Dearest Friends @ CAS of Thousand-Arm Chenrezig,
 
What the twisted saga of Panchen Rinpoche exposes are more than the now all-too-familiar intrigue, ego-play we see nibbling away the spiritual pie. At issue here, are big games with sub--plots and so many unseen crippling undercurrents with ( very real indeed !! ) implications for millions of people over the long haul in terms of the continued integrity, vibrancy and survival of centuries old belief-systems, irreplaceable cultural life and all.
 
Whilst fully acknowledging the authorities' calculated machinations, for good or bad, one cannot help but feel strongly, not entirely emotionally, to call for release of the "world's youngest political prisoner" and even much stronger pity and deep compassion for the displayed candidate by a regime, neither Buddhist nor exactly sympathetic to Buddhism.
 
Like in other higher profile cases, both are trapped and overtaken by forces very much beyond their control. We worry for them (this actually, too, is a defilement !! ), praying that they will avoid and / or overpower the deceitfully smooth and pretty snakes while win transcendence through finding their ladders of salvation with holiness and honest spiritual pursuit-cultivation.     
 
With certain degree of comic-despair and compassion definitely, we see aides of different camps pull out things ( other  than cute furry creatures !! ) out of their tall, multi-coloured hats, some yellow, others black, red or conical, crafting with all their skills, everything to win the game. Oh yes, and they seem oblivious or indifferent to the gasps and heart-attacks triggered backstage and the knowing smirks and cheers of some in the audience !!  
 
How could they ??!!
 
So much will hinge upon the current leaders to exercise their discretion and wisdom. We can only dedicate with all sincerity for their long-life and good works.
 
Our consolation and confidence, Holy Tara knows all.
 
bb & some frens @ CAS of T_A Chenrezig
 
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
 
The world's youngest political prisoner --
the Panchen Rinpoche
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Panchen Lama and Tibet's Future
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Who is the Panchen Lama? where is he? what is his role in the future of
Tibet? What is the role of the media in his story? Read on to find out
this and much more...
What would happen if vice president Dick Cheney, Billy Graham, their
families and supporters were kidnapped in Texas and detained in a secret
bunker somewhere in the Mohavi desert; a place so remote and secure one
might even find Osama Bin Laden hiding there! Such an auspicious
ocurrance would certainly be embraced by a majority of US citizens and
perhaps the rest of the world. No doubt international news services
would not ignore such a major story. It would remain front page news
until that crazy gun-weilding quail hunter (aka Dick Cheney), along with
the leader of his fanatical support base, were located dead or alive.
In Tibet, a land mass even larger than Texas, the Panchen Lama's role is
equivalent to that of vice president. Yet, a similar, but real story is
being largely ignored by the corporate-controlled world media. Tibet, as
we know it, is largely dependent on the 11th Panchen Lama, a 17-year old
boy named Gedun Choekyi Nyima (Panchens are reincarnations). How much of
the world knows that this highly respected religious leader, (along with
his family and supporters), was kidnapped on May 17th 1995 at age 6, by
the Chinese government?
 
Since that day Gedun Choekyi Nyima has been referred to as the "world's
youngest political prisoner." Surprisingly, after some initial coverage,
the international media dropped this story like a hot potato. This makes
no sense. Ongoing reports of such a story have inherent public interest.
Remember Eliˇ§ˇén Gonzalez the young Cuban boy? That story simply would not
go away. Comparatively, the world has not heard much about the Panchen
Lama since the day he was kidnapped. Yet, the future of the Panchen Lama
is also the future of Tibet. In order to understand the role of the
Panchen Lama and Tibet, one must look at the history.
 
Though the 14th Dalai Lama is viewed worldwide as the legitimate leader
of Tibet (don't tell the PRC!), few are aware of an acutely paramount
relationship which exists between Panchen Lamas and Dalai Lamas. This
historical relationship plays a vital role, in regard to the future of
Tibet.
 
In the late 13th and early 14th centuries a great Buddhist master,
Tsongkhapa, began to lay the groundwork for what would later be known as
the Yellow Hat Sect of Tibetan Buddhism (Gelugpa). In 1445/47 a student
and nephew of Tsongkhapa, Gyalwa Gendun Drup (1391-1475) retroactively
came to be called the 1st Dalai Lama when the third incarnation in his
lineage, Sonam Gyatso (1543-1588), received the name "Dalai" from his
Mongolian patron and follower Alton Khan in 1578.
 
