The Retinue of Dorje Shugden
Attending to Dorje Shugden five families are the nine mothers, eight guiding monks and ten youthful and wrathful deities. Appearing in various guises, these attendants emanate to perform specific functions in relations to the propitiation of Dorje Shugden. Eight Fully Ordained Monks First are the eight fully ordained monks, emanated from…
Dorje Shugden’s Five Families
Dorje Shugden manifests in five different forms for different purposes. Aside from his principal emanation on the snow lion and wearing a golden domed hat, he has four other recognized emanations, each with their specific functions. These five forms are also known as the five families of Dorje Shugden. Altogether, the five families are…
The Mandala of Dorje Shugden
The mandala of Dorje Shugden consists of a three-storey celestial mansion emanated through the force of his mind. Residing at the heart of the mandala is Dorje Shugden in his principal emanation on the snow lion, wearing a golden domed hat. Dorje Shugden manifests as four other recognized emanations, each with their specific functions and…
Enthronement of Dorje Shugden
As all rituals failed, the 5th Dalai Lama soon realised that Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen was indeed not a spirit and had actually manifested as a Dharma Protector – Dorje Shugden. The Dalai Lama proceed to compose a praise in recognition of his awakened qualities. With this recognition by the Great Fifth, the calamities, dying of…
Recognised by the Sakyas
The sacred relics that were left behind by the cremation fire were placed inside eight types of stupas, which were all made of silver. These were then brought to Drepung Upper Residence but strange voices and squeezing sounds were heard to arise from the relics. Following Nechung’s instructions, the Desi took the relics out of…
An Almighty Dharma Protector Arises
According to the Great Fifth’s autobiography, he had heard of Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen’s illness and was very concerned, as they were both close students of the same Guru, Panchen Lobsang Chokyi Gyeltsen. The Dalai Lama was unable to meet Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen in person so his regent, Desi Sonam Chopel dispatched Depa Norbu…
The Demise of the Great Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen
At the time, the Dalai Lama’s Gaden Palace was referred to as the Lower Residence and Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen’s Palace, the Upper Residence. This referred to the positioning of the residences, with one being literally physically higher than the other, rather than the status or attainments of the respective Lamas. However, people began talk about…
The Fulfillment of a Great Promise
Duldzin Drakpa Gyeltsen incarnated as the great master Panchen Sonam Drakpa, who was the first and only Lama to have become the abbot of all three monasteries, Gaden, Sera and Drepung. He was known throughout his lifetime for being an exemplary debater and for his incomparable teachings. To this day, monks in Gaden Shartse and…
A Sublime Aspiration is Generated
During the time of the incomparable Manjushri Je Tsongkhapa, a dove was once seen circling around the hall during a teaching session at Gaden Monastery. Gyaltsab Je and Kedrub Je, two of Je Tsongkhapa’s closest disciples, knew the bird was an emanation of the Dharma Protector Nechung but they didn’t say anything…
Appearance
Like all Buddhist deities, every part of Dorje Shugden’s holy form carries a profound meaning and is a teaching to guide us to Enlightenment. In this case, each part of Dorje Shugden body represents an aspect of the Lamrim and meditating upon his form alone can bring us many realizations and attainments. With beauty and…
Serkong Dorje Chang (1856 – 1918)
Among the many wonderful texts on Dorje Shugden, there exists a very famous incense offering that can also be found in the Dorje Shugden be-bum which was composed by this great Lama. Incense offerings, otherwise known as sang are very powerful offerings that assist the practitioner to uphold his vows and morality, and to clear…
Tagphu Pemavajra
Tagphu Pemavajra is most commonly remembered today as being the guru of one of our most significant lineage fathers, Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche. Also, he is more famously known for being the first to transmit the lineage of Dorje Shugden that almost all of us are now practicing. This incarnation lineage is a mystical and very…
The Great Fifth Dalai Lama Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617-1682)
In 1617, a promising boy amidst auspicious signs was born in Taktse in Southern Tibet to a family of Nyingmapa practitioners who were the descendants of the imperial line of the Yarlung Dynasty of kings. His father’s name was Miwang Dundul Rapten and his mother Kunga Lhadze. In 1622, the First Panchen Lama Lobsang Chokyi…
Ven Geshe Tenzin Dorje
