NEWS ANALYSIS: Dalai Lama builds religious as well as diplomatic support

c. 1997 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Standing on a grassy traffic circle across from the Embassy of China, the Rev. Dennett Slemp spoke passionately Friday (April 25) about the relevance of the Tibetan independence movement to American Christians.”We live in a very small world,”said the Episcopal priest from Richmond, Va.”We can no longer believe […]

c. 1997 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ Standing on a grassy traffic circle across from the Embassy of China, the Rev. Dennett Slemp spoke passionately Friday (April 25) about the relevance of the Tibetan independence movement to American Christians.”We live in a very small world,”said the Episcopal priest from Richmond, Va.”We can no longer believe that what happens to others is of no particular interest to us. This is of particular importance to Christians, who have been called by Christ to love others regardless of their race, creed or nationality.” Slemp spoke to some 150 pro-Tibet demonstrators gathered outside the Chinese embassy one day after Tibet’s exiled religious and political leader, the Dalai Lama, ended another of his whirlwind visits to Washington designed to build additional support for Tibetan self-determination.

The visit’s diplomatic success was highlighted by a high-profile White House meeting with President Clinton, held despite Chinese opposition. The Dalai Lama also met with Vice President Gore and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and spoke to sympathetic representatives from more than 50 nations attending a Capitol Hill meeting of the World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet.


But another aspect of the Dalai Lama’s visit _ one underscored by Slemp’s remarks _ received less attention: his ongoing rallying of broad, grassroots interreligious support as a moral lever to trigger diplomatic action. It is in this arena that the Dalai Lama has probably been most successful.”China always says it is only rich, Western governments who criticize China out of jealously,”said Kalden Lodoe, a leader of the 100-member Washington-area Tibetan community.”That’s why it’s important to have religious support; to show that it’s not just governments but that Tibet is an issue for all people of faith and conscience.” In 1949, Chinese troops invaded Tibet and brought the Himalayan nation that had been ruled by Buddhist monks under Beijing’s control. Since then, Tibetan activists say, some 1.2 million Tibetans have died, thousands have been jailed and hundreds of thousands gone into exile. The Dalai Lama fled to India following a failed 1959 uprising.

While the Chinese argue they have historically ruled the Tibetan plateau and have helped modernize Tibet, Tibetan activists say China has systematically sought to stamp out Tibetan Buddhist practices, a cornerstone of which is deep reverence for the 62-year-old Dalai Lama and the theocratic style of government he once led.

As he circles the globe advocating a non-violent restoration of Tibetan autonomy, the Dalai Lama stresses the human and political rights of Tibetans when he meets with diplomats and elected leaders.

But when he meets with religious leaders, he hones in on the religious persecution he says Tibetans living under Chinese rule face daily, including being jailed for displaying his photo. He also reaches out to non-Buddhists by stressing the universality of human spiritual longing and truth.”At different times and different places, different masters come to teach,”the Dalai Lama told more than 3,000 interfaith representatives gathered Thursday night at Washington’s National Cathedral.”But all major world religions carry basically the same message that is love, compassion, forgiveness.” Earlier Thursday, at a Passover Seder hosted by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the Dalai Lama noted similarities between the plight of Tibetans today and that of the ancient Israelites held in bondage in Egypt.

Tibetans”must copy some of the Jewish determination to keep their identity and traditions under difficult circumstances,”he told about 50 assembled Jewish leaders and guests.

The success that the Dalai Lama has long had in gaining international sympathy for Tibet is evidenced by his Nobel Peace Prize award. His success in gaining U.S. diplomatic recognition of Tibet’s situation was again made clear this week by the strong statements of support for Tibetan self-determination _ if not full independence _ voiced by the Clinton administration.

Equally clear in Washington, was the affection and respect the Dalai Lama has long had within the religious community.”The Dalai Lama is a source of spiritual inspiration to so many around the world”because of his emphasis on non-violent struggle, said the Rev. Dwight Baxter, dean of the National Cathedral.”I count myself among them.” The Dalai Lama is”a pillar of justice and religious freedom,”said Rabbi Alexander Schindler, the retired president of the Reform Union of American Hebrew Congregations.


Few religious leaders who are also so deeply political command that degree of support across the interfaith spectrum.

DEA END IRA

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