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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The 25^th anniversary of the Delhi Society

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

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

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

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

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

Pujas from H.H. Kyabje Pabongka Chocktrul Rinpoche

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

Pujas from H.H. Kyabje Trijang Chocktrul Rinpoche

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

Grand Prayer Festival on International Dorje Shugden Day

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

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

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

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

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

Official Announcement

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Official Announcements in Other Languages

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Advice from Lineage Lamas

བོད་ཡིག (Tibetan)

中文 (Chinese)

монгол хэл (Mongolian)

We went to India to celebrate the dedication of the new Shar Gaden temple and along the way, we had an opportunity to walk in the footsteps of thousands of Buddhists who went before us. This journey began on Oct. 23 with three monks and 16 lay students heading to Mumbai, India.

Our first visit was to the Kanheri Caves in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. These caves were carved out of cliffs as a place for monks to study and practice Buddhism. They date from 1st century BCE to 9th century CE. They were commissioned by royal families, merchants and other segments of the old society to support the monks in their efforts to practice the Dharma.

In the center of some of the caves are large Stupas. Thousands of intricate carvings of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and other Buddhist images cover the walls. As in other cultures, much of the ancient art in India is based on religion. So these caves and their art (sculptures, painting, etc.) and architecture are of interest to many historians.

After a quick plane ride south to Hubli, we stopped at Ven. Kuten Lama’s favorite boyhood restaurant – Ayodhya – for tea. Then we drove through a part of the Indian countryside that few foreigners get to see. Fields of sugar cane, rice and corn lay next to tree-lined roads that took us through the town of Mundgod and to a warm welcome by the Shar Gaden monks.

After we arrived and enjoyed tea, we settled into our rooms. The next day was a “play day” before the official festivities began. We met briefly with Abbot Geshe Losang Phendey and then Kuten Lama took us on a tour of the grounds. Everywhere we went, preparations were underway – hanging flags, putting up banners, hauling boxes of supplies. But there were no apparent concern for the preparations being completed “on time” but just a sense of purpose and excitement.

The celebrations began at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28. A parade of monks carried pictures of lineage masters with a procession of senior monks and students following. Hundreds of people from all over the world sat with local Tibetans around the perimeter of the temple for prayers. The younger monks sitting near us were very busy watching us most of the time.

What followed were an official ribbon cutting ceremony, a meeting of the Dorje Shugden Religious and Charitable Society and an evening performance by the monks of a monastic debate and traditional dances and songs. Over the course of the next three days, there were an education conference, a Je Tsongkhapa Long Life initiation, invocation and Lama Choepa at Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang’s Labrang and Kangso.

Time at Shar Gaden seemed to go very slowly even though the days were filled with so much activity. We were so completely separate from our everyday lives – no clock to watch, no work to do and meal times announced with a gong – but we also felt right at home. No one wanted to leave. But next on our trip was a visit to Serpom Monastery to the south.

We enjoyed a brief tour of the grounds and had an opportunity to see the new temple that still under construction. After a delicious meal we were on the road again to Mysore. There, we visited Chamundi Hill and the Mysore Palace before going to see Kundeling Rinpoche’s monastery in the heart of the city. An extra day to rest and we were on the road again – north to Bangalore to catch a train that took us to Aurangabad.

There we visited the Ajanta and Ellora caves. Both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and are undergoing preservation. Ajanta is known for the ancient paintings found on walls, ceiling and pillars. The paintings were not painted directly onto the rock walls. After the surface of the rock was made as smooth as possible with hammer and chisel, the rough surface was coated with a layer of clay and cow dung mixed with rice husks. Then, a topcoat of lime was then applied and polished smooth. Then the paint would be applied. Many of the paintings have been lost, but the few that remained hint at how beautifully decorated the caves once were.

Ancient teachers in this lineage have practiced the same prayers, chants and other rituals that we do today. So, when we had an opportunity to do Lama Choepa in one of the caves, Kuten Lama explained that it was auspicious that we were able to carry on this tradition.

On our second day in Aurangabad, we went to the Ellora caves. This set of caves is a mix of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain religions. There are some features of these caves that are all the same – channels cut into the rock to direct rainwater into large cisterns, windows and holes to let in light and fresh air – but the carvings and ornamentation were all unique.

On our last night in Mumbai before we returned to the United States, we had one last meal of spicy Indian cuisine with Kuten Lama. Sitting around the table talking and laughing, it could have been any meal at any time in any place. But it wasn’t – it was the end of a historic trip that included an important time in our lineage. It was, in a single word, amazing!

~ Margo Pierce
Cincinnati

Source : www.ganden.org/uploads/news/pdfs/Garuda_Winter2010.pdf