PETOEN Quarterly Publication of Petoen School VOLUME– XXI A REFLECTION Oct - Dec, 2018

HIS HOLINESS’ Thank You India Samdol Lhamo, Class VII Message On Attitude As most of us know, this year is especially dedicated to thanking India for all the support that they ren- “If you can cultivate the dered to our country. Since 1959, when the Peoples Liberation Army of China invaded our country, right attitude, your ene- thousands of Tibetans fled to India where you offered us refuge. This is the most commonly known act of immense kindness that India has shown us but it was not the only one. In fact, this is the only one mies are your best spiri- out of many things that make us eternally indebted to you. We have a long history with India and once tual teachers because you closely examine that history, you’ll realize how much we owe to India! So that’s why, as a way to their presence provides express our gratitude to India, we are now writing this essay …. I hope that anyone who reads this will be reminded of how without the aid of India’s people and government, we Tibetans would be gone you with the opportunity since long time and our culture and tradition would be no more in this world. to enhance and develop One of the first and most important things we owe to India for is our Tibetan script. Many people will tolerance, patience and most likely overlook the fact that our script is indeed originated from the ancient Indian script. A long understanding.” time ago, the great King sent some of his wisest ministers to India, the land of Aryas. At that time, we only had a dialect but no script. Just as a human without a heart is dead, so is a lan- guage without script. THE STUDENTS AND STAFF OF MEWOEN TSUGLAG The journey to India was a long, strenuous and dangerous one; the ministers of King Songtsen Gampo PETOEN SCHOOL WOULD faced many trials during this hard time. Many died due to the wild beasts killing them, others perished LIKE TO EXTEND OUR from the severe weather. Most died as they could not adapt o the change in their environment. So, in HEARTFELT GRATITUDE TO the end, only one minister remained, he was Thonmi Sambhota. THE GOVERNMENT AND For the seven years that Thonmi Sambhota stayed in India, he studied the ancient Sanskrit language PEOPLE OF INDIA FOR and script from many great masters. He also studied the Tibetan dialect of the time in detail, thus he THEIR UNWAVERING created a Tibetan script, especially tailored to perfectly fit our speech. When he returned to his home- SUPPORT. land, he presented that script to our king and it was approved. Slowly our script spread to all the re- gions of Tibet and that is the story of how our beloved script was created. Over the years, several al- terations have been made to it so as to fit the needs of that time and throughout the time we have kept it strong. Thank you India! for without our script we could never have maintained our rich culture. It would have been lost decades ago and we would have been stripped of our identity. is one of the many traits that make us the people we are. A wonderful religion based on love and compassion, one that also originated from India, the land of Karuna. When Prince Sidhartha of Magadh left materialistic happiness for inner peace and enlightenment, Bud- dhism was born. Then it slowly spread to the highlands of Tibet where we changed our lifestyles drasti- cally following the principles of Buddhism. While in India Buddhism slowly faded away, we kept it alive and nurtured it over the centuries. Now, even Buddhists have become scarce in India whereas it is thriving within our community. Thank you India for our religion, without it so many of our people would have led meaningless lives, only seeking materialistic happiness. Art Section Petoen School We have kept your Buddha alive for centuries and now the time has come for us to use it to contribute to world peace and to end suffering of all sentient beings. All the articles, poems and In 1959, when His Holiness The 14th Dalai along with thousands of Tibetans fled to India, you stories in this publication are original and written by the received us with warmth and kindness. Any other country would have turned us away without a second students themselves. However, thought to it, but you took pity on us. As a father you protected us, and as a mother you motivated us. minimum corrections are done by the concerned teachers At that time, His Holiness was only 25 but his vision was that of a great leader and his wisdom without affecting the originality far exceeded his years. Pandit Nehru guided him and together, the two leaders set up separate schools and settlements for Tibetans. The aim was for Tibetan children to be able to study their own language and maintain their own culture. Nowadays, Tibetan children get a wholesome education and are fluent Editors/Teachers in their dialect. We can all speak Tibetan and we all grow up with the Tibetan beliefs and moralities. In-charge Setting & Layout

Mrs. Tenzin Choedon Ms. Tenzin Kyizom It would have been much less difficult to place all the Tibetan kids in Indian schools but you thought our Ms. Tenzin Kyizom culture was important and so granted us land and funds to set up our schools. Thank you India for un- Mrs. Kelsang Wangmo derstanding the importance of our culture. Thank you India for saving the souls of Tibet!

