Please send this letter together with the attached info pack to relevant parties:Dear Madam/Sir,
May we take up your precious time for a few moments to consider our request for your help by studying the following compilation of materials regarding the human rights situation of Tibetan Buddhists?
Our concern is threefold:
1) The monks who have been expelled from their Monasteries by the Tibetan Government in Exile on the grounds of their practice of the protector deity Dorje Shugden – a deity regarded as one in nature with Manjushri, the Buddha of wisdom by the most exalted masters of the Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism including the Junior Tutor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (the Dalai Lama himself has propitiated this deity for a quarter century and written a beautiful praise to it) - having literally become 'exiles in exile', and facing very severe social and spiritual ostracism as we speak, which contradicts both the Indian law which grants religious freedom to all its citizens, the constitution of the Tibetan Government in Exile itself, and the universal human right of religious freedom.
2) The reputation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who has become 'the face of Buddhism' and a dearly loved champion of humanistic values globally, will inevitably suffer gravely if the Tibetan Government in Exile continue their incomprehensible and bare-of logic policy (their refusal of even once discussing this issue openly and fairly with the adherents of this practice is in stark contrast to the well-known emphasis of logic and fair debate in Buddhism) of verbal and actual persecution. This in turn would have sad consequences for all Buddhists regardless of tradition, and generally add to the prevailing mistrust and cynicism in the world we share today. Already now question marks are appearing in the minds of many 'insiders', and as such strange and bewildering news begin to spread from India to the world at large, the overall motivation of His Holiness will be put to question by many. Sadly, His Holiness, along with Samdhong Rinpoche (the prime minister of the Tibetan Government in Exile) are being called to Delhi 's high court on grounds of human rights/religious freedom violations.
We hope very much that the destruction of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's reputation can be avoided, and believe that this can be achieved by making available and publically discussing the actual facts and complex factors of this controversy which, as we are sure you will agree upon study of a more complete and less one-sided presentation thereof, has very little to do with Dorje Shugden, the deity in question.
3) The many teachers of our tradition that are constantly being doubted and harassed with rumors simply because their teachers are or include Dorje Shugden practitioners (it is an easily verifiable truth that there is probably not a single living teacher/practitioner in our tradition that has not either directly or indirectly received teachings and spiritual transmissions from the two most influential Gelugpa teachers of recent times, His Holiness Pabongkha Rinpoche and His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche (junior tutor to HH the Dalai Lama for three decades and backbone of the Tibetan nation during the cultural revolution), or one of their thousands of disciples. The most notable example is His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself. Our teachers being associated with devil-worship, being against HH the Dalai Lama, being sectarian etc makes their great and selfless work near impossible. Please note here that all of the famous great masters who are now being accused of such horrible things have been devoted to and have served HH the Dalai Lama with their very lives to their dying day, have regarded him as a living deity and could never have even conceived of having negative thoughts of him. Many years ago, HH Trijang Rinpoche prophetically said: "Don't lose faith in His Holiness (the Dalai Lama); don't lose faith in Dorje Shugden. In the same way, we ourselves wish only good for His Holiness who provides so much hope and inspiration in this world, and pray for his long life every day at the conclusion of our spiritual practice. By the way, it is most evident that Dorje Shugden also cares infinitely for HH the Dalai Lama in the historic fact that it was him who helped His Holiness to escape from Tibet, urging him via oracle ( His Holiness requested HH Trijang Rinpoche to seek Dorje Shugden's advice at that critical time) to leave Tibet, and even providing the exact escape route. Lifting this strange ban would allow the Gelugpa teachers of our time to resume their work unhindered and thereby benefit so many living beings.
Thanking you from the heart for your time and care, we request you humbly to go through the materials here offered, investigate on your own and share your conclusions with your friends, colleagues, the press, the religious leaders and the politicians of your country and thereby provide most valuable and critical help to all involved. In the words of HH the Dalai Lama – problems need to be solved through dialogue and mutual goodwill, and you can help to make this happen by gently nudging this so far completely one-sided debate into the light of unbiased critical public awareness. Thank you, and may you be blessed with happiness and liberty.
