Communism or Democracy? To the Tibetan Leadership, It’s Merely A Question Of Money




By: Shashi Kei

Declassified US Dept Cables showing that the Dalai Lama was ready to embrace Communism had the US failed to meet his conditions for financial aid. Click to enlarge.

There are clear signs that world leaders are losing interest in the Tibetan struggle. For over half a century, it captured the world’s imagination and presented itself as an opportunity for the global community to make a stand for what is right and noble. In any public dialogue, both the Dalai Lama and the Sikyong (President) of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA, based in Dharamsala, India) refer to themselves as guardians of the Buddha’s teachings and portray the Chinese Government as a force that seeks to destroy the Buddhadharma. When asked how the Tibetan leadership intends to deal with China’s rising power, the CTA Sikyong Lobsang Sangay likes to say that Communism is only 100 years old whereas Buddhism is 2500 years old. The inference is clear: the Tibetan leadership has claimed to be synonymic with the religion of Buddhism. And yet, recently declassified US State Department documents reveal that the Dalai Lama is not beholden to any particular ideology apart from what serves him personally, and will lean towards any system or power base that could help him regain his fiefdom.

The Dalai Lama it seems was just as open to his government becoming a part of the Communist bloc had the Americans not agreed to his demands for funding. This came through clearly in a 1969 US Department of State communiqué, which reported a discussion between a US official and Lodi Gyari, who represented the Dalai Lama. The Tibetans were negotiating with the US for financial assistance but at the same time, they were entertaining overtures made by the Soviet Union.

The communiqué read:

“It will be recalled that during a public lecture at the Indian School of International Studies given in October, the Dalai Lama emphasized that he did not oppose communism, or for that matter ‘isms’ in particular. He [Lodi Gyari on behalf of the Dalai Lama] declared that an independent Tibet could have a communist government or any other form supported by the majority of the people”.

In short, the Dalai Lama was making it clear that if the US did not acquiesce to the Tibetan leadership’s demands, he would not hesitate to turn to Moscow for help and willingly embrace Communist principles.

Indeed, the Dalai Lama has never denied his admiration for Marxist and Communist thoughts and codes of governance. On a number of occasions, he has openly criticized Capitalism, which lies at the heart of democratic systems.

In a 2009 interview, the Dalai Lama was quoted as saying, “Communists care most about equality and the rights of the destitute” i.

At a lecture in Kolkata entitled ‘A Human Approach to World Peace’, the Dalai Lama clearly stated his preference for Marxist theories, claiming that Capitalism creates socio-economic inequality. He said, “As far as socioeconomic theory, I am Marxist”. The Tibetan spiritual leader partly blamed Capitalism for inequality and said he regarded Marxism as the answer: “In capitalist countries, there is an increasing gap between the rich and the poor. In Marxism, there is emphasis on equal distribution.” ii

Ironically, one of the crudest displays of social and economic inequality was the feudal system that characterized the reign of the Tibetan spiritual monarchs before Chinese troops marched into Tibet in 1959, forcing the 14th Dalai Lama to flee. It is suspicious that the Tibetan leaders only began to display concern for the emancipation of subjugated groups after the ruling class lost its feudalistic control over the people and had to turn to Western liberal nations for support. Their embrace of liberal and democratic values might perhaps be merely a means to an end.

The Tibetan leaders’ campaign would not have gotten far had the Sino-Tibetan conflict been framed correctly as a tussle between a feudal theocracy and a Communist regime over who has authority to oppress the Tibetan people. Sikyong Lobsang Sangay was right about one thing – if Communism is a repressive system, then its draconian laws have been felt for only 100 years. The tyranny of the Tibetan ruling elite that the Dalai Lama belongs to on the other hand has trodden on the Tibetan people for centuries.

However, it was not only Communist and Marxist principles to which the Dalai Lama was drawn. The Tibetan leader also personally admired Mao Zedong. In 1954, the Dalai Lama authored a poem to the Communist leader referring to him as a “cakravarti (universal monarch) born out of boundless fine merits” iii. In essence, the Dalai Lama regarded Mao as the secular counterpart of a Buddha, which is extremely high praise indeed.

