It is quite bizarre how many different reactions a simple picture of the Dalai Lama provokes these days. In China, it is seen as a symbol of rebellion, in shops in India and Nepal it is taken as a sign of political correctness, in the NKT centres around the world it is thought of as a mark of spiritual in-correctness, and in other parts of the free world it is viewed as a symbol of peace and wisdom. Is His Holiness The Dalai Lama in fact all of that?
It seems to me that the Shugden ban and conflict has had a very detrimental effect not only within the Gelugpa sect but also on Tibetan Buddhism around the world. Often we say that Buddhism is one of the major religions of the world with something like 360million practitioners but Tibetan Buddhism is represented by a mere 6% of the world Buddhist population, which makes it a very tiny fraction of the world population practicing any kind of faith or religion . Even then, the 6% is being torn apart from within. That is very sad considering that through my experience, Vajrayana goes the deepest into dealing with the human samsaric condition and offers the most skillful and swiftest remedies possible. I am not making that statement out of any lofty spiritual pride and I am sure I am not alone on this one.
As the result of the Dorje Shugden ban, an entire community of Tibetan Buddhist have turned on each other and the effects are far reaching. In parts of the world, many Buddhist centres are no longer even carrying pictures of the Dalai Lama because of their being forced to choose between political loyalty and devotion of their guru which is the heart of the Vajrayanist. Whether His Holiness is the official head of Tibetan Buddhism or not, he is seen as one and has the ability and power to turn things. Therefore I strongly feel that the Office of The Dalai Lama has the responsibility to remove the ban and start repairing the schism.
