dorjeshugden.com
About Dorje Shugden => General Discussion => Topic started by: tsangpakarpo on June 25, 2012, 03:07:44 PM
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There are many articles/writings on this forum stating how China is THE strongest force for the spread of Dorje Shugden’s practice. Well, you guys are definitely right. China being one of the strongest economical powers in the world is now being looked up upon many countries, even in the west. Many countries dare not offend China because the economic consequences can be quite damaging to their countries. Wherever we go these days, we hear about China, in fact see Chinese people as the country has the largest population in the world, approximately a massive 1.2 billion citizens.
Throughout the years, the Chinese government has also been supportive of Dorje Shugden practitioners. You can read more about it in an article entitled China’s Involvement in the Dorje Shugden Controversy (http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=6743 (http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=6743)).
My point? China is absolutely the place for Dorje Shugden’s practice to grow but at this moment the practice is still not very apparent in the country.
As I know, some efforts have been taken by various groups to spread Dorje Shugden in China through the internet and other methods. Through the internet, there is a website dedicated to Dorje Shugden in Chinese (http://xiongdeng.com/ (http://xiongdeng.com/)). Also, a number of emails regarding Dorje Shugden have been sent out to the powers of China for them to take notice. Besides the internet, letters and Dorje Shugden related materials are also physically mailed out to the influential people in China.
Now that these are being done, what else is there we can do to bring Dorje Shugden to China? Does anyone have any ideas or know of anyone influential in China which will be helpful in our cause? Or if you know of anything at all that is being done right now to spread the cause in China, please share it here.
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There are many articles/writings on this forum stating how China is THE strongest force for the spread of Dorje Shugden’s practice. Well, you guys are definitely right. China being one of the strongest economical powers in the world is now being looked up upon many countries, even in the west. Many countries dare not offend China because the economic consequences can be quite damaging to their countries. Wherever we go these days, we hear about China, in fact see Chinese people as the country has the largest population in the world, approximately a massive 1.2 billion citizens.
Throughout the years, the Chinese government has also been supportive of Dorje Shugden practitioners. You can read more about it in an article entitled China’s Involvement in the Dorje Shugden Controversy ([url]http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=6743[/url] ([url]http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=6743[/url])).
My point? China is absolutely the place for Dorje Shugden’s practice to grow but at this moment the practice is still not very apparent in the country.
As I know, some efforts have been taken by various groups to spread Dorje Shugden in China through the internet and other methods. Through the internet, there is a website dedicated to Dorje Shugden in Chinese ([url]http://xiongdeng.com/[/url] ([url]http://xiongdeng.com/[/url])). Also, a number of emails regarding Dorje Shugden have been sent out to the powers of China for them to take notice. Besides the internet, letters and Dorje Shugden related materials are also physically mailed out to the influential people in China.
Now that these are being done, what else is there we can do to bring Dorje Shugden to China? Does anyone have any ideas or know of anyone influential in China which will be helpful in our cause? Or if you know of anything at all that is being done right now to spread the cause in China, please share it here.
Off the top of my head, perhaps large scale events to further "expose" Dorje Shugden... perhaps not in an outwardly religious or spiritual manner but perhaps in a more strategic manner... for example:
1. Creating a graphic novel symposium whereby the event is open to artist distributers etc to come and display and "show off" the art works of their respective graphic novels. It could be realistic, manga-like, illustrative, etc. And with this event the Dorje Shugden Graphic Novel can then be printed and "exposed" in various languages. At the moment, this website has the graphic novel in 4 languages already!
English: http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?page_id=9832 (http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?page_id=9832)
Chinese: http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?page_id=10006 (http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?page_id=10006)
Thai: http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?page_id=10200 (http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?page_id=10200)
Nepali: http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?page_id=10352 (http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?page_id=10352)
Perhaps someone out there can help translate it into German, French, Spanish, Russian, Italian, etc.
Entry fees can be imposed on participants and guests alike to cover costs.
2. Food is always a big thing in Chinese custom and society... perhaps a large scale dinner with some celebrity chefs (perhaps local Chinese chefs... would be great if they were vegetarian culinary chefs as it would be nice to give it that healthy angle. And how to promote Dorje Shugden is through the door gifts. Giving away the Dorje Shugden pendants and brochures in beautifully wrapped "auspicious" packages. The brouches and pendant which also can be found here via this website:
Pendants: http://shop.dorjeshugden.com/pendants.html (http://shop.dorjeshugden.com/pendants.html)
Brochures in English/Chinese: http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=3577 (http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=3577)
Tickets for tables can be sold at a premium to cover costs.
