dorjeshugden.com
About Dorje Shugden => General Discussion => Topic started by: WisdomBeing on June 17, 2011, 03:42:31 PM
-
I've been eagerly scanning the news re HH Dalai Lama's travels around the world, hoping to see some reference to Dorje Shugden. Finally Dorje Shugden is mentioned here in the Brisbane Times. I have taken the liberty of highlighting the reference in red.
Of course I don't agree with the disrespectful way HH Dalai Lama (and Buddhism - the author mocks reincarnation) is mentioned in this article, but just wanted to share the entire article with the forum.
Darkness behind the guru-bubble
June 18, 2011
After careful thought, I have decided, like the Prime Minister, that I have no time in my busy schedule to meet Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, aka His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
This may be my loss. When Tony Abbott saw the bouncy bonze on Tuesday he announced that their meeting had been "good and constructive". He had gained "an added consciousness of the importance of the spiritual dimension to life", he said, without a hint of irony.
Makes you feel all warm and runny inside, that does. Perhaps they discussed homosexuality, where their views happily coincide, one mad monk to another. His Holiness regards gay or lesbian sex as a sin, and even masturbation - or "use of the hand", as he coyly puts it - is "sexual misconduct''. And oral sex, too. And gay marriage. Also bad.
The starry-eyed idealists who believe the Dalai Lama to be goodness incarnate must be unaware of this puritan streak. His Holiness swans around the world on a cloud of adulation, much of it generated by an uncritical Western media.
Journalists who would not hesitate to take a stick to the Pope or the Archbishop of Canterbury for their failings report the Dalai Lama's giggly banalities with all the fawning solemnity of truth revealed. There is a curious notion in the West that Asian religions in general, and Tibetan Buddhism in particular, have reached an ethereal plane of spiritual perfection beyond the reach of the rest of us.
Yet some of his stuff is just plain barmy. Reincarnation is as silly as it gets. After the Hollywood tough guy Steven Seagal forked out a whopping donation, the Dalai Lama discovered that he had once been a 17th-century Buddhist master named Chungdrag Dorje. The actor, famed for his on-screen violence, was therefore a "tulku", or sacred vessel. Hollywood loves guru-babble. Richard Gere, Sharon Stone and Goldie Hawn are also devotees.
Silliness is one thing. Nastiness is another. The so-called apostle of kindness has been ruthless in crushing a rival Tibetan Buddhist sect known as Dorje Shugden, expelling its monks from monasteries and ostracising or exiling its adherents.
And it is almost forgotten now, but about 20 years ago he accepted more than $2 million in donations from the Japanese terrorist Shoko Asahara, leader of the Aum doomsday cult, who thereafter murdered 11 people and poisoned thousands more by releasing sarin nerve gas in a Tokyo subway.
So I don't think Julia Gillard missed a lot of spiritual uplift. Until corrected at a press conference, the old nutter thought that she was a he.
ADVERTISING, said George Orwell, is "the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket". I don't actually agree with that. The modern world couldn't function without advertising, and some of it we actually enjoy. Plus, to be honest, it's kept me going for most of my working life.
But then along comes a real stinker of an ad campaign, something so truly vile that you begin to see Orwell's point. Big Tobacco's frenzied attempts to prevent plain packaging for cigarettes plumb new depths of dishonesty.
"Do you really like living in a Nanny State?" is the latest spiel from Imperial Tobacco, with a shot of a cranky shrew scowling over her glasses. "Now the government wants to remove all branding …" it goes on.
There's the first lie. Brand names would still be printed on cigarette packets. They'd still say Winfield or Dunhill or whatever. Just smaller, and not in glowing colours. But here the tobacco companies want you to believe that the government is pinching their intellectual property, a case they would eventually take to the High Court in the hope of billions of dollars in compensation.
The rest of the campaign is just as devious, with wild claims about damage to Australia's international trade reputation and the supposed dangers of fuelling a global cigarette-smuggling racket. It seems there is nothing they won't stoop to.
