Tibet's Mystic Politics: Review of The Dalai Lama and the King Demon by Raimondo

[DharmaSpace]

"If there is dispute, there is contention; if there is contention, there is trouble; if there is trouble, there is vexation."
--The Buddha

In February and March this year we witnessed the bizarre spectacle of groups of Western Buddhists in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., screaming at the Dalai Lama, accusing him of "religious persecution" and "abuse of basic human rights." The Dalai Lama, one of the most respected and trusted global figures and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize who has made interfaith dialogue and understanding a fundamental aspect of his life's mission! What on Earth, one may ask, is going on?

Italian journalist Raimondo Bultrini attempts to unravel this mystery in his new book, The Dalai Lama and the King Demon: Tracking a Triple Murder Mystery Through the Mists of Time (Hay House, 2013). Bultrini chronicles a controversy that has carved a jagged and painful path through Tibetan Buddhist society. In its passage, a serious threat to the Dalai Lama's authority, an unforgiving and occasionally violent divide between his people, a smear on the reputation of Buddhism itself, and a heaven-sent scenario for China's state actors to sow discord and distrust and win allies among the Tibetan people.

The extreme edge of this damage was the savage murder in 1997 of a senior monk, Geshe Lobsang Gyatso, and two junior monks. The attack, which sent shockwaves through the Tibetan exile community, took place in a monastery adjacent to the Dalai Lama's compound in Dharamsala, India. Gyatso, who had been an outspoken critic of the practice of a particular entity in the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon called Dorje Shugden, was stabbed 17 times and his throat slit. The subsequent police investigation implicated two Shugden followers. Arrest warrants were issued by Interpol, but the suspects were believed to have fled to Nepal and then to China. Although their guilt was never determined in a court of law, the majority of the Tibetan diaspora remain convinced that Shugdenites were to blame. An ancient spiritual feud had entered contemporary lethality.

2014-06-08-shugden.jpg

As early as the mid-'70s, the Dalai Lama began advising against the practice of Dorje Shugden, whom he calls Dogyal, or "demon king," explaining that it encourages discord and division between the different Tibetan Buddhist schools. Indeed, Shugden devotees represent an ultraconservative (some would say fundamentalist) branch of Tibetan Buddhism that seeks to maintain what they regard as a more authentic lineage. The Dalai Lama's later comments describing Shugden as "a spirit of the dark forces" and prohibiting followers from attending his teachings had a ripple effect within the diaspora. Though he never directly forbade the practice, the Dalai Lama's statements resulted in a de facto ban that was self-enforced by the majority of Tibetan exiles.

Shugden practitioners gradually became social pariahs. Shopkeepers refused to sell to them, and landlords refused to rent to them. In 2008 the Tibetan leadership ordered the monasteries in South India to purge their populations of Shugden devotees. Monks who had formerly lived like brothers were now forbidden to talk to one another. The more zealous engaged in violent scuffles and beatings. Hundreds of monks were expelled, and those who remained were required to publicly denounce the practice under the eyes of the abbots, eager to prove their loyalties. For their part, Shugden representatives began comparing the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government's handling of the issue to the Nazis and cosying up to China.

The Dalai Lama and the King Demon veers from a semi-fictionalized account of the investigation of the murders by Indian police ("[W]hat kind of religion is this that unleashes a massacre of monks, butchered because of some invisible spirit?") into a first-person narrative of Bultrini's forays into Tibetan Buddhism and meanders into a chronicle of the controversy's obscure religious history. These different approaches to the story have their own merit, but the result makes for rather unwieldy and choppy reading.

There are a number of interesting dialogues with leading Shugden personalities such as Ganchen Tulku and Kundeling Rinpoche. Significantly absent, however, is the highly influential Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, who heads the New Kadampa Tradition that runs over 500 centers around the world. We never get to hear the personal perspective of ordinary Tibetan Shugden practitioners, either lay or monastic, whom Bultrini characterizes as "pawns" in the dispute.

