Helping Tibet From The Heart

Tibet Society Journal extract

A plea for peace messages

by Tess Burrows

Is your heart touched by the Tibetan people's ongoing pain and struggle? If so, what can you do about it?

Of course, raising funds and donating money helps at a grass roots level in all sorts of practical ways, as does writing letters to politicians and jumping up and down shouting about it to try and effect changes.

'Climb For Tibet' offers you another choice - a gentle yet powerful approach, working at an apparent non-physical level. You can give the 'Climb For Tibet' team a personal peace message, which they will undertake to carry to a high sacred place and send out to the Earth. It's kind of like posting a prayer, or conceiving a wish, a pledge or a special thought, the process of which can help set in concrete its manifestation.

Science tells us that this is possible with experiments on the power of prayer. Religions show us the everyday magic of belief. Modern day healers speak of the wonders of channelling light to needy situations; Yet to many it is simply a knowing that how one is affects the 'energy' that one gives off which affects the rest of the world. It is a knowing of the heart.

The effective work of peace messages is basic to Tibetan thinking. By age-old tradition prayer flags with messages inscribed have been flown from the highest places to bring down blessings of peace and harmony to all beings. Throughout Tibet their bright colours flutter still. They fly from the mud brick village houses, from the yak-wool nomad tents, from the reborn stone monasteries and from ubiquitous poles on horses and sacred places alike. Most joyful and impressive are the forests of flags that adorn high mountain passes. The weary traveller is caught up in this expression of passion of the Buddhist way of life. The sight evokes the knowledge of the interconnectedness of all things and that by sending out messages imbued with the desire of this ancient culture to help the totality of existence, all is touched by the energy of peace. Man's part is to conceive the intention of the messages and set up the flags. The Windhorse carries them to the furthest corners of the Earth.

In the same spirit Tibetans twirl prayer wheels. Sometimes they hold them by hand, whizzing them deftly around with an aura of devotion as they circumambulate a sacred place such as a stupa, a temple or a mountain. Sometimes they walk mindfully along a row of static prayer wheels, positioned strategically around monasteries, to spin out the energy of the hundreds of written messages inside. Commonly this is 'OM MANI PADME HUM' - Meaning 'Hail to the jewel in the lotus', invoking the Deity of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara, manifesting as His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This mantra is generally interpreted as 'May all beings live a happy life' and comes with the understanding that it's expression determines that all will be well.

There is an indelible and deep trust in this principal, even when the world is being torn apart - father being shot... mother beaten... brother put in gaol... Somehow the horrors of violence and injustice can produce the strength of compassion and precipitate the rallying of peace thoughts... Does not His Holiness say 'We must love and respect our enemies'? Maybe now, with the threat of war snarling around our globe is a vital time to be sending out peace messages... with the intention of making a difference.

'Climb For Tibet' collects peace messages from all around the world - a gathering of thoughts from many hearts, like the lighting of Tibetan butter-lamps, representing the coming together of the seeing light of many souls for the greater good.

In 1998 the 'Climb For Tibet team expressed them from the point furthest from the centre of the Earth (The subject of the book 'Cry From The Highest Mountain'). At the turn of the Millennium it was from the point on Earth nearest the sun. In 2001 from sacred mountains within Tibet.

This year it will be on the 6th of July, celebrating the ideals of the Dalai Lama on His birthday. And where will it be from? ...No less than the tallest mountain in the world... There is an island in the middle of the Pacific whose heart burns actively with fiery magma exposing to the sky the bright red-yellow lifeblood of our Mother Earth. Here is a volcano that rises some 5,000 metres from the ocean floor to sea level and continues a further 4,205 metres upwards. Thus it is over 9,200 metres, which is taller than Everest standing at only 8,848 metres. It is known as Mauna Kea, a native Hawaiian name meaning 'White Mountain' revered as a source of spiritual energy.

Just for a change the 'Climb For Tibet' team have decided to RUN up it. Will they never learn! The plan is to take three days over the thirty-five mile route from ocean to summit. They are once again asking for peace messages and 'well earned' sponsorship for their 2003 projects. This is largely the continuation of their Tibetan Schools programme. So far they are pleased to have constructed six schools with the Tibet Relief Fund.

One of the main focuses is to raise funds for a vocational training school alongside the primary school which is being built at Tenpa, a remote area in Kham in Eastern Tibet. This is the homeland of Karma Tsering. He escaped out of Tibet at the age of 20 determined to gain an education, achieved this with the added joy of marrying his teacher and now lives in England. He is devoted to the cause of helping those Tibetans who have stayed behind enduring the hardships of occupation, not the least of which are the frustrations of no schooling. In an area of 900 people, only 2 can read and write. This school has useful work to do.

Karma says that the day he learned that the funds were available for the school to go ahead was the best of his life (apart from his wedding day of course!). His dearest wish is now that teenagers and adults can also gain training not only in literacy skills but also in useful life crafts such as carpentry, tailoring and carpet weaving.

Karma has sent us this peace message:
"May all people have the precious gift of education...
May it be as freely available as the sunlight in the sky"

So do send your peace message. It can be simple and short. It can be a poem, a saying, a prayer, a hope, a pledge, a vision...

If the Tibetan pain opens your heart and fills it with compassion, is that not a wonderful purpose which arises from their years of agony? If the Tibetan spirit inspires your thoughts is that not an awe-inspiring reason for it's being? If your words can be expressed to the Earth and carried across the oceans and on the wings of the windhorse is that not a beautiful way to help create peace and harmony in our world?

Examples of peace messages (many children's ones) some perhaps to go in Boxes...
-Long Live the Dalai Lama
-May all beings be at peace, now and forever
-Listen in the quiet of your minds and with your hearts. There is no need to fear. All is well
-I will not fight with my brother
-For the children of Tibet - love and peace
-I pray that the people of China peacefully and soon allow the freedom of the Tibetan people
-Light to al beings, compassion to all beings, joy to all beings, love to all beings
-May all the good that is in Tibet live on
-Dear Earth.. I love you
-From the highest mountain may the smallest voice be heard
-Peace will be sustained if we consider everyone as equal and not hurt anyone or anything. Once that is achieved then we can all live in peace