Maybe these are the aquarius times, world order changes and leaders are no longer leaders, anyways the next Dalai Lama will be Khandro- la I hope and pray.

Thanks to the gurus and the triple gem.

In my personal case I directly met one of the practicioners am totally unfamiliar with the rest and found it surprising, strange if not appaling that fpmt devotees question like the catholic inquisition no?
Institutions of power, institutionalized religion….in the end we all loose something don’t we?
Or maybe we win. I congratulate myself sometimes when I understand I am one of many who refuse to choose. I did give up practice but I was never a great practicioner of anything.
Was that helpful? I meant to join mainstream and simply could not. It is not who I am and it is unimportant.
I did not agre with my parents in many issues, so why would I blindly follow a GURU? Also our teacher says to check oneself. So mostly fail to get it right but I try…His Holiness Dalai Lama shows multiple times his wisdom, I have no reason to question him in anything.
There is not so much a misunderstanding I really feel it is an insubordination issue and I do not like authoritarian cultures, but Asia is such. This comes from a background of resistance against the nazis and they do not have this experience. But I repeat I refuse to be drawn into either side. Nice meeting keep it up. Surely you know the monks had to vow not so ‘socialize ‘with us….
Good pressure though and it did work to some point.
In my honest guessing most problems come from also wester versus asian mind. These monks must follow literally, western can not. We must think for ourselves which is a blessing.
And therefore can make mistakes. They are unfallible!

I’m not a ‘shugdenite’. I am on the so-called ‘other’ side, but I try to be compassionate and understanding towards DS practitioners. I can understand their point of view, even if I do not agree with everything they say. I can see why they are hurting and why they feel upset. It must be hard to be in a position where they feel they must choose between what their own gurus taught them and what the Dalai Lama says, etc. It must be confusing to hear all this stuff about a ‘ban’ and believe that the Dalai Lama is oppressing people. (I don’t agree with this view, but I can understand why people believe it’s true.)

However, it seems that DS practitioners believe that the whole universe revolves around the DS issue. If ANYTHING bad happens, such as Lama Zopa getting sick, it somehow has to do with broken samaya relating to DS and they don’t seem to consider that perhaps it has nothing to do with that particular issue at all. I’m all for having a reasonable dialogue, but when all roads lead to ONE issue ALL the time, no matter what the situation may be, it seems that there is no way to have an objective discussion with people who are totally ONE-track minded.

How do you feel it is a ‘misunderstanding’? Maybe someone in the Middle can shed some objective light on the issue. Frankly, the only ‘misunderstanding’ I can see is that the Dalai Lama advised people not to do the DS practice and people misunderstood his instructions as a ‘ban’. I don’t think he ever ‘banned’ the practice, but his instructions were taken that way. The Dalai Lama never said that people cannot practice DS at all, but he did say that people who want HIM as a guru should not do the practice because of the spiritual connection between teacher and student. People can do as they wish on their own, but he has a right not to want to link his own energy with it.

I didn’t want to get into a big discussion on this issue. I think I’ll drop out of this discussion because i feel it leads nowhere good. It just stirs up antagonistic feelings on both sides. It’s unfortunate that this issue has caused so much trouble and I hope there can be a peaceful solution to the problem someday.

I have to laugh sometimes I think nobody knows the meaning of DS. isn’tis all about WISDOM?
I guess if you do not feel that energy you haven’t got any. Ohm shanti. tashi delek all.

Also, people keep reminding everyone that Lama Yeshe practiced DS until his death. If he had lived longer and heard what His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa had to say about it, how do you know that wouldn’t have “changed his mind” as well? Are lama’s minds inherent? Can’t they ever see things from a different point of view, after gaining new information and insights? How do you know that Lama Yashe would have continued to do the practice if he had learned more from HHDL and Lama Zopa about why they chose to give it up? Maybe he would have agreed with them, not because he would have been under any political pressure, but because he may have seen the wisdom in their conclusions. I’m just suggesting this as an alternative point of view. You are free to believe what you chose.

I like the advice and view presented here. There is no benefit in disparaging other centres or their leaders. Each centre should adhere to their activities according to their manifesto and objectives. I do not believe it includes deriding or condemning other centres. All Buddhist centres/organisation properly incorporated should be accorded equal respect in the promotion of Buddha dharma and no one should claim to be more legitimate than the other or go on a campaign to denounce others.

FPMT allows people from other faiths or non- believers to attend teachings but rejects fellow Buddhists from the same tradition just because they are practicing DS. I think this is shameful and unBuddhistic. It is schismatic action within the Buddhist community.

FPMT may not admit these people as members but they should not deprive others or anyone the benefit of acquiring knowledge. Buddha never prohibited anyone from listening to his teachings.