It really seems like we have the tools here that we can extract from the website... we just need more brains and hands to help spread... this website (kudos to those who created, update and contribute) serves to educate and share but can also be a wealth of ideas!
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Sorry, I think your work will be a lot easier if the Tibetans would stop self-immolating. The government is already very suspicious of any Tibetan-based institutions because of these incidences. It is already sensitive because they are suspicious of the movement of the Dalai Lama's followers. We do have one thing going for us and that is the Dorje Shugden ban and for that, the Chinese government may be more open.
However, Dorje Shugden is still only strong in a few large monasteries in remote parts of Tibet. It has yet to reach the masses of China. I think it would help very much if chapels are established in major cities in China. I don't know if there's a restriction on temples and places of worship in China but having visibility at a central location would be good. I think this would be good for the masses along with lots of Dorje Shugden literature since there most likely will be a restriction with having religious gatherings.
The other thing is to have marketing done on the current Xiongdeng website so more traffic goes through to the Chinese website and get familiar with the information regarding Dorje Shugden.
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How about a song (in mandarin and/or english) and video? Something like the "New York Mining Disaster" sung by the BeeGees... except this song DS highlights the plight of DS practitioners, and the history of DS but not in a very obvious way... like the lyrics would need to be researched and interpreted by listeners... the melody could be pop or alternative or pure creative accoustics (like this Somebody That I Used to Know - Walk off the Earth (Gotye - Cover) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9NF2edxy-M#ws)) to appeal to the younger generation but the lyrics will be deep and meaningful and kind of vague to intrigue listeners to find out more online...
not sure if there is one already but perhaps could also compose a beautiful melody for DS mantra? like how there is a nice melody for Migtsema, Tara (Green Tara Mantra (108 Repetitions) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqcWl6VAB_M#) 1.4mil likes), Avalokiteshvara (Magical Healing Mantra: Om Mani Padme Hum (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDUdT5z_CBU#) over 5 million likes!) mantras... or something like this (http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=13243 (http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=13243)) and make a viral youtube video with the music as accompaniment.
There are many articles out there on how to make a viral video (e.g. http://mashable.com/2012/04/11/viral-video-seedwell/ (http://mashable.com/2012/04/11/viral-video-seedwell/) i thought this article is quite comprehensive and well analysed compared to others). it will take a number of trial and error to make an epic viral video "that elicits a strong enough emotion or reaction from a group of people that they feel compelled to share it with others".
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Big Uncle's suggestions are good. It would be great if Dorje Shugden can land in China with a huge impact.
There is so much in the story of Dorje Shugden I personally would like to see a world class Dorje Shugden Musical going around the world, and landing it big in China. Even with the animated comic book there is so much drama and the story itself profiles so many important lineage masters. What is even more important is that such a musical would not only tell the story of Dorje Shugden but also that of Je Tsongkhapa.
Imagine the scene of the fire puja and Dorje Shugden arising out of the flames. I get goose bumps thinking about the splendour.
China is getting more and more affluent and the wealthy Chinese are going around the world looking to experience a new music culture. What can be more spectacular and relevant as Dorje Shugden?
If Le Miserable tells the story of god's grace, would not the DS Musical sing even louder of the compassion of the Buddha?.
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Personally, i think the best way to spread Dorje Shugden in China is to set up chapels all over, especially at places with a high amount of people with brochures explaining who he is. At the same time, a translation of Music Delighting the Ocean of Protectors in Chinese should be either sold or distributed for free in China. Last but not least, top scholars on Buddhism and on spirituality should be given a copy of Music Delighting the Ocean of Protectors to make them think logically about Dorje Shugden and for them to learn and subsequently, develop faith in Dorje Shugden. These scholars will spread the word far and wide in China as the Chinese are very academic people and if there is sufficient proof of something and there is enough evidence, they will accept easily and they will get to the bottom of things rather than just sit around and "believe" what is going on, unlike most western practitioners. they also happen to be impartial and neutral to the information that they find, meaning that they actually learn and derive more from it, unlike again, certain western scholars who fail to see both sides of the coin and assert only one side as the truth. Therefore, Dorje Shugden will spread like wildfire, especially amongst the intellectual crowd. China has more than enough Dharma texts, and they will not heistate to dig through those texts to learn more.
