Behind the Dalai Lama's Cloak

[erosoplier]

The Dalai Lama is one of the most kind, pleasant, and centered people in the famous sphere out there. I know its hip to label everyone of important cultural significance as CIA spook alligned and NWO agents, but anyone is free to thumb through his books and his speeches and know which side of humanity he is on...and which side China is on.

Awww, isn't that nice - the soft caring side of 8bit is finally shining through!

And - what-do-you-know? - the soft caring 8bit's thoughts and feelings concur completely with imperial USA's unchanging propaganda and policy of the last 50 years with respect to China.

...know which side of humanity he is on...and which side China is on.

What kind of thing is that to say? China is on the wrong side of humanity? China is? All 1-point-whatever billion of them?

The people who have slaved away for the last few decades to clothe and equip America - only to end up with an IOU instead of payment for their services - these are an evil people? If they are they've got a funny way of showing it.

Here's my idea, 8bit: Maybe China could have afforded to treat their citizens better if China were paid more money for their products? Maybe if they were paid more (in which case they'd sell less and be less export oriented) they'd be better able to focus on catering for the needs of their own people, rather than focusing on meeting the needs of their demanding customers/commercial overlords?

[8bitagent]

The Dalai Lama is one of the most kind, pleasant, and centered people in the famous sphere out there. I know its hip to label everyone of important cultural significance as CIA spook alligned and NWO agents, but anyone is free to thumb through his books and his speeches and know which side of humanity he is on...and which side China is on.

Awww, isn't that nice - the soft caring side of 8bit is finally shining through!

And - what-do-you-know? - the soft caring 8bit's thoughts and feelings concur completely with imperial USA's unchanging propaganda and policy of the last 50 years with respect to China.

...know which side of humanity he is on...and which side China is on.

What kind of thing is that to say? China is on the wrong side of humanity? China is? All 1-point-whatever billion of them?

The people who have slaved away for the last few decades to clothe and equip America - only to end up with an IOU instead of payment for their services - these are an evil people? If they are they've got a funny way of showing it.

Here's my idea, 8bit: Maybe China could have afforded to treat their citizens better if China were paid more money for their products? Maybe if they were paid more (in which case they'd sell less and be less export oriented) they'd be better able to focus on catering for the needs of their own people, rather than focusing on meeting the needs of their demanding customers/commercial overlords?

Im sure with all the funded genocide in Sudan for oil, all the crap China sells America, all the weapons they sell, etc...Im sure theyre doing ok financially. At least for the elite. As if China's government having more money trickles down to the actual people. Look at Mexico, a pedo-narco corrupt ruling class in bed with the worst elements of society, while they hog all the money

People go on these polemics about the US government being "Orwellian"...China is the living embodiment of hardcore internet control,
rounding up of innocents into camps, and ghastly inhumane practices straight out of Nazi Germany. Thank goodness the truth behind China's involvement in Darfur is coming out

Im enjoying this China apologizing, as if somehow theyre the good guys.
The US and China are in bed together, as is the US with that other rotten government: Saudi Arabia.

China playing Nazi Germany to their own people and ethnic minorities in Tibet and thru proxies in Burma and Darfur is because they arent getting enough money? Oh man....thats rich.

[erosoplier]

Im sure with all the funded genocide in Sudan for oil, all the crap China sells America, all the weapons they sell, etc...Im sure theyre doing ok financially. At least for the elite. As if China's government having more money trickles down to the actual people. Look at Mexico, a pedo-narco corrupt ruling class in bed with the worst elements of society, while they hog all the money

People go on these polemics about the US government being "Orwellian"...China is the living embodiment of hardcore internet control,
rounding up of innocents into camps, and ghastly inhumane practices straight out of Nazi Germany. Thank goodness the truth behind China's involvement in Darfur is coming out

Im enjoying this China apologizing, as if somehow theyre the good guys.
The US and China are in bed together, as is the US with that other rotten government: Saudi Arabia.

