Siddhartha Home

Care - Center for orphan and deprived children

Siddhartha Home began in year 2001 in Miao, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Founder and Director, Thupten Tsering Khimsar started this care center for orphan and deprived children (to support children education). It is initiated after facing growing needs to provide parental and nutritional care to the orphan and deprived children in the community.

Ripa Foundation, registered charity based at Switzerland, a noble initiative of H.E.Jigme Rinpoche and Heinz Buhofer, granted fund for the construction of Siddhartha Home. It was consecrated and inaugurated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama during his visit to Miao in year 2003.

Right from its inception, Siddhartha Home mainly focuses on three important tasks:
• Support child education by providing parental and nutritional care to the orphan and deprived children.
• Promotion and preservation of culture and tradition.
• Provide immediate help to the needy and poor in the community.

Massive Landslides Hit Ancient Tawang Monastery Tuesday, 30 November 2010 15:54 YC. Dhardhowa, The Tibet Post International

Dharamshala: The famous Tawang Monastery in India's Arunachal Pradesh is under imminent threat of collapse following massive landslides around it. The 330-year-old monastery, also known as Gaden Namgyal Lhatse, which stands on the spur of a hill about 10,000 feet above sea level, is witnessing-massive landslide around it since Monday.
"The situation is getting worse day by day due to continued rains caused massive landslides, people are now helpless, they need emergency assistance," Tenzin, who currently living in Delhi told The Tibet Post International.
The landslide had already damaged the plantation and some electric posts around the monastery located in Twang-chu valley of Tawang district, source said. Chief minister Dorjee Khandu visited the site Friday (26 November) to assess the damage and asked the district administration and public works department to put their men and machine in place to contain further damage to the site.
The monastery, belonging to the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism, was founded by Mera Lama Lodre Gyatso in 1680 in compliance with the wishes of the 5th Dalai Lama. The monastery has a three-storey library which boasts of a collection of 400-year-old Kangyur scriptures, large collections of Sutras, commentaries (Tangyur), Buddha's teachings (Sungbhum), old books and invaluable manuscripts -- both handwritten and printed, many of them in gold.
The monastery has 65 residential buildings, currently housing about 450 monks. It controls 17 monasteries and a few nunneries in the region. The monastery is also the largest of its kind in the country and is one of the larges t monasteries in Asia. Though it has the capacity for housing about seven hundred monks, the actual number of resident monks at present is a little more than 450. This monastery is the fountain-head of the spiritual life of the people of this region.

The Way Forward on Tibet - Special Envoy Gyari's talk Tibet.net[Thursday, November 25, 2010 13:02]

The Status of Discussions Between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the
Government of the People’s Republic of China



Remarks by Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, Special Envoy of H.H. the Dalai Lama, at the Institute of South Asian Studies, Singapore on November 24, 2010



Special Envoy Kasur Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari/File
I would like to thank the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) for providing this opportunity to share my thoughts on the status of our discussions with the Chinese government in finding a political solution to the issue of Tibet and the possible way forward.

Today, our talks with the Chinese leadership have reached a stage where, for the first time after decades of being in and out of contact, we have been able to convey to them in an unambiguous manner the position of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in seeking a solution within the framework of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and the steps that need to be taken to resolve the Tibetan problem. Although we are yet to see any concrete outcome leading to a solution, our talks have certainly enabled the two sides to have a better understanding of each other’s position and concerns.

In order to put our dialogue process with the Chinese leadership in context, I would like to explain its historical development. Broadly, we can categorize the dialogue process into three phases since the process began in 1979:

Initial Contact (1979 – 1985)

The first phase started with the establishment of contact in 1979, when the then Chinese leader, Mr. Deng Xiaoping, conveyed a message to His Holiness the Dalai Lama (through Mr. Gyalo Thondup, his elder brother) that except for the issue of Tibetan independence, all other issues could be discussed and resolved.

Subsequently, two high level Tibetan delegations were sent to Beijing for exploratory talks in 1982 and 1984 respectively. I was a member of both the delegations. We had wide-ranging discussions with the Chinese leadership. One of the issues that we had clarified then was the fact that the Tibetan problem is not about the future and personal wellbeing of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, but that it is about the welfare of the six million Tibetans.

Simultaneously, four fact-finding delegations were sent by His Holiness to study the conditions in different parts of Tibet from 1979 to 1985.

During this phase of the dialogue process, the Tibetan delegations met with senior Chinese leaders, including Mr. Deng Xiaoping and other politburo members.

Tibetan Initiatives and Developments in Tibet (1985 – 1993)

The second phase of our dialogue process occurred between 1985 and 1993. There were infrequent visits by emissaries of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to China during this period.

As an effort to encourage the beginning of serious talks on the issue of Tibet, in September 1987 His Holiness presented his Five-Point Peace Plan, his vision for a way forward on Tibet, in an address to the US Congressional Human Rights Caucus in Washington D.C. Thereafter, in June 1988, His Holiness elaborated on the fifth point (calling for earnest negotiations on Tibet) of his Five-Point Peace Plan, in an address at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The essential characteristics of this proposal were that Tibetans would enjoy self-governance in their internal affairs, with Beijing maintaining overall responsibility in matters of foreign affairs and defence.

Thereafter, the Chinese government publicly agreed to meet His Holiness’ representatives to discuss issues any time at a venue of his choice. His Holiness responded positively and immediately to this indicating his sincerity and determination to engage in dialogue. He appointed a negotiation team and proposed that the talks be held in Geneva. Unfortunately, Beijing responded negatively to this by raising procedural issues, despite clarifications from the Tibetan side. His Holiness’ subsequent proposal for our two sides to meet in Hong Kong in April of that year was also rejected.

September 1987 saw the beginning of a series of massive demonstrations by Tibetans in Tibet expressing their grievances against Chinese policies. The PRC authorities resorted to brutal crackdown on the Tibetans, imprisoning hundreds and declaring martial law in Tibet in 1989. The Chinese Government’s attitude spoiled the atmosphere for the dialogue process during this period.

Meanwhile, as an indication of the international community’s recognition of his peaceful efforts, His Holiness the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. China responded negatively to this honoring of His Holiness.

Eventually, contacts between our two sides broke off in August 1993.

Re-establishment of the dialogue process (2002 onwards)

After several years of intense and active informal and behind the scene contacts, our two sides agreed to resume formal direct contact and the first round in this process took place in September 2002. This process can be categorized as the third phase. This phase has become more institutionalized with meetings being more business like. Since 2002, nine rounds of talks and one informal session have been held. The most recent round, the Ninth Round, took place in January 2010. I have been leading the Tibetan side in all these deliberations.

During these rounds we have been able to present and clarify His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s position on the future of Tibet. Our talks eventually developed to a stage where we formally presented a Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People during the Eighth Round in November 2008.

Our Memorandum puts forth our position on genuine autonomy and how the specific needs of the Tibetan nationality for autonomy and self- government can be met through application of the principles on autonomy of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, as we understand them. It outlined 11 basic needs of the Tibetan people, which are provided for in the PRC’s Constitution and Law on Regional National Autonomy.

Since the Chinese leadership had several concerns relating to the Memorandum, which they rejected as being unconstitutional, we presented a Note to the Memorandum during the Ninth Round in January this year. This Note addressed the concerns and offered some constructive suggestions for a way forward in our dialogue process. The Note was also intended to prevent misinterpretation and misconception by the general public about His Holiness’ position.

We emphasized that His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s sole concern is the wellbeing of the Tibetan people. His Holiness has never raised any issue relating to his personal wellbeing or the welfare of the people around him. Our position is that most of the Tibetan people are being severely marginalized and that they do not enjoy satisfactory religious, political, economic, language and cultural, and social rights. The widespread peaceful demonstrations throughout Tibet, starting from March 10, 2008, once again clearly indicated the people’s dissatisfaction with the Chinese policies. Majority of these peaceful demonstrations took place outside of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). Just last month, from October 19, there were series of peaceful rallies against the proposed replacement of Tibetan language by Chinese as the medium of instruction in schools. This is but the latest indication of Tibetan grievances.

The Chinese Government, however, contends that the Tibetan people are in a happy and satisfactory situation, and that there is no Tibetan issue.

In the light of these two differing perspectives, we suggested that there be a study by the two sides to determine the conditions of the Tibetan people. The Tibetan people should have the opportunity to participate in this study without fear or suspicion. If the outcome of this study is that most of the Tibetans feel there is no problem and their present situation is satisfactory, this is what His Holiness the Dalai Lama is calling for. But if the outcome confirms that most of the Tibetan people are not in a satisfactory situation, the Chinese government then needs to recognize that there is a problem and, in the spirit of seeking truth from facts, our two sides need to discuss and find a solution.

Also, during the informal session in Shenzhen in May 2008, we rejected the Chinese charge that His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan leadership in exile have instigated the demonstrations throughout the Tibetan areas since March 10, 2008.

Since we find that the same allegations are being repeated, we asked the Chinese Government to clarify and invited it to undertake a thorough scientific investigation, in Tibet as well as in the Tibetan community in exile, into the veracity of their charge. We stated our readiness to extend every support to such an investigation.

Some Important Issues Raised by the Chinese Side

During our most recent round, the Chinese side provided us with a detailed briefing on developments relating to Tibet, particularly on the Fifth Tibet Work Forum, held from January 18 to 20, 2010. They said the Forum decided to further improve the livelihood of Tibetans in the Tibet Autonomous Region and all Tibetan areas, specifically in public services, such as education, medical services, and environmental protection. Based on the initial reports that we had of the Forum, we welcomed the decision to improve the lives of the Tibetan people, especially in rural areas.

