There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness. ~ His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama

As the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama is always seen meeting with other religious leaders and is often greeted with warm handshakes and embraces as a sign of respect. In his public teachings, the Dalai Lama always talks about love, peace and tolerance and how everyone should embrace these qualities in order to live harmoniously in this world. Clearly, the Dalai Lama has influence beyond the borders of the Tibetan Buddhist world.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner has defended Muslims from being called terrorists during a recent visit to the European Parliament. He has also been seen paying his respects to Jesus and adapting to other cultures and faiths, all out of great compassion and deep respect for others. In his own words, “genuine admiration and respect and appreciation for those traditions.” This spiritual leader is highly respected because he has worked so hard to spread his message of positivity, showing continuous love and respect to everyone.

Love and Compassion are the true religions to me. But to develop this, we do not need to believe in any religion. ~ H.H. the 14^th Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama along with other religious leaders inaugurating the Interfaith Conclave on Peace and Religious Harmony in Guwahati.

The Dalai Lama with Laurence Freeman OSB, Director of the World Community for Christian Meditation, a Catholic priest and a Benedictine monk of Turvey Abbey in England.

The Dalai Lama at an interfaith conference “On World Religions: Diversity, Not Dissension” with Indian statesman and scholar Dr. Karan Singh (1st left), Islamic scholar and peace activist Maulana Wahiduddin Khan (2nd right) and Reverend Mpho A. Tutu (1st right), founder and executive director of the Tutu Institute for Prayer and Pilgrimage.

The Dalai Lama with Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the Upper Tibetan Children’s Village School in Dharamsala

The Dalai Lama praying in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria.

Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t appreciate kindness and compassion. ~ H.H. the 14^th Dalai Lama

The exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader travels widely, meeting with leaders of various religions around the world. He is regularly seen with the heads of the other schools of Tibetan Buddhism, namely the Nyingma, Kagyu and Sakya schools, as well as other Buddhist traditions such as Theravadan, Mahayana, Zen and so forth. The pictures speak a thousand words as to the mutual respect these spiritual personalities have for each other. His example behooves us to put his teachings on kindness and non-discrimination into practice.

The Dalai Lama joins local Muslims for evening mass at Jama Masjid Mosque in New Delhi

The Dalai Lama at the World Hindu Congress in New Delhi

The Dalai Lama at the Sikh Gudwara at Tso Pema, India

The Dalai Lama visits the Judah Hyam Synagogue in New Delhi.

The Dalai Lama sits down with muslim elders at the Nizamuddin Chilla shrine in New Delhi

The Dalai Lama meets Muni Tarun Sagar, representative of the Digambar sect of Jainism, during an interfaith meeting in New Delhi.

The Dalai Lama with Pope John Paul II

The Dalai Lama with the recently canonized Mother Teresa

There are many different sects and schools within the Buddhist religion but according to the Dalai Lama, “it is important to show respect to other religions”. The Dalai Lama even acknowledges the Bön religion, which was once segregated and discriminated against by other Buddhist practitioners who named the Bönpos “chipa” (outsiders). After the Dalai Lama met with their spiritual leader, he granted them equal rights and privileges as the other Tibetan Buddhist schools and urged other Buddhist practitioners to accept and respect them.

However, a schism in the Tibetan Buddhist community was created when the Tibetan leadership made a public statement that the practice of the Buddhist deity Dorje Shugden is malevolent and should be stopped. Those who practiced Dorje Shugden were not allowed to receive medical treatment in hospitals, disallowed entry into libraries and stores, expelled from monasteries and even forbidden to attend his public teachings. People were encouraged to separate from family members who practiced Dorje Shugden as well.

All major religious traditions carry the same message: a message of love, compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment, self-discipline — all religious traditions. ~ H.H. the Dalai Lama in an interview with the European Parliament

The Dalai Lama with the head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, His Eminence Kyabje Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche in Dharamsala.

The Dalai Lama with the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, head of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Dalai Lama with the head of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, the Sakya Trizin (center) and the 17th Karmapa (left)

Trizin Rinpoche, head of the Bön tradition, presents tenshug (long life prayers) to the Dalai Lama at Menri-Ling Bönpo Monastery.

The Dalai Lama greets Theravadan monks at the Theravada Nalanda tradition dialogue on Vinaya in New Delhi, India

The Dalai Lama presents a gift to a Sri Lankan delegation of monks in New Delhi, India

Austria: The Dalai Lama thanks two Theravadan monks who recited the Heart Sutra in Pali.

The Dalai Lama with priests of the Soto Zen tradition during a visit to Japan

The Dalai Lama with Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh

The big question here is, why was the ban on Dorje Shugden imposed when the Dalai Lama himself has shown so many examples of how we should respect other cultures, religions and practices, even if we do not agree with their beliefs? People were left confused and in turmoil with the Dorje Shugden ban. On the one hand, the Dalai Lama gives teachings about tolerance, equality and religious freedom and yet on the other hand, the Tibetan administration has imposed a ban on Dorje Shugden practice.

Monks were forced to swear against practicing Dorje Shugden and those in the Tibetan community had to promise to stop propitiating Dorje Shugden in order to obtain travel documents or to be admitted into their monasteries. With the enforcement of the ban, many Dorje Shugden practitioners have been separated from their families and friends for many years. They are forced to choose between parents and friends or to break their samaya with their gurus. Shugden-practicing monks were expelled from their monasteries and in general, those associated with Dorje Shugden continue to be victims of verbal abuse, name-calling, death threats and physical violence. They suffer this every day just because they choose to continue practicing Dorje Shugden. All these actions shown by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and the Tibetan people are the total opposite of the Dalai Lama’s teachings and example.

In actuality, Dorje Shugden devotees are simply Buddhist practitioners following the teachings passed down by their gurus. Is it right that just because they chose to continue with their faith, they should be treated badly? The Dalai Lama has stressed countless times that we should have no discrimination and hatred towards others but only love and respect. Everyone who takes the Dalai Lama as their spiritual guide should follow his teachings.

In 2015, the Dalai Lama attended an interfaith meeting in London alongside Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh leaders. In his speech, the Dalai Lama repeated once again what he always says about love and compassion and that each religion is worthy of respect. He also used the analogy of food, saying that it would be foolish to insist “I like to eat this food, therefore you should eat it too!”

As students of the Dalai Lama, practitioners should represent their guru and the teachings well. However, the Dorje Shugden situation today is the exact opposite of the ideal situation described above. From physical attacks to cyber bullying to separation of family members, it is clear that the CTA’s actions including their recent anti-Dorje Shugden video is the anti-thesis of what the Dalai Lama promotes.

