Back when the Dorje Shugden ban was first enforced in 1996, few thought that they would live to see the day when the ban was lifted. There have however, been many signs in recent years that the ban may soon be coming to an end.

These began as far back as 2016, when His Holiness the Dalai Lama said Dorje Shugden does no harm. It has continued into 2020, with His Holiness saying that it would be permissible to rely on Dorje Shugden as a land deity. As recently as June 2021, His Holiness has said that he was wrong to have banned Dorje Shugden.

For those familiar with the ban, the shift in His Holiness’s stance is undeniably clear.

In the early years of the ban, the persecution of Dorje Shugden practitioners was horrific. Families were split, marriages were broken up, children were bullied in school, people were denied medical treatment and monks were expelled from monasteries, but to name a few examples of discrimination against Shugden worshippers.

And in those early days of the ban, as the persecution of Shugden practitioners began to pick up steam, a few brave people grouped to form the first resistance against the ban. They called themselves the Dorjee Shugden Devotees’ Charitable and Religious Society, otherwise known as the Delhi Society.

Not only did the Delhi Society preserve important works and rituals on Dorje Shugden, but they also launched legal appeals against the ban, and worked hard to raise awareness of its illegality. In doing so, they risked their safety, their personal opportunities and their own welfare to protect the lineage. Their courageous actions proved to people that it was possible to resist and stand up against the public relations behemoth that is the Tibetan leadership, because there is strength and power in standing up for the truth.

And the truth is that Dorje Shugden is an enlightened being, that everyone deserves religious freedom and no one should be persecuted on the basis of their faith.

The 25^th anniversary of the Delhi Society

2021 marks the 25^th anniversary of the Delhi Society. In light of this, various pujas have been advised by the highest lamas of our tradition to celebrate this auspicious occasion, and to dedicate the vast amount of merits that have been accumulated over the years in the struggle to speak up for the truth.

His Holiness the 101^st Gaden Tripa Jetsun Lungrik Namgyal Rinpoche, His Holiness Kyabje Pabongka Chocktrul Rinpoche and His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Chocktrul Rinpoche have each recommended pujas to be done. The four main aims of these pujas are:

1. To dedicate everyone’s efforts in bringing our lineage this far, where a light can finally be seen at the end of a 25-year struggle
2. To generate and dedicate merits towards the swift return of the lamas and practitioners who we have lost in recent years
3. To dedicate merits towards the long lives of our lamas who remain with us, and to create the causes for their works to grow
4. To generate and dedicate merits for all practitioners’ wishes to be fulfilled, for their obstacles to be pacified, and for them to find happiness

Pujas from H.H. the 101^st Gaden Tripa

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• To follow the advice of H.H. Kyabje Pabongka Chocktrul Rinpoche and H.H. Kyabje Trijang Chocktrul Rinpoche
• To carry out a Great Prayer Festival (Monlam Chenmo) for a minimum of one day, in the tradition established by the great master Je Tsongkapa

Pujas from H.H. Kyabje Pabongka Chocktrul Rinpoche

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• Sixteen Arhats puja, 1,000 times
• Reciting the Manjushri-nama-samgiti, 10,000 times
• Reciting the sungbum (collected works) of Je Tsongkhapa and his two spiritual sons
• Guru Puja with 1,000 Ganachakra Tsog offerings
• General Dharmapala Puja
• Dharmapala Dorje Shugden puja with 1,000 Ganachakra Tsog offerings
• Smoke offerings
• Hang prayer flags, as many as possible

Pujas from H.H. Kyabje Trijang Chocktrul Rinpoche

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• Reciting the sungbum (collected works) of Je Tsongkhapa and his two spiritual sons
• Reciting the 8000-verse Prajnaparamita Sutra, 20 times
• Reciting the Suvarnaprabhasottama Sutra
• Peaceful fire puja of Solitary Hero Yamantaka, 10 times
• Sixteen Arhats puja
• Guru Puja with Ganachakra Tsog offerings
• Gyabshi ritual
• Dharmapala Dorje Shugden puja

Grand Prayer Festival on International Dorje Shugden Day

This grand prayer festival will begin on August 24, 2021 which is the International Dorje Shugden Day that is celebrated annually all over the world. It is expected that it will take a few days for the pujas to be completed, and they will be conducted by our precious sangha who have dedicated their lives to upholding the Dorje Shugden lineage, in spite of the obstacles they have been met with.

These important rituals will be held at major Dorje Shugden monasteries around the world, including:

• Shar Gaden Monastery (India)
• Serpom Monastery (India)
• Phelgyeling Monastery (Nepal)
• Segyu Monastery (Nepal)
• Samten Choeling Monastery (India)
• Kundeling Monastery (India)

Over 40 Dorje Shugden organisations around the world have come together in service of the lineage to contribute towards the fulfilment of our high lamas’ instructions. This means that no matter where you are in the world, you can still contribute and take part in this momentous celebration.

It has been a quarter of a century since the Dorje Shugden ban was first enforced, marking the start of two decades of suffering for Shugden worshippers everywhere. It has been 25 years of fighting, hoping, praying and begging for things to change. Now, as the tide seems to turn, it is finally time for us to rejoice and celebrate.

Official Announcement

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Official Announcements in Other Languages

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Advice from Lineage Lamas

བོད་ཡིག (Tibetan)

中文 (Chinese)

монгол хэл (Mongolian)

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected].
 

By: Shashi Kei

Vor 25 Jahren begann die religiöse Verfolgung von Dorje Shugden-Gläubigen, angeführt von der Zentralen Tibetischen Verwaltung (CTA). Die Folgen dieses religiösen Verbotes des Dalai Lamas und der CTA haben das tibetische Leben maßgeblich geprägt und das tibetisch-buddhistische Terrain im letzten Vierteljahrhundert weltweit gewaltsam verändert. Millionen von Leben wurden in Gefahr gebracht, die Heiligkeit der Linie von Lama Tsongkhapa geriet in Verwirrung und unzählige spirituelle Pfade wurden entgleist. Und das beinhaltet noch nicht die Auswirkungen, die diese Spaltung auf die kollektive tibetische Sache hatte.

Jetzt hat aber Seine Heiligkeit der 14. Dalai Lama zugegeben, dass er sich geirrt hat und er hat klar gemacht, dass diese Misshandlung von Shugden-Buddhisten aufhören soll.

Nach dem Flop, jetzt die Wende

Die religiöse Verfolgung der Shugden-Buddhisten durch den CTA begann 1996 und verschärfte sich 2008. Dorje Shugden-Praktizierende wurden als „Staatsfeinde“; „Anti-Dalai Lama“; „Anti-Dharma“; „Chinesische Spione/Sympathisanten; „Dämonenanbeter“ und andere ähnliche Beschreibungen eingestuft.

Doch die Propaganda und die Verfolgungen des CTAs konnten die Praxis von Dorje Shugden nicht vollständig ausmerzen. Es war immerhin eine angesehene Praxis, die von zentraler Bedeutung für die Gelug-Linie war. Sogar der 14. Dalai Lama hatte diese Gottheit verehrt, ebenso wie seine früheren Inkarnationen, der Große Fünfte Dalai Lama, der 11. Dalai Lama und die angesehensten Lehrer des 20. Jahrhunderts.

Es folgte eine Zeit vergleichsweiser Stille, als Shugden-Buddhisten in den Untergrund und ausserhalb der Reichweite des CTAs vertrieben wurden. Und dann machte der Dalai Lama eine Kehrtwende.

Der Dalai Lama sprach in seiner Live-Unterweisung Zehntausende Menschen an und kündigte an, dass die Misshandlungen von Shugden-Buddhisten beendet werden sollen.

Während der Saka Dawa-Lehre des Dalai Lamas am 26. Mai dieses Jahres machte er unerwartet auf das Thema Dorje Shugden aufmerksam, ein hochsensibles Thema, das ein wichtiges Zerwürfnis für gewaltsame Konflikte darstellt. Aber dieses Mal war die Botschaft des Dalai Lamas ein Widerspruch zu einer Haltung, die er und die CTA vorgeschrieben hatten.

Der Dalai Lama zitierte Passagen aus dem Bodhisattvacharyavatara (Die Lebensweise eines Bodhisattvas) und sagte, dass jede Feindseligkeit gegenüber der Gottheit offenkundig falsch sei, egal wie jemand über Dorje Shugden und seine Praxis denkt. Der tibetische Gottkönig folgerte, dass es gegen den Kodex eines Bodhisattva verstoße, Ärger gegenüber dem Beschützer zu empfinden. Außerdem sagte er, es seien unsere eigene Wut und unsere geistigen Verunreinigungen, die wir untersuchen sollten, anstatt unseren Ärger auf andere zu richten.

VIDEO:Dalai Lama sagt, Dorje Shugden ist ein Gegenstand des Mitgefühls (26. Mai 2021)

Doch das war noch nicht alles.

Eine Woche später, am 2. Juni 2021, gab der Dalai Lama während einer weiteren Belehrung über Je Tsongkhapas Erfülltes Schicksal (Tog jö dün leg ma) zum ersten Mal seit er ein Verbot der Praxis von Dorje Shugden verhängt hatte, zu, dass es ein Fehler war, Dorje Shugden diskriminiert zu haben.

Dies ist eine ganz andere Sprache und Tonlage als die der tibetische Führung, die vorsätzlich Hass gegen Dorje Shugden und Anhänger seiner Praxis schürten. Infolgedessen wurde es als „untibetisch“ und „unbuddhistisch“ angesehen, wenn Sie Shugden-Buddhisten nicht feindselig gegenüberstanden. Daher legten Regierungsbeamte und ehrgeizige Mönche Wert darauf, ihre Verachtung für diese heilige Praxis zum Ausdruck zu bringen, da der Hass auf Dorje Shugden zu einem schnellen Aufstieg in den tibetischen politischen sowie klösterlichen Vierteln verhalf.

VIDEO: Dalai Lama sagt, es ist falsch, Dorje Shugden abzulehnen (2. Juni 2021)

Fehler geschickt rückgängig machen

Das Wandel in der Haltung des Dalai Lama gegenüber Dorje Shugden ist nicht ganz neu. Im Januar 2020, nachdem er Dorje Shugden fast 24 Jahre lang als Feind des tibetischen Volkes bezeichnet hatte, deutete der Dalai Lama eine Umstimmung des Herzens gegenüber dem Beschützer an. Während der Dalai Lama in der Vergangenheit die Praxis von Dorje Shugden unter allen Umständen kategorisch verboten hatte, befürwortete er bei dieser Gelegenheit tatsächlich die Verehrung von Dorje Shugden, aber nur als Geburtsgottheit oder Landgottheit.

Es war ein Fachausdruck, aber in Wirklichkeit zerstörte das, was der Dalai Lama sagte, die Rechtfertigung des CTAs, Shugden-Buddhisten ihr verfassungsmäßiges Recht auf Religionsfreiheit zu verweigern. Die alte Rechtfertigung war, dass die Praxis von Dorje Shugden [in jeglicher Form] das Leben des Dalai Lamas bedroht sowie das Scheitern der tibetischen Bemühungen, ihr Land zurückzugewinnen, verursacht habe.

Dorje Shugden Lamas und Mönche wurden wie Kriminelle behandelt, wurden gejagt und tyrannisiert.

Dennoch dauerte das Verbot der Praxis von Dorje Shugden auf seinem sehr gefährlichen und schädlichen Verlauf weiter an.

Schädlich, weil sie die tibetische Verfassung untergrub, die unter anderem Religionsfreiheit garantierte. Schädlich, weil es die Heiligkeit des tibetischen Buddhismus untergräbt, indem es vier Jahrhunderte von alten Meistern und Weisen verspottet, die die Dorje Shugden-Praxis aufrechterhalten haben, darunter S. H. Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo und S. H. Trijang Dorje Chang. Schädlich, weil es eine ohnehin kleine und schwache Gemeinschaft von Menschen zu einer Zeit zersplitterte, in der sie in Eintracht mit gezielten Bemühungen um die Wiedererlangung ihres Landes zusammenarbeiten sollten. Schädlich, weil es eine irreparable Spaltung innerhalb der tibetischen Klostergemeinschaft geschaffen hat, eine Spaltung, die sich weltweit überall dort auswirkte, wo es Anhänger des tibetischen Buddhismus gab. Schädlich, weil es gegen die grundlegendsten buddhistischen Prinzipien verstößt.

Buddha oder Dämon?

In den letzten 25 Jahren tobten Debatten zwischen Shugden-Buddhisten, die Dorje Shugden als eine Emanation des Weisheits-Buddhas Manjushri betrachten, und denen, die sich dieser Praxis widersetzen. Kritiker argumentierten, dass die Gottheit ein Dämon war, der aus dem Tod eines Mönchs mit gebrochenen Gelübden entstand.

Viele waren gefangen in einem erstaunlichen Netz von Argumenten, die willkürlich von Pseudo-Intellektuellen, selbsternannten Experten des tibetischen Buddhismus und Schmeichlern gesponnen wurden, die das wirkliche oder vollständige Bild nicht sehen konnten.

Tatsächlich ist es ein einfaches Thema.

Aus der Perspektive einer konstitutionellen Demokratie, die der CTA vorgibt zu sein, ist die Verfolgung der Shugden-Buddhisten rechtswidrig und eine Verletzung der Menschenrechte. Einfach ausgedrückt ist es nicht die Aufgabe einer demokratischen Regierung zu entscheiden, welche Religion legitim ist und welche nicht. Es ist die Aufgabe der Regierung, die Religionsfreiheit zu garantieren, was der CTA unterlassen hat.

Allen Shugden-Anbetern wurde der Lebensunterhalt verweigert. Sogar die Mönche wurden nicht verschont. Hier wird der berüchtigte Vorfall mit dem „gelben Stock“ gezeigt, bei dem Mönche gezwungen wurden, ihre Praxis von Dorje Shugden aufzugeben oder aus dem Kloster ausgewiesen zu werden.

Und nun hat der Dalai Lama aus der Perspektive der buddhistischen Religion klargestellt, dass wer auch immer Dorje Shugden ist, nicht von Belang sein sollte, wenn Sie ein wahrer Praktizierender des Buddhadharma sind. Tatsächlich betonte der Dalai Lama dass es in der Bodhicitta-Praxis sogar die Verpflichtung gibt, alle Wesen als “wichtige Gäste” zu betrachten.

Das Argument ist noch einfacher, wenn man es aus der Perspektive des gesunden Menschenverstandes betrachtet. Wenn man nicht an die Heiligkeit von Dorje Shugden glaubt, kann man sich einfach dafür entscheiden, nicht zu dieser Gottheit zu beten. Mit dieser einfachen Logik ist die Welt mit ihren unzähligen Religionen und Glaubensrichtungen in einem relativ friedlichen Zustand geblieben.

Es gab nie eine angemessene Rechtfertigung Shugden-Buddhisten überhaupt zu verfolgen. Diejenigen, die auf der Grundlage von „weil der Dalai Lama es gesagt hat“ gegen Dorje Shugden zu den Waffen gegriffen haben, sollten jetzt damit aufhören, Shugden-Buddhisten zu tyrannisieren, weil der Dalai Lama dies tatsächlich gesagt hat.

Ist das das Ende des Shugden-Verbots?

Leider ist es unwahrscheinlich, dass dies der Fall ist.

Selbst heute, nachdem der Dalai Lama ganz klar gesagt hat, dass es falsch ist, Dorje Shugden zu diskriminieren, gibt es auf der offiziellen Webseite des CTAs immer noch einen Bereich, der Hass gegen die Dorje Shugden Menschen schürt. Klicken um zu vergrößern.

Die absurde Argumentation und das Verhalten des CTAs zur Unterstützung eines rechtswidrigen religiösen Verbots haben den CTA unter gebildeten Tibetern und globalen politischen Beobachtern zum Gespött gemacht. Sie sehen, dass sich hinter der demokratischen und progressiven Fassade des CTAs eine veraltete Verwaltung verbirgt, die immer noch auf Fabeln und Aberglauben zurückgreift, anstatt bei der Regierungsführung gesunden Menschenverstand anzuwenden.

