Speaker Penpa Tsering admonishes a Tibetan member of parliament just one minute before his sudden resignation
By: Tenzin Wangchuk
The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected].
On March 19, 2015, at exactly 12:20pm local time in Dharamsala (North India), the Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament Penpa Tsering announced his resignation. Gathering up his papers and walking out in the middle of a Parliamentary Session, stunned Parliamentary members looked to one another for clues on what to do next, but the response was not immediately forthcoming.
Penpa Tsering was reacting to accusations made regarding his alleged involvement in some murders. During the Session, a member of Parliament stood up and hinted that certain members within the Tibetan Parliament had been involved in the abuse of government property for personal use, corruption as well as murders. No specific names were mentioned.
Incensed by these accusations (which in fact did not directly name him at all), Penpa Tsering said that this was not the first time such accusations had been made against him. He said that those accusations were going down a road on which they would only grow bigger and bigger in size. Therefore in light of these accusations never going away, and people always referring to them again and again, Penpa Tsering was resigning as the Speaker of the House. Please note that Penpa Tsering is one of the biggest advocates for the Dorje Shugden ban, and has been very outspoken against Dorje Shugden practice and discrimination against Shugden practitioners.
The Parliamentarian who stood up to talk about this issue, had actually stood up to elaborate on the previous day’s discussion about the Dalai Lama. Also a monk, the Parliamentarian said that talking about how helpful the Dalai Lama has been to the Tibetan people is no use, because anyone with common sense can see how helpful he has been. Instead, the Parliament should discuss problems and solutions, especially those which are happening right under the Dalai Lama’s nose, for example the misuse of government property, corruption and murders.
The previous day’s Parliament Session, when a different monk had stood up to refer to accusations of embezzlement, corruption and alleged murder by members of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile
He said that there have been many things the Dalai Lama has said and wished for, which the Parliament could not fulfill and that the Dalai Lama’s name has been used for personal gain. Because of this, a mess has been created in the Tibetan community. The monk said such matters had to be discussed in Parliament, instead of praises about the Dalai Lama’s helpfulness to the Tibetan communities. For example, he said, in the case of the ban on Dorje Shugden, the Dalai Lama told everybody that he did not start the ban and that it came from the 5th Dalai Lama. Effectively, he was implying that as a direct result of the Dalai Lama’s wishes, many of these problems in Tibetan society have arisen. Those who are familiar with Tibetan culture will realize this is as good as saying that many of the Dalai Lama’s instructions have been illogical and have created more harm than benefit when implemented by the Parliament. It appears that, out of frustration, more people are starting to speak up against these directives.
On the topic of the alleged murders, the monk was referring to an incident which took place in 1991-1992 in Pondicherry, South India. Penpa Tsering had been involved with the much younger wife of an elderly lama and it is alleged that he arranged for the murder of the lama, in order that he could be with her. This incident was clearly described in the biography of the ex-Kalon Tripa Juchen Trinley Namgyal, who was a close friend of the lama’s wife because they came from the same town. The biography has since been banned for referring to a Tibetan Speaker of the House as an alleged murderer.
This is not the first time someone in the Tibetan Parliament has brought up the incident involving Penpa Tsering and the lama’s wife. The first time it was referred to was during the 13th Assembly of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile. The incident was brought up because the then-Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister) had proposed Penpa Tsering’s name as a nominee for the position of a minister in the Kashag (Cabinet). During that time, a member of the house had objected to this nomination and accused him of having “red hands”. Since then, it has also been alleged that Penpa Tsering has some involvement in the recent discovery of two individuals found dead in Majnu-ka-Tilla (http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=35774).
It has been noted that when Penpa Tsering left, no one spoke up or immediately went after him, asking him to return. It has also been noted that Penpa Tsering’s walking out of the Parliament Session is an admission of his guilt or at least involvement in the alleged murders, because an innocent party would not walk out but instead stand his ground and defend his innocence.
The hit-list of prominent Tibetan community leaders who have been targeted because they wish to protest for full freedom for Tibet, instead of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Middle Way Approach. The hit-list was published just days after Penpa Tsering’s public and dramatic resignation http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10206341017108150&set=a.2326306320962.139856.1348791130&type=1
It has been a week of embarrassments for the the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; the Tibetan leadership based in Dharamsala). It is embarrassing that within days of Penpa Tsering’s resignation in such a public and dramatic fashion, it was swiftly followed by a hit-list published by pro-Dalai Lama supporters, against other pro-Dalai Lama supporters. It is embarrassing for the world to witness the Tibetan leadership airing out their personal differences on an official government platform, forgetting that it is being broadcast for the whole world to see. Is this what sponsors are donating their money for, for Tibetan members of parliament to take pot shots at one another? Tibetans should ask themselves what other policies the Parliament has enacted, which serve the Parliamentarians’ personal needs and gains instead of the betterment of Tibetan society.
