"FREE TIBET" Norwegian protest against china!

Chinese army crashed Tibetans!!!


The Chinese ambassy will not meet or talk,or give comment now to Norway goverment.. what is this??
What kind of "kid" are this?

Chinese police kill Tibetian people.. What kind of people are behind the chinese police?
Let us support the Tibetian people,registrate you on this forum today,and let us fellow this situation.
STOP KILLING!

Can "Jesus" help Tibet people to get freedom?
And can we like Christian people help.I think so.This peace full people.Let us collect more people,more wisdom
( Dalai Lama means Ocean of Wisdom).

Contact with the West
Unlike his predecessors, His Holiness has met and talked with many Westerners and has visited the United States, Canada, Western Europe, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Mongolia, Greece, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Nepal, Costa Rica, Mexico, the Vatican, China and Australia. He has met with religious leaders from all these countries.

His Holiness met with the late Pope Paul VI at the Vatican in 1973, and with His Holiness Pope John Paul II in 1980, 1982, 1986 and 1988. At a press conference in Rome, His Holiness the Dalai Lama outlined his hopes for the meeting with John Paul II: "We live in a period of great crisis, a period of troubling world developments. It is not possible to find peace in the soul without security and harmony between the people. For this reason, I look forward with faith and hope to my meeting with the Holy Father; to an exchange of ideas and feelings, and to his suggestions, so as to open the door to a progressive pacification between people.".

Read more on: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1989/lama-bio.html

Add/ reply and write and tell about Tibet and add link with info.

Admin

Khenpo Jinpa, a monk from Chogtsang Talung Monastery in Serthar County, Kardze "Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture" ("TAP"), Sichuan, has been sentenced to three years prison term by the Kardze People's Intermediate Court on 16 July 2007, according to confirm information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD). He was charged of endangering the state security by "anti-government propaganda and incitement of masses".

On 8 August 2005, political leaflets calling for Tibetan independence and the Dalai Lama's long life were in distribution at the Serthar County festival ground. The Public Security Bureau (PSB) upon investigation into the incident suspected Khenpo Jinpa of carrying the activity. On 23 August 2006, three PSB officers arrived at Chogtsang Talung monastery and took him away to a detention centre in Dartsedo County. Three days later ten vehicles full of PSB officers arrived at the monastery. The officers broke the lock at Khenpo Jinpa's room and went on a rampage looking for evidence.

In the morning of 4 November 2006, the PSB brought Khenpo Jinpa to the location of the alleged crime in Serthar County and took pictures of the scene. Earlier some individuals suspected of working with him were also briefly detained for ten to fifteen days for interrogations. Subsequently on 16 July 2007 Kardze People's Intermediate Court sentenced him to three years' imprisonment term. He was later transferred to a prison (Tib: Ra-nga-kha Prison) in Dartsedo County, Kardze "TAP" and continues to be imprisoned there till date.

Khenpo Jinpa, 37 years old, was born to a nomadic family in Donchen Village, Dartse Township, Serthar County. He was ordained as a monk at the Chogtsang Talung Monastery at a young age. In 1992 he joined the Serthar Buddhist Institute in Larung Valley where he studied and mastered the Buddhist text. Eight years later he returned to his original monastery and undertook the responsibility as the abbot of the Chogtsang Talung Monastery. The monastery has an enrollment of about a thousand monks.

In the summer and autumn of 2001, hundreds of monks' huts at the Serthar Buddhist Institute were destroyed by the People's Armed Police and a ceiling of thousand monks was imposed against the total enrollment of about ten thousand. The then Chief Abbot of the institute, Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, was held in incommunicado detention for a year. Khenpo died under mysterious circumstances in January 2004.

more info: Visit at : www.phayul.com

Kathmandu, February 24 - A 27 year-old Tibetan man was arrested by Nepal Police from the Tibetan Reception Center last night around 10.30PM. The man, identified as Tsering Dhondup, was from Bayan County, Amdo Region/Qinghai Province of Tibet. Nepal Police arrested Dhondup without any arrest warrant and without informing the Center, UNHCR and Lutherin World Foundation, the partners running the Center.

