His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, known as the ‘teacher of teachers’, was the junior tutor of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. At the Dalai Lama’s request, Trijang Rinpoche composed his autobiography which invariably demonstrates the deep impact that Dorje Shugden had on his life.

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

By: Shashi Kei

A Force of Nature

His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche is without question a phenomenal force in Tibetan Buddhism and his name has become synonymous not only with the stainless tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa but also the highest standards of scholarship and monastic excellence. Trijang Rinpoche is hailed as one of the greatest, if not the greatest master of Tibetan Buddhism in the modern era, continuing a legacy of enlightened deeds that began many lifetimes ago. His recognised reincarnation lineage began as Chandra (Chandaka), the chariot driver who took Prince Siddhartha into the forest to begin his journey to become the Buddha. In addition, in his past incarnations, Trijang Rinpoche had been the Great Atisha, the illustrious scholar Santaraksita, and the exemplary debater and logician Candrakirti. Trijang Rinpoche, who had a close relationship with the 16^th Karmapa, even took reincarnation in the Karma Kagyu lineage as the 8^th Karmapa Mikyo Dorje and he was also the Bodhisattva Dharmamitra.

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From the time Trijang Rinpoche was born to when he passed into clear light, he lived a faultless life. So immense was Trijang Rinpoche’s contribution to the Tibetan people and to the Buddhadharma that until this day, there is not one shred of accusation or charge against him. This is why when Trijang Rinpoche’s flawlessness was called into question, it raised eyebrows. That was the occasion when the Dalai Lama said that the old masters who worshipped the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden were all ‘wrong’. Trijang Rinpoche was one of the old masters the Dalai Lama referred to and he was well known for his trust in Dorje Shugden.

In saying that these old lamas were wrong, the Dalai Lama based his statement purely on their practice of Dorje Shugden and nothing else. Whilst shocking, it is not entirely surprising because at the time, the Dalai Lama was imposing a ban on Dorje Shugden’s practice for reasons that have never been proven or shown to have logical basis in the greater context of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. For example, it is contradictory for the Dalai Lama to declare that old masters such as Trijang Rinpoche are infallible Buddhist masters of sutra and tantra, and at the same time accuse them of being worshippers of a “spirit of the dark forces” which the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; Tibetan leadership based in Dharamsala) say all Dorje Shugden worshippers are.

The Magical Play of Illusion: A Validation of Dorje Shugden

The Magical Play of Illusion. Click on the image to download the English biography (in PDF format). To download the text in Tibetan, please scroll to the bottom of the article.

Trijang Rinpoche entered clear light in 1982 but before he passed away, he wrote his autobiography, The Magical Play of Illusion, at the request of the Dalai Lama. As much as Trijang Rinpoche’s book is a chronicle of the deeds of a Bodhisattva, it is at the same time a firm validation of Dorje Shugden and a narrative of how much the Dharma Protector assisted Trijang Rinpoche in performing his great deeds that continue to benefit people even today. In that sense, the autobiography of this great lama exemplifies the awkwardness of the case against Dorje Shugden; that is, in chronicling the life and activities of Trijang Rinpoche, the book makes it impossible to condemn Dorje Shugden and his practitioners without simultaneously making a fool out of the Gelug lineage and the foundations of Tibetan Buddhism.

The clumsiness is clear right from the beginning. For example, the translator of Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography, Sharpa Tulku wrote in his Preface that,

“My family sought his [Trijang Rinpoche's] guidance and his divination for every major event in our lives, and the advice he gave never failed to be beneficial.”

Over the next few hundred pages of the book, Trijang Rinpoche would articulate repeatedly his deep and unequivocal reliance on Gyalchen Dorje Shugden for advice, divination and prediction. No other Dharma Protector is mentioned with such significance and frequency as Dorje Shugden. Therefore the divinations and advice that Sharpa Tulku’s family benefited from would have come from Gyalchen Dorje Shugden whom Trijang Rinpoche relied on.

