His Holiness the Dalai Lama visits Long BeachFriday, 25 September 2009, 3:59 p.m.
Long Beach, California: His
Holiness left Memphis on Wednesday morning (23 September) arriving in
Long Beach in California later this morning. At the airport he was
received by Khensur Lobsang Jamyang whose Geden Shoeling Buddhist is
hosting his visit here. Tibetan Parliamentarian for North America,
Tenzing Chonden, and Kasur Pema Chhinjor were also among those who
received His Holiness.His Holiness first went to the Geden
Shoeling Buddhist Center in Westminster, California, where he blessed
its library. He also had a lunch there before proceeding to Long Beach.In
the afternoon, at 2:30 pm His Holiness left for the nearby Terrace
Theatre where around 500 members of the Tibetan community from southern
California and nearby areas had gathered for an audience with him. The
president of the Tibetan Community of Southern California, Mrs. Pema
Chodon, gave a brief report on the activities.The children of the Sunday Tibetan Culture school presented a song in praise of His Holiness.Thereafter,
His Holiness addressed the people for nearly 50 minutes. His Holiness
said it is 50 years since we became refugees. He said it is nearly 60
years since the unfortunate events happened in Tibet. In the life span
of a people’s history 50 years is not a long time, but if we look at it
from the point of view of an individual’s life span, 50 or 60 years are
really long time, he said.He said in one sense, our situation
for the past 50 years is a sad one. Those of us in exile have been
homeless while those Tibetans in Tibetan have undergone great
difficulties. However, in another sense on account of that negative
development, the Tibetan people in all the three provinces have seen
the strengthening of their feeling of their being the same people from
the Land of Snows. His Holiness said, in the past, if we take the
region where he was born, in Dhomey in Qinghai Province, the people
there did not have any connection with the Tibetan Government. Although
the people had spiritual connection their feeling of being Tibetan has
not been that visible. But last year we saw developments in Tibet that
showed that all Tibetans considered themselves as one, he said.His
Holiness said in exile, in general wherever Tibetans live, whether in
India, Switzerland, or the United States, they have developed a very
positive image. However, now if we are not alert and careful there is
the risk of gradual degeneration of the positive Tibetan
characteristic.His Holiness said among the scholars in the
international community Tibetan culture is seen as something that is
beneficial to the world. Among scientists, there is acceptance that
Tibetan culture and Tibetan Buddhism are not just museum pieces but
something that have relevance to day-to-day life, he added.He
said if we look back to our situation in the past 50 years our negative
experience has turned out to be some sort of a blessing. He said he
usually mentioned that had he not been a refugee and resided in Lhasa,
he would have had some pomp but would not have had the exposure to the
world or would not have been able to have interest in such matters. On
account of our being in exile, he said he had been able to meet all
sorts of people, politicians,scientists, ordinary individuals, sick
people, etc. From his own childhood he said he had been very curious to
know and to get answers for “how” and “why” of anything. After meeting
different people, he said he had the opportunity to become more aware.His
Holiness said he had always been saying that we should hope for the
best while preparing for the worst. He thus urged everyone to be alert
and not to become lax. In Tibet, the Tibetan people are exposed daily
to fear and tribulation and so they have daily reminder of their
situation. Those of us in exile, while we do care about the common
cause, but because of absence of any daily emergency situation, other
than means of earning livelihood or improving our situation, we face
the risk of becoming lax, he said. We need to think over our condition
and to think about the hope being placed in us by the people in Tibet,
he said. His Holiness said this does not mean that one does something
specifically for the Tibetan cause. Any Tibetan can utilize the
opportunity in his or her daily interaction at the workplace or
anywhere to show the positive Tibetan characteristic, he said. Such an
attitude will garner support for Tibet from others.His Holiness
said it is important for the parents to relate their experience to
their children so that the children become aware of the situation under
which our community has existed and be reminded of their identity.His
Holiness said we are following the non-violent path for the cause of
Tibet. We are proud of the path we have adopted since we have truth on
our side. On account of this we can be non-violent and transparent. On
the other hand, since the Chinese Communists do not have truth
(concerning Tibet) they have to indulge in falsehood, distortion, and