Gyalwa Gendun Drup also received the name "Panchen" from an erudite
Tibetan contemporary, Bodong Choklay Namgyel, when he answered all of
the latter's questions. Panchen means "great scholar," from the Sanskrit
word Pandita, meaning "scholar," and the Tibetan word Chen Po, meaning
"great."
 
In the 17th century, the Fifth Dalai Lama gave Tashi Lhunpo Monastery to
his teacher, Losang Chokyi Gyeltsen (1567-1662), the 15th abbot of the
Monastery. As Abbot of the Monastery, he was called Panchen, but he came
to receive the distinctive title "Panchen Lama" when the Fifth Dalai
Lama announced at his teacher's death that his teacher would return as a
recognizable child successor, i.e. a reincarnate. Since that time it has
become convention for the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama to participate in
the recognition of each other's successor. This relationship has lasted
for 100s of years. We now skip to 1949.
 
Tibet was an independent nation when Communist China invaded in 1949.
Tibet possessed all conditions of statehood under international law.
There was a defined territory, a population inhabiting that territory,
and a functioning government exercising authority over that territory
and possessing the ability to enter into international relations.
 
China contends that Tibet did not maintain international relations
independently of China and that no country recognized Tibet's
independence. This, in my opinion, is not true. Although Tibet chose not
to develop extensive international relations, following an isolationist
policy for much of its history, it did maintain bilateral relations with
countries in the region by whom it was, indeed, recognized.
 
A study of Tibet's history reveals that, contrary to Chinese Communist
claims, Tibet at no time became an integral part of China. It is not
disputed that at different times Tibet exercised influence on or came
under the influence of its neighbors. It would be hard to find any state
in the world today that has not been subjected to foreign domination or
influence for some part of its history. Tibet, however, was never
colonized or annexed through the use of force until 1949. Thus today,
despite about 50 years of occupation, Tibet is an independent country
under illegal occupation. This fact has been recognized by many,
including the US Congress and the Parliament of Australia in 1992. We
now skip back to 1951.
 
In pursuance of its "divide and rule" policy, the communist government
of China tried to cultivate a rivalry between the 10th Panchen Lama and
the 14th Dalai Lama. In 1951 the Panchen Lama was invited to Beijing to
coincide with the arrival of a Tibetan delegation. The delegation was
eventually forced to sign the infamous "Seventeen-Point Agreement on
Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet": an agreement which
served to legitimize the acqisition of Tibet by China. While in Beijing,
the Panchen Lama was forced to send a telegram to the Dalai Lama,
stressing the importance of implementing the "Seventeen-Point Agreement
under the leadership of the People's Government of China."
 
Unlike the Dalai Lama who escaped in March of 1959 and continues to live
in exile in India, the Panchen Lama decided to stay in Tibet. He
believed he could work with the Chinese to improve the lives of
Tibetans. Instead, he was imprisoned shortly, after filing a report
sharply critical of Chinese policies pursued in Tibet.
 
Soon after this, the Panchen Lama was appointed acting chairman of the
"Tibetan Autonomous Region" Preparatory Committee. In 1960, the Chinese
appointed him vice-chairman of the National People's Congress, hoping to
use him as a puppet spokesman for their policies in Tibet. However, the
Panchen Lama remained a steadfast Tibetan nationalist. He was deeply
disturbed to discover China had jailed hundreds of thousands of Tibetans
including government officials, high lamas and scholars, community
leaders and citizens from many other walks of life. He protested to the
Chinese authorities that they were terrorizing the whole populace of
Tibet. The Chinese dismissed his protests saying that such mistakes were
inevitable in all reform movements.
 
In his capacity as the vice-chairman of the National People's Congress,
the Panchen Lama visited many parts of Tibet. In May 1962 he submitted a
70,000-character petition to Chairman Mao Zedong and Prime Minister Zhou
Enlai, detailing the atrocities the Chinese army had inflicted on
Tibetans. Amongst other things, the petition pointed out: "After the
introduction of reforms, Buddhism has suffered a serious setback and is
now on the verge of extinction. ... many prisoners died pitiable deaths
when the Dictatorship of the Proletariat was being introduced. This has
greatly reduced the population of Tibet over the past few years. ...
with the exception of old people, women and children, most of the
able-bodied men and intelligent people in the Tibetan areas of Qinghai,
Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan were incarcerated."
 
