Some readers asked if I could manage to have my last essay “The Case for a United Independent Tibet” translated into Tibetan. It took me a little while as many of the translators I previously used have moved away from Dharamshala. Finally Mangri Gangthik la took on the task and did a fantastic job . …
The Rangzen Imperative
I am giving a talk in New York City on October 5th to the Tibetan public. The English and Tibetan posters below explains the theme of the talk summarized in the words of Rangzen warrior and self-immolator, Phagmo Thondup: “without independence Tibet will be annihilated.” The talk (in Tibetan) is sponsored and organized by the …
The Case For a United Independent Tibet
On the surface of it the official Middle Way Approach (MWA) theory that even if Tibet were to become independent most of Kham and all of Amdo would somehow inevitably be excluded from this wonderful development, might seem just pseudo-historical speculation of a particularly simple-minded kind.
The Catch-22* of Middle Way Unity – Part
Asking a question and answering it yourself is a rhetorical device known to the ancient Greeks as hypophora. To be effective the answer should follow the question smoothly, perhaps with a well-timed pause in between to heighten the effect. For example: “You ask, what is our aim? (pause) I can answer in one word: It …
Some Updates on Rakra Rimpoche Obituary
A number of readers have posted comments requesting information on Rakra Rimpoche’s writings and poetry. Some of his books are available at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA), but many of his shorter works and poems are out of print and unavailable. His heirs have put together a project to publish his collected …
Poet, Artist, Scholar, Teacher and Reluctant Rimpoche
. Rakra Thubten Choedhar (1925-2012), In Memorium. The First National Conference of Tibetan Writers took place in Dharamshala in 1995 (March 15-17). Hosted by the Amnye Machen Institute (AMI), sixty-two writers and other delegates from India, Nepal, Switzerland, UK and USA took part in this first ever gathering of its kind in the Tibetan world. …
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Middle Way Economics 101
. One of the more depressing things about being a spokesperson for the Rangzen cause, even in the unofficial “of sorts” way that I am, is being obliged to participate in the occasional Middle Way Approach (MWA) vs Rangzen debate, organized by some SFT or TYC chapter or the other. I am not a good …
Gateway to Lhasa
In my post “Lhasa: Eternal City 2”, I mentioned how the destruction of the Drago Kaling Stupas, the Gateway to Lhasa, had inspired the first “protest” song in the Tibetan freedom movement. I requested readers to help me locate the original song sung by Dadon la. Two readers, Tenzin la (in exile) and another person …
Rangzen in Your Heart?
During the Dalai Lama’s recent visit to the United States he met a group of Tibetan students in Madison, Wisconsin. One of them asked a question that, to put it mildly, made him very upset. The student stumbled over his words and was generally so awkward that it seemed to me he had been set-up …
Lhasa, Eternal City (2)
1980-2000 The next phase of Communist China’s destruction of Lhasa came innocuously enough with Deng Xiaoping’s “Liberalization”, starting from the turn of the eighties. In the groundbreaking cartographic study published by the Amnye Machen Institute, Map and Index of Lhasa City by Christophe Besuchet, a more specific time period is provided in the introduction. “The …
