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].
Lama Yeshe and Zong Rinpoche
There is hardly anyone in Tibetan Buddhism who has not heard of the Federation For The Preservation Of The Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). Besides the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT), the FPMT is probably the largest network of Tibetan Buddhist Dharma centres in the world. Synonymous with the name FPMT is of course its founder, the great Lama Yeshe and his heart son, Lama Zopa. The closeness between Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa is legendary. So is Lama Yeshe’s devotion to his guru, H.H. Kyabje Zong Dorje Chang.
The great devotion Lama Yeshe had for H.H. Kyabje Zong Dorje Chang can be seen in this picture. Lama Yeshe on the right, Lama Zopa on the left, and of course in the centre is the illustrious H.H. Kyabje Zong Dorje Chang.
Lama Yeshe was the first lama to invite the great Kyabje Zong Rinpoche to the West. Zong Rinpoche turned the wheel of Dharma for so many of Lama Yeshe’s students. Vast explanations, commentaries, oral transmissions, initiations, ritual instructions, and of course Dorje Shugden initiations were conferred many times at the request of Lama Yeshe.
Zong Rinpoche is the lineage lama of so many great current tulkus and geshes teaching around the world. The lineage that Lama Yeshe practiced is exactly that of H.H. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche. No difference whatsoever. Lama Yeshe kept his guru samaya to Zong Rinpoche fully intact till his passing. He is the perfect example of a humble student to his master and a sublime teacher to his students.
It is a pity that such devotion that Lama Yeshe showed for his guru has not been emulated by Lama Zopa and nowhere is this seen more obviously than in the way Lama Zopa discarded the practice of Dorje Shugden, the Protector deity that Lama Yeshe held very close to his heart.
Lama Yeshe and Dorje Shugden
Lama Yeshe and his root gurus/lineage practiced Dorje Shugden. Lama Yeshe consulted Dorje Shugden on many issues throughout his whole life. That is what makes FPMT so great now.
Lama himself mentions in his books that it is the protector’s divine help in all his works that made it grow. Many people heard Lama Yeshe mention many times during his talks that FPMT grew and was successful due to the blessings of his dharma protector Dorje Shugden.
Lama Yeshe’s personal Dorje Shugden statue
Lama Zopa and Dorje Shugden
Dorje Shugden officially recognized Lama Zopa when no one else knew he was an incarnation (see the book ‘The Lawudo Lama‘ by Jamyang Wangmo, Vajra Publications, pages 171-180). Because of Dorje Shugden, Lama Zopa was accorded the status of a Tulku since very young in Tibet. Like Lama Zopa, Dorje Shugden has also recognized hundreds of Gelug Tulkus and various incarnations including the current H.H. Kyabje Pabongkha Rinpoche, H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche and H.H. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche. His identification of these incarnations matched the exact details of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s.
Lama Yeshe loved Lama Zopa like a son, and gave him the practice of Dorje Shugden. But Lama Zopa abandoned Dorje Shugden to win favor with the Dalai Lama after Lama Yeshe passed away
And yet, many have tried to deny that Dorje Shugden had anything to do with the rise of Lama Zopa. It was an inconvenient fact that the present spiritual head of FPMT was recognized as a tulku and empowered into his present status by the deity he is now disowning.
But it is easy to refute this denial. If Shugden is wrong, then why did they consult him for Lama Zopa’s tulku recognition in the first place? Clearly, the high respect accorded to Shugden is obvious. Remember, this all happened in H.H. Domo Geshe Rinpoche’s monastery in Tibet. We all know the level of respect Domo Geshe was held in. Shugden was one of the principal protectors of Domo Geshe and his institutions. No one doubted the compassion, saintliness and attainments of Domo Geshe Rinpoche. If Domo Geshe held Shugden so highly, it says very much for Shugden himself.
Lama Zopa himself has acknowledged it. In ‘The Door to Satisfaction’ by Wisdom Publications (page X of the Editor’s Preface), Lama Zopa mentions clearly in the 3rd paragraph that the Dharma Protector of Domo Geshe’s Monastery CONFIRMED THAT HE WAS A REINCARNATE LAMA AND OFFERED ADVICE CONCERNING HIS CARE.
