The Bhutan Affair

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected].

 


 

By Tobi Lee

For better or for worse, the fastest way of spreading news today is via social media and like any other inanimate object, the results of social media use are dependent on the motivation of its users. Whether it is to shock and horrify, or to educate and raise awareness, social media has become many people’s preferred method of getting their news and spreading it. The downside however, is that oftentimes unsubstantiated rumors take a life of their own on social media, thanks to people’s propensity to spread news before checking facts.

One such unsubstantiated Facebook posting that has recently left users stunned was apparently made by a monk in Bhutan. The monk, Sonam Dorje of a Nyingma monastery in Pardo, Bhutan, claimed that his monastery’s sponsor, Benchen Khenpo, had brought some foreign pilgrims to visit. The group included Dechen Tulku, a Tibetan lama who is a well-known and outspoken Dorje Shugden practitioner.

The posting, which was accompanied by a letter, was full of contradictions. On the one hand, Sonam Dorje claimed that he did not know who Dechen Tulku was at the time of his visit. At the same time, he also stated in his posting that Dechen Tulku has a history of visiting other Bhutanese states and monasteries. Regardless, after learning about Dechen Tulku’s background, Sonam Dorje went on to post that,

Actually, Dorje Shugden’s practice was banned many years ago by our spiritual leaders. According to this, I am the holder of the pure Nyingma lineage and when I see Shugden practitioners, I really hate them. I believe that they are evil beings.

Dechen Tulku during his recent visit to Bhutan

Taking the visit as a negative sign, his monastery then requested their lamas for divination. The results said that Dechen Tulku’s visit had brought negative obstacles to the monastery and in order to purify and prevent these obstacles from manifesting, the monastery would have to and is now performing Damtsig Lu Lo Dang, Gekte, and Drolo gyi Tordak pujas.

Sonam Dorje ended his posting by calling upon all Bhutanese people to be careful of people who are Shugden practitioners.

What observers have found puzzling about this post is that even at first glance, there are strong reasons to believe that the letter and Facebook post are fake. This is because:

  1. The letter is not written on a monastery’s official letterhead, especially when it is supposed to be an official notice. This is against convention and in some cases, regulations.
  2. There is no mention of which monastery the letter is from and the pictures posted do not show any buildings. This is left as a mystery, making the accusations flimsy.
  3. The letter is written following the rules of Tibetan grammar. If it was written by a Bhutanese, the style of grammar would be Bhutanese and not Tibetan. Hence there is a very strong likelihood that the author of the letter is Tibetan.
  4. The notice is a picture, not a scan of the original document which would have provided for greater authenticity.
  5. There is no signature, only a name. If the issue was so important, how come the monastery refused to endorse it with their letterhead, or even the abbot’s signature and seal? This again does not lend any authenticity to the post’s claims.

Hence the letter could have been written by anyone but the question is, what was this person’s motivation to do so?

 

A Contentious Past

Gyalo Dhondup, the Dalai Lama’s brother, was involved in a plot to assassinate the Bhutanese king.

The Tibetans have a history of creating problems in peace-loving Bhutan. In 1974, Tibetan refugees were expelled from the country after the Bhutanese government uncovered a plot to assassinate the nation’s beloved king, just months before his coronation. 28 Tibetans were involved in this plot, including Gyalo Dhondup, the Dalai Lama’s brother who wanted to overthrow the Bhutanese government and install his brother as the ruler. Having just lost their own country, Tibet, Gyalo Dhondup must have been hankering after a return to any form of power.

As a result of his actions, Tibetans in Bhutan were given an ultimatum – become Bhutanese citizens, assimilate into the country and pledge loyalty to the government, or leave. Thousands of Tibetans chose to become Bhutanese citizens while others left to start new lives in India or in the West.

The assassination plot is not the first time that Tibetans have attempted to depose Bhutanese rulers in order to install a Tibetan one. These plots arise from Tibetan jealousy and covetousness for Bhutan’s stable governance and economy, a situation compounded by the world’s comparison of these two Buddhist governments; that is, people cannot help but wonder why Bhutan is able to remain democratic and independent, while Tibet was so swiftly taken over by China. What is lacking in the Tibetan leadership’s method of governance?

And so, this letter with its Tibetan syntax and grammatical rules has all of the hallmarks of a Tibetan leadership-led plot:

  1. Someone wishes to unsettle relations between the Bhutanese people and Dorje Shugden practitioners, by creating misunderstandings between the two groups. The open-minded Bhutanese have generally abstained from criticizing Dorje Shugden practitioners because, exposed to the workings of the modern world, theirs is a society that respects individual rights and freedoms.
  2. The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; Tibetan leadership based in Dharamsala, North India) wants to find another way to further vilify Dorje Shugden practitioners. Because their own reputation is in tatters and their name has lost credibility thanks to numerous ongoing scandals ranging from sexual harassment to embezzlement to money laundering, they are now making use of Bhutan’s good reputation to do so. That is, if Bhutan, who are good and democratic, hate Dorje Shugden practitioners, everyone should follow in their example and hate Shugden practitioners too.
  3. By intentionally pointing out that a Nyingma monastery issued this letter, the Tibetan author is driving a wedge between the Gelugs and Nyingmas, encouraging hostility between the two schools of practitioners.
  4. By dredging up the Dorje Shugden issue once again and reminding Nyingmas that they should exhibit animosity towards Gelugpas, perhaps it will distract the Tibetans and Bhutanese from the Tibetan leadership’s own failures and ongoing scandals

Of course, suspicious in all of this is the fact Sonam Dorje is a common name, and no monastery, abbot or monastic administration has come forward to take responsibility for the anonymous letter. After all, why would anyone wish to be identified with such a divisive letter, designed to encourage hatred? No real spiritual practitioner would ever pen such a letter which is clearly not in the spirit of Buddhism.

 

Nyingmas Do Not Hate

Kyabje Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche, a prominent master of the Nyingma tradition.

There are four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism: Gelug, Nyingma, Kagyu and Sakya. All four are equally valid paths to Enlightenment, and the relationship between the four schools may be likened to four different cars offering various routes to the same destination.

Nevertheless, in recent history, the CTA has made it their business to repeatedly remind Nyingma practitioners that they should hate Gelugpas and this latest Facebook posting is no different, with its ironic statement that “…I am the holder of the pure Nyingma lineage and when I see Shugden practitioners, I really hate them.

Incredibly, the letter’s narrow-minded author does not realize what a contradiction it is to call himself a pure Nyingma practitioner yet project such extreme hatred towards millions of Dorje Shugden practitioners. The fact is that the Gelug, Nyingma, Kagyu and Sakya schools are all valid traditions of Buddhism, and real practitioners of any one of these schools will practice the Buddha’s teachings on compassion and wisdom. None of these schools espouse hate or schism, so why would a so-called “pure” Nyingma practitioner proudly declare how they “really hate” someone? No real Nyingma practitioner will hate anyone and similarly, no real Gelug practitioner will ever believe that a real Nyingma practitioner can hate anyone. How can the sun hate the moon, when both occupy the same sky?

 

Bhutan Guarantees Religious Freedom

Serious doubts have been cast over the authenticity of the letter but if it had indeed been written by someone in Bhutan, the fact it could even be published is a reflection of Bhutan’s democratic laws.

Bhutan’s Constitution, adopted in 2008, transformed the country from an absolute monarchy to a democratic constitutional monarchy. Article 7 of the Constitution establishes numerous rights, including “many of the basic human rights enshrined in international conventions”. This includes the freedom of thought and religion; and the freedom from discrimination on grounds of race, sex, language, religion, politics, or other status.

Hence, the divisive letter takes full advantage of Bhutan’s laws which protect freedom of speech and religion. Yet, it simultaneously infringes on the same laws which give Benchen Khenpo the right to invite and host whomever he wants.

Based on the law, how can any religious leader ban any religious practice? How can the so-called Nyingma author of the letter criticize Benchen Khenpo for his friendship with a Dorje Shugden practitioner? Regardless of whether Dechen Tulku practices Dorje Shugden or not, that is his faith and his personal choice is protected under Bhutanese law. His choice should not prevent two friends from meeting; is the author implying that Dechen Tulku must give up his Dorje Shugden practice just to visit beautiful Bhutan and his friend Benchen Khenpo? If that is the case, then the letter might as well ridiculously call for all tourists to renounce their religious practices which do not align to the author’s sensibilities.

 

Guilty by Association

Dechen Tulku in Bhutan

According to the letter, the author’s monastery was so easily affected by a simple visit from Dechen Tulku that pujas had to be performed to destroy the obstacles created by his visit. If a mere visit from a single Dorje Shugden practitioner can bring about such calamity, as the letter’s author falsely claims, then the situation can be read in a number of ways:

  1. The members of the author’s monastery are poor practitioners, and their refuge vows are so broken that they no longer enjoy the protection of the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha).
  2. Benchen Khenpo is a much more powerful practitioner as he is not affected or tainted by his association and friendship with Dechen Tulku.
  3. Dorje Shugden practitioners are so powerful that a mere association or connection with them will taint everything that they touch. That is why Sonam Dorje took pains to mention that they destroyed the monetary contributions that Dechen Tulku made, because they came from a stalwart Dorje Shugden practitioner.

But if it is the case that any connection with a Dorje Shugden practitioner is a tainted one, why doesn’t the monastery – if it at all exists – return their patron Benchen Khenpo’s contributions as well? After all, according to the logic presented by Sonam Dorje, surely Benchen Khenpo and everything he owns would have also been tainted too, thanks to his being friends with Dechen Tulku?

It would have been easy to include the items offered by Benchen Khenpo in the three pujas that were performed to purify and prevent the obstacles that were supposedly brought about by the visit of Dechen Tulku. As a matter of fact, if these pujas are powerful enough to remove the supposed obstacles, why didn’t the monastery just direct them towards Dorje Shugden in order to subdue him? Why has no Nyingma lama conducted any of their powerful rituals, of which they have many, to successfully subdue Dorje Shugden so there is no longer a deity for anyone to make a connection with?

 

The Karmapa said Shugden should not be subdued

H.H. the 16th Karmapa

Aside from the fact Dorje Shugden is a Buddha with no karma to be harmed, it is possible that no Nyingma lama has ever attempted such a subjugation ritual because of the words of the previous 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, who counselled Nyingma practitioners to respect Dorje Shugden.

