The Exile of the Dalai Lama

It was on this day in 1959 that HH the XIV Dalai Lama left to Tibet to go into exile, being granted refuge in India, following the takeover of his own country by the communist forces of China. The recent history of Tibet has been one of unending tragedy, recognized by comparatively many but acted on by comparatively few. When Soviet communist forces enslaved Mongolia hardly anyone in the outside world seemed to notice (and it remains one of the worst and least known atrocities in history even today) but while the communist takeover of Tibet was fairly well known at the time, few were willing or able to do anything about it. The United States had little interest or access to the region and whereas the British would previously have been the ones to take action, British power was rapidly on the decline, India had gained independence and was far more concerned with the religious animosities in their own country and trying to hold it together to do anything about the communist takeover of remote, isolated Tibet. There is no doubt that the country is still suffering terribly today in the absence of the Dalai Lama and, sadly, most would see little reason to hope for improvement given current circumstances with so much of the rest of the world becoming dependent on Chinese loans.

The Dalai Lama, ever an optimistic and hopeful man, remains committed to peace and non-violence and to the limited goal of “meaningful autonomy” for Tibet. He is well known and much celebrated around the world. Few other exiled monarchs or traditional authority figures enjoy the same prestige and name-recognition that he does. However, much of this support is honestly illusory. Many in this country who praise and sympathize with him do so for less than genuine reasons. They like being able to appear “spiritual” by associating themselves with a religious figure whose teachings they are not subject to. Some are eager to attach themselves to him simply because he is a religious leader who is not Christian. In any event, many of those who praise and applaud him and have “Free Tibet” bumper-stickers on their car have a “commitment” to Tibet and the Dalai Lama that goes no deeper than popular outrage and slogans. For them, it is one of those “good causes” that is (or was) fashionable to associate yourself with while never intending to actually do anything about it nor of really having any idea of how exactly they would like to see things change. They also usually put their own politics first.

One of the most talked about examples is the actor Richard Gere who was very critical that the U.S. was not “doing more” when George W. Bush was President to stand up to China over Tibet yet has remained silent since his favorite Barack H. Obama has been President despite his much cooler, arms-length dealings with the Dalai Lama in favor of maintaining good relations with China. Gere, a Democrat, seemed much more concerned about Tibet when a Republican was in the White House than he is now. In the same way, many of the same people who champion the cause of Tibet and the Dalai Lama were also effusive in their praise of the ANC in South Africa. But, just as many put U.S. party politics ahead of their concerns over Tibet, it seems he ranks below the African National Congress as well since they were almost completely silent when South Africa refused to allow the Dalai Lama into their country for a planned summit on world peace (after being leaned on by the Chinese of course who have been buying up influence in Africa for years). So, obviously, many of those who pretend to care about the situation in Tibet and the continued exile of the Dalai Lama have support that is barely skin deep, all talk and no action, all form and no substance.

The Dalai Lama puts his hope in the Chinese people, that their hearts are changing and that they will eventually force the government to adopt a new approach with Tibet. I have a hard time sharing such an optimistic view and as Chinese money buys more and more Chinese influence around the world I have seen myself a growing hostility toward the Dalai Lama and Tibet with more and more people parroting the official communist-government talking points on the subject. As I have said many times, I am certainly not in total agreement with the Dalai Lama on either the political or spiritual levels. However, there is no doubt that the Dalai Lama is the traditional, rightful and legitimate leader of Tibet and it is a scandal that he remains in exile all these decades later. Nothing else matters to me, agree or disagree with the man himself and regardless of the political situation in my country or any other. The Dalai Lama is the legitimate traditional authority for Tibet and that is where he belongs. I hope he lives to see the day his exile will finally end.

