A Reliable Source of Information?
The ban on the deity Dorje Shugden took a sour turn on an international scale as the issue became a target for disgruntled members of Dharma centres that engage in the practice of Dorje Shugden, such as the ex-New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) members. While many have carried on with their lives, a handful of ex-NKT members who call themselves ‘survivors’ decided to tarnish the name of their ex-Dharma centre. And what better way to do so than to use the wrongfully demonized deity to achieve their personal goals of revenge…
Must Watch Advice from HH Kyabje Zong Dorje Chang on Dorje Shugden (full version)
Dear readers, This initiation of Dorje Shugden was conferred in Los Angeles in the 1980s onto Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen’s own students in Thubten Dhargye Ling. Prior to Kyabje Zong Rinpoche giving the advice, Geshe-la formally requested Kyabje Zong Rinpoche to give an initiation of Dorje Shugden. Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen was a very strong and devoted…
NAGBA Summer Festival Toronto, 2012
Zawa Tulku Rinpoche can be seen participating in the festivities of the Canadian branch of the North American Gelug Buddhist. Association.
The Centrality of the Practice in the Geluk during the 20th Century
Particularly in the early days of exile, a number of claims were made about the centrality of the practice of Dorje Shugden in Geluk practice, in particular, that the deity was the main protector of the Geluk. This claim seems to be strongly linked to a doctrine connected with the 19th and 20th century charismatic…
An Open Letter to Robert Thurman
Robert Thurman is promoted globally as a learned scholar and author of Tibetan Buddhism. He is also famous for being “personal friends” with the Dalai Lama. Which is more important then? The fact that he could be a strong authority of Buddhism in the West, bringing the many sacred, ancient teachings to millions in “the…
Ngawang Khedrup (1779-1838)
A very special boy was born in 1779 in Mongolia. The boy would come to be known as Ngawang Khedrup, one of the greatest Mongol teachers of the Gelug tradition. He received his novice vows in Urga (modern day Ulaan Bator) and was enrolled into Tashi Chophel Monastery. When he was old enough, he traveled…
Retreng Rinpoche Trichen Tenpa Rabgye
Tritul Tenpa Rabgye (1759-1815) is a native of Lithang, Kham. Even at a young age, Tenpa Rabgye displayed strong affinity for the Dharma. At the tender age of 2, he did something very unusual for someone of his age – to request the Vajravidarna purification from the abbot of Lithang Monastery, Phuntsok Gyato. It wasn’t…
Gaden Trisur is Ostracized
Dear Friend in Dharma, I am writing to share with you the life and works of very special, courageous and extraordinary Buddhist master, one we must always remember for his contribution to Dharma. His Holiness Gaden Trisur Lungrik Namgyal is a remarkable Buddhist teacher, who was chosen among many other elite scholars to become the…
The Hypocritical Situation
Dear fellow Dharma brothers and sisters, By now, the religious ban on the deity Dorje Shugden, as instructed by the Dalai Lama, has drawn worldwide attention. For the first time in Buddhist history, Buddhists are being excluded from Dharma teachings and social welfare, brutally attacked and discriminated against by their own Buddhist community, simply because…
FAQs – About Dorje Shugden
Who is Dorje Shugden? Dorje Shugden is an emanation of Manjushri, the Enlightened Buddha of Wisdom. He arose as a Dharma Protector about 350 years ago especially to protect Nagarjuna’s Middle View, as taught by Lama Tsongkhapa. He is often considered to be a Protector of the Gelugpa lineage but actually, he protects all…
The Deity Banned by Dalai Lama
I am a Dutch student of Kundeling Rinpoche, one of the Dalai Lama’s major critics in the Gelugpa tradition. I’ll try to give an explanation of the Dorje Shugden controversy that is both understandable for those who are not initiated in the Mahayana-Vajrayana Buddhist tradition and still explains the very crux of the problem. When…
Gaden Tharpa Choling Monastery
Gaden Tharpa Choling Monastery is a Gelugpa monastery situated at the hilltop in Kalimpong, West Bengal, India. The monastery was founded by Domo Geshe Rinpoche Ngawang Kalsang in 1912. History says that Domo Geshe Rinpoche lived in Kalimpong in 1906 when he came to India for pilgrimage and to collect medicinal plants from…
A Song in Praise of Geshe Wangchuk
All Gelug lamas would have received teachings from Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche. This video shows the lineage lamas leading to Geshe Wangchuk a famous Dorje Shugden lineage master of the Kham area. There are not many Gelug lamas and monks who have not been a student of Trijang Dorje Chang. These students were inspired and devoted…