A better quote comes from the huckster known in his day as the King of Madison Avenue, the late British advertising executive David Ogilvy: "Advertising is only evil when it advertises evil things, " he once said.
LAST week's column on the lethal folly of our war in Afghanistan prompted an extraordinary response, mostly agreeing that we should get out. Several emails were from Vietnam veterans, one of them a bloke who'd been in 5RAR, the Fifth Battalion, in 1969. I thought it worth a run here:
"I am a Vietnam veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. My condition has been getting much worse over the past years with the usual nightmares and flashbacks that I am told are typical of blokes like me. I also suffer from a deep abiding guilt and self-loathing for the things that I did and saw while there. As a national serviceman I was really unprepared both for the reality of war and for the abuse I received upon my return home. As a result, most of my colleagues and a large number of my friends have no idea I was ever in the army. That is why I have asked that my name be kept confidential.
"I am telling you this because I believe my condition has been made much worse by what is happening in Afghanistan and previously Iraq. It brings me undone to see on TV the repatriation of [the bodies of] young men and brings back the horror. It disgusts me to see politicians, of both parties, almost fawning over grieving relatives. I wish they would just stay away and not make a political event of funerals. I do not understand why our country keeps making the same mistake of fighting other people's wars.
"I also worry for the well-being of the guys who do come home. What will their mental condition be like in, say, 10, 20 or 30 years from now? Will the government be as mean-spirited in giving them all the support they need, the support they denied to us?
"Sending boys off to war is like throwing a pebble into a pond. The emotional ripples just keep going, not just for the individual involved but for his children and his family for years and years."
Says it all, really.
Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/politics/darkness-behind-the-gurububble-20110617-1g7si.html#ixzz1PY23ZeMm
-
I do not agree with the disrespectful way of how HHDL is being mentioned in this article either... but sorry to say that because of HHDL's "negative" association to Dorje Shugden, our Protector's name appears and highlighted in the news for years now since the ban was put in place.
I don't hear so much news about other Protectors which Dalai Lama approves of, but instead what he disapproves of is being promoted the most! I am NOT for the ban but is merely highlighting the effects of the ban in relation to our Protector. I do wish very much that we can all freely practice one day soon.
-
Thanks for sharing this article, WB.
I think it is a given that no one likes the ban or approves of it.
But even on that common ground of not liking the ban or approving it, there is still a steep divide.
One continues to view the Dalai Lama in a negative light and the other which chooses to see it all in a positive light.
VIEW 1: One dislikes and opposes the Dalai Lama because of the ban. Yes, this has created its share of suffering, pain and anguish.
But what challenges in life do not already do that to us all? With or without the ban, our lives are not free from suffering. I mean, seriously, while in samsara, is there such a thing as a truly incident-free life? Even when we are all alone at home, we experience so much noise in our heads. And we do not need anything external to drive us up the wall. Yet we still forge ahead and keep living our lives from day to day. I am just saying that our lives are already seeped in suffering because our minds are not free from the self-cherishing disease.
VIEW 2: The Bigger Picture that Dalai Lama and Dorje Shugden are working together to bring Dharma to a greater and wider audience and benefit many many more.
As DS Friend rightly pointed out - do we see any other Protector being mentioned and highlighted in the world's media other than Dorje Shugden. It even appear that Dalai Lama is sharing his stage with Dorje Shugden with the way HH keeps up with the ban. Even if we take out the spiritual element - think of what challenges that we have successfully overcome in our lives, what happened then? We became stronger, better and more resourceful. Most importantly, we became self-reliant. From previously not knowing how to do certain things, we became much more equipped to face what life throws at us. This is just at a worldly level. And that is why we applaud survivors and call them heroes.
I have been watching the controversial videos again and again. It occurred to me that so many of the Tibetans who escaped from China into India were mostly ill equipped to support themselves. They were all relying on HHDL for help and support. In fact, in due time, they stopped relying on themselves completely. They just put it all on the Dalai Lama. Whatever HH says, whatever HH wishes and they appear to have stopped thinking for themselves.
