Also, there is a picture of them listening to teacher in between the debate pictures.
And also, a picture of a Skype convo with my lil sissy from last night.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Pictures :-P
Sequence pictures of debates! *CLAP!!*These debates are very heated... So I have taken much video to show you when I return.
Also, there is a picture of them listening to teacher in between the debate pictures.
And also, a picture of a Skype convo with my lil sissy from last night.
Also, there is a picture of them listening to teacher in between the debate pictures.
And also, a picture of a Skype convo with my lil sissy from last night.
Just 2 Pictures!
Here is a very, very typical meal from the cafeteria! We have cucumbers and rice everyday for lunch and dinner. Those meat looking things are of course not meat because I've been an herbivore for a few weeks now; those are mushrooms.
That monk is the self-proclaimed 'naughty monk' from the birthday dinner. He left his home as a child to escape his fighting parents. He also reminds me constantly of a certain friend's ex-boyfriend. *cough, cough, Kelli*
That monk is the self-proclaimed 'naughty monk' from the birthday dinner. He left his home as a child to escape his fighting parents. He also reminds me constantly of a certain friend's ex-boyfriend. *cough, cough, Kelli*
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Here's a blog post.
Yesterday was an average day except I started feeling sick. Just a little tiny tiny bit. But I felt it coming- so I nipped it in the bud and took one of my 6 cipro pills. Yes, the doctor only gave me 6. And I take two-a-day. So I am safe for three days and then I will starve myself until I reach Paris on the way back.
Another non-average thing that was happening yesterday was that AP was here filming and snapping pictures and just being flat-out ANNOYING. I would classify them as a disruption. Blagh. Dad lectured though... So they filmed that a lot, then asked him for a private interview, which was good for him. But I do still wanna make those guys trip ... Maybe. Except for I am not violent anymore. Anyway. They are back here again this morning. Which is annoying because they were supposed to be here only yesterday. Don't look for me when this film Is released, I won't be visible.
Last night an Emory monk let me download some documentaries off his external hard drive. What do you think about that?
Lol anyway, they were all about Tibet in someway or another. I laid down to bed and started one up. It was (and still IS) called 'Murder in the Snow'. It was a series of interviews and actual footage (contributed by a mountain hiker). The setting was the snow mountains of the Chinese-controlled Tibetan boarder. A large group of hikers was there to hike. Everything was going normal until they started hearing gunshots. The filmer ran out of his tent to film whatever was going on. Turns out, it was a Chinese boarder control unit shooting at strings of Tibetan refugees who were trying to run across the Chinese boarder to Nepal. The documentary had interviews from some surviving Tibetans too! They explained the process of saving up for 4 years to buy a guide and walking for 8 days across the Himalayas and why they were trying to escape. They were headed to India. But the Chinese caught them at the boarder... With machine guns. Film showed two people being dropped by bullets, one of which was a nun. Others were captured and tortured, and others survived. It was very sad
This morning I woke up and went to breakfast. During breakfast I talked to another Emory monk the whole time. I mentioned the story of the documentary I'd watched.... And then he told me the story of his escape. He walked for days through the Himalayas to freedom at the age of 15. His family didn't go. He escaped. He told me how they slept during the day, and walked with no lights during the night. He saw 7 Chinese checkpoints. He told me why he left. He couldn't understand Chinese, and Chinese was the only language allowed. He couldn't afford anything. Protests were happening. And basically he wanted a free life. He got caught by the police in Nepal and was held captive for 3 weeks. But the Tibetan Refugee Center in that town finally came to bail him out and deliver him to Delhi safely. And so then he was eating breakfast with me.
Wtf, that is incredible.
Another non-average thing that was happening yesterday was that AP was here filming and snapping pictures and just being flat-out ANNOYING. I would classify them as a disruption. Blagh. Dad lectured though... So they filmed that a lot, then asked him for a private interview, which was good for him. But I do still wanna make those guys trip ... Maybe. Except for I am not violent anymore. Anyway. They are back here again this morning. Which is annoying because they were supposed to be here only yesterday. Don't look for me when this film Is released, I won't be visible.