The Panchen Lama further enraged the Chinese leadership in 1964 when he
publicly declared that he considered His Holiness the Dalai Lama as his
"refuge for this and the next life". His outspoken criticism about
Communist Chinese policies in Tibet led to his imprisonment for nearly a
decade during the Cultural Revolution. In a 20-page wall poster, dated
March 3rd 1979, China's foremost dissident Wei Jingsheng said that life
in Qin Cheng prison was so unbearable that the Panchen Lama, along with
many other inmates, attempted suicide. He refused nourishment, declaring
he did not want to go on living. "You can take my body to the Central
Committee," Wei quoted him as having said.
 
The outside world first came to know about the Panchen Lama's
reemergence on February 26th 1978 when the New China News Agency
published a report that he had appeared at the 5th National Committee of
the Chinese Political Consultative Conference meeting in plenary session
in Beijing. Until then, even Tibetans in Tibet did not know whether the
Panchen Lama was alive or dead. Immediately after his release from
prison, the Panchen Lama asked the Chinese authorities for permission to
visit Tibet.
 
On reaching Lhasa, he announced: "Tibet is my home and I have a special
regard for this land. Although I have not lived here for the last
eighteen years, my heart has always been beating with those of the
people of Tibet. I have always missed Tibet and its people, and have
been thinking about the welfare of Tibetans." He was to visit Lhasa
seven more times before his death, and he also toured various parts of
Kham and Amdo.
 
On January 9th 1989 the Panchen Lama arrived in Shigatse to consecrate
the newly-renovated mausoleums of the 5th to the 9th Panchen Lamas. On
January 24th 1989 the Panchen Lama stated in Shigatse that Chinese rule
in Tibet had brought more destruction than benefit to the Tibetan
people. On January 28th 1989, four days after delivering this historic
condemnation, the Panchen Lama died, age 51, at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery.
Due to his willingness to work within the Chinese system to try and
affect change, he was one of the most misunderstood lamas in Tibetan
culture, yet also one of the harshest and most courageous critics of
Mao's regime.
 
The Dalai Lama informed the Chinese government through its Delhi embassy
that he wished to assist in the search for the Panchen Lama's
reincarnation by sending a delegation to Tibet. In June 1991, the
Chinese government responded that there was no need for "interference."
The head of the search party as constituted by the Chinese government,
Chadral Rinpoche, sent a letter on July 17, 1993 to the Dalai Lama
concerning the Panchen Lama reincarnation, along with offerings. He
explained that a search party had received confirmation the Panchen Lama
had reincarnated. The Dalai Lama sent a reply on August 5, 1993 to
Chadral Rinpoche through the Chinese Embassy in Delhi inviting the
delegation to visit India to discuss the search for a reincarnation.
There was no response.
 
On May 14th 1995, after an extensive analysis of over thirty children
was performed, four prophecies were consulted from oracles, and nine
divinations were performed, the Dalai Lama formally recognized a
6-year-old boy, Gedun Choekyi Nyima, born on April 25, 1989, in the
Lhari District of Nagchu, Tibet, as the 11th Panchen Lama. On May 17th
the young Panchen Lama, his family, and two other children who were
leading candidates, disappeared and were reported to have been relocated
to Beijing. In Lhasa, all leading figures in the government and
religious hierarchy were required to participate in meetings denouncing
the Dalai Lama's statement.
 
Since that time, no one has seen the 11th Panchen Lama or his family.
The Chinese government even appointed "their own" Panchen Lama. The
United Nations dropped the case in 1996 and aside from the initial
reports, the international media has pretty much continued to ignore
this story.
 
What has happened in the last five years in the field you are writing about?
 
12 years have passed and there have only been a few items of potential
interest. In 2000, PRC officials in bilateral human rights dialogues
with the UK and the EU took the unusual step of showing photographs
purported to be of Gedun Choekyi Nyima. The photos proved to be a
different boy, i.e. a fake.
 
In 2005 a PRC official at a British Foreign office gathering told Free
Tibet Campaign staff that - as of the Chinese New Year 2005 - "Nyima"
was taller than she (she is approx 5 feet 4 inches), still liked table
tennis but was very keen on computers. When asked what would happen when
he reached his 18th birthday, the response was that he would be able to
decide what he wanted to do, and she suggested "maybe he will show himself."
 
