Although news these days from Tibet is largely focused on self-immolations and the problems in the monasteries, there are voices in Tibet who are calling for reform of the monastic system. The speech is unusual in tackling a topic related to Tibetan Buddhism in a blunt and straightforward manner, making concrete suggestions for reform. The speech uses the Tibetan terms Geshe, a monk who has passed the Geshe degree and Khenpo, the title for an abbot of a monastery.

Screenshot of the Speech as Posted Online

Reform of the Monastic Management System – Improving the Function of the Monastic Community and Leading Secular Society Toward a Better Road

This is the current condition of Tibet. Tibet is used to being ruled by reincarnate Lamas who have no proper knowledge. Most monasteries are managed with irrational regulations. It is a pity that many learned and capable Geshes and Khenpos are neglected and their knowledge is wasted by society. Now it is the time to change this situation. If this situation remain unchanged, it is without question that our condition will deteriorate and become worse.

In order to make the change, first of all, we should understand the real situation of the monastic institutions. In my view, to a certain degree, our monastic system is old which is not constructed in the sense of the strict basis of the Buddhist teachings. For example, there is a one-hundred-year old monastery in my hometown and I had a chance to talk to the abbot of the monastery some years ago. In our conversation, I told the abbot that he is the owner of the monastery and it would very be beneficial for the institution if he can build a training course on Buddhist Logic. He said that he had prepared such a course and it was not successful in the end because of opposition from the senior monks of the monastery. This kind of event of opposing new changes inside the monastery is taking place in other parts of the Tibetan plateau as well.

As we all know, monks are those who have renounced the secular world. Therefore, the monastic community is supposed to be very different from our secular society. It is totally understandable that it has its own system. In order for the monastery to function in a proper way, it needs fixed regulations, which is a part of the Vinaya Sutra of the monastery. These regulations should be a subject to be respected by all the monks, Lamas and reincarnate Lamas. Here I want to suggest that an organization such as “Geshe Committee” or “Khenpo Association” should be created at the monastery and this organisation is responsible to regulate the management system, based on the Buddhist teachings and the principles of modern democracy.

What benefit and advantage will these regulations bring about? I will answer this question in the context of historical facts and experience. In the early part of the history of Great Britain, prisoners were sent to Australia. When they were shipping the prisoners across the ocean, the British Government paid the ship owner transporting fees according to the number of the prisoners. In order to make more profits from this business, the ship owners overloaded the ships with prisoners and many prisoners died in the internal fighting on the boat. In the meantime, to reduce the expense spent on food for the prisoner, the ship owner provided less food and did not give medical treatment which included the fees when they were sick. Some of the greedy businessmen even threw prisoners into the ocean. Therefore, the number of prisoners who managed to arrive at their fixed destination each time was very small. One time, there were only two prisoners who survived until the end of the trip. According to sources, in order to transport all the prisoners safely, the British Government paid medical expenses to the ship owners, but all the fees went to the pockets of the greedy ship owners. After an investigation of the problem, the British government changed the regulations of transporting the prisoners. Instead of giving the fees according to the number of prisoners sent from England, they paid the fees based on the number of prisoners who arrived in safely at the end. This made the business people transport all the prisoners with better conditions and thus only a few prisoners died on the way. Look at this case, this is the result of making a good system. If monasteries are able to make good regulations and the monks follow it, this not only can solve the obstacles and problems of the monastery but also lead the local people with proper meaning and a better future.

These regulations should cover three main principles. Firstly, all members including the reincarnate Lama of the monastery should be treated equally. This allows and guarantees all the reincarnated Lamas, senior monks and the ordinary monks to participate in the matters of the monastery and speak for the welfare of their community. Here, one thing your audience should keep in mind is that respecting the senior monks is something which belongs to morals and courtesy and this should be done along the principle of the Buddhist discipline.

Secondly, the education and training the reincarnated Lamas should be the responsibility of the Geshe Association and prevent the family of the reincarnated Lama from interfering with the issues of the monastery. I think there are two reasons to emphasise this matter. There are some reincarnated lamas who are controlled by their families and did not get proper monastic education and thus they finally ended up becoming the instrument of making economic profits for the family. Their behaviour is very harmful both for the reputation of the Tibetan society and for Buddhism as a whole. New regulations can prevent such actions.

Thirdly, a financial system in which the collecting and managing of the donations to the reincarnate Lamas and the monastery from the patrons should be set up at the monastery. This prevents the family of the reincarnate Lamas from being involved with the financial affairs of the monastery.

Generally speaking, nowadays, one hardly finds a reincarnated lama who does not get involved with worldly desires and attention. Therefore, it is practical and important to put them under the rules as well and act according to the regulations of the monastery. The reason for suggesting the creation of such a financial management system for the reincarnated Lama is obvious. One British scholar stated, “The absolute power one possessed, the absolute corruption it created.” Therefore, it is crucial to not provide any privilege for the monastic members including the high-ranking Lama and Khenpos.

On the question of reform on the reincarnation system, according to the current situation of Tibetan society, I think the reincarnated Lamas are dependent on the firm religious beliefs of the ordinary people, so it can be changed merely by the good intentions of the Geshe, Khenpo and other scholarly monks. Even supposedly this good intention of the high ranking lamas and Geshes solved this problem, but there are others who are neither Lamas nor Geshes holding the power of the monastery. Therefore, so far, I have not seen any adequate model of reform for the reincarnation system.

What should be done regarding the reform of the reincarnation system? As I mentioned above, all the reincarnations and those who have the similar position should act according to the regulations of the monastery. In the meantime, it is equally essential to educate the reincarnations and they should be at least trained as someone who bears the characters of learned, discipline and goodness. This work should be done by the guidance of the Geshe Association and the Committee of Khenpos.

The morals of the people in the three provinces of Tibet has deteriorated and this is to a certain degree related to the inappropriate behaviour of the reincarnated Lamas that lack the three qualities, learned, discipline and goodness. Some of the reincarnations even set up a bad example. Due to the lack of a proper system in which some of the Geshes and Khenpos can make their contributions, their wisdom and skills end up useless for the concerned sphere, not to mention to the society at large.

Here I want to provide some of my ideas on how to solve above-mentioned issues. It is crucial to design regulations which are not influenced by negative traditional ideas and do not contradict the fundamental principles of Buddhism. The content of the regulations should cover a wide range of values and be supported by all members of the community. This can guarantee the Geshe and Khenpo can fully contribute their skills and all the reincarnations worshipped by the masses and other monks who hold a certain position at the monastery can act under the principles of the regulations. The regulations also garrantee that the Geshe Association can educate and train the reincarnation with the necessary characters and qualifications. With this effort, the learned monks can finally restore the good moral image of the Tibetan people.

If we succeed in this field, we, in my view, can build a healthy society. It is necessary to remind you here that the suggestions I made above are preliminary and they can be premature and there are shortcomings in this proposal. In a word, making the regulations more workable, rational and complete is dependent on the efforts of all of us. Therefore, here I am appealing to all of you to contribute your insightful thoughts and ideas. Thank you.

Comments:

#12 What is being said is pointed right to the target… By Pechawa

#10 I read it carefully and it is a matter of how to implement it. In a time of chaos and suffering, it is important to have a leading figure who can organise and make the proposal work in the end. This Lama can start the work at his monastery first. This reform involves the personal power of the Lama and the interest of his family, so this lama should be someone who has a broader vision. If the reincarnated Lama is not open and a far-sighted person, it is useless no matter how strong the Geshe Association and Khenpo Committee would be. The Geshe and Khenpo should command the knowledge, which supports their reform of the monastic system. Even though we may overcome the internal challenges, but the obstacles from outside are still huge. Whether the monastery prevails or not is directly related to the fate of the people of Tibet. This is just the feedback of reading this blog and I am not qualified to participate in such an enterprise. By Thadrol from Chengdu, China.

