Power of Dalai Lama

[Mohani]

oh, my brothers and sisters 

you are like abused wives, defending your husband, forgiving him his violence for the food he brings to your table and the clothes on your back.  "do not criticise him!  you don't know the REAL man - he is good and kind.  even when he beats me and beats our children, in truth he knows best - it is for our own good."

you fear bringing shame on your family so you keep quiet.  you lack confidence and feel sure that you must be in the wrong and that there must be a love, deeper than you can understand, behind his kicks and punches.

you are like prisoners with Stockholm syndrome.

you blame anyone who points out: "this isn't right - those bruises are NOT the result of kindness."  you cover the bruises of your children and adopt a humble, serene attitude and accuse your friends of anger or jealousy towards your abuser whenever they speak against him.

my heart cries.  it's unbearable to me to see this.

STAND UP!  for the sake of our abused children.  SPEAK OUT!

please, please STOP twisting holy Dharma to justify your acquiescence!

it is NOT the love of her husband that prevents an abused wife speaking out, nor is anger necessary to take action against that husband.  those who criticise him are NOT necessarily angry with him, or lacking in virtue or understanding.

protesting may not be the best method, for sure - now it seems is the time for a more reasoned, factual stance.  but a stance we must take!  we MUST criticise the actions of the Dalai Lama while he still has the power to rescind the ban.  there is no way - no way - the TGIE will rescind it after his retirement or death: it will become unassailably enshrined as holy doctrine.  his power to harm will continue even after he dies.

we must break this power NOW.

breaking his power, through speaking out, through publicity, through criticism of the man and his actions - through all appropriate, skilful means - IS LOVING THE DALAI LAMA.  it is Dharma.  it is loving all living beings.  it is protecting the doctrine for the benefit of all.  it is what all the Buddhas of the three times and the ten directions want us to do.

allowing him to continue abusing his family, unopposed, is condemning him, his family, and countless, countless living beings, to untold suffering in the future

my heart cries, brothers and sisters, to hear such good and wise people defend such monstrous actions and their perpetrator simply because he has also done good. 

Great analogy.

[Zhalmed Pawo]

I so much love what you, the Cook of Atisha, just wrote here. So much wisdom. Thank you. I would like to add a little thought of my own here too:

Now, imagine a man called, say, Asanga, walking down the street, and meeting a dying dog ridden with maggots. If this Asanga is a Mahayana Buddhist, what would you imagine him to do about the situation he encountered? Would he, Asanga that is, think that this maggot ridden dog is a Buddha, and therefore start to do prostrations, praising the maggots, praising the almost dead dog? Or would he try to do something positive or healing, concerning the appalling condition that he has met? In other words, would Asanga react to his imaginative thinking, or to the apparent reality? Would he rely on his ideations or his senses, as to the world-at-hand?

The story is well known, I'll guess. And we all can learn from it. Now of course, the dog and the maggots were in fact a Buddha, Maitreya. But there is a catch, you see. If Asanga would have considered the maggotriddendog as a Buddha, nothing would have happened. Or rather, the maggots would have continued to eat the dog, and Asanga's knees would have bleeded from all the prostrations. But if Asanga would, as he did, consider the dog as a suffering being, and the maggots too, he was in fact capable of making a great discovery: He saw the Buddha Himself.

In other words, Asanga took the conventional reality as the reality to act upon, and thereby surpassed the conventionalities. He saw the ultimate reality precisely by acting appropriately upon the conventional reality. Had he taken the view that the apparent dog is a Buddha, he would have merely acted on his own ideations, but he did not. He did not think that a dog is Maitreya, but he took the dog as a dog, and thereby the dog became Maitreya.

The path to truth, true view, ultimate reality, is necessarily the very conventionalities, the apparent, the immediate. One cannot overstep the evident reality.

