Dorje Shugden's five families, which is your favourite?

[tsangpakarpo]

I was reading about Dorje Shugden's different forms on dorjeshugden.net (http://dorjeshugden.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=777&catid=13&&Itemid=25) and decided to start a thread in this forum to see which form of Dorje Shugden does everybody here likes.

Besides his main form on a snow lion wearing a golden domed hat (Duldzin), he has four other official emanations, Shize, Gyenze, Wangze, and Trakze.

The below was shared by another forumer.

Shize (white): peaceful emanation (for healing, pacifying serious illnesses or natural calamities in certain areas)

Gyenze (yellow): the emanation for increase (increase of wealth, resources, attainments, dharma teachings and wisdom)

Wangze (red): control emanation (for taming very difficult minds, bringing peace and calming people with very difficult minds).

Trakze (dark red): wrathful emanation (for protection against or combatting very serious negative inteferences or disturbances)

Personally I like Wangze the most. As the above, Wangze is the control emanation. His practice will help us to spread the Dharma more effectively. Our speech will be able to calm the minds of others hence opening up their minds to accept Dharma knowledge better which can help them come out of their shell as an example.

So which is your favourite form of Dorje Shugden?

Also, if you guys know anything about the iconography of the four forms, please share!

[kris]

Personally, I still like the main emanation Duldzin Dorje Shugden

[jessicajameson]

Although they are one in the same, I owe special gratitude towards Trakze (Karma Shugden) for pulling my family up from the lowest of low during the financial crisis of 1998.

Known to be Dorje Shugden's most wrathful form, he is very swift in helping us overcome the strongest of negative obstacles. Those who are harmed by evil spirits, black magic or are in extremely dangerous situations, should focus on Trakze.

OM BENZA WIKI RAKYA RAKYA HUNG

As one of my friends put it, if you need someone to scare of something horrible and mean - you don't get Dorothy to chase him away. You get a Beast.

Of course, in the case of Trakze, he's a Beast that abides in compassion

[Rihanna]

My favourite is the same as you Jessica. TRAKZE or more fondly known by Indians as Karma Shugden. During such degenerate times, the more wrathful the better as our attachments and desire are so strong. Trakze rids on a garuda, the king of birds who is an implacable enemy and "devourer of serpent". Garuda feeds on snakes, which represents our anger. For someone who has anger as their main cause of downfall, perfect form to practice. A Dorje Shugden stalwart once shared that when all methods you have tried fail, he is your last hope. Propitiate him well, hold your vows, practice guru devotion and you will see the results. His advice came true.

[vajratruth]

Personally I am very drawn to Wangze. Tsangpakarpo is right to say that Wangze is the control form of Dorje Shugden. Specifically the said control refers to the control of the mind - one's own and others, but especially our own mind. This makes sense because how can we control the minds of others when we cannot even subjugate the very source of our own delusions?

Before we can deal with the minds of others, we must challenge and subdue our own afflictive emotions that spring from the mind. It is only by conquering our minds that our actions and speech will have a positive impact on others and influence them positively.

This is especially crucial given our understanding that all sufferings originate from the mind. Knowing how to reign in our own unruly minds enables us to grasp the dharma deeper and tap into the wisdom that gives us the insight into reality. The wisdom to deal with our negative mind is the same wisdom that teaches us how to overcome conflicts.

There is a point that I would like to clarify. I understand that the other 4 forms of Dorje Shugden are not emanations of Dorje Shugden as I have often come across,  but Dorje Shugden himself in a particular form.

[Dhiman]

Having been exposed to Dorje Shugden for quite some time, I must say that I do not have any specific liking to the different forms but rather I personally like them all the same. Each form provides blessings of different qualities, wouldn't it be nice to have initiations in all five forms and invoke the right blessing based on the time of need? But I seriously doubt I can handle that 

Even though Lord Shugden is the protector of our time and his practice will be very effective in this time and age, I still hold a special feeling towards Dharmapala Setrab Chen. Personally I think either practice is good and aids us effectively in our secular life as long as we hold them sincerely to heart.

[shugdenprotect]

Lord Dorje Shugden is just perfect and completely beautiful, inside and out Each of the members of the five families has such awesome characteristics that is symbolized impeccably by their respective mudras.

