Guests & Stories 2007

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FROM THE NEWS DESK: HEADING TO HAMBURG
Will Tibetan Nuns Finally Gain Full Ordination?

The very First International Congress on Buddhist Women's role in the Sangha (Buddhist community) was held in July in Germany. The main topic on the agenda was full ordination for nuns in the Tibetan tradition. While full ordination for nuns exists in other countries with Buddhist traditions, such as Korea and Taiwan, it has never existed in the Tibetan tradition. The Tibet Connection's Pema Dhondup talks with VENERABLE ANI TENZIN KACHO who attended this conference to get a broader view of this hot topic, and asks some serious questions about gender equality in Tibetan Buddhism and what we can look forward to in the future.

VENERABLE BHIKSHUNI TENZIN KACHO was ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1985. She is an American Buddhist nun and teacher in the Tibetan tradition who lives in Long Beach, California where she is the Assistant Spiritual Director of Thupten Dhargye Ling under the direction of Ven. Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen. Tenzin-la also has an MA in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan language from Naropa University and occasionally resides at Geden Chöling Nunnery in India.

Kyizom in action at the mass protest in New Delhi. CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE PHOTOS

The Tibet Connection is proud to give a voice to young Tibetan exiles in a new segment TIBET YOUTH RADIO.

We kick off this series with a piece produced for the Tibet Connection News Desk by LHAKPA KYIZOM, a 24 year-old Tibetan woman, who participated in August's mass protest of Tibetans in New Delhi. Kyizom, as she is known to her friends, was one of 20,000 Tibetans and supporters who descended on the Indian capital from all over Asia on the one year count-down to China's Olympic Games. She observes the differences between the young and the old protesters and the spiritual overtones that permeate the event. In the end, Kyizom comes away even more committed to the Tibetan cause and to the path of non-violence, inspired by the spirit of a protest that she compares to the historic popular uprising of her grandparent's generation in Lhasa in 1959.

A practicing Buddhist, Kyizom graduated with an MA in Communications from Madras Christian College. She has recently become a Training/ Teaching Officer in the Active Non-Violence Education Center, a new Tibetan NGO dedicated to educational programs on the principles of non-violence.

"Where's Nako?" you may well ask. Producer, Rebecca Novick, had the same question when she read on a website that the Dalai Lama was scheduled to teach there. Having almost everyone she spoke to insist that the Dalai Lama was NOT teaching there, plus not being able to find a soul who had heard of it, only made her more determined. Finally, with a driver who knew "someone who had been there before", and a good map, she took off with her husband, Ronny, and Tibetan friend, Nyima. This is PART ONE of a two-part story of a modern-day pilgrimage to a remote mountain village in Northern India, where the people smile easily and the 21st century is left far behind.

With ORIGINAL MUSIC by fellow traveler RONNY NOVICK.

The most exhalted of figures in Tibetan history, Jetsun Milarepa, who the Tibetan people consider a saint, is now taking the lead in a new film. Far from Hollywood, shot in North India and directed by a Tibetan lama, Neten Chokling Rinpoche, the film depicts the early life of this 11th century yogi and is now finding its way to the mainstream. What is it about Milarepa that makes the Dalai Lama weep almost every time he hears his name? What is it about Milarepa's life story that can inspire us today and cross cultures, traditions, and coasts? In this segment we hear from the film's creators, prominent Buddhist teachers, and others about this famous and very real story.

May those who practice the Dharma through asceticism
Harvest immeasurable merits.
To those who encourage others to follow this path,
Immeasurable gratitude is due.
May those who hear my story receive immeasurable blessings.
Through these three immeasurable blessings,
May those who only hear my story achieve liberation,
May those who meditate upon it fulfill their aim.

'Sentient Being' is a commonly used term in Buddhism, particularly in Tibetan Buddhism. On this month's segment, Tibet scholar TENZIN DORJEE explains both what it is AND what it's not.

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A community center in Culver City, Los Angeles, becomes the site of a Sunday class for Tibetan-American children, organized by the Tibetan Association of Southern California. Here they learn prayers, Tibetan history, traditional song and dance, and Tibetan language. Hear Tibetan kids from 8 to 12 years of age talk about the challenges of learning Tibetan and what it's like to be a minority among minorities where nobody guesses your nationality right the first time.

