Tibet News
Monday, April 19, 2004
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Issue ID: 2004/04/19
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Contents:
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1.  Green or Red, Beijing's Response Expected Soon (TN)
2.  Dalai Lama tries to enlighten 26,000 in B.C.(TG)
3.  Asking Only 'Meaningful Autonomy' for Tibet, says Dalai Lama (VOA)
4.  China unclear on democratic concept (TG)
5.  Butter, bones and silence (GM)
6.  Tibetan hopes: Dalai Lama visits to urge West to take a firmer stand on
the Chinese occupation (MM)
7.  'I have no interest in politics': Dalai Lama (VS)
8.  Inspiring the young (OCR)
9.  Thank you Grand Valley, my other land of snow (GVL)
10. California Tibetans hunger strike for Tibet

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1.  Green or Red, Beijing's Response Expected Soon (TN)
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TibetNet
April 17, 2004

Dharamsala, April 16 In what may turn out to be the light at the end of the
tunnel, Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, the Kalon Tripa said he expects a response
from China within the next 2 weeks to his administration's request to
'discuss the matter of beginning the actual process of negotiations'.

The Kalon Tripa had earlier told the seventh session of the Assembly of the
Tibetan People's Deputies in March this year that a delegation might visit
China and Tibet in the next two or three months. Talking to Voice of Tibet
radio service, the Kalon Tripa said there has not been any development and
the situation is as it was when it gave its report to the seventh session of
the assembly.

He said he is expecting Beijing's response within the next one or two weeks
as to whether to be shown a green signal to the delegation or not.

Asked if there would be change in the delegation's composition, the
executive head of the Tibetan administration said that except for the effort
to add another person to the delegation there will be no change.

" We are trying to add one more person to the delegation if it is accepted
by China ", he said.

Rinpoche hoped the delegation this time will be able to spend more time in
Beijing, interact with retired government officials who have past ties with
Tibet, scholars, scientists and political leaders as well.

"I hope this time they will be able to travel to places in Dotoe and Domed
(two of the three traditional Tibetan provinces) where they could not go
during the last two visits", Rinpoche said.

Responding to a question whether the U.S resolution against China at the
60th Commission of UNCHR and the decision of Canadian Prime Minister Paul
Martin to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama will hinder the exile
administration's efforts of creating conducive environment for dialogue,
Rinpoche said that the US resolution was not initiated or requested by his
administration and that it was the Canadian citizens and not the Tibetan
administration who lobbied for the meeting and therefore should not be a
cause of hindrance to the atmosphere for dialogue.

On possibilities of the Tibetan delegation meeting Chinese leaders outside
China, Rinpoche said that he would wish it could happen if leaders of
People's Republic of China agree. " Meetings, as many and wherever possible,
will be favourable to the efforts of negotiation". But all this, he
continued, will depend on the PRC leadership.

The Assembly of the Tibetan People's Deputies, however, had passed a
resolution during its seventh session to review the entire approach of the
Middle Way if China does not respond to Dharamsala's call before the ninth
session in 2005.

Meanwhile, the exile administration can only wait and hope.

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2.  Dalai Lama tries to enlighten 26,000 in B.C.(TG)
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Begins 19-day canadian visit. Pilgrims come for guidance for everything from
religion to hockey playoffs

DOUGLAS TODD

The Gazette (Montreal)
April 19, 2004

His Holiness the Dalai Lama looks out into the sold-out crowd at the start
of a spiritual teaching in Vancouver, yesterday. The Dalai Lama, 68, arrived
in Canada Saturday for a 19-day visit to Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto.
CREDIT: RICHARD LAM, CP

A man wearing a Canuck's jersey came away convinced after seeing the Dalai
Lama that his beloved hockey team would win the seventh game of the playoff
series against the Calgary Flames.

A father with long hair waited in line for three hours to see the Dalai Lama
yesterday morning so his seven-year-old daughter would be able to grow up
and "make her own choice" between Buddhism and the Catholicism of her
mother.

A realtor who is a Tibetan and a Buddhist drove up from Portland, Oregon, to
gain some fresh inspiration from the Nobel Peace Prize winner who is leading
the long campaign for Tibet's autonomy from China's often-harsh occupation.