The Dalai Lama’s poem to Mao Zedong praising him for ‘liberating’ Tibet.
Click to enlarge.

In sharp contrast, Western nations on which the Dalai Lama has depended for the survival of the Tibetan cause for the past 60 years and whom the Dalai Lama today refers to as friends and allies, were adjudged in the same poem as, “Our foe, the blood-thirsty imperialists, are poisonous snakes, and messengers of the devil furtively crawling”. Some observers may insist that the Dalai Lama was under duress when he wrote the poem praising Mao. However, this places the Dalai Lama at risk of being accused of having no particular loyalties, and as someone that would bend whichever way suits his purpose.

While there is no question that Buddhism has been an inextricable part of Tibetan culture, it is also indisputable that religion has been leveraged for centuries as a tool to keep the ruling elite in power. Before the 1959 Chinese invasion of Tibet that led to the Dalai Lama’s escape to India, Tibet was a feudal theocracy where the majority of its people languished in serfdom and slavery. The tool of that oppression was none other than Buddhism or, more accurately, Buddhism as wielded by the Tibetan ruling class, at the top of which was the Dalai Lama himself. The political author Michael Parenti wrote in his 2003 essay “Friendly Feudalism: The Tibet Myth” that:


The Tibetan serfs were something more than superstitious victims, blind to their own oppression. As we have seen, some ran away; others openly resisted, sometimes suffering dire consequences. In feudal Tibet, torture and mutilation — including eye gouging, the pulling out of tongues, hamstringing, and amputation — were favored punishments inflicted upon thieves, and runaway or resistant serfs.

The Dalai Lama admired Mao Zedong and regarded the architect of the disastrous Cultural Revolution, as a father.

The Dalai Lama’s Tibet was surely not the Shangrila that the West has fantasized.

Convincing the world that the Sino-Tibetan conflict is a battle between Buddhism represented by the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people, and Communism, as represented by the Chinese government, has been a supremely deft maneuver by the Tibetan leadership. It glosses over the Tibetan people’s brutally forced servitude under the country’s leadership; it sidesteps the fact that there is not a single true liberal element in the CTA’s governance behind its façade of democracy (the CTA remains a single-party government that does not tolerate opposition and the Dalai Lama’s word is still arbitrary law that overrides even the Tibetan Constitution); and it ignores the fact that the Tibetan leadership uses Buddhism as a weapon much the same way that medieval Popes wielded Christianity to enforce the supremacy of spiritual authority over temporal power and even the law. The religious apartheid that the Dalai Lama and CTA imposed on Dorje Shugden Buddhists is one apt example.

In truth, the Dalai Lama and his government are neither duty nor honor-bound to Buddhism, neither to Capitalism nor indeed to Democracy, Marxism and Socialism. Neither are they loyal to the principles of Communism or any other “ism”. The only thing that steers the Tibetan leadership is whatever opportunity they can muster to keep mesmerizing the world populace and keep the Dalai Lama and Lobsang Sangay in power. And herein lies the paradox and one of the biggest miscalculations by the people of the Western liberal world. In their zest to oppose Communism, they have provided all the necessary means and justifications for the latest ruler from a line of theocrats to remain in power.

In fact, in the modern-day scenario, there is little significant difference between a Marxist-Communist regime and a Capitalist-Democratic government that justifies the condemnation of China. The Communist government is shaped by Party ideology while the interests of big corporates steer policies of the so-called Democratic government. In both cases, it is not the interests of the people that are served primarily.

Nevertheless, both Communism and Democracy have certain built-in checks and balances. The Communist leader is accountable to his Party. The head of the Democratic nation has to be watchful of Opposition parties who act as watchdogs making sure that the government does not stray too much out of line.