While on pilgrimage in Nepal, the 16th Karmapa graced the opening of Urgyen Rinpoche’s new Nyingma monastery. After being greeted by the Nepalese King and Queen, he entered the monastery and saw a statue of the Nyingma Protector Dorje Drolo stepping on Dorje Shugden. The original iconography of Dorje Drolo does not include Dorje Shugden at all, but the statue in the monastery had been modified to depict Dorje Shugden being pressed down under the statue’s feet.

After gazing at the statue for a while, the 16th Karmapa then pointed his finger towards the statue and asked,

Who made this? Where did this lineage come from? Who is the person who built this statue?

In a room full of abbots and monks, no one stepped forward. The 16th Karmapa then became visibly angry and demanded that the statue be removed. He then gave the following prediction to the Nyingmas at the monastery:

You will have no choice in the future but to practice this Protector; there will come a time when you need him.

There were many lamas present at that time who witnessed this event and this incident has also been recorded in Kyabje Dagom Rinpoche’s sungbum (collected works and writings).

 

Will the Real Author Please Stand Up?

If readers pause to consider the content of the letter and its context, they will quickly realize that there are many reasons to doubt its authenticity and question its authorship. It does not make sense that after six decades, Bhutanese Nyingma practitioners are suddenly wading into the Dorje Shugden controversy by issuing such a provocative letter. What would the Nyingma monastery – if it at all exists – gain from publishing such a letter?

To ascertain the real author of the letter, one should look to who stands to gain the most from its publication. The democratic Bhutanese leadership have no reason to publish the letter; their country is stable, their economy is growing, and they enjoy an immense amount of global publicity for their unique culture and traditions, as well as their environmental preservation efforts. Publishing such a letter only harms their image.

Similarly, the Nyingmas have no reason to publish such a letter especially when it paints them as intolerant, narrow-minded and superstitious. Likewise, the Gelugs will not benefit from a letter that encourages Nyingma hostility towards them.

The only people who stand to gain from the letter is the Tibetan leadership, who will benefit from a Bhutanese nation distracted and weakened by a perceived enemy to fight against. In fact, it seems extremely likely, given the Tibetan syntax of its composition, that the letter’s source lies within the Tibetan community. And for anyone to be so daring as to falsely pinpoint the letter to a Nyingma source, it can only be done with the approval of the very top i.e. the Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala.

Until today, even with so much turmoil within their ranks, the Central Tibetan Administration still cannot resist creating trouble for Bhutan. The CTA is like a jealous, petty child in a playground, caught in an argument he cannot win and resorting to “If I can’t have it, you can’t have it either” tactics. Sadly but clearly, the Tibetan leadership’s mentality is that if Tibetans cannot enjoy peaceful independence, they will be damned if Bhutan is allowed to.

At the end of the day, the real victims here are the people – the Tibetan people who have once again been painted in a bad light by the actions of their inept, troublemaking leadership, and the Bhutanese people who have nothing to do with Tibetan politics but are now being exploited to direct anger and hostility at unsuspecting Dorje Shugden practitioners who just want to be left alone to practice in peace.

CTA, it is time to grow up and stop meddling in other people’s affairs. Your playground days are over.

English translation: We Bhutanese who are very peaceful… have spoken about important news. Please look carefully.

English translation: Recently, the Dorje Shugden practitioner Dechen Tulku visited Bhutan. We realised that this was a negative sign and we performed pujas. This is the notice that we performed the pujas.

The supposed official notice from the monastery. Click to enlarge

 

Translation of the notice:

Recently my friend and the monastery’s sponsor, Benchen Khenpo, brought foreigners to Bhutan for a pilgrimage. When they arrived at Pardo, Benchen Khenpo asked if he could visit my monasteries and that he had a friend who was a Gelug Tulku that would like to come along. We are grateful to Benchen Khenpo and so whoever comes along with him is welcomed and served tea. We did not know anything about this Gelug Tulku [Dechen Tulku] and did not ask about who he was. According to Bhutanese culture, he offered tea and 500 [Bhutanese Ngultrum] cash to each monk. He [Dechen Tulku] has a history of visiting other Bhutanese states and monasteries.

A few days later, after he went back, we realised his photos were all over social media. Then we understood he was a Dorje Shugden practitioner. Actually, Dorje Shugden’s practice was banned many years ago by our spiritual leaders. According to this, I am the holder of the pure Nyingma lineage and when I see Shugden practitioners, I really hate them. I believe that they are evil beings.

When such a situation happens in our Nyingma monastery [Dechen Tulku making offerings] this is a very negative sign. We requested our lamas for divination. His visit brought negative obstacles to the monastery. In order to purify and prevent the obstacles, we are now performing the Damtsig Lu Lo Dang, Gekte, and Drolo gyi Tordak pujas. We are doing these kinds of pujas now. The monetary offerings that Dechen Tulku made were put together with the “lu” torma, which was taken outside and thrown away as part of the ritual.

I want to apologize for not looking into this person [Dechen Tulku] and it is my mistake for not asking before he visited the monastery. I request that from today onwards, all Bhutanese people should be careful about people who are Shugden practitioners.

From the monastery’s lama, Sonam Dorje.

 
Sources of information on Benchen Khenpo:

  • http://articles.latimes.com/1987-01-10/news/vw-3361_1_shangri-la
  • http://articles.latimes.com/1999/dec/31/news/cl-49176

 

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  1. It is very impressive to read the information in this website and the treachery that CTA will follow to bring further disunity and disharmony among Tibetans over the issue of Dorje Shugden.

    In this post we read of a Nyingma, Sonam Dorje writing adversely about a Dorje Shugden Lama, Dechen Tulku. Of which there is no basis to believe what Sonam Dorje had written about Dechen Tulku’s visit to Bhutan. Reasons for Sonam Dorje’s negative motivations are well spelt out in this article.

    It is also good to read another article in this website:

    http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/tai-situ-rinpoche-criticizes-sakya-and-gelug-lamas/

    Here Tai Situ Rinpoche of Kagyu tradition is also speaking on the adverse view of Dorje Shugden.

    Has the power of CTA waned so badly that they now need to enrol mouths of other traditions to speak against Dorje Shugden?

    Why do Buddhist lamas resort to such tactics when Buddhism is about love and compassion and acceptance? Are power and money the rewards offered by CTA? Food for thoughts.

  2. The Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) in Dharamsala refusing to accept Tibetan RCs (Registration Certificates) is yet another example of interference by the Central Tibetan Administration. Tibetans need this document to apply for an Indian passport. The CTA does not want to lose its grip on Tibetan refugees, as fewer refugees under their control means less foreign aid. That translates to less money that they can line their own pockets with.

    This is not the first time that the CTA has created problems for Tibetans who wish to apply for Indian citizenship. Last July, the CTA ordered all its departments to stop issuing NOC (No Objection Certificates) to Tibetans applying for Indian passports, effectively sabotaging India’s goodwill of offering citizenship to eligible Tibetans. Perhaps that is a reason why many Tibetans are leaving their settlements in India, some of them even returning to Tibet! The CTA’s days as a ‘government’ are numbered, as more and more Tibetans apply for Indian citizenship or leave the CTA’s influence in India altogether.
    No obstruction surrendering RC in Dehra Dun: Police
    Tibet Sun Newsroom
    McLEOD GANJ, India, 27 April 2018
    Tibetans living in Dehra Dun can surrender their Registration Certificates (RC) to apply for their passport, according to a communication from the Office of the Superintendent of Police Dehra Dun.
    Tibet Sun had learned about Tibetan complaints that the authorities were refusing to accept requests by Tibetans to surrender their RCs, required in order to apply for a passport. Seeking information about the matter, Tibet Sun filed a Right to Information (RTI) application, to which Dehra Dun Superintendent of Police Sarita Dobhal replied refuting the complaints.
    The SP said in her reply that they have not refused RC surrender by those Tibetans seeking Indian passport, and they have accepted RCs from seven Tibetans so far.
    Tibetans who spoke to Tibet Sun said that the authorities who actually handle the RC surrender at the Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) within the SP Office had told them to bring court orders to be able to surrender their RC.
    Following a High Court of Delhi judgment asking the Government of India to issue passport to Tibetans, the Ministry of External Affairs in March 2017 has ordered all passport-issuing authorities to issue passport to those Tibetans who fulfil the requirements as in the Citizenship Act of India.
    The RC surrender process has been suspended at the FRO Dharamshala. An official confirmed the same, saying the halt has been in place since two weeks, but didn’t give details as to why they have stopped the process.
    He said that it is a temporary matter and that the surrender process will resume soon.
    https://www.tibetsun.com/news/2018/04/27/no-obstruction-of-tibetan-rc-surrender-for-passport-dehra-dun-sp

    No obstruction surrendering RC in Dehra Dun

  3. This article makes me so sad. We are all like the sun and moon occupying the same sky and we should learn to appreciate how vast the sky is. There is so much more we can occupy our minds with, but so many people choose to fill the sky with voluminous black clouds of hate. This is so very sad.

  4. I am sure the divination was not done by an Enlightened being !! Enlightened beings would definitely not discriminate ! Enlightened beings will not say that a visit by a Dorje Shugden practitioner to a monastery creates negative obstacles !!

  5. The Dalai Lama Fears that He Might be Expelled from India!

    The situation in India is not getting better for the Tibetan government in-exile or the Dalai Lama. Since India is getting closer to China, this trend will not slow down. Whether it is the current Prime Minister Modi, or the next Prime Minister of India making efforts to get close to China, it does not matter because the momentum has started. It benefits both India and China tremendously to be friendly and on good terms with each other. The parasite-like Tibetans leeching off India brings no benefit whatsoever to India and India realizes this sad fact finally. The Dalai Lama and his team in the Tibetan government in-exile have created so many problems externally for India and internally within the Tibetan communities, enough is enough. Tibetans like to use India to irk China. They have done that for decades and now it’s over. The Tibetans have been put in their place. The Indian government has been snubbing the Dalai Lama this year. The Dalai Lama and his cohorts have created tremendous problems, segregation, hatred, and violence towards thousands of Dorje Shugden practitioners, now that karma is coming back. Too bad. The Tibetan leadership is losing support from India, in fact, Modi purposely humiliated the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama and cohorts have less power to create so much schism and trouble now. If you read this article carefully, the Dalai Lama himself has expressed concerns he might be kicked out of India. It has reached this level that the Dalai Lama is unsure of his footing in India now. Too bad.

