About 600 Mongolians attended the Dalai Lama’s teachings on Je Tsongkapa’s Lamrim
By Shashi Kei
In early December 2014, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama gave his annual teachings on Lama Tsongkapa’s “Great Stages of The Path To Enlightenment” (the Lamrim) to an international audience in Dharamsala. The Lamrim is irrefutably one of the most important teachings given by Lama Tsongkapa as a detailed guide to all students of dharma on their spiritual path to liberation. Therefore all Lamrim teachings are, by tradition, to be treated with utmost reverence both by the listener and the teacher.
What made this year’s event different was the presence of over 600 Mongolians in the audience. The teachings were held over three days and not long into the first day’s teaching, it became obvious that the Dalai Lama intended to use this religious platform for his political agenda once again.
#1: The Dalai Lama Breaks His Promise
Two years earlier during the Lamrim teachings of 2012, the Dalai Lama gave his word that he would no longer speak publicly against Dorje Shugden. However, he did not stop. At every opportunity since, the Dalai Lama spoke against the Protector and now, two years later, he used another Lamrim teaching to attack Dorje Shugden as well as the present incarnation of his own guru, Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang.
The Dalai Lama began his assault by demonizing Dorje Shugden yet again, first by suggesting that Dorje Shugden was happy when the 13th Dalai Lama passed away and that Shugden is now eagerly waiting for the 14th Dalai Lama to die. Given the people’s reverence of the Dalai Lamas, that was said with only one purpose in mind – to poison the audience’s minds against the deity.
Far from wanting to harm the Dalai Lamas, Dorje Shugden in fact helped the 13th Dalai Lama [as narrated in The Garland of Jewels: Chronicles of The Successive Emanations of Lokesvara - http://bit.ly/1xaaIWb] and saved the life of the 14th Dalai Lama [http://bit.ly/1Be3U9v]. It is not difficult to see that had Dorje Shugden wanted the Dalai Lama harmed, he would not have provided the means for the Dalai Lama to escape Tibet just before the Chinese army began shelling the Potala Palace.
Not only has the present Dalai Lama not acknowledged the roles played by Dorje Shugden and Shugden lamas in his life, he has in fact demeaned the devotion and sacrifices of so many Shugden followers, quite without conscience.
- Was it not Trijang Rinpoche and Ling Rinpoche, both Shugden lamas, who tutored the Dalai Lama and took care of his every need?
- Was it not Zemey Rinpoche, another Shugden lama, who assisted the Dalai Lama in his precarious dealings with the Chinese?
- Was it not Shugden lamas who consulted with the Protector and planned the Dalai Lama’s escape (and with it the survival of the Tibetan culture and religion) after Nechung gave the wrong advice for the Dalai Lama to remain in Tibet?
- Was it not Shugden monks from Sera who escorted the Dalai Lama in his dangerous journey, and Shugden believers who formed the Chushi Gangdruk that protected the Dalai Lama all the way to India and then returned to Tibet to join in the fight to liberate their homeland?
- Was it not Guru Deva Rinpoche, yet another Shugden lama, who was instrumental in the rebuilding of the great Gelugpa universities and the re-establishment of Tibetan Buddhist infrastructure in India?
As a matter of fact, Dorje Shugden has played crucial roles throughout the Dalai Lama’s life and now here is the Dalai Lama debasing the Protector and those who have helped him. Such shocking ingratitude is unprecedented in the history of Tibetan Buddhism.
#2: The Dalai Lama Maligns His Teacher
For the Dalai Lama to malign Dorje Shugden is disturbing but it is also to be expected of the person who has banned its practice. What is more alarming is how the Dalai Lama used Je Tsongkapa’s Lamrim teachings to attempt to undermine the reputation of his own teacher’s reincarnation, Kyabje Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche.
The countless great deeds the previous Trijang Dorje Chang had performed for Dharma, the lineage and the country had rendered his reputation unassailable thus the Dalai Lama resorted to maligning the reputation of his reincarnation instead. Ironically, Je Tsongkapa said clearly in the Lamrim Chenmo that the proper reliance on the guru is the root of the path. You cannot honor the path if you dishonor the root of the path, but that point seemed to be lost on the Dalai Lama.
