Dalai Lama Meets with US Congressional Delegation

US Congressional Delegation Given a Warm Welcome at Thekchen Chöling

Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India - The yard before the Tsuglagkhang was packed with people today, mostly Tibetans, from all walks of life, eager to greet a US Bipartisan Congressional Delegation led by Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Jim Sensenbrenner. The delegation arrived for a two day visit yesterday. They met His Holiness the Dalai Lama and had lunch with him. In the afternoon they visited the Tibetan Children’s Village School and later met with the Kashag and leaders from among Tibetan Women. In the evening they were invited to dinner by the Central Tibetan Administration and were entertained at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA).

Banners depicting His Holiness the Dalai Lama meeting with four US Presidents inscribed “Thank you USA” flew overhead and the podium below the temple was flanked by the Snowlion Flag and the Stars & Stripes. As the delegates began to arrive and take their seats, applause rippled through the crowd. Everyone stood as His Holiness and Nancy Pelosi walked through the yard together. They remained standing as the Tibetan National Anthem was played and President Lobsang Sangay hoisted the Tibetan flag. Led by four Geshe-mas and singers from TIPA everyone took part in singing a moving rendition of the Prayer of the Words of Truth.

In a stirring opening address President Lobsang Sangay paid tribute to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, asserting that the Dalai Lamas and the Tibetan people are inseparable from one another—“As long as there is a Tibet, Chenresig will be there.” He went on to express his gratitude for the delegation’s visit that he said sent a message of encouragement to Tibetans in Tibet, an indication of the importance of justice to China and a sign of friendship and support for Tibetans to the rest of the world.

President Sangay voiced his admiration for Nancy Pelosi as a politician who does more than “talk the talk”, she also “walks the walk”. He mentioned her visit to Tibet during which she bluntly told the Chinese authorities, “His Holiness the Dalai Lama commands the respect of people around the world, including us.”

He mentioned the 147 Tibetans who have committed self-immolation in their determination to demonstrate to the world that the occupation of Tibet is unacceptable and the oppression there is unbearable. He added:

“The Tibetan spirit will survive because of the support of friends like you who acknowledge and support the justice of our cause. There has been American support for Tibet since President Franklin Roosevelt sent a watch and a letter to His Holiness when he was young. In 2002 the Tibetan Policy Act was passed and we hope that a new coordinator for Tibet will soon be appointed. You have also given us financial support for which we are grateful.”

President Sangay stated that just as Nelson Mandela had eventually walked free and restored democracy to South Africa, just as Aung San Suu Kyi had eventually walked free in Burma and just as the Good Friday agreement had eventually been signed in Northern Ireland, he was convinced that Tibet’s day too will come because Tibetans have friends like those in the delegation. He looked forward to His Holiness the Dalai Lama walking free in the streets of Lhasa and giving the Kalachakra Empowerment before the Potala Palace, where Tibetan and Chinese Buddhists alike will receive it.

“On that happy day, when the dreams of the Tibetan people are fulfilled and the bell of freedom chimes in Tibet, we will invite you to join us again. Justice and freedom will prevail in Tibet thanks to our friends’ support. Long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”

Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, a Republican who has represented Wisconsin’s 5th district for 38 years, expressed pride at being able to speak in His Holiness‘s presence. He assured the crowd that Republicans and Democrats support Tibet, have great respect for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and share a wish for the Tibetan people to be free. He added that they support religious freedom and the notion that where there is no justice there is no freedom.

A performance of the Women’s Empowerment Song by artists from TIPA was introduced with the remark that empowerment of women has brought happiness to many different parts of the world.

Representative Jim McGovern from Massachusetts told His Holiness, “We believe in you and we stand with you, President Lobsang Sangay and the Tibetan people. We look forward to your being able to return to Tibet, to the release of political prisoners, including the 11th Panchen Lama. And we call on the US Government to meet regularly with you and President Sangay. We support dialogue between Chinese and Tibetan representatives, knowing that the world will not get better on its own.”

Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, made his remarks in English. He welcomed Nancy Pelosi and the other members of the delegation. He pointed out that human rights in Tibet have not improved. Religious freedom continues to be violated and restrictions on Tibetan language and culture remain in place. Tibetans face social discrimination, while the natural environment faces severe damage. “We need your support,” he concluded.

Representative Elliot Engel from New York told the crowd, “It’s good to see you, just as it was good to see the children at the school yesterday. We believe in freedom and democracy for all people—Tibetans too. In New York, where I’m from, stands the Statue of Liberty, and Tibetans have the same wish for freedom as everyone else who looks to that statue for inspiration. Self-determination is very important. Tibetans should be allowed to decide their own future. The American people will not forget you. When we get back to Washington we’ll do what we can to help you.”

From Seattle, Representative Pramila Jayapal said that to be among this delegation visiting His Holiness and the Tibetan community was a great honour. “Your Holiness, you are a beacon of hope for people all over the world looking for peace and justice. I was born in India and on this Buddha Purnima day I’d like to tell you I’m proud of the help my birth country has given the Tibetan community. Back in the US Congress we’ll raise our voices for Tibetans to follow their religion and culture in peace.”

Representative Nancy Pelosi began her address with a little Tibetan. “To each of you personally I say ‘Tashi Delek.’ From right across America we bring you greetings from the American people. We express bipartisan support for the aspirations of the Tibetan people.

“His Holiness is a visionary, a man of compassion. He inspires us with his sense of hope, his belief in the power of compassion and that people are good. You have such a determination to preserve your Tibetan identity. We look forward to your being able to return to Tibet. Betty McCullum, Jim McGovern and I went to the Potala in Tibet and prayed that His Holiness be able to return there. We are so inspired by his message of hope and dignity for all peoples. We feel that if we don’t support Tibet we have no moral authority.

“I say to some in China, we hope you’ll see the light. Something is missing in Tibet. Some in China regard freedom as inconceivable. We see it as inevitable. We will succeed.”

Finally, His Holiness was invited to address the gathering, which he did in Tibetan.

“Today I wish to greet all of you Tibetans who are actually gathered here, young and old, monastics as well as lay-people, all those who are not here but live in free countries and those of you who live in fear and anxiety in Tibet. According to archaeological findings there have been Tibetans in Tibet for almost 30,000 years, one of the oldest civilizations. In 1959, many of us came into exile. All we knew for sure was the sky above and the earth below. We had no idea what would happen to us. We lived in fear and unease.

“After 58 years we have made friends with people we didn’t know before. People support us not for reasons of economic or political influence, not because we are poor, but because they believe in justice. This delegation from the USA, led by Nancy Pelosi, who has been my friend for a long time, supports us because we have truth on our side and because we are non-violent. Support for us, even among Chinese people, has increased because we are looking for a mutually beneficial solution. We attract support because of the candour and compassion for others to which we are accustomed.

“Human conflict cannot finally be resolved through the use of force and resort to weapons. In the 20th century historians estimate 200 million people died through the use of force, but with no positive result. We haven’t resolved problems by force in the past and we won’t in the future. People support Tibetans because of our pursuit of candour, justice and non-violence. These derive from the Nalanda tradition, a tradition rooted in compassion that we have kept alive for more than 1000 years.

“The complete Nalanda tradition has only been preserved in Tibet. It’s something of which we are proud and something that today we can share with others. When we came into exile we seemed helpless, but what we can contribute to the world at large is a raising of awareness of compassion. And by standing by our principles we’ll reach the dawning of a new day for Tibet. Those of you who are determined to defend our cause, despite the difficulties involved, I’d like to thank for your friendship and support.”

His Holiness went on to explain that if we have peace of mind we will not only be happy but will enjoy good health. He said that Tibetan culture focuses on inner transformation. It’s not based on blind faith, but on recognizing the interdependent nature of things. Experience has shown him that what earlier Tibetans preserved and passed down is a wonderful tradition.

“The Chinese people can be our friends. To establish harmony between Tibetans and Chinese we need to reach a mutually beneficial solution.”