Another omission is any substantial analysis of the Western Shugden Buddhists, who curiously have emerged as a well-funded and vocal lobby in what previously was a purely Tibetan domain. The Shugden Supporters Community, the Freedom Foundation, and, more recently, the International Shugden Community (ISC) are all fronts for the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT), who make the highly implausible claim of 4 million Shugden followers worldwide. Bultrini's inquiry would have benefited from an interview with American ISC spokesperson Rebecca Gauthier, for example, who, in between posts about "stress-busting" salad dressings, tweets things like "10 SIMPLE reasons why Dorje Shugden is a Buddha and NOT a spirit" and "The Dalai Lama is NOT REAL: find out why here."

This arcane religious dispute revolves largely around two of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism: Nyingma and Gelug (the latter being the most dominant school, to which the Dalai Lama belongs). The historical origins reach back to the 17th century, when a rival of the fifth Dalai Lama, Drakpa Gyaltsen, died under mysterious circumstances and was later reincarnated as a fierce guardian of Gelugpa orthadoxy. In fact, as Bultrini points out, the Shugden issue has always involved tensions between staunch traditionalists and more liberal elements of Tibetan society and seems to raise its head whenever a Dalai Lama pursues a policy of modernization and religious inclusiveness. The present 14th Dalai Lama, as well as the 13th and fifth before him, all eschewed sectarianism and chose to receive some of their instruction from Nyingma masters. The Shugden ghost has haunted them all.

The agonizing choice that ordinary Shugden followers feel forced to make between loyalty to their beloved leader and their sacred vows to the teachers from whom they received the practice is difficult to fathom by those unfamiliar with the enormously important role that the guru plays in Tibetan Buddhism. These days, even among the educated, Shugden has taken on a Voldermort-like persona, and many Tibetans are scared to even utter the word "Shugden" out loud. Rumors abound about Gelug followers who practice Nyingma teachings having their lives cut short or meeting with sudden misfortune.

The attacks on the Dalai Lama by the Shugdenites, particularly by Westerners, are cultish, paranoid and extreme. While accusing him of religious discrimination, they themselves maintain a far less ecumenical approach by pressuring their own followers to not engage in Nyingma practices. But the Tibetan government's response has been less than skillful, with incendiary speeches that have been easily interpreted as encouraging violence. Most recently, the Central Tibetan Administration has made public a "blacklist" of Tibetan Shugdenites. Dorje Shugden is either a malevolent spirit or an enlightened being, depending upon whom you ask (and the book title is revealing of the author's own bias), but the "Shugden effect" in terms of both Tibetan society and the Tibetan cause appears to consist solely of damage. None of it seems particularly Buddhist.

Chinese authorities in Tibet have been quick to take advantage of the situation, knocking down statues sacred to followers of the Nyingma and erecting statues of Dorje Shugden. The Chinese-appointed Panchen Lama (as opposed to the one acknowledged by the Dalai Lama and the majority of Tibetans) finds support among key Shugden leaders, and Bultrini asserts that a number of Shugden projects are funded directly from Beijing.

It may all sound deeply superstitious and chimeric to outsiders, but the implications of the Shugden affair are eminently tangible in a society where light struggles to shine between politics and religion. The very language required to discuss it sounds more or less preposterous to those who are unfamiliar with the psycho-symbology of Tibetan Buddhism, and this is exactly why it is so difficult for the Dalai Lama to respond to his detractors in a way that is coherent to Western ears.

Although many in the Tibetan establishment express their preference to "let sleeping dogs lie," it is clear that this particular dog is not only awake but becoming increasingly active. Bultrini's book is a timely and well-researched contribution to the debate. His obvious devotion to the Dalai Lama and his immersion in Tibetan Buddhism could be viewed as a hindrance to his objectivity, although it is hard to imagine anyone not personally invested in the Tibetan Buddhist world having the patience or persistence to produce an entire book on such an abstruse topic. The audience will, necessarily, be small but attentive.

