Hello, Dalai! Tibet's Dalai Lama tours United States

0 Comments | Current Events, Oct 3, 2003

WASHINGTON,D.C.--The United as a visitor from a far-off land. He's wrinkly, bald, and wears a robe. And he's very, very wise.

No, not Yoda. The Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet. (A lama is a Tibetan Buddhist monk.) On September 6, the Dalai began a 16-day tour of the United help promote autonomy, or Tibet, which has been under rule since 1951.

The Dalai Lama's first U.S. stop was the University of San Fransisco, where he presided over an interfaith service attended by more than 1,000 people and representatives from 25 religions, including Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism. At the ceremony, he said that all faiths have the same aim--to breed peace and compassion among their followers. "I will continue to pursue my struggle, which is to campaign for peace," he said.

Next stop: Bloomington, Ind. There, the Dalai Lama dedicated Chamtse Ling, an interdenominational temple at the Tibetan Cultural Center. The mission of the temple is to promote world peace and harmony. The Dalai Lama's message in Bloomington was the same: Choose a faith and follow it. "[Religious] teachings should be a part of our life," he told the audience.

Among the thousands of people in attendance was former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, a devout Muslim who now champions humanitarian efforts worldwide. "Rivers, ponds, lakes, and streams all have different names, but they all contain water. So, too, different religions all contain truth," said Ali.

After the dedication, Ali and the Dalai Lama co-hosted a youth forum on peace and justice. Panel member Michelle Smith, a senior at Bloomington High School South, said meeting the Dalai Lama changed her life. "The Dalai Lama is a very important person to a lot of people.... It's also exciting to represent kids everywhere. It's our world, and we want peace as much as anyone else," she said.

In Washington, D.C., the Dalai Lama talked about the status of Tibet in meetings with Secretary of State Colin Powell and President George W. Bush. On September 11, the second anniversary of the terrorist attacks against the United States, the Tibetan spiritual leader spoke on "peace as the natural antidote to violence" at Washington's National Cathedral.

Peace is a topic the Dalai Lama knows well. In 1989, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent efforts opposing Chinese rule of Tibet.

Trouble in Tibet

For untold centuries, Tibetans lived relatively undisturbed lives in their remote land bordered by the snowcapped Himalayas. That way of life came to an abrupt end on Oct. 6, 1950, when Chinese troops poured across the border between China and Tibet. The Chinese government had long claimed that Tibet was a breakaway province of China and not an independent country. The Chinese based their claim on the loose control Chinese emperors exercised over Tibet in the 1700s and 1800s.

Tibetan resistance to the Chinese invasion was weak, and China soon controlled all of Tibet. On May 23, 1951, less than a year after the invasion, Tibetan leaders signed a document making Tibet officially a province of the People's Republic of China, but retained the right to regional self-government. Over the past 50-plus years, China has repeatedly cracked down on what it calls Tibet's "primitive" culture. Chinese troops have destroyed monasteries, burned works of art, and forced monks to build roads.

In 1959, Tibetans revolted against Chinese rule. The revolt was short-lived. Chinese soldiers, armed with modern weapons, swiftly put down the outgunned rebels. Before he could be captured, the 24-year-old Dalai Lama fled to India, where he continues to head a Tibetan government in exile.

Exiled Tibetan leaders accuse China of continuing a campaign of repression in Tibet by destroying all forms of traditional Tibetan religion. Some Tibetans go further. They say that China is committing a form of genocide--attempting to wipe out the Tibetans as a people--by settling large numbers of Chinese in Tibet and reducing Tibetans to a minority.

China vociferously denies these claims, and objects to U.S. leaders' even talking to the Dalai Lama. Ahead of the Dalai Lama's visit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry asked U.S. leaders not to allow the Dalai Lama "to engage in activities to split China." The China Daily, China's government-run newspaper, recently ran an editorial that said, "Tibet ... is an integral part of the Chinese territory, and the United States' granting permission for a visit by this political exile constitutes a serious intervention into China's internal affairs."

Homeward Bound?

Despite the conflict, the Dalai Lama recently told London's Guardian newspaper that he longs to one day return to Tibet. "I am hopeful to visit Tibet, to see my old place with my own eyes, and [to] try to cool down the situation." Chinese officials say that the Dalai Lama is welcome to return to Tibet, but he must first concede that it is rightfully Chinese territory and become a patriotic Chinese citizen. The Dalai Lama responded by saying that he would return to Tibet only "without preconditions."