Of his relationship with the incarnation of his holy guru, Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche, the Dalai Lama said this to the audience:
Trijang Rinpoche visited Mongolia. When he was there, the Nechung medium was also there and Trijang Rinpoche and the Nechung medium met and explained everything to Trijang, very clear. Regarding Trijang and me… we have a long story and our relationship goes way back.
Previous Trijang Rinpoche was my tutor. Due to the dolgyal issue, when the current Trijang was small he started facing big problems. I tried many ways to help him to get out of the circle of people keeping him under control… and the people surround him created trouble for him.
The Dalai Lama told the audience a story to portray a younger Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche as a recalcitrant boy who was under the control of “the Dolgyal people” – negative elements whom according to the Dalai Lama, caused Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche serious problems. Indeed the young Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche did face tremendous problems, but not because of the people around him but squarely because of the ban on Dorje Shugden that the Dalai Lama had put into effect without reason or cause. To arouse the Tibetan people’s fear and hatred of the Chinese, the Dalai Lama labeled the deity as a Chinese ghost. And to agitate their sentiments for the Dalai Lama who represents their hope of returning to their homeland, he told them that Dorje Shugden’s practice harms his life and will be the downfall of their efforts to regain their country.
In effect, the Dalai Lama had declared all Shugden practitioners including the incarnation of his own teacher, Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche, to be enemies of the Tibetan nation that had to be treated with contempt. As a result, young tulkus of Shugden lamas such as Trijang Rinpoche and Zong Rinpoche received very serious death threats.
Groups began to form to hunt down Shugden practitioners and one organization known as ‘The Secret Society of Eliminators of the External and Internal Enemies of Tibet’ pronounced its death threat against Shugden worshippers, naming in particular Trijang Rinpoche and Zong Rinpoche. Their statement read:
Anyone who goes against the policy of the government must be singled out, opposed and given the death penalty… As for the reincarnations of Trijang and Zong Rinpoche, if they do not stop practising Dolgyal and continue to contradict the words of H. H. the Dalai Lama, not only will we not be able to respect them but their life and activities will suffer destruction. This is our first warning.’
- [http://goo.gl/1ixeO5]
At no time did the Dalai Lama or the CTA step in to object to this behavior and calm the situation. Instead, the Dalai Lama’s government passed parliamentary resolutions that effectively mandated violence against Shugden worshippers. So it was in fact the Dalai Lama who had caused Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche, who was only 13 years old at that time, all those grievous problems. Those around the young Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche, whom the Dalai Lama insinuated to be bad influences, in fact protected Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche around the clock and even stood guard by his bed at night.
A young Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche with the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama gave Trijang Rinpoche an ultimatum to either stop the Shugden practice or end his monastic education
I even told him once secretly to come to Bombay and I will send people to get him back to Dharamsala. Later I met him in America. I talked to him about ways to get out of this problem but he didn’t listen.
And to continue to portray his own teacher negatively, the Dalai Lama gave the impression that he tried patiently and incessantly to help the young Trijang Rinpoche but the latter refused. In fact, what the Dalai Lama did do unrelentingly was to try and force Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche to break his vows and abandon the Shugden practice that the Dalai Lama had resolved to destroy.
From a young age, Trijang Rinpoche had to face the very powerful and oppressive Dalai Lama who did not treat the new incarnation of his guru in a manner that a student should. The previous Trijang Rinpoche gave the Dalai Lama the Dharma, knowledge, protection, love, care and nurtured him like a father would a precious son. And yet, each time the young Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche tried to seek the Dalai Lama’s blessings for him to continue with the Shugden practice which has had profound presence in the line of Trijang Rinpoches – for at least the past three incarnations, he was met with a resounding ‘No’.
Since I have received a lot of teachings from the previous Trijang, I thought they should first be given back to the current incarnation of Trijang Rinpoche… but it has not worked out.