The Dalai Lama, on the other hand, has no such encumbrances. No other leader of State today comes close to wielding the same amount of whimsical power over his people as the Dalai Lama does. Yet the lord of what was a very brutal regime has somehow bewitched the world into regarding him as the personification of peace and morality. Since 1959 when the Dalai Lama burst into the world scene, there have been 12 different US Presidents, 5 changes of guard in the now-defunct Soviet Union followed by 2 different Russian Presidents, 15 Indian Prime Ministers and even China has seen 6 changes to its ‘absolute leadership’ in that period. And all that time, the Dalai Lama has remained in power unelected, unchallenged and unaccountable. Having successfully sold the world the idea that he is the merely a “simple Buddhist monk” who is the supreme sentinel of Shangrila, he continues to rule with an iron fist of an autocrat. Publicly, this immense and hard power is cloaked by the soft image of Buddhism. The reality is somewhat different.

Tibetan Buddhism lies severely fractured today courtesy of a series of conflicts instigated by the Dalai Lama to keep the Tibetan people divided and throw their attention away from the failure of his governance. The Two Karmapa Controversy and the Dorje Shugden Conflict are two that continue to ravage the fabric of Tibetan Buddhist communities worldwide. The Dalai Lama likes to quote the Buddha’s teachings that state among other things that nothing is permanent. This sadly is true, especially of his allegiance and steadfastness to any political ideology, system, philosophy and movement apart from his own.



  • i.
  • ii.
  • iii.
Please support this website by making a donation.
Your contribution goes towards supporting
our work to spread Dorje Shugden across the world.
Share this article
28 total comments on this postSubmit yours
  1. If it is about money, then the Tibetan Leader is not very smart to make the transition switch from US to China. China is now the top in the world, economically and politically. And they have been generous too. Instead, CTA has continued to irk China with their rhetorics on the historical mistreatment and not see the positive salient points of China. Anyway, now their own people are seeing the truth to their leaders’ lies. I have heard that some Sakya monks in Nepal have been visiting Dorje Shugden related websites diligently, learning the truths on the Dorje Shugden issue and to learn about the real Dharma topics too. CTA certainly has no control whatsoever over their people and more will do the same too. CTA’s words will no longer be trusted and they will lose power over their people. Shame how their discriminating policies divide their people instead of uniting. Karma does work.

  2. I believe CTA knows well enough that they should be friend with China. What pulls them back are money and power. They know the reason US keep giving them financial support is to irk China. If they befriending China, the US will withdraw their support but China won’t give them money that can go directly into their pocket. And even if China allows them to go back Tibet, they would not want that as the CTA will lose their power as there’s no point for them to exist anymore. Tibet Autonomous Region has had its own political system which is decided by China. CTA definitely doesn’t want that, therefore it’s very easy to tell why they always contradicting themselves on Tibet issue.

    • I think what you mentioned is right. I agree. The very reason CTA does not pull out from USA support is because they actually know they have nowhere to go, not going back Tibet is the issue of face and power, of course the biggest concern is they can’t line their pocket with sponsor’s money anymore, they can’t organise campaign to raise fund as they have no reasons. No more self-immolation once they go back cos there is not reasons to burn themselves anymore LOL..well, going back to China/Tibet does not benefit their pocket. That’s it. Might as well be in exile, at least they have more freedom to do what they want. Sangay can go round to smooch for more money and maybe (woman)? ooopss….

  3. I agree with the author that it is a question of money. Indeed more generally, it is a question of survival of both the peoples and the Dharma.

    All over the world, the system or type of collective organization of society, or as Marx would define as “the varied ways that human beings collectively produce the means of subsistence in order to survive and enhance social being”, would have very generally followed, in order of development – agrarian, feudal, post-feudal (capitalist, socialist, constitutional monarchy, etc.)

    Clearly Tibet was, right until the Dalai Lama fled, a feudal or autocratic society. As the head decision-maker or authority of this society, wouldn’t the Dalai Lama have naturally hedged his support for both the Western capitalists or mercantalists, and the socialists? His nation was clearly in a bad situation, just like many other nations at this time, for being relatively far “behind” in terms of economic and military development, both of which are not mutually exclusive. So to pin him for “playing both sides” isn’t fair.

    This is of course separate from the Dalai Lama’s religious principles which arguably find better fit with socialist or Marxist ideologies rather than capitalist, the latter which as we know very well today, feed greed, stinginess, and the pursuit of self interest.

