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Ven Samdhong Rinpoche is coming to the end of his term as Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in Exile) and makes a surprising speech. His speech makes you think much more of who he really is and where his devotions are.
- He has not done his work for the Tibetan nation, people, government, politics or patriotism. He says he has none of those feelings.
- He did not do the work for himself or anyone else (inferring subtlely to the Dalai Lama).
- He worked for the Tibetan Govt, for the Dalai Lama and for the Tibetan people in order to FULFILL THE COMMAND OF HIS ROOT GURU H.H. KYABJE TRIJANG RINPOCHE.
Trijang Rinpoche had advised Samdhong Rinpoche to give up everything and serve the Dalai Lama. Trijang Rinpoche advised him to sacrifice his personal wishes and just serve the Dalai Lama. It is to fulfill the wishes of his late guru he has done what he has done. He says in Tibetan, “You may think I do not deserve this award after hearing what I have to say” because he did not serve the Tibetan people/nation out of patriotism. But he wants to tell the truth anyway.
Samdhong Rinpoche also said:
- A person who has entered the Mahayana must serve the guru by body speech and mind according to the 9 attitudes of Guru Devotion. One has offered one’s body, speech and mind to the guru, so one must fulfill the instructions of one’s lama all the way. You do not ‘own’ your body, speech and mind anymore.
- Also never say you cannot do it before you even started the work; instead, you should do it and complete the job well and then say you cannot do it. The point? Just do what you have been instructed by the teacher
What Samdhong Rinpoche says here infers clearly he is not doing any work for the Dalai Lama in actuality but only to fulfill the orders of his root guru Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche. Powerful guru devotion.
It makes sense. If Samdhong Rinpoche ‘was’ a great practitioner of Shugden and he gave up Shugden to work for the Dalai Lama, then he IS following the instructions of his lama, contrary to popular criticisms.
During the opening of Shar Gaden Monastery in South India in 2010, a senior monk Geshe Konchok Gyeltsen mentioned clearly that the previous Trijang Rinpoche had openly and decisively confirmed that Samdhong Rinpoche is an incarnation of Dorje Shugden. His Eminence Gangchen Rinpoche further confirms this.
This video shows clearly where Samdhong Rinpoche’s loyalties lie.
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admin
July 25, 2011
Incredible speech by Samdhong Rinpoche:
There’s one that’s specially interesting…, a new speech by Samdhong Rinpoche. I don’t know how to embed the video in here directly but i urge everyone to please go and have a look at the video here and come back to discuss.
What a turn of perspective. I have also been very guilty of thinking how “bad” Samdhong Rinpoche has been for upholding the ban and allowing all this suffering for DS practitioners. He has gotten so much slack and bad press for all his policies and actions regarding Tibet’s relations with China, with the ban, with Tibetan independence etc Now we see how everything he has done (no matter how bad WE THINK it seems on the outside) has been an expression of his total devotion to his teacher, Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche. How compassionate these lamas are to suffer so much purely with the motivation of helping others.
He is daring and courageous for making this speech, which does infer that he wasn’t serving the Dalai Lama directly but doing it as a fulfilment of his commitments to his own root guru. But it is also said with much humility and such deep reverence for his teacher. It is very simple yet deeply profound guru devotion, like the masters of old who allowed themselves to go through so much difficulty just to serve their teachers and fulfil their dharma instructions.
I don’t think Trijang Rinpoche would have been so stupid to advice his own student to “give up everything”, including the very practices he conferred to him. I also don’t think Dalai Lama is so stupid as to not know all this. I think more and more, with evidence like this, that there must be some bigger reason for this.
Also, the commentary under the video explains that Samdhong Rinpoche is recognised as a Shugden incarnation! I did not know this. If this is in fact true, it wouldn’t be logical that Shugden would be out there “destroying” his own practice. In fact, we think instead of how compassionate he is that he would allow himself to go through so much negativity and difficulties, destroying “himself”, and having so many people hate him – both tibetans and non-tibetans. Why would a high lama – a supreme incarnation of Shugden himself! – be doing all this if not to create some benefit for others??
