By
Russ Wung
April 17, 2008
When you first hear him speak, the Dalai Lama appears to be above the world in a way, not entirely in sync with it. He seems at first to be something of a guru for aged hippies with his expansive calls for nonviolence and dialogue. His understanding of how his peaceful ideals can be seriously applied to the benefit of the world is impressive, and his observations reflect both an admirably ambitious idealism and a grasp of reality that is far better than it appears.
His separation of the spectrum of human anger into two strata (the deep level and the surface level, roughly speaking) is a simple but useful psychological insight. Negative energy is useful at the surface level insofar as it enables us to protect ourselves. But deep, lasting hatreds and endless anger have no useful purpose. Fred Phelps, Al-Qaeda, about half of the user population of YouTube, and most of the blogging community could learn a thing or two from this guy.
The Dalai Lama clearly has a strong belief in the power of human capital, especially how individual actions can improve the world. His suggestion that rich countries can best help poorer countries develop through education and training is precisely the right one, as is his call for people to work and study hard. The concept of knowledge as an unlimited resource destroys old notions of zero-sum games and finite wealth. Here, neo-Marxist claptrap about systemic oppression and corporate exploitation is replaced with a simple call to do your best and to help others do theirs through education — a superb show of intellectual open-mindedness for a man who called himself “half-Marxist” as late as 1996.
Although the Dalai Lama makes a point of advocating strict nonaggression and nonviolence — pacifism of the wildly impractical “buy all the guns and bombs and explode them into space” variety — he displays an understanding of asymmetric warfare in suggesting that the future of global security lies in “small, mobile forces” rather than large armies; in this context, his assertion that “war is outdated” but that there will “always be some mischievous people” can be taken to mean that conventional warfare between standing armies in the style of both world wars is past its time, that terrorists may be the only people not amenable to dialogue, and that large conventional armed forces will play a diminishing role in the future.
With respect to the environment, the Dalai Lama called not for grandiose schemes, but for individual initiative. As an example of a small action he takes to reduce resource consumption is taking showers instead of baths. Similarly, through waste reduction (“reduce, reuse, recycle”) in our own lives, we can contribute significantly to protecting our environment with minimal effort and without costly, ambitious super-national movements.
The Dalai Lama’s surprisingly off-color suggestion that people use “rubbers” to contain the spread of HIV in Africa was a shock to many in the audience, but it was a humble statement of the obvious. It was another incremental but realistic, individually centered solution to a seemingly insurmountable problem.
Although I consider myself a skeptic of the “peace through dialogue” paradigm, I was certainly far more impressed with the arguments of the Dalai Lama than with the pro-communist protesters outside Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Perhaps the protesters would have been seen merely as students (exercising a right to free speech that doesn’t exist in certain other countries) rather than agents (unknowingly or otherwise) of the CCP if they hadn’t bothered to hire an airplane to fly a propaganda banner above Hec Ed.
If I had that kind of money, I sure wouldn’t be spending it slandering the Dalai Lama.
Dave Weiner is UW Bothell/Cascadia Community College security and campus safety officer and retired police officer.
15 Comments
#1 Sophie
on April 16, 2008 at 9:31 p.m.(Seattle, WA | Unverified Name)
The protesters are not "pro-communists", but they are "pro-China". Supporting China does not mean supporting the Communist Party. Honestly, does supporting the democrats or Republicans mean supporting America?
China is MUCH more complicated and cannot just be written off as merely "Communist". Indeed, anyone who's ever been to China can see that the economy is now FAR from communistic. Just look at how many McDonalds/Starbucks there are on the streets of Beijing.
Anyone who still calls China "communistic" is still sadly living in the 1960s and being brainwashed by the massive Cold War propaganda.
#2 www.ned.org
on April 16, 2008 at 10:21 p.m.(Redmond, WA | Unverified Name)
"If I had that kind of money, I sure wouldn’t be spending it slandering the Dalai Lama."
Do you know how much money US spends slandering other countries? For example:
http://www.ned.org/
Not to mention, all Americans' tax dollars are used to support Iraq War and killing of civilians, even when US is deep in debt to many other countries and the United Nation. At least those protestors used their own money.
Dalai is smart in that he makes people forget that he is also a political leader. People don't notice the inconsistency between what he says and what his followers (or his government) do.
#3 Miles
on April 16, 2008 at 11:13 p.m.(Seattle, WA | Unverified Name)
Myth of Dalai Lama
I appreciate that Dalai Lama have said a lot that good for the world, but that is not all the story.