Given the ban as well as China's disdain against the Dalai Lama, the Chinese government would surely support Dorje Shugden. they have been supporting Dorje Shugden monasteries and allowing them to build huge Dorje Shugden statues. The next step would be to request them to build and support small Dorje Shugden chapels in rural areas and this would not be too hard to do. As Chinese people are quite spiritual to an extent, they will not hesitate to request Dorje Shugden's help and from there they will be able to connect to Dorje Shugden even though it is in a very superficial way but at least the imprints are planted and as more and more people who pray to Dorje Shugden get results of what they wanted and their lives improve in more ways than one, they will start recommending it to their friends and more and more people will develop faith in him and more chapels will sprout up. This way, Dorje Shugden can reach out to the less intellectual crowd. When the intellectual crowd learns that Dorje Shugden does work, their faith in him deepens and it will be unwavering.
Dorje Shugden is actually Manjushri in nature and he has a very deep and profound connection with China. Bodhidharma, the first patriarch or lineage holder of Chinese Buddhism, is in actuality Dorje Shugden's reincarnation. Thus, it is actually Dorje Shugden who brought the lineage of Buddhism to China as there were previous masters but they were unable to benefit people on such a large scale that Bodhidharma did. Emperor Kangxi, in which China has improved culturally and spiritually by leaps and bounds under his leadership is Dorje Shugden also. China owns their current lineage of Buddhism as well as their culture to Dorje Shugden, and it is only natural for them to practice Dorje Shugden now. He will heal their moral and spiritual decay brought by decades of materialism and from that point onwards, a new era of Dharma will start in China and they will eventually allow the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet.
At that time, CTA would probably have been disbanded as lies cannot hold up for long and there will be harmony between the Tibetans and China because the CTA is no longer spreading lies, and China has transformed as a result of Dharma.
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Thanks everyone for sharing! In contribution to the constructive ideas shared, my thoughts are below:
1. It was mentioned that mass mail outs were sent to targeted Chinese individuals with power and resources. I believe that this is a great start but follow up nurturing is needed to develop real growth of the practice. Some follow up efforts that can be beneficial include:
a) Send testaments about the tangible results practitioners obtained from Dorje Shugden practice. Stories related to economic prosperity, relationship harmony, life saving experiences etc. will attract attention and interest.
b) Find a way to trace if the individuals whom we have sent mails/emails to have checked into the English and Chinese websites. Or check if the visitors and traffic flow of the Chinese website has increased.
i. Website moderators should target and communicate with these “Chinese visitors” through the website.
c) As the relationship grows through website correspondence, Dorje Shugden items could be sent as gifts or merchandise etc.
2. Identify small to medium size companies with Chinese ownership because they are the group that is gaining greater outer wealth and ready to pursue spirituality to “protect” their achievements. Additionally, this is the group that is called influencers (i.e. they have the ability to influence others) who has high tendencies to spread the word when they derive benefit from Dorje Shugden practice. Business owners also have the authority to encourage or require their employees to practice. It would be good to send them information and Dorje Shugden material:
a) Reading material to help them develop understanding in Dorje Shugden
b) Information about Dorje Shugden websites to obtain engagement / involvement.
c) Simple worship items like tsatsa, talismans to prompt them to start their practice.
3. Some Dorje Shugden practitioners may have friends or contacts in China. It would be very beneficial if we take the initiative to reach out to and enroll our friends and/or contacts to “get to know” Dorje Shugden. Easy to execute gestures include emailing them interesting articles from the website, sending them gifts that relate to Dorje shugden, sharing our personal testaments on our experience of this precious practice. Thereafter, consistent nurturing is fundamental to actually develop growth in their faith and practice. The website can also be used as the platform to nurture our friends in consistent manner. Example: get to know their log in identities and follow their involvement.
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Wow amazing ideas here! I especially like the idea about setting up Dorje Shugden chapels in China. I think this will take some time though unless there is a Chinese tycoon who is willing to sponsor. But absolutely a good idea! Can you imagine Dorje Shugden chapels all over the country? With thousands of people visiting on a daily basis to make offerings and pray to the KING.
As Ensapa said, at least imprints of the Dharma or more specifically Dorje Shugden is planted in their mindstreams. Dorje Shugden is the Buddha of this century as He uses our attachments to bring us closer to the Dharma. In this Kaliyuga age, many skillful means has to be used to attract people to the Dharma. Hence Dorje Shugden is perfect for this time and age.
On Dorje Shugden’s left arm is a jewel-spouting mongoose, an ancient omen of wealth to come. This means that by doing his practice, Dorje Shugden will provide sincere practitioners with all their material needs. Suits this Kaliyuga age for sure!
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Wow amazing ideas here! I especially like the idea about setting up Dorje Shugden chapels in China. I think this will take some time though unless there is a Chinese tycoon who is willing to sponsor. But absolutely a good idea! Can you imagine Dorje Shugden chapels all over the country? With thousands of people visiting on a daily basis to make offerings and pray to the KING.
