THE DALAI LAMA Dalai Lama 880 I believe one should forgive the person or persons who have committed atrocities against oneself and mankind. But this does not necessarily mean one should forget about the atroci ries committed. In fact, one should be aware and remember these experiences so that efforts can be made to check the re- occurrence of such atrocities in the future. I find such an attitude especially helpful in dealing with the Chinese government's stand on the Tibetan people's struggle to regain freedom. Since China's invasion of Tibet in 1949–50, more than 1.2 million Tibetans, one-fifth of the country's pop- 129 EUGENE J. FISHER of nonviolence and compassion. ulation, have lost their lives due to massacre, execution, starva- tion, and suicide. Yet for more than four decades we have strug- gled to keep our cause alive and preserve our Buddhist culture It would be easy to become angry at these tragic events and atrocities. Labeling the Chinese as our enemies, we could self- righteously condemn them for their brutality and dismiss them as unworthy of further thought or consideration. But that is not the Buddhist way. Here I would like to relate a very interesting incident. A few years back, a Tibetan monk who had served about eighteen years in a Chinese prison in Tibet came to see me after his es- cape India. I knew him from my days in Tibet and remem- ber last seeing him in 1959. During the course of that meeting I had asked him what he felt was the biggest threat or danger while he was in prison. I was amazed by his answer. It was ex- traordinary and inspiring. I was expecting him to say something else; instead he said that what he most feared was losing his to compassion for the Chinese. DITH PRAN Simon Wiesenthal's dilemma gets to the core of the issue of forgiveness. Can we as humans forgive people who have caused us such grief? As a witness to and survivor of the Cambodian killing fields, I could never forgive or forget what the top leadership of the Khmer Rouge has done to me, my family, or friends. It's im- possible. I blame the dozen leaders, the brains behind a sadistic 230 PRAN ad of repeatedly cches that nore loyal was a threat to their ideas. My father e authori- speech in hable-he plot, who ordered the deaths of millions of people, including the disabled, children, religious people, the educated, and any one who they thought died of starvation, my three brothers and sister were killed, along with many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Friends I had life and who worked beside me in the fields were my taken away and killed. We lived in constant fear in the labor known all There was no sympathy for us. We were in a cage with camps. - indeed I experiment sit an ode often led d its myr- hy to Jews forgive Etians it is a tigers and there was no way out. All we could do was pray to God. When I talk about not forgiving the dozen leaders of the Khmer Rouge, I include Pol Pot, Khieu Samphan, Leng Sary, and their entourage. They are the ones who had the plan of rid- ding the Khmer population of unwanted elements like people who were unable to work, people with ideas, or anyone who would get in the way of transforming Cambodia into an agrar- ian society. Not only did they kill a massive number of people, but they destroyed all institutions including the family, religion, and education. We had to pledge allegiance only to Angka, the Khmer Rouge politburo. Pulling away from the Khmer Rouge leadership, I can for- give the soldiers of the Khmer Rouge, those who actually did the killing, although I can never forget what they did. Placed in Simon Wiesenthal's position, I would have forgiven the soldier. Why? I have always felt that the soldiers were trapped. Most of them came from the jungle, were uneducated and very poor. They were taught to kill. They were brainwashed. More im- portantly , they were forced to kill. If they didn't follow the or- bers of the Khmer Rouge leadership, not only would they have been killed, but their entire families would have been killed. che issue of have caused dian killing They feared death. adership of nds. It's im- I'm not ada sadistic saying what the soldiers did was right and I'm not
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