Indiana and collecting new recruits.

Membership in the Indiana division of the Klan began soaring with each new speech that Stephenson made. The group began to expand to the western states and industrial cities of the Midwest, the Klan was no longer a southern sensation.

The Klan even made inroads into Indiana churches. The Reverend William Forney Harris of the Grand Avenue Methodist Church preached in 1922 that secret societies like the Ku Klux Klan would not get his support. However, these were times of "moral decay," and as such, any organization that stood for decency and order ought not to be shunned. Other clergy found themselves offering similar endorsements to their congregations as the Klan membership began to grow locally.6

D.C. Stephenson went on to become a powerful political figure in Indiana. His rise to power was short-lived, however. In 1922 David Curtis Stephenson was appointed Grand Dragon of the KKK for Indiana. In 1925 he had met a statehouse secretary, Madge Oberholtzer, at an inaugural ball for Governor Ed Jackson. She was later abducted from her home in Irvington, a neighborhood of Indianapolis and taken by Stephenson and some of his men to the train station. While on a trip to Hammond, Indiana, Stephenson repeatedly attacked and raped Oberholtzer in one compartment of his Pullman railcar. In Hammond she took poison to frighten Stephenson into letting her go. He immediately rushed her back to Indianapolis where she died a month later, either from the effects of the poison or the severe bite marks she incurred during the rape.

Stephenson was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. The sensational trial took place in Noblesville, Indiana in 1925. His conviction sent Stephenson to the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, Indiana for the next 31 years (the longest imprisonment in this state for that crime). He was released from prison in 1956 and faded into obscurity. However, not before causing the shocking downfall of many corrupt political officials within Indiana. When he went to jail he was convinced that Governor Ed Jackson, who he had helped elect, would pardon him. Governor Jackson never came through with the pardon and Stephenson began to talk.

With help from The Indianapolis Times (which won a Pulitzer Prize for its investigations), the structure of Indiana politics would be shaken. Stephenson began to talk about who had helped him rise to power and began to name names. The aftermath was shocking, indictments were filed against Governor Ed Jackson, Marion County Republican chairman George V. "Cap" Coffin, and attorney Robert I. Marsh, charging them with conspiring to bribe former Governor Warren McCray. Even Mayor of Indianapolis John Duvall was convicted and sentenced to jail for 30 days (and barred from political service for 4 years). Some Marion County commissioners also resigned from their posts on charges of accepting bribes from the Klan and Stephenson.

This was not the image that Indiana wanted to portray during its "golden age." Stephenson at the peak of his political career and influence had remarked, "I am the law in Indiana."

bengrimwood
30 August 2008 at 20:50

In my humble opinion, everyone should use their real name on blogs. Not to do so is a sign of fear. Buddhists should fear nothing. Or is that no-thing? Ha!

I think therefore I am - a flawed philosophy. Presumptious that there is an 'I' in the first place.

Geronimo - isn't that the name that people scream when they are about to do something dangerous? By the way - is it normal for protector deities to take alcohol at the shrine? Not rhetorical question, am just curious.

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 20:57

Geronimo, no that's a Hollywood insinuation.

My name has always been Thomas Canada. Longer than Geronimo. For me Geronimo means strenght and perserverance.

Tenzin
30 August 2008 at 21:06

Thanks Lyara. I was dismayed to see Geezer and Douglas Chalmers flaming like this because the discussions were so civil before. It is hard to know where to start in refuting their absurd posts so I give up in advance.

I just posted this to the New Statesman because Geezer and Douglas Chalmers seem to be breaking the rules of courtesy in abundance!

Dear New Statesman,

While appreciating very much you took the trouble to hear out the point of view of beleagured Dorje Shugden practitioners, by now you have probably discovered that questioning the Dalai Lama brings out the worst in his followers. The comments have now degenerated into a blood bath, with very offensive postings especially from Geezer and Douglas Chalmers. There are libellous accusations by Geezer also against the NKT that have been replied to elsewhere on numerous occasions but it does not stop people posting them again (you can see http://www.newkadampatruth.org to see the replies if you don't believe me and think the libel should stay up).

Please could you do something about these two posters. I am reporting them in accordance with your statement below (quoted). Thank you for restoring the peace and dignity to this chat thread.

Best, Tenzin

"We want to encourage people to comment on our content and to exchange views with other readers and hope this will be done on a courteous basis. However, if you encounter posts which are offensive please let us know by emailing comments@newstatesman.co.uk and we will take swift action where necessary."

Geronimo
30 August 2008 at 21:20

beggar-

Our people want their Dorje Shugden Forum back. What can you do to fulfill their wishes?

afriend,geronimo,the lone ranger and others ask your help to restore this vital link between themselves.

Thanks

Thomas Canada

Douglas Chalmers
30 August 2008 at 21:25

Can you mind your own business, please, Tenzin? I am not a "follower" of any Tibetan school of Buddhism. You have all become very odiously sickening to me.

Make what complaints you like, though. This is the reality of blogging or, more specifically, commenting on a media website. It is known as democracy or free speech to real netizens.

If you are looking for people to agree with you, you should only ever post on your own blog or website. The same goes for the topic author, Meindert Gorter, who shouldn't be offended merely because his articles have attracted comments from a range of people.

In other words, you don't own this site and haven't a right to expect people to agree with you. Noticeab