Compassion

Yesterday the Tibetans left the streets of Mcleod Ganj. Every Tibetan shop, hotel, restaurant, cafe, Government offices, school and street stall remained closed. The streets were eerily quiet. Finding food was difficult, as the majority of cafes are Tibetan. Even the women squatting on the street corners, selling their four rupee circles of fresh bread never appeared. The Holy Cows wandered around with more room to maneuver and to graze. The zooming booming bursting cars, driven by Happy Hindi pilgrims had even more motivation to speed. Tourists walked around with nothing to buy but space just to stop. By the afternoon groups of local Indians had gathered to watch minstrels, talk, watch and I guess just to enjoy the temporary emptiness. Yesterday Tibetans left the streets of Mcleod Ganj so that they could fast and pray and do so together. They were going to begin a 12 hour fast in memory of the many Tibetans who have been martyred in the past few months. Tibetans who have died in prison, Tibetans who had been slowly tortured to death, Tibetans who were shot during the March demonstrations, Tibetans who stabbed themselves and hung themselves because they 'could not live one more hour under the Chinese Occupation', Tibetans who have disappeared.

Their 12 hour fast lasted from seven in the morning to seven in the evening. The fast did not take place hidden from view, within houses, or behind locked doors, but in the grounds of the Dalai Lama's Temple. They were joined by many tourists and by many foreigners who live here. I didn't meet any Indians who were fasting. As I walked to yoga at eight o'clock in the morning I walked through a river of robes: monks and nuns all drifting down to the Tsuglagkhang Complex. Small square cushions in their hands, and an almost jovial atmosphere in the air. In solidarity people gathered together, and it was the grouping of people acting peacefully, sitting in memory of friends, family and country wo/men who they may have never met, and taking a very personal action to feel they are 'Standing up for Tibet'. It was the 'communality' of the fast which really made an impression on me. In Oxford I had taken part in fasts for Tibet in the past – but I had done so on my own. Indeed, the 12 hour fast was called for by the Tibetan Solidarity Committee, and took place across the world. However, by sitting together and sitting publicly a statement was being made. I thought of all the people around the world fasting in silence, continuing their daily life, working, talking and thinking with few people to share their thoughts of Tibet, and few people to give them support. Yesterday, once again, demonstrated the strength and resilience of the Tibetan people in exile. While observing fasting, the Tibetan exiles and supporters simultaneously offered prayers for the wellbeing and long life of the Dalai Lama, world peace and, for freedom from oppression for all sentient beings but especially in China and Tibet. What was even more striking was the address made by the Kalon Tripa Samdhong Ringpoche; The Chairman of the Tibetan Cabinet stated that the aims of the fast was not a protest borne out of hatred and anger but an effort to strengthen the Tibetan commitment to non-violence and to create compassion in the minds of the oppressor. It was a statement which left me feeling amazed, and which continues to reverberate through my mind. A powerful thought.