The Dalai Lama's Hidden Past

[ARJ]

Most solidarity and environmental groups supporting the Tibetan people's cause have not questioned the Dalai Lama's role in Tibetan history or addressed what it would mean for the Tibetan people if the Dalai Lama and his coterie returned to power.

 

A 1995 document distributed by the Dalai Lama's Office of Tibet aggressively states that ``China tries to justify its occupation and repressive rule of Tibet by pretending that it `liberated' Tibetan society from `medieval feudal serfdom' and `slavery'. Beijing trots out this myth to counter every international pressure to review its repressive policies in Tibet.'' It then coyly concedes: ``Traditional Tibetan society was by no means perfect ... However, it was not as bad as China would have us believe.''

 

Was this a myth? Tibet's Buddhist monastic nobility controlled all land on behalf of the ``gods''. They monopolised the country's wealth by exacting tribute and labour services from peasants and herders. This system was similar to how the medieval Catholic Church exploited peasants in feudal Europe.

 

Tibetan peasants and herders had little personal freedom. Without the permission of the priests, or lamas, they could not do anything. They were considered appendages to the monastery. The peasantry lived in dire poverty while enormous wealth accumulated in the monasteries and in the Dalai Lama's palace in Lhasa.

 

In 1956 the Dalai Lama, fearing that the Chinese government would soon move on Lhasa, issued an appeal for gold and jewels to construct another throne for himself. This, he argued, would help rid Tibet of ``bad omens''. One hundred and twenty tons were collected. When the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959, he was preceded by more than 60 tons of treasure.

 

Romantic notions about the ``peaceful'' and ``harmonious'' nature of Tibetan Buddhist monastic life should be tested against reality. The Lithang Monastery in eastern Tibet was where a major rebellion against Chinese rule erupted in 1956. Beijing tried to levy taxes on its trade and wealth. The monastery housed 5000 monks and operated 113 ``satellite'' monasteries, all supported by the labour of the peasants.

 

Chris Mullin, writing in the Far Eastern Economic Review in 1975, described Lithang's monks as ``not monks in the Western sense ... many were involved in private trade; some carried guns and spent much of their time violently feuding with rival monasteries. One former citizen describes Lithang as `like the Wild West'.''

 

The Tibetan ``government'' in Lhasa was composed of lamas selected for their religious piety. At the head of this theocracy was the Dalai Lama. The concepts democracy, human rights or universal education were unknown.

The Dalai Lama and the majority of the elite agreed to give away Tibet's de facto independence in 1950 once they were assured by Beijing their exploitative system would be maintained. Nine years later, only when they felt their privileges were threatened, did they revolt. Suddenly the words ``democracy'' and ``human rights'' entered the vocabulary of the government-in-exile, operating out of Dharamsala in India ever since.

 

Dharamsala and the Dalai Lama's commitment to democracy seems weak. An Office of Tibet document claims ``soon after His Holiness the Dalai Lama's arrival in India, he re-established the Tibetan Government in exile, based on modern democratic principles''. Yet it took more than 30 years for an Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies to be directly elected from among the 130,000 exiles. Of 46 assembly members, only 30 are elected. The other 16 are appointed by religious authorities or directly by the Dalai Lama.

 

All assembly decisions must be approved by the Dalai Lama, whose sole claim to the status of head of state is that he has been selected by the gods. The separation of church and state is yet to be recognised by the Dalai Lama as a ``modern democratic principle''.

 

The right-wing nature of the Dalai Lama and the government-in-exile was further exposed by its relationship with the US CIA. The Dalai Lama concealed the CIA's role in the 1959 uprising until 1975.

 

Between 1956 and 1972 the CIA armed and trained Tibetan guerillas. The Dalai Lama's brothers acted as intermediaries. Before the 1959 uprising, the CIA parachuted arms and trained guerillas into eastern Tibet. The Dalai Lama maintained radio contact with the CIA during his 1959 escape to India.

