After our long struggle for liberation, South Africa has placed economics above our hard won progressive stand for human rights and plain down right decency toward our fellow human beings. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is an international icon of peace and compassion - objectively it makes no sense at all to ban such a person from any country. Personally, His Holiness the Dalai Lama is my spiritual leader and I feel very sad that my country has slammed its door closed in the face of someone so precious. I realise, in order not to feel loss and bereavement, that which I call home can no longer be limited to the soil on which I stand but has to expand to the place of my heart. We should all follow the example of His Holiness and embrace all beings lovingly. I hope the people governing the place where I was born will soon learn from their error, open their hearts and allow their actions to be governed by loving kindness rather than fear.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
The place which is home
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Invitation to South Africans: Peace and Compassion March
Please circulate to your South African mailing lists...
... and those in other countries: Perhaps you'd like to organise a Peace and Compassion March too?
PEACE AND COMPASSION MARCH
DATE: Sunday, 17 May 2009
TIME: 10h00
STARTING POINT: Gandhi Square (Cnr Rissik St & Fox St Johannesburg)
ROUTE: Gandhi Square to Mandela Bridge and back to Gandhi Square (approximately 4km. See map below): Ghandi Square, Rissik St, left into Jeppe St, right into West and onto Mandela Bridge.
GUEST SPEAKERS:
Sonam Tenzing; Office of Tibet, South Africa
An invitation has also been extended to a human rights speaker and to The Honourable Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu to address the Peace and Compassion Marchers. If unable to to address the marchers in person, he will hopefully forward us a letter which can be read on the day.
WHO IS INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PEACE AND COMPASSION MARCH: Everyone who wishes to uphold and undertake the march’s theme of Peace and Compassion! Including human rights organisations - all individuals, groups and organisations who support the theme of Peace and Compassion will be welcomed.
MEMORANDUM: Organisations are welcome to send in their own memorandums to be attached to the general memorandum of the Peace and Compassion March. Memorandums should be in keeping with the spirit of the theme of the Peace and Compassion March. Deadline for submitting memorandums: 5 May 2009. Please make arrangements by calling Anna: 072 387 3900 or Elizabeth: 031 7014307.
PEACE AND COMPASSION MARCH MEMORANDUM:
On the 17 March 2009 we are marching in the spirit of Peace and Compassion.We call on South Africa to:
We are members of the general public and also specific groups and organisations.
We uphold and practice the principle of Peace and Compassion and undertake to do all we can to foster this principle within our immediate society and the world at large.
This march is our statement of our commitment to the practice of Peace and Compassion.
We are aware that as long as there is suffering in the heart of even one individual, there will be no peace on earth.
In many countries around the world, such as Tibet, Burma, most countries in Africa and many others, we see great strife either from natural disasters or from violence and warfare implemented by our fellow human beings.
- take steps toward demilitarisation and set an example of non violence to the rest of the world.
- take steps to end violence, strife and suffering where it is found, in our country, continent and the world.
- ensure there are no children to be found on our streets and all homeless children be cared for in a place of safety.
- take every step possible to take care of the sick and aged.
- ensure those without employment receive food and shelter.
WHAT YOU NEED TO BEING:
- Please being water to drink and if necessary, a snack for sustenance while walking (please do not litter).
- comfortable walking shoes
- comfortable clothing. It may be cold so please ensure you will be warm enough
- Peace and Compassion marchers may carry banners, etc appropriate to the theme of Peace and Compassion. Banners can be related to any points in the memorandum and human rights issues and if deemed necessary, can express disappointment at SA government's recent decision of not issuing visa to His Holiness the Dalai Lama to travel to SA to attend the 'postponed' Peace Conference. Those representing organisations may carry their own organisational banners and further can express anything pertaining the Peace and Compassion theme. All banners, etc must worded in language appropriate to the theme of the march ie; NO aggressive, abusive, angry language or tone. We reserve the right to remove banners that are seen as inappropriate to the theme of the march.
- This march is our statement of commitment to the practice of Peace and Compassion. Marchers are requested to come prepared with an inspirational quotation, piece of writing or picture relating to the theme of Peace and Compassion, in a letter or on a card. On the day of the march everyone will exchange their letter or card with a stranger who is also participating in the march. This exchange will be a gift and also a bonding with someone we do not know but who shares our vision in their unique way.