China playing Nazi Germany to their own people and ethnic minorities in Tibet and thru proxies in Burma and Darfur is because they arent getting enough money? Oh man....thats rich.

I'm not saying there are no problems in China. I'm saying, 9/11 inside job or not, the West forfeited all moral authority on all sorts of issues, including China, when it attacked Afghanistan (to say nothing of the attack on Iraq).

Do you know what I mean when I say that, 8bit? To put it bluntly, what I mean is, you should probably put a sock in it about China until you or others win back control of your own country. I'm not apologising for China, I'm open to listening to criticism of China, but you are simply promoting the preferred (ie anti-china) memes of the Western ruling elite. Your criticism of China and Mexico applies equally to the USA, yet you fail mention this - just as the elites would wish. So I would be inclined to seek out opinions other than yours.

Also, you keep mentioning China and Darfur. If there were much sinister truth behind China's involvement in Darfur to come out, my money would be on this truth being plastered all over the media, relentlessly, already. Yet it isn't. You seem to be on your lonesome with this "truth behind China's involvement in Darfur" story. Do you expect us to take your word for it, when even the notoriously anti-China US media can hardly provide your idea with any support? I think even you would be providing links for this if there were much to be found in support of the idea.

[8bitagent]

Im sure with all the funded genocide in Sudan for oil, all the crap China sells America, all the weapons they sell, etc...Im sure theyre doing ok financially. At least for the elite. As if China's government having more money trickles down to the actual people. Look at Mexico, a pedo-narco corrupt ruling class in bed with the worst elements of society, while they hog all the money

People go on these polemics about the US government being "Orwellian"...China is the living embodiment of hardcore internet control,
rounding up of innocents into camps, and ghastly inhumane practices straight out of Nazi Germany. Thank goodness the truth behind China's involvement in Darfur is coming out

Im enjoying this China apologizing, as if somehow theyre the good guys.
The US and China are in bed together, as is the US with that other rotten government: Saudi Arabia.

China playing Nazi Germany to their own people and ethnic minorities in Tibet and thru proxies in Burma and Darfur is because they arent getting enough money? Oh man....thats rich.

I'm not saying there are no problems in China. I'm saying, 9/11 inside job or not, the West forfeited all moral authority on all sorts of issues, including China, when it attacked Afghanistan (to say nothing of the attack on Iraq).

Do you know what I mean when I say that, 8bit? To put it bluntly, what I mean is, you should probably put a sock in it about China until you or others win back control of your own country. I'm not apologising for China, I'm open to listening to criticism of China, but you are simply promoting the preferred (ie anti-china) memes of the Western ruling elite. Your criticism of China and Mexico applies equally to the USA, yet you fail mention this - just as the elites would wish. So I would be inclined to seek out opinions other than yours.

Also, you keep mentioning China and Darfur. If there were much sinister truth behind China's involvement in Darfur to come out, my money would be on this truth being plastered all over the media, relentlessly, already. Yet it isn't. You seem to be on your lonesome with this "truth behind China's involvement in Darfur" story. Do you expect us to take your word for it, when even the notoriously anti-China US media can hardly provide your idea with any support? I think even you would be providing links for this if there were much to be found in support of the idea.

Thats because the media is NOT anti China.

Its just like how AIPAC makes sure any criticism of Israel is censored in the American media.

How come we dont hear about China forcing abortions, ripping out organs out of people, the rounding up and execution of countless innocent people, etc? All just conspiracy theories?

Oh my God, I actually call out both the US government AND China as evil. Oh noes!

The United States government, England, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Dubai, Sudan, European Union, China, Russia, North Korea, etc. These are all human rights abusing, power hungry, despotic gangsters within the new world order system. One look at what their corporate proxies do throughout Africa, and its clear what the agenda is.

Funny how people like you will go on about a 9/11 setup, yet fail to see how it aint just America into staging terror and putting a steel toed boot on the throat of humanity.