Although some had hoped that Penpa Tsering’s resignation was final, it turned out not to be the case. On that same day, the Kashag (Cabinet of Ministers) and Parliamentarians requested him to withdraw his resignation in a private session of Parliament which was not broadcast to the public (http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=35885). It is interesting that this private session was not broadcast to the public; why would anyone allow Penpa Tsering’s dirty laundry to be aired online and all over the world, but not broadcast the retraction of his resignation? Why not, in the spirit of transparency, allow the Tibetans to listen in on what was said to Penpa Tsering to soothe his bruised pride? Democracy involves accountability towards the people who elect the Parliamentarians into office. The fact discussions as significant as the reinstatement of the Speaker of the House continues to be held behind closed doors, does not speak of a mature and democratic administration.
Whatever games Mr Tsering had hoped to play, the end result is this – more light has been shed on his true character and background, and confidence in the Tibetan parliament has been shaken. Why should the public trust the decisions of a group of people who are so fickle and petty, that they would take offence at personal remarks and walk out in the middle of a meeting concerning national matters? This is the same group of people who are upholding and implementing the ban on Dorje Shugden. The public should question why they would support such a group, and if the decisions that this group makes can really be trusted and relied upon. In walking out of the meeting, Penpa Tsering showed that he does NOT have the interests of the Tibetan people at heart, and is only interested in self-preservation and self-promotion.
One can only imagine what other information about the Tibetan leadership will now be exposed after, for the last six decades, they have acted with such impunity and lack of respect for the Tibetan people. As a supposedly Buddhist government, the CTA should realize that the karma they have accumulated from abusing and exploiting their people for monetary gain and power will one day ripen upon them. As the litany of embarrassments accumulates, it is clear to see that time is now. Thus it now appears that the seams in Tibetan society are starting to split and come apart. In the past, Penpa Tsering made gross, inaccurate statements against His Holiness Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche and His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, as well as the oracle of Dorje Shugden. It seems now that karma is catching up as more and more information about Penpa Tsering’s true nature and background come to light.
Disclaimer: This article was submitted by a third party author and does not necessarily reflect the official opinion of DorjeShugden.com. What has therefore been authored by Tenzin Wangchuk is alleged. It is well-known among the Tibetans that their leadership does use this alleged ‘method’ in eliminating their political and spiritual enemies. Many high lamas, Geshes, monks and rivals have been silenced, threatened, coerced and sometimes ‘eliminated’.
Related links:
- UPDATED: Penpa Tsering Defames Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/the-controversy/penpa-tsering-defames-kyabje-pabongka-rinpoche/): Penpa Tsering ended 2014 by making defamatory remarks about His Holiness Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche. A secular government official has no business speaking to young impressionable children about religious matters.
- The answer of a member of the Tibetan Parliament: “We don’t know anything about Nechung” (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/the-answer-of-a-member-of-the-tibetan-parliament-we-dont-know-anything-about-nechung/): witness the behavior here of various Parliamentarians who laugh off reporters and refuse to answer questions.
- Did the CTA make a mistake? (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/did-the-cta-make-a-mistake/): the CTA are so disorganized, they are not able to decide on who their Protector deity is in this Losar announcement. Why should the public trust officials who can make such simple errors?
- CTA Calls Citizens of Other Nations “Criminals” (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/cta-calls-citizens-of-other-nations-criminals/): although sessions of the Tibetan Parliament can descend into in-fighting, they still issue defamatory statements regarding Shugden practitioners being “criminals of history”. Do such statements carry weight now people can see what members of the CTA are really like?
Addendum
Speaker Penpa Tsering chooses to resign under murder allegations in the Parliament
Click on image to enlarge. (Source: http://tibetexpress.net/news/speaker-penpa-tsering-chooses-to-resign-under-murder-allegations-in-the-parliament/)
English
Indonesia
Tibetan
tash tsering
March 20, 2015
Penpa Tsering was the killer of many many murders. It is time to lock him up.