MORE ABOUT THE PEACE AND COMPASSION MARCH:
- The march has been organised under the auspices of the TSSA (Tibet Society of South Africa) but is not an event exclusive to this organisation and is open to ALL who wish to uphold the principles of Peace and Compassion to march in their own right as individuals or to represent their organisation.
- Generally, May 17 can be seen as a symbolic day where we can bring to our awareness, the suffering of others and set the intention to bring about change by firmly committing to uphold the attitude and practice of Peace and Compassion in our lives. This was the date when Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was abducted by the Communist Chinese Government in 1995. Aged six years old at the time, he was effectively the world’s youngest political prisoner. Panchen Lama, now a young man, is still under arrest and little if anything is known about him and his well being.
- TSSA ‘Peace in Tibet’ t-shirts can be ordered by those who wish to wear these on the day of the march. Please see t-shirt order details below
- Due to the march taking place on a Sunday, our memorandum’s will faxed by the march organisers, (rather than handed over): To His Excellency the President Kgalema Motlanthe (this mail has been compiled before the upcoming elections – memorandums will address the current president of South Africa) and copied to: UN Secretary-General Banki-Moon and the European Union Representative in Pretoria and the Chinese Embassy in Pretoria.
OTHER MEMORANDUMS
Memorandums of individual human rights and other organisations will be attached to the Peace and Compassion March’s memorandum.
Memorandum submitted by TSSA:
Tibet Society of South Africa (TSSA), calls for:
a) the unconditional release of Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his immediate family members, who have been under house arrest/captivity for more than 13 years, and calling on the PRC government to allow access to Panchen Lama by UN representatives;
b) the release of Tibetan political prisoners, who participated in peaceful protests/demonstrations;
c) independent international bodies/organizations to investigate the real conditions and situation inside Tibet;
d) the PRC government to allow foreign media to travel to Tibet for an 'unbiased' reporting of the actual situation; African leaders, including South Africa to urge PRC government to allow foreign journalists access to all parts of Tibet, without fear and conditions;
e) African leaders, including South African leaders, to urge PRC leadership to resolve the issue of Tibet through dialogue. To this end, the African leaders can urge the PRC leadership to discuss the recent proposal submitted by His Holiness' Envoys entitled : "Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People" with sincerity (proposal submitted to the Chinese leaders on October 31, 2008 in Beijing)
FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO ORDER ‘PEACE IN TIBET’ T-SHIRTS:
Kindly complete the following form & return it to cormkt@mweb.co.za before 5 May, 2009 so that the t-shirts can be ordered on-time. T-shirts will be issued on the morning of the march. Kindly bring correct payment.
NAME: ...................................
CONTACT TEL NR: ....................................
NUMBER OF T-SHIRTS REQUIRED: ………………..
SIZES:
Quantity / Size:
............. small
............. medium
.............. large
............... XL
............... XXL
Cost of the t-shirt R55.00 X ............... = TOTAL: ...............................
NB: If for some reason you cannot attend on the day and we have ordered you a t-shirt, won’t you please commit to paying for it so that we are not left with a large account to pay. Thank you!
Kindest regards
Peace and Compassion March organisers
If you have enquiries please contact:
Chris Kudla, Chairperson Tibet Society of SA; 031 2668 182 - office hours
Elizabeth Gaywood, Co-ordinator TSSA; 031 7014 307 - after hours
Or Anna Varney-Wong, on behalf of Peace and Compassion March organisers; info@hummingbirds.co.za
The Kingdom of Lost Boy
Generally, May 17 can be seen as a symbolic day where we can bring to our awareness to the suffering of others and set the intention to bring about change by firmly committing to uphold the attitude and practice of Peace and Compassion in our lives. This was the date when Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was abducted by the Communist Chinese Government in 1995. Aged six years old at the time, he was effectively the world’s youngest political prisoner. Panchen Lama, now a young man, is still under arrest and little if anything is known about him and his well being.