 

Even the Dalai Lama's commitment to allowing the Tibetan people a genuine act of self-determination is debatable. Without consultation with the Tibetan people, the Dalai Lama openly abandoned his movement's demand for independence in 1987. This shift was first communicated to Beijing secretly in 1984. The Dalai Lama's proposals now amount to calling for negotiations with Beijing to allow him and his exiled government to resume administrative power in an ``autonomous'', albeit larger, Tibet. The Dalai Lama's call for international pressure on Beijing seeks only to achieve this.

 

There are indications that a younger generation of exiled Tibetans is now questioning the traditional leadership. In Dharamsala, the New Internationalist reported recently, young Tibetans have criticised the abandonment of the demand for independence and the Dalai Lama's rejection of armed struggle. They openly question the influence of religion, saying it holds back the struggle. Some have received death threats for challenging the old guard. Several recently-arrived refugees were elected to the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies. The Tibetan people deserve the right to national self-determination. However, supporting their struggle should not mean that we uncritically support the self-proclaimed leadership of the Dalai Lama and his compromised ``government-in-exile''. Their commitment to human rights, democracy and support for genuine self-determination can only be judged from their actions and their willingness to tell the truth.

 

http://www.greenleft.org.au/1996/248/13397

[AncientMariner]

I have never listened to anything the Dalai Lama has said. Is he an impersonalist, atheist, or a theist?

[realist31]

Go dig Prabupadas past,it might be worse than this,stop judging other religions or other religious gurus,our gurus and fake swamis are ruining our country,first try to get rid of them and then start thinking about this Dalai idiot,i never had even 1% respect for him,i dont know how he got that famous.

[suchandra]

 

i dont know how he got that famous.

National patriot Abanti Bhattacharya says,

 

India reveals flawed Tibet policy

By Abanti Bhattacharya

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IL07Df01.html

 

The recent decision by India's ruling United Progressive Alliance government to bar ministers from attending a felicitation ceremony for the Dalai Lama is an indication not only of the blunders committed by the government in its foreign policy decision-making, but more perilously it exposes the flawed nature of India's policy towards Tibet.

 

India has so far failed to understand the nuances in Chinese diplomatic practice and negotiating tactics. It has time and again fallen into the Chinese trap, sacrificing its national interests in the process.

 

Clearly, China is tackling its Tibet problem at two levels. One, it is involving the Dalai Lama's representatives in fruitless talks on the resolution of the Tibetan problem, while also disparaging him as a "splittist" who aims to disintegrate China. Two, it is arm-twisting India on the border dispute by raising the Tawang district issue and asking India to remove its army bunkers from its outposts at Batang La near the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction, while at the same time mesmerizing the Indian leadership with rhetoric on India-China joint leadership in bringing about an Asian renaissance.

 

China's Tibet policy forms the linchpin of its nationalist project. Its sovereignty over Tibet has significant ramifications not only for its national integrity but also for stability in its other minority areas, particularly Xinjiang. If Tibet falls from China's grip, Xinjiang would follow suit. The bottom line of China's Tibet policy thus has been the maintenance of its sovereignty over Tibet through military and economic means, whereby the region is fully integrated with the mainland and Tibetans are reduced to a minority in their own province.

 

More importantly, China's Tibet policy has significant external security ramifications owing to the entanglement of the Tibet issue in the Sino-Indian border dispute. India inherited the British policy of sustaining Tibet as a buffer zone and Tibet's de facto independent status under Chinese suzerainty suited its national security interests. In the post-1949 period, when the People's Republic of China came into being, India urged China to let Tibet be an autonomous region, as this would be in line with its historical status, its religious, cultural and political identity, and minimize China's military presence in the region.

