Should Religion Be a Condition for the Right to Livelihood?

Although the Tibetan President Lobsang Sangay proclaims democracy, in reality his actions are very much the contrary, as he upholds segregation and discrimination against a segment of the Tibetan populace based purely on their religious faith.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected].

By: Shashi Kei

How can you tell if a government is a good one?

Common sense would say that a good government carefully deliberates on issues that affect the people it represents and behaves responsibly to safeguard their rights and interests. It obeys its own laws and works to ensure that the state apparatus is free of prejudice and discrimination. A good government acts morally and is prepared to be held accountable for its actions and decisions.

Perhaps most importantly, the fruits of its actions are positive and beneficial. By the same logic, a government that does the opposite and brings harm to the community is not a good government.

The Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) based in Dharamsala, claims to be a good government that is guided by Buddhist principles. It insists that it is a far better alternative for the people of Tibet (today called the Tibet Autonomous Region or TAR) than the Chinese Communist Party and has asked the world to support its struggle for independence.

For decades, publicity campaigns commissioned by CTA-related organisations like the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) and Tibet House, which has branches around the world, have extolled the virtues of the CTA. And yet, evidence points strongly to the contrary.

In 1996, the CTA’s Department of Health issued this chilling memo to all doctors and staff associated with them. The memo states that all Dorje Shugden practitioners should immediately resign from their positions. Click to enlarge

One chilling example is a 1996 memorandum issued by the CTA’s Department of Health (their equivalent of a Ministry) to all doctors and staff of organizations associated with them. In a few short passages, the memo manages to reveal the CTA’s true colors and expose how far removed the Tibetan government-in-exile actually is from even the most basic principles of democracy.

The document was, in fact, a ministerial order to discriminate against a segment of the Tibetan community purely because of their religious beliefs. Since 1996, Tibetan Buddhists who worship the ancient Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden have had to bear the brunt of the CTA’s persecution and this memo, calling for the resignation of all Dorje Shugden practitioners, was no different.

In truth, Shugden Buddhists have not been the only victims of the authoritarian Tibetan leadership. While it is unheard of in progressive societies, especially those that claim to be liberal and democratic, the alienation, subjugation and destruction of segments of the population were common in old feudal Tibet.

Gaden Phodrang, the political base of the Dalai Lamas, frequently used religious pretexts to excommunicate those they perceived as threats or political rivals. For example, the spiritual lifelines of Tibetan Buddhist luminaries would be unilaterally banished, effectively extinguishing their existence and, hence, the supposed threat to the Dalai Lamas. Such was the case with the 10^th Shamarpa, one of the highest incarnations in the Karma Kagyu lineage. Similarly, in the 17^th Century, the 5^th Dalai Lama’s response to a territorial dispute with the Jonang lineage was to ban the Jonangpa’s religious tradition and force its practitioners to embrace the Gelug school of Buddhism.

Jonang monks protesting in front of the Tibetan Parliament (Dharamsala) on 15th September 2015 for their right to parliamentary representation. In the end, the Jonangpas were forced to go on a hunger strike. Click here to find out more.

Most people are unaware of this dark history and fewer still know that the culture of oppression and bullying continues today in exile. The same ruling class that has bullied and discriminated against so-called ‘threats’ to the historical Dalai Lamas, today dominates the present Dalai Lama’s exile government; the CTA’s 1996 ban on Dorje Shugden worship is simply a modern manifestation of the Tibetan leadership’s old feudalistic ways.

The only difference is that this oppression is now practiced under the cloak of democracy. According to the Dalai Lama and the heads of the Tibetan government-in-exile, the CTA is a democratic government with a Charter that guarantees religious freedom. However, the memo from the CTA Department of Health proves that this is not the case.

Who Is Calling the Shots?

The very first line of the memo itself reveals that the CTA is neither a progressive nor a responsible government. Its entire premise is a decision given by State Oracles who are unseen, unelected and unaccountable individuals that reveal information under possession by spirits.

The simple fact is that the CTA’s elected representatives do not actually want to take responsibility for their decisions. By consulting Oracles, if things go awry, it is easier for the CTA to direct their people’s ire towards unseen spirits who cannot be held accountable.

Why else would the CTA take its cues from oracles? Why would it not instead carefully deliberate the pros and cons of key government decisions that impact lives, livelihoods and social harmony?

Nechung oracle in trance

It is well known in Tibetan circles that the Dalai Lama and the CTA habitually consult oracles for answers. The Dalai Lama even regards the State Oracle that takes trance of a fierce spirit, Nechung (also known as Pehar or Dorje Drakden) as his closest and most trusted adviser.

In his memoirs, the Dalai Lama wrote,

“I seek his (Nechung’s) opinion in the same way as I seek the opinion of my Cabinet.”

In fact, the Nechung Oracle is given the standing of a deputy Cabinet Minister although, as we can see, his sway over Tibetan affairs is far more potent. This would explain why CTA officials tend to take the Oracle’s proclamations as equivalent to, if not higher than, Acts of Parliament.

It is alarming that an elected government would take instructions from a spirit. This is especially so when the instructions are not only brazenly unlawful but also excessively punitive to a large segment of the Tibetan populace, serving to undermine the unity and fellowship of an already disenfranchised community.

To put the Department of Health’s directive into perspective, Dorje Shugden Buddhists were denied employment and livelihood not because they were unqualified or incompetent, nor for breaking any laws or breaching conditions of their employment. It was solely because the CTA’s Oracles said so.

A certificate that CTA requires attendees to sign, to the effect that the holder does not share anything with Shugden devotees. Those who do not have this certificate are denied participation in important religious events central to the Tibetan community.

