Jonang Buddhists seek representation in Tibetan Parliament in Exile

[DharmaSpace]

Shimla: Jonang Kalachakra school of Tibetan Buddhism seeking recognition have demanded due representation in the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.

Monks from the Jonang sect, who are masters practitioners Kalachakra have been writing to the Tibetan government-in-exile to consider their demand as there already is representation for other Buddhist schools in the parliament.

Out of total 46 seats in Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, 10 are reserved for the religious community, with two seats each for Nyigma, Kagyud, Sakya and, Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism and another two seats for Bon Buddhists, whose origins some scholars date to pre-Buddhist lineage in Tibet.

In a minority, the Jonang School has a monastery at Sanjauli in Shimla were 120 monks are being imparted learning about preserving and promoting the Kalachakra traditions.

The sect believes that by getting representation in the parliament in exile would help to promote and preserve their rich culture and traditions.

Choekyi Nagpa, a senior monk and master of Kalachakra says that there are about 1.5 lakh followers of Jonang school of Buddhism in Tibet and over 1000 of them living in exile.


Thanka painting of the Mind Mandala
“For long we have been seeking our democratic rights within the Tibetan Buddhist community,” he said.

We don’t have the much political power but His Holiness The Dalai Lama has recognized our monastery and it is surviving only with his support and blessings,” said the senior Lama.

“Politics is not important for us as Buddhist but our line of the Kalachakra practitioners is hardly notice despite the fact that there are 60 monasteries and over 10,000 Jonang monks inside Tibet.  We have been demanding representation in the Parliament-in-Exile and are hopeful that the new government will accommodate us,” said the Kalchakra master.

Jonang School is said to have been founded about 700 years in Tibet at a place called Jomonang and later flourished in the provinces of U-Tsang, Kham and Amdo.

The Jonang monastery in Shimla was founded in 1999 and has been petitioning the Tibetan government for due representation since 1998.

Though the Sanjauli monastery was set up by Lama Jinpa of the Gelugpa school in 1962 and was offered to the Dalai Lama as a birthday present in 1990.

With the Dalai Lama recognizing Khalkha Jestun Dharma as the reincarnation of the great scholar Jestun Taranatha, who was the 27th head of the Jonang School, the monastery was handed to him and is in now popularly known as the Jonang monastery.

The great 5th Dalai Lama once ordered the persecution of the Jonangpas, as the Jonangpas were  on the wrong side of the conflict at that time. Now at the 14th dalai lama has reversed that decision and he was very decisive about it.

The 14th Dalai Lama confirmed this view in Glenn Mullin's The Fourteen Dalai Lamas (Clear Light Publishers, p. 207):

"These monasteries were closed for political reasons, not religious ones, and their closing had nothing to do with sectarianism. They had supported the Tsangpa king in the uprising, thus committing treason. The Great Fifth believed that they should be closed in order to insure the future stability of the (Tibetan) nation, and to dissuade other monasteries from engaging in warfare."

So the Jonangpa issue is a political one just like the Dorje Shugden ban. On top of that the 14th Dalai Lama in 1978 recognised the Bon religion as an authentic spiritual tradition. So if the pattern carries on, the 14th Dalai Lama will one day recognise back Dorje Shugden as a legitimate dharma protector. Bon was a faith that relied on sacrificing animals at one point so how spiritual is that?  Yet now Bon is part of recognised spiritual tradition of Tibet. Dorje Shugden is compassionate to even offer his heart to you, and only benefits its practitioners and watches over them and no animal needs to die in any ritual. Compare Dorje Shugden practice versus Bon practice? Which is more spiritual?

This is not just a speculation it is backed up history that the Dalai Lama though initially firm on certain issues has turned his back on some of his former decisions. So CTA where will you stand once the Dalai Lama reverses his decision on the Dorje Shugden BAN? Your loud posturing on enforcing the ban is just another attempt to look good in front of His Holiness, are you so spineless and so deluded you cannot see what is the real truth about the Dorje Shugden matter? Tick tock time is running out for CTA.   

[hope rainbow]

Would the political side be separated from the religious side, then the representation of the Buddhist schools could be made into an advising committee of 12 representatives, rather than be part of the government that makes decisions over the management of a cultural community.
The role of the advising committee is to advise, not to decide.
To decide, at any political level, is tainted with compromise and a sort of pragmatism that may not be suitable for monks to be involved with.
Yet an advising committee could have a more interesting role, one that can even take the opposite view to government decisions, in a matter of clarity, balance, justice and prevalence of Dharma.
For example, this committee could have NOT recognized the ban on Dorje Shugden as applied by the CTA, simply because it is a religious affair and is not any business of the politics, thus the CTA.
They could have done that even if some members of the committee were supporting the ban, they could have done it for the sake of separation between politics and religion.

