Tsultrim Gyatso
Radio Free Asia and other sources report that a respected 43-year-old Tibetan Buddhist monk named Tsultrim Gyatso burned himself to death Thursday at a crossroads in Gansu province, in protest of Communist China’s oppressive policies in its ongoing occupation of Tibet. By RFA’s count, Gyatso was the 125th Tibetan since 2009 to use the extreme method of protesting China’s harsh measures through self-immolation. Gyatso’s body was taken back into his Achok Monastery, after which Chinese police reportedly disrupted the prayers of about 400 monks. Other monks continued the prayers in a different part of the monastery.
It’s notable that Tsultrim Gyatso left a carefully handwritten note explaining his action. Buddhadharma received a rough translation of the note, which was entitled “Golden Tear Drops” (shown after the jump).
“Alas, my tears! The suffering of my heart!
“Brothers, have you heard? Have you seen? Have you […]? To whom will I tell of the sufferings of the six million Tibetan people? The fierce Chinese courts have carried off the treasuries of our gold and silver. The people are suffering. When I think of this, tears burst forth. So I will burn this precious body of mine. I will make an offering of my self-immolated body so that H.H. the Dalai Lama may come to his own land, so that the Panchen Lama Nangwa Thaye may be freed from prison, and for the benefit of the joys and sorrows of the six million Tibetan people. I pray that, based on such a practice, the three poisons of all sentient beings of the three realms are liberated and that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas protect us on the path. May the three supreme lamas have compassion for those without protection and refuge. May the brothers and sisters of the snow mountains be united and help each other.”
Read the full Radio Free Asia report here.
Ngawang Jamphel
In related news, the Tibet Post reports that the body of monk Ngawang Jamphel, 45, was returned to his family December 17 by Chinese police after nearly a month in detention. Known at his Tamchoe Monastery as an accomplished scholar, Jamphel and two other monks were arrested November 23. The Post cites a source at the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy as saying, “It was clear that Ngawang Jamphel was beaten to death while in secret detention. He was a healthy, robust man when he left his monastery to visit Lhasa.”
Read the full Tibet Post article here, with detailed background on the Chinese authorities’ systematic targeting of educated Tibetans, threats to Ngawang Jamphel’s family against talking about his death, the heavy military presence at Tamchoe Monastery, and other oppressive measures being enacted in Tamchoe’s Driru County.
Tibetan translation provided by Joseph Faria, master’s degree candidate at the Rangjung Yeshe Institute, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Photo of Tsultrim Gyatso provided by RFA listener.
Photo of Ngawang Jamphel from Tibet Post International.
