His Holiness the Dalai Lama congratulates Barack Obama

(The Tibet Post International 6 November 2008) His Holiness the Dalai Lama congratulated United States President-elect Barack Obama on his election win in a message sent Wednesday November 5, 2008.

Obama defeated opposing candidate Senator John McCain to become the first African-American elected President of the United States in the election held on Tuesday November 4, 2008.
 
In his message, His Holiness wrote, “I am encouraged that the American people have chosen a President who reflects America’s diversity and her fundamental ideal that any person can rise up to the highest office in the land.  This is a proud moment for America and one that will be celebrated by many peoples around the world.”

As a United States Senator and Presidential candidate, Obama has repeatedly voiced his support for the Dalai Lama and the struggle of the Tibetan people for greater human rights in Tibet. In a statement following the uprisings in March of this year Obama said, “If Tibetans are to live in harmony with the rest of China’s people, their religion and culture must be respected and protected. Tibet should enjoy genuine and meaningful autonomy.”

The President-elect and His Holiness last met at a US Senate Foreign Relations Committee event in 2005. During the Dalai Lama’s July 2008 visit to the United States they corresponded through telephone and post but were unable to meet face-to-face due to Obama’s tight campaign schedule.

The Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile also sent their congratulations to the new President-elect. In their  congratulatory message, Speaker Karma Chopel wrote, “During the course of the electioneering, we have noted with satisfaction your interest in the Tibetan issue and your growing support for the Tibetan cause. Your distinguished predecessors, irrespective of their party affiliations, have supported the Tibetan issue strongly and have had a close and friendly relationship with our leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. We hope that you will not only maintain the tradition but give an added thrust in view of the strong resentment shown openly by our people living under the Chinese rule in Tibet,”

Full text of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s message to President-elect Barack Obama:

November 5, 2008

H.E. Barack Obama
President-elect of the United States of America
Washington, DC
U.S.A.

Dear President-elect Obama,

Congratulations on your election as the President of the United States of America.

I am encouraged that the American people have chosen a President who reflects America’s diversity and her fundamental ideal that any person can rise up to the highest office in the land.  This is a proud moment for America and one that will be celebrated by many peoples around the world.

The American Presidential elections are always a great source of encouragement to people throughout the world who believe in democracy, freedom and equality of opportunities.

May I also commend the determination and moral courage that you have demonstrated throughout the long campaign, as well as the kind heart and steady hand that you often showed when challenged.  I recall our own telephone conversation this spring and these same essential qualities came through in your concern for the situation in Tibet.

As the President of the United States, you will certainly have great and difficult tasks before you, but also many opportunities to create change in the lives of those millions who continue to struggle for basic human
needs.  You must also remember and work for these people, wherever they may be.

With my prayers and good wishes,

Yours sincerely,

THE DALAI LAMA

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New Bamiyan Buddha find amid destruction

BAMIYAN, Afghanistan (AFP) — "We got him!" screamed Afghan archaeologist Anwar Khan Fayez as he leapt from the pit beneath the towering sandstone cliffs, where the Bamiyan Buddhas once stood.

Seven years after Taliban militants blew up the two 1,500-year-old statues in a fit of Islamist zealotry, a French-Afghan team in September uncovered a new, 19-metre (62-foot) "Sleeping Buddha" buried in the earth.

The news that a third Buddha escaped the Taliban’s wrath has caused excitement in this scenic valley, where the caverns that housed the ruined statues are an eerie reminder of Afghanistan’s past and present woes.

"It was a happy moment for all of us when the first signs appeared. Our years-long efforts had somehow paid off," Fayez told AFP.

The team, led by France-based archaeologist Zemaryalai Tarzi, made the find while hunting for a lost 300-metre reclining Buddha mentioned in an account by seventh-century Chinese monk Xuan Zang.

The Afghan-born Tarzi began mapping the site nearly 30 years ago but decades of conflict and the rise of the 1996-2001 Taliban regime put the search on hold.

Then in March 2001 came the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas, until then the world’s largest standing Buddha statues.

Hewn into the cliffs in the sixth century by Buddhist pilgrims on the famed Silk Route, the statues had survived attacks by several Muslim emperors down the ages, while even Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan had spared them.

But with the backing of Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda movement, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar declared that they were idols that were against Islamic law.

Defying international appeals, the Taliban spent a month using first anti-aircraft guns and then dynamite to obliterate them.

Saddened but with renewed determination, Tarzi and his team returned soon after US-led forces and the Northern Alliance ousted the Taliban in late 2001 to renew their search for the giant missing Buddha.

What they found instead, in September this year, were parts of a previously unknown, smaller Buddha figure, including a thumb, forefinger, palm, parts of its arm, body and the bed on which it lay. Read more »

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Christmas Incense Essay Contest

The Tibetan Incense Shop is having a Christmas Incense Essay Contest. If you like incense and like to write, this could be your chance to win big.

The rules are simple. Write a review of some incense from the shop (or other products), or go freestyle and write about your experience with any Tibetan incense. If not a review, an article about the usage and/or benefits of Tibetan incense will be accepted. Reviews/articles about sang (powder incense) and its usage are mostly welcomed.

The best entry will win $100 in merchandise from the Tibetan Incense Shop!

Results of the contest will be announced on December 1, 2008. At that time, winners will be able to ’shop for free’ in the Tibetan Incense Shop for the amount they won. All prizes includes free delivery of the merchandise.

