And so, the greatest irony in all this is that by continuing the ban, supporters of the Dalai Lama and the CTA claim that they are preserving religious purity and upholding the tenets of the Dharma. What they so dismally fail to realise is that this is the very thing that has caused so much suppression and caused their own community to split at the seams. Upholding religious purity? But this is exactly what's causing monasteries to split, for Gurus and their disciples to be separated, for people to NOT be allowed to attend the Dalai Lama's spiritual teachings - what kind of religious purity is that? So while they THINK they're preserving their religious heritage and lineage, they've just caused the opposite to happen.
We might also consider this: that China may not have entirely pure spiritual reasons for promoting Buddhism within Tibet (and other parts of the country) and they may well be politically motivated - to undermine the Dalai Lama, increase their own repute and standing among the Tibetans in Tibet etc. But the truth of the matter is that Buddhism IS BEING SPREAD and it IS GROWING. In Dharmic terms, whatever someone's motivation is, a connection with the three jewels is still a true connection that will open up to something truly beneficial and sincere at a later time. So while they think they might not be engaging at all in something religious, they're also causing the opposite to happen - in a subconsciously good and beneficial way.
We might also consider this: that China may not have entirely pure spiritual reasons for promoting Buddhism within Tibet (and other parts of the country) and they may well be politically motivated - to undermine the Dalai Lama, increase their own repute and standing among the Tibetans in Tibet etc. But the truth of the matter is that Buddhism IS BEING SPREAD and it IS GROWING. In Dharmic terms, whatever someone's motivation is, a connection with the three jewels is still a true connection that will open up to something truly beneficial and sincere at a later time. So while they think they might not be engaging at all in something religious, they're also causing the opposite to happen - in a subconsciously good and beneficial way.
That China may not be doing it out of spiritual reasons is something to celebrate because it shows the new mentality of the Chinese leadership, that is to respect the spirituality of other. It is in fact, democracy in action. We can see that they have come such a long way from their previous mentality of destroying anything that did not fit into their communist ideology. It is a sign of China's progress. By the same measure, it also shows CTA's regress.
Regardless of their true intentions, what is undeniable is that Buddhism IS growing in China because of the policies the leadership is implementing, and that China IS doing more than the CTA for Tibetan Buddhism and Buddhist practitioners. We certainly do no see China banning any religious belief and even with the Falun Gong sect, they clearly have backed off from the hardline stance. The difference in the way China treated the Falun Gong and Dorje Shugden says that they do not see Dorje Shugden practitise as a cult, another wrongful accusation leveled at Shugden by the CTA.
That China is willing to change and the CTA is not cannot be denied. I am not saying which government is better but the results do show that Tibetan Buddhism has found a new champion and it is not the CTA. The CTA's actions seem to have harmed the preservation and growth of Tibetan Buddhist culture. Ironically, this is one of the CTA's demands to China - to preserve Tibetan Buddhism. This is yet another thing that CTA accused China of wanting to destroy but the reverse is true.
But if there is one thing Buddhism has taught us, it is that nothing is permanent and so, casting perceptions aside, let us explore developments within the Dalai Lama/CTA’s camp and compare them to policies and initiatives undertaken by the Chinese Communist Government in recent years, to see how the actions of each have either promoted or harmed the practice and propagation of Buddhism".
That China may not be doing it out of spiritual reasons is something to celebrate because it shows the new mentality of the Chinese leadership, that is to respect the spirituality of other. It is in fact, democracy in action. We can see that they have come such a long way from their previous mentality of destroying anything that did not fit into their communist ideology. It is a sign of China's progress. By the same measure, it also shows CTA's regress.
I wouldn't hold your breath for the CTA to be gone or ineffective any time soon. Side with HHDL, Dharma and CTA and not the genocidal Chinese Govt.
:-[
I wouldn't hold your breath for the CTA to be gone or ineffective any time soon. Side with HHDL, Dharma and CTA and not the genocidal Chinese Govt.
:-[
I wouldn't hold your breath for the CTA to be gone or ineffective any time soon. Side with HHDL, Dharma and CTA and not the genocidal Chinese Govt.
:-[
The CTA are also proving their ineffectiveness - the very fact that their name changed from a "government in exile" to a mere "administrative" body is evidence enough of what little regard the world and their host country have for them. An "administration"?! That doesn't sound at all like good news for a body that's trying to champion the betterment of its being and a reunification with its motherland.
I wouldn't hold your breath for the CTA to be gone or ineffective any time soon. Side with HHDL, Dharma and CTA and not the genocidal Chinese Govt.
:-[
To be fair, China did destroy Buddhism in Tibet and mainland China itself in a catastrophic scale during cultural revolution: temples were burnt, dharma books were burnt, statues were smashed, monks/nuns were jailed or killed. So whatever China did was unforgivable, and nothing that they do now can repair the damage.
While they may not be able to repair the damage instantly, they are doing their best to repair the damage by repairing temples, giving allowances to monks and nuns and hosting Buddhist conferences and so forth. To me, that is somewhat acceptable.
That much said, CTA is no better either, they are not interested in preserving Buddhism at all, although they claim they do, but that's merely a PR tactic to gain support from the international community. How can you suppress your own most prominent Buddhism lineage (Gelug/Dorje Shugden) and still calim that you champion Buddhism? Hypocrisy, hypocrisy, hypocrisy.
Do not listen to CTA, they are up to no good.