To the audience in the Lamrim teachings, the Dalai Lama gave the impression that he has no relationship today with Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche because Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche rejected him. On the contrary, it is the Dalai Lama who made the rule that the Tibetan people should not have any association whatsoever with Shugden practitioners. In addition, the Dalai Lama has stressed at every occasion including the 2014 Lamrim teachings that Shugden worshippers cannot receive any teachings from the Dalai Lama. So who is rejecting who?
#3: The Dalai Lama Proves There Is A Ban
The last time Trijang Rinpoche met with the Dalai Lama was in Graz, Austria in 2003 and then, as before, the Dalai Lama gave Trijang Rinpoche an ultimatum. On that particular occasion in Graz, the Dalai Lama had said to Trijang Rinpoche:
If you give up this deity, myself and all Tibetan people will appreciate it very much and our protector Nechung will take care of you and make you more successful and famous than ever. If you do not give up this deity, then your monastic career, like receiving the full monk’s ordination and taking Geshe examinations will not be possible. So I leave it to your judgment. Yes or No?
- [http://www.shugdensociety.info/historyEvents1998EN.html]
The ultimatum to Trijang Rinpoche provides a rare insight into the Dalai Lama’s mind that triggered a very destructive religious controversy. It therefore warrants careful attention:
- It shows that the Dalai Lama never intended for anyone to have a real choice in the Dorje Shugden matter even though both he and the Central Tibetan Administration insist that the Dalai Lama had simply provided “advice” with regards to the Shugden practice. If that was true, the Dalai Lama would not have imposed conditions on Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche. This is after all the Dalai Lama’s holy guru. What kind of student who values the dharma and the source of dharma would treat his guru this way?
- It shows the heavy hand that the Dalai Lama wields against those who oppose his wish. Dalai Lama the politician was prepared to deny an ordained monk his monastic education. A ‘simple Buddhist monk’ would never do that, especially if he is the custodian of the spiritual well-being of the monastic community
- It shows the Dalai Lama is disrespectful of the all-important Tibetan Buddhist tradition, which is to regard the guru as the root of all paths, as Je Tsongkapa and many other Buddhist saints taught. And if the guru is not held as sacred in the Dalai Lama’s eyes, and similarly if vows and commitments mean nothing to him, then what is sacred?
- It shows the Dalai Lama’s hypocrisy. The Dalai Lama regularly accuses Shugden practitioners of worshipping a spirit for the sake of worldly gain, but he is in the meantime depending on Nechung, a worldly spirit for not only the same but also to bribe and corrupt others into breaking their vows.
- And following from that, it shows that the Dalai Lama placed such importance on worldly gain and fame that he thought it would be enough to entice Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche away from a true spiritual path.
- It shows the Dalai Lama was prepared to use ultimatums, intimidation and fear to coerce others into submitting to him. These are not characteristics of a ‘simple Buddhist monk’.
- It shows the Dalai Lama had assumed Nechung to be the protector of the Gelugpa lineage (via his reference to Nechung as ‘our protector) instead of Kalarupa as was practiced by Je Tsongkapa. Conversely, when Pabongka Rinpoche instructed students to take Dorje Shugden as their dharma protector, he was accused of distorting Je Tsongkapa’s teachings. An extremely hypocritical accusation.
While that incident exposed the degeneration that had set in the Dalai Lama’s mind, at the same time it revealed the purity of Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche’s practice. Trijang Rinpoche could not be bought or coerced, but neither would he allow himself to dishonor his devotion to the Dalai Lama who was also his student in Trijang Rinpoche’s past life.
In the end, Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche made the difficult decision to disrobe as a monk and to retreat into solitary life as an ordinary practitioner. And till this very day, Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche has not made a single disparaging remark about the Dalai Lama despite all the hardship the Dalai Lama inflicted upon him and other Shugden practitioners.
#4: The Dalai Lama Guards His Power Base
Since Trijang Rinpoche’s re-emergence in 2012, it became obvious that he is still highly revered and regarded as the most important lama in the Gelugpa lineage. It worried the Dalai Lama that Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang, whom many in the lineage consider to have achieved attainments equal to the Dalai Lama, had returned. And this is happening at a time when the Dalai Lama’s popularity as a world figure seems to be on the decline as cracks began to appear in his well-practiced public persona.