We especially welcomed the fact that the Fifth Tibet Work Forum has looked into the issues of development in all Tibetan areas –The Tibet Autonomous Region as well as other Tibetan areas. It is our strong belief that all the Tibetan areas must be under a uniform policy and a single administration. If we take away the political slogans, many of the issues that have been prioritized by the Forum are similar to the basic needs of the Tibetan people outlined in our Memorandum. However, recent indications are that instead of having a positive uniform policy for all Tibetan areas, there is effort to extend the stringent measurements already in place in the Tibet Autonomous Region to all other Tibetan areas. This is a counterproductive measure and the Chinese authorities need to realize this.

The Essence of the Dalai Lama’s Middle Way Approach

One of the fundamental points that the Chinese officials fail to acknowledge is the fact that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is sincere and serious in his efforts for a solution within the framework of the People’s Republic of China through his Middle Way Approach.

His Holiness and the Tibetan leadership in exile took the courageous decision not to seek Tibetan independence but genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people that would ensure their basic needs of safeguarding their distinct culture, language, religion and identity and the delicate natural environment of the Tibetan plateau.

The Middle Way Approach is a way to peacefully resolve the issue of Tibet and to bring about stability and co-existence between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples, based on equality and mutual co-operation. Its origin goes back to the mid-1970s when His Holiness had internal discussions with his advisors. Over the years the Tibetan leadership in exile refined the concrete features of the Middle Way Approach to in the light of existing political realities in the PRC.

Official Chinese media continue to label His Holiness as being a separatist, who wants to regain Tibetan independence. They refer to contents of his statements of the past, including the Five Point Peace Plan and the Strasbourg Proposal, deliberately ignoring His Holiness’ subsequent appreciation of Chinese concerns and clarification of his position.

Our Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People clearly outlined His Holiness’s Middle Way Approach.

Our Memorandum and the Note to the Memorandum have been well received by many governments, parliaments, institutions, organizations and individuals as being very reasonable and legitimate. Many are surprised and deeply disappointed with the Chinese government’s reactions. Finding the Chinese government’s position inappropriate, they continue to emphatically urge them to engage in a substantive dialogue with us on the agenda of the Memorandum. For example, following a meeting between His Holiness and President Obama on February 18, 2010, the White House released a statement saying, “The President commended the Dalai Lama’s “Middle Way” approach, his commitment to nonviolence and his pursuit of dialogue with the Chinese government. ”

Wider Implications of the Unresolved Tibetan Issue

Resolving the Tibetan issue concerns not merely the rights of the Tibetan people. Rather, it concerns the future of the Tibetan Buddhist culture, which impacts both the Tibetan people and the broader international community. Tibetan Buddhist culture, which, promotes a culture of compassion that is much needed in Tibet, in China and the region as a whole. When we talk about Tibetan Buddhist culture we are not talking about the religious aspects of Tibetan Buddhism.

Specifically, China is aspiring to be a superpower but such a status cannot be achieved purely through military and economic strength. Rather, moral authority is a very important condition and this can be imparted by the Tibetan Buddhist culture.

From the geopolitical perspective, too, if the issue of Tibet is resolved, it will be a positive factor not only in the relationship between the two upcoming global powers, India and China, but also to the region as a whole. Here, I concur with Singapore's Foreign Minister, Mr George Yeo, who wrote in an article that “Tibet is part of a much larger Asian drama that is changing the world”. Certainly, on account of geo-political, strategic and environmental reasons, the situation in Tibet will have deep impact to the changing landscape in Asia.

Environmentally, the Tibetan plateau is of great importance with scientists virtually naming it as the Third Pole. Tibet is the source of many major Asian rivers. Thus, if the Tibetan environment is impacted, it affects the global environment.

There is another implication about the Tibetan issue that impacts the Chinese people themselves. Today, there is increasing awareness of the Tibetan situation among the Chinese people. This is even more evident among the intellectuals and with younger generation. Many of them have courageously called for pragmatic approach to the Tibetan issue and sees His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the key factor in helping resolve the Tibet issue. They have realized that the attitude of the Chinese Government to the issue of Tibet will have a direct bearing on China’s own future, including its domestic stability and international standing.

Some Challenges

I have no reasons to doubt the Chinese authorities repeated assertion on the Tibetan issue that the “door is open for dialogue and the negotiations”. At the same time, I cannot help but feel concerned about their sincerity and seriousness in pursuing the present process for a substantive and meaningful outcome.

It seems that a section of leadership in Beijing continues to entertain the illusion that the problems in Tibet can be solved or confronted by economic means and that the China’s global standing as a economic and political power provides them leverage both domestically and internationally to impose its arbitrary stand.

They also continue to deceive themselves with the belief that the Tibetan problem will cease to challenge them once His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama is no more with us or the issue will lose its edge due to his advanced age.

The biggest concern of the Chinese leadership is the legitimacy of its rule in Tibet. The Chinese leadership knows that only one individual, the Dalai Lama, has the capability and authority to provide that. His Holiness is aware of the People’s Republic of China's concerns and sensitivities. For this reason we have conveyed directly to the Chinese leadership, and His Holiness has also publicly stated, that he stands ready to lend his moral authority to endow an autonomy agreement, once reached, with the legitimacy it will need to gain the support of the Tibetan people and to be properly implemented.

The Chinese Government has also been making the case that it would like everyone to respect its core issues, most importantly, the issue of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the PRC. As can be seen from the points I have made here, we respect these concerns. At the same time, we also have a core issue, namely the preservation and promotion of the distinct identity of the Tibetan people. The Chinese Government must acknowledge and respect this legitimate right of the Tibetan people and work with us accordingly.

Fundamentally, the Tibetan issue needs to be resolved between the Tibetans and the Chinese. Just as the Chinese Government does not want a third party involvement, we Tibetans, too, feel the right way is to resolve it through talks with the Chinese leadership. At the same time the issue of Tibet is of international concern with direct bearing on the peace and stability of Asia.

It is essential for students of the Tibetan-Chinese conflict to clearly understand and appreciate the differences between the fundamental positions of our two sides. Some experts do not seem to understand this.

The Way Forward

We do not see any reason why we cannot find a common ground on the Tibetan issue if the Chinese leadership has the sincerity and the political will to move forward.

We are convinced that this could be done without rewriting the history of Tibet. This is because if we go on the path of rewriting history of Tibet it will then not only lead to complicating further some of the existing conflicts in China’s relationship with others, but even give birth to new ones. Furthermore, the Chinese leadership needs to ponder whether it should make claims on the basis of some past imperial actions and should understand the international ramification and repercussion if it continues to do so.

Today’s Chinese leaders are also talking about establishing a harmonious society. We certainly support this endeavor as we believe it will directly impact China’s policies on the Tibetan people. However, it is clear that there cannot be a harmonious society without equality among nationalities.

Tibetans, especially those who are inside Tibet, continue to face the stark reality of the absence of equality at every level. Prominent Tibetan leaders, including the Late Panchen Lama, have repeatedly voiced their concerns in this regard by saying that any talks about unity should be preceded by the presence of equality.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has a forward-looking approach and has shown his willingness to take any initiative necessary that is in the interest of the Tibetan people, that will encourage harmony and stability in the People’s Republic of China, and that will promote peace in the region. His Holiness is committed to work with the Chinese Government so that the Tibetan people can maintain their distinctive identity, regain their pride and dignity and the stability and unity of the People’s Republic of China are ensured.

Once again, I am grateful for this opportunity to share my thoughts at this prestigious institution

ཧེ་ལིན་ཀི་ལར་(1880-1962)

ཧེ་ལིན་ཀིལ་ལར་ནི་རྣ་བ་འོན་པ་དང་མིག་ལོང་བ་ཨ་རིའི་ལམ་ལྷོང་ཅན་གྱི་རྩོམ་པ་པོ་ཞིིག་ཡིན་པ་རེད། ཧེ་ལིན་ཀིལ་ལར་ཕྲུ་གུ་ཆུང་ཆུང་ཡིན་པའི་སྐབས་སུ་ནད་མནར་དྲག་པོའི་རྐྱེན་གྱིས་རང་གི་མིག་ལོང་རྣ་བ་འོན་ཏེ་རྣ་ཅོག་མ་ཐོས་པ་འགྱུར་ཡོད་པ་རེད། ཕ་མའི་བློ་ཚབ་ཆེ་ཤོས་དེ་འཚར་ལོངས་ལ་འགོག་ཐབས་མེད་པར་བརྟེན་ཅི་བྱ་ལྟོས་མེད་དུ་གྱུར། ཉིན་གཅིག་ཕ་མ་གཉིས་ལ་རིག་རྩལ་ལ་མཁས་པ་ན་གཞོན་དགེ་རྒན་ཨ་ནི་སུ་ལི་ཝན་ཞེས་པ་ཞིག་ངོ་སྤྲོད་བྱུང་ཡོད་པ་རེད། སུ་ལི་ཝན་ནས་ཧེ་ལིན་ཀིལ་ལར་ལ་ལྷོད་ལྷོད་ངང་ཅ་ལག་རྣམས་མིང་གི་ཐོག་ནས་ངོ་སྤྲོད་སློབ་འཁྲིད་བྱས། རིམ་པའི་མཐོ་སློབ་ཏུ་འཛུལ་ཞུགས་ཀྱི་གོ་སྐབས་བྱུང་། སློབ་སྦྱོང་མཐར་སོན་རྗེས་འཛམ་གླིང་ཡུལ་གྲུ་ཁག་ནང་ཡུལ་བསྐོར་དུ་ཕྱིན་ཏེ་རང་དང་གཅིག་པའི་ནད་པ་རྣམས་ལ་རོགས་པ་བྱས། ༡༩༦༢་ལོར་ཁོ་མོའི་མི་ཚེ་ལོ་རྒྱུས་སྐོར་ The Miracle woker ཞེས་པའི་གློག་བརྙན་ཞིག་ཀྱང་བཟོས་ཐོན་བྱུང་ཡོད་པ་རེད།
པད་བཀོད་ཚེ་དབང་རྡོ་རྗེས་བསྒྱུར།

India's troop build-up in Arunachal a "misstep" : Chinese expert Phayul[Tuesday, November 23, 2010 12:16]

File picture shows an Indian jawan (R) with a Chinese soldier at the Arunachal - Tibet border
Dharamsala, November 23 - India is fast-tracking new troop formations in the North-East to tackle China’s massive deployment of forces on the Tibetan border, reported The Times of India.

