Re: His Holiness Dalai Lama Awarded Honorary Citizenship of Paris.
- From: "abianchen@xxxxxxxxxxx" <abianchen@xxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 9 Jun 2009 05:56:12 -0700 (PDT)
On Jun 9, 5:05 am, Peter Terpstra <pe...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
His Holiness Dalai Lama Awarded Honorary Citizenship of Paris
Published: Monday, 8 June, 2009
Paris, France, 7 June 2009 - This afternoon His Holiness received the diploma
of Honorary Citizen of Paris from Mr Bertrand Delanoë, the Mayor, at a
ceremony held in the historic building of the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall).
After greeting His Holiness as he arrived by car in the inner courtyard of the
building and accompanying him up the magnificent central staircase, Mr Delanoë
said it was his great pleasure to honour His Holiness with this title, which
symbolises the spirit of Paris—freedom, human rights, dignity, and dialogue
amongst peoples and cultures. He reaffirmed his solidarity and understanding
of the Tibetan people’s struggle for justice and their own identity. At the
same time, he added, he has been able to maintain fraternal relationships with
his Chinese counterparts and the people of China. His Holiness thanked the
Mayor for this award, which corresponds to his three main commitments: as a
human being, as a simple Buddhist monk, and as a Tibetan. He praised the
decision of the Mayoral Council in attributing the prize, which he said will
bring enormous encouragement to his people at a moment when their situation is
even more difficult than it has been for many decades. He also urged the mayor
to maintain and strengthen his relations with his Chinese colleagues and the
Chinese people, while at the same time standing firm by the principles of
justice, human rights and dialogue. The Mayor extended an invitation to His
Holiness to visit Paris whenever he wishes, and recalled with pride that since
his first meeting with His Holiness in 2003 he has been to China twice. The
honorary citizenship title came in the form of a diploma on which are
inscribed the words: “Tenzin Gyatso, XIVth Dalai Lama, is elevated to the
dignity of Honorary Citizen of the City of Paris. Signed by Bertrand Delanoë
on this seventh day of June, 2009”. After receiving the traditional white
scarf (which His Holiness explained was itself a symbol of cultural exchange,
being derived from an Indian tradition, woven in China, and bearing Tibetan
calligraphy), the mayor then accompanied His Holiness back to the courtyard
for his departure by car.
His Holiness’ had begun his second day in Paris this morning by addressing a
crowded hall of some 800 people, mostly Tibetans along with Mongolians,
Bhutanese, Nepalese and members of other Himalayan groups. Speaking with great
openness and frankness, he encouraged all those present to uphold their own
culture, language and spiritual tradition. For the Tibetans within Tibet
conditions continue to be very difficult since the problems in March 2008, and
there is little hope of progress through dialogue with the Chinese government,
he said. Nevertheless, he has not lost his confidence in the people of China,
and urged Tibetans to cultivate friendly and truthful relationships with
ordinary Chinese people whenever possible, just as he himself has been doing
in his travels around the world. Truth is the Tibetans’ greatest resource, he
said, and in the long run would be more than a match for brute power; the vast
majority of ordinary Chinese people simply do not know the truth about Tibet.
Indeed, wherever they went, Tibetans should remember that they are ambassadors
for their culture, and behave accordingly as good citizens of their adopted
countries of residence. Their culture was precious for many reasons,
particularly as a vehicle of Buddhist literature and learning, and Tibetans
should not simply identify themselves as Buddhists through blind faith, but
make the effort to read, study and investigate the vast corpus of literature,
notably the Kangyur and Tengyur, which is their heritage, as well as a
precious resource for the world in general. He stressed the great importance
of education, the lack of which (despite the great efforts of the XIIIth Dalai
Lama) was one of the principal reasons why the Tibetans had lost their
country. The Tibetans must ensure the upholding of their own culture and their
place in the world, said His Holiness, to an audience visibly moved by the
presence, energy and sincerity of their universally appreciated leader.
His Holiness’ visit has been the subject of extensive media coverage in
France. All of the major TV and radio channels, the printed press, and
internet news sites have carried reporting of his activities and speeches..
