Letters to the Editor
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Ignorance about Buddhism
Would they be expected to believe their sufferings were merely illusory and passing?
That is indeed standard Buddhist theology (or philosophy, take your pick.) Mr. Bayard may not know much about Buddhism, but he should know that.
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The Dalai Lama is a Chinese leader too
One point that your analysis misses is that a hell of alot of Chinese revere the Dalai Lama as their spiritual leader.
The Tibetan Buddhist meditation centre I attended as token Westerner for 10 years was entirely Chinese and the students were quite hardcore in their convictions compared to most Westerners. I remember once going to a Dalai Lama birthday dinner hosted by the local Chinese community. On pilgrimage in India one notices that besides Tibetans, the largest number of those attending are Chinese.
There is a long history of Tibetan teachers setting up temples and monasteries in China reaching back to the Tang Dynasty. During the Qing Dynasty (the most recent Imperial era) Tibetan Buddhism was close to being a State religion and I have read communications from the 18th Century with the Emperor basing the morality of his actions on the fact that he was following the Dalai Lama's advise whereas a Mongol leader was not. At one point, after Tibetans had wiped out Buddhism in Tibet it was Chinese monks that brought it back.
The repression of Tibet is very much about the repression of China. The PRC has trouble letting up on Tibet precisely because it means giving up control of China. Besides his Buddhist principles, the Dalai Lama cannot attack the Chinese precisely because it means undermining Tibet's greatest friends who are Chinese people themselves.
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Disappointing
It's disappointing to see Salon publish a purportedly scholarly article which demonstrates in one go the author's lack of knowledge of Buddhism in general, his lack of knowledge of Tibetan Buddhism in particular, and his complete misinterpretation of H.H. Dalai Lama's motivations. Because there are young people in Northern India and Tibet who are doing what many young people do and permitting their emotions to determine their actions, the author believes that the spiritual leader of the Tibetan Buddhist community, which encompasses far more than Tibet, should set aside a lifetime of work and practice. How absurd!
The misuse of the term "middle way" and its usurpation into some kind of politico-mumbo-jumboish vernacular is particularly galling, but other opinions may vary. It's ironic that the heavy-handed actions of the Chinese have done so much to spread the Dharma world-wide instead of repressing it, as was their intent.
Try harder, next time, Salon. I know you can do better.
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I think Salon could do better
First off. Anyone with an understanding of Buddhism knows the Dalai Lama is not a God. This is a western term put upon highly revered individuals westerners cannot understand. The Dalai Lama was chosen as the spiritual leader of Tibet and the embodiment of compassion, most political decisions being made by the many councils at the time he was still in Lhasa but his advice was always sought as his take was always thought to be the most compassionate position. He was thrust into the position of political leader in exile when his life was threatened as the Communist Chinese violently invaded and took over Lhasa but as he is completely banned from his native country and the Chinese leaders have yet to allow him an audience, his influence is tempered by the Chinese who are strangling the native Tibetans of their property, beliefs, and way of life.
Two, Christopher Hitchens is not known to be the most balanced or stable people and I would think Salon would know better than to present his half read view of the Dalai Lama's stand, in 98, on India's nuclear tests. Here is what the Dalai Lama actually said:
DHARAMSALA, May 15: Tibetan temporal head Dalai Lama today said as long as some of the major world powers continued to possess nuclear weapons, it was not right to outrightly condemn India's nuclear tests.
``After all India is a large country with its own security perceptions'', he said in his views on nuclear tests conducted by India at Pokhran recently.However, the Dalai Lama said he was saddened to hear about the series of nuclear tests conducted by India.
In his views on India's nuclear tests here today, he said he had always been against the existence and stockpiling of any weapons of mass destruction and had consistently called for the need for efforts to ban nuclear and other weapons with the objective of achieving de-militarisation, ultimately leading to a nuclear-free world. He strongly endorsed the call made by the People's Republic of China, made some years ago, for a ban on nuclear weapons by all countries.
The Tibetan spiritual leader hoped that a situation could be created in that part of the world where countries like India did not need to seek the nuclear option, and instead could concentrate their resources and talents on economic advancement of their people.
Third, Shoko Asahara was a devout Buddhist and head of the Aum Shinrikyo cult in Japan and as an individual gave his Holiness a large donation. This had occurred long before the Aum Shinrikyo cult had harmed anyone. Should we condemn the pope for receiving funds from those yet to go mad?
I found many parts of this article thought provoking but some sections seem like someone's personal screed against The Dalai Lama. I hope those yet to understand what Tibetan Buddhism represents and brings to those that understand it's message, are not turned away by the misrepresentations (I'd tried to point out above) in this article. I hope Salon will work to do better editing and research before allowing such embarrassingly inflammatory "journalism" to ruin their reputation as being a truth teller, ahead of the curve and vital to it's readers.
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Thank you sundari
That was a truly eloquent post.
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To Blank
So you tell me - why is it Tibetans shouldn't rise up? Because they're Buddhist? Sri Lanka has a Buddhist ARMY. Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians are Buddhist.
Not Tibetan Buddhist.
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Buddhism is "bullshit"?
In all the articles I've read in Salon concerning various religions, this is the first one I've read where the author called the heart of the religion in question "bullshit." A high level of discourse these days, eh?
If Bayard had any background at all on the matter he would know that the Dalai Lama does indeed offer counsel to Buddhists who have suffered horrible torture. In fact, he often tells the story of a monk who was imprisoned by the Chinese for eighteen years; after his release and escape from Tibet, the monk was asked whether he ever felt he was in danger. Yes, he said, he was sometimes in danger of losing his compassion for the Chinese.
These are not platitudes, they are means of maintaining one's humanity in the face of horrible circumstances. To call them "bullshit" is an insult to Tibetans and to Buddhists everywhere.