Three prizes will be awarded:

• 1st prize - $100
• 2nd prize - $50
• 3rd prize - $20

The terms of the contest:

• Send your essay to e-mail contest@tibet-incense.com
• The best essays will be published on our site
• The winners will be enunciate on December 1, 2008
• The winners choose the merchandise for the amount they won
• The winners get free delivery of their prize by registered air mail
• The winners of the prizes are not eligible for general purchase discount

Good luck!

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Dalai Lama stresses on Gandhian values

Express India, November 09 - “India and Tibet share a teacher-disciple relationship, and if a disciple suffers, the teacher is responsible for it,” observed Dalai Lama, Tibetan leader.

The Dalai Lama was in the city on Saturday to inaugurate the Gita Mandir at Sadhu Vaswani Mission. He also attended the concluding day of the 42nd Sarvodaya Samaj Sammelan.

Speaking at the Mission’s function, he spoke about human relations to politics. The spiritual leader said that Tibet changed into a civilised society only when India’s message of love reached there. “Teachings of Buddha gave direction to the life of Tibetans. So, even if China has substantial control over our land, the people there look up to India for support and love,” he said.

He urged that while supporting the cause of Tibet’s liberation, ecological, cultural and humanitarian grounds should be given more importance than politics. Stressing on a friendly India, China relationship, he said, “Genuine friendship between India and China will not only make the world a safer place but also help in Tibet liberation.”

“People have had a century of bloodshed and killing and now they have realised the importance of peace. World peace will be achieved only when one practices inner peace.”

The disarmament may also mean to practice forgiveness and spiritual reconciliation. “Dialogue can help us avoid many conflicts at home and also beyond borders,” he said.

While felicitating the Dalai Lama on the occasion, J P Vaswani said, “The Dalai Lama is humble yet strong enough to stand against a mighty nation like China.”

At the Sarvodaya Samaj Sammelan, the Dalai Lama highlighted India’s long history of non violence and tolerance. “India should strive to spread these values throughout the world,” he said.

The Dalai Lama spoke about his two-point programme that should be emphasised upon — the first one is Ahimsa and the second one is promotion of religious harmony. He said, “It is gladdening to see that even after so many years, Gandhiji’s values, ideology and principles are deep rooted in the Indian way of life. It is nice to see that in India people continue to practice non-violence despite many hardships and struggles.”

The three-day long Sammelan had several Gandhian followers from India and around the world as speakers.

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Bhutan Celebrates With Crowning of Young King

AFP - The isolated Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan crowned a new king Thursday, placing a charismatic Oxford-educated bachelor as head of state of the world’s newest democracy. With the rest of the world gripped by the historic US election win for Barack Obama, all eyes in Bhutan were on 28-year-old Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, now the world’s youngest reigning monarch.

In an ancient Buddhist ritual in the white-walled palace overlooking the picturesque Thimphu valley, Wangchuck was handed Bhutan’s Raven Crown by his father. "It’s a wonderful day, there is no cloud in the sky. The gods are here. It will be remembered as an event which unifies the Bhutanese people," Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley told reporters. The country now goes into three days and nights of festivities, and has even shut down its mobile telephone network for the occasion. The deeply revered former king, who is 52, abdicated two years ago as part of his plan to reform and modernise the staunchly traditional and insular nation of just over 600,000 people by ending absolute royal rule. Bhutan, wedged between India and China and never colonised, has witnessed sweeping changes this year — having held its first democratic elections for a new parliament and prime minister in March. Since the former king’s abdication, the century-old Wangchuck dynasty has been waiting for astrologers to give the go-ahead for the coronation.

The palace was packed with hundreds of foreign dignitaries, including Indian President Pratibha Patil, ruling party leader Sonia Gandhi and Bollywood stars. It was also surrounded by lines of jubilant locals dressed in their national costumes. The new king has pledged to maintain his father’s unique philosophy of improving "Gross National Happiness," and not common economic indicators, to ensure well-being in the "Land of the Thunder Dragon." "I am happy, my friends are happy and in general as a nation we are happy," enthused Sonam Phuntsho, a 27-year-old civil servant. "He is reaching out to the people. He is a very smart and decent man," he said of the new king. The royals in Bhutan are deeply revered, although the family clearly wanted to escape the fate of their counterparts in nearby Nepal — which saw the outbreak of a Maoist insurgency in 1996 that culminated in the abolition of the monarchy there this year. "The best time to change a political system is when the country enjoys stability and peace. Why wait for a revolution?" Bhutan’s former king said when he began the democratic reform process in 2005. Continuing to balance Bhutan’s exposure to the forces of globalisation will be the new king’s main challenge — especially as many in the younger generation now have access to satellite television and the Internet. Bhutan had no roads or currency until the 1960s and allowed television only in 1999. The extremely beautiful country also continues to resist the temptation of allowing mass tourism — preferring instead to allow access to only small organised groups of well-heeled visitors. "We are a small and traditionally oriented country. We have to preserve our traditions, and it’s important to control external influence," explained Heroka Zangpo, a 25-year-old public utility worker enjoying the festivities. Still, many people are also confused over why the hugely popular former king decided to step down, and view the transition to democracy with trepidation. There are also potential external threats. Bhutan forced out 100,000 ethnic Nepalese in the early 1990s during a campaign to impose compulsory national dress and ban the Nepalese language. The refugees went on to languish in camps in Nepal, which have seen the emergence of a communist rebel movement determined to wage war against the Wangchuck dynasty.

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