Tibetan Headlines
Dec 30: His Holiness in Bodh Gaya
His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave a three-day teaching on Commentary on Bodhicitta (awakening the mind) at Kalachakra Teaching Ground in Bodhgaya in Bihar. More than 70,000 people from 60 countries joined devotees from India and Nepal to attend. “This, the Seat of Enlightenment, is the most sacred of the sites associated with the Buddha” said His Holiness, “elsewhere he taught the Four Noble Truths and the Thirty-seven Harmonies of Enlightenment, but here we are reminded of the essence of all his teachings, which is to discipline the mind for the benefit of sentient beings”. His Holiness continued, “Listen to and study the Buddha’s teachings. Reflect on them over and over again, then meditate on what you’ve understood. Be determined to work for the welfare of others. This is how you will reach the domain of the enlightened ones. If you have bodhichitta within, you’ll be at peace.”
Dec 30: Restrictions in Nepal?
There is concern that Tibetan refugees living in Nepal will be subject to continued restrictions on their movements and political activities under Nepal’s new prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also called Prachanda, who is a former Maoist guerrilla leader reported as being close to China. Radio Free Asia quotes a Nepal policy expert as saying that every political party and leader in power has adhered to Nepal’s One-China policy.
Dec 30: Chinese Spy?
A Chinese woman was detained in Bodh Gaya following an “extensive 24-hour manhunt” on suspicion of spying for China, say the Bihar police, who named her as Song Xiaolan and circulated a sketch of her. They had reported that she was “under custody and is being interrogated”. However Sky News has now reported that she is “a staunch follower” of HH the Dalai Lama who had overstayed her visa and will be extradited back to China.
Dec 28: US Lawmakers Protest
United States Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Jim McGovern have written to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights calling on the UN to investigate China’s policy of separating Tibetan children from their parents and sending them to state-run boarding schools. They said around 80% of Tibetan children are now being taught a “highly politicised curriculum”, referring to this policy as “serious human rights violations and cultural and linguistic erasure".
Dec 28: Concern For 4 Women Detainees
Concern is growing for four Tibetan women detained for protesting against the Covid lockdowns in Kham [Ch: Sichuan], reports Radio Free Asia, who quote their local sources as saying that the reason for their arrests, and their whereabouts, are still unknown. The four, who were arrested earlier this month, are Zamkar, Kelsang Dolma, Dechen and Delha, and are believed to be held somewhere in Kardze.
Dec 28: International Exchange Programme
His Holiness the Dalai Lama presided over the inauguration of the Pali and Sanskrit International Bhikkhu Exchange Programme at the Wat-pa Thai Temple in Bodh Gaya. The five-year exchange programme has been set up in line with His Holiness’s commitment to promote human values, encourage harmony among the world’s religions, ensure the preservation of Tibetan culture and to prompt a revival of awareness of the value of ancient Indian knowledge.
Dec 26: China Retaliates
China has sanctioned two Americans in retaliation against the US's own sanction earlier this month against two Chinese officials over human rights violations in Tibet. The two Americans are Todd Stein, US Congressional-Executive Commission on China and Miles Yu, a historian. The Chinese government has frozen their Chinese assets, banned them and their families from entering the country, and banned any Chinese individual or organisation from engaging with them.
Dec 23: Lone Peaceful Protest
Gonpo Kyi, the sister of Tibetan businessman Dorjee Tashi, a political prisoner who is serving a life sentence, has once again been detained after staging a protest outside a courthouse in Lhasa. She stood for around 15 minutes with a placard saying “Dorjee Tashi is innocent”. He is a well-known and respected philanthropist. The International Campaign for Tibet is calling for his release.
Dec 23: Buddhists Object
The Indian Himalayan Council of the Nalanda Buddhist Tradition has stated its intention not to support a successor to His Holiness the Dalai Lama appointed by China, reports Radio Free Asia. “The people of the Himalayas will never accept” a successor appointed by the government of the People's Republic of China, and will “never pay devotional obeisance to such a political appointee”, and will “publicly denounce such a move by anyone".
Dec 23: Agyal Tsering
Agyal Tsering, 71, a monk from Tehor Dhargay Monastery and a former political prisoner, has died. He was first arrested in 1990, spending 18 months in prison, where he was tortured, for distributing books and leaflets. He was arrested with two others in 1999 sparking a 3,000 strong protest demanding their release; this resulted in police shootings and arrests. He was born in Rongpa Tsajori village in Kham.
Dec 22: Bipartisan Tibet Bill
The bipartisan Tibet bill, Promoting a Resolution to Tibet–China Conflict, was introduced in the United States Senate, making it US policy that the US that the conflict between Tibet and China is unresolved, and the legal status of Tibet remains to be determined in accordance with international law. The bill was introduced by three US Senators, Jeff Merkley, Senator Todd Young and Senator Patrick Leahy.
Dec 22: Educating Heart and Mind
His Holiness the Dalai Lama spoke to over 6,000 students from 58 schools under the Salwan Education Trust in Gurugram, Haryana, in an interactive session. He stressed the importance of educating the heart and mind, inspired by the ancient Indian knowledge of ahimsa and karuna which, he said, is lacking in the modern education system. Cultivating compassion for life was the key message of his speech.
Dec 20: Monk Sentenced
Monlam Gyatso, a Tibetan monk from Serta county in Kardze, who has been held incommunicado, in detention for over a year, has been sentenced to three years in prison. He had taken part in a campaign to discourage people from killing and selling animals, reports Radio Free Asia, whose local source said he and his fellow campaigners are accused of “disrupting the ecosystem and livelihoods of the residents.”
Dec 20: Covid Death
The two-year-old grandchild of the well-known Tibetan businessman and philanthropist Nangchen Tashi, who has been detained and persecuted by the Chinese authorities, has died of Covid. The whole family was taken into a Covid quarantine facility despite all being healthy and Covid free. The child contracted Covid, was denied proper medical care and died of the virus, reports the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy who are calling for accountability.
Dec 20: Condemning China
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) has called on their respective governments to investigate and suspend commercial activities with companies providing China with technologies to carry out mass DNA collection in Tibet and East Turkistan [Ch: Xinjiang]. IPAC is an international cross-party group of legislators working towards reform on how democratic countries approach China, led by senior politicians drawn from a representative cross-section of the world’s major political parties.