A Father's Letter to His Children FINAL March 31
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Transcript of A Father's Letter to His Children FINAL March 31
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A Tibetan Fathers letter to his
children on his sacrifice for
Peace and Freedom in Tibet
Tseten Dorje, Dhompo Kyid and Lhamo
Kyid, begins their peace march to Tibetfrom Dharamsala on 10th March
Lingtsa Tseten Dorje, a young writer
based in Israel, who writes under the
pseudonyms Migyur gangs-phrugSha-khrag rus-gsum, bod lha-klu-gnyan
gsum. Moved by the deterioratingsituation in Tibet and the spate of
self-immolations taking place in recent
times, he has vowed to undertake a
peace march from Dharamsala to Lhasa,carrying the following Five-point
demands: (a). Allow HH the Dalai
Lama to return to Tibet unconditionally,(b) release the young Panchen Choekyi
Gyaltshan and other political prisoners
unconditionally, (c) Freedom for
Tibetans to use their own language, (d)freedom of culture and way of life for
Tibetans in their own country, and (e)
withdraw all the Chinese soldiers whoare currently perpetrating the torture in
Tibetan areas. Tseten summarizes his
motivation for the peace march as, Ibelieve that truth and non-violence will
prevail eventually. Tibetan Buddhist
culture which is of benefit to all sentient
beings is at the risk of destruction at thehands of an evil Government. Tibetans
inside, finding it unbearable, are
resorting to self-immolations, which is a
way of sacrificing ones own life for thewellbeing of others. I call it the Flame
of Peace and Compassion. There is notguarantee that this flame could turn into
a Flame of Hatred. If that happens,
there would be an inexorable cycle ofblood-bath between the Chinese and
Tibetans. In order to prevent such an
eventuality, I have initiated this
campaign for peace.
Jampal Yeshe. Delhi March 26th 2012
Donate to the Peace March to Tibet
Any amount big or small
will go a long wayin sustaining their march
and raising awareness
about the situation in Tibet
Thank You.
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Accompanied by his mother Dompo
Kyid (age 53) and younger sister LhamoKyid (Age 18) a Grade IX student at
TCV Suja School, the trip set off on the
peace march to Tibet from Dharamsalaon the 10th of March on the occasion of
the 53rd anniversary of the Uprising in
Lhasa in 1959. Resolved to continue the
march at the risk of his life, he haslegally divorced his wife and entrusted
his two children to his wife, and the
following is a translation of the letter he
wrote to his two infant children:
Letter to my darling son and daughter
By bod lha-klu-gnyan gsum
Here, at the village of Ramot in the suburb of
Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel, I would
like you, my darling son and daughter, to
know that I write this to you after resolving to
go out as a messenger at this critical time
when our Tibetan nationality is passing
through a dangerous stage. The time now is21:22 PM.
My darling daughter Tharma Tsho, its beenan hour since you fell asleep. And your
younger brother Khawai Lhasey has fallenasleep in Moms lap. Your Mom andGrandma are engrossed in some TV
program.
And I, your Dad, whilst begging you, brother
and sister, for forgiveness from the core of
my heart write this short letter.
Viewed from the perspective of a dutiful
father in the conventional sense of theworld, I admit my guilt for making such an
inconsiderate decision affecting you both.Its truly a dereliction of my duty towards
you as a father. Nevertheless, the origin of
my nationality is Tibet and I can say that the
very driving motivation for originally
coming into exile in India, was also for the
cause of the Tibetan nationality.
In the intervening period, due to a number of
factors, despite numerous opportunities to
launch a campaign appropriate for my ability
and circumstances, until now, I didnt face a
situation like today, when there is no choicebut to resolve to take action. Besides, there
wasnt until now, such an opportune time to
start a campaign for our national struggle. I
believe now is the right time.
Today, Ive resolved to honor and embracemy duty as a Tibetan to protect the Tibetan
nationality, by returning to India with a
Five-point Demand for peace and
non-violence, and carry on walking in thedirection of Tibet, risking my life as a
testimony of my resolve, until Tibetans gainfreedom .
So, Tharmo Tsho, at the age of two and sevenmonths, although you cannot speak Tibetan
you can understand most of what I, you Dad,
say to you. This has given your Dad
enormous joy and peace of mind.
