Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World

263 Pages·2011·2.07 MB·English

by  Robert Thurman

Copyright © 2008 by Robert Thurman All rights reserved, including the right to
reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever without the prior
written permission of Atria Books/Beyond Words Publishing, Inc., except where
permitted by law.
Managing editor: Lindsay S. Brown
Editor: Julie Steigerwaldt
Copyeditor: Ali McCart
Proofreader: Gretchen Stelter
Illustrations: Robert Beer
ATRIA BOOKS and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Beyond Words Publishing is a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Thurman, Robert A. F.
Why the Dalai Lama matters: his act of truth as the solution for China,
Tibet, and the world / by Robert Thurman.
p. cm.
1. Bstan-’dzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV, 1935– 2. Buddhism—China—
Tibet. 3. Central-local government relations—China—Tibet. 4. Tibet (China)
—History—Autonomy and independence movements. I. Title.
BQ7935.B777T48 2008
294.3'923092— dc22
2008008529
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-9196-2
ISBN-10: 1-4165-9196-6
The corporate mission of Beyond Words Publishing, Inc.: Inspire to Integrity
Visit us on the World Wide Web:
http://www.SimonSays.com
DEDICATION
To the brave people of Tibet (Böd Kawajen) and their leader, His Holiness the
Great Fourteenth Dalai Lama—I dedicate this humble effort to help their heroic
efforts for their own freedom, for the freedom of their neighbors in four
directions, in China, India, the Turkestans, and the Mongolias, and for the peace
of our world. May the truth prevail!
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
PART I
WHO IS THE DALAI LAMA AND WHY IS HE THE KEY?
1. Who Is the Dalai Lama?
2. What Has the Dalai Lama Accomplished?
3. The Dalai Lama’s Call for an Ethical and Spiritual Revolution
PART II
THE SOLUTION FOR CHINA AND TIBET
4. A Middle Way for China and Tibet
5. A Plan for President Hu and the Dalai Lama
PART III
TIBET SOLVED, FREED, RESTORED
6. Envisioning the Goal
7. The Böd Autonomous Region Internal System of Government
8. The Dedication of Tibet as a Nature Preserve
9. Freeing Tibet: A Great Win for China and Tibet, Ecologically and
Economically
Conclusion
Afterword: Ten Points of Hope
Resources
Tibetan Flag Key
Endnotes
Photographic Inserts
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are many who have helped me with this fated book, but none have been
more helpful than my old friend Barbara Dills with her Lakota determination and
sense of justice, and her hi-tech communication insights. For inspiration, I thank
Marc and Lynne Benioff, Joost Elffers, Fred Doner, and Roland Comtois.
Cynthia Black and Richard Cohn of Beyond Words caught the vision and made
it happen. They deserve my most heartfelt thanks. I also deeply thank Judith
Curr for her clear and decisive support; Lindsay Brown and Sara Blum for their
patient perseverance and creativity; Annie Bien, William Meyers, Leslie Kriesel,
Julie Steigerwaldt, Marie Hix, and Ali McCart for their skillful and
perspicacious editorial help; Tsering Wangyal Shawa, the Norbulingka Institute,
Steve Marshall and Suzette Cooke for their creation of the all-important maps
that tell the story; William Bushell, Ph.D., for his research into high-altitude
physiology and genetics; Suzanne van Drunick, Ph.D., Tingjun Zhang, Ph.D.,
and Oliver Frauenfeld, Ph.D., from the Cooperative Institute for Research in
Environment Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado, for research on
climate change on the Tibetan Plateau; and among photographers who love
Tibet, the late and much lamented Galen Rowell as well as Steve McCurry,
Sonam Zoksang, Nina Schroeder, Don Farber, Joseph Gottwald, Martin Gray,
and Rajiv Mehrotra. I am grateful to the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
in Dharamsala, to the helpful staff members of the Office of Information of the
Tibetan Government in Exile, to the Tibet Environmental Watch website, to the
Norbulingka Institute in Dharamsala, and to the staff of Tibet House US in New
York. Finally, I live in constant gratitude to my wife, Nena, and all my children,
grandchildren, and my great-granddaughter.
INTRODUCTION
Everyone tends to like the Dalai Lama, even when they don’t think they will.
The question is, “Why?” Traveling the world as an author and professor, and