I shall therefore say, that those who wish to see the Dalai Lama as Avalokita Himself, having previously came to know the Ban et cetera, must first see him as a misrailed monk. Otherwise one might as well bow to a pile of maggots eating a canine corpse. So, let us all follow the footsteps of Arya Asanga, and courageously meet the apparent reality as it is. There is no Buddha or the Big Picture, in the Dalai Lama or his ban on Dorje Shugden, unless one sees and acts upon the dog and the maggots.


yours in the Yogacara,
Zhalmed Pawo

[DSFriend]

The path to truth, true view, ultimate reality, is necessarily the very conventionalities, the apparent, the immediate. One cannot overstep the evident reality.

I shall therefore say, that those who wish to see the Dalai Lama as Avalokita Himself, having previously came to know the Ban et cetera, must first see him as a misrailed monk. Otherwise one might as well bow to a pile of maggots eating a canine corpse. So, let us all follow the footsteps of Arya Asanga, and courageously meet the apparent reality as it is. There is no Buddha or the Big Picture, in the Dalai Lama or his ban on Dorje Shugden, unless one sees and acts upon the dog and the maggots.


yours in the Yogacara,
Zhalmed Pawo

Thus, why focus only on how the dog came to have maggots. Do something about it. Instead of only focusing on the Dalai Lama's ban, why not focus on what can be done instead to promote the protector!

peace

[Zhalmed Pawo]

The path to truth, true view, ultimate reality, is necessarily the very conventionalities, the apparent, the immediate. One cannot overstep the evident reality.

I shall therefore say, that those who wish to see the Dalai Lama as Avalokita Himself, having previously came to know the Ban et cetera, must first see him as a misrailed monk. Otherwise one might as well bow to a pile of maggots eating a canine corpse. So, let us all follow the footsteps of Arya Asanga, and courageously meet the apparent reality as it is. There is no Buddha or the Big Picture, in the Dalai Lama or his ban on Dorje Shugden, unless one sees and acts upon the dog and the maggots.

Thus, why focus only on how the dog came to have maggots. Do something about it.
Instead of only focusing on the Dalai Lama's ban, why not focus on what can be done instead to promote the protector!

Well uh, maybe the story of Asanga was a story about perception before nothing else. Maybe I also used it as such.

Maybe the lesson I saw in the story was one of undiluted perception, untainted by any idealistic maneuverisms, but just the mere acceptance of the evident reality.

Is there in that a lesson for us all? Ha?

There is here no focus on the dog, or the comeuppance of maggots, nor specifically any afterthoughts about the status of the dog, or the maggots. Just an observation, a sensing. There is here merely the point that the situation should be taken as it appears, not as it is idealized, thought upon, pondered about, twisted around, pergamoniously pamphleted.

And why? Because if Asanga would not have seen the dog as a dog and acted upon that vision, he would not have met the Buddha. Perception comes before action. If one mis-percives, due to idealism or any other -ism, one cannot avoid mis-acting.

That is the point, perhaps. And therefore, one cannot focus on the action if one cannot perceive. Do you perceive, do you see what is happening? Not in your conceptual categorizing calculating discursive mind, but simply around, in your sense sphere? Do you see the ban? Do you see the ban as causing harm? Do you see who issued the ban? Do you see who continually maintains the ban?

If you do, why refuse to accept it as an inevitable fact? Most of us do accept it just as it is. As an non-dharmic activity made by someone very specific.




And as for the promoting of Somebody, I do not see any point in that. I do not promote myself or the Buddha, so why should I promote anyone else - as after all, the two beforementioned are the two most important persons in my life, and I see no point in promoting either one. Nevertheless, as I happen to be a follower of a certain Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, who taught this funny thing called Dharma, I do promote just that thing, the Dharma. Nothing else. And especially no-one else, as even the very expression does not make any sense from the dharmic pov.

[thaimonk]

The path to truth, true view, ultimate reality, is necessarily the very conventionalities, the apparent, the immediate. One cannot overstep the evident reality.

