http://themoderatevoice.com/191550/in-china-dl-stands-for-more-than-disabled-list-ambert-alert-is-nearly-20-yars-old-on-the-panchen-lama/
IN CHINA “DL” STANDS FOR MORE THAN “DISABLED LIST”: AMBER ALERT IS NEARLY
20 YEARS OLD ON THE PANCHEN LAMA: THE VIEW FROM THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
By JOHN F. McCARTHY
MODERATE VOICE COLUMNIST
Ever wonder why you see those
“Free Tibet” bumper stickers on peoples’ cars?
We have a few of them here – in
St. Croix, the U.S. Virgin Islands – where I live.
For Liberals it used to be “End
Apartheid” – a bumper sticker that you can still see on Danny Glover’s fridge
in the movie “Lethal Weapon.”
But in the year of Nelson
Mandela’s death – Apartheid is dead but the reason to “Free Tibet” is not.
One reason Tibet deserves to be
a free and independent nation – free and apart from a China that controls it –
is that it is the historical home of the Dalai Lama. A Dalai Lama who currently
is forced to live in exile in northern India – and who has chosen his rightful
successor – but now HE can’t be found – he was disppeared from Tibet nearly
twenty years ago – and was last seen in the hands of the Chinese.
How could that possibly be? You
might ask.
Well, six Nobel Laureates and
four hundred celebrities can’t be wrong.
Or can they be?
A little background might help.
The Dalai Lama is: the Buddhist spiritual leader from Tibet. More specifically
– to about 20 million Buddhists – he is the “Pope” of their religion. They
believe that he is the living reincarnation of the first Buddha, born
Siddhartha Gautama.
Great Wall of China. So where’s
the problem?
The problem is: The Dalai Lama
(which means “High Priest” or literally “ocean guru” in Mongolian) chose his
legitimate successor – and, uh, well – the Chinese government “vanished” him
three days later.
Unbelievable you say.
Well, that was 1995 – when the
once and future Dalai was just six years old – nineteen years later nothing has
changed. Or nearly nothing. At least as far as we know.
Because when it comes to
“transparency,” the Chinese government is always on high smog toxic alert.
What do you mean by “nothing?”
Well, you might say: “nothing” if you feel that the 376 million people
worldwide who practice Buddhism don’t add up. It is only about one-third the
size of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. And the number of Buddhists who follow
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama – could fit inside the New York
City metropolitan area.
So we’re NOT talking about a
lot of religious people here – only about 20 million – give or take a few.
But what if, prior to Pope
Francis of Argentina succeeding Pope Benedict of Germany, the government of
Italy decided to kidnap Jorge Mario Bergoglio from St. Peter’s Basilica inside
Vatican City – and not only kidnap him and make him disappear – but also Jorge
and all of his immediate Bergoglio family members?
Sounds like something out of
“The Sopranos.” Or “The Gotti Files.” And that’s exactly the scenario the
79-year-old Dalai Lama (born Tenzin Gyatso) finds himself in today.
If you have seen the brilliant
documentary “10 Questions for The Dalai Lama,” then you have a better
understanding of what happened to six-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima – a person
human rights experts used to call “the world’s youngest political prisoner” –
only the movie suggests that neither he – nor his relatives – are still with
us.
So they ended up like that guy
who accidentally bumped his car into John Gotti’s school-age son in Howard
Beach, Queens – and then disappeared in a van four months later – never to be
heard from – or seen – again.
If you ask the Chinese
government, as the United Nations Council on Human Rights did in 2007 – Beijing
said that the then 12-year-old Panchen Lama –as the successor to the Dalai Lama
is known – was a healthy and growing boy.
"Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is a
perfectly ordinary Tibetan boy, in an excellent state of health, leading a
normal, happy life and receiving a good education and cultural upbringing. He
is currently in upper secondary school, he measures 165 cm in height and is
easy-going by nature. He studies hard and his school results are very good. He
likes Chinese traditional culture and has recently taken up calligraphy. His
parents are both State employees, and his brothers and sisters are either
already working or at university. The allegation that he disappeared together
with his parents and that his whereabouts remain unknown is simply not
true."
The part about his brothers and
sisters “EITHER WORKING OR AT UNIVERSITY” must be one of those lost in
translation bits – because it reads ominously today as if what we suspect to be
true – is true.
Seven years later – when “the
boy” should be at least twenty-five years old – if he is still alive at all
imprisoned somewhere – there is simply no credible report! Imagine if Italy had
done the same thing with Pope Francis – as loveable and cuddly as the
77-year-old Pontiff is now – can you imagine the uproar? It might have caused
even Mussolini to turn over in his grave – and most certainly would have
triggered a brief World War III – with Rome bearing the brunt of a few Tomahawk
missles.
Instead, because it is China –
where the record on Human Rights – is, shall we say “compromised” at best – no
one says nothin’ at all – and gets away with it! In fact, everyone right now is
talking about the Olympics in Russia, another place that is a total stranger to
the Rule of Law.
To make matters worse, the
Chinese government, citing Emporer Qing from 1735 (when a Dalai Lama was once
chosen by a lottery drawing the names written on barley leaves from a golden
urn) installed their own Panchen Lama six months after they made the legitimate
one disappear from Tibet – and his name is Gyaincain Norbu.
Some magic trick. So as it
officially stands – who will be the next Dalai Lama is officially in “dispute.”
Like what happened in Tiananmen Square that the Chinese people can’t read about
because the government has whited out most of the Internet there.
This “dispute” was executed by
the Chinese government in lands they control near the Himalaya Mountains –
where they allegedly kidhapped Gedhum Choekyi Nyima from Tibet – along with him
and every living immediate family member.
Now Buddhists are known to be
“Zen” in the face of difficult times – and the Dalai Lama himself – who is 78 years old – has said that there
might not ever be another Ocean Guru of Buddhism – and if there is – it might
even be a woman this time – but it will definitely not be someone “reborn” in a
country controlled by the Chinese, he insists.
That means Tibet – the homeland
of the current Dalai Lama and every “enlightened one” since Buddhism began
(except the 3rd Dalai Lama who was born in Mongolia) – is out.
Places inside the Tibetan cultural beltway; however – India, Nepal and Bhutan –
are in. That is – unless we can “free Tibet” – which seems unlikely at this
point.
So the next time you see a
“Free Tibet” bumper sticker on a car in front of you, don’t allow your karma to
run over my dogma.
Or something like that – just
remember that China has re-written the book on Human Rights when it comes to
the Dalai Lama and Tibet.
Now and Zen, you’ll be right.
© 2014 Copyright John Francis McCarthy/Secret Goldfish Publishing House
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