written by Rinchen Angmo
It is very disturbing to witness how manipulative media houses and ignorant people have the audacity to try defame His Holiness the Dalia Lama who has dedicated every moment of his life for the well being of sentient beings. It is to challenge this audacity that I feel compelled to write this. For too long we have let hegemonic forces spew venom, it’s high time we put an end to contrived narratives that deliberately spread hate.
Before I proceed I want to put forth some questions: Do you know what enlightenment means? Do you understand Buddhism? Do you understand the practices of Tibetan Buddhism? Do you understand what it means to perceive reality beyond duality? Do you understand what blessings mean? Do you understand the real meaning of compassion? Do you understand Tibetan culture? Do you understand that when one prostrates before statues it symbolizes the offering of body, speech and mind? Do understand the symbolic meaning of offering body, speech and mind? Do you understand the meaning of emptiness? Do you understand what it means to dedicate not just one, but several lifetimes for the well-being of other sentient beings?
If your answer to even one of the aforementioned questions mentioned is no, then take it an as a CLEAR indication that you have no idea what you’re talking about when you decide to so callously defame a revered figure like His Holiness.
I was very upset to see the malicious way in which His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s pure interaction with a child was painted in the most manipulative terms. Initially I thought of not writing anything concerning this because honestly through the original video itself, the purity of His Holiness’s intention is very much visible. Besides, in our communities His Holiness is such a revered figure that I felt no need to ‘clarify’ anything to the rest of the world.
However, I felt that in the age of technology it is important to counteract false narratives with the truth. Another reason I felt the need to write something was because the news channels spreading hate and the people who mindlessly receiving their manipulated ‘headlines’ need to reflect on themselves. To manipulatively try to defame someone who has dedicated his whole life for the well being of humanity is a very serious issue. Are media houses that pathetic that they now feel the need to stoop this low? Moreover, now is the time to seriously question everything that is being portrayed on the media. Instead of highlighting issues of real concern, they have nothing better to do than play in the ploys of the Communist Party of China. Moreover the individuals involved in spreading such hate need to seriously reflect on themselves.
Everyone is very well aware of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s contribution to world peace, religious harmony and the Tibetan cause.
What needs highlighting is the pathetic level to which media houses are ready to stoop to spread hate and misinformation.
In my personal opinion I feel we can play a role by boycotting media houses that spread hate and misinformation: unsubscribe and unfollow. Because they need to know that they will be held accountable for the venom they so casually spew.
In my individual journey of life, I cannot surmise in words the value of His Holiness’s teachings and he has been a role model who has inspired me to be a better individual each day. If I talk about my homeland Ladakh as a whole, His Holiness’s immense contribution in terms of giving teachings, stressing on religious harmony and making us aware of our cultural heritage cannot be described in words.
I never thought there’d come a day when I would be compelled to write these things.
Initially I thought that there was no need to write about this subject because I thought that as long as I had clarity regarding this, there was no need to say anything to people who would anyway not understand. But while retrospecting I felt that there is indeed a need to hold these pathetic media houses responsible for spreading hate and misinformation and for hurting the sentiments of so many people. Moreover as someone trying to be a Buddhist, I suppose I felt the need to also write something so that the people engaged in such pathetic media houses can reflect on themselves.
People want to talk about children, do they have any idea about His Holiness’s role in envisioning the Tibetan Children’s Village and the empowering impact it has had on its students?
Just because technology provides a means to reach audiences doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want. People need to keep in mind that if their words will be held accountable through the usage of the very medium that they so callously employ.
As someone from Ladakh and as someone who has tried to read a bit of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, I can understand the context of the video and that context cannot be explained in a few words; it is a matter of understanding built over years. But even for those who cannot understand the context, the purity of intention is very obvious.
A big factor behind the reason why some people are responding the way they are lies in the fact that the ‘headline’ was deliberately worded and delivered in a way that already came with a negative bearing. Add to this the single minded approach of the ‘21st century’ individual who only understands the West, you find a flock of people who seem to have lost the ability to contextualise.
This then points out two major issues that the world faces today: manipulation of the ‘news’ by economic powers (in this case the Communist Party Of China) and the colonisation of the ‘individual’ mind by Western as well as other hegemonic ideologies.
In these degenerate times, it’s becoming increasingly important to voice ourselves. Moreover, since social media enables the possibility of individual voices being heard, it becomes even more important to be responsible social media users. Let’s utilise social media to work towards the well being of all. I hope we can all work together towards building a better world.
Chhaksal (I pay homage to) His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
