BPF Statement on the Relationship between Tibet, Burma, and Darfur

April 2, 2008

I stand in solidarity with His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Tibet, the Burmese monks and nuns, and the oppressed people in Sudan, Darfur.  However, I do not stand on a line of defense or opposition against China.  My feet are planted in each country from the understanding and experience of political and social oppression.

Many have spoken of the relationship between Tibet, Burma, and Darfur as suffering at the hand of China.  Many have proven that China’s human rights record is deplorable in these countries.   However, what I see as the interdependence between Burma, Darfur and Tibet is not China the country, the government, or Chinese people. What I see is the world looking away from its own human rights record.  What I see is the world creating another enemy, a “them not us” situation.

In the Buddha’s teachings there are no enemies.  All that we encounter are the teachings; all that we live is the dharma.  So, while China, in the light of the 2008 Olympic Games, is currently the symbol of human atrocities and oppression, America and other countries are often in this place as oppressors depending on certain circumstances.  Each moment we are living out our interdependence as human beings from different places on the continuum of desirable and undesirable.

When the Olympic Games are over and the boycotting of Chinese trade subsides, the work begins on the earth where we stand.  When the torch for the 2008 Olympic Games is lit in each location we can use that fire as a symbol toward ending the mistreatment and slaughtering of all human beings.  We can use that fire to call on the reunion of millions who are exiled from their homelands.   We can use the torch to manifest the connection we all have as living beings despite our illusions of territory.  The fire does not belong to China.

Zenju Earthlyn Manuel

BPF Executive Director