 

However, the entry of 20,000 PLA (People's Liberation Army) troops in 1950-51 into Tibet ended its independent status. The Chinese occupation of Tibet brought to the fore the issue of India-China border. During his visit to China in 1954, Jawaharlal Nehru raised the issue of inaccurate border alignment in some Chinese maps to which Chinese premier Zhou Enlai replied that those maps were reproductions of the old Kuomintang maps and that the Chinese government had had no time to revise them.

 

Ironically, these two developments formed the undercurrent of the Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai era (India and China are brothers)when India signed the agreement with China on trade and intercourse between India and Tibet on April 29, 1954. Under the agreement, India gave up all extra-territorial rights and privileges that it had inherited from the British Indian government and recognized Tibet as part of China.

 

The first official Chinese statement on the Sino-Indian border dispute came on January 23, 1959, in response to Nehru's letter of December 14, 1958, in which he had drawn Chinese attention to the incorrect Sino-Indian border alignment shown in Chinese maps. Zhou Enlai wrote saying that the Sino-Indian border was never delimited and that China had never recognized the McMahon Line.

 

It may be recalled that the British had delineated the McMahon line as the boundary between India and Tibet following a tripartite agreement among the British India, Tibet and China in 1914 but the treaty was not ratified by China. After the India-China 1962 war China went on to claim about 90,000 square kilometers of Indian territory in the eastern sector and 38,000 square kilometers in the Aksai Chin area. China's Tibet policy thus had brought to the fore a serious border dispute between India and China, and it has remained intractable till date.

 

Indeed, China's claim over Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh) on the basis of old Tibetan religious and monastic links is a reminder of the fact that the Tibetan issue is far from over. In fact, the 11th round of the meeting between the special representatives of the two countries in September 2007 ended on an inconclusive note partly because of the Tawang issue.

 

The former Chinese ambassador to New Delhi, Zhou Gang, said that as the Chinese people would never accept the "McMahon line", India would have to make substantial adjustments in the Eastern sector by giving Tawang to China.

 

India's policy towards Tibet has suffered because of its many dilemmas. In the 1950s, though India opposed China's invasion of Tibet, it refused to sponsor a Tibetan appeal to the United Nations, turned down US proposals for cooperation in support of the Tibetan resistance and persuaded the young Dalai Lama not to flee abroad but to reach an agreement with the Chinese government.

 

All this forced the Dalai Lama to sign a 17-point agreement with Beijing in May 1951. This Indian policy stemmed from the need to preserve Tibet as an autonomous region within China, while simultaneously advancing ties with Beijing. Consequently, India signed the 1954 agreement with China on Tibet, in which it virtually surrendered its Tibetan card. The 1956 uprising in Tibet exposed the insincerity of the Chinese towards granting autonomy to Tibet and in an effort to retrieve the lost ground India granted asylum to the Dalai Lama in 1959.

 

But Beijing saw the granting of asylum to Dalai Lama and enabling him to mobilize international support as an anti-China policy. Consequently, in all subsequent India-China joint statements, it ensured the insertion of a clause on India's acceptance of Tibet as a part of China.

 

By repeatedly reiterating over the years that Tibet is a part of China, India diluted its leverage not only in shoring up the Tibetan cause but also in its border negotiations with China. At the same time, China continues to fear that India might use the Tibetan card at some point in the future. Despite these Chinese fears, India has steadfastly avoided using the Tibetan card as a bargaining strategy.

 

Given its tradition of pursuing an independent foreign policy, it is incomprehensible why India is buckling down under Chinese pressure on Tibet. It is well known that given the present dynamics of India-China relations with greater synergy as the goal, New Delhi is not likely to take up the Tibetan cause actively.

But at the same time, it is well within the parameters of Indian foreign policy to regard the Dalai Lama as Tibet's spiritual leader. When China hosted the World Buddhist Forum, no eyebrows were raised though the event had significant political import. India, being the land of Buddha, should take the initiative to felicitate the Dalai Lama. After all, the Dalai Lama is not demanding independence but is only legitimately demanding the preservation of Tibetan identity, religion and culture within Chinese frontiers.