Dorje shugden v/s nechung
March 20, 2015
I’ve never heard about that speaker Pempa Tsering killing older lama to be with lamas wife part. Can someone please tell me is it true. Please more detail. who’s that lama,where’s was that, is he still with that lamas wife. This story sounds not true to me. Please someone explain me if u know. Thanx..
Sonam la
March 20, 2015
May all those negative influences that harm the teaching of the victorious ones through their perverted aspirations –
Those with form and those without form (Shugden) –
All those who work with malicious intentions,
Be annihilated through the truth of the Three Jewels !
Wangyal
March 21, 2015
@Dorje shugden v/s nechung – the lamas name is Katag Tulku. He lived in Pondicherry and owned a carpet-making factory so he was pretty wealthy. Penpa Tsering had an extramarital affair to the tulkus wife and allegedly had the lama “eliminated”. Then he married the lamas wife, used all the money that the lama had, divorced her then got married to his current wife. If it wasnt true, why did Penpa Tsering walk out of the meeting? Why didnt he stay in the meeting and say he is innocent? So stupid.
And why would any chitthue bring it up during the meeting if its not true? Why would any chitthue bring up just a rumour in an official Parliament meeting? Come on, just think about it.
The story is pretty well-known. Look up Juchen Trinleys biography or Google it. Its on Phayul.
Joo Won
March 21, 2015
Resign only when you mean it. Resign only when you want to show you are a responsible person. But not as an act to threaten people. No one is irreplaceable. Resign to show how important you are is an act of a person without integrity.
If you are being accused, then go to court to seek for justice, face it face to face with the person making accusations and the truth.
Eli Buchen
March 21, 2015
If there is no fire there will not be smoke.
I am sure some deal had been struck in the closed doors meetings to enable Penpa Tsering to stay on, all the dramatics was to get seem sympathy, for Penpa Tsering due to the mounting accusations that is leveled on him. It is a good try by this parliamentarian, but he surely can see when he announced his resignation no one stood up to block or stop him from resigning. I have seen some leaders around the world announcing their resignation or departure from their post and those who have done a lot or much for the country many senior leaders would persuade and block this person from resigning outright. What a farce Penpa Tsering has done.
Sushilla Kapur
March 22, 2015
If Penpa Tsering is really guilty he should act with integrity and resign and be trialed in the court of law. He should not grasp on to his political career as a Speaker of the CTA parliament as it benefits no one, certainly not the people of Tibet.
If he is innocent then openly clear up the wrong views of others . He does have a responsibilty to do so, even if the matters are personal to his life.
I personally think it is inappropriate for him to hastily resign when the allegations are thrown at him, and then hastily accept reinstatement of his post. All these drama and no explanation to the people is inappropriate and makes people think more negatively of him and the CTA. Bad move for someone who claims that he is innocent !
dhondup gyalpo
March 25, 2015
Why CTA and other higher authorities still telling LIES to simple uneducated Tibetans. This old tactic of misinforming people has been in act since centuries and have served its purpose. But in 21.century many younger generations are critical whatever they see and hear.
One interesting developement nowadays that even some younger tibetans are following the foot steps of older ignorant generation. WHY is this unhappy development occuring among these few youngsters??
The answer is that ” blind faith ” Religion is mixed with social politic in daily life business.
kelly
March 25, 2015
This so bad for the CTA , how could a corrupted government be benefit to the people if the cabinet only work solely for their own affair then how could the people believe in what they claim and said this is so ridiculous .
Sonam la
April 1, 2015
OM !!! May all those negative influences that harm the teaching of the victorious ones through their perverted aspirations –
Those with form and those without form (Shugden) –
All those who work with malicious intentions,
Be annihilated through the truth of the Three Jewels !
alexandra m
April 1, 2015
I hope there is further investigation on this and bring the murderer to justice but CTA is obviously corrupted. Sigh.
Sonam la
April 2, 2015
In this pure realm, surrounded by snow moutains,
Is the source of complete happiness and benefit,.
Avalokiteshvara, Tenzin Gyatso.
May you stand firm until the end of existence.
May you live thousands of years for Buddha Dharma and for all sentient beings ! May all your wishes come true for better world and peace on earth ! Remeber, 99 % Tibetan people are still following you and standing by you ! You are sunshine in this universe !! We love you till the end !
Rinchen
April 13, 2015
Finally his true colours are being showed to the world. So many people deceived by how the CTA is acting. They show the world as though they are so holy shmoly, but in actual fact, they are just petty people that cannot even resolve their own personal differences. When the CTA is not even able to resolve their own differences, how are they able to be leading a group of people.