#9 This man has made insightful and valid statements. A monastery is a school of religion so it is important to build up Buddhist philosophical debate programmes. It is also the time to have a proper understanding on the ongoing system of reincarnation. Human life is meaningless without religious belief, so it is crucial that the quality of the monks needs to be improved. By Mikarpo.

#8 Hahaha, try to tame your own wife first. You should not worry about the business of the monastery. The best thing you can do is to leave the monastery alone.

#7 To Mawepo, it is true that high-ranking Lamas have privilege, but it laughable to say religious belief is superstition. It is better to keep quiet if you do not have proper knowledge of religion. Buddhism is the root of the soul of Tibet and it is not right to forsake it in the name of superstition. The Great Protector once said we should become a Buddhist follower of the 21st Century. Buddhism is not religion, not a saviour; one’s emancipator is oneself.

#6 This resembles the speeches made by officials of the County Religion Department. How can someone who has no knowledge of Buddhism and the monastic system, has even never even stayed a day at the monastery, comment on the matter of reincarnations and affairs of the monastery? Isn’t it a shame? This is the reflection of the mentality of the people who was educated under the thoughts of Mao Zedong. I laugh at those who listen to this speech. By Bongzi

In this blogpost, Woeser highlights foreign media reporting on the self-immolations in Tibet, specifically efforts by French journalists to travel in Tibet and visit areas directly affected by self-immolations and subsequent crackdowns. For French readers, the Le Monde article “Voyage à travers le Tibet persécuté, sur la route des immolés” of December 25, 2012, can be read here: http://www.lemonde.fr/a-la-une/article/2012/12/25/voyage-a-travers-le-tibet-persecute-sur-la-route-des-immoles_1810159_3208.html

This is the news report about self-immolations in Tibet published by “Le Monde” on October 28, 2012. The “Le Monde” journalist went to Kardze Prefecture, Sichuan Province, to conduct interviews and on August 15, 2012, he even went to Tawu County, the home of the self-immolator Tsewang Norbu.

This is the news report about self-immolations in Tibet published by “Le Nouvel Observateur” on December 12, 2012. Picture 1 shows the 58-year-old herdsman Dorjee Rinchen self-immolating in Sangchu County, Kanlho Prefecture, Gansu Province on October 23, 2012. Picture 2 shows the 23-year-old woman Tenzin Dolma on a pilgrimage to Lhasa before she self-immolated on November 15, 2012.

“Foreign Media Visit Sites of Self-Immolations to Conduct Interviews”

By Woeser

On one very cold afternoon, the weather in Beijing was as terrible as always, we were sitting in a corner of some coffee shop, spending the entire time talking about the land of ice and snow, the snow region, the plateau. In front of our eyes we saw the flames igniting, in our ears we heard the sounds of Tibetan cries brought to us by the flames. We simultaneously felt respect, sympathy and grief, but above all we felt pain. Because every single one of those people that bathed their bodies in the flames were our fellow compatriots.

With me were a French journalist from “Le Monde” and a few of his friends. They had come back to Beijing two evenings before, returned from four full days in Labrang and Luchu of Amdo, which would be Sangchu County and Luchu County of Kanlho Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province according to the current administrative subdivisions of China. They were eager to tell me that they visited the hometowns of three Tibetans who had self-immolated in November last year.

The notice issued on October 10, 2012 by the Kanlho Prefecture Security Bureau in Tibetan and Chinese.

The “Le Monde” journalist unfolded a map and pointed at the town of Amchok, the town of Sangke and the town of Ala, telling me what they experienced day and night in these remote towns that were brimming over with military police and Party cadres. Even though they had been uninvited strangers, they received great help from the local herdsmen and were secretly taken at great risk to the families of the self-immolators who told them about the increasingly difficult situation.

Indeed, this action was extremely dangerous. Two months before, the Kanlho Public Security Bureau had issued a notice in Tibetan and Mandarin, requesting the “manipulators behind the curtain” of the self-immolation incidents as well as all clues and leads to be reported, promising generous monetary rewards. This notice was put up in all of the towns and villages of the one city and seven counties of Kanlho Prefecture. The local authorities even sent out a text message with the same content on a daily basis, stating that the reward would be between RMB 50,000 and RMB 200,000. Many village entrances and monasteries had been equipped with cameras and Party cadres took turns to drive around in a vehicle day and night to check whether any Tibetans may be self-immolating. The ironic fact is that in the 7 months before the notice had been put up, 6 people self-immolated in Kanlho; after the notice had been issued, within only one month, 14 Tibetans self-immolated.

Gonpo Tsering

The number of secretly arrested Tibetans has been increasing, too. On November 26, 2012, the herdsman Gonpo Tsering from Ala Town sacrificed himself, 10 days later, his father and paternal grandfather were taken away by the security bureau and remain missing until the present day. A girl who happened to witness one of the self-immolations was also taken away. Yet, despite of this “red terror”, there are still many Tibetans who visit the families of the self-immolators, donating money and goods and to pay respect. One family of the two self-immolators from Sangke Town was extremely poor, they only owned four yaks and less than twenty sheep, but through donations they received over RMB 100,000. His mother, however, decided to donate the entire sum to the monastery and the school. His two little children, so she said, should be raised through their physical labour.

These are all first-hand information about self-immolations obtained by the journalist from “Le Monde” from his secret visit to Tibet; without doubt, these are very important information. Other media outlets that put up with such difficulties to enter the self-immolation areas to interview people were the French newspaper “Libération”, the French weekly publication “Le Nouvel Observateur”, the Associated Press, the American Times, the Australian ABC TV and others. I have previously met journalists from “Libération” and “Le Nouvel Observateur” who had both been to Rebgong in Amdo and who had both brought back accurate and precious sets of photos. The first time they went in April 2012 to visit the hometown of the self-immolator Sonam Dargye . The second time was in November 2012 when they visited the hometown of the self-immolator Tenzin Dolma. Originally, they also wanted to visit the hometown of another self-immolator but they were expelled by armed plainclothes when they reached the village entrance.

This is the complete report about Tibetan self-immolators published by “Le Monde” on December 25, 2012. It contains 14 pages about the sites where self-immolations happened: Labrang and Luchu in Amdo. The photos displaying the close relatives of self-immolators as well as the recordings of monasteries are deeply moving.

Entering these areas is getting more difficult every time. In view of the current reality of the Chinese government tightly controlling and sealing up the entire Tibetan region, these foreign journalists spared no efforts to try to cross this iron net and find out about the situation of self-immolations.

Despite of this, the Han Chinese writer Ding Yifu who is now a US citizen explained why he wrote in his recent article “Remaining silent… with regards to the problem of self-immolation”: “the silence first and foremost comes from the media. Up to the present day, not a single media outlet has gone to the actual sites where the self-immolations happen, not a single journalist has interviewed the family and friends of self-immolators, not one single detailed report has been published about the people who self-immolated.” And he continued to confidently write, “I want to ask why the international media has collectively lost their drive for action?”

This kind of criticism turns out to be untrue and is also irresponsible.