Perhaps Bultrini's greatest accomplishment is in paving the way for more candid and less polarized discussion on an issue that is slowly but consistently gnawing at the very heart of the Tibetan Buddhist world. For those who may choose to engage, it is worth recalling the Dalai Lama's advice to Bultrini: "Don't be frightened of spirits, but be wary of men with knives."

Follow Rebecca Novick on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RebNov

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2014-06-08-shugden-thumb.jpg

There some errors and some points to consider by the author of the article

Errors
1. Firstly the Dalai Lama has mentioned he does not allow people or monks to do the practice of Dorje Shugden there is even video proof. Usually in public the Dalai Lama would say people are free to choose, to the Tibetans he is very explicit, what is implied if you want to stay a government official, get aid for your situation not to be ostracised you have to stop doing the practice your Guru gave to you.

2. The author also missed out in mentioning besides NKT, there are the people who are part of  who are  Shar Gaden and Serpom and many more I think. 

3. Dalai Lama has teachers from Nyingma and Gelug, the education part is from the Gelug side, the Dalai Lama also receives initiations from Nyingma lama like Dilgo Khyentse too.

4. The ban is not about Nyingma and Gelug. It is about the Dalai lama claiming that the Gelug tradition is practicing something unbuddhist and unwholesome and such a practice will bring disaster to His Holiness and Tibetan Freedom cause. 

5. The Dalai Lama is not the head of the Gelugs, the Gaden Tripa is.

I wish the author will consider the following points.

1. If Dorje Shugden was a spirit a simple buddhist ritual would be enough to dispel this spirit?
    If Buddhism can't dispel a mere spirit, then Buddhism that is pervading now is not the real dharma.
2. The Dalai Lama relies on Nechung also a spirit and this is confirmed.
3. If the Gelug did indeed relied on a spirit, why do the great lamas come back?
4. Do you know Dalai lama allowed Trijang Rinpoche to practice Dorje Shugden?
5. The only reason why there are demonstrations is because there is no dialogue.
6. Why is it childish to have a demonstration the people in US did it to end the Vietnam war, remember Arab Spring etc etc



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rebecca-novick/the-dalai-lama-and-the-king-demon_b_5468878.html

[Big Uncle]

Dear Dharma Space,

Thank you for posting this review. It is well-written and in consideration of both opposing views and stance in contention between the Dalai Lama camp and the Shugden practitioners. I like it very much because it does sound very objective in consideration of the facts presented within the book. Although the book is lacking in its investigation of the NKT, WSS and probably the Shugden monasteries of Shar Gaden and Serpom, it is still quite comprehensive as to the information that was probably exposed to the author. As the reviewer objective concluded that the book's view was colored by the author's devotion towards the Dalai Lama. I did like what she said as in the fact that the real contribution of the book was probably paving the way for more objective investigation into the matter.

It is sad that the Nyingma card has been used again and again by some scholars due to the stories in the Yellow Book and also from what they know of Dorje Shugden initiation. Dorje Shugden is not anti-Nyingma. No... Dorje Shugden is for being loyal to one's lineage as Lama Tsongkhapa's doctrine has special blessings towards achieving a special understanding of the Buddha's intent and gaining realization swiftly.

[dsiluvu]

There some errors and some points to consider by the author of the article

Errors
1. Firstly the Dalai Lama has mentioned he does not allow people or monks to do the practice of Dorje Shugden there is even video proof. Usually in public the Dalai Lama would say people are free to choose, to the Tibetans he is very explicit, what is implied if you want to stay a government official, get aid for your situation not to be ostracised you have to stop doing the practice your Guru gave to you.

2. The author also missed out in mentioning besides NKT, there are the people who are part of  who are  Shar Gaden and Serpom and many more I think.

3. Dalai Lama has teachers from Nyingma and Gelug, the education part is from the Gelug side, the Dalai Lama also receives initiations from Nyingma lama like Dilgo Khyentse too.

