By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, June 20: The Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama currently on a trip in the United States yesterday met with Tibetans from the California region in the US. His Holiness the Dalai Lama said that the Tibetan identity and culture is at a crucial period where its survival is threatened. “We’re passing through the most difficult period in the last 2000 years of our recorded history. We used only to quarrel among ourselves to the detriment of the entire three provinces of Tibet, but now we’re facing a life or death struggle for our culture and identity,” His Holiness said.
The Tibetan leader, however, expressed hope saying that the people who are at the center of struggle are not deterred by the developments. “This may be the fruit of our karma, yet among Tibetans in exile as well as those in Tibet, our spirit remains strong. Amongst other exiles we stand out due to the courage and dedication of our people. The report says you are teaching your children Tibetan. That’s good and it’s good to teach them about our religion too,” he told more than 400 members of the Tibetan Association of Southern California at his hotel in Anaheim, California. He viewed teaching and giving proper education to the younger generation of Tibetans as a viable means to address the plummet in the struggle for preserving Tibet’s identity and culture.
Expressing appreciation on the developments in the Geshema education, His Holiness said, “I’ve been urging nunneries and also monasteries that were more into ritualistic curriculum to engage in study of the classics for 40 years and this year we’re going to award fully qualified nuns the Geshema degree,” while adding, “Some Western feminists seem to think it (Gelongma ordination) is something I can decide, but it’s beyond my authority. Matters of Vinaya can only be decided by scholars within the monastic community.”
The same day, the Dalai Lama participated in the opening of the Vietnamese Dieu Ngu Buddhist temple, in Westminster, California along with the Abbot Ven Thich Vien Ly, Senator Janet Nguyen, Congressman Alan Lowenthal, Westminster city Mayor Tri Ta and many devotees and well wishers.
The Buddhist leader in his keynote speech mentioned, “Some of you are refugees like me. I admire the way you Vietnamese keep up your culture and traditions. I’ve seen this in other parts of the world too and I appreciate it.”
The egalitarian Tibetan leader will proceed to Salt Lake City where he will give a public talk on ‘Compassion and Universal Responsibility’ organized by the University of Utah in partnership with the Utah Tibet Foundation at the Huntsman Center.