This is just but one of many other instances. To point out each and every occasion in Trijang Rinpoche’s life and provide examples where he invoked Dorje Shugden to perform a beneficial act, or turned to the Protector for divination and advice or gave initiations and permissions to Tibetan lamas and personages to practice Dorje Shugden, would yield an essay almost as voluminous as Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography itself. Suffice to say that Trijang Rinpoche’s life is without a doubt an attestation to Dorje Shugden’s divine qualities and the high regard the Protector commanded in Tibet’s lay and monastic community until the Tibetan leadership forcibly changed all that.

The CTA’s Persecution of Shugden Buddhists

On their official website (tibet.net), there is a list of what they call “Dolgyal” followers which the CTA use to defame Dorje Shugden practitioners and direct violence towards them. Is this what a “democratic” government body should be doing? Click to enlarge.

Within the framework of the Tibetan leadership’s ban on Dorje Shugden, the publication of Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography in English in October 2018 is interesting. Trijang Rinpoche wrote his autobiography in 1975, a few years before any murmurings against the Dorje Shugden practice began. Those murmurings became a formal restriction on the practice in 1996, when resolutions were passed to condemn Dorje Shugden practice and vilify Shugden practitioners. The ban however, was disguised as merely a strong advice, an act that was necessary given the Tibetan leadership’s claims to be a democracy. It would undermine the CTA’s purported democracy if it was seen to be preventing its own Tibetan people from exercising their religious freedom although this was precisely what the CTA’s ban was tantamount to.

Sikyong Lobsang Sangay launches anti-Shugden book

That thinly-veiled ban became an outright commandment by the Dalai Lama in 2008 by which time to practice Dorje Shugden was not only socially taboo but also (according to the Tibetan leadership] somehow against the Buddhadharma. In 2014, the CTA’s Parliament formally passed a resolution declaring all practitioners of Dorje Shugden to be “criminals in history“. The CTA’s propaganda machinery went into overdrive and by 2017, the CTA’s religious ban had successfully driven the worship of this deity underground, much like Nero’s persecutions of Christians drove Christianity underground in 64AD.

In this systematic manner, an ancient and hallowed Protector practice became labelled a cult practice and its followers portrayed as violent extremists bent on destroying Buddhism and harming the Dalai Lama. It became common for Tibetans and supporters of the Dalai Lama to demonstrate their loyalty by harboring enmity against Dorje Shugden practitioners and anyone even remotely associated with the practice. For all intents and purposes, the Tibetan leadership’s efforts to eradicate the practice of Dorje Shugden had worked. Which is why the October 2018 publication of Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography in English where it can reach the widest audience was an unexpected surprise.

The Paradox and Explanations

Trijang Rinpoche was regarded as the embodiment of the practice of the pure Dharma and when he was alive, his word was taken as the ultimate spiritual authority. Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography and other writings bear witness to the fact that he propagated the practice of Dorje Shugden widely, teaching all who received the practice that Dorje Shugden is in fact wrathful Manjushri, the Buddha of Wisdom. This was the prevailing view of Dorje Shugden for centuries. The Dalai Lama was aware of that and it has been said that he waited until the last of the old great lamas had passed into clear light before enacting the Dorje Shugden ban.

H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche

For example, the Dalai Lama knew that it would have been impossible to denounce Dorje Shugden whilst living Buddhas such as Trijang Rinpoche were still alive. Trijang Rinpoche would never have given up the practice and in retaining it, his influence alone would have emboldened thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, to join him in maintaining their practice too. In this way, imposing the ban on Dorje Shugden while Trijang Rinpoche was alive would have drastically reduced its efficacy.

Dorje Shugden was after all the main Dharma Protector of Pabongka Rinpoche, Trijang Rinpoche and Zong Rinpoche, and virtually every lama, scholar and practitioner of the Gelug lineage. Despite being the spiritual and secular head of the Tibetan people, the Dalai Lama was still a student of Trijang Rinpoche. Given the tremendous significance of Trijang Rinpoche and his unmatched standing within the Tibetan lay and monastic community, it would not have been difficult for the weight of his word or the significance of his own practice of Dorje Shugden to overshadow the Tibetan leadership’s attempts to demonize the deity.