The Dalai Lama had an urgent political agenda during the recent Lamrim teachings. The presence of the Mongolians, the special attention the Dalai Lama accorded them, and the negative remarks that the Dalai Lama made during the teachings about Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche and Dorje Shugden were not mere coincidences. The Dalai Lama meant to use the religious platform to curb Trijang Rinpoche’s rising popularity with the Mongolians who have been supportive of Trijang Rinpoche all this while.
Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche arrived in Mongolia in September 2014 to a rousing reception, not long after the Dalai Lama’s own planned visit had been revoked due to Chinese pressure. A true ‘simple Buddhist monk’ would rejoice at Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche’s popularity in Mongolia, and that the Chinese seem not to disapprove of Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche.
Mongolia has historically played a key role in the establishment of Tibetan Buddhist leadership. The rise of the Fifth Dalai Lama was with the support of the Mongolians. In turn, Tibetan Buddhism has shaped the Mongolian way of life in a profound way, sometimes playing a more influential role than politics in shaping policies and decisions. Therefore a prominent Tibetan-Gelugpa lama would be able to command a respectable standing within the Mongolian establishment. Until recently that honor had been the Dalai Lama’s.
Kyabje Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche in Mongolia earlier this year
If the Dalai Lama had the wellbeing of the Tibetan people and the good of Tibetan Buddhism in mind, he would see the benefits in Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche’s relationship with the Mongolians and the potential bridge it could build with China.
In fact, perhaps in Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche lies the Tibetan people’s only remaining ticket to returning to their homeland via negotiations brokered by the Mongolians whose natural resources and strategic location are deemed important to the Chinese.
But then the Dalai Lama has never been a simple Buddhist monk and thus saw Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche to be a threat, one only a politician would perceive. Hence, instead of assisting Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche, the Dalai Lama sought to diffuse the perceived threat. And so, with the 2014 Lamrim teachings, the Dalai Lama began the process of undermining Trijang Rinpoche’s stronghold in the Tibetan and Mongolian communities.
#5: The Dalai Lama Contradicts Himself Yet Again
The world at large sees the Dalai Lama as a Buddha incarnate, a man of peace who is the embodiment of all that is honest and good. And because of the implied currency of trust that comes with the image the Dalai Lama has successfully sold to the public, they have stood idly by as mute witnesses to the Dalai Lama’s persecutions of Dorje Shugden worshippers. However, it is not at all difficult to see though this facade if one was to decide to awake from the hypnosis.
For instance, the Dalai Lama tells the Mongolians and the audience that they should stop their worship of Dorje Shugden. He assured them that nothing bad would happen to them if they stopped their practice by implying a certain spiritual superiority over Shugden:
If Dolgyal wants to harm you, you should tell him to see the Dalai Lama…
The very next day, the same Dalai Lama told the same audience that if those who practice Shugden were to receive teachings from the Dalai Lama, his life would be harmed.
The main point is that the Dalai Lama lineage cannot practice Dorje Shugden and those who come to receive teachings cannot practice. To do so breaks samaya and harms me.
By inference, the Dalai Lama is saying that a student’s broken samaya will harm their teacher and yet for almost 20 years, the Dalai Lama has forced Shugden practitioners, even monks, to disown their gurus and Protector. If broken samaya can harm the Dalai Lama, can it not also harm the gurus of Shugden practitioners who renounce their teachers and the practice given to them? If so, has not the ban caused many gurus and students to be harmed?
Now the dolgyal renegades are calling me a fake Dalai Lama and protesting against me. They have showed me wearing a Muslim cap. I do that because I try to promote interfaith harmony. Some of these people are saying I am Muslim. I can’t please everybody.
The Dalai Lama also said that he has been accused of being a Muslim for wearing a Muslim cap while attending an Islamic event. He explained that he did so with the intention of fostering religious harmony amongst the different religions. That itself does not hold water given the fact that the Dalai Lama is actively discriminating against the belief in a deity (Dorje Shugden) and the practice of worshipping that deity. If the Dalai Lama is sincere about religious harmony, why has he shown such contempt for a religious practice that has been at the heart of the Gelugpa lineage for over 300 years? Again the Dalai Lama’s actions do not match his words.
