Letters to the Editor
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Non-resistence does not work in all cases
"The simple fact is that non-violent means do not work against Evil. Gandhi's non-violent resistance against the British occupiers had some effect because Britain was wrong, but not Evil. The same is true of the success of non-violent civil rights resistance against de jure racism. Most people, including those in power, knew that what was being done was wrong. But Evil is an entirely different beast. Gandhi would have gone to the ovens had he attempted non-violent resistance against the Nazis. When one encounters Evil, the only solution is violence, actual or threatened. That's all Evil understands."
-- Robert Bruce Thompson
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Can we knock it off with the 'Japanese Zen-fascism'?
The sect that supported the Japanese generals was Nichiren. Not that Zen was a stranger to warriors (samurai were its biggest clients and benefactors) but the Zen Buddhists didn't support either kamikaze raids or Japanese fascism.
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quick study! Chinese girl!
the last time you posted you were a mere troll, now you are a concern troll. big move up. (a true concern troll does not use discernable sarcasm though). for the arrogant han, these are easy concepts to put into practice, just close your eyes and imagine you are making money.
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hi raymundohpl! nice to see you again
you are being sincere this time and i am not going to gainsay you. who knows? anything can happen, but it's hard to see how Tibet can ever achieve autonomy - not in this lifetime.
nor can i see how "Palestinian Tactics" can work. you must remember that outside "palestine" are a billion co-religionists and several hundred million ethnic arabs, many with billions of barrels of oil and their own agendae.
the tibetans resemble, to me, nothing so much as the Judaeans after being conquered by Rome two millennia ago. two of their (uglier) children became important later and they even got their land back (of course, there are (still and forever) some ugly fights with The Squatters).
So? my suggestion? Keep Dharmsala as a monastery, give scholarships to the best and keep the religion alive (i think it's a worthy one). This means that the Dalai Lama Can NOT give up - he must keep the tradition going - including finding the next (male) incarnation. but even if the reincarnated need to be replaced by teachers ("rabbis"), Scholarship MUST continue - it might need to exist for several thousand years before a home can be found. -
One Good Man Still Standing.
What more can the Dalai Lama do? He's a leader in exile, and even his photo isn't allowed to be displayed in Tibet. His people are ruled by tyranny, and it's a very strong tyrant. The Dalai Lama has said he'll talk directly to the Chinese regime, and is appealing to the world to put pressure on China to stop the oppression and cultural genocide of his people. What will the world do? In real, meaningful terms, diddly squat is what it'll do. Because its own interests are at stake, because Politics means swallowing ones principles and morals if it's for the economic benefit of its citizens. So the Dalai Lama stands out like a beacon on a dark night, because he doesn't take the narrow nationalist view, he takes a long term humanitarian view. Resistance, especially violent resistance, isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially if the oppressors are armed and determined. After all, have the Palestinians, for example, gained anything, really?
Would it have made any difference if he'd asked the Tibetans to resist? How can those poor people, with so few resources, win against such a brutal regime? The Dalai Lama has done his best to raise Tibet's profile, and disseminate the teachings of compassion and peace. So please, let there be One Good Man left who still preaches non-violence, and walks the talk.
In the meantime, a lot can happen. It's the Olympics soon.
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Seduced by nationalism
Take a paragraph from the article and do a little word substitution:
Not a single nation currently recognizes the Hamas government in Gaza, and their long-standing policy of violence and aggression has failed to dislodge Gaza's occupiers by so much as a square inch [and please don't make the ridiculous argument that Israel's "withdrawal" from Gaza has ended its occupation.]
Let's stay away from the emotional arguments about who is right or wrong in the Israel/Palestine conflict. Let's focus on this point: violence is not necessarily any more effective than non-violence in achieving "independence." What violence does achieve is the killing of more innocents. The Chinese merchants did not deserve to be killed or have their livelihood destroyed by rioting Tibetans, no matter how just their grievances. The Dalai Lama, being a moral man, and not a nationalist, says no to violence. I'm with him.
Nationalism is the disease of the 19th century. We should have cured that disease long ago. But somehow, even people who consider themselves "liberals" are seduced by it. What is the meaning of independence? Mao fought for the independence of China and he won. And what did the Chinese get? Freedom? No. Just another type of oppression, except this one was led by someone Chinese. Big f-ing deal! The list can go on and on. To take a recent example, the newly independent Kosovo is led by war criminals who traffic in drugs and its citizen's daughters. What an improvement that is for the long-suffering people of Kosovo!
I'm not a Buddhist but I agree with the Dalai Lama. My creed is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To paraphrase what I wrote elsewhere on this topic:
Whatever the initial injustice might be, the clock can't be turned back. Tibetan or Palestinian nationalism is not the proper response to Chinese or Israeli land grabs. There is an appropriate response both for people involved in the conflict, and those of us around the world who are not directly involved. The response is to demand equal human rights and human dignity for ALL people. Serbs and Kosovars, Jews and Arabs, Tibetans and Chinese (to name just a few peoples suffering from conflict) all deserve to lead a life of dignity, free of violence and fear. We all need to be saying: "Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world."
And yes, there is no easy path, no quick fix. to achieve this goal. The most anyone can attempt to achieve, is to leave this world slightly better than when you first arrived. The Dalai Lama will leave this world far better off for his having been amongst us. Those young Tibetan hot heads have nothing on him.