For suggestions and feedback, write to: His Holiness granted us modern democracy, but for that to be possible we need our own government. Mewoen Tsuglag Petoen School You allowed us to start our own independent government. For a country to remain great, a good and Khanyara Road, P.O Lower Dharamsala smooth running government is needed. The CTA takes immense responsibility over the fate of our peo- District Kangra - 176215 Himachal Pradesh (INDIA) ple, for that to have been created we thank you India!

Phone : +91-1892-202117 / 222462 E-mail : [email protected] Thank you India for being there for us in our times of need. Thank you India for being our savior! Website : www.sambhota.org / www.petoen.com

MEWOEN TSUGLAG PETOEN SCHOOL ARTICLES 01 PETOEN - A REFLECTION Khanyara Road, Dharamsala- 76215.(H.P) Thank You India Tenzin Sangmo, Class VII

In 1959, China occupied our Country, Tibet. Since then, we have been living in India as refugees. Sometimes, I wonder, where we Ti- betan would have gone to and what would have happened without the help of the Indian Government and the Indian people and I al- ways worry about what the status of Tibetans’ future will be. Few people think that we would be fine without the help of Indian Govern- ment but I know it wouldn’t be fine without them. If we didn’t come to India, Tibetans would be staying in different parts of the world and the rich Tibetan Culture would have slowly disap- peared from this world. There would not be any Tibetan Schools, no exile-government, no Tibetan institutions and most importantly, no identity as a Tibetan. Therefore, I think the Indian government and people are really supportive to the Tibetans. Indians have always been helping and supporting us since from the very beginning, even before we lost our country. The Tibetans have always considered India as our Guru and we Tibetans as students of Indian rich Nalanda tradition, from where Ti- betan religion called, Buddhism originated. When the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo realized the importance and need of standard language for a country, he sent some of his wise ministers to India to learn Sanskrit which is the basis of the Tibetan language. After occupation of our country by China, the Indian Government and the Indians welcomed us with open arms when the Tibetan had nowhere to go. The Indian government tried its best to make us (the homeless ones) feel safe and feel at home. They did and still are doing their best to support the needs of the Tibetans. After the Tibetan people settled in India, the Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru Ji listened to the appeal of His Holiness the to establish different schools for the Tibetan children to be able to learn our language and culture. Nehru Ji approved the appeal by understanding the importance of preserving our language and culture. Because of all the support, we are in Tibetan Petoen School to learn our language and culture and got the opportunity to learn many other new things too. Nehru Ji also approved the establishing of settlements for the Tibetan people in different parts of India. Therefore, India has played a really important role in the Tibetan’s achieve- ment. Without India, I am sure that we wouldn’t be the same. I would like to end my essay here with a few words for the Indian Government and the people of India. As a mother you loved and motivated us, and as a father, you encouraged and protected us. I am really very happy and thankful to India for everything you did for us till now and for the continued help. I will do my best to repay your kindness that you have shown to the Tibetans when it was needed the most. Thank You India!

Thank You India Thank You India! Nawang Lhadon, Class VII Tenzin Jamphel, Class VII