There is a lot of connections to be made here – especially with Trijang Rinpoche, who is known to have prophesised the current conflict and who has been instrumental in teaching so many of the greatest lamas, passing on almost all the practices we are still doing today. Trijang Rinpoche has advised us in his texts, as a prophecy, not to take sides in what may seem like an outward conflict, but to be patient and things will be okay. Now, we learn that he has advised one of the most key people in the Tibetan Govt in exile to sacrifice and give up everything to serve the very govt that all of us now criticise. Samdhong Rinpoche is outwardly seemingly “destroying” DS practice by the advice of his teacher – is this contradictory? Perhaps not quite… So much can be linked back to the ban being not just a ban but as something meant to bring this protector further up, make him greater, fan the fires for something huge to arise.
posted by Beggar from http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=1302.0
TK
July 25, 2011
If we listen to the blessed speech of Professor Samdhong Rinpoche, in actuality he has not given up on Shugden ever. From day one he has practiced Guru Devotion to a tea. Incredibly beautiful.
HH Trijang Rinpoche would know clearly to serve HH Dalai Lama, Samdhong Rinpoche would have to ‘give up’ Shugden. Even knowing so he asked Samdhong Rinpoche to SACRIFICE EVERYTHING to serve Dalai Lama. Samdhong Rinpoche complied completely.
Samdhong Rinpoche clearly said he did his work in order to fulfill the command of his root guru -simple and straightforward. He did not do his work to serve the Dalai Lama at all. He is indeed very daring to say such a thing. It seems like he is treading a ‘thin line’ as the saying goes by being so open and clear where his loyalties lie.
Again, like HH Gaden Trisur Rinpoche, Samdhong Rinpoche has shown CLEARLY where his loyalites are. His loyalty is with HH Trijang Rinpoche full stop. In fact by serving Dalai Lama, Shugden should bless/assist Samdhong Rinpoche even more. The bigger picture is manifesting clearer now. As the Dalai Lama ages and before he has even passed away, the lamas who practice Shugden are speaking up in one way or another. Very encouraging.
TK
Atisha's cook
September 20, 2011
If this is truly what it seems, then I am humbled and must apologise deeply to Samdhong Rinpoche – i have criticised him and his actions widely and very strongly and for a long time. I hope and pray that it will indeed be necessary for me to eat humble pie in this way! how wonderful to find myself wrong – i hope i was wrong about him. i hope i will have to bow down to him as a supreme example of Guru devotion.
Shailee
October 23, 2011
Sorry to sound pessimisstic.
But I find it hard to believe. I feel this is just a ploy to turn things around by taking the name of Trijang Rinpoche. We need to exercise our wisdom when we hear such things. Politicians, sorry, I cant trust anything they say.
Bhodpa
October 22, 2012
I used to believe and respect Samdong Rinpoche as an idol among Tibetans.
Rinpoche is an outspoken person and brave.
He have openly challenged during first Tibetan Youth Congress founding inauguration ceremony, with Dalia Lama’s brother Gyalo Dhundub pointing him and said you are as a Chinese Dhundup not a Tibetan Dhundup.
Since then Dalia Lama have abandon him for many years as we all Tibetan knows. All of a certain Dalia Lama has chosen him as a First Exile Tibetan Prim Minister. I have noticed in several occasion during Samdong Rinpoche’s public speech now and then Dalia Lama used to inter-robe in between. It look very ugly and looks no respect to the Exile Tibetan Prim Minister.
Any how I am glade That Rinpoche is not willingly become Prim Minister, He did it for his Great Teacher’s fulfillment and Dalia Lama.
Khechog
April 10, 2013
His actions are extremely harmful. If we have pure view according to Vajrayana, then fine, but that is a private practice and publicly we act normally in calling abuse what it is. Many people who receive abuse create the conditions for that abuse to continue because they are invested in believing their abuser is really a good person. They look for reasons to believe in their abuser. The message with abuse has to be clear and unambiguous, ‘this is wrong, your actions are wrong, you must stop these actions’.
Steve Rogers
September 19, 2014
I have no problem saying that Samdhong has told vicious and sectarian lies. OK perhaps this is all part of a greater plan but I have to tell the truth that I see. My personal opinion of his statement that he serves HH Trijang Rinpoche is that it is another outrageous lie. To me this is a simpler and more logical conclusion. What harm am I doing by saying this? There is a common sense basis for my assertion, no actual evidence to the contrary, I stand by my harmlessness and will not attempt to harm him, and I do not want anyone else to relax their kindness towards him. But he is a proven liar in the obvious commonly understood way and I do not need an elaborate fabrication based on zero evidence to excuse him, since I am not his judge. Let his actions stand and his inner motivation be his to know.