‘Voice For The Voiceless’: The Dalai Lama’s Struggle For Tibet And Religious Survival
(REVIEW) It started with mass killings and the loss of independence and has resulted in over 150 self-immolations in the last 15 years and the slow erasure of a cultural identity.
At the dead center of the 20th century, Tibet was an independent nation built around a peaceful buddhist tradition with a teenage leader-in-training, the young 14th Dalai Lama. But on Oct. 7, 1950, the Chinese invasion began — and it changed everything.
The Dalai Lama has lived an extraordinary life. Believed by Tibetan Buddhists to be the 14th reincarnation of the Bodhissatva of Compassion and patron saint of Tibet, he started his rigorous study of the complex religion he was destined to lead at age six. In public appearances, those who approach the sage 89 year-old in his flowing red and yellow robe often bow before him.
A skilled author of over 100 books, accomplished academic and acquaintance to a great number of the world’s most powerful leaders, the Dalai Lama could certainly choose to speak in five-dollar words accompanied by lofty spiritual concepts. But, in his latest book, “Voice For The Voiceless,” the Dalai Lama’s uncomplicated, frank writing masterfully explains the last 70 years of Chinese and Tibetan history in a style accessible to those with very little knowledge of Eastern geopolitics or the Buddhist tradition.
The book functions mostly as a documentation of the Dalai Lama’s diplomatic efforts, but it does contain one major announcement: the 15th Dalai Lama will be born in the free world, not in communist China.
China has tried for years to garner further control of Tibet by means of the Buddhist tradition. In 1995, the CCP abducted the child who was named to be the new Panchen Lama, a reincarnate figure who would traditionally have helped identify the next Dalai Lama. The child has not been seen since, and a fake Panchen Lama has been named by the Chinese government in his place–a move which is almost certainly an attempt to establish the CCP’s very own Dalai Lama after the 14th passes.
With the additional order that the next Dalai Lama be identified by the Gaden Phodrang Trust (The Office of The Dalai Lama) and that they should simply “follow the procedures of search and recognition in accordance with past Tibetan Buddhist tradition,” the Dalai Lama has precluded any trust of a Chinese-appointed Lama.
Despite being written by a deeply religious man, and holding a crucial announcement for Tibetan Buddhists, “Voice For The Voiceless,” is not a particularly religious book. While Buddhist principles are certainly the guiding factors for how the Dalai Lama acts, and while the mass majority of Tibetans are committed Buddhists, “Voice For The Voiceless,” focuses on documenting the ongoing political struggle of the Tibetan people against the Chinese Communist party.
The Dalai Lama’s story is one characterized by patient, persistent diplomacy. He was only 15 when Chairman Mao and his People’s Liberation Army invaded Tibet. He spent the 1950’s trying to negotiate with this new occupier all while trying to earn his Geshe Laram degree — essentially a doctorate of divinity. By the end of the decade, China had been so resistant to Tibetan efforts for an agreement, that the bodily safety of the Dalai Lama was called into question. In March of 1959, he fled to India, and has not returned to his home since.
The chaos, misinformation and heartbreak — which characterized the beginning of the Dalai Lama’s time in leadership — proved to set the stage for a lifetime of frustrating diplomatic efforts. He wrote, “In all other aspects of my life and in all other domains of my work, I have engaged with people who have shown a commitment to shared vision, an openness to trust, the honesty to express one’s thoughts even in disagreement, and the willingness to truly engage and learn.” In contrast to the rest of his life, he said that the CCP leaders from Mao to Xi “have only a mouth to speak but no ear to listen.”
In the closing chapters of his book, The Dalai Lama emphasizes that the only real path forward is for everybody involved to start treating each other with the respect they deserve as fellow human beings.
“I remain committed to the belief that our problems can be solved only through negotiations, held in an atmosphere of sincerity and openness, for the benefit of both the Tibetan and Chinese people,” he wrote.
Cognizant of the way hate from oppressors can quickly turn into hate for oppressors, he repeatedly makes clear that he is deeply appreciative of the many Chinese supporters he and his fellow Tibetans have met over the years and that he does not blame the Chinese people for the errors of their leaders. He also names Chinese citizens in his list of those who are actively being oppressed by the CCP and says he has “deep empathy” for them.
The Dalai Lama also explained that he does not advocate for Tibetan independence in the most radical sense. Instead he fights for “genuine national regional autonomy” in which Tibet would be governed democratically and have its own judicial system. Tibet would be in charge of its own religion, culture, education, economy, health, and environmental protection. China would simply manage the region’s defense and international relations. Sweeping freedoms, to be sure, but not a complete independence.
The Dalai Lama has these hopes for Tibet, but as someone who knows the feeling of having governance forced upon him all too well, he does not say that these conditions are the absolutely correct ones. Instead, he makes clear that neither the CCP nor he himself should decide the destiny of the Tibetan people.
While the Dalai Lama expresses disappointment at the fact that he will likely not return to Tibet in his lifetime, he is hopeful for the future and believes time will bring about justice. He wrote, “As an inherently unstable system, totalitarianism definitely does not have time on its side. Time is on the side of the people, Tibetans as well as Chinese, who aspire for freedom.”
Matthew Peterson is Religion Unplugged’s Podcast Editor and Audience Development Coordinator.