Washington, DC — A resolution recently introduced in the United States Congress recognizes the cultural and religious significance of a genuinely autonomous Tibet, the deep bond between people of America and Tibet and highly praises His Holiness the Dalai Lama for his commitment to global peace.
On Thursday morning, the US Congress’s House of Representatives introduced a formal resolution titled “Recognizing the significance of the genuine autonomy of Tibet and the Tibetan people and the work His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has done to promote global peace, harmony, and understanding.”
A group of four influential US lawmakers; Ted Yoho along with Rep. McCaul, Smith, and McGovern has introduced a resolution in the United States Congress commending the spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama for his commitment to global peace and non-violence.
The resolution, introduced in the House of Representatives, came weeks after US ambassador-at-large for Religious Freedom Samuel D Brownback traveled to Dharamsala in India and met the Dalai Lama and discussed ways to advance religious freedom.
The resolution recognizes the cultural and religious significance of a genuinely autonomous Tibet and the deep bond between the American and Tibetan people. It also commends the 14th Dalai Lama for his commitment to global peace and non-violence. It would be beneficial to convene a bipartisan, bicameral forum, either through a joint meeting of Congress, a teleconference broadcast in the Auditorium at the Capitol Visitor Center, or roundtable between members of Congress and His Holiness the Dalai Lama to discuss peaceful solutions to international conflicts, the resolution notes.
The purpose of the resolution would for the House of Representatives to:
- (1) recognizes the cultural and religious significance of a genuinely autonomous Tibet and the deep bond between the American and Tibetan people;
- (2) commends the 14th Dalai Lama for his commitment to global peace and nonviolence; and
- (3) determines that it would be beneficial to convene a bipartisan, bicameral forum, either through a Joint Meeting of Congress, a teleconference broadcast in the Auditorium at the Capitol Visitor Center, or roundtable, between Members of Congress and His Holiness the Dalai Lama to discuss peaceful solutions to international conflicts.
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama is known throughout the world as a leading advocate for world peace and non-violence. His message is one of kindness and compassion to all sentient beings. Over the past 60 years, he has traveled around the world spreading a message of Peace and Universal Responsibility.
He also believes that the common aim of all religions, an aim that everyone must try to find, is to foster tolerance, altruism, and love. He retired from politics in 2011. But, as one among six million Tibetans, His Holiness said he will continue to serve the cause of Tibet.
In 1959, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama along with thousands of others escaped to India, where he was given political asylum. The spiritual leader has set up a government and rebuilt monasteries where masters pass on their teachings to young monks. Tibetans in exile have succeeded in gradually rebuilding their monasteries, preserving their culture, restructuring their society and keeping it alive, in spite of the extremely difficult circumstances.
The Chinese Communist totalitarian regime (PRC) began their invasion of Tibet in 1949, reaching complete occupation of the country in 1959. Since that time, more than 1.2 million people, 20% of the nation's population of six million, have died as a direct result of China's illegal invasion and ruthless occupation. In addition, over 99% of Tibet's six thousand religious monasteries, temples, and shrines, have been looted or decimated resulting in the destruction of hundreds of thousands of sacred Buddhist scriptures.