I shall therefore say, that those who wish to see the Dalai Lama as Avalokita Himself, having previously came to know the Ban et cetera, must first see him as a misrailed monk. Otherwise one might as well bow to a pile of maggots eating a canine corpse. So, let us all follow the footsteps of Arya Asanga, and courageously meet the apparent reality as it is. There is no Buddha or the Big Picture, in the Dalai Lama or his ban on Dorje Shugden, unless one sees and acts upon the dog and the maggots.


yours in the Yogacara,
Zhalmed Pawo

Thus, why focus only on how the dog came to have maggots. Do something about it. Instead of only focusing on the Dalai Lama's ban, why not focus on what can be done instead to promote the protector!

peace

Ds friend, I like what you say, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT..WHY JUST ANALYZE THE DISEASE OVER AND OVER UNTIL YOUR ANALYSIS ITSELF becomes a disease..promote Shugden!

[Lineageholder]

And as for the promoting of Somebody, I do not see any point in that. I do not promote myself or the Buddha, so why should I promote anyone else - as after all, the two beforementioned are the two most important persons in my life, and I see no point in promoting either one. Nevertheless, as I happen to be a follower of a certain Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, who taught this funny thing called Dharma, I do promote just that thing, the Dharma. Nothing else. And especially no-one else, as even the very expression does not make any sense from the dharmic pov.

Frankly, the idea of promoting Dorje Shugden is just as bizarre as the idea of banning him.  They are both extremes.  If we make efforts to promote our Protector and not Dharma, we are playing into the Dalai Lama's hands - he already claims that we regard Dorje Shugden as more important than Buddha.  If we don't promote Buddha Shakyamuni, why should be promote Dorje Shugden?

It's a bizarre extreme that's created by the opposite bizarre extreme of the ban.  It's simply an equal and opposite reaction...

Promote your centres, promote the Dharma, promote love, compassion and wisdom.

[Vajraprotector]

Frankly, the idea of promoting Dorje Shugden is just as bizarre as the idea of banning him.  They are both extremes.  If we make efforts to promote our Protector and not Dharma, we are playing into the Dalai Lama's hands - he already claims that we regard Dorje Shugden as more important than Buddha.  If we don't promote Buddha Shakyamuni, why should be promote Dorje Shugden?

It's a bizarre extreme that's created by the opposite bizarre extreme of the ban.  It's simply an equal and opposite reaction...

Promote your centres, promote the Dharma, promote love, compassion and wisdom.

Perhaps promoting the centre is not really a good idea- I have heard of many people who attended centres and got turned off by teachers who just preach but never practice what they preach. I think it's easier to promote deities and the benefits derived from their practice instead, because then they have many choices of centres they can go to, according to their affinity.

If you say promoting Shugden is extreme, then we shouldn't promote Tsongkhapa as well, hence promoting our own centre is even worse - because it is the a specific centre in the lineage of Tsongkhapa.

I personally think we should promote all - Buddhas, Yidams, Protectors, Gurus, Dharma. But in this case, as we're in the website of Dorje Shugden, of course we talk about promoting Shugden. We will not talk about promoting the Pratyutpanna Sam?dhi S?tra of the Pure Land sect nor  Infinite Life Sutra by Master Chin Kung, won't we? The reason is simple - we don't know enough of that, not that we don't want to promote.

[Atishas cook]

by promoting reliance upon Dorje Shugden you are implicitly stating that the Dalai Lama is wrong to ban this practice, that the ban itself is wrong and so anyone implementing and upholding it is engaging in a wrong action and is therefore at fault.

if the ban is wrong then the Dalai Lama is at fault and the correct action is to oppose this ban, which necessarily involves discrediting its instigator - how can it not?

there is no promoting Dorje Shugden without discrediting the Dalai Lama.  you can't have your cake and eat it.