    Aditya Sinha: Paying For Our Bull In A China Shop
    May 14, 2018, 07:40 IST | Aditya Sinha
    The Dalai Lama’s humiliation, our encircling neighbours and, most crucially, the lack of Modi’s signature bear hug, signify altered relations
    In the two days of staged photographs, there is not one photo of Modi hugging Xi, his trademark personalised diplomacy of forcibly embracing other leaders.
    One of the better things during the Karnataka Assembly election, no matter who emerges the single largest party tomorrow, was Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s press conference in Bangalore. You may not have seen it on TV. It is on YouTube, however. Rahul again comes across in a light different to the whispers about him during the past two decades, proving how it was all the doing of a well-oiled BJP machine. My favourite part was Rahul’s take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Wuhan in central China for an “informal” summit with President Xi Jinping.
    Here’s what he said:
    “I expected the PM to go to China as the leader of our country [and] speak to them about Doklam… He didn’t say a word. [He] had a conversation with the Chinese President with no agenda. Are you telling me there’s no agenda? There is an agenda, it’s called Doklam; there is an agenda, it’s called the Maldives; there is an agenda, it’s called Nepal… The agenda is that we’re surrounded on all sides; it’s pretty clear. But you guys don’t like to raise that, I don’t know why.
    “Our foreign policy has been completely decimated. And it’s because the PM views foreign policy as an individual exercise. He’s of the impression that he can go have a conversation with the president of China, or he can go have a conversation with the president of Nepal, and everything will magically happen.
    “The PM needs to carry his own people with him. Are there any conversations going on with the finance minister, with the defence minister about this type of strategy? No. It’s a one-man show.”
    Briefly: China tried to seize the Doklam plateau in Bhutan last year but after a 73-day standoff against our troops, it backed down. It has reportedly since built an infrastructure leading to Doklam. In the Maldives, China is displacing India: President Abdulla Gameen last year welcomed three Chinese warships, and last month hosted the Pakistan army chief. In Nepal, despite Modi’s visit this weekend to promote Janakpur, Sita’s birthplace, as a religious tourism spot, the Nepalese have drifted from us after India’s five-month blockade in 2015 – we were pushing for greater political inclusion of the Madhesis. Modi is a villain for the Nepalese, as evident on social media.
    China has seized advantage of India’s pathetic neighbourhood behaviour, and, as Rahul said, has India surrounded. No wonder many think Modi went to beg Xi to keep relations calm in the run-up to the 2019 parliamentary election. That Modi’s governance is election-oriented is no secret. Will the Chinese will play ball? When the two-day “informal” summit ended, the Indian side issued a statement and reportedly urged the Chinese to issue their own. Compare the two and you see a difference: while India mentioned a strategic direction to our respective armies to avoid tension on the Line of Actual Control, China only said the armies would follow past protocols. Joint statements are never easy, but individual statements are a piece of cake.
    Modi had to supplicate himself because he cannot afford to go into the 2019 election after a showdown with China. Even a short skirmish will humiliate India. Unlike tension on the Line of Control with Pakistan, which benefits Modi since it can be dovetailed into communal rhetoric, tension with China gives Modi no benefit. Modi cannot help but humour China.
    The Chinese were amenable to being humoured since they have now what they wanted in Doklam. China nowadays also wants to be seen as a responsible global power: hence it has nudged North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un into meeting his South Korean counterpart and, next month, with Donald Trump. China has also reached out to Japan, with whom relations are more complicated than with India.
    Mainly, it was because Modi agreed to humiliate the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader who has lived in India since 1959. India prohibited its ministers from attending a Dalai Lama function (ironically, to thank India) and asked him to shift it from Delhi to his base in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh. It was an insult; worse, he privately expressed the fear that he might be expelled.
    The Chinese gave us time but they did not give Modi a hug. In the two days of staged photographs, there is not one photo of Modi hugging Xi, his trademark personalised diplomacy of forcibly embracing other leaders. Rahul Gandhi is right: Modi has decimated India’s foreign policy. It’s too bad that this and other aspects of his press conference were ignored by the TV media. But then, after Gujarat, Karnataka has been good practice for him. Modi’s obsession with the 2019 election means that governance will suffer, so Rahul will get more occasions to show the public his mettle.
    https://www.mid-day.com/articles/aditya-sinha-paying-for-our-bull-in-a-china-shop/19420166

    Aditya Sinha Paying For Our Bull In A China Shop

  6. More and more Tibetans are expressing their dissatisfaction with the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). This even extends to accusing them of ruling without legal precedence. This is a serious matter as their management of funds, administrative procedures, and even their governing constitution are all flawed. From the simple of choice of words used for the translation of a title, the CTA have exposed the way in which they run their “nationless government” in an egotistical and self-serving manner. The CTA simply do things based on their personal agendas and needs, using the title of democracy as a cover.

    Clearly, there is no system of governance for what the CTA do and how they spend the money they gain from people sympathetic to the Tibetan plight, aid from their host and donors from around the world. Since law is at the core of any administration, their underhanded tactic of finding loopholes and bending the rules to suit their individual needs has failed the Tibetan people. As an ex-Senior Fellow of Harvard Law School and a self-proclaimed expert in international human rights law, Sangay deters people’s faith in the integrity of a leader and the legal system, instead of upholding the cause of justice. After the public apology during his swearing in ceremony in 2016 and his firm pledge not to repeat his misconduct, it looks like Sangay is at it again.

    The title “President” for Sikyong is not legal
    By Sharchok Khukta
    McLEOD GANJ, India, 14 May 2018
    Since there have been many who have put forth questions regarding the usage of the title “President” in English for “Sikyong”, I will answer in one presentation for all.
    It would become a long talk to give answer as regards this. Nonetheless, because, to keep the public in the dark is objected to in a democratic system, I will try to present insight that is complete and not mistaken.
    Initially, the exile Tibetan Parliament had established through general consensus that the title “Sikyong” is to be used instead of “Kalon Tripa”. In connection with that a resolution was passed by the members of the 15th Tibetan Parliament-in-exile during the fourth sitting of the second session on 21 September 2012, that “Sikyong” solely is to be used in writing, as phonetically, without the need for using the translation “Political Leader”.
    The first stage of this process took place with the publication in 2015 of a compilation of rules and regulations of the exile Tibetan administration by the office of the Parliamentary Secretary of the Tibetan people’s deputies, where it appears on page 181 in Appendix 8 [Zur-hzar nya], of sub-section 3 of article 66 of the electoral rules of the exile Tibetans.
    Then, on 26 April 2016, the exile Tibetan administration made the announcement on its official website tibet.net that “when the term ‘sikyong’ is to be translated into English it should be written as “president”, and that has been used up to the present day.
    It is the honourable Kashag which says that “it was established [formally decided] that ‘president’ is to be the term to be used,” and the honourable Kashag claim that they had decided thus on the advice of His Holiness Dalai Lama. The Kashag had cited many other reasons, but I will not refer to them at this time. Everyone knows that at that time there was much expression of displeasure regarding this from the public.
    In the second stage, as regards the usage “President” there was guidance by His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the reception ceremony accorded to the high-level Representatives’ Committee of the United States, at Tsuklagkhang Temple on 10 May 2017.
    The third stage is that the Kashag have, both orally and in writing, said insistently that such guidance by His Holiness the Dalai Lama was as per the provision of Article 1 of the Charter of the Tibetans in exile. I am not able to know whether His Holiness the Dalai Lama has advised thus as the intent of Article 1 of the Charter. I do not consider that to be case, because if there had been the guidance advising “President” to be appropriate for the title of Sikyong, as per Article 1, then even after 25 famous amendments to the Charter such a guidance would have a procedure of discussion in the Parliament, as in the past, a procedure that has been clearly laid out.
    It has been laid out in the sub-section 1 and 2 of Article 17 of clause 6 of the rules for procedure of meeting and carrying out of works by the the deputies of the Tibetan Parliament. For example, to cite the sub-section 1: “As per the sub-section 2 of Article 1 of the charter, the Speaker, in discussion with Sikyong, is to set aside time for discussion on the suggestion of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.” But, without going through any recommendation from the Parliament or legal process, the Kashag said that the title in English as “President” has been decided on and designated as such, and they continue to use this title. As such that title has not became legal title. That is stage three.
    Then, the fourth stage is that it may be assumed that the Sikyong and the Kashag continue to do so as it is known clearly only by most government service personnel, former and present, and People’s Deputies, former and present. Yet since the public do not know the details, when we put forth questions on the this issue in the Parliament it may be conjectured that it is an electoral grudge. Besides, when the honourable Sikyong also talks of it to the public by attaching it to electoral grudge, we are not able to have at the matter a valid rule by law. Instead everything is stirred here and there into dirty politics, so that eventually when there is too much dwelling on personal name and prestige, the common administration incurs losses.
    If things go on like this there is the danger of the collapse of rule by law. From that point of view, for this issue to be clearly sorted out, the Secretaries of Gadhen Phodang must make it clear whether or not that guidance — as per Article 1 of the Charter — was given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. If it was, since it would be related with the rules, the messages, advice, notice and so on be bestowed to the Parliament, and then whatever is to be established (passed as resolution) by the Parliament when implemented by all the central and regional branches of the administration, it would become concordant with the law.
    So that is the issue if explained clearly.
    In the end, nowadays at Gangchen Kyishong the administration relies upon one person and makes changes to the Rules; while there are able staff members in all sorts of appointments, through equal qualifications and pledges, and so on; such instances are taking place many times, not just once. In such a situation it appears that there is not sufficient supervision and watching, by the public and writers, of whether or not this Administration — set up with such effort by His Holiness the Dalai Lama — is being administered by rule of law.
    I request all to put more effort and power as regarding this issue.
    https://www.tibetsun.com/opinions/2018/05/14/the-title-president-for-sikyong-is-not-legal

    The title President for Sikyong is not legal

  7. Go to hell Dorjeshugden.
    Mind your language and don’t try to create unnecessary problems or disharmony in their peaceful nation. BHUTAN is only GNH on this Earth.
    Learn to respect the others and at least create happiness among yourselves..
    very sad!!!!!

