His Holiness tells overseas Tibetans to reach out to Chinese communities[Sunday, 23 May 2010, 11:43 a.m.]

His Holiness the Dalai Lama prays while delivering a teaching at Radio City Music Hall 20 May 2010 in New York City/Getty Images Photo

New York:
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has told Tibetans living overseas to reach
out to the Chinese communities, underlining the importance of garnering
the support and understanding of the Chinese people to resolve the
issue of Tibet.Over 4,000 Tibetans, including 50
representatives of Tibetans from 11 regions in North America, attended
His Holiness’ address organised by Tibetan community of New York and
New Jersey at the Riverside Church on Saturday morning. On his arrival
at the Church, His Holiness was received by Mr. Pema Tsewang, President
of the Tibetan Community. Also present were Mr Penpa Tsering, Speaker
of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche,
several former kalons and members of Parliament, and representatives of
the Tibetan Associations. In his remarks, His Holiness began
by referring to the presence of the Speaker and the Kalon Tripa saying
that the opportunity was being created to have good discussion on
future course of action with representatives and members of the Tibetan
community.His Holiness said we have been in exile for more than
51 years. During this period, in Tibet, the Tibetan people have been
witnessing an attempt to undermine their religion and culture, which
they deeply cherish. When the Tibetan people display their dislike of
this attempt they are being suppressed with force. His
Holiness said prior to 1959, the Tibetan people had tried to co-exist
with the Chinese for nine years without any success. They then had to
go into exile. He said Tibetans went into exile not because they did
something illegal, or experienced starvation, or even on account of
natural disasters. He added that the factors that have made the
Tibetans become exiles still exist. His Holiness said
irrespective of whatever their current nationality, the people should
not forget their basic Tibetan identity. They should also be mindful of
their responsibility related to the just cause of Tibet. He said the
main criteria for this is that they should be proud and confident of
their identity. His Holiness said the Tibetans have a long
history with some archaeological findings tracing it back 30,000 years
while others say the history is around 10,000 years old. His Holiness
said if we look at the past 2000 years of Tibetan history, the powerful
Tibetan empire of the period during the Choegyals gradually
disintegrated. He said this happened not because of any external factor
but because of internal discord. However, despite the vicissitude of
history, the Tibetan Buddhist culture continued to develop even to this
day. His Holiness then referred to the importance of Tibetan language
and religion and the increasing interest in the Buddhism by scientists.
His Holiness talked about a Chinese journalist’s perception of
a strong Tibetan character while going to Kyegudo to report on the
earthquake. This Chinese journalist compared the positive attitude of
the Tibetans affected by the earthquake in Kyegudo with the somewhat
negative attitude of the Chinese who were affected by the earthquake in
Sichuan in 2008. His Holiness said that there are signs that the
Tibetan character, molded by our culture that promoted compassion and
non-violence, may degenerate unless people are careful. His
Holiness talked about the importance of education saying the Central
Tibetan Administration had been spending money in the establishment of
schools while it has not allocated any money for the building of
monasteries. His Holiness asked everyone, particularly the children, to
pay special attention to the Tibetan language. He said the
responsibility for this lies with each and every family. He also
encouraged students to undertake specialised studies. His
Holiness called on Tibetans living in areas that have Chinese
communities to reach out to them. He said that in order to resolve the
Tibetan problem, it is important that we have the understanding and
support of the Chinese people so that they can understand our point of
view. Here His Holiness referred to the British journalist Felix
Greene, who came to visit him in Dharamsala in the 1970s. Greene was
known to be pro-China and had been to Tibet and shot films with
Tibetans extolling the virtue of Chinese rule. He brought them to
Dharamsala. His Holiness recalled seeing footage where two former Lhasa
officials, Kashoepa and Lhawutara, were criticizing him. Greene wanted
to show to His Holiness how the Tibetans in Tibet viewed him. His
Holiness said he, however, told Green to look carefully to the eyes of
those being interviewed, which were darting to the side indicating that
“the teacher was at the side.” He said he told Greene that if these
same individuals come to India and freely speak out their mind they