Last night an Emory monk let me download some documentaries off his external hard drive. What do you think about that?
Lol anyway, they were all about Tibet in someway or another. I laid down to bed and started one up. It was (and still IS) called 'Murder in the Snow'. It was a series of interviews and actual footage (contributed by a mountain hiker). The setting was the snow mountains of the Chinese-controlled Tibetan boarder. A large group of hikers was there to hike. Everything was going normal until they started hearing gunshots. The filmer ran out of his tent to film whatever was going on. Turns out, it was a Chinese boarder control unit shooting at strings of Tibetan refugees who were trying to run across the Chinese boarder to Nepal. The documentary had interviews from some surviving Tibetans too! They explained the process of saving up for 4 years to buy a guide and walking for 8 days across the Himalayas and why they were trying to escape. They were headed to India. But the Chinese caught them at the boarder... With machine guns. Film showed two people being dropped by bullets, one of which was a nun. Others were captured and tortured, and others survived. It was very sad
This morning I woke up and went to breakfast. During breakfast I talked to another Emory monk the whole time. I mentioned the story of the documentary I'd watched.... And then he told me the story of his escape. He walked for days through the Himalayas to freedom at the age of 15. His family didn't go. He escaped. He told me how they slept during the day, and walked with no lights during the night. He saw 7 Chinese checkpoints. He told me why he left. He couldn't understand Chinese, and Chinese was the only language allowed. He couldn't afford anything. Protests were happening. And basically he wanted a free life. He got caught by the police in Nepal and was held captive for 3 weeks. But the Tibetan Refugee Center in that town finally came to bail him out and deliver him to Delhi safely. And so then he was eating breakfast with me.
Wtf, that is incredible.
Associated Press Being Annoying
Here is an example of AP bing annoying. See the two men with cameras!? They are literally in everyone's faces. I'm trying my best not to sabotage them... 
Audience with His Holiness
Ok, finally. Drumroll. Bapabapa. Here is the story of the audience with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
So as you read in my last post, most of the day was about waiting for things. We waited an hour to get into the palace, we all sat down after rigorous security checks and wait for His Holiness to enter for maybe even two hours. As we entered the room we received another khata! There is a special way to fold a khata, so a monk showed me how. The Associated Press from Delhi had two camera men situated in the room. I instantly found them annoying. AP also had one interviewer/head hancho situated in the front too. Tim Sullivan. I was even worse annoyed with him. So, whatever. I was in the second row, dead center. Lena (the not-Korean) calculated that I was probably 12-15 feet away from the chair His Holiness would sit in. I sat and waited for basically 5 days in that chair, meanwhile- His Holiness The Vice President of Emory, his daughter, his wife and several other people were missing. We decided they were probably somewhere having a private meeting with the Dalai Lama (this was confirmed later). So we just sat, like I said.
We were in the front row of the crowd because the VIPs weren't seated- so I got a perfect view of the most vigilant security guard I have EVER seen. He was super cute, might I add, so he couldn't be harmful. Uh, yeah, just kidding- this man looked like the boss of all bosses. He stood, wearing a plaid shirt (probs from Rue 21) in a listening pose; feet spread should-width apart, leaning forward slightly, head tilted somewhat to his right to allow his left ear to have optimal hearing capabilities. He held a walkie-talkie with both hands right in front of his sternum. His hands never moved from that position. His head never moved. He was a statue... Expect for his eyes. His eyes darted around the room to follow the sounds his left ear was detecting. He was strong-looking. I'm going to shop at Rue 21 more. We made eye contact a lot. It made me scared. He was looking for threats or suspicious behaviors. I felt like eye contact was definitely suspicious. Sorry!
We also saw men with machine guns out the windows. Watch out.