[erosoplier]

Thats because the media is NOT anti China.

Its just like how AIPAC makes sure any criticism of Israel is censored in the American media.

Oh, I see, except nearly no negative opinions of Israel are to be seen on American TV, yet every other American political or military drama will use China as the bad guy, and every other US citizen has a "bad feeling" that one day there will be a "confrontation," a "reckoning" with China. How does that come about when it's "just like" with AIPAC?

How come we dont hear about China forcing abortions, ripping out organs out of people, the rounding up and execution of countless innocent people, etc? All just conspiracy theories?

In case you hadn't noticed, the abortion figures in the West are nothing to be proud of either. And in case you hadn't noticed, China has had to deal with the most outrageous population growth issues. It literally has been a choice between abortions now or famine later for China. They chose the former. Do you really have a problem with their choice in this matter?

And re. the rest - pot, kettle, black. At least they stay home and mistreat and murder their own, rather than lobbing in some foreign land to do the same. (And let's be aware that Americans are foremost among those who purchase organs which just happen to have been ripped out of desperate/unsuspecting poor people. All a beautiful capitalist success story of the market "facilitating the meeting of demand," hey?).

Oh my God, I actually call out both the US government AND China as evil. Oh noes!

The United States government, England, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Dubai, Sudan, European Union, China, Russia, North Korea, etc. These are all human rights abusing, power hungry, despotic gangsters within the new world order system. One look at what their corporate proxies do throughout Africa, and its clear what the agenda is.

Funny how people like you will go on about a 9/11 setup, yet fail to see how it aint just America into staging terror and putting a steel toed boot on the throat of humanity.

9/11 happened, and Europe has been choking on its corn flakes every morning since. It was called Project for a New AMERICAN Century, remember?

[AlicetheKurious]

erosopplier said:

And - what-do-you-know? - the soft caring 8bit's thoughts and feelings concur completely with imperial USA's unchanging propaganda and policy of the last 50 years with respect to China.

I find that jarring as well. 8bitagent, it's getting harder and harder for me to ascribe your constant repetition of the "China-sponsored genocide in Darfur" propaganda, to mere ignorance. Here on this very forum, so much information has already been posted that exposes this meme for the bullshit that it is, yet nothing seems to make a dent.

There is a conflict in Darfur, but it's not quite as simple as you keep claiming, with the government bad guys battling the rebel good guys. Hardly. On the contrary, in fact. Sudan is a country that has been much abused, particularly by Western imperial vampires, so that, despite its rich natural resources, it has virtually no infrastructure -- it's like the land that time forgot.

This Sudanese government has a clear plan to build up the country from scratch: they intend to use Sudan's resources to implement huge, nation-wide development projects, to bring the country's communications, electricity, education, health, industrial and agricultural sectors into the 21st century. The conflict in Darfur is one of many that are the result of extreme poverty and the struggle for scarce resources. This one is a fight for survival between nomadic tribes and farmers over scarce grazing grounds. The Sudanese government believes that the only way to defuse and prevent such conflicts in the future, is to implement a solid, inclusive plan to develop the country's natural, industrial and human bases.

In response, the U.S. and Israel have been financing, training and equipping gangs of rapists, drug dealers and terrorists to exacerbate and escalate the conflict, in a cynical plot to justify Western military invasion in order to take control over the country's resources for their own benefit, and to deny or grant access to vital oil supplies to its rivals (such as China or India, or Japan, for example) according to their own whims.

By no stretch of the imagination can this conflict, which incidentally, reached its peak several years ago, be called a 'genocide' -- such cheap sensationalism is another clue that an ugly hidden agenda underlies the "Save Darfur!" campaign. A campaign, incidentally, which oddly seems less designed to help the people of Sudan, than to promote a Western-led military intervention. We've seen enough of the consequences of such interventions in the past, to safely conclude that they tend to make thing far, far worse for the people they were supposed to save. Furthermore, it can be argued that the U.S. and Israel, by deliberately aggravating a conflict that would otherwise have been resolved years ago, are themselves engaging in genocide.