First of all, many of his idea actually does not come from Buddahism but from Newspapers. It is true that all regilous leaders should make adjustments when the world changes. However, it is unfair to overestimate those religous leaders if what he said is nothing different from what major media or greenpeace have said. Another fact that maybe you have not noticed before is that the religous of Buddahism traditionally interfere less in people's daily life, so he do have more freedom to express those fancy ideas in the world than those Christian Leaders.
Second, he have sucessfully mislead people's impression about the impression of Tibet. I would like to focus on what is happening now. For example, the Tibetan Youth Congress(TYC), one of the major organizations of Tibet overseas, actually ask for complete independence of Tibet, advocate violence instead of non-violence, and take action to stop Beijing Olympic games. Such belief is completely different form Dalai's. There is also evidence that TYC joined in the roit in Lahsa in Mar 14, in which 18 innocent citizens were burned to death, including an infant. However, TYC is a organization leading by the Tibetan government in exile, whose leader is Dalai itself. It is also possible that people's donation to Dalai would finally go to pockets of TYC. Have Dalai offically condemned TYC? NO. Have Dalai tell the entire world that what TYC is doing is different from what he have said? No. Keep silent on violence can never be interpreted as non-violence.
Third, Let us talk about something happened out of China. You thought that he promote peace between religous? That is not what he have done. In 1996, in the Tibetan government in exile, he actually baned the worship of Dorje Shugden, who have been coexist with Dalai for more than 300 years. The slogan you saw on Monday, "Dalai, ur smiles charm, ur actions harm", actually come from the followers of Dorje Shugden. Here is a link of NYtimes. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.... If I have time, I'll post more links about that.
Finally, I would like to say that I really respect the religion of Tibetan Buddahism, but people should try their best to distiguish religions with political affairs. That is the basis of the United States. What Dalai said is quite different from what he and his followers actually have did. He is not a realistic idealist, however, he is a realistic politician.
#4 pete
on April 17, 2008 at 9:29 a.m.(Taichung, Taiwan | Unverified Name)
"The protesters are not "pro-communists", but they are "pro-China". Supporting China does not mean supporting the Communist Party. Honestly, does supporting the democrats or Republicans mean supporting America?"
Yes,supporting the Democrates or Republicans does mean supporting the American polical system, value and their leaders, and that is "supporting America".
The communist controled Chinese government will happily take "pro China" as "pro communist party". Their behavior defines how people look at them, despite the effort trying to explain away from it.
#5 pete
on April 17, 2008 at 10:02 a.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name)
Point taken.
So all Americans actually support Iraq War and killing of civilians.
#6 Sophie
on April 17, 2008 at 12:50 p.m.(Location Unknown | Unverified Name)
Although the US has a population that's more involved in politics than other countries it doesn't mean that this is the same way for China.
America is much more than just the Democratic party or the Republican party. China with a history 20 times longer than the US is the same way if not more so. There have been over 20 different dynasties and rulers of China, thus, from thousands of years ago, the "support China" idea evolved to be very different than supporting its ruler.
The people outside Hec Ed are supporting the idea of keeping their homeland in one piece. Rather than have Western influences tear them apart as many wars have done in the past century (read up on Chinese history if you don't know what i'm talking about).
And I doubt that many people in China or the Communist leaders in China will confuse the support of the protesters outside Hec Ed as supporting the Communist party. Seriously, the REASON the protesters (many first generation immigrants) are here is BECAUSE they (on some level or another) disagree with the runnings of the government. Not because they hate China.
Please do not confuse or purposefully mesh those two separate ideas together.
#7 ali
on April 17, 2008 at 1:14 p.m.(Redmond, WA | Unverified Name)
That is what Dalai Lama's deep anger about, for some people all road (all discussion) will have to end in Iraq.
What pro China means? pro culture and civilization of a 5000 years human history?
Why should you believe any one is against that?
China has such a board mix of up and down, prosperity and decay, good and evil, Kings and dynasty come and go, which part of it you are pro or against it?
The current power holder of China is a short stub in China's 5000 years liner history, come into had hold on to the power by " wining war lord/king of the party "
Dalai Lama is not there to "against China" and the protester is not just there to "pro China"
If given a choice, I believe Dalai Lama will rather state his case to the Chinese student in Beijing then UW student here, but, Try to raise a banner or even better, fly a plane with it over Tamin square for any complain you might have.
