Senior leaders of a Tibetan monastery are warned to return or face gunfire.
Chinese authorities in Tibet are forcing the return of monks and nuns to a monastery abandoned following a bomb attack on a government building, warning senior leaders that they could be shot if they fail to heed the order, according to sources in Tibet.
At least 10 of the monks and nuns have been unaccounted for following the Oct. 26 bombing in the Chamdo prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), which took place in the early morning hours and caused no injuries.
But it brought Chinese security forces into the area in large numbers, leading the monks and nuns of nearby Karma monastery—suspected of involvement in the blast—to flee harassment by government authorities and police.
“On Oct. 30, the authorities called all residents of the Karma area to a meeting and ordered that the monks and nuns who had left return within three days or face arrest,” a Tibetan resident told RFA.
“They said that if the monastery’s senior leaders did not return within two days, they would be shot.”
Armed police then forced their way into retreat centers in nearby areas and made lists of all the monks residing there, the source said.
The rooms of monasteries in neighboring counties like Nangchen were also ransacked and searched, he said.
Detained, unaccounted for
On Nov. 5, senior Nangchen religious leaders Khenpo Lodroe Rabsel and Khenpo Namse Sonam were detained at the remote locations where they had gone into retreat. A layman at nearby Gar monastery was also detained, the source said.
“Karma Norbu and three other monks of Karma monastery were detained and taken away,” the source said, adding that a monk of Karma monastery who was found at nearby Dzigar monastery, also in Chamdo, was also taken away.
Ten or more of the monks and nuns who had left Karma monastery and were later picked up by Chinese forces are unaccounted for, he said.
About 40 monks and nuns have now been returned to Karma monastery, where they are being forced by authorities to attend daily meetings, the source said.
The monastery had been abandoned after security forces and police photographed each monk, took blood samples, and forced them to provide three handwriting samples each, the resident in the area said.
Before they left, the monks and nuns set up a poster in the temple courtyard saying they were fleeing under pressure and that the Chinese should “run the monastery themselves.”
“The keys to the monastery were left behind,” the source said
Reported by RFA’s Tibetan service. Translations by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Senior Tibetan lama says Tibetans "need to live long and stay strong"
Statement by the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, 9th November 2011
Since March this year 11 brave Tibetans have set themselves on fire while calling for freedom in Tibet and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to his homeland. These desperate acts, carried out by people with pure motivation, are a cry against the injustice and repression under which they live. The situation is unbearably difficult, but in difficult situations we need greater courage and determination.
Each report of self-immolation from Tibet has filled my heart with pain. Most of those who have died have been very young. They had a long future ahead of them, an opportunity to contribute in ways that they have now foregone. In Buddhist teaching life is precious. To achieve anything worthwhile we need to preserve our lives. We Tibetans are few in number, so every Tibetan life is of value to the cause of Tibet. Although the situation is difficult, we need to live long and stay strong without losing sight of our long term goals.
As His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said, the Chinese leadership should face up to the real source of these tragic incidents. Such drastic acts have their origin in the desperate circumstances in which Tibetans find themselves living. A ruthless response will only make things worse. Where there is fear, there can be no trust.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has stressed that the use of force is counter-productive; repressive measures can never bring about unity and stability. I agree with him that the Chinese leadership needs seriously to review its policies towards Tibetans and other minorities. I appeal to right-thinking, freedom-loving people throughout the world to join us in deploring the repression unleashed in the monasteries in Tibet, particularly in the Tibetan region of Sichuan. At the same time I appeal to the Chinese leaders to heed Tibetans' legitimate demands and to enter into meaningful dialogue with them instead of brutally trying to achieve their silence.
Because the Tibetan issue involves truth and justice, people are not afraid to give up their lives, but I request the people of Tibet to preserve their lives and find other, constructive ways to work for the cause of Tibet. It is my heartfelt prayer that the monks and nuns, indeed all the Tibetan people, may live long, free from fear, in peace and happiness.
On February 27, 2009, the 24 year-old monk Tapey from Kirti Monastery in Amdo, Ngaba, died from self-immolation; it was perhaps the first time that someone from within the Tibetan region used self-immolation to express his will. I wrote in an article titled “Tapey, A Martyr Who Sacrificed His Body”: “He lifted up the Snowlion flag and a photo of His Holiness, he lit a petrol-soaked robe and took the burning bundle to the streets with the purpose of protesting against the darkness that had enveloped Tibet.”
Two years later, on March 16, 2011, the 20-year-old monk Phuntsog from Kirti Monastery in Amdo, Ngaba, died from self-immolation. On the basis of accounts given by local Tibetans, I documented the scene in an article: “On a sunny afternoon, he left the monastery that was under close surveillance by military police and walked on his own to the end of the sun-drenched road; here he suddenly went up in flames. From within the fireball he shouted: “Let His Holiness Return!” “Tibet must be free!” “Long live the Dalai Lama!” People gathered around watching in a state of shock, the entire street filled up with heavily armed special, ordinary, armed and plain-clothed police forces using clubs ferociously striking at Phuntsog; was this to extinguish the fire or to beat him?”