We can live without religion and meditation but we cannot survive without human affection. ~ H.H. the 14^th Dalai Lama

Various signs can be seen around the Tibetan refugee communities in India. These signs say that “Dorje Shugden practitioners are not allowed to enter”

Harmony among our different religious traditions is essential for world peace. Genuine harmony should be founded on mutual respect. And respect should be based on a recognition that all the world’s major religious traditions are similar in having the potential to help human beings live at peace with themselves, with each other and with the environment. ~ H.H. the 14^th Dalai Lama

We live in a world where every individual is entitled to religious freedom. The millions of Buddhist practitioners who flock to attend the Dalai Lama’s public teachings should practice what he preaches. No discrimination or double standards – Dorje Shugden practitioners have done nothing wrong to deserve this kind of treatment. They are humans just like everyone else. Segregation and attacks are what Dorje Shugden practitioners get in return. Would the Dalai Lama, a paragon of human rights, agree with this?

Gen Chonze, assistant to His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche, was attacked in Shar Gaden Monastery because he practices Dorje Shugden.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Dorje Shugden practitioners were attacked by followers of the Dalai Lama outside a public teaching venue in America.

Everyone is free to choose whether they pay religion any regard, but to neglect compassion is a mistake because it is the source of our own well-being. ~ H.H. the 14^th Dalai Lama

We should always represent our gurus’ teachings, in both action and speech. All Tibetans should treat their fellow global citizens equally without any hatred or discrimination. Acceptance is the key to world peace and it is extremely important for all Tibetans to unite and not fight against each other. In particular, the Central Tibetan Administration should follow the Dalai Lama’s advice and repair the divide created by the Dorje Shugden controversy instead of encouraging and provoking discrimination and hatred.

A Public Appeal to H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama to Stop the 20-year-long Persecution of Shugden Buddhists

As the ban on the Wisdom Buddha Dorje Shugden approaches its 20th year, there is no sign of the religious persecution, faith-based discrimination and suffering endured by Shugden Buddhists abating.

As one of the major controversies surrounding Tibetan Buddhism, it is no surprise that the ban on Dorje Shugden’s practice has received much media attention, especially in the West. From Al Jazeera to France 24, from SwissTV to the Guardian and Fox News, the Dorje Shugden ban implemented and enforced by the 14th Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government has been researched, discussed and dissected.

Yet, despite extensive evidence of Human Rights Abuses, Violations of Religious Freedom and various accounts of Shugden Buddhists suffering from persecution, discrimination and violence, there is still no sign of the issue being resolved by those who can make a difference.

On the 20-year anniversary of the Dorje Shugden ban, we at DorjeShugden.com wish to bring to light once again the history of this unethical ban, the sufferings it has caused and what all Shugden Buddhists around the world are tirelessly petitioning for. This is also a reminder that the fight to lift the Shugden ban is far from over, and that we should once again rekindle our resolve to see the end of such faith-based discrimination that has no place in the 21st Century.

1. A Religious Ban Begins

In March 1996, the 14th Dalai Lama banned the 400-year-old religious practice of Dorje Shugden, a Buddhist Deity whose worship was widespread in Tibet. As a result, over 4 million Shugden Buddhists worldwide have experienced tremendous suffering.

…yesterday we decreed that it will not be right for worshippers of Gyalchen [Dorje Shugden] to be among our audience … If there are any people unknown to me who have crept into this audience who are nevertheless worshippers of Shugden, it is better for you not to stay among us. – H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama, 21st March 1996
 

2. Living Without Religious Freedom

If you private monks and spiritual masters in the monastic colleges continue making excuses and continue worshipping thus, you shall have a day of regret… it will not be good if we have to knock on your doors. – H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama, 21st March 1996
 
From 1996 to the present time, the Tibetan Government in Exile has launched insidious campaigns of psychological abuse and physical threats to systematically purge Shugden Buddhists from the Tibetan refugee community in India. These misleading campaigns have turned the sentiments of the general public against Shugden Buddhists, causing great suffering and hardship.

For instance:

• From April 1996 onwards, signature campaigns are organized in monasteries and Tibetan refugee settlements, forcing Tibetans to take an oath against the practice of Dorje Shugden, all under the supervision of the Dalai Lama’s Private Office.
• Around the same time, monastery abbots are forced to expel Shugden-practicing monks, at the behest of the Dalai Lama’s Private Office. Shugden Buddhists are banned from attending religious mass.
• In May 1996, the Shugden Society of Delhi receives a letter from the then Tibetan Prime Minister Kalon Sonam Topgyal, who rejects the rights to religious freedom of Shugden Buddhists:
  …concepts like democracy and freedom of religion are empty when it concerns the well-being of H.H. the Dalai Lama and the common cause of Tibet. – Kalon Sonam Topgyal
• In June 1996, an 8-point Resolution is passed by the Tibetan parliament to implement and enforce the ban on Dorje Shugden. Tibetan government employees are forced to resign if they refuse to comply.
  In case there is anyone who doesn’t abide by the addresses of His Holiness to give up Shugden worship, then, since there is nothing more important that the well-being of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan cause, such persons should submit their resignation. There is no other alternative for such person. – Tibetan Department of Health
• The Tibetan Youth Congress conducts house-to-house searches and forces entry to private property to confiscate and destroy statues, paintings and holy objects of Dorje Shugden.
• Shugden Buddhists who refuse to give up their rights to religious freedom are subjected to physical violence, slander, intimidation, vandalism of personal property, public shaming, witch hunts, deprivation of medical treatment, education and supplies, and various other methods of persecution to coerce them into complying with the religious ban.
• Those who are brave enough to speak up against the Dorje Shugden ban are falsely accused of being Chinese spies. Posters with their pictures and personal details are placed around the Tibetan settlements in India.
• In March 2014, all Shugden Buddhists are recognized as ‘Criminals in History’ through the Tibetan Government in Exile’s parliamentary resolution.
• Groups of Shugden Buddhists submit open letters and appeals for dialogue with the Dalai Lama on numerous occasions, but no action is taken.

More evidence of the Dorje Shugden ban and the 20-year-long religious persecution of Shugden Buddhists by the Tibetan Government can be found at http://www.dorjeshugden.com/press/proof-of-discrimination/

3. Religious Persecution Must End Here

…no government has the right to tell people how to worship and certainly not the right to discriminate against them or persecute them for the way they choose to express their faith… – Senator Joseph Lieberman, 1998
 
Like any breach of human rights in history, a movement must be initiated to bring about positive change. We are campaigning for an end to the discrimination against the people of our faith – a discrimination that has been created through the actions of the 14th Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government.

We are requesting the Dalai Lama to make the following public and written announcements:

1. That both individuals and communities should immediately cease all discrimination against Dorje Shugden and Shugden Buddhists;
2. That they should maintain harmonious relationships with Shugden Buddhists and never attempt to harm them either directly or indirectly;
3. That the Tibetan leadership should engage in live televised dialogue with Shugden Buddhist leaders to peacefully resolve this present problem.

4. Help Make A Difference

We respectfully request you to use your influence to help millions of Shugden Buddhists who are presently suffering religious persecution and discrimination perpetrated by the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan leadership.
You can help by:

1. Organizing or participating in peaceful demonstrations. Educate the public with this simple factsheet and video.
2. Writing letters to your local council or representative requesting them to take strong action against the persecution of Shugden Buddhists in your community.
3. Signing a petition requesting for dialogue with the Dalai Lama’s representatives to resolve this issue peacefully: http://chn.ge/1Ukv3iY
4. Creating awareness of the on-going persecution of Shugden Buddhists by sharing this simple graphic on social media.