More than 26,000 people from every walk of life bought tickets to two
sold-out talks at the Pacific Coliseum yesterday - in hopes of receiving
widely different blessings from the 14th Dalai Lama, one of the world's most
famous religious leaders, who has been called a "god-king."

Many people - including Christians, Jews and people who said they weren't
religious - were buzzing and excited just from being in the presence of the
68-year-old leader, who began his 19-day tour of Canada in Vancouver on
Saturday. A few argued outside the stadium with a Seattle evangelist who
carried a placard and denounced the Dalai Lama as "wicked."

Some admitted having trouble with the exiled Tibetan leader's highly
abstract morning talk about hard-core Buddhist philosophy.

Others felt the Dalai Lama offered a perfect introduction to how to escape
suffering by detaching oneself from desire and being more compassionate. But
everyone interviewed felt just by being with the Dalai Lama has somehow
helped, in a small way, further the cause of global peace, solidarity and
happiness.

Dressed in his saffron robe and an orange golf hat to shade him from the
bright stage lights, the Dalai Lama sat on an eight-foot-high red throne and
spoke for almost two hours yesterday morning about ridding oneself of
"negative emotions" to achieve enlightenment. The event, in which the Dalai
Lama's Tibetan comments were translated into English, was billed as a
religious service.

Wearing a Canucks jersey, high-school teacher Ashok Parashar left the
Dalai's spiritual talk before it was over, saying he'd accomplished exactly
what he came for - "to get some sort of spiritual power that will ensure the
Canucks will win the seventh game against Calgary.

"I felt it. I felt the shaking. I felt the presence" said Parashar, who
teaches high-school English. Parashar, who is Hindu, said his wife remained
behind to listen to the end of the Dalai Lama's talk.

"She's serious about Buddhism," he said. "But I'm serious about the
Canucks."

Vancouver carpenter Karl Prevost, who once travelled to the seat of the
Dalai Lama's government in exile in Dharamsala, Tibet, lined up almost three
hours early with his seven-year-old daughter, Emily, to see the renowned
spiritual leader.

"I thought it was wonderful. The energy was nice. But it was a long session
for my daughter," said Prevost. Spinning around in circles outside the
stadium, Emily said she couldn't understand what the Dalai Lama had been
talking about.

However, Prevost said, since Emily attends a Catholic church with her
mother, it would be beneficial for his daughter to be exposed to a great
Buddhist teacher - so when she grows up "she can make her own choice" about
religion.

Jampa Lathsang, a 37-year-old realtor from Portland, Oregon, said he
appreciated the Dalai Lama's teaching that people have to change themselves
from within at the same time they try to change the world through social
action.

Saying he hopes Tibet will one day be free from China's control, Lathsang
worried that the U.S. and other Western powers are afraid of sticking up for
Tibetans because they don't want to threaten trade ties with China, which is
becoming one of the world's dominant economies. "It's all about money for
them."

Yoga teacher Donna Andreychuk said she saw many members of Greater
Vancouver's large, loosely-connected yoga community at the event.

Although Andreychuk found the Dalai Lama's Sunday morning talk too
"intellectual," she liked how he essentially highlights the importance of
direct experience - "like the 'oh wow' excitement of really seeing a flower
for the first time."

Thomas Warner, a 35-year-old Baptist from Seattle, was having none of the
Dalai Lama love-in, however.

Carrying a placard reading "Repent. Buddhist Liars," Warner and a few fellow
evangelicals told a revolving crowd of disgusted onlookers that the Dalai
Lama was "wicked" because he leads "an idolatrous religion."

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3.  Asking Only 'Meaningful Autonomy' for Tibet, says Dalai Lama (VOA)
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VOA
April 19, 2004
By Craig McCulloch

Vancouver - Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is on a visit
to Canada during which he will meet with Prime Minister Paul Martin. In
Vancouver Saturday the Dalai Lama discussed relations between the People's
Republic of China and his Tibetan homeland.

Speaking to reporters, the Dalai Lama says that he is not campaigning for an
independent Tibet, but would like some sort of meaningful autonomy. He calls
this a "middle of the road approach" that means not seeking separation or
independence.

The 69-year-old Buddhist monk says that his homeland is backward materially
with a small population over a big area, has virtually no modern
universities, and is not technologically developed. He feels there is a
mutual benefit for Tibet to cooperate with the Chinese government.