[dondrup]

We welcome the recognition of Jonang Tradition by the HH Dalai Lama and CTA. It augurs well for the preservation and flourishing of Tibetan Buddhism.

However, it is illogical for HH Dalai Lama and CTA to recognise Bon practice but ban Dorje Shugden practice!

Instead of recognising a pure and sacred Dorje Shugden practice that was transmitted by all the Gelug Lineage Masters, HHDL prefer to recognise a non-Buddhist tradition that involves Shamanism and animal sacrifices!

[Lineageholder]

Instead of recognising a pure and sacred Dorje Shugden practice that was transmitted by all the Gelug Lineage Masters, HHDL prefer to recognise a non-Buddhist tradition that involves Shamanism and animal sacrifices!

Well said, the Dalai Lama's inconsistency in recognising the Bon Tradition whilst persecuting Dorje Shugden practitioners and claiming they are not Buddhists has puzzled me for some time.  It doesn't make sense and it's hypocritical for the Dalai Lama to allow himself to be pictured in Bon robes and engaging in their ceremonies whilst claiming that the students of his own Guru are not Buddhists and should be banned!

[Freyr Aesiragnorak]

From what I have heard and read, the Jonang school is considered a minor school as during the time of the 5th Dalai Lama, when a lot of Jonang monasteries were closed down, most of the practices either lost or incorporated into other schools. Of the most important teachings now existing of the school is their practice of the Kalachakra Tantra that is most prevalent.

For the purpose of the political unification of Tibet, this was done, according the Dalai Lama's wishes, but it was done so at a very high price, the near destruction of a school that influences and was incorporated into each of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism to some degree or another.

On another note, Yes, the Bon religion is not Buddhist in origin and of course included animal sacrifice in the past, but the tradition as it stands nowadays does not adopt this view of practice due to the influence of the Buddhist notions of karma and compassion. I know a few Bon practitioners in the west, and they abhor such practices, they prefer to call themselves the New Bon.

This being said, my own opinion is that the government, as its structure stands now, should be representative of all it's spiritual traditions. So Bon, in my opinion SHOULD be included in the Tibetan Goverment, because there are still practitioners of that specific religion in tibet and also in exile, despite the fact that they are not Buddhist. However this is the same for the Jonang School too. Why restrict other traditions in such a manner?

But we have to ask ourselves, if some of us are not Tibetan or live in countries who's governments do not represent Buddhist perspectives, or who don't even accept that some of their citizens are Buddhist, or who marginalise Buddhism or certain schools or traditions such as our of practicing Dorje Shugden, shouldn't we be doing something about that as well?     

After all, the Dalai Lama has accepted them as a valid school, which can be taken as steps to ensure their preservation. But the Jonangpa's are now asking for seats in parliament.

I cannot but think that surely what the history of Tibetan government and all of world history has shown is that religion should not be involved in politics any longer.... this is my opinion, but how feasible this is, I don't know. I'm a farfetched dreamer to say the least, but religion has been used by too many people to justify political movements for too long, all over the world. Governments should be set up in free democratic ways, free from religion but should be represented by only one or two ministers who represent the faiths of all that countries citizens in a fair manner. Maybe in another universe.... 

[DharmaSpace]

The manner in which the Jonangpas was persecuted is a bit different then, it was political for sure unlike the Dorje Shugden ban there are spiritual and politics ingredients mixed inside.  Jonangpas allied themselves to the losing party and as a result incurred the wrath of the winners of that civil war.

I think no offense intended to the Bon faith, Bon is so far off the mark from anything resembling buddhism nor do they pretend to be anything close to Buddhism and yet Dorje Shugden is a enlightened protector, Manjushri, who was previously practiced by the Dalai Lama, existed for 350-400 years in service of humanity. Now this practice is ready to explode on the world stage once the ban is lifted. The heart practice for all Gelugs and Dorje Shugden was the one who showed Dalai Lama the way out of Tibet.

Though speculative, I do think it is a matter of time before Dalai Lama reverses his stance on banning Dorje Shugden again I say CTA please wake up to your current reality before it is too late. When the Dalai Lama removes the ban, you cannot just remain red faced, you have lost so much credibility already. Start doing something right NOW. You would look much more in favour of the world if you just take a step in the right direction to bring people to the table and discuss this ban. Peacemakers always get good rapport.