A Tribute to His Holiness Kyabje Ling Rinpoche
In the tradition of Tibet’s great masters, His Holiness Kyabje Ling Rinpoche began turning the wheel of Dharma for sentient beings at a very young age. By 10 years old, Ling Rinpoche already joined one of the three great Gelug monasteries and henceforth spent the rest of his life dedicated to the cause of serving…
Excerpt from Dagpo Rinpoche’s speech, November 1996
Below is an excerpt taken from a speech delivered by His Eminence Dagpo Rinpoche in November 1996, when he welcomed to Paris the fourteen-year-old reincarnation, Kyabje Chocktrul Rinpoche Tenzin Lobsang Yeshe Gyatso: For the benefit of the new people who have joined us today, I will mention all too briefly the activities that have been…
Tibetan Public Talk, Interview of Ven Geshe Jampa Losel, March 2012
This interview of Ven. Geshe Jampa Losel was posted on Shar Gaden’s Facebook. Geshe Jampa Losel was present at the launching of North American Gelug Buddhist Association (NAGBA) in 2011 together with Venerable Zawa Tulku Rinpoche. His picture can be found here. NAGBA was specifically founded to preserve the Gelug teachings with Dorje Shugden as…
Dorje Shugden at the Mother Monastery of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche
Longrong Monastery in China Sichuan Province, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is the largest monastery in Derong County, one of the 13 major monasteries of the Yellow Sect of Tibetan Buddhism in the Kham Area. It occupies about 10 hectares of land and houses 500 monks and 10,000 volumes of Buddhist scriptures. Its followers can be…
Dorje Shugden practitioners excluded in Sarnath
Courtesy of Lineageholder from the forum: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=1676.0 As you can see, Shugden practitioners are excluded from the Gelugpa monastery in Sarnarth, the place where Buddha first turned the Wheel of Dharma for the whole world. It’s shockingly open discrimination in a holy place. Dharma is for everyone, but not according to the Gelugpa monastery there….
Drepung Monastery
Drepung Monastery, (literally “Rice Heap” monastery), located at the foot of Mount Gephel, is one of the “great three” Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet. The other two are Ganden and Sera. Drepung is the largest of all Tibetan monasteries and is located on the Gambo Utse mountain, five kilometers from the western suburb of…
Long Life to Kyabje Yongyal Rinpoche & Domo Geshe Rinpoche
A tenshug is a special ritual offered to high lamas to create the necessary merits and conditions for them to extend their lives. When a teacher is manifesting illness or uncertainty in living, students should arrange a tenshug offering done in all it’s completeness. When the teacher lives long, the Buddha Dharma will grow and…
Magnificent Dorje Shugden Chapel in Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, Tibet
The Panchen Lama is the highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. His main monastery Tashi Lhunpo has a long history of practicing Dorje Shugden which continues strongly until today. The Panchen Lama Himself is a strong practitioner of Dorje Shugden. These are some of the holy statues…
Must Watch Advice from HH Kyabje Zong Dorje Chang on Dorje Shugden Part 2
Dear readers, This initiation of Dorje Shugden was conferred in Los Angeles in the 1980s onto Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen’s own students in Thubten Dhargye Ling. Prior to Kyabje Zong Rinpoche giving the advice, Geshe-la formally requested Kyabje Zong Rinpoche to give an initiation of Dorje Shugden. Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen was a very strong and devoted…
Four Faced Mahakala
Who is he? Known as the ‘Great Black One’ in Sanskrit or Chaturmukha, Four Faced Mahakala is an emanation of the Buddha of Wisdom, Manjushri. He is popularly known to be able to quash our obstacles arising from ignorance and anger. Being an enlightened Dharma Protector, he has been propitiated by many great masters including…
The Debate Test – 2011
The Debate Test of the Annual Geluk Exam is displayed before the superior masters of both monasteries – Shar Gaden and Serpom. This year (2011), it takes place in Shar Gaden as per the rule of rotating its venue every year. It is an acid test for every exam candidate where randomly-selected subjects written on a…
The Summer Retreat – 2011
The engagement of twice-monthly confessions, the rains retreat (summer retreat, Tib. yarne) and the closing of the rains retreat by a monastic community is a glimpse of the Buddhadharma existing in its pure form. Basically, the continuation of pure Buddhadharma solely depends on the monks’ communities which engage in…
