Dalai Lama Video

I watched an interview of Dalai Lama with Jim Glassman about the relationships between Tibet and The People’s Republic of China.

I was born and raised in China. As a result, my perception about Tibet has always been from the Chinese perspective. Since grade schools, I was taught over and over again that Tibet is a part of China. My brain was trained in such way that Tibet is not only a place full of religious mysteries led by Dalai Lama, but also a dangerous area where violence are used to achieve it’s political ambitions. 

By coming to America and studying Buddhism in American higher education, I start to understand the other side, the Tibetan side. My perception of Dalai Lama was wrong simply because the word “ambition” and Buddhist just don’t go together. Like Dalai Lama said clearly in the video, what Tibet wants is a democratic government in which they enjoy some political freedom from the PRC. 

In the video, Dalai Lama is very knowledgeable about the history of different kinds of societies and political systems. He seems to understand the importance of democracy and human rights in the 21st century. As of the constant conflict with China, Dalai Lama is trying to approach it with the peace within the Buddhism beliefs and the help from the external sources such as the United States and other western countries.