Tibetans Discard Animal Cloths
Saturday, 18 February 2006, 11:00 AM
Dharamshala (TibetNet): Yesterday a film, which contains footage of burning tiger, leopard and sea otter skins recently inside Tibet, was shown at the Main Temple in Dharamshala.
The film was taken at Amdo region, eastern Tibet, where people burned tiger skins in the street and watch happily as the smoke went up in air.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama called on Tibetans to stop using cloths adorned with animal skins and it’s trading during the Kalachakra teachings at Amravati, India, in January 2006 and soon after, came the campaign to destroy costumes made with skins of endangered animals all over Tibet.
The 30th Kalachakra at Amravati congregated thousands of Tibetans from Tibet and His Holiness the Dalai Lama took the opportunity to spread his message about endangered species and environmental awareness among Tibetans. He said that he is ashamed of photos showing Tibetans covered in animal robes.
The campaign, which first started in Rebkong on 7 February, spread across other parts of Tibet such as in Kartze, in Lhasa, and in eastern Tibet.
As a part of this campaign, Tibetans in India will burn their cloths made with animal skins on 20 February in Mcloed Ganj, Dharamshala.
(www.tibet.net is the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration.)