    To me, it is brilliant that we have today 2 Panchen Lamas, 2 Karmapas and Buddha knows how many Dalai Lamas in the future. After all, as long as these doubles turn the wheel of dharma and their “followers” for the lack of a better word, have faith and gain from it, the battle against the Maras is won.

    The Dalai Lama has come full circle when he clearly acknowledged that there were 2 Karmapas and Panchen Lamas. I believe the same will happen when the ban against Dorje Shugden practice dissolves. Then the brilliance of the enlightened would be fully appreciated.

  4. Everything boil back to money and power. Why we see all the 2 Karmapa and Panchen Lama is the same reason but unfortunately, the Dalai Lama doesn’t gain anything out it. Which system CTA going to implement it will not attract anyone anymore because nobody really bothered. Everyone is focusing on their relationship with China and will not take any risk for Tibetans.

    Tibetan would just need to work out and meet the Chinese and talk over te condition from them to go back Tibet.

    • It’s strange how the CTA can live in their own world for so long without looking at the global trend now. They have nothing as basis to go against China, yet they still do it, they even go against the Dalai Lama’s will of going back to Tibet. It’s very obvious that they are trying to please the US to get more money. I can’t think of other logical reason that this one.

  5. It’s so sad to see how Tibetans have become so greedy. Everything about Tibetans now is related to money and corruption. Where is the value of Buddhism? It really bring a very bad image to Buddhism since the whole world will automatically relate Tibetans with Buddhism. What it shows to the world is in front of money and materialism, Buddhism is not effective. Very bad.

  6. There is no democracy in the CTA. They claimed to be democratic but in reality, they are not. For centuries, the CTA has been using His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s name to control and suppress other parties. Many innocent people lost their lives and their possession to ruthless CTA just because they are a potential threat to their power.

    A famous example will be the assassination of Tulku Drakpa Gyelsen by the 5th Dalai Lama’s assistant. Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen is just a simple monk but he had a lot of followers due to his extraordinary abilities and teachings. Hence, he was targetted and assassinated to remove his threat to the newly formed government.

    This has been the modus operandi for CTA over the hundreds of years when they are in power. Even until now, they are still doing it with the Dorje Shugden ban when thousands of monks and laypeople are being suppressed to serve CTA’s selfish purpose which is to divide and conquer the Tibetan community.

  7. The Tibetans had the greatest product that took the world by storm when they arrived in India….the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism. The mysticism really sold the world when it was needing the compassion and kindness represented. Donations poured in as redemption and fulfillment of the world’s ideals. Also, there are governmental factors that used the Tibetan refugees as a weapon against China. Whatever it may be, the Tibetans were the darlings and gained so much monetary support. Yet, a division is created to split, not only the Tibetans but also worldwide Tibetan practitioners. The inference that authentic Dorje Shugden is evil had created discrimination, segregation, and persecution. Abuses grew where Tibetans in refugee camps who practiced, could not get their daily necessities from shops. Families, friends and colleagues are divided. All due the Tibetan Leaders using the ban on Dorje Shugden practice as a distraction away from their failures in promises made. In the ban, the Tibetan Leaders killed the “golden goose” as people started to doubt and stay away. Guess what? China is the darling now. Every country leaders wish to work with her and to be in her good books, they shun the Dalai Lama and CTA. Even with the Dalai Lama declaring his wish to return to Tibet under China’s rule, Lobsang Sangay is too entrenched in dependency on Western support that he defeats the Dalai Lama’s wish. Loving money, they should really lift the ban on Dorje Shugden and regain the good reputation of the lineage practices, which in turn will promote the image of Tibetans worldwide,

  8. Everyone knows CTA is greed of money and power. Reason behind of this because there is no potential leader to lead this so-call “government” and due to CTA power maniac, criminals of murder, harassment, corruption are being whitewash under their care. What sort of organisation is this, without any care and protection over innocence victims? CTA have disgrace the name of Tibet.

  9. Religions had been and are being used to control people. Whether it is the belief of a creator god, a reincarnation or an emanation of a god. I do not think there is a creator god, I think the word god was created by some people to rule over others. People, out of fear, believe this and surrender to the power that some leaders hold over them. I think there is no difference between the Dalai Lama and the rest of the spiritual leaders. 