India is the place where we live now. We Tibetans used to India is a famous country all over the world for its unique Cultures and Tra- have our own country but since 1959 when China took ditions. It is famous for its historical past and the citizens are generally very over Tibet, we have been depending on India for foods to polite and of an understanding nature. It was an economically backward eat, place to live and air to breathe. country before 1947 due to being occupied by the British. However, after Before Tibet came to Exile, and before China laid their many years of freedom struggles and sacrifices of the great Indian freedom cruel eyes on Tibet, everyone was living peacefully just fighters, India got its freedom from the British rule in August of 1947. Pandit like we live in India right now. But once China started to Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of India and hoisted the take over our country Tibet, everything changed. Tibet be- Indian national flag. He declared that “When the world sleeps, India will came a place filled with sadness. The Chinese armies bul- wake to life and freedom.” India is a democratic country where the public is lied Tibetans and Tibetans couldn’t do a thing about it. The enabled to take major decisions for the betterment of its society. Chinese were too strong. The Chinese planned to kill His Northern India, is the home for about hundred thousand Tibetans and their Holiness the but they failed. They tried world famous Leader, The Dalai Lama. He fled from his homeland nearly everything to get rid of our leader, His Holiness. The Chi- 60 years ago after the Chinese crushed the Tibetans uprising against the nese killed lots and lots of Tibetans and one day His Holi- harsh communist rule. The Tibetan community has been living in exile for ness and a group of Tibetans decided to leave Tibet and decades. After the Tibetan’s frustration exploded in furious rampage, the find a safer place for Tibetans. Before leaving, the place Chinese government tried to crack down hard on Tibet by imprisoning hun- where His Holiness lived was surrounded by Tibetans as dreds of Tibetans. Unfortunately, since then, the Chinese government has they heard that His Holiness was invited to a Chinese per- been suppressing, killing, torturing, arresting and imprisoning Tibetans. formance that day. Everyone knew it was one of their Tenzin Gyatso was recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama at the age of 4 and plans to kill His Holiness so they didn’t let him leave. It was took a path of Non-Violence and Middle Way Approach to pursue freedom for Tibet rather than full independence. Taking on the mighty Chinese with impossible for His Holiness to leave Tibet if the Tibetans th knew that His Holiness was heading out of the Potala Pal- violence is out of question for a man who is believed to be the 14 reincar- ace to another country to seek refuge. nation of Buddha of compassion, Thupten Gyatso. Tibetans inside China want to be able to practice Buddhism freely. Further, Tibetans thought that He was heading to the performance in China. So, His Holiness and the others decided to keep we want to return home to reclaim our land which is being filled up through it as a secret. His Holiness decided to dress as a soldier Chinese immigration. In a lot of ways Tibetans and Indians are very similar. and walked through the crowd and started their journey Both communities are family oriented and give a lot of importance to chil- towards India. The messengers went to some places other dren and their future. Besides, I really want to go back to my country as a than India too but other countries rejected us. India was free Tibetan. Despite having a life here in India, I think it will be great for us. the first one to response to us. His Holiness and the Tibet- But, as a community which interacts with Indian daily, it will be really hard for us to suddenly leave! ans happily entered India and they received a warm wel- th come from the Indians. They faced many problems on the I think the Tibetan people are very lucky to have the 14 Dalai lama as their way but once they came to India, the Indian government leader. Without him we wouldn’t have made it here where we are standing let us have our own Prime Minister and Tibet Government in peace with India. Indians are the reason why we’re here living peacefully here in India. His Holiness is so thankful to India. in exile. Since most of the Tibetans want to stay together rather than seek- ing separation, there’s a chance that we may return to Tibet. Within Tibet, He calls India the “Guru” and Tibet “Chela, means stu- our first priority is the environment because the rivers of Asia come from dents.” Not only His Holiness but we all Tibetans are Tibet. Over a billion people depend on rivers which originate from Tibet. thankful to India for supporting us and making us feel like we are in our own fatherland even when we are not. From all the Tibetans, I wish the BIGGEST THANK YOU! to all the Indians for the humanity that they’ve shown to us.

MEWOEN TSUGLAG PETOEN SCHOOL 02 PETOEN - A REFLECTION Khanyara Road, Dharamsala– 176215.(H.P) ARTICLES Thank You India Thank You India Thank You India Tenzin Gonpo, Class VI Menda Rewa, Class VI Tenzin Palkyi, Class VI

When Chinese captured our country, Thank you for being supportive and kind. You gave us everything. You helped us. Thank you India! You have put peace in our minds. Being kind human beings Thank you India for being kind! You are Tibet's faithful friend, You accepted The Dalai Lama Thank you for giving us a place to stay! And helped us till the end. And we got our Lucky Charm saved.

Now I am studying in India All around us the things you gave, But what did we give them? And I am living in India. Everything to the nature, mountains and caves We didn't give them anything. During our bad times you helped us. You welcomed us kindly and warmly, It would be unfair Thank you for giving us freedom in India. However different we are but nicely. If we do not repay your kindness.

In India nothing is ours It is quite difficult to write a poem about you, There are a lot of Tibetan schools, But you gave us everything we need. But the end result will be good and true. There are a lot of Tibetan temples, Thank you India for giving us India is our current Mother-Land, India respect all the religions Homes and lands for farming. It has many lakes and lots of sand. And we are thankful for that.

Thank you India Rivers, mountains and trees, We lost our country in 1959, For letting us come to India. Some parts of India are swarming with bees. We got nothing except for tears. You make us feel good. Nature is everlasting green, We went through a lot of problems You gave us a beautiful place. I hope India shall be always clean. But at last we found India.

Thank you India Many holidays such as Diwali, As time passed by, And the people of India And the sacred teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, Tibetans started realizing it more For doing everything for us Remain forever strong and true, And in 2018, we made a project called, And not taking anything from us. Class six has written poems just for you. THANK YOU INDIA!