Während es der Dalai Lama war, der das Verbot der Praxis von Dorje Shugden initiierte, dienten die Unruhen den CTA-Beamten gut. Es war viel einfacher, weiterhin Hass gegen Dorje Shugden zu schüren, als sich um dringende Angelegenheiten zu kümmern, wie etwa die adäquate Versorgung einer schwindenden tibetischen Exilbevölkerung oder den Versuch, China in einen sinnvollen Dialog zu verwickeln. Das wäre eine klügere Strategie gewesen, als sich die CTA als Schachfiguren zu missbrauchen, um Chinas Aufstieg einzudämmen. Leider waren es Lobsang Sangays vorherrschende Aufgaben während seiner Amtszeit als Präsident der CTA, Anti-Shugden-Stimmung zu provozieren, China zu verärgern und sich mit Penpa Tsering an politischer Hinterlist zu beteiligen.

Die CTA machte es zu einer Strategie, Feindseligkeit gegenüber Dorje Shugden zu fördern, und ihr wurde das gleiche, wenn nicht sogar mehr Gewicht beigemessen als der tibetischen Sache. Als jedoch der Dalai Lama die Praxis von Dorje Shugden als Geburts-Gottheit oder Land-Gottheit befürwortete, fühlte sich die CTA unter Druck gesetzt, diesen bedeutenden Zusammenhang zu entfernen. Klicken um zu vergrößern.

Als jedoch der Dalai Lama die Praxis von Dorje Shugden als eine Geburts-Gottheit oder Land-Gottheit befürwortete, geriet die CTA unter Druck ein prominentes Banner von ihrer offiziellen Webseite zu entfernen. Dieses Banner führte zu einer Seite, die das tibetische Volk, Regierungsbüros, lokale Unternehmen und Unterstützer der tibetischen Sache ermutigen sollte, die Hexenjagd gegen Shugden-Buddhisten fortzusetzen. Diese Seite ist heute noch vorhanden, wenn auch nicht mehr so auffällig. Und das Mobbing von Shugden-Buddhisten hält weltweit an, wobei die Unterstützer denken, dass ein solches Verhalten vom Dalai Lama sanktioniert wird.

Ob die CTA diese giftige Anti-Shugden-Seite insgesamt entfernt, ist jetzt ein wichtiges Barometer dafür, wie sehr sie den Dalai Lama wirklich verehren. Es wäre ein Widerspruch für den Dalai Lama, Mitgefühl für die Dorje Shugden Anhänger zu empfehlen, während die CTA heimlich weiterhin die anhaltende Verfolgung fördert.

Wie gut werden die CTA und das tibetische Volk diese neue Richtlinie des Dalai Lamas zu Dorje Shugden aufnehmen? Es ist schwer zu sagen. Ein besorgniserregender Hinweis liegt in der Art und Weise, wie der tibetische Übersetzer den Teil der Lehre des Dalai Lama komplett weggelassen hat, als er sagte:

„Ich habe ein Shugden-Verbot durchgesetzt. Aber wenn ich jetzt über [Shantidevas erste Strophe] nachdenke, ist er einfach jemand, den wir lieben müssen, jemand, mit dem wir bedingungslos liebevolle Güte und Mitgefühl praktizieren sollten. Wenn ich mich von ihm distanziere und einige winzige Gründe anführe wie „er ist jemand, der die Lehren verletzt“; dies ist höchstwahrscheinlich ein Fehler.

Es ist ein schwerwiegendes Versäumnis, weil nicht-tibetisch sprechende Personen haben den Teil übersehen, in dem der Dalai Lama klar anspielte, dass das Verbot von Dorje Shugden ein Fehler war. Die Frage ist, war es eine bewusste Unterlassung?

VIDEO: Der englische Übersetzer hat den Rat des Dalai Lamas zu Dorje Shugden ausgelassen (2. Juni 2021)

Mit der tibetischen Führung und ihrer Clique ist alles möglich und wir haben immer wieder gesehen, wie geschickt und manipulativ sie sein können. Ein treffendes Beispiel dafür findet gerade statt.

Während der Dalai Lama Mitgefühl für alle fühlenden Wesen, einschließlich der Dorje Shugden-Anhänger, predigt, hat die CTA den Shugden-Klöstern die Unterstützung bei der Beschaffung dringend benötigter COVID-Impfstoffe für die Mönche verweigert. Hinter all der Mitgefühlsrhetorik hat sich also nicht viel geändert. Die CTA ist in ihrer Verfolgung derer, die sie als Feinde bezeichnen, nur noch besser und subtiler geworden. Und dies geschieht zu einer Zeit, in der die Regierungen der Welt die Notwendigkeit erkannt haben, alle Differenzen beiseite zu legen, um eine Pandemie zu bekämpfen, die die gesamte Menschheit bedroht. Aber nicht die CTA.

Und was nun?

Die Absicht des Dalai Lamas, den Shugden-Konflikt zu beenden, ist deutlich. Er wählte Saka Dawa aus, um seine neue Haltung zum Thema Shugden zu erörtern. Es war eine Gelegenheit, bei der der Dalai Lama wusste, dass er zu genau den Leuten sprechen würde, die diesem vergifteten Kapitel der modernen tibetisch-buddhistischen Geschichte ein Ende setzen könnten – dem Gaden Tripa, dem Sharpa Choje und anderen hochrangigen Mönchen und Regierungsbeamten. Und um sicherzugehen, dass seine Botschaft eindeutig ankam, wiederholte der Dalai Lama in seinen Lehren vom 2. Juni 2021 seine Absicht, die Shugden-Verfolgung zu beenden, und er räumte diesmal ein, dass es falsch war, Dorje Shugden diskriminiert zu haben.

Während der Belehrungen wandte sich der Dalai Lama an bedeutende Meister, darunter (von links oben im Uhrzeigersinn): Seine Heiligkeit Gaden Tri Rinpoche Lobsang Tenzin, S.E. Sharpa Choje Rinpoche Lobsang Dorje, S.E. Gyuto Khenpo Gangkar Rinpoche und S.E. Jampa Choje Gosog Rinpoche Ngawang Sungrab Gelek.

Verständlicherweise ist es für die tibetische Führung schwierig, ein religiöses Verbot, das sie nicht offen anerkennen können, abrupt aufzuheben. Und es würde einige Zeit dauern, um eine über ein Viertel-Jahrhundert kultivierte kollektive Psyche zu ändern. Aber der Rat des Dalai Lamas lautet eindeutig, genau das zu tun. Und alle Tibeter, Shugden- und Nicht-Shugden-Leute, haben den Dalai Lama immer in ihrem Herzen getragen.

Daher ist es vielleicht für jedermann das klügste, unabhängig davon, auf welcher Seite der jetzt nicht mehr existierenden Kluft sie stehen, vorwärts zu gehen. Diejenigen, die Opfer dieser dunklen Zeit in der tibetischen Exilgeschichte wurden, müssen die Vergangenheit nicht noch einmal durchleben, und diejenigen, die sich aus „winzigen Gründen“ (wie der Dalai Lama es ausdrückte) gezwungen sahen, die schwere Last zu tragen andere tibetische Buddhisten zu hassen, können diese bedrückende Last endlich fallen lassen.

Der neue CTA-Präsident Penpa Tsering hat nun die einmalige Gelegenheit, einen hässlichen Fehler formell auszulöschen und die Menschen wieder zusammenzubringen. Es wäre ein schwerer Fehltritt für Penpa Tsering, dem fatalen Vermächtnis seines Vorgängers von Menschenrechtsverletzungen zu folgen. Schließlich ist die dunkle Phase der CTA-Politik, in der das politische Überleben es erforderte, in der Shugden-Frage zu spuren, jetzt vorbei.

Wir hoffen im Interesse aller Tibeter und aller tibetischen Buddhisten, dass die Worte des Dalai Lamas beachtet werden. In Erinnerung an die jüngsten Lehren des Dalai Lamas, mögen alle Wesen als kostbare Gäste zur Sugataschaft eingeladen werden und mögen wir für das Glück aller Lebewesen handeln.

Videos in Chinesischer Sprache [中文视频]

达赖喇嘛《三主要道》的开示

达赖喇嘛《证道歌》的开示

Video mit Mongolischen Untertiteln

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected].
 

By: Shashi Kei

It is now 25 years since religious persecution of Dorje Shugden believers began, spearheaded by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). The fallout of the Dalai Lama and CTA’s religious ban significantly shaped Tibetan lives and forcibly altered the Tibetan Buddhist terrain globally over the last quarter of a century. Millions of lives were placed in jeopardy, the sanctity of Lama Tsongkhapa’s lineage was hurled into confusion and countless spiritual paths were derailed. And that is not counting the impact this rift has made on the collective Tibetan cause.

But now His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama has admitted that he was wrong and made it clear that this mistreatment of Shugden Buddhists is to stop.

After the flop, now the flip

The CTA’s religious persecution of Shugden Buddhists started in 1996 and intensified in 2008. Dorje Shugden practitioners were classified as “enemies of the State”; “anti-Dalai Lama”; “anti-Dharma”; “Chinese spies/sympathizers; “demon worshippers” and other similar characterizations.

Yet, the CTA’s propaganda and persecutions failed to completely root out the practice of Dorje Shugden. It was after all, a well-regarded practice, central to the Gelug lineage. Even the 14^th Dalai Lama had revered this deity, as did his past incarnations, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, the 11^th Dalai Lama and the most respected teachers of the 20^th century.

A period of relative quiet followed as Shugden Buddhists were driven underground and out of the CTA’s reach. And then the Dalai Lama did a turnaround.

The Dalai Lama addressed tens of thousands in his live teaching, during which he announced that mistreatment of Shugden Buddhists is to stop.

During the Dalai Lama’s Saka Dawa teaching on May 26 this year, he unexpectedly drew attention to the Dorje Shugden issue, a highly sensitive subject that has been a major fault line for violent conflicts. But this time, the Dalai Lama’s message was a contradiction of a stance that he and the CTA had mandated.

Quoting passages from the Bodhisattvacharyavatara (The Bodhisattva’s Way of Life) the Dalai Lama said that regardless of how anyone felt about Dorje Shugden and his practice, any animosity towards the deity was patently wrong. The Tibetan god-king inferred that it is against the code of a Bodhisattva to feel any anger towards the Protector. And in addition, he said it is our own anger and mental defilements that we should examine instead of directing our resentment towards others.

VIDEO: Dalai Lama says Dorje Shugden is an object of compassion (May 26, 2021)

But that wasn’t all.

One week later on June 2, 2021, during another teaching on Je Tsongkhapa’s Destiny Fulfilled (Tog jö dün leg ma), the Dalai Lama, for the first time since he imposed a ban on the practice of Dorje Shugden, admitted that it was a mistake to have discriminated against Dorje Shugden.

This is a very different language and tone to that which the Tibetan leadership employed when they wilfully acted to incite hatred against Dorje Shugden and adherents of his practice. As a result, it was regarded as ‘un-Tibetan’ and ‘un-Buddhist’ if you were not hostile to Shugden Buddhists. So government officials and ambitious monks made it a point to grandstand their contempt of this sacred practice as hating Dorje Shugden became a rapid career path in Tibetan political and monastic quarters.

VIDEO: Dalai Lama says its wrong to reject Dorje Shugden (June 2, 2021)

Skilfully undoing a mistake

The Dalai Lama’s reversal of attitude towards Dorje Shugden is not entirely new. In January 2020, after almost 24 years of labelling Dorje Shugden as an enemy of the Tibetan people, the Dalai Lama signalled a softening of heart towards the Protector. While in the past the Dalai Lama had categorically forbidden the practice of Dorje Shugden under any circumstances, on that occasion, he actually endorsed the worship of Dorje Shugden but only as a birth deity or a land deity.

It was terminology but in effect, what the Dalai Lama said destroyed the CTA’s justification for denying Shugden Buddhists their constitutional right to freedom of religion. The old justification was that the practice of Dorje Shugden [in any form] threatened the Dalai Lama’s life and caused the failure of Tibetan efforts to regain their country.

Dorje Shugden lamas and monks were treated as criminals to be hunted down and harassed.

Still, the ban on Dorje Shugden practice persisted on its very dangerous and damaging course.

Damaging because it undermined the Tibetan Constitution that guaranteed, amongst other things, religious freedom. Damaging because it undermined the sanctity of Tibetan Buddhism by making a mockery of four centuries of old masters and sages who had upheld the Dorje Shugden practice, including H.H. Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo and H.H. Trijang Dorje Chang. Damaging because it splintered an already small and weak community of people at a time when they should be harmonized in focused efforts to regain their country. Damaging because it created an irreparable schism within the Tibetan monastic community, a split which played out globally wherever there were Tibetan Buddhist adherents. Damaging because it went against the most basic Buddhist principles.

Buddha or demon?

For the last 25 years, debates raged between Shugden Buddhists who regard Dorje Shugden as an emanation of the Wisdom Buddha Manjushri and those who oppose the practice. Detractors argued that the deity was a demon who arose from the death of a monk with broken vows.

Many were caught up in an intriguing web of arguments haphazardly weaved by pseudo-intellectuals, self-proclaimed Tibetan Buddhist experts and sycophants failing to see a real or complete picture.

In fact, it is simple enough a subject.

From the perspective of a constitutional democracy which the CTA claims to be, its persecution of Shugden Buddhists is unlawful and a breach of human rights. Simply put, it is not the business of a democratic government to decide which religion is legitimate and which is not. It is the business of the government to guarantee the freedom of religion which the CTA failed to do.

All Shugden worshippers were denied livelihood. Even the monks were not spared. Pictured here is the infamous ‘yellow stick’ incident where monks were forced to break with their practice of Dorje Shugden or be expelled.

And now, from the perspective of the Buddhist religion, the Dalai Lama has made it clear that whoever Dorje Shugden is, should not be of concern if you are a true practitioner of the Buddhadharma. In fact as the Dalai Lama pointed out, in the practice of Bodhicitta, there is even an obligation to regard all beings as ‘important guests’.

The argument is even simpler when approached from the perspective of common sense. If one does not believe in the sacredness of Dorje Shugden, then one can simply choose not to pray to the deity. It is this simple logic that has kept the world with its myriad religions and beliefs in a relatively peaceful state.

There has never been any proper justification to persecute Shugden Buddhists at all. So, those who took up arms against Dorje Shugden on the basis of ‘because the Dalai Lama said so’, should now stop their bullying of Shugden Buddhists, because the Dalai Lama has indeed said so.

Is this the end of the Shugden ban?

Sadly, it is unlikely to be the case.

Even today after the Dalai Lama has clearly said that it is wrong to discriminate against Dorje Shugden, the CTA’s official website still carries a section dedicated to stoking hatred against Dorje Shugden people. Click to enlarge.

The CTA’s absurd reasoning and conduct in support of an unlawful religious ban has made it a laughing stock amongst educated Tibetans and global political observers. They see that behind the CTA’s democratic and progressive facade is an out-of-date administration that still resorts to fables and superstitions instead of applying common sense when it comes to governance.

While it was the Dalai Lama who initiated the ban on the Dorje Shugden practice, the unrest served the CTA officials well. It has been far easier to keep fanning hatred against Dorje Shugden than to attend to urgent business such as providing adequately for a depleting Tibetan exile population or seeking to engage China in meaningful dialogue. That would have been a wiser strategy than for the CTA to avail themselves as pawns in attempts to curb China’s rise. Unfortunately, provoking anti-Shugden sentiment, antagonizing China and engaging in political skulduggery with Penpa Tsering were Lobsang Sangay’s predominant duties during his tenure as President of the CTA.

The CTA made it a policy to promote animosity towards Dorje Shugden and it was given equal if not more weight than the Tibetan Cause. However, when the Dalai Lama endorsed the practice of Dorje Shugden as a birth deity or land deity, the CTA felt pressured to remove this prominent link. Click to enlarge.

