Word: lamas
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Even when he's not filming, Richard Gere knows how to do drama. In the wake of the deadly protests in Tibet, Gere, a longtime Tibet activist and friend of the Dalai Lama, made a splashy announcement. The Hollywood star declared that "if [the protests] are not handled correctly, yes, we should boycott [the Olympics]. Everyone should boycott...
...Given that the Olympics are sparking Chinese pride, advocacy organizations with some of the longest experience dealing with China, such as the savvy International Campaign for Tibet, have harshly criticized Beijing's rights record but have not called for a boycott. Even the Dalai Lama has not advocated one, citing how important this year's Games are to the Chinese people...
...China has become more powerful, it has boosted its leverage on the world stage. Many nations, especially neighbors, are now reluctant to cross Beijing. India, which once welcomed Tibetan exiles, including the Dalai Lama himself, now restrains Tibetan protesters. Nepal has done the same, sometimes brutally, and has indicated that it will clear and secure the Everest route for the Olympic torch - thereby possibly pre-empting anti-China protests. Twenty years ago, when China was weaker, a boycott might have been possible, since other countries could ignore Beijing. Today, the world needs China, with all its warts, to help solve...
Pico Iyer, one of the world's premier prose stylists, has been following the journey of the Dalai Lama since he was a tiny child. In 1960, when Pico was 3 years old, his father visited in India with the newly exiled Dalai Lama and brought back a picture of the shy 24-year-old for his son. That picture sat on Pico's desk for 30 years, until 1990, when a fire roared through his family's house, wiping out everything including the photo and bringing home to him the Buddhist idea of the impermanence of life...
...Buddhism are, in fact, citizens of China, who have been denied any religious sustenance for more than 50 years. The last time I visited Lhasa, in 2002, I saw more and more Chinese individuals going to the Jokhang Temple at the center of town as pilgrims, seeking out Tibetan lamas for instruction, even trying to learn Tibetan, the same language that is all but banned for Tibetans. When I traveled across Japan with the Dalai Lama last November, I saw dozens of Chinese people clustering around him, sobbing and asking for his blessing and, 30 minutes later, saw another group...