REUTERS: Dalai Lama rejects Tibetan Buddhist praise of China Wed Dec 28, 2005 7:55 PM ET

DHARAMSALA, India (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama said on Wednesday the most senior Buddhist in Tibet had obviously wanted to please Chinese authorities by praising Tibet for its political stability and prosperity.

In an interview with Reuters, the 70-year-old Nobel Laureate painted a very different picture of Tibet saying that torture and human rights abuses were still the norm.

The Dalai Lama, the head of Tibetan Buddhism and its political struggle, said he was saddened by reports monks had been killed and tortured by Chinese authorities for refusing to denounce him as a "separator" bent on damaging China.

"I had stressed if they have to denounce me then please denounce me -- no problem," he said firmly in his palace beneath snow-tipped Himalayan peaks in northern India.

"Their safety is more important. Just please denounce me," he said, wearing traditional Buddhist purple robes.

The Beijing-sanctioned 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, now 16 and who along with his parents is under China's protection, said in a rare interview with China's Xinhua news agency a few days ago that Tibet was open and happy.

"I've been to many places in the past decade and witnessed the ample freedom enjoyed by individuals and religious organisations alike. Living Budhhas like myself are able to perform religious rituals under the wing of the Chinese constitution and other laws," he said, according to Xinhua. (More on the Reuters website)

I cannot believe what the Chinese have done to this boy. No teacher would call himself 'a living Buddha,' especially those who are. Tenzin Gyatso His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama says he is just "a simple monk."

Why have we not done more for Tibet? HHDL has constantly worked for a peaceful resolution to the Chinese occupation. We have not done enough for him.

We say we denounce terrorism, but when a leader uses peaceful, nonviolent means, we ignore them. We pushed for arab terrorists to get what they want, but ignored the Tibetans. NO US President should ever have met with a terrorist like Arafat. But there was Arafat, waiting in the Rose Garden while Clinton < oh, never mind. . . >

The point is that this legitimizes terrorists while it de-legitimizes peaceful resistance. It shows that we have less respect for those who 'play within the rules' than those who break them.

Then we are surprised when there are more terrorists than peaceful resistors.

Completely forget that the Arabs were the aggressors while the Tibetans were the victims of a brutal Chinese invasion.

If we supported Him more, then the world might see that peaceful resolution to conflict is a better way.

Additional benefit: It really honks off the Chinese when GWB meets with His Holiness.

Buddha Bless the USA

No teacher would call himself 'a living Buddha

You are absolutely right Sangey-la
This is a very clear symthom of the prolonged brainwashing
and clinical indoctrination that the Chinese have done to this
pseudo Panchen Lama.
PRC tries it's best to totally avoid and not mention what has been the fate of the actual , true Panchen Lama , that the Dalai Lama and all other 'free' Lamas and Rinpoches had 'found' and recognize. Where is Human Rights Watch and Amnesty Int when it comes to that little guy ?
The best we can hope for is that at some point , this PRC appointed Living Buddha Panchen will behave exactly like the
young Karmapa Lama (who was also thought to be a PRC drone)
and bail out , by fleeing over the high Himalaya to Dharamsala also.
Tashi delek

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