For the record, I am not the student of HHDL.
I know I am going to be "bombarded" for posting this - but I am doing this in the spirit of sharing.
It appears that there are two very distinct perceptions here - one who believes that HHTDL is doing something much more than what meets the eye and one who believes that HHTDL needs to be reminded or told off that HH is wrong.
Whatever your views are, you have the right to express them, of course. This goes without saying.
I applaud the Admin/Webmaster to post up the Rules and Regulations. It does spell out everything very loud and clear.
Here, I just want to say that what appears to be 'unpleasant and outright evil' to us may be actually something else in disguise. And if we all believe in Karma, as we should, it may just be our own collective karma that this is all happening to us in one way or another.
Whether you can accept it or not, it is something you have to deal with. While others will deal with it, in their own way.
Yes, sometimes it is much easier and more convenient to tag all the blame onto someone else or something else. Of course, that always makes us feel much better when we can place all our angst and grief onto someone else. It removes our own role/responsibility in the whole deal. Bearing in mind, this role and responsibility could have stemmed from many lifetimes ago, and not just this.
I personally did not understand and agree with GKG's "demonstration" acts, and asking all his students to protest when I first read about it or heard about it. It did seem rather strange to me and very conflicting.
It is the same as what GKG and his students say of HH. To me, both sides appear to be doing the same thing.
However, upon reading more, I realised that I am neither that enlightened to understand and most of all, to criticize and judge. Having said that, it does not mean that I do not think at all. It means, I rather use some discerning wisdom and compassion to shape my thinking.
Both GKG and HHTDL are highly attained Masters. How could they both be wrong?
I may not agree with both their ways, but it does not mean that I can discount the fact that they both have "bigger pictures" to accomplish. Perhaps. May be.
Now, before anyone thinks that I am suggesting that they are both working together - just let me say it now, NO. That is not what I am suggesting.
If GKG were my Guru, then I believe I would do as he says. If HH were my Guru, I'd also be doing what he says. No question about it. That's Vajrayana.
As extracted from "Dangerous Friend": The Teacher-Student Relationship in Vajrayana Buddhism by Rig'dzin Dorje
"The Lama is the ecstatic, wild, and gentle figure who short-circuits your systems of self-referencing. The Lama is the only person in your life who cannot be manipulated. The Lama is the invasion of unpredictability you allow into your life, to enable you to cut through the convolutions of interminable psychological and emotional process. The Lama is the terrifying compassionate gamester who re-shuffles the deck of your carefully arranged rationale. To enter into vajra commitment is to leap from the perfect precipice. To find yourself in the radiant space of this choiceless choice, is the very heart of Tantra. To leap open-eyed into the shining emptiness of the Lama's wisdom display, and to experience the ecstatic impact of each dynamic gesture of the Lama's method display is the essential luminosity and power of the path."
As of now, we are caught in this 'spiritual battle' within and without pertaining to the issue of Dorje Shugden.
One High Lama has re-shuffled the"deck of our carefully arranged rationale" - that is obvious. Is it to make us leap from our own deluded state into the state of "choiceless choice"? And if so, why?
This is all a grand display of a High Lama's Method - yes, I can also choose to see it that way. So, when I do choose to see that way, whatever this High Lama does, I choose to learn from that and deepen my Dharma practice.
For those who choose not to see it that way, then your main practice may just lie in only going against the Lama itself. And not learn from it. Perhaps, may be. This is something only you would know best, upon deeper reflection.
So, again, I am not suggesting anything at all here.
I am just sharing my thoughts.
"Vajrayana holds that all beings are equally worthy of compassion. However, Vajrayana does not hold that beings should be restricted in their capacity according to the lowest common denominator allowed by those who wish to curtail human freedom. To restrict people's freedom to make value judgements in order to enforce an artificial equality is to shrink the quality of life."
The real question is always - what is the "artificial equality" and what is true freedom?
Most of the time, we tend to only see and think what we choose and want to think.
"Relationship with a vajra master is not democratic. This may appear somewhat shocking, but we need to understand that our relationship with reality is also not democratic....Even if democracy were such a wonderful phenomenon - where do we authentically find democracy in the world? Every 'democratic' society would appear to be ruled by powerful influential factors that attempt to remain discreet. Within every democracy we find dictatorship manifesting under the guise of consensus."
"Neither democracy and totalitarianism offers real freedom - and neither has anything in common with vajra relationship. From the perspective of Vajrayana, dictators are no freer than those to whom they dictate."
"We can never be free of freedom - if freedom is our obsession. If we cannot be free to give up the sovereignty of our narcissistic rational, Vajrayana becomes meaningless."
"If we fail to recognize the compassionate nature of vajra relationship as the heart of Vajrayana, then we are left merely with a prosaic esoteric pastime."
GKG is a Vajra Master to many thousands of students all over the world.
HHTDL is a Vajra Master to hundreds and hundreds of thousands of students worldwide.
At the end of the day, you will decide on your own what you want to believe. Naturally, because - "we only do things with which our ego can comfortably identify."
"There is actually nothing worse than having everything your own way. There would be nothing more claustrophobic than having a partner who agreed with you all the time, nothing more depressing than being able to design existence according to your own quality judgements. There is therefore nothing more useless than having a Lama whose advice is conditional on your own agreement with it. The Lama is there to wreck our personal pattern of samsara in order that we can become vast in our appreciation rather than contracting and becoming more rigid. The Lama is always pointing at the beautiful scenery which lies outside the safety of our comfortable cages."
All the above quoted are extracted from "Dangerous Friend".
In here, yes, they do rattle that cage and that cage is your very cherished mind set and thinking. And I believe, we all can do that with due respect.
In ending, if GKG is your Lama and you are following his advice, then fine. You are practising what your Guru says.
If HH is your Lama and your are following his advice, then it is also practising what your Guru says.
However, for those, who have a few Gurus and have received ordinations & teachings from both HH and their own Gurus, and they are caught in this dilemma - then you have the toughest decisions to make.
If all Gurus cannot be wrong, then we need to find a more peaceful and respectful way to continue with our practice in order NOT to create more problems and bad karma for ourselves. In this respect, if some Lamas and students need to practice in secret, I can totally empathize and understand. It is the best way for them not to lose their Gurus and go against Guru Devotion.
As long as someone is still sincere and makes genuine efforts to continue practicing, I believe that is courage personified and epitome of his/her guru devotion.
We do not need to disparage anyone who chooses this or that. They are in a "choiceless choice" state and is doing the best they can do at this time.
More than anything else, they need our understanding, support and help.
Hence, this Forum is that haven for those confused, orphaned by virtue of their beliefs and those seeking to understand more.
It does rattle the cages of our minds and it does it with care, respect and kindness. I do not see what is so wrong about that. In fact, I welcome that.
So, whatever your opinions are - you have your own points and they are valid to you, please understand that others hold the same.
Some may even be seeking for more clarification or understanding - despite who their Guru is. In this respect, this space is open to anyone who wishes to learn more. And if in the process of finding our more, they 'fall in love' with DS - regardless of who their Guru is - I would say that this space has done a great job. And I'd like to help this space do just that because it further promotes our Protector.
If Dorje Shugden is embraced by more people, that also means that more people will be helped by him and benefit from him as DS will lead them to the Dharma, the Lamrim.
That to me, is the best gift of all that we can give to so many others whom we may not know or even meet. In this way, I return the kindness that I have received and benefited from my own Protector Practice. I share it with others, and help make it truly available to as many people as possible.
This is my 2 cents worth. Thank you and good night!
