seven years in tibet was a huge melodramatic void which was romanticising a medieval culture with primitive values over scientific and moral values ,
tibetans are as much chinese as the muslims in kashgar and the chinese respect the buddhists and the muslims alike-.
more so the the americans who fry muslim kids every day in iraq and gaza and claim to be supporting the dalai lama for religious tolerance .
a true charade in the worst possible taste which even beats the pot boilers of hollywood
THE GLOBAL ELITE
46: The Dalai Lama
Tibetan leader
Published Dec 20, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Jan 5, 2009
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People used to say that Pope John Paul II's power increased as he aged; at 73, the Dalai Lama is the same way. The more he speaks, the more he travels, the more word of his ill health leaks out (he recently had a gallbladder operation), the more he matters. Now, thanks in part to the high visibility of Tibet-China relations during the 2008 Olympics, the religious and political head of Tibetans presides over a diplomatic situation that looks ready to combust. For decades the Dalai Lama has advocated a "middle way": he has said he wants autonomy, not independence, for his people; he would be happy for Tibet to remain part of China in exchange for protection of Tibetan education, culture and religion. In an interview with The New York Times earlier this year, he even said he would accept China's communist rule. But after eight unproductive rounds of talks with Beijing, members of the exile community are fed up; some are advocating violent resistance and a fight for independence.
Every signal the Dalai Lama sends is freighted with importance. His ill health earlier this year prompted a call of sympathy from President Bush, interpreted by the Tibetan community as support for their cause. A meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy of France led the Chinese to cancel their talks with leaders of the European Union. Meanwhile, how the Dalai Lama chooses to handle the issue of succession is key. Will he turn back centuries of tradition to appoint his own successor? Or will he separate his roles in the next generation? Tibet's political leader could be an adult, after all, while its religious head could be, as it has always been, the Dalai Lama's reincarnation: a baby.
COVER STORY: THE GLOBAL ELITE
The study of power is not only diverting (which Homer and Shakespeare knew), but illuminating. A biography of an ancient human impulse.
© 2009
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