China's role has been a positive one: instead of following the Western pattern of preventing development in order to maximize its own profits at the peoples' expense, China is financing massive long-term development projects that benefit the Sudanese people above all, and strengthen their bonds to their country. These China-financed projects also include facilities that allow Sudan to refine its own oil, thereby maximizing the profits that stay in Sudan. Contrast this to the Western model of crippling IMF and World Bank loans designed to sink the country in debt, promote corruption, and force the country to accept foreign imports while preventing any significant economic development.

China's aid is going towards projects that not only benefit the people of Sudan, but form the basis for long-term economic independence and development. In return, Chinese companies are given contracts that allow them to have access to Sudan's oil, which strikes me as more than fair.

To reduce all of this to a cartoon-like mantra of "China-supported genocide in Darfur!" is incredibly ignorant at best, and cynically manipulative at worst.

Now. Just as there are many things to admire about China (and I think it's impossible to be familiar with that country without admiring and respecting a great deal), there are many things that need to be opposed and denounced. However, China's policy in Sudan is not one of them.

[Sounder]

I remember when the Chinese leader (Hu?) spoke to our congress. I was surprised that the speech was broadcast out to us peons. Their leader came across as being quite intelligent. Perhaps the American politicians cannot come across this way because we can take apart their backstory more easily. Still even while I may abhor communism, I live under an Imperial system, soon to become full-blown monopoly capitalism, (if we remain passively ignorant). So we may need to clean our own house first.

As to what’s behind Dalai Lama's cloak? I will save that for later, gotta go to work. And by what I take to be a somewhat strange synchronicity, I am going to work on a 'throne' for the Dalai Lama. And no I am not a Buddhist, or a fantasist. (I am a carpenter and my boss is Buddhist.)

[compared2what?]

The Nazis had a STRONG interest in Tibet, because of their Thule/Theosophic like belief of Aryan super gods living in a portal above Tibet.

I mean, Gandhi was a well known adept of Blavatsky doctrine, someone(Blavatsky) I feel whose occult mastery descended into some pretty racist like ideas. That doesnt mean Gandhi was bad

I don't vigorously dispute the first point, as far as it goes, assuming you are asserting it as opinion. But I don't see that the prima facie case for arguing that Nazi interest in Tibet was strong because of their Thule/Theosophic-like beliefs is so strong that it can be assumed without any argument at all. They had a strong interest in Tibet and they had a significant interest in esoteric mysticism. But so did the guys running the show in Great Britain and the United States at that point in history. It's not like the Nazis invaded Poland as an opening maneuver in a grand plan the ultimate prize of which was to be the triumphant siege of Tibet.

Blavatsky was a woman of her time, which was the nineteenth century, during which there was a general surge of interest in the mystic east, for reasons that are more complex and compound than esoteric mysticism qua esoteric mysticism. Nor were her racial views very unusual for a person of her class, place and time, at least in degree. They were definitely remarkable in form, but even so, most of the science that makes them look so manifestly out-there in the present was either in its infancy (Darwinian evolutionary theory) or unknown (plate tectonics) at the time, and it was a time in which information traveled at a much slower pace than it does now. For most people, Lemuria probably sounded as reasonable (or unreasonable) as having an ancestor in common with a primate. It's also worth noting that every national and imperial power big enough to try to monopolize a major trade route in a very large market had a strong interest in Tibet between the turn of the century and the Second World War. As well as before and after. It was and is a geopolitical hot spot.

As to Gandhi: A Blavatsky adept? In what way? I don't disbelieve you. I've just never heard of it. I thought his extra-Hindi tendencies were Jain. But I don't claim more than very general knowledge. Please elaborate.
[/quote]

[erosoplier]

As to what’s behind Dalai Lama's cloak? I will save that for later, gotta go to work. And by what I take to be a somewhat strange synchronicity, I am going to work on a 'throne' for the Dalai Lama. And no I am not a Buddhist, or a fantasist. (I am a carpenter and my boss is Buddhist.)