Runngye Adak who inspired the Lithang protest. Click on image to join the URGENT ACTION CAMPAIGN

Tibet supporters make themselves heard at Dodger Stadium in the one-year run-up to the 2008 Olympics

The banner 'One World, One Dream, Free Tibet

in English & Chinese on China's Great Wall stayed up for 2 hours. WATCH VIDEO HERE

In 1962, ROBERT THURMAN became the first American to become ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk. He gave up his robes several years later for a life in academia that he desdribes as "America's equivalent to monasticism". He has since married and had children, one of whom is the actress Uma Thurman. Robert Thurman has been voted one of the top 25 most influential Americans by Time Magazine. He is currently the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University, President of the Tibet House U.S., a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Tibetan civilization, and President of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies. He is the author of numerous books on Buddhism including 'Inner Revolution: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Real Happiness'.

Tibetan musician and vocalist TECHUNG takes us on a journey through Tibetan music, from traditional ballads and the gregarious “beer drinking songs”to contemporary freedom songs born from occupation. Techung was born in exile in India and trained from an early age with the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts. In 1989, after emigrating to the U.S., he co-founded the San Francisco-based Chaksampa Tibetan Dance and Opera Company. Whether performing in traditional or contemporary styles, Techung's dual goals are to revive Tibetan music in the Tibetan community and to expose the rich performing cultural tradition of his homeland to the world community.

For three days in September 2006 Pasadena might well have been called Little Tibet; with Buddhist teachings by the Dalai Lama, a Tibetan bazaar offering traditional Tibetan food and dance performance, and crosswalks suddenly made brighter from hundreds of maroon-robed monks and nuns. Producer, JULIE ADLER, was on the scene to find out people's impressions of the teachings...you may be surprised by what you hear, and by who says it.

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This Summer, the Dalai Lama led an historic event at Tibetan Childrens' Village school in Dharamsala, India. For the first time, he gave Buddhist teachings exclusively to Tibetan students, during which he emphasized a scientific approach to Buddhist study and practice that alligns this ancient philosophy with the modern world. Producer, Rebecca Novick, attended the three-day event and spoke with 9 Tibetan students aged between 15 and 24 about what Buddhism means to them.

Can Buddhism survive modernity? How does science play a role? We take an in depth look at these questions and more with leading scholar and Western Buddhist teacher, Alan Wallace.
Dynamic lecturer, progressive scholar, and one of the most prolific writers and translators of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, B. Alan Wallace continually seeks innovative ways to integrate Buddhist contemplative practices with Western science to advance the study of the mind. Dr. Wallace, a scholar and practitioner of Buddhism since 1970, has taught Buddhist theory and meditation throughout Europe and America since 1976. Having devoted fourteen years to training as a Tibetan Buddhist monk, ordained by H. H. the Dalai Lama, he went on to earn an undergraduate degree in physics and the philosophy of science at Amherst College and a doctorate in religious studies at Stanford. With his unique background, Alan brings deep experience and applied skills to the challenge of integrating traditional Indo-Tibetan Buddhism with the modern world.

Statue under construction before the demolition

Click to read the full story

Pema Dhondup speaks with Tibet historian MIKEL DUNHAM about the demolition in May of this year by Chinese People's Armed Police of
a giant Buddhist statue that was under con-
struction at Samye, Tibet's oldest monastery. The 30 foot tall statue of the revered Indian pandit, Padmasambhava, who brought Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century, is believed to have been donated by Chinese Buddhists. What does this act mean for Chinese Buddhists in Tibet and for relgious freedom in general? Mikel Dunham is the author of SAMYE: A Pilgrimage to the Birthplace of Tibetan Buddhism.

Rebecca Novick speaks with journalist VIJAY KRANTI about the HUNGER STRIKE by 14 Tibetans in New Delhi that began on August 8th. Vijay Kranti is the editor of Tibet Desh, a Hindi-language news magazine about Tibet and has been covering stories about Tibetans in exile for 30 years.

Hear these and other stories on this month's NEWS DESK

Tibet expert TENZIN DORJEE clears up the issue of whether or not Tibetan monks can marry.

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The banner flown at Everest Base Camp by SFT activists before their arrest. Click image for SFT blog

Pema Dhondup interviews TENZIN DORJEE, one of the protesters who was arrested at the base of Mt. Everest to draw attention to China's proposed route for the Olympic torch where they unfurled a large banner reading ONE WORLD, ONE DREAM, FREE TIBET. Beijing is scheduled to host the next Olympic Games in 2008 and the International Olympic Committee has suggested that the Olympic torch enter Tibet via Nepal and the southern slope of Mt. Everest. The historic protest was organized by STUDENTS FOR A FREE TIBET that boasts 650 chapters in 30 countries. Will their efforts affect the International Olympic Committee's decision?

