Tibet - A story that needs retelling

In the SHADOW of the BUDDHA

by Matteo Pistono

I am currently reading In the SHADOW of the BUDDHA and I highly recommend this book. The struggles of Tibet are not talked about enough nor the issues that  the Tibetans have been enduring at the hands of the government of China. This not a religious book but it does give insight into the Buddhist religion from a historic perspective. It is not a political book but it does explain the politics which have stripped a people of their basic human rights.

The XIII Dalai Lama, who is the spiritual and political ruler of Tibet, has been in exile in northern India since 1959. He took refuge there at the pleading of his people when his very life was endangered from the onslaught of the soldiers of the People's Liberation Army. Over these past years many monks have been arrested and imprisoned and yes, tortured. The human rights abuses that the Tibetan people endure are many.

Through all the years of struggle the Dalai Lama remains hopeful that his country will one day regain it's freedom from the Chinese government. This past week  the Dalai Lama spoke to a group of students at Mumbai University and  commented, “In China, it is the same one party system, the same totalitarian regime but compare it to 30 years ago, there has been a lot of change. These are signs of change, the world is changing.” He is a peaceful person who believes that violence is  never a constructive way to solve any problem.

I admire him for his beliefs and his peaceful perch. I struggle, not with the dream of peace, only with my own ability to fully be able to embrace body and soul this concept one hundred percent of the time. It angers me time and time again when our government, and in essence, 'we the people', continue to engage in profitable business relationships with countries that continue to support and commit human rights abuses on people.


The more that we as Americans educate ourselves about issues going on in the world, perhaps then we can enlighten our own leaders and help to create a better world for all.