Has there been any reports of the CTA benefitting the sangha? Did the CTA have an annual event where they sponsor the sangha's expenses? No. They did nothing to help the Dharma. Yet many innocent westerners continue to be deceived by the CTA.
Ensapa,
Without CTA you wouldn't even have Ganden or any of the monasteries or Tibetan communities! Without HHDL you wouldn't even have Tibetan Buddhism let alone the spirit Shugden! ;) Be grateful to your real master as the saying goes. :)
The CTA is a pretend-democracy and what puzzles me is how willingly India and the rest of the world plays along with it. I think, the world support the Tibetans in exile have been receiving all these years were more out of anti-Chine sentiments than pro-Tibet ones. I shudder to think how the CTA can reinvent itself and move forward after His Holiness passes into clear light. One the one hand, the Dalai Lama is keeping the Tibetans together and on the other hand, he may also be the reason why there is no true democratic practices yet. Whatever the reason may be, the CTA serves very little purpose today. Imagine all the "new" support it could harness by removing the ban. All Shugden practitioners (and I will not be surprised if the number is larger than the CTA imagines) will look at Dr. Lobsang Sangay with gratitude and appreciation. In addition the very influential lamas like Gangchen Rinpoche and Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche who is for certain heading for super-stardom in the world of Tibetan Buddhism, will become allies of the CTA instead of people the CTA oppose. Is that not much better?
Second Meeting of China-India Strategic Economic Dialogue Held in New Delhi[/size]
2012/11/26([url]http://in.chineseembassy.org/eng/zt/year2012/W020121128011570510175.jpg[/url])
On November 26, 2012, China and India made in-depth and extensive dialogue and exchanges over how to strengthen strategic, economic and trade cooperation, promote bilateral macro-economic policy communication and coordination, as well as deepen and expand pragmatic cooperation in the fields of investment, infrastructure, high-technology, energy efficiency, environment protection and energy.
During the 2nd Meeting of China-India Strategic Economic Dialogue in the Indian capital, the Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, Zhang Ping, and Vice Chairman of the Planning Commission of India, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, addressed the attendants on the overall outlook of bilateral cooperation.
In his speech, Zhang said the dialogue is an important platform created by the governments of the two countries in order to exchange experiences in economic development and broaden cooperation, as well as an organic part of the Sino-India Strategic Partnership.
As two biggest developing countries in the world, China and India are moving forward on the road of renovation. Both countries share many common interests in the world today, he said.
Zhang said that the just-concluded 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has clearly pointed out that China will implement a more active open policy and under this guideline, China will consolidate its strategic partnership with India with a strategic and long-term perspective to seek and push forward common interests, develop and expand space of cooperation, learn from each other's experiences and open each other's market.
Zhang suggested that the two countries deepen communication and coordination of each other's macro-economic policy, push forward cooperation in infrastructure including railway, power, telecommunications, improve investment atmosphere, carry out green economic cooperation like renewable energy, energy efficiency and environment protection.
Ahluwalia said the dialogue is a mechanism aimed at promoting exchanges in multiple fields between the two countries, and India- China cooperation has huge potential.
He said the two countries have many things to exchange and India is very much interested in the achievement made by China in infrastructure like highways, ports and railways, while China is also interested in the experiences accumulated by India in many fields.
Ahluwalia added that India-China economic growth is exerting a huge impact on the reshaping of global economic order and India would like to cooperate with China in multilateral frameworks like G20 and BRICS.
During the meeting, the governments and enterprises of the two countries also signed a number of agreements on joint study of cooperation, railway, software, energy and energy efficiency.
The first such dialogue was held in Beijing in September 2011, after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to launch the dialogue in 2010.([url]http://in.chineseembassy.org/eng/zt/year2012/W020121128011570586558.jpg[/url])
Ensapa,
Without CTA you wouldn't even have Ganden or any of the monasteries or Tibetan communities! Without HHDL you wouldn't even have Tibetan Buddhism let alone the spirit Shugden! ;) Be grateful to your real master as the saying goes. :)
Ensapa,
Without CTA you wouldn't even have Ganden or any of the monasteries or Tibetan communities! Without HHDL you wouldn't even have Tibetan Buddhism let alone the spirit Shugden! ;) Be grateful to your real master as the saying goes. :)
What are you saying Tenzin Gyatso??? Ganden and the other monasteries as well as the Tibetan community of people existed long before the CTA came about. The CTA is a failed experiment at democracy and today, the Tibetan people have prevailed not because of the CTA but in spite of the CTA. The Tibetan people still in the homeland do not owe their livelihood and spirituality to the Tibetan government in exile at all, but to China. The monasteries that have been built in Tibet in the last decade or so were built with the support of the Chinese government, not the CTA.
As for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as much as I respect and love him, he did not give us Buddhism. The Buddha Dharma existed long before the first Dalai Lama came about. How can you infer that HHDL gave us Buddhism and how can Buddhism be dependent on the Dalai Lama singularly? The present Dalai Lama has said that perhaps he is the last in the lineage of Dalai Lamas. Does that mean Buddhism would disappear with His Holiness? Does that also mean that all Buddhas depend on the existence of Chenrezig in order to exist? Doesn't make much sense does it?
I do agree with you that we should be grateful to our real master who is in fact the Buddha emanating in the form of our Guru. It is with considerable disappointment that many lamas who have stopped practicing Dorje Shugden have not shown the same gratitude to their masters.