Versatile Ven Geshe Tenzin Dorje of Shar Gaden Monastery is the current school principal, the library director and now the preceptor. He has unparalleled skills in numerous fields yet it is his humility and desire to keep a low profile that makes him respected and well-loved by many. May he continue his dharma activities and…
Pilgrimage to India
We went to India to celebrate the dedication of the new Shar Gaden temple and along the way, we had an opportunity to walk in the footsteps of thousands of Buddhists who went before us. This journey began on Oct. 23 with three monks and 16 lay students heading to Mumbai, India. Our first visit…
Angry Spirit
By: TIM McGIRK Once a month, a joyful procession of Tibetan refugees – many of them disfigured by frostbite suffered while escaping their homeland over the Himalayas – files into the Dalai Lama’s exile palace at the Indian hill station of Dharamsala. For these visitors, His Holiness is an emanation of the Compassionate Buddha, and his…
The Next Dalai Lama
Why is everyone in the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) confused about Tibetan history? In this video, Dr. Lobsang Sangay, Prime Minister of the CTA says that the next Dalai Lama will be chosen by the present Dalai Lama. He says “historically and traditionally” this is the way it has been done. Notice how he looks…
Shugden Ban is Illegal and Unconstitutional
The ban on the worship of the Deity Dorje Shugden is illegal with regard to the constitutions of the Tibetan government-in-exile, India, and the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Source: http://www.westernshugdensociety.org/ebook
Are Dalai Lama’s critics backed by China?
It has been 12 years since I first heard Dorje Shugden’s name. Under normal circumstances it’s best not to talk about protectors openly. This is because the sanctity and potency of the protectors would be compromised, and you don’t really want their assistance to wane. Best kept in silence, they serve as fuel on the…
The Deity Banned by Dalai Lama
I am a Dutch student of Kundeling Rinpoche, one of the Dalai Lama’s major critics in the Gelugpa tradition. I’ll try to give an explanation of the Dorje Shugden controversy that is both understandable for those who are not initiated in the Mahayana-Vajrayana Buddhist tradition and still explains the very crux of the problem. When…
Is the Dalai Lama Preying on Tibetans Spiritual Fears and Superstitions?
These words are unbecoming of someone who wears the robes of a Buddhist monk..
The Dalai Lama’s Actions
Are the Dalai Lama’s mixing of religion and politics destroying the pure teachings of Tibetan Buddhism? Spiritual teachers from these four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism have been imprisoned, assassinated, placed under house arrest…
Oracle taking possession of Dorje Shugden in Ulan Bator, Mongolia
I found this video on the net the other day and I thought that it would be very interesting to share with everyone here another video of our oracle in trance. I am unable to translate the mongolian description but from the video, the oracle is taking trance in the form of Dulzin, the peaceful…
Anti Shugden website apologized!
The anti Dorje Shugden website that used to be run by Dharamsala recently apologized for wronging Dorje Shugden! Check it out here: http://antishugden.com/
Drubwang Drukpa Kunley of the 17th Century (Dreuley lineage)
The Himalayan region is known for its deep spirituality and, aside from Tibet, is one of the most renowned Buddhist nations in the region is Bhutan. Bhutanese monks are predominantly of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage as the result of their founding lama Ngawang Namgyal acting on the advice of Mahakala, and fleeing Tibet following an…
Morchen Kunga Lhundrub (1654-1728)
Morchen Kunga Lhundrub is the epitome of non-sectarianism, known to have upheld and respected many lineages equally and without any problems. As a highly influential master of the Sakya tradition, he was also revered by the Gelugpas as a lineage master of Naropa’s Vajrayogini. Within his own sect, Morchen was revered as a lineage holder…
Lobsang Tamdin (1867 – 1937)
Lobsang Tamdin, a Mongolian scholar and master, was a lineage holder of many practices. He became especially known for collecting many important texts written by Mongolian and Tibetan masters throughout his life. He was also known for having composed rituals to Dorje Shudgen. Lobsang Tamdin began his studies first in Gaden Monastery, Ulanbataar (Mongolia) where…
Religious Persecution – how it makes and breaks nations
Introduction Below is a letter composed and compiled by dorjeshugden.com which has been sent out to Tibetan representatives, CTA representatives and other significant personalities within the Tibetan Buddhist community. It is inspired by the many, many incidences throughout history and in our modern world of religious persecution imposed upon people of varying religions and faiths….