4. The ban is not about Nyingma and Gelug. It is about the Dalai lama claiming that the Gelug tradition is practicing something unbuddhist and unwholesome and such a practice will bring disaster to His Holiness and Tibetan Freedom cause.

5. The Dalai Lama is not the head of the Gelugs, the Gaden Tripa is.

I wish the author will consider the following points.

1. If Dorje Shugden was a spirit a simple buddhist ritual would be enough to dispel this spirit?
    If Buddhism can't dispel a mere spirit, then Buddhism that is pervading now is not the real dharma.
2. The Dalai Lama relies on Nechung also a spirit and this is confirmed.
3. If the Gelug did indeed relied on a spirit, why do the great lamas come back?
4. Do you know Dalai lama allowed Trijang Rinpoche to practice Dorje Shugden?
5. The only reason why there are demonstrations is because there is no dialogue.
6. Why is it childish to have a demonstration the people in US did it to end the Vietnam war, remember Arab Spring etc etc

Thanks Dharma Space for pointing out the ERRORS. I also wish the author would investigate properly and to show a little bit more professionalism in his writings by being more unbiased. He could have simply gone to see the huge WALL that SEPARATES Shugden practitioners and non-Shugdens, he will realise the level of discrimination and the kind of injustice the Shugden practitioners have to face.


http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/the-controversy/the-segregation-wall-at-ganden-monastery/

SO I would also add...

7. If Dorje Shuugden was an evil demon, then why did the Sakya not subdue him from the very beginning when Dorje Shugden went to their monastery? Could have made him one of their Dharma protector's entourage?
8. Why did the 5th Dalai Lama need to build a chapel especially for Dorje Shugden and even wrote a prayer and a note of apology for the wrongs his people have done, murdering Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen?
9. If H.H. Dalai Lama says His Gurus are wrong, then wouldn't that mean He has broken His samaya with His Gurus who taught him all that He has learned?
10. And now passing on the teachings and initiations His Gurus gave him to others, with broken samaya,  wouldn't that be powerless, without blessings and attainments?
11. SO the ban on Dorje Shugden supposedly a "spirit" was confirm because Dalai Lama and Tibetan Leaders took the advice of another "spirit" Nechung oracle and that is okay?
12. So all these highly attained Gurus and Lamas listed below, equals to HHDL, are blind, ignorant, and could not see through that Dorje Shugden is a spirit, hence they are all wrong???