What some might find unusual is that the Dalai Lama, knowing very well Trijang Rinpoche’s relationship with Dorje Shugden, still allowed the publication of this translated autobiography. The Dalai Lama would have known that its publication would revive the memory of this spiritual giant and with it, a restoration of the name of Dorje Shugden, the deity the Tibetan leadership wanted the world to forget. And yet he allowed it.

Could it be that the Dalai Lama had no influence over the matter? Not so. Those familiar with the ways of the Tibetan leadership know that the CTA can easily shut down the publication of any material or literature that does not support their stance on any issue, for example:

1. The Tibetan magazine Mangtso (meaning ‘democracy’) was shuttered for publishing views deemed critical of the Dalai Lama’s administration;
2. Guru Deva Rinpoche had his printing press shut down after publishing a letter by a Tibetan layperson who questioned the Dalai Lama’s Dorje Shugden ban. Guru Deva Rinpoche, a great benefactor of the Tibetan people in exile, was himself chased out of town and back to Mongolia.

So it is without question that the Dalai Lama could have easily prevented the publication of Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography. The publisher, Wisdom Publications, is owned by the same interests as the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) that is not only opposed to the practice of Dorje Shugden but also comes under the control of Lama Zopa who is a staunch Dalai Lama supporter.

Not only did the Dalai Lama allow the publication of the book, but he also endorsed its contents by writing the Foreword to the autobiography of the greatest Dorje Shugden lama of the modern era.

Foreword written by H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama. Click to enlarge.

Dorje Shugden detractors will insist that the Dalai Lama’s Foreword is yet more affirmation of his opposition to the Dorje Shugden practice, but the Dalai Lama’s own words prove them to be wrong. To begin with, the Dalai Lama excuses Trijang Rinpoche’s Dorje Shugden practice by saying,

“Since his predecessors had close ties to the practice, as did his root lama Phabongkha Rinpoche, it is understandable that my late tutor followed them in propitiating Dölgyal (Dorje Shukden).”

In this sentence alone, the Dalai Lama disqualifies the reasons for imposing the Shugden ban because the Dalai Lama confirms:

1. That past Gaden Tripas relied on Dorje Shugden. The Gaden Tripa is the head of the Gelug lineage and in Trijang Rinpoche’s case, he had two predecessors who were the 69^th and the 85^th Gaden Tripas. The fact Trijang Rinpoche’s erudite predecessors, who occupied the highest seat in the Gelug lineage twice-over, became closely associated with Dorje Shugden practice indicates that it was not a fringe and unauthorized practice after all.
2. That worshippers of this supposed “dark force” experience no ill-effects. In fact, Dorje Shugden worshippers can even reincarnate as enlightened masters like Trijang Rinpoche who is deemed holy, attained and qualified even to become the tutor of the Dalai Lama, an emanation of Avalokiteshvara.
3. That it is natural and understandable for a practitioner to follow his teacher’s worship of Dorje Shugden. The Dalai Lama even confirms that there is a lineage of practice, since Trijang Rinpoche’s own root lama relied on Dorje Shugden. However, this understanding is somehow suspended when the Dalai Lama and CTA forced Dorje Shugden practitioners to break oaths made to their teachers to uphold the Protector practice, and the Dalai Lama even allowed Penpa Tsering to criticize and denigrate his tutor Trijang Rinpoche’s root lama.

Dorje Shugden statue at Nyanang Pelgyeling Monastery in Nepal, made by the Fifth Dalai Lama. Click to enlarge.

Nevertheless, detractors will be keen to point out the Dalai Lama’s reference to the 5^th Dalai Lama. In their indictment of the deity, those opposed to Dorje Shugden often misquote the 5^th Dalai Lama as having said that Dorje Shugden was “an oath-breaking spirit born from perverse prayers …harming the teachings [the Buddhadharma] and all living beings”.

