The Secret Tibet (The Forbidden world)

Dharamshala: The Tibet Post International-Kelsang Gyaltsen, envoy of Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama on Thursday said world leaders should follow the example of US President Barack Obama and meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama, AFP reported.

"President Obama did not give in to this pressure and met with His Holiness the Dalai Lama," Kelsang Gyaltsen told reporters in Madrid after a meeting with Spanish legislators.

"He set an example," Gyaltsen said. "Now we feel it is very important that other members of the international community follow President Obama's example."

He added: "The more members of the international community that adopt a similar position, the greater the chances of having a real impact on the thinking of the Chinese leadership."

His Holiness the Dalai Lama met with Obama at the White House on 18 February 2010.

During the meeting, Obama "stated his strong support for the preservation of Tibet's unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human rights for Tibetans," a White House spokesman said.

"We have made it very clear to the Chinese side that His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile is not seeking separation and independence but genuine autonomy within the People's Republic of China," said Gyaltsen.

"All the efforts of His Holiness the Dalai Lama have not been sufficient to move the Chinese government to rethink its position on this matter so the only alternative for the Tibetans is to appeal to members of the international community," he added.

Dharamshala: The Tibet Post International-UK based spiritual organization "Knights Templar of Britannia" claims it is planning assist in the struggle for Tibetan rights. TPI's Y.C Dhardhowa talked to Lord Christopher Macklin, a senior council member of The Knights Templar of Britannia, who is involved in coordinating the project.

 

The recent discovery of a nail by Lord Macklin's organisation, claimed to be used to crucify Jesus Christ, has attracted media attention in the UK.

Conspiracy theories concerning the Knights Templar have been rife since the publication of Dan Brown's immensely popular, though critically panned, The Da Vinci Code franchise, and the resulting critically panned Hollywood blockbusters.

Modern organisations with links to the Knights Templar are frequently implicated in these conspiracy theories, and are often looked upon with a substantial amount of skepticism.

Lord Macklin has travelled to Dharamsala to seek an audience with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.

TPI: Can you introduce yourself briefly?

Lord Christopher Macklin: Certainly, my name's Lord Christopher Macklin, I'm a council member at the top of the Knights Templar of Britannia. This is one of 36 orders throughout England which the Vatican has studied in the past, and in fact our order is the only order which has a grandmaster that has ancestral links to the ancient grandmasters of before. So it is a proper order and we therefore have ancient knowledge that the Knights Templars had going back thousands of years, and also artifacts which we have kept secret up until now.

What is the purpose of the Knights Templar of Britannia? Is it devoted to a religious or spiritual cause?

The Knights Templars are historically spiritual. They are originally the Knights of the Temples, and these 'Temples' were the pyramids. The Knights Templar used to guard the pyramids. These pyramids were very special to the Knights Templar and we are going to release the reasons why in the future.

What are the intentions of the current Knights Templar?

The Knights Templar are basically very spiritual people. They have complete integrity. They do many good works throughout the world. They get involved in humanitarian projects, and also within the order we have many different projects in England.

[People] have to have integrity when they join the Knights Templar. People, if they want to, can be trained as a Knight. To be trained they have to become spiritual. [There are] many different aspects of becoming a Knight, which are spiritual abilities, for example manifestations.

When was the organisation established?

It was established a long time ago. It's been around for many years - I think it's 700 years old. It comes from the ancient Knights Templar. In 1300 the Knights Templar disbanded. Because of the order of the pope, the grandmaster at the time, Jacques de Molay, was slow-roasted at the stake. The pope ordered this because the King of France put pressure on the pope to disband the Knights Templars, because he had borrowed so much money from them that he couldn't afford to pay it back.

That's why, once the grandmaster was killed, some Knights Templars disbanded into the Knights Hospitalice, and others jumped onto ships and set sail with all the artifacts and all the gold they had and dispersed throughout the world.

And who are the employers of the Knight Templars?

Er... there's no employment. It's a spiritual organization which is completely charitable. People get involved in the Knights Templar on a charitable basis.