According to an eyewitness, at around 10 PM, about 50-60 soldiers from the Armed Police Force, District Police, Metropolitan Police and Swoyambu Ward Police came in six vehicles, surrounded the Tibetan Reception Center in Ichangu, Kathmandu and secured the area, several soldiers then questioned three boys right outside the Center, the boys later showed the Center and were allowed to walk away. Then, several soldiers barged into the Center and proceeded right to the bed of Tsering Dhondup in the Dormitory. The soldiers appeared to have exact information of his whereabouts. Dhondup was taken to the Hanuman Dhoka Police Post in Kathmandu City Center where he was detained for the night. This morning he was handed over to the Immigration Department at Bhrikuti Mandap.

Some officials at the Center requested the soldiers to give reason for the arrest but were told to find out from Hanuman Dhoka Police Post the next morning. Another eyewitness heard that the matter has some links with the Chinese Embassy here in Kathmandu. The eyewitness also said that some soldiers were carrying photo copied picture of Tsering Dhondup.

This morning, an official of the Tibetan Reception Center went to the Immigration Department to meet Tsering Dhondup and Nepali officials. The official recalled Tsering Dhondup saying that he had a fight with a Chinese man before leaving Tibet. He arrived at the Tibetan Reception Center on 4th February 2008. The official also said that the Director of Immigration was not available in his office for an explanation for the arrest. Tsering Dhondup might be deported/extradited back to Tibet if he were a fugitive. However, the exact reasons for his arrest is not clear. He is currently detained at the Immigration Center at Bhrikuti Mandap, Kathmandu.

Dear please please try to send this message all over world.

Here i am crying 100 time each day what can i do or No one could not see and No one know how many Tibetan people getting touble unber the Chinese rule.
i am really sorry for boring messages to you all each day.

Please don't forget to Log on to: www.phayul.com

Thank you!

Karma Leshey, Beijing


NEWS from CNN International:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/14/tibet.unrest/index.html

Protesters set fire to vehicles and shops in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa on Friday, as tear gas filled the streets and gunfire rang out, a witness told CNN.


Drepung Monastery, seen in November, was sealed off after a celebration of the U.S. honor of the Dalai Lama.
4 of 4 Roughly 1,000 people hurled rocks and concrete at security forces, demolishing military trucks and pushing back riot police, the witness said.

Protesters appeared to be targeting shops and vehicles owned by Han Chinese, the predominant ethnic group in China.

A main market in the capital was set on fire, and some Tibetans were hospitalized with serious injuries, according to Kate Saunders, a spokeswoman for the International Campaign for Tibet, which promotes human rights and democratic freedom in Tibet.

Friday's violence appears to have started when police tried to stop a peaceful protest by monks at Ramoche Temple, Tashi Choephel of the Tibetan Center for Human Rights told CNN from Dharamsala, India.

"The monks from the Ramoche Temple on the north side of Lhasa, they started a peaceful demonstration and they were blocked by the People's Armed Police," Choephel said.

A photo e-mailed to CNN from a source in Lhasa showed what appeared to be Chinese military vehicles containing security forces armed with riot shields at the Ramoche Temple.

Saunders said violence broke out as bystanders joined the protest.

"Apparently local people -- lay people -- got involved, and a police car was set on fire. This was followed by Tromsikhang Market being set on fire," she said from London.

Saunders said her organization had confirmed reports that some Tibetans had been hospitalized with serious injuries, though she didn't know the nature of the injuries or how many people were being treated.

A Han girl who spoke to CNN from Lhasa said she had been beaten by a group of Tibetans.

"I am now in hospital with a bandage on my head," she said. "The trains are closed and I am not sure if I can take a plane back, or if I can reach the airport. All is chaotic now."

China continues to impose reporting restrictions on foreign media in Tibet and the neighboring province of Xinjiang. CNN sought permission to enter Tibet on Friday morning Beijing time. So far, this perrmission has not been granted.