"I would strongly recommend a spell in prison to anyone. It is really essential for your personal growth."

Writer and activist TENZIN TSUNDUE has in recent years become an icon of the Tibetan freedom movement. At the age of 22 he walked into Tibet and was promptly arrested, spending 3 months in a Lhasa prison, singing songs to his fellow prisoners through the walls. In 2002, he grabbed the spotlight with a daring protest in a Mumbai hotel when he scaled 14 floors to unfurl a Tibetan flag at a business meeting with the visiting Chinese premier. In an Elle magazine poll, Tsundue was voted one of the most stylish people in India. His poetry and essays have won him numerous international awards but his crowning achievement, he says, are the letters of appreciation from young Tibetans. Born in a roadside tent to refugee constructions workers, Tsundue knows neither the date nor place of his birth. He has become the voice and bard of a new generation of restless Tibetans whose identity crisis he so vividly expresses.

pull your ceiling half-way down
and you can create a mezzanine for me

your walls open into cupboards
is there an empty shelf for me

Since 1985 Thupten Jinpa has been the principal English translator for the Dalai Lama and has traveled extensively throughout the West in this capacity. He trained as a monk in S. India and then became a Geshe before traveling to Britain to study Western Philosophy at Cambridge University where he received his PhD. He has translated and edited more than ten books by the Dalai Lama. His own works include numerous contributions to various collections and academic journals and several works in Tibetan. He is also the president and founder of the 'Institute of Tibetan Classics' in Montréal, Canada, and the editor-in-chief of the translation project 'The Library of Tibetan Classics,' being developed by the Institute. He lives in Montréal with his wife and two young daughters.

This April 25th was the 18th birthday of the PANCHEN LAMA, the second highest lama after the Dalai Lama, who was kidnapped by Chinese authorities in Tibet when he was 6 years old. This month, Rebecca Novick explores the Tibetan Buddhist system of reincarnate lamas such as the Panchen Lama, called tulkus in Tibetan.

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The North Indian town of DHARAMSALA, nestled in the Himalayan foothills, is home to the Dalai Lama and a vibrant and ever-growing population of Tibetan exiles. The British came here to escape the heat of the plains in the early 1900's, in the 60's Tibetans came to escape Chinese occupation, and today people come from all over the world for all kinds of reasons. In this report, we hear reflections from the town's diverse mix of visitors and residents, including a taxi driver from England, a volunteer dentist, an Oxford University academic, an Australian multi-millionaire and a young Tibetan woman who walked here from Tibet with her four children.

FROM THE NEWS DESK:
WHICH WAY TIBET? AUTONOMY VS. INDEPENDENCE
AND THE FUTURE OF THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT

We take a look at the distinction between independence and autonomy for Tibet. His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the exiled Tibetan government today call for 'genuine autonomy' and are no longer petitioning the Chinese government for true independence for Tibet. This compromise aprroach to the issue of Tibetan freedom has become known as the 'middle path'. However, many Tibetans continue to make independence the goal of the freedom struggle.

Contact the International Olympics Committee via email, 'snailmail', or telephone:

Or you can CALL or WRITE directly to

President of the IOC Coordination Commission, Hein Verburggen, and President of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge

Château de Vidy
1007 Lausanne
Switzerland

Tel: (41.21) 621 61 11
Fax: (41.21) 621 62 16

From the 17th century to the present, romantic notions of Tibet still persist. Swiss anthropologist and scholar, MARTIN BRAUEN, felt compelled to look deeper into these distortions. In his book, Dreamworld Tibet, and tandem exhibition, he presents a vivid portrait of the misinterpretation, trivialization, political and commercial exploitation of Tibet's rich and ancient culture. Even today, Western misconceptions of Tibet run rampant in media, and these misconceptions pose a danger to a mature representation of the great value of Tibetan culture for the world. Imbedded in this book is the alternate notion that the key to ending human strife is in the elimination of cultural misunderstandings in Tibet and in the world.

No matter whether they are something positive or negative, it is of great importance to get to the bottom of the true facts. I am convinced and tell my friends and listeners again and again that the true meaning of education is to lessen the gap between reality and perception.

