Comments about the retirement of the Dalai Lama by Tibetan Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche have helped to ease anxieties about the Dalai Lama's possible retirement among Buddhists here in Syracuse and across the world. Phurbu Thinley has reported for Phayul.com "PM tells Tibetans inside Tibet not to worry about Dalai Lama’s retirement", http://bit.ly/gZJITU.
A report on the exiled Tibetan government's official website recently said that Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche has said Tibetans in Tibet need not worry about His Holiness the Dalai Lama's retirement plan as he would continue to work for the cause of Tibet. Rinpoche has said “His Holiness the Dalai Lama has recently clarified his statement on retirement during his visit to Sikkim and Kalimpong. He made it clear that except some changes in his day to day administrative obligations, he would never dis-associate from the Tibetan people."
These comments by Rinpoche were made while he was addressing a large gathering of over 1,800 Tibetans who came from Tibet to receive the Dalai Lama’s teachings in Sarnath, which 12 km from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh in India. Rinpoche said “His Holiness had clearly said he would continue to work for the cause of Tibet." There have been concerns among Tibetans about the Dalai Lama’s recent announcement about taking complete retirement from the administrative work of the Central Tibetan Administration in exile.
Rinpoche also said that Tibetans inside Tibet, despite remaining physically separated for over the last 51 years, had kept their unwavering faith in His Holiness the Dalai Lama and remained united in heart with their brethrens in exile. And he went on to congratulate younger generations of Tibetans for their remarkable achievement. Rinpoche commented “Even though the younger Tibetans who are born and brought up after 1959 - have never met His Holiness the Dalai Lama, nor seen and heard of Tibet’s earlier free society – deeply believe in and revere His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The Tibetans inside Tibet have remained patriotic and braved great tribulation by sacrificing their lives to preserve our identity, which is a remarkable achievement of their last three generations.”
Rinpoche has gone on to note that the integrity and courage of Tibetans living inside Tibet has been essential in preserving their identity, language, religion and culture from annihilation by overcoming many obstacles and is being clearly recognised by people across the world who support truth. Rinpoche feels it is a matter of pride for all Tibetans. He has noted it is not difficult for those in free countries to believe in and practice non-violence, however, to live under repression with intolerable resentment and sadness in their hearts but still remain consistently non-violent is a special pride for the Tibetan people. And Rinpoche stressed that the behavior of Tibetans in “firmly remaining non-violent” during the unrest was itself an “outstanding achievement" which has helped attract the “interest and sympathy of the entire world”.
