05.07.10
Posted in Tibet at 3:12 pm by nemo
Comment on Karmapa article in Newsweek
mybrainisafleamarket is our invaluable researcher and commenter at The Gurdjieff Con blog, and you can read his many posts/comments by entering the tag MBFM, or the longer ‘mybrainisafleamarket’ in the search box. He has uncovered a whole bunch of stuff on gurus and everything else New Age.
My interest in Karmapa is direct, despite my suspicious wariness here, because I vividly remember the old Karmapa from the seventies. I don’t buy into this game of reincarnates one way or the other, but there is no doubt something strange is at work here. In any case, this new Karmapa is almost grown up, and has a hard act to follow. I can only hope he can resurrect the intelligence of the older Karmapa.
mybrainisafleamarket said,
May 7, 2010 at 11:31 am ·
Suggestion for a research project:
Get a first edition of Harrers Seven Years in Tibet. Study the photos. (That early edition had 40 pages of photographs–stunning, btw)
The first edition had an amazing photo of cavalry in ancient armor in a ceremonial parade, carrying war trophies captured long ago from Muslim invaders.
And that 1955 book shows the young 14th Dalai Lama inside an ornate
pavilion on horseback, with a splendid retinue. Those photos are evocative of a lost world–and a very, very hierarchical world.
And that world was brutal. This early edition of Harrers book gives a photo of monks who served as police officers, armed with heavy staves.
And a photo of two persons in rags with begging bowls and shackles on their ankles had the caption that on Buddhas Birthday in Lhasa, prisoners were allowed out on the streets to beg.
A later edition, printed for larger circulation had fewer photos, but included one that the 1954/44 edition did not have–a photo of a tomb of an earlier Dalai Lama with an estimated ton of gold used to decorate it–says so in the caption.
Pre-1949 Lhasa was a brutal place. It wasnt a Shangrila paradise of chirping birds and rainbows for all.
That gold adorning the tomb came from heavy taxes on the serfs. And Harrer wrote that among the tasks he did in Lhasa was to correspond on behalf of wealthy locals with dealers in Europe. The Tibetans wanted Harrers help in arrangings shipments from Europe of….amber, pearls, furs.
It all reminds me of life in and around the Romanov court just before the Bolshevik Revolution.
I attended a couple of days lecture by the DL and appreciated it. But I never forget that he is in the situation of a Romanov in exile.
The way to gain an empire or regain one that is lost is first to colonize people’s imaginations–that is to establish the legitimacy of one’s claim.
Its one thing to do this in the realm of secular power politics.
But when religious practice gets entangled in power politics…then it his hard to hold a priest/king to account if he is also a politician.
I am horrified to see what cover ups the Vatican has perpetrated. But at least a reigning pontiff faces some accountability from the media and there are venues where reform minded Roman Catholics can discuss their concerns and speak out.
We do not yet have that in relation to the exiled monarchs and barons of the Tibetan Diaspora.
If one must practice Buddhadharma, I personally advise selecting a dharma center that 1) doesnt court media attention and whose teachers find ways to be accessible but avoid the celebrity marketing circuit 2) remains mindful of the Buddhist ethical precepts and 3) whose funds remain local and 4) hierarchy justifies its existence by supporting a practice environment accessible to all, and where no special favor is given to the rich or famous.
And where those who are weighed down by adversity, who are older or who struggle with chronic ailments get as much care from the practice teachers as those who happen to be young and beautiful, famous or rich..or all the above.
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02.21.10
Posted in In the News, Tibet at 3:40 pm by nemo
Tibet Is No Shangri-La
And the Dalai Lama is not what you think.
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06.29.09
Posted in In the News, Tibet at 1:14 pm by nemo
The New Left Review has an article with the usual trashy lies about
Tibet.
http://www.newleftreview.org/?page=article&view=2720
The vintage Tibet political economy was a bit medieval and exposing New Age sentimentality is inevitable, but the basic message of the fake Left is that the best Buddhist is a dead Buddhist.
In a few more years, that will be the case.
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04.24.09
Posted in Tibet at 1:44 pm by nemo
Senior Tibetan Cleric Faces Prison in China
BEIJING — The abbot of two convents in a Tibetan region of western China is expected to be sentenced next Tuesday on charges of weapons possession and embezzlement, according to his two lawyers. The abbot is believed to be the most senior religious figure put on trial following waves of detentions aimed at suppressing a widespread Tibetan uprising last year.
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04.02.09
Posted in Tibet, Ultra Far Left at 1:35 pm by nemo
Rare Protest Footage Reveals Tibetan Defiance of Chinese Crackdowns
By Lhadon Tethong, AlterNet. Posted April 1, 2009.