This blog post is not about security man in plaid, it's about the Dalai Lama. He entered the room after about a month WITH the VIPs!! So they sat down in front of us. I was right in front of him. Well, actually Gary Hawk and his wife were directly in front of him, but my head was centered right in between theirs- so I had a clear/perfect view. Gary Hawk is accredited with all the success of this program because he started it. His wife is just his wife. So, His Holiness, I feel, was mostly looking at them two right in front of me... However *big smile* ... In order for His Holiness to switch from looking at Gary to the Wife- His eyes had to have seen mine in between theirs. #LiterallyWinning
So now I will get to the serious part. Boy, I was scribbling notes like a drunk bat during the whole talk, so here are my notes:
(things in "" are direct quotes as I noted them.)
- He has been interested in science since childhood.
-he insists that Buddhism teaches lessons based on facts.
- commented negatively on atomic bombs in Japan, "very very terrible"
- "we need serious effort to fix violence."
-"prayer is not the answer...prayer is for self. Action is solution."
- mentioned that prayer used to fix world violence is "wishful thinking". He giggled at that concept several times. He told a story about being at a big conference in Japan where people were talking about praying for solutions. He said when it was his turn to talk- he said he wasn't going to pray. He said he was gonna talk about solutions.
- "prayer will never bring world peace"
- stated that if we had been using all the money we'd used on weapons for agriculture and such things... That we would be experiencing positive effects right now.
- "religious reaching failed at bringing world peace," then suggested we try a different approach that appeals to everyone at one time.
- emphasized over and over that we are all born with the capabilities to be a loving and caring and compassionate person... But something goes wrong. We need to use science and other techniques to harness the innate goodness we all have. (basically that sums it up. He said it so much better though)
- said it is our responsibility to build right now for the generations to come.
- predicted that in the future we will not have a military for each country, but instead> regional militaries... Like one military for Asia, one for Europe and so on. Fun fact.
- other than that, he really inspired all of us, I think. It's just inspiring to hear someone with so much positivity and hope talk about the future. Again, I don't wanna get into it and be all sappy on the Internet... But this was pretty important to me.
So afterwards, the AP guy asked a really lame question about nothing and didn't show any respect. Blagh.
And after THAT it was picture time. Omgomg.
Omg.
Faculty (me/us) first!!!! We all began to exit the row to the side, then move to the center where His Holiness was standing. I was in the middle of the row, of course, so some people had already hopped up on the little stage to stand next to him. I kinda lingered below looking for where I should be because obviously I am the shortest person... So I was scanning the area when I saw His Holiness reach out his arm to me. He was saying "come, come, come" as he grabbed my elbow gently and pulled me up in front of him.
Omgomg.
So I was standing to his left, but in front of him... So I looked back to make sure I wasn't blocking him, which i wasnt.. But he acknowledged what I was doing, so I turned back around to face the crowd, and hunched/squatted down just a little bit to be funny. He laughed!!!! He laughed and put both his hands on my arms, just below my shoulders, and raised me up back to normal height. He said, "hahaha, I am just a little bit taller than you!" then assured me I was fine where I was.
All I could do was smile. I didn't feel like I was going to fall down like the last time I touched him. I felt completely at ease.
And then we took pictures. Several. Until the security jumped in front us and ordered the cameras down. And that was it. We all shook his hand and thanked him. He thanked us all back. And then we left.
We had tea and picked up our items we had blessed by Hi Holiness.
And the rest of the day was was just boring in comparison. So that's where I will end sit.
So as you read in my last post, most of the day was about waiting for things. We waited an hour to get into the palace, we all sat down after rigorous security checks and wait for His Holiness to enter for maybe even two hours. As we entered the room we received another khata! There is a special way to fold a khata, so a monk showed me how. The Associated Press from Delhi had two camera men situated in the room. I instantly found them annoying. AP also had one interviewer/head hancho situated in the front too. Tim Sullivan. I was even worse annoyed with him. So, whatever. I was in the second row, dead center. Lena (the not-Korean) calculated that I was probably 12-15 feet away from the chair His Holiness would sit in. I sat and waited for basically 5 days in that chair, meanwhile- His Holiness The Vice President of Emory, his daughter, his wife and several other people were missing. We decided they were probably somewhere having a private meeting with the Dalai Lama (this was confirmed later). So we just sat, like I said.