As Ensapa said, at least imprints of the Dharma or more specifically Dorje Shugden is planted in their mindstreams. Dorje Shugden is the Buddha of this century as He uses our attachments to bring us closer to the Dharma. In this Kaliyuga age, many skillful means has to be used to attract people to the Dharma. Hence Dorje Shugden is perfect for this time and age.
On Dorje Shugden’s left arm is a jewel-spouting mongoose, an ancient omen of wealth to come. This means that by doing his practice, Dorje Shugden will provide sincere practitioners with all their material needs. Suits this Kaliyuga age for sure!
I absolutely love the idea of having Dorje Shugden chapels (and temples even) dotted all over the major cities and villages. However immediate funding would be an issue not to mention perhaps there are legalities involved with setting up such places of worship. We have to remember China IS very much still a communist country.
Brief history lesson for those who may not know: Mao Zedong took control over China in 1949 and proclaimed China as the People's Republic of China, a communist country. China has remained consistently communist since 1949 although economic reforms have been in place for several years. China has been called "Red China" due to the communist party's control over the country.
At first a conventional member of the international Communist movement, the CPC (Communist Party of China) broke with its counterpart in the Soviet Union over ideological differences in the 1960s. The Communist Party's ideology was redefined under Deng Xiaoping to incorporate principles of market economics, and the corresponding reforms enabled rapid and sustained economic growth.
Therefore one needs to thread lightly in view of this as it can be a little sensitive when it comes to outwardly religious or spiritual endeavours. The tolerance is there but to launch a nationwide chapel project will most certainly be caught on the radar.
Hence, the best way in my opinion is to instill "recall", a term in advertising whereby one creates the subliminal imput into the memory to a point where one recalls subconsciously. A key to this is through active distribution and high profile events "sponsoered" by Dorje Shugden merchandising!
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Great ideas to spread Dorje Shugden in China. I like the idea of having a public chapel whereby the Chinese people can worship and obtain information and be educated in WHO Dorje Shugden is.
With huge economical success, the West had always accused China of lack of compassion and lack of culture and tradition and basically an uncouth nation with aim of profiteering at other's expense.
For now whether we like it or not Tibet is part of China and if Dorje Shugden is to spread from home base of Tibet, will it not be a wonderful practice from China. Will it not be grand for China to own the worship of Dorje Shugden, the Buddha for a Golden Buddhist age from a prosperous and large nation of 1.3billion citizens.
I will truly rejoice when this is accomplished and many will be blessed by Dorje Shugden.
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Perhaps the easiest, FREE and easy way to spread Dorje Shugden would be through the internet using our ever infamous social media platforms such as FB, Tweets and posting in various Forums... except E-Sangha who has banned us - sad.
As we have experienced the Chinese Professor Kong Qingdong tweeted on his tweeter on March 23, he has 794,948 tweeter friends, and his tweet about Dorje Shugden has 949 retweets, and 188 comments!!!
http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=1855.0 (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=1855.0)
You can never run out of ideas at it is high time we spread the message about Dorje Shugden positively on this free and available platforms. This is one way we can repay the kindness of our courageous Lamas and to be the voice of the oppressed! And thanks to the admin on this website... we've even got a list of fabulous things we can do to spread Dorje Shugden at the comfort of our homes any time! http://www.dorjeshugden.com/category/spread-the-word/ (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/category/spread-the-word/)
So what are we waiting for? :)
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China has grown to become very strong in the past decades, however, China government is still very concern about the Tibetan independence issue. Furthermore, the people in China is not so ready for democracy yet. As such, the China government has been putting the stability on top of their list.
As such, to "utilize" China as one of the forces to spread Dorje Shugden, it is very important to promote peace and harmony. Also, NEVER instigate the practitioners to go on streets and protest, because that is the big no no...
Since China has adopted materialism, many people are really into earning a lot of money because they (or their parents) have been very poor for many years. As such, with Dorje Shugden's ability to give wealth will definitely be attractive to most of the people.
We need to be careful, because it can backfire...
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There are a lot potential as China has been growing to be more and more influential in the world. Personally, I would think the peaceful and harmony way of promoting Dorje Shugden will be more suitable for China.
A few points that I have in mind are:
1. The key is to promote peace and harmony. Dorje Shugden will bring peace and harmony to the country and people. Lord Shugden will blessed the people, the land, providing a lot of resources for China and its people.
2. We can also stressed that Dorje Shugden is recognized by the royalty and part of the China’s lineage. In the 17th Century, the Qing Dynasty Emperor has recognized Dorje Shugden as the Dharma Protector.
