When the 'Roof of the World' Starts to Creak
The end of February is the busiest time of year for the Dalai Lama and Tibet. In the calendar of the Chinese-controlled nation, the New Year, or Losar, falls on January 24. But two big questions hang over the celebrations: who will inherit the spiritual leadership of Tibet and will the country ever be free? The story that follows has been gathered from various sources and compiled by Bina Bektiati.
March 6, 2001
It was mid-winter at Tsurphu Monastery in Tibet. On December 28, 15-year-old Ugyen Trinley Dorje quietly slipped out of the cloister of the Kagyu Buddhist sect, 80 kilometers north of the Tibetan capital Lhasa. Together with four close friends, he set off for Dharamsala, India. It was to be a long journey.
After traveling 1,450 kilometers, they reached Nepal using whatever transport they could find and having walked in hilly country to avoid the
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