In spite of the troops, tanks and snipers, in spite of the beatings, arrests and disappearances — Tibetans continue to resist.
Link to footage???
http://media.phayul.com/?av_id=148&av_links_id=324
This intersects with our discussion here on Tibet, Buddhism, and the inability of current secularists to grasp the issues on this matter.
Reading some of the comments to this article I was struck by the harsh criticism of the politics of Tibetan Buddhism. They all sound like Michale Parenti, the crypto-Stalinist, who wrote an essay attacking Tibetan feudalism. While I can certainly grant the point that Tibet has had an ambiguous political history, these critiques are totally silent on the issue of Buddhism and in some cases use the political critique a veiled way to destroy the religion in the name of secularism or the left.
So, let it be noted that the ugly side of Tibetan Buddhism is as nothing compared to the ugly side of Chinese communism.
If Tibetan society was a feudal exploitation, then the solution is a liberal/socialist revolution to institute rights and democracy. And this under the aegis, most probably, of a nationalistic framework.
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03.23.09
Posted in Tibet at 12:08 pm by nemo
Published on Monday, March 23, 2009 by the Associated Press
South Africa Bars Dalai Lama From Peace Conference
by Donna Bryson
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa barred the Dalai Lama from a peace conference in Johannesburg this week, saying Monday it did not want to endanger the government’s relationship with China. The move prompted sharp criticism from the Nobel Committee, among others.
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03.10.09
Posted in Tibet at 1:47 pm by nemo
Published on Tuesday, March 10, 2009 by BBC News
Tibetan People Put Through ‘Hell’
The Dalai Lama has launched a fierce attack on Chinese rule in his Tibetan homeland, saying his people had experienced “hell on Earth”.
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03.09.09
Posted in Tibet at 7:26 pm by nemo
The Pain Of Tibet
The problem is, the middle way has hit a brick wall. Even the Dalai Lama recently said he had “given up” on negotiating with the Chinese and hinted he might step down, fearing that his position “is only becoming an obstruction instead of helping find a solution to the Tibet issue.” Yet as an international celebrity and a deity to his people, he is the only person who can shift the equation. And the issue is pressing; he turns 74 in July.
That is why it may be time for the Dalai Lama to acknowledge that he has failed. For all his success in keeping the issue of Tibet on the world stage, this has not made and will not make one iota of difference to Beijing. His government-in-exile has always insisted on discussions about such matters as self-rule. Now it is time for one final, bold stroke: an announcement that the Dalai Lama is willing to return without any preconditions.
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12.11.08
Posted in Tibet, you've got mail at 1:58 pm by nemo
mxmail
China uses her considerable economic weight to put diplomatic pressure on France.
“There are reports that Chinese consumers have started to boycott French goods, and that they are staying away from French giant Carrefour, which is one of China’s biggest retailers with 46,000 employees. Prior to Sarkozy’s meeting with the Dalai Lama, Beijing called people to remain calm and not to boycott French goods while last-ditch efforts were made to get the meeting canceled. But after it took place on Saturday, there has been no government call for calm.
“After Sarkozy said he planned to meet the Dalai Lama, China announced on November 25 that as a protest Premier Wen Jiabao would cancel his plans to attend the 11th China-EU summit in Lyon on December 1. China also postponed talks on finalizing a deal for 150 Airbus passenger planes, a spokesman for the European aircraft maker said.”
Full text at
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JL10Ad01.html
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12.05.08
Posted in Tibet at 2:35 pm by nemo
Dalai Lama says a ‘democratic’ China could resolve Tibet issue
GDANSK, Poland (AFP) — The Dalai Lama said Friday the issue of Tibet could be resolved quickly if China fully embraces democracy, as he arrived in Poland as part of a European tour that has angered Beijing.
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12.04.08
Posted in Tibet at 1:47 pm by nemo
China and Tibet
Published: December 4, 2008
To the Editor:
Editorial: Beijing’s Blind Spot (November 27, 2008) In “Beijing’s Blind Spot†(editorial, Nov. 27), you wonder why China’s rulers will not accept the Dalai Lama’s “middle way,†which seems so obviously “in Beijing’s clear interest,†since many Tibetans, especially among the young, would be more radical.
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11.28.08
Posted in Tibet at 2:29 pm by nemo
Did Britain Just Sell Tibet?
By ROBERT BARNETT
Published: November 24, 2008
THE financial crisis is going to do more than increase unemployment, bankruptcy and homelessness. It is also likely to reshape international alignments, sometimes in ways that we would not expect.