With our very best wishes to you, regretting very much and asking your forgiveness to have to remain anonymous at this time for evident reasons –
The creators of the website
www.dorjeshugden.com Ps, as perhaps more identification than a name, may we offer for your kind perusal two open letters to Samdhong Rinpoche, prime minister of the Tibetan Government in Exile, at the end (part 4) of the attached materials, written by the moderator of our site.
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Pps
A Brief Overview of the current situation taken from the
www.wisdombuddhadorjeshugden.org, the attached info pack contains extensive background information for your kind perusal
Why is the Dalai Lama suppressing religious freedom?
Do you know...
* that the Nobel Peace Prize winner and supposed champion of human rights is busy at work removing the religious rights and freedoms of one section of his own Tibetan people and persecuting all those who are trying to stand up for these rights;
* and that he is using all his political power to destroy a well-loved and centuries-old religious tradition, causing huge confusion and pain among thousands of Tibetans;
* and that this religious tradition he is trying to destroy is the one taught to him by his own Spiritual Guide, His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche (1901-1981), the Junior Tutor of the Dalai Lama;
* and that in a world where the Western and American ideal is the separation of politics and religion to prevent such abuses of power, the Dalai Lama is the very embodiment of the union of politics and religion;
* and that his actions are illegal and unlawful, directly contravening the Declaration of Human Rights, the Indian Constitution, and even the Tibetan government-in-exile's own constitution;
* and all this makes the Dalai Lama's actions contradictory and hypocrital - if you go around preaching non-violence and religious tolerance, it is hypocritical to then actively suppress religious freedom to advance your own political agenda of keeping control of the Tibetans:
...From the AP reports, Seattle , April 14, 2008 : Inside the ( University of Washington ) arena, the Dalai Lama received an honorary degree and spoke of the importance of employing dialogue and mutual respect to solve problems. "You will make this century of peace," the Dalai Lama told students. "Today's world (is) heavily interdependent. Destruction of your neighbor or enemy is destruction of yourself."
* and when you say "I now practice all Tibetan religious traditions and think you should too", maybe what you really mean is "I want to control all Tibetan religious traditions";
* and that the Dalai Lama's "spiritual" reasons for repressing the practice of Wisdom Buddha Dorje Shugden comes across as both superstitious and incompatible with basic Buddhist teachings:
For example, the Dalai Lama says that Wisdom Buddha Dorje Shugden is a spirit who causes harm to his own life and the cause of a free Tibet . However, every Buddhist knows that if you go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, you are protected from harm from spirits. So how can such a spirit harm a supposed Buddha? How can such a spirit affect the cause of a free Tibet ? It makes no sense, but of course these reasons are designed to produce a powerful emotional response in the intensely nationalistic, devout and loyal exiled Tibetans.
* and that, because of the Dalai Lama's calculated and uncompassionate political campaign of religious oppression, many Tibetans in India are now outcasts within the exiled;
* and that even Western followers of the Dalai Lama are blindly repeating his claims that those who are following this tradition are spirit-worshippers and a sectarian cult, despite all evidence to the contrary (in this way deliberately setting out to destroy the reputation of Western Dorje Shugden practitioners and prevent people attending their Centers);
* and that no matter how many peaceful representations, letters and petitions have been sent to him over the last ten years begging him to reconsider, he has ignored every single one and refused to engage in any dialogue;
* and that just because the Dalai Lama is a media darling of the West does not mean that he is infallible and above reproach, and that just because he is a supposed God King and Nobel Peace Prize winner does not make him above the law or immune to grave mistakes;
If you now read points 1-23 on the right, you will see actions and behaviour that are contradictory and hypocritical. If you say one thing to everyone in the West, but in your own backyard you engage in systematic calculated political religious repression, then what is the world to think?
The purpose of this website is not to slander the Dalai Lama, but to point out a grave mistake that he is making. We urge him, yet again, to lift his ban on the practice of the Wisdom Buddha Dorje Shugden and to ask his followers to stop persecuting Dorje Shugden practitioners right now.
We don't like hypocrisy. We hope you don't either.
