The Buddha mentioned democracy in terms of equality, fairness/justice, and ultimate freedom or liberation for all beings.
In the Indian caste society of His time the Buddha was a revolutionary sage, the first to treat every being equally. He accepted into His Sangha people from all walks of life: from the rich and the powerful such as kings and queens, to the pariah, slaves, outcasts and members of the underworld such as beggars, robbers, and prostitutes….We learn from Buddhist scriptures stories about Sumita the outcast, Sati the fishing-net thrower, Ambabali the prostitute, and Punna and Punka, the two slaves.
In Buddhist view “all beings have Buddha Nature,” hence they must be treated equally. Humans are considered “noble” and ‘holy,” or “undervalued” and “unholy,” depending on their respective actions, not because of their birth or their family heritage. People from the four castes in Indian society, once they are accepted into the Buddha’s Sangha, no longer have the title they used to have, but become Sakya Putta, or followers of the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha. They are like all the rivers coming into the sea, thus having the same taste, the taste of the Dhamma. That is why Ananda, who was born into an upper-class family and became one of the most famous Buddhist disciples, accepted the drinking water given from Pakati, a slave woman who was carrying water from a fountain.
There is no social class, race, or gender discrimination in Buddhism. Still, a Buddhist novice who came from a royal family, and recently joined the Sangha must show respect to seniors who were originally from the lower classes but had taken the vows before him/her. The reason for this respectful attitude is to learn to be humble, and to avoid arrogance.
Many times the Buddha Himself set good examples to teach us to treat every being with compassion, and fairness or justice. One day the Buddha learned about a monk who suffered from a skin disease so badly that his body became too stinky with legions all over; no one else wanted to get near him. The Buddha entered the unfortunate monk’s dwelling, asked for some warm water, and compassionately cleansed the wounds on his body. Then the Buddha said to his disciples, “Those who helps this patient, also serve the Tathagata.” (Tathagata=One who has thus come/One is beyond all transitory phenomena).
The Buddha also taught us tolerance towards differences in religions and viewpoints, respectfulness to the truth, and avoidance of all verbal and physical conflicts or violence. When a Buddhist who respects the truth has a thought, s/he knows that it is his/her thought. The Buddhist never thinks or says, “ My thought is right, and others' thoughts are wrong,” out of respectfulness for the truth. If everybody thinks s/he is right, and others are wrong, conflicts and wars are unavoidable. Buddhism teaches us to be open-minded, and free from dualistic judgment or discrimination.
Buddhist doctrine of Karma provides further explanations about justice and equality. Everybody has to reap the good or the bad seeds they have sowed. Even the Buddha and His great disciples, with all the magical power they had, could not avoid their Karma from time immemorial. In the Dhammapada, karma is compared to one’s shadow, and to the traces the wheels of the oxcart leave wherever it moves. Thus, all beings have Buddha Nature, and may become Buddhas some day. All beings also have their respective karma, and must reap the results in due time fairly and equally. Such is Buddhist justice.
Finally, Buddhism advocates ultimate freedom or liberation. However, this is self-liberation, or seeking for freedom from the inside, not demanding freedom from without, or from others. Such an inner freedom is achieved by one’s efforts to conquer oneself. The Dhammapada teaches us that the greatest conquest is the conquest of oneself. The skillful practitioner is one who turns inward, seeking for ultimate freedom, inner peace and equilibrium. In the Kalama Sutra and the Dhammapada, the Buddha told His disciples to be their own torches, and never to depend on others, nor pray for or expect help from any authorities or supernatural powers.
"Attadhipà attasaranà annasaranà dhamma dhipà dhamma saranà".
Once one has developed inner peace, and achieved liberation, one may be able to spread such qualities out to the surrounding world. Democracy, therefore, is a process that begins with the individual, and that requires much effort from within. Otherwise, it is only an abstract political concept.
Sources:
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/pg-nganh/xa-hoi/cn-xh/9188-Giao-Ly-Phat-Giao-va-Y-Niem-Dan-Chu.
html http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/pg-nganh/xa-hoi/cn-xh/9113--ao-Phat-binh-dang-tu-do-tuyet-doi.
html http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/pg-nganh/xa-hoi/cn-xh/8952--Duc-Phat-va-Can-Ban-Nhan-Quyen.html
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Oligarchy and Despotism
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy. The word oligarchy is derived from the Greek words olígos, "a few"and the verb archo, "to rule, to govern, to command". (Wiki)
Throughout history, most oligarchies have been tyrannical, relying on public servitude to exist, although others have been relatively benign. Plato pioneered the use of the term in Chapter Four, Book Eight of "The Republic" as a society in which wealth is the criterion of merit and the wealthy are in control. The actual literal translation from the Greek is "rule of the few". However oligarchy is not always a rule by wealth, as oligarchs can simply be a privileged group, and do not have to be connected by bloodlines as in a monarchy. Some city-states from ancient Greece were oligarchies. (Wiki)
According to Roberto Michels, oligarchy rests on:
1. the nature of the human individual: the tendency to oligarchy is rooted in several basic human characteristics (transmitting good things to children, greed for power, need for guidance and direction...)
2. the nature of the political struggle: a number of social factors gives some individuals a platform for leadership: economic superiority, historical superiority from tradition, or heredity, and intellectual superiority.
3. the nature of organization: gradually those with authority develop special expertise that sets them apart. (Keohane, p. 170)
Athenian techniques to prevent the rise of oligarchy
In ancient Athenian democracy during the Fourth Century BC, after the restoration of democracy from oligarchical coups, the Athenians used the drawing of lots for selecting government officers in order to counteract what the Athenians acutely saw as a tendency toward oligarchy in government if a professional governing class were allowed to use their skills for their own benefit. They drew lots from large groups of adult volunteers as a selection technique for civil servants performing judicial, executive, and administrative functions. They even used lots for very important posts, such as judges and jurors in the political courts, which had the power to overrule the Assembly.
In politics, sortition (also known as allotment or the drawing of lots) is the selection of decision makers by lottery. The decision-makers are chosen as a random sample from a larger pool of candidates. Sortition was the primary method for appointing officials, and its use was widely regarded as a principal characteristic of democracy. It is commonly used today to select prospective jurors in common law-based legal systems.
Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy. The word despotism means to "rule in the fashion of a despot" and does not necessarily require a singular "despot", an individual.
Despot comes from the Greek despotes, which roughly means "master" or "one with power", and it has been used to translate a wide variety of titles and positions. It was used to describe the unlimited power and authority of the Pharaohs of Egypt, employed in the Byzantine court as a title of nobility, used by the rulers of Byzantine vassal states, and adopted as a title of the Byzantine Emperors. Thus, despot is found to have different meanings and interpretations at various times in history and can not be described by a single definition. This is similar to the other Greek titles basileus and autokrator, which, along with despot, have been used at various times to describe everything from a local chieftain to a simple ruler, king or emperor.
Colloquially, despot has been applied pejoratively to a person, particularity a head of state or government, who abuses his power and authority to oppress his people, subjects or subordinates. In this sense, it is similar to the pejorative connotations that have likewise arisen with the term tyrant. Dictator has also developed nearly similar pejorative connotations, though despot and tyrant tend to stress cruelty and even enjoyment therefrom, while dictator tends to imply more harshness or unfair implementation of law.
According to Montesquieu, the difference between monarchy and despotism is that in monarchy, a single person governs by fixed and established laws, whereas a despot governs by her or his own will and caprice.
Benjamin Franklin warned that America would likely end up as a despotic republic with docile citizens in his closing speech at the Constitutional Convention in 1787:
In Alexis de Tocqueville's classic two-volume Democracy in America (1835, 1840), the author feared that America would produce a new form of despotism in the world -a democratic despotism, a term also used by W.E.B.Du Bois almost 100 years later. This despostism would be guilty of genocide against indigenous peoples and unable to create a multiracial democracy owing to the deep white supremacist practices of the country's tyrannical majority. (West, p. 45)
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Despotism
Nannerl O. Keohane. Thinking About Leadership. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010).
Cornel West, Democracy Matters. (New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2004).
Throughout history, most oligarchies have been tyrannical, relying on public servitude to exist, although others have been relatively benign. Plato pioneered the use of the term in Chapter Four, Book Eight of "The Republic" as a society in which wealth is the criterion of merit and the wealthy are in control. The actual literal translation from the Greek is "rule of the few". However oligarchy is not always a rule by wealth, as oligarchs can simply be a privileged group, and do not have to be connected by bloodlines as in a monarchy. Some city-states from ancient Greece were oligarchies. (Wiki)
According to Roberto Michels, oligarchy rests on:
1. the nature of the human individual: the tendency to oligarchy is rooted in several basic human characteristics (transmitting good things to children, greed for power, need for guidance and direction...)
2. the nature of the political struggle: a number of social factors gives some individuals a platform for leadership: economic superiority, historical superiority from tradition, or heredity, and intellectual superiority.
3. the nature of organization: gradually those with authority develop special expertise that sets them apart. (Keohane, p. 170)
Athenian techniques to prevent the rise of oligarchy
In ancient Athenian democracy during the Fourth Century BC, after the restoration of democracy from oligarchical coups, the Athenians used the drawing of lots for selecting government officers in order to counteract what the Athenians acutely saw as a tendency toward oligarchy in government if a professional governing class were allowed to use their skills for their own benefit. They drew lots from large groups of adult volunteers as a selection technique for civil servants performing judicial, executive, and administrative functions. They even used lots for very important posts, such as judges and jurors in the political courts, which had the power to overrule the Assembly.
In politics, sortition (also known as allotment or the drawing of lots) is the selection of decision makers by lottery. The decision-makers are chosen as a random sample from a larger pool of candidates. Sortition was the primary method for appointing officials, and its use was widely regarded as a principal characteristic of democracy. It is commonly used today to select prospective jurors in common law-based legal systems.
Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy. The word despotism means to "rule in the fashion of a despot" and does not necessarily require a singular "despot", an individual.
Despot comes from the Greek despotes, which roughly means "master" or "one with power", and it has been used to translate a wide variety of titles and positions. It was used to describe the unlimited power and authority of the Pharaohs of Egypt, employed in the Byzantine court as a title of nobility, used by the rulers of Byzantine vassal states, and adopted as a title of the Byzantine Emperors. Thus, despot is found to have different meanings and interpretations at various times in history and can not be described by a single definition. This is similar to the other Greek titles basileus and autokrator, which, along with despot, have been used at various times to describe everything from a local chieftain to a simple ruler, king or emperor.