However, when the Dalai Lama endorsed the practice of Dorje Shugden as a birth deity or land deity, the CTA came under pressure to remove a prominent banner on their official website. That banner led to a page dedicated to encouraging the Tibetan people, government offices, local businesses and supporters of the Tibetan cause to keep up the witch hunt against Shugden Buddhists. That page is still present today although not as conspicuous now. And bullying of Shugden Buddhists continues to persist globally with supporters thinking that such behavior is sanctioned by the Dalai Lama.

Whether the CTA removes that toxic anti-Shugden page altogether is now an important barometer of how much they truly revere the Dalai Lama. It would be a contradiction for the Dalai Lama to counsel compassion towards Dorje Shugden followers while the CTA surreptitiously continues to encourage ongoing persecution.

How well will the CTA and the Tibetan people take to this new directive on Dorje Shugden by the Dalai Lama? It’s difficult to tell. A worrying hint is in the way the Tibetan translator completely omitted the part of the Dalai Lama’s teaching when he said:

I have enforced a ban concerning Shugden. But when I reflect on [Shantideva's first verse] now, he is simply someone to be loved, someone with whom we should unconditionally practice loving kindness and compassion. If I distance myself from him giving some tiny reasons like “he is someone who harms the teachings”; most likely this is a mistake.

It is a serious omission because non-Tibetan speakers would have missed the part where the Dalai Lama clearly alluded that the ban on Dorje Shugden was a mistake. 
The question is, was it a wilful omission?



VIDEO: The English translator omitted the Dalai Lama’s advice on Dorje Shugden (June 2, 2021)

With the Tibetan leadership and their coterie, anything is possible and we have seen time and time again how crafty and manipulative they can be. One apt example of this is taking place right now.

Even as the Dalai Lama preaches compassion for all sentient beings including Dorje Shugden followers, the CTA has refused assistance to Shugden monasteries to procure badly-needed COVID vaccines for the monks. So, behind all the compassion rhetoric, nothing much has changed at all. The CTA just got better and more subtle in their persecution of those they label to be enemies. And this is happening at a time when world governments have seen the necessity to put all differences aside to tackle a pandemic that threatens all humanity. But not the CTA.

So what now?

The Dalai Lama’s intention to end the Shugden conflict is clear. He chose Saka Dawa to state his new stance on the Shugden issue. It was an occasion where the Dalai Lama knew he would be speaking to the very people who could put into effect an end to this poisoned chapter of modern Tibetan Buddhist history — the Gaden Tripa, the Sharpa Choje and other senior monks and government officials. And to be sure his message was clearly received, the Dalai Lama repeated his intention to end Shugden persecutions in his June 2, 2021 teachings, this time acknowledging that it was wrong to have discriminated against Dorje Shugden.

During the teachings, the Dalai Lama addressed eminent masters including (from top left, clockwise): His Holiness Gaden Tri Rinpoche Lobsang Tenzin, H.E. Sharpa Choje Rinpoche Lobsang Dorje, H.E. Gyuto Khenpo Gangkar Rinpoche and H.E. Jampa Choje Gosog Rinpoche Ngawang Sungrab Gelek

Understandably it is difficult for the Tibetan leadership to abruptly reverse a religious ban that they cannot afford to openly acknowledge. And it would require some time to turn a collective psyche that has been cultivated over a quarter of a century. But clearly the Dalai Lama’s advice is exactly to do just that. And all Tibetans, Shugden and non-Shugden people alike, have always held the Dalai Lama close to their hearts.

So perhaps the wisest thing for everyone to do, regardless of which side of the now-defunct divide they stand on, is to move forward. Those who have been victims of this dark period in Tibetan exile history need not keep reliving the past, and those who have felt obliged to carry the heavy burden of hating fellow Tibetan Buddhists because of “tiny reasons” (as the Dalai Lama put it) can finally drop this taxing load.

The new CTA President Penpa Tsering now has a golden opportunity to formally wipe out an ugly mistake and bring the people together again. It would be a serious misstep for Penpa Tsering to follow his predecessor’s fatal legacy of human rights breaches. After all, the dark period of CTA politics when one’s political survival necessitated toeing the line on the Shugden issue is now over.

We hope, for the sake of all Tibetan people and all Tibetan Buddhists, that the Dalai Lama’s words are heeded. In remembering the Dalai Lama’s recent teachings, may all beings be invited as precious guests to Sugatahood and may we act to ensure temporal happiness for all sentient beings.

Videos in Chinese [中文视频]

达赖喇嘛《三主要道》的开示

达赖喇嘛《证道歌》的开示

Video with Mongolian subtitle

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected].
 

By: Shashi Kei

The Dorje Shugden conflict remains one of the most polarizing issues in Tibetan Buddhism today. The Tibetan leadership has claimed that Shugden practice is an instrument of the Communist government of China, that the Dorje Shugden lineage is devoid of spiritual legitimacy, and indeed nothing more than the work of extreme and exclusivist quarters within the Gelugpa sect.

Throughout the world, Tibetan Buddhist communities have been coerced to pick a side in the Shugden divide. But a fair and educated choice is rarely possible. To disagree with the 14^th Dalai Lama is to be regarded instantly as being anti-Dalai Lama, anti-Buddhism, anti-democracy and therefore pro-Communist China.

As has become standard operating procedure, the Tibetan leadership relies on Dalai Lama sycophants who operate within targeted Buddhist communities to push the Central Tibetan Administration’s (CTA) political agenda. These agendas are often disguised as examination of certain Buddhist beliefs and doctrines.

Within Mongolian communities today, there is again renewed agitations to support the Dalai Lama’s narrative on the Shugden issue. This time, the provocations come from a Mongolian man by the name of Tsend-Ayush Batmunkh who runs a Facebook account under the nickname ‘Hunnu Mongol’. There is in fact nothing fresh in Hunnu Mongol’s charges against Dorje Shugden except to regurgitate the Tibetan leadership’s vitriol, aimed at dislodging the people from their faith in Dorje Shugden, and incite hatred against Shugden followers and China.

The Hunnu Mongol Facebook account is run by a Mongolian man named Tsend-Ayush Batmunkh. Click to enlarge

For the Mongolian people, the stakes are high. To begin with, it is vital for the Mongolian nation to maintain good relations with a powerful China. The last time Mongolia fell into Dharamsala’s trap, it took some repairing to normalize ties with a powerful ally. But looking beyond political common sense, the Mongolian people also have established historic ties with the lineage of Dorje Shugden that if ruptured, would undermine Mongolia’s Buddhist heritage.

Simply put, Hunnu Mongol wants the Mongolian people to believe that there is no legitimacy to the Dorje Shugden lineage. In this, Hunnu Mongol is being mischievous because Mongolian archives brim with evidence of the close relationship between the Dorje Shugden lineage, the spread of Buddhism in Mongolia and the social development of the people.

One doesn’t have to be a Buddhist scholar to recognize this close relationship.

Letter from the International Tibetan Shugden Community (English)

The incendiary antics of Hunnu Mongol has caught the attention of Shugden Buddhists who continue to suffer this CTA-sponsored religious persecution. The irony is that the Tibetan exile government that claims to be fighting for democracy should be stifling religious freedom. Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge

Letter from the International Tibetan Shugden Community (Mongolian)

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

The Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Khutuktus

The Jetsun Dhampa Khutuktus are the highest and most esteemed lamas in Mongolia. They are regarded as Bogd Gegeen or supreme spiritual authorities. There is no question of the Jetsun Dhampas’ enlightened nature which is no less than that of the Dalai Lamas.

The first Jetsun Dhampa Khutuktu, Zanabazar who was the spiritual mentor of Emperor Kangxi, a reincarnation of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen, based on an old prophesy by Panchen Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen.

1. The 1^st Jetsun Dhampa, Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar, was recognized as the reincarnation of the great Jonang Jetsun Taranatha. Zanabazar advanced Gelug Buddhism within Mongolia for over 60 years and was well known to have sought close ties with the Qing Emperor Kangxi. So close was the relationship between the first Jetsun Dhampa with Emperor Kangxi that when he heard of the passing of Kangxi, he immediately travelled to Beijing to conduct the customary Buddhist rites for the great emperor.
    
   According to an old prophecy by Panchen Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen, Emperor Kangxi was the reincarnation of Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen who arose as Dorje Shugden. This record is contained in the works of the Mongolian scholar, the most esteemed master, Lobsang Tamdin who gained the reputation of being extremely fastidious in tracing transmissions of Buddhist lineages in order to validate their authenticity.
    
   It was with Kangxi’s support that the first Jetsun Dhampa brought an end to vicious fighting between Dzungar-Qirat Mongols and Khalkha Mongols. The tension between the Dzungar-Qirat and the Khalkha Mongols started because the Qirat warlord Galdan Khan was offended that Zanabazar’s throne was placed at the same height as the throne of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s representative during a religious ceremony. (Mongolia and the Mongols, A M Pozdneev, 1971)
Even then, there were already attempts to reduce Mongolian spiritual authority and render it lesser than that of the Dalai Lamas.
2. The 4^th Jetsun Dhampa Luvsantüvdenvanchug’s era coincided with the spread of Dorje Shugden practice amongst Mongolian Gelugpas. He was recorded as being the first Mongolian to compose propitiation texts to Dorje Shugden. These include a torma offering prayer which supplicates the Dharma Protector to assist in the spread of the Dharma.
   

   OM! Magnificent Buddha of Shambhala,
   Ruler of the three worlds with a brilliant red face,
   Protectors of the most scholarly beings of Loseling,
   Including Dorje Shugden, please come here!

   I offer to you pleasing samaya substances which create harmony,
   Huge palaces, red tormas and white tormas,
   A mountain of flesh and an ocean-wide pile of bones
   And all the objects of desires.


   As you pleasingly and happily partake in these offerings,
   May it cause the increase of study, listening, contemplation and all virtues of theory and practice.
   I request you: Please increase conducive conditions and remove hostile circumstances,
   Guide us as we walk this path of wisdom and compassion.
   Please grant auspiciousness for all Sangha who uphold the three trainings!

   The 4^th Jetsun Dhampa was also a great master of the Kalachakra Tantra and it was he who first alluded to Shambhala being an abode of Dorje Shugden. Shambhala of course is central to the Kalachakra Tantra. It would be absurd to suggest that the Chakravartins or Enlightened Kings of Shambhala would share their abode with a minor demon. And yet that would be the only conclusion to arrive at if one were to believe the accounts served by anti-Dorje Shugden agitators such as Hunnu Mongol.

   Like the 1^st Jetsun Dhampa Zanabazar, the 4^th Jetsun Dhampa’s holy body was enshrined in an important Mongolian monastery, Amarbayasgalant, after his parinirvana. It is not surprising given Dorje Shugden’s historic stature that this deity is also one of the Dharma Protectors of this important Mongolian monastery.

3. The relationship between the Jetsun Dhampa Khutuktus and Dorje Shugden continued with the 8th Jetsun Dhampa Agvaanluvsanchoyjindanzanvaanchigbalsambuu. He would frequently consult the State Oracle, Choijin Lama Luvsankhaidav, who was also his brother. For divine proclamations and guidance, Choijin Lama would take trance of either Nechung, Tsiu Marpo or Dorje Shugden. This itself is evidence that Dorje Shugden was worshipped and well trusted by Mongolian Buddhist authorities. Furthermore, the 9^th Jetsun Dhampa Jambalnamdolchoyjijantsan was a devout student of H.H the 10^th Panchen Lama, H.H. Trijang Dorje Chang and H.H. Ling Dorje Chang, all of whom were the greatest masters of their time who worshipped Dorje Shugden.

Amarbayasgalant, one of Mongolia’s most important temples. Dorje Shugden is the main Dharma Protectors of this temple together with Setew, and Lkham.

Zaya Pandita

Zaya (Jaya) Pandita, who is without question a foundation of Mongolian Buddhism. Zaya Pandita saw the importance of preserving the legacy of his teacher, Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen and his arisal as Dorje Shugden.

It is through the eyes of the renowned Mongolian scholar Zaya Pandita Luvsanprinlei that we see how the Mongolian people historically regarded Dorje Shugden before Dharamsala poisoned the well. Zaya Pandita was a descendant of the great Genghis Khan and commanded a well-respected position amongst Mongolians.

A contemporary of the 1^st Jetsun Dhampa Khutuktu, Zaya Pandita was a disciple of the most prominent Tibetan Buddhist lamas of the time — the 4^th Panchen lama, the 5^th Dalai Lama and Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen. This accorded Zaya Pandita with first-hand opportunity to personally witness the events surrounding the murder of Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen and the fierce efforts to strike his name from the annals of Tibetan Buddhist history.

Zaya Pandita recognized the great importance of preserving the life story and spiritual heritage of Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen whom he regarded to be the holiest of beings. And towards that end, he composed Clear Mirror: A Records of Teachings Received (thob yig gsal ba’i me long).

Zaya Pandita’s writings are key to a recent dissertation by Dr Matthew W. King, Associate Professor of Transnational Buddhism and Chair of Asian Studies in the Department of Religious Studies, UCal. In his paper, Binding Buddhas and Demons to Text: The Mongol Invention of the Dorjé Shukden and Trülku Drakpa Gyeltsen Literary Corpus (1913 – 1919), Dr. King concludes that Mongolian spiritual history does not in fact support anti-Dorje Shugden narratives.

Excerpt from the paper “Binding Buddhas and Demons to Text: The Mongol Invention of the Dorjé Shukden and Trülku Drakpa Gyeltsen Literary Corpus (1913 – 1919)” by Dr Matthew W. King, Associate Professor of Transnational Buddhism and Chair of Asian Studies in the Department of Religious Studies, UCal. Click to enlarge or click here to download the complete PDF.

On the contrary, the Dorje Shugden practice was thriving in Mongolia about a hundred years before H.H. Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo was accused of roguishly sparking the propagation of the Shugden practice, which Dharamsala today views to be fundamentalist and violent.

Dr. King observed that Dorje Shugden was regarded as:
…the wellspring of abundances of [Mongolian] scholastic and political life.

And in addition, that Shugden was:
…very much included within [the] ranks of enlightened beings who helped fashion the Qing-Geluk world.

Other Great Mongolian Masters

Besides Zaya Pandita, the same paper by Dr King evinces historic Mongolian worship of Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen as an enlightened monk and later in his form as the Protector Dorje Shugden. This worship was not of a casual kind by ordinary Mongolian Buddhists but by the spiritual heavyweights of the time.

Dr King cites the great Mongolian mahasiddha Zava Lam Damdin, who compiled Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen’s collected works and assembled the Dorje Shugden be-bum. Zava Lam Damdin was a master of such high caliber that he had very close ties with the 13^th Dalai Lama, and his writings including the Ninj Chimbiin Dodv and Khorchoenjun are regarded by the 14^th Dalai Lama to be important reference texts.

Zava Lam Damdin, a Mongolian Mahasiddha whose birthday is celebrated annually as an Mongolian Buddhist event, and was a key proponent of the Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen and Dorje Shugden lineage.

In the Collected Writings of Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen, Discovered in the Innermost Recesses of Dzaya Pandita’s Library and Newly Complied Under the Title Flower Earrings, Zava Lam Damdin composed a praise to Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen beseeching him to act on behalf of the Buddha’s teachings and sentient beings in his current form as Dorje Shugden.

Zava Lam Damdin was not alone in his zest to preserve Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen’s legacy.

Another Lama, Darva Pandita Agwangchoijurdondubbalsang facilitated Zava Lam Damdin’s Dorje Shugden related works by financing it, urged on by Zava Lam Damdin’s lama, Minjüürdorj.

In the meantime, Zava Lam Damdin sought transmission of Dorje Shugden rituals from Nyongne Tulku as a Khalkha narrative of Dorje Shugden as an enlightened being evolved beyond Tibetan control.

