The Dalai Lama is a despot - What do you think?

[dsiluvu]

The Dalai Lama is a despot

That Tenzin points to God as the source of his own worldly authority, should already get big red warning lights to flash.



Tenzin Gyatso, born Lhamo Dondrub, but better known as the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, is a theocratic despot, a self-appointed dynastic demigod, "appointed by heaven" to live in exile city of Dharamsala in India on man's hand.

That Tenzin points to God as the source of his own worldly authority should already get big red warning lights to flash.

Paid for audience
Shoko Asahara, leader of Aum Shinrikyo cult that was behind the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo metro in 1995, gave Tenzin 170 million yen (about eight million) in return for repeat audiences.

Tenzin declared action star Steven Seagal for being a "reincarnated lama" and a tulku in Tibetan Buddhism, after Seagal offered a large sum in return than what the supposed first choice in Hollywood, Richard Gere, could provide.

Pursued and killed
Followers of Dorje Shugden, a belief in Tibetan Buddhism, experienced persecution and in some cases abused and killed after Tenzin quite suddenly decided to ban it in the strongest terms in March 1996.

He believes that oral sex, anal sex and masturbation is "sexual abuse" while buying sex from a prostitute is fine as long as you have paid for yourself (it's still abuse if the prostitute is paid by a third party).

Brutal punishments
Tibet under Tenzin and his predecessors was a theocratic feudal state with strict gender segregation (the word for woman in Tibetan, Kiem, meaning "inferior birth", and women are often asked to pray to be "reborn as a man") and very brutal punishments for relatively minor offenses (like getting Islands squeezed out of the skull with yak bones to temples for political dissent).

It's nice to have sympathy with Tibet and to be highly critical of China's occupation, but that should not mean a red carpet to western media's favorite Buddhist Dalai Lama!

Source: http://www.bt.no/meninger/debatt/Dalai-Lama-er-en-despot-3104774.html#.U1srz_mSySp

Well... looks like the Dalai Lama's reputation is taking it's toll because of the injustice ban. Nothing GOOD will ever come out of this ban. Might as well lift it already. The smart thing to do is for the Dalai Lama to publicly apologise for all the harm this ban has caused, the disharmony, the separation, the division, that wall in Gaden, the violence it has created, the threats, the killings, whether it is done because the Dalai Lama request for it to be so, or not is not the point. The point is because of the BAN there has been NO PEACE, NO COMPASSION, NO HAPPINESS amongst Tibetans in exile and in general.

If the Tibetan leaders are smart, the should encourage the Dalai Lama to announce that there is NO BAN, hence there should be no more aggression shown towards those who practice Dorje Shugden. This would prevent any further intended assassination, murder, violent harm... which would inevitably drag the Dalai Lama's reputation, and the Tibetan people's reputation down even further. The world is slowly unveiling the true nature of the Tibetan... obviously they are not all Peaceful and Compassionate as they appear to preach and be seen.

A compassionate leader is much in need now to walk the talk and will easily refute such news and statements. By showing humility - apologising, showing compassion - accepting all faith have equal rights and encouraging harmony not violence and harm and of course abolishing the injustice ban on Dorje Shugden. All sanghas should be allowed back in to their mother monastery such as Gaden.

If this happens, it only goes to show the beauty of compassion, true leadership and would make the Dalai Lama's fame even more well loved... OR will the egos of the Tibetan Leaders be an obstacle to positive progress in true harmonious humanity?

[Galen]

I totally agree that this ban has caused much pain and sorrows to all Tibetans. families are destroyed because they have different beliefs. Friends became enemies because of different spiritual paths. How could this happen if the Dalai Lama is out there promoting peace and harmony to why world and could not care less about his own people?

now that the Dalai Lama is no longer the leader of Tibet, since his retirement, the CTA should do something for the people instead of just hanging on the coat tails of the Dalai Lama. The CTA could the world some justice and show us that you are a government who cares for your people. Lift the ban!

The suffering should end. In fact  if the ban is lifted, it would be a road to recovery for Tibetans who suffered just like the lost generation children of Australia where the government removed aboriginal children from their families and put into white families to live as whites. This caused suffering for the aborigine parents and the children who grows up without their identity. The Australian Government apologised decades later for their mistake.

[dondrup]

On a secular and conventional level, HH Dalai Lama is clearly a despot.  HH Dalai Lama does not seem to practise what he had taught. HH Dalai Lama does not apppear to be exuding love, compassion, equanimity, kindness and care toward the Dorje Shugden followers. Why it is okay for HH Dalai Lama to be associated with Shoko Asahara and not Dorje Shugden followers? Why is it that all the Gelug lineage lamas who practise Dorje Shugden were wrong and only HH Dalai Lama is right about Dorje Shugden? There are so much that we can prove HH Dalai Lama is wrong about Dorje Shugden.