As Dhardon Sharling for the Department of Information & International Relations offered an extensive vote of thanks, His Holiness led the delegation upstairs. He took them first into the Kalachakra temple where monks of Namgyal Monastery, led by their Abbot Thomthog Rinpoche, were performing Kalachakra prayers in connection with a fully constructed sand mandala. From there they went to the main temple where His Holiness introduced the various images to them. He explained that depictions of the emaciated ‘fasting Buddha’ are a reminder of the hardship the Buddha underwent to attain enlightenment.

Describing the thousand armed statue of Avalokiteshvara he told the delegates that a similar image standing in the Jokhang in Lhasa was smashed during the Cultural Revolution. Some remnants had been brought to him from Tibet and he showed them two of those faces. Indicating the statue of Guru Padmasambhava he spoke of how the Emperor, Scholar and Adept—Trisong Detsen, Shantarakshita and Padmasambhava—had worked together to establish Buddhism in Tibet in the 8th century CE. Because Shantarakshita was a logician as well as a philosopher, the use of reason and logic had been an integral part of Tibetan Buddhism right from the start.

He related this to what he thinks of as four aspects of the Buddha. He was the founder of Buddhism, certainly, but he was also a philosopher, a thinker and sceptical like a scientist. Because of this he recommended his followers not to accept what he taught at face value, but to investigate it in the light of reason and only then accept it. Nancy Pelosi asked about the scriptures stacked on either side of main Buddha statue and His Holiness told her that about 100 volumes preserve what the Buddha taught, while 225 more contain the treatises of subsequent Indian Buddhist masters.

From the Tsuglagkhang His Holiness and the entire delegation walked back to his residence. They enjoyed tea together before the delegation left for the airport and their flight to Delhi.

original link & photos: https://www.dalailama.com/news/2017/us-congressional-delegation-given-a-warm-welcome-at-thekchen-ch%C3%B6ling

Anaheim Mayor Spends 3 Days with Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu

When Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait took up the Dalai Lama’s offer to hang out together with Bishop Desmond Tutu, he got a taste of His Holiness’ sense of humor.

“He talked about when he was a kid, he just wanted to play and they had to threaten to whip him so he would study,” Tait said. “But they had a special yellow whip for him.

“We laughed about that.”

Tait spent three days at the Dalai Lama’s Dharamshala, India, compound last month, having private talks with the Buddhist master, lunching with the Dalai Lama and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tutu and sitting in on conversations between the two spiritual leaders.

“It’s so out of the box,” Tait said. “Sitting there, having a conversation with the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu about kindness, compassion, love, forgiveness, envy, greed. The biggest issues in life. It was great. Two of the greatest leaders for peace and justice of our time.”

As surprised as Tait was to get the phone call invitation from a Dalai Lama emissary a few weeks earlier, the mayor was hardly a random choice.

Tait has been leading efforts to make Anaheim a “city of kindness.” When first elected mayor in 2010, he ran on a campaign of “freedom and kindness.” It was idea he’d been working on since a 2004 meeting with a father who lost his 6-year-old daughter in a car accident.

The father, Edward Jaievsky, was inspired by the memory of his daughter talking about kindness and began putting up “Kindness is Contagious” signs in Anaheim. And it was contagious: Tait joined him in the project and then expanded it.

Among the noteworthy endeavors is a Million Acts of Kindness program launched in 2013 in the Anaheim City School District. Saying hello to a new student, picking up trash, collecting Christmas toys for underprivileged kids – students were asked to perform 50 such acts of kindness. Collectively, they hit the 1-million target in October.

Those efforts attracted the attention of the Dalai Lama and played a role in the Dalai Lama’s decision to celebrate his 80th birthday at Anaheim’s Honda Center on July 5. And the efforts prompted the invitation to Tait.

“The values of His Holiness are very much alive in Tom Tait,“ said Lama Tenzin Dhonden, a San Diego-based attache for the Dalai Lama. “Tom Tait is a very compassionate being. And Anaheim could become the model for many other cities.

The effects of Taits’ approach can come quickly. Anaheim school Superintendent Linda Wagner thinks the program has been largely responsible to the steady drop in suspensions, which this year are on track to be half of the 442 issued the year before the program started.