The Kingdom of Lost Boy 1
The Kingdom of Lost Boy 2
The Kingdom of Lost Boy 3
The Kingdom of Lost Boy 4
The Kingdom of Lost Boy 5
The Kingdom of Lost Boy 6
------
Brief Introduction (obtained from the YouTube videos: The Kingdom of Lost Boy)
In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, it is believed that several years after the death of select religious leaders their reincarnations can be identified as young children. These young children, or tulkus, are immersed in a rigorous 20-year education that facilitates their spiritual growth and transfers the rich knowledge of their spiritual lineage from generation to generation.
Thus, the story of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima begins long before he was born. His story stretches across the generations to when the lineage of the Panchen Lama was founded.
Background
In the 15th Century, the 1st Dalai Lama established a vibrant monastery called Tashi Lhunpo in the Tibetan city of Shigatse, just west of the capital city of Lhasa. Two hundred years later, when the 5th Dalai Lama was a young boy, the abbot of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery (Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen) guided his spiritual upbringing as a Buddhist monk and scholar. History says that when the abbot died, the Dalai Lama (also known as the Great Fifth) dedicated the Monastery to his late teacher declaring that he would reincarnate again and again, and that each successor would be known as the holder of the Panchen Lama lineage (the term Pan-chen means "great scholar" in Tibetan).
As a further token of his respect, the Great Fifth offered his former teacher gifts of the Tashi Lhunpo monastery and vast tracks of surrounding land. The 1st Dalai Lama had originally established the monastery in 1447 and it was an enormously influential center of spiritual learning. Following the Great Fifth's statements and offerings a young Panchen Lama was identified as a child and grew up to fulfill his role. Thus began the lineage of the Panchen Lama at the Tashi Lhunpo monastery.
Traditionally, the Dalai Lama is both the secular head of the country as well as the spiritual leader. He is believed to be the emanation of Avalokisteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion. The Panchen Lama or "Great Scholar" plays primarily a religious role. He is believed to be an emanation of Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light.
Over the course of history the Panchen Lama became one of the foremost teachers and leaders in Tibetan Buddhism. In Tibet he is seen as second in importance and influence only to the Dalai Lama.
The Panchen Lama also shares a very unique and special relationship with the Dalai Lama. Tibetans sometimes refer to whoever is the elder lama as the "spiritual father" and the younger lama as the "spiritual son." Tibetans also refer to the Dalai Lama as the spiritual "sun" to the Panchen Lama's "moon." The elder lama gives Buddhist teachings and initiations to the younger one. For generations, the Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama maintained this unique teacher-disciple relationship of the elder mentoring the younger. The elder lama may also help find and identify the reincarnation of the younger.
For generations, the Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama maintained their unique teacher-disciple relationship of the elder mentoring the younger. Successive rulers of British India and China have quite often tried to use the good offices of the Panchen Lama to gain a political foothold in Tibet. When such efforts failed, the foreigners (especially the rulers from China) have attempted to create a division between the institutions of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama.
The 10th Panchen Lama
When the 10th Panchen Lama, Lobsang Trinley Choekyi Gyaltsen, was born in 1938, Tibet was an independent country and the 14th Dalai Lama was just a young boy. The two tulkus were forced to mature quickly as the political situation in Tibet steadily worsened upon the Chinese invasion of eastern Tibet in 1949, the ensuing occupation, and the eventual annexation in 1959. This was the year that the His Holiness the Dalai Lama, his life in danger, was forced to flee into exile with 80,000 of his people. The Panchen Lama, a young man of 21, stayed in Tibet and was appointed by the Communist Party as the acting chairman of the Preparatory Committee. He spent the next thirty years of his life traveling between Tibet and Beijing, gathering first hand information of the reality of the situation for Tibetans under Chinese rule. The Panchen Lama's observations during this tour formed the basis of his famous 70,000-character petition, which eventually triggered his condemnation and imprisonment by the Chinese government.
As the second most revered religious figure in Tibetan Buddhism and the most venerated lama remaining in Tibet after the Chinese invasion in 1949, the 10th Panchen Lama's death at 50 years of age was a blow to the Tibetan nation. And though there is mystery shrouding his death, no one could fully investigate what occurred in this Chinese occupied land.
