Last Post, Thank You

I would like to again thank everyone who helped make this trip possible, many of the people I can not name, you know who you are. Everyone gave 110% of their faculties and efforts, it was amazing how much love, support and care we were given. We have all made it back to New York safely, and feel a tremendous amount of goodness about the whole walk. I personally feel we have made a difference. When we were in Washington DC, we were told that the Chinese Embassador called up New York Rep. Nita Lowey and was very upset about the protests. This is very good news and shows we had some impact. Also we received lots of support from the Senators and Representatives we met with. This walk was the best thing I have ever done in my whole life, I wish that the situation in Tibet gets better. I cannot speak for the other Peace Walkers since they are not here with me, but I am sure they wish for the same. Thank you everyone again. Please feel free to keep commenting on the blog and I will do my best to respond. This has been an amazing journey that had added to the fight for a Free and Peaceful Tibet. Thank You

-M

Day 18 - Apr 16, 2008 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

We woke up the next morning at the Wangdi's home. We drove over towards Independence Hall and stopped for some breakfast. Thank you Tsering Wangdi for the meal. After this we headed to the park in between the National Convention Center and Independence Hall. The Convention Center was where they were to hold the Presidential debates between Clinton and Obama. Tsering had organized a large protest with his Tibetan Association of Philadelphia. They set up a large platform with signs and flags and brought in food and drinks for everyone. About 300 protestors showed up. Many people spoke. Jigme Logro Rinpoche and I had been asked to speak the night before. Rinpoche spoke first and than I. I was very nervous but was able to get my point across. There was tremendous support. Also there were three news helicopters flying over head and lots of media on the ground taking footage. The day was very amazing. After this we headed back home to New York City, Tsewang drove us the whole way, thanks again Tsewang. Thanks again to all of the proestors for showing your support and the Tibetan Organization of Philadelphia and other Tibetan Organizations for bringing everyone together.

-Mikell

Day 17 - Apr 15, 2008 - Washington DC

Our next day in DC started off rocky. We left the home of the Taglahgyal Family and were heading for a meeting with some more representatives. We ended up hitting bad traffic on the way into DC. I was driving and let everyone out when we got to the Cannon Building. I tried to find parking and eventually found a spot. I tried to meet back up with the group but was unable to contact any of them. They told me later on about there day, they had met up again with Tenchou and VP of the Washington DC Tibet Association, Sonam Lhamo. They met four more congressman representatives and handed them our documents on the Tibet Crisis. The day was very productive. After this I met back up with the group and we headed off towards Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That day we met back up with the Wangdi family, and they provided us again with food and housing. Thank you again to the Wangdi Family for you generosity and a special thanks to Tsering Wangdi for his efforts and kindness.

Day 16 - Apr 14, 2008 - Washington DC

We took off in the morning from the home of the Dechen Gyamtso family and headed over to pick up Yeshe and Dorje from the Taglahgyal Family. Thank you again for the food and housing. We really appreciated it. After everybody was back in the van we headed back over to the Chinese Embassy. From their we headed over to Capitol Hill. At Capitol hill we were accompanied by Tenchou, whose Uncle is the Dalai Lama. We were also accompanied by the Vice Presdient of the Tibetan Association of Washington D.C., Sonam Lhamo. We than had brief meetings with multiple congressional representative's and senator's staff members. Along the way we met with associates of Rep. Nita M. Lowey of New York, associates of U.S. Senator Gordon H. Smith of Oregon, also with a representative of Senator Hillary R. Clinton. I will update this later and add the photos. I have to run. Sorry about the delay in posts, we have a tight schedule. Thanks