We can conclude that, since Lama Zopa mentions no other names of who else recognized him, they did not hold much weight in the eyes of the people to caretake and train him at that time. So they had to consult someone to CONFIRM AND MAKE SURE Lama Zopa is who the others say he is. Who did they trust to confirm? Dorje Shugden.
If the great emanation of Lama Tsongkapa, H.H. Domo Geshe Rinpoche, would have an oracle receiving Dorje Shugden’s presence in his temple, definitely Dorje Shugden is a beneficial and beneficent being. That is unless Domo Geshe Rinpoche was also unattained, which is highly unlikely. Domo Geshe’s famous oracle, whom H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama himself consulted in the 1950′s at Dungkar Choede, can take full possession of 6 different dharma protectors! They are:
- Dorje Shugden
- Namka Barzin (Dorje Shugden’s entourage)
- Kache Marpo (Dorje Shugden’s entourage)
- Tashi Obar
- Genyen Jingkarwa
- Pawo Trobar
Three of them are Dorje Shugden and his acolytes. Surely Domo Geshe Rinpoche, whose people and temple nurtured and took care of Lama Zopa in the early years, are not all evil, wrong and degenerate for propitiating Dorje Shugden? Domo Geshe is famed for his devotion to H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche (root guru of Lama Yeshe and H.H. Dalai Lama), his great meditative concentration on the Vajra Yogini Tantras, and his powerful propitiation of Dorje Shugden. Is Domo Geshe wrong to have a famous Dorje Shugden oracle in his monastery that people would come from all parts of Tibet to consult on all states of affairs, governmental, secular and so on?
Many high incarnations are found by the oracular pronouncements of Dorje Shugden’s oracles past and present, so why not Lama Zopa Rinpoche? Even the current Trijang Rinpoche and Zong Rinpoche’s incarnations were found and confirmed by the Dorje Shugden oracle or Choyang Dulzin Kuten of Ganden. Only after the confirmation from the oracles was it presented to the Dalai Lama for formal recognition. What Dorje Shugden found and recognized was further confirmed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Is that so bad that Lama Zopa was also confirmed by the great protector of Lama Yeshe, Trijang Rinpoche, Zong Rinpoche, Pabongkha Rinpoche, Regent Daktra Rinpoche, and Domo Geshe Rinpoche, that he is authentic? Of course not.
The incarnations of His Holiness the Dalai Lamas are all confirmed by the Nechung Oracle, but recognized and enthroned by the regents of Tibet. So are the confirmations by the Nechung Oracle for the Dalai Lama not important? You don’t say that Nechung recognized the Dalai Lama, but he plays an important part to confirm that LEADS TO EVENTUAL RECOGNITION.
Just the same in the case of Lama Zopa, where Dorje Shugden confirmed he is a real tulku and even gave advice on his care. And in the Tibet of the 1950′s, Dorje Shugden’s oracular pronouncements carried great weight. His famous oracle in Lhasa, called Panglung Kuten, was consulted for private and governmental affairs by many high lamas, nobilities, and government officials. His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche very much relied on the accuracy of this oracle of Dorje Shugden/Kache Marpo. You can read this in the autobiography of His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche.
If Dorje Shugden is an evil spirit, he would have said that Lama Zopa is not a tulku, and don’t take care of him. Why would he say that? Because he can foresee Lama Zopa would benefit many and he would try to stop it, not being happy about that if he is evil. Devadatta did whatever he could to stop Buddha, but failed of course. Similarly, if Dorje Shugden is so bad, he would have tried to stop Lama Zopa’s works from flowering in the future.
FPMT, the Dalai Lama and Dorje Shugden
FPMT’s roots have deep-seated connections to Dorje Shugden. They may deny the current connections but they cannot deny past connections. They cannot deny the samaya connections to Dorje Shugden that are deeply interrelated to all of FPMT’s lineage lamas of the past, that created/resulted in its greatness now. Past creates the future. So if you dye a scarf red, it cannot come out blue. If Dorje Shugden practice and practitioners were all evil, then the fruit must be evil and in this case the FPMT must be evil, but this is definitely not the case.
Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche doing Dorje Shugden puja in Kopan Monastery, Nepal, 1976. (Photo by Jon Landaw. Image extracted from LYWA Image Gallery, 1976, vol. 3)
FPMT claims that Shugden is a demon yet the “embarrassing” fact is that FPMT has become what it is today because of the assistance of Dorje Shugden. FPMT denies Dorje Shugden yet FPMT’s main sadhanas are composed by lamas who held Dorje Shugden as their principal protectors. So, if FPMT wish to throw out Dorje Shugden, they better abandon the practices of Cittamani Tara, Vajra Yogini and Yamantaka, for example, which are composed by H.H. Kyabje Pabongkha Rinpoche. Since he practiced Dorje Shugden and that is a mistake, then the sadhanas he composed that Gelugpas do every day could be a mistake also? After all, he seems to be able to make mistakes? We have to be very careful? That is not the case definitely.
FPMT centres around the world are famous for their ‘witch hunts’ against other centres that do Dorje Shugden or that are suspected of keeping the practice. They think of themselves as some kind of spiritual police for the Dalai Lama. But the real motivation behind them pointing fingers at others is abundantly clear and it is not for spiritual purposes. No witch hunts can be motivated by spiritually good intentions.
FPMT want to look good for the Dalai Lama or Central Tibetan Administration so they get their support. With more support, more members and MORE MONEY to do their projects. Which in itself is not bad, but to point fingers at other centres and make other centres look bad does not justify the means as an end to the results. Their methods are wrong.
By criticizing Dorje Shugden practitioners to get on the Dalai Lama’s good side, they abandon their own lineage lama (Lama Yeshe). And by abandoning their lineage lama, they slowly create the causes for their own centres/organization to go down, down and finally flat in the future. They may look good by giving up Dorje Shugden and siding with the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan government, but it will not mend the broken samaya with Lama Yeshe and his protector. So by FPMT making the current Dalai Lama ‘happy’, they lose themselves.
Even though FPMT gave up Shugden, they should remain quiet about it. They should just do their dharma practice and be still and not make a fanfare about it. Instead you can hear of their attacks on other centres quite often. They want to look so good that even in their centres they have signs posted up that if you do Shugden, you are not welcome. How strange. How fanatical. So if Lama Yeshe, H.H Trijang Rinpoche, H.H Zong Rinpoche showed up, they wouldn’t be allowed in?
It is better for FPMT to continue their Dorje Shugden practices quietly and stop criticizing other practitioners in order to please the Dalai Lama. Many of the senior FPMT students met Lama Yeshe first and accepted him as their guru before they ever met the Dalai Lama. So they should hold what Lama Yeshe held close to his heart, which is Dorje Shugden and his practices.
By following their lineage lama, they can make their organization succeed well into the future. In the future, whatever the Dalai Lama has said will be forgotten. All thirteen of the previous Dalai Lamas’ words are unknown or forgotten for most dharma practitioners. Hardly anyone cares what the previous Dalai Lamas have said. No doubt they were great teachers, but truth be told, it is past already.
If FPMT continue on their present course, when this current Dalai Lama passes away, then they will have nothing left. There will be no Dalai Lama to win favor with and no blessings of the lineage lamas and no reincarnation of Lama Yeshe doing dharma work. And Lama Zopa will have passed away by then. FPMT should think carefully. Things may look rosy from the outside now, but definitely not in the near and distant future. Cause and effect does exist unless the Buddha was mistaken.
Kopan Monastery
It is not only FPMT that is affected by broken samayas. Kopan Monastery has a large portion of monks who are of Nepalese descent. The other part is Tibetan. These two groups are having problems and not getting along. So Kopan now is not in a harmonious state. The karma of creating dissent in other places using the Shugden issue is now coming back full swing.
Kopan should resume their practices as ordained by their root lama, founding father and Master, Lama Yeshe, and not trade it in for anything if they wish their lineage to grow, and their practices to be able to confer blessings. To abandon their practices in order to get in the good books of the Dalai Lama will have only temporary benefits as their samaya with their root guru, Lama Yeshe, is severely broken.
What happens if the Dalai Lama passes (sorry) and they have another lama teaching in the future? Do they adopt the practices another lama teaches because Dalai Lama has passed? If not, then why would they abandon their practice from Lama Yeshe just because another more famous teacher (Dalai lama) says they should? If we keep doing that, our monasteries will lose their basis.