Colloquially, despot has been applied pejoratively to a person, particularity a head of state or government, who abuses his power and authority to oppress his people, subjects or subordinates. In this sense, it is similar to the pejorative connotations that have likewise arisen with the term tyrant. Dictator has also developed nearly similar pejorative connotations, though despot and tyrant tend to stress cruelty and even enjoyment therefrom, while dictator tends to imply more harshness or unfair implementation of law.
According to Montesquieu, the difference between monarchy and despotism is that in monarchy, a single person governs by fixed and established laws, whereas a despot governs by her or his own will and caprice.
Benjamin Franklin warned that America would likely end up as a despotic republic with docile citizens in his closing speech at the Constitutional Convention in 1787:
I agree to this constitution with all its faults, if they are such: because I think a general government necessary for us, and there is no form of government but what may be a blessing to the people if well-administered; and I believe farther that this is likely to be well-administered for a Course of Years and can only end in Despotism as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need Despotic Government, being incapable of any other.(West, p. 44)
In Alexis de Tocqueville's classic two-volume Democracy in America (1835, 1840), the author feared that America would produce a new form of despotism in the world -a democratic despotism, a term also used by W.E.B.Du Bois almost 100 years later. This despostism would be guilty of genocide against indigenous peoples and unable to create a multiracial democracy owing to the deep white supremacist practices of the country's tyrannical majority. (West, p. 45)
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Despotism
Nannerl O. Keohane. Thinking About Leadership. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010).
Cornel West, Democracy Matters. (New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2004).
Thursday, October 20, 2011
The Trash Collector
The Criminals
‘tis easy to sit behind the wheel
and see your car bump
against some little creature.
Easier still is the feeling
of two more bumpers,
and two more later.
The easiest perhaps
is pressing the accelerator
ignoring the bloody scene
behind you left.
The Toddler Victim
An innocent two-year-old girl
lying still in a pool of blood
on the street
helpless, vulnerable.
No one cares.
A squirrel
crossing the street,
lying still in a pool of blood
on the street.
No one cares.
The Eighteen Passers-By
‘tis easy to mind your own business.
Time is running out;
life is short.
‘tis smarter not to get tangled
in street crimes like that.
Other busy squirrels
searching for food
never bother to stop by
their unfortunate fellow,
even for a sniff.
The Trash Collector
‘tis too difficult
to turn away
from the dying toddler
vulnerably lying still
in a pool of blood
on the street.
No one cares.
Hers-- a natural reaction:
“I just picked the girl up,
and called for help.
No calculation.”
Actually,‘tis more and more
difficult to be different
from others and from their ways
of thinking and behaving:
“Her reaction quite unnatural,
unless for fame and money.”
To the trash collector
‘tis poignantly heart-breaking
having to receive donations
from far-and-near donors.
Hers --"a natural reaction."
"No calculation"
over a helpless, dying toddler.
The trash collector finally
decided to leave the town
where the crime had happened,
and where she had been
a dedicated trash collector.
She returned to her poor village
where her miserable husband lived.
Never ever come back she will
to be tortured again
for her natural reaction
by such squirrel-like beings
so callously indifferent.
"Why is it so difficult
to do the right thing?"
asked the trash collector
her eyes full of tear
as she was leaving.
October 17, 2011
Based on a real story in South China. Two vans hit and ran over the toddler, who passed away after seven days in hospital.
Source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JClGY1PJY-I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZf3mj-0qWU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12vAaUMhcoU&NR=1
‘tis easy to sit behind the wheel
and see your car bump
against some little creature.
Easier still is the feeling
of two more bumpers,
and two more later.
The easiest perhaps
is pressing the accelerator
ignoring the bloody scene
behind you left.
The Toddler Victim
An innocent two-year-old girl
lying still in a pool of blood
on the street
helpless, vulnerable.
No one cares.
A squirrel
crossing the street,
lying still in a pool of blood
on the street.
No one cares.
The Eighteen Passers-By
‘tis easy to mind your own business.
Time is running out;
life is short.
‘tis smarter not to get tangled
in street crimes like that.
Other busy squirrels
searching for food
never bother to stop by
their unfortunate fellow,
even for a sniff.
The Trash Collector
‘tis too difficult
to turn away
from the dying toddler
vulnerably lying still
in a pool of blood
on the street.
No one cares.
Hers-- a natural reaction:
“I just picked the girl up,
and called for help.
No calculation.”
Actually,‘tis more and more
difficult to be different
from others and from their ways
of thinking and behaving:
“Her reaction quite unnatural,
unless for fame and money.”
To the trash collector
‘tis poignantly heart-breaking
having to receive donations
from far-and-near donors.
Hers --"a natural reaction."
"No calculation"
over a helpless, dying toddler.
The trash collector finally
decided to leave the town
where the crime had happened,
and where she had been
a dedicated trash collector.
She returned to her poor village
where her miserable husband lived.
Never ever come back she will
to be tortured again
for her natural reaction
by such squirrel-like beings
so callously indifferent.
"Why is it so difficult
to do the right thing?"
asked the trash collector
her eyes full of tear
as she was leaving.
October 17, 2011
Based on a real story in South China. Two vans hit and ran over the toddler, who passed away after seven days in hospital.
Source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JClGY1PJY-I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZf3mj-0qWU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12vAaUMhcoU&NR=1
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
A Case of Spiritual Development
As early as 6 or 7 years old, I began to know some religious terminology, rituals and activities. It all began with my visits to temples and religious groups and meetings with my parents. They, with their own pursuits and in their respective and unintentional ways, had introduced me to various religious communities.
I familiarized myself first with Cao Dai, an indigenous religion founded by a Vietnamese in 1926, which my father joined out of his love for poetry; then with the Theosophical Society, the gatherings of whose members my mother liked to attend because of its fascinating literature and lectures about occult science, cosmology, and Oriental spiritual life; and, finally, with Buddhism, which is my choice to follow. I learned the sacred mantra Om maṇipadme hūṃ, and the often chanted phrase “Cao Đài Tiên Ông Đại Bồ Tát Ma-ha-tát” (Cao Dai the Ancient Sage and Great Bodhisattva Mahasattva) during my several visits to a Cao Dai Holy Temple in Gia Dinh, near Saigon. I even had vegetarian meals there occasionally. As a second- or first-grader (I cannot remember well now), I found the names and photos of Annie Besant, Helena Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, and the motto "There is no Religion higher than Truth" from a banner across the hall of the Theosophical Society in Saigon very striking. I was especially interested in the beautiful, mystical and colorful drawings in the Society books which my mother bought home to read. I was able to read then, and could also understand the lectures and the books in my own childish ways. I started to build a small altar on one of the family bookshelves. It was part of a tall bookcase behind a curtain, where I could stand and pray in privacy. I used to stand there praying whenever I felt insecure or needed some help emotionally or academically. It was my nook of refuge.
One day one of my elder brothers who was interested in foreign languages and Esperanto brought home the Dhammapada, a well-known versified Buddhist Scripture. He wanted to translate it from English into Vietnamese and Esperanto. Thanks to the text he brought home, I started to learn some verses from the Dhammapada. I immediately found the Scripture very attractive, and soon learned many lines by heart. I was also able to learn about the Buddhist ascetic life in two occasions when I climbed up a mountain in Vung Tau with my father, my brother, and some other Esperantists to visit a German monk living alone in a small hut he had built up there to practice Buddhism. The monk was an Esperantist, too. At that time I was about 12 or 13 years old. After the war was over, the monk had to leave Vietnam, and for a long time we lost all contacts with him. I did not see my brother again for many, many years. But the Dhammapada and my brother’s translations live on with me despite all life vicissitudes.
In the 1980s during my college years I used to seek quiet places to study. Because the university and city libraries were far from my home, and it would take me hours to ride my bike back and forth only to study at such quiet places, I preferred to bike to nearby Buddhist temples to study instead. There are many Buddhist temples scattered here and there in Saigon, even in my own neighborhood. My habit of studying in temples was first developed when I had to take the admission examination to college at the age of 17 - 18. I have always enjoyed the monastic quiet atmosphere since then. A second nook of refuge for me.
Too busy with college life and making a living, I could hardly afford time to go to Buddhist temples to listen to Dhamma talks as I wished for many adult years. However, there were some occasions when I could join my father or my mother to a temple in Phu Nhuan to listen to Dhamma talks by very well-known Buddhist monks. Again I saw the familiar Dhammapada verses framed and hung on the walls inside the Temple. The first Dhamma talk I received there was about the Kalama Sutra (Buddhist Charter of Free Inquiry). It was a revelation to me, and soon after that I took the five precepts and became a Buddhist. It is a landmark in my life. From then on I have gradually built up my own refuge, a safe and solid refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, which helps to protect me from all life adversities.
I am grateful to my parents’ early and liberal introduction to religious activities, and to their crucial guidance to Buddhism near the end of their lives. I am also grateful to all the venerable monks at the Temple where I visited and listened to Dhamma talks as a young adult. How blessed and delightful I am to have such precious and hard-to-find guides in my life! Till the end of my life I will dwell in the Three-Gem Refuge of my choice, for it is the best Refuge I have ever found in life.
I familiarized myself first with Cao Dai, an indigenous religion founded by a Vietnamese in 1926, which my father joined out of his love for poetry; then with the Theosophical Society, the gatherings of whose members my mother liked to attend because of its fascinating literature and lectures about occult science, cosmology, and Oriental spiritual life; and, finally, with Buddhism, which is my choice to follow. I learned the sacred mantra Om maṇipadme hūṃ, and the often chanted phrase “Cao Đài Tiên Ông Đại Bồ Tát Ma-ha-tát” (Cao Dai the Ancient Sage and Great Bodhisattva Mahasattva) during my several visits to a Cao Dai Holy Temple in Gia Dinh, near Saigon. I even had vegetarian meals there occasionally. As a second- or first-grader (I cannot remember well now), I found the names and photos of Annie Besant, Helena Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, and the motto "There is no Religion higher than Truth" from a banner across the hall of the Theosophical Society in Saigon very striking. I was especially interested in the beautiful, mystical and colorful drawings in the Society books which my mother bought home to read. I was able to read then, and could also understand the lectures and the books in my own childish ways. I started to build a small altar on one of the family bookshelves. It was part of a tall bookcase behind a curtain, where I could stand and pray in privacy. I used to stand there praying whenever I felt insecure or needed some help emotionally or academically. It was my nook of refuge.