-Mikell

Day 15 - Apr 13, 2008 - Washington DC

We started the day off by meeting with another group of about 10 protesters. They were led by Kampo Nawarang Dorje. We than headed down Route 1 towards the Chinese embassy. We stopped half way in a park and many people came over to ask questions. We had stome bread and tea and than headed off towards the Embassy. At the embassy we were joined by another 30 protesters. We began chanting Free Tibet, China Out of Tibet, Stop the Killing's inTibet!. After about 2 hours of protesting. Everyone stopped and had tea and snacks in front of the Embassy. There was than a ceremony performed in which all eight of us walkers were honored by the Tibetan Protesters. We were given multiple Katas and thanks. It was a very moving day. Also our friends from the Ja Ling Center, the Pema Dorje Family, and Lama Gazan Family joined us at the protest. We also were interviewed on film by Pema who works for Voice of America. After this we headed to a dinner provided by Taglahgyal Family. Yeshe and Dorje slept there the rest of us headed us back to the home of Dechen Gyamtso family where we had some great laughs and tea with some family friends. Thanks again to all of the Protestors and families for your support.

Brief History of Yeshi - Peace Walk Leader

My name is Yeshi. I was born in Tibet in 1967. I came to India in 1992 for a free Tibet, against the Chinese Government. I came with three freedom fighters. In 1996 I covertly returned to Tibet to bring back important information about the Tibetan crisis to the people of Tibet. Eventually I came to the United States. Here, I decided to start the peacewalk to encourage people to help Tibet. Thank you so much to anyone who helps us and thinks about us. I am a very simple person.

Humbly,

Yeshi Lama

Day 14 - Apr 12, 2008 - Virginia/ Washington D.C

We finally made it to the Capitol of the USA. After 14 day, just 2 weeks of walking, we made it. We continued out walk on route 1 and made it across the border of Virginia and into D.C. We decided to eat lunch at a local park. During our break we were interviewed over the cell phone by Radio Free Asia. Most of us spoke, my interview was translated into Tibetan. Our interview can be heard at Radio free Asia.com. We stopped about 3 miles into D.C. and drove over to the home of Chiga and Pema Dorje. They brought us out to an awesome dinner buffet in Alexandria, Virginia. We all stuffed our stomaches and than headed over to the home we are staying at tonight and tommorow. Thanks again Chiga and Pema Dorje for the food and hospitality. I am now typing this from the home of Lhadan and Dechen Gyaltso, they are allowing us to sleep in their beautiful home in Virginia for tonight and tommorow night. Very generous, thanks again. Thanks again everybody for posting. And Angie, thanks for the support, I have seen your posts too. Tell James I said hi.
Tommorow we start are walk to the Chinese Embassy which is only 3.5 miles away from our starting point which is Rhode Island Ave, Metro Station. I will post more tommorow, thanks for checking out the blog.

-Mikell

Day 13 - Apr 11, 2008 - Maryland

We began our day continuing our walk on route 1 south. The day was extremely hot and sunny. Many of us were burnt by the sun. Luckily I was able to hide beneath my jacket for the day. We were only about 35 miles away from Washington D.C. when we decided to finish off the day. We then headed over to home of Dorje Tso and Lama KyapGazan. We were treated like family, we were given a great home cooked dinner and had some great discussion. Well they had a great discussion, I dont speak Tibetan. Anyway we would like to thank them greatly for their hospitality. Also the next morning, they gave all of us walkers kata's and a nice goodbye.

-M

Day 12 - Apr 10th, 2008 - Maryland

Sorry about the delay in posts. I just got back on the internet. We took off from the Ja Ling center and headed towards DC on Route 1. It was my turn to drive the car and ended up getting lost in Baltimore for a good hour and a half before finding the group out of the city. The day was very nice and sunny.



-Mikell

Articles in the News on us

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200804060345/NEWS02/804060360

Check them out

http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?c=10&t=1&id=20208&article=Tibet+Protesters+Walk+230

-M

Brief History of Rong Tsewang - Peace Walker

Hi my name is Tsewang, I come from Amdo in Tibet. I was born in 1983. I left my home in 2004 when I decided to visit the Dalai Lama. It took me 1 year to reach Dharamsala. I wanted to go there and study english and Tibetan things. I than decided that I did not want to go home because of the Chinese Government. I ended up moving to America with my brother because we could not go home. I now live in New York City and joined the peace walk. The problems in Tibet have become worse since the protests started. I wish people of the world who enjoy having human rights and freedom would help support human rights and freedom for Tibetan and other people also. Thank you.

