LETTER OF THE DAY

from Marc (USA)
Oct 22, 2007

Reading from Gary's deep insight and writing, I was thinking that it wouldn’t make any sense that great lamas just gave up a lifetime of practice and commitment to Dorje Shugden because the Dalai Lama said to. It doesn’t make sense. Because:

1. That would mean that all these great omniscient lamas weren’t omniscient after all?? That they were very fickle and also why would they do so JUST BECAUSE THE DALAI LAMA SAID SO. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS ON SMALLER AND BIGGER ISSUES THAT TIBETANS DO NOT LISTEN TO THE DALAI LAMA OPINIONS. For example (without judgment) the karma kagyus are famous for saying that the Dalai Lama shouldn’t interfere with their internal affairs such as the selection of the current karmapa. Well if they don’t want his opinions on that, why would they want his opinions on Dorje Shugden? Why would the ban on Dorje Shugden be blowing such a loud horn but other statements that the Dalai Lama makes is wrong/unneeded or ignored?

Dalai Lama is traveling the world empowering everyone into the sacred kalacakra practice. Lamas and tulkus for and against Dorje Shugden are attending. But that practice should be defiled by now because the Dalai Lama’s lineage lamas from whence he received the instructions from are impure and has broken refuge commitments due their practice of Dorje Shugden as he is a so called spirit. So many of the sadhanas/commentaries/retreat instructions Dalai Lama and other great gelugpa people practice (Yamantaka, Guhyasamaja, Cakrasamvara, Vajrayogini, 6 yogas of Naropa, etc) all have in their daily prayers to invoke the root and lineage lamas. And in all of those prayers included in these sadhanas as part of the rite, H.H. Pabongka Rinpoche is included. Pabongka Rinpoche was a great practitioner of the Dorje Shugden protector as his principal protector. So by doing so, isn’t Pabongka stained, filled with broken samaya and wrong vessel to get dharma from?? If so, then those practices that thousands (including the Dalai Lama himself) do daily should logically be ineffective because they are invoking blessings from Pabongka for example who has no blessings to give as he is a practitioner of Dorje Shugden. Whether that is the case or not, use logic and wisdom.

2. H.H. the Dalai Lama mentioned himself that he practiced Dorje Shugden until the 70's then he gave up. But if he is the Dalai Lama and incarnation of Avalokitesvara, wouldn’t his wisdom be the same before he discovered that Dorje Shugden is harmful to himself and others?? If that is the case, why did he even start in the first place?? After all, if he is Avalokitesvara before the practice of Dorje Shugden (even composing praises to Dorje Shugden) and he is after..how did the status of Dorje Shugden change before and after. After all, the Dalai Lama’s clairvoyance is from many lifetimes and surely he can see what he was going to start pray to is evil and therefore not have started in the first place to even have to give up in the second place.

3. The Dalai Lama being a gelugpa lama would find it easier to criticize his own school of Buddhism and not get much protest. Traditionally the Dalai Lama's power base was from the great Gelugpa Monasteries that dominated the Tibetan country. But it would be difficult for him to criticize others schools of Buddhism because it would be viewed as Sectarianism..and in Tibetan history, there is cases of Tibetan government under the previous Dalai Lamas closing down or converting temples and Monasteries belonging to the other schools of Buddhism. These closures are from sectarian ministers using the Dalai Lama’s name for their own ends. If that is not possible, why was Tibet lost in 1959 in the first place?? So now is the time where the Dalai Lama has to look non-partisan, unbiased and clearly promoting all forms of Buddhism or he loses his basis for spokesperson for all Tibetans who can be only united to preserve their culture/identity through their religion. After all how come the other heads of Tibetan Buddhism promotes pretty much their own schools of Buddhism without criticism. For example, Drukchen Rinpoche promotes Drukpa kagyu and not karma kagyu, sakya or gelugpa. Drigung Kagyu promotes the sacred lineages of their school and not sakya or Gelugpa?? Or Sakya Trizin doesn’t ever give a Yamantaka initiation according to gelugpa texts by Pabongka. Or Dilgo Kyentse never gave initiation of Tsongkapa. Why not the Gaden Tripa give guru rinpoche initiation?? There is nothing wrong with each lama promoting their own lineage as without bias towards other lineages of course, but they are not heads of states that bind the whole country together. The Dalai Lama’ unique roles as head of state and high lama throws him into a situation he must bind all religious factors of Tibet to create unity. So suppressing Dorje Shugden is just one of them.

