The Celebration of the Spiritual Dimension of Water on World Water Day. Where Water Flows, Equality Grows.Whole Dude – Whole Conservation: The Celebration of World Water Day on March 22
The Celebration of World Water Day on March 22
World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis. A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.
Water: Our Common Wealth
The Celebration of World Water Day on March 22
The Importance of Water
River Ganga meandering through the Shivalik ranges near Rishikesh symbolizes my WAVE THEORY OF IMMORTALITY. Man always exists in constant relationship with his physical environment. Immortality is not about perpetual residence in a Heavenly Mansion. Immortality is associated with the idea of Ultimate Reality which is represented by SAT+CHIT+ANANDA. In this physical world, the Indian Identity is immortalized by the flowing River adoringly described as Mother Ganges.The Celebration of World Water Day on March 22
World Water Day, held on 22 March every year since 1993, focuses on the importance of freshwater.
Celebrating World Water Day
The Celebration of World Water Day on March 22, 2024. The Panna Meena Ka Kund Stepwell, Jaipur, Bharat.
The stepwell that these women are climbing is an apt image to mark World Water Day. Stepwells originated in western India over a thousand years ago as way for locals in that arid climate to easily and reliably access fresh water—even during the driest months. The Panna Meena Ka Kund stepwell in Jaipur is a classic example of the beautiful, regular, geometric architecture used to produce these useful public works. Most stepwells also feature shaded side chambers where locals (primarily women) can gather to escape the heat of the day.
In this image, one can see obvious signs of previous high-water marks on the well’s walls as seasonal fluctuations and the changing climate affect water levels throughout the region. The impact of climate change on fresh water accessibility is the theme that the United Nations has chosen for World Water Day 2020. The goal of today’s observance is to focus attention and energy not just on those problems, but on potential solutions as well.
Water and Climate Change
The Celebration of Spiritual Dimension of Water on World Water Day
World Water Day 2020 is about water and climate change – and how the two are inextricably linked. The campaign shows how our use of water will help reduce floods, droughts, scarcity and pollution, and will help fight climate change itself.
By adapting to the water effects of climate change, we will protect health and save lives. And, by using water more efficiently, we will reduce greenhouse gases.
Our key messages for this day are clear:
We cannot afford to wait. Climate policy makers must put water at the heart of action plans.
Water can help fight climate change. There are sustainable, affordable and scalable water and sanitation solutions.
Everyone has a role to play. In our daily lives, there are surprisingly easy steps we can all take to address climate change.
History of the Day
The Celebration of World Water Day on March 22
The idea for this international day goes back to 1992, the year in which the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro took place. That same year, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution by which 22 March of each year was declared World Day for Water, to be observed starting in 1993.
Later on, other celebrations and events were added. For instance, the International Year of Cooperation in the Water Sphere 2013, and the current International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028. These observances serve to reaffirm that water and sanitation measures are key to poverty reduction, economic growth, and environmental sustainability.
March 22. The Celebration of World Water Day 2020. Antoine Laurent Lavoisier discovered the chemical composition of Water Molecule.
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794), French Chemist and Physicist. He discovered the Composition of Water Molecule and of various other Organic Compounds.
March 22. The Celebration of World Water Day.
Water Molecule looks very simple and yet it plays a mysterious role inside all living cells. It is essential to Life and its propagation. Its Spiritual nature is revealed by its pure, original, and sweet taste it imparts apart from its role as a Chemical Compound. It is the main mode of transport of many Elements that are needed by the living organisms. Water is the Agent that leaches Nutrient Elements and Compounds from rocks and soils and makes them available for use by plants, and animals.
Bharat Darshan – The Celebration of World Water Day on March 22.
Bharat Darshan – The Celebration of World Water Day on March 22
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 7, verse 8: I am the taste in water, O son of Kunti, and the radiance of the sun and the moon. I am the sacred syllable Om in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether, and the ability in humans.
Bharat Darshan – The Celebration of World Water Day on March 22
Man alone can describe the original, sweet taste imparted by the Water Molecule. The taste cannot be discovered in the atoms of Hydrogen and Oxygen that constitute the Water Molecule. Indians have glorified the significance of fresh water which is delivered from Heaven and the identity of the Land of Bharat is cherished as the Land where the sacred River Ganges flows.
Bharat Darshan – The Celebration of World Water Day on March 22. Mother Ganges is the Spirit of the Nation called India or Bharat.Bharat Darshan – The Celebration of World Water Day on March 22. This River GANGA or GANGES is adored by people across the Land of India or Bharat. Mother Ganga defines my National Identity and National Individuality. March 22. The Celebration of World Water Day. Living Waters. The New Testament, The Gospel According to John, Chapter 3, verse#5 , Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of the water and the Spirit.”
Whole Dude at Whole Foods Wishes You all Tashi Delek
On behalf of Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment, I greet Tibetans on Losar, Tibetan New Year 2153. I pledge to renew support to Tibetans to help them find Happiness in Tibetan New Year beginning on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.
Losar 2026, the Tibetan New Year, will be celebrated on February 18, 2026, marking the start of the 2153rd year, which is the Year of the Fire Horse. This 15-day festival (with main festivities lasting 3 days) represents a time for cleansing, family gatherings, and renewal.
On behalf of Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment, I greet Tibetans on Losar, Tibetan New Year 2153. I pledge to renew support to Tibetans to help them find Happiness in Tibetan New Year beginning on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.
Key Details for Losar 2026 (Year of the Fire Horse):
Date:February 18, 2026, falls on a Wednesday.
Significance:The Fire Horse is associated with movement, strength, and transformation.
Duration:The main, most significant celebrations occur over three days (Feb 18–20), though festivities can last up to 15 days.
Preparations:Homes are cleaned and painted, and a special noodle soup called guthuk is prepared on New Year’s Eve (Feb 17).
Celebration Activities:People wear new clothes, visit monasteries (like the Potala Palace or Sera Monastery), exchange greetings of “Tashi Delek,” and witness masked dances to ward off evil spirits.
Regions: It is a major holiday in Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, and parts of India.
On behalf of Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment, I greet Tibetans on Losar, Tibetan New Year 2153. I pledge to renew support to Tibetans to help them find Happiness in Tibetan New Year beginning on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.
It is a time to pay homage to deities, make offerings, and enjoy traditional food like kapse (fried pastries).
Tibet Equilibrium 2026: Special Frontier Force shares Happy Losar Tashi Delek Greetings
On behalf of Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment, I greet Tibetans on Losar, Tibetan New Year 2153. I pledge to renew support to Tibetans to help them find Happiness in Tibetan New Year beginning on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.On behalf of Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment, I greet Tibetans on Losar, Tibetan New Year 2153. I pledge to renew support to Tibetans to help them find Happiness in Tibetan New Year beginning on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.
On behalf of Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment, I greet Tibetans on Losar, Tibetan New Year 2153. I pledge to renew support to Tibetans to help them find Happiness in Tibetan New Year beginning on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.
On behalf of Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment, I greet Tibetans on Losar, Tibetan New Year 2153. I pledge to renew support to Tibetans to help them find Happiness in Tibetan New Year beginning on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.On behalf of Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment, I greet Tibetans on Losar, Tibetan New Year 2153. I pledge to renew support to Tibetans to help them find Happiness in Tibetan New Year beginning on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.On behalf of Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment, I greet Tibetans on Losar, Tibetan New Year 2153. I pledge to renew support to Tibetans to help them find Happiness in Tibetan New Year beginning on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.On behalf of Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment, I greet Tibetans on Losar, Tibetan New Year 2153. I pledge to renew support to Tibetans to help them find Happiness in Tibetan New Year beginning on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.On behalf of Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment, I greet Tibetans on Losar, Tibetan New Year 2153. I pledge to renew support to Tibetans to help them find Happiness in Tibetan New Year beginning on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.On behalf of Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment, I greet Tibetans on Losar, Tibetan New Year 2153. I pledge to renew support to Tibetans to help them find Happiness in Tibetan New Year beginning on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.
“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called Yesterday and the other is called Tomorrow. Today is the right day to Love, Believe, Do and mostly Live.”
It was Yesterday or the day before, Red China attacked and occupied Tibet. I am not sure about my Tomorrow. I live Today. I have the chance to Believe. I have the chance to Hope. Today gives me the chance to express my Love. For I live Today, I Believe, I Hope, and I share my Love. I am seeking the Compassion of Lord Avalokitesvara to uplift Tibetans from pain and misery caused by military occupation of Tibet. While patience and perseverance provide the ability called endurance, it will not be enough to change the nature of Red China’s tyranny. I am seeking the Uplifting Power of Compassion to act as a Physical Force to move Red China’s military personnel out of Tibet without giving them any reason to experience pain or suffering.
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162 USA Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment
DALAI LAMA’S WISDOM INSPIRES 2016
Ed Nakfoor, Business columnist 10:39 a.m. EST December 30, 2015
Ed Nakfoor
This is not one of those year-in-review columns. No rehashing of 2015 musings. No nostalgic look at what was or what could have been. No fixation on missed opportunities and lessons learned. While history is a wonderful teacher, better to not dwell there.
Conversely, this is not a column about predictions for 2016. I do not own a crystal ball, divining rod, dream catcher or any such tool to chart a course for success at work, with school or in life.