The Search for the 11th Panchen Lama
But the story of the 10th Panchen Lama does not end with his death as reincarnation continues this story to the birth of the 11th Panchen Lama. Traditionally, H.H. the Dalai Lama identifies the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama and guides his training through adulthood. But exiled in India, H.H. the Dalai Lama was not permitted by the Chinese government to contact the search party. This delayed the search, usually performed only two years after the death of a lama.
Finally a search party was formed with Chatral Rinpoche, the acting abbot of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, as the head of the Chinese official search party. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the Panchen Lama identification team is made up of high-level lamas from the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. Their guidance comes in the form of visions that prophetically direct their search to the true reincarnation. Following these mystical signs, the lama's test the most likely candidates by asking them to identify personal objects owned by the previous Panchen Lama. Oracles are then consulted and divinations performed to reconfirm the final candidate. H.H. the Dalai Lama himself normally carries out these final steps.
The search party compiled a list of numerous young boys whom could be the possible successor of the 10th Panchen Lama. Through hidden contact, H.H. the Dalai Lama received information and photographs of these boys. From his divinations, he identified and proclaimed Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama on May 14, 1995.
By May 17, 1995, the six year-old boy and his parents disappeared from their home, reportedly taken into Chinese police custody for their protection. Denouncing H.H. the Dalai Lama's proclamation as illegitimate, the Chinese authorities drew lots from a golden urn to select their own Panchen Lama on November 29, 1995. Six year-old Gyaltsen Norbu was selected and subsequently enthroned on December 8, 1995 sparking off massive protests all over Tibet.
To validate their authority in choosing the Panchen Lama, the Communist government cites a recommendation made in 1792 by the Manchu rulers to the Tibetan Government. The Manchus (the monarchy government of China from 1644 - 1912 made up of non-ethnic Chinese rulers) suggested that in selecting high lamas the Tibetans should institute a lottery, which was referred to as the Golden Urn system. One name would be chosen and then forwarded to the Chinese Central Government for final approval.
The Tibetans have asserted all along that a lottery system should be used when there are two very good candidates - making it difficult to choose between them - and, that they have their own lottery system which predates the Manchu recommendation. But, more importantly, the Tibetans also assert that H.H. the Dalai Lama should have a role in identifying the Panchen Lama.
Now that the 11th Panchen Lama is held in detention at an unknown location, Tibetans and supporters of religious freedom around the world are concerned about his physical welfare and spiritual upbringing. Tibetan traditions require that the Panchen Lama receive the care and instruction at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery for his well-being and proper religious education. Despite worldwide appeals, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his parents remain in detention. China has refused to provide information of their location or condition and will not allow any independent observer to see them.
------------------------------
Further reading:
A collection of news articles on the current Panchen Lama from The Office of Tibet.
http://www.tibet.com/PL/index.html
Vigil
http://www.freepanchenlama.org
Students for a Free tibet
http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?list=type&type=16
Thursday, April 2, 2009
South Africa - a REAL trail blazer!
Have you seen that South Africa is a REAL trail blazer?
http://silverscorpio.com/new-zealand-chinese-groups-want-ban-on-dalai-lamas-visit/#comment-11383
“Now is the time!”
I remember that power filled South African liberation cry!
It always applies.
Change is still imperative
I remember the days
when South Africans decided to bow to no one,
except Liberation…
Change requires
one not to be lethargic
- not to be a mere arm chair talker
I would so love Bishop Tutu for president! What an amazing being he is!
It's not such a crazy idea to have a holy man as president
- the Tibetans do...
maybe some day people will realise this is the way to go
- and have a president with real heart morality.
May all beings practice love and compassion.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/270266#tab=comments
Friday, August 22, 2008
Peace of Mind
we are manifestations
of one mind...
animosity is like
inner conflict
...there can be no peace of mind
while it exists...
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Tibet
Om
Om is the primeval sound, the sound of the universe, the sound from which all other sounds are formed; the sound of creation
Shanti
Shanti means peace
Ahimsa
Ahimsa is a Sanskrit word for non-violence
there can be no peace on earth
until there is peace within
until we embrace all without exception
there can be no peace
Om shanti shanti shanti
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