One day one of my elder brothers who was interested in foreign languages and Esperanto brought home the Dhammapada, a well-known versified Buddhist Scripture. He wanted to translate it from English into Vietnamese and Esperanto. Thanks to the text he brought home, I started to learn some verses from the Dhammapada. I immediately found the Scripture very attractive, and soon learned many lines by heart. I was also able to learn about the Buddhist ascetic life in two occasions when I climbed up a mountain in Vung Tau with my father, my brother, and some other Esperantists to visit a German monk living alone in a small hut he had built up there to practice Buddhism. The monk was an Esperantist, too. At that time I was about 12 or 13 years old. After the war was over, the monk had to leave Vietnam, and for a long time we lost all contacts with him. I did not see my brother again for many, many years. But the Dhammapada and my brother’s translations live on with me despite all life vicissitudes.
In the 1980s during my college years I used to seek quiet places to study. Because the university and city libraries were far from my home, and it would take me hours to ride my bike back and forth only to study at such quiet places, I preferred to bike to nearby Buddhist temples to study instead. There are many Buddhist temples scattered here and there in Saigon, even in my own neighborhood. My habit of studying in temples was first developed when I had to take the admission examination to college at the age of 17 - 18. I have always enjoyed the monastic quiet atmosphere since then. A second nook of refuge for me.
Too busy with college life and making a living, I could hardly afford time to go to Buddhist temples to listen to Dhamma talks as I wished for many adult years. However, there were some occasions when I could join my father or my mother to a temple in Phu Nhuan to listen to Dhamma talks by very well-known Buddhist monks. Again I saw the familiar Dhammapada verses framed and hung on the walls inside the Temple. The first Dhamma talk I received there was about the Kalama Sutra (Buddhist Charter of Free Inquiry). It was a revelation to me, and soon after that I took the five precepts and became a Buddhist. It is a landmark in my life. From then on I have gradually built up my own refuge, a safe and solid refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, which helps to protect me from all life adversities.
I am grateful to my parents’ early and liberal introduction to religious activities, and to their crucial guidance to Buddhism near the end of their lives. I am also grateful to all the venerable monks at the Temple where I visited and listened to Dhamma talks as a young adult. How blessed and delightful I am to have such precious and hard-to-find guides in my life! Till the end of my life I will dwell in the Three-Gem Refuge of my choice, for it is the best Refuge I have ever found in life.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Leaders vs. Ordinary Citizens--Some Notes about Current Protests in the World
In theory, citizens must have "equal influence over political outcomes" as leaders. Policy makers' decisions should "reflect equal concerns for [ordinary citizens'] needs and interests. This requirement of rough equal political equality has significant implications in determining how much socioeconomic inequality is acceptable as well, if a system is to count as democratic. Among individuals unequal in wealth and social status, those who enjoy more worldly advantages will often carry more weight in assemblies or elections than the less privileged. This can happen when citizens use their finance and social power to influence or silence others....Those who are wealthier or of a higher class are often better educated and more articulate, more experienced at speaking up in social situations, and more self-confident. Those who are less advantaged must use other measures to gain influence, whether through sheer numbers or charismatic leadership, organizational strength, or procedural guarantees, exceptional self-confidence or persistence.(Keohane, pp. 174-175)
Occupy Walls Street (OWS)movements were kindled by the uprisings of the ordinary citizens in North Africa against their political leaders whose greed for power and money has led to unacceptable social inequality and injustice. With high-tech and social network availability, such democratic movements are spreading quickly and have become the global drive for a worldwide revolution against all oligarchy and despotism and totalitarianism regimes on earth. At first, participants in such spontaneous movements may seem to have no leadership and clear goals. However, very soon new leaders will emerge from the movements and make them strong enough to turn into socio-political revolutions.
OWS is a series of demonstrations based in New York City that began on September 17, 2011. Initiated by the Canadian-based Adbusters Media Foundation; inspired by the Arab Spring protests; seeking to protest disparities in wealth, corporate greed and the influence of businesses in politics. Since its inception, a number of similar movements have developed across American cities and communities. Will go on for decades.
In the Middle East and North Africa one of the key drivers has been the youthful population struggling to find work. Educated, inner-city youths using social media platforms to coordinate got protests started, and were quickly joined by broader masses angry at rising food prices.
Witness students' perspectives: the size of the crowds; lack of unity and leadership; coverage of a wide variety of issues and not adequately prioritizing certain key issues.
Accountability, transparency, and the application of the rule of law are essential issues that the ruling political elites and the economic elites need to consider with care.
Chronological Order of Protest
February Egyptians protesters ousted Hosni Mubarak
August riots in Britain
September Occupy Wall Street movement in New York , USA
OWS and the 99% movements spreading
A host of other dissident movements against autocrats, bankers, and elites, online or street based, in tents
Symptoms of fundamental shifts in the structure of global populations
An economic malaise that lasts for decades, and makes politics very unpredictable.
Sources:
Nannerl O. Keohane. Thinking About Leadership. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010).
The Daily Princetonians October 21, 2011.
Project Syndicate, 2011. www.project-syndicate.org
Occupy Walls Street (OWS)movements were kindled by the uprisings of the ordinary citizens in North Africa against their political leaders whose greed for power and money has led to unacceptable social inequality and injustice. With high-tech and social network availability, such democratic movements are spreading quickly and have become the global drive for a worldwide revolution against all oligarchy and despotism and totalitarianism regimes on earth. At first, participants in such spontaneous movements may seem to have no leadership and clear goals. However, very soon new leaders will emerge from the movements and make them strong enough to turn into socio-political revolutions.
OWS is a series of demonstrations based in New York City that began on September 17, 2011. Initiated by the Canadian-based Adbusters Media Foundation; inspired by the Arab Spring protests; seeking to protest disparities in wealth, corporate greed and the influence of businesses in politics. Since its inception, a number of similar movements have developed across American cities and communities. Will go on for decades.
In the Middle East and North Africa one of the key drivers has been the youthful population struggling to find work. Educated, inner-city youths using social media platforms to coordinate got protests started, and were quickly joined by broader masses angry at rising food prices.
Witness students' perspectives: the size of the crowds; lack of unity and leadership; coverage of a wide variety of issues and not adequately prioritizing certain key issues.
Accountability, transparency, and the application of the rule of law are essential issues that the ruling political elites and the economic elites need to consider with care.
Chronological Order of Protest
February Egyptians protesters ousted Hosni Mubarak
August riots in Britain
September Occupy Wall Street movement in New York , USA
OWS and the 99% movements spreading
A host of other dissident movements against autocrats, bankers, and elites, online or street based, in tents
Symptoms of fundamental shifts in the structure of global populations
An economic malaise that lasts for decades, and makes politics very unpredictable.
Sources:
Nannerl O. Keohane. Thinking About Leadership. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010).
The Daily Princetonians October 21, 2011.
Project Syndicate, 2011. www.project-syndicate.org
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Steve Jobs's Untimely Death and Early Warning Signs of Pancreatic Cancer
There are no early symptoms of pancreatic cancer. People diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are typically already in the advanced stage of the disease by the time it's caught, and the typical prognosis is death within five years.
With pancreatic cancer much on everyone's mind due to the untimely death of Steve Jobs, it seems like a good time to ask the question that's on all of our minds: Are there any early warning signs of pancreatic cancer?
The answer is yes, there are. But to understand these signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer, it's important to understand where the pancreas is, and what it does.
Located deep inside the abdomen, the pancreas is only 4 to 6 inches long and shaped like a tadpole. In the "tail" of the pancreas are cells that produce insulin, and tumors at this end are usually endocrine tumors. They're easier to diagnose, but are much rarer. At the other end, the "head" of the pancreas, are cells that produce digestive enzymes, and tumors at this end are called exocrine tumors. These are by far the most common, and are much more difficult to detect.
However, the idea that a pancreatic tumor is asymptomatic is a bit of a myth. Dig deep into journal articles and ask patients what they remember and the result is a long list of odd signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer to watch out for.
Taken one by one, these symptoms could mean many things. But if you find yourself experiencing two or three of these early warning signs of pancreatic cancer, call your doctor and ask for a scan. Imaging techniques such as MRIs can detect pancreatic cancer some of the time, depending on the location of the tumor.
Early Warning Signs of Pancreatic Cancer
• Diabetes, especially if it comes on suddenly. Recently, the Mayo Clinic published startling research showing that 40 percent of pancreatic cancer patients had been diagnosed with diabetes one to two years before discovering they had a pancreatic tumor. Researchers believe the diabetes is caused by tumors that simply haven't been detected yet. The problem is, diabetes is very common, and the majority of diabetes isn't pancreatic cancer, so doctors are trying to develop screening tools to tell the difference. Right now, they say family history is an important clue. If you're diagnosed with diabetes that seems to come on suddenly and you have no family history of diabetes, bring this to your doctor's attention and ask for further screening for pancreatic cancer.
• Yellowing of the eyes or skin. Even a small pancreatic tumor can block the bile duct in the head of the pancreas, causing bile to build up. This causes jaundice.
• Itchy skin, palms, and soles of feet. A little-known side-effect of jaundice is itchy hands and feet. It's due to a skin reaction to the bilirubin, the yellowish brown liver chemical that causes jaundice.
• Lack of appetite. An Italian study found that six to eight months before being diagnosed with pancreatic tumors, patients reported a sudden drop in their appetite and a tendency to feel full after eating very little.
• Changes in taste. In the same Italian study, some of the patients surveyed said they'd suddenly lost their taste for coffee, wine, and smoking. In fact, they said, they felt "disgust" for the smell and taste of coffee and alcohol.
• Abdominal pain. Pancreatic cancer sufferers remember this pain as a gnawing pain, rather than a sharp cramp or ache, and it radiates toward the back. A characteristic clue: the pain goes away when you lean forward.
• An enlarged gall bladder. The same blockage of the bile duct that causes jaundice can also cause an enlarged gallbladder, as the bile builds up behind the duct. The good news is that an enlarged gallbladder can be seen on imaging tests, and it may even be possible for a doctor to feel it during a physical exam.
• Pale, floating, smelly stools. If a pancreatic tumor prevents digestive enzymes from reaching the intestine, the result is an inability to digest fatty foods. So you end up with loose, smelly "floaters" as a result of the excess fat. Doctors say this symptom, in particular, can be an early clue and is too often overlooked.