-Tsewang

Brief History of Mikell Bursky - Peace Walker

Hello, my name is Mikell Bursky. I was born in Nyack, New York on October 12th, 1988. Growing up in America was an interesting learning experience. I graduated from Nyack High School in 2005. After high school I was focusing on my own personal goals. I had been training in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and competing in many tournaments. I was studying dharma on and off but my main focus had been Jiu- jitsu. My goal was to be World Champion. During training I injured my knee, and realized maybe it was time to put my focus onto others rather than myself. I heard about the crisis in Tibet and realized it was time to make a difference. Being a World Champion, only helps one person, yourself, and that glory only lasts for a few moments. Helping others is the true way of the champion. When I help others I help myself. The only thing I want in life is the ending of suffering for all beings. That is why I now type this biography and walk along side my new Tibetan friends. But before they are Tibetan, they are human beings, we are all family on this one planet, and we must all put in a little effort to help one another be happy. The situation in Tibet and the world has gone too far. It should never have started but it did. Let us not ask why, but ask how we can fix it. I say we all put our own goals aside and help others. Thank you everyone for your help. Please tell as many people as you can. Compassion is the way to happiness. Thank You.





-Mikell

Day 11 - Apr 9th, 2008 - Pennsylvania/ Baltimore Protest

Everyones feet are pretty messed up, so we decided to rest a day instead of continuing 16 miles from Baltimore. As it turns out Barbara Apolonio got in contact with some media and we ended up walking two miles through downtown Baltimore starting from the Ja Ling Center. We were joined by about 10 others including Barbara and Geshe Tupten. We marched through the streets and chanted Free Tibet, Shame on China, Long live the Dalai Lama, Freedom Now, Stop the Killing in Tibet, Stop the Genocide, no Freedom no Olympics. Before the protests started we were filmed by Fox 45 News. I ended up getting picked by the group to speak. I was alittle nervous and left some things out, but I think I got our point across. We were also filmed and interviewed by the Baltimore Sun. Lots of people stopped to find out what was going on, many people beeped their horns. The protest was excellent. We finished back at the Ja Ling Center where nwe ate lunch, another excellent meal cooked by Geshe Yeshi. Thanks again. Now we are getting ready for dinner. I will posts photos of the last few days later. Possibly some videos. Thanks for your patience.

This is us on the news from today.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/video/?slug=bal-tibetvideo0409

Check out the video from the protest.

-Mikell

Day 10 Tue Apr 8th, 2008 - Pennsylvania

We continued out walk on Route 40 and were stopped in a car by a Tibetan Supporter. We were also later photgraphed by a newspaper very quickly. We could not find out which newspaper though because they left too quickly. We ended the day about 16 miles away from Baltimore. We drove back to the Ja Ling Center where we were served another great dinner. Thanks again Geshe Yeshi and GesheTupten and Barbara for the food and room. Geshe Yeshi is an amazing cook along with teacher of Dharma. We also decide to make some films about the Tibetan Crisis which we enacted and filmed for fun.

Day 9 - Mon Apr 7th, 2008 - Pennsylvania

Hello everybody, sorry about the delay in posts. I did not have internet access. On Wednesday, we left Barry's after figuring out our new Route to D.C. We began walking on Route 40, this turned out fine. We ended the walking for the day and headed over to our next place of shelter, the Ja Ling Tibetan Buddhist Cultural Center, located at 1417 E. Fayette St Baltimore, MD. Check out ther website: http://www.jaling.org/. The center is Directed by Barbara Apolonio who was extremely generous. She donated 300 dollars to us and allowed us to use all of her facilities. The center also has two resident teachers: Geshe Yeshi Chendo and Geshe Tupten Tsodu. It turned out that the Geshe's are amazing cooks. They provided us with vegetarian home cooked Tibetan/ Indian dishes. The food was excellent. We were served a nice dinner along with chai tea. We will be staying at the center until wednesday.