We were in the front row of the crowd because the VIPs weren't seated- so I got a perfect view of the most vigilant security guard I have EVER seen. He was super cute, might I add, so he couldn't be harmful. Uh, yeah, just kidding- this man looked like the boss of all bosses. He stood, wearing a plaid shirt (probs from Rue 21) in a listening pose; feet spread should-width apart, leaning forward slightly, head tilted somewhat to his right to allow his left ear to have optimal hearing capabilities. He held a walkie-talkie with both hands right in front of his sternum. His hands never moved from that position. His head never moved. He was a statue... Expect for his eyes. His eyes darted around the room to follow the sounds his left ear was detecting. He was strong-looking. I'm going to shop at Rue 21 more. We made eye contact a lot. It made me scared. He was looking for threats or suspicious behaviors. I felt like eye contact was definitely suspicious. Sorry!
We also saw men with machine guns out the windows. Watch out.
This blog post is not about security man in plaid, it's about the Dalai Lama. He entered the room after about a month WITH the VIPs!! So they sat down in front of us. I was right in front of him. Well, actually Gary Hawk and his wife were directly in front of him, but my head was centered right in between theirs- so I had a clear/perfect view. Gary Hawk is accredited with all the success of this program because he started it. His wife is just his wife. So, His Holiness, I feel, was mostly looking at them two right in front of me... However *big smile* ... In order for His Holiness to switch from looking at Gary to the Wife- His eyes had to have seen mine in between theirs. #LiterallyWinning
So now I will get to the serious part. Boy, I was scribbling notes like a drunk bat during the whole talk, so here are my notes:
(things in "" are direct quotes as I noted them.)
- He has been interested in science since childhood.
-he insists that Buddhism teaches lessons based on facts.
- commented negatively on atomic bombs in Japan, "very very terrible"
- "we need serious effort to fix violence."
-"prayer is not the answer...prayer is for self. Action is solution."
- mentioned that prayer used to fix world violence is "wishful thinking". He giggled at that concept several times. He told a story about being at a big conference in Japan where people were talking about praying for solutions. He said when it was his turn to talk- he said he wasn't going to pray. He said he was gonna talk about solutions.
- "prayer will never bring world peace"
- stated that if we had been using all the money we'd used on weapons for agriculture and such things... That we would be experiencing positive effects right now.
- "religious reaching failed at bringing world peace," then suggested we try a different approach that appeals to everyone at one time.
- emphasized over and over that we are all born with the capabilities to be a loving and caring and compassionate person... But something goes wrong. We need to use science and other techniques to harness the innate goodness we all have. (basically that sums it up. He said it so much better though)
- said it is our responsibility to build right now for the generations to come.
- predicted that in the future we will not have a military for each country, but instead> regional militaries... Like one military for Asia, one for Europe and so on. Fun fact.
- other than that, he really inspired all of us, I think. It's just inspiring to hear someone with so much positivity and hope talk about the future. Again, I don't wanna get into it and be all sappy on the Internet... But this was pretty important to me.
So afterwards, the AP guy asked a really lame question about nothing and didn't show any respect. Blagh.
And after THAT it was picture time. Omgomg.
Omg.
Faculty (me/us) first!!!! We all began to exit the row to the side, then move to the center where His Holiness was standing. I was in the middle of the row, of course, so some people had already hopped up on the little stage to stand next to him. I kinda lingered below looking for where I should be because obviously I am the shortest person... So I was scanning the area when I saw His Holiness reach out his arm to me. He was saying "come, come, come" as he grabbed my elbow gently and pulled me up in front of him.
Omgomg.
So I was standing to his left, but in front of him... So I looked back to make sure I wasn't blocking him, which i wasnt.. But he acknowledged what I was doing, so I turned back around to face the crowd, and hunched/squatted down just a little bit to be funny. He laughed!!!! He laughed and put both his hands on my arms, just below my shoulders, and raised me up back to normal height. He said, "hahaha, I am just a little bit taller than you!" then assured me I was fine where I was.
All I could do was smile. I didn't feel like I was going to fall down like the last time I touched him. I felt completely at ease.
And then we took pictures. Several. Until the security jumped in front us and ordered the cameras down. And that was it. We all shook his hand and thanked him. He thanked us all back. And then we left.