MM Video: The Great 13th

MM Video: Oceans of Wisdom, the Dalai Lamas of Tibet

Dalai Lama "Abdicates"

The Tibetan government-in-exile today announced that HH the XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet has submitted his abdication or resignation from his political role as the monarch of Tibet, head of the government based in Dharamsala, India. Speaker of the Parliament Penpa Tsering read out the letter from the fourteenth incarnation of Kundun asking the government to relieve him of his position in politics.

"I want to acknowledge here that many of my fellow Tibetans, inside and outside Tibet, have earnestly requested me to continue to give political leadership at this critical time," the letter stated.

"My intention to devolve political authority derives neither from a wish to shirk responsibility nor because I am disheartened."

The Dalai Lama reiterated his long-term goals for the Tibetan people and encouraged them to continue to press for "meaningful autonomy" from the People's Republic of China. Communist China had ruled Tibet for 52 years, most of the lifetime of the 75-year old Dalai Lama.

"It is extremely important that we ensure the continuity of our exile Tibetan administration and our struggle until the issue of Tibet has been successfully resolved," the letter continued.

"If we have to remain in exile for several more decades, a time will inevitably come when I will no longer be able to provide leadership. It is necessary that we establish a sound system of governance while I remain able and healthy, in order that the exile Tibetan administration can become self-reliant rather than being dependent on the Dalai Lama."

In Tibet the Dalai Lama was the temporal and spiritual ruler of Tibet, an absolute monarch effectively, though the current Dalai Lama had planned for reforms at the time of the Chinese invasion. In exile he continued to lead the government but in 2001 the prime minister, Lobsang Tenzin or Samdhong Rinpoche, has effectively had the final word in political affairs.

Additional note: It is not a sure thing, according to the prime minister, that this resignation will be accepted. He also warned of a political dead-lock being a possibility over this between those more traditional and religious forces and those supportive of a more "modern", secular and totally democratic government.

Mad Motivation

MM Video: Tragedy of Tibet

MM Video: The XIV Dalai Lama

Monarch Profile: The Fifth Dalai Lama

The Great Fifth, as he is known in history, Lobsang Gyatso was born as Kunga Nyingpo in 1617 in Lhoka Chingwar Taktse, south of Lhasa, into a very old and noble Tibetan family. He was discovered by Sonam Choephel, chief attendant of the Fourth Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the late ruler. He passed the traditional tests but his presence was kept secret owing to the political turmoil embroiling Tibet at the time. Once this passed he was taken to Drepung Monastery and ordained as a Buddhist monk by Lobsang Chogyal, the Third Panchen Lama, and given the name Lobsang Gyatso. Peace had come to Tibet thanks to the intervention of Gushir Khan, a Khoshut Prince of the Oirat Mongols whose intervention had been requested by the ruling regent.

In 1642 Lobsang Gyatso was formally enthroned as ‘the Buddha of Compassion, the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel, the Fifth Dalai Lama of Tibet’. In 1645 he began the process of constructing the Potala Palace on the Red Hill in Lhasa. One of the most significant political meetings in East Asian history occurred in 1649 when the Dalai Lama was invited to Peking by the Great Qing Emperor Shunzhi. The Emperor sent 3,000 Manchu cavalry to the border to escort the Dalai Lama, traveled in person to meet him at Kothor and then journeyed on to Peking where the Tibetan monarch was housed in the Yellow Palace which the Emperor had built especially for the occasion. Both leaders treated each other with great respect and the Qing Emperor officially conferred on the Tibetan ruler the title, “Dalai Lama, Overseer of the Buddhist Faith on Earth Under the Great Benevolent Self-subsisting Buddha of the Western Paradise”. As a result of this meeting there was a Buddhist revival throughout the Qing Empire and all successive Dalai Lamas were regarded as the highest spiritual authorities by all the Manchu emperors.
After about two months the Dalai Lama returned to Tibet in 1653. In the years that followed the Khan, prime minister, Emperor and Panchen Lama all died, bringing in a whole new leadership. The Fifth Dalai Lama, being the only constant amongst all these changes, greatly increased his authority, becoming the first Dalai Lama to effectively rule Tibet both temporally and spiritually. He made Lhasa the capital city and was an accomplished scholar and author writing a number of books and great pieces of poetry. He established systems to educate secular officials and monks and insisted that they learn Mongolian, Sanskrit, astrology, poetry and administration. He was extremely well respected as a man of wisdom far beyond the borders of Tibet. He died in 1682 at the age of 65 but because he was such a colossal figure, and the threat of instability still existed, his death was kept a closely guarded secret for quite a few years afterward so reliant were the people and international stability on his presence. For his strong leadership, wisdom in diplomacy, politics as well as the Buddhist religion he became known to Tibetans as the Great Fifth.

