Interview with Geshe Sonam Thargye by Margaret Hassett

"Geshe Sonam Thargye is the resident teacher and spiritual director of the Drol Kar Buddhist Centre in Geelong. Geshe Sonam has been in Australia since the beginning of June 1998. He was born in Kham, an eastern province of Tibet, where he entered the monastery at the age of seven. He fled Tibet in 1980 at the age of eighteen, and went to study at the great Sera Je monastery in southern India. There, in 1994, Geshe Sonam gained his Lharampa Geshe degree and the following year he returned to Tibet where he taught for eighteen months before coming to Geelong in 1998. Geshe Sonam has also established the 'Nying-Je Schools for Eastern Tibet Trust Fund' to build schools which provide Tibetan education for students in that region. Another of Geshe Sonam's projects is a program to sponsor a number of monks studying at Sera Je Monastery in southern India.

In September 1999 during a visit to India, Tibetan Buddhist monk and teacher, Geshe Sonam Thargye, issued a personal invitation to His Holiness to visit Australia. His Holiness accepted this invitation. The exact timing of this visit was finalised earlier this year. His Holiness' visit to Geelong in regional Australia was a significant feature of his 2002 Australian tour.

Margaret Hassett: How and when did you conceive of the idea of inviting His Holiness to Australia?

Geshe-la: I realised that many Australian people were connected to him and therefore really interested in his teachings. Also, it is difficult for many people to go to India, sometimes because of financial reasons and other times because of the health problems there, so I thought it would be good to invite him to come to Australia instead. The second reason is because I believe that he is a great peace-maker and peace-promoter and there are lots of young people in Australia who are very interested in peace. I thought it would be inspiring for them and would promote peace. The third reason was for Tibetan politics. I wanted to show people what His Holiness' qualities are in contrast to the Chinese propaganda about him and to show how many people respect him. They are the main reasons why I asked His Holiness to come here.

MH: Were you surprised when His Holiness accepted your invitation?

Geshe-la: I was really surprised, because I am not a special person. Maybe he thinks my devotion is pure, that my intention was not for financial reasons or anything. Also, I am very close to him. He is my root Guru. He ordained me as a fully ordained monk. He is the kindest teacher. He gave me my vows, initiations and the oral lineage. He is my kindest teacher and he is a very trustworthy person. Therefore, I am a very lucky person and was very pleased that he accepted.

MH: Were you pleased with His Holiness' visit?

Geshe-la: I was very pleased with the public side of his visit. I want to thank the Australian people very much. They were very supportive and interested. That side of things I was totally satisfied with. The western political side of the national organisation was difficult for me, but I survived! I am now very experienced in western politics.

MH: Would you do it again, Geshe-la?

Geshe-la: Yes, I would. His Holiness' secretary told me that I should organise it again. If I organise it again, I now have the experience to know who is the right person or the wrong person to be involved, I now roughly understand. Mainly someone who is not a power hungry person.

MH: What did it mean to you that His Holiness came to Geelong?

Geshe-la: That is a long story. In the Tibetan tradition, the initiator is the person who is in charge, the organiser. Since I was the initiator and live in Geelong, I asked the Board for permission for His Holiness to come to Geelong to visit my centre. The Board did not understand the significance of my position and so the Board members did not accept this request. They were concerned about His Holiness visiting one centre and not another. They did not understand the Tibetan culture. Because I live in Australia, I had to follow western culture. I did explain that it was a little different to other centres, because I was the initiator. Anyway, when I was in India, I asked His Holiness to come to Geelong and he said, 'Yes, you are initiator, therefore I will come to your place.' Also, while in India, I asked His Holiness to come to the Science Conference in Canberra, and he accepted. So, I was very happy.

MH: What impact do you think His Holiness' visit has had on Australia?

Geshe-la: His Holiness said he was totally happy with the public side. Many people were interested in peace. He said his purpose in coming here was to promote peace, not Buddhism, therefore he was happy. Therefore, I was very happy. It does not matter about the politics, because the public side was very good.

MH: Were you disappointed by the Australian Commonwealth Government's response to His Holiness' visit?

B Not really, no. I think the Australian Government is not interested in public ideas. If the public is not interested in His Holiness, then the Government thinks 'OK,' but if the public is interested in His Holiness' message, I believe that the government is indirectly that way too. Maybe some politicians were a little bit concerned about the money and international things and were therefore not interested in the public side of His Holiness' visit, but only indirectly interested. They were happy for His Holiness to visit. Eighty percent showed their public side, but twenty percent were looking at their seat, thinking about which side to take. The Geelong Mayor is fantastic and Premier Bracks was very good. I think I am really satisfied with that. I am very happy.

MH: Is there anything else you would like to say about the visit?

Geshe-la: Not much! My personality is different to other people's. I do not care about people becoming Buddhists. My main concern is that you try to understand the nature of your mind and understand that happiness is in your hands, not outside them, not in somebody else's hand. This I am interested in introducing. Buddha came to this earth and taught. He didn't try to make everyone Buddhist. His Holiness is a great lama and he did not try to make people Buddhists. I am not interested in doing that either. If people are interested, I will teach them.

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