India has deployed two new infantry divisions in the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh which China claims as its territory. Indian Defence ministry officials said the two infantry mountain divisions include 1260 officers and 35011 soldiers, and that it will be fully “operational with specialized equipment” by 2011. Similarly, the first battalion of Arunachal Scouts will be up and running by May 2011.

"The two divisions are now virtually in place, with officers and soldiers already being posted for them. They are in process of getting new equipment, which includes armoured personnel carriers and light howitzers," said an official.

"As of now, the government has approved one battalion of Arunachal Scouts. Sikkim Scouts is in the pipeline," said an officer. Patented on the Ladakh Scouts, which was elevated to a full-fledged infantry regiment after its sterling role in dislodging Pakistani intruders during the 1999 Kargil conflict, Arunachal Scouts are also based on the "sons of the soil" concept.

Meanwhile, Chinese experts dismissed the Indian move, saying it is a “misstep” on New Delhi's part.

The latest deployment of Indian battalions comes three weeks ahead of Chinese Premiere Wen Jiabao’s official visit to India to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two sides.

"Since a war with China in 1962, the Indian army has set up a total of 10 mountain divisions in the region," Wang Dehua, the Chinese state run Global Times quoted an Chinese expert on India at the Shanghai International Studies Center as saying. "Such a move aims to add chips to the upcoming China-India talks on border disputes."

Wang further added that "those hawkish groups in New Delhi are getting above themselves after the US voiced support for India's bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council."

Sun Shihai of the Asia Pacific studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said India’s plan to increase troops in the region adds difficulties to the border talks. "By making such a move, India showed its unwillingness to make a concession during the demarcation talks," he said.

However, the Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told China’s state run news agency Xinhua on Sunday that the two sides "should regard each other's rise as an opportunity, not a challenge."

"We have had times of difficulty in our relationship. But despite those difficulties, we have managed to raise the level of our dialogue and strengthen our cooperation to create an architecture for dialogue," Rao said. "That should be the basis for what we do in the future."

རིག་གསར་གྱི་ཆ་ཤས་ཤིག་ལག་ལེན་བསྟར་གྱི་ཡོད་པ་རེད། འདོན་སྤེལ། ༢༠༡༠/༡༡/༢༠

༧གོང་ས་མཆོག་གིས་རྒྱ་གར་རྒྱལ་ས་ལྡི་ལིར་མཛད་འཕྲིན་རྒྱ་ཆེར་སྐྱོང་བཞིན་པའི་སྐབས་འདིར། ཨ་རིའི་སྙན་གྲགས་ཅན་གྱི་སེ་ཨིན་ཨིན་ CNN གསར་ཁང་གི་གསར་འགོད་པས་༧གོང་ས་མཆོག་ལ་བོད་དོན་ཐད་ཀྱི་གནས་ཚུལ་ཁག་ཅིག་བཅར་འདྲི་ཞུས་ཡོད། ཁ་སང་ཕྱི་ཚེས་ ༡༩ ཉིན་གྱི་སྔ་དྲོར་སེ་ཨིན་ཨིན་གྱི་གསར་འགོད་པ་ཁཱ་རིན་ཐ་ཕིར་ Karan Thapar ལགས་༧གོང་ས་མཆོག་གི་སྐུ་མདུན་དུ་ཆེད་དུ་བཅར་ཏེ། བོད་ནང་གི་སྐད་ཡིག་གི་གནས་བབ་དང་། རྒྱ་གཞུང་གིས་ཆོས་ལུགས་དོ་དམ་བྱེད་སྟངས། དེ་བཞིན་༧གོང་ས་མཆོག་གི་སྐུ་ཕྲེང་རིམ་བྱོན་གྱི་ལམ་ལུགས་བཅས་ཀྱི་ཐོག་བཅར་འདྲི་ཞུས་འདུག
གསར་འགོད་པ་ཁཱ་རིན་ཐ་ཕིར་གྱིས། རྒྱ་གཞུང་གིས་བོད་ཀྱི་མཚོ་སྔོན་ཞིང་ཆེན་ཁོངས་སུ་བོད་སྐད་ཡིག་གི་ཚབ་ཏུ་རྒྱ་ཡིག་སློབ་ཁྲིད་བྱ་རྒྱུའི་སྲིད་བྱུས་ལག་ལེན་བསྟར་བཞིན་པའི་ཐད་བཀའ་འདྲི་ཞུས་སྐབས། ༧གོང་ས་མཆོག་གིས་ལན་བསྐྱོན་དོན། ཕྱི་ལོ་ ༡༩༨༦ ཙམ་ལ་པཎ་ཆེན་སྐུ་ཕྲེང་བཅུ་པ་མཆོག་དང་ང་ཕོད་ངག་དབང་འཇིགས་མེད། དེ་བཞིན། བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས་ཀྱི་གནད་ཡོད་མི་སྣ་བཅས་ལྷན་འཛོམས་ཐོག་བོད་སྐད་ཡིག་དེ་བཞིན་གཞུང་འབྲེལ་སྐད་ཡིག་ཅིག་ཏུ་བཟོ་ཐབས་བྱ་རྒྱུའི་ཐག་གཅོད་གནང་ཡོད་ལ། གནད་དོན་ཐག་གཅོད་བྱས་པར་བརྟེན་ནས་བོད་ཀྱི་གནའ་དཔེ་མི་ཉུང་བ་ཞིག་བསྐྱར་གསོ་བྱ་རྒྱུར་ནུས་པ་གང་འཚམ་ཐོན་ཡོད། སྟབས་ཉེས་པ་ཞིག་ལ། རྒྱ་རིགས་ཁྲིན་ཀོན་ཡུན་ཟེར་བ་དེ་བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས་ཀྱི་མགོ་ཁྲིད་ཆགས་རྗེས་ལས་རིགས་དེ་དག་རྦད་དེ་མཚམས་འཇོག་བྱ་དགོས་བྱུང་ཡོད་ལ། སྐབས་དེར་ཁྲིན་ཀོན་ཡུན་གྱིས་བོད་པའི་ནང་ཆོས་ནི་ཧ་ཅང་ཉེན་ཁ་ཅན་ཞིག་ཡིན་ཚུལ་བཤད་ཡོད། དེ་སྔོན་ངོས་རང་བོད་ལྗོངས་སློབ་གྲྭ་ཆེན་མོའི་ལས་བྱེད་ཁག་ཅིག་དང་ཐུག་འཕྲད་བྱེད་རྒྱུ་བྱུང་ལ། དེ་དུས་ཁོང་ཚོས་ཁྲིན་ཀོན་ཡུན་བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས་ཀྱི་མགོ་ཁྲིད་ལ་བསྡད་པ་ནས་བཟུང་ཡིག་སྒྱུར་གྱི་ལས་དོན་མཐའ་དག་རྒྱའི་སྐད་ཡིག་ནང་ཕར་བསྒྱུར་དགོས་རྒྱུ་ལས་བོད་ཡིག་ནང་རྩ་བ་ནས་བསྒྱུར་དུ་འཇུག་གི་མེད་པ་དང་། དེ་མིན་གྱི་བོད་པ་གཞན་ལ་ཐུག་སྐབས་ཀྱང་ཁོང་ཚོས་དེང་སང་བོད་ནང་དུ་རིག་གནས་གསར་བརྗེའི་ཆ་ཤས་ཤིག་ལག་བསྟར་བྱེད་ཀྱི་ཡོད། གནས་སྟངས་འདི་མུ་མཐུད་དུ་ཕྱིན་ཚེ། བོད་མི་རིགས་ཀྱི་སྐད་ཡིག་གང་མགྱོགས་རྩ་མེད་དུ་འགྲོ་རྒྱུའི་ཉེན་ཁ་ཏན་ཏན་ཡོད་པ་རེད། ཅེས་གསུངས་འདུག