  8. I would say Dorji Shugdhen is trying to create religious disharmony. If we look carefully, in one of the movie clips on the social media, the lama supposedly a Dorji Shugden follower is prostrating to the temple’s window away from any other objects of veneration clearly showing its discriminatory habit. Doji Shugdhen should avoid its discriminatory nature to rationalize its accusation of other’s being discriminatory. How would Dorji Shugdhen justify its followers and students not being allowed to receive teaching from another religious school, read and study other religious texts and philosophies? If Dorji Shugdhen is discriminatory even to other Buddhist schools, how much would it tolerate other religions? I am just wondering how other religious schools are discriminatory and Dorji Shudhen is not if it cannot even tolerate prostrating to the altar of a monastery which received him in a grand procession as a guest?😀

  9. ttt

  10. Bhutan is a very culturally, spiritually, politically strong INDEPENDENT Country. We do respect and help each other internally. We don’t need you to tell any history of our Country. We know very well. We don’t criticize other religions even if they do ours. And we defend our own as the best because that’s is ARROGANCE.

  11. Yes.Social media disadvantage is when spread rumors by people who plan to confuse people who don’t think.People who read & believe everything.I believe this letter intention is to cause hatred & misunderstanding coz it look fake with no letterhead & sign.I also believe what writer write is true.No good CTA plan this & make disharmony for bhutan ppl.CTA always use cheap tactics.Paying ppl to write nonsense.I don’t understand how come monks do divination & cause discrimination.Sangha suppose to practice wisdom & compassion but I don’t see it is what they are doing.Then hold vows for what?To be afraid of a Buddha like DS.Then why practice when 3 jewels cannot protect.How come till today nobody can defeat DS if they say DS is evil.

  12. This is just another story which has been invented to create schism. When does the CTA stop creating problems for themselves and everyone around them.

    No name of any monastery and official letter, no picture of the location, no Bhutanese language, … so much trouble has been created by the CTA and this is just another episode. Wait, karma is waiting just around the corner…

    Opposite to the CTA, Bhutan is a real democracy .. so just be ashamed of yourself CTA!

  13. No true Buddhist practitioner would condemn any Buddhist lineage or other religions. Why would this so called ‘monk Sonam Dorje’ who claims he is a Nyingmapa hates Dorje Shugden so much? He did not give valid reasons and proof for his hatred, just his written words. Surely, this is to undermine the good works of Dorje Shugden practitioners especially those high lamas who work tirelessly to spread dharma as taught by Lama Tsongkhapa. Why would Sonam Dorje do this? Because he was paid – and the trail leads to the Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala, India.

  14. This is getting more and more ridiculous. Seriously, the CTA is behaving very childish and selfish to ruin Bhutan. By using dirty tactics to harm people, they will have to face the music themselves later on.

  15. Another way how CTA trying their best create hatred and schism. This time CTA is using Bhutanese and Ningma. At this crucial time CTA already lost their creditability and trust not only from other countrie’s but also their own people the Tibetans, instead doing their best to gain back the confident CTA would rather spend more money and effort to create such problem to divert their failure.

  16. The hypocrite behind all this is none other than CTA. I truly don’t understand this group of uncivilized people! Why kept creating havoc misunderstanding, confusion among others countries affair? The very truth was, CTA aren’t FIT IN into Spiritual at all! Religion is spiritual affair among everybody. Religion teaches us to be kind, compassion, love, TOLERENCE and FORGIVENESS.
    Why CTA go other way round? Why CTA endlessly create disharmony, hatred with others? Jealousy, hatred and anger are the most deadly poison in our mind. So, CTA is killing themselves faster than others. Keep it up CTA!!

  17. no surprise, more and more fake news will be out. This time is using Bhutanese, next may be Africa, haha… They just wanted to create schism and hatred for their own personal gain -”money”. No proof given, so all these just FAKE.

  18. See through flaws. All one sided and no real proof to back it up. Wonder how will this even will earn trust from netizens. It takes quite a lot for people to really believe this. It must be CTA up on their sleeves again. CTA’s creditibility is down into the drain that whatever their leaders say will carry no weight hence they have to rely on some so called monk to utter lie and condemn another sect (which is so unBuddhist)

  19. Whoa….. did I see someone is playing dirty from the article? CTA is on its dirty work again. I thought monks are not suppose to involve in politics and not suppose to talk bad about religious? And, we are not suppose to critic a monk also even he’s doing wrong. We leave that aside, but I think whatever this monk did or wrote, there must be someone behind him instructed him to do so, or he was “paid” to do so. Who else is the one who created this? Non other than CTA that I can think of. Other than karma, it’s still karma. Because we are living in samsara which is caused by karma. Maybe CTA doesn’t believe in karma, which is strange. But it is very clear that karma is there, and it will do its work.

  20. The few points should be notice within this letter:

    1. An official letter from a monastery, there is no letterhead from the monastery which made this letter unofficial

    2. the letter was signed off by just a name, no official position or identity from which monastery, means anyone can just use a fake name to write a letter to spread rumours

    3. a Sangha member does not and should not practice hatred, as in the Buddha’s teaching, hatred is one of our 3 poisons that bound us samsara and keep taking rebirth back to this sea of suffering again and again endlessly. since being ordained as a monk, motivation should be liberation hence, how can a monk hate someone? Even Buddha showed love to Devadatta who is so evil, who wanted to kill the Buddha and yet, over here we are learning Buddha’s teaching but we practice hate?

    4. a monastery is a holy place, no one evil spirit can pollute the monastery, so how on earth a puja needed to be done after the visit of a Dorje Shugden practitioner?

    5. Since Dalai Lama already said practicing Dorje Shugden is a personal choice, he does not stop people from practicing Dorje Shugden, then why is this ‘monk’ going against Dalai Lama’s instruction to spread hatred towards Dorje Shugden practitioners?

    Basically, this letter is so wrong on so many levels, I really doubt what is the purpose of the person who wrote this letter… CTA again? how much harm has he created and still want to spilled it over to another country? CTA is getting really ridiculous. I would say CTA must go, or else, more people will suffer wherever CTA goes to.

  21. Don’t bring this fake news to destroy harmony of religion of Bhutan. If tibetan try to play politic to cause dishorny in Bhutan, we are not part of your plan.Please respect our country and democracy.

  22. I wish everyone PEACE & Happiness. The Righteousness reigns

  23. I dont deem to disrespect you but..you need to learn about bhutan…if you arent from here…dont pretend to be from here and create disharmony…we didn’t take away Tibet from you either…Respect….Namo Amitabha😍

  24. H.H Dalai Lama said so

    Dalai-Lama-on-Healers

  25. I would rather see the articles of religions and the benefits of practicing Buddhism and even on the goodness of Dorji Shugdhen than frequently or mostly targeting CTA. It is more of finger pointing to CTA than teaching Buddhism. It paints a picture that there are internal turmoils within Tibetan communities, disharmony among the schools of Buddhism and politics than what a simple Buddhist would accept from such articles.

  26. I am all for the preference to read articles of religions and the benefits of practising Buddhism and even on the goodness of Dorje Shugden.

    However, given that people are tainting and attempting to stamp off the Dorje Shugden practice with lies and politics, if the practitioners only keep quiet and allow those untruths to convolute the lineage, pretty soon there will be no pure lineage to speak about as the idea of Dorje Shugden being bad would be too entrenched.

    How can any self-respecting Dorje Shugden practitioner ignore the derogatory unsubstantiated attacks on Dorje Shugden and allow for creation and snow-balling of the karmic cause for the “disappearance” of the lineage? Especially if one is supposed to be practising compassion.

    On that note, consider that even with samsaric objects, if people already have a bad impression, it is usually extremely difficult to dissuade such bad impression by just repeating the goodness or benefits. A more effective way to deal with this would be to expose the credibility of the source information as well. In this case, it becomes necessary to present the true facts to the masses, which entails talking about the politics and dirty tricks employed by unscrupulous people against Dorje Shugden.

    With respect, at the end of the day, it boils down to a choice between (i) stepping out of comfort zone to address uncomfortable topics to ensure the continuity of pure lineage of Dorje Shugden so that many can benefit now and in future or (ii) indulging in either own dualistic preferences or the prioritisation of self-interest over others.

  27. 😆😆, Oh my Buddha. I cannot stop laughing after reading this comment. The person who wrote it obviously not a nice person. Yet he is lack of intelligent, hence need not talk about if he has wisdom. He is here to create hatred. i can see and understand more and more about why people until today still want to create schism among people with Dorje Shugden. if Dechen Rinpoche can bring bad luck to that monastery simply because he practices Dorje Shugden, then i have doubt to that monastery. Why is Dechen Rinpoche only bring bad luck to that particular monastery in Bhutan but no one else? Bhutan is a beautiful country who endorse religion freedom and peace. such as bad karma to collect by plotting this. I feel so sad for the person who written this. All his intention is to create disharmony among people to this beautiful of Bhutan. This is not allowed any more.

  28. All four Tibetan traditions do not practice hate. We do not do spiritual practice to develop hate.

    So this letter is definitely a fake letter, created to detstabilize the relationship between Gelug and Nyingma practitioners.

  29. From this article, I came to know most of the practitioners in Bhutan hate Dorje Shugden practitioners. Why is it so?
    I agree what has been highlighted by Tobi, “how can the sun hate the moon, when both occupy the same sky?” There are so many practices and religious in the world, why the Bhutanese only hate Dorje Shugden practitioners? What about those are worshipped local deities and etc? Furthermore, Bhutan practices democracy based on human rights since 2008, but Sonam Dorje or those who are hated Dorje Shugden practitioners such as CTA actually go against the regulations and create disharmony among the Bhutanese.

    Secondly, everyone wishes happiness and peace. People hope to have a practice that bring peace and ultimate happiness. Dechen Tulku practices kindness and generosity to visit and make offerings to the monastery. This is very courageous and inspiring as he used this opportunity to collect merits which are really benefit to many others. It is illogical that his visit and offerings to the monastery was a negative sign and generated obstacles to the monastery as claimed by Sonam Dorje.