How do people get involved in the Knights Templar of Britannia?

Some are very involved and have missions out all over the world in Africa. There are things going on in America - some are looking after soup kitchens. People get involved all over the world, but people can be as involved or uninvolved as they like.

But are there any conditions to join? Any requirements, Christianity?

No. It's not a Christian organization - it's a spiritual organization. We understand how all the religions come together, and how everything fits together. That's why we're looking at writing a book about the Knights templar. We recognize all religions.

How are the Knights Templar of Britannia interested in Tibetan issues?

We don't like to see the humanitarian problems which Tibet is having at the moment, and therefore we support His Holiness and the Tibetan people to try and free themselves of their problems. We're hoping to release a big fund of money in the next three or four months. One thing you'll learn about the Knights Templar is that the determination [that we have] is huge. Once we set a goal we achieve it. Part of Buddhist teaching is that if you believe something and you manifest it, it will happen. I believe, along with my colleagues at the Knights Templar, that we are going to make this fund available. [We] have manifested it and it will happen.

700 years of history is not a short period of time, so what have been your main successes in the 21st century?

We've had many successes. What we realize is that there's a lot of darkness at the moment which is engineered from monetary greed. This seems to be controlling the world at the moment. Greed seems to have manifested within people all over the world. What we're trying to do is educate people to step back and think "the world is not about money, it's about helping people." It's about waking the spirituality within people, to get them to start helping. That's really important to us.

You have to remember that the world's money is held by the very few, and they're pulling all the strings. It's our mission to try and turn that around, and get people feeling positive again. People live in fear at the moment, because the economic situation in the Western countries is very poor - people are in debt or can't pay their bills - and because of that, because of the fear factor and the negativity within them, they can't become spiritual. What we hope to do is to reeducate them to let go of that money-side and help them to become spiritual. We have some ideas for [doing] that in the future, which will be released.

You flew from the UK to Dharamshala to meet Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Why is it important to meet His Holiness for your organization?

It's most important because His Holiness has great wisdom, as you know. We have wisdom also, and I think [ours] is in symbiosis with His Holiness' ideas, therefore I'm very keen to meet His Holiness to get some focus on how we can help him and the Tibetan people, as well as how he can help us to move forward with the projects we are doing, of which there are many, and [which] are going to be huge.

You've mentioned that you've already met some officials from the Central Tibetan Government.

I've met the secretary who was excited to arrange a meeting with the Prime Minister in April. It's my mission to come back, because with His Holiness and the Prime Minister behind what we're doing, I think we can do some great work together.

Getting spirituality back and getting the Tibetan people to manifest for the humanitarian problems to be over is important. We're hoping to make the fund available which we're starting to manifest now in various forms, so hopefully in the next three months we'll be able to help monetary-wise as well.

If you couldn't meet with His Holiness this time, would you be discouraged?

I never get discouraged. One thing about [myself], as I said, is when I set a goal I achieve it, and I think His Holiness would back me up on this because he is a spiritual person of equal standing for myself... I think we're two people with the ability to perform some amazing things in the future, and that's why I'm very excited to meet his Holiness. I know His Holiness will meet me in the future, for sure, because he is a very beautiful spirit.

You've had some media attention over the discovery of a "Holy Nail", could you tell us about that?

When Jack de Molay was slow-roasted at the stake, and [the Knights Templar's] ships set sail all over the world, one of the fleet went via Madeira, and they set new commandries up all over the world to keep the Knights' Temple alive. Our order manifested out of that. The "Holy Nail" was in a box with particular Temple symbols which [corresponds] to our records. We identified the nail as Christ's crucifixion nail, which we've been guarding for over 2000 years.

Now we've got joint ownership with the Prince of Pontinha, so we're very excited about this find. I think it's one of our momentous finds.

Is that the photo [of the nail] in your hand?

It is. It's about four inches long.

Yeah, I can see that in the photo.

When Christ was crucified, not many people know this, but with crucifixion what they normally did was they strapped [the victim's] arms up, then put the nail through the bottom part of the arm to cause more pain.

