69-year-old Samdhong Rinpoche gives very wise and mature answers to the aggressive questioning of Sheela Bhatt. Here the beginning of the article:


If India wants, it can sacrifice the Tibet issue
published by phayul.com
Rediff News, Wednesday, March 19, 2008 17:03
Sheela Bhatt
Tibetans living as refugees in India and elsewhere have a democratic system to govern community affairs outside their motherland. While spiritual leader Dalai Lama heads the government-in-exile from the headquarters in Mcleodganj near Dharamshala, it is 69-year-old Samdhong Rimpoche, who as prime minister heads the administration of the Tibetan Diaspora.

According to the Dalai Lama, Professor Rimpoche 'knows more about the Tibet issue' than he does. Rimpoche is considered reincarnation of the Samdhong lineage of Buddha. On matters related to diplomacy and politics of Tibet and China's control over it, Rimpoche's views are the most important after that of the Dalai Lama.

A renowned scholar of Sanskrit and Hindi, Rimpoche is fluent in English and heads a movement to preserve ancient Indian sciences and literature preserved in the Tibetan language but lost in the original. More than 100 precious Tibetan books have been translated in which the ancient Indian wisdom was buried or lost many centuries back. In 1959, when Tibetans took refugee in India, they brought many of those books with them.

Professor Rimpoche's mission to give back something to India when he was heading the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath near Varanasi has earned him respect amongst scholars in India. He was elected twice for the highest post in the exile government, garnering around 90 per cent votes of Tibetans. He is a popular monk; a simple man known for his sthitpragnya (unmoved by happiness or sorrow) attitude.

In an exclusive interview to rediff.com's Managing Editor Sheela Bhatt, Professor Rimpoche talked about the dynamics of the Tibet issue and about China and India's stand on his motherland.










Tell us something about yourself. What do you remember about Tibet?

I was born in a village in the south-east of Tibet, now called Tibet Autonomous Region, just behind Burma (now Myanmar). I spent 20 years in Tibet. At the age of 12, I left my village to join a monastery in Lhasa. It is not easy to describe what Tibet meant to us then.

Our life was governed by local traditions based on Buddhism. We were very happy people. We were self-sufficient. We had good food to eat and good clothes to wear. The best part of my life was in Drepung Monastery in Lhasa. I studied Buddhism till 1959. When I was a child, I liked monks. One of my uncles was a monk and lived in a native monastery. He insisted that I should live with him.

When I was four-and-a-half, he insisted I should be allowed to go with him. My family thought that next day, I would return home. My father came to pick me up. I refused. Since small children were not allowed inside a monastery, special permission was taken for me.

Few months later, I was recognised as the fifth Samdhong and then I went to another monastery. I never ever thought that one day we would be in India like this. Of course, we had a dream to visit India once in our lifetime to make a pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya and Sarnath. We never thought that we would flee to India.


Today, the protests in Lhasa is making news around the world. Was it a surprise to you?

Yes, absolutely. We were surprised.


The Chinese government thinks that the government-in-exile helped them in Lhasa.

There is no sense in their charge. Few months ago, one of my friends, Gagan Gill, visited Lhasa. After coming back, she told me people are so frustrated and discontent that they would speak out anytime. go on reading here





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Ein uraltes Kulturvolk ohne Reduit – die geopolitische Tragödie der Tibeter