チベットNOW＠ルンタ

2012年2月17日

あなた方の闘いは私たちの闘い：拘束中のベトナムの大僧正がチベット人にメッセージ

１７日付けphayul: http://p.tl/Q_b1　より。

自宅監禁中のベトナムの大僧正が、ダライ・ラマ法王に送った力強いメッセージの中でチベット人たちの自由闘争に対する支持と連帯を表明した。

ベトナム当局により非合法化された「ベトナム統一仏教会」の代表であるティック・クアン・ド大僧正は２月１１日付けの手紙の中で、現在行われているチベットの人権侵害と焼身抗議を「全人間性への挑戦」と呼ぶ。

「私は世界の指導者たちに対し、（中国当局の）暴力を終らせ、焼身抗議の件を調査するための独立調査団を送るために緊急行動を要請する」と、その民主化への努力と人権擁護活動によりいくつもの国際的賞を受賞した活動家僧侶は述べる。（彼はノーベル平和賞の候補にも上がったことがある）

僧正は特に、１月８日に焼身し死亡したチベットのラマ、ソパ・トゥルクの最後の言葉を引用する。焼身の直前にテープに録音されたメッセージの中でソパ・トゥルクは焼身の理由に付いて説明している。「暗闇を晴らし、全ての有情をその苦しみから解放するために、この身を供養として捧げるのだ」と。

ティック・クアン・ド大僧正はベトナムとチベットは仏教徒として焼身抗議に対し同じビジョンを持つとして、「焼身抗議は悲劇であり極端な行為である。できるだけ避けられるべき行為だ」
「しかし、自らの身を暗闇と無明を晴らす慈悲の灯火と化すという究極的行為が唯一の頼みの綱となる時期もあり得る」

歴史上もっとも知られる１９６３年サイゴンにおけるティック・クワン・ドック師の焼身抗議を思い出しながら、大僧正は「だから私は深い共感と理解、そして大きな痛みと悲しみを持って、チベット内地の焼身抗議と中国共産党政権の暴力拡大についての報告を受けたのだ」という。

「私はチベットの人たちの生き残るための勇気ある闘いを全面的に支持し、自由と命の権利に対する要求を共有する。あなた方の苦しみは私たちの苦しみだ。あなた方の闘いは私たちの闘いだ」とこれまで３０年間様々な形で拘束され続けて来た大僧正は語る。

「ベトナムの仏教徒は、あなた方の宗教の自由と人権獲得のための非暴力活動の傍に寄り添う」「人権がなければ、人間は決して完全に自由に存在することができないからだ」

————————————————-

法王とチベット人に宛てられた手紙の全文（英語）を読みたい方は以下：

Buddhist leader Thich Quang Do sends Message of Solidarity to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the people of Tibet

PARIS, 16 February 2012 (IBIB) –

Following the recent wave of self-immolations by Tibetans calling for religious freedom, and the ensuing brutal crackdown on these protests by the Chinese authorities, the Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, Patriarch of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) has written to His Holiness the Dalai Lama to express the UBCV’s support of the Tibetan people’s struggle for freedom. The letter, dated 11 February 2012, was sent clandestinely to the International Buddhist Information Bureau (IBIB) from the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery in Saigon, where Thich Quang Do is under house arrest. In his letter, which we have forwarded to H.H. the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, Thich Quang Do wrote:

“I am writing to express the profound grief of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam on the recent wave of immolations of Buddhist monks, nuns and lay-followers calling for religious freedom and the return of Your Holiness to the sacred land of Tibet. I am informed that 21 people have self immolated over the past year, with five immolations in the past week alone. These tragic acts have not only taken place in the region of Tibet proper, but also in counties in the Chinese provinces of Qinghai and Sichuan, where many Tibetans live.

“Instead of investigating the cause of these acts of protest, the Chinese government has cracked down with intolerable brutality. Vast regions have been sealed off, media black-outs imposed, and Police have shot dead at least six Tibetans in Kham county in Sichuan. Despite this merciless repression, thousands of Tibetans continue to challenge the authorities by organizing candle-light vigils, hunger strikes, marches, and peaceful demonstrations with banners calling for a “free Tibet” and the release of all Tibetan political prisoners.

“I was especially moved by the words of Lama Sobha, who self-immolated on January 8th 2012 at his monastery in Golog in the Tibetan area of Amdo, Qinghai. In a moving tape recording made prior to his immolation, he called on Tibetans to unite to protect Tibetan culture, religion and language, and explained the reasons for his immolation: “I am giving away my body as an offering to chase away the darkness, to free all beings from suffering”.

“We Buddhists in Vietnam share this vision with Buddhists in Tibet. Self-immolation is indeed a tragic and extreme act, one that should be avoided at all costs. But there are moments when this ultimate gesture, that of offering one’s body as a torch of Compassion to dissipate darkness and ignorance is the only possible recourse.

“At the height of the Vietnam War in 1963, Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc self-immolated in Saigon to call for reconciliation and peace. His act, filmed by the international media, shook the conscience of the world. Since Vietnam fell under Communist rule in 1975, 22 monks, nuns and lay-Buddhists have self-immolated to appeal for religious freedom in Vietnam, including twelve monks and nuns at the Duoc Su Pagoda in Can Tho on 2 November 1975. Under the fierce censorship of the Communist regime, not one foreign journalist was present to record these events. Their sacrifice was stifled in silence.

“It is therefore with a deep sense of communion and understanding, but also with infinite pain and grief, that I learn of the immolation of such young Buddhist monks and nuns in Tibet, and the escalation of violence by China’s communist regime to prevent the world from hearing their tragic cry. This situation is a challenge to all humanity. I call upon world leaders to take urgent action, demand an end to the violence and press for an independent international investigation into these cases of self-immolation.

“On behalf of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), I pray for all those who have sacrificed their lives, and all those who have suffered repression in these peaceful protests. I wholly support the Tibetan people’s courageous struggle for survival, and share your aspirations for the right to freedom and life. Your suffering is our suffering. Your struggle is our struggle. The Buddhists of Vietnam stand beside you in this non-violent movement for religious freedom and human rights. For without human rights, human beings can never fully and freely exist.

“The UBCV will never forget the numerous appeals made by Your Holiness throughout the 1990s to obtain our release from the communist jails. During these dark days, we did not know of your efforts. Only when I was amnestied from prison in 1998 did I learn from the UBCV’s spokesman in Paris, Vo Van Ai, about your humane and crucial interventions. Today, I am still under house arrest at the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery, after almost three decades under different forms of detention. Yet I am always with you in spirit. You are always in my prayers, and I hope with all my heart and strength that you will succeed in guiding the Tibetan people through these difficult times”.

Yours in the Dharma,
Fifth Supreme Patriarch
Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam
(signature and seal)
Sramana THICH QUANG DO