His Holiness the Dalai Lama , livre ebook

His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Also by Deborah and Gerald Strober
The Monarchy: An Oral Biography of Queen Elizabeth II
Reagan: The Man and His Presidency
Let Us Begin Anew : An Oral History of the Kennedy Presidency
Nixon: An Oral History of His Presidency
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
THE ORAL BIOGRAPHY

Deborah Hart Strober Gerald S. Strober

John Wiley Sons, Inc.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 2005 by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada
Photos courtesy of the following (numerals refer to page numbers): AP Photo (119, 120 bottom); Richard Blum (127); Clinton Presidential Library (122 bottom); Lama Surya Das (121 bottom); Roberto Dutesco (iii, 128); Father Laurence Freeman (125 [bottom photo by Siddioi Ray]); Dr. Blu and Rabbi Irving Greenberg (122 top); Dr. Piet Hut, photo by Eiko Ikegami (124 bottom); International Campaign for Tibet, photo by Nancy Jo Johnson (126 top); Annette and Representative Tom Lantos (121 top, 126 bottom); Professor Jonathan Mirsky (124 top); Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , photo by V. W. H. Campbell Jr. (123); Khediroob Thondup (120 top).
Design and composition by Navta Associates, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Bstan- dzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV, 1935-
His Holiness the Dalai Lama : the oral biography / Deborah Hart Strober, Gerald S. Strober.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13 978-0-471-68001-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10 0-471-68001-X (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Bstan- dzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV, 1935- 2. Dalai lamas-Biography. 3. Tibet (China)-History. I. Strober, Deborah H. (Deborah Hart), date II. Strober, Gerald S. III. Title.
BQ7935.B777A3 2005
294.3 923 092-dc22 2004025913
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To our grandchildren, with our deep love, appreciation, and hope for a better future
Eyal Jonathan Benjamin
Ran Michael Benjamin
Kai Wesley Philip Sterling
Marley Grace Sterling
CONTENTS
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chronology
The Interviewees
PART I SIMPLE MONK, WORLD LEADER
Chapter 1 The Public Dalai Lama: His Appeal to the Masses
Chapter 2 Glimpses of the Private Dalai Lama: His Character and Personality
Chapter 3 Toronto, April 2004
PART II BEGINNINGS
Chapter 4 From Taktser to Lhasa
Chapter 5 Coming of Age in Occupied Tibet: Uprising and Exile
Chapter 6 Dharamsala: The Early Years in Little Lhasa
PART III SPIRITUAL SAINT OR POLITICAL TROUBLEMAKER?
Chapter 7 Taking the Dalai Lama s Political Message Regarding China Abroad
Chapter 8 Promoting the Dalai Lama s Spiritual Message Abroad
PART IV CONFRONTING CHALLENGES AND UNCERTAINTIES
Chapter 9 The Dalai Lama and the Exile Community Today
Chapter 10 Chinese Calculations and Miscalculations
PART V LOOKING AHEAD
Chapter 11 Dialogues
Chapter 12 The Future of the Institution of the Dalai Lama
Index
Illustrations
PREFACE
In 2003, having written oral histories of three of the major American presidents of the latter half of the twentieth century-Kennedy, Nixon, and Reagan-as well as having chronicled the life and reign of the eminently newsworthy Queen Elizabeth II, we were confronted with the considerable challenge of selecting as our next subject a personality whose life, actions, and impact on the world would warrant extensive examination and documentation.
Uppermost in our consideration in this politically volatile and celebritydriven era was to identify an individual of living memory whose impact would endure far beyond his or her lifetime-one who would likely prove to be truly unique in this universe of spiritual and temporal leaders. Following many months in our process of research, discussion, and elimination, we chose as our subject the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, the latest incarnation in the nearly seven-hundred-year-old Tibetan institution that has riveted the attention of the Western world; kept alive the hope of millions of Tibetans, both within their own nation and in the diaspora; and perplexed and stymied its main adversary, the People s Republic of China.