I do not know how HH Dalai Lama is going to lift the ban in the future.  We know that HH Dalai Lama is believed to be an emanation of Chenrezig.  Though His actions on banning Dorje Shugden appear to be unacceptable, illogical and non-Buddhist, most of us would prefer to have the pure view that HH Dalai Lama had done it for a bigger purpose to make Dorje Shugden spread far and wide for the benefit of all sentient beings.  Chenrezig had set up the ban for the purification of negative karma of Dorje Shugden followers. It is merely an illusory play of the enlightened Chenrezig!

When the time comes for the ban to be lifted, what will happen to HH Dalai Lama?  How is HH Dalai Lama going to account for all the 'damages' done to all the Dorje Shugden followers? It is impossible for HH Dalai Lama and Central Tibetan Administration to reverse the sufferings that all the Dorje Shugden followers had experienced since the ban was imposed decades ago.

As long as the ban continues the repercussion will become stronger. HH Dalai Lama could take the brunt of the lift of the ban as He is Chenrezig.  However what about the opponents of Dorje Shugden who had supported HH Dalai Lama's ban on Dorje Shugden?

At the end of the day, HH Dalai Lama (or emanation of the fully enlightened Chenrezig) who has the complete ominiscience, compassion and skilful means, knew what He had been doing and what He will do is for the benefit of all sentient beings.

[Big Uncle]

Well, yes the Dalai Lama is a despot and his biggest boo-boo is this Dorje Shugden ban. However, I don't think he will bring the ban down because it has brought him disrepute or that it has been very damaging. He seems to be denying this fact through and through. In my opinion, I think the best way to bring the ban down would be to highlight the abuse done in the name of the ban with documented evidence as this website had done and also to spread authentic Dorje Shugden far and wide.

When more people understand the special qualities of Dorje Shugden, it would be unbearable to uphold a nonsensical ban. More should be done to highlight these two aspects of Dorje Shugden and through this, the ban would be brought down. It is not logic and reasoning now but with overwhelming evidence of the negative effects of the ban and the authenticity and efficacy of Dorje Shugden practice that will bright down the ban.

[eyesoftara]

Whether the Dalai Lama is a despot, for me is not important. What is important is that he has not been effective politically and even in religion his only claim to fame (or rather notoriety) is the Shugden ban. The CTA is has not been effective as well and they should all resign for not doing their job.
Regardless, I believe the way to bring down the ban is to force the Dalai Lama's hand by educating the world about the Shugden practice on human rights grounds, spirituality of the practice and on simple illogical reasoning that the Dalai Lama has given for the ban.

[yontenjamyang]

The most important principle in Buddhism to me is the Law of Cause and Effect. Applying this law to what the Dalai Lama did, ie causing the suffering of millions of Tibetans by imposing the ban, the Dalai Lama has generated negative karma and along with it the CTA. Yes, in that sense, the Dalai Lama is a despot. From the results that the Dalai Lama has caused, it is same or even worse than the apartheid regime of South Africa. In that way, He is a despot.

[dsiluvu]

The most important principle in Buddhism to me is the Law of Cause and Effect. Applying this law to what the Dalai Lama did, ie causing the suffering of millions of Tibetans by imposing the ban, the Dalai Lama has generated negative karma and along with it the CTA. Yes, in that sense, the Dalai Lama is a despot. From the results that the Dalai Lama has caused, it is same or even worse than the apartheid regime of South Africa. In that way, He is a despot.

Yeah I do agree with this especially when you just look at this way. But the funny thing is why hasn't anyone from the UN question Him for these very acts and facts? Have we not done enough to create awareness or have we missed something?

So I do kind agree with what BigUncle said...

"I don't think he will bring the ban down because it has brought him disrepute or that it has been very damaging. He seems to be denying this fact through and through. In my opinion, I think the best way to bring the ban down would be to highlight the abuse done in the name of the ban with documented evidence as this website had done and also to spread authentic Dorje Shugden far and wide."

I agree with this because with real evidence and facts, no matter how many thime the CTA says we're false and we're untrue, the truth will still be the truth and they cannot alter the facts too much because then they will automatically be the ones creating false stories and accusations... in which I think they've shamelessly started already. Sad how ignorant and naive Tibetans can be.

So the next step we as practitioners should wisely take is to educate as many people as possible on who is Dorje Shugden and the special qualities of Dorje Shugden. The more people know and understand about Dorje Shugden and the lineage, the more they will realise that the ban is simply ridiculous, and practitioners everywhere are being abused, threatened, bullied and discriminated constantly! This has all got to STOP!!!