Quake in Tibet, Nepal, India, China (live)

• 2025 Tibet earthquake (Wiki)

China Earthquake LIVE: Death toll from powerful earthquake in Tibet reaches 126 | WION LIVE 

The wisdom eyes of the Buddha, Nepal

(WION) Started streaming Jan. 7, 2024: Bhutan has also been affected. A 6.8-magnitude quake [updated to 7.1] struck China's remote Tibet region on Tuesday morning. [This is disputed territory claimed by an independent Tibet, nibbled at by India, touching Nepal, not far from Bhutan, but invaded and occupied by Chinese forces.] The death toll is rising to at least 53 [at least 126 with at least as many injured], state media is reporting. US media states that a magnitude of 7.1 earthquake jolted China-Nepal border. The earthquake jolted Dingri County in Xigaze City (Shigatse), located in the Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region, at 9:05 am local time. In addition to the confirmed fatalities, 62 others have been injured. The powerful tremor has left a trail of destruction, and rescue efforts are underway. #nepal #china #tibet

• BBC VIDEO: Massive quake hits near Buddhist holy Xigaze, near Mount Everest

7.1 magnitude earthquake kills at least 53 people in Tibet | DW News

Powerful earthquake rocks Tibet and parts of Nepal

Aerial view of Boudhanath, Nepal

(CNN) Jan. 7, 2025: More than 100 people have been killed after a powerful earthquake struck a remote region of Tibet, with tremors felt across the Himalayas in neighboring Nepal, Bhutan, and parts of northern India. The 7.1-magnitude quake struck at 9:05 am local time at a depth of 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) and was followed by multiple aftershocks, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). #CNN #News

CCTV captures moment 7.1 magnitude quake strikes China’s Tibet region

Tibet earthquake: Tibetan govt blames China for deadly quake | WION Pulse

Foreshocks? 11 earthquakes hit days ago

China’s Yinchuan hit by 11 earthquakes in 24 hours; millions flee, roads and rails jammed

(China Observer) Jan. 4, 2025: ✪ On Jan. 2 and 3, 2025, Yinchuan in Ningxia, China, experienced 11 earthquakes within 24 hours. The strongest measured 4.8 magnitude. The tremors were also felt in Shaanxi and Gansu. Although the magnitudes were not high, the frequent and widespread quakes, combined with shallow epicenters, led to strong tremors in some areas, causing public panic. Join channel: @chinaobserver0 #chinaobserver

India rocked by powerful earthquakes

OurAmazingPlanet Staff, MSNBC.com Science, 9/19/2011

Monsoon landslides, 6.8 quake leave Himalayan foothills of Sikkim devastated (rediff.com).

India's earthquake on Sept. 18, 2011 was likely the result of two seismic events striking at nearly the same time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The magnitude 6.9 quake killed at least 55 people in northeastern India, Nepal, and Tibet, reported the AP.

The quake rumbled the mountainous region of the Indian town of Mangan, in the northeast Indian province of Sikkim, and near the Nepalese border. The epicenter was 42 miles northwest of Gangtok, India. Tremors from India's big earthquake were felt as far away as Bangladesh and New Delhi.

The quake came at the end of the monsoon season, and rain-soaked hills spawned landslides that caused much of the devastation, according to the American Geophysical Union's Landslide Blog. Heavy rainfall and more aftershocks in the coming days could complicate recovery efforts.

A flurry of big earthquakes have hit in recent weeks around the seismically and volcanically active Pacific Ring of Fire, but they were not triggered by each other. The Sikkim earthquake, as it is called, was also unrelated to these other temblors, but was seismically complex in its own right. More

Quake toll rises to 80, over 3,000 rescued

NEW DELHI, India (PNS) - [UPDATE: Sept. 21, 2011] The toll in the Sunday’s earth quake rose to 80 on Tuesday even as defense and paramilitary forces rescued more than 3,000 people in the worst-hit areas of Sikkim and efforts were intensified to extricate those trapped under the debris of collapsed structure. As many as 50 persons have been reported killed in Sikkim alone and 30 others in the neighboring regions.

Dalai Lama is saddened by huge toll in Haiti

DHARAMSALA, India (IANS, Jan. 16) - Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has expressed solidarity with the families of those who perished in Tuesday’s devastating earthquake in the island nation of Haiti.

• VIDEO: Haiti's Tent City (Reuters)
• Haiti death toll ticking up every moment (Thaindian.com)

In a message to President Rene Preval of the Caribbean nation, the Nobel laureate expressed sympathy and offered prayers for those who have lost their lives. “I am deeply saddened by the loss of so many lives and property… I extend my sympathy and heartfelt condolences to all those families who have been directly affected by what I understand is the worst quake in two centuries in the history of Haiti,” the Dalai Lama, 74, said in the message.

“I offer my prayers for those who have lost their lives in this tragedy and condolences to their families and others affected by this natural disaster,” he said. According to a preliminary estimate by the Haitian Red Cross, 50,000 people were killed in the 7.0 magnitude quake. Source

• Dalai Lama "saddened" over lives lost in Tibet quake
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• "Tens of thousands" killed in Haiti quake
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• Massive earthquake devastates Haiti

Tibet Experiences Killer Earthquake

Rescuers search Tibet rubble after quake kills 10

Audra Ang (AP)


In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, usable belongings were carried out by residents from the damaged building in Gedar Township of Damxung County in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Monday, Oct. 6, 2008. Two earthquakes jolted the capital of Tibet and surrounding areas Monday, killing more than 30 people and collapsing hundreds of houses, Xinhua said (AP Photo/Xinhua, Purbu Zhaxi).