French senators visiting Beijing recently received a positive response
to a request that Gedun Choekyi Nyima be allowed to make a public
statement. It has not happened. In September 2006, an official religious
delegation from China, touring Norway, including Abbot Khadi Lobsang
Champa of Dargye Monastery in Garze County, vice chairman of Sichuan
Province Bhuddhist Association, told Tibetans "Panchen Lama now lives in
Nagchu, which is his birth place and doing his studies." To date, no one
outside of PRC officials has seen or talked with the Panchen Lama and no
photos have been released.
 
The only significant news since 2002, aside from the fact the Chinese
government has continued to hide a kidnapped boy for 12 years, pertains
to "the other" Panchen Lama. China has started to actively promote its
own Panchen Lama, parading him in front of the world media at Buddhist
conferences and religious ceremonies within China and Tibet. It hopes to
control its choice of the next Dalai Lama. Efforts by the United Nations
and world governments to gain access to the Dalai Lama's Panchen Lama
have met with similar responses from the Chinese government. Some
low-level spokesperson from within the government will inform the media
that Gedun Choekyi Nyima is living a happy and normal life, and that his
family does not want to be bothered.
 
On September 30th 2005 the 40th session of the UN Committee on the
Rights of the Child (CRC) called upon Chinese authorities to allow an
independent body to verify the fate of Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the Panchen
Lama of Tibet. The CRC asked the Chinese authorities to "allow an
independent expert to visit and confirm the well-being of Gedun Choekyi
Nyima while respecting his right to privacy, and that of his parents."
The CRC made the request after reviewing China's Second Periodic Report
from September 19th-20th 2005 at Palais Wilson, the UN human rights
headquarters in Geneva. This latest call for action on the Panchen Lama
from the CRC comes nine years after the UN child rights body last
reviewed China's Initial Report in May 1996.
 
Again, the Chinese response to the United nations was similar to one
issued a month earlier "We didn't detain him ... he is living happily in
his home town (Lhari District of Nagchu in Tibet)." -- Wu Yingjie (Vice
Chairman, People's Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region) as
reported by AFX News on August 5th 2005.
 
As we can see, the United Nations has proved powerless to provide a
solution. As the UN continues to drag its feet, the Panchen Lama will
soon become an adult. It appears the strategy of requesting help from
the United Nations, although well-intentioned, is useless if those
problems lie within China. However, UN impotency is not just limited to
China. During this same 5-year period the UN was unable to stop the USA
from invading and occupying Iraq.
 
So it appears, for the time being, we cannot rely on the UN to help
solve problems within China, as is the case with the Panchen Lama and
Tibet. This is due to a lack of respect for the UN from both China and
the USA. Both are undermining the UN's ability to broker peaceful
agreements and solutions, especially when powerful nations are causing
problems.
 
To sum up, the last 5 years has served to prove the UN no longer has
much of an ability to affect peaceful change in our world, and the
corporate media increasingly continues to ignore important stories. So
in a way, this is a much larger issue than just the Panchen Lama.
Although I am writing about the Panchen Lama, it appears the Panchen
Lama, along with every other international injustice, is also affected
by the US invasion of Iraq, and vice versa. The future is always near so
we need to be ready for it. If we want to write about the future (the
focus of this website, right?), it makes sense to try and understand how
the future comes about and how we are responsible for it. If we accept
that everything is really interconnected, what are the effects of our
actions?
 
What is happening right now?
 
As chairman of ITSN's (International Tibet Support Network) Panchen Lama
Action Group I think the most major event happening right now is an
awareness of the fact that the Panchen Lama will soon no longer be a
child; he turns 18 on April 25th. Thus, the Panchen Lama's status as the
"world's youngest political prisoner" will soon be gone.
 
Therefore, we are planning several actions to coincide with this
milestone. However, it is up to Tibet supporters worldwide, and the
world media, whether to take meaningful action or simply forget about
the Panchen Lama. Causing change in this world non-violently takes a
commitment to action. Silence will not work in this case. If we really
hope to affect a change, supporters can not remain silent. Below is a
plan of action, and we encourage all Tibet supporters to take part.
 
(1) Meetings with Chinese officials at consulates or embassies worldwide
and other government officials
(2) If meetings are not forthcoming, vigils and demonstrations at those
consulates and embassies
(3) Internet-based letter writing campaign to Chinese officials and
governments worldwide
(4) Outreach to world media encouraging stories on Panchen Lama from
Lhari, Tibet
(5) Postcard/Petition campaign directed at the United Nations Secretary
General
 
The most effective action you can take while the Panchen Lama is still a
boy is to visit Tashi Lhunpo Monastery's "Amber Alert" campaign below.
 