  30. India tightening its grip on the Dalai Lama and Tibetans

    The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has directed Himachal police to tighten its grip on Tibetans meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Those Tibetans without paperwork showing individual identity and establishing legal credentials of their arrival in India will be turned away from seeing the religious leader. Undocumented Tibetans have been arriving in India, usually from Nepal, where they are aided by the Tibetan communities there. India seems to clamping down of Tibetan activity, from cancelling Thank You India events in Delhi and now restricting Tibetans from seeing the Dalai Lama. What else with the Indian government do next?

    Norms tightened to meet Dalai Lama

    DHARAMSHALA: Following directions from the ministry of home affairs (MHA) in recent past, the Himachal Police government has tightened the norms to meet the Dalai Lama, even for Tibetans coming from Tibet. The move was aimed to ensure the security of the spiritual leader at McLeodganj near here.

    Well-placed sources said that there were many Tibetans, including monks, who enter India through the porous border of Nepal to meet the Dalai Lama. The MHA has directed Himachal Police that no one could meet him without having his individual identity established from his documents.

    When contacted about this development, Kangra SP Santosh Patial confirmed that a letter had been received in this regard. But he refused to divulge the details of the same. “Police has received a letter and this is for the security of the Tibetan spiritual leader only, which says that we can only allow a person to meet after his individual identity and legal credentials of his arrival to India are established,” he said.

    Inquires revealed that the Tibetans generally arrive in Nepal from Tibet. They were received by the refugee centres there and further assistance was provided to them by Indian and Tibetan authorities for their visit to India.”

    https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/shimla/norms-tightened-to-meet-dalai-lama/articleshow/64485961.cms

    Norms tightened to meet Dalai Lama

  31. Things are going to be very different for Tibetans in India from now on as Sino-Indian relations get warmer by the day. India has vowed to firmly adhere to the one-China policy and ensure Tibet-related issues are handled ‘properly’. This means India will tighten her grip on all Tibetan-related activities. So, the trouble-making Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) better watch themselves and not create further problems that may antagonise China. This is something India will no longer tolerate.

    China, India Vow To Strengthen Ties
    China and India have extensive common interests and they have far more consensus than differences, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
    All India | Indo-Asian News Service | Updated: June 06, 2018 17:05 IST
    PRETORIA: China and India working together will accelerate their common development and contribute to the progress of human civilization, Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
    Mr Wang made the remarks on Monday in South Africa’s capital Pretoria during a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of the formal meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.
    China and India have extensive common interests and they have far more consensus than differences, Mr Wang said.
    The two sides should take bilateral relations and people’s fundamental interests as a starting point at all times, properly handle problems and differences and prevent the interests of one party from affecting the overall interest, Mr Wang said.
    The two sides should earnestly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border areas in accordance with the consensus reached by their leaders and avoid taking actions that might complicate and aggravate the situation, Mr Wang said.
    China and India should strengthen coordination and play a constructive role in promoting the development of BRICS cooperation, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and other multilateral mechanisms, he said.
    Sushma Swaraj said the informal Wuhan meeting between the leaders of India and China enhanced mutual trust between the two countries, strengthened cooperation, made the parties more comfortable with each other and achieved unprecedented success.
    She said India will firmly adhere to the one-China policy and properly handle issues involving the core interests of China such asTaiwan and Tibet-related issues.
    India and China, as the two largest emerging markets and developing countries, share a common position in safeguarding the international political and economic order and promoting the improvement of global governance, the Indian Minister said.
    https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/china-india-vow-to-strengthen-ties-1863429

    ChinaIndiaVowToStrengthenTies

  32. Ex-Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche caught sleeping in a meeting

    The representative of the Dalai Lama and former prime minister of the Tibetan government in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche during an important meeting having a nice sleep. The Tibetan government in-exile are run by people like this who have no control over their body and manners. They only stay awake in the meeting if there is FREE aid money coming their way to line their pockets. Shameful how Samdong Rinpoche is sleeping in the middle of a meeting and he represents the Tibetan government in-exile. This is why after 60 years Tibetan leaders have failed to get Tibet back but blame others for their failures. Shame!

    http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1528941530.mp4


  33. The Dalai Lama has emerged as the biggest talking point during informal Sino-Indian bilateral talks during 2018, such as the Wuhan Summit. This is all due to concerns related to the Dalai Lama’s health. China wants the Dalai Lama to travel to Tibet, knowing that it would most probably be a one-way ticket. India on the other hand initiated the talks, shunning the Dalai Lama and kowtowed to China’s rising power. Their aim was to strike a deal to resolve border issues.

    Why the Dalai Lama is becoming the biggest bone of contention between India and China
    The real reason why Modi met Xi Jinping in Wuhan is now out.
    Politics | 5-minute read | 26-06-2018
    RAJEEV SHARMA
    Forget the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese president Xi Jinping’s dream infrastructure project to link China not only with neighbourhood but also such faraway lands as Europe and Africa.
    Forget the Pakistan-based India-centric terror fountainheads such as Masood Azhar and others, a topic that has long been a bone of contention between India and China.
    Forget the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), an international body where China has steadfastly opposed India’s entry.
    Also forget the stapled visa issue wherein China has been short-changing India for years by denying proper visas to Indians domiciled in Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh and giving them only stapled visas while China has been giving regular visas to residents of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), a glaring example of China taking sides in the India-Pakistan dispute at the cost of India.
    Yes, these have been the biggest red rags in India-China parleys, official as well as the backchannel ones. But none of these issues have engaged the two Asian giants as much as some other issues. Any guesses? Well, the answer is the fourteenth Dalai Lama, the supreme Tibetan spiritual leader whom China has riled for decades as a “separatist”. Informatively, China has used many more disparaging words and expletives to describe the 82-year-old Dalai Lama who fled Tibet and crossed over to India 59 years ago.
    The Dalai Lama has emerged as the biggest talking point in the India-China bilateral affairs through the back channels and informal parleys in 2018. The Dalai Lama was the central issue discussed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at their first-ever Wuhan Summit (April 27-28). In fact, it won’t be an exaggeration to say that when President Xi travelled to Wuhan to meet PM Modi for his second informal summit ever with any foreign leader outside Beijing — and both times only for PM Modi — his main talking point this time was l’affaire Dalai Lama.
    Never before the issue of the Dalai Lama had come centre stage like this between India and China. Never before the Dragon and the Elephant had discussed the Dalai Lama issue at highest levels with a laser beam focus as Xi and Modi did at Wuhan for eight hours in six separate outings together.
    But that’s what the Wuhan informal summit was by and large about, though, of course, all other contentious bilateral issues were discussed. The reason for such a deep focus of informal talks between Xi and Modi was because of the health concerns about the Dalai Lama.
    No Indian prime minister ever discussed the Dalai Lama issue with top Chinese leadership so intensely as PM Modi has done. This is not without a pragmatic rationale.
    When on February 22, 2018, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale sent a note to cabinet secretary PK Sinha asking “senior leaders” and “government functionaries” of the Centre and states to stay away from events planned for March-end and early April by the “Tibetan leadership in India” to mark the start of 60 years in exile of the Dalai Lama, the real reason for this unprecedented move was a mystery.
    But the real cause was intelligence information that the Dalai Lama is suffering from terminal-stage prostate cancer. First only New Delhi got to know of this but later on Beijing too got wind of it. That’s how the two sides came to discuss the Dalai Lama-centric issues at Wuhan.
    The Modi government, which became aware of this development over a year ago, turned attention to this only in the beginning of this year as it started checking its diplomatic toolbox vis-à-vis China. A policy decision was taken at the highest levels by the Modi government in February as the fear of Doklam II started haunting it. At that time the Modi government was nearing completion of four years or 80 per cent of its tenure.
    More importantly, disturbing news had started pouring from Doklam, the site of a 73-day-long standoff between Indian and Chinese militaries. On March 5, 2018, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Lok Sabha that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China has undertaken “construction of some infrastructure, including sentry posts, trenches and helipads” near the face-off site between Indian and Chinese troops at Doklam in the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction area.
    Sitharaman’s reply to a question in the Lok Sabha had come after media reports that the PLA had constructed military infrastructure and helipads and deployed around 1,600 troops in north Doklam throughout the winter for the first time.
    From Modi government’s perspective, time was running out to send a conciliatory message to China and prevent a Doklam II which would have been politically disastrous for it, months ahead of the general elections. It was time for some out of the box thinking. It was time for the Modi government to extend a CBM (Confidence Building Measure) which would appeal the most to China.
    This was the time when the Modi government turned its attention to intelligence reports about the Dalai Lama’s health. All these inputs were enough to lead the Modi government on to an unusual diplomatic expedition vis-à-vis China and try to please the Chinese by disassociating government functionaries from the Dalai Lama’s programmes, at least for some time.
    However, there is a downside for the Modi government in this episode. As the Chinese government is fully updated about the Dalai Lama’s health, it obviously means that they can see through the tactics of the Modi government!
    It’s here that the wheels-within-wheels kind of diplomacy kicks in. Apparently, China wants the Dalai Lama to travel to Tibet. But will India allow it, knowing full well that it may be a one-way ticket for the Dalai Lama?
    Can India take such a decision vis-à-vis the supreme Tibetan spiritual leader who has been India’s guest for last 59 years and is a major pivotal figure and a rallying point against China for the US-led Western world?
    There are no answers to these questions as of now. But the drift I get is that India won’t be obliging China in this regard. Not now, not ever.
    https://www.dailyo.in/politics/dalai-lama-india-china-ties-doklam-crisis-xi-jinping-narendra-modi-pok-kashmir-belt-and-road-initiative/story/1/25113.html

    Why the Dalai Lama is beoming the biggest bone of contention

  34. The Central Tibetan Administration may be delighted to read the Daily O’s claim that His Holiness the Dalai Lama was the main subject of discussion during the recent informal summit in Wuhan between Prime Minister Modi of India and President Xi of China. However, it is said that the discussion was prompted by the Dalai Lama’s ailing health, and that China and India entered into discussion to avoid a sequel to the 73-day stand-off between two countries. Perhaps the dialogue between His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s representatives and Beijing may finally resume since Prime Minister Modi and President Xi are being brought into the picture.