[thaimonk]

by promoting reliance upon Dorje Shugden you are implicitly stating that the Dalai Lama is wrong to ban this practice, that the ban itself is wrong and so anyone implementing and upholding it is engaging in a wrong action and is therefore at fault.

if the ban is wrong then the Dalai Lama is at fault and the correct action is to oppose this ban, which necessarily involves discrediting its instigator - how can it not?

there is no promoting Dorje Shugden without discrediting the Dalai Lama.  you can't have your cake and eat it.

Well, you are right. The existence of this whole site is obvious we do not agree with the Dalai Lama. How more obvious do you want?
But what is the point of attacking the Dalai Lama? It is like throwing eggs at a huge mountain. Just keep promoting Dorje Shugden, promoting everything about it and indirectly ppl can see the ban is wrong. Why be obsessed with Dalai Lama and give him more power? If you can't get in through the back door, get in through the window. Why stand outside and complain about not getting into the door? Just get in already. Promote Dorje Shugden and forget about Dalai Lama for now.

Nobody here agrees with the Dalai Lama's actions re this ban. Nobody.  Educate the ban being wrong in every other way for now and leave the Dalai Lama out. When ppl see the ban is wrong, then automatically, the Dalai Lama will be asked why and questioned or look strange for having this ban. Pressure by logic, information and showing how ridiculous the ban is will appeal to alot more individuals especially those who know nothing or very little of Buddhism and the issue.

Also since Dalai Lama is flying high everywhere, it makes very bad publicity to put him down. It turns ppl away. So without being obvious about the Dalai Lama, just focus on the ban. Easier for ppl to digest FOR NOW.


So we can have our cake, eat it and save some for tomorrow.

[WisdomBeing]

by promoting reliance upon Dorje Shugden you are implicitly stating that the Dalai Lama is wrong to ban this practice, that the ban itself is wrong and so anyone implementing and upholding it is engaging in a wrong action and is therefore at fault.

if the ban is wrong then the Dalai Lama is at fault and the correct action is to oppose this ban, which necessarily involves discrediting its instigator - how can it not?

there is no promoting Dorje Shugden without discrediting the Dalai Lama.  you can't have your cake and eat it.

This is the very point why I am drawn to this website. Because it gives me a logical way to NOT criticise the Dalai Lama yet keep my Protector practice. It IS exactly so i can have my cake and eat it too. And it makes sense to me. See the article I found in the archives and posted last night. http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=99.0

In every contentious situation, there are always different points of view. Something all visitors to this site SHOULD consider is that this website DOES have mission statement which i think a few people who contribute to this forum still don't get. Anyway, here is the mission statement for your convenience.

http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?page_id=27

Mission Statement

This website, an ongoing work in progress, is dedicated to the glorification and deeper appreciation of the name and holy work of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who by peaceful, increasing, subjugating and wrathful means spreads in this world the general and profound teachings of the Buddhadharma that can dispel all suffering and its causes. We believe that what may sound contradictory today, will be revealed as skilful means in the future.

It is dedicated to the lineage Lamas, without whom the holy teachings would have disappeared, and without whose blessings, obtained by a pure bond of faith and reverence, the transmission is broken and the foundation of Enlightenment destroyed.

It is dedicated to the increasing number of aspiring practitioners who have been affected by the apparent controversy about the nature and intent of Gyalchen Dorje Shugden, whose enlightened mind and qualities have and are being recognized and relied upon by so many exalted Masters, some of them with reincarnation lineages all the way back to Buddha Shakyamuni.

We have no wish to convert or even convince anyone about this. In Buddhism we can only convert ourselves, by studying and applying the methods offered – if you practice Tara and become more arrogant and materialistic, it is a bad practice, as far as YOU are concerned. If you pray to Dorje Shugden and become more humble and committed to the Bodhisattva ideal, it is a good practice, as far as YOU are concerned. It is our thoughts, words and actions that make karma. It is our motivation that determines these.

We have a great wish to serve in healing the schism and doubts created in the minds of those new to Dharma or otherwise yet unable to look deeper and strive to apply the principles of non-harming and introspection on every level.