2012/12/20

The blogpost is an appeal to save Lhasa from destructive modernisation and has already attracted media attention. It was reported by Associated Press in Beijing in December 2012 that Lhasa’s government had started a seven-month, 1.2 billion RMB project to “help preserve Lhasa’s ancient heart”. As a place that Woeser considers to be her home, Lhasa is often written about in both poetry and prose. Previously, Woeser has expressed her concern about the pace of changes taking place in Lhasa today. 

Please note that nowhere in the blogpost is the claim made that Tibet’s holiest temple, the Jokhang, is being demolished.

Please scroll to the bottom of the post to see 20 more photos.

The space in front of the Jokhang, which has borne witness to so much change over the ages, has no more of the pilgrims from Kham and Amdo who prostrate themselves all the way from the far borders to Lhasa; no more lamp pavilions in which thousands and tens of thousands of butter lamp offerings were lit every day. Only snipers poised on the roofs of Tibetans’ homes, and fully armed military sweeps; only the opening of one massive government-business sector joint venture shopping mall after another, each with inflatable blood-red plastic columns before their doors, flaunting the vulgarity and invasiveness of these new upstart operations.

“Our Lhasa is on the Verge of Destruction! Please, Save Lhasa!”
By Woeser

Our Lhasa is on the verge of destruction; this is absolutely not a case of crying wolf!

A tourist who’s been to Lhasa wrote on Sina Weibo: “Today I can understand clearly that the original intended objective for Lhasa has been the construction of an extravagant tourist-city monstrosity along the lines of Lijiang. All the Old City’s street stalls, guest houses, and its low-end service sector have to move out, to be replaced by high-end art and antique shops, and hotels. Moreover, all the buildings along the old streets have to have uniform facades and uniform signboards. So is it that China’s cities are to have only this one type of dumbass Korean-style beauty makeover?”

Note that among the photographs that this tourist posted, the “Construction Survey” for the Barkhor Shopping Mall (originally the site of the Chengguan District Government Headquarters; located in the northeast section of the Barkhor, the circumambulation route around the Jokhang, and located very close to what is generally called Barkhor Street, also within the Old City of Lhasa) presents the scope of the project as encompassing 150,000 square meters, with an underground parking garage alone containing 1,117 parking spaces. Moreover, last year, because the colossal “Spiritual Power Plaza,” a government-business sector joint venture built at the edge of the Old City of Lhasa, which had yet to open, was constructing an underground parking garage, it was pumping out groundwater day and night for over two years, causing anxiety among Lhasa residents as well as worries about cracks ripping through the Old City of Lhasa and depressions that could reach the dangerous point of forming sinkholes. Actually, cracks have already appeared in many places, while excavated sites have no water. And now the authorities want to construct a huge shopping center with an underground parking garage in another part of the Old City. Does this mean that we’ve reached a point at which it is now nigh impossible to prevent Lhasa from falling into the destructive clutches of hungry ghosts?

Remember: in 1994, UNESCO placed the Potala Palace on the World Heritage List. But then, in 1996, the village of Shol, which had stood for 1100 years at the foot of the Potala Palace was moved and relocated. At the same time, the Potala Palace, now deprived of Shol, was fatally disfigured with a public square: a replica of all those identical squares found throughout China, that are meant to display and project supreme power and authority. In 2000 and 2001 UNESCO listed the Jokhang and the Norbulingka on the World Heritage List as extensions of the Potala, making Lhasa, already a sacred place in terms of its value for religion, history and the humanities, a part of the world’s cultural heritage. Nominally then, it ought to receive protection simply as a matter of course. But in 2002 Tibetans received a deep wound to their hearts: an artillery shell-shaped “Monument to the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet” was put up to tower easily over the square, facing off against the Potala Palace in the distance. In 2007 the Potala Palace received a “Yellow Card Warning” at the World Heritage Conference, with criticism leveled for the excessive and gross pursuit of tourism profits, for unrestrained exploitation and for failing to uphold its responsibilities and commitments. The Potala Palace was put at risk of losing its “World Heritage” designation.

What is regrettable is that now, not only does the Potala continue to be subjected every year to excessive exploitation for purposes of tourism, but, under the feet of several million tourists whose numbers continually increase, even Lhasa’s Old City is precariously and dangerously changing its appearance as it follows the trajectory of becoming an “International Tourist City.” Not only have its guts been opened, things have become drastic. It’s just as the Tibetan artist Kuang Laowu judged: “Faced with the lure of material goods and the seductions of power, cultural distinctiveness loses out and urban uniformity is imposed. Behind this seeming burst of prosperity the Old City of Lhasa, its substance, long since depleted, is yesterday’s faded lily; none of its ancient simplicity, with the traces of ages past, is to be found there.”

Years ago, between 1996 and 2002, Andre Alexander, a German who had devoted himself to restoring the Old City of Lhasa, in concert with the Tibet Heritage Foundation which he founded, rescued 76 traditional structures in and around Lhasa and revealed the true state of affairs, stating that “starting in 1980 the construction process within the city has wrought unceasing destruction on the Old City’s ancient structures and quarters.” “From 1993 on, each year an average of 35 historic structures have been demolished. At this rate the remaining historic structures will have vanished in less than 4 years.” Because their remarkable restoration work and the witness they bore went totally against the intentions of the powers that be, in the end they were expelled from Lhasa by the authorities in Tibet—authorities who single-mindedly pursue only what is in their own interests.

From the “Engineering Survey” for the “Barkhor Shopping Mall” we can see that the goal of the renovation of the Barkhor quarter is to “cleanse, disperse, transform and elevate.” And the reality that is to be understood by this is that the reconstruction of the Old City is to be divided into several large parts: the heart of the Old City, the circumambulation path around the Jokhang is to be thoroughly cleared. All the street peddlers are to be moved inside the newly-built “Barkhor Shopping Mall.” All of the residents originally living along the street are to be moved to Tolung Dechen County in the western suburb of Lhasa; those households that move quickly can get a subsidy of between 20,000 and 30,000 RMB. Not moving will be a political problem. It’s said that one old person in Lhasa who was unwilling to move has gone completely mad. As for the empty homes and courtyards, they’ll be used to draw investment bids. Stores, restaurants, bars, art galleries and the like are to be established here. And on other streets and allies in the Old City, such as the space in front of the Ramoche temple, big public squares are to be opened up. The surrounding households will similarly be moved to the suburbs. In the northeast corner of the Old City, the site of the former Chengguan District Government Headquarters, the Barkhor Shopping Mall has already been erected. And so it goes, on and on…

Of course, the Barkhor, which was originally a place of religious significance, won’t turn into a deserted street. On the contrary, it will become a bustling street, existing only for the benefit of tourists. But it will never again be the street of those Tibetans who circumambulate, come on pilgrimage, and prostrate themselves. Even if there manage to be pilgrims making prostrations there, they will simply serve to liven things up as background for the tourists, as one disaster follows another, winding down to a pathetic and miserable end for Lhasa. Historically, Lhasa has never had a mining cave-in. And now, it has had a mining cave-in. Historically, the Kyichu has never been blocked and dried up. Now it is drying up to the point that the fish are all dying. Historically, the Old City of Lhasa has never existed solely as a backdrop for tourists. And now it’s being changed into a replica of Sifang Street in Lijiang and Daka Dzong in “Shangri-La.” Might it be that one day, perhaps very soon, entry into the mountain fortress version of these tourist traps, “Old City Lhasa,” will require the purchase of tickets?