So, how could any of them hope to survive when HH leaves this world? Everything pinned on one man to be responsible for an entire nation, in the most literal sense. It is very different our Western world. We know how to fend for ourselves. Though we live in the country we call our homeland, we are essentially our own persons. We are individuals, capable of making our own decisions and choosing who we want to be in the Government.
With the ban, the skill to survive was forced upon many people. They had no choice and no where to go. Literally at their wits' end. Yes, no one denies the pain and suffering that accompany such events.
None of us have lived through life this long without having scars or wounds to show and it may not have anything to do with spirituality.
Hardships force us to think of ways beyond our familiar comfortable settings.
Just entertain this thought with me, if you can - may be if there was no ban, everyone would remain complacent and the Dharma would have really perished in no time.
May be a ban is the most "necessary evil" at this time to bring about a greater and bigger purpose. It's not unreasonable to think so.
I am open and I wish to remain open.
In the end, time will reveal.
As it is, events have shown that Dorje Shugden practitioners and monasteries and temples have acquired the skill to survive on their own. And they are all flourishing despite the continued hardships and suffering.
This is a clear sign that nothing is fading for DS and its followers.
And may be, none of us would have been able to come this far if there was no ban at all. Because the need to break free and establish our own was not there. Hence, we wouldn't be where we are today.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but why fear?
After all, we have learnt how to survive. We didn't die. The ban did not kill us off. Even the fire pujas could not kill Dorje Shugden.
So, is it not better to keep a happy mind and spirit that does not bring us to the darkness of anger, hatred and fear?
We have come this far. We can go much further and higher.
Let us achieve all that and more without breaking our vows and incurring more bad karma on our side.
I am just sharing another way of looking at our situation, that is all.
-
May be it is not the ban that is holding us back.
May be it is just our mind and its inability to cope and respond positively.
If we believe that something has so much power to stop us, then we cease altogether. None of us will still be here today.
If we do not believe that it has the power to stop us, then we will find ways to continue.
The fact that we are still alive shows that we have found ways to overcome all our challenges in life so far.
Yes, there may be still issues we need to work on ourselves, but we are still here.
The fact is WE ARE STILL HERE.
So, we can choose to cope with everything in our lives in a negative and angry way or we can choose another way that gives us peace and brings about peace for all around us.
To each, our own.
Again -
May be it is not the ban that is holding us back.
May be it is just our mind and its inability to cope and respond positively.
-
I do not agree with the disrespectful way of how HHDL is being mentioned in this article either... but sorry to say that because of HHDL's "negative" association to Dorje Shugden, our Protector's name appears and highlighted in the news for years now since the ban was put in place.
I don't hear so much news about other Protectors which Dalai Lama approves of, but instead what he disapproves of is being promoted the most! I am NOT for the ban but is merely highlighting the effects of the ban in relation to our Protector. I do wish very much that we can all freely practice one day soon.
Firstly, thank you Wisdom Being for posting this "freedom of speech" article from Brisbanetimes.com
Like DSFriend, I do not appreciate how the author has freely expressed his hostile views of HHDL. However, I cannot help but think that did not HHDL fuel the author with the ammunition to shoot off like this? My perspective is that no one can speak negatively of another, not to mention an enlightened Lama like HHDL, if there was no evidence to speak of. After all, it is not new information that the ban against Dorje Shugden caused much plight and suffering. As much as I am happy that Dorje Shugden is mentioned in news, it always saddens me that HHDL is put in such bad light.
This further endorses how important websites like this are - to provide a more neutral view of things and allowing people to think for themselves.
-
This contradiction in terms gives us much food for thought. To promote Shugden, we CAN try to put down the Dalai Lama, but isn't doing so completely contrary to Buddhism. This is why i enjoy this site because it allows me another way of thinking - we can be strong Shugden practitioners with pure faith AND not have to put down the Dalai Lama. It's is such a relief to me personally that i am able to see the situation like this. The alternative is impossible.
i've heard from friends, acquaintances on facebook and other websites that people are sick of Shugden practitioners attacking the Dalai Lama. When i explain that not all Shugden practitioners are like that, there is some mollification but basically Shugden practitioners (especially in the West) are shooting themselves in the foot by giving the impression of much animosity to someone whom the world holds with deep reverence. It is an uphill task but i will never tire of it because i wish people to think well of this Dharma Protector who has given me so much blessings.