We had tea and picked up our items we had blessed by Hi Holiness.
And the rest of the day was was just boring in comparison. So that's where I will end sit.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Some Notes About Tibetan Struggles
Yesterday was the day of the 'audience' with His Holiness. I have never heard the word 'audience' used in this way, so I always put it in quotes because I think it is kinda silly. Anyway, we did a lot of freakin' waiting on yesterday. Hours of standing and sitting around. During this waiting time I learned/heard some interesting things. I took notes and interviewed a few monks. My notes are scattered and sloppy. I wrote them with my new OVO pen i bought for $10 at the Drake concert. (Quick shout out to my brothers OVOXO.) Listen closely, kids. This is serious.
First topic of discussion was the security. Top notch security on the sacred grounds of His Holiness. We were standing outside of the main gates for at least an hour. I made a comment to a monk (I don't really like to use names... It's uncomfortable) about the security. He explained that His Holiness has received death threats recently. I totally could understand this... But I was shocked when he told me that he heard Indian security Had recently captured a female Chinese "trained killer" who came to poison His Holiness. That is serious. I have mentioned before that China considers the Dalai Lama it's biggest threat... However, the monk explained how Indian spy organizations are "highly skilled". I asked why the heck India puts so much effort into supporting Tibet when China is so furious with them. He told me the relationship was a kind of 'carrot and stick' situation. He said India allows certain protections, but emphasizes the restrictions of Tibetans in many cases. You know what I mean? Ok. So yeah, he went on to tell me about the Indian spies... He told me not to "underestimate beggars"... I made a confused dog face, so he explained. He said he is sure that India hires spies to act as mentally handicapped beggars in order to have eyes on the streets that people ignore. This blew my mind. There were several handicapped beggars around the palace and town that I had noticed. The monk said that even at his monastery there are beggars he says are 'hired' to watch out for 2 years... But disappear leaving no traces. :-O that's a 007 movie.
Later I talked to two other monks. They told me how hard/impossible it is to get out of Tibet and go straight to India (because China doesn't want to allow the Tibetans out). They told me that even if one does escape directly to India, Indian officials are extremely suspicious of the refugees; they suspect that they are Chinese spies if they actually are allowed by China to leave. Get it? So, instead of risking everything by escaping straight to India, most Tibetans try to get a visa to Nepal first. Nepal boarders both India and China. Once a person reaches Nepal, India allows the refugees free entrance in. No visa or nothing required. I would think that would piss China off. *shrugs*. Anyway. One of these two monks explained that he hasn't seen a single family member in 19 years... But that his mother is trying to get a visa to Nepal. It was a heartbreaking tale... But he stood there smiling, I could see the hope in his eyes. He held an entire bag of trinkets and prayer chords to have His Holiness bless so that he could send some to each family member. He held up a cloth tassel that he planned to send to his brother so he could hang it in his car.
The other monk talking with us told me he hadn't seen his family in 20 years. Once a Tibetan escapes Tibet, China doesn't let him/her return. For this reason both monks resort solely to phone calls to and from family members. However, This monk told me that it is widely accepted that one must be extremely cautious while on the phone with people in Tibet for fear of Chinese wire tapping. He told me that one time he said "don't you wanna come to India?" while on the phone with his mother... Causing his mom to freak out and become very uncomfortable. He now says that he restricts his phone calls for fear of the Chinese punishing his mother and family.
Y'all, this is real. I'm not saying that everything I have written is the absolute truth. But I am saying that the same stories have been repeated by many, many Tibetans. These people feel threatened by China everyday. They feel like refugees. Most Tibetans here were not alive during the actual takeover of Tibet and were born in India... but the spirits and hopes of these youngsters for a free Tibet is no less than those who crossed the Himalayas 50 years ago. I mean, that's what I have observed. I'm just a kid. Don't trust me.