However, not only is this incorrect but the opposite is true. The 5^th Dalai Lama composed the very first prayer to Dorje Shugden, beseeching him to protect Dharma practitioners. He also constructed the very first Dorje Shugden chapel (Trode Khangsar) in Lhasa, and created with his own hands a Dorje Shugden statue for the purposes of worship. All of these are historical facts which have not been disputed.

And notwithstanding his earlier negation of false claims against Dorje Shugden, the Dalai Lama further invalidated that wrong view, albeit subtly, in the very next paragraph where he wrote,

“…and I composed a prayer for the swift return of his reincarnation.”

Even those with the most rudimentary Dharma knowledge will be able to see the contradiction here. If Dorje Shugden is truly a malevolent entity, then Trijang Rinpoche in his previous life as the Gaden Throne-holder and then as the Dalai Lama’s Junior Tutor would have broken his refuge vows and along with it, his monastic, tantric and all other vows.

Why then even spare the effort of composing a prayer for such a person’s swift return? Surely a prolific worshipper of such a destructive demonic force and who had actively facilitated the spread of this ‘evil’ would be heading for the lower realms and remain there for countless aeons according to the laws of karma. And yet the Dalai Lama gave no indication whatsoever that this was to be the result of Trijang Rinpoche’s lifelong worship of Dorje Shugden. Instead with the prayer, the Dalai Lama indicated that he fully expected the swift return of his teacher’s incarnation.

H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama with the current incarnation of H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche. If Dorje Shugden lamas worship a demon and are supposed to take rebirth in the three lower realms, why then did the Dalai Lama recognize the reincarnation of his guru?

The Epilogue of Trijang Rinpoche’s book narrates how the Dalai Lama actively searched for Trijang Rinpoche’s new incarnation and confirmed through divination the identity of the boy who would eventually be enthroned as the new embodiment of Trijang Rinpoche’s mind stream:

“His Holiness felt certain that Trijang Rinpoche’s reincarnation had been reborn in northwestern India, Kungo Palden, full of hope, went with Jamyang Tashi to Dalhousie on May 8, 1983, and stayed with Losang Thupten…” (page 380)

and,

“There, His Holiness gave the verdict that Sönam Topgyal’s child was the true reincarnation of Kyabje Trijang Vajradhara. With a beaming expression on his face, His Holiness then charged Lati Rinpoche and Kungo Palden with responsibility of caring for the child.” (page 381)

Finally, the Dalai Lama performed a hair-cutting ceremony on Trijang Rinpoche’s incarnation and named the boy Tenzin Losang Yeshe Gyatso.

Page 243, click to enlarge.

Allowing the publication of Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography, endorsing the book by writing a Foreword for it, and then skillfully negating very serious charges against Dorje Shugden, all go against the ban on Dorje Shugden that the Dalai Lama himself had imposed over two decades ago. Many examples of this can be found but an especially glaring example is on page 243 where Trijang Rinpoche wrote that it was the Dalai Lama who personally instructed Trijang Rinpoche to seek the advice of Dorje Shugden at the most crucial time. The Protectors Palden Lhamo, Nechung and Gadong had all given their respective advice but the Dalai Lama needed to be sure and so he sought the final confirmation from Dorje Shugden.

In the final analysis, it was upon Dorje Shugden’s instruction that the Dalai Lama and his party fled Tibet following the route prescribed by the deity Trijang Rinpoche regarded as the “chief protector”. Why would a supposedly perfidious spirit save the Dalai Lama if it is true that his intent is to harm the Buddhadharma?

Note that while the Dalai Lama spent most of his Foreword criticizing the practice of his guru, he did not dispute any information or specific events in the book that soundly mitigate the case against Dorje Shugden. There are only a few ways to look at this incongruity:

1. It was an oversight on the part of the Dalai Lama. This is highly implausible because the Dalai Lama is well known to be sharp-witted and still in possession of very finely-tuned mental faculties despite his advanced age. In addition, the Dalai Lama has access to a string of aides-de-camp, assistants and secretaries, and not to mention scholars like Sharpa Tulku and his regular translator Thupten Jinpa who would have vetted the book and advised the Dalai Lama accordingly, assuming the Dalai Lama had not read his teacher’s autobiography himself. So this explanation cannot stand on its own merits.
2. The publication of the book was out of the Dalai Lama’s control. Again, as we examined earlier, the opposite is true. Wisdom Publications comes well under the Dalai Lama’s influence. In any case, even if the publisher was a company outside the Dalai Lama’s clout, his willingness to write the Foreword negates this argument.
3. The only other explanation is that the Dalai Lama intended for the book to be published and widely read. A critical Foreword would pique interest in the matter, and lead people to look out for mentions of Dorje Shugden. As inconsistent as this may appear, it makes sense when seen from the perspective of recent developments in two other controversies that have dominated the Tibetan Buddhist landscape, besides the Dorje Shugden conflict – the 11^th Panchen Lama controversy and the Two Karmapa dispute.

Reconciliation

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the Dalai Lama’s candidate for the 11th Panchen Lama, disappeared shortly after he was recognized. A few months later, the Chinese government recognized their own candidate and since 1995, the Dalai Lama has persisted in his claim that the Chinese candidate is a fake and merely a puppet of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Then suddenly in April 2018, the Dalai Lama changed his mind and endorsed the Chinese Panchen Lama.

In 1995, the Dalai Lama accused the Chinese government of abducting a child that the Dalai Lama had recognised to be the 11^th Panchen Lama. In addition, the Dalai Lama declared that the China-enthroned 11^th Panchen Lama Gyaincain Norbu was a fraud, which is a stance the Tibetan leadership have vehemently stood by for the past 23 years. Then suddenly, on 25^th April 2018, the Dalai Lama made a statement that Gyaincain Norbu is in fact the official and therefore the real Panchen Lama. This sudden reversal of the Dalai Lama’s stance on the Panchen Lama controversy was a harbinger of changes to come.

The two Karmapa candidates Thaye Dorje (left) and Ogyen Trinley (right) during their recent October 2018 meeting in France. Although the Dalai Lama has never traditionally been involved in the search and recognition of the Karmapas, Ogyen Trinley was endorsed by the 14th Dalai Lama, setting off a conflict that has plagued the Karma Kagyu tradition for over 20 years.

Just as mysteriously, on 11^th October 2018, the two Karmapa candidates Ogyen Trinley Dorje and Trinley Thaye Dorje met in secret in France before issuing a joint statement declaring their mutual interest in healing the division in the Karma Kagyu lineage. The said division had been caused by a disagreement amongst the four regents of the Karma Kagyu, triggered when Tai Situ Rinpoche declared that Ogyen Trinley was the rightful heir to the Karmapa throne. The Shamarpa, the most senior of the four regents, disagreed with him and insisted that another candidate, Thaye Dorje was the correct reincarnation of the 16^th Karmapa and therefore the rightful claimant to the Karmapa seat. Traditionally it has been the role and duty of the Shamarpa to recognize and enthrone the Karmapa but the Dalai Lama acted outside his authority and scuttled the process. In officially endorsing Ogyen Trinley as the Karmapa, the Dalai Lama crystallized the problem and rendered it intractable even though the Shamarpa presented information to indicate that the Dalai Lama was in error.

The Dalai Lama’s interference divided the Karma Kagyu from 1995 onwards. Given the Dalai Lama’s absolute dominance of all matters relating to Tibetan Buddhism, it has been widely speculated that the Dalai Lama secretly engineered the recent France meeting of the two Karmapas to pave the way for reunification in the Karma Kagyu lineage. This is plausible because it would be highly unlikely for the young Karmapas to openly oppose the Dalai Lama and undo what the Dalai Lama had set in stone. And so there appears to be a change in the Dalai Lama’s stance on the Karmapa issue as well.

The developments in the Panchen Lama and Karmapa issues have one thing in common in that they are both reconciliatory in nature and if the Dalai Lama is seeking to harmonize the Tibetan Buddhist community, then it makes sense to also unravel the Dorje Shugden ban. And what better way to do this than to publicize his teacher, Trijang Rinpoche’s close relationship with Dorje Shugden by writing the Foreword to his autobiography. Given Trijang Rinpoche’s stature, the high regard he commanded at all levels of Tibetan society and seeing how the people still regard him indisputably as an enlightened being, his autobiography is a potent antidote against Dorje Shugden disinformation, and a robust counter-argument against detractors’ demonization of the deity.

