Tibetan monk to speak of compassion and abuse

Venerable Palden Gyatso spent 33 years in Chinese prison and labor camps

Palden Gyatso

An internationally acclaimed Tibetan monk is coming to Brandeis with his message of forgiveness, awareness and compassion.

The Venerable Palden Gyatso spent 33 years in Chinese prison and labor camps, where he was extensively tortured. After his release in 1993, he fled to Dharamsala in northern India, the Tibetan exile capitol. Since then he has traveled the world speaking against violence and for the cause of human rights in Tibet.

He also has devoted himself to exposing the atrocities committed to maintain the Chinese occupation of Tibet, especially the mistreatment of political prisoners. He has traveled and spoken extensively to people around the world, and has testified before the United Nations and the U.S. Congress about the abuses he had suffered.

His talk at Brandeis will take place Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. in Rapaporte Treasure Hall in the main library complex. It is sponsored by Students for Tibet and the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life.

Palden was born in 1933 and raised in a small village in Tibet.  He became an ordained Buddhist monk at the age of 18 at one of Tibet’s most famous monasteries, Drepung Monastery. Chinese officials arrested him in 1959 during the Tibetan uprising against the Chinese rule.

Palden languished in prison and labor camps for more than three decades, suffering for his religion and his opposition to the occupation. He was exposed to various forms of indoctrination and torture aimed at trying to make him change his ways and accept Chinese communist ideology.

Throughout his imprisonment, Palden resisted the Chinese repression and served as an inspiration to his fellow inmates.

Categories: International Affairs

Return to the BrandeisNOW homepage