ཡང་གསར་འགོད་པས་ཕྱི་ཟླ་ ༡༠ པའི་ནང་རྒྱ་གཞུང་གིས་བོད་ཀྱི་དགོན་སྡེ་ཁག་དོ་དམ་བྱེད་ཕྱོགས་ཀྱི་གསལ་བསྒྲཊ་ཤིག་སྤེལ་ཏེ། བོད་ཀྱི་གྲྭ་བཙུན་རྣམས་ཕྱི་མི་དང་འབྲེལ་བ་བྱེད་མི་ཆོག་པའི་སྐོར་གྱི་སྒྲིག་ཁྲིམས་ཞིག་བཟོས་ཡོད་པའི་ཐད་གཟིགས་ཚུལ་གང་འདྲ་ཡོད་མེད་དྲིས་སྐབས་ཁོང་གིས། ངོས་ཀྱིས་གོ་ཐོས་སུ་ད་ཆར་བོད་ནང་གི་དགོན་སྡེ་ཁག་མང་པོ་ཞིག་འགྲེམས་སྟོན་ཁང་ལྟ་བུ་བཟོས་ཏེ་གྲྭ་བ་རྣམས་དགོན་པར་ལྟ་རྟོགས་བྱེད་མཁན་ཙམ་ཏུ་གྱུར་ཡོད་སྐོར་གོ་སོང་། རྒྱ་གཞུང་གིས་བསམ་བཞིན་དུ་བཟོས་པ་ཡིན་མིན་གང་ལྟར་ཡང་། བོད་ནང་དུ་འདས་པའི་ལོ་ ༢༠ ལྷག་གི་རིང་བོད་མིའི་ཆོས་དང་རིག་གཞུང་རྩ་གཏོར་བཏང་ཡོད་པ་དངོས་ཡོད་གནས་ཚུལ་ཡིན། འོན་ཀྱང་། ང་ཚོས་གནས་ཚུལ་དེ་དག་ལ་ཞིབ་འཇུག་ཡག་པོ་བྱས་ཏེ་ཁ་གསལ་བཟོ་དགོས། ཞེས་གསུངས་ཡོད། དེ་བཞིན། གསར་འགོད་པས་བོད་ནང་གི་བོད་ཡིག་དང་རིག་གཞུང་གི་ཉེན་ཁའི་ཐད་བོད་མི་ཚོས་གདོང་ལེན་ཇི་ལྟར་བྱ་དགོས་མིན་ཐད་བཀའ་འདྲི་ཞུས་པའི་ལན་དུ་༧གོང་ས་མཆོག་གིས་ངོས་ཀྱིས་རྒྱ་ནག་མི་མང་སྤྱི་མཐུན་རྒྱལ་ཁབ་ལ་བོད་མི་ཚོར་མིང་དོན་མཚུངས་པའི་རང་སྐྱོང་ཞིག་སྤྲོད་རྒྱུར་འབོད་སྐུལ་ཞུ་བཞིན་ཡོད་ཅེས་གསུངས་འདུག་ལ། ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མའི་སྒྲིག་འཛུགས་སམ། སྐུ་ཕྲེང་རིམ་བྱོན་གྱི་ལམ་ལུགས་སྐོར་ལ་ཡང་དྲི་བ་ཁག་ཅིག་བཏོན་ཡོད་པ་དེ་སང་ཉིན་ཕྱི་ཚེས་༢༡ ཉིན་གྱི་དགོང་མོའི་ཆུ་ཚོད་ ༨ པའི་སྟེང་། སེ་ཨིན་ཨིན་བརྙན་འཕྲིན་བརྒྱུད་རྒྱ་ཁྱབ་ཏུ་གཟིགས་འབུལ་ཞུ་རྒྱུ་ཡིན་འདུག

ཁ་སང་ཉིན་རྒྱབ་རྒྱ་གར་གྱི་གསར་ཁང་གྲགས་ཅན་ཧིན་རྡུ་དུས་བབ་ Hindustan Times ཀྱིས་མགྲོན་འབོད་གནང་བ་ལྟར། གསར་ཁང་དེའི་དབུ་ཁྲིད་ལྷན་ཚོགས་ཀྱི་ཚོགས་མགོན་དུ་ཕེབས་ཡོད་ལ། དེར་རྒྱ་གར་གྱི་གནད་ཡོད་མི་སྣ་ཁག་དང་། ཚགས་ཤོག་དང་བརྙན་འཕྲིན་སོགས་གསར་འགྱུར་ལས་རིགས་ཁག་གི་མི་སྣ་སོགས་ ༡༧༠༠ ལྷག་འདུ་འཛོམས་ཐོག ཁོང་གིས་༼ དཀའ་རྙོག་ཁྲོད་ཀྱི་བདེ་སྐྱིད་འཚོལ་ཐབས༽ ཞེས་པའི་བརྗོད་གཞིའི་ཐོག་གསུང་བཤད་གནང་དོན། འཛམ་གླིང་འདིའི་སྟེང་དཀའ་ངལ་མི་འདྲ་བ་གཉིས་ཡོད་ལ། དེ་ནི་ཕྱིའི་ལུས་པོའི་དཀའ་ངལ་དང་ནང་སེམས་ཀྱི་དཀའ་ངལ་གཉིས་ཡིན། དེང་སྐབས་དཔལ་འབྱོར་དང་འཕྲུལ་ཆས་ཡར་རྒྱས་ཕྱིན་ཏེ། ལུས་པོའི་དཀའ་ངལ་ཉུང་དུ་ཕྱིན་ཡོད་ཀྱང་། ནང་སེམས་ལ་དཀའ་ངལ་མང་དུ་ཕྱིན་ཏེ་སེམས་མ་སྐྱིད་པ་བཟོ་བཞིན་ཡོད། དེ་ནི་གཙོ་བོ་འགྲན་རྩོད་ཤུགས་ཆེ་རུ་ཕྱིན་པ་ལ་བརྟེན་ནས་བྱུང་བ་རེད་ལ། གྲོང་ཁྱེར་ཆེ་ཁག་ནང་དཀའ་ངལ་དེ་དག་ཤུགས་ཆེན་པོ་ཡིན་ཡང་། གྲོང་གསེབ་ཁག་ཏུ་ལུས་པོའི་དཀའ་ངལ་ལས་སེམས་ཀྱི་དཀའ་ངལ་དེ་ཙམ་ཡོད་པ་མ་རེད། ཅེས་དང་།

ཁོང་གིས་མུ་མཐུད་དུ་རྒྱ་གར་དང་བོད་གཉིས་ཀྱི་འབྲེལ་བའི་སྐོར་ལ། རྒྱ་གར་དང་བོད་གཉིས་ཀྱི་འབྲེལ་བ་ནི་བླ་སློབ་ཀྱི་འབྲེལ་བ་ཡིན་སྟབས། ང་ཚོས་རྒྱ་གར་གྱི་མཁས་དབང་ཚོའི་མདུན་ནས་སློབ་སྦྱོང་མང་པོ་སྦྱངས་ཡོད། ངོས་ནས་ནུབ་ཕྱོགས་ཆོས་ཞུ་བ་ཚོར་ངོས་རང་དཔལ་ནཱ་ལེནྡྲའི་མཁས་དབང་གི་ལྟ་གྲུབ་སྦྱོང་མཁན་གྱི་སློབ་མ་ཞིག་ཡིན་ཞེས་ངོ་སྤྲོད་བྱེད་ཀྱི་ཡོད་ལ། ཁྱེད་ཚོས་ཀྱང་ང་ཚོར་ཡིན་བརྟན་འཕེར་བའི་སློབ་མ་ཞིག་ཏུ་ངོས་ལེན་བྱ་དགོས། ཞེས་བཀའ་གནང་ཡོད་འདུག ལྷན་ཚོགས་ཀྱི་མཇུག་བསྡོམས་སྐབས་དེར་ཡོད་མི་སྣ་ཁག་ཅིག་གིས་༸གོང་ས་མཆོག་ལ་དེང་དུས་ཀྱི་གཞོན་སྐྱེས་ཁྲོད་འཁྲུལ་སྣང་གི་བློ་ཤུགས་ཆེར་ཡོད་པའི་སྐོར་དང་ཁོང་ཉིད་ཀྱི་ཡང་སྲིད་སྐོར་བཅས་དྲི་བ་ཁག་ཅིག་བཏོན་པའི་ལན་དུ་༸གོང་ས་མཆོག་གིས། དུས་ཉི་ཤུ་བ་དེ་དྲག་སྤྱོད་ཀྱི་དུས་རབས་ཤིག་ཆགས་ཏེ་མི་ས་ཡ་ ༢༠༠ ལྷག་གི་ཚེ་སྲོག་ཤོར་ཡོད། ད་ལྟའི་དུས་རབས་ཉེར་གཅིག་པ་འདི་སྔར་གྱི་དུས་རབས་བཞིན་གནས་མིན་དེ་ད་ལྟའི་གཞོན་སྐྱེས་ཚོར་རག་ལུས་ཡོད། གལ་སྲིད། གཞོན་སྐྱེས་ཚོས་དུས་རབས་སྔ་མའི་ཟོག་རྫུ་དེ་དག་ལ་མགོ་མ་གཡེང་བར་ནང་སེམས་ཀྱི་རིན་ཐང་གོང་མཐོར་གཏོང་ཐུབ་ཚེ་འཁྲུལ་སྣང་དེ་དག་མེད་པ་ཆགས་ཐུབ་པ་རེད། ཅེས་དང་། ཡང་ཁོང་གིས་ཡང་སྲིད་སྐོར་གསུངས་དོན། རྒྱ་ནག་གཞུང་གིས་ངོས་ཀྱི་ཡང་སྲིད་ཀྱི་གནད་དོན་དེ་ཛ་དྲག་པོ་ཞིག་ལ་ངོས་འཛིན་བྱེད་ཀྱི་འདུག བོད་མི་ཚོར་ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མའི་སྒྲིག་འཛུགས་འོག་གནས་འདོད་ཡོད་རྒྱུ་རེད། འོན་ཀྱང་། ལོ་སུམ་ཅུ་བཞི་བཅུའི་རྗེས་ཀྱི་གནས་ཚུལ་རྣམས་སུས་ཀྱང་ཤེས་ཐབས་མེད། ཅེས་བཀའ་ལན་གནང་འདུག

Overseas Chinese Hold International Conference on China's Democracy [Friday, 12 November 2010, 3:49 p.m.]

2010 International Conference on the Prospects and Exploration of China's Democracy,
holding in Taipei , 11-12 November 2010.

Taipei: The first International Conference on the Prospects and Exploration of China's Democracy is being held in the capital city of Taiwan from 11-12 November 2010.

The conference was organized by three different groups of overseas Chinese democratic movement with support from Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. The conference attendees are from the United States of America, Australia, Honkong and Taiwan. Many other experts from different fields of about 100 in number also joined the conference.

Mr Dawa Tsering, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama was invited as one of the chief guest during the inaugural of the conference and other two chief guest are Mr Huang Kun Hui, former Secretary General to the President of Taiwan and Mr Liang Guo Xiong a legislator from Honkong.

Although, Mr Bob Brown Australian Green's Party leader was not present at the conference but he have sent his recorded DVD message that was shown during the inauguration of the conference.

Before delivering the inaugural address Mr Dawa Tsering the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama read the Kalon Tripa Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche's congratulatory message to the conference organizer and to all the participants.



Representative Mr Dawa Tsering (2nd from R), with the Chinese Democrats at the conference.

