ACT 4 TIBET
ACT: Assist the Children of Tibet
History of Tibet
TIBET is occupied by China since 1959. Please learn about Tibet and the Tibetan Culture.
His Holiness the 14th the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso is the head of state and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He was born Lhamo Dhondrub on July 6, 1935 in Taktser, a small village in northeastern Tibet. Born to a peasant family, His Holiness was recognized at the age of two as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama, and thus an incarnation of Avalokitesvara, the Buddha of Compassion. The Dalai Lamas are the manifestations of the Bodhisattva (Buddha) of Compassion, who chose to reincarnate to serve the people.
In 1950, His Holiness was called upon to assume full political power (head of the State and Government) after the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army soldiers invaded Tibet. In 1954, he went to Beijing to talk peace with Mao Tse-tung and other Chinese leaders.
In 1959 the capital of Tibet, Lhasa, exploded with the largest demonstration in Tibetan history, calling on China to leave Tibet and reaffirming Tibet's independence. The Tibetan National Uprising was brutally crushed by the Chinese army. His Holiness escaped to India where he was given political asylum. Some 80,000 Tibetan refugees followed His Holiness into exile. Today, there are more than 120,000 Tibetan in exile. Since 1960, the Dalai Lama lives in Dharamsala, India, known as "Little Lhasa," the seat of the Tibetan Government-in-exile.
His Holiness has done his best to save the Tibetan exiles and preserve their culture. Tibetan educational system was established to raise refugee children with full knowledge of their language, history, religion and culture. Over 200 monasteries have been re-established to preserve Tibetan Buddhist teachings, the essence of the Tibetan way of life.
The Dalai Lama has proposed a Five-Point Peace Plan to resolve the status of Tibet, asking for Tibet to be a zone of peace, and to end the massive transfer of Chinese into Tibet, restoration of fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms, and the abandonment of China's use of Tibet for nuclear weapons production and the dumping of nuclear waste.
For as long as space endures
And for as long as living beings remain,
Until then may I too abide
To dispel the misery of the world.
~ The Dalai Lama's wishing prayer
We need to stay strong, my very dear brothers and sisters of Tibet...we can not afford more of us to die, to take a way out, because we are so much in pain, we do not see the light at the end of the tunnel...we are already with so few and if you go, we are missing you so much...please stay. We do not know when the suffering you have to endure inside of Tibet shall be over but all of us, your Tibetan family outside Tibet, are working day and night to draw attention on what is going on inside our land..and we need you to be there when Tibet shall be free. Please. ---tenzin
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
His Holiness the Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and won worldwide praise and applause, with exception of China. "The Committee wants to emphasize the fact that the Dalai Lama in his struggle for the liberation of Tibet consistently has opposed the use of violence. He has instead advocated peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people." His Holiness accepted the prize on behalf of Tibetan oppressed everywhere and all those who struggle for freedom and work for world peace and the people of Tibet. He said, "The prize reaffirms our conviction that with truth, courage and determination as our weapons, Tibet will be liberated. Our struggle must remain nonviolent and free of hatred."