In the 80's & 90's Dalai Lama could work world media. By the 2010's China's media influence was stronger, and social media was the demon he could not subdue. Let's hope his successor is social savvy.
Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, religious, spiritual leader of Tibetans and political leader of Tibetans-in-exile in Dharamsala (in India), refugee, author, Nobel Peace Prize winner, human rights advocate, and 2013 most popular world leader (tied with Barack Obama) recently had a very bad day.
He made a joke that makes no sense to someone outside his culture, a cultural trait or behaviour that younger Tibetans might ignore and let slide into history.
Australian Tibetan activist Kyinzom Dongue explained further
Screenshot from Twitter
The boy and his Mum were at pains to try to explain and help damp down the furore.
But in the social media world, it was manna from heaven for CCP shills, and social media players looking for a quick cheap shot. In fact, while CCP shills were busy, christian extremists, conservative commentators, sensationalist youtubers, anyone keen to drive clicks and likes at any price, had something predictable to say, and went into overdrive.
In a world where people compete to out-woke each other, genuine cultural sensitivity and taking the time to think and research what happened, took a back seat to racing to jump on the outrage bandwagon. “Influencers” were happy to trash the image of a man whose amazing life is of historical significance, just for 90 seconds of social media fame.
Social media opportunists 90 seconds of fame - at what cost ?
Payback Time:
CCP shills were hungry for something, anything because the Dalai Lama recently announced recognition of a Mongolian boy born in the US as the reincarnation of the third most important spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism, and most important spiritual leader in Mongolia. The footage was, after all, from mid February, and popped onto your mobile device, in April.
Tenth Time Lucky:
This time the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche has reincarnated into brains, money and connections. Apparently he is one of twin sons of Altannar Chinchuluun and Monkhnasan Narmandakh, a university mathematics professor and a national resources conglomerate executive, respectively. Better still, the boy’s grandmother, Garamjav Tseden, is a former member of Mongolian parliament. Independent Mongolia that is - not Inner Mongolia Pseudo-Autonomous Province of China.
If you don’t believe in reincarnation, you’d have to admit that if you are choosing someone to train as a warrior for the fight for cultural survival, this would have to be a good choice. If you do believe in reincarnation, then KJDR has picked the right family to get born into. I’m betting he will grow up to be educated, articulate, and media / social media savvy.
First Impressions:
Young people who have never heard of the Dalai Lama will get their ideas and impressions from 2 minute Tik Toks1, boosted by the CCP algorithm.
2:20 seconds, 173 K followers, 400 K views. and its basically hate speech and lies. And it’ll work.
Older folks have been aware of the Dalai Lama’s life and activity and respected his work. One act of weirdness at age 87 is not going to erase that.
Tik Toxic Generation:
But for those of us born yesterday, let’s remember who the Dalai Lama is, and why he should be respected:
In 1913 Tibet declared it’s independence. The previous Dalai Lama had taken steps to modernise. While never recognising it’s independence, China left them alone until the 1950 invasion.
In 1935 he was born to a peasant family and selected in 1940 to be the Dalai Lama, enthroned in 1950 during the time that Tibet was forced to surrender and sign unequal treaties with Beijing.
Let that sink in. At age 15, with ten years of tutoring and never having been outside Tibet, he was the representative of a nation negotiating the survival of their culture against an overwhelming power.
Promises that the “Tibetan Autonomous Region” (西藏自治区）would be actually autonomous and that local culture and religion would be protected were quickly revealed to be lies, and by 1959 during a revolt against China, he fled on foot to India.
He was permitted to settle and live in Dharamsala, which remains the seat of the Tibetan government in exile and the last outpost of Tibetan culture developing and growing in freedom.
He has spent his life organising his followers to keep the candle of Tibetan freedom alive.
He has lobbied the UN and foreign governments for support for Tibetan rights, to defend their culture, their language, their autonomy and highlighted incidences of Chinese oppression in his native land. Perhaps life for those in Tibet was also better for his efforts.
He worked hard and smart to gain support from opinion leaders; musicians like KD Lang and actors like Richard Gere. He wrote books that inspired and entertained and were sold around the world. He could visit nations and meet their leaders. In diplomatic terms he played a poker hand with only 1’s as if they were aces.
not the hand life dealt DL
His image was banned in Tibet, but his face was known around the world.
He was always fighting a battle for relevance against insuperable odds. Any ally in the public opinion war was pummelled. Richard Gere used an Oscars acceptance speech to promote the Tibetan cause, and was banned for 20 years.
The movie “Seven Years In Tibet”2 (1997) was unable to be produced in India due to Chinese pressure to stop the producers opening bank accounts, and electricity was cut off to the set. Other locations around the world were used. Lead actors Brad Pitt and David Thewliss were banned from visiting China, and Sony were banned from selling movies there. Director Jean - Jacques Annaud made grovelling apologies to be permitted to work with Chinese entities, and Sony did a grovelling tour to be allowed access to the Chinese market.
As the Chinese market grew in value, willingness to show support for the Dalai Lama has waned. Australian leaders like Julia Gillard would not meet with him3, and younger media figures didn’t like the idea of losing access to the Chinese audience.
At 87, either retirement, or rotation of the wheel of life, will take the Dalai Lama out of public life in the near future. The Dalai Lama’s life achievements cannot be diminished simply for an eccentric prank.
He led the preservation of a culture, and laid the foundation of hope for a nation that has lost it's territory through acts of violence and deception. He gave the world an example of never giving up or giving in, and of never being guided by hatred.
He will leave his people with a base to build on, effective, educated and dynamic successors who will never give in, and yes, absolutely, he has given the world an honourable example of leadership to emulate.
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Don’t let this happen, literally, or figuratively, anywhere.
While not strictly accurate in all detail, “Seven Years in Tibet” raises awareness of Tibetan issues and history for a western audience and raised - and used - the profile of the Dalai Lama in the west. While the sentiment and emotion may be similar, the actual desecration of a sand Mandala as shown in the YouTube clip above is not mentioned in the book.