Later, Mr Dawa Tsering briefed about Tibetan people's desire and demand for genuine autonomy for Tibetan people. He also mentioned the significance of awarding Nobel Peace Prize to Mr Liu Xio Bo, which marks international recognition for the Chinese democratic movement. To all the members of Chinese democratic movement, he emphasized that the time has now reached to work united as a single entity for change and democracy in their home country.

On the second day of the conference Representative Mr Dawa Tsering spoke about the Middle-Way Approach for resolving the issue of Tibet. He also spoke on the details of how this vision have evolved and about the immense support received from the international community and the governments for this approach. He also briefed about the founding of Chinese-Tibetan Association in Taiwan.

The conference mainly discussed the future options and strategies of how to bring democratic change in China and thus making this conference a landmark in the history of Chinese democratic movement.


2010 International Conference on the Prospects and Exploration of China's Democracy,
holding in Taipei , 11-12 November 2010.


[Report filed by Kalsang Lhundup, Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama]

Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, Dudjom Rinpoche 1904-1987

Great terton, enlightened yogin, the representative of Padmasambhava whose past lives include Sariputra, Saraha and Dudjom Lingpa; Dzogchen master, prolific author and meticulous scholar; he wrote more than 23 volumes of gong-ter and treatises, including his monumental "Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapas."

Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche was born on June 10, 1904, into a noble family in the southeastern Tibetan province of Pemako, one of the four "hidden lands" of Guru Rinpoche. He was of royal Tsenpo lineage, descended from Nyatri Tsenpo and from Puwo Kanam Dhepa, the king of Powo. His father Kathok Tulku Norbu Tenzing, was a famous tulku of the Pemako region from Kathok Monastery. His mother, who had descended from Ratna Lingpa and belonged to the local member of the Pemako tribe, was called Namgyal Drolma. Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche has always been specially connected with the Kathok Monastery, as can be seen from his previous incarnations : his ninth manifestation was Dampa Dayshek (A.D. 1122-1192) who founded the Kathok Monastery, and his fifteenth manifestation was Sonam Detsen who was responsible for the revitalization of the Kathok Monastery.

He was recognized as the incarnation of Dudjom Lingpa (A.D. 1835-1904), a famous discoverer of many concealed teachings or "treasures" (Terma), particularly those related to the practice of Vajrakilaya (Dorje Phurba). It had been Dudjom Lingpa's intention to visit southern Tibet to reveal the sacred land of Pemako, but being unable to do so, he predicted that his successor would be born there and reveal it himself. Za-Pokhung Tulku Gyurme Ngedon Wangpo, who was a holder of the teachings of Dudjom Lingpa, and Lama Thubten Chonjor of Ling came to Pemako and enthroned him. Gradually the disciples of the previous Dudjom came and paid their respects to him.

He began his studies with Khenpo Aten in Pemako, absorbing such texts and commentaries as the Dom Sum (Three Precepts), Chod Juk, and many others. At the age of five he began discovering Ter (hidden treasures, mind transmissions), and at eight began to study Santideva's "Bodhicaryavatara" with Lama Urygen Chogyur Gyatso, a personal disciple of the great Patrul Rinpoche (A.D.1808-1887). He studied for 16 years with Tulku Gyurme Ngedon and had great realizations with the Dzogchen teachings. From Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, who regarded Dudjom as his heart son, he received the tantric teachings (Gyud, Lung, and Men-Ngag) of the "Sangwa Nyingthig." From Jedrung Thinley Jampai Jungne (Dudjom Namkhai Dorje) of Riwoche, he received the "Kangyur" lung, "Dam Ngag Dzod," the 17 "Sangchen Ngepe" tantras, "Nyingthig Yabshi," as well as all the Dzogchen teachings. From Tulku Kunzang Thekchog Tenpai Gyaltsan, he also received many deep and important teachings. From Ngagtsun Gendun Gyatso, Rinpoche received all the teachings of Pema Lingpa, the "Dzod Dun" (the Seven Treasures of Longchenpa, 1308-1363), among many others. From the great Khenpo Jamde, Pande Odzer (disciple of Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche), Rinpoche received the "Nyingma Kama," "Kagyed" empowerments, Sangye Lingpa's "Lama Gongdu" and "Sangwa Nyingpo" according to the Zur tradition; as well as the cycle of the "Osel Sangwa Nyingthig." He also received many tantra commentaries like the great commentaries of Mipham himself, the "Nyingthig Yabshi," and so on. Rinpoche considered Khenpo Jamde as his second kindest Lama and took many vows of Pratimoksha, of Bodhisattva, and of Vajrayana from him.

There were many other great teachers from whom Rinpoche had received all the teachings of the Nyingma School. From Togden Tenpa, he received both the wang and lung of the "Dzogchen Nyingthig Yabshi," which was the lineage of the great Khenpo Nyoshul Lungtok Tenpai Nyima. He also received teachings from the great beings who were disciples of the great Khenpo Nyoshul Lungtok Tenpai Nyima: Khenpo Ngawang Palzang, Chadral Sangye Dorje, Lama Urgyen Rigdzin, Kathok Chagtsa Tulku, Pulung Sangye Tulku, and Gyurme Phendei Ozer, among others. He received teachings from them and he also gave teachings to them. Dudjom Rinpoche attended the great monastic universities of Central Tibet, such as Mindroling, Dorje Drak and Tarje Tingpoling, as well as those of East Tibet, like Kathok and Dzogchen. It was to Mindroling that he returned to perfect his understanding of the Nyingma tradition. Thus from the Mindroling Vajracarya, Dorzim Namdrol Gyatso, he learned the rituals, mandalas, songs, dance and music of Terdak Lingpa, along with many other teachings. He possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of all traditional branches of learning, including poetry, history, medicine, astrology and philosophy. Recognized by the highest lamas as possessing great blessing power in communicating the nature of mind. Key figure in the cultural revival among post-invasion Tibetan refugees.

Dudjom Rinpoche's main area of activity was in Central Tibet, where he maintained the Mindroling tradition, and especially at Pema Choling and his other seats in the Kongpo and Powo regions of southern Tibet. In Pemako, Rinpoche established many new monasteries and two colleges for both Gelong (ordained monks) and Ngagpa (yogis). In the Kongpo region, he reconstructed the Thadul Buchu Lhakhang, and close to it he built anew the monastery of Zangdok Palri. He also erected anew the tantric centre of Lama Ling. Dudjom Rinpoche became renowned throughout Tibet for the brilliance of his spiritual achievements, for his compassionate Bodhisattva activities, as well as for his unsurpassed scholarship. In 1958, as Tibet fell to the Chinese, he took his family Kalimpong, India, where they remained until moving to Kathmandu, Nepal in 1975. When the Tibetan culture was at a difficult time, Rinpoche played a key role in its renaissance among the refugee community, both through his teachings and his writings. He established a number of vital communities of practitioners in India and Nepal. At Tsopema (Rewalsar), he established a retreat centre; at Darjeeling, Rinpoche established Tsechu Gompa; in Orissa, he founded Dudul Rabten Ling; and in Kalimpong, Rinpoche founded Zangdok Palri Monastery. Near the Great Stupa at Boudhanath, Nepal, Rinpoche erected the Dudjom Gompa. He also actively encouraged the study of the Nyingma tradition at the Tibetan Institute for Higher Studies in Sarnath, assigning as its director Khenpo Palden Sherab Rinpoche. With his disciples (among them Palden Sherab, Tsewang Dongyal, Sogyal, and Gyatrul rinpoches), he established the sangha in Europe and North America. He founded many Dharma centres in the West, including Dorje Nyingpo and Orgyen Samye Choling in France; Yeshe Nyingpo (Gyatrul Rinpoche); Padmasambhava Buddhist Centers (Khenpo rinpoches Palden Sherab and Tsewang Dongyal); and Orgyen Cho Dzong in the United States. Over the last one-and-a-half-decades of his life, Dudjom Rinpoche devoted much of his time to teaching in the West where he has successfully established the Nyingma tradition. In his first world-wide tour in 1972, Dudjom Rinpoche visited the centre of his Chinese spiritual representative Lama Sonam Chokyi Gyaltsan in Hong Kong, and also visited London at the invitation of Ven. Sogyal Rinpoche. He died January 17, 1987.

Dudjom Rinpoche's Spreading of the Dharma

Unique in having received the transmission of all the existing teachings of the immensely rich Nyingma tradition, Dudjom Rinpoche was famous in particular as a great Terton (treasure revealer), whose Termas are now widely taught and practiced, and as the leading exponent of Dzogchen. Indeed, he was regarded as the living embodiment of Guru Rinpoche and His representative in this time. A master of masters, he was acknowledged by the leading Tibetan Lamas as possessing the greatest power and blessing in communicating the nature of mind, and it was to him that they sent their students when prepared for this "Mind-direct" transmission. Dudjom Rinpoche was the teacher of many of the most prominent lamas active today. As his teachers had prophesized, Rinpoche gave the "Rinchen Terdzod" ("Treasury of Precious Termas") ten times, Pema Lingpa's "Pedling Cho Kor" three times, the "Kangyur" and "Nyingma Gyudbum", the Drupwang of "Kagyed", "Jatson Podruk", the complete empowerment and transmission of the "Nyingma Kama", as well as teachings according to his own Terma ("Dudjom Tersar") tradition, and innumerable other important teachings.

Dudjom Rinpoche's Great Realizations

Taking his practice very seriously, Dudjom Rinpoche went to a secret place called Kenpa Jong (or Phuntsok Gatsel), and accomplished the Dorje Phurba of "Dudjom Namchag Pudri". At Buddha Tse Phuk, Rinpoche did Tse-Drup and his Tse-chang boiled. He further received the auspicious signs when he was practicing the gongter of Dudul Drollo. When in Paro Tak-Tshang (the Tiger's Nest), Dudjom Rinpoche rediscovered the "Pudri Rekpung", the "Tsokye Thugthig" and the "Khandro Thugthig", for which he wrote down the main parts. In short, in all these important holy places where he practiced, Rinpoche always experienced the signs of accomplishment.