If I were forced to choose a religion, buddhism would have been it. Although buddhists proudly maintain that buddhism isn't actually a religion. I forget what they claim it to be, but it isn't a religion. Their point is they don't posit anything (like a "God" for example) which isn't able to be confirmed by a second or third party. Tibetan buddhism is one of the more "religious" schools of buddhism in that sense - it has more unconfirmable/speculative baggage attached to it than most. Maybe for that reason I didn't ever pay it a great deal of attention, even though it was by far the "in" school of buddhism as a result of the perennial Free Tibet campaign.

Having said that, I still envy you your Dalai Lama throne-making gig, Sounder (though I really should still my mind rather than let it envy). Sounds like something that might take more than an afternoon to knock up. Can you give us any details (eg which wood?), or is it top secret?.

[chlamor]

What's not to like? The smiley guy defines trite. He says nothing, takes no position on anything, "stands for" individuality and personal liberty, laughs a lot, and asks only that you give cash. Meanwhile he is the "reincarnation" of some feudal tradition that is rotten to the core. All in all, he's perfecto for the liberal 'burbs.

Dalai's reincarnation will not be found under Chinese control
Indian Express
July 6, 1999

HALA: The Dalai Lama, who turns 64 today, says if his successor is chosen in the traditional way, then his reincarnation would not appear in Tibet or areas under Chinese control. "Should people prefer the old system of choosing a reincarnation -- then Dalai Lama's reincarnation will appear in a free country, and not in Chinese hand as the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry the work started by the previous life and yet not fulfilled," reports PTI.

Pretty good reincarnation control, no? Perhaps the next Dalai Lama will pop up here:



"Namgyal Monastery is currently based in the Aurora Street House, a converted turn-of-the-century Victorian home in downtown Ithaca. We are now planning a new complex to accommodate our growing student base and the need for retreat facilities, student housing, and adequate dining facilities.

Donations to Dü Khor Choe Ling

Please help us build Dü Khor Choe Ling. As outlined in our Financial Needs and Assets card (available for download below), over one million dollars in capital must be raised to ensure the completion of this project. Every dollar donated will bring us closer to our goal. Donations can be made online by credit card (up to $10,000) and check through the following link:

We have chosen the eight auspicious Tibetan Buddhist symbols to mark the various donation levels because they are all equally auspicious and equally important. The symbols were illustrated by Namgyal translator Palden Oshoe. If you wish to donate equities, please phone the Namgyal office for information.

http://www.namgyal.org/campaign/donation/

http://www.namgyal.org/img/pdf/namgyal_ ... n_card.pdf

You can be a Golden Fishy for only $250,000.00.

[chlamor]

The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has said that the United States bombing campaign against Afghanistan represents a more mature approach than taken during previous wars.

In an interview with the BBC, the Dalai Lama said the selective nature of the bombing, the precautions taken to prevent civilian casualties and the dropping of food packages were signs of change.

He said there was an emphasis on humanitarian concerns, in comparison with the First and Second World Wars, and he believed humanity was becoming more mature.

He was speaking after an address to the European parliament in Strasbourg during which he said the international community should develop a culture where dialogue and non-violence is used to resolve differences.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1617475.stm

[slow_dazzle]

I have read Michael Parenti talk about Tibet and the rosy view that isn't so rosy when we look closely. I respect PM as a commentater so I thought...hmmm...

The stuff you posted really made me...hmmm... So much so I'm going to post it to people who will look at it without prejudice.

Later bro

[Searcher08]

Talking about China in generalities is as meaningless as talking about humanity the same way. I can only describe my own experience.

