Tibetan lamas try to help boy leader
Seven in a van feast on fast food
By LESLIE SCRIVENER
FAITH AND ETHICS REPORTER
For nearly a year, seven Tibetan monks have endured greasy fast food and long drives on freeways as they criss-cross North America in a van to share the tragic story of the young Panchen Lama, the lost child of Tibet.
The monks, who performed sacred dances and engaged in monastic debate at the University of Toronto last night, have already visited 35 states, speaking to audiences ranging from 15 in Edwardsville, Ill., to 1,000 on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
Their goal is to alert North Americans to the fate of the Panchen Lama, their spiritual leader, second only to the Dalai Lama. They want Canada and the U.S. to pressure China to release the boy, 14, who is imprisoned in an unknown location.
In their time in North America, the monks have been surprised by our clothing — “so open” — and the height of our buildings, said Lobsang Dhondup, speaking from the Comfort Inn in Flint, Mich., their last stop before Toronto. “I thought I was watching pictures from a movie.”
They have also come to savour American road food. “Personally, I find Burger King very delicious,” said Dhondup, a secretary and interpreter for the lamas from the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. It was re-established in India after the Chinese invaded in 1959 and began destroying Tibetan monasteries.
“The few that remain are used as showpieces for tourists,” said Dolma Tulotsang, a Canadian of Tibetan background, one of about 2,500 in the Toronto area.
In 1995, the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader and outspoken critic of Chinese oppression, recognized 6-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama, who had remained in Tibet and challenged Chinese authorities until he died mysteriously in 1989.
Three days after Nyima was named the 11th Panchen Lama, the boy and his parents disappeared. The Chinese government later disclosed the child was being held in “protective custody.” Despite efforts by Amnesty International and the United Nations, the child has not been seen throughout his imprisonment. In 1995, Chinese officials declared another 6-year-old the Panchen Lama. It is the Panchen Lama who will name the successor to the present Dalai Lama after his death.
But the Dalai Lama has said he will not be reborn in a country that is not free, said Dhondup. If the Panchen Lama is not freed after the Dalai Lama’s death, senior monks will find his successor. “It’s not just an issue of the Panchen Lama, it’s much bigger. If he’s not released, it could affect all of Tibet.”
The monks perform again at Harbourfront July 19.