Dharamsala has claimed that the Dorje Shugden practice is the invention of an extreme and fanatical faction of the Gelug lineage. However, based on historical facts, it is clear that if there had been any invention, then that invention lies with the Tibetan leadership who has usurped a holy and legitimate Mongolian practice and turned it into an ideological weapon to serve a political objective.

Will Mongolians deny their own spiritual heritage?

While incitements such as that by Hunnu Mongol are based on absurdities, they nevertheless have the potential to undermine the foundations of Mongolian Buddhism. To believe Hunnu Mongol, the Mongolian people would essentially have to disown their own rich history.

1. The Mongolian people would have to denounce both the great saint Sakya Pandita and their own Godan Khan. Mongolian texts speak of how Godan Khan invited the founder of the Sakya lineage, Sachen Kunga Nyingpo to spread the Dharma in Mongolia but he was unable to fulfil that request.
    
   It was Sachen’s nephew, Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen who agreed to journey to Mongolia. There, he created the first Mongolian alphabet which allowed many precious Buddhist texts to be translated into Mongolian and paved the way for Buddhism to spread in the Mongolian steppes.
    
   Sakya Pandita was of course one of the past incarnations of the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden.
2. The Mongolian people would have to denounce Panchen Sonam Drakpa, another past incarnation of Dorje Shugden. It was the great Panchen Sonam Drakpa who recognized the first Mongolian, the great grandson of Altan Khan, to be the rightful 4^th Dalai Lama. That, without doubt bestowed tremendous prestige upon the institution of Mongolian Buddhism.
3. The Mongolian people would have to denounce the Jetsun Dhampa Khutuktu line of incarnations because the first, fourth and eighth Jetsun Dhampas were so closely connected with Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen’s lineage.
4. The Mongolian people would have to wipe out the legacy of Zaya Pandita, an undoubted fountainhead of Mongolian Buddhist scholasticism. It was Zaya Pandita after all who kept Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen’s legacy from disappearing from the face of the earth.
5. The Mongolian people would have to turn their backs on the Zava Lam Damdin line, both the past incarnation and the present Zava Damdin Rinpoche who are pillars of Mongolian Buddhism in the past and today.

Sogphu Rinpoche who is also known as Guru Deva Rinpoche, was vital in the reconstruction of the institution Tibetan Buddhism in India and Mongolia. He was a devout practitioner of Dorje Shugden.

6. The Mongolian people would have to deny Lama Lobsang Tamdin’s great works and his tremendous contribution to Mongolian Buddhism. Lobsang Tamdin authored key texts for the propitiation of Dorje Shugden and perpetuated the belief that Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen’s line of incarnations are emanations of Manjushri.
7. Lastly, the Mongolian people would have to turn their backs on Guru Deva Rinpoche, also known as Sogpu Rinpoche. Sogpu Rinpoche was recognized as an incarnation of one of the 84 Mahasiddhas and was extremely significant in the rebuilding of the Dalai Lama’s palace in India, the reconstruction of the three great Gelugpa monasteries of Ganden, Sera and Drepung in India, and also the restoration of temples and monk quarters in Mongolia after Buddhism was revived in the early 1990s.

All these great saints, enlightened beings and living pillars of Buddhism are precisely what the Mongolian people will need to rely on as they rebuild their nation and place it on strong grounds. And yet these pillars are precisely what Hunnu Mongol is indirectly asking the people to disown. Hunnu Mongol has very little at stake. He lives in Chicago, a very safe distance from the hostilities and tensions he is inciting. Therefore the Mongolian people owe it to themselves and to future generations to look beyond rhetoric and propaganda, and see the truth with clear eyes.

The ageing 14th Dalai Lama’s popularity is waning, internationally and within his own community.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected].
 

By: Shashi Kei

In Tibetan folklore, Chenrezig the Buddha of Compassion (Skt.: Avalokiteshvara), is regarded as the main progenitor of the Tibetan people. Naturally, that places the deity, Chenrezig, in a very special position in the Tibetan psyche. And so, when the Dalai Lamas were presented to the Tibetan people to be earthly manifestations of Chenrezig, they instantly commanded unparalleled reverence. It was considered ungodly and a serious spiritual violation not to live in complete worship of the Dalai Lama. It was also treasonous not to comply fully with his proclamations, official or unofficial, which were taken to be the highest laws governing the lives of the Tibetan people.

Of all the Dalai Lamas, the 14^th is considered to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest. Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso (which means ‘Holy Lord, Gentle Glory, Supreme Compassion, Defender of the Faith, Ocean of Wisdom’) assumed complete control over the Tibetan nation in November 1950. For the last 60 years the 14^th Dalai Lama has been the singular embodiment of the Tibetan people’s presence in the world. He is a living representation of the Tibetan people’s culture, language, customs, and religion. In exile, the Dalai Lama has been the most significant emblem of the people’s hope for freedom and indeed the very pulse and breath of all things Tibetan.


Reverence for the Dalai Lama was not an exclusively Tibetan affair. The Dalai Lama commanded the world stage after he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, becoming the global symbol for peace and love. That fame and rising popularity meant that the Tibetan leader also became useful to Western nations, in their efforts to curb China’s rise to power.

Sadly there are clear signs that the preeminence of the 14^th Dalai Lama has outlived its day.

China’s importance to global trade and individual economies of nations mean that ultimately, the world’s governments are better off fostering good relations with China. After all as William Clay, an American politician observed, in politics there are no permanent enemies and no permanent friends, only permanent interests. As China’s economic rise commanded interest, it is not surprising that the Dalai Lama’s position on the world stage has diminished. In recent years meeting with the Dalai Lama has become the kiss of death insofar as maintaining good relations with China is concerned.



But it is the Dalai Lama’s declining esteem amongst his own people, the Tibetans, that is most indicative of his waning appeal. On the face of it, the Tibetan people’s adoration of the Dalai Lama has not lost any of its shine. However, a recent incident tells a different story.

Fake statement purportedly issued by the Dalai Lama’s Office. Click to enlarge.

This incident refers to a September 22, 2020 statement, purportedly made by the Dalai Lama on his letterhead and bearing his official seal. In brief it directed the Tibetan people to support a Sikyong candidate in the upcoming Central Tibetan Administration’s (CTA) elections, who is aligned with the agenda of the current President (Sikyong), Lobsang Sangay.

The Office of the Dalai Lama promptly declared the statement to be fake. Interestingly, this is not the first time the Office of the Dalai Lama has had to dispel fake statements supposedly made by the Dalai Lama. Earlier in March 2020, the Dalai Lama’s Office dismissed a social media post allegedly made by the spiritual leader, claiming to have an effective treatment for COVID-19. The ‘treatment’ being to recite a certain mantra and drinking black tea. It is mockery of the Dalai Lama, of course.

The September fake statement which went viral on social media had a clear objective — to use the Dalai Lama as leverage for certain parties to gain an upper hand in Tibetan politics. What is surprising is the brazenness with which the Dalai Lama’s name was used, which signals that the institution of the Dalai Lama is no longer held sacred as before. Instead, it has become fair game to be deployed as a tool in statecraft and political machinations.

This situation would have been unheard of in the recent past. By spiritual tradition, the Tibetans believe the mere utterance of a high lama’s name to be an act of deification. It would have been unacceptable to even consider using Chenrezig’s emanation in this mundane manner.

As unfortunate as the situation may seem, the Tibetan leadership, and in fact, the Dalai Lama himself, have played significant contributory roles in the disintegration of his stature.

Shanty towns in India that the Tibetans call home. There has been negligible meaningful support given by the CTA to the Tibetans in exile to build a proper future.

To begin with, the architect(s) of the fake letter worked on the presumption that such a ploy might actually work, that the Tibetan people might actually believe that the Dalai Lama would instruct them to forego their democratic right to choose a candidate they trust in, and instead do as they are told.

There is in fact, basis for such presumption because the Dalai Lama has habitually involved himself in both domestic and worldly political affairs, despite declaring that he had relinquished all secular powers and ‘retired’ from politics in 2011. History has recorded occasions when the Dalai Lama overtly flouted the Tibetan Constitution which he himself promulgated, when it suited his agenda. In addition, at various points throughout the Tibetan people’s 60 years in exile, the Dalai Lama who belongs to the Gelug school, has not been shy to exert himself on the spiritual affairs of the other Tibetan Buddhist schools where he has no authority, apart from being the most famous Tibetan monk. The Dalai Lama has also been known to have bullied (even to the extent of imprisoning) religious leaders of other Tibetan schools only to release them after they have bowed to his will. He has even gone on record to instruct the Tibetan people to regard followers of a certain religion to be enemies of the state.

In other words, it would not be out of character for the Dalai Lama to seek to influence the outcome of a supposedly democratic election. It has become common knowledge that behind the media-savvy appearance of “a simple Buddhist monk” the 14^th Dalai Lama is interventionist by character, highly divisive and extremely political.

However, being political does not on its own necessarily diminish one’s status in the eyes of the people. Both Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela were impassioned political agitators. Both had their fair share of critics and even enemies. Yet, both were able to command overwhelming devotion and the respect of their respective communities and the world populace.

The difference between Gandhi, Mandela and the Dalai Lama is that Gandhi and Mandela delivered on their promises to the people whereas the Dalai Lama failed. Gandhi and Mandela were able to demonstrate their care and devotion for the people who formed their power bases. And again, this is where the Dalai Lama and his government failed. This failure can in large part be attributed to the Tibetan government-in-exile’s ineptitude and self-serving culture.

Generations of Tibetans have aged and passed on while waiting for the Dalai Lama’s government to deliver on their countless promises.

From its formation, the Tibetan government-in-exile enjoyed global moral and political support. Untold millions of financial aid poured in as the world rallied to its cause. This went on for decades but the Dalai Lama’s government squandered it all away. It wasted countless opportunities to engage China in meaningful dialogue and watched as a weak China pulled herself out of a disastrous post-Mao era to become an economic juggernaut. It is also unknown where all the money that poured in under various vague auspices of ‘Tibetan aid’ actually ended up.

The Tibetan leadership’s lackadaisical attitude towards the Tibetan people can be seen in the way they have casually reneged on their many promises to return them to the homeland. It is a given that the CTA is up against a very powerful nemesis. But the unkindest blow to the Tibetan people was not inflicted by their common enemy but by their own government. And that blow was to neglect to provide for those who followed their beloved god-king into exile, despite having received hundreds of millions of dollars over the decades.

From 1959 up until 2008, waves of Tibetans made their way out of the Tibetan plateau to be with the Dalai Lama. These Tibetans lived predominantly in squalid settlement camps believing that the Dalai Lama would soon return them as rightful citizens of Tibet. At its peak, it is estimated that up to 128,000 Tibetans readily gave up their homes in Tibet choosing instead to be near the Dalai Lama. However, it soon became obvious that not only was the Tibetan Cause a pipe dream but the Tibetan leadership had not even planned adequately to provide for those who had followed the Dalai Lama into statelessness.

Dhardhon Sharling, the ex-Head of the CTA’s Department of Information and International Relations, who abandoned the Tibetan Cause, choosing instead to move to the United States to start a new life.

Today, while the CTA claims that over 150,000 Tibetans remain with the Dalai Lama in exile, the reality is, only an estimate of 85,000 still live in various Tibetan settlements in India. Most remain there because they are trapped in a state of flux, neither equipped by the Tibetan leadership to build a proper future in exile, nor able to secure the necessary papers to travel abroad to greener pastures.

The successful Tibetans in the diaspora are those from the aristocratic stock who were somehow able to move their wealth out of Tibet. Otherwise they are the Tibetans who were wise enough to realize that they could not depend on their government, and left the settlements to seek citizenship and a new life in other parts of the world. A number have even opted to return to the Tibet Autonomous Region under China’s governance.

Simply put, the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile failed its people miserably. As a result, loyalty to the Tibetan Cause is no longer deemed by the Tibetan people to be acceptable currency to get by with. Nor are the CTA’s ongoing promises acceptable as collateral. And as we have seen, neither is adoration of the Dalai Lama suitable prize for the Tibetan people to stake their livelihood and future against.

The Tibetan leaders assumed that centuries of serfdom would have imbued the Tibetan psyche sufficiently to enable them to command endless servitude. It did for a long time until the Tibetan people saw and experienced for themselves what it meant to live as free people. They realized very quickly once they were exposed to the world, that they could sooner achieve this freedom without the traditional shackles and without having to subject themselves to the archaic ways of the Tibetan leadership.

The Tibetan people pay lip service to the struggle for freedom but most have abandoned the cause in reality, relegating the sentiment to an annual show of patriotism, whilst moving on with their new lives overseas.

For all intents and purposes, the Tibetan cause is past its ‘use by’ date. Today, which Tibetan in his or her right mind would give up a free, stable, prosperous and self-sufficient life in Canada, or Australia, or Switzerland or France, or the United States to return to Tibet with the Dalai Lama, assuming the Tibetan leadership somehow regains the country? Which Tibetan parent would yank their third-generation-in-exile children from good education and a promising future and repatriate them to what is essentially a foreign country in the Himalayan plateau? Which parent would deny their children freedom under real democratic governments, choosing instead to subject them to life under an ageing theocrat, supported by a corrupt and inept ‘government’ that has proven incapable of providing for 68,000 people?

Today as the world grapples with the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, and refugee crises triggered by conflicts in Syria, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Somalia dominate headlines, and nations of the world enter a period of great uncertainty, the Tibetan Cause has become irrelevant. Similarly the Dalai Lama is fast losing relevance even to the Tibetan people.

What dominates the Tibetan-in-exile landscape today is internal politics and bickering, corruption and scandals. No official of the CTA seems to sincerely believe in the possibility of regaining the country. And hence there have been no concerted efforts to re-engage China in dialogue. China’s reluctance to come to the table has provided a convenient alibi for the Tibetan politicians to do absolutely nothing.

But the business of running a government-in-exile is still a lucrative one. It is the only ‘government’ in the world that enjoys a constant stream of income from donations, grants and subsidies from the West, without having to produce anything apart from rhetoric and being a thorn in China’s side. It is a ‘government’ that is not required to establish a vibrant economy, provide public service, build infrastructure, protect its borders, maintain law and order, or administer a platform for its people to thrive on. It is the only ‘government’ that has zero accountability to its people, and the only ‘government’ that has willingly commodified its god-king, the Dalai Lama. Nothing spells the commodification of the Dalai Lama more than the fake statement. And so, the Tibetan leadership is ultimately their own worst enemy.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected].
 

By: Shashi Kei

During a teaching in January this year, the Dalai Lama very casually overturned the ban on the practice of Dorje Shugden which he had instigated over twenty-three years ago. It was easy to miss the significance of what he said because of the incidental manner in which the Dalai Lama addressed the subject. However, to those attuned to the subtleties of the Dalai Lama’s manner of speaking, it was clear that the campaign which the Tibetan leadership had unleashed against Shugden Buddhists was at an end.

When the Dalai Lama decided to smother the practice of the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden, he was well aware of the power of his words over the Tibetan people. They regard him as a Buddha and every word he utters, even mere suggestions, are taken as decrees. And so, in 1996 when the Dalai Lama gave what he termed an ‘advice’ against the practice of the Dharmapala Dorje Shugden, the Tibetan exile government known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) immediately took aggressive measures that culminated in laws condemning the religious practice as a “crime against humanity”.

Dorje Shugden on Tibet.net: The Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies’ Resolutions (June 1996). Click to enlarge.

A prominent section of the CTA’s official website was dedicated to condemning Shugden Buddhists, indicating that it was official policy to oppose the belief. Within that section, the CTA posted anti-Dorje Shugden Parliamentary Resolutions, government notices and a slew of articles that demonized the deity. Even the failure of the Tibetan people to regain their homeland was attributed to the practice of Dorje Shugden. To further spur the Tibetan people to turn against the ancient practice, the Dalai Lama claimed that worshipping Dorje Shugden would shorten his life. Ironically, the same website boasted of the CTA’s democratic values and its guarantee of religious freedom for all Tibetan people.