This morning His Holiness answered questions from a conference of selected
journalists. Asked where his main hopes now lie in these difficult times, His
Holiness again explained that he had few expectations of results from dialogue
with the Chinese government, all of his openings and proposals having been
summarily blocked and dismissed. But he has not lost faith in the Chinese
people, and has taken all opportunities to discuss Tibet with Chinese scholars
and thinkers wherever he can, as he had done yesterday in Paris. There has
already been a noticeable diminution in Chinese diaspora demonstrations
against him when he travels, and it has been encouraging to see some 400
articles on Tibet appearing in Chinese internet media, all critical of
government policy and some advocating Tibetan independence. The Chinese
government would do well to take these considered evaluations of policy
seriously and adopt a more realistic approach, for the Tibetans’ spirit and
determination is strong and harsh repression has only made it stronger. Since
the first generation to experience the Chinese take-over, two subsequent
generations have expressed their discontent in waves of unrest (in the 80s and
last year), and this is sure to continue as long as the Tibetans are deprived
of freedom. Yet the Chinese continue to try to control Tibet through force and
deceit, as was apparent in last year’s unrest—for which (like the events of
1987 and 1988) there is considerable evidence that it was manipulated,
intensified and even orchestrated by the Chinese themselves. Asked whether
Tibetans are frustrated with the non-violent approach, His Holiness replied
that almost all Tibetans agree that non-violence is the only way forward. He
pointed out that even the Tibetan Youth Congress, despite its rejection of his
Middle Way approach of not seeking full independence for Tibet, entirely
shares his commitment to non-violence. His Holiness was asked about his
successor, and explained that the solution favoured by a majority of those
taking part in the discussions held in Dharamsala last year, to avoid the
interference in the selection process on which the Chinese government has
staked much hope, was that of choosing his own successor according to the
long-existing tradition of ‘ma-dé tul-ku’ or ‘emanation prior to death’. He
added that many of the younger generation of highly qualified Lamas will
certainly play an important role in assuring continuity during such a
transition. In terms of political leadership, a democratic process is already
in place and his own position is now one of being in semi-retirement; the
future role of the Dalai Lama as an institution lies in the hands of the
Tibetan people. Asked about Burma and North Korea, His Holiness replied that
he was ready to join other Nobel laureates in another meeting to put pressure
on the Burmese leadership for change, but doubted that such a meeting could
take place when most Asian countries (like those in Europe) are so ready to
allow a powerful China to influence what they do and do not do. North Korea is
unlike Burma in that its totalitarianism is so deeply institutionalised; but
any progress towards resolution of its enormous problems will be impossible
without Chinese willingness.
This afternoon a huge crowd of some 8,000 people thronged the Bercy sports
auditorium for a public talk by His Holiness on ‘Ethics and Society’. His
Holiness was introduced by Robert Badinter, the celebrated French lawyer,
author, politician, and champion of human rights, whom His Holiness considers
his long-time friend and an important supporter of the Tibetan cause. His
Holiness, having mentioned the short period of ill health he underwent last
year and assured the audience that his recovery had been swift and complete,
spoke of his own experience of the great benefits of compassion and inner
peace in dealing with all situations, however difficult. Love and compassion
have profound effects on health, and indeed their sources lie on the
biological level, especially that of motherhood. Emotional and physical
stability in adult life are determined to a large extent by the care and
affection each of us receives from our mothers; love and affection sustain
many physical functions and particularly the immune system as well as having
an obvious importance in human relations, while hatred and anger have deeply
destructive effects on one’s own body, as well as alienating and harming
others. Based on these considerations, it is clear that ethics can be seen in
a biological context, and as such need not be asssociated with specifically
religious concepts. Indeed, as such a huge proportion of the world’s
population has little or no deep religious interest, it is important to
establish a system of ‘secular ethics’ to complement ethics based on religious
belief, whether theistic or (like Buddhist practice) non-theistic. A
recognition of the biological benefits of having a compassionate, warm-hearted
approach to others, and the recognition of others as having feelings and
rights no less important than one’s own, can form a powerful basis for the
development of such secular ethics, he said. Furthermore, this approach can
and shoul be applied by all of us on an individual level. It is no use waiting
for the building of a more compassionate society in any other way than each of
us applying these ideas first in our own minds, then in a family context, and
then in wider and wider circles like the ripples on a pond. No-one, said His
Holiness, should feel he or she cannot contribute. After answering a number of
questions, His Holiness was applauded by the audience in a prolonged and
enthusiastic standing ovation as he left the auditorium.
Tomorrow, His Holiness returns to India.
- Reported by Bureau du Tibet, Paris, France
http://www.dalailama.com/news.391.htm
--
Human kind is like a couple chickens, fighting about a few grains, unknowing
they will be slaughtered within a couple hour.
--Thich Nhat Hanh
Good work Peter! You and I should get together and combat these
commies.
Call me at www.thailovelinks.com .
Webpage: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64156901@N00/ .
.
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