-
This is very true Wisdom Being. I do not believe in putting down any Lamas, especially HHDL.
It is disappointing that there are people who choose to focus on negativities and “bad publicity”. Even when someone who may not sing the same tune as them but makes complete sense, like your goodself, they still choose to make their stand to oppose and be close-minded. When matters like this happen, it makes me understand how even in religion, which is to foster peace, there is conflict. Yes, the evils of politics when mixed with religion is truly an explosive concoction.
Politics and religion will open a whole new can of worms…
-
Thank you WB for the post.
It is so interesting to read the post by helena. A fresh angle to look at this entire situation: teaching Dharma practitioners to defend the Dharma and themselves instead of relying completely on HHDL. HHDL will pass away eventually and, with the current status of the succession program, the TGIE's influence will become insignificant. With this highly possible scenario where no particular body or individual is assigned the role to uphold the doctrine of Lama Tsongkapa, it may be necessary for Dharma students to take on this responsibility.
In developing the "habit" where practitioners make a stand for and independantly protect the practice of Dorje Shugden AND have successful result in the last 2 decades, we may be paving way for the ability, knowledge and skill to do so for the entire doctrine of Lama Tsongkapa. If this is the wise strategy of HHDL and all the Buddhas, I can only be awed by their wisdom and grateful that there is hope for the Dharma to remain with us.
The trend of being too reliant on our Gurus seem common at all levels: e.g. students depend on their teachers to do all the work at Dharma centres. We do not put enought thoughts into the time when our Guru is gone and we need to uphold the teachings and His works until His reincarnation is found. Perhaps, we can expand helena's view (assuming I understood it correctly; if i have ignorantly distorted your view, please advise) and encourage all Dharma students to take on more responsibility from our Gurus so that we have the attainments to continue the Dharma works started.
-
Yes, I also agree with Wisdom Being and Diamond Girl. I dislike reading or hearing people comparing which Lama is better or who is more "powerful" etc... I simply detest it. This reflects true dharma practice. Even when a friend had given you some good advice or had helped, we must feel appreciated and grateful. If we feel that we know better, then why ask? why learn? We should be able to handle the situation ourselves.
Whether it is His Holiness or a humble young monk, they hold their vows, went through practices and studies, had given up so much for the people, so whether they have some sort of "ranking" or not, we should respect. Moreover it is not easy when you become a public figure and to speak well in front of millions hoping that they will become a better person at least. Let alone each session you are dealing with thousands of different weird "minds". So i do get really worked up with people take a one sided view and push down all the positive things that one does just like that. How unfair? I mean, how much do you really know? Whether Buddhism or not, I believe that if a person does good, speak good and act good. We at least deserve to understand his deeds or else then why you bother even debating?
-
Hmm... I think either the journalist know the issues prevalent within the Tibetan community from a superficial level or he knows much more but choses not to write any more about those issues because he wants to focus on the vilifying the Dalai Lama. Some of the points like recognizing Steven Seagal as a Tulku and accepting donations from the Doomsday cult leader was not inherently bad. Steven Seagal was definitely not recognized for money, if he did, the Dalai Lama would have recognized Richard Gere as a Tulku too and gain lots more.
With regards to the Doomsday cult leader, I am sure the Dalai Lama didn't know the Doomsday cult leader was going to kill so many people when he accepted the donation. Once he knew of what he was doing, he probably had already allocated the money for good use, perhaps the only Dharma the cult leader would have done in that lifetime before entering the 3 lower realms. How kind the Dalai Lama is to plant seeds.
-
Thank you for sharing this piece of news. What has been written and the way how the journalist of Brisbanetimes.com wrote really reflects his mind and character. It says alot that he was Vietnam veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. So please excuse him for writing thus although I do not like his abrasive and disrespectful way.