After two sets of negotiations with the People's Republic of China, he says
it still thinks he wants independence. He says Chinese spies can visit his
offices in India to find out the truth for themselves.

"I want to invite some Chinese spy," said Dalai Lama. "Come to Dharamsala.
Stay there. Look what we are doing, what we are saying and if necessary, go
[to] our offices and check our files."

Despite Beijing's refusal to believe he is serious, the Dalai Lama says that
Tibet is a part of Mainland China. He says that he wants to help create more
success for Tibet and China.

"But, the Chinese government still you see, repeating these things, so for
the time being, most important is build confidence," he said. "Since the
Chinese government really believe we are not seeking independence, we are
really genuinely, want to build the People's Republic of China as a whole.
Tibet is part. So, more prosperity, more development of Tibet means
prosperity or development of People's Republic of China."

While in Vancouver, the Dalai Lama will hold roundtable discussions with
fellow Nobel Peace Prize winners, Shirin Ebadi and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
He will also receive two honorary degrees alongside Mr. Tutu and hold public
speeches.

He will meet with Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin in Ottawa later in the
week. Mr. Martin says he will meet with the Dalai Lama despite protests from
China. The Dalai Lama says his talk with Mr. Martin will focus on spiritual
issues, which is the purpose of his trip to Canada.

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4.  China unclear on democratic concept (TG)
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Editorial

The Gazette
April 19, 2004

Talk about going from bad to worse. First, officials from the Chinese
Embassy in Ottawa offended common standards of diplomacy - not to mention
decency - by advising Paul Martin to have nothing to do the Dalai Lama - or
else. Then they rebuked the prime minister for agreeing to meet the Tibetan
spiritual leader nonetheless. And by way of making their unhappiness as
clear as possible they drew attention in a statement to Canada's "own
problem with Quebec."

To equate Quebec with Tibet is folly, but folly worth thinking about. It is
true that separatist feelings run strong in the secluded and mountainous
quasi-state, which is entirely controlled by China. It is true also that
Tibetans suffer systematic political and cultural restrictions unknown to
Quebecers or any Canadians.

The monks who once numbered thousands in Tibet are now dozens and the great
majority of their temples have been destroyed. Political prisoners include
followers of the Dalai Lama whose offences against Tibetan society do not
extend beyond peaceful protest gatherings and the singing of devotional
songs.

The land seizures and mass incarcerations that followed the Chinese invasion
of Tibet in 1950 might now be viewed as historical incidents, gone but not
forgotten. But oppression is alive and well. China has attempted to
re-populate Tibet with ethnic Chinese workers and industrialize the famously
beautiful countryside. Mandarin is the official language.

The differences between this brutality and the situation in Canada are
almost too obvious to enumerate. Bilingualism is a trans-Canadian policy.
Speaking two languages is desirable and expected. How many functionaries
from Beijing are required to learn Tibetan? How many Tibetans can aspire to
be voted prime minister of China?

No one is imprisoned here for espousing a peaceful political view, on Quebec
independence or any other issue. In China such persecution is routine.

Even Francine Lalonde of the Bloc Quebecois felt compelled to comment on the
inanity of comparing Quebec and Tibet. However high the feelings or rough
the words, debate on separation, in Quebec and across Canada, unfolds
democratically. The Supreme Court has spelled out some rules for triggering
any separation - a clear majority on a clear question - and it's worth
noting that an additional vital requirement - in an honest secret-ballot
election - doesn't even need to be spoken. The people of Tibet have not been
allowed an honest secret-ballot election.

The issue of national sovereignty, central to the Canadian experience, is
really secondary in Tibet. The movement to free the country from China's
yoke is based not on questions of constitutional status but on the real and
daily mistreatment of an indigenous population.

If Tibetans were self-determining, affluent, culturally robust and richly
endowed with rights, then a comparison with Quebec might be worth
entertaining. We invite the Chinese to raise the matter again when - and not
before - such conditions obtain in Tibet.

