5000 Tibetans receive Dorje Shugden’s blessing

The Winter Ritual Dance taking place

From 31 October to 3 November 2013, Gaden Yangchen Phuntsok Ling Monastery in Kham, Tibet held a four-day Winter Ritual Dance ceremony. The first three days of the event were dedicated to the dance, where the crowd gathered to watch the monks perform in their ceremonial robes.

During the three days, the event’s participants also celebrated the reopening of the monastery’s stupas which had just been renovated. Known as the Stupa of Reconciliation and the Stupa of Long Life, both 13 meter stupas have been dedicated to the long life of the monastery’s abbot, Trinley Lhundup Drakpa Gyaltsan.

The crowd gathered to receive initiation from the lamas

The festivities culminated on the fourth day in a Dorje Shugden initiation which was conferred to 5000 people. Also known as a life entrustment ceremony (or sogtae), the ceremony was presided over by three lamas of the Gelug lineage – the monastery’s abbot Trinley Lhundup Drakpa Gyaltsan, as well as visiting lamas Lama Wangchuk and Geshe Lobsang Tenzin.

Lama Wangchuk (left), Trinley Lhundup Drakpa Gyaltsan (center) and Geshe Lobsang Tenzin (right) conferring the sogtae and Dorje Shugden’s protection upon the 5000 Tibetans who gathered at the monastery

They say there are two sides to every story and with the Dorje Shugden ban it is no different. Whilst the Dalai Lama’s supporters claim it is a minor practice, the pictures below which DorjeShugden.com has obtained clearly show otherwise. It is obvious that the practice is alive and growing in Tibet, where the lamas are beyond the control of the Central Tibetan Administration and their anti-Dorje Shugden propaganda.

We at DorjeShugden.com celebrate the Kham people’s continued faith in their Protector, and their commitment to the practices that their lamas have bestowed upon them. May many more lineage holders arise from the activities of these holy lamas.

The Speech Delivered to the Congregation at the Start of the Four Days of Festivities and Initiation

Tibetans line the road in the traditional, respectful way of receiving the high lamas

The crowd welcomes Lama Wangchuk, who has been travelling tirelessly to give teachings and confer Dorje Shugden initiations throughout Tibet. For more information, click here: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/videos/must-watch/dorje-shugden-initiation-to-thousands-at-markam-chamdo-tibet/

The lay people rush to receive blessings and sogtae (Dorje Shugden life empowerment / initiation) from the three lamas, such is their strong faith in the Protector

From these photos, it is clear that Dorje Shugden is still very much relied upon in Tibet, where the monks remain beyond the Central Tibetan Administration’s control and where the Protector can continue to be invoked without discrimination from the population

5000 Tibetan faithful receive sogtae from Lama Wangchuk, Trinley Lhundup Drakpa Gyaltsan and Geshe Lobsang Tenzin

Dorje Shugden’s practice is set to continue in Tibet, where these monks have entrusted their spiritual practice to Dorje Shugden’s watchful, compassionate care

Each of the tormas carries an image of Dorje Shugden’s five cardinal emanations. Clearly shown here are Shize (left) and Trakze (right)

Dorje Shugden heart crystals (lado), to be blessed during the empowerment and given to those who have received the initiation, as a sign of their commitment to Dorje Shugden until bodhicitta

Dorje Shugden chakras (sokor), empowered during the initiation to be distributed amongst the gathered faithful, to bless and protect them