the use of force. If they have truth, then they can provide reasons.In
order to follow the path of non-violence we need education, His
Holiness said. In the past we have fallen behind in the matter of
modern education, he added. He related the experience of the 13th Dalai
Lama who upon his return from India had taken steps to send students
abroad, but that could not happen. His Holiness also told the audience
about his interaction with some Christian group in Ladakh during his
recent visit there. He said he had told them that the Christians may
have been the most effective among the religious traditions in
providing education throughout the world. He told them that the
Christian groups had established a school in Batang in Kham. Phuntsok
Wangyal had told him that he had gone to that school. Similarly in Amdo
there was another school. His Holiness said that had there been more
such schools in Tibet there would have been hundreds and thousands of
Tibetans who would have had modern education.We need to look at
our past experience and need to pay special attention to education. His
Holiness then asked the university students in the audience to stand
up. He commended them and said along with their studies they need to
interact with more students, particularly if there are Chinese
students. Such activities would be beneficial, he said. His Holiness
also asked parents to encourage their children to continue their
studies and to undertake specialized education.His Holiness
said along with modern education they also need to pay attention to
Tibetan culture the basis of which is Tibetan Buddhism. He said mere
faith in Tibetan Buddhism was not enough. One needs to study Buddhism
and gain conviction through reasoning.His Holiness referred to
the presence of some monks in the gathering and said that they needed
to be really conscientious. He advised the monk community not to use
their religious faith as a means of earning a livelihood. Similarly, he
said that anyone wearing a monk’s garment needs to be careful to abide
by the responsibilities that come with it and they should not do
anything inappropriate.As for relations with China, His
Holiness said that he did not have anything special to tell them. He
said the main responsibility is being shouldered by the elected Kalon
Tripa. We are sincerely following the path of democracy, he said. In
the course of last year’s Special General Meeting, His Holiness said he
had conveyed to the Kalon Tripa that we needed to get the frank views
of the public on future course of action and to abide by it rather than
us trying to bring them to our point of view.His Holiness said
after the Tibetan demonstrations last year and the subsequent Chinese
actions we had felt that we needed to strengthen our outreach to the
Chinese scholars in addition to our contact with the Chinese
Government. He said he had suggested the establishment of
Tibetan-Chinese friendship groups and some have already been
established. He said he himself had made efforts in meeting Chinese
scholars, particularly those who reside in China. He added that he may
have met over 300 such Chinese individuals in the past one year. After
these people have heard our side of the story relating to Tibet they
have no hesitation in supporting us, he said.He said some of
the Chinese scholars tell us that the political system in China will
change. In the past 60 years or so there has been degeneration of the
traditional Chinese characteristic. Today, money has become the central
focus in China. They feel that there is the need to revive the positive
Chinese tradition. They say that today we need the support of the
Chinese scholars on the Tibetan issue. In the future, Tibetans need to
support the Chinese people in reviving their spiritual and cultural
heritage. Thus, Chinese scholars understand the value of Tibetan
culture and place hope on it for developing the Chinese society.Therefore,
it is very important that we establish relationship with the Chinese
people. Some of them have told us that in the past they had only known
the official Chinese Government position. But after meeting us, coming
to the Tibetan communities in India, etc. they say that they have to
apologize for what has happened to the Tibetans. This is the result of
our having truth on our side.If we look at the local level
where Tibetans are in dire situation, things may seem hopeless, but if
we look at the situation from a broader perspective, it is a matter
before truth triumphs. Everyone needs to continue with their
indomitable determination.If we look at the Tibetan people
through history we can certainly feel proud. We have a language. If
people need to study Buddhist philosophy in the world today it is
Tibetan language that has the best collection. Thus we can be proud of
being Tibetans. We also need to be able to keep up with the times in
this 21st century and have an all round education. That is all.His Holiness will be giving teachings on 25 and 26 September in Long Beach.