After all, even the wisest among us, with a track record of solid forecasts, can see them crumble when winds of unpredictability are whipped into a frenzy. Rather, my message is focused less on the year ahead and more on the next few minutes, few hours … a day at most.
Originally … My original idea was the annual “Merry Christmas” versus “Happy Holidays” dust up. I even wrote about 100 words before I shifted gears: This was no frog in her throat. But something was there, preventing the words from forming. Finally, she coaxed them from her lips: “Have a happy holiday.”
She was not speaking to me. Rather, she was extending tidings of the season to the person with whom I was meeting. If my eyes did not roll then my sigh was weighted with disappointment; it was a few weeks ago so the details are a bit fuzzy. Regardless, merely the thought of it annoys me. After all, if the wisher of holiday cheer knew the other woman why not simply say “Merry Christmas?”
And with that I have officially entered the culture wars.
The issue is tiring. And so very silly, really. When the debate about the red Starbucks cup was in full throttle last month we discussed its news coverage in class. “Unbelievable,” I said, “the world is quite literally on fire and we’re debating the Christmas-worthiness of a cup.”
Although I do find it curious we do not have this conversation when the spring holidays arrive, clustered as they typically are; however in 2016 Easter, Passover, Greek Easter … the arrival of spring … are spaced far enough apart we do not have to contemplate an all-inclusive greeting for fear of committing what is fast becoming a crime against humanity: unwitting foot-in-mouth offense.
Presently … Set to resume writing on Christmas Eve morning, though, I customarily scanned the news as the coffee brewed. Following a week of “best of” and “top stories” of 2015 I anticipated those headlines would have made their way to less prominent positions in the papers. Alas, not the case.
And so was born my message. Actually, it is borrowed from the Dalai Lama but the words came to mind as I dismissed the paper with a flourish.
“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called Yesterday and the other is called Tomorrow. Today is the right day to Love, Believe, Do and mostly Live.” I first read that on a framed canvas hanging in a friend’s kitchen. And I think of it often when frustration sets in, or my confidence takes a tumble, when the grip of writer’s block squeezes ever stronger, or as I gaze at the calendar wondering what is to come.
As I spend my few weeks off from school updating one syllabus and developing a new one for the upcoming winter term I think of that quote. As I sift through notes from last semester and scraps of paper on which I jotted ideas to create the best possible class I recall those words. Even as I write this wondering how readers will receive it and what my next topic will be I cannot help but remember this truism.
Indeed, recall rather than ruminate on the past, and prepare for but do not become preoccupied with the future. Instead, think of 2016 as simply a collection of days. Each taken one at a time.
Ed Nakfoor is visiting assistant professor of journalism at Oakland University.
“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called Yesterday and the other is called Tomorrow. Today is the right day to Love, Believe, Do and mostly Live.”
Tibet Awareness – Prayers at Holy Waterfall for Peace and Freedom
Tibet Awareness – Pilgrimage to Holy Waterfall. Prayer flags. Blessings of Peace and Freedom.
Tibetans receive Peace and Freedom of their Living Condition and Living Experience as Natural Gifts granted by Mother Nature. Tibetan pilgrims in large numbers visit “Holy Waterfall” of Mainri Snow Mountain seeking Blessings of Freedom. If Mountains can speak, they will announce to the World, “Tibet is for Tibetans.”
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162, USA Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment
THE ROAD TO THE ‘HOLY WATERFALL’ OF MAINRI SNOW MOUNTAIN – PRAYERS FOR BLESSINGS OF FREEDOM
Tibetans receive Peace and Freedom of their Living Condition and Living Experience as Natural Gifts granted by Mother Nature. Tibetan pilgrims in large numbers are visiting “Holy Waterfall” of Mainri Snow Mountain seeking Blessings of Freedom. If Mountains can speak, they will receive Prayers for Freedom and announce to the World, “Tibet is for Tibetans.”
In traditional Tibetan legend, 2015 is Mainri Snow Mountain’s year. In Tibetan’s belief, people may be blessed if they make pilgrimages to holy mountains in the mountain’s year. Therefore, large numbers of Tibetans from Tibet and Qinghai, along with tourists from other parts of China, come to the Mainri Snow Mountain on foot for pilgrimage. (CNS/Ren Dong)
The road to the ‘Holy Waterfall’ of Mainri Snow Mountain CNS
Tibetans receive Peace and Freedom of their Living Condition and Living Experience as Natural Gifts granted by Mother Nature. Tibetan pilgrims in large numbers are visiting “Holy Waterfall” of Mainri Snow Mountain seeking Blessings of Freedom. If Mountains can speak, they will receive Prayers for Freedom and announce to the World, “Tibet is for Tibetans.”Tibetans receive Peace and Freedom of their Living Condition and Living Experience as Natural Gifts granted by Mother Nature. Tibetan pilgrims in large numbers are visiting “Holy Waterfall” of Mainri Snow Mountain seeking Blessings of Freedom. If Mountains can speak, they will receive Prayers for Freedom and announce to the World, “Tibet is for Tibetans.”Tibetans receive Peace and Freedom of their Living Condition and Living Experience as Natural Gifts granted by Mother Nature. Tibetan pilgrims in large numbers are visiting “Holy Waterfall” of Mainri Snow Mountain seeking Blessings of Freedom. If Mountains can speak, they will receive Prayers for Freedom and announce to the World, “Tibet is for Tibetans.”Tibetans receive Peace and Freedom of their Living Condition and Living Experience as Natural Gifts granted by Mother Nature. Tibetan pilgrims in large numbers are visiting “Holy Waterfall” of Mainri Snow Mountain seeking Blessings of Freedom. If Mountains can speak, they will receive Prayers for Freedom and announce to the World, “Tibet is for Tibetans.”Tibetans receive Peace and Freedom of their Living Condition and Living Experience as Natural Gifts granted by Mother Nature. Tibetan pilgrims in large numbers are visiting “Holy Waterfall” of Mainri Snow Mountain seeking Blessings of Freedom. If Mountains can speak, they will receive Prayers for Freedom and announce to the World, “Tibet is for Tibetans.”Tibetans receive Peace and Freedom of their Living Condition and Living Experience as Natural Gifts granted by Mother Nature. Tibetan pilgrims in large numbers are visiting “Holy Waterfall” of Mainri Snow Mountain seeking Blessings of Freedom. If Mountains can speak, they will receive Prayers for Freedom and announce to the World, “Tibet is for Tibetans.”Tibetans receive Peace and Freedom of their Living Condition and Living Experience as Natural Gifts granted by Mother Nature. Tibetan pilgrims in large numbers are visiting “Holy Waterfall” of Mainri Snow Mountain seeking Blessings of Freedom. If Mountains can speak, they will receive Prayers for Freedom and announce to the World, “Tibet is for Tibetans.”Tibetans receive Peace and Freedom of their Living Condition and Living Experience as Natural Gifts granted by Mother Nature. Tibetan pilgrims in large numbers are visiting “Holy Waterfall” of Mainri Snow Mountain seeking Blessings of Freedom. If Mountains can speak, they will receive Prayers for Freedom and announce to the World, “Tibet is for Tibetans.”Tibetans receive Peace and Freedom of their Living Condition and Living Experience as Natural Gifts granted by Mother Nature. Tibetan pilgrims in large numbers are visiting “Holy Waterfall” of Mainri Snow Mountain seeking Blessings of Freedom. If Mountains can speak, they will receive Prayers for Freedom and announce to the World, “Tibet is for Tibetans.”Tibetans receive Peace and Freedom of their Living Condition and Living Experience as Natural Gifts granted by Mother Nature. Tibetan pilgrims in large numbers are visiting “Holy Waterfall” of Mainri Snow Mountain seeking Blessings of Freedom. If Mountains can speak, they will receive Prayers for Freedom and announce to the World, “Tibet is for Tibetans.”Tibetans receive Peace and Freedom of their Living Condition and Living Experience as Natural Gifts granted by Mother Nature. Tibetan pilgrims in large numbers are visiting “Holy Waterfall” of Mainri Snow Mountain seeking Blessings of Freedom. If Mountains can speak, they will receive Prayers for Freedom and announce to the World, “Tibet is for Tibetans.”Tibetans receive Peace and Freedom of their Living Condition and Living Experience as Natural Gifts granted by Mother Nature. Tibetan pilgrims in large numbers are visiting “Holy Waterfall” of Mainri Snow Mountain seeking Blessings of Freedom. If Mountains can speak, they will receive Prayers for Freedom and announce to the World, “Tibet is for Tibetans.”Tibetans receive Peace and Freedom of their Living Condition and Living Experience as Natural Gifts granted by Mother Nature. Tibetan pilgrims in large numbers are visiting “Holy Waterfall” of Mainri Snow Mountain seeking Blessings of Freedom. If Mountains can speak, they will receive Prayers for Freedom and announce to the World, “Tibet is for Tibetans.”Tibetans receive Peace and Freedom of their Living Condition and Living Experience as Natural Gifts granted by Mother Nature. Tibetan pilgrims in large numbers are visiting “Holy Waterfall” of Mainri Snow Mountain seeking Blessings of Freedom. If Mountains can speak, they will receive Prayers for Freedom and announce to the World, “Tibet is for Tibetans.”
