Comments on: Lama drama as the â€˜Chosen One’ chooses freedom

By: Buddhist Background of Virginia Democratic Electorial Candidate « Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 09:45:47 +0000

[...] supposed reincartion of Lama Thubten Yeshe, a young Spanish man named Osel Hita Torres, apparently rejected hisÂ monastic destiny, complaining of a blighted childhood. Back in in the eighteenth century [...]

By: Buddhist Background of Virginia Democratic Electoral Candidate « Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 09:42:32 +0000

[...] supposed reincartion of Lama Thubten Yeshe, a young Spanish man named Osel Hita Torres, apparently rejected hisÂ monastic destiny, complaining of a blighted childhood. And back in in the eighteenth century, [...]

By: Buddhst Background of Virginia Democratic Electoral Candidate « Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 09:41:23 +0000

By: Canterbury Atheist

Canterbury Atheist — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:17:28 +0000

The Spanish Football Premier League, is known as the La Liga.

In view of the subject matter, I have re-named ‘The Osel Hita Torres Spanish League-Table’, as ‘The La Liquor’ or ‘La Lick-Her’

Currently The La Liquor/La Lick-Her 'Table' reads:

1st ; Pussy
2nd: Beer and hard liquor
3rd: Football
4th: Being a living-God to millions of devotees

See ya.

Paul.

By: Tsu Dho Nimh

Tsu Dho Nimh — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:57:42 +0000

I saw Osel several times in passing at a Buddhist conference in the USA when he was about 8 … a cute kid and apparently having fun. One time he was playing a pick-up soccer game with some monks and a couple of the Dalai Lama’s secret service guards. He was reading something that looked a lot like a comic book during one of the lectures, and sound asleep leaning on another monk during another lecture.

There is a precedent for his decision: one of the Dalai Lama incarnations handed in his robes, moved out of the monastery and had wives and children. He was still considered to be the Dalai Lama, just not a very religious one.

By: Mr Gronk

Mr Gronk — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:10:39 +0000

To his credit, the Dalai Lama acknowledges that an independent Tibet would have to embrace progress. Reading between the lines in some interviews, I get the impression he probably thinks much of his religion is a crock. But I guess when you've got millions of oppressed countrymen and not a few braindead Hollywood muppets looking to you for guidance you've got to play along.

By: captainjjb

captainjjb — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:33:33 +0000

can someone explain HOW a 5 month old kid gets chosen? Do his parents have to be into the faith? Maybe it's the same "Holy Spirit" that helps the cardinals choose the Pope!

By: William Harwood

William Harwood — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:44:06 +0000

Let me draw attention to Christopher Hitchens' "god Is Not Great". He wrote (p. 200), "The first foreign visitors to Tibet were downright appalled at the feudal domination, and hideous punishments, that kept the populace in permanent serfdom to a parasitic monastic elite." As I wrote in my review (What To Believe, p. 239), "And while Hitchens stops short of justifying China's annexation of Tibet, he makes clear that China merely replaced one totalitarian tyranny with another, and in many ways lesser, tyranny."

By: mike

mike — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:41:44 +0000

I am currently in Spain and have read the original report in "El Mundo".

Some English language extracts on the Web (such as the article directly above) either imply or claim that Mr Torres "has completely renounced his former association with the Foundation..", but that is not the impression I got from the "El Mundo" original. Mr Torres seems to have promised to his lama (Zopa) to one day return to the Buddhist fold.

I am not certain on this point because my Spanish is not good, but since I have a keen interest in this subject I hope a complete English translation will be made available, or at least that people with more insight will comment here.

We need more news like this. Westerners, disillusioned with "their own" religious institutions, often turn to Buddhism, thinking that it is purer and that its institutions are not corrupt. But Tibetan Buddhism has its own skeletons in the closet, past and present, and ironically, quite similar to the monstrosities committed by the Christian church(es).

The main reason most Westerners have no clue is because the mainstream media deliberately hush up anti-Dalai news. But search beyond the Dalai Lama–Richard Gere glitz and you are likely to very soon discover absolutely appalling facts about Tibetan Buddhism. I do not wish to mention anything specifically, but it is enough to pay attention to little details and they will soon take you to the larger picture…

Little details such as this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osel_Hita_Torres

"In May of 2009, Hita gave an interview for the Spanish newspaper El Mundo … Extracts appeared the following day in the The Guardian (UK). At this time, references to "Lama Osel" suddenly disappeared from the FPMT's website. [3] [4]

[However, the removed pages are still available in the Google cache:]

Google cache Osel Birth http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/o.....&am... target=”_blank”>http://209.85.129.132/search?q.....zwJ…” target=”_blank”>http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/o.....&am...

google cache Teachers Osel http://www.fpmt.org/Teachers/O.....&am... target=”_blank”>http://209.85.129.132/search?q.....d4J…” target=”_blank”>http://www.fpmt.org/Teachers/O.....&am...

(Bravo, Wikipedia, god job!)

—

Again, if anyone spots a complete English translation of the El Mundo report please let us know…

By: remigius

remigius — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:20:43 +0000

He may be unfamiliar with disco's but he should have no problems ordering a pizza…

Make me one with everything!