• Dark, tarry stools. Bleeding in the upper intestines causes this symptom.
• Sudden, unexplained weight loss. Weight loss is not always, as many people mistakenly believe, a sign of advanced cancer that's spread to the liver. It can also happen because a lack of pancreatic enzymes is causing fat to pass through the body undigested.
What do you do if you're worried about any of these symptoms?
Document all symptoms, and report them to your doctor in as much detail as possible. If your doctor is convinced you have legitimate concerns (and remember, you may have to do some convincing) tests such as an ultrasound, a CT scan, and an endoscopy followed by a biopsy can be used to search for a pancreatic tumor. There's also a blood test for a biomarker called CA-19-9 that can be used in conjunction with other tests to diagnose pancreatic cancer early.
While tragic early deaths like Steve Jobs' are the hard reality of pancreatic cancer, there are also people living productive lives thanks to an early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Such was the case with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who's still practicing after having a tiny pancreatic tumor surgically removed. Yes, she got "lucky," as she put it -- but she also got a CT scan, which is how the tumor was found.
Source:
Melanie Haiken, Caring.com senior editor, "10 Early Warning Signs of Pancreatic Cancer." http://www.caring.com. Last updated: October 06, 2011
With pancreatic cancer much on everyone's mind due to the untimely death of Steve Jobs, it seems like a good time to ask the question that's on all of our minds: Are there any early warning signs of pancreatic cancer?
The answer is yes, there are. But to understand these signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer, it's important to understand where the pancreas is, and what it does.
Located deep inside the abdomen, the pancreas is only 4 to 6 inches long and shaped like a tadpole. In the "tail" of the pancreas are cells that produce insulin, and tumors at this end are usually endocrine tumors. They're easier to diagnose, but are much rarer. At the other end, the "head" of the pancreas, are cells that produce digestive enzymes, and tumors at this end are called exocrine tumors. These are by far the most common, and are much more difficult to detect.
However, the idea that a pancreatic tumor is asymptomatic is a bit of a myth. Dig deep into journal articles and ask patients what they remember and the result is a long list of odd signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer to watch out for.
Taken one by one, these symptoms could mean many things. But if you find yourself experiencing two or three of these early warning signs of pancreatic cancer, call your doctor and ask for a scan. Imaging techniques such as MRIs can detect pancreatic cancer some of the time, depending on the location of the tumor.
Early Warning Signs of Pancreatic Cancer
• Diabetes, especially if it comes on suddenly. Recently, the Mayo Clinic published startling research showing that 40 percent of pancreatic cancer patients had been diagnosed with diabetes one to two years before discovering they had a pancreatic tumor. Researchers believe the diabetes is caused by tumors that simply haven't been detected yet. The problem is, diabetes is very common, and the majority of diabetes isn't pancreatic cancer, so doctors are trying to develop screening tools to tell the difference. Right now, they say family history is an important clue. If you're diagnosed with diabetes that seems to come on suddenly and you have no family history of diabetes, bring this to your doctor's attention and ask for further screening for pancreatic cancer.
• Yellowing of the eyes or skin. Even a small pancreatic tumor can block the bile duct in the head of the pancreas, causing bile to build up. This causes jaundice.
• Itchy skin, palms, and soles of feet. A little-known side-effect of jaundice is itchy hands and feet. It's due to a skin reaction to the bilirubin, the yellowish brown liver chemical that causes jaundice.
• Lack of appetite. An Italian study found that six to eight months before being diagnosed with pancreatic tumors, patients reported a sudden drop in their appetite and a tendency to feel full after eating very little.
• Changes in taste. In the same Italian study, some of the patients surveyed said they'd suddenly lost their taste for coffee, wine, and smoking. In fact, they said, they felt "disgust" for the smell and taste of coffee and alcohol.
• Abdominal pain. Pancreatic cancer sufferers remember this pain as a gnawing pain, rather than a sharp cramp or ache, and it radiates toward the back. A characteristic clue: the pain goes away when you lean forward.
• An enlarged gall bladder. The same blockage of the bile duct that causes jaundice can also cause an enlarged gallbladder, as the bile builds up behind the duct. The good news is that an enlarged gallbladder can be seen on imaging tests, and it may even be possible for a doctor to feel it during a physical exam.
• Pale, floating, smelly stools. If a pancreatic tumor prevents digestive enzymes from reaching the intestine, the result is an inability to digest fatty foods. So you end up with loose, smelly "floaters" as a result of the excess fat. Doctors say this symptom, in particular, can be an early clue and is too often overlooked.
• Dark, tarry stools. Bleeding in the upper intestines causes this symptom.
• Sudden, unexplained weight loss. Weight loss is not always, as many people mistakenly believe, a sign of advanced cancer that's spread to the liver. It can also happen because a lack of pancreatic enzymes is causing fat to pass through the body undigested.
What do you do if you're worried about any of these symptoms?
Document all symptoms, and report them to your doctor in as much detail as possible. If your doctor is convinced you have legitimate concerns (and remember, you may have to do some convincing) tests such as an ultrasound, a CT scan, and an endoscopy followed by a biopsy can be used to search for a pancreatic tumor. There's also a blood test for a biomarker called CA-19-9 that can be used in conjunction with other tests to diagnose pancreatic cancer early.
While tragic early deaths like Steve Jobs' are the hard reality of pancreatic cancer, there are also people living productive lives thanks to an early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Such was the case with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who's still practicing after having a tiny pancreatic tumor surgically removed. Yes, she got "lucky," as she put it -- but she also got a CT scan, which is how the tumor was found.
Source:
Melanie Haiken, Caring.com senior editor, "10 Early Warning Signs of Pancreatic Cancer." http://www.caring.com. Last updated: October 06, 2011
Notes on Democracy
Democracy has a number of dimensions and multiple definitions.
A form of government in which sovereignty resides in the citizens as a body.
A system of government "whereby the governed people enjoy control over the governing authorities." (Philip Pettit)
Other definitions emphasize popular participation in determining policies that affect the whole community. (Keohane, pp. 156-157)
Three types of democratic governance:
1.representative or liberal democracy. Example: modern nation-states
2.traditional participatory democracy. Example: South African government
3.classical democracy. Example: the Athenian polis, workplace in large modern industries. (Keohane, pp.158-161)
John Dewey's The Public and Its Problems (1927)defines the essential conditions for democracy. In his view it is the formation of a public that can recognize and govern itself. The democratic machinery that has so far evolved is a poor approximation of the practices that would emerge in a true democracy. "We have every reason to think that whatever changes may take place in existing democratic machinery, they will be of the sort to make the interest of the public a more supreme guide and criterion of governmental activities, and to enable the public to form and manifest its purposes still more authoritatively."
"The prime difficulty is that of discovering the means by which a scattered, mobile, and manifold public may so recognize itself as to define and express its interests." (Keohane, p.168)
We have frequently printed the word Democracy, yet I cannot too often repeat that it is a word the gist of which still sleeps, quite unawakened, notwithstanding the resonance and the many angry tempests out of which its syllables have come, from pen or tongue. It is a great word, whose history, I suppose, remains unwritten, because that history has yet to be enacted.
Walt Whitman Democratic Vistas (1871) (West, p.1)
Democracy is not just a system of governance, as we tend to think of it, but a cultural way of being. (West, p. 68)
The good society is one that is based on three equalities: economic equality, today known as socialism, or the sharing of wealth; political equality or democracy, or sharing in political decisions which affect daily life; and social equality which, to some extent, results in socialism and democracy, and is characterized by a lack of social classes and discrimination based on color, faith, race or sex. In the good society people are judged according to their intellectual and moral character, as reflected in their public and private lives and demonstrated in the spirit of public service at all times and through every means. Social equality aims at removing social classes and differencesbetween urban and rural life by providing equal opportunity for cultural refinement.
Mamoud Mohamed Taha, The Second Message of Islam (1987) (West, p. 108)
Democracy is not simply a matter of an electoral system in which citizens get the right to vote and elected officials must compete for the public's favor....All systems set up to enact democracy are subject to corrupt manipulations, and that is why the public commitment to democratic involvement is so vital. Genuine, robust democracy must be brought to life through democratic individuality, democratic community, and democratic society.
....From the time of that first Athenian democratic experiment in the fifth century BC to the birth of the American democratic experiment in the eighteenth century, the consolidation of the elite power was the primary object of democratic revolt. This will to transform corrupted forms of elite rule into more democratic ways of life is an extraordinary force, though each new democratic result of the exercise of this will falls short of democratic ideals. This is why all democracies are incomplete and unfinished, and this is why American democracy is a work in progress.
(West, pp. 203-204)
In a democracy, each person's voice should count the same in determining the final outcome. "One man, one vote." Too great a deviation from this ideal raises the question whether the system can truly be called democratic. (Keohane, p. 174)
Insofar as equality is closely correlated with democracy, there is a fundamental tension between leadership and democracy as well. (Keohane, pp. 174-175)
Sources:
Cornel West. Democracy Matters.(New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2004).
Nannerl O. Keohane. Thinking About Leadership. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010).
A form of government in which sovereignty resides in the citizens as a body.
A system of government "whereby the governed people enjoy control over the governing authorities." (Philip Pettit)
Other definitions emphasize popular participation in determining policies that affect the whole community. (Keohane, pp. 156-157)
Three types of democratic governance:
1.representative or liberal democracy. Example: modern nation-states
2.traditional participatory democracy. Example: South African government
3.classical democracy. Example: the Athenian polis, workplace in large modern industries. (Keohane, pp.158-161)
John Dewey's The Public and Its Problems (1927)defines the essential conditions for democracy. In his view it is the formation of a public that can recognize and govern itself. The democratic machinery that has so far evolved is a poor approximation of the practices that would emerge in a true democracy. "We have every reason to think that whatever changes may take place in existing democratic machinery, they will be of the sort to make the interest of the public a more supreme guide and criterion of governmental activities, and to enable the public to form and manifest its purposes still more authoritatively."
"The prime difficulty is that of discovering the means by which a scattered, mobile, and manifold public may so recognize itself as to define and express its interests." (Keohane, p.168)
We have frequently printed the word Democracy, yet I cannot too often repeat that it is a word the gist of which still sleeps, quite unawakened, notwithstanding the resonance and the many angry tempests out of which its syllables have come, from pen or tongue. It is a great word, whose history, I suppose, remains unwritten, because that history has yet to be enacted.
