.... Or is it?....A new article up on the website that's sure to shake the Tibetan community to its core. Indeed, where IS Tibet's freedom? Here's the link to the article, or read it right below. It's important to watch the video first before you read on. The kind folks here have even clipped out essential parts of the videos for easy viewing.
Do take note of the inconsistencies of the Tibetan government, especially this question: why pray and rely on beings that aren't enlightened, but reject a Protector who is an emanation of the enlightened Buddha Manjushri? Not logical???
http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/news/tibets-freedom-is-near/
TIBET'S FREEDOM IS NEARFirst, watch the video:
Indeed, where IS Tibet’s freedom? It’s been 53 years since the Dalai Lama fled Tibet, along with hundreds of monks, nuns and laypeople to try to find a new life in the neighbouring countries of India, Nepal and Bhutan. There has been no progress in the fight for freedom throughout the 53 years and it does not look like the Tibetans are any closer to getting freedom or autonomy.
This video report by France 24, created in 2009 brings another perspective. It reveals the prophecies given by an Indian Hindu ‘goddess’ and a Buddhist oracle about the future of the Tibetan people. The first is called Sambhavi, the reincarnation of a Hindu goddess in the form of a little girl, who states that the Tibetans will return in 2012. The second, the state oracle of Tibet, named Nechung, reveals that the Dalai Lama will go to China, teach there and everyone will be happy. (By stating that he will go to China, this indicates that Tibet is free and the Dalai Lama is allowed to return to what is currently Chinese soil).
(1) It has been 3 years since the video was made and the Tibetans are no closer to getting their country back or returning to their homeland. Why is this happening? Why isn’t the Dalai Lama any closer to returning to Tibet? Are all the prophecies wrong?
If the prophecies really are wrong and not coming true, then we are forced to ask the question: Why does the Dalai Lama and his government, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) continue to rely on such inaccurate oracles and Hindu ‘goddesses’ for guidance and counsel?
(2) It is very important to note that these two beings featured in the news report are NOT enlightened beings. In a Buddhist sense, it is safe only to rely completely on fully enlightened beings – i.e. Buddhas – for the most accurate prophecies and guidance as they have full omniscience, wisdom and compassion. Any lesser beings who are not enlightened have only limited wisdom and clairvoyance and therefore are often unable to give the most accurate advice. Nechung is commonly known for not being an enlightened being but a spirit who was tamed and subdued; Sambhavi, the Hindu ’goddess’, is also not enlightened (we do not mean any disrespect in saying this, but it is the truth).
There are huge contradictions in the way the Dalai Lama and his government conduct such matters. They will seek the guidance of unenlightened deity oracles, but at the same time ban the practice of enlightened deities such as the Buddha Dorje Shugden. They encourage and openly publicize Sambhavi and Nechung, but persecute, attack and discriminate against Dorje Shugden devotees, claiming that Dorje Shugden is not a correct practice. If relying on Dorje Shugden, a fully enlightened Buddha, is not correct, then what is? And why is it more acceptable and correct to rely on unenlightened beings? This goes against the most basic principles and teachings of Buddhism.
(3) This also begs the question: why are the Tibetans placing so much emphasis and focus on the advice of oracles instead of assuming a level of responsibility and being answerable to their own failures? A few years ago, it was declared that the practice of the deity Dorje Shugden would harm the cause for the freedom of Tibet; that if people prayed to him, it would jeopardize their chances of returning to their homeland. Instead of assuming responsibility, they blamed their failure on a deity. History repeats itself now, as they pin all their hopes of freedom on the forecast of other deities. Why do they lay the entire future of their own people in religion, instead of doing something tangible on a secular level to improve the life of Tibetans right now?
Moreover, the devoted Tibetans have ardently listened to the advice of the Dalai Lama and have abandoned the practice of Dorje Shugden for well over a decade… So where is Tibet’s freedom? They still seem no closer to obtaining freedom in any way. So is the failure to achieve freedom really Dorje Shugden’s fault?
(4) As you will see in the third video, members of the Tibetan authority are very evasive when asked what they think about the Nechung oracle’s prophecies. They clearly do not wish to comment on the subject and those who do, speak quite reluctantly. This shows that even those in higher positions of secular authority are not eager to say that they agree with the oracles. Nor are they allowed to openly disagree with the oracles and what they say. While some are afraid to take responsibility for the actions of the secular government, others are simply not allowed to. To disagree with the Nechung oracle and his advice would be likened to a sort of betrayal against the Dalai Lama and the state.
If we are to speak about freedom, it is obvious that even within the Tibetan exiled community, there is no freedom among themselves. The Tibetans are not given any room to truly speak up, to speak against these old religious traditions or to lobby for more progressive secular governing methods and initiatives. Spiritual authority is not allowed to be questioned.
(5) On a spiritual level, it also does not make sense for the Dalai Lama to be consulting unenlightened deity oracles like this. Buddhists believe him to be the emanation of the Buddha of Compassion, Chenrezig. As a fully enlightened being with full clairvoyance, why would he need to consult the advice and guidance of lesser beings, at a lower level of attainment?
Furthermore, among the most basic commitments of any religious practitioner who has embraced the Buddhist path is not to rely or pray to unenlightened beings. Both Sambhavi and Nechung are very clearly unenlightened beings. (Please see here for further information about the true nature of Nechung:
http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/spirits-in-dharamsala/). For the Dalai Lama and his people to rely on them in this way sends an incorrect message to all Buddhists as it obviously and directly contravenes the most basic promises we take as we enter the path.
(6) It is also widely known throughout history that Nechung, the state oracle, has made countless mistakes in his prophecies and advice. This has been clearly documented and some mistakes have been extremely serious, contributing to the loss of their country. Why then do the CTA, their Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay and the Dalai Lama continue to seek and heed the advice of this deity? At the same time, they reject the advice and practice of a highly accurate and enlightened Buddha like Dorje Shugden. This is not logical, nor fair to the devotees of Dorje Shugden, who are constantly berated, belittled and attacked for their belief and practice.
The greater irony in all of this is that it was Nechung who had ‘advised’ the Dalai Lama and his government to stop praying to Dorje Shugden. It was Nechung who stated that the practice of Dorje Shugden would hurt the cause for Tibet’s independence and cause the Dalai Lama’s life to shorten. It seems almost farcical that an unenlightened being would be denigrating and giving advice against an enlightened being, and that the Dalai Lama would choose to follow this advice instead.
Also, if he is so commonly known to have made many mistakes in his prophecies and advice, isn’t it therefore also possible that his advice about Dorje Shugden is also wrong? In other words, it is very likely that Tibet’s independence does not hinge in any way on Dorje Shugden; nor is it Dorje Shugden’s fault in any way if Tibet does not obtain its freedom.
In this day and age, the sole reliance on the gods for the future of a secular society is not feasible; nor will it be taken seriously by the rest of the modern world. In particular, the further contradictions, inconsistencies and inaccuracies of these oracles make it even more difficult for a secular community to accept what they are saying. To depend so heavily on the advice of gods instead of assuming responsibility for their own people seems a highly unreliable and unstable way of governing a country. Furthermore, to use the gods against each other – where some are so strongly relied upon and others are grossly banned and disparaged – turns the leaders into even more of a farce.
At the end of the day, after cutting through all the politics, prophecies and contradictions, the few burning questions still remain: Where is Tibet’s freedom or autonomy? And why haven’t any of the prophecies (see the videos above) come true? Why is a modern government and leadership still laying the entire future of their people and ‘country’ on the unstable words of unenlightened gods? Is this method really working?
