Kuten Lama, head of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Cincinnati and leader of a Tibetan Buddhist lineage is at odds with the Dalai Lama. Last month, Kuten Lama helped to inaugurate a breakaway monastery in South India. Kuten Lama is an oracle, who takes possession of the spirit of Dorje Shugden, a deity banned by the Dalai Lama.
Devotees believe Dorje Shugden is a “wisdom Buddha” and protector, while the Dalai Lama has declared him an evil spirit. Following the Dalai Lama’s ban, Gaden Shartse Monastery in Mundgod, India, ordered its monks to sign pledges renouncing Dorje Shugden. Monks who refused to pledge were shunned and denied food and other necessities – a policy enforced in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries throughout India.
Last month, Kuten Lama helped dedicate Shar Gaden Monastery that is made up of monks who had left the larger monastery, Gaden Shartse in order to continue honoring Dorje Shugden. As a result of this separation, a wall was built between the two institutions.
Kuten Lama, abbot of Gaden Samdrupling Monastery in Colerain Township, led a group of a dozen U.S. followers to the dedication ceremony. He performed an invocation while he was there. Tibetan Buddhists believe that, during the invocation, Dorje Shugden takes over the Kuten Lama’s body and using him to convey enlightened advice and instructions.
Although the practice is ancient, the monks who preserve it are not without Media savvy. Shar Gaden Monastery has a Facebook page and posted a photograph of the invocation. During the trance, Kuten Lama wielded a sword, symbolizing the “wrathful compassion” of Dorje Shugden, severing ignorance and ego.
Source: www.cincihomeless.org
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