 

India lacks the political will to creatively use the Tibetan card and is losing an important leverage in its negotiations with China. India has the Tibet card if it chooses to use. The very presence of the Dalai Lama in India along with 120,000 Tibetan refugees spread across 35 settlements is leverage for India.

 

Further, the Dalai Lama recognizes the 1914 Simla agreement, in which case the Chinese claims on Tawang on the basis of history do not hold ground. In any case, historically, the Tawang tract did not belong to China. The Chinese side in their dialog with the Tibetan Task Force have tried to persuade the Tibetans to accept Arunachal Pradesh as Chinese territory, to which the Tibetans have firmly refused.

 

Interestingly, while the Chinese are trying to solve the border dispute with India through special representatives group meetings, they are also simultaneously holding talks with the Tibetans on the Tibet issue.

 

This indicates entanglement of the Tibetan issue with the India-China border dispute. Therefore, the problem of Tibet including the fate of Tibetan refugees in India and the border dispute cannot be solved effectively without a tripartite participation of India, China and Tibet.

 

India should explore ways to involve the Tibetans in the border resolution. In fact, an effective solution to the India-China border dispute would depend on involving the Tibetans as representatives in the ongoing border negotiations. It may be similar to the Sino-Japanese history issue where a joint committee has been set up to resolve the history question. India-China-Tibet need a joint historical research to resolve the "leftover" of history.

 

Dr Abanti Bhattacharya, associate fellow, Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses (IDSA), Delhi.

[lokeshvara]

i am not quite sure why this is even here except to attack a member of another religion. i think there are some flaw in the basic understanding of tibetan buddhism that weaken the arguments made. firstly the construction of tibetan society and the dalai lama's role.

 

the dalai lama is not the religious leader of tibet, he with a few other lamas is the head of the gelugpa order (there are 4 branches of tibetan buddhism: nyingma (the oldest), kagyupa, sakyapa, and gelugpa) he was not the temporal leader but worked throughout history in conjunction with the tibetan royal family.

 

buddhism has always stressed the importance of the 4 fold sangha (monks, nuns, lay women, and lay men) and in tibet this relationship was unique and at poinst oppressive. none the less doing things like giving treasure to monastaries and what not is believed to bring on good karmic roots and to over ride some previous negative karma. that's why it's done. for better or worse, the asking of donations at a time of war was supposed to be a way of over turning national karma to keep the chinese out.

 

further more, the above presentions seems to leave out the negative sides of the chinese in tibet, mainly the concentration camps and the cultureal genecide. china remains one of the largest violaters of human rights in the world and i'm not just talking about tibet. most analysts choose to look over this because of the importance the chinese play in the international ecconomy.

 

i have to end it there because i have to run. but let me encourage you to not take what either side of the argument says without thoroughly investigating the issue for your self.

 

Jai Shree Krishna!

[suchandra]

 

i am not quite sure why this is even here except to attack a member of another religion. i think there are some flaw in the basic understanding of tibetan buddhism that weaken the arguments made. firstly the construction of tibetan society and the dalai lama's role.

 

the dalai lama is not the religious leader of tibet, he with a few other lamas is the head of the gelugpa order (there are 4 branches of tibetan buddhism: nyingma (the oldest), kagyupa, sakyapa, and gelugpa) he was not the temporal leader but worked throughout history in conjunction with the tibetan royal family.

 

buddhism has always stressed the importance of the 4 fold sangha (monks, nuns, lay women, and lay men) and in tibet this relationship was unique and at poinst oppressive. none the less doing things like giving treasure to monastaries and what not is believed to bring on good karmic roots and to over ride some previous negative karma. that's why it's done. for better or worse, the asking of donations at a time of war was supposed to be a way of over turning national karma to keep the chinese out.