Dudjom Rinpoche's Writings

Dudjom Rinpoche was world famous as a very prolific author and a scholar. His writings are celebrated for the encyclopaedic knowledge they display of all the traditional branches of Buddhist learning, including poetics, history, medicine, astrology and philosophy. A writer of inspirational poetry of compelling beauty, he had a special genius for expressing the meaning and realization of Dzogchen with a crystal-like lucidity. His "Collected Works" (Sungbum), numbering twenty-five volumes, did not include his complete output. Among the most widely read of his works are the "Fundamentals of the Buddhist Teachings" and "History of the Nyingma School", which he composed soon after his arrival in India. These works have now been translated into English by Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein and published by Wisdom Publications, while his Chinese spiritual representative Lama Sonam Chokyi Gyaltsan (Guru Lau Yui-che), with the help of Ming-chu Tulku, had also translated it into Chinese and published by the Secret Vehicle Publications in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Another important and major part of his work was the revision, correction and editing of many ancient and modern texts, including the 58 volumes of the whole of the Canonical Teachings of the Nyingma School ("Nyingma Kama"), a venture which he began at the age of 74, just as Jamgon Kongtrul had collected the Terma teachings.His own private library contains the largest collection of precious manuscripts and books outside of Tibet.

PEMA KOE ( PEMA KOD )

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1. INTRODUCTION
Pemako literary means "Lotus array" in Tibetan language It is a region located in the southeast cornor of Tibet. Historically a hunting ground for Abors the region became famous specially during the visit of Guru Rinpoche in 8th century.Pemako is consider as the most sadred place in Tibet, blessed with holy virtues.Many popular Lamas visited the place in search of termas which were made hidden during crisis in Tibet,the most renowned lama who was born in Pemako is H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche (1904).

2. GEROGRAPHY
Pemakoe (Pemakoe,Pemakod or Pema ko) is located in the altitude ranging from 2000 to 3500 Meter above sea level,it covers 30,000 Sq Km of area stretching from south of Kongpo and Powo(Kham)through lower Tsangpo into Arunachal Pradesh (Tuting region), surrounded by high mountains (tallest is Mt.Namcha Barwa 7,782m)with lush vegetation,one can find many species of wild animals in this part of Tibetan Plateau.The region unlike other parts of Tibet receives plenty of rain hence,it is so diverse in nature that you can find subalpine conifer forests in the north to the temperate coniferous forest in the south in low lying area of River Tsangpo gorges. In contemporary Tibet Pemako has become a mere historical name, it has been officially termed as Metok County (after Metok Dzong) or spelled by Chinese as Medog or Mòtuō irrespectively which is under Nyingchi Prefecture, Tibetan Autonomous Region. According to Chinese govt,Metok county covers an area of about 30,000 Sq Km and has population of 9200 (2001 census) people.

3. HISTORY
Historically Pemako was under the jurisdiction of Powo king who ruled whole area of which defines Pemakoe (Now Metok county and part of Arunachal pradesh (upper siang).During Powo rule pemako people had good relations with the Poba people,they jointly fought agianst Abors (Adis,mishmis etc.) who regularly disturbed the pilgrimage.Hardly any people lived in Pemako before Tsangla migrants settled in the region,currently Pemakopas makes up the majority of the population. People of pemako were the descendants of those Tsangla goup who migrated to the land of hidden valley to escape aggression in their original homeland ( eastern Bhutan during Drukpa rule) but this hasn't been confirmed yet. When first Tsangla people arrived in Pemako region they found that the land was unused,they settled in the lower yarlung Tsangpo valley,surrounded by Kongpopas in the northwest and Pobas in the northeast and Lopas in the south Pemakopas adopted many customs from them but still retained their original language which they still speak at home. However By 1931 Lhasa Government when they dismantled Powo kingdom and absorbed it into Central Tibetan rule, Pemako also went into the jurisdiction of Lhasa Govt. Ganden Phodrang (Tibet govt) had its governor stationed in Metok Dzong who look after the territory and establshed communications between Lhasa and Pemako people.Hence tax to be paid to Tibet Lhasa govt which was compulsory for all the people living in the region in the form of cash or kind.

4. YARLUNG TSANGPO GRAND CANYON
River Tsangpo which originates from Lake Mansarovar in Western Tibet flows through 1500km eastward when it reaches Mt Namcha Barwa it bends making a U shape turn to penerate into lower Himalayan ranges,thus curving one the deepest Canyon in the world.Its waters drop from 3,000 meter near Pe to about 300 m at the end of the gorge.

5. DEMOGRAPHY
Pemako is surely not an homogeneous society, different ethnic people lived here from many years,people like Pemakopas(Tsangla),Kongpowas,Poba Tibetans and Lopas(Adi,mishis etc.)live here but Pemakopas make up the majority about 65-70% of the total population of 10,000-15,000,remaining are Khampas,kongpowas and Lopas. ( According to 2001 census in Metok county (Dzong) there are about 10,000 people )

6. LANGUAGE (Tsangla language)
Tsangla is widely spoken and understood by many non-tsangla speakers in the area,Tibetan is also widely spoken language apart from Khampa ke and Kongpo ke.As majority are Pemakopas,Tsangla spoken is well established.if we talk about Tsangla language it's a branch of Tibeto-Burman bodish language which is mutually intelligible with those Tsangla in Eastern Bhutan.The language has evolved into a new dialect which took many loan words from Kongpo tibetan and kham ke due to centuries of close interactions with them.Though Tsangla language which doesn't have tones unlike central bodish,but Tsangla language in Pemako has high and low sound, which is absence in other Tsangla speaking people of neighboring countries.

7. RELIGION
People in Pemako follow Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.Nyingma means old translation in Tibetan.

Beyul of the Himalaya

Throughout the famed Himalayan mountains are large, hidden valleys known as beyul, places of peace and refuge revered by Tibetan Buddhists. These secret lands of legend have drawn Buddhist seekers for centuries, and one called Pemako is thought to have been the inspiration for Shangri-La, the mystical Himalayan utopia described in James Hilton’s 1933 novel “Lost Horizon.” Because of their remote and isolated location, and the respect with which they have been treated by the communities that reside in or near them, the beyul contain high levels of biodiversity in a setting of tremendous beauty. However, outside influences like globalization, nationalization, cultural assimilation and tourism have begun to erode the power of the traditional beyul concept in many places, while development encroaches on the physical landscape. If modern conservation and management efforts are to be successful, they must find ways to preserve and integrate longstanding traditional beliefs and practices. In his introduction to the Ian Baker book “Heart of the World,” the Dalai Lama writes, “From a Buddhist perspective, sacred environments such as Pemako are not places to escape the world, but to enter it more deeply.”
The Land and Its People
The beyul are large mountain valleys, sometimes encompassing hundreds of square kilometers, found in the Buddhist areas of the Himalaya in Nepal, Tibet, India and Bhutan. They originate from the beliefs of the Nyingmapa sect of Tibetan Buddhism, which has a rich tradition of respect for natural sites. According to ancient Buddhist texts, the beyul were preserves of Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, who introduced Buddhism to Tibet and founded the Nyingmapa tradition in the eighth century. Information on their locations was kept on scrolls hidden under rocks and inside caves, monasteries and stupa (shrines). Some beyul are now inhabited, others are occasionally visited by spiritual seekers and adventurers, and some are still unknown. The total number of beyul, discovered and not, is often said to be 108.
One of the most legendary beyul is Pemako (“the Secret Land Shaped Like a Lotus”), in southeastern Tibet, east of a dramatic Tsangpo River gorge known as the Great Bend, where the river curves sharply into the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The Tsangpo Gorge is three times deeper than the Grand Canyon, with enormous waterfalls in which the river drops more than 8,000 feet in a 150-mile stretch. These waterfalls, where several explorers have lost their lives, are said to be a gateway to a secret inner part of Beyul Pemako. The Tsangpo River connects Pemako to one of Tibet’s most sacred mountains, Mount Kailash, and the landscape of the Tsangpo-Pemako area is said to represent the body of the goddess Dorje Pagmo, with the river her spine and the surrounding peaks her breasts.
In Nepal and Tibet, around Mount Everest, are the Khenbalung, Khumbu, Rolwaling, Rongshar, Kyirong and Nubri sacred valleys. Khumbu was discovered by ancestors of the Sherpa people, who had left Tibet to escape religious persecution in the 15th and 16th centuries. They entered the valley to seek refuge and made a new homeland there. Buddhist monasteries and sacred mountains have brought many spiritual travelers to Khumbu, more accessible than the mysterious Pemako.
Many other beyul are known only to local people and they often transcend political boundaries. The exact geographical locations of beyul are often debated because their locations are also spiritual. A person might follow instructions from the ancient texts but still not be able to see or experience the beyul if not in the proper spiritual state.
Beyul are religious conceptions, but because of the reverence with which they are treated by local residents, hunting, fighting and disturbing the natural landscape are considered inappropriate behaviors and are avoided. As a result, beyul have become significant oases of biodiversity as well. They typically have plentiful water coming from the surrounding mountains, and their terrain is covered with forests, lakes, alpine meadows, and snow and ice fields. These valleys cover large areas and have vast elevation ranges. Their size and topographic variations provide a home for a diverse array of plants and animals; their isolation and inaccessibility generally means low levels of human disturbance.
Within the beyul, particular natural features such as lakes, rocks and patches of forest are often regarded as especially sacred because they are home to supernatural beings. Some gathering of plant resources, such as medicinal plants, firewood and timber, is allowed, but collectors make sure they have not harvested more than is needed. The animals in beyul are protected by the Buddhist taboo against killing. The residents of the Kharta and Rongshar areas in Tibet, for example, challenged British explorers who wanted to hunt when they arrived in 1921. Endangered species that live in beyul include the snow leopard, musk deer, red panda and Himalayan black bear.
The sacredness of the beyul also means that human conflicts are spiritually discouraged. In Beyul Dremoshung in the Indian state of Sikkim, two groups, the Lepchas and Bhutias, hold an annual festival that commemorates the signing of a peace treaty. The festival celebrates the deity of the beyul’s Mount Kangchendjunga, who is supposed to have witnessed the treaty signing. Pemako is currently threatened by China’s plans to build a hydroelectric dam, twice as big as the controversial Three Gorges Dam, which would harness the power of the Tsangpo waterfalls to pump water to northeast China. The project would displace the traditional Tibetan villages above the gorge and impact millions of people downriver in India, who will be deprived of river water and the nutrients its flood levels bring into soil. The artificial lake created by the dam would also submerge untouched forests and wildlife.