3. Dorje Shugden is the wrathful form of Manjushri. Therefore, it has the power of blessings and wisdom. The origin of Manjushri is from the Wu-Tai-Shan in China. It is part of the Chinese culture and it has blessed China and its people since long ago.
4. Promoting xiongdeng.com and also the newly created facebook page http://www.facebook.com/xiongdeng108 (http://www.facebook.com/xiongdeng108)
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To spread Dorje Shugden teaching to China-
First we must understand that although China is one country, but different state have different policies, even though they have to report to the central government and seem like one China, but the cultures are different. E.g: Beijing culture is different from Shanghai, Shenyang culture is different from Guan Zhou.
1) Thus, spreading Dorje Shugden could be able to divide by state and stages. To connect a good relationship, currently you can go through websites , forums,
not facebook ( because Chinese can't access to Facebook) blogs, through QQ community , to "We chat"
These electronic gateway will be effective, because most of the time, youngster in China spent a lot of their time on internet: Games, social, even to look for girl friends and boy friends, they will try to get it from internet. To be easy, it is good to access to their favorite forum such as Tian ya, their "facebook" e.g Ren ren.
- Through this, you are able to form a community, to help the poor and needed - e.g: during winter time, send cloth to the poor family. Charity action normally will not reject by people.
2) China's students. Currently , many Chinese students studies overseas. In foreign countries, they have their own community - student community. They tends to do projects to get close to the local communities. A suggestion, maybe you can go to your local Universities or colleges and do some communities projects with them. Through this link, it is very powerful, because most of the Chinese student that able to go overseas, their families is either rich or their parents is some body
3) If cash permitted, set up some small cafe in China. In the Cafe, you can put what ever book about Dorje Shugden, pendants, even tv on the wall to show about Dorje shugden or even some good art painting, statue for the clients to invite. If do not have money, locate an investor to help set up. Chinese like to partnership for business currently. And, Dorje Shugden is not new to certain state in China. e.g: at Wu Tai Shan, because Wu Tai Shan are wellknown for Manjushri too.
I think for current stage. The above 3 approaches are the workable methods. Only when you understand or get to know the further response result or you have China Government to support, only then the aggressive actions able to take.
Do not end up like certain religion in China that are banned. In general, the central government are trying to promote Communist "religion" more than any other religion, because from President Mao times, they are educate that religion is "poison". In northeast China, it is almost impossible to see any temples or church. In South China, maybe there are, but mostly very commercial, even the monks in the temple, they are "actor" from lay people that work as part time in certain temple. There are no real monks in certain state of China. Lama Tsongkhapa teaching spread to China during Qing Dynasty. But, bare in mind, during Qing dynasty - Han people always treated Qing as outsider, thus whatever related to Qing Dynasty, the Han people which are majority of the Chinese, will reject.
Last, wishing Dorje Shugden teaching in China able to florish quick.
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[...] Only when you understand or get to know the further response result or you have China Government to support, only then the aggressive actions able to take.
Do not end up like certain religion in China that are banned.
In general, the central government are trying to promote Communist "religion" more than any other religion, because from President Mao times, they are educate that religion is "poison".
In northeast China, it is almost impossible to see any temples or church.
In South China, maybe there are, but mostly very commercial, even the monks in the temple, they are "actor" from lay people that work as part time in certain temple.
There are no real monks in certain state of China. Lama Tsongkhapa teaching spread to China during Qing Dynasty. But, bare in mind, during Qing dynasty - Han people always treated Qing as outsider, thus whatever related to Qing Dynasty, the Han people which are majority of the Chinese, will reject.
Last, wishing Dorje Shugden teaching in China able to florish quick.
The Chinese government is not opposed to religion per se, it is opposed to organized religion, simply because the government does not wish for a "second" power to infiltrate the nation.
Thus they are in control of the Catholic nomination of priests, and they bend down any sort of organisation, religious or not, that tends to potentially threaten the power of the government because of the organization's size and influence on the people.
So for DS to spread, it must be out of a non-organized group, it must be a personal connection that people get with DS. And on this, I think the chapels is a good idea, provided it can be done without being the making of an organized group but a collection of individual dis-connected efforts.
But organized promotional events would be seen as a thread, I think.
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Have you guys heard of the great historical temple in Beijing called Yong He Gong? It is quite huge and it has thousands of tourists and locals that flock the temple to visit, offer incense and admire its ancient beauty. Wouldn't it be great if a Dorje Shugden chapel is established within the temple grounds so these tourists, pilgrims and so forth can gain a connection and greater awareness would spread about Dorje Shugden? I know this is far-fetched but having something like that would certainly spread Dorje Shugden quite far.