  10. One word to describe the CTA which is HOPELESS. There is nothing much they can do unless they befriend and go back to China. Otherwise it is almost end of the road for them.

  11. Cta definitely communists!! They control TIE and make people cause harm to anyone oppose them. They don’t care what you think coz they think they are leader for all tibetan Buddhist practitioners especially when it comes to Dorje Shugden practitioners. They put photos and names of ppl on website who oppose their way. So how can you not call them communists. 😠

  12. I wonder on this stage, even CTA friendly with China, China may not even help them. China rather no want tibet in exile have any power speaking term with China becauce CTA still get support from international. This has show how bad CTA situation now and they have to have get suppor from America all the time.

  13. Be it Communism or Democracy, at least their government take care of their people. Unlike CTA, only care about money. If CTA can turn to Russia for donation, why don’t The Dalai Lama go back to China so that they don’t need to look for donation anymore? Does that mean that the donation is for CTA personal purpose? Here I mean for the purpose of their pocket.

  14. Tibetan government in exile is a very good example on using religion very effectively for their personal gain. They use religion to tell Tibetans what they can do and can not do and how they should think. When they are failed to achieve their goals after 60 years, they blame the dorje shugden protector who cause their failure. The reality is the ban of dorje shugden has proven that created disunity and disharmony among the Tibetans, this shows how irresponsible of the Tibetan government in exile.

  15. With CTA it’s always consistent, which is actually money. The administration is so corrupt and it’s all over the internet and of course from this site too. CTA wants to continue to break the Tibetans by laying false claims about Dorje Shugden. It’s really terrible.

  16. Stop damaging Tibetan Buddhism before it’s too late..😔
    Think & examine whatever instruction from the supposing my called “gurus”. It’s for selfish purpose or benefiting all sentient beings.


  17. To tell the truth, if it’s not because of Tibetan Buddhism and the curiosity to understand more about the bodhisattva’s act ie how the Dalai Lama handling the worldly affair, I will not be interested in reading up all the rubbish news about the CTA. What they are doing is nothing special other than a showcase of human’s greed. Why we want to spend so much time talking about them? Who they think they are? What have they contributed to the world? Why until today they still rely on the world to feed them while the only thing they do is to create problem?

  18. I wonder who will believe the CTA as Lobsang is only interested in the benefit they can get from their supporters.

    Tibetans should be in China and protect their culture and traditions. But instead the Tibetans travel the world and look for supporters and money.

    Where are the Tibetans? Can they live a good life under the CTA? They don’t even have basic human rights as the Tibetans cannot choose freely their religion. Dorje Shugden practitioners have to suffer so much, are exempted of health care, education and work opportunities.

    • The CTA has no long term plan for Tibetans. Look at what they did recently about the Hong Kong protest, it’s none of their business, especially when they are still “refugees” in India, they should at least respect India-China relationship, not creating more problems for India. However they just ignore this and organize a protest against China within India. Do they ever think about the possible consequences?

  19. The CTA is not a democratic body and they are certainly not open for suggestions. They are actually a dictatorship body that only listens to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. No one can ever challenge their authority and those who actually did ended up in a horrible state.

    A famous example will be Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen who was a very famous lama around the 5th Dalai Lama’s time. Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen was a very popular lama back then and his fame even surpassed the 5th Dalai Lama by a little. With jealousy, the 5th Dalai Lama’s attendant assassinated this famous lama and confiscated his whole Ladrang.

    This will not happen in a democratic country where everyone respects each other’s rights. The CTA is still using the same modus operandi even until now. Dorje Shugden ban is discrimination against religion and it breaches the constitution of democracy. Hence, CTA is not a democratic body like how they like to be portrayed as.

  20. Whatever CTA does is unreliable and they can change their statements anytime they want. Just like His Holiness Dalai Lama’s secretary that retracted a video of him talking about the Dorje Shugden ban.

    The actions of Dalai Lama’s secretary is a statement itself. It shows that he regretted on releasing that statement. So does it mean that whatever he said in that video is not true? So can we trust whatever that has been said by the other Dalai lama’s people now? Will the others retract back what they said like how this secretary did?

