His Holiness Meets Mary Robinson, Addresses Tibetans and Himalayans in New York CityMonday, 4 May 2009, 12:42 p.m.
New York: His
Holiness the Dalai Lama left Boston on May 3 morning for New York
City. On his arrival in the city, His Holiness went straight from the
airport to the venue of his first program, namely a ‘Conversation on
Wisdom and Compassion for Challenging Times’ which he participated with
Ms. Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and former UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights. The event, organized by the New
York-based Tibet Fund, was moderated by noted writer Pico Iyer.In
his opening remarks, Iyer thanked everyone for coming to the event that
so many had waited for. He said, “We are delighted to have in our
company two of the globe’s greatest champions of conscience, of
dialogue and peace, and, I think most important, of really rigorous
practical work for change in the very, very real world.”He
talked about His Holiness as an individual who is able to see lost as
an opportunity saying he looked upon his exile life as an opportunity
to implement such measures as giving women new rights, introducing
science in monasteries, and providing democracy for his people.Referring
to President Robinson’s steadfast interest in human rights, Iyer said
that as President of Ireland she was beginning to frame this new vision
of rights, namely the rights of children, rights of women, and to
remind to us that rights were not just matter of belief, but were of
freedom from fear and freedom from need. He referred to her long
interest in Tibet.His Holiness and President Robinson then
discussed issues such as life in exile and what it meant for the
community; about the gap between the rich and the poor, about how
climate change was affecting humanity. Talking about the situation in
Tibet, President Robinson said that the human rights situation in Tibet
is unacceptable.During the question and answer session, a question was posed, “I believe the human race is getting better, what do you think? “In
her response, President Robinson referred to an experience she had
while interacting with the then President of China Jiang Zemin when she
was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. She said he asked her,
“Do you the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights believe religion is
important in this world given the advancement of scientific knowledge?”
Ms. Robinson said she had responded that while there was indeed
scientific advancement, religion and spirituality are extraordinarily
important in our world and will continue to be. She felt President
Jiang did not like the answer.His Holiness responded to the
question by referring to his interaction with the British Queen Mother
in 1996. His Holiness said she was then 96 years old and since she had
experienced most part of the 20th century, he had asked her whether
humanity was getting better worse or remained the same. He said without
hesitation she said humanity was getting better explaining her
reasoning by saying that when she was young, there was no idea of human
rights or rights of self determination, etc.His Holiness said
that he felt the 20th century was the most crucial century in human
history. He said during the early part of 20th century, there were
lots of killings during the world wars, civil wars, Vietnam War and so
people had become fed up with war and violence.His Holiness
referred to the increasing desire for peace and mentioned that
personally he felt the term ‘nonviolence’ is stronger than the term
“peace”. As an example, he said during the time of the Soviet Union
that country used to say that all its military preparations were for
peace. However, he felt that they would not have been able to say that
all the military preparations were for nonviolence.His Holiness then returned to the hotel.In
the afternoon, His Holiness went to WaMu Theater at Madison Square
Garden to talk on the “Essence of Buddhism” to a predominantly Tibetan
and Himalayan audience altogether numbering over 6000.In his
overview of Buddhism, His Holiness gave a comparative explanation of
the thoughts of the different religions on three fundamental questions
related to human experience. The questions are, Is there a self? Does
the self have a beginning? Does the self have an end? He said while
theistic religions believe in the existence of self, Buddhists do not
believe in the existence of an independent self. On the second
question, theistic religions like Christianity believe that God created
everything, including the person, and so the self can be said to have a
beginning. Buddhists believe that everything came about due to cause
and conditions and so there is no beginning to self. On whether there
is an end to self, again the theistic religions believe there is an
end, and do some school of Buddhism. However, the mainstream Buddhist
thought is that there is no end to the self.His Holiness said
he was giving these explanations so that people can understand the
Buddhist philosophical tenet of dependent origination.At the
end His Holiness gave a special message to the Tibetan and the
Himalayan people in the audience. His Holiness said that he was
encouraged by the renewed interest being shown in Tibetan Buddhism by
people in the Himalayan region. He suggested that Buddhism is not
merely having statues, but the important aspect of the study of the
philosophy. He therefore asked the people to study Tibetan so that
they can understand their heritage. His Holiness suggested that people
should study Buddhist philosophy and also organize discussion sessions
among themselves.Addressing the Tibetans, His Holiness said
that while in New York we are having a good time, we still are reminded
the fact of the Tibetans being refugees. In Tibet, His Holiness said
that the Tibetan people were suffering from a policy of suppression
implemented by the Chinese authorities. His Holiness recalled his own
earlier statements about how the current Chinese attitude towards the
Tibetan people is like a death sentence is being passed on the Tibetan
identity. He said the Chinese authorities seem to believe that the
assertion of the Tibetan identity is a threat of separation.His
Holiness, however, said that Tibetans inside Tibet continued to reveal
their commitment, courage and dedication to their identity.His
Holiness said that the determination of the Tibetan people will not
falter. He recalled meeting a Tibetan from Tibet recently who informed
him that the more the Chinese authorities oppress the Tibetans, the
stronger will be the Tibetan determination.His Holiness said
that there was a positive aspect in that there is an increasing
interest in Tibet among the Chinese people. Several Chinese writers
have come out with articles in support of the just cause of the Tibetan
people and being critical of the Chinese policies in Tibet.His
Holiness emphasized the importance of continuing to adopt non-violence
as the vehicle for our struggle. He said in this approach having
education is a critical factor and thus advised the younger Tibetans
not only to study well and earn college degrees but to undergo
specialized education and to be experts in different fields.
Underlining the importance of the Tibetan language, His Holiness urged
the parents to converse with their children in Tibetan at home so that
they become familiar with the language.His Holiness then
referred to reports of some Tibetans in Tibet playing Mahjong with high
stakes that he has been getting. He said this is a disgrace. He said he
wasn’t sure whether such a situation exists among Tibetans here and
advised everyone to avoid such bad habits. He also said Tibetans,
whether in Tibet or outside, should avoid excessive consumption of
alcohols.His Holiness advised the Tibetan people, particularly
those in Tibet, not to become disheartened when they face challenges.
He said China itself has been changing greatly in the past 60 years and
that it will have speedier changes in the future. He asked the Tibetans
not to be discouraged.Following the talk, the Tibetan
Association of New York and New Jersey Secretary Sonam Tsering gave a
brief report of their activity and also presented an interim financial
statement related to the event. The total estimated income was $ 300,
6590 and the total estimated expense was $ 150, 6590 with the balance
being $250, 6590, which will be used for the proposed Tibetan Cultural
Center.His Holiness then returned to his hotel. –Report filed by Bhuchung K Tsering of ICT