Tibet Awareness – The “Correct” Way to Freedom in Tibet
Whole Strategy – The Correct Way to Freedom in Tibet. The Great Problem of Tibet is left on The Back Burner for several decades. How to move forward?
Red China rejects Dalai Lama’s “Middle Way” for Tibet. The global community of nations are not yet ready to take military action to evict the Occupier of Tibet. The problem of the spread of Communism to Asia remains unsolved. The Wars in Korea and Vietnam have concluded without defeating the Enemy to Freedom and Democracy in Asia. I coined the phrase Unfinished Korea-Vietnam War as the Cold War in Asia stubbornly persists without any sign of a new initiative. Now, there is no more ‘Middle Way for Tibet. I am inviting all Tibetans to find the One and the only One “Correct” Way for Tibet, a true and real Way to Freedom. As Doomsayer of Doom Dooma I predict Red China’s sudden, unexpected, unavoidable downfall that will lead to utter ruin of her political, economic, and military power.
Whole Strategy – The Correct Way to Freedom in Tibet. The Great Problem of Tibet is left on The Back Burner for several decades. How to move forward? Freedom in Tibet is just a Stone’s Throw Away.
I am seeking the application of ‘Compassion’ as a physical force to uplift Red Army from Tibet without giving them pain or suffering.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE “CORRECT” WAY TO FREEDOM. I AM SEEKING APPLICATION OF COMPASSION AS A PHYSICAL FORCE TO UPLIFT RED ARMY FROM TIBET WITHOUT CAUSING PAIN OR SUFFERING.
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162, USA Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment
Whole Strategy – The Correct Way to Freedom in Tibet. The Great Problem of Tibet is left on The Back Burner for several decades. How to move forward? I am seeking the application of ‘Compassion’ as a physical force to uplift Red Army from Tibet without giving them pain or suffering.
VOA
China Repeats Rejection of Dalai Lama’s ‘Middle Way’ for Tibet
Whole Strategy – The Correct Way to Freedom in Tibet. The Great Problem of Tibet is left on The Back Burner for several decades. How to move forward? I am seeking the application of ‘Compassion’ as a physical force to uplift Red Army from Tibet without giving them pain or suffering.
Tibetans play their traditional musical instruments to commemorate Serf Liberation Day in Nyingchi Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, March 27, 2014.
YESHI DORIE
March 28, 2014 3:01 PM
China has marked the 55th anniversary of the dismantling of Tibet’s government in Lhasa with another explicit rejection of the so-called “middle way” approach of the Dalai Lama that emphasizes autonomy for the region.
In the televised speech Thursday on state-run Tibet TV, the chairman of China’s Tibet Autonomous Region [TAR], Losang Gyaltsen, said the Dalai Lama’s approach is “a camouflaged approach” that seeks Tibet’s independence.
“Tibet cannot be independent, neither can it be a semi-independence or disguised independence,” Gyaltsen said, standing next to China’s national flag.
He added that China’s fight against a “Western enemy force” and the “Dalai Clique” is an important political fight for unity versus separation, democracy versus authoritarianism, and progress versus backwardness.
Kunga Tashi, who works in New York for the exiled Tibetan government, said the statement shows that Chinese leaders are unwilling to compromise to solve the Tibetan problem.
“The middle way approach agrees with the principle [demand] of China,” he said. “We say we are not separating from China, if we get a meaningful autonomy.”
In addition to the speech Thursday, Chinese officials carried out a campaign this week to highlight how much they say conditions have improved in Tibet since China took over.
Beijing frequently cites improved living standards in the region when defending its rule. Tibetan exile MP Kalsang Gyaltsen Bapa said the comparison of old and modern societies is just an excuse.
“China has no historical and legal support to occupy Tibet,” Bapa told VOA Tibetan service, speaking in Tibetan. “So they need to say old Tibet was dark and backward, and they came to develop Tibet. Such policy was used by other colonizers.”
The anniversary, which China calls “Serf Liberation Day,” marks Beijing’s 1959 dismantling of Tibet’s government in Lhasa shortly after the Dalai Lama fled into exile. The date, however, has been officially commemorated only since 2009.
This report was produced in collaboration with the VOA Tibetan service.
Comments
by: Stepson from: Belg March 30, 2014 3:02 PM
“Tibet is inherently belongs to China, also can be traced back to the tang dynasty ago.” Who said it and how much truth in it? I think there are no similarities b/w Chinese N Tibetans! They are two different races, culture, language and political history. Middle way purpose by the Dalai Lama is very realistic solution for both China and Tibet.
by: Anonymous March 30, 2014 5:41 AM
Dalai Lama masterminded the massacre of Buddhist monks in Tibet years ago to stop other culture and religion from existing in Tibet.
In Response
by: Dawa from: Canada April 04, 2014 5:29 PM
Nonsense, you are barking like a hungry street dogs, no one will heed to your stupid and foolish comments. Why not you say that in 1989 CCP massacred thousands of young Chinese students at Tiananmen square, forget of millions murdered by Mao-Tsetung. You are nothing more than a puppet of CCP of PRC. Shame on a stooge like you,
In Response
by: Wangchuk from: NY April 03, 2014 1:22 PM
Notice how this anonymous poster provides no evidence or even specific facts regarding this outlandish accusation against the Dalai Lama. What we do know is that the CCP is responsible for oppression of Tibetan monk and nuns since the 1950s. Nearly all of Tibet’s 6,000 monasteries were destroyed by the CCP and those that have been rebuilt were largely paid for by local donations.
by: RS from: Thailand March 30, 2014 12:23 AM
The day will come when nations of the world ,especially Asians, will unite and overturn paper tiger China. What has been illegally stolen, as Tibet and land from the Uighur’s, will go back to its rightful owners. China is corrupted and polluted to the core. Millions are dying from pollution and nothing is being done. The money factor is much more important than saving their own lives. China wants to brush aside the US and the Western world and take over, but in the end, it is a snake biting its own tail. China should never had copied Western capitalism. Had China been more eco-oriented, the world would have praised its true values, and perhaps would have imitated its leadership, but who wants China now? Only greedy world corporations deviating their national interests and benefitting their own pockets. Yes, money comes first and citizens last.
In Response
by: Tibman from: Tibet April 03, 2014 7:45 PM
Absolutely, well said RS, I agree with your points 101% and thanks for standing in solidarity with us. Tibet will be FREE!
by: Jane from: china March 29, 2014 8:41 PM
In the history of Tibet is inherently belongs to China, also can be traced back to the tang dynasty ago, my side of the Tibetan compatriots have been artificially in Chinese.The dalai lama’s middle way there is no so-called really representative of the ideas of the masses.Only in people with real voice.Reminds me of the people often say that reports often distorted the facts.
In Response
by: Wangchuk from: NY April 03, 2014 1:23 PM
According to the PRC, China’s claim to Tibet goes back to the Yuan Dynasty so you didn’t pay attention too well in CCP class. There simply is no historical evidence that Tibet was an integral part of China prior to 1951.
In Response
by: Sun from: Taipei March 30, 2014 2:31 AM
Chinese in mainland are too arrogant to be aware of that all other countries in the world are at the side of Tibet. Chinese Government (PRC) will collapse soon due to the blast of its intentionally created Bubble Economy or no responsibility for air pollution.
by: Вася March 29, 2014 5:39 PM
And what’s so bad about Tibet’s independence? It’s surely better for Tibet to be independent of a cesspool called “China”.
In Response
by: Jonathan Huang from: Canada March 29, 2014 7:55 PM
Then why the west is against the Crimea’s referendum? You are a fool if you believe the west media! We Chinese will fight for our territory integrity! Those Tibetans who don’t love China, you should go away, go to democratic India, to see if you can have a better life.
by: Jonathan Huang from: Canada March 29, 2014 11:53 AM
Dalai was a slave master and he still wants to regain his position. But Tibet doesn’t want to be slavery again! If you think comparison between old Tibet and new Tibet is unfair, then compare those Tibetans live in democratic India and those live in dictatorship China, who is living on a better life standard?
In Response
by: Dawa from: Canada April 08, 2014 12:16 PM
J. Huang, do you know what human life is all about other than having better living standard? If you only care about better living standard than you are nothing more than an absurd, why? even animals living in zoo with all the facilities doesn’t want to live in zoo, why? because they don’t have freedom of their own with all aspects of their way of living, i.e. running in wild, breathing in fresh air in wide open space, free to play and to mate with their own desire etc. So, can you remain happy in zoo with all the good foods, drinks and with all the good facilities like those wild animals in zoo? Can you live without freedom?
In Response
by: Tibman from: Tibet April 04, 2014 5:15 PM
If you believe in CCP’s fabricated story, you are nothing more than a blind stooge. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the most revered, most loved and respected personality in this world, those who revere him are not a blind and stupid like yourself, they use their own intellect to find the truth by analyzing and with reasoning, and once they find the truth and purity than they believe in that, but for a foolish people like you, chairman Mao becomes God like after murdering 45 millions of Chinese, you don’t know how much suffering he created in China, Tibet, Mongolia and Xinjiang, it is because with a support from a ignorant and blind nationalist like yourself others who are who supported Mao and CCP in power. If you have such strong nationalist feeling of PRC, why you are living in Canada, why you have to use English name “Jonathan” as your first name? this shows that you are just an opportunist stooge and you don’t know nothing about freedom, justice, humanity and truth on Tibetan issue, for you everything counts on money and materialistic satisfactory, poor you! which is why people like you still remain like puppet, and your poor mentality is dragging your children and grand children to become a slave of CCP, I feel pity on you making such stupid comments on HHDL and non-violent Tibetans.