Monarch Profile: The VI Dalai Lama

Tsangyang Gyatso, the Sixth Dalai Lama, had a very unique reign to say the least. He was born in 1682 in Mon Tawang, the region now known as Arunachal Pradesh in India. His parents were Tashi Tenzin and Tsewang Lhamo. It was an unsettled time for Tibet after the passing of the Great Fifth and the Potala palace was still being completed. Knowing this would be a dangerous time, the Great Fifth left instructions that his death was to be kept secret for 15 years; instructions which Desi Sangye Gyatso carried out to the letter. As far as the general public was concerned the Great Fifth was on an extended religious retreat. On important occasions the ceremonial gown of the Dalai Lama was placed on the throne to symbolize the presence of the sovereign. However, when Mongol princes demanded an audience with the Dalai the monks had to resort to using an impersonator; an elderly monk named Depa Deyrab of Namgyal Monastery who looked something like the Great Fifth and who would wear a hat and eyeshadow to help mask his appearance.

This charade was maintained until word came that a boy from the area of Mon had shown signs of being the reincarnation of the Great Fifth. Desi sent investigators to visit the boy in 1688. He was then moved to Nankartse near Lhasa where he was educated until 1697 when Desi sent one of his ministers, Shabdrung Ngawang Shonu, to inform the Manchu Emperor Kangxi of the death of the Great Fifth and the discovery of his reincarnation. Once this was done the 14-year-old Tsangyang Gyatso was openly proclaimed the Buddha of Compassion, the Wish Fulfilling Gem, the VI Dalai Lama of Tibet. There was great public rejoicing and no anger over the years of elaborate deception. As the people said, they were grateful to have been spared, “lamenting the setting of the sun and, instead, making them rejoice in its rising”.

The Fifth Panchen Lama was called in to administer the vows to the new Dalai Lama as a novice monk. Trouble was never far away though as in 1701 Desi Sangya Gyatso was killed in a conflict with Lhasang Khan. The Sixth Dalai Lama did not lead the conventional sort of life for a monk. He left his monastic life, never becoming fully ordained, and preferred to live outdoors. He even visited the Panchen Lama to renounce his vows as a novice; rather unorthodox to say the least but none of which effected his position as Tibetan sovereign. Although the Potala Palace was his official residence, the Dalai Lama spent most of his time living in a tent with friends behind the palace, visiting people in Lhasa and nearby areas. Some of his compositions are still popular in Tibet to this day.

Although unconventional the Sixth Dalai Lama became a beloved figure, spending his days camped out with friends writing poetry and his nights in local taverns drinking and singing songs. The people saw him as a sort of flamboyant romantic figure. In 1706 he was invited to China by the Qing Emperor but died while on his way to Peking.

