[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 84 (Monday, June 26, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S6490]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO PALDEN GYATSO

 Mr. DAYTON. Mr. President today, in honor of the International 
Day in Support of Victims of Torture, one of my Minnesota constituents, 
Michael Pittman, has asked that I recognize Tibetan monk Palden Gyatso.
  Palden Gyatso was born in a Tibetan village in 1922 and became a 
Buddhist monk by age 10. In 1959, during the Chinese invasion and 
occupation of Tibet, Mr. Gyatso was jailed for protesting along with 
thousands of religious Tibetans. Mr. Gyatso spent more than 30 years of 
his life in prisons and labor camps, where he was a victim to religious 
and class oppression. He was tortured by various methods, which 
included being beaten with a club ridden with nails, shocked by an 
electric probe, which scarred his tongue and caused his teeth to fall 
out, whipped while being forced to pull an iron plow, and starved.
  Despite these inhumane conditions and cruel tortures, Palden Gyatso 
was able to survive with remarkable courage and resilience. During his 
torture sessions, he would practice a technique he learned while 
studying at a Buddhist monastery, the practice of tonglen, which is a 
method for connecting with suffering and awakening compassion. He would 
receive the anger and hatred of his torturer and would exchange it with 
love and compassion.
  During his imprisonment, Palden Gyatso drew inspiration from elder 
prisoners, who told him that if he were ever to escape, he should take 
action to stop the torture. He has done exactly that: He has traveled 
to Europe and North America over 25 times and has written a book to 
tell his story. He has also testified before the U.N. Commission on 
Human Rights in Geneva and before the U.S. Congress.
  Palden Gyatso's testimony helped secure passage of the International 
Religious Freedom Act of 1998, which was sponsored by Representative 
Frank Wolf and Senator Joseph Lieberman and Don Nickles, and was signed 
into law by President Clinton. Palden Gyatso was also awarded the 1998 
John Humphrey Freedom Award of the International Centre for Human 
Rights and Democratic Development.
  The courage and dedication to freedom which Palden Gyatso has 
demonstrated serve as a powerful inspiration to everyone.

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