China is without doubt the most racist country I have ever been to - in particular their anti-black racism is pretty intense... sort of rural Mississippi intense. The Chinese attitudes to their own minorities verge between serfdom and poodledom - case in point are the Uygurs, who have had their culture stomped on, their land overrun by Han immigrants paid substantial salaries to move to places like Urumchi and Kashgar. The atmosphere in those places can feel like being in a V for Vendetta film - one day normal, the next day crawling with plainclothes rayban wearing secret police.

There were loads of parties in bars across China when news about Sept 11 attacks was received. Strangely though, the hatred was directed against America, rather than individual Americans - even those present in the bars. America isnt really respected at all, was my take.

As for the piece about Sudan, the way they treated the Dinka in Southern Sudan absolutely classes as a genocide. They would kill a whole village except for the male children and young teenagers, who would then have a life of daily rape and beatings awaiting them. The Sudanese governments attitude to the Christian blacks was that they were worth less than cattle, apart from the rape opportunities.

To say that the Chinese have a model of foreign policy which is in anyway altruistic is IMHO deeply racist - in the "Oh Noooo they are not like THAT".
Read about Chinese involvement with Mugabe or Equatorial Guinea or Angola.

China's economic progress has come with terrible problems - huge dislocations within the society, mass human migration to the cities, incredible corruption at local levels - where there have been pitched battles between local corrupt Party officials and the populace they are exploiting - ending up in total suppression by the PLA.

The PLA is acting as much like General Electric / Walmart than as an army. Nothing like using a captive prisoner army to power Walmart, eh?
The PLA is the living embodiment of the definition of fascism as the alignment of the Government with the interests of Capital. The PLA are a very big customer for the IDF btw.

When I spent my time in China, I was impressed with the ordinary Chinese person - relatively speaking I found them better listeners, more tactile, relatively freer from emotional baggage, and just plain smarter than similar Europeans or Americans I have met. I found that they were very different from the Western stereotypes - yet there were other stereotypes they fitted into.

When it comes to the calculus of balancing freedom of expression with security, freedom doesn't get a look-in. Just act Falun Gong about that.

[Stephen Morgan]

For centuries the high Tibetan plateau has constituted a key strategic position within the region—long under Chinese patronage, and then after the Chinese revolution of 1911, used by the British in India as a buffer against China and Russia.

I don't like to nitpick, but this is wrong. The Anglo-Russian treaty of 1911 entailed both Powers agreeing to deal with Tibet only through the recognised Suzerain Power, ie China.

[AlicetheKurious]

I like my holy men to have sharp, vitriolic tongues, to talk truth to power, to push over the tables of thieving money-lenders, to defend the underdog, to leave me in awe of their wisdom with pronouncements like ""Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits," and "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone", and other good advice.

Who warn the rich that they can either worship God or mammon, and that those who worship one are the enemies of the other. Who call a spade a spade, are never mealy-mouthed and never dazzled by glitter and glamour. Who are tender with the vulnerable and fearless with the oppressor, who walk the walk AND talk the talk. Lots and lots of good stuff like that.

So naturally I'm not impressed by a "holy man" who hangs out with movie stars and lives a celebrity lifestyle, who graciously provides genocidal mass murderers and their supporters with smiling photo ops, who's on the CIA payroll, whose pronouncements are collectively a watered down, bastardized version of "The Power of Positive Thinking", and who appears to suck up to, rather than speak truth to power, etc.

I actually agree with this guy:


The Dalai Lama is no Gandhi

From: National Catholic Reporter | Date: 10/10/2003 | Author: McCarthy, Colman


If you've ever had suspicions that the Dalai Lama is a lightweight, suspect no more. He is.

Recently finishing a U.S. lecture tour that attracted rock-concert crowds in major cities, the 68-year-old Tibetan Buddhist came up against a pesky New York Times reporter who asked questions about terrorism and the war in Iraq. In a story headlined "Dalai Lama Says Terror May Need a Violent Reply," the monk said: "Terrorism is the worst kind of violence, so we have to check it, we have to take countermeasures."