Walt Whitman Democratic Vistas (1871) (West, p.1)
Democracy is not just a system of governance, as we tend to think of it, but a cultural way of being. (West, p. 68)
The good society is one that is based on three equalities: economic equality, today known as socialism, or the sharing of wealth; political equality or democracy, or sharing in political decisions which affect daily life; and social equality which, to some extent, results in socialism and democracy, and is characterized by a lack of social classes and discrimination based on color, faith, race or sex. In the good society people are judged according to their intellectual and moral character, as reflected in their public and private lives and demonstrated in the spirit of public service at all times and through every means. Social equality aims at removing social classes and differencesbetween urban and rural life by providing equal opportunity for cultural refinement.
Mamoud Mohamed Taha, The Second Message of Islam (1987) (West, p. 108)
Democracy is not simply a matter of an electoral system in which citizens get the right to vote and elected officials must compete for the public's favor....All systems set up to enact democracy are subject to corrupt manipulations, and that is why the public commitment to democratic involvement is so vital. Genuine, robust democracy must be brought to life through democratic individuality, democratic community, and democratic society.
....From the time of that first Athenian democratic experiment in the fifth century BC to the birth of the American democratic experiment in the eighteenth century, the consolidation of the elite power was the primary object of democratic revolt. This will to transform corrupted forms of elite rule into more democratic ways of life is an extraordinary force, though each new democratic result of the exercise of this will falls short of democratic ideals. This is why all democracies are incomplete and unfinished, and this is why American democracy is a work in progress.
(West, pp. 203-204)
In a democracy, each person's voice should count the same in determining the final outcome. "One man, one vote." Too great a deviation from this ideal raises the question whether the system can truly be called democratic. (Keohane, p. 174)
Insofar as equality is closely correlated with democracy, there is a fundamental tension between leadership and democracy as well. (Keohane, pp. 174-175)
Sources:
Cornel West. Democracy Matters.(New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2004).
Nannerl O. Keohane. Thinking About Leadership. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010).
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Healthcare, Education, and Culture as Commodities
Commodities may be defined as goods or services ready for exchange or trade within a market. Should healthcare,education, and some forms of cultural service be treated like other commodities in the free market? These are human services, but they are special and far different from many other regular human services. If not well managed and delivered, they may have serious and lasting effects for generations.
First, the healthcare or education service once received cannot be returned to the provider or exchanged for another one. Once the harm is done, it cannot be undone. A patient or a patient's family can sue a doctor, but the doctor cannot give back the health status (nor giving back life), the patient had before the damage. Similarly, misleading instructions or incorrect information from textbooks can harm generations of learners.
Second, healthcare and education have widespread and global consequences. They are completely different from getting a haircut, and even from buying a new house. Some diseases are contagious, and if a patient does not have good health coverage, and cannot afford a thorough treatment, the virus or bacteria can develop into a resistant strain, and become more harmful to many others. Similarly, the absence of education or a poor and substandard education system is often followed by the cycle of ignorance, poverty, disease --a cycle which may lead to slavery in one form or another.
What about culture?
Culture is a tricky term to define. It is inherent in one nation's life style, the foods and beverages its people eat, the ways they think, their social behaviors, and their expressions in literature, visual or performing arts, even in the manners they treat their ancestors or the dead, ect.
It is upsetting and also embarrassing to learn that nowadays in some places on earth there is an online service to help busy people to celebrate their parents' and ancestors' anniversaries. With money the child or grandchild can order online what kind of offerings s/he wants to have or display on the deceased's altar and tomb. The anniversary service providers are happy to do the weeding, cleaning, and decorating the tomb area, including putting candles into the candle holders, and burning the incense in the incense urn as long as such services are ordered and paid appropriately. What a convenience!
There are certain "commodities" that money cannot buy. Also history has proved that unfair distribution of social wealth and possession may lead to social discontent and upheaval. Needless to say, public safety (living and working environments), healthcare, education, and some cultural activities are among the areas which demand some law enforcement in order to maintain social justice, decency, stability and sustainability. Free market or laissez-faire does not mean money can control everything. If money controls everything, there will certainly be chaos and upheavals.
The role of politicians and policy makers is first and foremost to protect social justice and equal democracy, and to keep public security, health and education up to an acceptable standard. Governments must be responsible for a safe environment for their people to live in, and for fair and universal healthcare and education services to everybody in society. If incapable of accomplishing such responsibilities, what then is the government for?
First, the healthcare or education service once received cannot be returned to the provider or exchanged for another one. Once the harm is done, it cannot be undone. A patient or a patient's family can sue a doctor, but the doctor cannot give back the health status (nor giving back life), the patient had before the damage. Similarly, misleading instructions or incorrect information from textbooks can harm generations of learners.
Second, healthcare and education have widespread and global consequences. They are completely different from getting a haircut, and even from buying a new house. Some diseases are contagious, and if a patient does not have good health coverage, and cannot afford a thorough treatment, the virus or bacteria can develop into a resistant strain, and become more harmful to many others. Similarly, the absence of education or a poor and substandard education system is often followed by the cycle of ignorance, poverty, disease --a cycle which may lead to slavery in one form or another.
What about culture?
Culture is a tricky term to define. It is inherent in one nation's life style, the foods and beverages its people eat, the ways they think, their social behaviors, and their expressions in literature, visual or performing arts, even in the manners they treat their ancestors or the dead, ect.
It is upsetting and also embarrassing to learn that nowadays in some places on earth there is an online service to help busy people to celebrate their parents' and ancestors' anniversaries. With money the child or grandchild can order online what kind of offerings s/he wants to have or display on the deceased's altar and tomb. The anniversary service providers are happy to do the weeding, cleaning, and decorating the tomb area, including putting candles into the candle holders, and burning the incense in the incense urn as long as such services are ordered and paid appropriately. What a convenience!
There are certain "commodities" that money cannot buy. Also history has proved that unfair distribution of social wealth and possession may lead to social discontent and upheaval. Needless to say, public safety (living and working environments), healthcare, education, and some cultural activities are among the areas which demand some law enforcement in order to maintain social justice, decency, stability and sustainability. Free market or laissez-faire does not mean money can control everything. If money controls everything, there will certainly be chaos and upheavals.
The role of politicians and policy makers is first and foremost to protect social justice and equal democracy, and to keep public security, health and education up to an acceptable standard. Governments must be responsible for a safe environment for their people to live in, and for fair and universal healthcare and education services to everybody in society. If incapable of accomplishing such responsibilities, what then is the government for?
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Violence vs. Nonviolence
As the arms race is brewing among many countries in East, South, and SouthEast Asia, let's revisit this familiar topic, and try to find the best solutions to the world's perpetual conflicts over limited resources.
First, let's see what the Dalai Lama said.
We should... remember that once we cultivate a compassionate attitude, non-violence comes automatically. Nonviolence is not a diplomatic word, it is compassion in action. If you have hatred in your heart, then very often your actions will be violent, whereas if you have compassion in your heart, your actions will be nonviolent. As long as human beings remain on this Earth there will always be disagreements and conflicting views. We can take that as given. If we use violence in order to reduce disagreements and conflict, then we must expect violence every day and ... the result of this is terrible. Furthermore, it is actually impossible to eliminate disagreements through violence. Violence only brings even more resentment and dissatisfaction.
Nonviolence, on the other hand, means dialogue, it means using language to communicate. And dialogue means compromise: listening to others’ views, and respecting others’ rights, in a spirit of reconciliation. Nobody will be a 100 percent winner, and nobody will be a 100 percent loser. That is the practical way. In fact, that is the only way.
Today, as the world becomes smaller and smaller, the concept of “us” and “them” is almost outdated. If our interests existed independently of those of others, then it would be possible to have a complete winner and a complete loser, but since in reality we all depend on one another, our interests and those of others are very interconnected. Without this approach, reconciliation is impossible. The reality of the world today means that we need to learn to think in this way. This is the basis of my own approach-the “middle way” approach.
Human rights violations and similar sorts of problems are symptoms. For instance, if there is some swelling or pimple on the surface of the skin, it is because something is wrong in the body. It is not sufficient to just treat the symptoms-you must look deeper and try to find the main cause. You should try to change the fundamental causes, so that the symptoms automatically disappear. Similarly, ... there is something wrong with our basic structure, especially in the field of international relations. .....You cherish democracy and freedom very much. Yet when you deal with foreign countries, nobody follows the principle of democracy, but rather you look to economic power or military force. Very often in international relations, people are more concerned with force or strength than with democratic principles.
We must do something about these beautiful but awful weapons. Arms and the military establishment are intended to kill. I think that mentally there’s something wrong with the concept of war and the military establishment. One way or another, we must make every attempt to reduce the military forces.
Source:
http://www.mcllo.com/Interviews%20Dalai%20Lama%20Dharamsala%20%5BMcllo%5D.html
First, let's see what the Dalai Lama said.
We should... remember that once we cultivate a compassionate attitude, non-violence comes automatically. Nonviolence is not a diplomatic word, it is compassion in action. If you have hatred in your heart, then very often your actions will be violent, whereas if you have compassion in your heart, your actions will be nonviolent. As long as human beings remain on this Earth there will always be disagreements and conflicting views. We can take that as given. If we use violence in order to reduce disagreements and conflict, then we must expect violence every day and ... the result of this is terrible. Furthermore, it is actually impossible to eliminate disagreements through violence. Violence only brings even more resentment and dissatisfaction.
Nonviolence, on the other hand, means dialogue, it means using language to communicate. And dialogue means compromise: listening to others’ views, and respecting others’ rights, in a spirit of reconciliation. Nobody will be a 100 percent winner, and nobody will be a 100 percent loser. That is the practical way. In fact, that is the only way.
Today, as the world becomes smaller and smaller, the concept of “us” and “them” is almost outdated. If our interests existed independently of those of others, then it would be possible to have a complete winner and a complete loser, but since in reality we all depend on one another, our interests and those of others are very interconnected. Without this approach, reconciliation is impossible. The reality of the world today means that we need to learn to think in this way. This is the basis of my own approach-the “middle way” approach.
Human rights violations and similar sorts of problems are symptoms. For instance, if there is some swelling or pimple on the surface of the skin, it is because something is wrong in the body. It is not sufficient to just treat the symptoms-you must look deeper and try to find the main cause. You should try to change the fundamental causes, so that the symptoms automatically disappear. Similarly, ... there is something wrong with our basic structure, especially in the field of international relations. .....You cherish democracy and freedom very much. Yet when you deal with foreign countries, nobody follows the principle of democracy, but rather you look to economic power or military force. Very often in international relations, people are more concerned with force or strength than with democratic principles.
