Look What Glenn Mullin Says

[samayakeeper]

I think HH the 14th Dalai Lama and/or his assistants would have read the script on pages 208-210 and approved of it before being printed. But why?



From the Foreword By His Holiness the Dalai Lama (back cover):

"It is nearly thirty years since Glenn H. Mullin first arrived in Dharamsala and began to take an interest in the works of the Dalai Lamas. I admire the persistence with which he has pursued this interest and have sometimes wondered if he has not found out more about them than even I know. [/color]Many people have told me he reveals an ability in his books to make things Tibetan accessible and easily understood to ordinary readers. Therefore, I welcome this volume that is the first to give some account of the lives of all the Dalai Lamas, along with examples of some of their works. I pray that readers will find here some inspiration in their own quest for inner peace."

[beggar]

Have just decided to revisit this post after a weekend discussion with some Dharma friends about this piece - Glenn Mullin's very clear (and rather unbiased, object!) statement about Shugden practice growing in the world, in spite of the Dalai Lama's discouragement of the practice.

This is particularly key: "...for with the Dalai Lama discouraging it in India, the Chinese are fully promoting it in Tibet."

Most interesting is His Holiness' endorsement of something like this, and the fact that we all know how much of a Dalai Lama proponent Mullin has been in all his writings. Why would he write something very obviously against the fabric of the Dalai Lama's teachings at the moment, and one of his biggest campaigns?

[Ensapa]

it is not just this but HHDL's website has a breadcrumb of hints that suggests that he is with Dorje Shugden, and the ban is nothing more than a show or act that he puts up, probably under pressure from the other lineages or some other party, but the point is HHDL is not doing this willingly nor is he enjoying this. There is just too much evidence that shows that his heart is not in the ban.

While many people would like to take his advice on the surface, we have to examine between the lines of the things he says, perhaps maybe that they have some other meaning to it? Why would 2 of Dorje Shugden's emanations reincarnate close to him and he is not just allowing them to be around, but even keep them very close to him but ban the practice? That sounds weird to me.

Why is also HHDL's website filled with contradictory statements about Dorje Shugden, and why is it left there on the website for all to see? Why did nobody check through properly before allowing it to be on the website, unless it is a subtle message that HHDL wants everyone to know that he is not implementing the ban out of his own personal will but rather for reasons unknown to us, and he still supports Dorje Shugden.

And, Glenn Mullin is a supporter of Dorje Shugden but he has been very discreet about it. Dont you think HHDL would know and discredit him as a scholar? But HHDL keeps quiet because HHDL is a practitioner and he wants people to know that he is with Dorje Shugden but for some reason it has to be very discreet. After all HHDL is someone who is known to give up his personal interests for the needs of the many.

[harrynephew]

Glenn said last spring that a New Branch Of Mahayanna Buddhism has Sprouted~ We've pruned the tree, cut off the dead branches and keep the essence~ Our New Monasteries in India attest to the fact that we have definitely split away from the Dalia Lama cult, and strive to Preserve the Pure Teachings of Je t' Song Khapa Gadan Traditions. Which means for me, to pay no more attention to his activites anymore than I would intervene in Niger's affairs. Seperate is Liberating~

Dear Thom,

I definitely agree to you that it is more liberating to be seperated from those interested in politics. Gelug monks are instinctly focused on study, meditation and debate of the pure teachings of the Buddha and Dorje Shugden is the only protector who focuses on making conditions available for the practice and spread of the teachings.

We also should think that this separation is temporary to help facilitate the ban. Once the ban is lifted, I think very much that these monasteries will join forces again with the same reason; to spread Je Tsongkhapa's teachings with a much stronger and focused joined effort.

Let us all pray for this day to come soon!

[DharmaDefender]

Well looks like the topic of Glenn Mullins caught the admins eye because its just been reproduced and gone up as a full fledged article here

http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=13106

What I find interesting is how many people His Holiness the Dalai Lama surrounds himself with, who are quietly (but not so quietly!) Dorje Shugden supporters. Like the case of HH the 101st Gaden Tripa - surely itd have slipped out at SOME point during his tenure that he was still practising Dorje Shugden. Its not as if Tibetans are fantastic at keeping secrets anyway and if the Gaden Tripa was doing monthly pujas, and one of the students who helped him to prepare for it let slip to someone else that they were doing such pujas... only a matter of time before itd reach the Dalai Lamas ears.

So why surround himself with so many eminent scholars and practitioners who are quietly Shugden practitioners, but outwardly put down the practice? Odd.

[brian]

Why would Dalai Lama handed out this book written by Glenn Mullin although there were some notable contradiction (esp on the practice of Dorje Shugden) what Dalai Lama says? It doesn't make sense if anyone tell me that Dalai Lama does not read it first before being sent for publishing such an important book. So if Dalai Lama approved this statement, then it shows there are something not right here... a bigger motive?

[yontenjamyang]

All the points made are very clear and I agree with it.