WHEN IS A RINPOCHEY NOT A RINPOCHEY? On this month's ASK TENZIN we learn about the real meaning of this oft-misused Tibetan term.

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Click for more photos from March 10th

Protestors continue to shout anti-China slogans from the buses after their arrest

MARCH 10 is the most significant day in Tibet's political calendar, marking the date of a massive popular uprising against the Chinese Communists in Lhasa, Tibet's capital. On this, the 48th anniversary, we hear dramatic scenes from a clandestine demonstration in front of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi as well as other demonstrations in India by Tibetans, taking advantage of the freedom to gather and protest they are denied in their homeland. We also hear moving stories from Tibetans who witnessed the events of March 10, 1959, when the people of Lhasa united to resist their occupiers.

On April 25th, the Panchen Lama--Gedhun Choekyi Nyima--turns 18. He is recognized by the Dalai Lama as the Panchen Lama, the second highest spiritual figure of Tibet. In 1995, at the age of 6, he was kidnapped by Chinese authorities in Tibet, and nobody has seen or heard of him since. The Chinese government has refused repeated requests by international human rights groups to verify his safety. We speak with journalist ISABEL HILTON, author of 'The Search For the Panchen Lama' about the latest developments surrounding the mysterious fate of Tibet's stolen child.

CREATING A TIBETAN PURE LAND IN THE MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:
AN INTERVIEW WITH PEMA NAMDOL THAYE

PEMA NAMDOL THAYE is an accomplished painter and sculptor. He was trained in East India by his uncle, Lama Gonpo Tenzing, regarded as one of Tibet's living national treasures. Since the age of 15 Pema apprenticed with his uncle and now, 25 years later, is a master in his own right. He was invited to Los Angeles in 2000 to create a 3-Dimensional mandala dedicated to universal peace, the first of its kind in the West, at the request of Lama Chodak Gyatso, and has returned to develop a 4-story monument--Zandokpalri--the copper coloured mountain abode of Guru Rinpoche (also known as Padmasambhava) who Tibetans refer to as the Second Buddha. Pema is currently living at Ari Bhöd, the American Foundation for Tibetan Cultural Preservation, a non-profit dedicated to preserving the sacred cultural heritage of Tibet, located in Tehachapi, CA.

The Gyuto monks have set off from their monastery, the Gyuto Tantric University, in northern India, almost every year since the 1980s to present to the world the sacred Tibetan Buddhist tradition of polyphonic chanting that dates back over 500 years. They were 'discovered' by famed scholar Huston Smith who brought them to Europe and then were invited to the US by Grateful Dead percussionist, Mickey Hart. They have been featured on Hart's recordings as well as the soundtracks for the films "Kundun" and "Seven Years in Tibet". They are currently in the midst of another multi-city tour of the US, sharing their warmth and prayers for peace with everyone they meet, including Tibet Connection's own Sarah Wilkinson and her family. Producer, Julie Adler, shares her experience of a sleepover to remember. Her documentary was voted in the top 100 out of almost 1,500 entries in this year&'s Public Radio Talent Quest.

This month Tibet scholar TENZIN DORJEE explains how the terms 'autonomy' and 'independence' are used to describe the different political goals of the Tibetan freedom movement.

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JOURNALIST THOMAS LAIRD AND THE STORY OF TIBET:
CONVERSATIONS WITH THE DALAI LAMA

Over a three year period, veteran journalist Thomas Laird conducted 18 candid interviews with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in India, in which the Dalai Lama shared the history of Tibet in conversation, something not done since the 1600s. These conversations comprise a new book, 'The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama'. Thomas Laird has over 25 years of experience as a journalist in Asia. He is also a photographer and the author of 'Into Tibet: The CIA's First Atomic Spy and His Secret Expedition to Lhasa'. He has lived over half of his adult life in Asia, based for a number of years in Kathmandu, Nepal. Only recently has he resettled in the States, in New Orleans.

He [The Dalai Lama] looked at me quizzically."There are excellent academic histories of Tibet," I explained,but what is lacking is a popular history of Tibet-aimed at modern Westerners and Chinese-that is accurate, concise, and easy to read. You told me two years ago, in our first meeting, that Tibetan history is complex. You sounded despondent, as if it was impossible to explain Tibet's history to the average person. The way you said that haunted me, and since then I found myself reading everything available about Tibetan history. It is not impossible. I want to strip away the complexity and reveal the heart of the matter. I think that by focusing on your viewpoint of Tibetan history, this could be achieved. Most people will not read an academic history about Tibet, and they don't care what I think about Tibetan history, but they do want to know what you think about this history."