Anniversary of the Dalai Lama of Tibet

It was on this day in 1950 that Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama was enthroned as the temporal as well as spiritual ruler of the Himalayan Kingdom of Tibet. He was 15-years-old at the time, having been recognized as the reincarnation of the XIII Dalai Lama since 1939. Under normal circumstances his regent would have held power for a longer period of time but due to the increasing pressure and aggression from China the people of Tibet petitioned for the Dalai Lama to be declared of age sooner and assume his powers as temporal monarch. They had faith that his spiritual leadership would save them from the crisis they faced. Ultimately, however, Tibetan religion fell prey to the Chinese "People's Liberation Army" and in 1959 the Dalai Lama left Tibet to go into exile in India in the aftermath of a popular uprising that was bloodily suppressed by the communists. He has remained in exile ever since, however, the last "god-king" of Tibet officially ascended his throne 59 years ago today. The Mad Monarchist sends the Dalai Lama best wishes on this occasion and best wishes for all the Tibetans loyal to his government-in-exile and hopes that Tibet's legitimate monarch will one day be restored to his proper place in the Potala Palace.

Monarch Profile: The XIV Dalai Lama

One of the most well known and admired figures in the world is His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso the XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet and yet relatively few people recognize him as an exiled monarch as well as a religious leader. He was born on July 6, 1935, the 4th of 16 children on the Tibetan frontier. When he was only two years old he was recognized as the reincarnation of the late XIII Dalai Lama. He was taken to the Potala Palace in the holy city of Lhasa and proclaimed the Dalai Lama, roughly translated as "Ocean of Wisdom", the bodhisattva of the Buddha of compassion. He was then renamed "Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso", titled "Holy Lord, Gentle Glory, Compassionate, Defender of the Faith, Ocean of Wisdom". Most refer to him as "Kundun" or "the presence".

He was raised in the traditional fashion for a Buddhist monk and trained for his role as the supreme temporal and religious leader of the theocratic Kingdom of Tibet. However, he was a very outgoing and curious child and like his predecessor was greatly interested in the outside world and never tired of learning as much as he could about it from the few foreigners to visit Tibet. However, that outside world was rushing toward the peaceful and isolated kingdom of Tibet in a brutal way with the onset of World War II and the resulting rise to power of the communists in China. As soon as they seized power the communists were intent on the swift conquest and assimilation of Tibet which had previously been an independent tributary of the Chinese Empire. Because of this crisis, and at the request of his people, in 1950 the teenage Dalai Lama was declared to have reached his majority early in order that he could be officially installed as the ruling sovereign of Tibet.

However, the coming contest would be extremely one-sided. The devout Buddhists of Tibet were a peaceful people with only a tiny army with virtually no modern weapons nor any idea of how to fight a modern, total, technological war. They were no match for the massive and recently victorious "People's Liberation Army" of Red China. They were also crippled by a lack of foreign support and treason from within. The Red Chinese occupied Tibet, slaughtering multitudes of people, sacking villages, looting temples and destroying religious icons. The Tibetans had put their faith in their religious and the spiritual strength of their "Living Buddha" but it was to no avail against the world's largest army. At first, the Chinese pretended to try to work with the Dalai Lama, inviting him to Beijing to be courted by the communist government. It almost worked but at the end of the visit Chairman Mao Zedong made his famous statement to the Dalai Lama that "all religion is poison". The young monarch knew it had all been a charade.

In 1959 the Tibetans rose up against their Red Chinese conquerors and the result was a great slaughter and increased rumors that the Reds would have the Dalai Lama killed. As a result, he was forced to disguise himself as a soldier and escape into exile in India where he has remained ever since. Over the years since that time the Dalai Lama has become a widely respected figure for his spiritual, social and political teachings. The Red Chinese continue to view him as a reactionary, a dangerous counterrevolutionary and disident leader in spite of the fact that he has only ever called for peaceful opposition and has even dropped his calls for independence and asks only for genuine autonomy for Tibet so that Tibetan culture and religion can be preserved. He also continues to teach extensively on the Gelugpa school of Buddhism. In recent years he has semi-retired from his political role with the Tibetan government-in-exile but admits that he could never truly abdicate his role as the Dalai Lama. The Red Chinese government continues to vilify him and to punish and threaten any government that deals with him.