-
Hmm... I think either the journalist know the issues prevalent within the Tibetan community from a superficial level or he knows much more but choses not to write any more about those issues because he wants to focus on the vilifying the Dalai Lama. Some of the points like recognizing Steven Seagal as a Tulku and accepting donations from the Doomsday cult leader was not inherently bad. Steven Seagal was definitely not recognized for money, if he did, the Dalai Lama would have recognized Richard Gere as a Tulku too and gain lots more.
With regards to the Doomsday cult leader, I am sure the Dalai Lama didn't know the Doomsday cult leader was going to kill so many people when he accepted the donation. Once he knew of what he was doing, he probably had already allocated the money for good use, perhaps the only Dharma the cult leader would have done in that lifetime before entering the 3 lower realms. How kind the Dalai Lama is to plant seeds.
Perhaps the Dalai Lama did know of the potential harm that would be created and by accepting the cult leader's donation, it was the only way to help create some merits and like you said - plant seeds - for a future rebirth.
On the other hand, I have read that it is not good for Sangha to accept donations from impure livelihoods - like if you work in a slaughter house or a casino or a nightclub which sells alcohol. Wouldn't the same apply then - that their donations would help to repair some negative karma they have accumulated from their impure livelihoods?
-
Hmm... I think either the journalist know the issues prevalent within the Tibetan community from a superficial level or he knows much more but choses not to write any more about those issues because he wants to focus on the vilifying the Dalai Lama. Some of the points like recognizing Steven Seagal as a Tulku and accepting donations from the Doomsday cult leader was not inherently bad. Steven Seagal was definitely not recognized for money, if he did, the Dalai Lama would have recognized Richard Gere as a Tulku too and gain lots more.
With regards to the Doomsday cult leader, I am sure the Dalai Lama didn't know the Doomsday cult leader was going to kill so many people when he accepted the donation. Once he knew of what he was doing, he probably had already allocated the money for good use, perhaps the only Dharma the cult leader would have done in that lifetime before entering the 3 lower realms. How kind the Dalai Lama is to plant seeds.
Perhaps the Dalai Lama did know of the potential harm that would be created and by accepting the cult leader's donation, it was the only way to help create some merits and like you said - plant seeds - for a future rebirth.
On the other hand, I have read that it is not good for Sangha to accept donations from impure livelihoods - like if you work in a slaughter house or a casino or a nightclub which sells alcohol. Wouldn't the same apply then - that their donations would help to repair some negative karma they have accumulated from their impure livelihoods?
Like all Bodhisattvas, the Dalai Lama may have accepted the cult leader's donation to create a karmic link with him for him to benefit him in the future lives. But for the highly attained Sangha, there is no purity or impurity, it is but what is beneficial.
-
Thank you all for sharing your thoughts.
It is sad that Buddhism, of which the core idea is for all sentient beings to be liberated from samsaric sufferings, is being tainted by different 'sects' attacking each other for their own benefits. It's is so ironic!
To me, it is very simple; I respect DDLM but do not agree with the ban for Dorje Shugden practice.
What is interesting is - what happens after DDLM goes into clear light? who will take over the throne and what will the 15th DDLM do to the ban? I hope he lifts the ban and Dorje Shugden's practice can be spread far and wide without anymore 'blood shed'.
-
Thanks for sharing, Tammy, and welcome to the forum.. i know you mean DDLM as HH the Dalai Lama but what actually does DDLM stand for? Just curious..
thanks!
-
Hmm... I think either the journalist know the issues prevalent within the Tibetan community from a superficial level or he knows much more but choses not to write any more about those issues because he wants to focus on the vilifying the Dalai Lama. Some of the points like recognizing Steven Seagal as a Tulku and accepting donations from the Doomsday cult leader was not inherently bad. Steven Seagal was definitely not recognized for money, if he did, the Dalai Lama would have recognized Richard Gere as a Tulku too and gain lots more.