 

further more, the above presentions seems to leave out the negative sides of the chinese in tibet, mainly the concentration camps and the cultureal genecide. china remains one of the largest violaters of human rights in the world and i'm not just talking about tibet. most analysts choose to look over this because of the importance the chinese play in the international ecconomy.

 

i have to end it there because i have to run. but let me encourage you to not take what either side of the argument says without thoroughly investigating the issue for your self.

 

Jai Shree Krishna!

 

The Dalai Lama might now be well-known but few really know much about him. For example, contrary to widespread belief, he eats meat. He has done so (he claims) on a doctor’s advice following liver complications from hepatitis. When checking with several doctors none would agree that meat consumption is necessary or even desirable for a damaged liver.

 

What has the Dalai Lama actually achieved for Tibetans inside Tibet?

 

If his goal has been independence for Tibet or, more recently, greater autonomy, then he has been a miserable failure.

 

He has kept Tibet on the front pages around the world, but to what end? The main achievement seems to have been to become a celebrity. Possibly, had he stayed quiet, fewer Tibetans might have been tortured, killed and generally suppressed by China.

 

In any event, the current Dalai Lama is 72 years old. His successor — a reincarnation — will be appointed as a child and it will be many years before he plays a meaningful role. As far as China is concerned, that is one problem that will take care of itself, irrespective of whether or not John Howard or Kevin Rudd meet the current Dalai Lama.

[theist]

 

i have to end it there because i have to run. but let me encourage you to not take what either side of the argument says without thoroughly investigating the issue for your self.

 

Good advice from lokesvara. I support the Tibetan cause against China. I even joined their protest against China when the Olympic torch was brought to San Franscisco. I waived a small Tibetan flag and walked with them in the street. Do I support Buddhism? No. I support freedom of thought and religious beliefs. I support the right of atheists not to believe. It's all the same right that was bestowed upon the jiva by Krsna. In fact it is this right that distinquishes the jiva from Krsna. Freedm of thought and desire is sacred.

 

Kickin' on the Dalai Lama. Man that is sad. You don't have to be a perfect man to be a good man and the Dalai Lama is a good man. I've gotten on him for his meat eatting in the past which is anything but compassionate, but he still towers among the vast majority of human kind today in overall good qualities.

 

I would like to add the Tibetan people are the nicest people I have ever met and they still revere the Dalai Lama while in exile so maybe they didn't feel too oppessed.

 

Lokesvara, a few years ago some characters blew through here with a similar campaign against Mother Theresa. They were claiming she was corrupt to the core and hell bent on destroying India's spiritual culture.

 

Pure whack jobs IMO.

[Sarva gattah]

 

Do I support Buddhism? No. I support freedom of thought and religious beliefs. I support the right of atheists not to believe. It's all the same right that was bestowed upon the jiva by Krsna. In fact it is this right that distinquishes the jiva from Krsna. Freedm of thought and desire is sacred.

 

You took the words right out of my mouth! Excellent post

[suchandra]

 

I would like to add the Tibetan people are the nicest people I have ever met and they still revere the Dalai Lama while in exile so maybe they didn't feel too opressed.

 

 

Good points, what seems astonishing, in Tibet, the oldest child is forced against its will when still a child to become a monk - the youngest daughter inherits everything, because she can serve the parents for the longest span of time. Looks according our western law somewhat like the tilted position of violation of human rights.

Similar like the Acoma, Tibet is a matriarchal society and the youngest daughter inherits the home of the parents. After all it is the youngest daughter that most likely will be the best able to care for aging parents.

[Matador30]

 

i am not quite sure why this is even here

 

you mean Dalai Lama is all perfect & cannot be criticised ?

[RadheyRadhey108]

I think he means that he doesn't understand why we're talking about a Buddhist religious figure on a Hindu religious forum.

[theist]

Or on the forum titled Spiritual Discussions.