China's state-run Xinhua News Agency confirmed that shops had been set on fire and that owners of nearby businesses had shut their doors, according to The Associated Press.

The violence was under way near Barkhor Square, home to the revered Jokhang Temple. Some ethnic Tibetan shopkeepers hung Tibetan scarves outside their stores in an attempt to spare them from the protesters' wrath.

The unrest follows days of demonstrations in Tibet and neighboring India over Chinese rule in Tibet, an autonomous region of China that has long sought its independence.

The protests come less than five months before China is to stage the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

Don't Miss
iReport: Send images, photos
On Thursday, two monks from the Drepung Monastery in Lhasa tried to kill themselves to protest Chinese rule, Radio Free Asia reported, as Chinese authorities blamed the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, for the unrest.

Saunders told CNN the scale of the protests was unprecedented since the imposition of Chinese martial law in 1989.

Security forces also fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesting Tibetan monks near Lhasa on Tuesday, according to Radio Free Asia, a nonprofit corporation funded by the U.S. government.

Buddhist monks in Lhasa began the protests on Monday, the anniversary of the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, The Associated Press reported.


Security forces responded later in the week by surrounding three monasteries in Lhasa, according to the International Campaign to Free Tibet, which promotes human rights and democratic freedom in Tibet.

In India, authorities broke up a march Thursday by 100 Tibetan exiles who had planned to trek from the northern city of Dharamshala to Tibet's border in a "Free Tibet" protest.

Thanks you very much for you added me us your friend and i am really happy to friendship with you, Please don't forget to visit at my hi5 profile, and please learning about TIBET, China killed tibetans more than 300 in this weeks,,,,,,,, Please help us...... We need your support..


Thank you
Please don't forget to Log on to: www.phayul.com
Thank you!
Karma Leshey, Beijing

NEWS from CNN International:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/14/tibet.unrest/index.html

Protesters set fire to vehicles and shops in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa on Friday, as tear gas filled the streets and gunfire rang out, a witness told CNN.

Drepung Monastery, seen in November, was sealed off after a celebration of the U.S. honor of the Dalai Lama.
4 of 4 Roughly 1,000 people hurled rocks and concrete at security forces, demolishing military trucks and pushing back riot police, the witness said.

Protesters appeared to be targeting shops and vehicles owned by Han Chinese, the predominant ethnic group in China.

A main market in the capital was set on fire, and some Tibetans were hospitalized with serious injuries, according to Kate Saunders, a spokeswoman for the International Campaign for Tibet, which promotes human rights and democratic freedom in Tibet.

Friday's violence appears to have started when police tried to stop a peaceful protest by monks at Ramoche Temple, Tashi Choephel of the Tibetan Center for Human Rights told CNN from Dharamsala, India.

"The monks from the Ramoche Temple on the north side of Lhasa, they started a peaceful demonstration and they were blocked by the People's Armed Police," Choephel said.

A photo e-mailed to CNN from a source in Lhasa showed what appeared to be Chinese military vehicles containing security forces armed with riot shields at the Ramoche Temple.

Saunders said violence broke out as bystanders joined the protest.

"Apparently local people -- lay people -- got involved, and a police car was set on fire. This was followed by Tromsikhang Market being set on fire," she said from London.

Saunders said her organization had confirmed reports that some Tibetans had been hospitalized with serious injuries, though she didn't know the nature of the injuries or how many people were being treated.

A Han girl who spoke to CNN from Lhasa said she had been beaten by a group of Tibetans.

"I am now in hospital with a bandage on my head," she said. "The trains are closed and I am not sure if I can take a plane back, or if I can reach the airport. All is chaotic now."

China continues to impose reporting restrictions on foreign media in Tibet and the neighboring province of Xinjiang. CNN sought permission to enter Tibet on Friday morning Beijing time. So far, this perrmission has not been granted.

China's state-run Xinhua News Agency confirmed that shops had been set on fire and that owners of nearby businesses had shut their doors, according to The Associated Press.

The violence was under way near Barkhor Square, home to the revered Jokhang Temple. Some ethnic Tibetan shopkeepers hung Tibetan scarves outside their stores in an attempt to spare them from the protesters' wrath.