Perhaps what betrayed the Dalai Lama’s real motive for the Shugden ban was when he told the audience that the ‘Dalai Lama lineage’ cannot practice Dorje Shugden. The simple fact is that there is no Dalai Lama lineage that stands apart from the Gelugpa lineage founded by Je Tsongkapa. And all Gelugpa stalwarts propitiate Dorje Shugden as they have been for some time. Therefore, if the Dalai Lama’s ambition was to redefine the Gelugpa tradition to suit his political ambitions, he has to find a way to shift the power base away from the high Gelugpa lamas to him exclusively. And banning the Shugden practice was the strategy the Dalai Lama deployed to accomplish that objective – divide the lineage and rule. It was never about Dorje Shugden per se.
#6: The Dalai Lama’s Real Strategy
The Dorje Shugden supporters are saying that I was born to intentionally destroy Tsongkapa’s teachings but what I have done all my life is to promote it…
All this political manoeuvring has come at great expense to the pure lineage that Je Tsongkapa founded which the present Dalai Lama seems determined to destroy. It is not so much the deity that stands in the Dalai Lama’s way but the strong devotion the Shugden practitioner gives to his lama. And so, if we were to try and understand the Dorje Shugden controversy from the perspective of the spiritual reasons given to justify the ban, nothing would make any sense. As such, until this day the Dalai Lama has not been able to provide any scriptural evidence or even a logical and rational argument based on principles of Buddhism to support the claims made against Dorje Shugden.
Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche himself is living proof that the Dalai Lama’s reasons are false. How can the previous Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang, undoubtedly one of the most attained Shugden masters in history reincarnate as a high lama to resume his Dharma work, which Kyabje Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche is manifesting today, if Dorje Shugden is truly a dark demonic force? That would defeat the principles of karma itself.
At the same time I practice Nyingma, Sakya and Kagyu teachings… because, Panchen Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen who was the contemporary of the Fifth Dalai Lama, said in a beautiful verse that the essence of all four traditions boils down to the same point… and should understand and practice all four traditions… what I lack from one side I take from another side…
However, if we were to look at the Dalai Lama’s actions in recent history from the perspective of his political ambitions, then the picture falls into place. The Dalai Lama divided the largest Tibetan Buddhist sect, the Gelugpa, with the Dorje Shugden conflict. He similarly divided the second largest Tibetan Buddhist sect, the Karma Kagyu by interfering in the Kagyu’s internal affairs of recognizing and enthroning its head of the lineage. Today we have two Karmapas, one of whom is closely connected with the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama formed an alliance with the Nyingmapa by embracing its core teachings as his own. The Sakyapa have never been politically active in the history of Tibet and so they are spared the Dalai Lama’s political gamesmanship.
In addition the Dalai Lama forged an alliance with the Bon tradition, a form of Tibetan spirit worship, by recognizing it as the official sixth lineage in Tibetan Buddhism and forbade any discrimination against it on the basis that it is undemocratic. [Kværne, Per and Rinzin Thargyal. (1993). Bon, Buddhism and Democracy: The Building of a Tibetan National Identity, pp. 45-46. Nordic Institute of Asian Studies. ISBN 978-87-87062-25-1]. It is noteworthy that the same treatment and respect have not been accorded the Shugden worshippers by the Dalai Lama. This affirms that falsity of an often quoted reason for the Dalai Lama to ban the Shugden practice – that it is spirit worship that causes the Dharma to degenerate.
And finally to complete his plan, the Dalai Lama officially recognized the Jonangpa as the fifth Tibetan Buddhist lineage and went to great lengths to rebuild a very small lineage of only about 40 monasteries with 5000 monks. The Jonang lineage was in fact absorbed into the Gelugpa lineage by the Fifth Dalai Lama but the 14th Dalai Lama reversed that status, removing the Jonang from the Gelugpa lineage and returning it to its own identity as part of the process of shifting the Gelugpa power base. The Jonang tradition is known for its Kalachakra tradition and as we know, the Dalai Lama has given more Kalachakra initiations than any known lamas in modern times, with such initiations being perfect opportunities for the Dalai Lama to swear initiates to oaths of loyalty to him.