Archaeologists confirm that the nail is from the first or second century, and also that it had been handled in a careful way by many people over a long period of time. Obviously they can't confirm that it was Christ's nail, but from our records we can confirm that it was the nail which was lost in the fleet.

And where is the nail now?

Well, I can't really tell you! It's with our security.

Dharamshala: The Tibet Post International-His Holiness the Dalai Lama yesterday welcomed a group of 23 prominent democratic activists from around 9 countries and regions; USA, Australia, Germany, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, New Zea-land, Taiwan and Hong Kong to a ceremony to mark Tibetan National Uprising Day, in Dharamshala, India.

The group included several Chinese campaigners living in exile, who His Holiness specifically addressed, saying they had not travelled to Dharamshala out of any desire for self-gain or celebrity, but rather out of a belief in the Tibetan cause and the wish to lend support to others.

He added that Chinese people everywhere feel the Tibet issue sullies their country’s good name, so one reason to resolve it would be to restore that good name.

“Our main struggle is to preserve Tibetan culture and Buddhism,” His Holiness continued, “which could benefit 1.2 billion Chinese people.

“When I meet Chinese friends, they say 1,000 years of their culture and moral traditions were destroyed in just 60 years – that Chinese people today are materialistic and without morals, and they hope Tibetan Buddhism and culture can one day solve these problems.

“So Chinese people have many reasons to support Tibetan Buddhism and culture,” His Holiness concluded, before once again thanking the Chinese campaigners for attending.

Turning to the subject exile in India, he said that, although it is a sad situation, one positive thing is that it has enabled Tibetans to teach the world how precious their religion and culture are.

“If I was still living in the Potala in Tibet, drinking butter tea,“ he said, “I would not have had the opportunity to meet so many people and share my Buddhism and my culture.

“I am fortunate to be able to teach Buddhism in exile – so something good has come out of something bad.

“Historically, China was a Buddhist country,” His Holiness continued, “and even today it is home to many Buddhists.”

He said that Five Terrace Mountain, which is associated with the Manjusri Buddha, is in China, as is Dala Mountain, which is associated with the Avalokiteshvara Buddha.

His Holiness joked that, “Usually when I meet religious Chinese friends, I say to them, ‘You are a senior Buddhist student, and we are junior students. But junior education is no poorer than senior education!’”

He concluded by saying that the Tibet issue is not simply political, but is also concerned with Buddhism which, in turn, is about wider issues than Tibet.

“Just as rivers flow through many countries, so does Buddhism,” he said. “It is essential to take a wide perspective. We should all take heart and develop our inner energy.

“Focusing solely on the sadness of our situation in exile will not help us.”

Dharamshala: The Tibet Post International-The committee is one of two institutions in Brussels which advises the European Parliament. President Mario Sepi accepted a personal invitation from the Committee's Chinese counterpart, the Economic and Social Council of China last October to visit Tibet.

Over the course of the  three-day visit to Dharamshala the committee has met with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government Samdhong Rinpoche in Exile to discuss how the EESC, with its potential 36 million euro budget, can best help the Tibetan people.

Sepi has said the visit's intentions were to,"increase our knowledge of the economic and social situation in Tibet, as well as [to explore] all possible fields of cooperation and dialogue which can be developed, especially in the areas of education, access to employment, health-care, and gender equality."

Anne-Marie Sigmund, head of the delegation, outlined the purpose of the EESC's Dharamshala visit, "We are here on a fact-finding mission. We want to go back with a lot of knowledge and possibilities to create networks in order to put in place some concrete activities."

Henri Malosse, President of the Employers' Group of the EESC, stressed the importance of developing a stronger EU-Tibet business relationship through the EESC. "We will engage to strengthen the local civil society, to see how we can build up contacts and partnerships with European and other partners to engage in concrete projects with the [Tibetan] Chamber of Commerce, with the business sector and with small scale industry," assuring attendees that "We will not just go back with a nice picture with the Dalai Lama (...) We have concrete proposals and projects."

