Latest news with #DalaiLama
American Military News
7 hours ago
- Politics
- American Military News
US lawmakers honor Dalai Lama with bipartisan resolution ahead of 90th birthday
This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission. Ahead of the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday on July 6, U.S. lawmakers have introduced bipartisan resolutions in both chambers of the U.S. Congress to honor the Tibetan spiritual leader and designate the anniversary as 'A Day of Compassion.' The resolution – introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday and in the Senate on Tuesday – reaffirms that only the Dalai Lama himself should determine his successor and that any attempt by Beijing to select or appoint one would be an 'invalid interference' and violation of religious freedom rights. China has sought greater control over Tibetan Buddhism since invading the independent Himalayan country in 1950 and forcing the Dalai Lama into exile in India in 1959. In 2007, Beijing announced it would oversee the recognition of all reincarnate Tibetan lamas, including the next Dalai Lama. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), who co-introduced the Senate resolution with Todd Young (R-Indiana), emphasized the broader stakes. 'As the Chinese government continues to ignore the rights of Tibet under international law, we're sending the message that we must protect these fundamental freedoms,' Merkley said. In the House, Representatives Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts) introduced a similar resolution recognizing the Dalai Lama's 'outstanding contributions to peace, nonviolence, human rights, and religious understanding.' 'Despite having faced persecution, oppression, and unspeakable violence at the hands of the CCP, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has maintained inner peace and continues to preach compassion – inspiring not only his own people, but the entire world,' said McCaul. CCP refers to the Chinese Communist Party. McCaul last year led a bipartisan Congressional delegation to Dharamsala, India, where he presented the Dalai Lama with a framed copy of a U.S. bill, that was later signed into law, in support of Tibetan people's right to self-determination. 'The people of Tibet have an inalienable right to self-determination, and our resolution reaffirms the United States' commitment to Tibetans by supporting their basic human rights, religious freedom, culture, and language,' said Merkley. In recent years, China has sought to control the reincarnation process of Tibetan religious leaders in an apparent attempt to appoint the Dalai Lama's successor. But in his new book titled 'Voice for the Voiceless,' the Dalai Lama has said that his successor would be born in the 'free world,' which he described as outside China. 'The new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world so that the traditional mission of the Dalai Lama – that is, to be the voice for universal compassion, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and the symbol of Tibet embodying the aspirations of the Tibetan people – will continue,' the Dalai Lama said in the book. The latest resolution reiterates that the selection and installation of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders are within the authority of the Tibetan Buddhist community. 'I'm proud to stand with the Dalai Lama and the people of Tibet in their struggle for freedom and peace against the Chinese Communist Party's continued aggression. The CCP's status quo – both in Tibet and elsewhere – is not acceptable,' said Young. The resolution is co-sponsored by a group of bipartisan lawmakers including Reps. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), and Young Kim (R-Calif.), and Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Curtis (R-UT), and Dan Sullivan (R-AK). Both resolutions have to be approved by committee and then voted on by each chamber before passage.
Elle
11 hours ago
- General
- Elle
The Summer Solstice Is Here - And It's More Than A Cosmic Event, It's A Wake-Up Call
On June 20, the summer solstice will arrive, ushering in the longest, brightest day in the northern hemisphere. As the sun ascends to its highest elevation, a mirage takes place. For three days, that great ball of fire appears to hover in place in the sky. Fittingly, solstice is actually derived from two Latin words: 'sol' which means 'sun' and 'sistere' which means 'to stand still.' There's an invitation encoded in that name. Can we stand still for a few days? In a year dense with noise—protests in the streets, algorithms in overdrive—any break in the action might seem like denial or, worse, defeat. But we're not talking about freeze in the fight-or-flight sense. The solstice creates space for a purposeful pause, one that allows us to gather our inner strength. We also have an opportunity to sit in our emotional truth. Cancer season begins with the summer solstice each June, bringing a soulful sensitivity to the world. A gentle reminder streams in with the solstice: There is strength in our softness and our willingness to care. Fittingly, some of the most quietly commanding figures in modern history happen to be Cancerians, including Malala Yousafzai, the Dalai Lama, and Nelson Mandela. While they fought for different freedoms, they have this in common: Each one stood still and firm in their fight for human rights. You can read your daily horoscope here Malala Yousafzai, born July 12, survived a targeted attack from the Taliban for standing up for girls' education. She went on to become a global voice for empowering women and girls. Since 2013, her birthday has been honored as Malala Day, an annual international celebration focused on education advocacy. The Dalai Lama, born July 6, has modeled stillness as a source of strength since his exile from Tibet in 1959. Through his gentle teachings on compassion and unwavering commitment to peace, he's reminded the world that the refusal to retaliate with violence can be as impactful as protest. Legendary South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was born on July 18. After enduring 27 years of imprisonment, he became the country's first Black president in 1994. In the spirit of standing still, Mandela refused to be conditionally released