In Response
by: Wangchuk from: NY April 03, 2014 1:26 PM
Mr. Huang is well-known here as a member of the 50 Cent Army paid by the CCP for his pro-CCP statements that parrot CCP propaganda. Notice he provides no evidence or facts to support his outrageous claims. The colonial mentality of the CCP is to accuse Tibetans of being barbaric & backward to justify their 1950 invasion. Why is it that majority of Tibetans want the return of the Dalai Lama and the CCP out of Tibet if Huang’s claims were true?
In Response
by: Jonathan Huang from: Canada March 30, 2014 2:47 AM
@roboco stop trusting the west media and west propaganda! They are plain liars! They lied about the excuse of starting Iraq war, they are lying about Ukraine crisis and Crimea referendum. Tibetans are enjoying their better life in China except few brainwashed young monks who refuse to see the big picture of Tibet. Any way I strongly suggest China should learn from America and Australia about how they treated aboriginals. You are from Australia right? Tell me did you white ppl give back land to aboriginals? Dd you give them independence? Did white ppl kidnaped aboriginals kids and sent them to white families by force? Shame on you, you are animals!
In Response
by: Roboco from: Melbourne, Australia March 29, 2014 8:08 PM
Why don’t you do some research on what the United Nations Human Rights Council and the Global Freedom Network are doing? Take a look at
by: Regula from: USA March 29, 2014 1:36 AM
It is no secret that the US wants to use Tibet as one entrance area to destabilize China. Sadly, under the guise of “supporting” independence for Tibet, the US really doesn’t care for the Tibetans, only for its interests in destabilizing China.
The Tibetan clergy in Lhasa was without a doubt a despotic government – and would be a despotic government again, religion has no other way of governing than despotism – it has nothing to offer beyond religion. The Dalai Lama is dishonest, trying to convince with sly lies – but ignoring the pressure the religious establishment put on young people to self-immolate in protest against Chinese rule. Most Tibetans likely prefer Chinese rule, because it allows them to work for their own good instead of that of the religious establishment, but brainwashing with the supposed good of ‘tradition” and the fear of reprisals may keep many Tibetans silent on their true preference.
It would incumb on the US to stop its false propaganda. As to the Tibetans, there is a lesson to be learned from the recent US instigated events in Ukraine which the US characterized as a fight for freedom and dignity and democracy. Ukraine already was a democracy – maybe not perfect, but nevertheless, democratic. With IMF loans all that freedom and dignity will be summarized as dire poverty of the people, exploitation of their resources and a practically impossible struggle to restore livable conditions.
Is that what Tibetans really want? But that is all the US would have to offer. In comparison, China brought development and tangible improvement away from dire poverty.
In Response
by: Dawa from: Canada April 08, 2014 12:51 PM
Ha!..ha!…ha!…China brought development and improvement in Tibet. No! No! not all, China came to destruct and loot the Tibetan resources, and China truly wants cultural genocide in Tibet. Late Penchen Rinpochey made this public statements just before his death: He said, if we analyze and calculate carefully and find loss and gain on Tibet after the invasion, Peoples Republic of China brought more destruction and suffering rather than truly benefiting Tibet and Tibetan people, after making these strong and sharp points against CCP of PRC, he was poisoned and died a mysterious death in Shigatse, this is the true reality what CCP does if some one speaks the truth for the cause of Tibet. At present all the benefits from the mineral resources from Tibet is taken away to China and the true benefactors from the mineral resources are the politburo leaders and their members in power, not even the Chinese people. Don’t you know that most of the Chinese leaders have overseas bank account, a tax haven? Why? it is because the money they earned is not legal, it is the money they stole while they were in power. Concerning U.S.A. supporting Tibetan independence, it is all nonsense and baseless comments, how can u.S.A. support Tibet’s independence, when they officially says Tibet is a part of China, which means they don’t recognize the sovereignty of Tibet. However, in reality, Tibet is for Tibetans, as China is for Chinese and India is for Indians. Tibet is a sovereign country invaded and occupied by China in 1959. Don’t make excuses of bringing development and false comments, truth will shine and Tibet will be a free country sooner, just wait and watch!
In Response
by: Wangchuk from: NYC April 06, 2014 1:18 PM
It’s interesting that comrade Huang is unable to provide any response why the CCP won’t allow the UN or any independent investigators or journalists into Tibet to investigate the human rights situation. Only when they are accompanied by CCP officials and given an official tour to showcase Tibet but never any unsupervised or independent investigations. That’s why the CCP has zero credibility on the Tibet issue. They can’t provide verifiable evidence to support their claims. Besides if comrade Huang supports the Crimean referendum then why can’t Tibet & Xinjiang also have a referendum on independence? It seems when it comes to China, it’s do as I say not as I do. Comrade Huang’s earlier posts confirm his colonial mentality. He implicitly recognized that Tibet was invaded & occupied and that Tibetans have no rights. It’s that Stalinist-Leninist-Maoist mentality that tolerates no dissent or opposing views.
In Response
by: Jonathan Huang from: Canada April 03, 2014 6:08 PM
@wangchuk, you are a CIA troll. No matter what China does, west propaganda still bashes China. We open up Tibet to our friends but not to our enemies. And go hel separatist! Tibet belongs to China forever!
In Response
by: Wangchuk from: NYC April 03, 2014 1:28 PM
It seems another member of CCP’s 50 Cent Army is here. These people are paid to spread CCP propaganda on online forums. If Tibetans are truly happy then open up Tibet to UN and human rights investigators and stop blocking access to Tibet by foreign journalists. Stop censoring the media and allow freedom of speech in China & Tibet. Let Tibetans have self-determination to decide for themselves to live in a free & independent Tibet or part of the PRC.
In Response
by: Jonathan Huang from: Canada March 29, 2014 5:29 PM
Someone from Switzerland. Please don’t be a fool, life standard improvement is the first step of reaching freedom and democracy not the opposite. Look what happened to India, Ukraine, Mexico and Thailand, for poor countries, freedom means chaos, riots, genocide! Communist party is very smart and long realized this problem, and that’s why China is the only developing country can remain fast growing and relatively stable. As for Tibetans, my advice is stay calm, learn science, forget Dalai Lama, work hard and make money, if Han Chinese can be rich, so do you! Minorities in China have much more privileges than Hans. Minorities can have more than one child and go to universities with lower GAP. So stop complaining, if you are not richer than Hans, then that’s your problem, either you are stupid or you are lazy!
In Response
by: Someone from: Switzerland
March 29, 2014 1:42 PM
Does “development and tangible improvement away from dire poverty” excuse the Chinese government’s use of force? Pulling out women’ reproductive organs so as to stop them from having children is just one of the things the use of Chinese force has done to Tibetan civilians. The Chinese government has taken a process of deterioration of Tibetan identity, Tibetans, and not advancement and development. Safety in Tibet cannot be achieved through heavy security.
You might not believe in the Dalai Lama, nor might you believe that the US’s intervention is wholly selfless but that doesn’t matter. The cruelty, the sheer violence in that region is inexcusable. If a society doesn’t recognise freedom of speech, there is no truth. I’m afraid that may be the case for China. It’s true, over the past 20 years the Chinese authorities have allowed Chinese people to emerge from poverty and have access to knowledge and better education. You were able to move around and have access to classes. But there are socio-economic and norm problems to this. Not everyone was able to benefit, and this created a great deal of injustice and tension with those who have not been able to benefit from these reforms.There is reported use of torture, restrictions and control of media, forces, disappearances, extensive human rights violations… and so much more. I’m afraid you have forgotten those who suffer, and those who suffer. Violence is used as a form of keeping power. The national court of Spain made a decision and indicted the PRG for genocide in Tibet.
China is a beautiful country with a rich culture, and Tibet is part of that culture. You speak of poverty and development, and yet you forget human rights. I find it strange, though I don’t judge you. I just want you to know that it is more than just political, and I think that because the Chinese government has a similar view as you of the situation they do not wish to talk to the Dalai Lama, for example. I think that hinders any chance of peace or of unity and, to be frank, it isn’t only about the country but about the people. Even if you are suspicious, and even if you doubt their reasons, you should give someone the chance of expressing themselves and allow the chance of finding some sort of solution that does not involve the genocide of innocent people. You and I are very fortunate to live in the countries we do, and where we are coverage of these issues are not always neutral or received. Neither of us lives there, so it’s hard for us to know or even begin to understand the situation. Just be careful when you speak of the Ukraine and of Tibet, please.