The unrest follows days of demonstrations in Tibet and neighboring India over Chinese rule in Tibet, an autonomous region of China that has long sought its independence.

The protests come less than five months before China is to stage the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

Don't Miss
iReport: Send images, photos
On Thursday, two monks from the Drepung Monastery in Lhasa tried to kill themselves to protest Chinese rule, Radio Free Asia reported, as Chinese authorities blamed the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, for the unrest.

Saunders told CNN the scale of the protests was unprecedented since the imposition of Chinese martial law in 1989.

Security forces also fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesting Tibetan monks near Lhasa on Tuesday, according to Radio Free Asia, a nonprofit corporation funded by the U.S. government.

Buddhist monks in Lhasa began the protests on Monday, the anniversary of the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, The Associated Press reported.


Security forces responded later in the week by surrounding three monasteries in Lhasa, according to the International Campaign to Free Tibet, which promotes human rights and democratic freedom in Tibet.
In India, authorities broke up a march Thursday by 100 Tibetan exiles who had planned to trek from the northern city of Dharamshala to Tibet's border in a "Free Tibet" protest.

http://www.hi5.com/friend/profile/displayProfile.do?userid=170724073

Unfortunately, things are going to get worse, not better. We are in the end times and there will be persecution all over the world. It is also happening now, here in the United States. There were eleven arrested and charged with felonies as they witnessed to the crowd attending a gay rights parade in New Hampshire. (I think it was New Hampshire or Massachuttsets). They were arrested and thrown in jail. It is beginning here too. We must keep prayer alive all over the world, speak out for our beliefs and yes, we will be hated and the Bible said it would be that way but be prepared brothers and sisters, the same will receive a crown of life.. They are rapidly taking
away our freedom of speech. Even so Lord Jesus....Come quickly!

Accountability: The Name of These Games


Adding her dissent to that of other world leaders, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is the latest to voice objections to the U.S.'s involvement in the upcoming Olympic Games. In a frank discussion on ABC's "Good Morning America," Pelosi said, "I think boycotting the opening ceremony, which really gives respect to the Chinese government, is something that should be kept on the table... I think the President might want to rethink this later, depending on what other heads of state do. ...I don't think China should have gotten the Olympic Games to begin with... They got [them] with the promise that they would... have better respect for human rights and freedom of expression. They have not honored that." Pelosi's objections put even more pressure on the Bush administration to reconsider its presence at the Olympics. While Pelosi is motivated by the host's violent treatment of Tibetans, China's religious hostility runs much deeper than the Dalai Lama. Christians are being imprisoned in record numbers, yet the White House refuses to weigh in on the growing persecution of the church. FRC has waited 111 days for a response from the State Department to our letter in behalf of the Chinese pastors. How many more will have to suffer before Secretary Rice takes our complaint seriously?

By ED O'KEEFE
April 1, 2008
46 comments FONT SIZE EMAIL PRINT SHARE RSS House Speaker Nancy Pelosi does not want the United States to boycott the Beijing Olympics, but she says that President Bush should consider skipping the opening ceremony.

House Speaker addresses a possible Olympics boycott and the presidential race."I think boycotting the opening ceremony, which really gives respect to the Chinese government, is something that should be kept on the table," the California Democrat told "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts in an interview today. "I think the president might want to rethink this later, depending on what other heads of state do."


Pelosi Considers Boycott of Games' Opening
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced she will not attend the Olympic Games, set to begin Aug. 8, 2008. Pelosi, meanwhile, has been outspoken in support of Tibet, the site of recent crackdowns on human rights demonstrators by the Chinese government.

In a recent trip to Dharmasala, India, home of the Dalai Lama's displaced Tibetan government, Pelosi said, "If freedom-loving people don't speak out against China's oppression of people in Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak out against any oppressed people."

