Luminous Wisdom

A Distinct and Ancient Nation

So one may sum up this brief history by saying that Tibet is a distinct and ancient nation, which for many centuries enjoyed a relationship of mutual respect with China. It is true that there were time when China was strong and Tibet was weak, and China invaded Tibet. Similarly, looking farther back into history, there were times when Tibet invaded China. There is no basis whatever in history for the Chinese claim that Tibet was part of China. From 1012 until the fateful year of 1950, Tibet enjoyed complete de facto independence of any other nation, and our legal status is now exactly the same as it was in 1912. That status has been analyzed in the utmost detail in recent years by the International Commission of Jurists, and rather than express my own opinion of it, I will quote the conclusion which that body of distinguished and impartial experts submitted to the United Nations and published in their report on The Question of Tibet and the Rule of Law in 1959:

Tibet’s position on the expulsion of the Chinese in 1912 can fairly be described as one of de facto independence and there are, as explained, strong legal grounds for thinking that any form of legal subservience to China had vanished. It is therefore, submitted that the events of 1911-12 mark the reemergence of Tibet as a fully sovereign state, independent in fact and in law of Chinese control.

My Land and My People; Memoirs of HH the Dalai Lama of Tibet, HH the Dalai Lama

A Meeting Between Equals

Recognizing the power of the Dalai Lama, the Chinese Qing emperor invited him to visit Beijing, which he did in 1652. The newly united Tibet was a rising power in Central Asia, and it is clear that this was a meeting between equals, despite later Chinese interpretations of the event. The Chinese emperor even wished to travel to the border to greet the Dalai Lama, despite standard imperial protocol, which does not admit even the possibility of China having equal diplomatic status with any other country.

Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, John Powers

"Tibetans are a distinct and separate race"

“Before I tell of the disaster which has overtaken Tibet, I must try to give an impression of the life of our people in our happier days.

Tibet has many neighbors: China, Mongolia, East Turkestan in the east and north, and India, Burma, and the states of Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan in the south. Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Soviet Union are also close to us. For many centuries, we have had relationships with several of these neighbors. With India in particular, we have had strong religious ties during the past thousand years; indeed, our alphabet was derived from Sanskrit, because when Buddhism was brought to Tibet from India these was no Tibetan script, and a script was needed so that religious works could be translated and read by Tibetans. We also had religious and political ties with Mongolia and China. And in earlier times we had connections with Persia and eastern Turkey, so that there is still resemblance between Persian and Tibetan dress. In more recent history, about the beginning of the twentieth century, we had political relations with Russia, and after that, for a longer period, with Britain.

But despite these neighborly relationships, Tibetans are a distinct and separate race. Our physical appearance and our language and customs are entirely different from those of any of our neighbors. We have no ethnological connection with anyone else in our part of Asia.”

My Land and My People: The Original Autobiography of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama

World Tibet Day

In honor of the Dalai Lama's 71st birthday on Thursday, I'll be posting Dalai Lama quotes, news, and information every day for the month of July.

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World Tibet Day (WTD) was initiated in Chicago in 1997 at an informal meeting between Tendzin Choegyal, the Dalai Lama's younger brother and Richard Rosenkranz, a Pulitzer Prize nominee in history and a former correspondent from the US Senate Rosenkranz proposed the concept of WTD, saying it could become an annual worldwide event, designed to help the Tibetan people regain essential freedoms. He also suggested this event could be a way to showcase and celebrate the unique value of Tibetan culture and thought. Enthusiastic about the idea, Tendzin Choegyal suggested WTD should be held in July, linked to his brother's birthday in order to increase potential support among Tibetans. Believing that the proposed event held great promise, they offered the idea to His Holiness who gave them his blessing and his warm support.

WTD is founded with three main goals: first to create an annual worldwide event to help restore essential freedoms for those living in occupied Tibet; second to increase awareness of the genocidal threats to the Tibetan people; and third, to celebrate the unique beauty and value of Tibetan culture and thought.

Find out more at World Tibet Day, Friends of Tibet, and their blog.

Discovered via The Blogging Times. Thank you!

tags technorati : World_Tibet_Day Dalai_Lama Free_Tibet Bloggers_for_World_Tibet_Day Friends_of_Tibet

Tibetan Warrior Nuns

Sujatin has posted this heart-wrenching article about a nomadic Tibetan nun risking her life under Chinese rule.

It reminded me of a post I've had in "draft" status for awhile. May I become like these women in their depth of courage and compassion.

After twenty-one years in detention, Ani Pachen, a Tibetan princess, nun, and member of the resistance, was held in darkness for nine months. Only the birdsong that penetrated her cell allowed her to tell day from night. She insisted that while she certainly was not "happy" in the usual sense of the word, she was able to sustain the main aspects of sukha [lasting well-being] by looking within and relating again and again to her meditation practice and to her spiritual teacher, by contemplating the meaning of impermanence and the laws of cause and effect, and by becoming more aware than ever of the devastating consequences of hatred, greed, and lack of compassion.

From Matthieu Ricard, Happiness / A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill
[based on: Ani Pachen and A. Donnelly, Sorrow Mountain: The Journey of a Tibetan Warrior Nun

tags technorati : Tibet warrior nun China Buddhism