In Response
by: Tenzin from: Mini Tibet March 29, 2014 12:48 PM
Your comment reveals true Communist intention, brainwashing its own citizens and intimidating foreign aids ( for Tibetans), US might not be genuinely interested in helping Tibetans however Tibetans themselves have found resonance among international communities. The whole concept underlying Tibet crisis began when Communist China illegally sent PLA troops to occupy the region in the name of liberation, China still vindicates its occupation saying Tibetan society was backward and needed to be uplifted, well in international law invading or forcefully occupying other territories in the name of social and economic ( or political) progress is illegal, that was Tibet’s internal matter and it should have been left for Tibetans to solve it.in these 60 years Tibetans in all three historical regions of Tibet have continuously rejected Chinese rule, thousands died, many more locked up in jails, in Panchan Lama’s speech during provincial congregation slammed Communist China of destroying Tibetan culture and political freedom, he further quoted ” Chinese rule has brought more suffering in Tibet ”, few days later he died due to massive heart attack ( it is believed the then party boss of TAR conspired against him)…. Tibetans have no basic freedom, they are forced to accept Official policies, tremendous pressures are levied on monasteries monks are forced to denounce the Dalai lama, they are routinely taught communist history which asked them to accept Tibet being a part of China since ancient time, at least 120 people self immolated in protest against Chinese policies, and it still continues.
With The Dalai Lama relinquishing his political authority to an elected leadership, China has no rights to blame him for Political upheaval in Tibet, Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala has been preaching middle way which basically seeks compromised solution within PRC, by dropping Tibetan independence for political autonomy, Tibetans in Exile have shown willingness to solve Tibet’s problem in peaceful and amiable way. China on the other hand doesn’t even accept Tibet existence, they claim there is no problem in Tibet hence no negotiations are seriously taken by them, in contrary to their claim of progressive and peaceful Tibet we witness heavy military presence in the region, Tibetan cities are manned by armed personnel which can be seen every where, surveillance cameras on rooftops of temples and monasteries are common, Tibetans movement are strictly restricted within the areas of their livelihood, houses are arbitrarily searched, lands are confiscated, nomads are resettled, rivers are increasingly becoming polluted, mining activities in Tibet has increased manifold without local people’s involvement, forced sterilization among many women has been witnessed, list does not ends here there are many more reasons why Tibetans are increasingly becoming frustrated, which results in gravest acts like self immolation but one thing Tibetans have maintained is peace non violence …… wish Chinese govt recognize this and take impeding decisions to de escalate tibet crisis, only solution is dialogue and mutual agreement,
VOANews.com
Whole Strategy – The Correct Way to Freedom in Tibet. The Great Problem of Tibet is left on The Back Burner for several decades. How to move forward? I am seeking the application of ‘Compassion’ as a physical force to uplift Red Army from Tibet without giving them pain or suffering.Whole Strategy – The Correct Way to Freedom in Tibet. The Great Problem of Tibet is left on The Back Burner for several decades. How to move forward? I am seeking the application of ‘Compassion’ as a physical force to uplift Red Army from Tibet without giving them pain or suffering.Whole Strategy – The Correct Way to Freedom in Tibet. The Great Problem of Tibet is left on The Back Burner for several decades. How to move forward? I am seeking the application of ‘Compassion’ as a physical force to uplift Red Army from Tibet without giving them pain or suffering.Whole Strategy – The Correct Way to Freedom in Tibet. The Great Problem of Tibet is left on The Back Burner for several decades. How to move forward? I am seeking the application of ‘Compassion’ as a physical force to uplift Red Army from Tibet without giving them pain or suffering.
The Blessings of Peace and Freedom in occupied Tibet hinges on transparency and accountability to Tibetans
In my analysis, the Fate of Freedom in Tibet hinges on Transparency and Public Accountability to Tibetans. The type of governance in China, India, and the United States is of no consequence if their State Policy is not transparent and is not accountable to Tibetans. On behalf of The Living Tibetan Spirits of Special Frontier Force, I demand a Government Policy that is transparent and is accountable to Tibetans to decide the fate of freedom in Tibet. Hidden Agendas, Covert Actions, and Secret Negotiations will utterly fail to deliver the Blessings of Peace and Justice in Occupied Tibet.In my analysis, the Fate of Freedom in Tibet hinges on Transparency and Public Accountability to Tibetans. The type of governance in China, India, and the United States is of no consequence if their State Policy is not transparent and is not accountable to Tibetans. On behalf of The Living Tibetan Spirits of Special Frontier Force, I demand a Government Policy that is transparent and is accountable to Tibetans to decide the fate of freedom in Tibet. Hidden Agendas, Covert Actions, and Secret Negotiations will utterly fail to deliver the Blessings of Peace and Justice in Occupied Tibet.
In my analysis, the Fate of Freedom in Tibet hinges on Transparency and Public Accountability to Tibetans. The type of governance in China, India, and the United States is of no consequence if their State Policy is not transparent and is not accountable to Tibetans. On behalf of The Living Tibetan Spirits of Special Frontier Force, I demand a Government Policy that is transparent and is accountable to Tibetans to decide the fate of freedom in Tibet. Hidden Agendas, Covert Actions, and Secret Negotiations will utterly fail to deliver the Blessings of Peace and Justice in Occupied Tibet.
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE
The fate of freedom in Tibet hinges on democracy in China
In my analysis, the Fate of Freedom in Tibet hinges on Transparency and Public Accountability to Tibetans. The type of governance in China, India, and the United States is of no consequence if their State Policy is not transparent and is not accountable to Tibetans. On behalf of The Living Tibetan Spirits of Special Frontier Force, I demand a Government Policy that is transparent and is accountable to Tibetans to decide the fate of freedom in Tibet. Hidden Agendas, Covert Actions, and Secret Negotiations will utterly fail to deliver the Blessings of Peace and Justice in Occupied Tibet.
Tibetan Americans walk in protest to China’s consulate in Los Angeles on Nov. 19, where they held a prayer and candlelight vigil for a 23-year-old Tibetan man named Dopo who self-immolated. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP)
By Carl Gershman
November 28
Carl Gershman is president of the National Endowment for Democracy.
The death last month of Lodi Gyari, who as the Dalai Lama’s special envoy conducted nine rounds of negotiations with Beijing over Tibet’s status, offers an occasion to reflect on the increasingly troubled relationship between the United States and China.
The negotiations conducted by Gyari in 2002 through 2010 were based on the Dalai Lama’s Middle Way Approach, which seeks genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people within the framework of the existing Chinese state and constitution. Earlier in his career, when he was an interpreter for the Tibetan resistance fighters training in the United States and helped found the Tibetan Youth Congress, Gyari was committed to the struggle for Tibetan independence. He never changed his belief that Tibet is “in every sense an occupied nation, brutally occupied.” But he became persuaded that the Dalai Lama’s vision of autonomy offered a nonviolent way to preserve the Tibetan people’s religion, culture, language, and identity. And after conducting exploratory talks in China in the 1980s during the period of reform under Deng Xiaoping and Hu Yaobang, he believed that such an approach was feasible.
But Beijing had no interest in finding a middle ground with the Dalai Lama, and the negotiations were unsuccessful. Beijing actually hardened its position on Tibet. In a speech Gyari gave after the breakdown of the talks, he charged that the regime had increased repression and was seeking the “cultural destruction” of the Tibetan people. China also issued a white paper denouncing the Middle Way and asserting that it wouldn’t resume talks until the Dalai Lama acknowledged that Tibet has been part of China “since antiquity,” a view rejected by all independent scholars. The growing repression, Gyari said, was responsible for “the terrible and tragic wave of self-immolations” by desperate Tibetans, whose resistance was likely to grow.
The bitter disappointment experienced by Gyari parallels the profound disenchantment with China in the United States and other advanced democracies, where policymakers once believed that as China modernized economically it would liberalize internally and become a responsible stakeholder in the rules-based world order.
In fact, exactly the opposite has happened. As China has risen economically, Beijing has become far more repressive, arresting dissidents and independent lawyers, creating mass concentration camps for Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province, and using facial-recognition technology and other digital tools to establish what has ominously been called the “surveillance state.”
Internationally, it has militarized the South China Sea, despite President Xi Jinping’s pledge in the White House Rose Garden in 2015 not to take such action. China’s military buildup has been described in a Pentagon study as “perhaps the most ambitious grand strategy undertaken by a single nation-state in modern times.” It has engaged in “cyber theft on a massive scale,” and through its $1 trillion Belt and Road Initiative, targets more than 60 countries in an effort to advance its economic and military goals, including securing access to strategic ports.
Such threatening behavior has provoked an international backlash that the Economist has called “the starkest reversal in modern geopolitics.” An example of this reversal was the harsh speech given by Vice President Pence last month at the Hudson Institute, which added the charge of meddling in American politics to all the other alarming Chinese actions. Some observers have seen this speech as a portent of a new Cold War. But one shot across the Chinese bow is not a coherent policy response to the greatest international challenge now facing the United States.
Here Gyari’s experience may help point a way forward. While he failed in his negotiations with Beijing, he was immensely successful as the Dalai Lama’s special envoy in Washington, building bipartisan backing for the Tibet Policy Act (2002), which institutionalized support for Tibet in U.S. foreign policy. He had many allies in this effort, but none was more devoted than Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat who is the presumptive next House speaker and whose heartfelt statement on the passing of Gyari emphasized that “members of Congress on both sides of the aisle benefitted from Lodi’s insight and wisdom.” She could be an important ally in building bipartisan congressional support for a new China policy.
Two additional elements of such a policy are also tied to Gyari. The first is the importance he attached to the role of India, which has given refuge to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile, and whose free political environment, he said, “has deeply enriched my thinking.” The Trump administration has emphasized the growing strategic partnership with India, which must be a core part of U.S. policy.