We must do something about these beautiful but awful weapons. Arms and the military establishment are intended to kill. I think that mentally there’s something wrong with the concept of war and the military establishment. One way or another, we must make every attempt to reduce the military forces.
Source:
http://www.mcllo.com/Interviews%20Dalai%20Lama%20Dharamsala%20%5BMcllo%5D.html
Tolerance
When asked "How does one counteract violence without hatred or anger?" the Dalai Lama replied, "The antidote to hatred in the heart, the source of violence, is tolerance. Tolerance is an important virtue of bodhisattvas [enlightened heroes and heroines] -- it enables you to refrain from reacting angrily to the harm inflicted on you by others. You could call this practice 'inner disarmament,' in that a well-developed tolerance makes you free from the compulsion to counterattack. For the same reason, tolerance is the 'best armor,' since it protects you from being conquered by hatred itself. It may seem unrealistic to think we can ever become free from hatred, but Buddhists have systematic methods for gradually developing a tolerance powerful enough to give such freedom. Without mutual tolerance emerging as the foundation, terrible situations like those of Tibet and Sri Lanka, Bosnia and Rwanda, can never be effectively improved."
Source:
http://www.mcllo.com/Interviews%20Dalai%20Lama%20Dharamsala%20%5BMcllo%5D.html
Source:
http://www.mcllo.com/Interviews%20Dalai%20Lama%20Dharamsala%20%5BMcllo%5D.html
Support Tibet
The Tibetan issue is not only a human rights issue, it also involves environmental problems and the issue of decolonization. Whatever way you can show support is much appreciated.
It must be a great worry of yours that Tibetans will lose their connection with their culture-both those inside Tibet, and in a different way, the ones outside Tibet. It must be hard to keep the continuity.
Inside Tibet there are clear signs of the degeneration of the Tibetan traditions, and of moral principles. In recent years, there have been a number of murder cases in the Tibetan community in India. All of them took place among people newly arrived from Tibet. This shows the degeneration of the spirit of tolerance and self-discipline. And then in Tibet itself, there is gambling and also prostitution. There are many Chinese prostitutes, as well as some Tibetans. And also drugs-the refugee community has some, and it seems there are some drugs in Lhasa and the bigger towns in Tibet.
The Dalai Lama's main concern is the preservation of Tibetan culture. Tibetan political status is of course important, but to keep alive the Tibetan spirit, and the Tibetan cultural heritage. This not only benefits the six million Tibetan people, but also is of interest for the larger community-particularly, in the long run, to the Chinese. There are millions of young Chinese who are sometimes called the "Lost Generation." The Dalai Lama said he felt that particularly in the field of human values, they're completely lost. In that vacuum, Tibetan Buddhist culture can make a contribution.
Some Westerners-even some Tibetans-have told the Dalai Lama that they feel it needs some kind of modification. But there's no need of such things, as far as the basic Buddhist teaching is concerned. Buddhism deals with basic human problems-old age, illness, suffering. These things, whether in today's world or a thousand years ago, whether in India or China or America, they're always the same.
In any religious tradition, there should be two aspects: one is the cultural aspect, the other is the teaching or religious aspect. The cultural aspect, that can change. When Buddhism reached other countries from India, the cultural aspect adapted according to new circumstances. So we refer today to Japanese Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism. Similarly, we will eventually have Western Buddhism. That, naturally, will come.
The basic teaching should be the same. For example, all authentic Tibetan scholars, whenever some important matter comes up, always rely on quotations of an earlier Indian scholar. Without that, we do not believe it's authentic. The teaching has been the same for 2,500 years. It's not correct to call Tibetan Buddhism "lamaism." With this incarnation, the Dalai Lama has been called, especially by the Chinese, "living Buddha," which is totally wrong. The Chinese word for "lama" means "living Buddha." But in Tibetan, the word "lama" is a direct translation of "guru." So "guru" and "lama" have the same meaning-someone who should be respected because of his wisdom, or because of the indebtedness one owes to him. So the rough meaning is "someone worthy of respect." No implication of "living Buddha." Some Western books also sometimes say "living Buddha" when they describe the Dalai Lama, or "god." This is totally wrong.
The Chinese want to control the future selection of the Dalai Lama. There is also the possibility there will no longer be any Dalai Lama-according to some information, the Chinese are thinking like that. Whatever they like, they can do. Nobody can stop them. But that won't affect the Tibetan mind. So it doesn't matter.
The Chinese certainly may recognize one Dalai Lama, but to the Tibetan people, that won't be the Dalai Lama. They will not accept him. The very institution of the Dalai Lama-whether it should continue or not-that's up to the Tibetan people. At a certain stage, the Dalai Lama institution will cease. That does not mean the Tibetan Buddhist culture will cease. The Tibetan Buddhist culture will remain, and should remain as long as Tibetan people remain. But institutions come and go, come and go.
The governments of the world could do more for Tibet, but they have their difficulties. China is a big nation, a very important nation, so you cannot ignore China. You have to deal with China. To isolate China is totally wrong. China must be brought into the mainstream of the world community. In the economic field, the Chinese themselves want to join, but we in the world community also have the moral responsibility to bring China into the mainstream of world democracy, which the Chinese people themselves also want. When we deal with China, we need to create genuine, mutual trust, and within that, we should make these wrong things clear. Certain matters of principle should be very firm, within the friendly atmosphere.
The greatest obstacle is Chinese suspicion, over-suspicion. So long as this suspicion remains, you can't solve this problem. So first remove suspicion, then close relations, close contact. Not confrontation, but rather persuasion and interaction.
Relations with China for these Western nations are very delicate, very complicated. Under such circumstances. Tibet is a small nation, bullied by the Chinese, and is suffering from human rights violations and destruction. The world's concern comes not from economic or geopolitical interest, but purely from human feeling and concern for justice. It is genuine support that comes from heart. It is a great thing.
There are a few reasons why there should be more and more support for Tibet. One is ecology. Because of Tibet's high altitude and dry climate, once the ecology is damaged, it takes a longer time to recover. The Chinese are very eager to exploit Tibet and the possibility of damage is great. Because so many important rivers have their source in Tibet, this would eventually affect large areas in this part of the world.
Second, Tibetan culture, Buddhist culture, creates a certain way of life, based on peaceful relations with fellow human beings, peaceful relations with nature, peaceful relations with animals. That kind of culture is necessary, useful, for the world at large. Such a cultural heritage, which can help millions of people, is now facing extinction.
Finally, if we believe in peaceful solutions through non-violence, then we should support the success of the Tibetan struggle, which has been a non-violent approach right from the beginning. If it fails, then it's a setback on a global level for a new pattern of freedom struggle through non-violence. The only way to solve conflict is through dialogue, through non-violent principles. Once the Tibetan non-violent struggle eventually succeeds, it can be an example of that.
Truth has its own strength. So as time goes by, something truthful starts to grow, becomes stronger and stronger. Like the Tibetan cause, the Dalai Lam's position regarding Tibetan Buddhism, or some of our activities in India. At the beginning, perhaps it wasn't very popular, but as time goes on, it becomes well accepted. When something is truthful, its truthfulness becomes clearer and clearer.
Sources:
Various interviews with the Dalai Lama
http://www.mcllo.com/Interviews%20Dalai%20Lama%20Dharamsala%20%5BMcllo%5D.html
It must be a great worry of yours that Tibetans will lose their connection with their culture-both those inside Tibet, and in a different way, the ones outside Tibet. It must be hard to keep the continuity.
Inside Tibet there are clear signs of the degeneration of the Tibetan traditions, and of moral principles. In recent years, there have been a number of murder cases in the Tibetan community in India. All of them took place among people newly arrived from Tibet. This shows the degeneration of the spirit of tolerance and self-discipline. And then in Tibet itself, there is gambling and also prostitution. There are many Chinese prostitutes, as well as some Tibetans. And also drugs-the refugee community has some, and it seems there are some drugs in Lhasa and the bigger towns in Tibet.
The Dalai Lama's main concern is the preservation of Tibetan culture. Tibetan political status is of course important, but to keep alive the Tibetan spirit, and the Tibetan cultural heritage. This not only benefits the six million Tibetan people, but also is of interest for the larger community-particularly, in the long run, to the Chinese. There are millions of young Chinese who are sometimes called the "Lost Generation." The Dalai Lama said he felt that particularly in the field of human values, they're completely lost. In that vacuum, Tibetan Buddhist culture can make a contribution.
Some Westerners-even some Tibetans-have told the Dalai Lama that they feel it needs some kind of modification. But there's no need of such things, as far as the basic Buddhist teaching is concerned. Buddhism deals with basic human problems-old age, illness, suffering. These things, whether in today's world or a thousand years ago, whether in India or China or America, they're always the same.
In any religious tradition, there should be two aspects: one is the cultural aspect, the other is the teaching or religious aspect. The cultural aspect, that can change. When Buddhism reached other countries from India, the cultural aspect adapted according to new circumstances. So we refer today to Japanese Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism. Similarly, we will eventually have Western Buddhism. That, naturally, will come.
The basic teaching should be the same. For example, all authentic Tibetan scholars, whenever some important matter comes up, always rely on quotations of an earlier Indian scholar. Without that, we do not believe it's authentic. The teaching has been the same for 2,500 years. It's not correct to call Tibetan Buddhism "lamaism." With this incarnation, the Dalai Lama has been called, especially by the Chinese, "living Buddha," which is totally wrong. The Chinese word for "lama" means "living Buddha." But in Tibetan, the word "lama" is a direct translation of "guru." So "guru" and "lama" have the same meaning-someone who should be respected because of his wisdom, or because of the indebtedness one owes to him. So the rough meaning is "someone worthy of respect." No implication of "living Buddha." Some Western books also sometimes say "living Buddha" when they describe the Dalai Lama, or "god." This is totally wrong.
The Chinese want to control the future selection of the Dalai Lama. There is also the possibility there will no longer be any Dalai Lama-according to some information, the Chinese are thinking like that. Whatever they like, they can do. Nobody can stop them. But that won't affect the Tibetan mind. So it doesn't matter.