#8 lack of original ideas
on April 17, 2008 at 1:43 p.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name)
Chinese students demonstrated and flied a banner, because they respect American's ways of doing things when they are in American. If they go back to China, they will follow the Chinese ways. They understand and respect that they are different ways of doing things.
I think that is also the point of the demonstration. To let people here understand there are different voices.
Besides, about the points mentioned in this article. It is really quite boring, I don't see any original idea. It is quite dispointing if HH can only tell people what they like to hear. If you follow what HH says over the years, you will notice that he keeps changing his views to please his audience. This inconsistency and lack or originality is quite disappointing.
#9 Russ Wung
on April 17, 2008 at 1:57 p.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name)
Interesting comments. Sophie, I didn't say China was communist--China's economic system is not really capitalist or communist right now, it is very transitional. By communist I mean the CCP, not China. I suggest the protesters were pro-CCP, and perhaps agents of a foreign power (read the Daily's reporting on the Dalai Lama visit for some rather interesting comments regarding this).
Their quoting Xinhua as a credible news source is a rather self-explanatory step towards this since they are controlled at the content/editorial level by the CCP (something you cannot credibly assert about any US news agency except perhaps Voice of America, which is forbidden to broadcast within the US anyway.)
The red flag being waved is too associated with the communist regime to really be the flag of "China" or of the Chinese people any more than the flag of the Soviet Union could speak for Russia or the Russian people (or any of the satellite "republics" in the USSR).
Fact of the matter is, China as a cultural entity really has no flag. The dragon flag was really the Manchu/Ching empire flag, and the 1928 Republic flag is now the national flag of Taiwan. But waving around the PRC flag is an inherently political gesture, not a national or cultural one.
Trying to protest in favor of China as a cultural/historical entity without being a shill of the PRC government would be a noble but challenging effort and one I do not remotely believe has been undertaken here.
I agree that it's VERY important to differentiate the people and the government which is why I avoided any references to China itself. However, I believe the level of resources available to these "protesters" suggests involvement by a foreign entity, namely the CCP.
#10 It serves you no good
on April 17, 2008 at 2:18 p.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name)
that everytime there is a pro-china protest, it is labeled as chinese government sponsored. That way you vastly under-estimated the intelligence of chinese people, and that of course serves you no good in the long run.
one point well made in an earlier post is that we fly the airplane and wave the banner, because we are following the american way to voice our opinion. In contrast, while Dalai Lama is busy planting the so called "seed of compassion" in the western world, his followers are busying in disrupting olympics and busying in rioting and killing violently, as we all have witnessed. If he is really serious in compassion, why dont he plant seeds to his violent followers first?
while chinese government news agencies might not be cridible, news media in western world, washington daily included, has no credibility at all as far as tibet/china is concerned. Exposed to propaganda from both government media and so called "free" and "fair" western press, we chinese living in this country know it very well.
we have voiced our opinion, and it is up to you to treat it as sincere or as bought out by money from somekind of agencies. just remember, it serves you no good to underestimate people from the other side.
#11 Ali
on April 17, 2008 at 4:30 p.m.(Redmond, WA | Unverified Name)
I got it, your are saying Dalai Lama with only his thought is the evil Goliath to be fearful and the CCP with it army and tank is poor little David, we should all root for, if we do not sincere buy into this "we will come to no good" hmmm...
#12 Jason Smith
on April 17, 2008 at 7:59 p.m.(Madison, WI | Unverified Name)
Well said Russ. Your article really moved me. I am jsut sick of the rhetoric that is coming out from the Chinese leaders.
#13 Weyne
on April 17, 2008 at 8:19 p.m.(Kirkland, WA | Unverified Name)
You smell more like a CIA agent or some sort. The money that the protesters used to hire the airplane was from the donation from hundreds of oversee Chinese, mostly through Paypal.
The slogan display in the sky, "your smiles charm, you actions harm", was actually first used by worshipers of Dorje Shugden, another Holiness of Tibet, and banned by Dalai Lama. See here for more about how they are persecuted by Dalai Lama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5sOm-...
#14 Russ Wung
on April 17, 2008 at 9:36 p.m.(Redmond, WA | Unverified Name)
Dang, Weyne's blown my cover! I feel like Valerie Plame now.
#15 to weyne and miles
on May 6, 2008 at 1:51 p.m.(Thousand Oaks, CA | Unverified Name)
i just found more information about the dorjee shugden spirit on dalai lama's official website, it gives you better perspective of his position and background history
http://www.dalailama.com/page.132.htm
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