The second element is democracy. Gyari, like the Dalai Lama, believed in the paramount importance of democracy for all people, not least for Tibetans and Chinese. Following the Tibet uprising in 2008, Chinese dissident and future Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo wrote, “Democratization for all of China is the necessary condition for any solution, whatever its form, to the Tibet issue.”
In my analysis, the Fate of Freedom in Tibet hinges on Transparency and Public Accountability to Tibetans. The type of governance in China, India, and the United States is of no consequence if their State Policy is not transparent and is not accountable to Tibetans. On behalf of The Living Tibetan Spirits of Special Frontier Force, I demand a Government Policy that is transparent and is accountable to Tibetans to decide the fate of freedom in Tibet. Hidden Agendas, Covert Actions, and Secret Negotiations will utterly fail to deliver the Blessings of Peace and Justice in Occupied Tibet.10th December,2009 marks the 20th anniversary of H.H. Dalai Lama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. In my analysis, the Fate of Freedom in Tibet hinges on Transparency and Public Accountability to Tibetans. The type of governance in China, India, and the United States is of no consequence if their State Policy is not transparent and is not accountable to Tibetans. On behalf of The Living Tibetan Spirits of Special Frontier Force, I demand a Government Policy that is transparent and is accountable to Tibetans to decide the fate of freedom in Tibet. Hidden Agendas, Covert Actions, and Secret Negotiations will utterly fail to deliver the Blessings of Peace and Justice in Occupied Tibet.
Whole Equilibrium – Balancing the Force – Tibetan David vs Chinese Goliath. Victory is Just a Stone’s Throw Away.
Excerpt: In my analysis, Tibet Equilibrium is about balancing physical force applied by Communist regime to overcome Nature’s Agenda of granting freedom without asking questions. Living Tibetan Spirits speak of Nature’s Agenda in Tibet. Freedom and Independence are gifts of Nature quietly operating across Tibetan Plateau long before the arrival of Anatomically Modern Man. Occupying force wielded by Communist China creates imbalance, disharmony, and discord in the lives of Tibetans who view freedom as natural experience.
Author Alexander Norman gives an illuminating account of the Dalai Lama, from his selection as an infant through to his exile and his 21st century persona as a benign all-smiling Buddhist version of the Pope
I like the description of the Dalai Lama as a “Tibetan David who stood up to the Chinese Goliath.” In my analysis, Tibetan Equilibrium, the restoration of Natural Freedom in Tibet is Just a Stone’s Throw Away.
Whole Equilibrium – Balancing the Force – Tibetan David vs Chinese Goliath. Victory is Just a Stone’s Throw Away.
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
Special Frontier Force-Establishment 22-Vikas Regiment
Whole Equilibrium – Balancing the Force – Tibetan David vs Chinese Goliath. Victory is Just a Stone’s Throw Away.
The Dalai Lama: a Tibetan David who stood up to the Chinese Goliath
Whole Equilibrium – Balancing the Force – Tibetan David vs Chinese Goliath. Victory is Just a Stone’s Throw Away.
Author Alexander Norman gives an illuminating account of the Dalai Lama, from his selection as an infant through to his exile and his 21st century persona as a benign all-smiling Buddhist version of the Pope
Biography
The Dalai Lama
Alexander Norman
Rider, hardback, 464 pages, €33.59
Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama addresses those gathered at Buyant Ukhaa sport palace in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, November 20, 2016. REUTERS/B. Rentsendorj
Kim Bielenberg
February 29 2020 02:30 AM
Whole Equilibrium – Balancing the Force – Tibetan David vs Chinese Goliath. Victory is Just a Stone’s Throw Away.
For most of his adult life, the Dalai Lama has been the leader in exile of a vast mountainous territory under the yoke of communist China. Almost as soon as he took power in Tibet as a spiritual and political leader, his authority was being stripped away from him – and within a decade he had fled to India.
Whole Equilibrium – Balancing the Force – Tibetan David vs Chinese Goliath. Victory is Just a Stone’s Throw Away.
Over the decades, the Dalai Lama, now 84, could only read with horror about what happened in his homeland under Communist rule. Monasteries were destroyed, monks were killed and religious freedom obliterated by the occupying power.
There was a ban on displaying or possessing pictures of his image. Tibetan students were even banned from visiting monasteries or taking part in religious ceremonies, and the Chinese stranglehold has hardly loosened.
And yet, after 61 years of exile, the Rolex-wearing holy man – known by his acolytes as “the Precious Protector” and by Rupert Murdoch as a “canny old monk in Gucci loafers” – remains a potent moral and spiritual force around the world.
Whole Equilibrium – Balancing the Force – Tibetan David vs Chinese Goliath. Victory is Just a Stone’s Throw Away.
In his illuminating biography, Alexander Norman describes the Dalai Lama as the “Tibetan David standing up to the Chinese Goliath, armed only with the rhetoric of compassion.”
Whole Equilibrium – Balancing the Force – Tibetan David vs Chinese Goliath. Victory is Just a Stone’s Throw Away.
He roams the globe as a kind of benign all-smiling Buddhist version of the Pope, welcomed by world leaders and cheered at the Glastonbury rock festival, where he was kissed by the singer Patti Smith.
Bizarrely, he once appeared as a guest judge on the Australian version of Masterchef, and relaxes watching the 1970s BBC comedy, Dad’s Army. He is fascinated by the art of clock and watchmaking, hence his interest in Rolex watches.
THE BATTLE OF RIGHT AGAINST MIGHT. Just like David who defeated the Philistine Champion Goliath, Tibet will prevail in its just battle against the military giant called China.
His form of spirituality – with its emphasis on extended periods of meditation – is arguably now more appealing in secularised Western societies than traditional Catholicism.
Alexander Norman is clearly an avid admirer of the Tibetan leader, and interviewed him for this biography, but does not gloss over controversies, or romanticise life in the old Tibet.
In the feudal society of Tibet before the communists arrived, there could be bitter infighting between those with an eye on power, and it was far from being a peace-loving Shangri-la.
One senior official from the last century had his eyes gouged out and was consigned to a dungeon. And Reting Rinpoché, who served as regent when the present Dalai Lama was a boy, also met a sorry end.
Depending on which account you believe, he died by having his testicles crushed, he was poisoned or he was strangled.
The appointment of the present Dalai Lama as a young child is one of the more fascinating episodes in this biography.
He is supposedly the reincarnation of the last one. So how is the infant Dalai Lama found?
Whole Equilibrium – Balancing the Force – Tibetan David vs Chinese Goliath. Victory is Just a Stone’s Throw Away.
The lengthy selection process involves senior officials having dreams and visions, sending out search parties, and worthy toddlers undergoing a series of tests.
The two-year-old boy who became the present Dalai Lama had to choose between two drums, one of which belonged to the previous Dalai Lama, and he picked the right one. He also picked out other objects belonging to his predecessor.
Other auspicious signs that he was the rightful heir were that visitors to his home heard the first cuckoo of spring, and on the day he was born, a rainbow appeared above his house.
Once he had been found, the young child was separated from his parents and taken to a monastery, where he lived until his confirmation by the authorities.
Whole Equilibrium – Balancing the Force – Tibetan David vs Chinese Goliath. Victory is Just a Stone’s Throw Away.
The Dalai Lama by Alexander Norman
When he eventually came of age, the communist pressure on Tibet was already being felt and under duress, his officials signed an agreement with Chairman Mao for the “peaceful liberation” of Tibet.
Of course, by liberation, the communists meant suppression.
Still remarkably young, the Tibetan leader tried to appease Mao in the hope that the territory could maintain some of its independence, or at least its religious freedom.
At a banquet in Beijing, Mao impressed the Dalai Lama with his charm, and at one stage even applied to join the Communist Party. Any hopes that there could be peaceful co-existence were dashed, however, with many monks in open rebellion and a growing Chinese military presence.
Trouble flared in the capital Lhasa in March 1959, and amid fears that he might be captured by the Chinese, the Dalai Lama fled his palace. He crossed the border into India after an epic 15-day journey on foot over the Himalayan mountains.
Once the religious leader had gone into exile, the communist invaders seemed to lose all restraint and their opponents were often subjected to beatings and ritualised humiliation.
The death of Chairman Mao seemed to signal a softening of the treatment of Tibet. The new leader Deng Xiaoping fostered these hopes and even wanted the exiled Dalai Lama to return.
But exiled Tibetans who were invited to return on fact-finding missions encountered extreme poverty and intolerance of their religion. Monasteries had been destroyed, temples were used as slaughterhouses, and schoolchildren were not allowed to learn their own language.
In 2011, the Dalai Lama renounced his claim to lead his people as head of state in favour of a democratically elected layman. He now sees his role as that a teacher.
According to Alexander Norman, this makes perfect sense. The word lama is the Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit word guru – a spiritual guide. Communist tyrants may still hold a grip on China, but across the world, the teachings of the Tibetan holy man have echoed more loudly than the thoughts of Chairman Mao.
Indo Review
Whole Equilibrium – Balancing the Force – Tibetan David vs Chinese Goliath. Victory is Just a Stone’s Throw Away.Whole Equilibrium – Balancing the Force – Tibetan David vs Chinese Goliath. Victory is Just a Stone’s Throw Away.
Tibet is in deep trouble; the trouble called ‘Climate Change’ is no Secret, the trouble caused by Communist Regime occupying Tibet is indeed the bigger of the two troubles confronting Tibet. Regime Change in Tibet will resolve the problem of ‘Climate Change’.
