Tibet Information Office Australia

His Holiness the Dalai Lama greets members of the audience at Sojiji Temple in Yokohama, Japan, on 27 June 2010

Yokohama, Japan: The secular nature of moral ethics is common to all religions despite differences in belief systems because these ethics of compassion, peace and global responsibility are common to all religions, said His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the conclusion of a brief talk during his visit to Sojiji Temple at Tsurumi in Yokohama this morning.

“Even non-Buddhist practitioners such as the Christians listen to my talks on philosophical aspects of Tibetan Buddhism and understand my message on the importance of secular values as these values are common to all religions,” he said, adding all are human beings first and therefore cultivating a sense of global responsibility is crucial in bringing genuine peace and compassion.”

He was speaking to over 1,700 people including monks, local devotees and school children who had gathered at the main temple of the Soto-shu sect of Buddhism to listen to His Holiness.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama meets young members of the audience at Sojiji Temple in Yokohama, Japan, on 27 June 2010

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His Holiness the Dalai Lama (R) receives a special scroll from a Korean monk in Yokohama, Japan, on 27 June 2010/ Photos by Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL

Yokohama, Japan: Over 500 South Korean Buddhists received an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama this afternoon at the the convention hall of the Intercontinental Grand Hotel at Yokohama in Tokyo.

His Holiness said traditionally countries like Korea and China are Buddhist and expressed his appreciation for the way the Koreans are seriously engaged in learning more about Buddhism. He said as common followers of Buddhism, he has always wanted to meet “fellow Buddhists” not only in South Korea but also other Buddhist countries such as Burma and Sri Lanka where he has never been before. “My last visit to Thailand, another Buddhist country, was in the 1960s but after that could not go there again,” he said with a soft chuckle. Read the rest »

Karma Samdrup, shown in December 2008/AP File

Dharamshala: Karma Samdrup, a prominent Tibetan environmental philanthropist’s complaint against police officials for repeatedly torturing him to extract confession for an offense that he vehemently denied of committing, is a test case for China’s new regulations on halting evidence obtained illegally through torture, a US-based rights group said.

Karma Samdrup was arrested from his home in Sichuan Province in January on alleged charges of buying artifacts from a looted tomb in 1998. According to his lawyer, Pu Zhiqiang, those charges were dropped after the police realised that he had a license to buy and sell cultural relics.

Karma Samdrup’s brothers Rinchen Samdrup, top, and Chime Namgyal were jailed after accusing a police chief of hunting protected animals.

His arrest came following his attempts to defend his two younger brothers, Rinchen Samdrup and Chime Namgyal, who are in jail since August 2009 for accusing a police official in Chamdo Prefecture of illegal poaching. “By jumping to his brothers’ defense, Karma Samdrup apparently angered some powerful people,” The New York Times reported.

Relatives say Namgyal was tortured and then sentenced to 21 months at a labour camp for “harming national security.” Rinchen Samdrup, who has also been lauded by the Chinese media in the past, is still awaiting trial on several charges, including having set up the environmental group illegally.

During his ongoing trial in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region on 22 June, Karma Samdrup said that during several months of interrogation, officers repeatedly beat him, ordered fellow detainees to beat him, deprived him of sleep for days on end, and drugged him with a substance that made his eyes and ears bleed – all to extract a confession, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. Read the rest »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama teaching Heart Sutra at Kanazawa in Japan, on 22 June 2010/ Photos by Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL

Kanazawa, Japan: His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Tuesday suggested that Japan and China should think of translating Buddhist texts and commentaries preached by Lord Buddha and other learned spiritual masters into their own languages.

His Holiness said this while teaching Heart Sutra to over 2,000 devotees during a public teaching at Ishikawa Concert Hall.

Expressing his warm greetings, His Holiness said he feels comfortable in teaching Buddhism in Japan which is a Buddhist nation. “I get a feeling as if I am returning to you a part of your ancient tradition. This feeling is not so forthcoming in the West, because I feel every country needs to maintain their religion and culture,” he said. Read the rest »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama (c) during a prayer ceremony at Zenkoji Temple in Nagano, Japan, on 19 June 2010/Photo by Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL

Nagano, Japan: Over 7,000 people filled the Big Hat Stadium with loud applause and cheers as Zenkoji priests gifted His Holiness the Dalai Lama a statue of Gonpo O-pa-me (Amitabha Buddha) at the conclusion of a public talk titled ‘Guide to Positive Clear Light’ Sunday afternoon.

The Gonpo O-pa-me, called Amida in Japanese, is the principal Buddha enshrined and worshipped at the 7th century Zenkoji Temple at Nagano in central Japan. Zenkoji’s most sacred image, The Amida Triad, housed in the main temple, is also the first Buddha image brought to Japan via Korea. The arrival of the image also marked the early propagation of Buddhism in Japan.

This aspect of Zenkoji’s history has a lot of resonance to Jokhang Temple in Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, where the arrival of Buddha Shakyamuni’s image marked the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet, said His Holiness the Dalai Lama in a message issued at the event.

Clear Light, His Holiness explained, reflects the basic nature of the mind which is neutral and is closer to positive emotions such as love, kindness and compassion. Negative emotions like stress, anxiety and selfishness cloud the clear nature of the mind crippling its ability to think and analyze without bias and anger. When we develop a calm mind, we find self-confidence and intelligence to see problems in a holistic manner so we could avoid unrealistic and destructive actions. Understanding the concept of interdependence – that all problems have causes traceable to actions based on ignorance and self-centeredness – is therefore important in developing a holistic view of all existence. Read the rest »