Dear Pema,Miao

Your comment is heart moving definitely I will try my best to bring closer young Pemakoepa to strive to build new era with reputation along with progressive among Tibetan settlements in India is my vision for future generation of Pemakoepa.

From Pekoe Tsewang
Bylakuppe/Mysore

H.E Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche Visit to Miao and Tezu

H.E Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche is the head of Rigon Thupten Mindrolling Monastery based at Phuntsokling Tibetan Settlement,Orissa. He is the holder of two spiritual lineages, including both the Ripa Lineage, a dungjud or hereditary line, into which he was born, and as well as head of the Pema Lingpa lineage of Gyeling Orgyan Mindrolling monastery in the hidden land of Pemako.

Rinpoche visited Miao and Tezu Tibetan Settlement on 18th October 2010; he was officially invited by two settlements to give a Buddhist teaching to the settlers. On 19th Oct, Rinpoche gave teaching on Buddhist path and basic transmission on Buddhist sutras, on second day, general public were conferred an initiation of life long empowerment.

During his stay at Miao, settlement office arranged a meeting with the heads of various monasteries, local committees and the staff, in the meeting many social related issues were raised and discussed. Settlement officer's appraised on few problems and requested for assistance whereas, he has given commitment to find viable solution in near future.

Rinpoche visited Choepheling Tibetan Cooperative Society, Siddhartha Home and Central School for Tibetan Miao. At School, Rinpoche gave valuable advice to the students and staff later student presented Tibetan cultural dance performance to the Rinpoche and his entourage.
Rinpoche also visited Gayjay Lhakhang, Mani Lhakang and Nartong Sangag Choeling Monastery at camp no 1.

On 23rd October, Rinpoche left for Tezu Dargyeling Tibetan Settlement for three days visit, Rinpoche will give a teaching and Dzogchen initiation to the general public.

By Thupten Khimsar Ex-Representative Miao Choepheling,Delhi.

Pemakoe

There is a tradition in Tibetan folklore of beyul -- secret or hidden lands, usually described as valleys. The tradition of the Himalayan Buddhist Elders -- the Nyingmapa -- says that Guru Rinpoche empowered 108 of these havens, places where there was peace and prosperity, and spiritual progress was facilitated.
This article deals mainly with Pemako, Shambhala (or, Shambala) and Shangri-la. There are many more -- real, legendary, mythological, and imaginary.
Pemakoe
Lotus-land or Pemako is somewhere on the border of East Tibet and Assam in northeast India. Terma or hidden teachings describing the way to Pemako were revealed by Rigdzin Jetsun Nyingpo (1585-1656) and also by Rigdzin Dudu1 Dorje (1615-1672.)
• Pemako neyig revealed in 1959 to Khamtrul Jamyang Dondrup Rinpoche.
Nov. 23/04, SF Gate review of The Heart of the World: A Journey to the Last Secret Place by Ian Baker; introduction by the Dalai Lama:

For nearly 2,000 years, the notion of an earthly paradise hidden among the peaks of Asia has captivated the human imagination. In the fourth or fifth century C.E., a Chinese poet named Tao Qian wrote of a peach blossom path that a fisherman follows to a secret tunnel. On the other side of the passage lies a lavish spiritual oasis, the first hint of James Hilton's "Shangri-La." Fifteen centuries after Tao Qian, British explorers combed the canyons of southern Tibet for just such a beyul, a "hidden land" of bliss and nectar that, as described in ancient Buddhist texts, lay in a sacred range called Pemako.

Enlivening their search was a geographical oddity. Deep in that remote region of Tibet, the mighty Tsangpo River, which flows onto the Indian subcontinent as the Brahmaputra, churns around a great bend. The river then disappears from sight, lost in an inaccessible canyon flanked by sheer cliffs. This "Five Mile Gap" had never been explored and was believed to boast the highest
waterfall in Asia -- the "Hidden Falls of the Brahmaputra." Behind those cascades, Tibetan texts claimed, lay the door to Yangsang, the ultimate hidden land of immortality, reachable only by those with purified hearts and minds.

Ian Baker, a Kathmandu-based writer, explorer and Tantric scholar (and a close colleague and confidant during many of my own Himalayan adventures), first learned of beyuls in 1977, while studying Buddhist scroll painting in Nepal. They quickly became an obsession, and in subsequent audiences with high Buddhist lamas, he refined his understanding of how one might reach them.

The Dalai Lama, in one of several audiences, assured Baker that it would take more than a good compass. Only after mastering their innermost depths, His Holiness said, could Buddhist practitioners gain entrance to these hidden realms. Beyuls do exist on earth, Baker was assured, but lie beyond the range of our ordinary senses. "It's a bit like quantum physics," the Dalai Lama
explained, "which recognizes parallel dimensions and multiple universes."

With a degree of conviction almost unimaginable in this age of attention deficit disorder, Baker began his do-or-die search for Yangsang. Guided by Chatral Rinpoche -- a Gandalf-like lama who had gained some knowledge of Pemako's secrets -- Baker began a series of long, solitary retreats in remote Himalayan caves, subsisting on dried meats and grains. He continued to live and study in
Kathmandu, learning the Tibetan language and poring over terma, long-concealed texts that, like weathered treasure maps, provide clues to the whereabouts of the hidden lands.

Baker made his first trip into the Tsangpo area in April 1993 as a member -- in body, if not in spirit -- of Rick Fisher's expedition to raft the merciless waters of the gorge. Along with a fellow expedition member named Ken Storm Jr., Baker separated from Fisher's luckless group. The two men (along with local porters and Mr. Gunn, as their plaintive Chinese guide Geng Quanru called himself) spent weeks thrashing through the Pemako jungles, attempting to access the
still-hidden corners of the Tsangpo.

True to the warnings of sages and explorers, Pemako itself was far from "the Promised Land of Tibetan prophecy" that British explorer Frank Kingdon Ward had sought in 1924. Even Kingdon Ward, a botanist who loved Pemako, wrote of the "perpetual rain, snakes and wild animals, giant stinging nettles and myriads of biting and blood-sucking ticks, hornets, flies and leeches," none of which spared Baker and Storm.

But Pemako, according to Buddhist tradition, is more than its rocks, swamps and leeches. It is the earthly representation of a Tibetan goddess named Dorje Pagmo. Each cliff, cave and waterway is part of her body. Between 1993 and 1998, Baker, accompanied sometimes by the cerebral Storm and often by his rakish friend and fellow scholar-explorer Hamid Sardar, would make half a dozen expeditions through her anatomy.

A chronicle of their hardships would fill this entire section. Porters abandoned them; Chinese bureaucrats attempted to thwart their plans. Torrential rains, clouds of tiny gnats and voracious leeches drove them to despair (at one point, Sardar wakes up screaming, with a tiger leech affixed to the roof of his mouth). The waterfall they sought could easily be a mere chimera. "We [were]
journeying without real permission," Baker concedes, "to a place that did not exist, as far as governments and maps were concerned. What we would find there was even more uncertain."

True believers, Baker, Storm and Sardar never abandoned their respect for the goddess whose body they had entered. With dry good humor, Baker acknowledges his half-mad desire to persevere, a desire that seems, at times, more the obsession of a Captain Ahab than an enlightened seeker. As a
character in his own narration, Baker quickly emerges as a sort of modern avatar of Sir Richard Francis Burton, driven equally by brilliance and hubris.

Baker's twin goals would have humbled Indiana Jones: to locate the legendary waterfall and win entrance into the mythical realm we know as Shangri-La. It's now a matter of record that he succeeded at one of these quests. The Hidden Falls of Dorje Pagmo, as Baker renamed them, were "discovered" by his National Geographic-sponsored team on Nov. 8, 1998. (Local hunters, not
surprisingly, had known how to reach the falls all along. It took Baker, with his command of the local language and respect for Buddhist ritual, to win their trust.)

But what of Yangsang? What of Shangri-La? One of the book's many delights -- and "The Heart of the World" is among the most complex, compelling and satisfying adventure books I have ever read -- is to follow Baker's inner journey as he tries to balance his Buddhist aspirations with an admittedly materialistic desire to find the key into Yangsang.

At one point, Baker seeks that key -- an actual, literal key -- on the lichen- covered face of a sacred cliff: "The mist, the rain, the vegetal growth, the micro-organisms veiled from sight, all entered through the pulsations and cuts in my scratched and torn hands," Baker writes at one point, "and where I could not go I could only yield and be entered . . . . All Pemako seemed to coalesce into the square foot of rock directly before me, and all its hidden depths were concealed only by my limited awareness and the mechanisms of mind itself."

He faces similar frustrations in the gorge itself. Tibetans, Baker reminds us, view waterfalls as an interface between the physical and ethereal universes -- the worlds of body and spirit. And "some doors cannot be opened, " he allows, "until they open in us first."

On occasion, Baker's narration becomes a bit esoteric, and -- lest we have any doubt about the ethereal nature and symbolic meaning of waterfalls -- he makes the above observation for innumerable perspectives.

It's a forgivable excess. By the book's end, Baker and his companions have journeyed into the purgatorial Tsangpo Gorge half a dozen times, overcoming every obstacle to find their grail. The conflicting emotions sparked by their historic discovery -- pride and humility, exhilaration and exhaustion, pure joy and an inevitable sense of anticlimax -- can be reconciled only within the context of Tibetan Buddhism and its doctrine of nonduality. There are no opposites, and no separations. This world is a display of interlaced phenomenon, which the mind reflects as an implacable mirror.

