Some Thoughts on the History of a Practice


December 11, 2008 by truthaboutshugden (http://truthaboutshugden.wordpress.com)

Duldzin, King of the DharmaI was recently contemplating the excellent good qualities of the tradition protected by Dharmapala Dorje Shugden, and a great reverence for “Manjushri in a terrifying, wrathful form” rose up in my heart.

Shortly on the heels of this, I was struck dumb with the perverse audacity of our present Dalai Lama and his misguided attempt to suppress this amazing practice that he himself received from his root Guru, Trijang Rinpoche.

It occurred to me how the DL is actually cutting himself off from the blessings of his own teachers, his own lineage, and defaming them in the process. He argues on his own website, rather mawkishly and unconvincingly, that he has faith in the lineage and deep respect for his teachers, but when you take a good long look at his actions, this stance seems increasingly hard to credit.

Lama Yeshe

If he were simply claiming that one or two teachers had made a minor mistake, as he seems to want to do, this might be one thing, but in fact this practice has pervaded the Gelug tradition at least since the sixteen hundreds (for you non-Gelugs) and indeed since it’s very inception (if you are a Gelugpa with faith in your lineage gurus…).

In his “The Shuk-den Affair: Origins of a Controversy,” George Dreyfus mentions that “(the practice of Dorje Shugden) must have had a certain extension to have been adopted by several Ga-den Tri-bas.”  We need to contemplate what that means.  How many is several? At least three, no? Although it could also mean five, or nine, let’s just assume it means three. A Ganden Tripa, or throne-holder is the leader of the Gelug tradition, the one holding the throne of Je Tsongkhapa himself. In order to become a throne-holder, generally one needs to have been the abbot of Ganden Monastery, and then the Abbot of one of the tantric colleges, Gyumed or Gyuto, and be a Lharampa Geshe besides.

To characterize Dorje Shugden practitioners as outside the mainstream of the tradition is therefore shown to be a ridiculous fiction. Both Ling Rinpoche and Trijang Rinpoche, the most renowned Gelug lamas of their generation, were Ganden Tris or recognized incarnations of Ganden Tris as well, and of course practiced Dorje Shugden.

Lama Tsongkhapa

It requires tremendous good qualities to ascend to this level, to receive this recognition. It is a position that, until recently, when the Dalai Lama mysteriously took upon himself the responsibility of ‘appointing’ the Ganden Tripa, was an elected position, based on hard work, merit and the recognition of the abbots and high lamas of one’s tradition. Quite different from what it requires to become a Dalai Lama, in fact. As we have seen with the most recent Panchen lama, being recognized as a high incarnation is sometimes a matter of politics, money or simply brute force.

And what about the high abbots that practiced and revered Dorje Shugden from the depths of their hearts? I can think of many abbots of the great Gelug monasteries and tantric colleges that were devoted Dorje Shugden practitioners.

Ribur Rinpoche

What about the great Gelug yogis of the twentieth century, a list that overlaps with the other two in many places? What about Zong Rinpoche, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Lama Yeshe, Khen Rinpoche Losang Tharchin, Geshe Rabten, Geshe Lhundrub Sopa, Lati Rinpoche, Ribur Rinpoche, Gelek Rinpoche, Serkong Rinpoche, Gonsar Rinpoche, Zasep tulku etc etc etc? What about Kyabje Domo Geshe Rinpoche, who the Thirteenth Dalai Lama himself regarded as an emanation of Je Tsongkhapa? What about the previous Serkong Rinpoche, who the Thirteenth Dalai Lama regarded as being Vajradhara himself, adding the appellation “Dorjechang” (Vajradhara) to his name?

What about the many thousands of tantric disciples of these lamas, those who held samayas with them and revered them as living buddhas? It is enough to make your heart crack in two when you consider the sadness they must have felt at the Dalai Lama’s actions.

Ngulchu Dharmabhadra

What about Ngulchu Dharmabhadra? Ngulchu Dharmabhadra is a lineage guru in Je Tsongkhapa’s Ganden ear-whispered Mahamudra lineage, and in his collected work identifies Dorje Shugden him as having arisen from the continuum of great, realized yogis that includes Duldzin Drakpa Gyaltsen, Panchen Sonam Drakpa and Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen.

If your mahamudra lineage gurus can’t tell the difference between a malicious ghost and the eanation of realized beings, what you have is a dead lineage, and when you examine it, this is what the Dalai Lama is claiming. He even claims Je Dharmabhadra is “against the practice” on his website. We can only pray that his scholarship is merely sloppy, because otherwise we are forced to accept that this man is deceptive in the extreme.

Finally, it looks like we are talking about the cream of the Gelug tantric tradition. When one considers all the great beings that have venerated this supreme emanated protector, it gives tremendous faith, and also forces one to examine the Dalai Lama’s words and actions. This Dalai Lama presents the issue as though it were extremely clear cut, and would have it that the great yogis of the past all agree with him, but in fact it is much, much more complex than he lets on. Even his historical evidence is very shoddy (more on this later).

It is almost…as if…. there were a…. political motivation behind his actions…

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  1. What about the great Gelug yogis of the twentieth century, a list that overlaps with the other two in many places? What about Zong Rinpoche, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Lama Yeshe, Khen Rinpoche Losang Tharchin, Geshe Rabten, Geshe Lhundrub Sopa, Lati Rinpoche, Ribur Rinpoche, Gelek Rinpoche, Serkong Rinpoche, Gonsar Rinpoche, Zasep tulku etc etc etc? What about Kyabje Domo Geshe Rinpoche, who the Thirteenth Dalai Lama himself regarded as an emanation of Je Tsongkhapa? What about the previous Serkong Rinpoche, who the Thirteenth Dalai Lama regarded as being Vajradhara himself, adding the appellation “Dorjechang” (Vajradhara) to his name?

    SO MANY GREAT GELUG LAMAS AND THEIR THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS ALL PRACTICED DORJE SHUGDEN. IMPOSSIBLE THEY CAN BE ‘SUDDENLY’ WRONG. THEY ARE NOT WRONG. DEFINITELY NOT WRONG.

  2. The arguments presented in this article have convincingly shown us that the practice of Dharmapala Dorje Shugden is , indeed, a recognized mainstream Gelugpa lineage practice. As is shown here, innumerable mahasiddhas, yogis and highly attained masters of the Gelugpa lineage have practiced and depended heavily on Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden to preserve and spread the Dharma of Je Tsongkhapa . Their disciples who are great Lamas of today have also been entrusted to preserve and spread the Dharma of Je Tsongkhapa through relying on the help and protection of Dorje Shugden, for the benefit of all beings.

    We can thus draw faith from this and put our whole trust in devotion to Dharmapala Dorje Shugden.

    Nonetheless, we must not forget that His Holiness is an emanation of Chenrezig. Hence every one of his actions must stem from pure Bodhicitta motivation.

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.…Instead of turning away people who practise Dorje Shugden, we should be kind to them. Give them logic and wisdom without fear, then in time they give up the ‘wrong’ practice. Actually Shugden practitioners are not doing anything wrong. But hypothetically, if they are, wouldn’t it be more Buddhistic to be accepting? So those who have views against Dorje Shugden should contemplate this. Those practicing Dorje Shugden should forbear with extreme patience, fortitude and keep your commitments. The time will come as predicted that Dorje Shugden’s practice and it’s terrific quick benefits will be embraced by the world and it will be a practice of many beings.

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