    Report: India’s Modi Mulling Surrendering Dalai Lama to China
    Discussions about the Dalai Lama dominated the recent informal summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, India’s Daily O media outlet claimed in an op-ed.
    Various news outlets have suggested that improving Beijing-New Delhi relations have taken precedent over sheltering the supreme Tibetan spiritual leader, who China has deemed a “separatist” seeking Tibet’s independence from Beijing.
    Since the supreme Buddhist leader of Tibet fled to India in April 1959, China has focused on bringing him back to Chinese-ruled Tibet before he passes away and the search for his next reincarnation begins.
    Tibetans have found themselves becoming “increasingly less relevant to the Indians” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, the Tibetan Buddhism news outlet Dorje Shugden pointed out in an op-ed in late March, echoing other media agencies.
    In mid-March, the South China Morning Post questioned whether Modi’s government would turn its back on the Dalai Lama to appease China.
    Fast forward to Tuesday, India’s Daily O claims the issue of the Dalai Lama was the main subject of discussion during the recent informal summit in the Chinese city of Wuhan between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
    Daily O reports:
    The Dalai Lama has emerged as the biggest talking point in the India-China bilateral affairs through the back channels and informal parleys in 2018. The Dalai Lama was the central issue discussed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at their first-ever Wuhan Summit (April 27-28).
    Never before the issue of the Dalai Lama had come center stage like this between India and China. Never before the Dragon and the Elephant had discussed the Dalai Lama issue at highest levels with a laser beam focus as Xi and Modi did at Wuhan for eight hours in six separate outings together. But that’s what the Wuhan informal summit was by and large about, though, of course, all other contentious bilateral issues were discussed. The reason for such a deep focus of informal talks between Xi and Modi was because of the health concerns about the Dalai Lama.
    Dr. Tseten Dorjee, the personal physician to the Dalai Lama, has reportedly dismissed claims that the religious leader has terminal-stage prostate cancer.
    Nevertheless, Daily O maintains that the Dalai Lama’s ailing health is what prompted Modi and Xi to discuss the religious leader’s future.
    Ahead of the historic China-India talks, PM Modi’s Hindu nationalist government “banned Tibetans from holding a rally with the Dalai Lama in New Delhi this month to mark the 60th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule,” Reuters reported in March.
    China’s state-run Global Times acknowledged the ban days before the summit, noting “the two sides agree that any new crisis, be it new border disputes or issues challenging China’s core interests such as moves from the Dalai Lama clique, will ruin bilateral ties.”
    Modi and Beijing are trying to avoid a sequel to the 73-day stand-off between India and China that took place last year along a border region that the two Asian giants also share with New Delhi’s ally Bhutan.
    It appears that the Dalai Lama has become a prominent bargaining chip.
    The Dalai Lama reportedly maintains he is not seeking independence and hopes that dialogue between his representatives and the Beijing would resume.
    http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2018/06/26/report-indias-modi-may-be-mulling-surrendering-dalai-lama-to-china/

    Indias-modi-may-be-mulling-surrendering-dalai-lama-to-china

  35. Here is another article that gives a bleak assessment of the situation regarding the Dalai Lama and of the Tibetan cause. It mentions clearly how Tibet is losing out to China and why. It also explains why Lobsang Sangay is feebly respected by the Tibetan diaspora. The articles does not foretell good news for the Tibetan diaspora, in fact it does not even give a possible outcome for what is going to happen to them. It shows how the Dalai Lama is losing influence over world leaders from countries like the Netherlands to the United States. Such articles are becoming increasingly common because they reflect the situation for the Tibetans in-exile and their leaders.

    Has Tibet finally lost out to China?
    Beijing’s pressure on world leaders to ignore Tibet is now overwhelming. Even No. 10 declares: ‘We have turned the page on the Dalai Lama’
    Jonathan Mirsky
    Blessings from Beijing will inform readers who know little about Tibet, and those who know a great deal will discover more. Both groups will be surprised. The newcomers especially will be disabused of any belief that Tibetans were always non-violent, deeply spiritual and unworldly.
    Tibetanists and advanced students will learn that, decades after the Chinese conquest of Tibet in 1950 and the escape of the Dalai Lama in 1959, the diaspora of about 130,000 Tibetan refugees, battered by decades of Chinese oppression and ‘soft’ propaganda, is riven by confusion. Some cling to their hope that Tibet will again be sovereign and they will be able to return to their homeland.
    Greg Bruno, modestly described on the book’s flyleaf as a journalist, is actually an expert on many aspects of Tibet’s history, Chinese oppression and persecution — ironically termed ‘blessings’ by the Dalai Lama — and most of all the conditions of the Tibetan diaspora and the deepening despair that rends it. ‘Many Tibetan refugees, pushed away by time, boredom, globalisation and a soft-power war with China, are moving on.’
    Bruno has never visited Tibet in the many years he has been concentrating on the ‘blessings’ and the diaspora, but he has travelled around its borders and throughout the world to discover the condition of the refugees and to listen to their opinions and the judgments of their leaders, including the Dalai Lama. One of his most striking characteristics is his modesty; he never claims to know a thing about Tibet and the refugees that he has not learned first-hand. What he knows and what he suspects are kept distinct. But he sums up brilliantly: ‘The Communist party of China is the source of the Tibetan malaise; but Tibetans’ self-inflicted wounds have made China’s strategy more effective.’ From 2010, for example, Beijing blocked escape routes from Tibet except for Tibetans rich enough to fly out, and the Nepalese king denied them settlement.
    Bruno tellingly describes and details China’s centuries of relations with Tibet, reaching back to the seventh, when a powerful Tibetan ruler captured a major Chinese city, forcing the emperor to present a royal princess to Lhasa as a placatory gesture. Over the years, depending on China’s power, there were sometimes Chinese officials stationed in Lhasa; but up to 1911 the Chinese emperors and the Dalai Lamas — the present one is the 14th — existed as temporal and spiritual equals. From 1911 to 1950, Tibet was essentially independent; and even after Mao took power, he treated Tibet with some respect for a time, and even negotiated with the young Dalai — whose personal account of those contacts is fascinating — before suggesting, almost off-handedly, that of course Buddhism would haveto be abolished.
    Indeed, as Bruno makes plain, religion remains at the heart of Beijing’s determination to subdue and transform Tibet. For Tibetans, what makes their society and culture special and unequalled is the selection and enthronement of tulkus, ‘reincarnated’ lamas. This ceremony, with all its implications, is now being taken over by Beijing. The most spectacular example occurred in 1995, when the 10th Panchen Lama, the second most important religious figure in Tibet, died. The Dalai Lama announced that his successor was a six-year-old boy. Beijing declared this to be spurious: the boy and his family have vanished, and Beijing installed its own Panchen with full traditional religious honours. He has been declared the senior religious leader in Tibet — where Tibetans ignore him.
    Of course Beijing will name its own 15th Dalai Lama when the present one dies, although he has claimed (even to me) that his doctors at Harvard predict he will live well past his 100th birthday. But although he has retired as Tibet’s leading political and religious figure, his successor, a Harvard graduate, is only feebly respected; and as Bruno painstakingly shows, many Tibetans, already in some despair, fear their struggle to exist as a special people will alter or cease when this Dalai Lama is gone.
    What has changed in recent years, Bruno writes, and has so deeply undermined the confidence of Tibetans with Tibet and abroad, is the nature of China’s ‘blessings’ — which I saw in bloodthirsty force in the 1980s. Such violence — always in reserve in case of a sudden uprising in Tibetan territories, where many devout and patriotic Buddhists have burned themselves to death — is now overshadowed by the effective Chinese pressure on world leaders and poor countries either to ignore the Dalai Lama and his champions or lose economic ties with Beijing. From Norway to Washington to the Vatican the Dalai Lama can make no high-level contacts. No. 10 declares: ‘We have turned the page on the Dalai Lama.’ Blessings indeed.
    https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/06/has-tibet-finally-lost-out-to-china/

    has-tibet-finally-lost-out-to-china

  36. UNRULY TIBETANS FIGHTING AT DALAI LAMA BIRTHDAY PARTY AGAIN

    July 2018-NYC- Tibetans fighting at some birthday celebratory event for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They set up a throne in the back, place Dalai Lama’s picture, and they fight, push, shout, scream at each other right in front of the throne of Dalai Lama and it’s filmed. That is the level of the Tibetans overall. Tibetans are not gentle, Buddhist, peace-loving, tolerant people as they portray to the world. They are rough, rude, hateful, vengeful, violent, regionalistic, narrow minded and will create trouble wherever they go. Very feudal. They always resort to vulgar words and violence. There are some moderate Tibetans, but on the whole they are very violent people who do not practice Buddhism. The average Tibetan know nothing of Buddhism and do not practice. Buddhism is just a meal ticket for them to get to another country. Their support of Dalai Lama is blind and only to be politically correct and they never practice what he teaches. Disgraceful to see a group of violent Tibetans fighting at a Dalai Lama birthday event. Shameful.

    Tibetans are not welcomed wherever they go. Bhutanese kicked them out. Nepal hates Tibetans. India has no more use for the ‘refugee’ Tibetans and their temples made of gold. After 60 years they cannot get their own country back. What a bunch of losers and useless government people they have.

    http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1531033672.mp4


    • The letter:

      It is about the incident that happened at His Holiness’s birthday celebration in NYC recently July 6, 2018. Some members of Tibetan woman association approached to Parliamentarian Tenpa Yarphel during the ceremony and complained that his comments regarding Nechung was disrespect to the protector and His Holiness. They also said him that he made many Tibetan people sad with his comments. And told him not to do that again in the future. Then Dhondup Tseten stood up and shamelessly touched those women. That incident almost made the ceremony stopped. To keep maintaining the relationship between Tibetan Woman Association and Tibetan Parliament Representative, TWA are asking for a apology letter from Dhondup Tseten for touching their members.