Nevertheless, I would humbly share about Gyenze whom, I was told, resides in Wu Tai Shan in China. Sincere practice of Gyenze can create the cause for the growth of our inner and outer wealth. Through my practice of Gyenze, which was generously given to me by my Guru, I witnessed the growth of my business as well as the recourses He made available. However, during the journey, there were moments of uncertainty as things just did not look like it was going in the right direction. Fortunately, with the kind guidance of my Guru, I developed strong faith in Gyenze and trusted that He will bring the benefits that my karma permits. Eventually, opportunities arose and what seemed to be obstacles turned into blessings in disguise.

One thing I would like to share is, Lord Shugden may bring us every blessing that is available on earth as he is just most compassionate. However, we must never stop working hard and sincerely to transform these blessings into tangible results and benefit others. What I learnt from my practice of Dorje Shugden is, the Buddhas and Protectors would give us everything, including enlightenment if they could. However, whether we have the ability to receive their gifts is entirely determined by our motivation, consistent effort and CLEAN SAMAYA with our Guru.

[DharmaDefender]

Setrab? Pelden Lhamo? Mahakala? Meh. Not to say they arent all-powerful and I geddit that Setrabs the same as Dorje Shugden because their in the same mandala but I get no stirring feelings when people talk about them or when I see their images. Its obvs wrong view on my part, duality of the mind and all that, but I dont have an attraction towards their practices. Great if other people do but not for me  mate...different strokes fer different folks.

Oh but give me Shize any day, or just the main form Dulzin. Oh yeah.

[Klein]

I personally like Wangze because the practice applies perfectly for me. I have a very difficult mind to tame due to my strong attachments. My lama gave me this practice many years ago and taught me the meditation for it. He said that this practice will enable me to use my speech to bring people into the dharma.

My lama also said that I can recite Wangze's mantra and blow on to gifts so that the people receiving them will be blessed and be drawn to the dharma.

This practice is not effective for enticing people to one's personal non-dharmic agendas.

[Positive Change]

Hard to really decide between any of the forms but if I were to go with my gut feel it would be Trakze aka Karma Shugden.

This “wrathful” form of Dorje Shugden is very dark red in colour and riding a magnificent garuda. Garudas are so alluring and intriguing. I find mystical creatures most fascinating!

This form is known to be swift in helping us overcome the strongest of negative obstacles, maras and evil sprits that harm practitioners.

Trakze’s practice is also very helpful for overcoming black magic and extremely dangerous situations.

As described in the texts: To the left, mighty Karma Shugden, very dark red with a wrathful manner, holding in his right hand a sword raised to enemies and devouring a crystal heart with his left. He has clothes of black silk and rides a wrathful garuda.

Below are some really cool pictures of all the 5 forms:

[samayakeeper]

I like all the Five forms and have no preference for just one. When I am given the practice of one of the forms that I have affinity with to overcome certain obstacles, I just do it. For example, now I am reciting Shitze (Vairochana Shugden) mantra to purify negative karma, poor health and obstacles. I have the main form on my shrine, a hand painted thangka of Gyenze (Ratna Shugden) with Je Rinpoche and sons; and another thangka of the main form in the center and the other four forms surrounding. MY point: I like all Five forms.

However, I like the round hat symbolizing Nagarjuna's views. If Dorje Shugden is a spirit then how come he is depicted as wearing the round hat?

 

[Big Uncle]

Personally, in terms of physical appearance, I like Gyenze or Ratna Shugden. I don't really know why but perhaps its because he has a relatively peaceful appearance and yet there's a hint of wrath on his face. I love deities like that. Of course, I like the fact that he is bringer of wealth and all desirable objects for our spiritual path. Don't we all need a little bit of material comforts so our minds will have faith in the Buddhas. It is also a reflection of my gross attachment to material objects.

On the other hand, I really like the surrounding entourage of the 8 mothers, 9 monks and 10 youthful and wrathful deities. I love these emanations and especially when they are depicted in thangkas. Would be neat if someone made statues of these figures. The 8 mothers and 9 monks are usually depicted in peaceful form but I have seen thangkas that has Trakze as the centerpiece, the surrounding 8 mothers and 9 monks are depicted in wrathful form. That's really neat!