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I stumbled across this monastery today. According to wikipedia, it was built during the rule of the Qing dynasty Kangxi Emperor (r.1662-1722), who fully patronized the development of this monastery. As Kangxi is said to be an emanation of Dorje Shugden and for it to be a Gelugpa monastery, then this monastery must have practiced Dorje Shugden at one stage or another. There is an 8 metre (26 foot) Shakyamuni statue on the main altar and large Tsongkhapa statues which are the norm for any Gelugpa monastery (see the pictures attached).
From wikipedia:
The Ganden Sumtseling Monastery, also known as Sungtseling and Guihuasi (Chinese: Songzanlín Sì), is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery situated 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the city of Zhongdian at elevation 3,380 metres (11,090 ft) in Yunnan province, China. Built in 1679, the monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan province and is sometimes referred to as the Little Potala Palace. Located in the capital of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, it is also the most important monastery in southwest China.
It belongs to the Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelukpa order of the Dalai Lama. The Fifth Dalai Lama's Buddhist visionary zeal established the monastery in Zhongdian, in 1679. Its architecture is a fusion of the Tibetan and Han Chinese. It was extensively damaged in the Cultural Revolution and subsequently rebuilt in 1983; at its peak, the monastery contained accommodation for 2,000 monks; it currently accommodates in its rebuilt structures 700 monks in 200 associated houses.
Because of the popularity of James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon (novel) (1933), which introduced Shangri-La and is said have been written on an inspirational theme of "the Tibetan Buddhist Scriptures, where human beings, animals, and nature lived in harmony under the rule of a Tibetan", the Chinese authorities changed the name of Zhongdian County to Shangri-La County in 2001, basically to encourage tourism. The earlier names were – the Zhongdian to the Chinese, and Gyalthang also known locally as 'Xianeggelila' to the Tibetans of the town which has predominantly Tibetan population. The name of the county's capital town was similarly changed from Jiantang to Shangri-la. The ambiance of the town is distinctly Tibetan with prayer flags fluttering, mountains known by holy names, lamaseries and rocks inscribed in Tibetan language with Buddhist sutras.
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No doubt China is at the forefront on its influence throughout the world, but stability within its people has also been of prime importance too. And religious and political gathering is a big no no, so as to maintain peace within its people.
How can Dorje Shugden be introduced mass-scaled into China without the government deeming it as disruption of peace in its people? Of course the internet is vital. Social network places like QQ, or a new one called YY is gaining momentum. With technology and innovation, articles, pictures and "life-saving, miraculous" stories can spread like wildfire. Even interesting, silly youtube videos can gain millions of views. If the Chinese crowd tapped into Dorje Shugden in that way, it could spread big and fast. And after that the idea for Dorje Shugden temples and chapels could work, especially if it is marketed as a luck bringing buddha.
Read an article here on the up and coming social network platform, YY:
Chinese Social Network YY Reaches 400 Million Users
Posted November 20th, 2012
Under the leadership of an ambitious CEO, YY.com is quietly becoming one of the world’s largest and most innovative social networks.
David Li might not be a household name in the West yet, but that may soon change. Li runs the massive social network YY.com, and has developed a business model that in some respects is more interesting than that of Facebook. Specifically, where Facebook currently relies on advertising for profit, YY derives revenues from a diverse combination of gaming, music sales and virtual currency transactions.
At a recent tech conference in Shanghai, Li explained, “Before, people did not think that the engagement segment of the market was big enough, but that’s because the technology wasn’t good enough. If YY can continue to improve, in the future you wouldn’t need to have a conference like this in person, where people have to come from all over the world to China to do it.” Speaking with moderator Frank You, Li continued: “You could do it in a cloud format and allow a lot more people to be engaged. The challenge is to provide this service to tens of thousands of people at the same time and still have the same high quality of voice delivery.”
For Mr. Li, redefining expectations is nothing new. Few could have anticipated that he would grow a simple gaming platform into a massive, multipurpose social portal used by karaoke singers, educators, and gamers alike. Today, YY boasts over 400 million registered users, and according to their latest SEC filing, recently reached a monthly average of 51.7 hours spend on the site for active users.