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5.  Butter, bones and silence (GM)
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The Globe and Mail
April 17, 2004

As the Dalai Lama arrives in Canada today, many of us will ponder the
captive land he fled. MARK ABLEY offers essential works on the sad fate of
the Buddhist country

By MARK ABLEY

Some nations excite our imagination by the magnificence of their landscape,
the splendour of their culture or even their sheer remoteness. Other nations
trouble our conscience like an open wound. Only Tibet does both. Only Tibet
seems to embody both exoticism and betrayal.

This is not a fate any Tibetan would desire. But since 1959, when the young
Dalai Lama and tens of thousands of his people fled across the Himalayas
into India, Tibet has simultaneously endured grievous suffering and
worldwide fame. The suffering is due to the oppressive policies of China,
which appears determined to grind Tibet down to a karaoke province inhabited
largely by Chinese immigrants. The fame is due mainly to Tibet's exiled
leader, the 14th Dalai Lama.

Over the past half-century, he has matured into a global statesman and
flourished as a media superstar - a man whose wisdom, intelligence and
charisma put other political leaders into deep shade. There was something
unseemly about Paul Martin dithering about whether he should even meet the
Dalai Lama; it suggested a warthog debating if it would be beneath his
dignity to notice a passing elephant.

But what was the culture from which the Dalai Lama emerged? And how did
Tibet fall into such desperate straits?

To answer the first question, we need to understand Tibet as it was before
the troops of Mao Tsetung set out to "liberate" that isolated Buddhist land.
The best-known text on the subject is Heinrich Harrer's Seven Years in
Tibet, which became a mediocre film starring Brad Pitt (the Andes did a
better job playing the Himalayas). But a more revealing book, I think, is
Secret Tibet, by Fosco Maraini (Viking, 1952; reissued by Harvill, 2000).

As a young man, Maraini took part in two Italian expeditions to Tibet, one
just before the Second World War, the other just after. He spoke enough
Tibetan to communicate with ordinary people, rather than relying on a
translator. Maraini had a weakness for theorizing but, more important, he
displayed a sly sense of humour, an intuitive sympathy and an eye for
detail. To him, Tibet's three defining features were butter, bones and
silence.

The Tibet he saw -- and as a non-Buddhist, he wasn't allowed into the
capital, Lhasa -- had developed an extraordinary, complex culture imbued at
every level with the intricacies of Tantric Buddhism. In spiritual and
artistic terms, it was wealthy. In economic terms, it was not. The harshness
of the environment (Tibet is a semi-desert, thousands of metres above sea
level) precluded the growth of a big population. Accordingly, hundreds of
thousands of people became monks and nuns.

Some writers about Tibet have romanticized the monasteries. Maraini did not.
He grasped their limitations and abuses: in particular, the corrosive
political infighting at the heart of a system with little social mobility.
Yet he concluded that while "Tibetan life, viewed as a whole, is typically
medieval . . . the Tibetans seem to be really happy people, so far as people
can be happy on this Earth."

There would be little joy once the Chinese Communists asserted their
country's ancient claim to sovereignty over Tibet. (If the loose authority
that Beijing emperors once exercised over Tibet entitled Mao to invade in
the 1950s, then China also has a right to occupy Korea, Mongolia and
Vietnam.) The history of that invasion and its sad aftermath has been told
many times, but perhaps never with so much lucid passion as in John Avedon's
In Exile from the Land of Snows (Knopf, 1984).

If the story is one of duplicity and brute power on the Chinese side, it was
one of confusion and incompetence on the Tibetan. Such was, perhaps, the
inevitable result of a unique system in which for many years power
theoretically resided in a small boy. The 13th Dalai Lama had died in 1933;
his reincarnation was discovered four years later in a tiny village. When
the Chinese troops marched into Tibet, he was still a teenager, endlessly
curious, fond of movies and telescopes. He knew his country needed
modernizing, and at first he had high hopes for the Chinese.

Those hopes were soon dashed. Avedon's most painful chapter is called Tibet
Enslaved, and the cruelties he catalogues are on a par with those inflicted
by Stalin's minions in the Soviet Union. It's often forgotten that in 1960
the International Commission of Jurists accused China of perpetrating
genocide in Tibet. How does a writer prevent his readers from abandoning
such a chronicle in glazed dismay? Avedon works on two levels: by evoking
the achievements of Tibetans in exile, and also by describing a few men and
women who survived imprisonment and torture at home.