Richard Gere Is 'Always
Watching the Mind'
The Buddhist actor talks to Beliefnet about Tibet, the Dalai Lama, and how his life is infused with mindfulness.
Interview by Valerie Reiss




At this point, the iconic actor is probably as well known for his Buddhist activism as for his award-winning film roles. That's a huge boon to Tibetans and their compassionate practice exemplified by the Dalai Lama. His advocacy for a Tibet with freedom of religion has led Gere to become chairman of the board of directors for the International Campaign for Tibet, founder of the Gere Foundation, and a co-creator of the Tibet House.

Now he opens up to Beliefnet about his meditation practice, what we should do about the Olympics in China and his heartbreak at seeing the "compassionate, forgiving, patient" monks of Tibet "lose their center" and resort to violence in recent protests.

What’s your overall impression of what’s going on right now in Tibet?

What makes me the saddest about this is to see Tibetans so pushed up against the wall that violence is the only recourse. It’s very rare. This is not a place that they very easily go to, so one can assume that it’s that bad for them that they’ve started to lose their center as compassionate, forgiving, patient people. And it’s certainly not everyone there, but, clearly it looks like some people lost it.

How does that jell with the basic tenets of Buddhism?

Well, you’ve got to understand that the difference between Tibetans inside of Tibet who’ve been living under this very oppressive system, [is that] they’ve been totally marginalized for now almost 60 years. They’re very different emotionally. Their nervous systems are different than the ones who’ve grown up in exile. They’re very different people than you see in Dharamsala.

In what way?

Well, they’re depressed, they’re angry, they’re afraid, they’re hopeless in many ways. They seem to have lost a basic equanimity that is part of what we know of as Tibetans and we come in contact with outside of Tibet. The kind of mental illnesses and violence that’s emerging in Tibetans in Tibet is really unheard of. This is one of the saddest things.

And I would think even for the Chinese to see that Tibetans are left with this only avenue to express themselves, it's got to tell them that they have done something wrong. Their policies have been wholly destructive to the Tibetan mind and heart.

And how has this affected other Buddhists?

This uprising is not the majority of Tibetans, but it’s an indicator of what’s been happening to the Tibetans. And as skilled as they are at transforming pain and suffering into compassion, into love, into patience, there are elements who are lacking the ability in how to do that. It’s gotten that bad.

We know Tibetans that have spent 20 years, 25 years in solitary confinement, tortured almost every day by the Chinese, who have been able to transcend it in some extraordinary way. And they’ve seen the challenge as an incredible vehicle for their own transcendence. It gives them the ability to transcend the last vestiges of ego. But these are extraordinary people who can do that.

The Dalai Lama tells a story about an older monk who escaped Tibet not long ago, and he came to see him in Dharamsala, and he vaguely remembered him from the early ‘50s in one of the large monasteries in Lhasa. And he hadn’t remembered him as being a particularly good monk. An average monk. He started to talk to him about his experiences in Chinese prisons. The monk said, "I was in great danger." And His Holiness was expecting him to tell stories of being tortured. And he asked, "In danger of what? And the monk said, “Danger of becoming angry.”

And at that point, His Holiness knew that it really was an extraordinary monk.

Because in a way that’s the worst thing that a Tibetan monk can do.

When I saw the pictures yesterday of the Jokhang Cathedral in Lhasa and the group of monks there, you could see the tears and the anxiety in these monks’ faces and in their voices, even--and they were speaking Tibetan and Mandarin. Not even understanding the languages, you certainly could feel this constriction in them, on the edge of hopelessness.

Is there anything that you’re doing differently right now?

I don’t know what any of us would do when we’re being tortured and how we would be able to maintain our vows. The Tibetans have been extraordinary that way. And one of the sad ironies of the situation is that the Tibetans have been very peaceful, and no one, really, has been paying any attention to them. It’s unfortunate that it takes violence to get the kind of news coverage to the situation. It’s truly unfortunate.

But I think for those of us who are capable of still encompassing our vows, the Chinese need our prayers as well. They’re acting out of ignorance and causing tremendous problems for their future and future lives. We have to be mindful of them.

Do you think that’s a good way for people to be able to contribute? With lovingkindness prayers?