Furthermore, with the Mongolian factor playing a crucial role in the Dalai Lama’s power grab, he had to diminish Guru Deva Rinpoche’s influence over the Mongolian people. Thus, to seal the deal, the Dalai Lama assigned Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche of Mongolia, as head of the Jonang lineage. And to the Mongolian audience in the Lamrim teachings, the Dalai Lama expressed his eagerness to find and enthrone the next head of the Jonang, the previous Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche having entered clear light in 2012. A new head of the lineage would at last allow the Dalai Lama to resume his divide and conquer of the Mongolian people.
Dalai Lama’s Great Stages of The Path Teachings – Day 1:
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Dalai Lama’s Great Stages of The Path Teachings – Day 2:
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Dalai Lama’s Great Stages of The Path Teachings – Day 3:
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December 29, 2014
Please Tenzin Gyatzo don’t talk bad of the Holy Tulku of Your Guru that you recognized as such.
pema8
December 29, 2014
This is so unbelievable. I just want to practice my religion. You recognise the Bon but create so much suffering in Buddhism. Your teacher, H.H. Trijang Dorje Chang was a highly attained Shugden practitioner. What are you trying to achieve H.H.?
Sunitta
December 29, 2014
It seems clearly “suicidal” for HHDL to criticize the current reincarnation of his teacher. Even if it is not related to teachers of religions, we should never criticize the hands that feed our brains, our teachers ! Who goes around complaining about their school/college/university teachers ? We should always reflect well on those who have benefitted us.
A person as highly intelligent as the HHDL must surely know the basic protocol of life – be grateful ! Without HH Trijang Dorje Chang, HHDL would not be who he is today !
It’s interesting to note the political strategy of the HHDL – divide to conquer ! Incredible !!
Harold
December 29, 2014
The Dalai Lama has been possessed by a great demon since the 5th Dalai Lama. I do not believe that Dorje Shugden helped the Dalai Lama to escape Tibet. I think that Dorje Shugden tricked him in leaving Tibet and as soon as he was in India he closed the doors to his return to Tibet. Yes that right the Dalai Lama has lost the war to Dorje Shugden. He will never return to rule like a dictator over Tibet ever again. Dorje Shugden expelled him for ever. The Dalai Lama will die in exile and live his reincarnations in India. Don’t ever hope that the DL will ever change his mind about Dorje Shugden. The demon(s) the possess him have done so for centuries.
benzadhara
December 29, 2014
The articles provide clear logical arguments of the Dalai Lama’s deception to the world and particularly to Tibetan and Tibetan Buddhism. It is shame that this has to happened in Buddhism and is totally contrary to what Buddhism is actually about…worldly power and control manifested as political gamesmanship and lies.
The greatest sin to me is the forcing of the sangha and lay practitioners alike to break Guru samaya, the root of all attainments. In one stroke, all practices becomes in vain.
China Jazz
December 30, 2014
The H H Dalai Lama, a public figure that sells compassion, world peace, an emanation of Buddha on earth, the King of Tibet, a holy monk deep down inside is just another selfish, only care about himself, jealous of his own guru Trijang Rinpoche for status which is not the first time, bad mouthing about other monks, playing mind game to win over the people’s hearts from Dorje Shugden by putting up lies, ban and discriminating the Shugden practitioners, He out up his fake face telling everyone to be harmony etc etc etc… I lost my respect and my last hope to this spiritual leader. I personally think he fail to represent the Buddhist. He even fail to hold his 10 refuge vows. What can I say as a Buddhist, I hope he realize what he is doing now is not right and reframe it asap. OM MANI PAME HUNG
lobs
December 30, 2014
i dont hav time n interest to read all ur bullshit but thanks a lot from core of my heart and i got to watch lamrim teaching of Hh from ur website..