Avedon is a partisan for Tibet. Does that make him an unreliable narrator,
someone whose personal commitment overrides his duty to tell the truth?
Patrick French would say so. French is a talented English writer whose
recent Tibet, Tibet (Knopf, 2003) attacks not only the Chinese invaders but
also the foreign "Tibetophiles" who practise "Dalaidolatry." French speaks
from experience: A former director of the Free Tibet campaign in London, he
named his son Tenzin in honour of the Dalai Lama.

Like Maraini, he visited Tibet twice. A trip in the 1980s, when he was a
student, led him to work for Tibetan freedom. A longer visit in the late
'90s brought disillusionment. French now believes that Tibet will never
again be independent; that the statistics used by pro-Tibet campaigners are
often unreliable; and "that the Dalai Lama had lost the battle, and had
probably missed the slender chances offered to him for a settlement with
China."

His book is a nuanced and challenging portrait of the country. He
interviewed people whom other authors tend to shun, such as a once
idealistic Chinese Communist who sincerely believed he and his comrades were
freeing a backward province. Yet French ends up -- like virtually every
other writer on Tibet - in a state of mingled admiration and grief.

Tibet's fate is bitterly unjust. Can anything or anyone help bring justice
or healing to what remains of a great civilization?

Mark Abley is a writer living in Montreal. In 1987 he was a founding member
of the Canada-Tibet Committee.

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6.  Tibetan hopes: Dalai Lama visits to urge West to take a firmer stand on
the Chinese occupation (MM)
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Montreal Mirror
April 17, 2004

By KRISTIAN GRAVENOR Culture wealth vanishing; Samdup (Montreal Mirror/Jason
Falker)

Expat Tibetans are busily anticipating the imminent Canadian visit of His
Holiness the Dalai Lama, who arrives April 24. Monks are praying in their
South Shore temple, other Tibetans are preparing thousands of momos -
traditional Tibetan chow - while folk dancers are choreographing their moves
for a performance for His Holiness.

The 68-year-old leader's upcoming visit is considered crucial for those
devoted to the struggle to free Tibet, which was invaded and has been
occupied by China since 1959. "Tibet is going through a very difficult
period right now and the Dalai Lama is not getting any younger. The world
community mostly tends to pay attention to Tibet when the Dalai Lama is
travelling. The rest of the time Tibet is more or less forgotten," says
Thubten "Sam" Samdup, president of Canada-Tibet Committee. "We feel a sense
of urgency that something has to be done before the Dalai Lama passes away
and that's why we launched this campaign and are working very hard to lobby
the Canadian public and parliamentarians. Canada has a very unique role to
play in this regard because if we believe that we are a society that
believes in non-violence and peace and all that good stuff, then it's about
time that Canada comes forth and supports the non-violent struggle of
Tibet."

Trade versus human rights

Samdup says that the Chinese are increasingly using demographics in their
attempt to extinguish traditional Tibetan society. "Tibetans have already
become a minority in Tibet. Pretty soon you will see them as the aboriginals
in Australia. Most of the larger (Tibetan) cities have become like Chinese
cities, with concrete buildings all over the place.

Thousands of years of rich culture and tradition that has been kept alive is
slowly disappearing in front of our eyes - it's a wealth that belongs to the
world that is slowly disappearing and we're just witnessing it."

The Tibetan cause is popular in Canada, where 160 of 298 parliamentarians
have signed on to urge the prime minister to do something about the plight
of the Tibetans. Early this week the PM agreed to meet the Dalai Lama, but
in only a a spiritual, and not political, capacity. There is fear that any
meeting with the Dalai Lama will offend China. However, Samdup notes that
Western leaders from Clinton, Bush, Blair, Major, Mitterand and Chirac have
all met with the Dalai Lama without any ill results from China. "China is
like a little baby that makes a lot of noise, yet Canada seems to be afraid
of it."

Samdup says overtly pro-Tibetan countries have easily weathered China's
wrath. "China has bullied and made all sorts of threats against these
countries. The U.S. Congress passed a bill appointing a special coordinator
for Tibet - that's a big step - while other world leaders have encouraged
China to have a dialogue with Tibet. We don't just want lip service from
this government; we want Canada to take an extra step to make [the freeing
of Tibet] happen.

