Ahmedabad: “Our struggle is to keep alive our unique identity and cultural heritage, which may not be fulfilled in this lifetime, and the Tibetans should be prepared to continue this struggle even without Dalai Lama” His Holiness the Dalai Lama told a mammoth gathering of Tibetan community at Tagore Hall in Ahmedabad on Saturday morning.
His Holiness said, “Tibetans should put their best effort in spreading the awareness about the Tibetan identity and its unique rich cultural heritage among the local Indian communities,” adding “We are the spokesperson of our fellow Tibetans living in Tibet, who are suppressed to express freely under the communist regime of People’s Republic of China.”
“We should never forget our identity and should put our best effort to uphold the moral and ethical values which is the essence of our unique identity,” His Holiness told more than 1000 Tibetans who have come from Gujurat and Rajasthan.
His Holiness said, “We should wear the pride of having a thousand years old history and civilization and a script which is recognised as one of the oldest and has its origin from India.
“With this pride, we should concentrate on modern education to catch up with Chinese, which we have neglected and derelict in the past, because of which they have termed us backward.” His Holiness added.
To the Tibetan students studying in colleges in Vadodara near Ahmedabad, His Holiness underlined the importance of putting efforts particularly in taking up studies in various specialised fields.
His Holiness also urged the students to uphold the moral behaviour of being a Tibetan and set a good example of moral values to the local Indian communities. While speaking on Tibetan Buddhism, His Holiness said, the growing awareness in initiating classes and debate on the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism across Tibetan settlements is a healthy approach towards preserving our religion – as Tibetan Buddhism does not mean merely reciting prayers and conducting rituals.” His Holiness further said we should feel proud of our commitment to non -violence based on the Middle-Way Approach in resolving the issue of Tibet.
His Holiness lauded the peaceful response of Tibetans in Lithang in Tibet, in the aftermath of Chinese authorities’ suppression of freedom of expression and slapping of arbitrary harsh prison sentences.
His Holiness added: “Our struggle is based on non-violence and truth since we have an established democratic form of governance in exile community.”
Kalon Kesang Y. Takla, Kalon for the Department of Information and International Relations gave a briefing on the evolution of the Middle-Way Approach to resolve the issue of Tibet.
She underlined that Tibetans should understand the meaning of Middle-Way Approach and particularly the younger generation must learn it through various publications of the Department of Information and International Relations.
The Kalon also spoke on the democratisation of the Central Tibetan Administration. The Kalon concluded by expressing happiness and lauding the efforts of Tibetan community in spreading the awareness about various aspects of Tibetan cultural heritage during the ongoing Tibet festival, which received very large media coverage.