The Dalai Lama’s global influence meant that the campaign against Shugden believers extended well beyond the Tibetan exile community in India. Non-Tibetan Dalai Lama supporters joined in the anti-Shugden sentiment in the mistaken belief that the Dalai Lama was the most competent Buddhist monk in the world and, therefore, uniquely qualified to endorse or discredit the validity of any Buddhist practice. Others fell for the CTA’s ruse that framed the Shugden practice as a political ploy of the Chinese government aimed at undermining the Dalai Lama. It was a sly but extremely effective scheme.

In short, the Dalai Lama and the CTA painted the Dorje Shugden practice as categorically evil and to be avoided at all costs. There was no misunderstanding about this – the Dalai Lama repeatedly reminded the Tibetan people of how the practice would harm him and ruin their chances of regaining their country. Scores of sycophantic pro-Dalai Lama writers and monks ranted about how evil Dorje Shugden was. Some, like the FPMT’s Dagri Rinpoche (who has been arrested by Indian police and is now under investigation for decades of sexual harassment against nuns and female practitioners), made a grandstanding show of support for the Dalai Lama by leading powerful rituals to supposedly kill this ‘demon’. Under the directive of the Dalai Lama, Shugden-worshipping monks were expelled from their monasteries. This sentiment dominated the Tibetan socio-political landscape from the mid-1990s when the Dalai Lama’s campaign against Dorje Shugden started.

So, it came as a complete surprise when the Dalai Lama casually remarked in his January 2020 teaching that it was fine to worship Dorje Shugden as a birth deity (kye lha) or a land god (yul lha). Although the Dalai Lama persisted in questioning the historic status of Dorje Shugden as the Protector of Lama Tsongkapa’s lineage, his consent for the worship of the deity was a drastic reversal of official Tibetan policy that had stood for over two decades. The Dalai Lama had just ended a ban on the practice of Dorje Shugden that the Tibetan leadership had pursued aggressively since 1996.

Some have suggested that the Dalai Lama made an error and did not, in fact, intend to lift the prohibition on Dorje Shugden. However, there were three other hints to indicate that the Tibetan leader’s attitude towards Dorje Shugden has actually changed:

1. The Dalai Lama raised the subject on his own. There were no new developments on the Dorje Shugden front that made it necessary for him to address this very sensitive issue. Nor was his mention of Dorje Shugden in response to questions about the subject. So, it is clear that the Dalai Lama intended to convey a point specifically with regard to the Shugden issue.
2. The Dalai Lama referred to the deity by the proper name, ‘Dorje Shugden’, which means ‘the adamantine force that protects the Gelug’. For over twenty-three years, the Dalai Lama had called the deity by the derogatory name ‘Dolgyal’, which translates to ‘angry spirit of the river Dol’. By addressing the deity respectfully on this occasion, the Dalai Lama signaled that it is time to stop disparaging Dorje Shugden.
3. The Dalai Lama’s tone was amiable and gentle when he spoke about Dorje Shugden. This, too, was a departure from the scathing, derisive manner which the Dalai Lama had previously employed to refer to ‘Dolgyal’ whenever he wanted to perpetuate public animosity against Dorje Shugden.

The prominent ‘Dolgyal’ banner on the Tibetan government’s official website has been removed since the Dalai Lama announced that it is acceptable for Dorje Shugden to be worshiped. Whilst the section that condemns Dorje Shugden still exists, it has been discreetly moved to an inconspicuous section. Click to enlarge.

We must remember that the Dalai Lama is a master politician and an eloquent orator. He is deliberate in his actions and extremely masterful in his ability to move an audience with mere words. Without any military or economic might to speak of, the Dalai Lama has been able to keep world leaders and citizens focused on the Tibetan issue for over sixty years and tip the balance against China, an extremely powerful rising force. A grandmaster such as the Dalai Lama would not carelessly and accidentally revoke a ban on a supposedly evil activity that harms the Tibetan cause, puts his own life at peril and jeopardizes the sanctity of the Buddhist religion.

Perhaps the best evidence that the Dalai Lama intended to end the persecution of Shugden believers is the sudden disappearance of the prominent ‘Dolgyal’ banner on the CTA’s website. That banner served as an ongoing official warning for Tibetans to not practice Dorje Shugden and to not associate with Shugden Buddhists. The simultaneous disappearance of the banner indicates that the Dalai Lama’s words were no mistake.

Given the seriousness of the Dorje Shugden ban, the large number of lives it affected, and the seismic consequences it had on the Tibetan Buddhist community worldwide, one would have expected the Tibetan leadership to make a very public announcement about this drastic change of stance on such an important issue. However, this is not the Tibetan way, especially when it comes to the 14^th Dalai Lama.

It is not in the 14^th Dalai Lama’s nature to admit that he has made a mistake. There have been many instances that attest to this. One clear case was the Dalai Lama’s overreach of his authority to endorse Ogyen Trinley Dorje as the 17^th Karmapa, overriding the protocol of the Karma Kagyu sect. It was not the Dalai Lama’s right to interfere in the spiritual affairs of the Karma Kagyu, whose tradition precedes the Dalai Lama line.

His Holiness the 14^th Shamarpa who pointed out the Dalai Lama’s error in meddling with the recognition of the 17^th Karmapa. Click to enlarge.

The 14^th Shamarpa Mipham Chokyi Lodro, the second-highest ranking lama of the Karma Kagyu sect pointed out the Dalai Lama’s error, which had turned the Karma Kagyu on its head. The Dalai Lama should have acted immediately to correct his mistake after the Shamarpa pointed it out. It would have saved the Karma Kagyu from the carnage that it suffered for twenty-seven years as the result of the Dalai Lama’s unwarranted meddling. But the Dalai Lama did not. Instead, the Dalai Lama reportedly replied that he had already made the decision and could not withdraw his endorsement.

This episode indicates that it would be completely out of character for the Dalai Lama to publicly announce that he made a mistake with regards to Dorje Shugden. So, instead of officially overturning the Tibetan leadership’s ruling on the Shugden practice, the Dalai Lama suggested an exception to the ban on the worship of Dorje Shugden that renders the prohibition against the practice practically meaningless.

The classification of Dorje Shugden as kye lha or yul lha is a relatively insignificant detail. The list of gods and Buddhas in the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon is inexhaustible and covers lhas or gods who are often accepted as emanations of enlightened beings. The Great 5^th Dalai Lama wrote rituals popularizing the inclusion of worldly gods, including yul lhas in formal prayers. Lamas of all Tibetan Buddhist sects over the centuries did the same. So, to regard Dorje Shugden as a kye lha or yul lha is to restore the practice as an acceptable part of mainstream Tibetan Buddhism.

What could have led to this sudden, albeit rather coy, reversal? No one can say for sure. To do so would require insight into why the Dalai Lama implemented the ban to begin with. This is problematic because the Tibetan leadership has never actually presented any real evidence or sound reasons to justify its infringement on the religious freedom of Shugden Buddhists.

Over the decades, a number of postulations have emerged. The Dorje Shugden conflict has been said to be:

• A scheme of the Dalai Lama’s clique to consolidate power by forcing all the different Tibetan Buddhist schools to merge into a single one under the Dalai Lama, achieved by weakening opponents to the design;
• A strategy to distract the restless Tibetan refugee populace from focusing on the Tibetan leadership’s failure to deliver on decades of promises;
• A ploy to create chaos within the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) to gain bargaining power with the Chinese government;
• The machinations of rival sects jealous of Gelug supremacy and who had the ear of the Dalai Lama.

Click to enlarge

Whatever the Dalai Lama’s reasons were to suppress the Dorje Shugden practice, it appeared on the surface to be a success when it was actually a complete disaster. Outwardly, some Tibetans obeyed the Dalai Lama’s persecution of Shugden Buddhists because they believed in the absurd accusations. Most did so to avoid being accused of going against the Dalai Lama, which is typically hazardous. Then, there were those who seized the opportunity to curry favor with the Dalai Lama establishment by supporting the Shugden oppression. But behind closed doors, many Tibetans and confused supporters of the Tibetan cause were beginning to lose faith in him.

Gyalchen Dorje Shugden was, after all, a four-hundred-year-old practice advocated by the greatest luminaries and pandits of the Gelug and Sakya schools, including the Dalai Lama’s tutors. Also, regardless of how the Dalai Lama personally felt about the practice, isn’t the Tibetan leadership a democracy that upholds the basic principles of human rights, including the right to worship? If so, then the oppression of Shugden Buddhists’ rights go against the very essence of freedom and democracy.

Time became the most proficient interlocutor for the case against the Tibetan leadership’s campaign to eliminate the Dorje Shugden practice. The unpopular religious ban was tolerated because it was believed that doing away with Dorje Shugden would strengthen the Tibetan people’s efforts to regain their country. Instead, the Tibetan cause deteriorated even further as the Tibetan leadership became embroiled in a series of internal rivalries, corruption charges and sex scandals.

The Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje (left) whom the Tibetan leadership did not endorse and the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje (right) who is the Dalai Lama’s choice of Karmapa, in a show of unity, a subtle but firm message to the Tibetan government.

In the meantime, the Tibetan exile populace languished. Dwindling numbers in the refugee settlements indicate that most no longer believe in the Tibetan leadership’s ability to adequately provide for them, let alone take on the powerful Chinese government.

The Dalai Lama’s subtle reversal of the ban on the practice of Dorje Shugden may well be a silent acknowledgment that he made a mistake. Or, it could be the Dalai Lama’s attempt to curb the speed with which his power is diminishing. Besides countless failed promises to return the Tibetan people to their homeland and failure to provide the necessary economic infrastructure for exiled Tibetans to sustain meaningful livelihoods, the Dalai Lama also miscalculated the strength of his dominance, not only over his own Gelug sect but also over the other Tibetan Buddhist schools.

The 17^th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, who was endorsed by the Dalai Lama, absconded and closed ranks with the rival Karmapa, Trinley Thaye Dorje, who was never acknowledged by the Dalai Lama and CTA. The coming together of the two Karma Kagyu leaders delivered a very firm message to Dharamsala – that the Karma Kagyu no longer accepts the Dalai Lama’s self-proclaimed authority over them. This is confirmed by their snub of the Dalai Lama in subsequent major religious ceremonies such as the recognition of Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje’s newborn son as the reincarnation of Shamarpa Mipham Chokyi Lodro, who had passed into clear light not long after his confrontation with the Dalai Lama. In the past sixty years, such an important event would only be regarded as having legitimacy if it carried the Dalai Lama’s seal of approval. This time, the Dalai Lama was not consulted and, in fact, not even invited to attend the ceremony.

Going against Nyingma tradition, Dudjom Rinpoche was appointed as the supreme head of the Nyingma sect. He was previously imprisoned by the Tibetan government for not toeing the Tibetan Government’s line.

Other Tibetan Buddhist schools appear to have also taken drastic steps to insulate themselves from any machinations of the Tibetan leadership. The Sakya sect made changes to its succession system. The Nyingmas announced that they would do away with the selection and appointment of a single spiritual leader to preside over the Nyingma sect. That, too, was a subtle but clear rejection of the Dalai Lama’s interference in Nyingma affairs. It was never a Nyingma tradition to have a single spiritual leader until the Dalai Lama appointed one during the period of exile.

The Dalai Lama’s new proclamation on the worship of Dorje Shugden may be lamentably late. Still, it is a welcome step and one that is necessary to heal the deep fracture that has afflicted the holy lineage of Je Tsongkapa. Today, the Gelug sect is still divided into two groups – one that embraces the worship of Dorje Shugden, and another group that condemns the deity as an anti-dharma entity. This division has severely damaged the credibility of the Gelug and confused countless spiritual seekers. Perhaps, it is now time for the Gelug to reconcile.

Although the Tibetan President Lobsang Sangay proclaims democracy, in reality his actions are very much the contrary, as he upholds segregation and discrimination against a segment of the Tibetan populace based purely on their religious faith.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected].

By: Shashi Kei

How can you tell if a government is a good one?

Common sense would say that a good government carefully deliberates on issues that affect the people it represents and behaves responsibly to safeguard their rights and interests. It obeys its own laws and works to ensure that the state apparatus is free of prejudice and discrimination. A good government acts morally and is prepared to be held accountable for its actions and decisions.

Perhaps most importantly, the fruits of its actions are positive and beneficial. By the same logic, a government that does the opposite and brings harm to the community is not a good government.

The Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) based in Dharamsala, claims to be a good government that is guided by Buddhist principles. It insists that it is a far better alternative for the people of Tibet (today called the Tibet Autonomous Region or TAR) than the Chinese Communist Party and has asked the world to support its struggle for independence.

For decades, publicity campaigns commissioned by CTA-related organisations like the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) and Tibet House, which has branches around the world, have extolled the virtues of the CTA. And yet, evidence points strongly to the contrary.

In 1996, the CTA’s Department of Health issued this chilling memo to all doctors and staff associated with them. The memo states that all Dorje Shugden practitioners should immediately resign from their positions. Click to enlarge

One chilling example is a 1996 memorandum issued by the CTA’s Department of Health (their equivalent of a Ministry) to all doctors and staff of organizations associated with them. In a few short passages, the memo manages to reveal the CTA’s true colors and expose how far removed the Tibetan government-in-exile actually is from even the most basic principles of democracy.

The document was, in fact, a ministerial order to discriminate against a segment of the Tibetan community purely because of their religious beliefs. Since 1996, Tibetan Buddhists who worship the ancient Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden have had to bear the brunt of the CTA’s persecution and this memo, calling for the resignation of all Dorje Shugden practitioners, was no different.

In truth, Shugden Buddhists have not been the only victims of the authoritarian Tibetan leadership. While it is unheard of in progressive societies, especially those that claim to be liberal and democratic, the alienation, subjugation and destruction of segments of the population were common in old feudal Tibet.

Gaden Phodrang, the political base of the Dalai Lamas, frequently used religious pretexts to excommunicate those they perceived as threats or political rivals. For example, the spiritual lifelines of Tibetan Buddhist luminaries would be unilaterally banished, effectively extinguishing their existence and, hence, the supposed threat to the Dalai Lamas. Such was the case with the 10^th Shamarpa, one of the highest incarnations in the Karma Kagyu lineage. Similarly, in the 17^th Century, the 5^th Dalai Lama’s response to a territorial dispute with the Jonang lineage was to ban the Jonangpa’s religious tradition and force its practitioners to embrace the Gelug school of Buddhism.

Jonang monks protesting in front of the Tibetan Parliament (Dharamsala) on 15th September 2015 for their right to parliamentary representation. In the end, the Jonangpas were forced to go on a hunger strike. Click here to find out more.

Most people are unaware of this dark history and fewer still know that the culture of oppression and bullying continues today in exile. The same ruling class that has bullied and discriminated against so-called ‘threats’ to the historical Dalai Lamas, today dominates the present Dalai Lama’s exile government; the CTA’s 1996 ban on Dorje Shugden worship is simply a modern manifestation of the Tibetan leadership’s old feudalistic ways.

The only difference is that this oppression is now practiced under the cloak of democracy. According to the Dalai Lama and the heads of the Tibetan government-in-exile, the CTA is a democratic government with a Charter that guarantees religious freedom. However, the memo from the CTA Department of Health proves that this is not the case.

Who Is Calling the Shots?

The very first line of the memo itself reveals that the CTA is neither a progressive nor a responsible government. Its entire premise is a decision given by State Oracles who are unseen, unelected and unaccountable individuals that reveal information under possession by spirits.

The simple fact is that the CTA’s elected representatives do not actually want to take responsibility for their decisions. By consulting Oracles, if things go awry, it is easier for the CTA to direct their people’s ire towards unseen spirits who cannot be held accountable.

Why else would the CTA take its cues from oracles? Why would it not instead carefully deliberate the pros and cons of key government decisions that impact lives, livelihoods and social harmony?

