Tibet Policy Stand Is Not We Win, You Lose: His Holiness

Tuesday, 21 December 2010 10:56 Tibetan Official Media: Tibet Net

Dharamshala: His Holiness the Dalai Lama has reiterated that his faith in the Chinese people on the issue of Tibet remains unshaken, saying that many Chinese intellectuals and Buddhists fully support the Tibetans' middle-way policy towards achieving genuine autonomy. "It would be difficult to many Chinese to support our call for complete independence, but our present middle-way policy which is not "we win, you lose" kind of stand, would be beneficial to both China and Tibet," His Holiness the Dalai Lama said in his address to Tibetans in Ravangla in India's northeastern state of Sikkim.
"Since the peaceful protest occurred in Tibet in March 2008, Chinese scholars have written over 1,000 articles out of which about 200 were penned by those in Mainland China. All these are 100 per cent in support of our Middle-Way policy and critical of the Chinese government's wrong policies on Tibet," His Holiness said.
His Holiness said a recent survey in China has showed that the country has the largest number of Buddhists in the world totaling more than 300 million.
"Until recently, I have been receiving an un-ending stream of about two to three and sometimes about ten Chinese visitors from the mainland China. During such meetings, with tears in their eyes they beseech me not to forget the Chinese people. Many of them said to me as Chinese they feel ashamed and express apology over the suffering inflicted on Tibetans by the Chinese government, which shows that truth is on our side," said His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
His Holiness said the Chinese people have great pride in their culture and as a Buddhist nation there are tens and thousands of monasteries and monks in China. Buddhism flourished in China some 400 years before it came to Tibet, but the kind of eminent Buddhist scholars with their great works available in Tibet at that time were very rarely seen in China. When I meet Chinese scholars and talk with them, their standard of knowledge is very poor. As for me, I feel low in my standard when I come in front of a top scholar in Buddhist studies. But my knowledge is not poor when compared with the Chinese Buddhist scholars who come from China. Therefore, it is very important that we should always keep our identity as Tibetans and feel proud of it, he said.
"More than sixty years have passed since the People's Republic of China invaded Tibet, but it has failed to crush the strength and determination of Tibetans either through gentle coaxing or through brutal repression," His Holiness said.
Speaking of his impression of the declining moral behaviour of Tibetans in the exile community, His Holiness urged the Tibetans on the need to be careful on this front and to maintain friendly relations with the local Indian people.
His Holiness was on his fifth visit to Ravangla Tibetan settlement from 18 - 19 December. He left for the state capital Gangtok on 20 December.