He continued to look at me, waiting."Would you work with me so I can write a popular history of Tibet?" I asked."You know that no Dalai Lama has written a history of Tibet since the 1600s."

Conceived in Tibet but born in Bhutan, Yeshi Dorjee was drawn to the arts from an early age. He left Bhutan to attend Gyumed Tantric University in South India where he remained as a student for the next 25 years, eventually becoming the head of the department of ritual arts. It was in his early years at the University that Yeshi learned most of the traditional folktales he can recite today. He would help the older monks with simple chores in return for their stories. Sometimes he walked behind them in the fields, covering up the corn seeds they planted, listening all the while to the stories they told. These stories have now been published in a collection entitled 'The Three Boys and Other Buddhist Folktales from Tibet.' Currently teacher-in-residence at the Land of Compassion Buddha Center in West Covina, California, Yeshi Dorjee hopes to one day establish a School of Tibetan Sacred Arts in the US. His royalties from the sale of the book will go towards that project.

CHINA FROM THE INSIDE: AN INTERVIEW WITH DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER JONATHAN LEWIS

JONATHAN LEWIS wrote, narrated, produced and directed the four hour documentary series CHINA: FROM THE INSIDE for PBS and the BBC. He was granted unique access by the Chinese government to film. From his first meeting with the Chinese government to the final edits, 'China from the Inside' took Lewis over four years to complete.

FROM THE NEWS DESK: SHOOTING AT NANGPA PASS UPDATE
WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE WHO SURVIVED?

Nearly 3,000 Tibetan refugees make the dangerous trek through the Himalayas to reach Nepal and India every year. World wide attention was drawn to their plight last September when Chinese soldiers killed a Tibetan nun making that journey. We'll get the latest on the rest of her group who did make it to Nepal and find out if their horrific journey will be the catalyst that will make the journey safer for other Tibetans. And we'll take a look at how a documentary filmmaker gained unprecendented access into Tibet to investigate the current status of religious freedom for Tibetans.

HOW TO GREET A TIBETAN: This month, Tibet scholar TENZIN DORJEE tells us about the origins of the unique Tibetan language

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XENI JARDIN is an American tech culture journalist and weblogger. She is co-editor of the collaborative weblog Boing Boing and a contributor to Wired and Wired News. Xeni talks to News Desk producer Christal Smith about her travels through the Himalayan region, investigating how Tibetans are using today's technology to keep their culture alive.

Swiss-born photographer MANUEL BAUER is well known for his work on Tibet and the Tibetan diaspora. The story of the six-year-old Yangdol who makes her way from Lhasa across the ice-capped Himalayas to India, is one of the most acclaimed reportages of the '90s, published world-wide in major magazines. Manuel Bauer started documenting His Holiness' life in 2001 as part of a Pictorial Portrait Project to document the daily life of the Dalai Lama and to create an archive to be available to researchers around the world. His Holiness granted Bauer unprecedented access, and all photographs intended for publication are presented for his approval.

“He is more than simply a professional: he is a close friend of mine. He also knows a great deal about Tibet, about the Tibetan community, and he has spent years making himself familiar with our culture. He understands Tibet comprehensively, as he does the exile community; and he knows me very well too. It is this knowledge that allows his pictures to say so much about their subjects.”
HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA SPEAKING ABOUT MANUEL BAUER

Lama Gyatso and Larry the Bait Guy. Click Picture to Learn about T'hondup Ling.

Learn about the centuries-old Buddhist practice of animal liberation, believed to create positive energy for happiness in the universe. On the occasional weekend, you can still witness this ancient custom down at the harbor of Southern California's Marina Del Rey. Meet Tibetan Buddhist teacher, Lama Chödak Gyatso, his students from T’hondup Ling Buddhist Center, and Larry the fisherman, as they ritually release 100's of thousands of sardines that would otherwise be sold for bait.

TENZIN DORJEE answers some frequently asked questions about Tibet and Tibetan Culture. A former monk, Tenzin is currently a doctoral candidate in communications at UCSB. He studied at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics and translated for over 12 years at the Tibetan Library, both in Dharamsala, India. We kick off this series with the question WHY ARE SO MANY TIBETANS CALLED TENZIN?