It is well within reason to ask why the Dalai Lama does not just announce the abolition of the Dorje Shugden ban if that was indeed his intention.

1. The answer may be as simple as the suggestion that the Dalai Lama does not like to admit that he is wrong. We get a hint of this in a video of the late Shamarpa speaking about his meeting with the Dalai Lama. The Shamarpa recounted how he presented his findings about why the Dalai Lama was in error for endorsing Ogyen Trinley as the 17^th Karmapa. According to the Shamarpa’s narrative, the Dalai Lama did not disagree with his findings but instead replied that he had already endorsed Ogyen Trinley and so he could not withdraw it. We may surmise from this that the Dalai Lama may have a habit of refusing to acknowledge his mistakes regardless of the repercussions.

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The Shamarpa explained that he went to the Dalai Lama to present evidence countering his endorsement of Ogyen Trinley as the 17^th Karmapa. The Dalai Lama refused to retract his endorsement, saying once it had been issued there was no way to withdraw it.

2. Perhaps the Dalai Lama cannot afford to admit he is wrong because in doing so, it would open the floodgates for him to be questioned on a string of other matters. He would no longer be deemed to be faultless and omniscient. As far as the Dorje Shugden conflict is concerned, decades of discrimination against Dorje Shugden worshippers happened based only on the Dalai Lama’s word that the practice is demonic. For the Dalai Lama to openly say that Dorje Shugden is not evil after all would not only discredit him, it would also lay liability on him, for inflicting such a grievous injury on the Tibetan community inside Tibet as well as the Tibetan diaspora around the world.
3. There are quieter ways of bringing about reconciliation. The Gelug tradition is the predominant Tibetan Buddhist sect and accounts for the largest percentage of the Tibetan population around the world. Within the Gelug school, the practice of Dorje Shugden has always been pervasive especially from the time of Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche. Therefore the harm done by the Dalai Lama’s Dorje Shugden ban has been widespread, damaging the unity of the Tibetan nation, the integrity of the Tibetan Buddhist monastic structure, as well as the good name of Tibetan Buddhism. So it may have been deemed wiser to just quietly take effective measures for the damage to heal, just like how the Dalai Lama secretly set up the meeting of the two Karmapas.

Whatever the reasons may be, the Dalai Lama’s allowance for the publication of Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography and then writing a Foreword for it, is a welcome move not only for Dorje Shugden Buddhists but also for Buddhism in general. It is the Dalai Lama’s way of inviting the world and everyone engaged in the Shugden divide to finally discover the truth and then close a very unfortunate chapter in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. Trijang Rinpoche was and still is the embodiment of a life lived perfectly in accordance to the Buddha’s teachings and as such his name itself is holy and his life story is both an inspiration as well as a lamp that guides all beings out of samsara. The Dalai Lama demonstrated great mastery and wisdom in allowing for the words of his holy teacher to permeate the earth to correct gross misunderstandings about a deity that Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche, Heruka himself, had said we needed to depend on.

And to be sure that what Trijang Rinpoche wrote about Dorje Shugden was accurate and dependable, the translator Sharpa Tulku affirmed (on page 21, Preface) that Trijang Rinpoche wrote his story “without fabrication or omission”. If that is indeed the case, and Sharpa Tulku did not conjure up this statement without basis, then to vilify Dorje Shugden is to negate the choices, practices and existence of Trijang Rinpoche, one of the greatest living Buddhas of our time.

Dorje Shugden
in Magical Play of Illusion

Few lamas have as intimate a connection with Dorje Shugden as Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche does. Trijang Rinpoche writes about Dorje Shugden with great affection, as a close friend who protected him from scolding tutors, who helped him to choose the reincarnation of his guru Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche, who helped him to save the Dalai Lama’s life. Indeed, Trijang Rinpoche relied on Dorje Shugden throughout his life, to assist him in activities that would affect thousands of people. All of this is clearly documented in Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography…that is, if you know where to look because in this translation of the autobiography, the Dharma Protector’s role in this great master’s life has been severely downplayed.