 
1995.jpg ?
 
What will happen in the next five years?
 
We most likely all agree (unless you're the clairvoyant type) it is
nearly impossible to predict the future. At the same time, we know our
actions of today will likely determine what happens tomorrow and the day
after, etc. In terms of the Panchen Lama, if enough of the world cares
enough to solve a problem, it will be solved. However, if we sit idle
and do nothing the future also sits still. Our actions or non-actions
determine the immediate future. We determine the nature of our future
and others, whether Global Warming or the Panchen Lama. We all decide
whether an issue is important, or not. Once we all believe something to
be important, the future comes very fast. If money is our main concern,
we take action and then we have lots of money in the future. So talking
about the future is like remembering a dream ... it can usually be quite
fuzzy until we are dreaming clearly ... the dream then comes to life
when we realize we are controlling it ... then we wake up and forget.
The point is that dreams determine the future when we act on bringing
them about WHILE we are awake.
 
What will happen between 5 to 25 years from now?
 
As the Panchen Lama becomes an adult, the whole issue changes. Efforts
to date have focused on the fact that Gedun Choekyi Nyima was the
"world's youngest political prisoner," yet it is interesting how little
coverage the world media has decided to provide. Due to the Panchen
Lama's future status as an aging young man, the new focus will be on the
rights of human beings who've committed no crime; that they be allowed
access to the outside world.
 
Looking further ahead, the 14th Dalai Lama will most likely pass away
sometime during the next 25 years. This event will mark a major change,
in terms of the leadership of Tibet. If the Panchen Lama is still in
Chinese custody, who will determine the next Dalai Lama? Will there even
be a next Dalai Lama? These issues all relate to finding Gedun Choekyi
Nyima, the current Panchen Lama. Even if the Chinese government is
unable to legitimize its own Panchen Lama, the next Dalai Lama might
still be chosen under the guidance of their Panchen Lama. How would
Tibetans react to the choice?
 
What are the social implications of these changes?
To envision Tibet without a meaningful role for the Dalai Lama, is like
envisioning Vatican City without a Pope and the UK without a king or
queen. As a nation state, Tibet can still exist. However, such radical
changes in the way a country is run, and who runs it, have severe
implications in terms of Tibetan culture and identity. The Dalai Lama
himself says he has no political interest and hopes someday the role
will be that of a purely spiritual leader.
 
The problem with all of this is that most Tibetans simply will not
accept such a change. Although a democratic system currently exists in
the Tibetan exile community, Tibetans still elect the Dalai Lama's
closest allies to positions of power, perhaps even against the Dalai
Lama's own wishes. Tibetan identity rests on the Dalai Lama being their
leader. Thus, if the Panchen Lamas and Dalai Lamas cease to exist in a
meaningful way, the social implications are tragic for Tibetans. In a
wonderfully Buddhist way, no matter what the Dalai Lama thinks of his
own title and role, it really has nothing to do with the Dalai Lama
himself, but with the wishes of Tibetans.
 
Ironically, the social implications of the Dalai Lama acting as a purely
spiritual leader, without much power, are positions held by both the
Chinese government and the Dalai Lama himself, but not Tibetans. The
question then becomes a social one. Who really has the power to decide
the role of the Dalai Lama when both the Dalai Lama and the Chinese
government are on the same page? The current Dalai Lama is aware of the
social implications and his middle-way path is to allow Tibetans to pick
the Dalai Lama, if they so choose, while at the same time acknowledging
that the Dalai Lama will have no political power in Tibet. This is why
the Panchen Lama plays such an important role. If he is able to decide
whom is the next Dalai Lama, Tibetans will simply abide by the choice.
 
What are the business implications and opportunities you see in these
changes?
 
It would appear human rights, religious and sovereignty issues; as is
the case with the Panchen Lama and Tibet; have nothing to do with
business. In reality, due to the current and prevailing worldwide
economic culture of global corporations, and their ever-increasing link
to governments, the relationship and responsibility of corporations in
this matter is made more clear.
 
It is precisely due to an ever-increasing corporate reliance on cheap
products Made in China that a simultaneously laissez-faire attitude
towards putting pressure on China has started to permeate our political
culture. Global corporations want things to run smoothly and thus lobby
their politicians to go easy on China for the sake of their bottom line.
 