Tibet is in deep trouble; the trouble called ‘Climate Change’ is no Secret, the trouble caused by Communist Regime occupying Tibet is indeed the bigger of the two troubles confronting Tibet. Regime Change in Tibet will resolve the problem of ‘Climate Change’.
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162 USA SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE
Tibet is in deep trouble; the trouble called ‘Climate Change’ is no Secret, the trouble caused by Communist Regime occupying Tibet is indeed the bigger of the two troubles confronting Tibet. Regime Change in Tibet will resolve the problem of ‘Climate Change’.
EURASIA REVIEW – A JOURNAL OF ANALYSIS AND NEWS
NEW METHOD UNLOCKS CLIMATE CHANGE SECRETS FROM TIBETAN ICE
ISSN 2330-717x
The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau lies between the Himalayan range to the south and the Kunlun Range to the north. Map by Lencer, Wikipedia Commons.
The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau lies between the Himalayan range to the south and the Kunlun Range to the north. Map by Lencer, Wikipedia Commons.
By EURASIA REVIEW December 19, 2015
Identifying forest fire molecules in the Tibetan ice could give us an insight into how human activity is contributing to climate change and melting glaciers. A new study published in Talanta presents a method to help scientists identify forest fire molecules in Tibet.
The researchers behind the new method, from the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research in China, say their work will enable scientists to spot the molecules produced by burning forests more easily. This will help them understand the history of fires in the region, adding to the picture of how humans are contributing to climate change.
The Tibetan Plateau is one of the cleanest regions in the world. It is a huge area, covering around 1000km north to south and 2500km west to east, in western China and India. The glaciers supply water to people in surrounding countries and are critical for people’s survival. However, they’re retreating at an alarming rate, putting the water supply in jeopardy for more than 1 billion people.
Climbing temperatures are contributing to the disappearance of the glaciers. But previous research has also pointed to molecules in the air called carbonaceous aerosols as another cause of the glaciers melting. Carbonaceous aerosols are commonly produced by burning fossil fuels. However, almost half of the carbonaceous aerosols in south Asia are produced when people burn biomass, such as trees.
Studying the aerosols trapped in the ice of the glaciers can give scientists insights into the history of biomass burning and how it is related to climate change and glacial melting. For the new study, the researchers developed a method to help scientists identify a molecule called levoglucosan, which can identify carbonaceous aerosols that came from biomass burning. Researchers often look for levoglucosan in snow and ice in Antarctica and the Arctic. However, ice from the Tibetan Plateau contains many more complex molecules, such as sugar and sugar alcohol, making it much harder to spot the levoglucosan.
“Carbonaceous aerosols can tell the story of biomass burning in a region, helping us understand more about how human activity has shaped glaciers over time,” explained Mr. Chao You, lead author of the study from the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research. “But it’s quite difficult to identify the molecules that tell us when these aerosols were released, so we wanted to come up with a better method to use in Tibet.”
Usually, researchers use a technique called High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to identify levoglucosan in snow and ice samples. However, because of the insoluble particles in the Tibetan ice, using this method without pre-treating the samples can actually harm the system. Furthermore, levoglucosan is present at such low concentrations in the Tibetan ice that standard methods often can’t identify the molecules.
Mr. You and his colleagues developed a method that can detect levoglucosan at tiny concentrations in snow and ice samples. The researchers first melted the ice, filtered it and mixed it with acetonitrile. They then analyzed the mixture using chemistry analysis called ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with triple tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry. They then analyzed the levoglucosan in the sample.
The method is very sensitive: the team could identify levoglucosan at a concentration of only 110 nanograms per liter of ice. They could use the method with small samples of only 0.5ml. Also, the method is not just suitable for Tibetan ice, but for samples from any low and middle latitude glaciers around the world.
“I am interested in finding more evidence of biomass burning in Tibetan glacier snow and ice. To do this, we improved and tested this new method for identifying levoglucosan quickly and accurately in Tibetan ice and snow,” explained Mr. You. “Our method can reveal more detailed information about the environmental process and changes that happened in Tibetan glaciers.”
This research was supported by the National Scientific Foundation of China.
Copyright 2015 | By Eurasia Review(ISSN 2330-717x)
Tibet is in deep trouble; the trouble called ‘Climate Change’ is no Secret, the trouble caused by Communist Regime occupying Tibet is indeed the bigger of the two troubles confronting Tibet. Regime Change in Tibet will resolve the problem of ‘Climate Change’.
Peach Blossoms – Prayer for Freedom to Blossom in Tibet
Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.
Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.
Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.
Photo taken on March 27, 2018 shows peach blossoms at the Gala peach blossom scenic area in the Baiyi district of Nyingchi, Tibet. [Photo/Xinhua]
Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.
Whole Hope – Tibet’s March of Living Hope – In March 1959, Tibetans marched with a sense of Hope.
‘Trouble in Tibet’ dates back to 1950 and Tibetans began their very long “March of Living Hope” in March 1959 following National Uprising against Red China’s military occupation. Tibetan Journey is far from over. If words can give any comfort, I ask Tibetans to continue this Journey with Patience and Perseverance until their “March of Living Hope” reaches its final destination.
Whole Hope – Tibet’s March of Living Hope – In March 1959, Tibetans marched with a sense of Hope.
“March of Living Hope” – Remarks by the US President at National Prayer Breakfast:
U.S. President Barack Obama takes the stage to speak at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, February 5, 2015. Flanking Obama are Pennsylvania Senator Robert Casey (L) and Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
On behalf of Special Frontier Force I thank The White House (whitehouse.gov) for sharing with me ‘Remarks by the President at National Prayer Breakfast’. We join the President in this “March of Living Hope” to resolve ‘Trouble in Tibet’.
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162 USA SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE
THE WHITE HOUSE PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release February 05, 2015 Remarks by the President at National Prayer Breakfast Washington Hilton Washington, D.C. 9:13 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Well, good morning. Giving all praise and honor to God. It is wonderful to be back with you here. I want to thank our co-chairs, Bob and Roger. These two don’t always agree in the Senate, but in coming together and uniting us all in prayer, they embody the spirit of our gathering today. I also want to thank everybody who helped organize this breakfast. It’s wonderful to see so many friends and faith leaders and dignitaries. And Michelle and I are truly honored to be joining you here today. I want to offer a special welcome to a good friend, His Holiness the Dalai Lama — who is a powerful example of what it means to practice compassion, who inspires us to speak up for the freedom and dignity of all human beings. (Applause.) I’ve been pleased to welcome him to the White House on many occasions, and we’re grateful that he’s able to join us here today. (Applause.) There aren’t that many occasions that bring His Holiness under the same roof as NASCAR. (Laughter.) This may be the first. (Laughter.) But God works in mysterious ways. (Laughter.) And so I want to thank Darrell for that wonderful presentation. Darrell knows that when you’re going 200 miles an hour, a little prayer cannot hurt. (Laughter.) I suspect that more than once, Darrell has had the same thought as many of us have in our own lives — Jesus, take the wheel. (Laughter.) Although I hope that you kept your hands on the wheel when you were thinking that. (Laughter.) He and I obviously share something in having married up. And we are so grateful to Stevie for the incredible work that they’ve done together to build a ministry where the fastest drivers can slow down a little bit, and spend some time in prayer and reflection and thanks. And we certainly want to wish Darrell a happy birthday. (Applause.) Happy birthday.I will note, though, Darrell, when you were reading that list of things folks were saying about you, I was thinking, well, you’re a piker. I mean, that — (laughter.) I mean, if you really want a list, come talk to me. (Laughter.) Because that ain’t nothing. (Laughter.) That’s the best they can do in NASCAR? (Laughter.) Slowing down and pausing for fellowship and prayer — that’s what this breakfast is about. I think it’s fair to say Washington moves a lot slower than NASCAR. Certainly my agenda does sometimes. (Laughter.) But still, it’s easier to get caught up in the rush of our lives, and in the political back-and-forth that can take over this city. We get sidetracked with distractions, large and small. We can’t go 10 minutes without checking our smartphones — and for my staff, that’s every 10 seconds. And so for 63 years, this prayer tradition has brought us together, giving us the opportunity to come together in humility before the Almighty and to be reminded of what it is that we share as children of God. And certainly for me, this is always a chance to reflect on my own faith journey. Many times as President, I’ve been reminded of a line of prayer that Eleanor Roosevelt was fond of. She said, “Keep us at tasks too hard for us that we may be driven to Thee for strength.” Keep us at tasks too hard for us that we may be driven to Thee for strength. I’ve wondered at times if maybe God was answering that prayer a little too literally. But no matter the challenge, He has been there for all of us. He’s certainly strengthened me “with the power through his Spirit,” as I’ve sought His guidance not just in my own life but in the life of our nation.