Oh, there’s no question. In the realm of prayer, praying for the Chinese may be the most effective.

What kind of prayer would you say?

That their actions would be in line with a positive future, for happiness, that they would achieve happiness and the causes of happiness in the future. The only way you can do that is being altruistic, creating merit.

Their actions in Tibet are based on ignorance—a literal kind of ignorance, of not understanding the Tibetans, not understanding really what’s going on there.

This is an extraordinary opportunity for them right now to transform not only themselves but how they’re perceived in the world. And as such, you know, we all have to encourage them, whether we’re president of the United States or we’re doing our practice in our meditation rooms.

It is a crux moment. Clearly, the Chinese want to be respected in the world, and they deserve to have their greatness. But these kind of actions, and the actions of the last five, six decades is not going to achieve a lasting greatness for them. So, they need to break with their past and have a positive vision that encompasses truth, freedom, and compassion for all people.

What do you think it would take to have a shift like that occur?

Well, it’s hard to say because the people that are now running the country came up through the communist party. That does not foster free thinking.

It seems like the way this is going--because they seem to be so ill-equipped to make the kind of changes that are necessary to transform themselves--that this kind of violence is probably going to manifest again. Not just in Tibet, but we’ve seen it in China, as well. I think they’ve admitted to over 80,000 demonstrations of Chinese against the government last year. Now, if they admitted to 80-some thousand, you can imagine how many there really were.

You’d think that any sane leader would look at the situation and go, "Okay, we need to take a deep breath here, really look at ourselves, and look to the world."

'I don't think that boycotting is a positive strategy...'
Read more on page 2 »

And how can the U.S. and the general public use the Olympics to create peaceful change?

I’m of two minds about this. I don’t think that boycotting is a positive strategy, because I do think that just interaction of peoples brings change in a much more evenhanded way, natural, organic way.

But in a case like this, it’s very hard, in the midst of this kind of brutality and this kind of violence, to ignore it. And business as usual I don’t think is going to be appropriate this year.

It’s not enough to say that the Olympics is an athletic contest outside of politics, because it’s not. The Chinese clearly are using the Olympics to recreate how they are viewed in the world and how they view themselves. And they can’t have it both ways. If you want the spotlight, you’re going to have the spotlight.

So it sounds like you’re advocating the Middle Way, which is not boycotting, but not business as usual.

Well, I would leave boycott as a possibility. And it’s really up to the Chinese. They’re under the illusion that they could keep the genie in the bottle and suggest to the world that they would be open to journalistic scrutiny. And we’ve just seen that they’ve totally locked up Tibet. They had previously locked up Mount Everest. There’s now not going to be any live coverage in Tiananmen Square. There may not be live coverage of the Olympics itself.

I think they’re a little naïve, thinking that they can control these things. I was talking to friends who deal with Chinese officials quite a bit, and they’re just so amazed that they are asked these tough questions by international journalists. They’re so habituated to controlling everything that the idea of freedom is so alien, they don’t even know what it is, nor do they see the strength that is inherent in a free press and free discussion of peoples.

So it remains to be seen a little bit what will happen in the next couple of months.

If there is a continued "cultural genocide" with Tibetan Buddhism, how does that affect people around the world who practice Tibetan Buddhism?

Well, the institutions are strong outside of Tibet. All the major monasteries have been rebuilt in India and in Nepal. And they’re thriving to the degree they can as an exiled community. Tibetan teachers are around the world right now. Part of their pain and suffering has been the joy and happiness of the rest of the world as Tibetan Lamas and Tibetans move freely. Having great teachers amongst us has been extraordinary for us. It wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

[But] Tibet is a cradle. Would it be like Jerusalem for a Christian being blown up and lost forever? It’s just unthinkable. And it’s still filled with possibility. It’s still relatively untouched in terms of environment, and architecture--outside of the major cities. There are vast areas of Tibet that are still Tibet, and they can be saved.

There are some problems on this planet that seem to be intractable. This one does not. It could change overnight. And it doesn’t have to change a lot. You know, it’s only a few degrees of difference to allow the Chinese to enter into serious talks with the Dalai Lama. And very quickly, this whole thing could be over.

So the letters that we write to the president, the letters we write to our senators and congresspersons, this is real stuff. They need to be encouraged. I spend a lot of time in Washington, and I know that, basically, that entire city is on the side of the Tibetans, on the side of the Dalai Lama. But they certainly can use the encouragement.

Well, there’s a tendency to tread lightly with the Chinese.

That’s true, but, as we saw with the Congressional gold medal in October, the Chinese lobbied very heavily for that not to happen. They were furious. The president was courageous to actually give the medal, in public, to the Dalai Lama and speak very forcefully, as he did.

Can you talk about your Buddhist practice outside of this?

You’re getting into territory that is so vast.

What do you mean?

Well, a daily practice is not just that. It’s all of the teachings you’ve ever had. You know, it certainly entails sitting meditation, but it’s various levels of watching your mind, being present with the mind.

The last words of the Buddha were, “Tame your mind.” It doesn't mean destroy the mind, but tame it so it can be used properly.

How many minutes do you meditate a day?

Well, that’s also a complex question because there’s sitting meditation, there are all kinds of other meditations.

What about sitting?

Sitting, at least an hour.

Do you have any particular sutras that especially inspire you and keep you present and centered?

I don’t have a practice that doesn’t. I tend to be more taken with the teachings that have to do with Bodhichitta, because they’re so emotional, whereas the Shantideva, the Bodhicaryavatara, you know, there’s a great lama, Kuno Lama, who wrote an amazing piece called "In Praise of Bodhichitta."

His Holiness spoke for a few days on it. And it was impossible not to weep and hear these words illuminated by someone like the Dalai Lama.

Are there any passages that you remember as inspiring?

Well, they’re all about motivation: “I will release all sentient beings from pain, set them all in final bliss. To do that I will generate the purest mind of Bodhichitta.” Hi Valerie,


Are you in communication with the Dalai Lama right now?

No, I haven’t spoken to His Holiness, but I've spoken several times with his representatives in New York.


What’s your sense of how he’s doing?

He’s in great pain, not only for the Tibetans who are suffering now, but for the Chinese as well. He takes no pleasure in this violence. At the same time, I think he is realistic that the Chinese have to understand that this is real, what’s happening, and that it’s coming out of a lot of pain and suffering in the Tibetan experience. And [the Chinese] have it within their ability to change it. And he himself would love to be part of that change and help it happen for both sides.

What do you see as the future for all of this?

The visionary portrait is that this is the year the Chinese look at themselves. My positive image is that Time magazine would have a picture of Hu Jintao and the Dalai Lama shaking hands on the cover as Men of the Year, and the both of them would get the Nobel Peace Prize. And what a positive outcome for China and for Hu Jintao and his legacy. And it’s right there. It’s right there for him to have.

And on a personal spiritual level, do you ever find yourself getting kind of overwhelmed with the task?

No. Being around His Holiness, you realize there’s a commitment to release all sentient beings in all universes from pain and suffering. There’s no time limit to that. So you just keep moving. That kind of a motivation gives boundless energy.

You said sitting is not the only way you meditate--how else do you bring mindfulness into your life?

Well, mindfulness is a quality that’s always there. It's an illusion that there’s a meditation and post-meditation period, which I always find amusing, because you’re either mindful or you’re not. The meditation is just taking different forms. But it’s always watching the mind. It’s always watching the mind.

Watching the mind while you’re saying "Always watching the mind."

It never leaves you. It’s the quality. Now, there’s a certain point when one has achieved enlightenment, that there’s no longer a watching quality. The dualism is gone. Since I’ve never been there, I wouldn’t know how to characterize that. But until that happens, watching the mind, yes.

And is there anything else that would be important for people to know?

I don’t want another 20 years to go by before this builds up again. This is a decisive moment. And, as we started this conversation, what hurts me the most is to see Tibetans who have no resort except violence.