Nechung oracle in trance

It is well known in Tibetan circles that the Dalai Lama and the CTA habitually consult oracles for answers. The Dalai Lama even regards the State Oracle that takes trance of a fierce spirit, Nechung (also known as Pehar or Dorje Drakden) as his closest and most trusted adviser.

In his memoirs, the Dalai Lama wrote,

“I seek his (Nechung’s) opinion in the same way as I seek the opinion of my Cabinet.”

In fact, the Nechung Oracle is given the standing of a deputy Cabinet Minister although, as we can see, his sway over Tibetan affairs is far more potent. This would explain why CTA officials tend to take the Oracle’s proclamations as equivalent to, if not higher than, Acts of Parliament.

It is alarming that an elected government would take instructions from a spirit. This is especially so when the instructions are not only brazenly unlawful but also excessively punitive to a large segment of the Tibetan populace, serving to undermine the unity and fellowship of an already disenfranchised community.

To put the Department of Health’s directive into perspective, Dorje Shugden Buddhists were denied employment and livelihood not because they were unqualified or incompetent, nor for breaking any laws or breaching conditions of their employment. It was solely because the CTA’s Oracles said so.

A certificate that CTA requires attendees to sign, to the effect that the holder does not share anything with Shugden devotees. Those who do not have this certificate are denied participation in important religious events central to the Tibetan community.

This raises many questions. Who really controls the Tibetan government? Can Tibetans trust a government that is steered by invisible forces with an unknown agenda?

For certain, the CTA is the only ‘democratic’ government today that carries out the instructions of a supernatural entity. If there was ever any doubt that this is a recipe for disaster, then the invasion of Tibet, the plight of Tibetan refugees that is now in its 60^th year, and the many false and unfulfilled promises made by the CTA should provide the answer.

An alternative explanation is that the CTA is a counterfeit democracy that uses superstition to bypass its own laws when this suits its purpose. If so, then there is merit to allegations that the CTA is neither an authentic democratic government nor a genuine keeper of the Buddhist faith.

Instead, both religion and politics are merely tools the Tibetan leadership employs interchangeably and inseparably to accomplish its objectives, unlike any other government or spiritual body in the world. The Dalai Lama’s CTA does not operate as a democracy should, and certainly not as the democracy the Dalai Lama appears to have attempted to set up in the 1960s.

The Democracy Charade

In 1963, the Dalai Lama pushed for a draft democratic Constitution to provide governing principles for his people. On its official website, the CTA declares that the Tibetan Parliament adopted the Tibetan Charter (democratic Constitution) in 1991 and that it is “the supreme law governing the functions of the CTA”.

However, it appears that this outward embrace of libertarian principles is merely a charade to persuade the global community to support the Tibetan leadership’s political ambitions. In reality, the Dalai Lama continues to wield unfettered power.

During a religious event in 1996, the Dalai Lama expressed how he “personally feels strongly about how negative this (Dorje Shugden) practice is”. The Dalai Lama went on to strongly discourage Tibetan Buddhists from propitiating ‘Dolgyal’ (a derogatory term that disparages Dorje Shugden).

The ban has even come to the extent of expelling monks who practice Dorje Shugden. Click here to watch the video.

Not only was it improper for the head of a democratic government to attack a religious practice, but it was also disingenuous for him to have done so after proclaiming to uphold religious freedom.

The CTA took the statements of the Dalai Lama, who is regarded as both a god and a king, and turned them into an absolute law with no room for negotiation. The Tibetan Parliament, an institution whose role it is to uphold democratic principles, passed official resolutions which effectively turned Shugden Buddhists into outcasts and outlaws.

Similarly, the Tibetan Cabinet-in-exile issued official statements declaring that:

…rejecting Dolgyal has become a matter of the highest importance to the cause of Tibet… It is the duty of the Tibetan Government-in-exile to encourage compliance with any advice given out of concern for the cause of Tibet, the security of its head of state and the honor of all Tibetan Buddhist traditions including the Geluk tradition. Consequently, it has initiated a programme to be prevailing upon those still following Dolgyal to make a break with it.

In effect, the Tibetan Parliament and Cabinet made it a crime to worship Dorje Shugden and sanctioned what has become a witch-hunt. The Department of Health memo was simply one of many expressions of this religious persecution. Similar directives were issued by all CTA Departments, monasteries under the Dalai Lama’s control and community bodies eager not to be seen to be disagreeing with the Dalai Lama for fear of being accused of colluding with the enemy.

After all, if a segment of society can be summarily branded as traitors and criminals purely on the basis of their religious faith, what safeguards are there to prevent the CTA from falsely accusing other groups as being enemies of the state?

These actions are reminiscent of a feudal theocracy, not a democracy.

The great Democracy Charade. The CTA celebrates ‘Democracy Day’ annually and at the same time behaves more like a totalitarian state.

In a barefaced attempt to escape any kind of backlash or financial repercussion, the CTA has made many attempts to explain away this abuse of power and unabashed breach of the human rights of Dorje Shugden Buddhists.

For example, it has claimed that there is no ban on the Dorje Shugden practice itself and that the Dalai Lama was merely giving advice. However, the CTA has thus far failed to explain why there was a need for the Tibetan Parliament and Cabinet to pass laws against the practice of Dorje Shugden on the back of the Dalai Lama’s “advice”. It has also failed to explain why they had to “initiate a programme” (as per their statement) against the practice, if the Dalai Lama was only giving advice.

Neither has the CTA explained why its elected representatives breached its own Charter on the orders of an unelected spirit in trance. If it is so easy to breach the Charter, it is questionable how dedicated the CTA really is to the principles of democracy. Where the American government and people, for example, holds their Constitution sacrosanct, the same cannot be said of the CTA’s attitude towards their own Charter.

At the time of this writing, the CTA’s official website still proclaims the Tibetan Charter as the supreme law. And yet the same official website carries material that encourages the persecution of Dorje Shugden practitioners.

This should serve as a constant reminder of the CTA’s faux democracy. It is a testimony to how closely the CTA resembles the Chinese regime it accuses of breaching human rights.

There is no other democracy in the world where worshipping the right god is a condition for keeping one’s job and where one is required to denounce one’s faith to remain in the community. Nowhere else is it a “stringent responsibility” for government staff to “urge relatives” to abandon their religion.

23 years after it implemented this disastrous campaign that has wreaked havoc on Tibetan unity and undermined the Tibetan Cause, the CTA still refuses to desist. Perhaps it is a means of distraction from the CTA’s failures.

The CTA argues that the Chinese Government is oppressive and unfair. They point to the Chinese government making it an offence for anyone in the TAR to be in possession of the Dalai Lama’s picture. But the Chinese have never claimed to be democratic. It is the CTA which is the pretender as it makes it a crime to merely exercise one’s basic human rights because the Dalai Lama said so.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected].

By: Shashi Kei

Background

In 2014, the Dalai Lama’s supporters published a book entitled Opening the Eye of Discernment: A Golden Key (The Golden Key) as part of the campaign to discredit Dorje Shugden. The Golden Key is an attempt to rewrite Tibetan Buddhist history because Dorje Shugden has been hailed as a Buddha in the Sakya and the Gelug lineages, and also attracted worshippers from the Nyingma and sub-sects of the Kagyu, but this book tries to portray a different picture.

In 2019, the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), which has been at the forefront of anti-Dorje Shugden activities, published an English translation of The Golden Key. The translation was written by Gavin Kilty, a senior member of the FPMT and the book was printed by FPMT-owned Wisdom Publications. Lama Zopa, the head of the organization, wrote the Foreword.

Understanding the Case against Shukden. Click to enlarge.

Ironically, the FPMT was founded by one of the most famous Dorje Shugden masters, Lama Yeshe Rinpoche. It is widely known that Lama Yeshe consulted Dorje Shugden before making important decisions. It is no coincidence that the Tibetan Buddhist lamas who have done the most to spread the dharma – Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo, Trijang Dorje Chang, Geshe Rabten Rinpoche, Lama Yeshe and Geshe Kelsang Gyatso – all relied on Dorje Shugden.

Lama Zopa, who was Lama Yeshe’s heart student, inherited the FPMT and was also a Dorje Shugden practitioner until it became politically efficacious to abandon the deity and support the Dalai Lama’s persecution of Shugden Buddhists. As a student of teachers who trusted Dorje Shugden and yet seeing a need to support the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa was pulled in two diametrically opposed directions.

Due to the FPMT’s deep roots in the Dorje Shugden practice, Lama Zopa’s refutation of Dorje Shugden often takes awkward twists and turns, with some of his arguments against the Shugden practice amounting to nothing more than gross distortions of facts. His Foreword in Understanding the Case against Shukden is a good illustration of this awkwardness.

Inconsistencies in Lama Zopa’s Foreword

The Foreword is a litany of contradictions. Lama Zopa could not defend the Dalai Lama’s anti-Dorje Shugden stance without also undermining the integrity of Lama Yeshe, his own credibility and the FPMT’s claim of being the source of an authentic lineage.

1. Naming names

Lama Zopa started by citing high lamas whom he claimed opposed the practice of Dorje Shugden. The lamas named were Yongzin Yeshe Gyaltsen (tutor to the 8^th Dalai Lama), Thuken Chokyi Nyima, Purchok Ngawang Jampa, Changkya Rolpai Dorje (who, interestingly, returned as Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo, probably the greatest advocate of Dorje Shugden of this era) and Ngulchu Dhamabhadra. In addition, Lama Zopa insisted that the Dalai Lama’s teacher, Kyabje Ling Rinpoche and his own guru, Geshe Sopa were not Dorje Shugden practitioners.

In naming these high lamas, Lama Zopa intended to give the impression that Dorje Shugden was never an accepted Gelugpa practice and that the reputable lamas mentioned shunned the deity. However, it should not have mattered what anyone else said about Dorje Shugden. Lama Zopa lists as his teachers Gelugpa greats like Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo, Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, and of course Lama Yeshe. They were emanations of Buddhas who were also the greatest advocates of Dorje Shugden. Trijang Rinpoche, Zong Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe took Dorje Shugden to be their personal Dharma Protector and so why would Lama Zopa regard these great lamas to be his teachers and ignore their opinion about Dorje Shugden and instead listen to someone else? Anyone who regards himself to be a worthy student of a Vajrayana teacher knows to follow only the teacher’s instructions.

Left to right: Venerable Lama Yeshe, His Holiness Zong Rinpoche and Lama Zopa.

In any case, Lama Zopa’s point is easily rebutted for two main reasons:

Firstly, it would be impossible to find any Tibetan Buddhist who has engaged in the practice of all yidams, protectors and divinities. This cannot be taken to mean that the deities a lama does not practice are demonic and should be banned.

If the legitimacy of attacks on Dorje Shugden is to be found in the masters who (supposedly) opposed it, then great masters and enlightened luminaries who have championed Dorje Shugden over the centuries must be taken as reliable sources of its legitimacy. If this is a good benchmark of a Buddhist ritual, then Dorje Shugden passes easily as one of the most authentic and sanctioned practices in the Gelug and Sakya lineages.

The worship of Dorje Shugden was started by the Great 5^th Dalai Lama himself. It was he who made the first Dorje Shugden statue with his own hands, built Trode Kangsar (the first Dorje Shugden chapel) and wrote the maiden prayer to propitiate the Protector. Why would one of the greatest Dalai Lamas, himself an emanation of a Buddha, pave the way for a demonic practice to come about? It is common for anti-Shugden exponents to cite the Great 5^th Dalai Lama as an authority for their negative view of the deity, but they conveniently forget that the Great 5^th initiated the Dorje Shugden practice.

There are many other sources that lend authenticity to the Dorje Shugden practice:

• Dorje Shugden was enthroned by the 11^th Dalai Lama Kedrup Gyatso as the Dharma Protector of the Yellow Hat (Gelug) Teachings;
• At a time when the Great 13^th Dalai Lama Thubten Gyatso cautioned against an over-reliance on oracles, he willingly accepted the advice of Dorje Shugden who took spontaneous trance to warn of an impending threat to Tibet at the time;
• The 14^th Dalai Lama worshipped Dorje Shugden for 40 years and wrote a praise to the Protector;
• The Great 10^th Panchen Lama, who is none other than Amitabha, wrote prayers to Dorje Shugden;
• The Mahasiddha Tagphu Pemavajra who is the source of the holy Cittamani Tara practice is also the source of the Dorje Shugden practice as it exists within the Gelug tradition,
• The greatest Gelug lamas of the modern era, Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo, Trijang Dorje Chang, and Zong Dorje Chang who were regarded as enlightened beings, and Domo Geshe Rinpoche who was an extraordinary lama, all took Dorje Shugden to be their personal Dharma Protector and wrote extensively about propagating the practice.
• In the Sakya lineage, at least 6 Sakya Trizins (Sakya throne-holders), who were regarded as emanations of Manjushri, worshipped Dorje Shugden. They were the 30^th Sakya Trizin Sonam Rinchen, the 31^st Sakya Trizin Kunga Lodro, the 33^rd Sakya Trizin Pema Dudul Wangchuk, the 35^th Sakya Trizin Tashi Rinchen, the 37^th Sakya Trizin Kunga Nyingpo and the 39^th Sakya Trizin Drakshul Thinley Rinchen. These lamas are the historical pillars of the Sakya lineage and if they were all mistaken about Dorje Shugden, then the Sakya lineage today should be invalidated.

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For every lama whom Lama Zopa claims were opposed to Dorje Shugden, there are many more who have regarded Dorje Shugden as a Buddha. Therefore, merely naming a few lamas who supposedly did not worship Dorje Shugden cannot in any way invalidate the Dorje Shugden lineage.

For that matter, neither can the pronouncement of the Dalai Lama. While the Dalai Lama may command greater prominence and worldly status than other lamas, he is not spiritually supreme nor more learned and attained by virtue of his title.

If the 14^th Dalai Lama is Avalokiteshvara, then so was the 11^th Dalai Lama Khedrup Gyatso. Pabongka Rinpoche was regarded to be one with Heruka and Trijang Rinpoche was commonly regarded to be Vajrayogini. The 10^th Panchen Lama was recognized to be Amitabha Buddha. There is no scriptural authority or any Tibetan Buddhist tradition that claims Avalokiteshvara is superior to Heruka, Vajrayogini, Amitabha or indeed any other Buddha.

So why are we obliged to follow only one Buddha emanation and oppose and reject all the others?

Furthermore, it was misleading for Lama Zopa to state that Kyabje Ling Rinpoche did not practice Dorje Shugden. Dorje Shugden may not have been Ling Rinpoche’s personal protector but it is an irrefutable fact that Kyabje Ling Rinpoche wrote prayers to Dorje Shugden. Both Kyabje Ling Rinpoche and Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, who were chosen to be the 14^th Dalai Lama’s tutors because of their high attainments and remarkable erudition of the Dharma regarded Dorje Shugden positively. If both the Dalai Lama’s tutors failed to discern the fundamental difference between a Buddha and a demon, then the foundation of the 14^th Dalai Lama’s learning is seriously compromised.

Geshe Sopa, the great master regarded as the teacher of renowned scholars and Lama Zopa’s own teacher, made his opinion about the Dorje Shugden issue very clear in his autobiography, Like a Waking Dream. He wrote, “The idea of these ritual texts of Shukden is to spread and strengthen the pure teachings and destroy wrong views and practices, so their language and imagery tend to seem rather sectarian and aggressive”.

Geshe Sopa made it very clear that Pabongka Rinpoche recommended Dorje Shugden to stop the deterioration of the Gelug lineage. Far from agreeing with the Dalai Lama’s view that Dorje Shugden is a dark and malicious force seeking the destruction of the Dharma, the Protector practice was described by this learned Geshe to be a measure taken to keep the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa pure.

In other words, there is nothing wrong with the practice. However, the Dalai Lama made the decision to ban the practice to appease parties that were unhappy about their position vis-à-vis the supremacy of the Gelug lineage.