would be saying something different. His Holiness said he had three
days of discussion at the end of which Greene’s attitude had changed. Talking
about the political issue of Tibet, His Holiness reminded the people
that his Middle Way of Approach in no way negated the past history. In
terms of history, His Holiness said the Tibetan point of view differed
from the Chinese point of view. However, we need to deal with the
reality of the issue and make an effort to save Tibet from the critical
situation. He said the Middle Way Approach was not about one side
losing with the other side winning but was mutually beneficial. Pointing
to the members of the clergy sitting on the stage, His Holiness
reminded them of their responsibility while transferring knowledge of
Tibetan religion and culture. He said even while advising others to be
kindhearted they themselves need to implement the same. His
Holiness asked the Tibetans to be friendly with each other and to help
the less privileged. He said he had been meeting some sick people and
his advice is that everyone should take precautionary medical checkup
and undergo treatment before the illness becomes drastic. He said what
is important is timely medical treatment saying even the Buddha had
advised it. His Holiness asked the people to look for ways to maintain the Tibetan spirit saying we should learn from the Jews on this. Following
his address to the Tibetan community, His Holiness went to the Radio
City Music Hall to continue his Buddhist lecture. At the beginning, a
group of Korean Buddhists chanted the Heart Sutra in Korean (on 22 May,
it was chanted in Chinese by some Chinese Buddhists). His Holiness then
spent a good portion of the morning session in explaining the basic
principles saying the people should have the right understanding. At
noon, His Holiness attended a luncheon reception to raise funds for a
Tibetan community center in the New York area. This was hosted at Le
Bernardin Restaurant by its chef Eric Ripert. On his arrival at the
restaurant, His Holiness was received by members of the Board of the
Tibetan Community of New York & New Jersey. Chef Ripert
welcomed His Holiness. Thereafter, Representative Lobsang Nyandak spoke
on behalf of the Tibetan community saying the overwhelming challenge of
enabling the younger generation of Tibetans in the New York to preserve
and promote their language, culture and tradition was the reason behind
this effort to raise fund for the community center. He added that there
were around 6000 Tibetans in the New York (with around 15,000 Tibetans
in the Americas). Thereafter, a short documentary about the situation,
impression and needs of the Tibetans in the New York area was shown.In
his remarks, His Holiness suggested that the proposed community center
should not become just like a temple but be a learning center, with a
good library. He talked about the need to study both Buddhist
philosophy as well as western philosophers like Bertrand Russell. His
Holiness then answered a few questions from the audience. There was a
question about the earthquake in Kyegudo and the reaction by the
Chinese Government to his idea of visiting the area to provide
spiritual solace, and whether he was thinking of sending a delegation.
His Holiness said as yet he had not received a clear response from the
Chinese Government. He outlined his thinking right from the time when
he heard about the earthquake and the reasons for expressing his desire
to visit Kyegudo. His Holiness then returned to teaching venue
where he concluded the session by asking everyone to read the second
chapter of A Guide to a Bodhisattva’s Way of Life that deals with the
generation of Bodhicitta. Mr. Richard Gere of Healing the
Divide, one of the hosts of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachings,
then expressed his gratitude to His Holiness for the teaching, thanked
those who have helped in its organization, including Radio City Music
Hall. Ven. Nicholas Vreeland of the Tibet Center, the other host, then
read out a brief financial statement. He informed His Holiness and the
gather that the total expense for the event was $ 1,805,000 while the
income from ticket sales was $ 1,325,568. He said every day around
1,500 seats were donated to the community. As in other places members
of the Sangha had free admission to the teachings.On 23 May
2010, His Holiness will have a discussion with Chinese American
scholars on “Education, Religion and Happiness” at Hunter College.
Thereafter, he will address participants of The Bridge Conference
dedicated to building positive relations and the free exchange of ideas
between Chinese and Tibetan youth. This event will be webcasted on
http://www.livestream.com/bridgeconference from 10:30 am Eastern Time
(8:00 pm India, 10:30 pm Tibet time).In the afternoon, His
Holiness will be giving a public talk on “Awakening the Heart of
Selflessness” organised by Healing the Divide & The Tibet Center.–Report filed by Bhuchung K Tsering of ICT