The last thing I wanted to touch on is a story an Emory monk told me. He and 5 other monks are students (through this program I'm working with) at Emory. They have been going there for one year I think. So for the past while these monks have been meeting with Chinese study abroad students twice a month in order to have a dialogue about the conflict. About a million questions gargled and rumbled in my gut when he told me this. We all know that China has some serious media control regulations. Everything written in China must be OK with the government. Activism is not allowed (please note the blind, Chinese activist that just recently escaped to the US). And when there IS activism (such as the protests at Tianamen Square that lasted 7 weeks) civilians very often do NOT hear/know about it. So, the government of China is in control of what everyone hears. (You may know that Facebook is not accessible in China. I think some stockholders are hoping China will allow Facebook access to those billion people. Lol, as if.) Therefore, many Chinese citizens believe that Tibet has always been a rebellious part of China that holds violent people who want to overthrow everything and cause harm to everyone. So to get back to the meetings at Emory- the monks were completely flabbergasted to learn that these Chinese students were so clueless about their stories. The students just never had a way to know anything other than what China wanted them to know; it is obviously not the fault of anyone else but the government of China.
Around Sixteen years ago the current Dalai Lama named the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama (a high ranking teacher in Buddhist faith responsible for finding the reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama). This child was stolen by the Chinese government. As in, China has admitted to the kidnapping of the child and his family. They call it "protective care". So anyway. This kid was stolen. And this kid has a huge responsibility...!! So the Chinese government has named a new Panchen Lama, which doesn't make any sense because the Lama was already named... And the Chinese government has no way of knowing who the crap the reincarnation of the Lama is. ANYWAY- 'missing' signs for the boy were displayed all over the palace. The Emory monks told me that the Chinese students recognized the new Panchen Lama as the real one. That is a problem. Wtf.
This was a rant, I now realize. I hope you can take something away from this post, though. If you feel that anything i have said is wrong, please tell me. Im not here to badmouth China. Lol and i certainly have nothing to gain politically from writing this... I just really wanna know what's going on. Also, don't tell China I told you.
PS; shout out to my bestie Kalia's momma! Hi!!
First topic of discussion was the security. Top notch security on the sacred grounds of His Holiness. We were standing outside of the main gates for at least an hour. I made a comment to a monk (I don't really like to use names... It's uncomfortable) about the security. He explained that His Holiness has received death threats recently. I totally could understand this... But I was shocked when he told me that he heard Indian security Had recently captured a female Chinese "trained killer" who came to poison His Holiness. That is serious. I have mentioned before that China considers the Dalai Lama it's biggest threat... However, the monk explained how Indian spy organizations are "highly skilled". I asked why the heck India puts so much effort into supporting Tibet when China is so furious with them. He told me the relationship was a kind of 'carrot and stick' situation. He said India allows certain protections, but emphasizes the restrictions of Tibetans in many cases. You know what I mean? Ok. So yeah, he went on to tell me about the Indian spies... He told me not to "underestimate beggars"... I made a confused dog face, so he explained. He said he is sure that India hires spies to act as mentally handicapped beggars in order to have eyes on the streets that people ignore. This blew my mind. There were several handicapped beggars around the palace and town that I had noticed. The monk said that even at his monastery there are beggars he says are 'hired' to watch out for 2 years... But disappear leaving no traces. :-O that's a 007 movie.
Later I talked to two other monks. They told me how hard/impossible it is to get out of Tibet and go straight to India (because China doesn't want to allow the Tibetans out). They told me that even if one does escape directly to India, Indian officials are extremely suspicious of the refugees; they suspect that they are Chinese spies if they actually are allowed by China to leave. Get it? So, instead of risking everything by escaping straight to India, most Tibetans try to get a visa to Nepal first. Nepal boarders both India and China. Once a person reaches Nepal, India allows the refugees free entrance in. No visa or nothing required. I would think that would piss China off. *shrugs*. Anyway. One of these two monks explained that he hasn't seen a single family member in 19 years... But that his mother is trying to get a visa to Nepal. It was a heartbreaking tale... But he stood there smiling, I could see the hope in his eyes. He held an entire bag of trinkets and prayer chords to have His Holiness bless so that he could send some to each family member. He held up a cloth tassel that he planned to send to his brother so he could hang it in his car.