Just want to point out my doubt about what Glen Mullin said;  that the Gelug Shamans transformed the spirit of TDG into a protector.

 

The tale, already somewhat bizarre, now takes an even more exotic twist. It is said that the soul of the murdered monk wandered in the hereafter for some time as a disturbed spirit, creating havoc for the people of Lhasa. Eventually the Great Fifth contracted a group of Nyingmapa shamans to exorcise and pacify it, but they failed. He then contracted a group of Gelugpa shaman monks.

As a result of the rituals of this second group the spirit of Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen was eventually pacified and transformed into the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden.

This spirit was later adopted as a guardian angel by numerous Gelugpa monks who disapproved of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s manner of combining the Gelugpa and Nyingmapa doctrines.

How true is this part of the story? I have not heard this version - re the Gelugpa shaman monks pacifying TDG's spirit and transforming him into Dorje Shugden.

There's no mention of the time DS spent with the Sakyas too.

Does anyone know more about this?

Thanks!

TDG was already attained and a buddha like the Dalai Lama. So how can one transform a Buddha into a protector unless the Buddha wants to emanate as one, like Setrap. Only a spirit like pehar can be transformed into a protector; albeit an unenlightened protector. To assume Mullin is correct is to say DS is an unenlightened protector. Since DS is enlightened, then Mullin is not correct.
Unless DS wants to show that the Gelug Shamans were better then the Nyingma Shamans which is unlikely.

So I think that Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche's version is correct.

[Ensapa]

Well looks like the topic of Glenn Mullins caught the admins eye because its just been reproduced and gone up as a full fledged article here

http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=13106

What I find interesting is how many people His Holiness the Dalai Lama surrounds himself with, who are quietly (but not so quietly!) Dorje Shugden supporters. Like the case of HH the 101st Gaden Tripa - surely itd have slipped out at SOME point during his tenure that he was still practising Dorje Shugden. Its not as if Tibetans are fantastic at keeping secrets anyway and if the Gaden Tripa was doing monthly pujas, and one of the students who helped him to prepare for it let slip to someone else that they were doing such pujas... only a matter of time before itd reach the Dalai Lamas ears.

So why surround himself with so many eminent scholars and practitioners who are quietly Shugden practitioners, but outwardly put down the practice? Odd.

What is equally odd is, why does he keep Samdhong Rinpoche so extremely close to him when he already knows that Samdhong Rinpoche is an emanation of Dorje Shugden? If HHDL was really against Dorje Shugden wouldnt it make more sense to exile Samdhong Rinpoche as it was done to Pabongkha Rinpoche? There is also Ngari Rinpoche who is HHDL's own brother. Odd, isnt it?

That part of the story actually sounds very out of place and not in line with the rest of the content as I have read that book many years ago. It sounds as if someone added that line in it deliberately and it was not written by Glen himself, or that he was forced to write it in that way to appease HHDL's staff. There is definitely something odd about that part of the biography.

The last part - This spirit was later adopted as a guardian angel by numerous Gelugpa monks who disapproved of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s manner of combining the Gelugpa and Nyingmapa doctrines sounds really funny as well...I dont think that was the original intention of Dorje Shugden's existence, because some monks do not like the lineage merging done by the 5th Dalai Lama? There are no names that accompany this statement, like most of the info on HHDL's webpage.

It cannot be that Glenn Mullin supports Shar Ganden and Serpom and speaks of them highly on one hand and then speaks about Dorje Shugden in a negative tone on the other...unless he changed camps overnight and he decided to support Dorje Shugden after his book was published...either way, it sounds odd to me. I wont be surprised if the editor decides to do some edits of his own before it got published.

[WisdomBeing]

Glenn H. Mullin, as a student of HH Trijang Rinpoche, is almost certain to have been a Dorje Shugden practitioner, if not still one, which may explain his reasonably objective reference to Dorje Shugden, despite some inaccuracy. I find the inaccuracy unusual too for a scholar like Mullin, so perhaps it was deliberate.

As Mullin also took HH the Dalai Lama as his Guru, it must have been difficult to reconcile whether to give up the holy Dorje Shugden practice given by his other Guru, Trijang Rinpoche. Of course, I hope he is still continuing his practice.

[Ensapa]

Glenn H. Mullin, as a student of HH Trijang Rinpoche, is almost certain to have been a Dorje Shugden practitioner, if not still one, which may explain his reasonably objective reference to Dorje Shugden, despite some inaccuracy. I find the inaccuracy unusual too for a scholar like Mullin, so perhaps it was deliberate.

As Mullin also took HH the Dalai Lama as his Guru, it must have been difficult to reconcile whether to give up the holy Dorje Shugden practice given by his other Guru, Trijang Rinpoche. Of course, I hope he is still continuing his practice.

The fact that he is supporting Shar Ganden now shows us that he is continuing his practice, without a doubt. There could be a chance that it wad deliberately written, or that he was forced to place that line in the book by HHDL's assistants if he wanted to get HHDL's endorsement of that book. That scenario could be very possible and that is most likely what happened as well.

