Sandra Albert and Glenn C Kharkongor present the Shillong diary of the visit of the Dalai Lama
Day 1
HIS HOLINESS the Dalai Lama arrives in Shillong by helicopter touching down at 11:10am. The welcome party consisted of the Sikyong, Lobsang Sangay, who had arrived the previous day, AL Hek, the health minister and the minister-in-waiting for the Dalai Lama, the local Tibetan MP, Yangchen Dolkar, the district commissioner, Sanjay Goyal, and the vice chancellor and pro chancellor of MLCU, RG Lyngdoh and Glenn C Kharkongor.
When he alighted, two Tibetan children stepped forward to offer him a ceremonial tray of food and drink. After receiving the traditional Tibetan khadas, silk scarves, he got into his vehicle, which moved forward slowly to allow him to see the dances of Tibetan children and greet people who had lined up along the highway.
After a brief reception at Raj Bhavan, the Dalai Lama arrived on time for the convocation of Martin Luther Christian University. He donned the convocation gown, which is inspired by the traditional Khasi jymphong. Embroidered on the gown were motifs of monoliths, traditional instruments and roosters. The hall was packed with dignitaries, the graduates, and the faculty. When the Dalai Lama walked in unannounced the audience rose immediately and a hush descended. While being lead to the dais he paused to look at the display of traditional musical instruments.
In a colourful, traditional ceremony, 509 graduates, including 9 PhDs received their degrees. The doctoral degrees were presented by the Dalai Lama. The postgraduate degrees were presented by Meghalaya Governor KK Paul, the Visitor of the University, and Chief Minister Mukul Sangma. The bachelor’s degrees were presented by Lobsang Sangay, prime minister of the Central Tibetan Administration. For those in pandals outside the hall (parents and family of graduates), there was a live telecast by Doordarshan.
In his convocation address, the Dalai Lama emphasized the plurality of India’s cultures, languages and religions and appealed for peace, tolerance and compassion. He alluded to India’s three thousand year history of ahimsa and non-violence as an example to the world. He spoke of his concept of secular ethics. In the West, secularism has a negative connotation of being anti-religion, but in India, secularism means respect for all religions. He said: “I feel I am in a different part of India, I was listening to the names of the graduates. This is the beauty of India; it is like United Nations.” He exhorted the graduates to move away from materialism and to create a different world. India, he said is one of the most religious countries, but there is much intolerance and corruption. Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.
His Holiness was awarded an honorary doctorate by MLCU. The citation read: “For his spiritual leadership of the Tibetan people in their quest for a peaceful and harmonious existence with the nations of the world. For his example to the world of the principles of non-violence, human rights and mutual respect as a solution for international conflicts. For his espousal of economic equality, gender rights and environmental protection as ideals for humane development. For being an inspiring role model for the academic community in the holistic development of learners and of teachers themselves. Martin Luther Christian University is honoured to present to His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, the honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy.”
Day 2
THE MAIN event was his teaching sessions in the Tibetan language for Buddhists held at Polo Ground. There were seven thousand devotees from all over NE India. He sat on a maroon and yellow draped ‘throne’. He began with preparatory rites and chanting of the mantra: Oṁ Mani Padme Hūṁ. Then there was a debate by a group of lamas on a theological point. There was wild gesticulating, stomping back and forth, rapid-fire repartee and exclamations of elation and clapping when points were evidently scored. This is a form of teaching used among Buddhists. The Dalai Lama seemed pleased with the outcome and called the lamas to the stage to sit around him. The monks were visibly pleased, smiling and bowing. The Dalai Lama preached from morning to afternoon on the “thirty seven practices of the Bodhisatvas”.
Day 3
AFTER SPENDING time with the local Tibetan community at their monastery in Lumapring, the three-day visit of His Holiness ended with an inter-faith meeting. The function was organized by the local Tibetan community (consisting of about 200 families). About a dozen religious leaders offered short greetings and prayers after which the Dalai Lama spoke for about 25 minutes. He maintained that the existence of different philosophies was important and good. He illustrated his concepts with humorous asides, with some jokes about himself, and had the audience laughing and applauding frequently. He gave examples of persons from all religions who perform good works, interpreting this as evidence that all goodness comes from the same source.
The Dalai Lama made some observations during the cultural program held at the end of the interfaith meeting. “Three days in Shillong, very fruitful, very fulfilling, I have good feeling about Shillong, its people”. He asked about the costumes of the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo dancers of Meghalaya. During the first dance by Tibetan youth, he explained that the dance was from Amdo, his home region. With his tea he took a few pills, explaining that it was Tibetan medicine to keep the inside of the body warm in cold weather. He talked about Sowa-rigpa, the Tibetan system of traditional medicine and about an international conference that they had conducted on traditional medicine.
Sikyong’s speech
On the evening of February, the chief minister hosted a lecture by the Sangay, the Sikyong, on ‘Democracy in exile: the Tibetan experience’. Sangay received his BA and LL.B. degrees from the University of Delhi in India. In 1995, he won a Fulbright Scholarship to Harvard University, where he subsequently received his LLM and doctoral degree (SJD) in law. Sangay is also a senior fellow at the East Asian Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School. He is an expert in Tibetan law and international human rights law.