Monarch Profile: The XIIIth Dalai Lama

One of the most significant figures in Tibetan history was the predecessor of the more internationally famous Dalai Lama we know today, that was His Holiness Thubten Gyatso the 13th Dalai Lama of Tibet. Over the years he became known for his efforts to somewhat modernize Tibet as well as for his political savy and sheer ability to survive in difficult times. For a long time the Tibetan regents had been the real power in Lhasa and the 13th Dalai Lama was the first in a very long time to manage to survive to adulthood and actually exercise his spiritual and temporal power as Tibetan monarch. He was born on February 12, 1876 and was recognized in 1878 as the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama, the "Living Buddha", "Ocean of Wisdom" and reincarnation of the bhodisatva of compassion. He was formally enthroned the following year in the magnificent Potala Palace. He was given all of the usual instructions and upbringing for a Dalai Lama and against all odds survived to become the temporal monarch and actual ruler of Tibet when he reached his majority in 1895.

At the outset the Dalai Lama was keen to establish good relations with Imperial Russia. His primary advisor was a Buriat Mongol who had been born a Russian subject and the British tended to blame him for influencing the Dalai against them. However, the expanding British influence northward from India worried the Dalai Lama a great deal and he seems to have viewed the Russians as a more distant and safer friend than the British. As staunchly orthodox as Imperial Russia was there had long been good relations with the Mongolians on the Russian frontier who shared the same style of the Buddhist faith as the Tibetans.

His fears were confirmed in 1904 when the British invaded Tibet and the Dalai Lama was forced to flee to Mongolia where he stayed in Urga (modern-day Ulan Bator) as the guest of the Bogd Gegen for over a year. However, the two theocrats did not get along well. The Dalai Lama led a much more devout life than the Bogd and with his good teachings was becoming more popular amongst the Mongols than their own spiritual leader. The Bogd Gegen also complained that it was costing too much to play host to the Dalai Lama and his court. In any event it was necessary for the Dalai to move on anyway given events that had taken place in his absence in relation to China.

After the British invasion the Chinese had declared the Dalai Lama deposed and claimed full sovereignty over the entire Himalayan region. The Dalai Lama was able to restore something of the status quo when he visited Peking and had an audience with Emperor GuangXu and the real power-behind-the-throne Empress Dowager Cixi. The Emperor stressed Tibet's status as a vassal of the Great Qing but the Dalai Lama refused to kowtow to the monarch and more or less left with the usual stand-off in place in 1908. He had just returned to Tibet and began putting the government back in order when Qing Imperial troops invaded in 1910 which forced the Dalai to flee again, this time to India (via Sikkim). However, Qing rule was short-lived as the following year the disastrous republican revolution broke out in China and brought down the Manchu dynasty.

By this time the Dalai Lama had become an astute master of international affairs and began dealing directly with China, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and the British Raj. The Chinese republic apologized for the recent invasion and offered to restore the status quo but with the fall of the Qing the Dalai Lama basically said that all deals were off and the theocratic monarchs of Tibet and Mongolia recognized their mutual independence and promised support for each other in the event of an attack (he lived up to this promise when Chinese republican troops arrested the Bogd Khan as the Dalai Lama sent a force of Tibetan cavalry to aid the army of Baron von Ungern in liberating the Bogd and restoring Mongol independence). In domestic policy the 13th Dalai Lama made many modernizing innovations such as adopting a postal system, a more fair national tax code, an official national flag, a police force and he also abolished the death penalty and worked to wipe out corruption amongst the government officials. He also improved education, for the first time allowing secular subjects to be studied alongside religion and sent Tibetan students abroad to be educated along modern lines. He had a keen interest in new technologies and displayed the first signs that the secretive, hermit kingdom was starting to come out of its centuries of isolation.

By that time, however, the Dalai Lama had become quite old and he began looking forward to what would come after him. He predicted a bleak future for Tibet and listed many details that were (sadly) to come true after his death during the reign of his successor. He died on December 17, 1933.