talking with all kinds of people, I have seen the way individuals everywhere
have embraced His Holiness the Dalai Lama and almost universally granted him
a huge degree of moral authority. In an era marked by a pervasive sense of
hopelessness and discouragement about the state of things—despite all our
advances in science and culture—it is a humble Buddhist monk from the remote
highlands of Tibet who inspires optimism for the future.
I have witnessed this strange phenomenon time and again over the years
whenever the Dalai Lama appears in public, as well as in private meetings with
noted scientists, dignitaries, and heads-of-state. Even secular materialists flock to
the wisdom of this man, recognized by his own followers to be the incarnation of
a divine being. People of every background and faith perk up when they recall
his presence, impact, and meaning. And they feel a huge weight lifted from them
when they meet him or hear his teachings. It certainly isn’t because of his
Buddhist practice, since many who admire him are nonbelievers or followers of
other religions. The Dalai Lama is a dynamic person, but he is neither theatrical
nor glamorous. He’s also been called a dreamer, an idealist, and unrealistic in his
prescriptions for world peace, nonviolence, demilitarization, and happiness
through sharing and justice.
People like him so much because, despite the state of our world and the
ongoing oppression of his people, the Dalai Lama sees that all is possible—even
the good, the true, and the beautiful. And yet, despite his extraordinary
popularity in all corners and his repeated and sincere attempts at reconciliation
with the Chinese leadership, he remains living in exile after half a century of
repressive Chinese rule in Tibet. And again we must ask, “Why?”
This book is a response to the questions above, offering many more reasons
why people like him—and why our admiration should be even greater. It also
describes what the Dalai Lama could accomplish for China, Tibet, and the world
if he were allowed to do so. Should people choose to follow his practical advice
about ethics and society, astonishing benefits await. I outline simple, practical
steps that the leadership of China could take, showing how easily they could
cease making an enemy of a good friend and accept him as a key ally in winning
the goodwill and cooperation of the Tibetan people. And I suggest what specific
benefits he could confer upon them, as they work together toward a positive
future for China and Tibet, giving to both sides what they really need.
I provide here a vision of what things would look like if his country were
restored to his people and himself, and if they were allowed to freely manage it
as an autonomous region within China, for the benefit of China and the entire
world. My claims are grounded by the Dalai Lama’s own words. His speeches
from various solemn settings can seem so simple and direct that people tend not
to fully appreciate their weight. Elucidating them here will help to underscore
their profound implications in ways that he is too humble to do himself.
The Dalai Lama’s wish and vision for humanity are absolutely right and
reliable, realistic and not far-fetched, helpful and not harmful. And he has been
living his act of truth for the last sixty years, as you’ll see throughout this book. I
present to you his exemplary act of truth and the implications of his wise words
as the key to solving the problem of China and Tibet and, indeed, flowing away
from the planetary crisis into which we are plunging headlong.
I am not saying he so presents himself—not at all. He never makes such
claims about himself. He never seeks to impose his views on others, except as
his good advice may emerge in dialogue. He prefers to listen to people and
engage with their ideas. Actually, he is altogether too humble.
As a former monk and nearly lifelong Buddhist, I have known the Dalai
Lama for over four decades and have studied under him for many years. But this
book is not a collaboration with him; I ground many of my thoughts in his
published words, but he is not responsible for my conclusions and expressions. It
is my own vision of how he can and should be better understood, his wisdom
and compassion more actively deployed to solve our planet-wide problems. I am
not telling him what to do either. He already does everything that I describe him
as doing and probably more on subtler planes than I can perceive. The goal of