The loss to us on this planet, the loss to us personally that this culture be destroyed, it’s unthinkable. It’s unthinkable. I don’t know what would happen to us. There’s not an ancient wisdom culture that’s still alive, that still is transforming all the negative emotions into love and compassion. Now, to see them start to lose it inside of Tibet is truly heartbreaking.

It’s up to all of us to keep this alive and not wait until there’s another explosion, but keeping working on this, because this is something that can be solved, especially this year when the Chinese care so much about what people think about them.

I've been reading this material. I don't pretend to know the situation in Tibet or what Buddism is all about. But I do know that Tibetans are human beings who have been mistreated for several decades of time. I like the comparison of Tibet, the cradle of Buddism, to Jerusalem, a sacred and holy place for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. As Tibet is being destroyed by the Chinese government, how would we like it if Jerusalem were destroyed?

I've met and talked with a Chinese citizen and heard many Chinese citizens interviewed on TV through the years. They are people, just like you and me. I regret that I have not had the same opportunity when it comes to Tibetans, because they don't enjoy any rights or freedom. Moreover, just as I as an American citizen do not agree with every detail which my own U.S. government has done throughout history, we must have a distinction between the actions of the Chinese government and the Chinese people as a whole. I do not understand the contempt the Chinese government has for Buddists. But this attitude of government resentment, without recourse for peaceful dialogue, clearly has fostered destructive policies against Buddists, Christians, and even ordinary Chinese citizens for generations.

Yes, the Chinese government has a responsibility to uphold its promises of reform. But it's not only the Chinese government. It's you and me, too. How long can the world be silent and look the other way? We have a moment is history which is a golden opportunity to speak with the Chinese leadership; the Chinese leadership chose to sponsor these very public Olympic Games and they made promises to reform human rights, with very tangible consequences if they fail to keep those promises. Let me reprint a couple sections of Angelgirl's previous replies, first where U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi spoke about her dissent with the Chinese government position, then where Richard Gere gives a very insightful statement about the use of the Olympic Games for expression from all sides.

Nancy Pelosi: "I don't think China should have gotten the Olympic Games to begin with... They got [them] with the promise that they would... have better respect for human rights and freedom of expression. They have not hnored that."

Richard Gere: "It is a crux moment. Clearly, the Chinese want to be respected in the world, and they deserve to have their greatness. But these kind of actions, and the actions of the last five, six decades is not going to achieve a lasting greatness for them. So, they need to break with their past and have a positive vision that encompasses truth, freedom, and compassion for all people."

Richard Gere: "It's not enough to say that the Olympics is an atheletic contest outside of politics, because it's not. The Chinese clearly are using the Olympics to recreate how they are viewed in the world and how they view themselves. And they can't have it both ways. If you want the spotlight, you're going to have the spotlight."

Personally, I don't think the Chinese government will listen much at all once the closing ceremony concludes at the Olympic Games. But until that day, they must listen because they chose too! They cannot save face by backing away from the Olympics. So I would expect a "spin machine" to commence until then. But the best way to bring an end to a dark practice of abuse and destruction is to shine the light of compassion for all, mutual gain through positive steps to keep promises, and to compare the risks of oppression versus the benefits of granting everyone the right of free expression.

The most dangerous animal is one who is wounded, cornered, and has nothing left to lose.

With that in mind, where is Tibet today? One monk said he was in danger of becoming angry. From a pacifist, that is a profound statement! Perhaps the Chinese government should consider which is worse: giving respect and human rights to all, be they Chinese or Tibetan, or causing the very thing they don't want: rebellion. You can push people only so far before they snap. And once they do ... no war has losses only on one side.

Perhaps the Chinese government thinks they got away with it at Tiananmen Square in 1989. But to think that the same action against Tibet will gain the same result isn't so. China in 2008 is a much bigger economic and military power than it was in 1989; the world has no choice but to take this situation as a more serious threat to world stability. And at the same time, China has great prestige and enjoys more prosperity than at any time in it's modern history. China now has a great deal to lose. Even if the Chinese government were to pull off another lock-down of freedom and human rights, the question is: do they want to spend two decades repairing the political fall-out, again?