Gaden Tharpa Choling Monastery
Gaden Tharpa Choling Monastery is a Gelugpa monastery situated at the hilltop in Kalimpong, West Bengal, India. The monastery was founded by Domo Geshe Rinpoche Ngawang Kalsang in 1912. History says that Domo Geshe Rinpoche lived in Kalimpong in 1906 when he came to India for pilgrimage and to collect medicinal plants from…
Kalachakra by Panchen Lama’s guru, a direct counter to Dalai Lama?
This is very interesting, official China newspaper carry news of Panchen Lama’s guru giving Kalachakra, are they trying to dissuade the Tibetans from going to the Dalai Lama and coming towards Panchen Lama instead? Source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-06/03/content_15458177.htm XIAHE, Gansu – Thousands of pilgrims gathered Saturday on a grassland near a monastery town in northwest China to…
Ven. Lama Thubten Phurbu gives messages to NAGBA USA
Lama Thubten Phurbu is doing a lot of work in China and Tibet to spread the tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa and Dorje Shugden. It is really good news to know that NAGBA is associated and working closely with many lamas of the Gelugpa tradition and spreading Lama Tsongkhapa and Dorje Shugden’s lineage. To know more…
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His Eminence Geshe Thupten Thinley confers the commentary of the Essence of Eloquence on the Interpretive and Definitive Meanings composed by the incomparable Je Tsongkhapa Chenpo, to the devoted monks and lay people community of Shar Gaden. Geshe Thupten Thinley Rinpoche is being invited to the teaching courtyard. Domo Geshe Rinpoche also attended this teaching….
A Song in Praise of Geshe Wangchuk
All Gelug lamas would have received teachings from Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche. This video shows the lineage lamas leading to Geshe Wangchuk a famous Dorje Shugden lineage master of the Kham area. There are not many Gelug lamas and monks who have not been a student of Trijang Dorje Chang. These students were inspired and devoted…
Lamrim Shugden
We are the holders of the tradition of Je Tsongkhapa. The principle defining characteristic of this tradition is the union of Sutra and Tantra. One of the most important things for us to do as Kadampas is to realize this union. I have worked extensively in the past on the union of the Lamrim and…
The Dalai Lama’s Two Reasons for Banning Shugden Worship
An analysis of the Dalai Lama’s two reasons for banning the centuries-old worship of Dorje Shugden. Here are the facts… you decide!
Western Shugden Society
Very few have discussed the plight of Shugden practitioners in Western Shugden Society. I will delve into some of the issues faced by some of our eastern brothers in Tibet. The Tibetan exile government put the Dalai Lama’s wishes into practice directly in India, and in the same way the Dalai Lama’s official representative in…
The Dalai Lama at Bodh Gaya Jan 2012
“I realised it was harmful to follow the Shugden deity so I stopped worshipping” (Dalai Lama, 6 January 2012). The Dalai Lama continues to highlight the ban of the centuries-old deity Dorje Shugden at every opportunity.
Buddhist Taliban
The world was horrified when the Taliban blew up images of the Buddha carved into the rock in Afghanistan. This religious terrorism has also been happening in India since the 1980s. For 30 years, the Dalai Lama’s Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has been ordering the destruction of statues and other holy images of the Wisdom…
The Shugden Dispute
In my last post I wrote about current issues within the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT). As promised, to fill out my attitude to the NKT I am posting an article I wrote in 1996 in the second issue of Dharma Lifemagazine, just as the dispute over Dorje Shugden was breaking out into the open. Much…
April 11, 2025
A Tribute to His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Chocktrul Rinpoche
March 31, 2025
Dalai Lama Admits He Was Wrong About Dorje Shugden
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