
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, April 29, 1990                   TAG: 9004300224
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: F-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

LAMAS KNOW MORE THAN DAVIS SUPPOSES

AS A GRADUATE of VMI, I read with considerable interest Paxton Davis' recent column, "VMI's fiat for educated men," commenting on the Institute's resistance to admitting women. I must confess, however, that I was somewhat dismayed by his suggestion that a person in a Tibetan lamasery might be uninformed about the controversy.

Having recently returned from visits with Tibetan lamas in Katmandu, Nepal, and in Bodhgaya, India, I can assure your readers that the lamas are very well-informed. In Katmandu, during an interview with the abbot of the Tibetan monastery, a telephone rang; the abbot reached under his cushion, retrieved a cordless phone, and talked with his interpreter in Delhi.

Even in Tibet today, I suspect it is quite possible to have access to information on current events at VMI. Further, I am confident that a person living a decade in such a community under the guidance of the lamas may be among those few endowed with the wisdom and compassion to sort out the complexities of this affair. MINOR L. ROGERS VMI 1952 KYOTO, JAPAN

by CNB