Chokpa Bhutia
Dimapur
“ALL MAJOR RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS CARRY BASICALLY THE SAME MESSAGE,THAT IS LOVE,COMPASSION AND FORGIVENESS THE IMPORTANT THING IS THEY SHOULD BE PART OF OUR DAILY LIVES” these words have been said by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate His Holiness the 14TH Dalai lama, an 86 year old Tibetan Bhuddhist Monk, a spiritual Leader and mostly a man who is an epitome of Love, Compassion, Altruism and integrity. So It is indeed very heartbreaking and very unfortunate to see how a video clip of our Nobel Peace Prize Laureate His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s playful interaction with a young boy has been manipulated and blown out of proportion without a beginning and an end to negatively change the context of a fun interaction and also to defame the Great Spiritual Leader.
Recently a five weeks old video clip has been circulating that shows a young boy asking His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama if he could hug him? with no second thoughts, immediately after understanding that this boy wanted to hug him, His Holiness asked him to please come, so like any other kid who runs to his grandparents this young fortunate boy ran up to him, the leader motions to his cheeks saying “first here” and the boy kisses his Holiness cheeks, then the latter gives him a hug, and while holding the boys hands and saying a prayer in his heart the Dalai Lama motions to his lips and says “I think here also” and he gives him a kiss. Then his Holiness puts his forehead forward to touch the boy’s forehead this is called “odu” in tibetan and then laughs and says “suck my tongue” which generally we say in tibetan as “nge ge chele jip” it was said jokingly and is a very common and fun thing said by elders to there grandchildren in the Tibetan culture. When grandparents meet there grandchildren this is the same kind of love given, they first ask for a kiss then an “odu” and then lastly they jokingly say “nge ge chele jip”- its just a phrase said in a lovingly and playful way. Now this has been misinterpreted and has been completely lost in translation, because in Tibetan when we say “che le sa” the literal translation is “eat my tongue” the meaning of this common expression is completely lost in cultural interpretation. Let me explain further by saying, that In Tibetan culture an “odu” (touching each others foreheads) or even a “po” that’s a kiss on the lips is to represent love, affection and compassion. In every Tibetan family the first thing we teach our kids is how to give an “odu” and a “po”. so when relatives or elders meet kids the first thing they ask is an “odu” and a “po”, then after that they jokingly tell the kids “nge ge chele jip” (suck my tongue)so words like “eat my tongue “or “suck my tongue” is a playful and innocent refrain given by our elders which when said in tibetan sounds very nice but when translated in english doesn’t sound very well at all, but that does not mean one can misinterpret it and miscommunicate it because these are signs of love, affection, compassion and purity until and unless one wants to superimpose there sick mentality and give there hyper sexualised views and manipulate it as lust or “child abuse” and so on. Am sorry to say but i guess we have enough hate, lets just spread some love and humanity, and stop defaming an eighty six year old Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and a Bhuddhist Monk who has all his life struggled and gave teachings on peace, oneness, non violence, unity, love, compassion, altruism, integrity etc. Remember when the Nobel Committee chose the Dalai Lama for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 it emphasised that he based his Buddhist peace philosophy on reverence for all living beings and the idea of a universal responsibility that embraces both man and nature. The motivation behind him winning the Nobel Peace Prize is “for advocating peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people”.
The principle of “unity in Diversity” is indeed the implicit law of nature, universe and life. People belonging to diverse communities, speaking different languages, having different food, performing different customs harmoniously co-exist. We all live in a universe where we are all very rich in cultural diversity and so its important to respect and acknowledge each others cultures rather than misinterpreting it and spreading negativity about a man who has brought so much of positivity to people and to this universe. He has changed and made great impact on many a lives with his teachings, So he definitely doesn’t owe anyone an apology rather i think those with such ill mindset owes him a very big apology and also owes an apology to all his followers around the globe who have been distressed, disturbed and heartbroken. When this misinterpreted clip went viral the only thing that i said was and i quote from the bible “Father Forgive them, for they know not what they do”. Indeed those who have instigated this have definitely forgotten that “Love is the absence of judgement” moreover Sadly in a world of electronic and digital connections many have forgotten the actual human connections.
Please remember this incident took place in front of a large audience, in front of the boys family and also in front of so many cameras. Moreover even after the session the boy and his mother had spoken to the media and the video clip is available online i would like to quote what the young boy said when he was asked about his experience after meeting His Holiness The 14TH Dalai Lama and i quote “It was amazing meeting His Holiness, and i think its a really great experience meeting somebody with such high positive energy, its a really nice feeling meeting him and you get a lot of positive energy, once you get the positive energy i think you smile a lot it was a really good experience overall”.
So kindly Stop! Stop! these baseless accusations because one is only wasting time in such petty issues rather i would suggest please invest your time and check out the vast teachings he has to offer to the universe, probably that would not just help you and me but also to mankind. I appeal to everyone to please watch the whole video and only then comment or share your views. Am sure one would then understand the pure love and affection between an eighty six year old Bhuddhist monk and a young boy. My fellow Tibetan brothers and sisters and also followers of His Holiness please “DO NOT LET THE BEHAVIOURS OF OTHERS DESTROY YOUR INNER PEACE”.
Lastly Remember this tailored video has been going viral almost after five-six weeks since this incident happened. isn’t that strange? doesn’t that ring a bell? doesn’t that require answers as to why now? Doesnt that look all planned to defame such a great personality? who are the instigators? and who benefits from doing so? is it You? is it He? or is it they? hope that answers all your queries…
