All posts tagged human rights

Windhorse Warrior

The synopsis for a manuscript I have completed is below:

Windhorse Warrior

by Richard Friedericks

wangdu_horse1 film

One sweltering summer morning in Shanghai, China in 1947,  a young student named Chuang Wei Ming discovers his girlfriend taking part in a communist protest march against the Nationalists.  He watches horrified as she is murdered by a squad of Nationalist soldiers.  Her martyrdom nudges him to find out about her passion for communism.

Three years later Chuang volunteers to take communism to Tibet.  Coincidentally assigned to Lithang on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau, he finds the Tibetan relatives of his Shanghai girlfriend.  He persuades the family to turn over their ancestral land to the farmers working on their land.  Together they form a successful cooperative that captures the imagination of several surrounding communities.  The Chinese Communist Party is not appreciative of Chuang’s methods which honors the will of the local people and upholds their traditional culture and religion.  Management of the cooperative is, instead, given to Tenzin, a young Tibetan eager to do the will of the Party.

Chuang turns his attention to another community and meets a lama with a dream of reviving the ‘enlightened society’ of the legendary King Gesar.  Chuang jumps at the chance to use the lama’s clout with the people to further his own mission.  But Chuang’s ideals are challenged by the lama’s apprentice Dechen, the twin sister of his Shanghai girlfriend.  As their relationship develops, Dechen’s ideas, rooted in Tibetan Buddhism, enrich Chuang’s understanding of a truly enlightened society and help him to recognize the spiritual purpose of life.

Tenzin, who wants to marry Dechen, is jealous of Chuang and has him arrested for kidnapping Dechen.  Chuang’s rescue leads to injuries that nearly kill him.  During his convalescence he enters the world of King Gesar through a shamanic trance.  When he recovers, Chuang is able to recite the story of Gesar which marks him as a fully integrated member of Tibetan culture.  Chuang, Dechen and the lama now implement a plan to promote an enlightened society through spiritual renewal, social reforms and non-violent resistance to the Party’s dictatorial control of the people.

Deng, the local Commander of the People’s Liberation Army and Communist Party representative, issues an ultimatum: the people must voluntarily choose the ‘Red Road’ of Communism or the ‘Black Road’ will result.  Chuang suggests another road; the Golden Way of an enlightened society.  In keeping with the legend of King Gesar, a horse race is proposed to which Commander Deng agrees.  The winner will choose which road the people will follow and marry Dechen.  Deng believes he can rig the race in Tenzin’s favor and impose the Red Road.  But Chuang enters the race in disguise and wins.  His mission and dreams fulfilled, Chuang takes Dechen’s hand and together they invite the people to unite and walk the Golden Way to an enlightened society that honors spiritual as well as material abundance.

Tenzin, recovering from defeat and pressured to please Commander Deng, takes aim at Chuang with a pistol.  Dechen is shot instead and dies in Chuang’s arms just as her sister died in Shanghai.

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I am currently seeking a publisher.  The manuscript is 120,000 words with maps, character list and translations of Tibetan words.

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by Rishi on September 13, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in Buddhism, Tibet, Windhorse Warrior
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Posted by Rishi on September 13, 2017

https://friederishi.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/windhorse-warrior/

Change is on the Way

Last Saturday I went to Central, the Financial District in Hong Kong, to see if the rumored ‘Occupy Hong Kong’ event was going to happen. The Podium outside the HK Exchange was crowded with people and banners of all kinds. It was a surprising turn-out. Here is the video I made, with one of my student’s interviewing skills:

The main point addressed by those we talked to was the huge imbalance in resources and power. The rich 1% of the population make the rules with the expectation that the 99% will obey and serve them. This is the system of democracy promoted by the US that is no longer acceptable.

Hong Kong is the global center of banking and finance. Wall Street is the symbol, but its all happening here in Hong Kong. As my former student Michael Suen says, “Hong Kong both reaps the rewards and suffers the consequences of the free market mechanism the most. Remember that it has the greatest income gap among all developed economies. That’s the 99% vs. 1% disparity at its most evident (or you might even say absurd). Most importantly, at least for me, is to acknowledge how deeply systemic and complex the crisis is, and to recognize the limits of our understanding. It’s my generation’s responsibility to disentangle the problems, bit by bit. Because, after all, it’s our future.”

From the perspective of developmental stages, this “occupy everywhere” movement represents a dis-enthrallment with Modernism and a global shift into Post-Modern values. Human rights, justice, equality, recognition that everyone deserves a living wage, and other social causes are gaining acceptance. Corporate greed, mismanagement of investments, politics and law-making by-the-rich and for-the-rich must end.