Over 4 million people around the world are suffering.
Help us end this in 2016.

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.

The World Shugden Convention, sponsored by a Tibetan Buddhist organization known as the North America Geluk Buddhist Association (NAGBA), was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 2-3 April 2016. The meeting was graced with the presence of over 20 notable Shugden lamas, practitioners and defenders of the lineage, who came from the United States of America, Canada, France, Switzerland, and from Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of China.

Dorje Shugden is one of the most important Dharma Protectors worshipped by the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism for the past few centuries. As one of his main functions is to protect Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings and bring peace and wellness to Gelugpa monasteries, a large pool of Gelugpas are dedicated to his practice.

However in 1996, the Dalai Lama, who was the political and religious leader of Tibetans in exile at that time, made an official announcement that Dorje Shugden was a detrimental practice that harmed the current Dalai Lama and Tibet’s cause. The practice of Shugden was subsequently banned due to these baseless claims, which later triggered severe consequences as Shugden disciples became the object of discrimination and blame for Tibet’s lost cause. Faced with much oppression and harassment from the exile community, many Shugden practitioners in India were forced to practice in hiding, or were once again forced to travel to foreign lands where their religious rights would not be challenged.

The World Shugden Convention was organized by Dorje Shugden practitioners to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Dorje Shugden Devotees’ Charitable and Religious Society, which was established shortly after the Dalai Lama banned the practice; and also to consolidate actions against continuous suppression by the Dalai Lama and his followers. As a result of the meeting, a consensus was reached on how to consolidate and act against the on-going suppression and a resolution was tabulated to achieve the removal of the ban on Dorje Shugden’s practice.

Throughout the convention, participants exchanged views and information on the universal value of Religious Freedom, the background of Dorje Shugden and his practitioners, factors that shaped the Dalai Lama’s decision to ban Dorje Shugden, and the hardships and problems faced by Shugden practitioners on a day to day basis.

The participants also shared information and undisputed evidence of the Dalai Lama’s actions which have caused much turmoil within the exile Tibetan community. Representative Rapo Gyatso shared how the Dalai Lama harnessed his religious authority to influence political situations. Although the Dalai Lama slanders Dorje Shugden as a harmful influence for Tibetans, much of the actual harm that Tibetans have faced up to this day has been caused by the 14th Dalai Lama, as his works toward the Middle Way Approach and separatism have led to many undesirable events.

Besides the Dorje Shugden ban, we have seen many other Tibetan societies fragmented due to the Dalai Lama’s interference. Amongst these, the most well-known are the issues between the two Karmapas, the two Panchen Lamas, the division of the Chushi Gangdrug and Tibetan Youth Congress; and most severely, the separation of the Gelugpa sect when the Dalai Lama commanded total obedience to his policy of giving up the practice of Dorje Shugden, with severe consequences of religious and secular cuts should the instruction not be complied with. These acts of tyranny are similar if not worse than the dictatorships of the communist country that took over Tibet.

In the past two decades, the ban on Dorje Shugden has split the Gelug lineage into two, forcing many Shugden loyalists to flee India due to the daunting treatment of isolation, discrimination and even threats that were cast upon them and their families. Dechen Rinpoche reminded the audience how the Dalai Lama ordered all monasteries to sign pledges to halt all religious and secular relations with Dorje Shugden practitioners, an action which caused much religious and secular discord. This confusion led to Shugden practitioners being prohibited from buying necessities from their local stores and even turned away from receiving medical treatment in the hospitals. These acts are all in violation of the international laws of Human Rights.

The discrimination against Shugden practitioners does not end there. Geshe Thupten pointed out how many practitioners lost their livelihood for remaining loyal to their Shugden practice. Many who had businesses found that their patrons stopped visiting overnight, while others lost their jobs when their practice of Dorje Shugden was discovered. The exile community’s situation became more and more dire due to the discrimination and ban on Shugden, to the point that monks refused to carry out funeral rites for the deceased, if they were Shugden practitioners.

Another of the main topics discussed during the convention was to have efforts to consolidate all Shugden practitioners for a more productive and effective method of lifting the ban on Shugden. Presently, within Tibet itself, there are 54 different Dorje Shugden associations, and any consolidation to increase solidarity and strengthen the Dorje Shugden cause can only be done by preventing any division or segregation within practitioners. The representatives unanimously agreed that Shugden practitioners must consolidate their groups so that they may gain sufficient influence to draw international attention that eventually leads to a solution for the Dorje Shugden ban. The representatives are dedicated to show the Dalai Lama and the world that they are not going to be bullied into giving up their practice, regardless of the cost to their personal lives.

Shugden practitioners from Tibet who were in attendance also shared their experiences with regards to their spiritual practice. They revealed that the Chinese government provided Tibetans with a favorable environment and legal system which allows freedom of religious belief and a respect for personal practice. Compared to the Kashag, which has intentionally instigated various conflicts within the exiled Tibetans, these ethnic Tibetans from China enjoy relative peace between the rural and urban people, which is a result of the Chinese government doing their best to maintain harmony for the benefit of the country. In light of these events, the leaders of the Shugden groups have formed an initiative to launch a demonstration against the Dorje Shugden ban which is still being enforced by the Dalai Lama and his corrupt government.

Most importantly, the World Shugden Convention was a strong reminder to all Shugden practitioners that the fight to lift the ban is far from over, and we have to work extra hard to see this long battle to its end. The representatives of Dorje Shugden practitioners from all over the world request the Dalai Lama to stop his suppression of Shugden practitioners, to lift the ban against Dorje Shugden, to respect Shugden practitioners’ Religious Freedom and to publicly apologize for wrongfully accusing Dorje Shugden as being a harmful practice.

The next assembly is scheduled for 2018 with many more representatives in attendance.

Disclaimer: This article was submitted by a third party author and does not necessarily reflect the official opinion of DorjeShugden.com. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

In analyzing the Dalai Lama’s Dorje Shugden ban, it is easy enough to see how restricting a person from expressing his religious beliefs is a breach of his human rights. However, even as news about the ban acknowledges how it impinges on various ‘freedom of religion’ provisions in the constitutions of a long list of democratic countries and the United Nations Charter, it fails to recognize how the ban impacts on the very theology of Tibetan Buddhism.

Shugden worshippers are quite regularly described as belonging to an ‘extreme religious fundamentalist sect’. But in truth, what makes it seem fundamentalist is the Shugden practitioner’s steadfastness in observing a precept that is fundamental to the successful practice of the Vajrayana path. The said precept is not uniquely Shugden, but deemed critical to virtually all schools under the Tibetan Buddhist banner, i.e. the great importance of keeping one’s vows and commitments to the teacher.

By Western values that are heavily influenced by Christian principles, such loyalty may be regarded as cultish thinking or fanaticism that immediately carries negative connotations. However, the mistake is to assume that a practitioner’s devotion to his teacher is based on the teacher’s charisma and unique cult personality. It is not.

