Seven Years in Tibet
Page 33
The admiration and reverence for the Dalai Lama has grown widely in the world in the past years. To the dismay of the Chinese, popular demand for Tibet’s independence has been increasing throughout the world, due mainly to the endeavors and charisma of the Dalai Lama. Slowly the world has come to realize the extent to which Tibet’s culture has been mutilated.
No doubt the greatest recognition for the Dalai Lama and his cause came in 1989, when he received the Nobel Peace Prize.
It is not difficult to imagine my personal pride and gratitude in having one of the truly great men of our time as a friend and as my lasting contact with the equally great nation that took me in when I was a penniless fugitive.
It is a wonderful coincidence that we both have July 6 as our birthday, and it certainly was one of the greatest days in my birthplace, Hüttenburg, in the province of Carinthia, in Austria, that His Holiness, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, came to bless and open the H. H. Museum.
Today the destruction in Tibet continues. The holy city of Lhasa has become a Chinese town; only 2 percent of the typical Tibetan houses are left. However, thousands of Chinese shops, and hundreds of brothels, gambling houses, and amusement establishments built to please the soldiers of the occupation army have disappeared. Decades of destruction, suppression, genocide, sterilization, and political indoctrination could not break the Tibetans’ will for freedom, or their deep-rooted religious beliefs.
On March 10, 1996, in New Delhi, the thirty-seventh anniversary of the bloody Lhasa uprising, the Dalai Lama said that he regrets that repression in Tibet continues. The human rights commission emphasized that torture and cruelty to children is a daily routine for the Chinese occupation authorities. The support for the cause of Tibet is growing, and the Dalai Lama and his people will never give up. My vision is that all those who love Tibet and freedom will accompany the Dalai Lama when he returns to the monument of Tibetan genius, the Potala.
Though vocal support for Tibetan freedom is growing throughout the world, materialistic aims in most countries are given preference over human rights.
About the Author
Heinrich Harrer (1912-2006) wrote several acclaimed books, produced documentary films, and founded a museum in Austria dedicated to Tibetan culture. Originally published in 1953, Seven Years in Tibet became his most widely known book, selling millions worldwide, appearing in forty-eight languages, and forming the basis of the 1997 movie.
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THE TARCHER CORNERSTONE EDITIONS
Tao Te Ching
by Lao Tzu, translated by Jonathan Star
The Essential Marcus Aurelius
newly translated and introduced
by Jacob Needleman and John P. Piazza
Accept This Gift: Selections from A Course in Miracles
edited by Frances Vaughan, Ph.D., and Roger Walsh, M.D., Ph.D.
foreword by Marianne Williamson
The Kybalion
by Three Initiates
The Spiritual Emerson
Essential Works by Ralph Waldo Emerson
introduction by Jacob Needleman
The Four Gospels
The Contemporary English Version
foreword by Phyllis Tickle
The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs
by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy
Rumi: In the Arms of the Beloved
translations by Jonathan Star
The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ
by Levi Dowling
The Aquarian Conspiracy:
Personal and Social Transformation in Our Time
by Marilyn Ferguson
Seven Years in Tibet
by Heinrich Harrer
The New Religions
by Jacob Needleman
FIND YOURSELF IN TARCHER CORNERSTONE EDITIONS . . .
a powerful new line of keepsake trade paperbacks that highlight the
foundational works of ancient and modern spiritual literature.
Tao Te Ching
The New Translation from Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Edition
Lao Tzu, translated by Jonathan Star
“It would be hard to find a fresh approach to a text that ranks only behind the Bible as the most widely translated book in the world, but Star achieves that goal.”
—NAPRA REVIEW
ISBN 978-1-58542-618-8
The Essential Marcus Aurelius
Newly translated and introduced by Jacob Needleman and John P. Piazza
A stunningly relevant and reliable translation of the thoughts and aphorisms of the Stoic philosopher and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius.
ISBN 978-1-58542-617-1
www.penguin.com
1 For the “recognition” of the Dalai Lama see Chapter 16.
2 He died in the spring of 1953, in Kalimpong (India).
Heinrich Harrer, Seven Years in Tibet