![]() Senate unanimously condemned the Chinese actions. The Dalai Lama held his first major press conference in Dharamsala, and the U.S. That always inflammatory situation reached a kind of climax last fall, when Tibetans rioted in Lhasa, their Chinese rulers killed as many as thirty-two people. Since the age of fifteen, he has been forced to deal with his people's needs against the competing interests of Beijing, Washington and New Delhi. Yet even as the "Protector of the Land of Snows" sustains all the secret exoticism of that otherworldly kingdom reimagined in the West as Shangri-La, he remains very much a leader in the real world. Here, attended by a State Oracle, a rain-making lama, various medicine men, astrologers and a four-man Cabinet, the Dalai Lama, at fifty-two, incarnates all he has done since first ascending the Lion Throne in Lhasa at age four. Yet the spirit of his ancient, fairy-tale, theocracy is still very much alive in Dharamsala, a former British hill station 250 miles north of New Delhi. It was twenty-nine years ago last week that the Tibetan uprising against China's occupying forces propelled the Dalai Lama into Indian exile. ![]() Now,"- the rich baritone breaks into a hearty chuckle,- "now things are much calmer." First, that the old building would collapse, and second, that someone would fall over the edge. "Every year I used to be really worried when the people rushed to grab the cookies. In Tibet, he explains later, Losar used to be conducted on the roof of the thirteen storey Potala Palace, with cookies laid out for the masses. Through it all, Tenzin Gyatso, the absolute spiritual and temporal ruler of Tibet, incarnation of the Tibetan god of compassion and fourteenth Dalai Lama in a line that stretches back 597 years, remains serene. Later, thirty dusty visitors just out of Tibet crowd inside and, as they set eyes on their exiled leader for the first time in almost three decades, fill the small room with racking sobs and sniffles. the line of petitioners stretches for half a mile along the winding mountain road outside his airy bungalow-leathery mountain men in gaucho hats, long-haired Westerners, little girls in their prettiest silks, all the six thousand residents of the village and thousands more. On the second day of Losar, the Tibetan New Year, the man who is a living Buddha to roughly fourteen million people gives a public audience. Tenzin Gyatso, the absolute spiritual and temporal ruler of Tibet, incarnation of the Tibetan god of compassion and fourteenth Dalai Lama in a line that stretches back 597 years. There, as the sun begins to rise, his clerics seated before him and the solemn, drawn-out summons of long horns echoing across the valley below, the Dalai Lama leads a private ceremony to welcome the Year of the Earth Dragon. Followed by a group of other shaven-headed monks, all of them in claret robes and crested yellow hats, the newcomer clambers up to the temple roof. ![]() Just before dawn, as the snowcaps behind take on a deep pink glow, the crowd that has formed outside the three storey Namgyal Temple in northern India falls silent.Ī strong, slightly-stooping figure strides in, bright eyes alertly scanning the crowd, smooth face breaking into a broad and irrepressible smile. On a pitch-black path framed by pines and covered by a bowl of stars, a few ragged pilgrims shuffle along, muttering ritual chants. Here are some selections: Chapter 2: Tibet's Living Buddha, by Pico Iyerĭogs bark in the Himalayan night. If we lose these feelings, society will face tremendous difficulties the survival of humanity will be endangered. Love and kindness are the very basis of society. Published to honor the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, it contains a careful selection of addresses, interviews and biographical sketches that present the man and his views on the issues that lead to the award. Sidney Pibum and other staff of Snow Lion Publications have compiled and edited a wonderful book about the Dalai Lama that is quickly becoming very popular. You can see this in context of the original newsletter here. ![]() The following article is from the Summer, 1990 issue of the Snow Lion Newsletter and is for historical reference only. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |