Human need... Continued from page 1

through a non-profit NGO called Canadian Aid for Southern Sudan.
Although Sudan has a long history of conflict within its borders, the
most recent civil conflicts (1963-1971, and mid 1980s to present)
have displaced hundreds of thousands of Southern Sudanese citizens

to neighbouring countries.

Fortunately, peace agreements and international interventions as
recent as January 2005, have opened the door for some of these peo-
ple to return to their territories. To help victims rebuild their homes
and restore their livelihoods in the Southern Sudanese territory Aweil
East, Canadian Aid for Southern Sudan has set up a sponsorship
program called Abuk’s Herd, wherein sponsors purchase goats at $30
each to be distributed in mating pairs to returning families. College
residents and Senior Fellows raised enough money in a period lead-
ing up to and during the annual Spring Dinner to purchase 66 goats
in total! The Committee continues to remain in contact with Canadian

Aid for Southern Sudan to follow the success of this initiative.

For more information about the Vancouver and Southern Sudan

projects, please visit:

www.lookoutsociety.bc.ca/
www.share-international.org/archives/homelessness/hl-ch_Canada.htm

www.web.net/cass/abuk-herd.htm

How to be involved

Members of the Outreach Committee meet monthly to brainstorm
ideas and plan events that will connect St. John’s College with the
opportunities in our extended communities. We benefit greatly from
the wealth of enthusiasm and knowledge College members contribute
with their diverse educational and life experiences. Junior Fellows can
join the Committee at any time. Residents arriving this summer and
fall will be introduced to the Committee at the annual SJC Clubs Night
in September. Senior Fellows and Alumni are also encouraged to

be involved and can be added to an e-mail list to receive information

about Committee activities.

Acknowledgements

The Outreach Committee wishes to thank fellow residents, Senior
Fellows and the St. John’s College office staff for their encouragement
and support over the past year. We look forward to continued involve-

ment in our communities with your help next year.

Outreach Committee Members:

Donna Dykeman, Yvonne Gillespie, Stephen Ney, Rami Tabri, Helen
Hoang, Timothy Came, Cynthia Xu, Navjot Singh, David Yeager, Grace
Wang, Jessica Raposo, Caroline Szram, Tara Barnett, Farshid
Agharebparast, Blanca Torres-Olave, Gorsharn Toor, Laura Estrada

Alvarez, Ana-Maria Blanaru.

An insider’s eye to Tibet

Distinguished Lecturer Tendzin Choegyal shares insights on a world in exile

By: David Luesink, SJC Junior Fellow

Tibetan exile and Buddhist
thinker, Tendzin Choegyal, spent
three weeks at St. John’s
College in February and March

When | asked TC (as he prefers
to be called) what he felt the
main message the Tibetan gov-
ernment-in-exile wanted the
world to hear was, he answered
in his characteristically brief man-

as part of the ongoing activities of
the Centre of Tibetan Studies.
Recognized as the 15th Ngari
Rinpoche, Tendzin Choegyal is the

ner, “All is not well in Tibet.”

With this kind of simple, yet
insightful reply, TC did much to
raise awareness about his

youngest brother of the Dalai
Lama. He enjoyed interacting with
St. John’s residents over breakfasts,

. homeland. Interestingly, the con-
and in other informal situations By
_ sensus among Tibetans attending
around the College, and his visit
his seminar at the College was
here attracted many scholars and ec _
ae | at the Chinese government is
individuals interested in Tibet. ae 6 : bee
on a campaign to counter wha
And although the closest I’ve been Bae -
a they see as the growing influence
to Tibet is the Lama Temple in
o of his Holiness the Dalai Lama
Beijing, | had the pleasure
. and the Tibetan government-in-
of interviewing Tendzin before he

left. What follows is a summation
of the insights he shared during
that experience as well as vignettes

exile. TC, however, warned
against the distorted message
some young people in the

West may be taking from popular
from a number of more informal 2 2 Be
. media figures—counter to
conversations over the course of his

Deiat ihe @ollce popular belief, the message is

not anti-China, but anti-suppres-
sion. It holds true that if the

Chinese want to claim that
Tibetans are brothers, they must
learn to treat them that way. TC
wants an end to not only oppres-
sion for Tibetans, but also for
other minorities and even for the
majority of Han Chinese who

are not free.

TC also elaborated on Tibetan
Buddhism, Tibet’s legacy to

the world. He believes that
Buddhism will have a continuing

place in the world as our under- International Dinner.

standing of it shifts from a
religion to a Spirituality, philoso-

something that we create. In
reflecting upon that, | thought
of the Lama Temple | visited in
Beijing. It was created hundreds
of years ago by the Manchu

phy, or way of life, and that it
will be studied more under the
rubric of psychology.
emperors, patrons of Tibetan
Buddhism, and has an empty
throne clearly labeled for the
Dalai Lama. Perhaps it is not
only Tibet where all is not well.

When a seminar participant

asked what the legacy of

the Dalai Lama will be in ten

years, TC again answered simply,
“He'll be eighty years old.”

He added, however, that the

Dalai Lama’s legacy is subjective,

Tendzin Choegyal addresses guests at the annual SJC