Situation at Sera mey

[Mohani]

I recently received a letter from a friend at sera, here are some of the sad details of what is happening
  The situation at Sera Mey is certainly very bad.  The Dalai Lama has banned all Dorje Shugden practitioners from receiving meals at the monastery (you may remember that they all received three meals per day and these meals were sponsored by a (now deceased) ex-Abbot who ran a Dharma Centre in the USA), they are banned from attending Sera Mey pujas (the only source of 'income' for the vast majority of monks) and they have been banned from attending debates.  In effect there is a schism in the Sangha and DS practitioners  have been thoroughly ostracised by non-DS practitioners.  All monks had to sign two things: (1) to say that they did not practise DS and (2) that they would not live together with DS practitioners. 
 
I'm really not sure about the food situation.  Some have their own cooking facilities, but those DS practitioners who live in the hostels will have problems.  Also, the supply of gas cylinders for cooking is at best precarious, and are usually bought from the Sera Mey kitchens anyway. 
 
You may remember that Pomra Khangtsen openly practised DS.  Well, this Khangtsen has now been split into two with the largest Lharam and the largest Shagtsang voting with the Dalai Lama.  The present Abbot is with this group.
   
Traditionally all Khangtsen monks receive Rupees 1,000 from sponsors at a special Losar puja and use this to pay for the holiday.  It look as though they won't be getting this this year so it will be a pretty miserable celebration for them.
 
However, we have to remember mitapa (impermanence) and it may all change again (although it is highly unlikely). New  DS monks had already been banned from enrolling at Sera Mey, and older students banned from taking the final exams.
 
 

 
 

[Rinchen]

With this, it has already shown the kind of discrimination that Dorje Shugden practitioners receive on a continuous basis.

If there is no ban and what is said about Dorje Shugen is just an advice like what is being said, then why is it that the monks that are in Sera Mey monastery being treated such ill ways. They are monks after all.

[SabS]

It is with great sadness that I read of this mistreatments of the monks at Sera Mey in year 2008. These monks gave up everything to be in the monastery for the Dharma. And yet, politics were forced on them due to unscrupulous reasons and their very human rights were infringed upon. This was a clear sign that the "Ban" on Dorje Shugden was being enforced and to date, these Shugden monks had been chased out of their very own home. What kind of compassion or equanimity is being practiced by the non-Shugden monks? Being in the monastery is due to having the great merits to fully concentrate on practicing the Dharma with minimal worldly concerns and yet now they practice against the tenets of Buddhism.

May the Dalai Lama quickly manifest his true Buddha nature to lift the ban on Lord Dorje Shugden to reunite all Tibetan Buddhism practitioners and stop more negative karma from being created.

[michaela]

Wow - if the information about DS practitioners at Sera Mey being denied food just because they practice Dorje Shugden is true, then it is really bad. Denying someone of their basic necessities such as food in order to coerce them to give up their DS practice and therefore their integrity to their teachers are very bad and cheap tactics. I thought Sera was suppose to be a great monastic institution where people can come to study Buddhism. These monks certainly did not go to Sera to be pressured to give up their practice and integrity.

The now deceased Lama who funded the food in Sera, Kensur Rinpoche Lobsang Tharchin, was also a DS practitioner. Isn't it ironic that Sera Monastery is denying DS practitioners from eating food sponsored by DS practitioners?

[Shugdener]

Even though 8 years have passed since this post, it still shows the level of discrimination the monks of Sera Mey that practice Dorje Shugden had to go through.

How could the Dalai Lama have done such things like banning these monks from receiving meals, attending pujas and from attending debates.  These monks give up everything to become a monk and yet they are restricted from such things.

The ban on Dorje Shugden and it's consequences really came down hard on these poor monks and it is really saddening to read that they are having to put up with this just because they worship Dorje Shugden.

May the ban be lifted soon.

[Tenzin Malgyur]

This thread was started in 2008. Eight years have passed and the discrimination against Shugden practicing monks at this monastery have not stopped. I came across this article on another website and it seems the Sera Jey Monastery have implemented a new ruling on its monks. Here is the introduction written re the new ruling.

On the 25th January 2016, Sera Jey Monastic officials have issued a letter to impose a new ruling that all ‘bona fide member monks of Sera Jey wear a badge that specifically indicates whether they practice Dogyal or not. If that is the case and everything Shugden practitioners are saying about the ban is untrue, then WHY does an established monastery like Sera Jey implement an identity badge system “distinguish” the identities of their monks from Dogyal propitiating monks?

Here is the link to the full article:

http://www.tsemrinpoche.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Sera-4.jpg

[Harold Musetescu]

Hello Tenzin Malgyur.

Thank you for the update on Sera Jey monastery.

Just a thought if the monks must wear a badge declaring whether they are either for or anti Shugden shouldn't all the Buddhas, Yidams and Dharmapala also wear the same badges? It would help us mere mortals to know which side of the Dorje Shugden issue their on.

[Tenzin Malgyur]

Hello Tenzin Malgyur.

Thank you for the update on Sera Jey monastery.

Just a thought if the monks must wear a badge declaring whether they are either for or anti Shugden shouldn't all the Buddhas, Yidams and Dharmapala also wear the same badges? It would help us mere mortals to know which side of the Dorje Shugden issue their on.

Dear Harold,
Aren't we fortunate that the Buddhas, Yidams and Dharmapala are all enlightened beings and therefore they do not take sides, judge and discriminate. Their only intention is to spread the Buddha's teachings and to guide all beings out of sufferings. If we are studying and practicing the Buddha's teachings, we must also not judge and harm anyone including those of different religions or those worshipping another deity. Sadly, this is not happening due to the ban imposed on Shugden practice by the Tibetan government. I pray very much for the ban to be lifted soon so that Shugden practitioners can continue their practice without being discriminated.

[grandmapele]

Yes, the CTA is still very much going ahead with their witch hunt. this is despite the fact that the Dalai Lama has openly denied that he can be harmed by Dorje Shugden and it is ok for anyone to practice it. He even went as far as to inform to the location of the Dorje Shugden monasteries when he refused to acknowledge these monasteries before.

So, I'm beginning to be bewildered by this. Aren't they supposed to follow the Dalai Lama's lead. So, who's the one co-opting the situation?

[prodorjeshugden]

It is really saddening to hear that monks from Sera Mey are suffering.
The monks from Sera Mey are only worshiping an emanation of Manjushri, but yet they are accused of worshiping a spirit.
The CTA prohibits anyone who practices Dorje Shugden from going to hospitals and shops, only some hospitals and shops allow shugdenners and sometimes those shops are really far away.

The aftermath of the Ban has a great effect on monks and laypeople who practice Dorje Shugden, but the ban also caused Dorje Shugden to become world famous so maybe the ban is really a blessing in disguise.

I really hope that the ban can be lifted smoothly without any conflict.