A token of kindness

When Tait first met the Dalai Lama at his compound April 22, he gave the Tibetan Buddhist one of Anaheim’s City of Kindness tokens. He also gave him a Ducks’ jersey, embroidered with “HHDL” – for His Holiness the Dalai Lama – and the number 80, for his 80th birthday.

“I didn’t know how much time we’d have, if it would just be a handshake,” Tait said. But it was quite a bit more, starting with a 45-minute conversation that included Tait’s wife, Julie, and a friend, Laguna Beach’s Paul Heeschem.

Tait said that the Dalai Lama started his day at 3:30 a.m., with five hours of meditation.

“He said he meditates because everyone he meets that day, he wants to bring joy, and he doesn’t want to act better or higher than anyone,” said Tait, who owns an engineering company. “He’s a joyful guy. He’s funny and humble. I was worried about how to greet him, but there’s no protocol. He doesn’t go for that.”

The Dalai Lama eats one meal a day, a 90-minute lunch. Tait joined him and Tutu for two meals. The two spiritual icons are writing a book together, “The Book of Joy,” and documentarians were filming their conversations, Tait said.

“Desmond Tutu talked about Nelson Mandela,” Tait recalled. “He said when he’d gone into prison, he was angry and aggressive, a kind of militant. He talked about how suffering can change people – how Mandela came out and was at peace, nonviolent.”

The two men’s message of joy and compassion was “impactful,” said Tait, a Catholic who believes the same values are key to most religions.

“The way to happiness is through kindness to others,” Tait recalled the Dalai Lama saying. “Compassion is especially important toward one’s enemies. It leads to understanding and inner peace.”

Small gestures are part of the equation.

“Every day, he pulled out (the token) to show me he was carrying it,” Tait said. “He loved it.”

Social conscience

The trip, paid for by Tait, was a break from City Council disputes that Tait sometimes puts himself in the middle of. He was the sole opponent of a $158 million tax subsidy for new luxury hotels and of the initial proposal for new stadium lease with the Angels. He also has been the council’s most outspoken advocate of a district election plan that would give Latinos a better chance at equal representation on the council.

But through it all, he has continued efforts to grow kindness.

“A CEO builds a new culture by establishing core values,” Tait said. “That’s what we’re trying to do in the city, build a culture of kindness. Then your crime will drops, your bullying at school will drop, your littering will drop. You stimulate the city to get better and all these good things begin to happen.”

Contact the writer: 714-796-6753 or mwisckol@ocregister.com

Original link and photo http://www.ocregister.com/articles/tait-660311-dalai-lama.html

His Holiness the Dalai Lama & Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Dharamsala, HP, India, 23 April 2015 - The Upper Tibetan Children’s Village School was host to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, his good friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Team Joy this afternoon. As they drove there from His Holiness’s residence the streets were lined with smiling people eager to catch a glimpse of them.

On arrival at TCV His Holiness and the Archbishop were escorted into the small library adjacent to the basketball court. Amidst the neat bookshelves and displays of projects the children had done writing about ‘joy’, several students, girls and boys, recounted their own journeys from Tibet to the school. The first, who had come with her grandmother, leaving the rest of her family behind, broke down in sobs and tears. Archbishop Tutu’s daughter, Mpho, stepped forward to hug and comfort her. She completed her tale, but when the next student too was overcome with emotion His Holiness intervened, suggesting:

“You should think about how as a result of coming here you have been able to receive not only a modern education, but also to learn about our rich culture. You’ve been able to study our language. This is the best language for explaining the profound traditions of Nalanda University. This is something to be proud of. And yours may be the generation that can rebuild Tibet.”

The final student to make a presentation spoke of his appreciation for what he had received and how he tries to take joy in everything.

The children, who filled the basketball court, sang a song in Tibetan celebrating His Holiness’s 80th birthday as he and Archbishop Tutu emerged to take their seats in the middle of the throng. They then followed it up with a Tibetan rendition of ‘If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.’

