TENZIN YESHE'S BLOG
Edition No. 3
May 2009

Why Are Some Chinese Officials Still Arresting And Torturing Tibetans After All These Years?

It seems I am regularly asked why the situation for the Tibetans has not improved much with respect to their continuing to be arrested and tortured in Chinese prisons. Many express the opinion that many, if not most, Tibetans in these prisons seem innocent of any verified crimes. Most are people who denounce the use of violence in any form to resolve problems, so it appears extremely unfair to supporters around the world that such non-violent people are being tortured.

Many ask me if I do not get "depressed" or discouraged doing human rights work because sometimes it does not seem that the situation we are trying to improve (the torture of Tibetans) is any better than when I began this endeavor decades ago. Many around the world are also engaged in this work, and even with all the efforts of so many the arrests and tortures of innocent Tibetan people continue. Sometimes these episodes seem to worsen when one would hope they might improve such as prior to the Beijing Olympics last year. At that time there was an increased "clamp down" on ordained Tibetans being kept imprisoned in their monasteries surrounded by armed guards, while other Tibetans were arrested en masse in Tibet, Nepal and elsewhere based on flimsy evidence. This did not seem the way to promote goodwill and cooperation only weeks prior to those Olympic games.

It is probably accurate to say that most practicing Buddhists oppose the practice of torture. They would say it is a cruel and inhumane activity, and its use often produces unreliable information because the person being tortured often says anything to stop the pain.

So how do we explain that some people torture others in the first place? After decades of doing human rights work of various types I cannot find any better explanation than that found in Buddhist teachings: It comes down to AFFLICTIVE EMOTIONS AND INCORRECT VIEWS.

The practice of torture is not most accurately explained by apparently political, economic or other motivations. Instead, it is more perceptive to say that torture is an activity carried out by human beings whose emotions and thinking are confused. They are not motivated by compassion, but because of their distorted emotions/thinking they seek to blame, to harm, to take, to control. Buddhists believe that any person is capable of changing his/her emotions and thinking to be compassionate and wise, and that is one reason why I have never met a Tibetan who was imprisoned and tortured by some Chinese officials who hated these captors.

What are afflictive emotions? These are the feelings which most human beings would identify as "negative." Anger, grasping/greed/desire, envy, jealousy, etc. are the main ones, and all of them are based on ignorance. When we are ignorant of the true nature of our reality, including our apparent selves, then we inevitably carry out actions which harm ourselves or others.

In the 1970s, a branch of psychology called transactional analysis became very popular. One of its basic concepts was "I'm OK, You're OK." This slogan has been bandied about, often without people understanding what was being taught by it. The idea is that when we approach ourselves and others with respect and care, then we have good communications, good relationships. Trouble happens when someone takes the mental position of "I'm OK, You're Not OK." As soon as we make the other person not valuable, not respected. then it becomes "OK" in our minds to somehow abuse that other person; there is then an excuse to treat the "not OK" person in a devalued way. It can be said that a person willing to torture another sentient being has taken the mental position that the victim of the torture is somehow "less than" or "not OK" or "blameworthy" in some way, and this justifies the cruelty. As soon as a person learns to genuinely respect and care for others (as well as themselves), then s/he becomes someone not willing to treat others in a destructive, mean-spirited, violent way.

Another way to put this is that a person willing to torture others has no accurate perception that we are all interconnected as a human family, as well as with other sentient beings; indeed all of the seen and unseen universe can be said to be inseparably one. When someone deeply recognizes this, then s/he becomes someone who does not wish to harm "the other," because the apparent other is as valuable and worthy of respect and kindness as the apparent self.

The above reasons may seem simplistic upon first considering them, but I think the existence of people willing to torture others can be explained most accurately with these basic teachings.

One of the reasons I chose to pursue my work for Tibetan (and others') human rights was that I think it crucial that people do this work from this very basic understanding of "how human beings work" if we are to have any success at changing abusive situations. As an ordained Buddhist, I can approach this topic of the use of torture against the Tibetans (and others) from this simple, yet profound, viewpoint. There are many organizations doing human rights work for the Tibetans from a seemingly political standpoint. This work has its place and, done with the intention of relieving suffering, can be a great service. Yet, if we point a finger at other governments as "bad" or "not OK" (in this case China) while excusing the government of the country we live in (in my case the USA) as "good" or "OK," then we have taken the mental stance which causes so many problems between individuals, organizations, countries, etc., i. e. "I'm OK, You're Not OK."

One of the reasons I included Native Americans in "Voices For Freedom" is that they have been treated in a similar manner to the Tibetans; both communities have been attacked to near-extinction. We in the West, Europeans, and others are not without our own histories of destroying others lives and cultures.

The "bottom line" work of human rights is to call ourselves and others to be the best people we can be so that we become people who do not wish to harm ourselves or others. As more and more people rise to that call, less and less episodes of torture and other abusive acts occur.

When I share Buddhist teachings as has been done in this essay, it is not to do "missionary work;" it is not to convert others to be Buddhists. This is a sharing, an expression of information, which hopefully will make some sense and will help relieve sufferings in some way.

May we all treat each other with kindness, respect and authentic compassion.