There are a few other Lamas and individuals who are both students of HHDL and Trijang Rinpoche and they have been silently practicing without causing drama or drawing attention to themselves. Anyway if i remember correctly HHDL only told those lamas to not practice openly or spread it, that they can continue their practice of Dorje Shugden but in private unless HHDL has issued a new decree since.

In that light, I dont think so it would be difficult for Mullin to reconcile, given that he has obviously shown his support for Shar Ganden, it is very clear that  he is on the side of Trijang Rinpoche. Mullin is an exceptional scholar who did not become one of HHDL's army of scholars who all denounce Dorje Shugden with silly and insubstancial facts, mostly because they dont have any.

I sincerely hope that Mullin will continue to support Shar Ganden and Serpom, and come up with unbiased materials that will create the causes for the ban to be lifted sooner. People these days are hungry for knowledge, proof, facts and solid evidence and elaborate explanations with no substance will not work anymore and people will see through it very easily and quickly. Glenn Mullin can provide those facts.

[vajrastorm]

So, again, the Dalai Lama has done something that is contradictory and leaves us wondering if he is really all out against the practice of Dorje Shugden and all out to remove this practice. He has written  the 'Foreward' of  a book(a biography of the Dalai Lamas), in which the author(Glenn Mullin) refutes the claim that the practice of Dorje Shugden involves only a small minority of people in Tibet. Furthermore, Mullin goes on to say that despite the Dalai Lama's attempt to discourage it, the practice "is as strong as ever, if not stronger"!

THe Dalai Lama is not worried the least  bit about his contradictory words and actions RE Shugden practice. For Chenrezig, it's the result of His actions that matters. His ban on Shugden practice and his vocal decrying of Shugden practice have led to the spread of it in the populous powerhouse of a country that is China. Indeed, as Mullin puts it: "with the Dalai Lama discouraging it(Shugden practice) in India, the Chinese are fully promoting it in Tibet"!

[DharmaSpace]

I thank Glenn Mullin for being very objective and truthful about what has happened in Tibet and what is happening in now. The Dorje Shugden is not just the most popular practice among Gelugs it is the most effective practice in this day and age and if I may for the world during this degenerate age. I guess Glenn Mullin is being a good friend to the Dalai Lama by writing about the truth.

And him being a student of Trijang Dorje Chang well Dorje Shugden is definitely a mandatory practice for Glenn Mullin. Well the fact that Glenn Mullin is one of the closest persons to HHDL the 14th Dalai Lama and China allows him to go in and out of Tibet is very interesting.
http://bodymindspiritjourneys.com/nepal-and-tibet-may-8-to-23-2011.html

Also he does not say much about the dorje shugden ban almost like he steers away from this.

[Ensapa]

I thank Glenn Mullin for being very objective and truthful about what has happened in Tibet and what is happening in now. The Dorje Shugden is not just the most popular practice among Gelugs it is the most effective practice in this day and age and if I may for the world during this degenerate age. I guess Glenn Mullin is being a good friend to the Dalai Lama by writing about the truth.

And him being a student of Trijang Dorje Chang well Dorje Shugden is definitely a mandatory practice for Glenn Mullin. Well the fact that Glenn Mullin is one of the closest persons to HHDL the 14th Dalai Lama and China allows him to go in and out of Tibet is very interesting.
http://bodymindspiritjourneys.com/nepal-and-tibet-may-8-to-23-2011.html

Also he does not say much about the dorje shugden ban almost like he steers away from this.

Glenn Mullin is indeed a very good example of how Dorje Shugden practitioners should handle the ban, as prescribed by Trijang Rinpoche for these times: being discreet with the practice and not drawing attention, yet supporting the Dalai Lama in every way needed (except, of course, with giving up the practice.) That is what the previous Trijang Rinpoche said and that is what the current one is doing.

I really, really, really like how Glenn Mullin handles the whole situation: By supporting HHDL and discreetly supporting Dorje Shugden, Shar Ganden and Serpom at the same time with an impartial attitude without bias. As a result, he can work directly to contributing to the actual lifting of the ban by convincing HHDL directly that the ban is wrong and that Dorje Shugden is not evil.

What baffles me is that, for sure HHDL knows Glenn Mullin is a practitioner, and also based on the support he shows for Shar Ganden and Serpom, HHDL would have been able to tell that he is a practitioner yet still keeps him around. Why? I have a feeling that HHDL did intend for Serpom and Shar Ganden to spring up, so that he can weed out insincere monks from the monastery? I dont know, its just a gut feeling...

Glenn Mullin was able to do so much and have so much accurate and unbiased facts because he is a genuine practitioner and a real scholar. There are many out there who take lies and assumptions as facts, but not Glenn Mullin and this is the one thing that I truly respect him for. Other scholars should really learn from him as he has sources for everything he says and its not just assumptions.