Implications for Telework
Unlike other social networks that mostly just connect users, Li says that YY wants to engage them. He envisions YY as a collective action platform that brings large groups of users together with an aim toward solving problems. For example, during the recent “Silicon Dragon” conference, Li highlighted YY’s potential as a telecommuting application by telling a story about a pharmaceutical company with three thousand salespeople who had to educate thirty thousand doctors about a new drug. Previously the company would have had to travel and host costly seminars, but YY’s sophisticated group messaging chat and video capacities enabled them to cut costs and educate the doctors online. Whether Li will attempt to expand YY’s telework capacities remains to be seen.
Plans for Expansion
Game controller
As VOA previously reported, YY includes an innovative financial exchange system that enables virtual currency transactions unlike anything available in the West. Talented singers can earn up to $20,000 per month by live streaming performances and related events on the site.
However, YY is also taking on new areas. Their SEC filing includes plans for monetizing YY’s mobile platform by allowing users to purchase virtual items and to develop relationships with new networks of advertisers.
YY’s most ambitious and potentially game-changing plan involves broadcasting e-sports – enabling millions of Chinese gamers to watch competitive gaming tournaments at the same time. Professional gaming has widely been reported as a profitable market in South Korea (see video here and start at 6:45), but also has a considerable presence in China. Given that YY’s core infrastructure evolved from a gaming platform, YY’s managers have an intricate understanding of the Chinese gaming market and may be well positioned for the e-sports market.
If they succeed, YY could become an essential social gaming hub and garner major increases in active user time spent on the site. While Western pro gaming leagues such as Major League Gaming have taken advantage of streaming websites in the past, these leagues are tiny compared to the Asian gaming scene. If it works, YY’s sports broadcasting platform could become as valuable a cultural enterprise as something like the NFL is in the United States.
Seeking out Rich Uncle Pennybags
YY is now attempting a Western IPO with hopes of raising up to 97.5 million dollars. If all goes according to plan, shares will initially trade for between $10.50 and $12.50 on the NASDAQ under the symbol YY, with Morgan Stanley, Citi, and Deutsche Bank underwriting the deal. As promising as YY may seem, whether or not it will trade well on Western markets remains to be seen. According to Forbes, 13 Chinese companies that conducted IPOSin 2012; only two of them are currently trading above their initial offering prices.
Lessons for The West
Stock value uncertainties aside, YY is a promising social network that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg might want to take note of. In many respects, Facebook groups fail to truly encapsulate or enable what it means to be in a group. Public groups primarily serve as a means of publicizing various entities and often end up as little more than a public spamming forum. Private groups can sometimes enable cursory threads of conversation, but still aren’t conducive to deeper forms of engagement.
Although Facebook’s Skype integration happened over a year ago, Facebook’s group engagement capacities are still thin compared to Google’s “Hangouts.” What’s more, both Google+ and Facebook fail to impress when compared with YY’s group communication services. Although building out more sophisticated group communications capacities might not yield an instant return on investment, Western social networks may soon be forced to make a choice – either offer proper group functions or don’t offer them at all.
http://blogs.voanews.com/digital-frontiers/2012/11/20/chinese-social-network-yy-reaches-400-million-users/ (http://blogs.voanews.com/digital-frontiers/2012/11/20/chinese-social-network-yy-reaches-400-million-users/)
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Another great temple is Wu Tai Sun in China where Manjushri is also from and is so closely connected to. It would be so significantly powerful that we have a DS chapel there as the connection is so obvious :)
Mount W?tái is one of the Four Sacred Mountains in Chinese Buddhism. Each of the four mountains are viewed as the abode or place of practice (dàocháng; ??) of one of the four great bodhisattvas. W?tái is the home of the Bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjusri or Wénsh? (??) in Chinese.
W?tái was the first of the four mountains to be identified and is often referred to as "first among the four great mountains." It was identified on the basis of a passage in the Avatamsaka Sutra (Ch: Húayán j?ng; ???), which describes the abodes of many bodhisattvas. In this chapter, Manjusri is said to reside on a "clear cold mountain" in the northeast. This served as charter for the mountain's identity and its alternate name "Clear Cool Mountain" (Ch: Q?ngliáng Sh?n; ???).
The bodhisattva is believed to frequently appear on the mountain, taking the form of ordinary pilgrims, monks, or most often unusual five-colored clouds.
Mount W?tái is a holy site in Tibetan Buddhism, and devotional sites to both Tibetan Buddhism and Han Buddhism have coexisted for centuries in Mount Wutai.[2]
Mount W?tái is home to some of the oldest existent wooden buildings in China that have survived since the era of the Tang Dynasty (618–907). This includes the main hall of Nanchan Temple and the East Hall of Foguang Temple, built in 782 and 857, respectively. They were discovered in 1937 and 1938 by a team of architectural historians including the prominent early 20th century historian Liang Sicheng. The architectural designs of these buildings have since been studied by leading sinologists and experts in traditional Chinese architecture, such as Nancy Steinhardt. Steinhardt classified these buildings according to the hall types featured in the Yingzao Fashi Chinese building manual written in the 12th century.
