24  September 2011

Introduction

My fellow Tibetans, both in and outside Tibet, all those who follow the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and everyone who has a connection to Tibet and Tibetans: due to the foresight of our ancient kings, ministers and scholar-adepts, the complete teaching of the Buddha, comprising the scriptural and experiential teachings of the Three Vehicles and the Four Sets of Tantra and their related subjects and disciplines flourished widely in the Land of Snow. Tibet has served as a source of Buddhist and related cultural traditions for the world. In particular, it has contributed significantly to the happiness of countless beings in Asia, including those in China, Tibet and Mongolia.

In the course of upholding the Buddhist tradition in Tibet, we evolved a unique Tibetan tradition of recognizing the reincarnations of scholar-adepts that has been of immense help to both the Dharma and sentient beings, particularly to the monastic community.

Since the omniscient Gedun Gyatso was recognized and confirmed as the reincarnation of Gedun Drub in the fifteenth century and the Gaden Phodrang Labrang (the Dalai Lama’s institution) was established, successive reincarnations have been recognized. The third in the line, Sonam Gyatso, was given the title of the Dalai Lama. The Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, established the Gaden Phodrang Government in 1642, becoming the spiritual and political head of Tibet. For more than 600 years since Gedun Drub, a series of unmistaken reincarnations has been recognised in the lineage of the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lamas have functioned as both the political and spiritual leaders of Tibet for 369 years since 1642. I have now voluntarily brought this to an end, proud and satisfied that we can pursue the kind of democratic system of government flourishing elsewhere in the world. In fact, as far back as 1969, I made clear that concerned people should decide whether the Dalai Lama’s reincarnations should continue in the future. However, in the absence of clear guidelines, should the concerned public express a strong wish for the Dalai Lamas to continue, there is an obvious risk of vested political interests misusing the reincarnation system to fulfil their own political agenda. Therefore, while I remain physically and mentally fit, it seems important to me that we draw up clear guidelines to recognise the next Dalai Lama, so that there is no room for doubt or deception. For these guidelines to be fully comprehensible, it is essential to understand the system of Tulku recognition and the basic concepts behind it. Therefore, I shall briefly explain them below.

Past and future lives

In order to accept reincarnation or the reality of Tulkus, we need to accept the existence of past and future lives. Sentient beings come to this present life from their previous lives and take rebirth again after death. This kind of continuous rebirth is accepted by all the ancient Indian spiritual traditions and schools of philosophy, except the Charvakas, who were a materialist movement. Some modern thinkers deny past and future lives on the premise that we cannot see them. Others do not draw such clear cut conclusions on this basis. (more…)

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APPEAL

 

The current situation prevailing at Kirti Monastery in Ngaba in

northeastern Tibet is extremely grim because of the stand-off between the

Chinese military forces and the local Tibetans. The monastery, housing

approximately 2500 monks, is completely surrounded by Chinese armed

forces, who at one point prevented vital food and other supplies from

entering the monastic compound.

 

The local Tibetans fearing that this siege on Kirti Monastery is a prelude

to large scale detention of the monks have surrounded the soldiers

blockading the monastery and have filled the roads so as to prevent

Chinese trucks and vehicles either entering or leaving Kirti.

 

The local Chinese blockade of Kirti Monastery began on 16 March 2011, when

a young Tibetan monk at the monastery tragically set himself on fire as a

way of observing the third anniversary of the widespread peaceful protests

that shook Tibet in 2008. Instead of putting out the flames, the police

beat the young monk which was one of the causes of his tragic death. This

act created huge resentment among the monks, which resulted in this

massive blockade of Kirti Monastery.

 

I am very concerned that this situation if allowed to go on may become

explosive with catastrophic consequences for the Tibetans in Ngaba.

 

In view of this I urge both the monks and the lay Tibetans of the area not

to do anything that might be used as a pretext by the local authorities to

massively crackdown on them.

 

I also strongly urge the international community, the governments around

the world, and the international non-governmental organizations, to

persuade the Chinese leadership to exercise restraint in handling this

situation.

 

For the past six decades, using force as the principle means in dealing

with the problems in Tibet has only deepened the grievances and resentment

of the Tibetan people. I, therefore, appeal to the Chinese leadership to

adopt a realistic approach and to address the genuine grievances of the

Tibetans with courage and wisdom and to restrain from using force in

handling this situation.

 

The Dalai Lama

 

April 15, 2011

March 30, 2011

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