[lokeshvara]

i didn't know why this topic was posted here for a few reasons. firstly why would such an article be posted on a hindu forum as it seems to only function to cause dirision between religious traditions. then second is why on the spiritual forum. i would venture to say that what the dalai lama does or does not do will not have a direct impact on our spiritual lives. i would also venture to say that the type of compassion you generate towards the suffering of beings will have a direct impact on spiritual life.

 

just my thoughts.

 

JAI SHREE KRISHNA!!!!

[Amlesh]

I don't know much about his spiritual advancement, but 1 thing i still can't understand:

 

If he really wants his country get relief and also if he really wants a solution for his country, he should have been in Tibet not somewhere else.

[theist]

 

I don't know much about his spiritual advancement, but 1 thing i still can't understand:

 

If he really wants his country get relief and also if he really wants a solution for his country, he should have been in Tibet not somewhere else.

 

Well I understand your point but he was a special target of the Chinese. He would have been killed or imprisoned quickly. As it is he has the ear of the world's leaders. How much they listen is another thing.

 

One thing is clear, the Chinese government is hard core demonic.

[theist]

The title of the thread is more instructive if we change the focus from someone else's past to our own. Not only for this life but in our past lives which we think to be well hidden from view. (That's a joke and another topic.) What darkness have we particpated in.

 

No harm in reviewing the past of anyone in a world leadership position like the Dalai Lama as long as we are objective and not too self righteous.

[lokeshvara]

 

I don't know much about his spiritual advancement, but 1 thing i still can't understand:

 

If he really wants his country get relief and also if he really wants a solution for his country, he should have been in Tibet not somewhere else.

 

normally this would be the case and for a few years he had made visits to beijing to negotiate. he eventually fled however because his life was threatened. if he would return to tibet he will probably be killed.

 

case in point: The Panchan Lama. The Panchan Lama is one of the most important posts in gelugpa religious life, he is the teacher of the dalai lama and is responsible for finding where the d.l. reincarnates after he dies. back in the 90's the panchan lama died and they set out on discovering a new one. they found a little boy, around the age of 4. he was living in india and named the panchan lama. the chinese found out and were concerned, this is a cherished political position and could be the determining factor for tibet's future. so what did they do? they kid napped the child lama and named a chinese boy in his place, saying they found the "real" panchan lama. they stole a child and that child has never been seen since. he's been missing for well over a decade. these are the tactics of the chinese and because of this the dalai lama will most likely end the birth succession tradition and go toward elections.

 

interestingly enough about the chinese. in their so called "atheistic" government. they have made laws regulating reincarnation. you now can't reincarnate with the right governmental documentation

 

JAI SHREE KRISHNA!!!

[theist]

 

interestingly enough about the chinese. in their so called "atheistic" government. they have made laws regulating reincarnation. you now can't reincarnate with the right governmental documentation

 

 

WHAT???? Do tell more.

[lokeshvara]

 

WHAT???? Do tell more.

 

yes the gov. was receiving a lot of bad publicity over the panchen lama issue and now that the dalai lama is getting up there in age. the chinese gov. passed laws forbidding reincarnation unless you have government approval. there was an article about it on msnbc but it seems to be gone now. the law made reincarnation illegal lol. they did it probably to delegitimate the dalai lama's reincarnation.

 

lol someone better tell God that China made it illegal:smash:

 

JAI SHREE KRISHNA!!!

[RadheyRadhey108]

 

yes the gov. was receiving a lot of bad publicity over the panchen lama issue and now that the dalai lama is getting up there in age. the chinese gov. passed laws forbidding reincarnation unless you have government approval. there was an article about it on msnbc but it seems to be gone now. the law made reincarnation illegal lol. they did it probably to delegitimate the dalai lama's reincarnation.

 

lol someone better tell God that China made it illegal:smash:

 

JAI SHREE KRISHNA!!!

