Fears and Tears

You've said that two government officials sent private messages of support to you. Is there a significant number of officials in Tibet or other areas of mainland China who have shown sympathy to you in private?
Yes.

How many?
I am not sure, but many ordinary Chinese, thousands, have come here. And several senior officials have sent messages. I feel very strongly that there will be a change [in the attitude of the Chinese leadership]. Now the important thing is the Chinese public should get to know the reality. They should have more information about Tibet.

Will that be difficult? The Internet is heavily censored inside China. As a result, people tend to develop very polarized, often very nationalistic views.
Yes, yes. You know, till 1959 the Tibetan attitude toward the Han Chinese was affectionate, very close, something normal. Chinese traders in Lhasa used to be referred to with affectionate respect. But, of course, the name of communism is feared in Tibet because of what happened in Mongolia, and to part of the Buddhist community in the Soviet Union. Then the Chinese communists entrenched themselves; more soldiers came and their attitude became more aggressive, more harsh. Even at that time we complained about these "bad communists," but we never said "bad Chinese." Never.

During the last 20 years I have met a lot of Tibetans from Tibet—students, government officials and businessmen. They express great dissatisfaction. Now some of them refer to Chinese people in a derogatory manner. Even in prison there is a division between Chinese and Tibetan inmates. This I think is very bad. This must change. Not through harsh [measures]—that would just harden the stands—but by developing trust. I think real autonomy can restore that trust. As far I am concerned, I'm totally dedicated toward this goal. It is not just politics. My aim is to create a happy society with genuine friendship. Friendship between Tibetan and Chinese peoples is very essential.

Some images of the recent casualties have been graphic and disturbing. Have you seen them? What was your reaction? We heard you wept.
Yes, I cried once. One advantage of belonging to the Tibetan Buddhist culture is that at the intellectual level there is a lot of turmoil, a lot of anxiety and worries, but at the deeper, emotional level there is calm. Every night in my Buddhist practice I give and take. I take in Chinese suspicion. I give back trust and compassion. I take their negative feeling and give them positive feeling. I do that every day. This practice helps tremendously in keeping the emotional level stable and steady. So during the last few days, despite a lot of worries and anxiety, there is no disturbance in my sleep. [Laughs]

© 2008