No place has disappeared so quickly; no place has been inundated so quickly. Sick at heart, Andre Alexander wrote; “Each time I go, the old houses are clearly fewer, stone by stone, brick by brick, alley by alley, street by street; even the dogs are going missing.” And today it’s being relaced by a new Lhasa City that is being commercialized by those in power. From here on in, it’s not just me, one individual, it’s many people who are losing the few remaining bits of the Lhasa cityscape that they so deeply love; from here on in, it’s not just my life, one individual life, it’s the lives of many people, all mixed together with memories of Lhasa, that are being covered over. It’s just as one internet friend bitterly put it: “Dismantling the old structures, excavating tunnels, building crossover bridges, stopping up the Kyichu, draining the groundwater: these people are truly the incarnations of hungry ghosts! Whatever they can carry away, they carry away, and what they can’t carry away they destroy!”

I should point out that over the last several years the self-immolations of 121 Tibetans have become the most conspicuous manifestation of the Tibet Issue. It matters little that the international community is only paying limited attention to it, it is still the focus of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile; everything is concentrated around it and other catastrophes and dangers faced by Tibetan society are getting scant notice. For example, right now the looming destruction of Lhasa’s Old City is staring us in the face. If this were taking place in the past, UNESCO could still issue a “Yellow Card Warning.” However, now no one is paying attention, no one is concerned.

But the Chinese Government is taking the Tibetan self-immolations very seriously. On May 27 last year two Tibetans committed self-immolation in the space between the Jokhang and the Barkhor police substation. The Barkhor police substation was immediately elevated to the level of “Barkhor Ancient City Public Security Bureau.” The Mandala Hotel in which the two Tibetan self-immolators had taken lodgings was seized by the authorities and turned into the “Lhasa Barkhor Ancient City Management Committee.” The Old City of Lhasa was renamed the “Barkhor Ancient City.” But the large-scale rebuilding of the Old City by the authorities that resulted from this was actually a case of killing two birds with one stone; it was even more suited to the goals and plans for “maintaining stability.” And now, the area in front of the Jokhang, which has borne witness to so much change over the ages, has no more of the pilgrims from Kham and Amdo who prostrate themselves all the way from the far borders to Lhasa; no more lamp pavilions in which thousands and tens of thousands of butter lamp offerings were lit every day. Only snipers poised on the roofs of Tibetans’ homes, and fully armed soldiers on patrol; only the opening of one massive government-business sector joint venture shopping mall after another, each with inflatable blood-red plastic columns before their doors, flaunting the vulgarity and invasiveness of these new upstart operations.

Forty years ago, when UNESCO adopted the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, it recognized “the importance, for all the peoples of the world, of safeguarding this unique and irreplaceable property, to whatever people it may belong…” noting that the “deterioration or disappearance of any item of the cultural or natural heritage constitutes a harmful impoverishment of the heritage of all the nations of the world”… and asserting that “it is incumbent on the international community as a whole to participate in the protection of the cultural and natural heritage…”

For these reasons I call on UNESCO and its affiliated organizations world-wide to stop this sort of frightful “modernization,” which constitutes an unpardonable and incalculable crime against the ancient city of Lhasa’s landscape, human culture, and environment.

I call on the many Tibetologists all around the world, the people and organizations studying and researching the Tibet Issue: please pay close attention to the unredeemable misfortune that is befalling the Old City of Lhasa right at this very moment.

I hope people from all walks of life will launch actions to save the Old City of Lhasa!

Our Lhasa is on the Verge of Destruction!

Please, Save Lhasa!

Originally Written: May 4, 2013
Revised: May 6, 2013

The photographs below, showing the state of affairs in the Old City of Lhasa have been taken by tourists travelling to Lhasa as well as Tibetans in Lhasa:

The space in front of the Jokhang, which has borne witness to so much change over the ages, has no more of the pilgrims from Kham and Amdo who prostrate themselves all the way from the far borders to Lhasa. Because they don’t have “Tibetan Entry Permits” they’re stopped at checkpoints along the pilgrimage route.

A Chinese resident of Lhasa wrote on the internet: “…Waking up one morning I took a look at this odd street. I had no idea that this was a major change. Previously, when I would relax I’d often sit atop Buchung’s stall, talking and laughing. This was my habit for over ten years. This sort of change meant for us a change in vision, or aesthetics, or lifestyle. But for Buchung it meant a change in the environment and conditions of his very subsistence. The matter truly touched those who livelihoods are in Tibet.

On the left a massive government-business sector joint venture shopping center has just opened, with particularly offensive inflatable blood-red plastic columns in front of the shopping center’s doors. One internet friend wrote “Taking a good look, it really lacks the least sense of beauty… simply nauseating… It’s as fucked-up as opening day at some county seat restaurant; nothing to say.”

What was originally a pavilion of a thousand lamps in front of the Jokhang has been demolished for reconstruction, but it isn’t known what the further plan is.

The Barkhor: the circumambulation road around the Jokhang.

Tibetans going around the Barkhor.

The Barkhor: the circumambulation road around the Jokhang.

Buildings along Barkhor Street.

An internet friend says: “In front of the Dungtsho hostel, a big gash has been cut open to construct the Barkhor Shopping Mall. It’s said that the stalls on Barkhor Street that formerly sold Tibetan jewelry are subsequently to be collected together and moved here. Capitalist politics homogenizes everything.”

A display image of the Barkhor Shopping Mall, currently under construction. It is situated on what was originally the site of the Chengguan District government, located in the northeast section of the Barkhor, the circumambulation route around the Jokhang , very close to what is commonly called Barkhor Street, also within the Old City of Lhasa.

The “Construction Survey” for the soon-to-be-built Barkhor Shopping Mall presents the scope of the project as encompassing 150,000 square meters, with an underground parking garage alone containing 1,117 parking spaces.

Not too long ago the Kyichu was blocked and it is running dry. Because the colossal “Spiritual Power Plaza,” a government-business sector joint venture is being built at the edge of the Old City of Lhasa, it has been pumping out groundwater day and night, causing anxiety among Lhasa residents I wrote to Andre Alexander, who had done restoration in Lhasa, for advice as to whether proceeding in this way could wreak damage. He wrote sorrowfully in reply: “Water in Tibet is a big problem because hydroelectric stations are being built all over the place. And in Lhasa itself, the environment has already been seriously damaged and polluted. Rapacious commercial development supported by rapacious government officials is turning the Kyichu Valley into one big factory. If the Lhalu wetlands go dry then it’s too late for anything.

Not too long ago the Kyichu was blocked and its waters are running dry. A lot of Tibetans are spontaneously going out to save fish in the little that’s left of the water. This is really a terribly distressing and symbolic scene.

Mentsikhang Road in the Old City of Lhasa is also being dug up. During the time of the “Destroy the Four Olds” campaign of the Cultural Revolution, innumerable Buddhist images looted from temples and monasteries were buried on this street to make a show of trampling on the “Four Olds.” I don’t know whether or not any of these Buddhist images have been unearthed at present, while the city’s guts are being cut open.

Mentsikhang Road in the Old City of Lhasa is also being dug up. During the time of the “Destroy the Four Olds” campaign of the Cultural Revolution innumerable Buddhist images looted from temples and monasteries were buried on this street to make a show of trampling on the “Four Olds.” I don’t know whether or not any of these Buddhist images have been unearthed at present, while the city’s guts are being cut open.

A Lhasa street.

The Old City district of Lhasa.

The Old City district of Lhasa.

A street in the Old City of Lhasa.

A small alley in the Old City of Lhasa.

The song has been online since April 2012 and can be found on YouTube as well as featured on popular Tibetan blogs. Matters related to Tibetan education and employment prospects often appear in the Tibetan blogosphere but rarely in music form.

