I don't get when he means when he says his 'boss' is the six million Tibetans in Tibet, I thought he wasn't a political leader any more? Is he a religious leader (in which case, like a bodhisattva, his 'boss' are all living beings) or a political leader? He doesn't even seem to know any more.
Lineageholder, that statement is an old favorite amongst politicians, to give the impression that they are answerable to the people. In the Dalai Lama's case, it is patently untrue. The Dalai Lama was not elected into power by the people, nor is he accountable to anyone, nor do they have "Dalai Lama Elections" and it is in elections, and through the threat of being voted out of office that people hold politicians accountable for their actions and results, or lack thereof. Such is not the case with the Dalai Lama. To be answerable to a boss means we have to refer to the boss before we make critical decisions. However, the Dalai Lama did not consult any one of his 6 million "bosses" before making the unilateral decision in Strasbourg in 1988 to abort the fight for Tibetan independence, opting instead for autonomy. And the Dalai Lama certainly did not consult any of his "bosses" before imposing the Dorje Shugden ban that shook the Tibetan community to its core.
In fact the Dalai Lama is fully aware that he is regarded as a God-King and virtually every Tibetan hangs on his every word and to oppose the Dalai Lama is not only treason against the king but also a sin against a Buddha incarnate. I find the Dalai Lama's statement that he has 6 million bosses quite curious and very misleading, although it sounded good to a democratic audience.
For the Dalai Lama to even imply that self-immolation MAY be a correct "non-violent" means of protest is really quite shocking. Bearing in mind what I stated earlier, the simple Tibetans look to the Dalai Lama for guidance and instructions and if His Holiness even implies that it is fine to commit suicide under certain self-assessed circumstances, then he is really encouraging Tibetans to go figure out for themselves if they can work out a "just cause" and if they can, then to go ahead and self immolate. The Dalai Lama, as well as the rest of the world already knows that such tragic actions and unnecessary waste of lives have not worked. Why doesn't His Holiness speak out against it just like the two Karmapas have, with Karmapa Thaye Dorje even saying in no uncertain terms, that suicide goes against the teachings of Buddhism. What is stopping the Dalai Lama and indeed the CTA from putting a stop to these unnecessary and ineffective waste of lives? What do they have to gain if not political mileage at the cost of Tibetan lives...and come to think about it, how come the "bosses" are the ones sacrificing their lives, not than I am suggesting anyone else should.
It is also important to take notice of the statement left by one of the self immolators as read out by Anne Curry, "As we reflect on the past, we see nothing but signs of defeat, anger, anguish, tears...". That is such a telling indictment of the miserable failure of the Tibetan government in exile, who might be forgiven for not being able to recover Tibet’s independence but cannot be exonerated for failing to give the people even a glimmer of direction and hope. How did that happen we may ask? Perhaps the Dalai Lama let slip the answer, that those in power are relatively “free and comfortable” in their version of exile compared to the poor Tibetan refugees, and as I have said before, may even have made a great career out of being in exile. Would the CTA officials be so comfortable under the sovereignty of China should the day come when Tibetans are returned to their homeland?