Now, over the last few months, we’ve seen a number of challenges — certainly over the last six years. But part of what I want to touch on today is the degree to which we’ve seen professions of faith used both as an instrument of great good, but also twisted and misused in the name of evil. As we speak, around the world, we see faith inspiring people to lift up one another — to feed the hungry and care for the poor, and comfort the afflicted and make peace where there is strife. We heard the good work that Sister has done in Philadelphia, and the incredible work that Dr. Brantly and his colleagues have done. We see faith driving us to do right. But we also see faith being twisted and distorted, used as a wedge — or, worse, sometimes used as a weapon. From a school in Pakistan to the streets of Paris, we have seen violence and terror perpetrated by those who profess to stand up for faith, their faith, professed to stand up for Islam, but, in fact, are betraying it. We see ISIL, a brutal, vicious death cult that, in the name of religion, carries out unspeakable acts of barbarism terrorizing religious minorities like the Yezidis, subjecting women to rape as a weapon of war, and claiming the mantle of religious authority for such actions.
We see sectarian war in Syria, the murder of Muslims and Christians in Nigeria, religious war in the Central African Republic, a rising tide of anti-Semitism and hate crimes in Europe, so often perpetrated in the name of religion.
So how do we, as people of faith, reconcile these realities — the profound good, the strength, the tenacity, the compassion and love that can flow from all of our faiths, operating alongside those who seek to hijack religious for their own murderous ends?
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST : HIS HOLINESS THE 14TH DALAI LAMA, THE EXILED TIBETAN LEADER WITH MS. VALERIE JARRETT, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AT NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST HELD AT WASHINGTON HILTON ON THURSDAY FEBRUARY 05, 2015.
So this is not unique to one group or one religion. There is a tendency in us, a sinful tendency that can pervert and distort our faith. In today’s world, when hate groups have their own Twitter accounts and bigotry can fester in hidden places in cyberspace, it can be even harder to counteract such intolerance. But God compels us to try. And in this mission, I believe there are a few principles that can guide us, particularly those of us who profess to believe.
And, first, we should start with some basic humility. I believe that the starting point of faith is some doubt — not being so full of yourself and so confident that you are right and that God speaks only to us, and doesn’t speak to others, that God only cares about us and doesn’t care about others, that somehow we alone are in possession of the truth.
Our job is not to ask that God respond to our notion of truth — our job is to be true to Him, His word, and His commandments. And we should assume humbly that we’re confused and don’t always know what we’re doing and we’re staggering and stumbling towards Him, and have some humility in that process. And that means we have to speak up against those who would misuse His name to justify oppression, or violence, or hatred with that fierce certainty. No God condones terror. No grievance justifies the taking of innocent lives, or the oppression of those who are weaker or fewer in number.
And so, as people of faith, we are summoned to push back against those who try to distort our religion — any religion — for their own nihilistic ends. And here at home and around the world, we will constantly reaffirm that fundamental freedom — freedom of religion — the right to practice our faith how we choose, to change our faith if we choose, to practice no faith at all if we choose, and to do so free of persecution and fear and discrimination.
There’s wisdom in our founders writing in those documents that help found this nation the notion of freedom of religion, because they understood the need for humility. They also understood the need to uphold freedom of speech, that there was a connection between freedom of speech and freedom of religion. For to infringe on one right under the pretext of protecting another is a betrayal of both.
But part of humility is also recognizing in modern, complicated, diverse societies, the functioning of these rights, the concern for the protection of these rights calls for each of us to exercise civility and restraint and judgment. And if, in fact, we defend the legal right of a person to insult another’s religion, we’re equally obligated to use our free speech to condemn such insults — (applause) — and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with religious communities, particularly religious minorities who are the targets of such attacks. Just because you have the right to say something doesn’t mean the rest of us shouldn’t question those who would insult others in the name of free speech. Because we know that our nations are stronger when people of all faiths feel that they are welcome, that they, too, are full and equal members of our countries.
So humility I think is needed. And the second thing we need is to uphold the distinction between our faith and our governments. Between church and between state. The United States is one of the most religious countries in the world — far more religious than most Western developed countries. And one of the reasons is that our founders wisely embraced the separation of church and state. Our government does not sponsor a religion, nor does it pressure anyone to practice a particular faith, or any faith at all. And the result is a culture where people of all backgrounds and beliefs can freely and proudly worship, without fear, or coercion — so that when you listen to Darrell talk about his faith journey you know it’s real. You know he’s not saying it because it helps him advance, or because somebody told him to. It’s from the heart.
That’s not the case in theocracies that restrict people’s choice of faith. It’s not the case in authoritarian governments that elevate an individual leader or a political party above the people, or in some cases, above the concept of God Himself. So the freedom of religion is a value we will continue to protect here at home and stand up for around the world, and is one that we guard vigilantly here in the United States.
Last year, we joined together to pray for the release of Christian missionary Kenneth Bae, held in North Korea for two years. And today, we give thanks that Kenneth is finally back where he belongs — home, with his family. (Applause.)
Last year, we prayed together for Pastor Saeed Abedini, detained in Iran since 2012. And I was recently in Boise, Idaho, and had the opportunity to meet with Pastor Abedini’s beautiful wife and wonderful children and to convey to them that our country has not forgotten brother Saeed and that we’re doing everything we can to bring him home. (Applause.) And then, I received an extraordinary letter from Pastor Abedini. And in it, he describes his captivity, and expressed his gratitude for my visit with his family, and thanked us all for standing in solidarity with him during his captivity.
And Pastor Abedini wrote, “Nothing is more valuable to the Body of Christ than to see how the Lord is in control, and moves ahead of countries and leadership through united prayer.” And he closed his letter by describing himself as “prisoner for Christ, who is proud to be part of this great nation of the United States of America that cares for religious freedom around the world.” (Applause.)
We’re going to keep up this work — for Pastor Abedini and all those around the world who are unjustly held or persecuted because of their faith. And we’re grateful to our new Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Rabbi David Saperstein — who has hit the ground running, and is heading to Iraq in a few days to help religious communities there address some of those challenges. Where’s David? I know he’s here somewhere. Thank you, David, for the great work you’re doing. (Applause.)
Humility; a suspicion of government getting between us and our faiths, or trying to dictate our faiths, or elevate one faith over another. And, finally, let’s remember that if there is one law that we can all be most certain of that seems to bind people of all faiths, and people who are still finding their way towards faith but have a sense of ethics and morality in them — that one law, that Golden Rule that we should treat one another as we wish to be treated. The Torah says “Love thy neighbor as yourself.” In Islam, there is a Hadith that states: “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” The Holy Bible tells us to “put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Put on love.
Whatever our beliefs, whatever our traditions, we must seek to be instruments of peace, and bringing light where there is darkness, and sowing love where there is hatred. And this is the loving message of His Holiness, Pope Francis. And like so many people around the world, I’ve been touched by his call to relieve suffering, and to show justice and mercy and compassion to the most vulnerable; to walk with The Lord and ask “Who am I to judge?” He challenges us to press on in what he calls our “march of living hope.” And like millions of Americans, I am very much looking forward to welcoming Pope Francis to the United States later this year. (Applause.)
His Holiness expresses that basic law: Treat thy neighbor as yourself. The Dalai Lama — anybody who’s had an opportunity to be with him senses that same spirit. Kent Brantly expresses that same spirit. Kent was with Samaritan’s Purse, treating Ebola patients in Liberia, when he contracted the virus himself. And with world-class medical care and a deep reliance on faith — with God’s help, Kent survived. (Applause.)
And then by donating his plasma, he helped others survive as well. And he continues to advocate for a global response in West Africa, reminding us that “our efforts needs to be on loving the people there.” And I could not have been prouder to welcome Kent and his wonderful wife Amber to the Oval Office. We are blessed to have him here today — because he reminds us of what it means to really “love thy neighbor as thyself.” Not just words, but deeds.
Each of us has a role in fulfilling our common, greater purpose — not merely to seek high position, but to plumb greater depths so that we may find the strength to love more fully. And this is perhaps our greatest challenge — to see our own reflection in each other; to be our brother’s keepers and sister’s keepers, and to keep faith with one another. As children of God, let’s make that our work, together.
As children of God, let’s work to end injustice — injustice of poverty and hunger. No one should ever suffer from such want amidst such plenty. As children of God, let’s work to eliminate the scourge of homelessness, because, as Sister Mary says, “None of us are home until all of us are home.” None of us are home until all of us are home.
As children of God, let’s stand up for the dignity and value of every woman, and man, and child, because we are all equal in His eyes, and work to send the scourge and the sin of modern-day slavery and human trafficking, and “set the oppressed free.” (Applause.)
If we are properly humble, if we drop to our knees on occasion, we will acknowledge that we never fully know God’s purpose. We can never fully fathom His amazing grace. “We see through a glass, darkly” — grappling with the expanse of His awesome love. But even with our limits, we can heed that which is required: To do justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with our God.
I pray that we will. And as we journey together on this “march of living hope,” I pray that, in His name, we will run and not be weary, and walk and not be faint, and we’ll heed those words and “put on love.”
May the Lord bless you and keep you, and may He bless this precious country that we love.
Thank you all very much. (Applause.)
END 9:37 A.M. EST
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST : PRESIDENTIAL PRAYER BREAKFAST WAS RENAMED AS NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST IN 1970. SINCE 1980s THE EVENT IS HELD AT WASHINGTON HILTON AT 1919 CONNECTICUT AVENUE.SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST :SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST :SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST :SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST : HIS HOLINESS THE 14TH DALAI LAMA, THE EXILED TIBETAN LEADER WITH MS. VALERIE JARRETT, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AT NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST HELD AT WASHINGTON HILTON ON THURSDAY FEBRUARY 05, 2015.