The tune of “Tears of Blood” is taken from a popular 1990s Cantonese pop song called “Lai Shengyuan” by Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau but the lyrics are an original composition.

Below is the audio only of the song:

This is the twenty third music video translated by High Peaks Pure Earth since the music video series started in November 2012. Be sure to go back and watch our other videos using this link: http://highpeakspureearth.com/category/music-from-tibet/

Check back next Wednesday for another great music video from Tibet.

Below are the subtitled music video and translated lyrics of “Tears of Blood”:

“Tears of Blood” By Tsultrim Gyaltsen from HPeaks on Vimeo.

“Tears of Blood”
By Tsultrim Gyaltsen

Lyrics: Migmar Tsering
Music: Porung Po
Camera: Pemba and Bhuchung

In a hurry, I run everywhere for my future
The red graduation certificate
What can it be useful for now
All the seats are taken by others
Everywhere you go, they are filled by others
With sadness, even tears drop uncontrollably

If my Father had power
My career would be very good
With sadness, even tears drop uncontrollably
If my Mother had money
My livelihood would be easy
However, the minds of tormented youths
Who knows where their minds roam
Day after day, my learned knowledge is being lost
Farming, nomadic and family work
Suddenly when I have to, I do not know how

Our own culture had to be abandoned
Yet, we’ve become slaves to the other
With sadness, even tears drop uncontrollably
If my Father had power
My career would be very good
With sadness, even tears drop uncontrollably

If my Father had power
My career would be very good
If my Mother had money
My livelihood would be easy
The responsibility of these youths
Who and where can they be accountable to

If my Father had power
My career would be very good
With sadness, even tears drop uncontrollably
If my Mother had money
My livelihood would be easy
The responsibility of these youths
Who and where it can be accountable to
The responsibility of these youths
Who and where can they be accountable to

[Translation by High Peaks Pure Earth]

For those unable to view the videos on Vimeo, there is also a High Peaks Pure Earth YouTube channel here with our music videos: http://www.youtube.com/highpeakspureearth

The subject of Woeser’s piece is the CCTV-produced TV drama “Secret Tibet”, previously featured on High Peaks Pure Earth in February when we translated a music video titled “RESPECT” by Tibetan rappers calling themselves “Sheep Droppings”.

The producer of “Secret Tibet”, Changlochen Tsewang Yonten, comes from the aristocratic Changlochen family. His father, Tsewang Gyurmey was President of Tibet University and has been prominently featured by Chinese state media, even in English.

Interestingly, the topic of “Tibetans talking about Tibet” continues with the April announcement by Oriental DreamWorks and Chinese investors of a joint project, an adventure film of “The Tibet Code” based on the hugely successful Chinese-language book series by He Ma. The LA Times news report comments that Han Sanping, chairman of China Film Group, says “the ‘Tibet Code’ would help export China’s culture and values to the world, a long-term strategic goal of the Chinese government”.

“Secret Tibet” is a co-production of the CCP Propaganda Department of the Tibet Autonomous Region, TV Tibet, Beijing Pro-Public Culture & Media Co., Ltd., the CCTV TV Series Management Centre for Co-Productions and China Central Television.

“Secret Tibet” shows a scene of the “patriotic and improved” upper class person Tashi Dhondup and his son who welcome the “liberation” of Tibet, engaging in “political discussions” with the CCP.

“What is the Secret Behind ‘Secret Tibet’?”
By Woeser

Last month, CCTV 8 continuously broadcast the 46 episodes of “Secret Tibet”, a TV series produced under the guidance of high officials involved with Tibet. The producer, Changlochen Tsewang Yonten confidently expressed that this series would not only win the highest “government award”, the “Flying Goddess Award”, but will also be sold to foreign countries because its selling point was “Tibetans talking about Tibet”.

On Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, on the other hand, at the same pace at which the TV series was aired – four episodes per evening – fierce criticism flooded in by Tibetan audiences. The following comment by a Tibetan hits the target: “In this soap opera, prayers for the elimination of obstacles was portrayed like an order given by Ramoche to aristocrats for implementation. The demonized and distorted description of the usage of human skins and menstrual blood is once again presented on stage by the ignorant script-writer to show the darkness and cruelness of the old Tibet. The whole plot is nothing more than the typical cliche found in Chinese fast-food soap operas accompanied with some political propaganda. This is the so-called “Tibetans talking about Tibet” propagated by the producer @TsewangYonten. You are so sophisticated, and sensible.

A different Tibetan wrote but did not finish his thoughts: “‘Secret Tibet’ in which Tibetans talk about Tibet: the director and the screenwriter are not Tibetan, 80% of the main actors are not Tibetan; some of the very good local actors are not involved…, if this ‘lack of love for the Plateau’ sets out to present Tibetan history, culture and customs, I am afraid that it will only mislead even more people…”

There were also a few Han Chinese who left critical comments: “CCTV 8 is broadcasting ‘Secret Tibet’, it explains Tibetan beliefs from a Han Chinese perspective, Han Chinese are frank; but I don’t know if the Tibetans from the land of Buddhism are willing to accept the ideas of the Propaganda Department. Official reasons aside, ultimately the reason why they don’t let Tibet become independent is because it is for their own advantage, there is no need to do any whitewashing, just respect people and it’s ok.” “I watched this series by chance, but when I saw it I was embarrassed, the indiscriminately copied storyline tried to conceal the hundreds of historical loopholes, the general tone of this documentary is obvious; if you watch too much your body will heat up, you will get sick, so I advise people who are watching it to take medicine.”

So, how about comparing this to the red film classic “Serf”, an example of the demonisation of Tibet? I planned to keep some evenings free to watch a few episodes of “Secret Tibet”, but I just couldn’t, in the end I always felt sick so I ended up only intermittently watching some of them. And indeed, great historical incidences as well as small actions of common people were all presented as if they were without mistake, as if they had not been tampered with, as if there were almost no errors at all.

“I would say it is even worse than ‘Serf’. The advisors of the documentary were all from Changlochen Tsewang Yonten’s family. It is said that they normally showed a certain degree of awareness, so were they drawn into this by force or did they do it for their own advantage? But then again, when Yin Fatang and the Propaganda Department join forces, what is there to expect?” This is what the son of a family whose stories had been completely transformed by the documentary wrote to me.

I also wanted to join the discussion on Weibo. But the comment function of my Weibo account has already been blocked for the past half a year, all I can do is read what other people write. But I still told my opinions to Changlochen Tsewang Yonten, as well as to the director and screenplay writer Liu Debin, but none of them replied, perhaps they never saw my message, so let me post it here:

This series was written with very clear intentions, it is a series full of distortions and deformations. Its attitude is actually very arrogant, showing that the producers behind the scenes hardly understand real history, that they hardly understand the many people who have passed away, the many contemporary witnesses and their descendants. The people that are being portrayed were originally all part of Lhasa’s aristocracy. The producers humiliate Lhasa’s former aristocracy and its descendants in a totally arrogant way.

I paid attention to some details: a Khenpo passes on the imperial edict of Reting Regent to some aristocrat, the first sentence is: Prostrating in front of the Nanjing President, the natural reincarnation of Manjushri; the second sentence is: Prostrating in front of Dorje Chang, the Dalai Lama. This single detail already suffices to see the entire picture. The series very much resembles all those so-called art works about Tibet being produced by the Party, real history is being erased and distorted and then the gaps are being filled with the content that they want to convey. It is just new wine in old bottles, it is all the same.

