Posted on 04/26/2009 8:50:26 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Marking the 20th birthday of His Serenity the 11th Panchen Lama in a solemn ceremony, Tibetans in Dharamshala yesterday offered prayers for his long life, while they remember the legacy of his predecessor in the preservation and promotion of Tibet's cultural heritage and his indomitable courage to speak out against the Chinese leaders for the wellbeing of Tibetans.
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his parents disappeared a day after His Holiness the Dalai Lama recognised him as the 11th Panchen Lama on 14 May 1995. Despite repeated appeals, no international agency or human rights organisation has been granted access to the boy or his family to verify his well-being.
China continues to claim that the boy is "merely an ordinary child", who is "leading a normal, happy life and receiving a good cultural education."
Senior officials from the Central Tibetan Administration, including speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile and Kalon for the Department of Religion and Culture, attended the low-key birthday organised by Chhodhi Tashi Lhunpo Cultural Society, seat of the Panchen Lama in exile located in south India.
To bring good health and long life of the Panchen Lama, the organisers invited to the prayer session a group of 108 Tibetan students aged similar to the Panchen Lama.
Expressing deep concern over the whereabouts of the Panchen Lama which the Chinese government has refused to reveal despite constant pressure from the international community, Speaker Penpa Tsering underscored the need to strengthen campaigns and maintain a sustained pressure for the Panchen Lama's release.
In his address, Kalon Tsering Phuntsok highlighted the great contribution made by late 10th Panchen Lama, Lobsang Trinley Lhundrup Choekyi Gyaltsen.
Kalon Tsering Phuntsok said the 10th Panchen Lama remained in Tibet even after the 1959 uprising to attend and to work for the problems of the Tibetans in Tibet.
He said that the late Panchen Lama is one of the leading figures who have worked hard to improve the life of the Tibetans in Tibet and who have openly criticised the Chinese Communist Party's policies in Tibet.
He urged the younger generation of Tibetans to study the works of the late Panchen Lama, which is etched in golden letters in Tibet's historical records.
After a tour through Tibet, the late Panchen Lama submitted a 70,000 character petition to Chinese government in May 1962 detailing the brutal suppression of the Tibetan people and marginalisation of Tibetans in all aspects of development during and after the Chinese aggression on Tibet. He suffered harsh and long-term imprisonment after Chairman Mao Zedong called the petition "a poisoned arrow shot at the Party".
Using the method of drawing lots from a golden urn, China selected six-year-old Gyaltsen Norbu as the "11th Panchen Lama" in November 1995.
Chhodhi Tashi Lhunpo Cultural Society, seat of the Panchen Lama in exile located in south India led appeal for the support in demanding the Chinese government on following points.
“We would like to make a special plea for the release of the 11th Panchen Lama. We also remain deeply concerned about the plight and safety of his parents and family, as well as that of Chadrel Rinpoche and other Tibetan political prisoners."
I didn’t have anything like that for my 20th birthday. Can I get a do-over?
Well this is convenient for the Chinese. They get to pick the Lama, and either disappear him or thoroughly propagandize him. Why do Tibetans feel obligated to respect the Chinese Lama system? I guess I don’t grok the Oriental mindset sufficiently.
I thought he was in jail. No?
Wait a minute. I didn't even know that they were doing a drawing. If I had, I would have submitted my name.
This isn't fair. I'm contacting my lawyer.
Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga... gunga, gunga-galunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me.
And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness."
So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.
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