For those passing judgment on enlightened Beings (can you REALLY be sure who is and who is not?) – may we remind you of the Lamrim teachings where it is stated that converting anyone at the cost of their faith in their previous teachers or religion is equal to killing a thousand Buddhas. May we remind you that creating schism within the Sangha is one of the five “crimes of immediate retribution”. May we remind you of the Bodhisattva vow of never giving up Bodhicitta. If something or someone is harmful, misdirected etc., wouldn’t the sign of true practitioners be that their compassion grows?

For those who are influenced by these judgments – their door to Dharma may well close for this life, and who knows when such an opportunity will arise again. Anyone truly concerned could easily avoid the horrible karma created in this way, by truly practicing what they believe is good and becoming a shiny example of goodness and wisdom that speaks for itself.

It is dedicated to provide information and inspiration for those with an affinity to Dharmapala Dorje Shugden, based on writings, sayings, prayers and praises by enlightened Masters and their examples of wisdom and compassion, as well as on sharing interesting thoughts of intelligent people.

Much of our own thoughts and conclusions will have to remain in the realm of speculation, just like so much that has been written, as we are ordinary beings lacking the clairvoyance of the wise. We will, however, do so with the sole aim to present possible ways to see what arises as the display of enlightened minds, not the battle between right and wrong, so as to decrease afflictive emotions and actions and to invite us all to focus on our ongoing responsibility to look deeper; to look within.

“Drive all enemies into one,” as the old Kadampas said; the one (and only) enemy being of course the self-grasping and self-cherishing mind.

[thaimonk]

His Holiness the Dalai Lama Clarifies Statement on Retirement

Wednesday, 15 December 2010 17:44 Tibetan Official Media: Tibet Net    .

Dharamshala: "More than 99 per cent of Tibetans in and outside Tibet trust me, so I have the moral responsibility to serve them. My call for complete retirement does not mean that I will forget the Tibetan struggle. I am a Tibetan and every Tibetan has the moral obligation to carry out our own struggle," His Holiness told reporters in Kalimpong yesterday. (watch video - http://dalailama.com/webcasts/post/156-his-holiness-clarifies-his-statements-on-retirement )

His Holiness said some Tibetans living inside Tibet express anxiety and confusion over his retirement plans. "I want to hand over the ceremonial role such as signing of legislatures and documents to the democratically elected leadership. But some Tibetans inside Tibetan are anxious and confused that the Dalai Lama is now no longer interested about the Tibetan struggle. No, it is not," he said.

He reiterated that efforts to resolve the issue of Tibet would remain one of his three commitments.

He spoke about his efforts to bring democratic reforms in Tibet before 1959 and later in exile.

Since my childhood I always admire the system of democracy. In 1952, I started reform committee and some reforms were carried out. Then after 1959 while in exile we had set up own organisation set up as the Central Tibetan Administration. We started the process of democratisation and put in place elected political leadership in 2001.

"I always tell the elected Tibetan leadership to take full responsibility as if there is no Dalai Lama and they are doing it," he said.

(Based on report filed by Sheja Editor Kelsang Khudup from Kalimpong)

from: http://www.thetibetpost.com/en/news/international/1318-his-holiness-the-dalai-lama-clarifies-statement-on-retirement

[DSFriend]

Well, you are right. The existence of this whole site is obvious we do not agree with the Dalai Lama. How more obvious do you want?
But what is the point of attacking the Dalai Lama? It is like throwing eggs at a huge mountain. Just keep promoting Dorje Shugden, promoting everything about it and indirectly ppl can see the ban is wrong. Why be obsessed with Dalai Lama and give him more power? If you can't get in through the back door, get in through the window. Why stand outside and complain about not getting into the door? Just get in already. Promote Dorje Shugden and forget about Dalai Lama for now.