TENZIN YESHE'S BLOG
Edition No. 2
Spring 2008

TORTURE OF TIBETANS (OR ANYONE ELSE) NOT A POLITICAL ISSUE

For the past several decades I have been carrying out projects which promote human rights, most notably for the Tibetans.  At this time, just before the planned Olympics in Beijing, I am sharing portions of Voices For Freedom, a multimedia miniseries of which I am Director/Producer as a pre-release presentation; the entire production will be released in 2009.  In this work, I take a firm stand against the torture of Tibetans while they are held in Chinese prisons, which practice has apparently been ongoing for decades.  In this documentary many Tibetans who were imprisoned and tortured give their heart-wrenching, first-hand accounts.  In this production I address this issue of the use of torture as a human being promoting compassion, not as a political activist.

The above point is emphasized because it appears that often when people take public stands against the torture of Tibetans, some Chinese officials accuse them of meddling in the internal, political affairs of China.

Yes, there are some who criticize various governments around the world of engaging in torture motivated by political agendas.  However, there is a "whole different breed" of human rights activists who oppose torture because they believe these actions are ones no human being should carry out against another.

As an ordained Buddhist monastic (monk), I take this stand against the use of torture wherever it is occuring.  I would define torture the carrying out of any action intended to cause pain and/or harm to another sentient being (whether human, animal or other.).

Those involved in political, military, intelligence careers (and the like) often state that those opposing the use of torture for political / military / intelligence purposes are naive and not realistic.   On the other hand, I would put forward that those involved in spiritual and religious vocations can serve a crucial function to society:  They can be good spokespeople for reminding themselves and others of the importance of remaining compassionate and caring as human beings, no matter what goals we wish to achieve in life.  If we do not have some yardstick by which to measure when we have gone too far in engaging in harmful activities, then what will we become, what/who are we?  How much destruction of beings, the environment, all living things in general, are we willing to carry out or accept before we say, "No more?"

As a human being, as a Buddhist monk, and as a filmmaker, I take a stand against the use of torture wherever it is occuring, no matter what political, military, intelligence and/or other reason is given for its "necessity."  Thus, I ask the officials of China who might wish to attack my stand in Voices For Freedom against the use of torture of the Tibetans to please not attempt the rather silly and incorrect criticism that I am trying to get involved in China's internal politics.

In this documentary I state clearly that I am not taking a political stand on some of the more compelling political issues on the table between Chinese officials and the Tibetans.  For example, Nobel Peace Prize recipient His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama of Tibet has stated his preference that Tibet be autonomous, but not necessarily independent politically from China; yet, some Tibetans and their friends around the world believe that full political independence is best for Tibet at this time.  I mention both ideas in this production and add that my stand against the torture of the Tibetan people can be viewed as unrelated to the settlement of these political matters.

Whether we are involved in political, military and/or other fields of endeavor, we are human beings first.  Most often, we cannot stop, lessen or control the actions of people who are purposefully inflicting pain and physical harm on others.  We can, however, refuse to engage in such activities ourselves and carry out as many peace- and kindness-promoting activities as possible to stop incidents of torture wherever they occur.  What has happend to Tibetans tortured in prisons comprises only one portion of the sufferings endured by many around the world.  It is my hope that Voices For Freedom acts as a catalyst to lessen or stop the use of torture everywhere.

TENZIN YESHE'S BLOG
Edition No. 1
Spring 2008

ON THE BEIJING OLYMPICS

Selected portions of the documentary miniseries Voices For Freedom are being pre-released to the public early in 2008, the year that China will host the Olympics in Beijing in August 2008. The full release of Voices For Freedom will take place in 2009.

His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama has stated many times he believes that doing business with China, as well as encouraging other cooperative efforts between China and other countries, are good ideas. Still, that does not mean we neglect to speak up for Tibetan people we believe are being imprisoned and tortured in Tibet so that, hopefully, these abuses will be stopped. This would help to heal the relationship between the Tibetans and Chinese, and improve the status of China in the eyes of the world.

The subject of human rights abuses in Voices For Freedom has been approached from a humanitarian viewpoint. It is the hope of the Producer/Director, Mary Teal Coleman/Ven. Bhikshuni Tenzin Yeshe, that this work can encourage an international dialogue about how all human beings can be more compassionate and use less (or no) violence when seeking resolutions for our world's conflicts. Chinese officials are not pointed to in this documentary as the bad guys/gals of the world. It appears, unfortunately, that many of the world's countries engage in various forms of violence to achieve certain aims, including the United States of America (where the Producer/Director was born and lives). This is a work to promote greater use of non-violent problem-solving as a compassionate activity in all countries.

Sometimes it may seem to those involved in political work that this is not a realistic point-of-view. Ven. Tenzin Yeshe, the Producer/Director of Voices For Freedom, is an ordained Buddhist monastic (monk), and she feels strongly that one of the contributions which the religious and spiritual traditions of the world can add to international dialogue is the promotion of non-violent conflict resolution. Voices For Freedom is offered to the public in that spirit.

The time of these Olympics might be said to provide a great opportunity for all of us to address the issue of human rights violations around the world. This is a time when people gather from many nations in one place to participate in games. The ambiance is friendly, cooperative. Without politicizing the issue of stopping tortures, wherever they occur, this could be a fruitful time for all of us to decide to be more kind towards each other and to cooperate away from these Olympic games as we do during them.

It seems clear that neither the Dalai Lama nor the Tibetan people consider the Chinese to be their enemies, and perhaps that is a good place to start.