from prison on certain occasions, choosing instead to uphold his principles. As the sun pauses at its peak this solstice, we're reminded that growth doesn't always look like motion. Sometimes, it looks like standing your ground or waiting for clarity. Like gathering light before the next season. It isn't inertia—it's calibration. The world will keep spinning, the headlines will keep coming, but for a moment, we're invited to take a cue from the cosmos: to be still, feel deeply, and choose our next step from a place of rooted knowing. The sun will move again, and so will we, but not before we take a breath. ELLE Collective is a new community of fashion, beauty and culture lovers. For access to exclusive content, events, inspiring advice from our Editors and industry experts, as well the opportunity to meet designers, thought-leaders and stylists, become a member today HERE. Ophira and Tali Edut (The AstroTwins) are among the most sought-after astrologers and intuitive advisors of our times. As the longtime resident astrologers for ELLE Magazine and the authors of over 20 books, they are the advisors to a roster of CEOs, celebrities, global leaders and successful entrepreneurs. They've read charts for celebrities the likes of Beyoncé, Dua Lipa, and Emma Roberts. Their new book, The Astrology Advantage (Simon & Schuster), introduces The AstroTwins' revolutionary I*AM System, which simplifies the birth chart into three archetypes: Innovator, Authority, and Maven. On television, The AstroTwins have appeared as guest experts for Bravo, MTV, 'Good Morning America,' and the 'Today' show, and created the first streaming reality TV dating show based on astrology, Cosmic Love (Amazon Prime Video, 2022). Their work on the subject of 'spiritual technology' as an essential tool for business success has been featured in Fast Company and at leadership conferences around the world. Ophira and Tali have taught thousands of people their methods through their online platform, and at their signature retreats. Graduates of The University of Michigan, Ophira and Tali grew up in Detroit and currently live in New York and Seattle.
The Guardian
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘We get to press pause on real life' – why Glastonbury is the ultimate friends holiday
One morning at Glastonbury's Stone Circle, my friend AJ pointed towards a crowd of revellers and said 'Dalai Lama'. I laughed thinking it was some kind of offbeat joke. 'No,' he said, 'it's the actual Dalai Lama.' 'Sure,' I said. I never even turned around, it seemed simply too far-fetched that he would be at Glastonbury festival. The joke was on me though because it was the Dalai Lama. He was there meeting festivalgoers ahead of his speech later that morning. This is the anecdote I use to illustrate to people who've never been before why it feels as if anything might happen at Glastonbury festival. 'It was the actual Dalai literal Lama. At 6am. In a field!!' They're usually backing away slowly at this point. Unexpected encounters, memorable weather and meeting up with old friends are just a few of the reasons my love of Glastonbury has only grown over the years. We've gone from arranging to meet up under a comedy sign to using the Official Glastonbury app, powered by Vodafone, to share everything from lineups to where to find the best bagels. Glastonbury has been written about, filmed, mythologised, tweeted, TikToked and think-pieced to the point that every sentiment you reach for to describe how it makes you feel ends up sounding like a cliche. It simply can't be helped. It is all the things people say: a ritual, a reunion, a sacred space where we remember who we once were and honour who we've become (and yes, also a fun, strange party in a field), so forgive me if I start to sound like a cliche because for me and my friends, the annual pilgrimage to Worthy Farm has become sacrosanct. The year of the Dalai Lama was 2015, when we first made it a tradition. It wasn't my first Glastonbury but that year about 25 of us got tickets – all friends from university who'd dispersed to different parts of the country after graduating and who were giddy to be reunited, finally. A few of us – my closest group and I – pooled £25 each and bought a tent off eBay; it was weighty, ancient and pitching it required the building knowhow of a trained architect and the patience of a monk. Ten years on, though, it has seen us through a lot. It proved a haven in particular in 2016, the year of wild, torrential, biblical rain – if a tight fit. Our designated early arrivers had stomped through a sea of mud to reach our favoured site with it on their shoulders like a coffin. It was also the year when the Brexit results were announced. I was awoken on Friday morning by my friend Jamie's plaintive howls of: 'We're out, we're out. The pound has crashed and David Cameron's resigning.' I remember sitting on the hill behind the Park stage during one of the brief pauses in the rain, looking out across the whole site, that classic view – the Ribbon Tower, the flags, the tents scattered like old confetti. We were in our mid-20s, had entered the jobs market in the middle of the great recession and were only just starting to feel that our careers might actually go somewhere. At least we're here, we kept saying. At least we have this. That night – soaked, cold, tempted to burrow into the tent and stay there – we ventured out to see Stormzy then Kano headline the Sonic stage in Silver Hayes. It was such a big performance, defiant, full of bravado, we couldn't help but feel a renewed optimism. We hugged and screamed and danced. I left the set thinking that I would pay whatever it took, a hundred times over, to keep convening in this field, with these people, for as long as I possibly could. And, mostly, we have. Over time, we've celebrated engagements there, house purchases, new jobs. We celebrated friends moving countries, and coming back. We celebrated surviving a global pandemic. Pressing pause on real life, for those few days, we get to live in a technicolour bubble where joy is easy and time bends. We laugh more. We listen harder. We dance like idiots. We cry when the sun sets behind the Pyramid stage on Sunday. We remember that, beneath the bills and burnout, we are still the same people who sang