The Geluk Exam – 2011
The Gelug Exam is widely known as the final stage of Buddhist studies within the monastic community especially in terms of Sutra studies. A monk must pass his monastery’s local exam where one must participate in all the related subjects like the Vinaya class (either 1st year or 2nd year) in order to be a…
Kyabje Damcho Rinchen Jungne in Tibet
This great lama, Kyabje Damcho Rinchen Jungne, has a large following of disciples all over Tibet. This video comprises a slideshow of photographs and a Tibetan narration (with Tibetan and Chinese subtitles). The video is from the North American Gelug Buddhist Association of USA (NAGBA). NAGBA is one of leading Gelugpa organizations that supports the…
His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche
Zong Rinpoche Lobzang Tsondru, was born in Nangsang, Kham, in 1905 in the female wood serpent year. His father’s name was Jampa and his mother’s was Sonam Yangdzom. Lobzang Tsondru was born into a Nyingma family; both his father and grandfathers were ngakpas. Nevertheless, as a child he was recognized as the reincarnation of the…
NAGBA and Zawa Tulku Rinpoche
This is a selection of videos of the North American Gelug Buddhist Association (NAGBA) with Zawa Tulku Rinpoche present. Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
NAGBA Summer Festival 2011, Montreal, Canada
This is a collection of beautiful celebration pictures of the 25th Anniversary of the Tibetan Buddhist Temple in Montreal, Canada.
Guru Tree with Dorje Shugden
Based on a landmark teaching by H.E. Kyabje Dagom Rinpoche, this Guru Tree incorporates Dorje Shugden as one of its main Protectors. On the bottom of this thangka, Dorje Shugden is depicted standing between six-armed White Mahakala and Palden Lhamo. Kyabje Dagom Rinpoche gave extensive teachings as to why Dorje Shugden should be on this…
Peaceful Dorje Shugden
This image of Dorje Shugden is unusually peaceful and has been repainted based on an old thangka from the 1960′s. Like many Dorje Shugden images, the facial features are said to resemble Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche, who was one of the most influential Gelugpa lineage masters at the time. Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche was responsible for the…
North America Geluk Buddhist Association
These are inauguration pictures of the North America Gelug Buddhist Association, March 5-6, 2011. This group is specifically to preserve the Gelug teachings with Dorje Shugden as their principal Dharma Protector. In North America, their rights to the freedom of practice will be protected and cannot be disturbed by anyone. Democratic governments would never impose a…
Lama Jampa Ngodup Rinpoche’s Teaching, Markham, Tibet, VOL l
(17:35) “IF YOU GO FOR REFUGE IN THE DHARMA, YOU HAVE TO RESPECT EVERY SINGLE LETTER OF IT…” Lama Jampa Ngodup Rinpoche speaks out against people who disparage the teachings and texts of the Gelug great masters like Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche, Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche and Dagom Rinpoche, especially texts related to the Dharmapala Dorje Shugden….
The Great Fifth
Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, “The Great 5th” Dalai Lama was the temporal and spiritual ruler of Tibet from 1642-1682. He unified Tibet under the Gelug school of Buddhism, made Lhasa the capital city, established friendly relations with the Manchu Emperor in Beijing and built the Potala Palace. He was a great writer on spiritual subjects and…
Shar Gaden History Part 2 – How the monastery arose
This video describes in brief Gaden monastery’s history and how Shar Gaden arose from Dokhang Khangtsen of Gaden Shartse. It also highlights that Tibet historically had conflict with foreign powers, such as Britain, Ladakh, Mongolia, and Germany (Nazis), leading to the exodus of many Tibetans in the 1959 and the reestablishment of the three great…
Dagom Gaden Tensung Ling Buddhist Monastery
Dagom Gaden Tensung Ling Buddhist Monastery (DGTL) in Bloomington, Indiana, USA was founded in 1996 by the renowned Tibetan Buddhist teachers Ven. Kyabje Dagom Rinpoche and Ven. Gonsar Rinpoche. Their deepest wish in establishing the monastery was to preserve for the benefit of all sentient beings the Buddha’s teachings as…
Trijang Rinpoche is Very Clear on this Subject
From Music Delighting the Ocean Of Protectors by Kyabje Trijang Dorjechang | Root Guru of most Gelugpa Lamas alive today, including the Dalai Lama, who relied upon Dorje Shugden as his Protector until his death “Some, who have fallen under the influence of the demon of the partisanship, think and say that this supreme Deity,…