1.   His Holiness Pabongka Rinpoche Dorje Chang
2.   His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche
3.   His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche
4.   Kyabje Domo Geshe Rinpoche
5.   Kyabje Domo Geshe Rinpoche Losang Jigme Ngak-Gi Wangchuk
6.   Lama Yeshe
7.   Kyabje Dhapu Bamcho Rinpoche (root lama of Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche)
8.   Geshe Rabten Rinpoche
9.   Kyabje Zemey Dorje Chang
10.   Zeme_Rinpoche
11.   H.E. Kyabje Zemey Dorje Chang (new and current incarnation)
12.   9th Panchen Lama
13.   The 10th Panchen Lama
14.   Gaden Jangtse Monastery His Eminence Kyabje Serkong Dorje Chang (two reincarnations ago)
15.   Gaden Jangtse Monastery His Eminence Kyabje Serkong Dorje Chang (previous reincarnation)
16.   His Eminence Nechung Rinpoche Ogyen Thinley Choephel
17.   His Eminence Taktra Rinpoche (previous Regent of Tibet)
18.   His Eminence Gangchen Rinpoche of Sera Mey Monastery
19.   Guru Deva Rinpoche of Drepung Gomang Monastery
20.   His Holiness the 101st Trisur Rinpoche Jetsun Lungrik Namgyal
21.   H.E. Kyabje Gyara Dorje Chang of Drepung Loseling Monastery
22.   Sera Mey Monastery Bompra Kensur Rinpoche Jetsun Lobsang Ngodrob
23.   Kyabje Gosok Rinpoche of Sera Mey Monastery
24.   His Eminence Kyabje Dagom Rinpoche of Drepung Gomang Monastery
25.   His Holiness the previous Sharpa Choeje Rinpoche Jetsun Lobsang Nyima Pelsangpo
26.   His Eminence Kyabje Lati Rinpoche
27.   His Eminence Kensur Jampa Yeshe Rinpoche
28.   Gyalrong Khensur Ngawang Thekchok of Sera Mey Monastery
29.   His Eminence Kyabje Gelek Rinpoche of Drepung Loseling Monastery
30.   Mongolian Hutuktu Kaka Jetsun Dampa
31.   His Eminence Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
32.   His Eminence Zasep Jamseng Rinpoche
33.   His Eminence Khejok Rinpoche of Sera Mey Monastery
34.   Geshe Yeshe Wangchuk of Sera Mey Monastery
35.   His Eminence Kyabje Yongyal Rinpoche of Sera Mey Monastery
36.   Geshe Khenrab Gajam of Ganden Jangtse Monastery
37.   Geshe Tsultrim Tenzin Rinpoche of Ganden Jangtse Monastery
38.   His Eminence Rongtha Gyabgon Rinpoche
39.   His Eminence Denma Gonsa Rinpoche
40.   Ven. Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen
41.   His Eminence Dagri Dorje Chang Rinpoche
42.   H.E. Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Tsephel of Ganden Jangtse Rinpoche
43.   Gaden Shartse Geshe Tendar Rinpoche (previous reincarnation)
44.   Gaden Shartse Geshe Tendar Rinpoche (current reincarnation)
45.   Jetsun Lobsang Choeje Jangchun (Ajing) Rinpoche
46.   Chamdo Jampa Ling’s His Eminence Papala Tenzin Jigme Gelek Rangje Rinpoche
47.   Chamdo Jampa Ling’s Jetsun Jampa Choeje Pelsangpo Rinpoche
48.   Chamdo Jampa Ling’s Khenpo Zongluo Jampa Khedrup Rinpoche
49.   Chamdo Jampa Ling’s Jetsun Jamyang Khejok Jampa Gyatso Rinpoche
50.   Riwoche Chakzamka Thubten Dargye Ling’s Tenchok Rinchen Jongnai Rinpoche
51.   Drakyab Tokden Rinpoche of Drepung Loseling Monastery
52.   Drepung Loseling Tsawa Pulthok Rinpoche
53.   Gaden Jangtse Serkong Tritul Rinpoche
54.   Gaden Shartse Kensur Konchok Tsering Rinpoche
55.   Kensur Tamding Gyatso Rinpoche of Gaden Shartse Monastery
56.   His Eminence Ribur Rinpoche
57.   His Eminence the Grand Gyuto Kensur Jetsun Lobsang Denpa of Gaden Shartse
58.   His Eminence Kensur Kari Rinpoche of Gaden Shartse
59.   Gaden Jangtse Thubten Tulku Rinpoche
60.   Ven. Zawa Tulku Rinpoche
61.   Chamdo Jampa Ling’s the 3rd Chiara Rinpoche
62.   Chakzamka Thubten Dargye Ling’s Khenpo Shangpa Yongten
63.   Kyabje Changkya Rinpoche
64.   His Eminence Rinchen Gonpo Rinpoche (previous incarnation)
65.   His Eminence Rinchen Gonpo Rinpoche (present incarnation)
66.   Chamdo Jinka Monastery’s Geshe Lobsang Khedrub
67.   Sera Jey’s Kyabje Daknak Rinpoche
68.   Kyabje Para Rinpoche
69.   Famous Kham Area’s Dorje Shugden Lineage Master Geshe Wangchuk
70.   Kyabje Buton Rinpoche Jetsun Losang Kenrab Denpa
71.   Venerable Gonsar Rinpoche Losang Thondrub Rabgye (previous incarnation)
72.   Venerable Gonsar Rinpoche (present incarnation)
73.   Sera Mey Kensur Ngawang Dakpa
74.   Sera Mey H.E. Tri-Yongzin Rinpoche
75.   Sera Mey Kangyur Rinpoche
76.   Venerable Geshe Thubten Rinpoche
77.   13th Kundeling Rinpoche of Drepung Gomang Monastery
78.   H.H. the 10th Panchen Lama and his Guru Dukor Rinpoche, both great practitioners of Dorje Shugden
79.   Ven.Dromtug Rinpoche (Jamseng Rinpoche)
80.   Lama Thubten Phurbu
81.   H.E. Choden Rinpoche
82.   Geshe Lobsang Tenzin
83.   Khachen Losang Zopa Rinpoche, Abbot of Tashi Lhunpo monastery
84.   H.E. Kyabje Rato Choktrul Rinpoche
85.   Drepung Loseling Jampa Rinpoche
86.   Geshe Gelek Gyatso
87.   Je Gungthang Rinpoche
88.   The Venerable Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey
89.   H.E. Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche
90.   H.E. Gyurme Khensur Sonam Gyaltsen
91.   H.E. Doboom Tulku Rinpoche
92.   Sangtsang Rinpoche
93.   Ven Geshe Tenzin Dorje
94.   KhensurLobsangTenpa
95.   Drepung Gomang Monastery Khensur Lobsang Tenpa
96.   Lama Michel Rinpoche
97.   Shar Gaden Abbot Lobsang Pendey
98.   His Eminence Choyang Duldzin Kuten Lama
99.   His Eminence Kensur Lobsang Tharchin Rinpoche
100.   Tenzin Rabgye Rinpoche (current incarnation of Geshe Rabten Rinpoche)
101.   Zava Damdin Rinpoche
102.   His Eminence Loden Sherab Dagyab Kyabgoen Rinpoche
103.   41st Sakya Throneholder H.H. Sakya Trizin
104.   39th Sakya Throneholder Dragshul Thinley Rinchen
105.   37th Sakya Throneholder Kunga Nyingpo
106.   35th Sakya Throneholder Tashi Rinchen

