To Whom It May Concern,
I got to know Buddhism through one of the teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama 2 years ago on the YouTube. It was the Dalai Lama’s incredibly sacred teachings that opened the doors of Buddhism for me and I have been reading voraciously on the Internet and buying a lot of books to read ever since.
While browsing through the Dalai Lama’s website, I was really shocked to read about the Dhogyal issue being posted on the website. I am not a Tibetan and I don’t understand the political implications of such a statement. It doesn’t seem befitting for a world religious leader like the Dalai Lama to be saying such things. In fact, I have never come across another world religious leader that would issue a ban on another faith or practice. This is so wrong especially in today’s world.
This makes the Dalai Lama look biased like many religious fundamentalists out there. Such statements are not good for many faithful practitioners all over the world. Religious fundamentalism is so archaic and many people fear it because it is the recipe for social unrest. In fact, such a ban only serve to dispel the widespread belief that Buddhism is a religion of peace and discourages many others like me from joining and accepting Buddhism.
How can the Dalai Lama talk about compassion and harmony on one side of the website and on the other side, he talks about segregation and the ban. Doesn’t this sound like a contradiction to you? I don’t know Buddhism as much as the great Geshes and scholars but I know enough to tell that the ban does nothing but segregate people. I am writing this letter with hopes that the Webmaster or the people in charge of this website will take down the statements on Dhogyal for the Dalai Lama’s sake.
With Regards,
(YOUR NAME)
English
Indonesia
Tibetan