Brief History of Dhargyal - Peace Walker

My name is Dhargyal or Madhar, I was born in Amdo, Tibet on January 15th, 1972. When I was 17 years old I went to a Buddhist High School called Labrang Monastery. I did this until I was 21. I studied buddihst philisophy, history and grammar, etc. In 1992 I left my family and crossed the border of Tibet and Nepal by foot to go to India. There, I saw The Dalai Lama. After a few months I went back to Tibet. I returned to India and than went back a second time to Tibet. Both times I brought many Tibetan political books and casettes of the Dalai Lama's. I than gave the books and casettes to students in six deffrent high schools and universities in Amdo . Due to my actions, the Chinese Police arrested me in my town and than took me to the police station for more than one month. After I was released from the police sation, I went to my home to visit my family where I took a rest. After that, I made a plan to move back to India because I really would have loved to see the Dalai Lama agian. So, I crossed the border of Tibet and Nepal again by foot and came to India, where I spent the next seven years. In Dharamsala I worked for the Tibetan Writers Abroad Pen Center. After that I moved to Dheradun where I taught Tibetan History, Grammar, etc, in a Tibetan school for two years. After that I moved to Kathmandu, Nepal for more than three years. on November 2nd, 2006, I came to the United States of America and now live in New York City. I heard that some people were doing a peace walk to Washington D.C., so I decided that I also had to do this. Right now I am doing the peace walk for a free Tibet with 7 Tibetans and one American. Please everyone support
Tibet and help us. Thank you very much.

Dhargyal

Brief History of Professor Tulku Jigme Lodoe Rinpoche - Peace Walker

Professor Tulku Jigme Lodo Rinpoche was born in (1970) Golok-Dhome of Tibet. After three months of his birth, he was recognized as the reincarnation of Sage Genyeng Dharmata by Chakshul Tulku Sangje Lodoe and docotor Gyarong Samdup Gyatso. At the age of eight he joined the large monastery Talang in Mayul, Gemang Ritodin Zhado (hermitage place) Lamarong in Sertha etc, where he learned all about Sutra and Tantra inclusively general knowledge of Tibetan. After that he became immensely popular with his genius. In 1998 he came to India and became a great editor for both the Tibetan Government in exile and private edition centers. More than two hundred of his essays have been published both in Tibet and abroad, especially some of his books published from high publication centers of the Tibetan Government in Exile, Department of Education, Department of Information and the Tibetan Cultural and Religious Publication Centers. His writings received high esteem and compliments from many great scholars including H.H. the Dalai Lama who gave his a praise letter. In 2005 his eminent Trulshig Rinpoche recognized and declared that it was trustworthy that Professor Tulku Jigme Lodoe Rinpoche was indeed the reincarnation of Genyeng Dharmata. In accordance with that, in Jan 2005, H.H. Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche, the throne holder of the Nyingmapa, enthroned him at Buddhigaya, India. Professor Tulku Jigme Lodoe Rinpoche is now writing additional history of Nyingma School and working on Tibetan culture and religion.

Day 8, Apr 6th, 2008 - Pennsylvania

Rainy, that is how we can describe today. We took off from where we left off yesterday, Independence Blvd on Route 1 and headed towards the Maryland border. We walked about 10 miles before being stopped by a state trooper. He told us we could not walk on Route 1 on the strip of it that we were on. He said that we would have to pass through the town of Avondale and than get back on Route 1. We did this and than were pulled over by another state trooper. He told us the same thing, we explained to him the situation and he gave us an alternate route to Baltimore. The route turned out to be wrong so we headed back to Barry's studio in Willmington at about 4:00. From Barry's we figured out that we will be taking Route 40 all the way to Baltimore. Dinner time came and we were treated to a great meal paid for by Mr. Tenzin Kunkhen and Ms. Yu Liaoya. Thank you both so much for the excellent dinner and your support. Again we would like to give a huge thank you to Barry for letting us use his studio for shelter, computers, everything without question. He also made some calls to the State Police for us to help us out on our walk. Thanks again Barry for the help.