That is why lamas of other schools of Buddhism can be seen criticizing Dorje Shugden or related Gelugpa practices but Gelugpa lamas including the Dalai Lama cannot criticize or comment on other schools because Tibet ’s government was a Gelugpa de facto government doing its best to be non sectarian.. It is always that the majority must be sensitive to the minority or be labeled prejudice if the majority was in the past 'guilty' or not of something. It would open up old wounds sort of to say if sensitivity was not included.

So the Dalai Lama is in fact uniting all Tibetans by suppressing the practice of Dorje Shugden. Very skillful. China latched on to this and is promoting this practice in Tibet and China . As anything that would 'hurt' Tibetan independence movement or 'hurt' the life of the Dalai Lama, China would definitely be happy and promote. So when anyone promotes the fact that Dorje Shugden is bad, hurts, the Dalai Lama, bad for Tibetan Independence , it would have the reverse effect. Because temporarily Dorje Shugden might be the buzz word for harmful to Dalai Lama’s person, so give up the practice. And some people without thinking deeper just might give it up. But would the other half of the world (Chinese) care?? In fact each time we put down Dorje Shugden, we are promoting him. People who are anti-shugden should stop saying negative things because your making Dorje Shugden bigger and bigger. That is the incredible part. Each time you stop Dorje Shugden practice, criticize or make fear and especially using the name of the Dalai Lama, you make China ‘happy’. Nothing wrong with making China happy. But if you are using Dorje Shugden as an anti-sectarian means to suppress Gelugpa practices, you are going about it in the wrong way.

And wouldn’t China promote it bigger and better than anyone. After all they have economic power base that is growing by the month. So when we keep mentioning that this practice is not good..are we really fulfilling the purpose of suppressing the practice or making it grow bigger. We have to look beyond this generation alone. We have to look at China and her relationship with Dorje Shugden long after the Dalai Lama has passed on. Long after we have passed on.

Or does the Dalai Lama KNOW all this and is purposely doing it to promote this practice in China and therefore eventually it grows in the world via China after he is gone..
But seemingly looking as if he is suppressing it when actually it will grow bigger with China behind Dorje Shugden. China is making Dorje Shugden bigger and bigger.

4. What would we think of great lamas that have practiced Dorje Shugden and led their students to do it and then SUDDENLY SAY DONT DO IT ANYMORE..IT IS HARMFUL TO YOU, THE TIBETAN CAUSE, THE DALAI LAMA AND IT IS A SPIRIT. That doesn’t sound like someone I would want to get teachings from because it seems that either this lama is unstable, or wants to look good to 'rub' shoulders with the Dalai Lama and therefore promote his own ministry using the Dalai Lama's fame. And like a few years down the line, what other practices would be found to be dangerous or wrong. I don’t want to be sitting around biting my nails wondering what practice would be restricted again.

5. Ultimately I conclude that both the Dalai Lama has great motives and far reaching insight at the suppression of Dorje Shugden than we give credit for. After all, if this protector is a spirit, why does the Dalai Lama have to keep on talking about it again and again and again. Just do a ritual to subdue him like guru rinpoche subdued the evil spirit nechung and imprisoned him into samye. And get him to help like Nechung was made to do..

6. I think the fact that Dorje Shugden cannot be subdued even by the Dalai Lama is kind of embarrassing for the Dalai Lama so he tells us not to practice??? Or Dorje Shugden isn’t an evil spirit, but an enlightened protector that Dalai Lama knows if he promotes, he would look sectarian or biased. After all, his root lama and their lamas all practiced. Are they all wrong and Dalai Lama is singularly correct?? I think the Dalai Lama is beyond all this and is just really skillful. And the Dorje Shugden is somehow becoming a global force.

7. If Dorje Shugden is the cause for Tibetans not getting independence up till now..then that would mean Dorje Shugden’s powers are greater than the combined powers of all the Dharma protectors of Tibet and all the four schools of Buddhism..could that be so? So the array of powerful dharma protectors such as Mahakala, wrathful dorje drolod, pelden lhamo, Chamsing, Nechung, Kalarupa, Vaisravana, apchi, hayagriva, ekazati, etc etc all combined and pitted against Dorje Shugden and he still beats all of them?? That is incredible because how can one evil spirit overwhelm all these great enlightened beings. It makes you question these enlightened beings huh? Or perhaps as so many of hundreds of lamas, tulkus, geshes, teachers, mahasiddhas, scholars, monks, practitioners have been saying for centuries, that Dorje Shugden is a direct emanation of Manjushri??

Marc (USA)
Oct 22, 2007