When His Holiness was invited to address the gathering, he turned to the Archbishop and said that since he teases him so much about his English, on this occasion he would speak in Tibetan. He stated that although our various religious traditions have different philosophical viewpoints, they share a common message of love and compassion. This is clearly reflected in the Archbishop and is why he admires him.

Commenting on the hardships faced by the parents of the students who were present His Holiness said:

“We received immense help from the Indian government. The world helped us. Because of the kindness we have received you have the opportunity to study today. Please, work hard. We Tibetans are going through a very difficult time, but we still have our own language and culture. Please take full advantage of your educational opportunities.”

Archbishop Tutu acknowledged His Holiness, the beautiful children and those in the crowd who were not children.

“It’s a great honour and privilege to be here. You are beloved throughout the world and we want to say to you, young people, that it might not seem possible to you that you will one day return to a free Tibet. But we in South Africa lived for many years under a system of injustice and oppression. Many of our leaders and young people went into exile. It seemed as if the chains of oppression would never be broken, that our prisoners on Robben Island would never come home. And yet,” and he let out his characteristic high pitched chuckle, “it happened.”

“In 1995, our beloved Nelson Mandela and the others were released and the exiles came home. One day, you too, all of you, will see your beloved Tibet again. You’ll be free of the oppression that has driven you here. The Chinese government will discover that freedom is actually cheaper than oppression.”

He spoke of the deep honour he feels to count His Holiness as his friend and that the world feels the same way. He continued:

“I want to thank the Indian government and the Indian people who opened their arms to welcome you, because they preserved for us a great treasure that would otherwise have been lost.”

Looking round at the students, he exclaimed:

“Look how beautiful you are! One day you’ll be dancing and singing in the streets of Tibet.”

Students were then able to put questions to the two spiritual leaders starting with one to His Holiness asking whether we can ever hope to live in a violence free world. He replied that there are many different kinds of violence, including exploitation and corruption.

“If you are thinking about serious physical violence involving war and people killing each other, then yes, I think we can eliminate that if we make the right effort.”

Archbishop Tutu was asked his advice about the way people seek happiness in material things. He answered that more and more people are realizing that they will not get real satisfaction from things alone. He said you can have many possessions while your heart remains empty.

“I meet many young people from well-off homes who go out to help others and find a much greater satisfaction in that.”

When His Holiness was asked about how he controls his anger in daily life, he replied that when he’s angry he shouts. He told a story of an occasion in 1956 when he was watching the driver and mechanic who looked after one of the cars that had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama. While working on it he accidentally banged his head on the car. In anger he then deliberately banged it against the car again and His Holiness wondered: “What’s the use of that?” He remarked that anger destroys our peace of mind.

“Reciting ‘manis’ won’t help, even reciting the refuge prayer won’t help. Training our minds is the only solution.”

Asked whether joy could really be a source of world peace, His Holiness replied:

“I think so and that’s why people should have a clear understanding of how to create joy. Doing harm to others may bring some temporary satisfaction, but being helpful to them is the only real source of lasting joy.”

Archbishop Tutu was also asked how true joy and happiness can be achieved and he answered:

“If we think we want joy for ourselves that’s short-sighted and will only be short-lived. Real joy is the reward of acting to bring joy to others. Deep joy is what happens when you show love, care and compassion to others. You can’t get it any other way. You can’t buy it.”

In reply to a final question about the environment, the Archbishop said:

“We have to remind people that this is our only home and if we treat it badly we’re done for. The ice caps are melting. The summers and winters are too long. We need to say ‘Yes, something is wrong’. People are beginning to hear what many religious leaders are saying, that this is our only home and we have to care for it.”

A band on the stage led the whole crowd in singing, ‘We are the world’. Archbishop Tutu got to his feet, dancing and swaying to the music. At the end he took the microphone and led everyone in singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to His Holiness as a large cake ablaze with candles was placed before them. He called for children to come and help His Holiness blow the candles out. The cake was cut and as it was distributed among children and guests, His Holiness, the Archbishop and Team Joy returned to McLeod Ganj.

Tomorrow will see the final day of the conversations that are to become the ‘Book of Joy’.

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