In Tibetan Buddhism, the taking and holding of sets of vows are prerequisites to a successful practice and it is normal for a practitioner on his quest for enlightenment to take refuge vows; and as he progresses in spiritual maturity, the bodhisattva vows and eventually tantric vows. These vows are designed to cultivate a certain attitude in the practitioner and to foster an enlightened view to life and all phenomena. It is in keeping these vows that the practitioner avoids pitfalls that would reverse his training and cause him to stray from a carefully guided path that ends in liberation of the mind. The teacher, then, is the manifestation of one who has successfully traversed the journey and becomes the focus of the practitioner’s efforts.

Seeing the teacher as the ultimate human example of Buddhahood again is not a Shugden invention. In fact, the highest Tibetan lamas from both sides of the Shugden controversy agree to this important view of the teacher.

Lama Zopa, once a Shugden practitioner and now an outspoken Shugden critic says this of the spiritual teacher:

Earlier I mentioned a little about taking refuge in the guru having established the understanding that the essence of the guru is Buddha. The previous Kagyu lamas practiced thus:

Whatever actions are done by the qualified, precious guru — all are good; and whatever actions are done are all of quality.

Even if the act of being a butcher or killing human beings is done, it is meaningful and good. It is definite that sentient beings are guided with compassion.
Source: http://www.lamayeshe.com/index.php?sect=article&id=233&chid=342

And again:

As a disciple, one must regard one’s guru as an enlightened being. Even if the guru does not regard himself as an enlightened being and claims that you, as his disciple, gain Buddhahood before him, you must still show respect and pay homage to your guru.
Source: http://www.yogilin.org/efiles/a0/a0003.html

Lama Zopa (right) who gave up his commitments to his guru, Lama Yeshe, to be on the right side of the Dalai Lama’s politics

If the teacher is to be regarded as the Buddha, then to follow the teacher is to agree to obey the Buddha’s instructions along the guided path. The Tibetan term for a practitioner’s promise and commitment to follow a particular set of instructions embodied in the teacher is known as ‘samaya’. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, a student is advised to study his potential teacher carefully but once he takes even the basic refuge vows and regards the teacher as his root guru, that samaya is established and has to be protected.

The most widely accepted principles of samaya define a ‘root’ samaya as that, which if violated, would eliminate all values from the spiritual practice. ‘Branch’ samaya is defined as any, which if defiled, would impair the benefit of practice. And the most grievous root samaya that a practitioner can violate is the vows and commitments to his teacher, seen as the Buddha.

If the student has received ‘sogtae’ (life entrustment) or tantric initiations then it becomes even more imperative that the vows be strictly observed. A practitioner, having taken higher vows, is cautioned of the ‘Fourteen Root Downfalls’, the first of which is to dishonor the teacher. (Read more about the Root commitments of a serious Buddhist practitioner)

A painting of Milarepa, one of Tibet’s famous Yogis and a central historical figure of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. His story is often used to depict the importance of devotion to one’s teacher, emphasizing that all spiritual attainments arise from obeying one’s guru. Loyalty to one’s teacher is not uniquely practiced by Shugden Buddhists, but it is a core element in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

All Tibetan Buddhist schools agree that committing any of the root downfalls creates the causes for a rebirth in ‘vajra hell’. Therefore, if a practitioner who has taken vows with his root teacher were to abandon him and breach his commitments to practices given by the teacher, he condemns himself to the lowest rebirth – the complete opposite to his purpose of practicing Buddhism. However, in imposing the ban on the worship of Dorje Shugden, thus requiring the practitioner to denounce his teacher and the holy practices given to him, this is precisely what the Dalai Lama expects all Shugden Buddhists to do!

The Dalai Lama’s actions forces the Shugden Buddhist to choose between condemning himself to vajra hell or risk being labeled a traitor of the Tibetan people, a worshipper of a ‘Chinese ghost’ and an enemy of the Dalai Lama wishing him and the Tibetan people ill.

The simple truth is, in refusing to abide by the Dalai Lama’s religious ban for which no logical or real scriptural reasons have been provided, Shugden Buddhists are not opposing the Dalai Lama but simply avoiding the defilement of a spiritual code central to the Tibetan Buddhist practice, which ironically the Dalai Lama is thought to be upholding. In truth then, the Shugden controversy cannot be framed as the Dalai Lama versus the Shugden cult. Instead, it should be correctly understood as the diktat of a politically-motivated theocrat versus the pure and proper practice of Shugden Buddhists according to a 360-year-old tradition.

Seen in the proper light, there is little that can be said in defense of the Dalai Lama’s actions. If the Dalai Lama were to argue that one could break vows without any karmic repercussions, it would mean all refuge, Bodhisattva and tantric vows are superficial. However, the Dalai Lama tells all Tibetans that not agreeing to abide by his religious ban is tantamount to breaking samaya with him and would harm his life. So clearly, the Dalai Lama acknowledges that breaking samaya is harmful.

But while that is correct in principle, it is not in application because the Dalai Lama is not the guru to most Shugden Buddhists, and so their keeping of their vows to their own root gurus have no bearing on the Dalai Lama. This is just more proof of how religion is abused to support political objectives. However, if Shugden Buddhists were to abide by an illegal ban with no canonical basis, then they harm their correct practice, they harm themselves and jeopardize their samaya with their Shugden root gurus which is central to the practice of Tibetan Buddhism.

Even if we were to set aside spiritual doctrines, common decency dictates that learning from a guru or spiritual teacher “should not be the same as killing a deer, extracting its musk and then discarding its body.”

Even after attaining enlightenment, one must continue to honor one’s guru for without him realization is simply impossible.

That too is a quote by Lama Zopa who, despite understanding the great importance of samaya, sacrificed his devotion to Lama Yeshe in order to fall on the right side of the Dalai Lama.

by Shashi Kei

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) again shows their true colours, this time by compelling Dharma centres around the world to publicly denounce Buddhist practitioners who do not agree with the Dalai Lama’s “advice” which the CTA is enforcing.

In their latest installment of separatist activity, the CTA have induced centres from Germany, the Unites States and now Italy to condemn the deity Dorje Shugden and its practitioners, thereby spreading hatred and divisions amongst Tibetan Buddhists around the world. Instead of using the public platform to promote harmony amongst Tibetans and Buddhists alike, they instead continue in their hate campaign and have obligated dharma centres overseas to participate in their schism and policy of marginalization of Shugden practitioners.

In the latest statement titled, STATEMENT CONCERNING THE CULT OF DOGYAL/SHUGDEN, published on their website on June 9th 2014, the CTA listed 24 centres in Italy who have joined in disparaging Dorje Shugden and its believers.

Click on image to enlarge

Again, like previous public statements, this one denies that there is even a ban on the Shugden practice and yet it should be noted that the length to which the CTA has gone in their denials shows that there is something they feel obliged to hide and repudiate.

Why bother asking centres around the world to declare that Dorje Shugden is bad and “devilish” to begin with if not to create divisions within Buddhist communities in Italy?

Why create a social demarcation and an “us against them” sentiment when there is none to begin with?

Why encourage practitioners in those countries to attended only selected centres thereby inferring that centres that are no named are “illegal” or not practicing proper Dharma?