What happens if everyone does that? The minute your master passes, you abandon what he taught you to practice and adopt another lama’s? Then when the new lama passes, you again abandon what he taught, and adopt yet again more new practices? That does not sound right.
To switch practices each time your lama passes and adopt a new and more famous lama’s practices IS NOT THE RIGHT WAY TO GO. But that is what Kopan/FPMT are doing today. Hence after Lama Zopa, they will have many problems for sure. It is such a waste that a great institution like Kopan/FPMT shows a poor example of guru/lineal devotion. I for one would never join in Kopan or their activities due to this break, I am sorry to say.
FPMT and Lama Osel
Lama Zopa succumbed to the political pressure of the Dalai Lama and broke samaya with his guru
FPMT has broken a very strong samaya by giving up the practice of Lama Yeshe. Dorje Shugden was the one that worked hand in hand with Lama Yeshe to get Kopan land, find sponsors, build, and increase the centres around the world.
Zong Rinpoche and Trijang Dorje Chang were the root lamas of Lama Yeshe. By giving up their Dorje Shugden practice, FPMT sends a message to the world and themselves that Zong Rinpoche and Trijang Rinpoche were wrong. Certainly, they were not wrong in any way. That breaks the lineal blessings right there. Broken samayas have repercussions. Causes do bear effects.
We see this effect in the new incarnation of Lama Yeshe. Lama Yeshe in the form of Lama Osel is the correct incarnation. Dorje Shugden has confirmed it in the beginning. Lama Zopa consulted Dorje Shugden through the Ganden Oracle himself. But Lama Osel has disrobed, left Sera and is staying in Ibiza, Spain with his girlfriend. Lama Osel’s brother also left Sera.
FPMT has caused many people within their own organization and other organizations to doubt, lose faith, question and have negative thoughts against their gurus for practicing Dorje Shugden. In that way, they have caused many to break their samayas with their gurus. That broken samaya comes back to them by way of Lama Osel, who is not able to manifest and ‘continue’ his dharma works as so much hoped by FPMT.
So doesn’t Lama Yeshe have attainments? If so, what happened? Lama Osel is definitely attained just like his predecessor, Lama Yeshe. So it leads us to believe that Lama Osel cannot manifest his dharma works due to the heavy broken samayas of his wayward students. That his dharma works are delayed due to the karma of his students.
Buddha appeared in this world, but samsara is not empty. Certainly that is not Buddha’s fault. Nagarjuna appeared and lived 600 years, but not everyone still has understood the truth of Emptiness and hence released from dualism. If the lake is not still and free of movement, then the moon cannot be seen in it clearly. That is not the fault of the moon.
Lama Osel as a two-year-old consecrating his previous incarnation’s stupa at Vajrapani Institute in Santa Cruz, where Lama Yeshe was cremated. Lama Zopa is seen on young Lama Osel’s right
A baby Lama Osel in the arms of Lama Zopa.
Lama Osel disrobed. It is a pity that Lama Osel cannot continue the great works of his previous incarnation due to the broken samayas of Lama Zopa and FPMT
Whatever Lama Osel does, I feel it is a teaching to FPMT whose many centres around the world have chosen to forget their lineage lama’s practices. Lama Yeshe definitely was very devoted to Dorje Shugden. Since Lama Yeshe practiced Dorje Shugden, so should his disciples as hundreds of them did in the past. They should continue his lineage and practices regardless of what H.H. the Dalai Lama says. His Holiness has his own reasons for what he is doing. So by practicing Dorje Shugden, it doesn’t show disrespect to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. But by stopping this practice, FPMT show great disrespect to Lama Yeshe and all that he stood for.
I hope so much Lama Osel will manifest his enlightened actions quickly. We hear nothing of him in any of the FPMT websites anymore and FPMT these days seldom talk or mention Lama Osel. It is as if he doesn’t exist anymore. I don’t think that is correct. He is the incarnate founder of FPMT worldwide. It must be a great embarrassment for them.
What FPMT don’t realize is that Lama Zopa is advanced in age and if he passes away, then what happens? They don’t have anyone to pass the torch to. Lama Osel should have been the one. But Lama Osel cannot manifest his dharma work because they have broken their samaya with Lama Yeshe by abandoning Dorje Shugden’s practice.
