India-Tibetan Social Work

Tashi Delek (Hello)

Well it has been very difficult to concentrate on updating the blog and when I tried recently it did not go through. So I apologize to all who have been checking in regularly especially my Dad. Love you.

This is a partial review of travels and studies thus far.

I first need to explain that the program I have been involved with since June 7^th has been called TEXT (Tibetans in Exile Today) headed by professor Sidney Burris and Geshe Thupten Dorjee. The program is facilitated through the University of Arkansas and is focused on taking the oral history of elder Tibetans living in exile in India. The project involves recording video interviews with Tibetans in India who remember life in Tibet before 1959 and before the Chinese Communist invasion. A permanent online archive will be established where these interviews will be housed and made available to the public. These stories are important to the preservation of the Tibetan culture and to the continued development of awareness for the Tibetan cause.

The Tibetan culture places importance on Buddhism and is an important part of most all Tibetans. The Dalai Lama is a political and spiritual leader and has been in exile since 1959 due to religious persecution from the Chinese Communist Government. It is difficult for me to go into the extensive history of Tibet but I encourage all of you to learn more about the atrocities that have occurred since the Chinese invasion of 1949. The threat of cultural genocide, due to the death of 1.2 million Tibetans at the hands of the Chinese Communist government is a growing concern. Tibetans have faced human rights abuses such as loss of freedom of religion, loss of free speech, loss of employment opportunities and loss of cultural values due to re-education of communist propaganda. This is only a few of the Human Rights violations that are being committed. I will do my best to share more details with you but for now I will share the travels.

First in Delhi we were met by friends of Geshe la my teacher. A very special person named Pachen has been with us and responsible for travel arrangements and coordinating important interviews. He is very famous in the Tibetan community as he is known as the Voice of Tibet and broadcasts a very import radio show. Please take a moment and google if you are interested. We were also met by Tibetan monk Pema Rinchen who is a chant master but more importantly he is a good friend of Geshe Dorjee.

In Delhi we attended a hunger strike where Tibetans have been doing a relay strike since March 14, 2008. Tibetans have been non-violently protesting the actions of the Chinese Communist Government for years and now there is a great opportunity to raise global awareness of the concerns due to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. China made agreements to address human rights violations in order to house the Olympics. There is growing concern since March 10, 2008 that human rights violations are not being addressed and the restrictions on Tibetans in Tibet is worsening. The global community cannot be certain at this time because the media has been restricted in Tibet and only approved, escorted journalist are allowed in. So the hunger strike is occurring in different Tibetan communities in exile and we have visited the site in Delhi and Dharamsala. We interviewed elders and youth to hear their stories of how they desire to visit family members they have not seen many years and to visit their homeland. We cannot know the yearning they must have to live a life of freedom we so often take for granted, yet they work as a community of people that take care of one another and people of their host country. You will see in the photos a large soup kitchen set up on the streets of Delhi managed by the Tibetan Women’s Association, where they fed the hungry and homeless. It was an amazing site to see people with so little giving so much to others. The Tibetan Buddhist culture places great emphasis on Love and Compassion for All Sentient Beings and it is prevalent in their actions towards others.

After Delhi we traveled to Mondgod which is where the Drepung Loseling Monastery is located. Geshe Thupten Dorjee honorary teacher of the year at U of A grew up here after his family escaped Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959. He is highly educated and is very well respected at this large monastery. We were given a most grand tour of which westerners are not usually exposed to and assisted by Tibetan monks Phuntsok Tsondu, Nyima Norbu (who met us at the airport) and Pema Rinchen. There are no words to express the amazing experience of being in the massive prayer hall with all the monks chanting and signing. We were provided the opportunity to participate in an unbelievable ceremony that I will forever remember. We interviewed some very influential teachers of the Buddhist philosophy who shared their stories and insights. One message I think was very important and I have heard the Dalai Lama express it as well is that it is important to keep one’s faith and converting to Buddhism is not the goal. The goal is to share the philosophy that can assist in developing a harmonious world though love and compassion for all sentient beings. Geshe Choedar Gyatso expressed the importance of diversity in religion in the world. I think it important to inform you of the level of respect Buddhists have for others and their faiths.

It was in this Tibetan Community at Camp 3 that we started the new pilot program for the Tibetan Children’s Heritage. You will see pictures where we met with two teachers who will benefit from the Pennies for Partnerships fund raiser and the 40 children who will also benefit from the efforts of Jigme Paljor and Karma Tsomo. Mr. Paljor teachers the older students and Ms. Tsomo teaches 5^th grade and under. Subjects taught are English, Tibetan, and Hindi languages along with Science, Social Studies and Mathematics. Grades 1-5 have art class with an emphasis on Tibetan Culture and grades 6-8 are taught tailoring and carpentry. Grades above eight are focused on curriculum to prepare them for higher education and they focus on reading, writing and conversation. When we discussed the needs of the children the teachers expressed the need for books, notebooks, comics, and cushions to sit on. The children also need raincoats because they do not have a bus service and all of them walk to school. Some of their families are farmers so they walk a pretty good distance. The money raised for the pilot program will be overseen by Phuntsok Tsondu of Minyak Khangstan in Mondgod and Geshe Thupten Dorjee of Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is important that the monks oversee this project to ensure the money is managed properly.

It was very difficult to leave the Drepung Loseling Monastery because it is such a magical place where the vibe is positive and people are really nice and friendly. They are very gracious to see the support of westerners for they desire so much to return to their homeland. Through the efforts of the global community and support for the Dalai Lama this can be made possible.

Please check out the photo page at photobucket.

http://s278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/lhdawg/?start=all

Please copy and paste the link above, or click, and hopefully you will see some amazing pictures from India and the Tibetan community.

Also again here is my Flickr page, also with photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27848409@N05/

A Big thanks to my friend Daniel Gold who is assisting from afar with posting the photos on my blog. As an administrator of the site he is awesome. FYI Dgold..tha same login and password is used on photobucket. I appreciate you.

Thanks to all of you and your prayers and support. Thug jeche (thank you)

Leann

PS. I saw the Dalai Lama the other day.

Please excuse any typos I was in a hurry!!!!!