 

[Dorje Pakmo]

My favourite is the same as you Jessica. TRAKZE or more fondly known by Indians as Karma Shugden. During such degenerate times, the more wrathful the better as our attachments and desire are so strong. Trakze rids on a garuda, the king of birds who is an implacable enemy and "devourer of serpent". Garuda feeds on snakes, which represents our anger. For someone who has anger as their main cause of downfall, perfect form to practice. A Dorje Shugden stalwart once shared that when all methods you have tried fail, he is your last hope. Propitiate him well, hold your vows, practice guru devotion and you will see the results. His advice came true.

I am personally drawn towards the wrathful form of Dorje Shugden, Trakze.
From my understanding, Trakze's practice will swiftly help practitioners to overcome the strongest of negative obstacles, evil spirits, black magic and extremely dangerous situations

The four maras,

1)Devaputra mara: Sheltering in pleasure and comfort.
-Deludes us into holding on to our great attachment and craving of comfort and things that are attractive.
   
2)Skandha mara: The Mara of the Aggregates.
The aggregates here refer to the five aggregates that make up samsaric existence.
Forms, Sensations, Perceptions, Thoughts, and Consciousness.
These aggregates are themselves mara, because being aggregates or composite, they are impermanent. Being impermanent they are constantly changing, and therefore they are always a cause, directly or indirectly, of suffering. 

3)Klesha mara: The Mara of the Disturbing Emotions and Attitudes..
- This mara arise from our own negative habituation since  beginning-less time. They are very hard to abandon or even to suppress. They can disappear for a long time, but when we are not aware, they come up again.

4)Yama mara: The Mara of Death.
-Death causes the greatest interference to our spiritual practice. It is not certain that in our next lives we will have precious human rebirths with all the respites and enrichments allowing us the most unhindered practice. Even with such a rebirth, we need to start our spiritual path once more as a child. Moreover, death recurs uncontrollably at the end of each lifetime.

Please if anyone has a reliable source of Trakze's iconography, do post it up. Thanks!

[dsiluvu]

To be very honest I love Dorje Shugden's main form in fierce red. Period. He encompasses all the other 4 forms. I've always been attracted to his main form for it is with a human face yet fierce and simple. And yes I love the snow lion too

But if u ask me which intrigues me most amongst the other 4 forms... I think I would say Pema Shugden / Wangze.  He helps us tame and subdue difficult minds so that we can support others to practice and apply the teachings with more focus. Wangze is helpful for overcoming very difficult situations that we cannot control by ordinary means. I have also heard that if you do his practice well and with good motivation you could also chant his mantra in any situation to influence the situation to a positive one because he is in
“control” form, bright red and riding a dragon.  He bestows controlling attainments. He is the speech emanation of Dorje Shugden and helps control the mind. I think I need that!

[tsangpakarpo]

Before we can deal with the minds of others, we must challenge and subdue our own afflictive emotions that spring from the mind. It is only by conquering our minds that our actions and speech will have a positive impact on others and influence them positively.

You're right. Before we even deal with the minds of others we should focus on our own. How silly for I to think I can help others without first dealing with my own silly mind. And because Wangze is an emanation of Manjushri as well, Wangze's practice will help enhance our speech and writing so that whatever we speak or write will be of benefit to others, ultimately bringing them closer to the Dharma.

Anyway I have included here a picture of Wangze/Pema Shugden statue at Trode Khangsar in Lhasa. Trode Khangsar was made the Protector House for Dorje Shugden by the Fifth Dalai Lama. You can read more about Trode Khangsar here (http://www.dorjeshugdenhistory.org/trode-khangsar.html)

There is also a little story about Trode Khangsar and the Qing Emperor, Daoguang, extracted from http://www.dorjeshugdenhistory.org/trode-khangsar-11.html

At the time of the Eleventh Dalai Lama, Khedrub Gyatso (1838-1856), there was an Amban (an official from the Chinese Qing dynasty) present in Lhasa. This Amban had some important matters which he brought before the Dorje Shugden oracle at Trode Khangsar. The answers to these questions were then brought to the Qing Emperor Daoguang (1782-1850). Daoguang rewarded Dorje Shugden with a pandit hat and official praise. The Eleventh Dalai Lama, Retreng Rinpoche, the Amban, the Dorje Shugden oracle and various official monks partook of a grand ceremony in the courtyard of Trode Khangsar, and the pandit award was placed over its door (DCG, f.139-140).