      (It is so sad that in the fake democracy of the Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala you cannot say anything against a leader or criticize. Too bad)

      Letter01

  37. Also, why is this guy Je khenpo of Bhutan so terribly FAT? Buddhists are supposed to eliminate desire. This guy can’t even eliminate his third dessert. His own body is an embarrassment to Buddhism. His own reveals his lie.

    je khenpo1

  38. Dalai Lama for debate, discussion to reconcile opposing viewpoints

    The Dalai Lama always says we should have honest face to face discussion so misunderstandings are resolved especially on religious issues. Why does the Dalai Lama refuse to meet the Dorje Shugden followers who number in the hundreds of thousands to resolve the Dorje Shugden issue. Many letters have been submitted to request audience since 1996 and he and his office does not reply. Dalai Lama’s spirit of open debate and resolutions is not across the board. Too bad. Carolle McAquire
    http://www.uniindia.com/dalai-lama-for-debate-discussion-to-reconcile-opposing-viewpoints/states/news/1285325.html

    DL for debate

  39. WHY DOES RICHARD GERE AND DALAI LAMA SUPPORT SOGYAL THE DISGUSTING ABUSER?

    As long as you are friends with the Dalai Lama, your actions are excusable, no matter how horrendous they may be. Even something as heinous as sexual abuse of over 60 women can be overlooked when the perpetrator is friends with the Dalai Lama namely Sogyal Rinpoche. Why rush to join the chorus of Hollywood voices condemning Harvey Weinstein’s criminality, but remain silent against Sogyal’s exploitation and abuse of women? Richard Gere was vocal in condemning against all the abuses and attacks against women by Harvey Weinstein. But silent on Sogyal Rinpoche. BBC has a full length documentary on Sogyal’s abuses as you can view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWhIivvmMnk. Yet Richard Gere can take photos with the disgusting and abusive Sogyal. Is it because one group of women are worth protecting and the other are not? If it is not for that reason, then it can only be because Sogyal is the Dalai Lama’s friend. The Dalai Lama’s condemnation against Sogyal is very light and it’s disappointing. I guess since Dalai Lama supported Sogyal so much, he can’t be seen as wrong in doing so. Politics is sad.

    Richard Gere and Sogyal

  40. TENMA VERY ANGRY WITH SIKYONG LOBSANG SANGYE AND PENPA TSERING

    Tenma deity takes trance of her oracle in Nechung Monastery in Dharamsala, North India. The deity is highly displeased and angry at Sikyong Lobsang Sangye and Penpa Tsering. She is scolding them by waving her arms at them and throwing rice at them. You can see Penpa Tsering shielding himself. These two has always been corrupt and extremely self-serving. Naturally the oracles of the Dalai Lama take trance and are very angry.

    http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1531344206.mp4


  41. SUMAA has been consistent in their efforts to evict Tibetans from Arunachal Pradesh as the Tibetans are known to exploit benefits given to locals. The Central Tibetan Administration, especially their so-called ‘president’ Lobsang Sangay, made the situation worse by rubbing salt in the wound, making a statement that Chief Minister Pema Khandu is an ardent follower of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a lifelong friend of the Tibetan people. This was right after Khandu announced the adoption of the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy in Arunachal Pradesh.

    Tibetan refugees create a lot of problems for the locals no matter where they are, especially in Arunachal Pradesh. They take the locals’ land and resources without giving anything in return, making the locals furious to the extent that they are now demanding a written undertaking from the Tibetan refugees not to claim Indian citizenship and STC/PRC in Arunachal Pradesh. It is time to impeach Sangay for a better leader to guide and take care of the Tibetans in India before the wrath of locals evict Tibetans from the state or even the country for good.

    Self-styled student group in Indian border state calls for Tibetan refugees to be moved to ‘demarcated camps’
    [Wednesday, July 11, 2018 18:45]
    By Tenzin Dharpo
    DHARAMSHALA, July 11: Self-styled group “The Students’ United Movement of All Arunachal” (SUMAA) has reportedly submitted a memorandum to the West Kameng deputy commissioner on Monday, demanding an immediate rollback of the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy, 2014 within three days against threat of retaliatory action. 
    The students group has also called for Tibetan refugees to be moved to demarcated camps and revoke trading licences obtained by Tibetan refugees. A written undertaking from the Central Tibetan Administration not to claim Indian citizenship and STC/PRC in Arunachal Pradesh for Tibetans, has also been demanded.
    Last year, the same group initiated the “Anti Tibetan Refugee Movement” calling for ousting of Tibetan refugees from the state. Spokesperson of the group has alleged that with the implementation of the TRP 2014, benefits such as MGNREGA, PDS, Indira Awas Yojana, and National Rural Health Mission provided by the Centre for “our people will be snatched away” by the Tibetan refugees.
    The group in October 2017 also released a list of all the shops owned by Tibetans with their names in the Capital Complex area threatening that the Tibetans will be targeted individually and “forcefully evicted”.
    The Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy assures welfare to Tibetan refugees in India on matters concerning land lease, extending central and state government benefits, relevant papers/trade license/permit for economic activity and legal permit to pursue any professional career such as nursing, teaching, Chartered Accountancy, medicine, engineering etc, depending upon the qualification.
    Till date, Karnataka government has been the only state to begin implementation of the policy. In Dec 2016, the Tibetan refugee settlement of Mundgod became the first settlement to be handed over the land lease agreement by Karnataka State. 
    Arunachal Pradesh has the fourth largest number of Tibetans in India, with four settlements in Tezu, Miao, Tuting, and Tenzingang. However, the number of Tibetan refugees has dwindled to just 7500 with Canada accepting 1000 Tibetan refugees in 2016 and many youths venturing to bigger Indian cities for livelihood. In India, the total number of Tibetan refugees is close to 90,000, according to a 2009 CTA census.
    http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=40615

    Phayul Self-styled student group in Indian border state calls for Tibetan refugees to be moved to demarcated camps

  42. Hollywood is one of the most influential groups of people who have promoted the mysticism of Buddhist Tantra to the world. Together with the media, they have packaged Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan lamas into a fantasy Utopia, filled with God-like beings who are able to lead people along the quick path to enlightenment.

    This propaganda has been widely exploited by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) to garner support, especially financial aid, for the so-called Tibetan Cause and the Tibetan struggle against Chinese rule. Little does the West, including Richard Gere and the so-called Buddhist Professor Robert Thurman, know that efforts from China to improve the infrastructure and standard of living for the Tibetans in China have created opportunities for Tibetans to grow and be successful. This is something that is rarely seen in exile under the governance of the CTA.

    This false image that has been promoted for the past 60 years or so is now slowly fading away as more and more victims come forward, exposing the sexual abuse they have suffered under the hands of Tibetan lamas like Sogyal Rinpoche. The root of the problem is clear, people are greedy and lazy while wanting quick success and attention. Since they get these from the Tibetan lamas like Sogyal, they are willing to accept the exploitation. This is further driven by fear that they would no longer be seen as the privileged ones in the inner circle if they do not clutch at their lamas and be seen showing tremendous devotion to their gurus. With only a superficial knowledge of Buddhism, this cult-like group of Hollywood stars and American politicians like Richard Gere continue to generate respect and love for their skewed version of the “Dharma”, while real Buddhist masters are relegated to the side lines.

    This Sexual Abuser Hollywood Doesn’t Want You To See
    Feb 28, 2018 | Posted by Christine A. Chandler
    Why is the mainstream media ignoring this Elephant in the Room?
    Is it because, once they peel the curtain back on this little sexually abusive, predator Lama,  Lama Sogyal Rinpoche, best friend of the Dalai Lama and his major benefactor, helping to spread Mindfulness throughout the West, the whole edifice of deception, corruption, cover-ups of  institutional sexual abuse, and Shangri-la pretenses will be exposed?
    Never mind that these Tibetan lamas have fooled a large part of the Western psychology profession, most  all of journalism, and certain parts of academia as well as CEO’s of major corporations.  Those who also want to jump on the billion-dollar Mindfulness bandwagon; the first cult technique these Tibetan lamas used to get us to think as a herd.
    Perhaps it is also because the  news media coverage, for the last twenty-five years, of  Saint Dalai Lama, keeper of slaves and life-time serfs less than sixty years ago, is one of the icons of the Hollywood jet-set, certain politicians like Nancy Pelosi,  Congressman Tim Ryan,  academics, like Uma’s dad- Robert Thurman,  and such Hollywood stars, as Richard Gere, Harrison Ford, Scarlett Johansson, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Sharon Stone, the list goes on and on,  who will now be seen, not just as  enablers of Weinstein, but also of the Tantric cult of Tibetan Lamaism and its Tantra that has infused Hollywood with its amorality and  sexual abuse for the last four decades, given it permission for their long history of accepting this behavior as ‘normal.’
    It was not so long ago, that Trungpa fooled our sixties generation, with the help of rock and roll stars, and Allen Ginsberg, modern poet extraordinaire of the Howl, and member of NAMBLA. Ginsberg also controlled the narrative of how these Tibetan Lamas were to be seen by the public, for the next forty-plus years.
    Marxists have been in collusion with the lamas, as well,  for a very long time.  As have certain institutions on the right, of the C-Street variety. The Dalai Lama boldly sends messages of being a friend to democracy to every President since his “escape” from China. But declares himself a Marxist in India.
    Australian CEOs in the article link above are now questioning the wisdom of having Lama  Sogyal of Rigpa, the Dalai Lama’s best friend all these years, who has been their icon for mindfulness meditation  at the workplace. They are not willing to cover-up for his sexual abuse and demeaning and degrading of women, his keeping a harem, just as Chogyam Trungpa did but it was ignored, and his Tantra was allowed to spread. Thanks to Hollywood giving him a featured role in Little Buddha with Keanu Reeves.
    Isn’t it time we peeled the whole onion back to see part of what’s at the core of this sexual abuse and confusion about right and wrong?
    Nancy Pelosi goes to the Dalai Lama for advice, and gets crazier every year; Tim Ryan, groomed to take her place, writes a book about Tantric Mindfulness for a Mindless nation  and called: Mindfulness Nation .
    Ryan hangs out with Lama Sogyal’s friend, Lama Tsoknyi who is Sogyal’s strongest supporter and pal.
    Tim Ryan and Lama Tsoknyi, speak together about Global Warming. Tsoknyi surely helped Ryan write his book and Tim Ryan helps Lama Tsoknyi pretend he is a ‘scientific lama’ who also can bless books to make them understandable and can infuse statues with living mojo inside his cult groups of western followers around the world, and now in Asia, fooling the Han and Chan Buddhists that he is teaching what the Buddha taught when it is Tantra and its institutionalized sexual abuse and Lamaist corruptions.
    The occult, crazy-making Tantra of Tibetan Lamas  has been infusing Hollywood, Journalism, Academia, Psychology, Third-wave Feminism, and the Entertainment Industry and Left-Wing Politics, for the last forty years.  Recently, we have been seeing its results implode as the sexual abuses of celebrities and journalists, politicians makes explosive media news.
    Chogyam Trungpa, the Tantric Lama darling of the sixties Drugs, Rock and Roll crowd was the first Tibetan Lama to illegally keep a harem of sexual consorts on American soil. His Regent gave his students AIDS, with unprotected sex, but was never criminally charged. Instead he was allowed to brainwash his students into believing this was ‘openness’ and freedom, on the way to the realization of a non-duality mind.  They  have reinvented his ‘lineage’ along the coast of Maine, to turn that State back into Massachusetts.
     “Democracy was a failed experiment” said Trungpa’s mouthpiece, Ginsberg, who believed a totalitarian dictatorship of Tribal warlords would be so much better.  
    Time to unpeel the whole onion and get to the core of what has been making the West crazy, immoral and stupid: the civilization jihad that comes with a smiling face and a Lamaist peaceful facade. 
    https://extibetanbuddhist.com/this-sexual-abuser-hollywood-doesnt-want-you-to-see/

    This Sexual Abuser Hollywood Doesn't Want You To See

  43. Tai Situpa’s Karmapa candidate’s escape to USA and continued stay in USA is a huge embarrassment to the Dalai Lama and Tibetan government in exile. The Karmapa said he is very sad with his situation in his recent video (youtu.be/AdI4DMRFkm4?hid).