    This creates a huge doubt in the Dorje Shugden ban because if what he said was true, why is he retracting his statements now? This does not make any sense. If His Holiness’s secretary can change his statement anytime he wants, then I wonder if whatever His Holiness’s people say is credible which includes the Dorje Shugden ban as well.

  21. The Tibetan government are incredibly sneaky. They portrayed themselves to be a democratic body outwardly to earn the sympathy and support of the democratic countries in the west. Those are the countries that supported them blindly without finding out how they have been using the funds.

    If the Dalai Lama is the leader of the community, how is it ever possible for the Tibetan community to be democratic? How can they practice democracy when the Dalai Lama has absolute power and what he says equals to the law?

    Anyone who disagrees with the Dalai Lama will be labelled as a traitor and a spy from China. How is that democratic when no one will be given a chance to be different, and only one person has all the power? Hence, CTA is not a democratic body and never will be as long as His Holiness the Dalai Lama is in control.

  22. It is ridiculous to blame the failure of free Tibet movement Dorje Shugden. To make something a success, we have to work hard.We cannot make a deity work for us. Cause and effect, if there is no action, how is there going to be a result?

    The failure of the free Tibet movement is caused by none other than the CTA. The CTA had 60 years to work on the freedom of Tibet but instead of working hard for the benefit of the Tibetans, the CTA use the Tibet issue to get monetary donations from the west.

    For 60 years, the Tibetans didn’t have to work hard for money. The CTA victimise themselves so they have a case to ask for sympathy from the west. They didn’t bother to improve the situation of the Tibetans. They prefer all Tibetans to stay as refugees. At the end of the day, it is the money that is more important than the future and the welfare of the Tibetans.

  23. There is no democracy under the leadership of the CTA. The CTA likes to say they are a democratic government and China is a communist government that uses violence to suppress the Tibetans. In fact, the CTA is worse. As a so-called democratic government, the CTA is worse because they don’t allow basic religious right to Dorje Shugden practitioners.

    Everyone should have religious freedom, to have the right to their belief as long their belief does not cause security issue to the society. Dorje Shugden has been practised for almost 400 years and it has never been an issue, why all of the sudden Dorje Shugden become a trouble maker? People are not only discouraged from practising it, if they continue to do so, they are segregated from the Tibetan community. Their basic rights as Tibetans are taken away.

    For people who insist to continue with Dorje Shugden practice, they are not allowed to work in any government department, they are not allowed to use public facilities such as hospitals. Children of Dorje Shugden practitioners are bullied in schools and sometimes lives of Dorje Shugden practitioners are threatened. Is CTA a real democratic government?

  24. There is no democracy in CTA. People who go against the CTA will be penalised. For examples, Penpa Tsering and Dorje Shugden practitioners. Penpa Tsering was questioning the CTA and Lobsang Sangay, what happened next was Penpa Tsering was sacked without given any good reasoning.

    Dorje Shugden followers are seen as rebels because they continue to practise the faith that is banned by the CTA. To punish these people, the CTA disallows Dorje Shugden practitioners to attend any public events of the Dalai Lama even if it is a secular talk. The CTA also released a name list of Dorje Shugden followers to encourage Tibetans to attack these followers.

    How democratic is the CTA to allow such discrimination to happen in the Tibetan community? We are now in the 21st century but the CTA is still so backward. It is no wonder they can never free Tibet.

  25. CTA is not a democratic country. They will never be if they have His Holiness the Dalai Lama to be the dictator and whatever he says is the rules and no one can have a different opinion. That is not how a democratic country should be.

    Another evidence of CTA not behaving like a democratic country is the Dorje Shugden ban. Democratic values human rights and the freedom to make choices. Dorje Shugden ban violates the basic human right which is religious freedom.

    If they want other people to accept them as a democratic country, they have to change the above and give freedom to their own people and not discriminate them on any reasons.

Submit your comment

Please enter your name

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter your message

Show More
Show More


Maximum size is 64MB

Contemplate This



© 2019 | All Rights Reserved
Total views:8,994,360