I believe that it was not really Changlochen Tsewang Yonten who invested money in “Secret Tibet”, it was the big boss who simply had to use Changlochen’s name. Otherwise how could they claim that it is “Tibetans speaking about Tibet”? The United Front Work Department’s drama group called “Yi Duo” had pretended to personify “Tibetans speak about Tibet” but they had been uncovered so now they could only send Changlochen Tsewang Yonten, a descendent of the aristocracy, who was obviously also generously rewarded.

A fairly well-known Chinese nationalist revealed some information on Weibo: “It is said that when ‘Secret Tibet’ was checked by the censors, a local Tibetan cadre agitatedly said that us and the Tibetan separatists have not had any struggle with guns and knives for so many years, but this documentary will give us knives and guns…” Yes, “Tibetans talking about Tibet”, those are the guns and knives that the country’s Propaganda Department uses through the nationalist platform called CCTV to attack people.

When faced with all the criticism and sarcasm by netizens, Changlochen Tsewang Yonten who normally actually likes to show off on Weibo, completely avoided the internet. Liu Debin (online he is introduced as “associate Professor at the Literature Department of the Beijing Film Institute, Postgraduate academic supervisor, famous editor”), on the contrary, was unable to bear it. He stated that he was going to write a second part of “Secret Tibet”, he spat out: “I will definitely write it, make all these contemptible scoundrels shouting out separatism disappear”. These political labels are scary! This political big-stick is vicious!

What needs to be known is that over the past few years, above the heads of Tibetans (not only Tibetans but also Uyghurs, Mongolians and other so-called “ethnic minorities”) has been hanging a large knife labelled “separatist”, and once it is dropped it may mean death. “Separatist” is not just any kind of insignificant accusation. It means “overturning a regime”, “fighting for independence” and “betrayal of one’s own country”. And the consequences of such actions are arrest, a prison sentence, even complete disappearance or some time before, it would mean a public trial and being executed by firing squad. There are too many such cases.

The founder of the Tibetan Communist Party, Phuntsog Wangyal, was in 1960 put into the most important political prison – Qicheng Prison – for 18 years. He was believed to “possess local democratic beliefs” and to want to fight for “Tibetan independence”. The 10th Panchen Lama was denounced by various general assemblies and also imprisoned in Qicheng Prison for 10 years, because he had written a “70,000 Character Petition” to Mao Zedong and was thus accused of “being against the people, against socialism and was plotting an armed rebellion”.

For common Tibetan people, these kinds of accusations represent a crowning calamity. For minority cadres working within the system, these accusations are phrased slightly less direct, like “someone entertains an ethnic consciousness”, but they still mean that minority cadres have “bad luck”; only if they completely ignore their own conscience, can they really protect themselves. I remember when I was working for the Tibetan Literary and Arts Circle, the Tibetan who was holding the post of the Party Secretary of our group was unable to be promoted because it was said that he “entertained an ethnic consciousness”. I myself was fired because I had written a collection of essays, in which I was accused of “making political errors”.

Hence, for many other people, this political big-stick is extremely effective, easy to operate and very beneficial. Phuntsog Wangyal describes it like this: “eat non-separatist food, promote non-separatist officials, give out non-separatist rewards”. The director of “Secret Tibet”, Liu Debin claims that he understands Tibet very well, that he has been to Tibet many times and thus deeply penetrated Tibetan life, yet, he evidently uses this so-called understanding to fight against the “unwritten laws” of Tibet and to develop a political big-stick especially designed for Tibetans.

For this I must really congratulate the director, by means of this kind of work of art, he did not only manage to find “hostile external forces” for the Party, but is also ready to catch some “scoundrels who want to split the motherland”. Liu is also very skilled at maintaining relationships, he is able to resort to an assorted assembly of “famous directors, literary critics and Tibetologists” or other insiders who are ready to sing songs in praise of him. What may his future look like? He will not only be sure to once again receive the “Flying Goddess Award” but he will probably also take over the throne of the President of the Beijing Film Institute; it would not surprise me at all.

What does surprise me a little, however, is the young Tibetan people’s persistence and brilliance. Yesterday, for example, a few Tibetan singers calling themselves “Sheep Droppings” dedicated their song “Respect” to the cast and crew of “Secret Tibet” on the Chinese video website Youku; they rapped in Mandarin with occasional Tibetan and English additions to remind the director, Mr. big-stick Liu: “…This isn’t about independence or separatism, this is about respect; We don’t need you to change history or change the facts … Again and again you defame our people! You are just a clown, even if this is a grand conspiracy. Don’t infringe on and slander Tibet’s thousands of years of history … Distorting history shows what you want, that you want a false reality. Knowing the real history only reveals our people’s intrinsic quality. Kawachen’s people are not weeping snow lions. The disgraceful show compiled by those without belief, where did you find these stories’ origins?”

Indeed, where did they find all this original material that allows them to simply revise history and lead a murderous crusade against dissenting views? Within only one day, this rap song was “harmonised” while “Secret Tibet” that causes so much disharmony is being praised highly.

February 5, 2013

A group of Tibetan singers calling themselves “Sheep Droppings” dedicated their rap song “Respect” to the cast and crew of this soap opera on the Chinese video website Youku. Within one day it was deleted, this video was uploaded onto Youtube.

The director Liu Debin wrote on Weibo: “I will definitely write it, make all these contemptible scoundrels shouting out separatism disappear”.

“You people really just know how to talk, making the Party eat out of your hands, but when you see military police, you escape to the basements and don’t even admit it. I will still go to Tibet, such a beautiful, pure and holy land. Whether you still dare to come to the rest of China, that I don’t know, here no one will spoil you, there is no one you can always threaten… haha, the whole of China is still the friend of the CCP!” This is a Weibo post from the actor Liu Bohao who plays a “fallen Living Buddha” in “Secret Tibet”.

Tsering Wangdu (Photo taken from Baidu Baike)

It’s morning. An old Tibetan man approaching his eighties lights some incense, prays, and begins reciting the epic Tibetan classic poem, Gesar, into a worn-out old tape recorder. “Almost every night for the past sixty years, I dream about Gesar. The next day, I record the stories I dreamed from the previous night,” the old man told a reporter.

This old man is the famous Gesar bard Tsering Wangdu, and the story of how he went from vagabond to “national treasure” is a legend in itself. And in today’s modern environment, with its increasingly fast pace of life, he has his own ideas for how to pass on Gesar culture to future generations.

From Vagabond to “National Treasure”

Tsering Wangdu was born to a poor herder’s family in Nagchu, Tibet, in 1933. Both of his parents passed away before his tenth birthday. In accordance with his mother’s last wishes, little Tsering Wangdu went to Mount Kailash to pray that his parent’s souls could attain enlightenment. It was then he began living as a nomad for over ten years.

“During those years, I worshipped at virtually every temple in Tibet. Towards the end, I prostrated around Mount Kailash, Mount Nyenchen Tanglha and Lake Namtso a full 13 times before attaining perfection,” Tsering Wangdu said.

Tsering Wangdu told a reporter that one day, he unwittingly fell asleep on the banks of Lake Namtso. “I had a very long dream. The whole dream was about the story of Gesar.”

“After that, I continued wandering for many years — until 1957 when I started a family and became a herder in the Dangla area of Qinghai Province. Every so often, I told stories to the villagers there,” Tsering Wangdu said.