FPMT should repair their samaya with Lama Yeshe by doing their Dorje Shugden practices. Then Lama Osel can manifest his dharma work and their organization can continue even after the Dalai Lama has passed away. If they wait too long, then the chance for Lama Osel to manifest may pass completely for this lifetime.
I do not wish for FPMT to fall, nor do I wish ill of the Dalai Lama, but I do wish people would follow the teachings and practices of their teachers without being swayed by political winds. Who is Lama Zopa’s root guru? Lama Yeshe or His Holiness the Dalai Lama? Whose words have more precedence in his mind? Lama Yeshe’s or His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s? What factors have more influence on Lama Zopa’s mind? Status, throne, title, wealth, fame or what?
Lama Yeshe practiced Dorje Shugden and His Holiness the Dalai Lama forbids it. Why do the Dalai Lama’s words override that of Lama Yeshe’s? Isn’t Lama Yeshe enlightened? Can Lama Yeshe be wrong and His Holiness is correct and vice versa? If Lama Yeshe is wrong on this count, can he be wrong on other counts? Shouldn’t Lama Zopa recheck all his practices from Lama Yeshe and Lama Yeshe’s gurus?
These questions should make us think deeper on this issue. Lama Zopa and FPMT’s actions undermine not only Lama Yeshe’s credibility but also his own.
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 [email protected]
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Anonymous
March 4, 2015
Comeon guys. You guys totally confused n make confuse others. This is 21st centuary, world is watching!!!!! you guys cannot fool other just like you guys do yourself. DS was part of many lamas practice, but they never take refuge to him like you guys do. This is just worldly god. We who denied DS has never broke samaya with any of the great past master who pracetice this god as helper. Samaya is beyond then this. I hope one day you will realize. Its like shouting all nyinma monks must take alcohol because Guru Rinpoche has taken while practice. That is matter of high realization. And same thing to all our gelug great maters of past. Je tsongkhapa tradition is pure like gold. You guys will never understand the pure lineage.
john swainson
March 5, 2015
The Lama Yeshe you uphold to be a pure Shugden man…..is he the same one that was sent what is known by some as the blackmail tape? The one who was overseeing illegal acts? The one Kelsang Gyatso and his team are supposed to have lodged evidence of misdeeds with the Charity Commission and their team of lawyers? The one that left Manjushri in the hands of the NKT?
Sandra
March 6, 2015
In Tibetan Buddhism, blessing from the guru is very important. If one condemn what guru practice is wrong will lead no blessing carry from the lineage. This is very simple and direct point that for us to understand.
We don’t deviate the facts that current incarnation of Lama Yeshe is Lama Osel that unable to continue manifest and continue his dharma works at the moment. However is never too late if now realise the mistake while Lama Osel is still around
Sofia Neumerkel
March 7, 2015
I find the anonymous comment is rather confusing. He/she is really confused with the whole DS controversy.
Anyway, I find it very sad that one’s lama has reincarnated and recognized but not going back to his own monastery by his own choice. It is proven that many reincarnation of great lamas are recognized by DS and accepted by the Tibetan, how can someone DS suddenly becomes a demon? If that is the case, we should not trust the reincarnation recognized by him, including that of Lama Zopa, Trijang Rinpoche, Zong Rinpoche, etc. Won’t that make Gelug lineage impure? One has to consider HH Dalai Lama received his teachings from DS lamas too. When a lake is polluted, the whole lake is polluted, it cannot be only part of it is polluted.
Eli Buchen
March 8, 2015
Every time i read about FPMT I can’t help but think also about NKT who was started by Geshela Kelsang Gyatso.
What is different, in my opinion is that now NKT seems to be growing in strength with a growing number of ordered and lay sangha, and there is some succession planning in the pipeline and they will be in good standing for the future. The same cannot be said of FPMT, with no clear leader to replace Lama Zopa in sight…
On one hand we have NKT who relies clearly on Dorje Shugden, On the other spectrum you have FPMT who have turned their backs on their lineage Gurus and Dorje Shugden. This is the fundamnentaly the keyl difference between these two Gelug organisations.
The FPMT should be very honest and look at their situation now, that if their current policies if they find that all they are doing is not yielding the correct spiritual results and bring about further spread of the Tsongkhapa lineage. They must think the ‘unthinkable’ do the opposite of what they are doing so far.. It is so sad, FPMT is a legacy of broken promises and samaya.