These measures have no other intentions than to spread the poison from the ban into communities worldwide. What kind of a government seeks to be so heavily involved in a spiritual issue especially when it is proving to be ineffective, if not absolutely incompetent in the duties they are charged to do, that is, to manage the affairs for the good of all Tibetans in the exile community, to progress (instead of regress) the process of democratization for Tibetans, to foster harmony amongst an already beleaguered people, and to implement good and effective strategies to return the Tibetans to their homeland as the CTA had promised for over half a century?

What good does it serve for the CTA to continue to carry on in its official websites, posts and articles that serve to separate the Tibetan people and carry the smear campaign all over the globe where people have sponsored the rebuilding and maintenance of all Tibetans, not selected ones who dare not oppose the government?

The publishing of this latest article not only makes the CTA look like an instrument of a dictatorial regime but also makes the CTA look absurd. For instance in one of the points in the article it is stated;

2) His Holiness is accused of suppressing freedom of religion. This is untrue, as nobody has ever been banned from invoking this spirit privately, in temples and monasteries where this practice is followed

It is clear that the CTA means that no one can worship Dorje Shugden publicly. A man’s house is his castle and of course a person can do whatever he likes in his own home so long as it is not illegal. Why is there a need to stress that one can only practice this deity in secret and not in public? How can you say that there is no ban and yet in the same sentence insist that you can only practice your religion in hiding?

And as if, not contented with proving to the public how ridiculously prejudiced this supposed democratic government is, the article goes on to say that in practicing Dorje Shugden…

There is the danger that Tibetan Buddhism could degenerate into a kind of spirit cult, as the practice of Dogyal/Shugden brings its followers to consider this spirit as more important than Buddha himself.

and,

There is the actual possibility that this practice could be an obstacle toward the creation of a true non-sectarian culture, in total contrast with one of the objectives that His Holiness is mostly concerned with, namely, the fostering of true harmony amongst all religions.

and finally,

there are problems connected to the preservation of Tibetan culture, which have existed since the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama (seventeenth century).

Clearly there is a lack of conviction in the things the CTA accuses Dorje Shugden of. There are dangers everywhere in life itself and there is a danger in driving on roads. Why not ban driving? There is a danger that any of the five main and recognized schools of Tibetan Buddhism may be abused by unqualified practitioners especially when we consider that Tibetan Buddhism consists of an uncountable number of deities as well as mundane and supra-mundane beings. Hence, the critical importance of learning only from qualified masters based on a pure lineage has been proven over centuries to be sound. So why does the CTA pick on Dorje Shugden specifically amongst an extensive range of deities and claim that there is a possibility it could be bad?

There are a litany of complaints against spiritual practitioners from just about all kinds of religions and whether founded or unfounded, you don’t see any government banning a religious practice just on the odd possibility that it may pose a danger. China did ban the Falungong practice, and there have been military governments who have suppressed religious worship among its minority population and in the Dark Ages, Ferdinand Torquemada did begin the Spanish Inquisition against his regime’s political enemies. But these are dictatorial regimes and one can only conclude that indeed this is what the CTA is, and not a democracy by which it has solicited support and millions of dollars annually from worldwide sponsors wishing to see the Tibetan people enjoy genuine freedom under a democracy.

As to how the worship of Dorje Shugden poses a problem to the preservation of the Tibetan culture is a complete mystery. The practice of Shugden IS a rich part of the Tibetan culture and it is the ban that is creating problems for the preservation of its culture.

In all the CTA’s literature and propaganda against Dorje Shugden, there is always a reference to “carefully examined research” supposedly to support the accusation why Dorje Shugden’s practice is harmful. Similarly there is the well-worn accusation of Shugden practitioners being responsible for the 1997 triple murder that has remain unsolved.

If there truly is such evidence, surely it is the responsibility of the government to produce them publicly and table all such proofs for examination and public debates, not only in Tibetan but also in English. Surely this would solve the dispute once and for all. To have concrete proof that a 360-year old religious practice is harmful and not produce evidence so that those who are engaged in the practice can cease in their worship is just uncompassionate. This is how a fair and democratic government would behave, instead of lobbing baseless and defamatory messages into the public without any proof whatsoever.

But instead the CTA is continuing in its campaign to divide Buddhist communities around the world. Just looking at the list of Italian Dharma Centres that are supposedly opposed to Dorje Shugden, it is also clear that the CTA’s clear hand in procuring this joint statement is creating disharmony within the centres themselves. Many of the centres on the list are FPMT centres whose spiritual director, the Ven. Lama Zopa had stated unequivocally in the past that, “This does not mean that Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo, His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche, and His Holiness Song Rinpoche have made mistakes. It does not mean they are wrong. Nor does one have to look at the protector (Dorje Shugden) as evil. For us ordinary people it is difficult to judge, because we cannot see these lamas’ minds. Another side of the teaching is that it is mentioned that the protector is an Arya Bodhisattva, a manifestation of Manjushri. So, then, there is also the risk of our creating very heavy karma in that context”. The recent statement places the listed FPMT centres at odds with the advice of Lama Zopa.

In the end, it is Tibetan Buddhism that suffers as the general public becomes confused and lost in the myriad of lies and accusations. The Buddha taught the Dharma to help eliminate confusion and tension, not create problems for those who are on the path to discover the truth, like the CTA is doing.

The CTA’s acts of decreeing a religious ban, and then allowing various politicians such as the Speaker of Parliament, Penpa Tsering, to make disparaging comments on religious issues, and inciting public violence against practitioners of a belief, and now compelling Dharma centres around the world to participate in the campaign to create even more schism is the real problem and is the one that poses real and imminent danger to the Tibetan people’s culture and religion.

As a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal and holder of multiple honorary doctorates for law and international relations, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has worked tirelessly for decades to promote peace and harmony in the world. Thus he is rightly celebrated as a proponent of human rights, and has become renowned for his compassion for all who suffer.

Unlike most other world leaders, His Holiness the Dalai Lama is unique in the way that, for millions of people, he is not just a secular leader but their spiritual guide too. United by their belief in his wisdom, the Dalai Lama’s devotees work together to promote their teacher’s message. It is therefore only reasonable and logical to expect His Holiness’s followers to represent his teachings well.

As a spiritual guide to millions, the Dalai Lama should be patient, wise, and practice loving-kindness and indeed, he is all of that. These students therefore may find that it benefits them to listen to His Holiness’ advice again, from a different perspective. Disturbingly however, there have been reports that some students have failed to reflect their teacher’s true teachings and compassionate motivation.

A certain video has come to our attention, which shows some nuns from a monastery in Dharamsala, North India, acting in the most unsightly ways. They are reported to have dragged a Buddha statue out from a monastery and then desecrated it with the utmost disrespect – by stepping, smashing, burning and spitting on the statue. This kind of action is terrible for anyone who calls themselves a spiritual practitioner, least of all a nun who has taken vows.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Or watch on server | download video (right click & save file)

This video is in relations to the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden, which the Dalai Lama has banned in recent years. So much suffering has arisen out of this ban. People who have continued this practice suffer this kind of terrible abuse – where their personal items of worship are forcibly removed and destroyed. Families are now separated; the sacred bond between Buddhist teachers and their students are severed. Shugden practitioners are even denied the most basic welfare of education and medical aid from the government. Is any of this reflective of the qualities of kindness and compassion that the Dalai Lama has promoted for so many decades? Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be so.