With that said, during the governing of the CTA, the Tibetans are not even able to improve their qualities of life. The basic things like education is not even being given for. If I were to say, with the Chinese government governing Tibet right now it would be a better choice. Just look at the people that are at Tibet right now, comparing with those that are in Dharamsala. It is obvious that the education of those in Tibet are much better than those in Dharamsala.
With the fickleness and unwillingness of this so called government is it really alright for people to be trusting this group of people that are like that to be even leading anyone or even to listen to what they say one should be doing or not doing?
It is just barbaric for people to come out with hit lists to kill or demand people to be put down due to their difference in their opinions. Is this even fair?
This is the 21st century and yet discrimination like this can go on? What happen to all the rights that we say that we have? What are all the human rights groups around for if all these things that we preach and right for are all nonsense?
The CTA constantly act like they are holy, but they are still barbaric and violent deep down. Is this what true Buddhists would be practicing?
Olivia
May 17, 2016
This is a huge downfall for the Tibetan leadership, as we can see, things are falling apart now, I guess their karma has caught up on them. Why would someone ‘punish’ himself for some crimes he did not commit? Why did he have to put up all the drama to clear his name? Logically speaking, if he hasn’t done anything wrong, he did not have to ‘quit’. By him quitting, his actions are telling us that he has done something and he’s blowing his resignation out of proportion in hope that people will no notice or stop questioning him.
Anonymous
August 2, 2016
fuck
Anonymous
August 2, 2016
སྨྱོན་པའི་ཁ་ན་གནས་ལུགས་དབེན་པའི་སྨྱོ་ཆུའི་ཐིགས་པ་ལས་གཞན་གང་ཡང་མེད། འདྲེ་ལ་སྐྱབས་སུ་སོང་ན། རང་ཉིད་ལ་ནུས་པ་སྤུ་ཙམ་ཡང་མེད་པ་བདེན་དཔང་བྱས་ཟིན་པ་ཡིན། འདྲེ་ནི་གཟུགས་མེད་ཀྱི་འབྱུང་བོ་ཞིག་ལས། གཟུགས་ཅན་གྱི་མི་ལ་ཡང་འགྲན་ཡ་བྱེད་མི་ནུས་མཁན་དེ་འདྲའི་ཐབས་རྡུགས་ཤིང་རང་མགོ་རང་གིས་མི་འཁྱོངས་པའི་འབྱུང་བོ་དམ་ཉམས་ཤིག་ལ་སྐྱབས་སུ་སོང་བ་ཙམ་གྱིས། མི་གཞན་ལ་སྐད་ཆ་བཤད་ཡ་ལྷག་མེད། སྒྲུང་རྫུན་མས་མི་ཚེ་མི་ཡོང་།
Sierra
November 23, 2016
The walking out, as I see it, is a calculated ploy to distract from the real issue at hand. It is probably to deflect further questioning. This is so that ruckus is raised over his walking out and less on the issue at hand.
Anyway, the whole CTA is in cahoots with each other. The real losers are the Tibetans. And, the real sad thing is that the Tibetans are blinded by loyalty to a central figure and those who are supposed to support him. So, any mishandling of situations are overlooked. Sad.
Samten
January 28, 2018
Although His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s secretary had previously denied that His Holiness was paid $1 million to speak for Raniere, a trace has been found that the Dalai Lama’s trust has received US$ 2 million in donation ten days after the event. Raniere is the leader of a cult called NXIVM which brands women on their pubic region with his initials and requires them to give him nude photos of themselves and other damaging material in case they reveal the secrets of his cult.
Although the Dalai Lama office continues to deny that the donation was related to the speaking engagement, one can’t help but wonder whether His Holiness would have received such donation if he did not come to Albany to speak in the first place?
Dalai Lama should set things right
August 12, 2018
Dear Dalai Lama,
Since you started the cruel ban against the 350 year Dorje Shugden practice, how has it benefit your Tibetan society and Buddhism in the world? Things have become worse and most educated Tibetans can see this. They don’t speak out not because they don’t see your ban as wrong, but you instill fear in them and not respect. It is like fear of a dictator. I am sorry to say so. Everyone is divided. There is no harmony. Before your ban there was more harmony and unity.
By enacting the ban, you split the monasteries, split so many families, split regions in Tibet apart, split your disciples from you, split your own gurus from you, split Tibetan Buddhism apart. You have created so much disharmony.