"We can't say that Canada prides itself to be the defender of human rights
and the peacemaker of the world, and on the other hand you refuse to condemn
China. That's a double standard. If you believe in something, you have to
pay the price for it, or otherwise just say that Canada's foreign policy is
trade first and human rights are secondary. We should never say that human
rights are the cornerstone of our democracy, that's a lie."

To the disappointment of many, Montreal, the unofficial capital of Canada's
expat Tibetan population, isn't on the Dalai Lama's itinerary. His only stop
will be Ottawa. Samdup says there's a "huge interest in Quebec for His
Holiness" and hopes to get him here in two or three years' time.

Another reason to embrace, rather than shun, the Tibetan freedom movement is
its impeccable record of non-violence, says Samdup. "We all want to stop
terrorism in the world. We are trying to show the world that the only way to
truly stop it is through dialogue and mutual respect and understanding,
because violence breeds more violence. If you want to stop that cycle, it's
time the world community starts paying attention to the non-violent struggle
of the people of Tibet and reward them."

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7.  'I have no interest in politics': Dalai Lama (VS)
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The Vancouver Sun
April 19, 2004

Dalai Lama says trip to Canada is spiritual, he'll discuss Tibet with Martin
only if PM asks

By Douglas Todd

VANCOUVER - The Dalai Lama began a 19-day tour of Canada yesterday saying he
would gladly tell Prime Minister Paul Martin about his position on Tibet,
but only if he's asked.

The exiled Tibetan leader said his trip here is spiritual. "I have no
interest in politics," he said. "I consider myself a Buddhist monk rather
than politician."

Still, the Dalai Lama told a news conference packed with more than 100
journalists that if Mr. Martin shows interest when the two meet in Ottawa on
April 23, he will encourage the Canadian government to set up a "meaningful
dialogue" with China about the future of Tibet.

"Otherwise, I have no political agenda," he said. The 68-year-old Dalai Lama
fled Tibet 45 years ago after China took control of the mountainous country
and cracked down on its many Buddhist monks.

He said China has it wrong when it continues to tell the world he is a
"splittist" who wants to separate Tibet from China.

"A thousand times I've told China I'm not seeking independence," the Dalai
Lama said in a wide-ranging talk in which he also urged well-off North
Americans to consume fewer resources, and joked about how his large RCMP
security detail couldn't help him if someone wanted to blow him up with a
missile.

The 14th Dalai Lama, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his commitment to
non-violent resistance to China's often-brutal occupation of Tibet, said
Tibet's six million people can have "meaningful autonomy" from China at the
same time that they work alongside the leaders of the world's most populous
country to create a better culture and economy for both Tibetans and
Chinese.

The Chinese government, in the past few weeks, has strongly warned Mr.
Martin and other Canadian politicians against meeting with the Dalai Lama,
one of the world's most famous religious leaders.

But Mr. Martin recently agreed to join the Buddhist leader at what is being
billed as a spiritual event, an interfaith prayer session and reception in
Ottawa -- making Mr. Martin the first Canadian prime minister to do so. Many
top western leaders, including U.S.

President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, have met the
Dalai Lama on several occasions.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty also plans to meet him.

The Dalai Lama, who will take part in Vancouver on Tuesday in a round-table
discussion at the University of B.C. with Nobel Peace Prize winners
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Iran's Shirin Ebadi, played down politics
yesterday to emphasize that he's basically a spiritual leader who is
actually "semi-retired," because elected officials have taken over Tibet's
government in exile.

After leaving Vancouver on April 21, the Dalai Lama will fly to Ottawa. He
will travel to Toronto on April 25, where he will lead the Kalachakra, one
of the most important rituals in the Tibetan Buddhist faith, until May 5.

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8.  Inspiring the young (OCR)
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April 17, 2004

Tickets flew for the Dalai Lama's rare stop in O.C., and judging from the
applause, the audience wasn't let down.

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA

The Dalai Lama spoke to 5,000 students Friday about peace, compassion and
courage occasionally interrupting his talk with infectious laughter at his
own jokes.

After 90 minutes, the world's most famous monk seemed reluctant to say
goodbye.

"Think more," he said, wagging his finger at students packing the Bren
Events Center at University of California, Irvine.