Marie Schama, a UK member of the institution, said "We have heard from the Dalai Lama that he would like more help for small-scale industry. We learned from the Tibetan chamber of commerce that they would like to develop more links with European businesses to help them grow."

The conference' main focus was on the importance of investing in youth-oriented projects. Schama spoke highly of her visit to the Tibetan Children's Village, and stated her intentions to start an entrepreneurship program, along with microcredit initiatives to encourage students into enterprise.

The scarcity of scholarships for Tibetan students, most of whom face severe financial difficulty in pursuing higher education, was addressed by Sigmund, who pointed out that while Erasmus Mundus scholarships were available for both Chinese and Indian students, but that Tibetan students did not qualify for either. Sigmund promised that "We will explore the possibilities of making Erasmus Mundus [scholarships] available for Tibetan students."

Malosse also brought up the possibility to establish a Tibetan University in order to encourage learning and preserve Tibetan culture.

Following on from the Dalai Lama's recent call for more women in leadership roles, the Committee was active in discussing initiatives to provide more opportunities for women in the community.

Schama emphasised the importance of grassroots entrepreneurship in "bringing women a voice" and stated, quoting Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche's in their meeting the previous day, "the question is not about empowering women, it's about how we utilise the power of women."

When asked about whether the political sensitivity of Tibetan issues - particularly regarding the EESC's meeting with the Dalai Lama, whom Chinese authorities accuse of leading a concentrated campaign for Tibetan Independence - might hinder progress and the allocation of the EESC's 36 million euro budget, Sigmund stated "The EESC is not a political body." Malosse admitted that "difficulties" were likely to be encountered, but responded that "for me that is a very poor excuse to do nothing."

Dharamshala: The Tibet Post International-The Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), in Dharamshala, India, reports that three Tibetans from Thangkyil township, Karze prefecture (Chinese name), eastern Tibet, have received harsh court sentences.

According to TCHRD, on 17 November 2009, Karze Municipal Intermediate People's Court sentenced Pema Yeshe (29) from Nyidha village, to a two-year suspended death penalty. Tsewang Gyatso (33) received life imprisonment, and Sonam Gonpo (25) was given a 16-year term. The latter two both worked as school cooks in Thangkyil. All three were charged with violating state security and engaging in separatist activities.

TCHRD reports that Karze police arrested the three on March 11 last year, under suspicion of posting pro-Tibetan independence slogans in Thangkyil township, and setting fire to its local government office.

Since their arrests, Pema Yeshe has been held in Dartsedho county detention centre, whilst Sonam and Tsewang have been detained in a Deyang region prison, in so-called "Chiese Sichuan" province.

Dharamshala: The Tibet Post International-Tibet's spiritual and political leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama had 95,798 followers on micro-blogging site Twitter Wednesday within two days of joining the social networking site. Twitter founder Evan Williams had tweeted on Monday that he met His Holiness in Los Angeles and pitched using the service.

"He laughed," Williams wrote. His Holiness the Dalai Lama's account was up and running, a post from his base in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, India said Tuesday.

The 74 years old Tibetan leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has 11 Tweets on his page so far, giving links to interviews and photos. There are no personal messages. The monk has been living in exile in India since fleeing Tibet after the Chinese occupation in 1959.

His government-in-exile is not recognized by any country. The Tibetan leader is currently on a 10-day visit to the US that included a meeting with President Barack Obama and a series of public lectures in California and Florida.

The communist regime of China objected to the US president Barack Obama meeting, saying it amounted to interference in its internal affairs. But His Holiness occasionally declared that he is not seeking independent for Tibet.

China claims His Holiness the Dalai Lama a separatist, while he has said he is seeking greater autonomy for Tibetan people of whole Tibet within China. Several rounds of talks between his representatives and Chinese officials have yielded little progress.

This comes a year after Twitter was forced to delete a fake account which attracted several thousand followers. he world's most popular micro-blogging site. Twitter has found itself a new and a new kind of follower - His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Dharamshala: The Tibet Post International-The Tibetan Government-in-exile this morning marked the centenary of the 13th Dalai Lama Thupten Gyaltso's exile to India.