One illustrative example: In 1990, almost none of Apple's products were
manufactured in China. Back then, one of Apple's promotional
advertisements even feautured a photo of the Dalai Lama which read
"Think Different." Several years ago Apple began shifting their
production to China. Today, 100% of Apple products are manufactured in
China (confirmed via a phone call to Apple customer support in 2006). In
regard to its view of China, Apple Computer thinks only of profit.
 
The Apple scenario, even among so-called "responsible" corporations, is
now the norm in terms of how the majority of CEOs view their
relationship with China. Like Faust selling his soul to Mephistopheles,
these CEOs are willing to barter away their conscience with cold-blooded
indifference so
long as they are well compensated.
 
Thus world economics, and the clear relationship to cheaply
manufactured-in-China products, plays a much larger role in this issue.
This is one reason why governments and the United Nations are unwilling
to make a big issue out of the Panchen Lama. It is also why the media
chooses to ignore the story. Their advertisers do not want the public
worrying about, or even being aware of where they choose to manufacture
their products.
 
I have hope that one day a truly responsible and powerful global
corporation will start to plaster images of the Panchen Lama all over
its Made In China products. Google, for instance, could place links to
information on the Panchen Lama on its search engines. Such types of
innovative and responsible assistance from the same corporations who
helped prolong the problem would also serve to enhance public image.
 
In reality, there are various means by which businesses could serve to
help solve the Panchen Lama problem, without endangering connections in
China. CEOs need to be made aware of the important role they play in
this. Then it will be much more natural for their companies to take
responsibility for correcting a problem they are largely responsible for
prolonging. Corporations can choose to increase profit, while at the
same time taking part in worthy social actions. The path of least
resistance is not always the path to bringing benefit to many, including
oneself. Social responsiblity on the global level, and profits, are not
always mutually exclusive. With a positive public image, profit often grows.
 
Your comment and opinion on these issues
 
My opinion on this matter is quite subjective, based on the fact I
maintain Tashi Lhunpo Monastery's official website and have donated
nearly all my volunteer time since 1996 towards Tibet-related issues.
That aside, I see the Panchen Lama as being the key to Tibet's future,
which I believe must be linked with the Dalai Lama and his role as
spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. Once this relationship is
severed, the identity of Tibetans disappears and Tibetan culture, as we
know it, will change dramatically.
 
I also believe the Tibetan issue is one that must, and can, be solved
non-violently; and that the role of global corporations can not be
understated. We must educate the public to put pressure not only on
politicians, but on big businesses to solve the problems they helped
bring about or prolong. Global business can start to assume a more
powerful role in politics, acting as peaceful conduits and assisting in
mending certain types of disputes between nations. I feel this type of
money-power can be used to great effect, in the case of the Panchen Lama.
 
I am extremely frustrated by the world media's ongoing lack of concern
for filing reports on the Panchen Lama's kidnapping. I encourage
everyone reading this article to inform others, especially international
media contacts, about the Panchen Lama. Please take an active role in
spreading word of this situation to your friends, the media, big
business and politicians.
 
Once we learn to solve problems creatively through non-violent means,
the Dick Cheneys, George Bushs and Osama Bin Ladens of the world will
have no place in our future, except perhaps hiding somewhere in a
bunker. I truly believe the future of non-violent political action lies
closest to the Tibet issue at this time in our history, and the fate of
the Panchen Lama largely determines whether Tibet moves forward towards
peace, or backward towards violence. To misquote George W Bush, "we are
the deciders".
 
 
Since 1996, Glenn Freeman (working mainly with Dolma Tulotsang) has
helped to organize several tours of Tibetan monks from various
monasteries to North America. This includes the initial tour by monks
from Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in 2002. Glenn is webmaster for Tashi Lhunpo
Monastery's official website (http://tashilhunpo.org ).
By trade a percussionist, Glenn runs his own record label OgreOgress
productions (http://cdbaby.com/group/ogreogress) which has, to date,
focused on producing first recordings of music by composers John Cage,
Morton Feldman, Alan Hovhaness, Arnold Schoenberg, and others. The label
also takes part in projects of benefit to Tibetans in exile.
Glenn was encouraged to write an article for Trendirama by his good
friend Andrea Fojtu, whom he met in 2003 at a Tibet Support Group
conference in Prague. You can learn more abut Glenn in his bio
 
 
  
 
 

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