It is one thing to think Dorje Shugden is negative and to destroy his statue, but we must remember what was inside the statue. Tibetans normally fill their statues with mantras, relics, Mani pills, tsatsas, scriptures, hair or nails of high lamas, pieces of robes belonging to high lamas, and many other holy items. When the nuns destroyed and pounced on the Dorje Shugden statue, they also stepped on all the holy items contained within the statue. How can fully ordained Buddhist nuns be so violent and also step on scriptures, mantras, relics, robes and precious items contained within this statue, which were given by high lamas and the Sangha.

These acts are desecration and very negative deeds. So much negative karma would have been accumulated. In their fanaticism to please the then Tibetan Government-in-exile, they went too far. What kind of Government would encourage and thank their people for desecrating objects of people’s religious faith and symbols of their divine? This is wrong. Freedom of worship should protect from desecration and such brutal displays of disrespect of another person’s symbol of the holy and divine.

This letter is not intended to provoke nor antagonise, but to prompt contemplation from a different point of view – as followers of the Dalai Lama, are these students showing patience when attacking the monastery of another school of thought? Is it showing wisdom to accuse Lamas from other traditions of sectarianism? Is it a practice of kindness to destroy the statue of a deity others revere?

These actions do not match His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s message of acceptance and harmony, nor serves to unite the Tibetan people towards other collective causes such as their fight for independence. Instead, such behavior drives the wedge of disharmony in the population, weakening an already diluted community which is struggling to survive in a foreign land. That is precisely what we do not wish to happen, because losing the ancient Tibetan traditions of respect, religion and acceptance would be a loss for the world.

As global citizens, we each have the right to choose our spiritual beliefs. Whether one chooses to engage in the practice of Shugden is the individual’s choice and dependent upon the individual relationship that one has with his Buddhist community and teachers. However, what we most strongly wish for people to consider is how they are treating others when they make their choices. Just because you decide not to pray to this Dharma Protector, it does not mean you need to act in such cruel, unkindly ways to people who do. In doing so, you reflect badly upon your own practice, your teachers and the religion as a whole. Do we really want the world to look upon us and wonder why Buddhists behave in such unkindly, intolerant ways, so opposite to what the Dalai Lama teaches?

We invite you to watch this video and read the many discussions on this issue on our websites listed below. Then make a difference to the lives of thousands by carrying a positive and beneficial image of Buddhism within your own actions. The wave of change can start with you.

Thank you,
DorjeShugden.com
DorjeShugden.net
XiongDeng.net

An analysis of the Dalai Lama’s two reasons for banning the centuries-old worship of Dorje Shugden. Here are the facts… you decide!

In my last post I wrote about current issues within the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT). As promised, to fill out my attitude to the NKT I am posting an article I wrote in 1996 in the second issue of Dharma Lifemagazine, just as the dispute over Dorje Shugden was breaking out into the open.

Much has happened since then and an enormous amount has been written, especially online: this Wikipedia entry is a starting point if you want to find out more, and the contribution of the scholar George Dreyfuss is especially informative. But be warned! The dispute has caused much bad feeling, most dramatically in allegations about the murder of a leading Tibetan critic of the Dorje Shugden practice.

In general, I think this article still hold good. Having reflected further on the subject over the years I have concluded that it is impossible for outsiders to take sides in this dispute: it would mean adjudicating on a dispute concerning the spirit world. That leaves the case for freedom of religious expression, which I think holds as a general principle regardless of the beliefs concerned and whether I like or agree with them.

Enemies and Protectors

Dorje Shugden lives in a palace surrounded by a wild sea of blood. It is filled with mounds of destroyed beings and the air is thick with the smell of human flesh. Shugden himself is dark red in colour, fierce like a savage spirit, and his mouth is bottomless like the sky. He is adorned with snakes, bones and a garland of freshly severed heads. He sends forth flames, winds and rain-clouds against opposing forces and, his followers believe, he encloses all evil-doers, vow breakers and obstacle-creating demons within a gigantic wall.

Wrathful figures like Shugden abound in Tibetan Buddhism within which they are believed to have a more than symbolic existence. To understand their role one has to look deep into Tibetan Buddhism’s shamanistic dimension – with its oracles, portents and spirits.

All reality in this perspective, is created by the mind, but if you believe in spirits they are real, and the Tibetans certainly do believe in them. There are many classes of spirits and some of them are considered very powerful. However, while some have been converted to the Dharma others are malevolent.

But how do you know which are which? The answer is that you ask a high Lama or a monk with shamanistic powers. But what if the lamas disagree? And what if those disagreements coincide with sectarian rivalries on a more mundane level?

Dorje Shugden is at the heart of just such a dispute in the Tibetan Buddhist community, between those who see him as an Enlightened protector and those, led by the Dalai Lama, who see him as an evil spirit.

In June this dispute finally boiled over into the UK media as a group called the Shugden Supporters Community (SSC) mounted demonstrations against the Dalai Lama outside the Office of Tibet. They sent out a press release which was headed ‘Dalai Lama persecutes his own people. Tibetan people in China have more religious freedom than Tibetan people in India’. It is widely expected that they will mount further demonstrations at the time of the Dalai Lama’s visit to the UK in July.

The issues involved are complex and arcane, and feelings have been running high. The dispute has pointed up several sensitive areas: the sectarian divisions within Tibetan Buddhism and the role of the Dalai Lama in these divisions; criticisms of the Tibetan government-in-exile; the difficulties posed by Westerners’ involvement in Tibetan Buddhism; and the deep-seated divisions among British Tibetan Buddhists. But for these very reasons, now that the issue has emerged it is important to attempt to clarify what is involved.

Dorje Shugden is considered by his followers to be a dharmapala or Enlightened protector and an emanation of the Bodhisattva Manjushri. These followers are mainly members of the Gelugpa school (although they have also included some Sakyapas), and they consider Shugden a special protector for the Gelugpas. He is therefore associated with the political power the Gelugpas had in independent Tibet.

According to the legend, Shugden is the reincarnation of a Lama who was a rival of the Fifth Dalai Lama and died as a result of their conflict. Then, it is said, he became a hostile spirit, but was eventually ‘tamed’, so that he was a protective force and hence an emanation of the Bodhisattva.

But there have always been those who maintain that Shugden was not properly subdued and is a worldly rather than an Enlightened protector. Propitiating such a figure is held to bring wealth and power, but it is also considered extremely dangerous. Shugden is associated by his opponents with Gelugpa sectarianism and said to be opposed to other deities, particularly the state protectors, Nechung and Palden Lhamo. In that case, to follow his cult would be tantamount to devil-worship.