    The flight of a monk
    P Stobdan
    Intelligence concerns over Karmapa’s refuge in the US and the fear he may never return
    AS the Dalai Lama turned 83 this year, the main plot-line of Tibet is noticeably shifting to the 17th Karmapa — Ogyen Trinley Dorje — who suddenly disappeared from the radar screens of Indian intelligence in May 2017. Amidst rumours, the Karmapa was finally traced in Europe and later in the US where he has been staying on the pretext of poor health. He is staying in New Jersey’s Wharton State Forest area, on a 150-acre farm estate gifted to him by a Chinese/Taiwanese couple.
    Recent media reports suggest that he may not return to India where he spent his last 18 years. Earlier, he promised to return by June 2018, but the dateline is already over. Sources say there are signs of tension among intelligence circles after his disappearance.
    The Karmapa also made a daring escape from Tibet in 1999, which had caused huge embarrassment to the Chinese government. The jostling for control over the 17th Karmapa has heightened among the Chinese government, Dalai Lama’s administration and the Indian establishment after his flight.
    His sudden arrival in 2000 had raised many eyebrows in India. Many believed his escape was facilitated by the Chinese. Indian media was quick to label him as a Chinese spy. Others believed it was ostensibly masterminded by none other than Dharamsala itself. In 2001, the Karmapa feared the Chinese may use him for political purpose to separate Tibetans from the Dalai Lama and promised not to return to Tibet until the Dalai Lama returned. In India, he was confined to the Gyuto Tantric monastery near Dharamsala under the surveillance of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and Indian intelligence agencies. The government had imposed travel restrictions on him, banning him from visiting the Rumtek monastery built by his predecessor.
    In 2011, he was implicated in a controversy over the illegal recovery of a large stash of cash, including Chinese currency, fuelling suspicion whether he was a monk or a Chinese plant. And yet, considering his importance, the Tibetans in exile propped up the Karmapa’s stature to make him the next powerhouse to play a pivotal role in the post-Dalai Lama scenario.
    Clearly, the Karmapa’s escape has caused embarrassment to the CTA, especially the Dalai Lama, for he has been vehemently defending the Karmapa’s authenticity and credentials. It is an embarrassment for the government as well, because the decision to revoke travel restrictions on him by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in 2000 was taken only recently — possibly in spite of intelligence agencies cautioning against it.
    Not surprisingly, both New Delhi and Dharamsala tried their best to get him back. They sent a number of special emissaries to convince him to return.
    As regards what may have triggered the escape, the Karmapa made some stunning revelation in a message through video telecast from the US in March, wherein he said his childhood was manipulated by others; he was denied proper education both in Tibet and India; he virtually lived a prisoner’s life in the Gyuto monastery. He claimed that his own Karmapa sect was torn into rival factions and internal strife. In addition, pressures were brought to bear on him to play a political role against his wish. He confessed to his inability to meet the obligation of the Karmapa title as he never had any high “qualities and realisations” of being the 17th Karmapa, and hence, he desired to “give up” and live an “ordinary life”.
    The fact that he had to webcast on his “troubled life” from the US set the alarm bells ringing. Initially, the Karmapa cited his concurrent medical problem as reason for his prolonged stay and denied any “insidious plans”.
    The Karmapa’s escape and confession comes at a critical juncture, on the heels of Xi Jinping becoming the lifetime President; the declining interest on the Tibetan issue in the Western world, as well as in India; and the ageing of the Dalai Lama.
    The Karmapa shared his feelings with humility and honesty. Yet, he wasn’t clear about what he intended to do in the future except for subtle hints. First, he fears he may not get a fair deal if he returns to India in terms of movement. Second, he will have to confront stiff competition from a rival Karmapa. Third, sources say he was disappointed over multiple hindrances to get suitable land for his Tsurphu headquarters in India. In fact, this, besides the ban on Rumtek, may have been the key sticking point. In a belated attempt to woo him back, the top security panel — CCS — in March this year allowed him to visit Sikkim, except the Rumtek monastery. Sources say he was finally offered a plot in Dwarka, New Delhi, at the cost of Rs 22 crore an acre.
    Against all these odds, the Karmapa might be weighing the option of seeking asylum in the US, so he could travel freely to China and elsewhere.
    Anyhow, he would rather play the waiting game from outside where he has a larger audience with a huge network of followers. Possibly, he may be trying to buy land in the US to set up the Karmapa seat in exile.
    To be sure, his escape provides propaganda fodder to China — look, what India does to Tibetan lamas!
    If the rumours are to be believed, the Karmapa may also opt for returning to Tsurphu monastery. Last year he talked about his desire to visit Tibet to meet his parents.
    All in all, there is little possibility of Karmapa returning to India. The assumption that high Tibetan lamas offer a degree of strategic depth to India in the Tibetan plateau vis-à-vis China is misplaced. On the contrary, the Chinese may already be acquiring a reverse strategic depth in India.
    The argument that various sects of Tibetan Buddhism and their lamas of Kagyu, Geyluk, Sakya, Nyingma, etc., control the Indian Himalayan borderland is only a myth. Sectarian affiliations across India’s borderland with Tibet have nothing to do their historical and political loyalties towards India. As such, any undue keenness for India to seek high-stake bidding for the Tibetan lamas will remain an exercise in futility.
    A former envoy and expert on Trans-Himalayan affairs
    https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/the-flight-of-a-monk/625891.html

    The-flight-of-a-monk

  44. Thank you for the analysis done on this matter. I think we have enough evidence to believe this is another dirty tactic of CTA to put Dorje Shugden practitioners down and to create conflict between the Nyingma and the Gelug. CTA is really despicable, not only they want the Tibetans to hate Dorje Shugden practitioners, they want the Bhutanese to hate Dorje Shugden practitioners as well. The more conflicts there are, they fewer people will look at what CTA has not achieved over the years.

    I hope Bhutanese will understand how they are being manipulated by CTA to get involved in this Dorje Shugden controversy. Bhutan is a very simple country, they are the happiest people in the world, they should remain as of how they are, don’t be used by the Tibetans to attack the innocents. First, the Tibetans try to assassinate the King, now they want Bhutanese to hate the Tibetans who practice Dorje Shugden. The Tibetans cannot be trusted.

    Instead of putting the energy in giving the Tibetans in-exile a better future, the CTA is busy creating schisms, making sure their Tibet Cause does not succeed so that they can still live off India and ask money from the west. CTA is spending more money and effort in making sure Dorje Shugden is to be blamed for their failure in Tibet Cause and CTA can continue to benefit from the failure. By looking at what the CTA has been doing, they will make sure the Tibet Cause fails, only if the Tibet Cause fails, can they ask for more money from the west.

  45. Dalai Lama says returning to China is better for Tibetans-What do rangzen (Tibet Independence fighters) people fighting for Tibet’s freedom do now??? Have we wasted our time?

    Suddenly the Dalai Lama keeps insisting he wants to be a part of China. How about all the tens of millions of dollars in money and so much time and resource poured into the Free Tibet movement for 57 years in exile. Is that all wasted? Is that all down the drain? How can the Dalai Lama turn around on us like that?

    If Dalai Lama returns to Tibet/China, then he is telling the world China is good for Tibetans and we Tibetans want to be a part of China. Is that correct? So Dalai Lama is telling the world that Tibet is a part of China? After so many years of saying we want independence and our country was eaten and now Dalai Lama is sending what message to the world?

    How will India feel after hosting the Dalai Lama for so many years? – This one minute video shows the Dalai Lama August 2018 saying he feels Tibet should be a part of China! -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xLKINuIrtE

  46. Dalai Lama says returning to China is better for Tibetans-What do rangzen (Tibet Independence fighters) people fighting for Tibet’s freedom do now??? Have we wasted our time?

    Suddenly the Dalai Lama keeps insisting he wants to be a part of China. How about all the tens of millions of dollars in money and so much time and resource poured into the Free Tibet movement for 57 years in exile. Is that all wasted? Is that all down the drain? How can the Dalai Lama turn around on us like that?

    If Dalai Lama returns to Tibet/China, then he is telling the world China is good for Tibetans and we Tibetans want to be a part of China. Is that correct? So Dalai Lama is telling the world that Tibet is a part of China? After so many years of saying we want independence and our country was eaten and now Dalai Lama is sending what message to the world?

    How will India feel after hosting the Dalai Lama for so many years? – This one minute video shows the Dalai Lama August 2018 saying he feels Tibet should be a part of China!

    http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1533732491.mp4


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.…Instead of turning away people who practise Dorje Shugden, we should be kind to them. Give them logic and wisdom without fear, then in time they give up the ‘wrong’ practice. Actually Shugden practitioners are not doing anything wrong. But hypothetically, if they are, wouldn’t it be more Buddhistic to be accepting? So those who have views against Dorje Shugden should contemplate this. Those practicing Dorje Shugden should forbear with extreme patience, fortitude and keep your commitments. The time will come as predicted that Dorje Shugden’s practice and it’s terrific quick benefits will be embraced by the world and it will be a practice of many beings.

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