The official ceremony was held at main Tibetan temple in Dharamshala, India, where His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama's residence based for last 50 years.

It was attended by officials from the three strands of the government-in-exile - the assembly, the cabinet and the judiciary - together with several non-government organizations.

Tibetan Prime Minister Professor Samdhong Rinpoche told the audience that, in 1910, the Chinese Manchu Dynasty invaded Tibet, driving the 13th Dalai Lama into exile.

"The 13th Dalai Lama worked assiduously for Tibet," he said, "and maintained good relations with neighbouring countries, so the centenary of his exile is well worth remembering, especially by those in government.

"It was the fifth Dalai Lama who founded the first Tibetan government, the Gaden Phodrang Shogle Namgyal. He had many plans to improve his country. Unfortunately he was not supported by his compatriots, and his successors faced many subsequent invasions from Nepal, China and Britain.

"In 1912," the Prime Minister continued, "the Chinese were ousted from Tibet, and the 13th Dalai Lama declared it an independent state.

"All countries mark the anniversaries of important figures and their deeds, and the Tibetan Government-in-exile is correct to do the same."

The Prime Minister concluded that, "2012 will be the centenary of the 13th Dalai Lama's return to Tibet, and this anniversary should also be marked, along with our own dreams of returning home to join our country-people."

Mr Penpa Tsering, speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile, related the life story of the 13th Dalai Lama.

He said that when he returned to Tibet, the 13th Dalai Lama instituted many changes to government policy, based on his experiences in India, regarding, for example, hunting and forestry regulation, and tax laws. He also sanctioned the founding of tea plantations, and the introduction of electricity and telephony.

Mr Penpa Tsering concluded that we must maintain previous advances in Tibet and Tibetan culture, but also respond to changing times, as did the 13th Dalai Lama.

Dharamshala: The Tibet Post International-Nepali Police on Thursday arrested 17 more Tibetan refugees while they were crossing from Lamabagar of Dolakha district, near Tibet-Nepali Border.

The arrested Tibetan refugees, who entered through Nepal's open border with Tibet, include 10 men and 7 women. They did not possess travel documents, Nepal News said.

"A police team from Gogar police post had arrested the Tibetans fleeing Chinese rule in Tibet on Thursday evening and handed them over to the District Police Office.

As there is public holiday tomorrow and the day after, the district police plans to hand the arrested Tibetans over to immigration department in Kathmandu on Monday.

The arrested Tibetans now face either deportation to Tibet, imprisonment in the country or would be handed over to United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)."

Last Saturday, police had arrested four Tibetans from the same place in Dolakha while they were crossing Tibe-Nepal border.

Prior to that, 10 Tibetans were arrested by the police while they were entering Nepal without valid travel documents from Tibet via Lamabagar in Dolakha district on Jan 17.

Nepal is home to around 20,000 exiled Tibetans. They began arriving in large numbers after Tibetan spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama fled Tibet following a failed uprising in 1959.

Following strong pressure from the communist regime of China, Nepal has forced to tighten up security along its border with Tibet.

Dharamshala: The Tibet Post Internationa-Kashag Secretariat (Cabinet Secretariat of Tibetan Government in exile) yesterday urged Tibetan officials in the Government in Exile not to take part in the coming Losar （New Year）celebrations.

A statement issued by the Central Tibetan Administration, the Tibetan government in exile, regarding the Tibetan new year reads as follows: "To all the secretaries of concerned departments,

Taking into consideration the 2008, Tibetan Earth Mouse year protest in Tibet, hundreds of Tibetans were killed and thousands were arrested. Throughout last year, the Year of the Earth Mouse, the suppression and censorship continued. In many parts of Tibet, communities have decided not to celebrate the coming New Year in solidarity with the Tibetan cause.

Central Tibetan Administration urges Tibetan Officials not to take part in celebrations such as parties, dancing and singing, and fireworks, except for religious rituals such as burning incense and making traditional offerings.

The Secretariat clarified that this announcement is aimed at Tibetan Officials, and does not apply to the Tibetan people."