With regards to the Doomsday cult leader, I am sure the Dalai Lama didn't know the Doomsday cult leader was going to kill so many people when he accepted the donation. Once he knew of what he was doing, he probably had already allocated the money for good use, perhaps the only Dharma the cult leader would have done in that lifetime before entering the 3 lower realms. How kind the Dalai Lama is to plant seeds.
Perhaps the Dalai Lama did know of the potential harm that would be created and by accepting the cult leader's donation, it was the only way to help create some merits and like you said - plant seeds - for a future rebirth.
On the other hand, I have read that it is not good for Sangha to accept donations from impure livelihoods - like if you work in a slaughter house or a casino or a nightclub which sells alcohol. Wouldn't the same apply then - that their donations would help to repair some negative karma they have accumulated from their impure livelihoods?
Like all Bodhisattvas, the Dalai Lama may have accepted the cult leader's donation to create a karmic link with him for him to benefit him in the future lives. But for the highly attained Sangha, there is no purity or impurity, it is but what is beneficial.
Thank you Big Uncle, Wisdom Being and Icy for this post.
Yes I have heard about Sangha accepting donations from "unclean" sources. Like what was said, I also learnt that people with such "unclean" methods of making the money should not be discriminated and not be given some path of salvation. What I understand is that the immense negative karma has already been collected and going to the 3 lower realms is quite destined. When Sangha, out of pure compassion receives these donations, and does good with the money to benefit others like building temples, statues, etc. this will help collect merits for the "unclean" donor, cult or not. So, eventhough they are destined for the 3 lower realms, perhaps they will not stay there too long. Of course, to possibly reverse the destiny to the lower realms, these donors will need to do much much more than donate financially. Like the story of .... Milarepa.
Buddhism is truly so kind and compassionate without any discrimination!
-
@diamond u got an interesting point there, if Marpa saw Milarepa as a killer and evil person and would not teach him the dharma then MIlarepa would not achieved have achieved enlightenment whatsoever. Well Marpa also is not an ordinary person to able to get the best out of his main student Milarepa.
I think the more skilled a lama is the more ways they can benefit beings one way or another. If buddha felt Angulimala was so evil having killed 999 people I mean thats a lot of people , then Angulimala would have descended to the three lower realms.
-
Let's look on the bright side, His Holiness may manifest conflicts in opposed with Lord Dorje Shugden's practise but it is also because of His Holiness that the Dorje Shugden ban issue has caught people's attention, people and medias all around the world. May the ban be lifted very smoothly and swiftly.
-
Yes the controversy has created much awareness on the Dorje Shugden ban and has allowed many people to be introduced to Dorje Shugden these are tangible benefits of the Dorje Shudgen controversy.
It is the hope of everyone that the Dorje Shugden ban be lifted without anymore untoward situations or occurrences.
-
Let's look on the bright side, His Holiness may manifest conflicts in opposed with Lord Dorje Shugden's practise but it is also because of His Holiness that the Dorje Shugden ban issue has caught people's attention, people and medias all around the world.
By the same token, the horrendous massacres recently perpetrated by Islamic State terrorists against Yazidis and Christian Assyrians in Iraq brought a lot of media's attention to these little known peoples, and therefore you should consider such massacres shining bright.
Also, the destruction of the Bamiyan Giant Buddhas in Afghanistan by Taliban terrorists in Afghanistan brought a lot of media attention to those statues, which were little known by the general public, and therefore you should consider such destruction blazing bright.
In the same way, the kidnapping and murdering of thousands of children by Boko Haram terrorists in Africa brought a lot of media attention to those forgotten children, and therefore such children should be very grateful for having achieved international fame.
According to you, the suffering of others is very bright, because it brings some media attention to the religious label you feel attached to. You see Dorje Shugden as a Moloch insatiably wanting human sacrifice in order to increase his own fame and power.
But this is just your own depraved projection. Dorje Shugden is a buddha, and does not need mundane recognition, let alone through human sacrifice. This is the business of your beloved mentor, the evil dalie. Your attachment to the evil dalie does fit your depraved belief in human sacrifice.