The Chinese certainly may recognize one Dalai Lama, but to the Tibetan people, that won't be the Dalai Lama. They will not accept him. The very institution of the Dalai Lama-whether it should continue or not-that's up to the Tibetan people. At a certain stage, the Dalai Lama institution will cease. That does not mean the Tibetan Buddhist culture will cease. The Tibetan Buddhist culture will remain, and should remain as long as Tibetan people remain. But institutions come and go, come and go.
The governments of the world could do more for Tibet, but they have their difficulties. China is a big nation, a very important nation, so you cannot ignore China. You have to deal with China. To isolate China is totally wrong. China must be brought into the mainstream of the world community. In the economic field, the Chinese themselves want to join, but we in the world community also have the moral responsibility to bring China into the mainstream of world democracy, which the Chinese people themselves also want. When we deal with China, we need to create genuine, mutual trust, and within that, we should make these wrong things clear. Certain matters of principle should be very firm, within the friendly atmosphere.
The greatest obstacle is Chinese suspicion, over-suspicion. So long as this suspicion remains, you can't solve this problem. So first remove suspicion, then close relations, close contact. Not confrontation, but rather persuasion and interaction.
Relations with China for these Western nations are very delicate, very complicated. Under such circumstances. Tibet is a small nation, bullied by the Chinese, and is suffering from human rights violations and destruction. The world's concern comes not from economic or geopolitical interest, but purely from human feeling and concern for justice. It is genuine support that comes from heart. It is a great thing.
There are a few reasons why there should be more and more support for Tibet. One is ecology. Because of Tibet's high altitude and dry climate, once the ecology is damaged, it takes a longer time to recover. The Chinese are very eager to exploit Tibet and the possibility of damage is great. Because so many important rivers have their source in Tibet, this would eventually affect large areas in this part of the world.
Second, Tibetan culture, Buddhist culture, creates a certain way of life, based on peaceful relations with fellow human beings, peaceful relations with nature, peaceful relations with animals. That kind of culture is necessary, useful, for the world at large. Such a cultural heritage, which can help millions of people, is now facing extinction.
Finally, if we believe in peaceful solutions through non-violence, then we should support the success of the Tibetan struggle, which has been a non-violent approach right from the beginning. If it fails, then it's a setback on a global level for a new pattern of freedom struggle through non-violence. The only way to solve conflict is through dialogue, through non-violent principles. Once the Tibetan non-violent struggle eventually succeeds, it can be an example of that.
Truth has its own strength. So as time goes by, something truthful starts to grow, becomes stronger and stronger. Like the Tibetan cause, the Dalai Lam's position regarding Tibetan Buddhism, or some of our activities in India. At the beginning, perhaps it wasn't very popular, but as time goes on, it becomes well accepted. When something is truthful, its truthfulness becomes clearer and clearer.
Sources:
Various interviews with the Dalai Lama
http://www.mcllo.com/Interviews%20Dalai%20Lama%20Dharamsala%20%5BMcllo%5D.html
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Tibet --Part II
What Have the Chinese Invaders Done to Tibet?
First, they ignored the Dalai Lama's suggestions about peaceful negotiations and self-rule for Tibet.
Second they continue to destroy the Tibetan plateau:
Forty seven years after the Chinese invasion, the Chinese have clear-cut over 75 percent of the forests, endangered the regions of major rivers in Tibet, over-harvested the rich resources of medicinal herbs, and caused desertification of the steppes through overgrazing. They have extracted various minerals in environmentally destructive ways. In their frenzied effort to introduce hundreds of thousands of new settlers into south central Tibet, they are threatening the ecosystem of that rich barley-growing region by draining its major lake to produce hydroelectric power.
Third, the Chinese threats to Tibetan cultural heritage, religious freedom and environment are very serious. Due to the massive Chinese population transfer, Tibet faces the threat of extinction, along with its unique cultural heritage of Buddhist spirituality. What China is doing to Tibet is a "cultural genocide."
When the 13th Dalai Lama visited China in the early 20th century, there was a large Manchurian community—even the Emperor was Manchurian. Almost exactly 50 years later, the Manchurian community was no longer there. It was completely assimilated. That danger is happening in Tibet now. The Tibetan picture is almost hopeless.
A Call for Solutions
The strength of Tibet is truth and justice, and a long-established culture based on Buddhism. Tibetans wanted to live in peace with Chinese, and have tried to maintain a non-violent policy. That is why the Dalai Lama had to be on exile. He said he had to escape from Tibet because he feared his people would resort to desperate violence if the Chinese took [him]as their prisoner. His responsibility is to "save Tibet," and "to protect its ancient cultural heritage," and his main concern is the Tibetan Buddhist culture, not just political independence. He said he could not seek self-rule for central Tibet and exclude the 4 million Tibetans in the two eastern provinces of Amdo and Kham. His middle-way approach means that Tibet could live with self-rule within China. This is genuine self-rule, not independence. Self-rule implies that China must stop its intensive effort to colonize Tibet with Chinese settlers and must allow Tibetans to hold responsible positions in the government of Tibet. China can keep her troops on the external frontiers of Tibet, and Tibetans will pledge to accept the appropriate form of union with China.
The Dalai Lama is a firm believer in the importance of democracy, not only as the ultimate goal, but also as an essential part of the process to achieve self-rule for Tibet. According to the Dalai Lama, with self-rule, Tibetans must take full authority and responsibility for developing industry, looking from all different perspectives, taking care of the environment, conserving resources for long-term economic health, and safeguarding the interests of Tibetan workers, nomads, and farmers. In reality, the Chinese have shown interest only in quick profits, regardless of the effect on the environment, and with no consideration of whether a particular industry benefits the local Tibetans or not.
To Change China and Bring Peace to the Region
For China to change its policy toward Tibet, it will take two things:
First, a Chinese leadership that looks forward instead of backward, that looks toward integration with the world and cares about both world opinion and the will of China's own democracy movement.
Second, a group of world leaders that listens to the concerns of their own people with regard to Tibet, and speaks firmly to the Chinese about the urgent need of working out a solution based on truth and justice. We do not have these two things today, and so the process of bringing peace to Tibet is stalled.
We must not lose our trust in the power of truth. Everything is always changing in the world. South Africa, the former Soviet Union, and the Middle East, for example. Now those regions still have many problems, setbacks as well as breakthroughs, but basically changes have happened that were considered unthinkable a decade ago. Many communist and authoritarian regimes have changed, including the Soviet Union, not by force but by their own people. These are very positive developments. China still has the same system, but the reality is that much is changing. Freedom of information, religious freedom and freedom of the press are much better. The Dalai Lama said man-made unrealistic systems would eventually return to a human, natural way, for we love freedom, even animals love their freedom. Naturally that trend is coming back, and there is hope for Tibet.
Today, quite a number of Chinese people are showing an interest in the preservation of Tibetan culture and spirituality. Tibetan spirituality is a very important part of the spirituality of China as a whole, and the preservation of Tibetan culture can enrich China. Millions of Chinese are traditional Buddhists, and many people in China are turning to Tibetan Buddhism.
Even though China is oversuspicious and very cautious, meeting face to face and having friendly discussions is very important. Some Chinese intellectuals, artists and writers are showing a proper understanding and are supporting the Dalai Lama's middle-way approach to solving the problem, which is not seeking independence but rather meaningful autonomy to preserve Tibetan culture, language and environment.
Tibetans' Reactions Toward the Dalai Lama's Approach
Some Tibetans now accuse the Dalai Lama of selling out their right to independence. Even his eldest brother is for complete independence and he always accuses the Dalai Lama of this. But his middle-way approach is actually in Tibet's own interest. Tibet is backward. It is a big land, quite rich in natural resources, but completely lacks the technology or expertise to exploit them. Tibet might benefit (more modernization)from being within China, provided it respects Tibet's culture and beautiful environment. The new railway into Tibet, for instance. This is generally speaking a good thing, very beneficial for development, providing it is not used politically.
China's Reactions
There are two opinions in China. Some say, once the Dalai Lama passes away, the whole Tibetan issue will die. Another opinion is that the grievance will still be there, or will even become stronger, but in the meantime there will be no one to guide and persuade Tibetans, so Tibet becomes more difficult to handle. Reality will answer which view is correct.
On Using Violence to Free Tibet
The Dalai Lama said using violence to free Tibet would lead to more violence, even though it may lead to more publicity. But the most important thing is that China and Tibet have to live side by side. In order to live harmoniously, in a friendly way, and peacefully in the future, the national struggle through nonviolence is very essential. Another important matter is that the ultimate agreement or solution must be found by the Chinese and Tibetans themselves. For that Tibet needs support from the Chinese people. There are more supporters amongst the Chinese. More and more Chinese are expressing their deep appreciation and their sympathy. If Tibetans take up arms, then they will immediately lose this kind of support.
Sources:
Various interviews with the Dalai Lama
http://www.mcllo.com/Interviews%20Dalai%20Lama%20Dharamsala%20%5BMcllo%5D.html
First, they ignored the Dalai Lama's suggestions about peaceful negotiations and self-rule for Tibet.
Second they continue to destroy the Tibetan plateau:
Forty seven years after the Chinese invasion, the Chinese have clear-cut over 75 percent of the forests, endangered the regions of major rivers in Tibet, over-harvested the rich resources of medicinal herbs, and caused desertification of the steppes through overgrazing. They have extracted various minerals in environmentally destructive ways. In their frenzied effort to introduce hundreds of thousands of new settlers into south central Tibet, they are threatening the ecosystem of that rich barley-growing region by draining its major lake to produce hydroelectric power.
Third, the Chinese threats to Tibetan cultural heritage, religious freedom and environment are very serious. Due to the massive Chinese population transfer, Tibet faces the threat of extinction, along with its unique cultural heritage of Buddhist spirituality. What China is doing to Tibet is a "cultural genocide."
When the 13th Dalai Lama visited China in the early 20th century, there was a large Manchurian community—even the Emperor was Manchurian. Almost exactly 50 years later, the Manchurian community was no longer there. It was completely assimilated. That danger is happening in Tibet now. The Tibetan picture is almost hopeless.