"Have more patience. Keep your determination," he said. "That's all. Thank
you."

And the place erupted in applause, cheers and whistles.

The political and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, the 14 th Dalai
Lama had come to inspire his youthful audience to take responsibility for
changing the world and earning their own happiness.

His reputation and packed schedule of religious ceremonies, public talks and
consultations with dignitaries rendered his stop a coup for UCI. A second
talk Friday afternoon explored issues of ethical self-awareness, poverty and
nonviolence.

In a two-day visit here and in Pasadena, he also met for spiritual teaching
with local Buddhists and held a strategy conference on ethical leadership
with major names in the business community.

Closely watched by security teams and kept clear of the press, the 1989
Nobel Peace Prize winner "whose given name is Tenzin Gyatso" was not
expected to visit his personal treasures on display at the Bowers Museum of
Cultural Art in Santa Ana.

But he made the most of his time at the youth lecture.

"In modern society, especially materialist society, I think a major portion
of our mind goes outside and there is some ... tendency to neglect the value
of the inner world," the Dalai Lama said.

"As a young person, analyze more of (your) inner potential as you are

getting an education. More investigation and thinking about (the) inner
world, inner values so your knowledge eventually can be more constructive."

A surprise visit by actress Sharon Stone "who reiterated some of the Dalai
Lama's points" received resounding applause, but only half of what the
students reserved for the 69-year-old monk who has been aptly described as
looking like a cross between Groucho Marx and Gandhi, with the wit to match.

Although the Bren Center's sound system coupled with the Dalai Lama's accent
made him sometimes difficult to understand, students said he delivered a
clear, rare and refreshing message of peace.

"It was really inspiring," said Monica White, 16, a junior at Middle College
High School in Costa Mesa. "In the media there is so much violence, that's
all you see. And to hear someone talk about compassion ... It was nice to
hear something so positive and about non-violence."

The students said they saw a man of courage, able to maintain his generous
spirit in the face of adversity.

"Many people would have been angry (at the Chinese)," said Kandi Haro, 13,
an eighthgrader from Bell Gardens. "He must be a terrific person when people
follow him even though he doesn't have a country to lead."

"He's a superstar," said Roger Walsh, UCI professor of psychiatry,
philosophy and religious studies who has met with the Dalai Lama .

"Our own human nature really thirsts for exemplars of the kinds of qualities
he seems to embody," said Walsh, 57. "Our culture ... often lacks real
heroes, at least ones that don't have feet of clay. His personal qualities
are very appealing and he has a total humility. He clearly walks his talk."

For Tibetans like Nawang Lhautara, president of the Tibetan Association of
Southern California, the Dalai Lama is the focus and embodiment of their
culture.

"There's a sense, of course, of the tragedy of Tibet," said Lhautara of
Chino Hills. "To see him gives us hope."

Tickets for the Dalai Lama's two talks"at which prices topped out at $95 a
seat" were snapped up within 36 hours, said Manuel Gomez, UCI vice
chancellor, who, with Nawang Phuntsog of Fullerton, arranged the visit.

"The ticket lines were the longest we have ever seen at the Bren," Gomez
said.

Gomez and Phuntsog, a professor of education at Cal State Fullerton and a
devout Tibetan Buddhist, flew to New York in October to invite the Dalai
Lama to Orange County.

"We discussed our program and idea, and we were so elated at his decision on
the spot. He said, "I like your program. I will schedule to be there."

"We brought him pictures of the objects in the Bowers exhibition and asked
him which was his favorite."

Gomez said the Dalai Lama chose a beautiful little bell because it awakens
us to a higher consciousness and the soup bowl that he ate his chicken soup
from as a boy.

"He is a humble man and an extraordinary individual."

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9.   Thank you Grand Valley, my other land of snow (GVL)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tenzin Bhagen

Grand Valley Lanthorn

When I was a little boy I would watch the snowflakes. They were one of my
limited entertainment in my childhood days of the winter. I would stand
under the porch and gaze at them, playing with them through my imagination.
I would use their motion of falling to imagine myself flying up to a heaven
where there would be a justice that protected my family, plenty of food and
abundant clothes.