If you know your world history, this should be a deja vu! Isn’t this exactly what the American Revolution was all about? And the French Revolution? Wasn’t the issue taking power from despotic monarchs who owned everything and made all the rules? Wasn’t democracy supposed to be for-the-people, by-the-people? What happened? When did we give our rights away? When did they steal us blind? When did we fall asleep?

Two hundred plus years ago the revolution, the shift in power, was between the Traditional world and the Modern world. Now the Modern worldview is on the way out. It needs to go because the few at the top have managed to funnel all the wealth and power away from the people. The world is owned by the wealthy few and manipulated by the politicians the wealthy put into office with their stolen money.

I’m not convinced this move from Modern to Post-Modern is going to solve our problems. Rather, I see it as a necessary intermediate step. The changes we all really want to see can only come about when we make the global shift from Post-Modern to Integral. There are not enough people who see things from the Integral perspective yet, but that’s the stage we need to get to for the world to finally find a better balance.

The Post-Modern stage is still externally oriented; it is still ego-driven. Its primary concern is ‘choice freedom.’ This kind of freedom, as Thomas Merton points out, is all about having the means to do what I want, go where I want, say what I want, buy what I want – all dictated by cultural conditioning and hidden agendas of the lower self (Bourgeault, Wisdom Way of Knowing). From the stand point of spiritual teachings, only the fruits of transformation bring real happiness, freedom, justice, and free will.

The Integral stage, by openly promoting spiritual transformation,  looks like it is a few decades away. In the meantime we will have to suffer through the transition from Modern to Post-Modern. When people begin to see through the issues of Post-Modernism and become dis-enthralled with it, they will be ready for the spiritual transformation to the Integral stage. This stage is a recognition that we are evolving into kosmo-centric persons; persons with the creativity and insights necessary for saving civilization from self-destruction. Let’s hope for all of our sakes that we can bring about the Integral change more quickly.

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by Rishi on October 17, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Rishi on October 17, 2011

https://friederishi.wordpress.com/2011/10/17/change-is-on-the-way/

Voices of Reason from Inside China

Below is something from Joey Ayoub on Facebook. He’s included a document written by several well-know Chinese dissidents that I thought worth repeating. Please read the following document realizing that there are people inside China who don’t automatically believe the government’s propaganda. This document accentuates how effective the Chinese media is in controlling what most Chinese people believe and what it is telling the world.

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March 22, 2008

Twelve Suggestions for Dealing with the Tibetan Situation by Some Chinese Intellectuals

1. At present the one-sided propaganda of the official Chinese media is having the effect of stirring up inter-ethnic animosity and aggravating an already tense situation. This is extremely detrimental to the long-term goal of safeguarding national unity. We call for such propaganda to be stopped.

2. We support the Dalai Lama’s appeal for peace, and hope that the ethnic conflict can be dealt with according to the principles of goodwill, peace, and non-violence. We condemn any violent act against innocent people, strongly urge the Chinese government to stop the violent suppression, and appeal to the Tibetan people likewise not to engage in violent activities.

3. The Chinese government claims that “there is sufficient evidence to prove this incident was organized, premeditated, and meticulously orchestrated by the Dalai clique.” We hope that the government will show proof of this. In order to change the international community’s negative view and distrustful attitude, we also suggest that the government invite the United Nation¹s Commission on Human Rights to carry out an independent investigation of the evidence, the course of the incident, the number of casualties, etc.

4. In our opinion, such Cultural-Revolution-like language as “he Dalai Lama is a jackal in Buddhist monk¹s robes and an evil spirit with a human face and the heart of a beast” used by the Chinese Communist Party leadership in the Tibet Autonomous Region is of no help in easing the situation, nor is it beneficial to the Chinese government¹s image. As the Chinese government is committed to integrating into the international community, we maintain that it should display a style of governing that conforms to the standards of modern civilization.

5. We note that on the very day when the violence erupted in Lhasa (March 14), the leaders of the Tibet Autonomous Region declared that “there is sufficient evidence to prove this incident was organized, premeditated, and meticulously orchestrated by the Dalai clique.” This shows that the authorities in Tibet knew in advance that the riot would occur, yet did nothing effective to prevent the incident from happening or escalating. If there was a dereliction of duty, a serious investigation must be carried out to determine this and deal with it accordingly.

6. If in the end it cannot be proved that this was an organized, premeditated, and meticulously orchestrated event but was instead a “popular revolt” triggered by events, then the authorities should pursue those responsible for inciting the popular revolt and concocting false information to deceive the Central Government and the people; they should also seriously reflect on what can be learned from this event so as to avoid taking the same course in the future.

