dorje shugden census

[theloneranger]

hi all

Please can we all put our heads together and try to find out, how many shugden followers are there worldwide? It's imporant to know how many followers there are in india, tibet and nepal.  If we can some how come to some census, backed up with fact it will be a very powerful tool for us to use with the media!

Does anyone have any ideas?

Does anyone have any idea how we can find out this information?

Who can we email to find out this information?

Would old tibetan lama's be aware of the numbers?

Do the government in exile keep such records?

Are WSS or SSC aware of how many?

Come on and lets put our heads together and see what we can come up with. Nothings impossible, where there is a will there is a way!

[theloneranger]

From an article from the following website:-

http://www.transcomm.ox.ac.uk/traces/iss5pg5.htm


A second dispute among Tibetan exiles is more theological than political. Up to a fifth of Tibetan Buddhists venerate Dorje Shugden, a protector deity. Worship of Shugden was forbidden by the Dalai Lama in 1978, and followers of the deity have been ostracised from exile organisations. Demonstrations against the Dalai Lama's line have been held in New York, London and New Delhi. But followers of Shugden have been accused of collaborating with China - their temples are being rebuilt in Tibet while mainstream Buddhist temples continue to be demolished. Indian police have also uncovered evidence of a possible assassination plot against the Dalai Lama among Shugden priests. The chief suspects are in China. Another alleged plot involved members of the Chinese army.

check out the following link from the website:-

http://www.transcomm.ox.ac.uk/traces.htm#current

[Vajra]

Dear Trinley Kalsang,

Tue NKT-IKBU (International Kadampa Buddhist Union) has established 1100 centers and groups around the world and created a project to build Buddhist Temples in every major city in the world. Simply in México City, where I live, there are 1 mayor temple and about 10 meditation centers, and about 15 meditation centers and 2 temples in 13 states of the entire country of its all 32 states. In the rest of the world there are about 17 mayor temples and the meditation centers I wrote above, in 37 countries. Africa: South Africa / America: Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, United States / Asia: Hong Kong, India, Malasya, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan / Australia: Australia, New Zeland / Europe: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Island, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UKraine, United Kingdom.

Nevertheless, there is no account of all its members, but we can think about  many thousands. I will try to find out how many...