It is not democratic what you have done to ban a religion within your community. You always talk of tolerance and acceptance and democracy and yet you do not accept and tolerate something different from your beliefs. When people practice Dorje Shugden you ostracize them, ban them from seeing you, ban them from using Tibetan facilities. You know you have done that. There are videos that capture your speech and prove this point. You even had people expelled from monasteries just because they practice Dorje Shugden. Some of the monks you expelled have been in the monastery for over 40 years. Many older monks shed tears because of this.
Many young educated Tibetans lost confidence in you as they saw the damage the Dorje Shugden ban created and they lose hope. Many have become free thinkers. They reject what you have done. So many people in the west left Buddhism because of the confusion you created with this ban against Dorje Shugden which is immoral.
You could of had millions of people who practice Dorje Shugden to support, love and follow you, but you scared them away. They are hurt and very disappointed. They loved you and respected you deeply before the ban. It has been 60 years and you have failed to get Tibet back. Your biggest failure is not getting Tibet back after 57 years in exile. Now you are begging China to allow you to return to Tibet to the disappointment of thousands of people who fought for a free Tibet believing in you. So many self-immolated for a free Tibet and now you want Tibet to be a part of China with no referendum from Tibetans. Just like a dictator, you decide on your own. It was your government and you that lost Tibet in the first place. Your policies and style of doing things do not benefit Tibet and Buddhism. You have been the sole ruler of Tibet your whole life and you still have not gotten our country of Tibet back for us. Our families and us are separated. Yet you create more pain by creating a ban to further divide people. Please have compassion.
No other Buddhist leader has banned or condemned any religion except for you. It looks very bad. You are a Nobel laureate and this is not fitting of a laureate. You should unite people and not separate them by religious differences.
You said Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi did not do right to the Rohingya people in Myanmar due to religious differences, but you are doing the same thing to the Shugden Buddhists within your own society. There is a parallel in this. You separate the Shugden Buddhists from the others in Tibetan society.
You have lost so many people who would have loved and supported you. You have lost so much support around the world. The Shugden Buddhists who love you number in the millions. When you are fast losing support from governments and private people, it will not do you well to lose more.
After you are passed away in the future, the rift you created between the Dorje Shugden and non-Dorje Shugden people will remain for a while and that will be your legacy. Disharmony. You will be remembered for this. Not as a hero but a disharmony creator.
Dorje Shugden will spread and further grow, but you will be no more as you are a human. No one wishes you bad and in fact we hope you have a long and healthy life, but we have lost so much hope and have so much despair because of you. All the hundreds of Dorje Shugden lamas, tulkus and geshes are maturing and there are hundreds of Dorje Shugden monasteries in Tibet who will not give up Dorje Shugden. You have made a mistake. These hundreds of teachers and teachers to be will spread Dorje Shugden further in the future.
The gurus that gave us Dorje Shugden as a spiritual practice and you have called these holy gurus wrong and they are mistaken in giving us Dorje Shugden. How can you insult our gurus whom we respect so much? If they can be wrong, then you can be wrong. Then all gurus can be wrong. So no one needs to listen to any guru? You have created this trend. It is not healthy. Your own gurus practiced Dorje Shugden their whole lives. Your own gurus were exemplary and highly learned.
Dalai Lama you have created so much pain with this ban against so many people due to religion. You are ageing fast. Are you going to do anything about it or stay stubborn, hard and un-moving. You show a smile and preach peace and harmony wherever you go. But will you do the same to your own people? Please rectify the wrong you have done. Please before it is too late. You can create harmony again or you can pass away in the future with this legacy of peace. May you live long and think carefully and admit what was a mistake in having this unethical ban against Dorje Shugden religion.
Tracy
October 2, 2019
Lobsang Sangay gives democracy a whole new definition. His type of democracy is, people must listen to what he says. No one should go against him. For people who don’t agree with him, he will make their lives difficult. If needed, he will use violence on them.
Dorje Shugden ban is a very good example. For people who still want to follow Dorje Shugden practice, their basic rights as a Tibetan are taken away. They are not allowed to use public hospitals. They are not allowed to work in the government sector. They are not allowed to attend any talk of the Dalai Lama even if it is not Dharma related.
No country in this world will forbid its people to attend a public talk of their leader. But the Tibetan leaders do that to Dorje Shugden practitioners. Is this democracy? If the Tibetan leaders truly believe in the democratic system, they have to first lift the Dorje Shugden ban and give the basic right of a citizen to Dorje Shugden followers.