7. We strongly demand that the authorities not subject every Tibetan to political investigation or revenge. The trials of those who have been arrested must be carried out according to judicial procedures that are open, just, and transparent so as to ensure that all parties are satisfied.

8. We urge the Chinese government to allow credible national and international media to go into Tibetan areas to conduct independent interviews and news reports. In our view, the current news blockade cannot gain credit with the Chinese people or the international community, and is harmful to the credibility of the Chinese government. If the government grasps the true situation, it need not fear challenges. Only by adopting an open attitude can we turn around the international community’s distrust of our government.

9. We appeal to the Chinese people and overseas Chinese to be calm and tolerant, and to reflect deeply on what is happening. Adopting a posture of aggressive nationalism will only invite antipathy from the international community and harm China’s international image.

10. The disturbances in Tibet in the 1980s were limited to Lhasa, whereas this time they have spread to many Tibetan areas. This deterioration indicates that there are serious mistakes in the work that has been done with regard to Tibet. The relevant government departments must conscientiously reflect upon this matter, examine their failures, and fundamentally change the failed nationality policies.

11. In order to prevent similar incidents from happening in future, the government must abide by the freedom of religious belief and the freedom of speech explicitly enshrined in the Chinese Constitution, thereby allowing the Tibetan people fully to express their grievances and hopes, and permitting citizens of all nationalities freely to criticize and make suggestions regarding the government¹s nationality policies.

12. We hold that we must eliminate animosity and bring about national reconciliation, not continue to increase divisions between nationalities. A country that wishes to avoid the partition of its territory must first avoid divisions among its nationalities. Therefore, we appeal to the leaders of our country to hold direct dialogue with the Dalai Lama. We hope that the Chinese and Tibetan people will do away with the misunderstandings between them, develop their interactions with each other, and achieve unity. Government departments as much as popular organizations and religious figures should make great efforts toward this goal.

Signatures:

Wang Lixiong (Beijing, Writer) Liu Xiaobo (Beijing, Freelance Writer) Zhang Zuhua (Beijing, scholar of constitutionalism) Sha Yexin (Shanghai, writer, Chinese Muslim) Yu Haocheng (Beijing, jurist) Ding Zilin (Beijing, professor) Jiang peikun (Beijing, professor) Yu Jie (Beijing, writer) Sun Wenguang (Shangdong, professor) Ran Yunfei (Sichuan, editor, Tujia nationality) Pu Zhiqiang (Beijing, lawyer) Teng Biao (Beijing, Layer and scholar) Liao Yiwu ()Sichuan, writer) Wang Qisheng (Beijing, scholar) Zhang Xianling (Beijing, engineer) Xu Jue (Beijing, research fellow) Li Jun (Gansu, photographer) Gao Yu (Beijing, journalist) Wang Debang (Beijing, freelance writer) Zhao Dagong (Shenzhen, freelance writer) Jiang Danwen (Shanghai, writer) Liu Yi (Gansu, painter) Xu Hui (Beijing, writer) Wang Tiancheng (Beijing, scholar) Wen kejian (Hangzhou, freelance) Li Hai (Beijing, freelance writer) Tian Yongde (Inner Mongolia, folk human rights activists) Zan Aizong (Hangzhou, journalist) Liu Yiming (Hubei, freelance writer)

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If China wants to join the international community, as it has declared by hosting the Olympics, the world – and the Chinese people – need to see some radical changes taking place immediately. Unfortunately this is unlikely; instead they are directing their people’s emotions toward ugly racist nationalism that mirrors Nazism during the 1930’s and 40’s.

Shrill voices of unreason calling for a boycott of all French products outside of many Carrefour grocery stores – which the government says “supports the Dalai Lama” – are an emotional response to what the government is printing in the national media. This is the result of the story of the man in Paris grabbing the torch from the Chinese woman in a wheelchair. The story has been used to jerk tears and inflame nationalist passion. Now that the government sees that this isn’t good for international relations, they are trying to tell the people to be “calm” and “rational” while patriotic zeal should “concentrate on development”. (The Guardian, Monday April 21 2008)

The government must be following the principle that the end justifies the means – the end being economic growth and the “development” of China as the world’s next superpower. The means, unfortunately, continues to trample the rights of the people.

This is a long, long way from the high ideals of communism!

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by Rishi on April 21, 2008  •  Permalink
Posted in China, Tibet
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Posted by Rishi on April 21, 2008

https://friederishi.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/voices-of-reason-from-inside-china/