His fate changed in the 1980s, when the government designated preserving the Gesar epic as one of the key projects of the 6th and 7th Five Year Plans. In 1987, the Qinghai Province Gesar Research Association conducted a one-time comprehensive study of Gesar performers. As a result, Tsering Wangdu was discovered and quickly hired as a bard. He went on to receive such titles as “Gesar Bard”, “State Council-subsidized Expert”, “Outstanding Purveyor of The Gesar” and more.

截至目前，才让旺堆已录制了《阿达夏宗》《吉祥五祝福》《犀岭之战》等１１部濒临失传的史诗珍本，超过３００万字。
As of recently, Tsering Wangdu has recorded eleven rare works, including “Ada xiazong”, “Five Auspicious Wishes”, and “The Battle of Rhino Ridge”, all of which were previously in danger of being lost to history. In words, his recordings represent over three million characters.

Fears of “Losing The Art along with The Artist”

The Gesar, which has been labeled the “Iliad of the East”, took form around the 10th century AD, and it was passed down orally throughout the generations. It developed into a massive, roughly 20 million-character-long work — a number that surpasses the length of all of the “Four Epics” combined. The Gesar epic is also one of the world’s few remaining “living epics” that folk artists continue to perform and pass on by oral recital.

Tsering Wangdu admits that along with the increasingly fast pace of modern society, Gesar culture faces a dwindling audience. “Nowadays, young Tibetans listen to popular music, watch blockbuster films — There aren’t many young people who actually want to listen to me sing anymore.”

Tsering Wangdu also believes the limited impact of his art form outside of Tibetan areas represents another inhibiting factor to the proliferation of Gesar culture. “Now, there are more and more people interested in Gesar, but for the most part its impact is limited to academic circles.”

Tsering Wangdu believes it is not enough to rely solely on recordings to preserve, protect and develop Gesar culture. “Another fascinating aspect of Gesar is the interaction between the performer and the audience. If it were possible to record the scene of the performance, it would aide research into Gesar,” Tsering Wangdu said.

Preservation and Development on Multiple Levels

Tsering Wangdu told a reporter that today’s young “Gesar” performers integrate modern stage techniques into their performances. “Performers wear armour, hold whips — It’s as if Gesar himself has come down to the realm of humanity. The audience loves it.”

In recent years, a Chinese language version of Gesar steadily made progress towards publication. A Chinese language version of the epic poem, translated by the Qinghai Province Gesar Research Association, was published by a university-affiliated publishing house at the beginning of this year. Around the same time, Gansu Ethnic Publishing House recently released “The Gesar Children’s Literature Series”. “The more complete the Chinese editions are, the better. I hope more and more people enjoy ‘Gesar’ through reading,” Tsering Wangdu said.

Tsering Wangdu also added, “Children today love Harry Potter. I believe Gesar is much more imaginative than Harry Potter. Gesar can be made into a feature film or animation, and this would cause more children to fall in love with the story.”

Finally, Tsering Wangdu concluded the interview by emphatically sharing this thought to a reporter: “I’m old, but I’m not old-fashioned. As long as something is good for the preservation of Gesar culture, I’m in favour of it. The Gesar story must be passed on to every generation to come.”

“Unhealed Wound” stands out for its politically bold lyrics that directly address China. The imagery in the music video includes detained Tibetan protesters being beaten in 2008 (footage that was released by the Tibetan exile government in December 2011) and video footage of the Dalai Lama, as mentioned in the song. Both the title and the song and some of the lyrics call to mind the songs of Amdo singer Tashi Dhondup.

This is the twenty second music video translated by High Peaks Pure Earth since the music video series started in November 2012. Be sure to go back and watch our other videos using this link: http://highpeakspureearth.com/category/music-from-tibet/ Check back next Wednesday for another great music video from Tibet.

Below are the subtitled music video and translated lyrics of “Unhealed Wound”:

“Unhealed Wound” By Dolma Tsering from HPeaks on Vimeo.

“Unhealed Wound”
By Dolma Tsering

To China with the dog’s tail
In the snow-capped land of Tibetans
My people of this Snowland
China, could you now leave us alone

To those evil Chinese who don’t believe in karma
The owner of this Snowland
Is His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso
China, could you now let him return

As a humble boy thinking of Tibet
For the sake of the cause of Tibetans
This precious human life of mine
Even if killed, I will have no regrets

This precious human life of mine
Even if killed, I will have no regrets
Even if killed, I will have no regrets

[Translation by High Peaks Pure Earth]

For those unable to view the videos on Vimeo, there is also a High Peaks Pure Earth YouTube channel here with our music videos: http://www.youtube.com/highpeakspureearth

“The Tibetan Version of ‘Forbidden Memory: Tibet During the Cultural Revolution’ Is Now Available for Download Free of Charge”

By Woeser

Since 1999, based on the hundreds of photos that my Father took in Tibet during the Cultural Revolution, I have been carrying out long-term research, conducted interviews and written articles in and about Lhasa and other places; over a period of six years during which I have visited over 70 people, in 2006, the Taiwanese publisher “Locus” published my two books “Forbidden Memory” and “Tibet Remembered”. “Forbidden Memory” is a commentary on the photos that my Father took during the Cultural Revolution as well as my own research results. “Tibet Remembered” is an oral history of people affected by the Cultural Revolution in Tibet. The two books have been referred to as “the so far most complete and comprehensive photographic record of Tibet during the Cultural Revolution” and “research about the Cultural Revolution in Tibet is thus no longer a blank space”.

Subsequently, “Forbidden Memory” was translated into Japanese (in 2009), into Tibetan (in 2009) and “Tibet Remembered” was translated into French (in 2010).

The Tibetan version of “Forbidden Memory” is without a doubt the most important version. The Norwegian Tibet Committee, the Norwegian Authors Union and the Swiss Tibetan Friendship Association assisted with the Tibetan translation.

Just as the translator of “Forbidden Memory”, a senior broadcaster at the Tibetan service of Radio Free Asia, Dolkar, when she first saw the Chinese version of “Forbidden Memory”, said: “I realised that as a Tibetan I have to share this with all our fellow Tibetans because there are so many young Tibetans who have absolutely no idea what happened in Tibet during the Cultural Revolution, it is about passing this truth on to our new generation and also to the exiled community.”

Entertaining precisely the same feeling, I always entertained the hope that the Tibetan version of “Forbidden Memory” would be available as an electronic version, so that with the help of the internet it can spread more easily among Tibetans and especially among those living inside Tibet. And as fate willed, a faraway friend offered his helping hand, taking the initiative to produce the Tibetan electronic version of the book. The translator, Dolkar, and the designer of the Tibetan version, Thupten, once more put in their greatest efforts. Day and night, the three people made adjustments and improvements and finally succeeded in publishing the end product, the e-book, online. So allow me to use written words to offer my three friends a pure white khata to express my deepest gratitude.

The Tibetan version of “Forbidden Memory” is available for download, entirely free of charge and it can be freely disseminated. In the electronic version, the photos can be enlarged, showing many more details than in the paper version and of course, the e-book can be searched. But most importantly, it can be easily spread. If everyone who has finished reading it can send it to a few other people, then that would be the best repayment for us. That part of history belongs to all Tibetans, we dedicate this book to the Tibetan people and hope that our descendents will always remember this.

The inscription by His Holiness: “Always faithful and loyal and ceaselessly cherishing pure altruistic courage, Woeser la, I pray that all your wishes, now or in the future, will come true without any obstacles – Shakyamuni Buddha teachings, Dalai Lama, December 16, 2009

What needs to be added is that the electronic Tibetan version of “Forbidden Memory” for the first time includes the precious inscription by His Holiness the Dalai Lama; it is what His Holiness wrote when we gave him the first printed Tibetan version of “Forbidden Memory” four years ago. This is the greatest karmic reward, I bow down repeatedly. Additionally, a portrait of my Father – the photographer of all these historic photos – is also included in the book for the first time. I believe that me inheriting his photos and making them available for more of our fellow people to see is the wish that he had kept deep down in his heart.