The Dalai Lama’s principal teacher, Trijang Rimpoche, was an ardent devotee of Dorje Shugden and he brought up his pupil to worship the deity. However, in 1976 the Dalai Lama made it known that he had concluded on the basis of divinations that Shugden was a worldly spirit who was indeed engaged in conflict, in the spirit realm with the other protectors. In this he followed the Thirteenth Dalai Lama who had tried to suppress the Shugden practice. The present Dalai Lama stopped doing the practice himself and in the following years he asked others to stop.

Initiation into a practice such as this implies a solemn commitment including a promise to perform it every day for the rest of one’s life. In the case of a protector, the consequences of breaching this commitment are believed to include bad fortune and ill health as well as a rebirth in a hell realm. It would also mean breaching the relationship with the teacher who gave the initiation.

he Dalai Lama said he would personally accept the karmic consequences of other people stopping the Shugden practice, meaning that he would do battle with Shugden in the spirit realm to prevent him from causing harm. None the less many Lamas continued as private practitioners and the Dalai Lama’s advice was widely ignored.

In March this year the Dalai Lama changed his tone. Whereas before he had been critical of the practice, he now became insistent that it should be stopped forthwith. Failure to do so, he suggested, was tantamount to treason. Shugden was harming his health and Shugden’s conflict with the other protectors was a reason for the Tibetans’ failure to regain independence. ‘Shugden’, he stated, was ‘a spirit of the dark forces’.

Representatives from the Tibetan-Government in exile travelled to the refugee communities across India to try to ensure the ban was enforced and refugee organisations instructed their members to comply.

It is in relation to the way the ban is being enforced that the charges of abuse of religious freedom have been made. Much emotional pressure has clearly been applied. The Dalai Lama argued ‘everyone is free to say “If the cause of Tibet and the Dalai Lama’s life are undermined so be it… We will not change our tradition of propitiating (Shugden).”

‘But this means he is asking people to choose between himself and the Tibetan mainstream on one side, and Shugden and the injunctions of their personal teacher on the other. The SSC, comparing these events with the Spanish Inquisition, have said that unrepentant Shugden devotees have been ‘purged’ from government posts and Tibetan organisations, and even ostracised from the refugee community.

These are serious accusations and a concerted attempt to suppress the Shugden cult is clearly underway. The SSC have won the opening rounds of their media war against the Dalai Lama by using a western language of human rights, while the Dalai Lama’s language is heard as medieval superstition. Their charges are yet not proven, and westerners should keep an open mind until there is conclusive evidence.

This will be hard for followers of the Dalai Lama, as it raises the possibility, which they may find hard to countenance, that he has acted unskilfully. The tone of his statements is plainly exasperated. At such times Buddhists should recall the Buddha’s advice that his disciples should not follow blindly, but should ‘test my words as you test gold.’

However, as so often in Tibetan affairs, there are also other more political issues involved. ‘The Shugden schism,’ remarked seasoned commentator Stephen Batchelor, ‘reveals the cultic, shadowy side of a society breaking apart from within.’ Shugden is associated a faction which asserts Gelugpa supremacy and with their sometimes virulent opposition to the Nygmapa sect.

According to Rigdzen Shikpo (Mike Hookham) the full Shugden sadhana invokes Shugden against named Nygmapa figures. In the 1940s the ardent Shugdenite, Pabonkha Rimpoche, is reported to have led an anti-Nygmapa campaign including the destruction of Padmasambhava images.

In a persuasive article in Tibetan Review Gareth Sparham argues that ‘Shugden is a political symbol’ representing a faction which wants to maintain monastic political dominance, and a ‘fundamentalist version of Tibetan Buddhism as a state religion’ which excludes the other schools, who are considered ‘heterodox’. However, in exile the Dalai Lama has sought to represent the Tibetans as a whole and to allow diversity. Although his actions against Shugden seem to have been authoritarian, his supporters claim that his aim is to counter another intolerant faction.

If this is the case, at this stage his actions would appear to have been counter-productive. The reaction in the west, at least, has been angry and hostile and the Dalai Lama’s reputation is undoubtedly suffering. But this too has a context. His western critics in the SSC are closely associated with the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT).

Indeed, Robbie Barnet of the Tibet Information Network describes SSC as ‘an NKT cover organisation’. NKT, based at the Manjushri institute in Cumbria, is of the most successful Tibetan Buddhist movements in the west, and the Shugden sadhana is one of its ‘essential practices’. Devotion to him is central to the NKT tradition which, furthermore, teaches a highly conservative form of Gelugpa doctrine and is associated with the Shugden faction in India.

In 1983 NKT split acrimoniously from the broader Gelugpa tradition in a dispute arising from its leaders’ desire for autonomy. The split was not over Shugden, but it followed the same fault line and NKT has subsequently, ‘been out of communion’ with the Dalai Lama. Much ill-feeling in the Tibetan Buddhist world has resulted but until now neither side has spoken out publicly.

That all changed with the formation of SSC whose attack has extended to virulent personal criticism of the Dalai Lama. In an extraordinary hyperbole, their open letter to the Dalai Lama says ‘Your behaviour is the worst example in Buddhist history.’ They accuse him of causing a schism which for Buddhist is a heinous crime on a par with matricide. Given the literal nature of their own Buddhism, according to which a true Lama’s actions are necessarily skilful, they suggest that he is not, in fact, the true Dalai Lama and is himself a malevolent force.

While it is possible that SSC’s charges of violations of human rights have some justification, their own language is so intemperate that it is highly unskilful in itself. One can understand their sense of grievance at the suppression of a beloved deity, their perplexity at the arcane reasoning with which it has been justified, and their concern that it will make NKT’s teaching work harder. But the nature of their attack seems entirely out of proportion to the evidence they have presented and quite un-Buddhistic. It amounts to a personal attack and appears to be a concerted attempt to destroy the Dalai Lama’s reputation.

As a non-Tibetan Buddhist researching these issues I have found myself perplexed by the literalism of both sides. Believing literally in spirits, in the infallibility of Lamas, and the inviolability of religious vows leave neither side any flexibility with which they can seek to understand the other’s position. And yet these are problems inherent in some Tibetan Buddhist approaches. The most notable absence from the whole affair is the key Buddhist virtue of tolerance of others who hold differing opinions.

Vishvapani

Source: http://www.wiseattention.org/2012/02/the-shugden-dispute/

“Religious prosecution”, “Human rights violation”, “Demand religious freedom”. If you heard these words from a Tibetan in exile, you would think they’re talking about the P.R.C. Can you imagine that they may be referring to the Tibetan government in exile?

In December of 1996, a protest was held in India against a newly issued ban of worshipping “Dorje Shugden” (a.k.a Dholgyal), a respected religious deity Tibetans have worshiped for the last 300 years. The ban was issued by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. He regarded the worshipping of such a deity harmed the Tibetan cause and his personal health. Anonymous threats were issued out against anyone who disobeyed his directive. The Assembly of Tibetan people’s Deputies also officially instructed the Shugden worshipper to make an “independent” decision after they had listened to the teaching of His Holiness and cleared the doubts in their minds (Jun. 1996).

