MORE SAD NEWS. SORRY BUT NECESSARY TO INFORM ALL OF YOU.

[kris]

3. HH Dalai Lama ordering all Gelug Institutions (Gaden, Sera, Drepung) to place a Guru Rinpoche statue in their main prayer halls. It is a requirement now.

May I know what is the significants of placing Guru Rinpoche statue in main prayer hall?

[Zach]

3. HH Dalai Lama ordering all Gelug Institutions (Gaden, Sera, Drepung) to place a Guru Rinpoche statue in their main prayer halls. It is a requirement now.

May I know what is the significants of placing Guru Rinpoche statue in main prayer hall?

So they have to eventually adopt Nyingma practices in all Gelug monastries. 

[Manjushri]

3. HH Dalai Lama ordering all Gelug Institutions (Gaden, Sera, Drepung) to place a Guru Rinpoche statue in their main prayer halls. It is a requirement now.

May I know what is the significants of placing Guru Rinpoche statue in main prayer hall?

Dear Kris,

Thank you for pointing this out as I was wondering exactly the same thing!! Why did the DL order all the main prayer halls to place a statue of Guru Rinpoche there? Followers of the Nyingma school regard Guru Rinpoche as the second Buddha.. But DL belongs to Gelug right, wouldn't it make more sense to put Lama Tsongkhapa statues? Hmm, anyways, just a thought.

Reading the other posts, it is so nice to know and see that despite being ostracized against, despite the discrimination, the suffering, the pain, the dorje shugden practitioners still hold no grudge towards the Dalai Lama. This shows how much faith they have in a highly respected lama. They don't complain, they don't make a scene, they have resilience, determination and devotion. They cannot choose between the DL or DS, but they will never give up their protector. This is the feeling I get from reading the other posts about the Shar Gaden monks. Whatever the Dalai lama is doing, they respect, but they hold so strongly to their faith, their practise and what their guru has given them. How beautiful. 

[Ensapa]

3. HH Dalai Lama ordering all Gelug Institutions (Gaden, Sera, Drepung) to place a Guru Rinpoche statue in their main prayer halls. It is a requirement now.

May I know what is the significants of placing Guru Rinpoche statue in main prayer hall?

Maybe HHDL plans to absorb Nyigmapa into Gelugpa. But it is already a well known fact that Tsongkhapa is actually Guru Rinpoche himself. So why the statue? Or perhaps HHDL wants to appease Nyigmapas who were jealous of Gelugpa and make them less antagonistic towards Gelugpa? I sure dont hope that next, every Gelug master will be required to practice on of the terma teachings.

[Zach]

3. HH Dalai Lama ordering all Gelug Institutions (Gaden, Sera, Drepung) to place a Guru Rinpoche statue in their main prayer halls. It is a requirement now.

May I know what is the significants of placing Guru Rinpoche statue in main prayer hall?

Maybe HHDL plans to absorb Nyigmapa into Gelugpa. But it is already a well known fact that Tsongkhapa is actually Guru Rinpoche himself. So why the statue? Or perhaps HHDL wants to appease Nyigmapas who were jealous of Gelugpa and make them less antagonistic towards Gelugpa? I sure dont hope that next, every Gelug master will be required to practice on of the terma teachings.

Dont know how that would happen Gelugs dont consider Nyingma Termas to be authentic, Note why Tsongkhapa didnt incorperate Dzogchen into his formation as well.

[diamond girl]

I have heard that before Sokpa Khamtsen was established in Gaden Shartse, the representative at that time of this Khamtsen insisted to build the khamtsen house at the current area or they will pull out the sponsorship. The reason behind this was because they wanted to BLOCK the DHARMAPALA HOUSE which houses the Dorje Shugden statue and whereby the renown Dulzin Kuten or Choyang Kuten used to take trance of Dorje Shugden. Sokpa Khamtsen then build a L - Shape building to block the Dharmapala House from the main road.