A few months later, up to yesterday, October 17, 2011, 8 cases of self-immolation occurred in a row. These included the 29 year-old monk Tsewang Norbu from Nyitso Monastery in Tawo County, Kham, the 18 year-old Lobsang Kelsang, the 18 year-old Lobsang Kunchok, the 17 year-old Kelsang Wangchuk, all monks from Kirti Monastery, the 19 year-old Choephel, the 18 year-old Khaying, the 19 year-old Norbu Dramdul who used to also be monks at Kirti Monastery but because they couldn’t bear the repressive atmosphere in the monastery, they left the monastic order. What made people feel particularly sorrowful is yesterday’s self-immolation of 20 year-old Tenzin Wangmo, she was a nun from Mamae Nunnery in Ngaba County.
What does self-immolation mean? Is it the same as suicide? There have been so many Tibetan monks dying from self-immolation; is it as the so-called “Living Buddha”, the one who has sold his soul, the vice-president of the Sichuan Buddhist Association Gyalton claimed: “suicide is a very severe violation of the Buddhist doctrine, any act of self-inflicted harm is going entirely against human nature, the continuous cases of self-immolation among Tibetans are countered with incomprehension and disgust by people from all levels of society feel”.
Up to the present day, the whole world still remembers how in 1948, a Vietnamese monk burnt himself in the city centre of Saigon. People revered him as a great martyr and erected a bronze statue on a public square, recreating the tragic scene of self-immolation. Also, this 67-year-old senior monk, Thich Quang Duc, left behind some last words: “before closing my eyes and moving towards the vision of the Buddha, I respectfully plead to (the) President (...) to take a mind of compassion towards the people of the nation and implement religious equality (...) I call the venerables, reverends, members of the sangha and the lay Buddhists to organise in solidarity to make sacrifices to protect Buddhism.” These are exactly the aspirations and feelings of the 10 Tibetan monks, nuns and lay people who set themselves on fire.
After Thich Quang Duc died from self-immolation, within a period of a few months, 6 other monks and nuns burnt themselves on the streets of Vietnam. A Vietnamese senior monk quite accurately explained and commented on the behaviour of these martyrs: “The media calls it suicide, but essentially this is not suicide at all (...) in the last words that the monks who died left behind, they all explain that their aim of self-immolation is only to wake people up, to appeal to the oppressors’ sympathy, and to make the world aware of the persecuted people in Vietnam. Self-immolation is a way to prove that what they have to say is extremely important (...) This Vietnamese monk used all his strength and determination to show that he is ready to bear the greatest pain in order to protect his people (...) using self-immolation to show one’s aspirations and desire should not be regarded as destructive, on the contrary, it is somewhat constructive, an act of suffering and even dying for the people. This is by no means suicide. ”
In actual fact, dictatorship and evil governance is what lacks any human nature; they are the ones who set Buddhist monks and lay people’s bodies on fire! It is just like the Tibetologist Katia Buffetrille who recently went to Tibet says: “The monks at Kirti Monastery are already in a state of deep hopelessness. This is because the situation there is continuously worsening. The local authorities’ only method of response is repression... yet, these strategies of repression only intensify the tense relations. I actually got to know that there is a leaflet circulating in the area that says, unless the situation starts to improve, there will be many more monks who are prepared to sacrifice their lives.”
Mother and father, you’re our beloved parents. You were beside us from the first day on, you stayed with us till we became grown-ups. When we were kids, whether happy, sad or ill, you showed us your love and affection at all times, and we thank you for that. We won’t forget the way you’ve showed us: Young man, whatever happens, be compassionate with others. Whatever hardships you may encounter, be honest with them. If you fall down, get up again and go on, whatever the obstacles, stay on the right path. Young girl, wherever you go, never lose your faith and hope. Beloved mother and father, may you live long.
Brothers and sisters, we don’t know if you can hear us, but we hope you’ll receive this message. Don’t worry, we’re all doing fine; Father and Mother are fine, too. Although we’re far away from you, our thoughts are with you. We bear in our hearts our brotherly bond, and however much time has passed, we haven’t forgotten you. We’ll never forget you, you can trust us, we haven’t forsaken you, we’re at your side! We are and we’ll be forever brothers and sisters. Honestly, we’ll never forget you! So don’t worry, take care of yourselves. Hoping that we’ll meet you soon, we look up to the sky and pray for your happiness.
And while I’m here and write these lines with an ink stained with tears, my thoughts are in the place that I call my homeland - Tibet,the land of snow, our land. I don’t know much about life, but I know I’m Tibetan. That’s how I feel and that won’t change. Even if I don’t have much to show, this is my pride. We’re all the same, we stick together. And wherever we are on earth, we have a common brotherhood. We laugh together when times are good. And when bad times come, we also cry together. I’ve kept to myself what I had on my heart until now. But today, I want to say it all. And no matter how much time goes by, we’ll always be children of the land of snow.
Righteousness; Dedicated to my fellow Tibetans, who have been self immolated, for the righteousness of a nation, its culture, its religious faith, ཐོབ་ཐང་ཆེད། ལུས་སྲོག་འབུལ་མཁན་གྱི་དཔའ་བོ་དཔལ་མོ་རྣམ་ལ་དུས་རྟག་ཏུ་ཡིད་རངས་ཞུ།
