Cartoon for October 27
Why is the Dalai Lama a coward? Could it be that he doesn't really believe one of his religion's fundamental tenets?
Click on the cartoon to make it bigger.
Why is the Dalai Lama a coward? Could it be that he doesn't really believe one of his religion's fundamental tenets?
Click on the cartoon to make it bigger.
posted by Ted Rall at
8:52 AM
21 Comments:
Ted,
Excellent cartoon. At heart, do any of the major religious leaders really believe the tenets of their own religion? The Dalai Lama won't return to Tibet, the Pope rides around in a bulletproof car, etc. Kudos.
I'm sure that being repeatedly killed and reincarnated wouldn't be a fun experience.
Plus, the person would have to grow up again while the Dalai Lama alive, here, right now, has the capability to do positive things.
What did the Beastie Boys do with the money they raised to "save" Tibet???
I wonder if the Dalai Lama ever got it on with Mother Teresa.
Good questions, Ted! Here's one for you: if you really believe Bush is a tyrant, why aren't you organizing a plot to kill him? Or picking up the gun yourself?
smart jim, real smart. go check out your buddy rush, he likes your 'humor'....
It is not his fault. The very specific set of circumstances which brought about the evolution of capitalism simulatneously made all religions not work.
Well, Ted, the Chinese made reincarnation illegal, so this option is out.
:-)
Seriously, though, I really wish that DL had refused to suck up to the Chimpanzee and refused to take a Congressional Medal. I mean, what are congressional medals worth now, anyway? The people awarding them aren't really worthy to do so.
You guys should look up what the Tibetans have been going through for the past half-century before you shoot off your half-baked "ha-ha's" I wonder, would you similarly mock native american leaders who have seen their culture obliterated these past 1-500 years? It's a similar situation, and you guys suck for being that intellectually lazy.
I think what is keeping The Dalai Lama alive in this veil of tears is that when he he gets recycled the chicoms will merely replace him with their own stooge. The Panchen Lama has been replaced after death with another chinese communist stooge.
Free Tibet.
Keep the chinese out of Tibet.
I've never understood the American left's fascination with theocratic Tibet. 'Course the Nazis like the Hindu religion. Go figure.
Wonder what Piehole's nick name for the Dalai is?
I taught in Inner Mongolia, where the situation is not unsimilar to Tibet. The better informed of my students saw the analogy between themselves and the Native Americans. One asked "Can Native Americans go to jail for studying their own history?" This young man had chosen to study English because he noticed that most Mongolian history scholars ended up in jail. Powerful stuff.
Ah, Tibet. A peaceful, Feudal Theocracy with draconic legislation invaded by brutal commie Chinese who ended this heavenly rule and replaced it with a system where at least the monks don't get all the surplus production of an already subsistence-level agricultural society.
Long live the Buddhist Pope!
Dave, how does this happen? People read these cartoons and see things that are not there.
If the cartoon attacks the DL for not being there for his people, then that cartoon is supportive of the people of Tibet.
andy, what's wrong with theocratic states? Seriously.
Angelo, you're being disingenuous. Maybe the DL has a committment to preserve his culture. Sort of like saying "why isn't that native, almost extinct plant in it's native habitat? It needs to be there to seed," when the ground where it was planted and would seed has been poisoned. It's a form of contempt, engaged in by the clueless. Enjoy.
"Can Native Americans go to jail for studying their own history?"
Well students aren't beaten any more for speaking their native tongue, so we must be doing something right.
:)
"at least the monks don't get all the surplus production of an already subsistence-level agricultural society"
Right. The current system in which monks are thrown from buildings and locked in cells where they're tortured is WAY better.
The Dalai Lama has publically stated that he doesn't want a return to Tibet's old theocracy. I haven't heard of anyone who does. His Holiness has made no secret about the problems of Tibetan society before the Chinese invasion.
The wisdom contained in Tibet's religious texts is incredible. Have any of you read any of them?
There's a reason the Dalai Lama wasn't returned to China. It's not because he's afraid to die. There's also a reason he doesn't snub our simian President. It's not because he thinks a medal would look neat over his fireplace.
You guys have some reading to do.
I can understand why, some decades ago, the DL thought he might do more for the people of Tibet in exile than in prison or deceased. By now, however, it seems obvious that this is not a successful approach. If the US didn't take on the Chinese regarding Tibet 30 years ago, it certainly isn't going to happen now, when our economy is chained to China. I don't know if going back to Tibet is the best solution, but visiting a bunch of hypocritical, 2-face capitalist leaders isn't.
Why would he go back to Tibet? What's he going to do, zap the army with his laser-beam eyes?
He doesn't return because what is desired is for him to be ALLOWED, or INVITED, to return. Of course, this will probably never happen.
So what can he do? Well, he can work to preserve Tibet's culture and Spiritual tradition. He can also do his job, which is to be a spiritual teacher. It's hard to do that if you're dead.
This is why I think it was a good thing for him to visit Bush. If there's anyone who needs to hear the Buddha's teachings, it's Monkeyboy.
The Dalai Lama's goal is not simply the independence of Tibet. It's to help relieve the world if its suffering. The Dalai Lama believes that all sentient beings, even our miserable President, share this quality: that they want to be happy and they don't want suffering. A true practicing Buddhist would never turn down an invitiation to tea with his own worst enemy.
Oh, and reincarnation is not as big a deal in Buddhism as some people say. Lots of Buddhists don't believe in it. Stephen Batchelor wrote a book about it.
Mr. Rall, I've always admired your work, but this cartoon seems tremendously misguided.
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