Nobody here agrees with the Dalai Lama's actions re this ban. Nobody.  Educate the ban being wrong in every other way for now and leave the Dalai Lama out. When ppl see the ban is wrong, then automatically, the Dalai Lama will be asked why and questioned or look strange for having this ban. Pressure by logic, information and showing how ridiculous the ban is will appeal to alot more individuals especially those who know nothing or very little of Buddhism and the issue.

Also since Dalai Lama is flying high everywhere, it makes very bad publicity to put him down. It turns ppl away. So without being obvious about the Dalai Lama, just focus on the ban. Easier for ppl to digest FOR NOW.


So we can have our cake, eat it and save some for tomorrow.

Thaimonk, I totally agree with your thinking.

We all have negative qualities. But just talking about how bad it is and promoting it ain't going to make it any better. Thus, we engage ourselves in more positive deeds. Thus, this is what we as Buddhist (which i am assuming the participants here are) do.  I just don't get it why it is so difficult for people to apply this same thinking when it comes to the Dalai Lama. Perhaps it's a habituated thinking and ways of DEALING with people who treat us in an ill manner... to "fight" them instead of focusing on helping to bring about some form of healing.

[Helena]

Wow...this thread has heated up with a lot of discussion, as usual - especially when we have those famous two words in here: DALAI LAMA.

I have been sick and have not had the chance to log in earlier. I am only catching up now.

As I read through the various comments in here, I like THAIMONK's best.

Let me explain why.

It is simple. Because it is EMPOWERING and INSPIRING.

It empowers us to do something positive and not just  be sad, angry, whine and complain.

It inspires us to become much more in the process.

I love these words - "GET IN ALREADY."

Indeed, with such a positive mind set and attitude - "we can have our cake, eat it and save some for tomorrow".

Fanstatic! Totally love it!

[Vajraprotector]

Despite what is happening, Dalai Lama is still who he is, and he has just been listed in the Top 25 Political Icons by TIME magazine. 

Tibetan leader Dalai Lama among world's top political icons: TIME magazine

Dharamshala, February 07: Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama was Sunday listed among the World’s top 25 political icons in a survey finding conducted by Time magazine.

The Dalai Lama, according to magazine, is 'not only the greatest and most public advocate for Tibetan rights and the virtues of Tibetan Buddhism, but also for interfaith tolerance and peace as well to people around the world.

'To countless Tibetans, the Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader and a head of state in absentia. For decades - and from exile since 1959 - he has worked to resolve tensions between Tibet and China.

'And like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. before him, the Dalai Lama done so in a manner defined by non-violence and tolerance.
 
'The Dalai Lama's humility has endeared him to presidents and religious leaders of several countries, affording him the opportunity to raise awareness and drum up support for Tibet on a global scale,' the magazine said.

...

Time's top 25 political icons are: Mahatma Gandhi, Alexander the Great, Mao Zedong, Winston Churchill, Genghis Khan, Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, Adolf Hitler, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, Ronald Reagan, Cleopatra, Franklin Roosevelt, the Dalai Lama, Queen Victoria, Benito Mussolini, Akbar the Great, Lenin, Margaret Thatcher, Simon Bolivar, Qin Shi Huang, Kim Il-Sung, Charles de Gaulle, Louis XIV, Haile Selassie, King Richard the Lion heart and Saladin.
 
For more info, read http://www.tibetexpress.net/en/news/exile/5091-2011-02-07-08-34-24
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2046285_2045996_2046135,00.html

[DSFriend]

Thanks Vajraprotector for posting the news.

What stood out to me is that the WORLD sees those qualities as stated in the article about the Dalai Lama.

And to the world, that's what he represents, that's what Buddhism is about - that Dalai Lama promotes interfaith tolerance and peace.

Many hates the Dalai Lama for the ban. But if we look beyond the ban (which I don't think anybody in here supports the ban), Dalai Lama is successful in bringing Buddhism to the world.

Now, how many of us can do that!