In compiling His Holiness the Dalai Lama: The Oral Biography , we have been truly blessed to have been able to relive through the recollections of our interviewees the experiences of a most courageous people and their uniquely endowed leader.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
His Holiness the Dalai Lama: The Oral Biography could not have come to fruition without the participation of our interviewees. They included members of the Tibetan community, Western supporters, and even a representative of Free Tibet s formidable adversary, the People s Republic of China. Each of these individuals responded in a timely manner to our interview request, offering opinions on a variety of issues. And many of our interviewees shared with us their personal, often humorous, recollections of the fourteenth Dalai Lama.
We would like to express particular appreciation to officials of the Tibetan community in the United States. Nawang Rabgyal, Rinchen Dharlo, and Annie Warner, in New York, were especially helpful as our project got under way. Lodi Gyari, the Dalai Lama s representative in Washington, offered wise counsel, and his associate, Lesley Friedell, always fulfilled our requests with courtesy and efficiency. In Toronto, Canada, we were greatly assisted in covering the April 2004 Kalachakra for World Peace by Rigzin Dolkar and Estelle Halbach, the event s media director and media officer, respectively.
We are indebted to our dear friends Bonnie Cutler and Mark Heutlinger, who introduced us to Christine and Eric Valentine. Eric in turn, put us in touch with Stan Wakefield, who responded with enthusiasm and most welcome encouragement when shown our proposal for His Holiness the Dalai Lama: The Oral Biography . Stan presented our proposal to John Wiley Sons, where it was taken on by Hana Lane, an editor of exceeding compassion and wisdom. We also appreciate the efforts of editorial assistant Naomi Rothwell, as well as senior production editor Devra K. Nelson. And how could we have completed our manuscript without Vincent Joseph, who very patiently brought our computer software into the twenty-first century.
In any author s life, the encouragement of friends is like manna from heaven. We are truly fortunate in having had the interest and support not only of Bonnie and Mark, but of Joan and Charles Bialo; Ruth Gruber; Evelyn and Raphael Rothstein; Marcia and Rabbi A. James Rudin; Barbara Seaman; Florence and Harry Taubenfeld; Sarah and Ze ev Shiff; Elaine and Martin Zuckerbrod; and Sheila and Herbert Zweibon.
And how could we have made it through these many months without the devotion of our family? We want to express our deep appreciation to our siblings and their equally supportive mates: Judith and Dr. Mortimer Civan; Mindy and Myron Strober; Joseph Hochstein; and Ruth Hockstein.
Through our children, we are privileged to know and to count among our close friends Dorrit and Meir Nocham, parents of Jeremy s wife, Gabi; Daphne and Hummarde Sterling, parents of Lori s husband, Bryan; Gene Meyers, father of Robin s friend, Michelle; and Gene s wife, Jan Book.
Lastly, we want to pay tribute to our beloved, always supportive children and their partners: Jeremy Benjamin and Gabi, the parents of Eyal Jonathan and Ran Michael; Lori and Bryan Sterling, the parents of Kai Wesley Philip and Marley Grace; Jonathan Strober; and Robin Strober and Michelle Meyers.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE FOURTEENTH DALAI LAMA
JULY 6, 1935-Lhamo Dhondrub, the fifth child, and fourth son, of a farming family, is born in the village of Taktser, in northeastern Tibet
1937-Recognized as the reincarnation of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama
F EBRUARY 22, 1940-Enthroned in Lhasa as the Fourteenth Dalai Lama
1949-1950-Chinese troops invade Tibet and remain as an occupying force
N OVEMBER 17, 1950-Assumes full power as head of state and government at the age of fifteen
1954-Meets in Beijing with Chinese Communist leaders Mao Tse-tung, Chou En-lai, and Deng Xiaoping
E ARLY M ARCH 1959-Pas