Instead of referring to Dorje Shugden by name, the translator refers to him using obscure, vague terms that would be unfamiliar to the majority of non-Tibetans who pick up this book. Why? Because to translate it clearly and honestly would be to recognize and properly record Dorje Shugden’s involvement in Trijang Rinpoche’s life, thereby invalidating the Tibetan leadership’s narrative of Dorje Shugden as a minor practice of spirit worship.

After all, why would a lama of Trijang Rinpoche’s calibre, who accomplished so much (as evidenced by his autobiography), choose to rely on a so-called ‘spirit’?

For realists, it is a foregone conclusion that Dorje Shugden’s involvement was downplayed purely for commercial reasons. The sad truth is that the Dalai Lama’s endorsement by means of a Foreword is necessary for the book to be a commercial success. In order to obtain such a Foreword, the translator would have had to allow the Dalai Lama to write something that criticizes Dorje Shugden, as well as obscure Dorje Shugden’s role in Trijang Rinpoche’s life.

Hence to clarify things, the team at DorjeShugden.com has compiled this list of the 56 times that Dorje Shugden is referred to in Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography. You can refer to the images below, or click here to download a handy PDF document which you can print out to refer to as you read the book.

Page 1. Click to enlarge.

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Trijang Rinpoche’s Autobiography

The biographies of holy beings such as Trijang Rinpoche serve to inspire and remind us about what is possible if we devote ourselves to our practice. Trijang Rinpoche spent his life tirelessly teaching the Dharma and benefiting sentient beings; his autobiography, which chronicles his deeds, paints the picture of a deeply devoted, kind, humble yet vastly accomplished spiritual practitioner.

Please keep this sacred text on your computers to read at your leisure, or print it to be inserted into statues or keep on your altar. As a Dharma text, please remember to store in a proper and respectful manner.

• English (PDF; 7.6MB)
• Tibetan Part 1 (PDF; 111.2MB)
• Tibetan Part 2 (PDF; 169.2MB)
• References to Dorje Shugden in the biography (PDF; 56kb)

This graphic novel is available to you ENTIRELY FOR FREE. We only request that you in your compassion bring the practice of this Protector, and share this graphic novel with others. Download, email or print – here are some ways you can spread the world’s first Dorje Shugden graphic novel:

• Gift it to your teacher
• Print copies for your friends
• Introduce it to your Dharma centre
• Teach it in a Dharma class
• Donate copies to your local library
• Analyse it in a world religions class
• Get your favourite bookshop to stock it
• Send copies to your neighbours
• Translate it and email it to your friends abroad
• Link it on your website
• Share it on Facebook or Twitter
• Read it with your kids

We hope that this graphic novel which comes from over one year of effort, resources and hard work of our team, will benefit many. May the lineage of Lama Tsongkapa invite everyone onto the practice of impermanence, Bodhicitta, and Emptiness.

The DorjeShugden.com Team

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This graphic novel is available to you ENTIRELY FOR FREE. We only request that you in your compassion bring the practice of this Protector, and share this graphic novel with others. Download, email or print – here are some ways you can spread the world’s first Dorje Shugden graphic novel:

• Gift it to your teacher
• Print copies for your friends
• Introduce it to your Dharma centre
• Teach it in a Dharma class
• Donate copies to your local library
• Analyse it in a world religions class
• Get your favourite bookshop to stock it
• Send copies to your neighbours
• Translate it and email it to your friends abroad
• Link it on your website
• Share it on Facebook or Twitter
• Read it with your kids

We hope that this graphic novel which comes from over one year of effort, resources and hard work of our team, will benefit many. May the lineage of Lama Tsongkapa invite everyone onto the practice of impermanence, Bodhicitta, and Emptiness.

The DorjeShugden.com Team