The other monk talking with us told me he hadn't seen his family in 20 years. Once a Tibetan escapes Tibet, China doesn't let him/her return. For this reason both monks resort solely to phone calls to and from family members. However, This monk told me that it is widely accepted that one must be extremely cautious while on the phone with people in Tibet for fear of Chinese wire tapping. He told me that one time he said "don't you wanna come to India?" while on the phone with his mother... Causing his mom to freak out and become very uncomfortable. He now says that he restricts his phone calls for fear of the Chinese punishing his mother and family.
Y'all, this is real. I'm not saying that everything I have written is the absolute truth. But I am saying that the same stories have been repeated by many, many Tibetans. These people feel threatened by China everyday. They feel like refugees. Most Tibetans here were not alive during the actual takeover of Tibet and were born in India... but the spirits and hopes of these youngsters for a free Tibet is no less than those who crossed the Himalayas 50 years ago. I mean, that's what I have observed. I'm just a kid. Don't trust me.
The last thing I wanted to touch on is a story an Emory monk told me. He and 5 other monks are students (through this program I'm working with) at Emory. They have been going there for one year I think. So for the past while these monks have been meeting with Chinese study abroad students twice a month in order to have a dialogue about the conflict. About a million questions gargled and rumbled in my gut when he told me this. We all know that China has some serious media control regulations. Everything written in China must be OK with the government. Activism is not allowed (please note the blind, Chinese activist that just recently escaped to the US). And when there IS activism (such as the protests at Tianamen Square that lasted 7 weeks) civilians very often do NOT hear/know about it. So, the government of China is in control of what everyone hears. (You may know that Facebook is not accessible in China. I think some stockholders are hoping China will allow Facebook access to those billion people. Lol, as if.) Therefore, many Chinese citizens believe that Tibet has always been a rebellious part of China that holds violent people who want to overthrow everything and cause harm to everyone. So to get back to the meetings at Emory- the monks were completely flabbergasted to learn that these Chinese students were so clueless about their stories. The students just never had a way to know anything other than what China wanted them to know; it is obviously not the fault of anyone else but the government of China.
Around Sixteen years ago the current Dalai Lama named the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama (a high ranking teacher in Buddhist faith responsible for finding the reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama). This child was stolen by the Chinese government. As in, China has admitted to the kidnapping of the child and his family. They call it "protective care". So anyway. This kid was stolen. And this kid has a huge responsibility...!! So the Chinese government has named a new Panchen Lama, which doesn't make any sense because the Lama was already named... And the Chinese government has no way of knowing who the crap the reincarnation of the Lama is. ANYWAY- 'missing' signs for the boy were displayed all over the palace. The Emory monks told me that the Chinese students recognized the new Panchen Lama as the real one. That is a problem. Wtf.
This was a rant, I now realize. I hope you can take something away from this post, though. If you feel that anything i have said is wrong, please tell me. Im not here to badmouth China. Lol and i certainly have nothing to gain politically from writing this... I just really wanna know what's going on. Also, don't tell China I told you.
PS; shout out to my bestie Kalia's momma! Hi!!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Random Things I Forgot
Quick bullet points containing forgotten details will be featured in this post.
-- The Internet is a serious problem for me here. In order to use the Internet I have to either wake up early as crap, or stay up in the dark outside of my room with the many many alien bugs. So I am rushing to write and keep service. Don't be offended.
-- I am starting to be good friends with some of the monks. They are so nice just constantly. And hilarious!! And cheerful!! And they always want to teach me about things.
-- One monk from not-our-classes asked me to go get pizza with him (alone) after class the other day. I said yes before I knew he wasn't in our class. Dad said no when I told him later on. We didn't know this monk. It was uncomfortable. Lol our monks told me I needed a bodyguard!!
--we had a birthday dinner/graduation party for the VP of Emory and the graduating monks two days ago. I sat at a table with only monks. This is what happened:
- one monk told me he joined the monastery to become a monk when he was nine because his home life was bad. His parents always fought each other. He said it wasn't a good life... So he left. His parents were sad because he was the only son they had.