 The snow would also remind me of a terrible story that has always haunted
me.
 Because he was involved in Tibetan resistance movement, the Chinese
officials arrested my father and then killed him. Before he was shot, they
tortured him by making the horses drag him throughout the valley. They let
the dogs consume his body. The villagers saw a dog carrying his hand and
running around the village.

 People were killed for no good reason. People were tortured and put in
prisons for as sma ll crime as possessing a religious text or expressing
their opinions. When I was 10 years old, I was forced to work in the commune
and carry rocks on my back every day for many years. The Chinese officials
called me names. Worst of all, they did not give me a chance to go to a
school. All I knew was I would grow old with that life and I would die with
that life.

 But today, after being in Michigan snow for four years, I am far from dying
in that field carrying rocks. I am achieving my long-sought goal. On April
24, I will walk with educated Americans and receive a college degree with
them. I am the first person from my family, that has over 1,000 years of
recorded history, to get a modern education and college degree. Recently I'
ve learned that I am the first person from the entire area where I grew up
to get a college degree in modern education.

 For many people getting a college degree might not a big deal. But for me,
coming from the world where I grew up, this is more than a dream came true.
To me it is as miraculous as a frog turning into a prince.

 Of course, this achievement did not come as easy as the fairy-tale wonders.
It is born from many people's kindness. Firstly, it would never have
happened if Tibet didn't have a leader like His Holiness the Dalai Lama,
under whose leadership there's an oasis for us Tibetans to escape, attend
school, and to identify ourselves as Tibetans without a feeling shame. As a
Tibetan Buddhist, although nominal, I consider his blessing beyond worldly
measure.

 The purpose of this article is to express my gratitude for an institution
that for some odd karmic reason made me into a person that I was not born to
be.

 Four years ago, in San Francisco, I saw a message on an e-mail list that
said a place called Grand Valley State University was look ing for a Tibetan
student to receive its scholarship.

 Later I learned that President Arend Lubbers decided to give a scholarship
to a Tibetan student after he met a former Tibetan political prisoner. Some
friends warned me that this place was too Christian and too conservative for
a minority person like myself. But for an education, I would go anywhere in
the world.

 It didn't take me for long to notice that both of those were to be true.
But it was not too bad for me. I was welcomed by everyone with their warm
hearts. I was made to feel at home.

 I believe that every human being should have an education. It is as
essential as every bird must have wings to fly. But I was born to be a human
only as a penguin is born to be a bird. But GVSU has given that penguin a
pair of wings that can fly.

 I was denied an education in the Chinese occupied c ountry known as the
Land of Snow but, here in Michigan, the American Land of Snow, I have been
shaped into an educated person. Such a dream my father could possibly
believed to come true for me when his last breath was taken. When I see the
snow here I tried to imagine myself to be that little boy again and that he
is now given the opportunity to study instead of carrying rocks on his back.

 As a first Tibetan student graduating from Grand Valley State University, I
leave my childhood story with my deepest thanks to GVSU. I am also very
grateful to the university administration for the second scholarship for a
Tibetan student, and carrying on your compassionate contribution to my
people. The Tibetan people need your support to continue until there is
justice in Tibet.

 Although the times, I must have eventually risen up through those
snowflakes into that fantasy-land of my childhood, which happened to be at t
he far side of world, my other land of snow. Thank you Grand Valley.

 Tenzin Bhagen writes for the GVL opinion. His views do not necessarily
represent those of the newspaper.

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10.   California Tibetans hunger strike for Tibet
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Around thirty Tibetans sat on a hunger strike on April 17 outside Downtown
Berkeley Bart Station in support of the three Tibetans who've been on hunger
strike outside UN in NY for the last 17 days. Berkeley City Councilmember
Kriss Worthington joined the protest for most part of the day and gave
speeches calling upon Berkeleyens to press UN and China to comply with the
demands of the NY hunger strikers.

Passersby signed petitions, made donations and expressed support to the
protestors. The event was covered by Berkeley Daily Planet and Daily
Californian, two leading local newspapers, and KPFA, the local radio
service.

The hunger strike, organized by San Francisco Tibetan Youth Congress, will
take place every Saturday, until the hunger strike in NY goes on.
Discussions are on with the city management to allow the hunger strike at
the busiest intersection in the city on some of the weekdays too.

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Collected at www.tibet.ca


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