You gave us education India is the home of many religions, India gave us food to eat To become great people, All over the world there are many regions. And so many books to read. Will take our beautiful country Different shades of skin tone, They gave us clothes to wear, Back from the Chinese Government. All having different phones. They also gave us many fruits.

You have given us food Roads that lead everywhere, India showed respect to us To be healthy every day, Different trees: apple and pear. And they are always kind to us. To live a long life, India cares about us, We are disciple of Gandhi ji Away from illness and sickness. And they helped us. And we love Gandhi ji a lot.

Now it’s time for us Indians are selfless and free, We need to be thankful to India To donate some money, They have helped us a lot that we can see. For keeping our stomach full. To stand with India This poem is getting a bit boring, They accepted us as friends When we become capable of that. By the time I am done you will be snoring. And we’ll continue that relationship forever.

Thank You India for everything! India is a country to trust, We are the Tibetans, India is beautiful, so visit is must. Who the Indians have helped. Thank You India You must look here and there, We are lucky to have them. Tenzin Wangmo, Class VI You will know the best is here. They are the roots and we are the stem.

India, India, India THANK YOU INDIA! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING! You are the best, You are the kindest, Thank You India That I have ever seen. Tenzin Pelbar, Class VI

Thank You India Thank you India Now we have to do something for you. For giving us a place To let us stay in your country. We will remember your kindness. Where we can learn our language You make us feel comfortable We will respect you always Without any fear and restrictions. Though you look strict but you are kind. And will help you whenever you need.

Whenever I see mountains You gave us a very good place, Now we will stand with you, Covered with snow ‘’ Help you to keep India clean. I will always think of India It is the highest place You helped without taking anything from us As you are the one full of Snow Mountains And here are many beautiful animals We’ll do the same thing to you in the future. You gave us permission to build houses. Thank you India Thank you India! For the support and kindness You gave us good food The government and people of India To keep us healthy. For doing everything for us That you shower on us You fulfill our wishes And not taking anything back. You are the greatest place. And also you stood by us all the time. We will be with you all the time We will never forget your kindness You gave us education, We will be friend for all the time. We want to tell you that You provide us every help, Thank you India! We thank You for everything To stand on our feet Love you India! Thank You India! And to do our own work. THANK YOU INDIA

MEWOEN TSUGLAG PETOEN SCHOOL PETOEN - A REFLECTION Khanyara Road, Dharamsala - 176215 (H.P.) POETRY 03 Thank You India Tenzin Kunsang, Class VIII

For over the last fifty years, we Tibetans have been staying in India as refugees. Everyone knows how indebted we are towards India. For over centuries, India has been helping us in numerous ways. There are no words that can describe how grateful we are towards India. We Tibetans have decided to dedicate this year Thanking India for its kindness and its warm-heartedness towards us for decades. Writ- ing an essay just to express how thankful we are towards India, may sound easy and simple for those who don’t feel gratitude towards India. But for the people who feel a deep gratitude towards India, it is impossible to just pour all our gratitude towards India within just a few simple paragraphs. Tibetans are not just grateful to India for sheltering us for decades after the Chinese invasion, but also for sharing its knowledge and skills for over the centuries. Tibet’s most precious treasure, Buddhism itself had originated in India. Many of the greatest things that Ti- bet received from India were the art of writing, which is still used in modern days, and the art of healing and medical astrology. When Chinese invaded Tibet and we became homeless, it was India who welcomed us with open arms with love and compassion. When our cultures and religion were at the verge of extinction, India embraced Tibet with warmth. To continue the teachings of Buddha Dharma and our mother tongue, they helped us build Tibetan schools and monasteries. Giving us the freedom to speak, write, read and learn our precious mother tongue and the freedom to dream, inspire, create, preserve our cultures and traditions, inherit the wisdom of our elders, practice our religion and so on, which are strictly forbidden in our fatherland, Tibet. India helped us in establishing our own government in exile and continues to support us in our freedom struggle. Our time here in exile has been such an experience that no Tibetans would ever forget the friendship we share and the bond we have as a teacher and a student will never be forgotten. It is very visible that Tibet is eternally grateful to India for everything it has offered to us. The reason our generation has the freedom to enjoy basic human rights is because of India’s greatness and kindness. If it were not for India’s continued generosity, we would not have been granted the opportunity to be recognized by the world. Because of India, Tibet’s religion and culture have been able to spread around the world and be appreciated. That’s why we Tibetans thank India from the bottom of our hearts. ‘THANK YOU’ is a small word that can’t measure our gratefulness to India. For centuries, India has guided us as a teacher; for decades, India has helped and taken care of us as a friend and sheltered us as a family through thick and thin. Never once will we Tibetans ever forget these heartwarming memories for decades and centuries to come. WE WILL BE FOREVER INDEBTED TO YOU FOR YOUR KINDNESS. THANK YOU INDIA.

