By ROGER DuPUIS II
Journal Staff
ITHACA – Events on the other side of the world a generation ago inspired a peace march Wednesday in Ithaca.
About 30 people marched from the Buddhist Namgyal Monastery, at 412 N. Aurora St., to the Bernie Milton pavilion on The Commons on the 45th anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day.
Solidarity was the watchword of the day, said monastery Administrator Wylie Schwartz, and “support for the cause and to spread awareness of the Tibetan cause.” he said. “Which is that, they would like their freedom of culture, religion and life back in Tibet.”
The event marks the day in 1959 when Tibetans rose up in protest against China’s occupation of their homeland. After the Chinese invasion, the 14th Dalai Lama and a large number of Tibetans fled to India and Nepal.
Among those who fled were 55 monks from Namgyal. Wednesday’s march and prayers commemorated not just those who gave their lives in 1959, but the desire of many Tibetans and Buddhists to see Tibet regain its freedom.
“Tibetans everywhere observe this special day as a remembrance of our cause,” said Palden Choedak, whose parents are Tibetan. Choedak was born in Bhutan and raised in India before coming to Ithaca in 1994.
He arrived here not long after the monastery was set up in Ithaca. According to their Web site, www.namgyal.org, Namgyal monks from their home monastery traveled from Dharamsala, India, to Ithaca in 1992, to establish a branch of Namgyal Monastery in North America.
The monastery here is recognized as the North American seat of the personal monastery of The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Buddhists. It is also an Institute of Buddhist Studies and a Tibetan cultural center for the Tibetan community in Ithaca, Schwartz said.
In a city where “free Tibet” bumper-stickers are common, Choedak said recognition of Tibet’s occupation is not the main issue to be overcome.
“It’s not a matter of people being aware or not aware,” he said. “It’s a matter of people getting overwhelmed” by many issues in the world.
In a statement issued Wednesday, The Dalai Lama suggested that movements toward democracy in China and improved China-India relations were positive signs.
Contact: rdupuis@ithaca.gannett.com
