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Wednesday, October 25, 2000
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The Dalai Lama By Alan Levy
It was Oct. 18, the last day of the Forum 2000 Conference. "The Dalai Lama does not wish to make an opening statement," moderator Jiri Pehe, a former adviser to President Vaclav Havel, told guests. "That is because I have nothing to say," the 65-year-old former ruler and chief monk of Tibet chimed in. But then, for an hour, the winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize and the symbol of Tibetan opposition to Chinese rule nimbly parried questions. Asked whether a November visit to Taiwan was going to be canceled because of pressure from China, he acknowledged that it was likely to be postponed: "Unfortunately, in Beijing, the government of the People's Republic of China, they accuse me everywhere of spiritualism and being anti-Chinese. But let the Chinese people judge. ... I always respect or admire the Chinese people and Chinese culture. At least, I very much want Chinese food. I think everybody shares in that." His voice rising from bass-baritone to tenor, he added: "The food is very good!" A Taipei journalist tried provoking him into drawing parallels between Taiwan and Tibet as Chinese pariahs in quest of independence. He replied that he had a new, and paradoxical, mantra that he chants many times a day: "I am not [for] independence. I am not [for] independence." But he said the Chinese have their own paradoxical mantra about Tibet: "They're a part of China. They're a part China." "At the end of the day, the reality is that such mantras are absurd. It's wind! These are not clever." He said he wished to see Tibet freed from Chinese-imposed poverty. "The past is past," he philosophized. "You cannot change history. This is reality." The Czechs, he said, understood this after their "experience with communism." Asked whether he relied on telepathy now that he had e-mail, the Dalai Lama (which translates as "ocean-wide teacher") acknowledged that while his headquarters in India are wired to the Internet, he personally is not computer-friendly. He then held out long-fingered hands: "They're quite suitable for using a screwdriver. But for a computer? Hopeless!" Alan Levy's e-mail address is alevy@praguepost.cz
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Back to Top Home |