The Sikyong delivered a heartfelt lecture on the challenges of democracy among an exiled people, using his childhood story of poverty to illustrate his own path of self-development. His lucid speech began with a narrative of his early days in a refugee school and the hardships of his family, who lived in a village near Darjeeling. He acknowledged the support of the Indian government and people to the Tibetan community, and talked about the rich historical and cultural ties that India and Tibet have shared for centuries.
Speaking about Tibetan democracy, he said the Tibetan democratic system is similar to the Indian political system as the Tibetan charter is influenced and emulated from the Indian constitution and parliament. He also talked about his personal and political journey from being a Tibetan youth activist to being a Harvard scholar and finally as the Sikyong, elected in 2011.
In 1963, the first constitution, or the constitution of future Tibet, was drafted in which the Dalai Lama insisted that there be a provision for impeachment of the Dalai Lama. That shocked the Tibetan community. Some of the Tibetan drafters and, translators were accused of surreptitiously inserting the clause. But His Holiness said that if you want real democracy, everybody has to be subservient to the constitution, including the Dalai Lama. So the provision to impeach was kept. He talked about the devolution of political authority by the Dalai Lama to an elected Tibetan leadership.
Sangay talked about the implications of the ecological disturbances of the Tibetan Plateau. Rapid deforestation and rampant mining in that region by the Chinese will threaten wide areas of Asia, especially the riparian countries that survive on Tibet’s rivers. “Tibet is called the third pole because of its glaciers. The thawing of these ice reserves give rise to many rivers of south and south-east Asia, among them the Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra, Yangtze, Yellow, Mekong, and Salween.
He described the ‘middle way’ policy, not challenging China’s sovereignty or territorial integrity, but seeking genuine autonomy as provided in the Chinese constitution. There were nine rounds of dialogue between the envoys of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese between 2002 and 2010. But since then, there have not been any meetings.
The Dalai Lama
THE 14TH Dalai Lama was born on 6 July 1935 to a farming family, in a small hamlet in north-eastern Tibet. At the very young age of two, the child was recognized as the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of compassion and to be enlightened beings who have postponed their own nirvana and chosen to take rebirth in order to serve humanity.
His Holiness began his monastic education at the age of six. The curriculum consisted of Tibetan art and culture, logic, Sanskrit, medicine, philosophy, music, drama and poetry. He took the final examinations in Lhasa’s Jokhang Temple. He passed with honours and was awarded, the highest-level degree, equivalent to a doctorate of Buddhist philosophy.
In 1950, he was called upon to assume full political power after China’s invasion of Tibet. In 1954, he went to Beijing for peace talks with Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders, including Chou Enlai. But finally, in 1959, with the brutal suppression of the Tibetan national uprising in Lhasa by Chinese troops, he was forced to escape into exile and reached India on March 30 after a journey of 12 days on foot, horseback and zho. The Central Tibetan Administration in exile was set up in Dharamsala. Apart from 6 million Tibetans in the homeland, there are about one and a half lakh Tibetans in the worldwide diaspora, the vast majority are settled in India.
His Holiness has travelled to more than 67 countries and has received over 150 awards, honorary doctorates and prizes in recognition of his message of non-violence, inter-religious understanding, universal responsibility and compassion. He has also authored or co-authored more than 100 books. In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Messages for Meghalaya
OVER THE three days of his visit, the city of Shillong listened to the teachings of the Dalai Lama. At various functions, luncheons and in informal asides, the governor, chief minister, members of the cabinet, senior bureaucrats, leading citizens, young professionals, business men and youth had the opportunity to hear the spiritual leader deliver his message of humility, compassion and harmony. The Dalai Lama was an embodiment of humility, graciousness and warmth, pausing to greet well-wishers and often stopping to talk to children. From his speeches and conversations in Shillong, the following excerpts may be considered especially relevant for Meghalaya.
~ Most difficult form of meditation is to attain a feeling of compassion for your enemy.
~ It is crucial to be mindful of death. If you are not aware of death, you will fail to take advantage of this special human life that you already have. It is meaningful since, important effects can be accomplished. So you must conquer the fear of death.
~ Protect the environment. Peace and the survival of life on earth are threatened by human activities which lack humanitarian values. Destruction of nature results from greed and lack of respect for the earth’s living things. It is not difficult to forgive destruction in the past, which resulted from ignorance.
~ Translate knowledge into action. Your education is not only for your own interest or your own life but for the nation.
~ Modern education makes people materialistic and corrupt. Education must include the mind and the heart. Teachers need to imbibe moral values and self-discipline so as to guide students on the right path.
~ India is highly religious, but lots of corruption here. Many corrupt people are highly educated.
~ In spite of many problems, the greatness of India is that it embraces diverse cultures, languages, and religions. The Northeast has different cultures. As opposed to a western understanding, the eastern understanding of secular is respect. The world can learn from this nation about co-existence with respect.
~ Non-violence should be part of your life, practice it daily. If you want others to be happy practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. Compassion need not be linked to religion.
~ Undue optimism is not constructive as there are some things that cannot be changed. Pessimism is of no use as we will never believe in improvement. We should strive for equanimity.
~ Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.
~ There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.
~ Love is the absence of judgement.