This raises many questions. Who really controls the Tibetan government? Can Tibetans trust a government that is steered by invisible forces with an unknown agenda?

For certain, the CTA is the only ‘democratic’ government today that carries out the instructions of a supernatural entity. If there was ever any doubt that this is a recipe for disaster, then the invasion of Tibet, the plight of Tibetan refugees that is now in its 60^th year, and the many false and unfulfilled promises made by the CTA should provide the answer.

An alternative explanation is that the CTA is a counterfeit democracy that uses superstition to bypass its own laws when this suits its purpose. If so, then there is merit to allegations that the CTA is neither an authentic democratic government nor a genuine keeper of the Buddhist faith.

Instead, both religion and politics are merely tools the Tibetan leadership employs interchangeably and inseparably to accomplish its objectives, unlike any other government or spiritual body in the world. The Dalai Lama’s CTA does not operate as a democracy should, and certainly not as the democracy the Dalai Lama appears to have attempted to set up in the 1960s.

The Democracy Charade

In 1963, the Dalai Lama pushed for a draft democratic Constitution to provide governing principles for his people. On its official website, the CTA declares that the Tibetan Parliament adopted the Tibetan Charter (democratic Constitution) in 1991 and that it is “the supreme law governing the functions of the CTA”.

However, it appears that this outward embrace of libertarian principles is merely a charade to persuade the global community to support the Tibetan leadership’s political ambitions. In reality, the Dalai Lama continues to wield unfettered power.

During a religious event in 1996, the Dalai Lama expressed how he “personally feels strongly about how negative this (Dorje Shugden) practice is”. The Dalai Lama went on to strongly discourage Tibetan Buddhists from propitiating ‘Dolgyal’ (a derogatory term that disparages Dorje Shugden).

The ban has even come to the extent of expelling monks who practice Dorje Shugden. Click here to watch the video.

Not only was it improper for the head of a democratic government to attack a religious practice, but it was also disingenuous for him to have done so after proclaiming to uphold religious freedom.

The CTA took the statements of the Dalai Lama, who is regarded as both a god and a king, and turned them into an absolute law with no room for negotiation. The Tibetan Parliament, an institution whose role it is to uphold democratic principles, passed official resolutions which effectively turned Shugden Buddhists into outcasts and outlaws.

Similarly, the Tibetan Cabinet-in-exile issued official statements declaring that:

…rejecting Dolgyal has become a matter of the highest importance to the cause of Tibet… It is the duty of the Tibetan Government-in-exile to encourage compliance with any advice given out of concern for the cause of Tibet, the security of its head of state and the honor of all Tibetan Buddhist traditions including the Geluk tradition. Consequently, it has initiated a programme to be prevailing upon those still following Dolgyal to make a break with it.

In effect, the Tibetan Parliament and Cabinet made it a crime to worship Dorje Shugden and sanctioned what has become a witch-hunt. The Department of Health memo was simply one of many expressions of this religious persecution. Similar directives were issued by all CTA Departments, monasteries under the Dalai Lama’s control and community bodies eager not to be seen to be disagreeing with the Dalai Lama for fear of being accused of colluding with the enemy.

After all, if a segment of society can be summarily branded as traitors and criminals purely on the basis of their religious faith, what safeguards are there to prevent the CTA from falsely accusing other groups as being enemies of the state?

These actions are reminiscent of a feudal theocracy, not a democracy.

The great Democracy Charade. The CTA celebrates ‘Democracy Day’ annually and at the same time behaves more like a totalitarian state.

In a barefaced attempt to escape any kind of backlash or financial repercussion, the CTA has made many attempts to explain away this abuse of power and unabashed breach of the human rights of Dorje Shugden Buddhists.

For example, it has claimed that there is no ban on the Dorje Shugden practice itself and that the Dalai Lama was merely giving advice. However, the CTA has thus far failed to explain why there was a need for the Tibetan Parliament and Cabinet to pass laws against the practice of Dorje Shugden on the back of the Dalai Lama’s “advice”. It has also failed to explain why they had to “initiate a programme” (as per their statement) against the practice, if the Dalai Lama was only giving advice.

Neither has the CTA explained why its elected representatives breached its own Charter on the orders of an unelected spirit in trance. If it is so easy to breach the Charter, it is questionable how dedicated the CTA really is to the principles of democracy. Where the American government and people, for example, holds their Constitution sacrosanct, the same cannot be said of the CTA’s attitude towards their own Charter.

At the time of this writing, the CTA’s official website still proclaims the Tibetan Charter as the supreme law. And yet the same official website carries material that encourages the persecution of Dorje Shugden practitioners.

This should serve as a constant reminder of the CTA’s faux democracy. It is a testimony to how closely the CTA resembles the Chinese regime it accuses of breaching human rights.

There is no other democracy in the world where worshipping the right god is a condition for keeping one’s job and where one is required to denounce one’s faith to remain in the community. Nowhere else is it a “stringent responsibility” for government staff to “urge relatives” to abandon their religion.

23 years after it implemented this disastrous campaign that has wreaked havoc on Tibetan unity and undermined the Tibetan Cause, the CTA still refuses to desist. Perhaps it is a means of distraction from the CTA’s failures.

The CTA argues that the Chinese Government is oppressive and unfair. They point to the Chinese government making it an offence for anyone in the TAR to be in possession of the Dalai Lama’s picture. But the Chinese have never claimed to be democratic. It is the CTA which is the pretender as it makes it a crime to merely exercise one’s basic human rights because the Dalai Lama said so.