• Below see "Eight Causes of Earthquakes in Buddhism"

BEIJING -- Rescuers rushed tents, food, and water to villagers in Tibet on Tuesday after an earthquake and scores of aftershocks rattled the capital and surrounding areas, killing at least 10 people and collapsing hundreds of houses.

State media said soldiers and rescue dogs were searching through rubble for people in Yangyi, the hardest-hit village in Dangxiong County, where the magnitude 6.6 quake struck late Monday afternoon.

The official Xinhua News Agency said nine people were killed in Yangyi. The 10th death was a high school student killed in a stampede in Shan'nan Prefecture, about 120 miles (200 kilometers) southwest of Dangxiong, during a quake evacuation, Xinhua said.

Nineteen people were injured in Yangyi, many with bone fractures, Xinhua said. They were mostly women, children and the elderly because the men were away harvesting and foraging for winter, it said.

About 171 homes were destroyed. Photos on the central government's Web site show piles of concrete — all that remained of collapsed houses — and the exposed roots of trees ripped from the ground.

"Almost all the buildings have collapsed in Yangyi," said Yi Xi, an employee of the Geda Township government, which oversees the village. "I went there earlier and did not see a single one still standing."

"Our efforts are focused on providing them food and shelter," she said in a telephone interview.

Tenzin Chodrak, who escaped because he was putting extra hay into the sheepfold when the quake struck and his home collapsed, told Xinhua his nephew was killed and his mother was injured.

"I can't believe it," Nyima, a Tibetan herder who lost her 2-year-old daughter, was quoted as saying by Xinhua as she wept.

According to the news agency, at least 700 rescuers were working Tuesday, with soldiers putting up more tents hoping to accommodate all the villagers by dusk. Health workers were doing medical checkups and sanitizing the area to prevent epidemics, it said.

Dangxiong County is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of the capital city of Lhasa, more than 1,600 miles (2,600 kilometers) from Beijing.

Many families stayed in tents Monday night because they were afraid their homes would fall down. The regional seismological bureau registered 188 aftershocks by 7 a.m. Tuesday (2300 GMT Monday), Xinhua said, including one above magnitude 6.0.

Authorities said Lhasa airport and the Qinghai-Tibet railway — which stretches from western Qinghai province to Tibet — were still operating. Chinese media reports said none of Lhasa's landmarks, such as the Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple, appeared to be damaged.

But schools in the capital were closed Tuesday for safety reasons, Xinhua said. Shops and hotels in Dangxiong County reached by telephone said they were open and business was normal.

China's far west is fairly earthquake-prone. On Sunday, a magnitude-5.7 earthquake shook the Xinjiang region, which borders Tibet, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, which also suffered a 6.6-magnitude quake hours later. At least 60 people were killed when a village collapsed.

A 7.9 magnitude earthquake on May 12 devastated parts of Sichuan province, just east of Tibet, killing 70,000 people and leaving 5 million homeless.

China says Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries but many Tibetans say their homeland was essentially independent for most of that time. On March 14, monk-led protests against Chinese rule turned violent in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, and ethnic Chinese residents were attacked.

• Earthquakes in Ancient India

Why do earthquakes happen in Buddhist terms? For the real answer, approach a master or a monk who has attained the fourth jhana and fourth arupa (eight lokiya-samapatti). [That would mean all eight attainments -- the form and formless jhanas.]

Eight Causes of Earthquakes in Buddhism
"This great earth is established upon liquid, the liquid upon the atmosphere, and the atmosphere upon space. And when mighty atmospheric disturbances take place, the liquid is agitated. And with the agitation of the liquid, tremors of the earth arise. This is the first reason, the first cause for the arising of mighty earthquakes.

"When an ascetic or holy person of great power, one who has gained mastery of mind, or a deva (demigod) who is mighty and potent, develops intense concentration on the delimited aspect of the earth element, and to a boundless degree on the liquid element, one, too, causes the earth to tremble, quiver, and shake. This is the second reason, the second cause for the arising of mighty earthquakes.

"When the Bodhisatta [Buddha-to-be] departs from the Tusita Realm and descends into his mother’s womb, mindfully and clearly comprehending; and when the Bodhisatta comes out of his mother’s womb, mindfully and clearly comprehending; and when the Tathagata becomes fully enlightened in unsurpassed, supreme enlightenment; when the Tathagata sets rolling the excellent Wheel of the Dharma; when the Tathagata renounces his will to live on; and when the Tathagata comes to pass away into the state of Nirvana in which no element of clinging remains — this great earth trembles, quivers, and shakes.

"These are the eight reasons, the eight causes for a great earthquake to arise."

(Posted by Sofital)

EDITORIAL: Given the utter rarity of buddhas on earth, if this list were exhaustive, the earth wouldn't have many earthquakes. Or it may be that the first two reasons are the primary causes. Obviously the Buddha was making known how significant it was for a buddha to be present. Beyond that, it stands to reason from what seismological evidence that, in fact, the continents are not on solid ground but on liquid or molten earth. Atmospheric disturbances could include any reverberations.

More interestingly, however, is the potential that Tibetans (Buddhist or Bön) are utilizing iddhi (supernatural powers derived from misuse of jhanic attainments, i.e., "meditative absorptions") to harm or send a harmless but potent message to Beijing. Practicing or misfiring could conceivably have led to an earthquake in Tibet itself. However, there is no evidence of this whatsoever, merely a speculation on the possibility to try to begin to make sense of this tragic event and the recent shocks experienced throughout Asia lately. Free Tibet!

May ALL living beings be well and happy (even the Chinese).

Send complaints, protest-letters, and Sharon Stone style hate-mail for the audacity of editors to so much as suggest the possibility that any Tibetan protester would even dream of following in Milarepa's footsteps in defense of his/her country and the unique Dharma preserved there to: mythinskin@myemail.com