Robert Thurman responds to Nicholas Kristof

In the New York Times article entitled An Olive Branch From the Dalai Lama (August 6, 2008), Nicholas Kristof states, “One signal is this: For the first time, the Dalai Lama is willing to state that he can accept the socialist system in Tibet under Communist Party rule. This is something that Beijing has always demanded, and, after long discussion, the Dalai Lama has agreed to do so.” He quotes the Dalai Lama, “The main thing is to preserve our culture, to preserve the character of Tibet,” the Dalai Lama told me. “That is what is most important, not politics.”

This report is highly distorted. I am shocked by the sloppy and confused nature of the reporting and the interpretation from a journalist whose work I often admire. As some have observed, when China is involved, good people become unaware of the influence of the “anaconda in the chandelier.”

In response, Mr. Jin Canrong (China Daily (People’s Republic of China) August 21, 2008) in an article entitled “An Illusive Olive Branch from the Dalai Lama,” blasted the article from China’s side anyway. The state propaganda publication professed outrage that the Dalai Lama was “trying to negotiate through a journalist.” I am certainly disappointed by Mr. Kristof’s “illusive” article, and would like to clarify the underlying confusions. [Read more]

Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman explains the Dalai Lama’s political wisdom, the myopia of the Chinese, and the essence of the Olympics in “China, Tibet, and the Olympics,” by Peter Kadzis, published in The Boston Phoenix.

On Beliefnet’s new blog, Progressive Revival, Robert Thurman writes that if Chinese President Hu Jintao want to solve problems on the basis of mutual respect, narrowing differences and expanding the common ground, then he must apply those things to China’s policy on Tibet and the Dalai Lama.

New article by Robert Thurman on The Huffington Post:
The Dalai Lama/Obama/McCain Connection

I just had the huge pleasure of spending three days with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Aspen Institute in Aspen, Colorado, with old friends and luminaries in the Tibet world. A sand mandala (sacred celestial mansion diagram) of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of universal compassion, was created and dissolved. Juniper incense offerings were made, Tibetan music was played, and lively discussions were conducted both about the current crisis in Tibet and about the long-term prospects for the survival of Tibetan culture and identity. [Read more]

Seeing the Light interview by Deborah Solomon in the New York Times Magazine, Sunday June 29, 2008. The Buddhist scholar talks about what the Dalai Lama needs from China’s president, how Quentin Tarantino really feels about violence and learning to love Dick Cheney. More…