Statement of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile on the occasion of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s birth anniversary-2009
Today, on the occasion of the Birth Anniversary of our esteemed Temporal and Religious leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, I, on behalf of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile would like to welcome and greet the Sangha, family members of His Holiness, Prominent Tibetan dignitaries, former and serving officials, representatives of the non-governmental organizations, the general public, beloved students, invited guests and more particularly the six member Australian Parliamentary Delegation headed by Michael Danby and family members.
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was born at Amdo region of Taktser in Tibet to benevolent parents on the 6th of July 1935. We are indeed blessed by your leadership following your recognition as the undisputed reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. On this auspicious day we offer our heartfelt felicitations and to lead all the sentient beings in general and the Tibetans in particular to the path of enlightenment, we pray for your long life and also for your endeavors to flourish to eternity.
Tibetans all over the world have been celebrating His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Birth Anniversary every year with gusto and gaiety. However, the sad situation inside Tibet has deprived the Tibetans inside Tibet of this simple opportunity to rejoice and to celebrate. Moreover, unfortunately any sign of merriment to honor the day would result in incarceration. That in a nutshell is symbolic of the unyielding malaise that has afflicts Tibet.
Today is not only the day to honor His Holiness for his achievements in the last more than seven decades but also to recall and review as to how much have we been able to follow the path shown by Him.
His Holiness continues to take the responsibility of spreading happiness through the message of peace, love, compassion and universal responsibility. Moreover, irrespective of whether one is a believer or not, by promoting moral and ethical values, he has been trying to build a better world that we live in. His Holiness’ disarming charm have won many hearts and transformed lives of many people. The wisdom and method in His Holiness’ preaching of Buddhism made Buddhism more relevant and widespread in this modern world. The adaptability of Buddhism to redress innumerable strife and stresses despite technological and economic development is a major contribution of His Holiness to humanity. No wonder, people from all parts of the world flock to listen to him and many honored him in myriad ways.
His Holiness is also committed to promote inter-religious harmony through discussions to end divisions and discriminations with leaders of many other religious traditions. It should be the common endeavor of all to understand and realize that religion is meant for peace and harmonious co-existence. In fact losing Tibet is not only devastating but also brought untold suffering to the Tibetan people. However, people of the world gained a lot from His Holiness’ insight by being in exile.
If it had not been for the prudent leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, most probably, the Tibetan issue would have long been forgotten. Through His profound wisdom, vision and pragmatism, we have made remarkable achievements in terms of preserving our identity and promoting our culture and religion despite the adverse circumstances in exile.
Politically, even though the processes of dialogue have not yet yielded the desired result given the stubbornness of the PRC leadership, the world community and the Chinese intellectuals and the general public understands and support the realistic approach adopted by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in Exile. Eventually it is but natural that better sense will prevail upon the Chinese leadership if the sovereignty and common interest of all the nationalities within China has to be preserved for a harmonious society. The very fact that the issue of Tibet is alive and also the fact that it cannot be ignored but resolved, is due solely to the leadership of His Holiness.
The all round remarkable progress made during our life in exile and more particularly in democratic reforms has laid the foundation of a long term struggle if the need be.
In keeping with the benevolent and prudent leadership of His Holiness, today is also the time to remind ourselves of our own responsibilities to our country and to the world.
While sharing the woes and untold sufferings of the Tibetans inside Tibet and acknowledging the sacrifices made, we in exile recommit ourselves to represent you in the free world. You have proven the fact that the indomitable spirit of the Tibetans cannot be quelled by force under very difficult circumstances. However it is essential that we have to adhere to the principles of non-violence, which many of you have demonstrated through your actions. Our actions should not become a tool for our oppressors. Under the leadership of His Holiness, a time will definitely come for our union. Every one in Tibet must focus on educating the future generation of Tibetans.
As a people struggling to return back to our homeland, the Tibetans in exile have the added responsibility to take our movement forward. For that it is essential that we keep ourselves informed of situations that concern us. Each and every Tibetan must be politically aware and contribute in whatever capacity possible. The responsibility of making ourselves economically self sufficient, sustainable development of our communities, providing quality healthcare and education to our future generation should be a joint effort between the people and the government. People should actively participate in all the processes of democracy, thereby enriching our democratic experience and strengthening democratic polity to fulfill His Holiness wishes and lay a solid foundation for our future struggle. We must abide by all laws, and avoid irresponsible actions by few that defame the Tibetans in general. We must better relations with the people and governments of our host nations.
His Holiness’ birth anniversary is also one of the few occasions for the Tibetan diaspora in the developed countries to meet in large numbers. Irrespective of the hardships that you are encountering in creating a space for yourself at the moment, we must at all times be conscious of our responsibility towards the cause. There must be concerted efforts to strengthen the respective Tibetan communities in your country or the area that you live in to teach our youngsters the moral and ethical values that His Holiness espouses apart from learning Tibetan language, culture and religion.
Once your own living standards improve, the Tibetan communities in the west should be able to adopt poorer settlements in India or sponsor education or health based projects inside Tibet. No matter how much political freedom we achieve in the future, as long as Tibetans in Tibet remain uneducated and impoverished, we will always be enslaved in some way or the other.
I take this opportunity to urge the Chinese leadership to come out of their delusion, understand the reality and resolve the Issue of Tibet in a peaceful manner that will contribute to peace, stability and harmony not only in China but the whole region. China will not find a more pragmatic leadership than His Holiness in finding a mutually beneficial solution to the Issue of Tibet. If China fails to make use of the opportunity, the present leadership of China will be held responsible for their irresponsibility by generations of Chinese people to come. The present Chinese leaders are deluded by their economic and military prowess but genuine respect could be commanded only with moral authority. They must understand that this could be achieved only by respecting the fundamental human rights situation in China and peacefully resolving the Tibetan Issue that meets the aspiration of the Tibetan people and all other nationalities within China.
In conclusion, on the occasion of the His Holiness the Dalai Lama, may His Holiness the Dalai Lama live for eternity to serve humanity and may the Tibetans in Tibetans in Tibet and in exile be united earliest.
Tibetan Parliament in Exile
6th July 2009
