DHARAMSALA – The past few months have been awash with news about Lobsang Sangay and Penpa Tsering’s catfight dragged into the public eye. While the Tibetan public’s attention has been captured by this, another underlying problem continues to brew and seethe, that most have become distracted from and few continue to pay attention to.
The public squabbling between Penpa Tsering (left) and Lobsang Sangay (right) has overshadowed the rangzen versus umaylam debate, a topic that affects the entire Tibetan community. Was the squabbling manufactured to distract the Tibetans from the rangzen versus umaylam issue? With the Tibetan leadership, any underhanded tactics like these are always possible.
Before this latest scandal erupted, and through it all, His Holiness the Dalai Lama repeatedly stated that he is for the Middle Way Approach, also known as umaylam or meaningful autonomy. It is the Dalai Lama’s belief that this is the best route for all Tibetans and their future. However, this statement has clearly fallen onto many deaf ears as prominent rangzen (independence) activists continue to fight for full independence for Tibet.
While no one denies that it is a person’s right to support whatever they like, what cannot be ignored is the fact these people are directly opposing something the Dalai Lama has said very clearly will be for the betterment of all Tibetans. And despite His Holiness’ clear and unchanging views on the matter, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala) do nothing about the festering rangzen group. In fact, Sikyong Lobsang Sangay has even been filmed saying the Dalai Lama’s umaylam has failed. If umaylam does not work, what is the alternative but rangzen? Could it be that Sangay is a closet rangzen supporter and has been lying to the people about his umaylam supporting all this while?
In view of all of this, the author would like to draw attention to a few salient points:
- The rangzen group is clearly and overtly against the Dalai Lama’s Middle Way Approach or umaylam. This policy is about something fundamental (Tibet’s freedom versus autonomy under China) and it affects every single Tibetan now and in the future, for generations to come.
- By comparison, the Dorje Shugden issue affects far fewer people than “rangzen versus umaylam”. The Dorje Shugden practice only concerns Gelugpas, and not all Tibetans are Gelug. However, rangzen fighters are opposing the Dalai Lama on a topic that affects all Tibetans, whether they are Gelug, Sakya, Kagyu and Nyingma.
- The rangzen issue has been allowed to develop and rangzen supporters have been allowed unfettered access to the Tibetan community to gain support for their political views. Western rangzen supporters flood the Internet pushing for their view, and drawing support from the Tibetan community in exile who live in foreign countries. All of this is supported by the Tibetan leadership’s silence on the matter.
- Logically speaking therefore, the behavior of rangzen individuals has the potential to jeopardize the Dalai Lama’s plans with China which concerns the wellbeing and future of six million Tibetans. Yet, the CTA stays silent on the matter of rangzen individuals gathering support amongst Tibetans to oppose the Dalai Lama’s Middle Way policy. No wonder Samdhong Rinpoche, the former Tibetan prime minister, came to the astute observation that rangzen supporters are more dangerous than Dorje Shugden practitioners, as you can see in this video below.
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- The CTA are clearly imposing double standards on their people. For example, it has been claimed that Dorje Shugden practice shortens the Dalai Lama’s life. That false accusation became part of the basis for the ban on the practice; the CTA said they had to safeguard the Dalai Lama’s long life by banning the practice. On the other hand, the Dalai Lama has stated that all Tibetans should work towards umaylam, not rangzen. The Dalai Lama said that if people do not support umaylam, there is no reason for him to live to 113 years old. So by that logic, it would mean that by keeping the fight for rangzen alive, the rangzen group are shortening the Dalai Lama’s life too, by directly opposing the Dalai Lama’s wishes.
Rangzen supporters organized a conference in Paris, France against the Dalai Lama’s explicit statement that umaylam is the best for all Tibetans. How come the CTA remains silent in the face of Tibetans clearly organizing to go against the Dalai Lama? How come the CTA’s own members of parliament attend the conference to brainstorm and strategize against the Dalai Lama, and the CTA says nothing? But yet, the CTA will violently enforce the Dorje Shugden ban because they claim it is against the Dalai Lama? The double standards are astounding.
- This therefore begs the question – how come it is OK for rangzen people to shorten the Dalai Lama’s life by opposing his views on umaylam, but when people falsely accuse Dorje Shugden people of doing the same thing by refusing to give up the practice, the CTA must take action against them? No one is asking for the Dalai Lama’s life to be shortened and in fact, everyone wishes him long life. The point here is, how come the CTA stays silent and does not act against rangzen supporters who are clearly opposing the Dalai Lama’s views and clearly displeasing him, but they will impose a violent ban on Dorje Shugden practitioners? And how come Lobsang Sangay can say umaylam has failed but he is still allowed to lead the exiled government? Can the leader of the Tibetan people, who is now the Dalai Lama’s special envoy, be allowed to so obviously oppose his boss’ views? Does Sangay represent the best interests of the Tibetan people, if he thinks what the Dalai Lama has said is the best for all Tibetan people will not work?
- Extrapolating from that, the CTA have previously said that Dorje Shugden practitioners are banned from the Dalai Lama’s talks because they have broken samaya (guru-disciple relationship) by refusing to follow the Dalai Lama’s instructions to give up the practice. Therefore they cannot receive teachings from the Dalai Lama because of this broken samaya. If that is the case, how come rangzen people who break samaya with the Dalai Lama by going against his umaylam instructions, can attend His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s religious talks even after having broken samaya with him? And how come they can attend his secular talks even though they oppose him secularly and politically? Dorje Shugden people, at the very least, should be allowed to attend the secular talks, since they are only an issue religiously-speaking, and their practice has nothing to do with politics governing all Tibetans. Logically speaking, the samaya infraction by rangzen activists against the Dalai Lama is much bigger than the infraction by Shugden practitioners, since the rangzen issue affects all Tibetans (while the Shugden one affects some Tibetans).
- The CTA has previously enforced the removal and segregation of Dorje Shugden people from the general Tibetan community so they do not ‘infect’ other Tibetans with their practice and religious views. That being that case, how come rangzen people are allowed to stay in the settlements and talk, and continue to sow bad thoughts into people’s minds? What they are doing by encouraging rangzen is encouraging people to oppose the Dalai Lama! If the Dalai Lama supports umaylam, and this group are encouraging rangzen and people to oppose the Dalai Lama, should they not be separated too, just like how Shugden practitioners were separated from everyone else?
As ridiculous as it sounds, this is precisely the type of double standards that the CTA practices. It is important to note that it is not that we want division or for anyone to be separated. Rangzen or umaylam, Dorje Shugden or non-Dorje Shugden – as long as a person is Tibetan or identifies as Tibetan, they should all have equal rights and should be afforded equal representation under and by the Tibetan leadership.
This author is merely pointing out the archaic thinking that the CTA has. Policies are applied without thought or care, as and when it suits them, with no regard for the betterment of the entire community. The CTA has demonstrated no real long-term planning for their people, as exemplified by their community who continues to languish in exile and oftentimes, and sadly, their “betterment” is misused as a smokescreen for the CTA’s real motive – to divide and conquer their own people, and treat them as pawns in a political chess game they have been losing since 1959.
Unless the CTA stops engaging in childish manipulations, and swiftly implements equality throughout the settlements, there is little hope they will ever accomplish anything. And for that, the community should hunker down because with the way things are going, the next 50 years looks to be nothing more than a long and weary journey to nowhere.
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