It is somewhat strange that Lama Zopa was silent on Lama Yeshe in writing the Foreword. However, this is understandable because no matter how Lama Zopa tries to manoeuvre, he cannot escape the fact that his root teacher practised Dorje Shugden his entire holy life. The FPMT was built on a foundation of trust and reliance on a deity that Lama Zopa is now helping the Dalai Lama to destroy.

2. Renouncing the Guru is bad…or is it good?

It is here that Lama Zopa is most confusing and self-contradictory. He has said:

If you have received tantric initiations from a guru, it is essential that you protect your pure vision and do not see the guru as an enemy… It is a great loss if you take someone as your guru and later err in your devotion to that guru… Belittling your guru is the same as belittling all the buddhas of the past, present and future… The risk (of erring in our devotion to the guru) is not only to the happiness of one’s future rebirths; it also makes it incredibly difficult to meet a guru or the Buddhadharma for eons to come.

To be accurate, once a practitioner has entered the Vajrayana path, he must regard the spiritual bond between the teacher and student to be sacred. To break this bond, also known as ‘samaya’ with the Vajrayana teacher results in taking rebirth in Vajra Hell. Lama Zopa gave a hint of that when he wrote, “…renouncing one’s guru is the worst of all negatives and the source of great suffering”.

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On the other hand, Lama Zopa and the FPMT are prominent supporters of the Dalai Lama’s Dorje Shugden prohibition. This prohibition requires practitioners to denounce their guru on account of that guru’s practice of Dorje Shugden. In the Dalai Lama’s many anti-Shugden speeches and in various statements by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Dorje Shugden was portrayed as an enemy of the Tibetan people and a dark force antagonistic to the Dharma. It is also inferred that anyone, including teachers, who engage in this “harmful” practice wish ill to befall the Dalai Lama, the Dharma and the Tibetan cause, and should be regarded as an enemy.

The Dalai Lama’s Dorje Shugden ban compels students to break samaya with any teacher who practises Dorje Shugden and to sever ties with those who do not support this religious persecution. To refuse, it is said, is to be anti-dharma and anti-Dalai Lama.

So, how are we to reconcile Lama Zopa’s advice on the importance of not breaking samaya with the teacher and his advocacy of the Dalai Lama’s religious ban which obligates one to do so?

Hasn’t Lama Zopa broken his samaya with Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo, Trijang Rinpoche, Zong Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe by supporting the persecution of his gurus’ personal protector and by implying that his teachers were mistaken? If so, then what is Lama Zopa’s spiritual authority based on now? What is the foundation of his spiritual attainments? Can it be said that one’s political allegiance to the Dalai Lama is sufficient to replace the spiritual bonds Lama Zopa has broken with his other teachers?

Clearly, Lama Zopa recognized the absurdity of this situation when he wrote, “Whichever side (of the Shugden conflict) we take on this issue, we face grave risk”. If this is so, why would the FPMT publish a book that seeks to entice even more people to fall into this “grave risk”? The entire book for which Lama Zopa wrote the Foreword serves to encourage students to break samaya with their Shugden-worshipping teachers. Yet, Lama Zopa tells us that breaking samaya with the teacher is patently wrong.

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3. Biased view

Further in the Foreword, Lama Zopa writes, “If one guru says not to practice Dölgyal (a derogatory name for Dorje Shugden) and another guru seems to be practising, both are correct. The appearance of contradictions comes from our own mistaken mind”. On this point, Lama Zopa is correct.

However, if both Dorje Shugden and non-Dorje Shugden gurus are not in error, then why is it that only Dorje Shugden gurus and worshippers are persecuted, discriminated against and marginalized? And why is Lama Zopa fostering this prejudice even though he recognizes that Dorje Shugden gurus are not wrong, and practitioners similarly not in error when they follow in their teachers’ footsteps?

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If the Dorje Shugden guru is correct, and keeping samaya with the Shugden guru is correct, then how can following the advice of the unmistaken guru lead to the creation of heavy negative karma that ends in great suffering?

This is the kind of incoherence that characterizes Lama Zopa’s Foreword to ‘Understanding the Case against Shukden’. Lama Zopa and the FPMT could have chosen to remain silent and neutral on the Dorje Shugden conflict. That they chose one side and decided to agitate this unholy row further would indicate that there is a hidden agenda.

4. The Buddhas were mistaken but Lama Zopa is not

Perhaps the greatest inconvenience to Lama Zopa, the FPMT and opponents of the Dorje Shugden practice is the fact that the greatest lamas of our time, Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo and Trijang Dorje Chang both trusted Dorje Shugden and were strong advocates of his practice.

So highly acclaimed was Pabongka Rinpoche that he was referred to as ‘Dechen Nyingpo’ which means ‘The King of Bliss from the Palace of Bliss’ or a master who is already one with Heruka. He wrote the Vajrayogini Sadhana, Dechen Nyur Lam (Short Path to Great Bliss) and combined various techniques for practitioners to attain the state of Vajrayogini. Pabongka Rinpoche is also well known for his absolute mastery of the Lamrim and stories abound of his spiritual accomplishments.

Trijang Dorje Chang was widely recognized as an emanation of Vajrayogini, whose reincarnation can be traced to Chandra, Lord Buddha’s charioteer. The name Trijang Dorje Chang has become synonymous with the perfect practice of the Dharma by an enlightened master. To this day, no one can find a single fault in Trijang Rinpoche.

Lama Zopa acknowledged that both these masters are Buddhas but went on to say that these Buddhas were showing “ordinary aspect” in their practice of Dorje Shugden. This is a subtle way of saying that these two Buddhas were wrong. However, since it is accepted that Buddhas are omnipotent and omniscient and therefore cannot make mistakes, Lama Zopa phrases it in such a way that these Buddhas merely manifested having made mistakes. In other words, it is still wrong for them to have worshipped Dorje Shugden.

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Again, this raises more questions than it answers. How could two enlightened masters who were flawless in all aspects of their Dharma practice and teachings, who demonstrated perfect understanding of the sutras and highest tantras, and who were flawless in their elucidation of even the most subtle aspects of the Buddha’s teachings, be so mistaken about Dorje Shugden? In fact, before the Dalai Lama’s campaign against Dorje Shugden started in 1996, most Gelugpa lamas worshipped Dorje Shugden. So if we are to accept Lama Zopa’s skewed reasoning, then we must conclude that for hundreds of years, the majority of Gelugpa lamas and geshes displayed flaws because worshipping Dorje Shugden was prevalent.

Lama Zopa also fails to explain why it is a flaw only when one prays to a deity that the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa object but not a flaw to abandon the holy teacher, break vows to uphold practices given by the guru, participate in schisms that divide the Dharma community, and then publish and endorse books to encourage students to break their spiritual bond with their teachers. Should it not be the other way around?

Also, it should be noted that worshipping Dorje Shugden only became a ‘flaw’ after the Dalai Lama’s anti-Dorje Shugden proclamation in 1996. Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo, Trijang Rinpoche, Zong Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe worshipped Dorje Shugden long before 1996. So is it truly a flaw or is it a case that worshipping Shugden had to be regarded as one because it stood in the way of one single lama who has the political power to enforce this view?

Conclusion: Ramblings of a confused mind or act of a Mahasiddha?

The main thrust of Lama Zopa’s message seems to be pure devotion to the guru. His advice is that students should hold on to a “pure vision” of the guru and not see the teacher as anything but perfect even when the guru manifests an error.

But this advice contradicts the behavior of the 14^th Dalai Lama and that of Lama Zopa Rinpoche himself. The Dalai Lama has directly accused his teacher Trijang Dorje Chang of being wrong about Dorje Shugden. Lama Zopa’s attempts to undermine the reputation of Dorje Shugden lamas suggests that Lama Yeshe and Zong Rinpoche were both mistaken.

Where was the Dalai Lama’s pure vision if indeed Trijang Rinpoche made a mistake? Where is Lama Zopa’s?

It does not make sense for Lama Zopa to stress the great importance of guru devotion and to proclaim that the guru is never mistaken, and then proceed to encourage students to see errors in their teachers, and to break their spiritual bond with them over the Dorje Shugden issue.

There can only be two possible reasons for Lama Zopa’s muddled explanations.

The first is that Lama Zopa is a hypocrite and has chosen political correctness over true guru devotion. He cannot be an apologist for the Dalai Lama’s anti-Shugden stance without sounding absurd because the reasons for the ban are absurd.

The second is to read between the lines and see that Lama Zopa’s allusion to the appearance of flaws in the guru’s actions is not directed at Pabongka Rinpoche and Trijang Rinpoche but in fact a reference to the Dalai Lama’s ban on Dorje Shugden and his denouncement of the greatest Gelug lamas.

Could Lama Zopa be saying that in conflicts such as the Dorje Shugden ban, one must have faith in the guru and maintain one’s devotion to the teacher regardless of whether he/she is a Dorje Shugden practitioner or not, since “…devotion is the cause that allows us to achieve full enlightenment”? In other words, was Lama Zopa advising readers to ignore the Dalai Lama’s ban?

Lama Zopa and Lama Osel (the current incarnation of Lama Yeshe)

This seems to be a logical conclusion at which Lama Zopa intends for readers to arrive. It suggests that he does not spell it out because it would undermine the Dalai Lama’s position on the issue.

The reason for the cryptic manner in which Lama Zopa has delivered this message is a matter of speculation. The inconsistency is indicative of the groundless nature of the opposition to Dorje Shugden, especially given Tibetan Buddhism’s foundations of logic and reason which have been articulated eloquently by enlightened masters for centuries.

Lama Zopa’s Foreword in ‘Understanding the Case against Shukden’ is another unfortunate development in Tibetan Buddhism. In essence, it says that lineage masters such as Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo, Trijang Dorje Chang and Kyabje Zong Rinpoche – who were the teachers of teachers – were flawed in their practice and understanding of the Dharma. This itself would bring everything they have ever taught into question. Such books only serve to damage the reputation of great masters and holders of Lama Tsongkhapa’s lineage.

It seems, though, that Lama Zopa has inflicted the most harm on the FPMT – he has revealed its claim to be an upholder of the Mahayana tradition to be truly hollow. Perhaps that is why the FPMT lacks the merits to hold on to the reincarnation of the founder, Lama Osel who has disrobed and chosen to live the life of an ordinary person.

The inevitable change in the Tibetan political scene has pushed the Dalai Lama’s secretary Lobsang Jinpa to remove his video that advocates hatred towards Dorje Shugden people. This shows the Tibetan leadership knows it is wrong to segregate its own people based on religion.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected].

By: Cyrilo Silva

To many, especially people in the West, Tibet is a land of mystery – a peaceful, happy land of snow-capped mountains with Buddhist monasteries scattered across its vast landscape, the sound of holy prayers and mantras pervading all directions, full of people living in simplicity and contentment. However, this land that was isolated for centuries also has a dark side that has been kept away from the world, or rather people choose to only believe what is portrayed to them through the media – the non-existent utopian Shangri-la that Tibet has been painted to be.

As Tibet’s so-called God-King, no one is allowed to have an opinion that differs from the Dalai Lama who is viewed and deified by the Tibetans as an emanation of Chenrezig. The penalties for disagreeing with the Dalai Lama are swift and violent.

Leading this community is His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama who is not only the religious leader of Tibetans around the world, but also their temporal leader. The Dalai Lamas have been the supreme rulers of Tibet for centuries and although the 14th Dalai Lama today claims he has retired from the political scene, it is fairly impossible because the Tibetans see him as a God, more specifically Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and the patron saint of Tibet. Hence even today within the exiled Tibetan community in India, the 14th Dalai Lama’s word is the law and no one is allowed to challenge or question him.

Many problems have arisen from this theocratic ruling system, which the younger generation of Tibetans are beginning to wake up to. They can see that this method of ruling has eroded both religion and politics in their community, bringing about more destruction than benefits. People like Mr. Lukar Jam Atsok and Member of the Tibetan Parliament Tenpa Yarphel have openly voiced their disagreement with the policies of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), who are the Tibetan leadership based in Dharamsala. They have questioned many of the government’s policies, including their undemocratic reliance on the Nechung Oracle to make state decisions as well as the unjust ban on the protector deity Dorje Shugden which was implemented by the Tibetan leadership in 1996 and has divided and created conflicts within the community.

Is Spring Coming to Tibetans in India?

It seems like the Tibetan exiled community in recent years is moving towards democratization and a new “Tibetan Spring” is on the horizon, where the younger generation stands up to the old feudal guard whose authoritarian rule has only segregated and created inequality among their people.

The younger generation of Tibetans appear to strongly believe in real democratic practice, for example that everyone is deserving of religious freedom to practice whatever they want, or that all state affairs should be decided by elected members of parliament, not deities and gods. This is unsurprising given they were raised in exile and exposed to other ways of leadership and governance. This younger generation want democracy, freedom, unity and equality.

In stark contrast is the older generation, who have prospered by dividing, conquering and exploiting their own community. The older generation are therefore being forced to adapt to a modern way of thinking and give up their authoritarian rule. The ‘Tibetan Spring’ is pushing them to change because they realize Tibetans are tired with their lack of political progress, the poor governance of their people in exile, as well as the plethora of conflicts caused by their leadership all in the name of religion.

For instance, Arjia Rinpoche, a close confidante to the Dalai Lama who in the past strongly spoke against Dorje Shugden practice, has recently made a statement urging people to stop the segregation and hatred against Dorje Shugden practitioners because it destroys Tibetan unity. Another example is Lobsang Jinpa, one of the Dalai Lama’s right-hand men who is now attempting to retract a video of himself speaking against other people’s religious beliefs at a press conference in June 2014.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

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Lobsang Jinpa served as the Dalai Lama’s secretary for 12 years, between 1993 and 2005. As the Dalai Lama’s secretary, his words carry the weight of the Dalai Lama’s influence so it looks bad for him and by default, the Dalai Lama as it implies that the Dalai Lama encourages sectarianism. This short clip above shows Lobsang Jinpa speaking against the Dorje Shugden practice at a press conference.

Given the current political climate calling for acceptance of everyone regardless of their differences, and for the unity of all Tibetan people, it is therefore no surprise that Lobsang Jinpa is attempting to remove all traces of the video from the Internet.

Click to read the image in full (Source: http://www.dalailamaprotesters.info/?p=1370)

Click to read the image in full (Source: https://www.facebook.com/office.of.tibet/posts/the-secretary-of-the-gaden-phodranghis-holiness-the-dalailama-lobsang-jinpa-gave/653358334748212/)

Above are screenshots of two pro-Dalai Lama platforms online. The missing video on both websites shows clearly that on platforms he has control of, Lobsang Jinpa is removing old videos of himself speaking against Dorje Shugden. However, the same video is still available on the TibetTV YouTube channel, which is the CTA’s WebTV station that Lobsang Jinpa has no control over.

Advocate of Sectarianism

As someone who “has a thorough understanding of the approach of H.H. the Dalai Lama” (Source: Tibetan Who’s Who) and has represented the Dalai Lama in the past, Lobsang Jinpa must feel totally embarrassed for his past actions of discriminating, condemning, and persecuting Dorje Shugden practitioners, abusing his power as the Dalai Lama’s secretary.

After all, he was not the secretary of someone ordinary, but of someone who won the Nobel Peace Prize for advocating compassion, love and acceptance. Yet Lobsang Jinpa’s speech and actions were the exact opposite of what the Dalai Lama preaches. Besides speaking against Dorje Shugden as shown in the video above, Lobsang Jinpa was also actively involved in anti-Shugden movements and witch-hunting Dorje Shugden practitioners. His involvement is briefly summarized below:

1. He has previously bribed people to speak against Dorje Shugden. On 25th June 1997, Lobsang Jinpa wrote to monk Jampa Wangyal: “…on this visit (to Tibet), do your best to advise your acquaintances on the issue of Protector worship (here refers to the protector Dorje Shugden). A sum of Rupees 300,000 (US $ 7142.85) is being provided for construction of the new monastery (Saluga, India).” The message is clear – the Tibetan government will give you money and financially support your projects if you do their bidding to talk against Dorje Shugden.
2. He has prevented monks from receiving their Geshe degrees. On 30th – 31st December 1997, a year after the unjust ban was implemented, Lobsang Jinpa sent a message to the abbot of Sera Mey Monastery, instructing that students who have successfully attained their Geshe degree but who engage in the worship of Dorje Shugden will not receive any certificates for their examination.
3. He was directly involved in prolonging the suffering of Tibetans who refused to give up their practice of Dorje Shugden, and who were persecuted as a result. On 19th – 21st November 1996, a delegation from the Dorje Shugden Society in New Delhi requested an audience with the Dalai Lama in the hopes of reconciliation. Lobsang Jinpa however, rejected them and said there was no point if they did not want to give up their practice of Dorje Shugden.