And guess what? This Dharmapala House was build in 1985 when HH visited Gaden, HH then requested Shartse to MOVE the Dorje Shugden statue from Gaden Lachi (Protector Chapel) to another property. And when they build this house, many sponsors offered money including the monks and lay people of Dharamsala and Sera - these are the people who now claims that they do not practice this protector anymore. Please see the sponsor list (picture below) in the protector house. Their names are there until today.  Interesting!!!

Yes, to add to the story was that Shar Gaden offered to buy up the land in front of the protector house but was refused. The land was then given to Sockpa Jamyang Khangtsen by Gaden Shartse to build their building. Sockpa Jamyang Khangtsen was the first Khangtsen to swear in when the ban was inforced.

The Dorje Shugden statue was temporarily housed in Zong Ladrang while they renovated the Protector house. The main sponsors include Trijang Rinpoche and Zong Rinpoche. Imagine these highly attained lamas  sponsoring this protector house, how could this practice be wrong?

When I learnt that the holy DS statue was removed from the Gaden Lachi Protector chapel in 1985, I was pissed. I was angry by this gross disrespect! How dare the HHDL? Then after listening to further explanations by the monks, I contemplated and came to the realization that it was skillful of HHDL to remove DS to another separate house.

The Ban became full blown in 1995-1996, the holy statue was invited out in 1985, this was 10 years apart. By moving the statue HHDL had actually preserved the statue and the practice! Today, although the L-shape construction blocks the direct view, it is still a place safekeeping the holy beautiful statue. Much blessings from DS to the area.

I also learnt that the Setrab statue in the Gaden Lachi Protector chapel has mantras of DS and prayers inserted. Does this mean the monks are still praying to DS??   

[Galen]

I also learnt that the Setrab statue in the Gaden Lachi Protector chapel has mantras of DS and prayers inserted. Does this mean the monks are still praying to DS??   

Haha... Yes, the monks are then definitely still praying to DS if mantras and prayers are inside the Setrab statue. I heard that they can remove the mantras and would have to leave it there.

I won't be surprised if the other statues in the main prayer hall has DS mantras and prayers inserted in them also because the statues were there before the ban. So in fact all monks are still praying to DS. 

[pgdharma]

Hahaha if DS prayers and mantras are still inside Setrab statue or in any other statues in the monasteries, surely the monks are praying to Dorje Shugden.

HHDL is very skilful. He ordered the Dorje Shugden statue to be removed from Gaden Lachi to another chapel. The statue was not destroyed. So it looks like whether Dorje Shugden is moved to a separate chapel or monks praying to Setrab statues, they are all still praying to Dorje Shugden

[Ensapa]

There are still many statues within the monastery that still has DS's mantras inserted into. Perhaps, even the main statue of Tsongkhapa in Ganden has Dorje Shugden's mantras inserted inside as they are actually the one and the same in reality. Does this mean that everyone is still praying to Dorje Shugden in reality? So why did the Dalai Lama not inspect those statues that were consecrated by none other than Trijang Rinpoche, or high Lamas that were also for sure, Dorje Shugden practitioners? If they were, it is without a doubt that those statues were inserted with Dorje Shugden mantras. In one way or another, they were praying to Dorje Shugden all along even if the main statue was not present. And they still are till this very day. If the Dalai Lama really wanted to remove everything, he would have to need to replace the statues as well as they also contain Dorje Shugden images inside them as well. But they remained untouched.

on what Zach had said about the Nyingma termas, not every single terma is not authentic. Termas whose teachings can be traced back to a source is considered authentic. If not, why would there be a Dorje Shugden Terma that is in existence? I believe that Lama Tsongkhapa also had Nyingma Gurus as he sought teachings from all traditions of his time, so it does not mean that it is not possible to work out the differences between Nyingma and Gelug and have them assimilated together. After all, Guru Rinpoche is also Tsongkhapa and they are of the same mindstream and we should not say that one tradition is better than the other.