On the bus from the airport to the city of Lhasa, the guide cautioned us to remember two things while in Tibet: don’t talk politics, and don’t mention the Dalai Lama.
The 14th Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, enrages the Chinese government, while he inspires the world, as I saw last month in Tibet and we saw last week in Washington, D.C. The Dalai Lama’s private meeting with President Bush, along with his being awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, infuriated the Chinese communist government.
The Dalai Lama, exiled in 1959, has called for the restoration of democratic freedoms in Tibet but now asks for a compromise and “meaningful autonomy.” The government believes he aims to undermine political unity.
In the Jokhang Temple, the holiest temple in Tibet, and in the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the Chinese government has tried to remove all vestiges of the 14th Dalai Lama. You can see photographs, shrines and the tombs of previous Dalai Lamas dating back hundreds of years. But it’s hard to find any trace of the current Dalai Lama.
There was one mention of the 14th Dalai Lama at the Tibet Museum, built by the Chinese government as “a gift” to the Tibetan people. A magnificent jade bowl is displayed as “a gift” from Chairman Mao to the Dalai Lama.
My wife and I saw many “gifts” to the Tibetan people from the Chinese government. Even the Chinese invasion in the early 1950s seemed to be portrayed as a gift: the “peaceful liberation” of Tibet. But armed troops posted at several buildings belied that version.
To find what the Dalai Lama means to Tibetans, you have to venture into the narrow alleys and tiny shops of old Lhasa. One young woman proudly showed us a treasured pendant she wore around her neck.
“It was a gift from the Dalai Lama,” she said quietly in broken English. She had met him once, and the pendant had become an inspiration in her life.
The Dalai Lama has inspired thousands with his commitment to human values, promotion of religious harmony and quest for justice in Tibet.
Yet in his former home, the quest to regain autonomy seems overshadowed by Tibetans’ struggle to retain their cultural identity. I left struck by the joy in the faces of many, a happiness that persisted despite hardship and loss.
– Gary Reed, Forum editor
greed@sacbee.com
