Paniz's sponsored sky dive for Free Tibet Campaign - PledgePage
I am doing a sponsored sky dive on the 8th of March '08 for the Free Tibet Campaign. The 8th is the anniversary of the Tiebtan uprising against the Chinese occupation, and FTC are marking the day by trying to organise a nationwide skydive with over 50 participants.
Tibet's occupation by China is a much debated issue, and one in which there is little agreement. The claims on the topic from China and the Tibetans in exile are in drastic opposition and contrast. What does seem certain is the human rights abuses that have taken place and continue to do so in Tibet. There has been no period of sustained peace in the region, and no unanimous voice regarding what the Tibetans want or need.
Most parties seem to also agree that it is important for the conflict to reach a resolution in this Dalai Lama's life time, including even those Tibetans who defected to the Chinese communists' side. He is recognised as being the only individual respected enough by the Tibetans to be able to unite them and bring peace.
The Chinese however have only made efforts to discredit him, and to sway Western opinions by stating that they do not accept other international states meeting with him. The Chinese believe that by ignoring the issue of Tibet and evading Western interference until the Dalai Lama's passing, they can simply control the matter through their own appointerd Dalai Lama. However, this is widely accepted to be unlikely.
Tibetan Buddhists refer to the Panchen Lama to help determine the identity of the next Dalai Lama. The Panchen Lama was arrested by the Chinese in '95 at the age of 6 along with his family, and his whereabouts remain unknown. The Chinese then orchestrated the appointment of their own Panchen Lama. This is not aligned to the Tibetans' beliefs and therefore remains unaccepted, as will the appointment of a Dalai Lama by the Chinese after the passing of the current. Matters will only get worse if they are not dealt with promptly.
This year brings about a unique opportunity, as the Beijing Olympics will bring with it added attention to China, it's lack of freedom of press, it's human rights violations (including those inflicted on it's own people), it's involvement in the war in Darfur, and also to the issue of Tibet. By gaining further exposure during this period, it may aid in catalysing talks between China and the Dalai Lama, and therefore instigating agreements on the region and perhaps leading to the self-government of Tibet by the Tibetans.
This may be the generation that helps lift the cloud that has loomed over this region for so long. The West has been learning from the spirituality that is so rife in this part of the world, making Tibet a business here through the promotion of such things as yoga, and statues of Buddhas, and books and movies. Perhaps we have romaticised Tibet far too much, and perhaps it never was Shangri-la, but the interest in the region can not be denied, and is not baseless.
And if nothing else, if not even for concern for the Tibetans, and those prisoners of conscience suffering torture and abuse, wouldn't it be a shame for humanity for so much culture, that has persisted through so many centuries and that has reared such attitudes towards the mind and body that is now rife in the West, and the plethora of collated knowledge in the monestaries and amongst the monks and nuns studying the human consciousness for all these generations, to be lost to us forever.
Whatever these people's past, the Tibetan's in exile are now a consistent voice in the promotion of peace and happiness, which is far more than can be said of the rest of our modernised world, constantly embroiled in cynical politics, and under threat of acts of terror from wide spread enemies. Isn't their philiosophy worth preserving. And if they move in peace, should the world not respond accordingly, or must we wait until true hate is bred as we see in the Middle East before we act.
It is important to note that China is well on its way to becoming the next super power. Western nations are currently signing treaties of mammoth proportions with China, and the future may see the West's dependence on China increase, and the balance of power in global politics fall to the East.
China coming to power is not objectionable as such, and there are surely nations far less progressive than China and with far worse human rights records. But we have recently been led into a war that so many disagreed with following the current super power. We must have learnt by now that we are all affected by the actions and attitudes of the world's key players. Is it not therefore important to take an active interest into the actions and responses of China, the new rising star, and to interpret these and their implications as the shape of things to come perhaps in our own future?
This is the time to act, and raise voices and awareness. This is the time where people actually may finally make a difference.
Tibet's occupation by China is a much debated issue, and one in which there is little agreement. The claims on the topic from China and the Tibetans in exile are in drastic opposition and contrast. What does seem certain is the human rights abuses that have taken place and continue to do so in Tibet. There has been no period of sustained peace in the region, and no unanimous voice regarding what the Tibetans want or need.
Most parties seem to also agree that it is important for the conflict to reach a resolution in this Dalai Lama's life time, including even those Tibetans who defected to the Chinese communists' side. He is recognised as being the only individual respected enough by the Tibetans to be able to unite them and bring peace.
The Chinese however have only made efforts to discredit him, and to sway Western opinions by stating that they do not accept other international states meeting with him. The Chinese believe that by ignoring the issue of Tibet and evading Western interference until the Dalai Lama's passing, they can simply control the matter through their own appointerd Dalai Lama. However, this is widely accepted to be unlikely.
Tibetan Buddhists refer to the Panchen Lama to help determine the identity of the next Dalai Lama. The Panchen Lama was arrested by the Chinese in '95 at the age of 6 along with his family, and his whereabouts remain unknown. The Chinese then orchestrated the appointment of their own Panchen Lama. This is not aligned to the Tibetans' beliefs and therefore remains unaccepted, as will the appointment of a Dalai Lama by the Chinese after the passing of the current. Matters will only get worse if they are not dealt with promptly.
This year brings about a unique opportunity, as the Beijing Olympics will bring with it added attention to China, it's lack of freedom of press, it's human rights violations (including those inflicted on it's own people), it's involvement in the war in Darfur, and also to the issue of Tibet. By gaining further exposure during this period, it may aid in catalysing talks between China and the Dalai Lama, and therefore instigating agreements on the region and perhaps leading to the self-government of Tibet by the Tibetans.
This may be the generation that helps lift the cloud that has loomed over this region for so long. The West has been learning from the spirituality that is so rife in this part of the world, making Tibet a business here through the promotion of such things as yoga, and statues of Buddhas, and books and movies. Perhaps we have romaticised Tibet far too much, and perhaps it never was Shangri-la, but the interest in the region can not be denied, and is not baseless.
And if nothing else, if not even for concern for the Tibetans, and those prisoners of conscience suffering torture and abuse, wouldn't it be a shame for humanity for so much culture, that has persisted through so many centuries and that has reared such attitudes towards the mind and body that is now rife in the West, and the plethora of collated knowledge in the monestaries and amongst the monks and nuns studying the human consciousness for all these generations, to be lost to us forever.
Whatever these people's past, the Tibetan's in exile are now a consistent voice in the promotion of peace and happiness, which is far more than can be said of the rest of our modernised world, constantly embroiled in cynical politics, and under threat of acts of terror from wide spread enemies. Isn't their philiosophy worth preserving. And if they move in peace, should the world not respond accordingly, or must we wait until true hate is bred as we see in the Middle East before we act.
It is important to note that China is well on its way to becoming the next super power. Western nations are currently signing treaties of mammoth proportions with China, and the future may see the West's dependence on China increase, and the balance of power in global politics fall to the East.
China coming to power is not objectionable as such, and there are surely nations far less progressive than China and with far worse human rights records. But we have recently been led into a war that so many disagreed with following the current super power. We must have learnt by now that we are all affected by the actions and attitudes of the world's key players. Is it not therefore important to take an active interest into the actions and responses of China, the new rising star, and to interpret these and their implications as the shape of things to come perhaps in our own future?
This is the time to act, and raise voices and awareness. This is the time where people actually may finally make a difference.