From: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/category/great-masters/recent-masters/
107.   33rd Sakya Throneholder Padma Dudul Wangchug
108.   31st Sakya Throneholder Kunkhyen Ngawang Kunga Lodroe
109.   30th Sakya Throneholder Sonam Rinchen
110.   Samdhong Rinpoche
111.   The 102nd Ganden Tripa Kyabje Rizong Rinpoche

   

[Blueupali]

Too bad this author couldn't interview an actual Shugden practioner like Kelsang Pema.  We used to have such amazing spokespeople back in the day.... when she was spokesperson, I notice the issues of the ban were addressed a lot more articulately and thoroughly. 

[diamond girl]

it is really too bad that the author did not study the extensive articles on this website which gives logical perspectives on this controversy.

I think that the reviewer gave as fair a review of the book as possible since she is obviously just looking at it at face value. She acknowledges the bias of the author as a follower of the Dalai Lama. I liked the conclusion she gave:

Perhaps Bultrini's greatest accomplishment is in paving the way for more candid and less polarized discussion on an issue that is slowly but consistently gnawing at the very heart of the Tibetan Buddhist world. For those who may choose to engage, it is worth recalling the Dalai Lama's advice to Bultrini: "Don't be frightened of spirits, but be wary of men with knives."

I do hope that that more people will be awakened by this book to the Dorje Shugden issue and study further.

[WisdomBeing]

I like this quote from the Dalai Lama - "Don't be frightened of spirits". In that case, why be so frightened of Dorje Shugden if he is a spirit? That is the realisation that the Great 5th Dalai Lama came to when he couldn't destroy Dorje Shugden.

He finally knew that Dorje Shugden was an enlightened being. So since the 14th Dalai Lama constantly refers to the closeness he has with his 5th incarnation, he should also - like his 5th incarnation - realise that Dorje Shugden is indeed a Buddha.