With regards to the Dorje Shugden practice, if they have been putting down and criticising Dorje Shugden, all that should stop immediately. How can anyone rely on a divine being like Dorje Shugden to elevate them to a stratospheric level, then so as to seem to curry the favour of His Holiness the dalai lama they turn their backs on Dorje Shugden….
From many stories of spirituality, people usually do not get very far ahead if they turn their backs on their teachers…
sunitta
March 9, 2015
SAMAYA is is a set of vows or precepts given to initiates of an esoteric Vajrayana Buddhist order as part of the abhiṣeka (empowerment or initiation) ceremony that creates a bond between the guru and disciple.
If Lama Yeshe’s protector practice is Dorje Shugden, then he would also pass this practice to his disciples; most definitely to Lama Zopa too. So then Lama Zopa practices Dorje Shugden until such a time when the 14th Dalai Lama called out to stop practicing it. So when Lama Zopa stops the DS practice he is breaking his vows to Lama Yeshe; his SAMAYA is broken. There is no doubt with this point. There is no selectivity with SAMAYA. If you have taken 100 vows, you kept 99 of them intact and breaks one vow, the SAMAYA is still broken. But of course it can be mended ! That is the beauty of Buddhism. Buddha’s teachings do not push you to the cliff edge and ask you to kill yourself, there will always be a way to repair broken vows if the student is sincere about repairing it.
Peter
March 14, 2015
The commentator, Anonymous, is drunk in his comment. Forgive him/her.
Sonam la
March 14, 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 !
Eli Buchen
March 15, 2015
Nothing good will come from ingratitude and forgetting to be grateful for what others have done for them. In the case for FPMT, they have forgotten about the Great Dorje Shugden who have brought them to the level they are.
There is always karma, unless the Buddha was wrong.
Amber Sonam
March 17, 2015
Please forgive Anonymous for choosing to NOT see the truth. He/she has chosen to live in denial and we must respect the choice of others. When the evidence are laid out clearly, there is no reason why we refute that, unless we have other sound evidence, not ignorant claims, to do so.
It is a waste that Lama Osel cannot continue his wonderful dharma practise and career due to the broken samaya of his hear son Lama Zopa. A lama of His caliber can benefits numberless of beings, just like those who have been benefited by FPMT.
I wish very much that Lama Zopa and FPMT will mend their broken samaya with Lama Osel in order for Him to continue His works that benefit others.
Rinchen
March 17, 2015
It is just sad that FPMT has given up their guru’s main practice to look good and be “politically” correct. FPMT is a buddhist organisation and they should not care about politics that are in the way.
I do not understand why did Lama Zopa decided to follow what the Dalai Lama has said about the ban as well. It meant that he had to give up on the practice that was given to him by his guru, at the same time, also the practice that His guru held so close to.
I really hope that FPMT would quickly sort out their thoughts and repair the broken samsaya with their guru before it is too late. Personally I feel that Lama Osel has disrobe in order to “teach” FPMT a lesson but they failed to pick up.
Joo Won
March 18, 2015
Never ever trade in practices passed down by our Gurus for anything..reputation, praise or just afraid of being discriminated/segregate but majority or mainstream.
It’s hard to “go against the wind” but the consequences of forsaking practices by your Gurus is too highly the price to pay…from what happened to FPMT and Kopan Monastery..the future of FPMT is at risk…
…Can something to be done to reverse what have been wrong? We all do not wish to see FPMT to fall, and wish Lama Osel could turn the dharma wheel as his predecessor…I guess resume and continue the practice of Dorje Shugden and any instructions passed down by Lama Yeshe would be the answer. This seems hard but can be easy as well – fix one thing to fix all.
Yan Shi
March 18, 2015
I buy the idea of breaking samaya, because no samaya means no attainments, no success, no harmony, nothing…
However, c ould it be other reasons than breaking samaya with Lama Yeshe, that making FPMT to fall or will be contributing to the fall of FPMT? Lama Osel to disrobed?
Can someone please shed some light on this?