My father, Tsering Dorje, photographer of “Forbidden Memory”

“Forbidden Memory” can be downloaded from here:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/forbidden-memory-written-in/id598586184

After you open the link, click on the blue button “View in iTunes”. If you want to search for the book in Tibetan, put in the Tibetan name “གསར་བརྗེ།”.

(Since iTunes Books is not available in any Asian countries other than Japan, if you cannot search iTunes in your country, please select a different country at the bottom of the iTunes page.)

Books Screenshot:

iTunes Store Screenshot:

“Forbidden Memory” is the first Tibetan e-book that has ever appeared in iTunes Books. A scholar believes that in terms of promoting electronic works in Tibetan, this is a new beginning with a symbolic dimension.

Presently, “Forbidden Memory” is only available for Apple (iPad or iPhone). Readers are welcome to upload the book onto websites from where readers using other operating systems (Android or PC) can download it. If you do so, please let me know and I will post a link to that website on my blog.

Additional Information:

1. Apple has already added my name to their list of authors, so if you are using iTunes, iPad, iPhone or iPhone Books, you can directly search for “Tsering” or “Woeser” or “Tsering Woeser” and you will find “Forbidden Memory”.

2. In order to read “Forbidden Memory” on Android, the original file does not have to be converted. All you need to do is go to Google Play Store and download an Iron Rabbit Tibetan font, for example jomolhari.ttf in the Tibetan Pad. Then you just need to copy this font to the font folder of your reader.

The blogger recounts a trip back to their home village and gives an insight into the lives of the people there and the issues that are discussed during informal gatherings. The main topic of conversation amongst villagers is a government loan that can be paid back over three years. It is unclear to the blogger exactly what this loan is and what lies behind it. If these loans are related to the “Nomadic Settlement” project, as described in this academic paper, then it is not explicitly mentioned. However, the assertions seems to be that these loans are somehow linked to maintaining political stability in the area.

The “Nomadic Settlement” project in Qinghai province seems to be parallel to the “Comfortable Housing” project that started in the Tibet Autonomous Region in 2006. This New York Times article from 2010 states that government subsidies to build new homes, usually $1,500 per household, are not enough to cover costs and “families have generally had to take out multiple times that amount in interest-free three-year loans from state banks as well as private loans from relatives or friends.”

“An Unanswerable Question From My Native Land”

I spend most winters in Xining due to work reasons. I didn’t have the time to return to my home village. I had hoped that during the New Year I would be able to visit my relatives. I stopped my urgent work for a while and came back to my village. The children’s lifestyle and the beauty of my homeland made my half-month go by so quickly. However, I talked with my relatives about our life and read a few books whenever I could. At the same time, I asked about news from the village.

There are a number of things that happened during those days. One of the news that caused difficulty and was unclear to me was news of a state-level policy implemented in the village. Each Tibetan household has to take a loan of 50,000 RMB. Every three months, interest must be paid to the government. The people are saying the loan is for three years, if you can pay back the entire loan in three years, the interest collected every three months will be returned. It is tradition in the village over the New Year that the relatives invite each other for gatherings, this year, the same thing was done as in the past. For three days there were discussions of horse races and what position the horses came in. They are saying this year racehorses fetch between 300,000 and 400,000 RMB. The conversation lead to a discussion on the quality of modern cars, the young ones talked about brands and prices of trucks. Some youngsters sold their wife’s jewelry and farm animals to purchase a car.

There is another piece of news, about the implementation of the above-mentioned state policy. I listened very carefully. The older people said this is a crafty policy of China and there are no benefits in taking out the loan. Moreover, this is the start of selling the tradition, language and customs of one’s nationality. Even one’s lamas and monks can be purchased by money. If within three years, other events happen, the 50,000 RMB will be used to prevent our village and people from getting involved in these events. If you stay quiet, not complain about the political system and not get involved, then you do not need to pay back the 50,000 RMB to the government. The government will also return the interest that you paid before for this loan and it will provide further money to win people’s hearts.

For some households that purchased yaks and sheep with this 50,000 RMB loan, they were not able to make cash until the animals were fully grazed in the summer for sale. Even though they have not completed the three years loan term, they still have to return interest on time to the government. Otherwise they will be charged with additional interest. If they do not pay the interest after a few days of passing the deadline, they will be made to suffer with threats of imprisonment. Therefore, some people are saying that one should not accept this loan at all. I thought that this was a reasonable comment.

Some older people said that this might be a new nationwide policy. Generally, loans are not given to monks and old people over 60. But the new policy not only disqualifies the monks and people over 60 years, it also disqualifies people in their 40s and 50s. The loan is only for young couples who could prove and provide an affidavit for their household. This is a strategy to oppose division amongst nationalities, political opposition, demonstrations and to create national security and happiness in the society. If one faces genuine hardship, there is no problem in borrowing the loan (there are a number of different versions and speculations on this topic, however, I only focused on writing up a few lines based on my questions to people on this subject).

The talk turned to a subject which I cannot ignore. If within the next three years after taking the loan, all families in the village are able to make improvements, then it is good. But will this policy make improvements? If we don’t take the loan and continue taking care of animals, producing butter and barley to lead a farming, herding and township lifestyle, although this will not be a great leap forward in terms of development but still ….? Is the 50, 000 RMB loan initiative as bad as it is believed to be, a deceitful and cunning policy buying people’s hearts, ill-intentioned and damaging?

Although I am not sure, but if it is indeed true as some people mentioned above, then forget about development, even under life-and-death hardship one should not be deceived by this policy. We should not provide any assistance in accomplishing the goal of this cunning policy. Please do not fool us by this temporary relief policy packaged with sweet words and sycophancy. Please do not lie. Do not treat us as stupid. Should we totally oppose this policy? Should we support this? Why and for whom? A lot of questions, that other people also might have come across, came to my head, as always…

It is unclear where the music video has come from and there is also very little information available about the singer. From the choices of Tibetan words, dress and accent of the singer it would appear that he is from Kham, eastern Tibet. The song ”This Is How It Is”, however, begins by touching on a topical and politically sensitive subject, mining in Tibet, and has therefore recently attracted greater attention on social networking sites.

This is the twenty first music video translated by High Peaks Pure Earth since the music video series started. Be sure to go back and watch our other videos using this link: http://highpeakspureearth.com/category/music-from-tibet/ Check back next Wednesday for another great music video from Tibet.

Below are the subtitled music video and translated lyrics of “This Is How It Is”:

“This Is How It Is” By Chakdor from HPeaks on Vimeo.

“This Is How It Is”

Lyrics: Nyak Dompo
Singer: Chakdor

Our precious minerals
Being deceptively destroyed by authorities
Making this sacred land hollow
It is a force against our will

The accomplishments of our past scholars
The five major and minor supreme sciences
Using all means to destroy them
It is a force against our will

The inheritors of the Snowland
The heroic male and female youths
Being murdered by authorities
It is a force against our will

The protector of sentient beings
His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso
Cut off from us by authorities
This is our fate

This is our fate

[Translation by High Peaks Pure Earth]

For those unable to view the videos on Vimeo, there is also a High Peaks Pure Earth YouTube channel here with our music videos: http://www.youtube.com/highpeakspureearth