As Western powers struggle with the huge scale of the measures needed to revive their economies, they have turned increasingly to China. Last month, for example, Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, asked China to give money to the International Monetary Fund, in return for which Beijing would expect an increase in its voting share.
Now there is speculation that a trade-off for this arrangement involved a major shift in the British position on Tibet, whose leading representatives in exile this weekend called on their leader, the Dalai Lama, to stop sending envoys to Beijing — bringing the faltering talks between China and the exiles to a standstill.
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11.10.08
Posted in Tibet at 3:27 pm by nemo
Tibetan independence hopes look over after China refuses to budge
The Dalai Lama’s hopes of achieving independence for Tibet look to be over after China said that talks with his envoys had failed and that it will not compromise over its status.
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11.07.08
Posted in Tibet at 4:19 pm by nemo
China’s iron fist cracks down to subdue Tibetan rebels
IN the ancient back alleys of Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, a grim military operation has played out this week, hidden from the eyes of the world. As night falls, hundreds of Chinese troops fan out across this rebellious city, armed with riot shields and assault rifles.
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09.28.08
Posted in Tibet at 3:37 pm by nemo
Robert Thurman outlines a plan for Tibetan autonomy in his book Why the Dalai Lama Matters
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09.13.08
Posted in Tibet at 2:31 pm by nemo
Grim Tales Describing Hard Times in Tibet
By NEAL GENZLINGER
Published: September 12, 2008
“Tibet: Beyond Fear,†on Saturday on the satellite channel Link TV, is advocacy filmmaking at its most brazen: it ends with a direct appeal from the Dalai Lama for the free-Tibet cause. But it has an emotional pull rather than a manipulative feel, thanks to the two personal stories at its center and the people who tell them.
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09.07.08
Posted in Tibet at 2:18 pm by nemo
Tibet was non-negotiable for Dalai Lama’s brother
September 7th, 2008 – 4:53 pm ICT by IANS –
Chicago, Sep 7 (IANS) Thubten Jigme Norbu, the elder brother of Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama who died last week in the US, considered the status of Tibet “non-negotiable†throughout his life. Asked during an interview four years ago in Bloomington, Indiana, whether he agreed with the idea that Tibetans should settle for autonomy rather than independence, Norbu, who was also known as Takster Rinpoche, said: “No, I do not, but I also know that you cannot get anything more from the Chinese. The status of Tibet must be Tibet, nothing else.
“If we don’t achieve that I think in the future there will be no Tibetans in Tibet. Period. In two generations there will be no Tibetans in Tibet. See what is happening in Inner Mongolia. There are four million Mongols but you cannot find 10 Mongols together in the capital Khokhot,†Norbu said.
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08.29.08
Posted in Tibet at 1:59 pm by nemo
Will the Dalai Lama return to Tibet?
Meindert Gorter gives his views on religious freedom in China today and the prospects of the Dalai Lama return from exile
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08.27.08
Posted in Tibet at 2:51 pm by nemo
China: Reality bites
Was anything as it seemed at this year’s Olympics held in Beijing?
Does China think the rest of the world has a full coat of wool pulled tightly over their collective eyes, or what? I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get back to reality.
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08.26.08
Posted in Tibet at 1:27 pm by nemo
Znet
The 2008 Olympics: Subterranean Rot
August 26, 2008 By Dave Zirin
Not since Marco Polo has anyone traveled so far up China’s Silk Road with such amoral élan. But there was Jacques Rogge, president of the IOC, knight of the court of King Leopold’s Belgium, three-time Olympian in the grand sport of yachting – standing astride Beijing at the close of the 2008 Olympic games. In front of a stunning 90,000 at the Games’ closing ceremony, he said, “Tonight, we come to the end of sixteen glorious days which we will cherish forever. Through these games, the world learned more about China, and China learned more about the world.” Read the rest of this entry »
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08.25.08
Posted in Tibet at 2:35 pm by nemo
CHEWING THE BUDDHA
Bush at the Olympics
By Greg Palast
For Tricycle: The Buddhist Review
18 August 2008
Lhasa, Tibet – China’s secret police are just terrible at keeping themselves secret.
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08.23.08
Posted in Tibet at 2:16 pm by nemo
Olympic disaster for free expression in China
Reporters Without Borders condemns Chinese government cynicism and IOC inability to ensure respect for charter
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Posted in Tibet at 2:15 pm by nemo
47 Tibet activists arrested during Games
At least 47 foreign pro-Tibetan activists are reported to have been expelled and 22 foreign journalists detained or manhandled by police or other authorities during the Beijing Olympics.
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