Jon
April 2, 2015
@Yan Shi well it may be due to my incorrect interpretation of you comment so if I am, forgive me for saying this but I think the first half of your comment contradicts the second. If samaya is the basis of attainments, success and harmony as you’ve correctly stated, then the current result at FPMT (which is Lama Osel disrobing, etc etc etc) reflects the opposite – that is, no samaya or broken samaya.
Therefore there cannot be any other cause for these results, other than broken samaya.
skepticonymous
October 4, 2015
Tibetan buddhism is really relabeled Hinduism, with all the faults of the latter. Including demons, quarrels about deities, and such. One of the weirder things they do is look for tulkus. And followers seriously believe this nonsense.
I wonder what “lama” Osel witnessed while growing up. If the monastery had been as loving as presumed, he would not have been so hostile about FMTP.
In the 1990s and for the next 10 years, I liked FPMT and followed their events. I am glad I did not commit any further. I am free of trivia, such as the profound discussion above.
thubten
September 15, 2017
I am thinking that politics has confused the interpretation of reality. We will all die, we all suffer or are happy.. I don’t like lama Zopa but I respect his faith and effort to help people. I had an inspiring relationship with a minor Geshe – as such Dharma is everywhere and not beholden to to a Tulkhu
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.
Thaimonk
October 25, 2018
Sorry to say this but it’s true- Lama Osel disrobed, never finished his studies, achieved nothing much in his secular life, just running around with his girlfriend and clubbing in Ibizia, Spain. His previous life accomplished so much with the help of his determination, hard work and Dorje Shugden. Lama Yeshe credited much of his success to the help he was bestowed by Dorje Shugden. By FPMT abanding Dorje Shugden, they broke their samaya with their lineage gurus such as Trijang Rinpoche and Zong Rinpoche from whom they received the Dorje Shugden sogtae commitment practice. Also it was with Lama Yeshe’s permission they received sogtae from these great masters. By abandoning the practice, they broke their spiritual bond (samaya) which is sacred in tantra with Lama Yeshe and lineage lamas. So it is no surprise Lama Yeshe came back in this incarnation unable to manifest being a great dharma teacher like his previous life. It is a shame and embarrassment to FPMT that Lama Osel ended up not doing much. It is a testimony to their failure in keeping their samaya to their guru and lineage lamas. FPMT wanted fame and rub shoulders with the famous and in return, they lost Lama Yeshe. After Lama Zopa passes away, FPMT will just go down for sure. No one can take over. Breaking their samaya was the wrong thing to do.
So many more pictures and information to read here: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=6197.0
Drolma
January 4, 2019
When is Lama Osel going back to FPMT? Lama Zopa is quite old now and after his stroke, he does not look so well. At his age, he should retire and stop travelling.
At the moment, Lama Zopa seems to be the only highly qualified and famous lama in FPMT. There is no other teacher in FPMT as famous as he is. If Lama Zopa and the Dalai Lama pass away, what would happen to FPMT if Lama Osel does not want to go back to lead the center?
The students should realise that there should always be a highly qualified teacher in the center especially for an organisation as big as FPMT. They should quickly repair their samaya with Lama Osel to create the cause and generate merits to have him back. Lama Osel’s previous life was a great teacher, if the condition is conducive, I believe he can also be as successful as his previous life even though he has disrobed now.
Drolma
February 25, 2019
The Dorje Shugden ban really reveals who is the real practitioner and who is not. It is quite shocking to know so many monks who have learned Buddhism for years do not understand what guru devotion is. Or perhaps it is because we are in the denegerate time that most people don’t have the wisdom to understand what guru devotion is.
Lama Yeshe was a very attained Buddhist master, he was one of the pioneers who went to the west to spread Dharma. Most of his bigger sponsors were also westerners. It was a pity Lama Yeshe passed away at such a young age, perhaps his students didn’t have enough merits to keep him with them. The students had the chance to have Lama Yeshe’s reincarnation back in the centre again but they lost the chance by breaking their Samaya with their lama when they gave up Dorje Shugden practice.
They have put up a Lama Yeshe’s statue and venerate the statue in their centre but what is the point when they cannot even convince the reincarnation to come back as the spiritual head in FPMT? Unless they think Lama Osel is not the real incarnation of their teacher? A real person can give instruction and advice, why are the students not trying to get Lama Osel back? If Lama Zopa is not around anymore, who is going to lead FPMT and be the spokesperson of the centre to raise fund?