Thank You India Thank You India Tenzin Dawoe, Class VIII Tenzin Pema, Class VII

This year, 2018, all Tibetans say “Thank you India” to India for the A long time ago Buddhism came to Tibet from India. It became good things it has done for us. They gave us a place to live and gave food to eat. So this year is the year to thank the government very popular in Tibet and every Tibetan respected the religion and and people of India and all Tibetans have decided to pay back good learned it. There are many benefits of learning Buddhism. It has things like they have been doing for us. In 1959, we Tibetans had been helping many people to go through their problems. The cul- lost our land due to China. After the Chinese invasion most of the ture of Tibet is influenced by Buddhism; kindness and truthful Tibetans stayed in their own homes but thousand others had come nature of Tibetan people are gift of Buddhism. to take shelter in India. That time The 14th Dalai Lama requested Indian government to let us take shelter in India. The Indian govern- Tibet did not have written script in the beginning. The person who ment said ‘Yes’. From that day onwards all Tibetans are grateful to had the smart idea of creating Tibetan script was the king of Tibet India. We are celebrating this year as “Thank You India” year or that time, Songtsen Gampo. He sent some of his wisest ministers Gratitude Year. Most of the programs and activities being organized to India. Some of them have died on their way to India due to harsh are in relation to Thanking India in schools and settlement because the Tibetans are grateful to India and it is also to help the younger environment. Thonmi Sambhota, one of his wisest ministers sur- generation know about it through various activities. The younger vived and learnt the old Indian language from the great Indian mas- generation of Tibetans might not have that much knowledge about ters. He returned to Tibet and created Tibetan language. He was how much we are grateful for the Indian people and government. successful. This historical contribution to the civilization of Tibet is By celebrating this year as “Thank You India”, the younger genera- due to Indian masters. tion will learn more about it. Then they will tell to their friends the history and one day everyone will know about their generosity. In 1959, when People’s Liberation Army (PLA) started to take over Thank You India for Everything! Tibet. India was the only country to respond and welcome His Holi- th Thank You India ness the 14 Dalai Lama and Tibetans to live in India. That was Uncle Nehru ji, the then Prime minster of India who gave us per- Tenzin Tsondu, Clas VIII mission to build Tibetan schools for the young Tibetan children to

get better education and permission to start our own Tibetan Gov- Tibet has many neighbouring countries and India is one of them. ernment in Exile in Dharamsala, India. We were permitted to build Since early days, India and Tibet had a very strong bond, the bond temples, monasteries, colleges, offices and settlements to keep of a teacher and a student. You were always there whenever we our culture intact in India. We are very lucky to live in this beautiful Tibetans need you. In 1959, China invaded our country and now land of India with very kind hearted people. we don’t have our peaceful country. We lost our land and got sepa- rated from our Tibetan brothers and sisters. It was like we lost eve- Despite being refugees, we Tibetans received better houses, rything. We came to India to take refuge. You are the ones who healthier food and decent clothing. Many refugees are not treated gave us a place to stay and schools to study in. You helped us in properly in other countries. I am grateful to the government and our worst situations. If we are something today, it's all because of people of India for everything. you. You treated us the same as your own people. We are like fam- ily. Now, we all are thankful to you. You gave us a new home and We are very lucky and we should appreciate what we have and the feeling as same as we would have had in our home Tibet. You thank India. We are thanking India not because of ‘Thank you In- have been helping us for so many years and we will never forget dia’ celebration but we want to thank India every minute of our life. what you have done for us. You gave us freedom in India and no We would have died if India didn’t respond to Tibet for help. words can describe how thankful we are for You. If you haven’t helped us in our worst situation, then what would The ancient culture of Tibet is flourishing due to India and after the have become of us? All of us have grown under your shelter.. We invasion, the preservation of this ancient culture is happening in all are your kids. Thank you, Great India! Thank you for giving us a India. Thank You India! new life. Thank you for everything. Love you India!

PETOEN - A REFLECTION MEWOEN TSUGLAG PETOEN SCHOOL Khanyara Road, Dharamsala - 176215 (H.P.) ARTICLES 04