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In particular, the reason why I have no choice
but to set off on this journey without
continuing to teach you Tibetan language is
because, in our Tibetan community, there are
many like me who like to talk but few whotake action. Therefore, there is no choice but
for me to take the initiative and lead by
example of matching ones words withaction.
Perhaps, even though it is possible for my
point of view to be misjudged, I trust myself.
The Tibetan people are imbued with wisdom
and intelligence, dignity and courage. These
being my faith, when you siblings grow up, I
believe that, you will comprehend the deeper
motivation and purpose of your Dadsdecision and course of action.
My darling daughter Tharma Tsho, as you
grow up and find that there is no one that you
can call out as Dad, your Mom is bound toexplain to you a tale of why I had to forsake
you all like this today. At that time, whatever
your Mom tells you, is bound to be nothing
but the truth. And since your Mom will be
caring after you siblings and help you take
your place in society, I hope and trust that
you and Khawai Lhasey will not only lookafter your kind Mom but also become
activists against anyone who tramples on and
disrespects human rights. At the same time,
as your Dad, I do feel the remorse of guilt for
having to abandon you like this for the sake
of serving as a messenger of the Tibetan
nationality.
If, through serendipitous coincidence the just
cause of Tibet prevails and I happen to bestill alive, bear in mind my darling Tharmo
Tsho and Khawai Lhasey that I shalldefinitely do something worthwhile for you
and all sentient beings.
My darling Khawai Lhasey, you are no more
than six months, and leave alone calling
aloud the word Dad, you dont recognizewho your Dad is. At this stage of your life, I
am leaving you.
Like all beings, when you grow up in time
and realize there is none to address and point
out as Dad, you are bound to ask your Mom
where I have gone. At that time, I hope thatwhen your Mom explains to you that I had
gone away leaving you for the sake of
freedom and peace for the Tibetan
nationality, I suppose you will be at an age
when you would not fully comprehend what
a nationality might be or what freedomentails.
Nevertheless, when you grow up and mature,
you might feel enraged at a Dad whocouldnt spend time with you beyond your
six months of infancy or perhaps, you mightfeel proud. In any case, my hope and prayer
is that when you mature, you will uphold the
dignity and value of being human and as such
work for peace and freedom wherever there
is a catastrophic denial of freedom and peace,
Now, if even if I write a lot of things here (in
Tibetan language) irrespective of whether or
not you two will grow up to be able to read
this letter yourselves, bear in mind that from
today onwards, legally, I have entrusted to
your care, nurture and upbringing entirely toyour Mom. So, please look after your loving
and kind Mom with love and affection.
Although there are endless things to talk and
write about, my final wish and prayer is that
you two will grow up healthy and without
hardship.
With unadulterated love and affection for
you both from the depth of my heart,
Your Dad,
Lingtsang Tseten Dorje.Dated 28th February 2012
For further information contact:[email protected]
call 07927 376 532.
Translation: T D Gonkatsang
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected] -
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The following interview appeared in
Tibet Post March 7, 2012
Tsetan Dorjee was born in 1977 in Labrang, a
town in the Amdo region of Tibet. In his
youth, he studied for three years at primaryschool before becoming a monk in 1993 at
the Labrang Tashi Kyil monastery.
Lingtsa Tseten Dorje March 2012
Three years later he journeyed to Karnataka
to join the Dripong Gomang monastery and
in 1997 Tseten returned to Tibet.
He returned again to India in 1998 and
joined TTS, a school in the valley below
Dharamsala. In 2008, Tsetan met and
married an Israeli girl, Gangkar Lhatso, and
they returned to Israel where they had twochildren. He has written four books in
Tibetan.
Q: When you discussed your plans with your
wife, did she support you?
A: "No, it was difficult for her at first because
she has a country, she has a home and cannot
completely understand the position of
someone who has lost their country and their
home. If we only think about our family
situation then we cannot struggle for ourcountry. Finally, she agreed with my struggle
and took legal custody of our children so that
I might pursue my cause".
His hope is that China and the world willmeet his demands and empathize with the
plight of the Tibetan people.
www.thetibetpost.com
In the video the Tibetan Buddhist nun
Palden Choetso, (35) stands in the road in
Dawu, Ganzi prefecture in Sichuan province,
southwest China.
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