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An Aging Dalai Lama

Is Time Running Out for Tibet?

By Andreas Lorenz in Dharamsala, India

Exiled in India, he is Tibet's most successful international spokesperson. The Dalai Lama receives pilgrims from all over the world -- but the future of Tibet remains bleak. And Beijing is calculating that international interest in Tibet will dwindle once he dies.

Monkeys line the path to the divine king. They crouch by the side of the road waiting to be tossed scraps of food. Dharamsala at the foot of the Himalayas is home to the Dalai Lama -- the religious and political leader of Tibetan Buddhists and of the Tibetan government in exile. He has resided in the town's McLeod Ganj neighborhood since 1959.

The Dalai Lama, whose worldy name is Tenzin Gyatso, fled across the glaciers of the Himalayas and into the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh following a Tibetan insurrection against Chinese rule.

Nestled against the side of a mountain, with its narrow streets and small stores, the town seems more like a simple mountain base for trekkers on their way to the snowy peaks than the residence of a famous and much admired religious leader.

Spiritual retreat

And yet this small Indian town is unique. Its residents are a remarkable mixture of local tradesmen, Tibetan refugees, pious pilgrims, Europeans weary of civilization and Americans searching for meaning in their lives. Many come here looking for a spiritual retreat far from the materialist world or -- like one group of Israelis -- for a pleasant place to smoke weed undisturbed.

Tibetan monks with shaved heads and dark red robes stand chatting on the town's tiny square in the evening. Posters on the walls demand "Freedom for Tibet" and a boycott of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing if the occupation of Tibet continues. Pilgrims from all over the world wait with great anticipation to be allowed to enter the Dalai Lama's residence.

On this Monday morning, a large delegation of Mongolian Buddhists has arrived. Some Chinese citizens of the People's Republic are also here. They haven't allowed themselves to be deceived by Beijing's propaganda, which denounces the Dalai Lama as a "traitor" and "separatist." "He is the guru of my heart," whispers an attractive student with a ponytail from southern China.

The Dalai Lama tends to his countrymen before turning to the visitors from abroad. Some 308 Tibetans, most of them farmers and shepherds, wait silently for him, the divine king, on the ground in front of a temple. They use newspapers to shield themselves from the bright spring sun while children and infants crawl about between them.

Hope for Tibet

Some of them have traveled clandestinely across the Tibetan border and into Nepal -- a dangerous thing to do, since Chinese border patrols sometimes open fire. They recently gunned down a fugitive nun on a glacier. Other visitors have an official visa for Nepal. Guides familiar with the territory have brought them across the border to India.

Most of these pilgrims return to their own country after a few weeks. But many of them remain for the rest of their lives. They enter one of India's Tibetan monasteries, are given a place in a home for the elderly or attend the school in Dharamsala. The refugees include a noticeable number of children whose parents have stayed behind in Tibet.

The Indian soldier stands to attention. A bodyguard in civilian clothes takes up his position, armed with a machine gun that might well have come from the arsenal of the former colonial power Britain. At 10 a.m. sharp, the Dalai Lama strides through the crowd. He doesn't sit down in a wide chair that has been placed there for him. The 71-year-old remains standing, speaking into an orange microphone for about an hour.

His speech is more political than religious. "You are part of our struggle. You continue it. You keep the Tibetan spirit and culture alive. You are the keepers of faith and identity," he encourages his audience.

The Dalai Lama quotes Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. He insults the Chinese and at the same time praises them. China has undergone "great changes" in recent years and will not cease reforming itself, he says. That's why there is still hope that Tibet can free itself from the Chinese yoke, he continues.

His time is running out

The Dalai Lama makes such public appearances once or twice a month. The aim is to provide everyone who comes from Tibet the opportunity to be able to see him. He seems cheerful and relaxed -- and doesn't give the impression of a man whose time is running out. But he also knows that the chances of him ever returning to Lhasa are dwindling with every passing day.

No progress is being made in the negotiations with the Chinese on the future of Tibet. Both sides have simply "clarified their positions" over the past three years, meaning that the Dalai Lama doesn't pursue independence any more. Now, as he told DER SPIEGEL in an interview, Beijing has signalled that it wants to continue the dialogue, but it hasn't set any timeframe for doing so.

Beijing is betting that time will work to its advantage. It obviously wants to wait patiently until Tibet has lost the Dalai Lama -- and the world has lost a teacher who for almost 50 years has acted as Tibet's greatest PR agent, establishing close contacts with Washington, Brussels and Hollywood.

The Chinese are calculating that once the 71-year-old passes away, Western interest in the mystical place that is Tibet will wane, the quest for Shangrila will cease and the political pressure on Beijing will melt away like the butter candles on the altars of the local monasteries.

"The Chinese don't trust us. They don't trust His Holiness," complains Thubten Samphel, the spokesperson for the government in exile. But, he says, the Tibetans can't make any more concessions than they have already. "We have our pride. We've gone as far as we can, but this is the limit."

People like Samphel can see the effects that 50 years of Chinese rule have had on their fellow countrymen. "The young Tibetans arriving here don't speak Tibetan among themselves. They speak Chinese," he notes with disgust. "They want to meet a white woman here in Dharamsala and then leave for the United States or Europe."