What are they going to do? Execute those who they suspect of reincarnating? Or are they actually going to go after God, LOL

B/c we already know what God does when the government tries to tell Him what to do:

[theist]

 

yes the gov. was receiving a lot of bad publicity over the panchen lama issue and now that the dalai lama is getting up there in age. the chinese gov. passed laws forbidding reincarnation unless you have government approval. there was an article about it on msnbc but it seems to be gone now. the law made reincarnation illegal lol. they did it probably to delegitimate the dalai lama's reincarnation.

 

lol someone better tell God that China made it illegal:smash:

 

JAI SHREE KRISHNA!!!

 

My Gawd! That is astonishing for it's ignorance not too mention the arrogance. Unbelievable. I looked for a dumbfound icon but couldn't find one.

[theist]

 

What are they going to do? Execute those who they suspect of reincarnating? Or are they actually going to go after God, LOL

B/c we already know what God does when the government tries to tell Him what to do:

 

:rofl:

[RadheyRadhey108]

Hahahaha

[ARJ]

Dear Suchandra, I think there's someone who probably knows more about Tibet's troubled internal situation than that Bhattacharya chick or anyone in here & that someone is none other than the 'Female Buddha'

 

Tibet's only female living Buddha, who is also a top regional official, said she was upset and angered by riots in Lhasa last month, and accused the Dalai Lama of violating Buddhist teachings, state media reported.

 

The twelfth Samding Dorje Phagmo said that since Tibet's incorporation into Communist China it had been transformed from the backwards feudal society of largely illiterate serfs with little medical care that she knew as a child.

 

"Old Tibet was dark and cruel, the serfs lived worse than horses and cattle," she told the official Xinhua agency in an interview published today.

 

Born in 1942, she was chosen as the incarnation of the deity Vajravarahi aged five. Now head of the Samding monastery, she is also vice-chairwoman of the standing committee of the Tibetan Autonomous Regional People's Congress, or regional parliament.

 

She was in Beijing for a meeting of a national consultative body to Parliament when rioting broke out in Lhasa on March 14, after days of monk-led protests.

 

"Watching on television a tiny number of unscrupulous people burning and smashing shops, schools and public property, brandishing knives and sticks to attack unfortunate passers-by I felt boundless surprise, deep heartache and indignant resentment," she said in the interview in Lhasa.

 

China has accused the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, of plotting the riots and unrest that spread across many ethnic Tibetan parts of the country, in a bid to overshadow the Olympic Games and push for independence.

 

"The sins of the Dalai Lama and his followers seriously violate the basic teachings and precepts of Buddhism and seriously damage traditional Tibetan Buddhism's normal order and good reputation," the Samding Dorje Phagmo was quoted as saying - though she did not detail what his transgressions were.

 

The Dalai Lama rejects China's claims, saying he supports the Olympic Games and seeks only greater autonomy for Tibet.

 

Beijing last week offered talks with his aides, after an international chorus urging dialogue. But state media continue to unleash a barrage of criticism of the Dalai Lama or the Tibet he ruled before the arrival of Communist troops in 1950.

 

http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/04/30/Female_Buddha_condemns_Dalai_Lama

 

 

 

I think he means that he doesn't understand why we're talking about a Buddhist religious figure on a Hindu religious forum.

 

Well, don't you consider Buddha as Krishna's avatar

 

as for the 'Spritual Discussions' forum don't you know how the advertising agencies choose the right slots ? I've applied the same principle.

[RadheyRadhey108]

 

Well, don't you consider Buddha as Krishna's avatar

 

You can roll your eyes at me all you want, but, in this area, you roll your eyes at the Bhagavata Purana as well:

"Then, in the beginning of Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Anjana, in the province of Gaya, just for the purpose of deluding those who are envious of the faithful theist."

--Srimad Bhagavata Purana 1.3.24

 

 

as for the 'Spritual Discussions' forum don't you know how the advertising agencies choose the right slots ? I've applied the same principle.

I think the 'World Review' forum would've been better, but I digress.