The Dalai Lama crosses a line...

The office of the Dalai Lama still has not responded to my e-mail, and that silence, to me at least, is thunderous.  But this week, the Dalai Lama still kept up his verbal attacks on Chinese:

The Dalai Lama blasted Chinese authorities Wednesday, accusing them of trying to "annihilate Buddhism" in Tibet as he commemorated a failed uprising against China's rule over the region.

The Tibetan spiritual leader's angry comments appeared to signal his frustration with fruitless efforts to negotiate a compromise with China. However, he said he would not abandon talks...

In his annual address from exile in India to mark the 51st anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising against China, the Dalai Lama said Chinese authorities were conducting a campaign of "patriotic re-education" in monasteries in Tibet.

"They are putting the monks and nuns in prison-like conditions, depriving them the opportunity to study and practice in peace," he said, accusing Chinese of working to "deliberately annihilate Buddhism." 

This is clearly false, as I've said before on this blog. I've seen it myself.  I've talked to Chinese Buddhists and Christians.  I've heard the Panchen Lama problem discussed openly in Beijing.  The Dalai Lama may not like the fact that as he ages, his relevance as a political leader is fading, despite what he says, which does seem to be what the government thinks too.  More to the point, he may be angry that his control over religion is being attenuated.

Meanwhile, here's an example  of how badly religion is being "suppressed" in China. Clearly those Tibetans want to be there to view the Panchen Lama.

Now I'm not saying there's quite a bit of bad feelings around Tibet today. But I am saying that there's a bit too much misinformation in the US about this subject, and American Buddhists should be more critical in their ingestion of other people's narratives about this subject. It's far more complicated than you're getting from the Dalai Lama.