Statues of Dorje Shugden were removed from temples and destroyed. A forced signature event was also held to make people promise to stop Shugden worship. Those who refused to sign lived their lives in great fear. Their names and addresses and their children’s names and schools were posted in public. People threw stones at their houses. Sometimes their houses got burned. They were treated as outcasts in their communities. Swiss public TV filmed a documentary about the Shugden conflict in 1998.

An old Lama interviewed who expressed his discontent over the ban was later attacked by a knife and barely survived. The response from the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile was denial. “Some people have been spreading lies that individuals were harassed and their objects of worship seized for propitiating Shugden, and that government officials were expelled from job, etc. Not a single of these allegations were found to be true”. When the Dalai Lama was asked about the violence during an interview by Swiss public TV, he insisted that those incidents did not happen, even after the interviewer told him that he had seen it with his own eyes.

In the Tibetan in exile community in India, it’s against the law to object to the Dalai Lama’s teachings and decisions. And it’s been repeatedly told that practicing Shugden worship would endanger His Holiness’s life. Some Shugden activists were declared murderers and had to go into exile again. The exiled Shugden activists often found support in the West. They have also established their own organization to demand their right of religious freedom. The Tibetan government in exile declared that those organizations are funded and supported by the Chinese authorities.

The Tibetan government in exile insisted that they didn’t violate religious freedom, since religious freedom does not include the freedom of choosing which deity to worship.

On Feb 13 2008, Tibetan Government in exile tried to resolve the conflict once and for all with a vote, which was taken in 14 monasteries of Gelug establishments. Those who did not want to share spiritual and material relations with Dorje Shugden followers would pick the yellow colored vote-stick. Those who wished to continue Dholgyal worship and who wanted to share spiritual and material relations with them would pick the red colored vote-stick. Coincidently, yellow is the color of Tibetan Lamaism (yellow hat religion) and red is usually regarded as the color for the communist China.

Ironically, when the Dalai Lama fled China in 1959, it was Dorje Shugden’s oracle that told him to escape to India. The specific escape routes were also told by the oracle. Along the routes chosen by Dorje Shugden, the U.S. military and CIA dropped numerous supplies, otherwise he and his body guards could not survive. Some of his bodyguards were confused later when they learned Dorje Shugden was declared a demon and was trying to harm the Dalai Lama’s life.

The Tibetan government has been led by the Dalai Lama since 1963. The deputies can be elected but the Dalai Lama is forever the highest government official. Not a single bill has been passed against the Dalai Lama and, according to an interviewed official, never will be. Moreover, the passed billed has to be approved by the Dalai Lama before it is effective. It is unimaginable how the Dalai Lama and his government has brought the Shugden conflict from a small Indian village of 110,000 Tibetans, to a 2.4million square kilometers land of 6 million Tibetans.

Editor’s Note:

Please note that this article was written in 2008, prior to the retirement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the political head of Tibet in 2011. With this apparent giving up of political and secular power by His Holiness, we are waiting to see whether this change of power is for real or superficial, and this would be most evident in how the new administration treats Shugden practitioners. We hope that Dr Lobsang Sangay, the new head of the Central Tibetan Administration, previously known as the Tibetan government in exile, will lift all discrimination against Shugden practitioners.

Source :
http://wenhousecrafts.com/2008/apr/fakefreedom.htm

H.H.Dalai Lama

by John Zurbrzycki,
Christian Science Monitor Vol. 90 No. 120 1998.05.18
Dateline: NEW DELHI

In a makeshift monastery on the outskirts of the Indian capital, a brass gong summons a group of maroon-robed monks for midday prayers.

The scene could be from any of the hundreds of Buddhist monasteries in India, except that this gathering has been declared illegal by Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

The monks in this converted hostel are worshiping Dorje Shugden, a ferocious-looking, three-eyed “protector” deity who rides a lion wreathed in flames.

Dorje Shugden followers claim that by banning their deity’s worship, the Dalai Lama is persecuting them and denying them freedom of religion – a charge that the Tibetan leader denies.

The controversy has spread beyond the borders of Tibet and the 100,000-strong exile community in India. It also threatens to undermine the Dalai Lama’s authority as he presses demands that China end its 58-year occupation of Tibet.

Gleefully exploiting the schism for its own political ends is the Chinese government. China is rebuilding Shugden monasteries in Tibet and giving priority to sect members applying for exit permits.

Some of the Dalai Lama’s supporters hint that Beijing is secretly funding Dorje Shugden centers in India and abroad.

Today, the fearsome deity is worshipped by the fastest-growing Buddhist sect in the West, the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT). Its founder, Kelsang Gyatso, known as the “Third Buddha” to his followers, is a sworn enemy of the Dalai Lama. When the Dalai Lama arrived in New York for a two-week lecture tour earlier this month, more than 100 Shugden supporters demonstrated against his visit.

“This ban is forcing every Tibetan to choose between their conscience and political expediency,” says Chime Tsering, secretary of the Dorje Shugden Society in New Delhi. “It has created conflict at every level of Tibetan society.”

Unraveling the Shugden controversy involves delving into the intricate palace intrigues of 17th-century feudal Tibet and the complexities of medieval Tibetan Buddhism teeming with deities and demons. According to myth, Dorje Shugden is the spirit of a powerful abbot who was found dead in his palace in Tibet in 1655. Shugden worship was first banned some 350 years ago by the Fifth Dalai Lama, who declared him an evil spirit.

In 1978, the current Dalai Lama warned his followers not to worship Shugden because it was detrimental to his spiritual health and to the cause of the Tibetan people. Eight years later, when he instructed his government-in-exile to ban the deity’s worship in state-run monasteries and offices, Shugden followers began complaining of harassment, intimidation and discrimination.

The Dalai Lama denies allegations of a witch-hunt and says his move was driven by the greater good of Tibet. “I took this decision as a matter of principle in the larger interest. There is a danger that the great Tibetan tradition will degenerate into spirit worship,” he told the Monitor at his headquarters in Dharamsala before his US tour. “It is my responsibility to make people aware of the consequences of worshiping Dorje Shugden. But whether they listen or not is up to the individual. Right from the beginning that’s my position.”

For Shugden monk Tsering, however, the Dalai Lama’s injunction goes to the core of his faith. “When somebody attacks your faith as demonic, that really hurts,” he says. Tensions in the Tibetan community came to a head early last year when three monks, including one of the Dalai Lama’s advisers, were murdered in Dharamsala.

Indian police suspect the Shugden sect was behind the killings and several members were briefly detained for questioning. But the perpetrators are believed to have fled to Tibet. Tsering was one of those questioned by police and says he now has to be accompanied by six bodyguards when he ventures outside.

“There is extreme social pressure. Here in this house we are relaxed but when we go outside Tibetans don’t talk to us. We are completely segregated and excommunicated.”

Although Tsering denies China is supporting his group, he admits that his society has links with the NKT, which has been carrying out a smear campaign against the Tibetan leader. For its part, the Tibetan government-in-exile believes the Shugden controversy will lead to more violence as Beijing tries to exploit its potential for damaging the Dalai Lama’s image.

Source : http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-ADM/john.htm