- The computer boy from the program (Tibetan) told me that birthdays are not celebrated traditionally. He said that records of birthdays isn't even recorded a lot of the time. He said his parents don't really know how old he is!!!
- Some people provided entertainment at the dinner. One pair of Tibetan boys from the college performed a song they wrote that, translated, means "I dreamt I was in Tibet last night but I woke up in India so now I am sad"... One of the major lines in the song was in English-, "I am in exiiiiiiiiiile!" it was sad.
-my table was last in line for food, so I taught the monks the word 'caboose'. They repeated it for the rest of the meal.
- one monk told me how he used to hop a fence when he was young to go play games outside of his monastery. He described himself as a 'naughty monk' and we all laughed at him!
-many monks have told me how incredibly lucky I am to have been so close to the Dalai Lama. It made me feel shy and sorry that I had shaken his hand before these monks who have served the Buddhist faith and His teachings all their lives.
--in town the other day we were waiting for a taxi when a small girl came up to us carrying her baby brother. Both children were filthy dirty. Dirtier than any of the kids at Kitty's Flea market in Albany. They looked at us and made the same motion of eating with their hands as the child I had seen in Delhi. I nudged dad to give them money. He did.
- McLeodganj is a suburb made up of mostly Tibetans... But there are still many Indians working as sales people. Without going into much detail- Tibetan sales people are so much more pleasant to deal with on average. (that is so blatantly racist, omg. I'm just going to leave it though.)
- the Dalai Lama spoke a lot about Tibetan freedom the other day at his teaching.
And so that's it! A few culture notes and a racist comment for everyone to enjoy.
-- The Internet is a serious problem for me here. In order to use the Internet I have to either wake up early as crap, or stay up in the dark outside of my room with the many many alien bugs. So I am rushing to write and keep service. Don't be offended.
-- I am starting to be good friends with some of the monks. They are so nice just constantly. And hilarious!! And cheerful!! And they always want to teach me about things.
-- One monk from not-our-classes asked me to go get pizza with him (alone) after class the other day. I said yes before I knew he wasn't in our class. Dad said no when I told him later on. We didn't know this monk. It was uncomfortable. Lol our monks told me I needed a bodyguard!!
--we had a birthday dinner/graduation party for the VP of Emory and the graduating monks two days ago. I sat at a table with only monks. This is what happened:
- one monk told me he joined the monastery to become a monk when he was nine because his home life was bad. His parents always fought each other. He said it wasn't a good life... So he left. His parents were sad because he was the only son they had.
- The computer boy from the program (Tibetan) told me that birthdays are not celebrated traditionally. He said that records of birthdays isn't even recorded a lot of the time. He said his parents don't really know how old he is!!!
- Some people provided entertainment at the dinner. One pair of Tibetan boys from the college performed a song they wrote that, translated, means "I dreamt I was in Tibet last night but I woke up in India so now I am sad"... One of the major lines in the song was in English-, "I am in exiiiiiiiiiile!" it was sad.
-my table was last in line for food, so I taught the monks the word 'caboose'. They repeated it for the rest of the meal.
- one monk told me how he used to hop a fence when he was young to go play games outside of his monastery. He described himself as a 'naughty monk' and we all laughed at him!
-many monks have told me how incredibly lucky I am to have been so close to the Dalai Lama. It made me feel shy and sorry that I had shaken his hand before these monks who have served the Buddhist faith and His teachings all their lives.
--in town the other day we were waiting for a taxi when a small girl came up to us carrying her baby brother. Both children were filthy dirty. Dirtier than any of the kids at Kitty's Flea market in Albany. They looked at us and made the same motion of eating with their hands as the child I had seen in Delhi. I nudged dad to give them money. He did.
- McLeodganj is a suburb made up of mostly Tibetans... But there are still many Indians working as sales people. Without going into much detail- Tibetan sales people are so much more pleasant to deal with on average. (that is so blatantly racist, omg. I'm just going to leave it though.)
- the Dalai Lama spoke a lot about Tibetan freedom the other day at his teaching.
And so that's it! A few culture notes and a racist comment for everyone to enjoy.
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