To grasp this realization, Baker concedes, is the ultimate goal of all seekers.

"The Heart of the World," though not easy to absorb, is one of the most extraordinary tales of adventure and discovery ever told. On the prosaic level, it's the search for a hidden waterfall that eluded explorers for more than a century. But it is also -- perhaps primarily -- an exploration into the heart of Tibetan Buddhism, which views the animistic spirits of sacred geography as metaphors for the nature of mind.

Both journeys are fascinating, and each is dependent on the other. From harrowing encounters with tribal poisoning cults to a descent into the roaring "throat" of a Buddhist goddess, Baker's quest is an unforgettable saga. Like his fellow explorers, we find our own inner doors opening along the journey.

A century from now, "The Heart of the World" will still ignite the imagination of anyone who loves to explore and seeks the deeper meaning of his explorations. A fearless adventurer in both body and spirit, Baker has written one for the ages.
Ian Baker's The Heart of the World. Penguin Press, 511pps US $27.95

Miao, Changlang

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Miao, Changlang
— town —
Miao, Changlang
Location of Miao, Changlang
in Arunachal Pradesh and India

Coordinates
27.49°N 96.20°E / 27.49°N 96.2°ECoordinates: 27.49°N 96.20°E / 27.49°N 96.2°E

Country India

State
Arunachal Pradesh

District(s)
Changlang

Time zone
IST (UTC+5:30)

Miao is a sub-division in Changlang district. It is located about 25 km from the Assam border.
Miao is located in a region where it gets one of the heaviest rainfall in the north-east India. The nao-dihing is the most important river flowing through Miao. The mountain range is called Patkai Bum and is the eastern extension of the Himalayas. The tall forests make the region a good haven for smugglers. The Miao region covers the towns of Diyun and Chowkham. Diyun being the stronghold of the Chakmas and Chowkham to the Khamptis. Chowkham has generated wealth from plywood business to a degree that once it was the richest village in Asia.[citation needed] Though it is low in literacy, most of the people here boast of spunky cars.[citation needed] It is a small town, but is well connected by road and has a transport station with a bus available daily.
It’s also a popular tourist location[citation needed]. The Namdapha tiger project is situated here. There is a mini zoo, a museum and various other sites to be visited. Deban is the main tourist spot, 25 km from Miao. The people here are mainly engaged in government jobs, but the people of nearby villages survive on agriculture. Jhum cultivation is very famous here, now people have started tea plantations too. It is a developing town, with about four primary schools and one secondary school.
Miao has a cosmopolitan atmosphere. The main tribes in this region are the Tangsa, Singpho, and Lishu. A major chunk of Chakma and Tibetan refugees have a settlement area. It is a custom for the Tibetans to burn effigies of Chinese leaderships during the anniversary of the exile of their leader to India. To the north of Chowkham is the region inhabited by the Mismis. Their region is famous for opium cultivation because its dry mountainous landscape is very suitable to growing opium.

THE TIGERS of PEMAKO

________________________________________

TEXT BY GEORGE B. SCHALLER
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY, NEW YORK

Namjagbarwa Mountain Summit.Photo by Lu Zhi
We struggle through deep snow toward a pass, the Doxiong La. On the other side in the remote forests of Pemako or Motuo are the last tigers in Tibet. Far below us, the Yarlung Tsangpo enters the deepest gorge in the world, rushing between Gyala Pelri and Namche Barwa, both peaks over 7000m high, then turns east and finally south toward India. With me are three coworkers, Lu Zhi of Peking University, Zhang Endi of the Wildlife Conservation Society, and Zhang Hong of the Tibet Forestry Department, as well as eighteen porters to carry our one-month supply of food and equipment. Our task is to survey the wildlife in this isolated region guarded by rugged ranges on three sides and the Indian border on the fourth. It is mid-May 2000, and the mountain passes are open only from now to October.
We hurry on, away from the desolation of rock and snow, toward a basin with stands of fir and birch where we will camp. Two monal pheasants glide downslope and we record their presence in our notebooks. The region had been given protection as the Yarlung Tsangpo Great Canyon National Reserve, 9168 sq. km in size, the previous year. About 15,000 people, mostly Tibetan, Moinpa, and Lhopa live in scattered villages throughout the reserve. Many practice agriculture, converting forest to field, and many hunt wildlife such as takin, goral, muskdeer, macaque monkeys, and black bear for meat, hides, and other products. We have come to assess the impact of such activities.

Renchengpeng Monastery in Metdog. By Schaller
I am particularly interested in the status of tigers. Once half a century ago, tigers were so abundant in parts of China that they were exterminated as pests. Now this symbol of power and strength is on the verge of extinction in the country. Stragglers from Russia visit northeast China, though some may stay awhile, and a few tigers endure in the southeast. Does Pemako with its last Tibetan tigers have a viable breeding population? Tigers were widespread here as recently as 1980, we are told, but now they are rare. Yet villagers complain to the government that tigers kill their cattle and horses.
Tigers and other wildlife do, I hope, have a safe haven in Pemako because it is a sacred place. I can describe a landscape??its mountains, forests, and wildlife. However, a place may have meaning beyond its reality in that people are aware of hidden and intangible forces that I cannot see. The Indian sage Padmasambhava visited Tibet in the eight century and established Buddhism by converting belligerent deities and demons into protectors of the new faith. During his wanderings he created hidden lands or beyul, sanctuaries of inner peace and outer tranquility, earthy paradises filled with mysterious power. He wrote guidebooks to these hidden lands and secreted them, knowing that those of faith would ultimately find them. Dechen Pemako, The Lotus of Great Bliss, is one such beyul, not identified until the 17th century. Is wildlife thriving in this land of peace and purity?

One of big bends on Yarlung Tsangpo. By Schaller
Tropical warmth wraps itself around us as we descend. Bamboo, wild bananas, and tree ferns crowd the path. Leeches, malarial mosquitoes, biting flies, and heavy downpours hide from me the spiritual aspects of this land. The Monpa and Lhopa practice slash-and-burn agriculture in which forest is cut down and burned and a crop planted for a year or two before the fields are abandoned. More forest is then cut, often on steep slopes to cause erosion and landslides. The main crop on the slopes is maize, used to make an alcoholic drink, the ancient forests sacrificed for a beverage. I wondered if the people could not instead have a sustainable income from the forest by collecting and selling edible mushrooms, medicinal plants, conifer seeds for making cooking oil, and other products. We see no wildlife other than fleeting flocks of babblers and warblers and an occasional cryptic thrush. Tigers? Yes, sometimes one wanders through, we are told at villages, but it does not remain.
We are not only in a sacred hidden land but also are moving through the body of the female deity Vajrayogini who envelops the region with her protective spirit. For example, the Yarlung Tsangpo is her central energy channel, Gyala Pelri symbolizes her head, Namche Barwa one of her breasts, and the small gompa Rinchenpung her navel, the center of bliss. As ecological pilgrims we too travel to Rinchenpung high in the hills, braving whatever adversity put in our paths by demons. Yet it is clear that Vajrayogini has not been able to instill a reverence and compassion for all living beings, the basic precept of .Buddhism, in all those who make Pemako their home.

Inside a Moinpa house in Metdog. By Lu Zhi
After days of trekking we reach the administrative unit or xiang of Gedang in the Chimdro valley, the one place where tigers are said to kill much livestock. Here we are hospitably received by leader Zhang Qiusheng who gives us valuable information. He estimates that four to five tigers use the valley including a female with cub. There are 126 Tibetan households in 11 villages which own a total of 879 cattle and yaks, 437 horses, and 570 pigs. Tiger predation on livestock increased during the 1990s, reaching a peak in 1995 when 140 cattle and 27 horses were killed.
After that the number dropped to 67 cattle and 8 horses the year before our arrival. We sit with villagers in their squat wooden homes and drink butter tea to find out about their livestock losses and their feelings about tigers. In interviews with 21 households we learn that each owns on average 6.2 cattle, 4.4 horses, and 3.1 pigs of which tigers killed 0.8 cattle and 0.2 horses during the previous twelve months; nine households have no losses. A head of cattle is worth about $370 (3000 yuan) and a horse double that. With an average annual household income of about $800 (6500 yuan), even the loss of one animal has a serious economic impact.
What can be done? One reason that tigers prey so much on livestock is because their wild prey has been decimated by hunters: tigers simply cannot find much to eat except livestock.

Dr. Schaller in Metdog
Another reason is that cattle and horses are turned lose in the forest where they wander unguarded. Crowded around a smoking fire in a villager's house, we ask the assembled crowd what should be done about the problem. Comments are diverse: kill all tigers; nothing can be done because tigers are protected by law; it is up to government to find a solution. We in turn suggest that each village should guard its animals cooperatively. Tigers are reclusive and no one has ever been attacked; they would hesitate to prey on livestock with a person near. The cats also prefer thick cover. The vicinity of villages has abandoned fields densely overgrown with ferns and shrubs, an ideal situation for stalking livestock. Clear such areas and convert them to pastures, we advise. We think our suggestions sensible, but, as is pointed out to us, this requires extra work. Of course the intensive hunting of wildlife must also cease to allow the tiger's natural prey to recover.

A tiger in the wild in Medog. By Lu Zhi
With us is Dawa, the deputy governor of the county. Daily he hears of our concerns for the wildlife, forests, and livelihood of the people. As we prepare to leave Pemako north over the Gawalong La, he says one evening: "Today I tell you the truth. I was a hunter. For the past days we worked together and we were always thinking. You are right,the tiger needs wildlife. I promise not to hunt again."

About seven years have passed since we visited Pemako. I wonder if the deity Vajrayogini has protected Tibet's last tigers in this sacred hidden land.

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