As part of his recent 20-day visit to various European countries, H.H. the 14^th Dalai Lama spent two days in Germany. From 13 to 14 September 2017, the Dalai Lama gave public talks and engaged in dialogues with various groups in Frankfurt. A significant number of Dorje Shugden practitioners and supporters, comprising of mostly Tibetans, demonstrated peacefully on the first day, calling for the Dalai Lama to bring an end to the illogical ban on Dorje Shugden’s practice.

Interestingly, the Dalai Lama kick-started his public talk titled “Global Ethics-Shared Values”, organised by the Frankfurt Tibet House at Jahrhunderthalle, by emphasizing that “too much emphasis on secondary level of differences including religious faith” was the cause for a lot of problems in the world today and ultimately, “on fundamental level, we are all same human being”.

The Dalai Lama giving his talk on “Global Ethics-Shared Values” at the Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt, Germany

Keeping this in mind, one can say that to peacefully seek the end of an undemocratic religious ban would give effect to what the Dalai Lama has preached. What better way to apply the setting aside of secondary differences than to do away with the unwarranted Dorje Shugden ban which has clearly segregated Tibetans and caused a lot of hardship, pain as well as suffering to many Dorje Shugden practitioners, Tibetans and non-Tibetans alike?

Despite the rain, there was a significant turnout at the peaceful demonstrations in Frankfurt, calling for the end of the undemocratic Dorje Shugden ban.

DorjeShugden.com has been closely following the protests organised by our fellow Shugdenpas to bring our readers this compilation of news, pictures and videos. Please do visit this post over the next few days as we continue to update this article with new photos and videos. If you have more pictures or information to share, please email us at ds@dorjeshugden.com.
 

Photos of the Frankfurt Demonstrations

Video Coverage of the Frankfurt Demonstrations

Tibetans Against Dalai Lama Lying

Part 1

Tibetans Against Dalai Lama Lying

Part 2

Tibetans Against Dalai Lama Lying

Part 3

From the Europe Shugden Association

Part 1

From the Europe Shugden Association

Part 2

From the Europe Shugden Association

Part 3

From Dorje Shugden Tibetan Music World

Part 1

From Dorje Shugden Tibetan Music World

Part 2

(3:25) Shar Gaden monks dissolving a sand mandala in Füssen, Germany. A mandala is a deeply profound, universal symbol that translates literally to mean the “center and its surroundings” and is a physical representation of the universe and the interdependence within the universe, which means that everything and everyone is interlinked in one way or another.

Mandalas may be found in many forms, but always include a circle, a central point, and symmetry. These sand mandalas take days for monks to create yet are dissolved in minutes and this dissolution epitomizes impermanence.

Shar Gaden Monks conducting prayer rituals in Füssen, Germany. Enjoy the beautiful chanting and the sound of the ritual items being played by the monks, such as the damaru, long horns and ritual cymbals.

For a Western Buddhist, this practice appears to me like a relic from old times when in the European Middle Ages, we also had battles for the predominance of a certain religious group… However, such battles are not in accordance with what the Buddha taught…
(Vajramala, Head Chairwoman of the German Buddhist Union, DBU)

The above quote starts off this video, which features scenes from the protests held in Germany along with interviews with a Tibetan man, local German populace and members of the Sangha. The original video was created by those who support the Dorje Shugden ban – it does not depict the protests in a positive light, and gives a few reasons why.

Note that this video is included purely for information purposes and does not represent the views of this website.

Day 1 Interview by 69 WFMZ in Philadelphia. Are people not investigating the qualifications of the Dalai Lama? Actions speaks louder than words. Watch this video.

Protests in Bethlehem, Philadelphia – Day 2

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Protests in Nurnberg, Germany

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Protests in Nottingham, UK

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Protests at Kimmel Centre, Philadelphia

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