Soothing words to the Bush war makers as they seek $87 billion for countermeasures to bolster earlier countermeasures that failed. No amount of Buddhist incense smoked over the lama's words can hide their meaning: Kill people to solve conflicts. Here is one more religious leader who is a pacifist between wars, akin to being a vegetarian between meals.

On Iraq, His Holiness was equally light in the head. It's "too early to say" whether the Bush war against Iraq was mistaken: "I feel only history will tell." For 12 years under three presidents, the go-it-alone United States has made war on an impoverished people--first through the 1991 bombing of the country's infrastructure, then a decade of lethal economic sanctions, then the March 2003 invasion meant to kill a dictator that Donald Rumsfeld twice sucked up to in the 1980s when Iraq was a weapons client, and now we are an occupying force largely resented by the populace.

When will it not be "too early" to make a judgment about all that? What will it take for the Dalai Lama to join much of the rest of the world and see through the jingoism of "Operation Iraqi Freedom" and condemn, in forceful language, the violence?

If the Dalai Lama is content to wait for history's judgment, perhaps it's because he plans to be on hand reincarnated in the next lama or two, as he was in 1940 when he was enthroned at the age of 5.

Why speak with prophetic fire when he can cool it as the Dalai Lama Superstar, catering to U.S. audiences who are slightly disaffected with Western materialism and insatiable for self-fulfillment babble from one guru, maharishi, swami, shaman and yogi after another--Deepak Chopra, Ram Dass, Tony Robbins, Robert Schuller, Dr. Ruth, Dr. Phil. The Dalai Lama's million-copy bestseller, The Art of Happiness, has been followed by The Art of Happiness at Work. What's next? The Art of Happiness in the Kitchen?


The Dalai Lama is a showman complete
With maroon robes and a bare shoulder

Nothing complex is found in the Dalai Lama's message: Think positive, live with hope, reduce negative motivations, have a good attitude, learn compromise, be aware, be happy.

Above all, be patient. At a November 1998 conference at the University of Virginia where the Dalai Lama was one of eight Nobel Peace laureates to speak, he said: "My dream is that one day the whole world should be demilitarized. But you cannot achieve that overnight. Also, you cannot achieve that without a proper systematic plan. However, it is very important to make some kind of clear target! Even though it may take 100 or 50 years, that doesn't matter. But make some kind of clear idea or clear target. Then, try to achieve that step by step."

This is the all-wise cosmic message from the Mystical East we've been waiting for? Go step by step? The obvious has rarely been so laboriously belabored. It's on a level with dopey athletes dispensing eternal truth when, in all solemnity, they tell interviewers that they are going to take one game at a time. As against taking two games at a time.

The Dalai Lama joins a long list of people who, in the parlance of celebrity, are famous for being famous. He is an entertainer, a headliner, a showman--complete with maroon robes and a bare shoulder. Nothing wrong with that. A shtick's a shtick. But he's nowhere close to being in the company of Gandhi, who said, "I do not believe in any war," or the Mennonites Church of the Brethren or Quakers who don't hedge their antiwar convictions, much less wait for history.

Colman McCarthy directs the Center for Teaching Peace in Washington. His e-mail address is colman@clark.net.

COPYRIGHT 2003 National Catholic Reporter




Wowza. His Holiness, receiving a Congressional Gold Medal.



Pelosi, a Democrat from California, called for an international investigation into the violence in Tibet and dismissed China's claim that the Dalai Lama was behind the unrest as making "no sense."

..."Nothing surprises me about the use of violence on the part of the Chinese government," said Pelosi, who had scheduled a visit by her congressional delegation long before the protests broke out.

"I pray for success of the speaker of such a great nation, considered a champion of freedom, democracy and liberty," said the Dalai Lama, who draped a gold scarf around Pelosi's neck.

"Perhaps it's our karma, our fate, to be with you at such a sad time," Pelosi said.

Link


Free Palestine, you nauseating hypocrites.