through the thunderstorms, arms flung around each other. Connecting friends to the best of British summerVodafone has been connecting people to the places and things they love since 1984 – that's why it is The Nation's Network. Vodafone will make sure friends stay connected during their time at the festival by powering the Official Glastonbury app, with features including live location sharing, reliable coverage and free Connect & Charge facilities. In a new highlight for 2025, the app will even measure ticketholders' step counts so that friends can compare who has covered the most ground. And Vodafone is upping the ante by matching the average festival-goer's step count with donations of sims (to a max of 75,000) through its programme. As children have come along we've managed to incorporate them to a degree: in 2023, for instance, when my friend Sophie was pregnant we turned her 12-week ultrasound scan into a flag. It had the words MEET US AT THE FETUS written across the bottom. The flag hung above our tent all weekend like a beacon of absurdity and love. (We've stopped short at bringing any of them along because, quite frankly, I don't think any of us are brave enough.) Last year, I had a three-month-old at home and watched from my sofa but I'm back this year. A little older, a little softer, just as devoted. I'll be there with my boyfriend, my SPF50, Loop earplugs and the mild sense of dread that comes with being in your mid-30s and about to spend four nights on an inflatable mattress. We've also downloaded the Official Glastonbury app and shared our lineups. The location-sharing feature might actually save us this year – no more frantic texts saying 'by a flag' or 'left of the big speaker' while squinting at a man in glitter hot pants who looks vaguely like your friend from behind. There's something comforting about that – about being able to stay connected without stepping outside of the bubble. About knowing where your people are, even in the chaos. Because that's what Glastonbury has always meant to us: not the headliners, not the hype, but the simple fact of being together, in a field, once a year. Still showing up. Still choosing each other. And yes, I know, it's all a bit of a cliche. But like most cliches, it only became one because it's true. Vodafone, connecting you to Glastonbury this summerThe Official Glastonbury 2025 app is available now! Download the free app, powered by Vodafone
BBC News
20 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
The Documentary Podcast Reworking a future: Buddhist revival in Mongolia
Cambridge anthropologist David Sneath is in Mongolia to find out how Buddhism continues to make a comeback after years of persecution under Communism. David tells the story of how a young Mongolian boy has recently been recognised as the new reincarnation in a lineage of major Buddhist leaders, once known in the country as 'Holy Emperor'. The 10-year-old boy will, when formally enthroned, be considered the 10th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu in a lineage stretching back centuries. The Jebtsundamba Khutughtu (widely known to Mongolians as the 'Bogd') is a leader of the Gelugpa School within the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and the young boy was officially recognised by the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan religious leader. David meets the boy's mother, religious leaders and leading cultural figures to find out what is in store for the young Bogd. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from Heart and Soul, exploring personal approaches to spirituality from around the world.
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Dalai Lama to deliver message July 2 ahead of 90th birthday and succession talks
NEW DELHI, June 19 — The Dalai Lama will issue a message on July 2, Tibet's government in exile said yesterday, days ahead of his 90th birthday and a hugely anticipated decision as to whether he will have an eventual successor. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning monk is expected to celebrate his 90th birthday on July 6 with huge crowds in northern India, his base since leaving his homeland fleeing Chinese troops in 1959. He has said his landmark birthday will also be a time to encourage people to plan for an eventual future without him and to address whether the Tibetan people want, in time, another Dalai Lama. While China condemns him as a rebel and separatist, the internationally-recognised Dalai Lama describes himself as a 'simple Buddhist monk'. Many exiled Tibetans fear China will name a successor to bolster control over a territory it poured troops into in 1950. The Dalai Lama stepped down as his people's political head in 2011, passing the baton of secular power to a government chosen democratically by 130,000 Tibetans around the world. 'Free world' Penpa Tsering, the sikyong or head of the government based in India's Himalayan hill town of McLeod Ganj, said that on July 2 there would be a meeting of the most senior Tibetan religious elders, or lamas. 'There will be a brief meeting of all the head lamas, which is about nine of them, meeting with His Holiness (the Dalai Lama)', Tsering told reporters, adding that after that, they would open a religious meeting. 'At the opening of the religious conference there will be a video message from His Holiness', he added. No details were given as to what the message will be, but there is widespread support among Tibetans in exile for the post of Dalai Lama to continue. The Dalai Lama has already said that if there 'is a consensus that the Dalai Lama institution should continue', then the Office of the Dalai Lama — the Gaden Phodrang Trust in McLeod Ganj — would hold the responsibility for the recognition of the next leader. He has also made it clear that any successor would by necessity be 'born in the free world'. The Dalai Lama has said it does not seek full independence for Tibet, but rather to pursue a long-standing 'Middle Way' policy seeking greater autonomy. The current Dalai Lama was identified in 1936 when, aged two, he passed a test by pointing to objects that had belonged to the post's previous occupier. He was hailed as the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, a role that stretches back more than 600 years. — AFP