Especially in the late 1990s, when the ban had just been implemented, witch-hunting and persecuting Dorje Shugden practitioners was politically correct and people were applauded and praised for doing so. But things are changing now.

The younger generation of Tibetans and Tibetan political leaders have witnessed how undemocratic the ban is and how it destroys much-needed unity among the Tibetan diaspora. In this day and age, it has become politically incorrect to discriminate against anyone based on their religious choices. Young Tibetans want real progress, real democracy and real freedom, and most importantly unity because it is essential to successfully managing Tibetans living in various countries all around the world within diverse cultures.

Hence in the Tibetan government in exile today, anyone who discriminates against a person based on any mundane factors will no longer be seen as a hero because any action that brings disunity and conflict is simply wrong. As a result, Lobsang Jinpa has no choice but to pull his anti-Shugden video to try and save his face and stay relevant.

Why Remove the Video Now?

Unfortunately, Lobsang Jinpa’s reasons are more than likely to be prosaic than spiritual:

1. He finally realizes he has no basis to attack Dorje Shugden. Lobsang Jinpa is not from a monastic background so he has no basis to show he understands Dorje Shugden’s practice and lineage, that he can even say that Dorje Shugden is bad and evil.

Dorje Shugden is a protector deity with 400 years of history and he is practiced across the various sects of Tibetan Buddhism, for example the Sakya and Drukpa Kagyu. Moreover, both the Dalai Lama’s root gurus – Kyabje Ling Rinpoche and Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche – from whom the Dalai Lama’s pure lineage and knowledge come from, were both Dorje Shugden practitioners. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche especially, was not only a staunch practitioner of Dorje Shugden but also the one who promoted the practice far and wide and wrote the seminal work on the deity, Music Delighting the Ocean of Protectors.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama (centre) with his two tutors, His Holiness Kyabje Ling Rinpoche (left) and His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche (right). Both of them practiced Dorje Shugden, and it is from both of them whom the Dalai Lama’s pure lineage and knowledge come from.

Compare that to someone like Lobsang Jinpa who is not a monk and has no background in rigorous religious studies. It is obvious he is not a credible person to discuss at length anything about the Dorje Shugden practice as he knows nothing about the importance of a Guru-disciple relationship and the passing down of a lineage.

Therefore, his speech against Dorje Shugden had no scriptural basis and was based on nothing more than hearsay. Lobsang Jinpa basically parroted what people have said, with no knowledge of Dorje Shugden practice and the history of the lineage. Many Tibetans, even those who support the Dalai Lama have criticized and made fun of him because his anti-Shugden comments made it clear he was just repeating what he heard, without researching and examining the issue further. To make the matter worse, since he is the private secretary to the Dalai Lama, he is expected to be knowledgeable in Buddhism, but his speech showed the opposite. Realizing this, Lobsang Jinpa had no choice but to pull the video to avoid further disgrace.

2. Next to more moderate, tolerant attitudes, Lobsang Jinpa looks archaic, intolerant and discriminatory and it embarrasses him and those he represents (i.e. the Dalai Lama). In recent months, we have heard from Arjia Rinpoche as well as Tenpa Yarphel, a member of the Tibetan parliament, who verbalised the opinions of the Tibetan people – the Dorje Shugden ban creates disunity and Tibetans should stop segregating the practitioners because it separates the people, and creates doubts and conflicts. Although they do not personally practice Dorje Shugden, Arjia Rinpoche and Tenpa Yarphel spoke out because they have seen how the ban destroys Tibet’s religion and culture. Their speeches were extremely well-received amongst the Tibetans, especially the younger generation.

Compare them to Lobsang Jinpa, whose video was used by the CTA to create further divide. In the current climate, it is no longer acceptable for someone like Lobsang Jinpa to create disunity using religion and as support for the Dalai Lama and Tibetan cause continues to wane day by day, anything that might jeopardize His Holiness’s popularity is dangerous. So Lobsang Jinpa quickly and quietly pulled his video to avoid adding salt to the wound, since his speech will have been seen as representing the Dalai Lama’s stance and whatever he does or says, will be seen as being endorsed or allowed by the Dalai Lama.

3. The ‘Tibetan Spring’ is happening and Lobsang Jinpa does not want to be caught on the wrong end of the stick. Signs of the Tibetan Spring began with popular Tibetan politician Lukar Jam Atsok, when he openly disagreed with the Dalai Lama’s Middle Way and said that the leadership should not segregate Dorje Shugden people because it creates disunity. Like Arjia Rinpoche and Tenpa Yarphel, he was speaking for a generation who are fed up with the old feudal and undemocratic way. In this old feudal society, everyone must follow the Dalai Lama and questioning him is not tolerated. No one is allowed to have a different view or stance and those who suggest anything different will be punished and attacked.

Lukar Jam Atsok (left) and Tenpa Yarphel (right) are the modern, rising political stars within the Tibetan community who are really working towards Tibetan unity and are fighting for real democracy so that all Tibetans will be treated equally, regardless of their background, class, economic status or religion.

As more of the younger generation are speaking up against the ways of the older generation, Lobsang Jinpa does not want to be associated with the old guard who uphold this feudalistic way of governing. Maintaining popularity with the masses is important for those who want to continue reaping the financial benefits of staying in power.

Lobsang Jinpa has woken up to a truth that few other Tibetan leaders seem willing to recognize and that is, political change within the Tibetan community is inevitable. The older generation of leaders encourage separation to “divide and rule“, and to control and manipulate their people, but the younger generation who have been exposed to democracies around the world want to rebuild themselves regardless of regional or spiritual differences, and this is how it should be.

It is obvious that the older generation of leaders paid more attention to taking care of their own welfare and to dominate the people while the younger generation of leaders like Tenpa Yarphel and Lukar Jam Atsok wish to focus on the preservation of the culture and religion of Tibet. They believe that no one should be singled out and all Tibetans are welcome to make their community strong again. Which camp will Lobsang Jinpa join? By removing his video, it tells you Lobsang Jinpa wants to stay relevant and stay in power and to do that, he has no choice but to follow the new direction set by the younger leaders.

It is never easy to make a change but if there’s a will, there’s a way. Let us hope more and more older generation leaders will follow the example set by the Dalai Lama’s private secretary, Lobsang Jinpa and retract their harmful words against Dorje Shugden practitioners that violates religious freedom and human rights, for the sake of unity to ultimately benefit the their own people. Let us pray that the old feudal way of thinking and ruling Tibet will come to an end, just like how winter ends. Only then will Tibet once again blossom like flowers blooming in spring.

In Wellington, New Zealand, the flags outnumbered the demonstrators commemorating the 60th Tibetan Uprising Day on March 10, 2019. Click to enlarge.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected].

By: Heinrich Hauff

For most of the 60 years after the Dalai Lama fled Tibet when the uprising by Tibetans against Chinese rule on March 10, 1959 failed, the day has been commemorated as one of Tibetan national pride and solidarity. Dubbed “Tibetan Uprising Day”, March 10 is observed by Tibetan communities living in-exile in India and around the world such as in the United States, Germany, France, Taiwan, Switzerland, Canada, and Australia which are but some of the countries where thousands of Tibetans have migrated to seek better education, employment and improved standards of living.

A decade ago, the day would have seen hundreds of Tibetans demonstrating and large gatherings of Tibetan support groups, often in front of local parliament or legislative buildings and even outside the Chinese consulate of their respective countries, to voice out for a free and independent Tibetan nation.

In 2012, dozens of cities in France supported demonstrations attended by hundreds of Tibetans and local French supporters. This year, there was not a single demonstration in all of France.

A non-event

This year marks the 60^th year of the Tibetan Uprising but planned demonstrations were held in only 23 locations worldwide — a far cry from the 336 cities in 2008. The biggest event took place in New Delhi, the capital city of India. As a country, India, which hosts the most Tibetans in-exile — now estimated to be 85,000 — could only produce barely 1,000 demonstrators. In Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) are based, the official event to observe Tibetan Uprising Day took place with only a few hundred people attending.

Even though reports in the media claim a “huge crowd” turned out for the events, there were no supporting pictures of the events showing a “huge crowd”. All of the pictures published in various articles across news platforms were close-ups. The truth is there was no “huge crowd”.

(Top) In 2013, thousands of Tibetans rallying for Tibetan Uprising Day converged in Dharamsala, the small town which is the home of the Dalai Lama in India and where the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) is based. (Below) This year, not even a thousand Tibetans showed up in Dharamsala for Tibetan Uprising Day. Click to enlarge.

The weak response for Tibetan Uprising Day 2019 is a clear indication that the support by Tibetans for Tibetan Uprising Day, and by defacto, support for the Tibetan Cause, has declined. For political insiders and observers, this is not surprising as the Tibetan leadership is severely afflicted with infighting and scandals and have not made any progress with the Tibetan Cause.

As the Tibetan leadership is disconnected and doing little for their countrymen living in poor conditions in the Tibetan settlements in India, a large percentage of Tibetans in-exile have migrated to the United States, Canada, Australia and elsewhere where there are better opportunities. From the 150,000 Tibetans who escaped to India, 65,000 have already left.

Many of those Tibetans who remain in India are seeing how the situation in Tibet has improved with the current Chinese leadership under Xi Jinping, and are now choosing to return to Tibet. The prosperity in Tibet in the present is also attracting many Tibetans in-exile in the West to return and find fortune.

A consequence of the Tibetan leadership’s failure is that common everyday Tibetans no longer regard Tibetan Uprising Day in the same way they used to. The planned demonstrations are viewed as merely a show, and a waste of time and money. For the Tibetans in-exile in India, the scarce resources they have are better used to keep up with their living expenses than spent on travelling to Delhi to join a protest that will achieve nothing.

The entrance to Majnu Ka Tilla (also known as New Aruna Nagar) Tibetan Colony, New Delhi, India.

Declining international support

At this year’s official Tibetan Uprising Day event celebrated in Dharamsala, the guest of honor was the Former President of Botswana Serêtsê Khama Ian Khama. For an affair which carries so much historical weight and importance, it is a shame that the Tibetan leadership was only able to obtain the attendance of a former head of state and not the current head of any government to attend. Surely, with the Dalai Lama still at the forefront of the Tibetan movement, one would think that many dignitaries would be honored to grace the event and be in the company of a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Former President of Botswana Ian Khama speaks at the official CTA Tibetan Uprising Day 2019 event in Dharamsala, North India where the Tibetan exiled government is located. The Dalai Lama didn’t bother to grace this extremely historical and powerful event marking 60 years in exile and remembering the doomed 1959 uprising where thousands of Tibetan lives were lost. Very few Tibetans showed up and no powerful leader from either India or internationally felt it worthy to attend.

In the last 12 months, the CTA has organised “gratitude” events in the United States, Canada and Europe to offer their thanks to those countries that had supported the Tibetan Cause in the past and the communities of Tibetans who have migrated there. The countries that were represented in the events consisted of MPs from lobby groups opposing China’s rise as a global super power but whose governments, with the exception of Canada (which is in a trade war with the Chinese), have recognized China as a partner for development and progress.

Speaking at the main event in Dharamsala were representatives from the German Bundestag, South African Parliament, Slovak National Council and a few of other countries who have actually benefited from Chinese investments. Recently Germany overturned a US-led proposal to ban Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from installing their next generation 5G telecoms infrastructure within their borders. So if the countries who attended the event actually show support for Chinese endeavors, surely their attendance was simply a show rather than actual affirmation of support for Tibetans getting their country back. After all, none of these countries have taken tangible steps to expedite or even facilitate the return of Tibetans to Tibet, but they have taken physical steps to ensure that China benefits, as in the Huawei case. 

By settling for a dignitary from an African nation that has neither historical or present links to Tibet, nor the Tibetan communities in-exile or the cause for an independent Tibet, it is evident that the Tibetan leadership is no longer favored by the current heads of governments of developed countries and even by other developing countries.

This picture of a Tibetan family on a motorcycle in a Tibetan Camp captures how it is a daily struggle to make ends meet for the everyday Tibetan living in-exile in India.

Sarah Sewell who was the special coordinator on Tibetan issues during the Obama Administration, confirms this. “Increasingly, we see that countries that have typically spoken out on behalf of Tibet are now shying away from doing so,” she said in a recent interview. “Heads of state, leaders of parliament, are more reluctant to meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This means that the symbolic act of visibly, for example, having the president or the secretary of state welcome His Holiness the Dalai Lama into official meeting rooms is really important diplomatic symbolism. That’s absent right now.”

Judging from the poor turnout at Tibetan Uprising Day events, even the ordinary Tibetan can see how poorly the Tibetan leadership’s standing is with the international community.

More embarrassingly, the Dalai Lama who was in Dharamsala on the day also snubbed the event. For an event as important as this made even more so by it being the 60^th anniversary, the Tibetan freedom movement would have greatly benefited from the Dalai Lama’s presence. The Dalai Lama who is admired by everyone in the Free Tibet struggle would have given the movement a much-needed boost at this crucial juncture.

In Taiwan, demonstrators showed their respect for the Dalai Lama by offering a silk scarf to a framed picture.

International Tibetan Uprising Day solidarity events did not fare better. Adding salt to the wound of a limping Tibetan freedom movement on its final leg, there were no prominent dignitaries or celebrities from the countries the events were held in who came to lend support. Even the number of Tibetans who attended are pale compared with the tens of thousands of Tibetans who are now living in those countries. The Dalai Lama who is the face of the Free Tibet movement is now in his 80′s, but how long more can he live? When the movement for Free Tibet is dramatically waning while he’s alive, imagine when he is no more? The movement will be dead.

The Tibetan leaders in-exile have completely failed. Tibet is no closer to getting its freedom than it was 60 years ago when Tibet was lost to China due to the incompetency and extremely corrupt nature of the medieval Tibetan government. The predictions of their state protector Nechung’s oracle have been wrong and ineffective for the last 60 years. The ageing Dalai Lama has been promising Tibetans in-exile that he will return to Tibet and his people in-exile will return to Tibet. None of those promises have fruitioned. Tens of thousands of Tibetans in Tibet and in-exile have died waiting. The Tibetans silently lose hope, give up and simply integrate into their adoptive countries while losing their personal cultural identities. On the other hand, China rises and its assimilation of Tibet is uncontested throughout the world as everyone from the UN downwards subscribe to the One-China policy. Tibetans whisper that the Dalai Lama and his government in-exile have failed.

In the past, demonstrations in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and Australia were highly visible both on the ground and in the media, giving exposure as well as gathering sympathy for the plight of Tibetans. Just as India, who provide exiled Tibetans with the land for a temporary home, the United States is equally important for being the most significant source of funding for the Tibetan Cause. Previously, demonstrations, especially in Washington DC, were heavily promoted and attended to show US lawmakers in Congress how vital the Tibetan Cause is. If demonstrations had so few participants, as it was this year, it tells not only President Trump and the US Congress but also the entire world that for Tibetans, the Tibet issue is no longer relevant.

Along with the demonstrations in New Delhi, those in Washington DC were once important for attracting the attention and sympathy of US lawmakers in Congress. Since so few turned out for the protests, the Tibetans are indirectly informing Congress that they no longer consider the Tibetan freedom movement to be a relevant issue.