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Statue of Bodhisattva Manjushri, Wu Tan Shan, China
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Such a tremendous exchange of ideas, thank you! There are certainly many, many creative ideas here, and it is interesting to see how you are all incorporating aspects of Chinese culture into your ideas for a better reach.
I think that underlying all the ideas, this is a particularly important point to highlight: to drive home the point that Dorje Shugden is not a deity that is foreign to China, but that he is very much a part of Chinese culture and history.
It is important to underline that he is an emanation of the Buddha Manjushri, who, as has already been mentioned, maintains a very close connection to China at Wu Tai Shan (known to be Manjushri's abode). Also, that Dorje Shugden arose from what is now physically considered Chinese land (Tibet) and further endorsed by the Chinese emperor himself.
As Dorje Shugden guards Tsongkhapa's lineage, there we find another very strong connection. Tsongkhapa's lineage and history can still be found widely throughout China such as in very prominent temples in Beijing and of course again in Wu Tai Shan. In bringing Dorje Shugden to China, this is another important point to emphasise, to educate the chinese that Dorje Shugden is not new. He has already been there guarding a most central and significant part of Chinese history, culture and yes, even religion.
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In china, there are many buddhist temples and monastary. There are the four famous mountains namely; E mei mountain which is regards as the holy mountain of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, wutai mountain as the holy mountain of Bodhisattva Manjushri, Jiuhua mountain as the holy mountain of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, Putuo mountain as the holy mountain of chenrezig. In the year 2008,the fifth mountain was declared as being the holy site of Bodhisattva Maitreya, its located in Fenghua province at Xue dou mountain.
Throughout the history of china, There are many great buddhist masters such as Xuan Zhuang who visited India and did many translations from sanskrit into chinese and promote buddhism to spread in china. Jian Zhen who tried to cross over to Japan but finally succeeded in the last attempt and the spread the Buddhadharma in Japan. The chinese created many new routes to other parts of the world such as the silkroad, because of this, buddhism are able to spread to Afghanistan and some Arabian countries which are largely islamic in this present day. Buddist caves or Grottoes are discovered and are currently preserved and maintained in proper as part of the chinese important heritage, some famous grottoes are Chinese Dunhuang Grottoes, Longmen Grottoes, Yungang Grottoes. And to name a few famous monastary such as Shaolin Temple, Shaolin Kungfu, Lingyin Temple, Zen, Baima Temple, and Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
These are evidences of how powerful china can be and be able to spread Buddhism in their country and spread outwards to other regions. With its political stand in the tibetan governance and the Dalai Lama, i believe Dorje Shugden will be accepted by the ruling governement and the people.
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Marketing Dorje Shugden would be like marketing other religions, we have to add a face to it. Dorje Shugden and other deities or religions are somewhat vague in the minds of the Chinese. Yes, we still see many people flock the temples such as Yong He Gong on the 1st and 15th of lunar moons but bear in mind that's all they do for spirituality these days.
Having said that, there's a ray of hope somehow shone from the heavens above. Look at this article: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=2811.0 (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=2811.0)
It is quite evident that Dorje Shugden is finding his way into the hearts of the Chinese in the most proper manner! The fact that Dorje Shugden appeared from an educational institution is a sign from the protector that we should educate the Chinese in the most proper manner. Only then will Buddhism stay rooted in their country, and bloom from there.
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My ideas would be
i) Make red packets with Dorje Shugden motive and his mantra there. The Chinese will love it a lot.
ii) Make T-shirts for Summer time with Picture of Dorje Shudgen on them. Put in a lot of red color.
iii) Chinese New Year cards to have DS motives.
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In reality, Chinese people are somewhat superstitious and they like money in general. they also like fortune, luck and good health and these are the things that they usually pray for when they pray in a temple or to a god or to a Buddha in general. It is their nature to behave in such a way so nobody can change that. However, if we tell them that Dorje Shugden can give them all that (simply because he can) then they would pray to Dorje Shugden and would undoubtedly make a connection with Dorje Shugden and it might just bloom into something better for them in the near future.
All we have to do now is to let the Chinese know about Dorje Shugden.
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I agreed to tsangpakarpo, China is definitely one of the places on earth that will make Dorje Shugden grow. There are many ways that we can contribute towards the growth, one of the things that can make it happen is to do lots of social media especially on the Chinese social media platforms.