A Call for Solutions
The strength of Tibet is truth and justice, and a long-established culture based on Buddhism. Tibetans wanted to live in peace with Chinese, and have tried to maintain a non-violent policy. That is why the Dalai Lama had to be on exile. He said he had to escape from Tibet because he feared his people would resort to desperate violence if the Chinese took [him]as their prisoner. His responsibility is to "save Tibet," and "to protect its ancient cultural heritage," and his main concern is the Tibetan Buddhist culture, not just political independence. He said he could not seek self-rule for central Tibet and exclude the 4 million Tibetans in the two eastern provinces of Amdo and Kham. His middle-way approach means that Tibet could live with self-rule within China. This is genuine self-rule, not independence. Self-rule implies that China must stop its intensive effort to colonize Tibet with Chinese settlers and must allow Tibetans to hold responsible positions in the government of Tibet. China can keep her troops on the external frontiers of Tibet, and Tibetans will pledge to accept the appropriate form of union with China.
The Dalai Lama is a firm believer in the importance of democracy, not only as the ultimate goal, but also as an essential part of the process to achieve self-rule for Tibet. According to the Dalai Lama, with self-rule, Tibetans must take full authority and responsibility for developing industry, looking from all different perspectives, taking care of the environment, conserving resources for long-term economic health, and safeguarding the interests of Tibetan workers, nomads, and farmers. In reality, the Chinese have shown interest only in quick profits, regardless of the effect on the environment, and with no consideration of whether a particular industry benefits the local Tibetans or not.
To Change China and Bring Peace to the Region
For China to change its policy toward Tibet, it will take two things:
First, a Chinese leadership that looks forward instead of backward, that looks toward integration with the world and cares about both world opinion and the will of China's own democracy movement.
Second, a group of world leaders that listens to the concerns of their own people with regard to Tibet, and speaks firmly to the Chinese about the urgent need of working out a solution based on truth and justice. We do not have these two things today, and so the process of bringing peace to Tibet is stalled.
We must not lose our trust in the power of truth. Everything is always changing in the world. South Africa, the former Soviet Union, and the Middle East, for example. Now those regions still have many problems, setbacks as well as breakthroughs, but basically changes have happened that were considered unthinkable a decade ago. Many communist and authoritarian regimes have changed, including the Soviet Union, not by force but by their own people. These are very positive developments. China still has the same system, but the reality is that much is changing. Freedom of information, religious freedom and freedom of the press are much better. The Dalai Lama said man-made unrealistic systems would eventually return to a human, natural way, for we love freedom, even animals love their freedom. Naturally that trend is coming back, and there is hope for Tibet.
Today, quite a number of Chinese people are showing an interest in the preservation of Tibetan culture and spirituality. Tibetan spirituality is a very important part of the spirituality of China as a whole, and the preservation of Tibetan culture can enrich China. Millions of Chinese are traditional Buddhists, and many people in China are turning to Tibetan Buddhism.
Even though China is oversuspicious and very cautious, meeting face to face and having friendly discussions is very important. Some Chinese intellectuals, artists and writers are showing a proper understanding and are supporting the Dalai Lama's middle-way approach to solving the problem, which is not seeking independence but rather meaningful autonomy to preserve Tibetan culture, language and environment.
Tibetans' Reactions Toward the Dalai Lama's Approach
Some Tibetans now accuse the Dalai Lama of selling out their right to independence. Even his eldest brother is for complete independence and he always accuses the Dalai Lama of this. But his middle-way approach is actually in Tibet's own interest. Tibet is backward. It is a big land, quite rich in natural resources, but completely lacks the technology or expertise to exploit them. Tibet might benefit (more modernization)from being within China, provided it respects Tibet's culture and beautiful environment. The new railway into Tibet, for instance. This is generally speaking a good thing, very beneficial for development, providing it is not used politically.
China's Reactions
There are two opinions in China. Some say, once the Dalai Lama passes away, the whole Tibetan issue will die. Another opinion is that the grievance will still be there, or will even become stronger, but in the meantime there will be no one to guide and persuade Tibetans, so Tibet becomes more difficult to handle. Reality will answer which view is correct.
On Using Violence to Free Tibet
The Dalai Lama said using violence to free Tibet would lead to more violence, even though it may lead to more publicity. But the most important thing is that China and Tibet have to live side by side. In order to live harmoniously, in a friendly way, and peacefully in the future, the national struggle through nonviolence is very essential. Another important matter is that the ultimate agreement or solution must be found by the Chinese and Tibetans themselves. For that Tibet needs support from the Chinese people. There are more supporters amongst the Chinese. More and more Chinese are expressing their deep appreciation and their sympathy. If Tibetans take up arms, then they will immediately lose this kind of support.
Sources:
Various interviews with the Dalai Lama
http://www.mcllo.com/Interviews%20Dalai%20Lama%20Dharamsala%20%5BMcllo%5D.html
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Tibet
Tibet emerged as a unified empire in the north-east of the Himalayas in the 7th century. In 1950 the People's Republic of China invaded Tibet, then negotiated the Seventeen Point Agreement with the newly crowned 14th Dalai Lama's government, affirming China's sovereignty, but granting the area autonomy. The Dalai Lama government fled to Dharamsala, India, during the 1959 Tibetan Rebellion, and established a rival government-in-exile. Afterwards, the Central People's Government in Beijing renounced the agreement and began implementation of the halted social and political reforms. During the Great Leap Forward between 200 thousand and 1 million Tibetans died, and approximately 6,000 monasteries were destroyed around the Cultural Revolution.
In 1980, General Secretary and reformist Hu Yaobang visited Tibet, and ushered in a period of social, political, and economic liberalization. At the end of the decade, however analogously to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, monks in the Drepung and Sera monasteries started protesting for independence, and so the government halted reforms and started an anti-separatist campaign. Human rights organisations have been critical of the Beijing and Lhasa governments' approach to human rights in the region when cracking down on separatist convulsions that have occurred around monasteries and cities, most recently in the 2008 Tibetan unrest.
Today, the PRC governs western and central Tibet as the Tibet Autonomous Region while eastern areas are mostly within Sichuan and Qinghai provinces. Once part of an independent Tibet, Amdo is now known to the Chinese as Qinghai; Kham has been divided into the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan.
In Chapter 11 Pistono (2011) gave firsthand accounts of China's human rights abuses in Tibet. A nun in Lhasa told the author,"When we were in solitary confinement, we were whipped with the policemen's leather belts. Before they dragged us into the cells, I watched my two friends shocked by electric batons in their vaginas." There was a man whose head jerked uncontrollably from beatings in Drapchi Prison for shouting "Long Live the Dalai Lama." Many other political prisoners were tied to trees overnight during winter, or were forced to stand in the searing sun and beaten if they moved(p. 181). Following weeks of intensive "Patriotic Education" sessions in Drepung Monastery, Lhasa, a monk committed suicide, and others were arrested after they refused to denounce the Dalai Lama (p. 189).
In the third week of March 2008, there was a full-scale uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet, which had never seen since the 1950s. It began on March 10, on the 49th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising preceding the Dalai Lama's fleeing into exile. Thousands of Tibetans --monks, nuns, nomads, poets, teachers, farmers, businessmen.... from Lhasa, Kandze, Xining, Chengdu, Kirti, Labrang, Machu, Nyarong, and elsewhere rose up to say that it is the Dalai Lama who represents their interests, not the Chinese government. The protests spread like wildfire all over the plateau. Most of the protests were peaceful, but some, notably those in Lhasa on March 14,turned violent. The Chinese authorities sealed off Tibet, kicking out foreign journalists and cutting off the Internet, and other telecommunication services. Despite the blackout, reports from thousands of Tibetans detained and cell phone images and videos of unarmed monks and farmers shot dead while they were peacefully demonstrating, and of imprisoned protesters being stopmed on and beaten with Chinese police's batons in Lhasa were quickly received by the world outside Tibet. The reports, images and videos only confirmed Chinese brutal force and intimidation against Tibetan peaceful protestors.
(pp. 209-211)
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibet
Pistono, Matteo. In the Shadow of the Buddha (New York, NY: Dutton, Penguin Group, 2011).
In 1980, General Secretary and reformist Hu Yaobang visited Tibet, and ushered in a period of social, political, and economic liberalization. At the end of the decade, however analogously to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, monks in the Drepung and Sera monasteries started protesting for independence, and so the government halted reforms and started an anti-separatist campaign. Human rights organisations have been critical of the Beijing and Lhasa governments' approach to human rights in the region when cracking down on separatist convulsions that have occurred around monasteries and cities, most recently in the 2008 Tibetan unrest.
Today, the PRC governs western and central Tibet as the Tibet Autonomous Region while eastern areas are mostly within Sichuan and Qinghai provinces. Once part of an independent Tibet, Amdo is now known to the Chinese as Qinghai; Kham has been divided into the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan.
In Chapter 11 Pistono (2011) gave firsthand accounts of China's human rights abuses in Tibet. A nun in Lhasa told the author,"When we were in solitary confinement, we were whipped with the policemen's leather belts. Before they dragged us into the cells, I watched my two friends shocked by electric batons in their vaginas." There was a man whose head jerked uncontrollably from beatings in Drapchi Prison for shouting "Long Live the Dalai Lama." Many other political prisoners were tied to trees overnight during winter, or were forced to stand in the searing sun and beaten if they moved(p. 181). Following weeks of intensive "Patriotic Education" sessions in Drepung Monastery, Lhasa, a monk committed suicide, and others were arrested after they refused to denounce the Dalai Lama (p. 189).
In the third week of March 2008, there was a full-scale uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet, which had never seen since the 1950s. It began on March 10, on the 49th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising preceding the Dalai Lama's fleeing into exile. Thousands of Tibetans --monks, nuns, nomads, poets, teachers, farmers, businessmen.... from Lhasa, Kandze, Xining, Chengdu, Kirti, Labrang, Machu, Nyarong, and elsewhere rose up to say that it is the Dalai Lama who represents their interests, not the Chinese government. The protests spread like wildfire all over the plateau. Most of the protests were peaceful, but some, notably those in Lhasa on March 14,turned violent. The Chinese authorities sealed off Tibet, kicking out foreign journalists and cutting off the Internet, and other telecommunication services. Despite the blackout, reports from thousands of Tibetans detained and cell phone images and videos of unarmed monks and farmers shot dead while they were peacefully demonstrating, and of imprisoned protesters being stopmed on and beaten with Chinese police's batons in Lhasa were quickly received by the world outside Tibet. The reports, images and videos only confirmed Chinese brutal force and intimidation against Tibetan peaceful protestors.
(pp. 209-211)
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibet
Pistono, Matteo. In the Shadow of the Buddha (New York, NY: Dutton, Penguin Group, 2011).
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