Steve Ho
December 30, 2014
To the dorje shugden followers: please stop to spread your chinese garbage on the Net and remember that
“THE POWER OF TRUTH NEVER DECLINES”
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Liu xian
December 30, 2014
I am not following either side of the line as they are very complicated arguments and difficult to convince as no solid evidence of spirit power. I have following questions:
1. Does spirit or protectors really exist?
2. If they are exist, why we don’t see their power?
3. The red communist party assaulted Buddhists of all traditions, no spirit showed up to help. They grounded so many ancient Chinese Buddhist sites, no help. They grounded to ash of Nalanda monastery, no help. They grounded the very holy Gaden Monastery to rubbles, no help.
Tell me why spirt is exist now Mr. Buddhist.
Ringo Starr
December 31, 2014
Let’s put religion aside for one moment.
Imagine if the President of the United States or China tells his people that you cannot practice Newton’s Law or Einstein’s Theory of Relativity or that Copernicus was wrong and that you cannot practice that the earth revolves around the sun?
And if you do practice the above, we would not trade with you, let you open bank accounts, work in government, have passports, provide you with medical care at our hospitals and worse still we will ostracize you in public and call for your heads.
For decades, millions of practitioners have been practicing Dorje Shugden with results and that includes the previous Dalai Lamas. The current Dalai Lama should stop meddling. Remove the ban!
Harold
December 31, 2014
You must remember the Dalai Lama’s own words about the three reasons he decided on the ban.
1) A dream.
2) The Nechung Oracle
3) The Dalai Lama did a Doe Ball Divination.
Imagine any world leader that bases his decisions on, a dream, a psychic friend and the roll of the dice.
Yes now you know what the Dalai Lama did to base his banning of Dorje Shugden and the resulting harm to its followers.
Would the world be a better place if all the world leaders followed the Dalai Lama’s lead in how to find answers to difficult questions?
Sally Han
December 31, 2014
Just read this on BBC
The Dalai Lama has told the BBC’s Newsnight he does not know whether he will be the last to hold the title.
“Whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue or not is up to the Tibetan people,” he told the BBC’s Yalda Hakim.
“There’s no guarantee some stupid Dalai Lama won’t come next, who will disgrace himself or herself.
“That would be very sad. So, much better that a centuries old tradition should cease at the time of a quite popular Dalai Lama.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30508914
Not much of a conquer to me. How strange it is for the Dalai Lama to divide and create havoc for His own Gelug lineage and then decides to pass on and to never return. After reading this BB article… I do not agree His Holiness wishes to conquer… I think there is a much higher reason for all this, and I hope it is a positive one. He is after suppose to be Chenrezig.
I love Dorje Shugden and I also love and respect the Dalai Lama. I do not like and agree with the ban and the suffering it is causing so many but I am afraid I cannot judge someone Enlightened like the Dalai Lama for his motives. But I pray to Dorje Shugden it will soon turn out positive. And if the Dalai Lama is really not return and shall seize it’s existence with this “quite popular” Dalai Lama… then it would easier to reunite every Shugden/Gelug sons and daughters of Je Tsongkhapa lineage again and it sore to its glory, perhaps even better than its past!
May the Ban be lifted soon!
bond
January 3, 2015
In an attempt to promote his political agenda, it is really disturbing to read that H.H. the Dalai Lama once again has shown great disrespect towards his own teacher & the Protector Dorje Shugden. In the beginning, H.H. the Dalai Lama explained that one should not rely on blind faith but to apply logic & reasoning in one spiritual practice to gain results. However, what follows on later show that the Dalai Lama’s comment about the Protector Dorje Shugden & his own teacher are in total contradiction to his earlier advise of Buddhism on the basis of logic.
In my humble opinion, H.H. the Dalai Lama is still the spiritual leader in the world of Tibetan Buddhism, undoubtedly a highly attain being. All these could just be a divine play that will bring greater success & growth of Buddhism far & wide. For that, I sincerely hope that the Ban be lifted & the time is not far from now.
Padma Dondrup
January 4, 2015
“Dalai Lama Lineage”! May I ask Dalai Lama where does the lineage of Dalai Lama come from? If Dalai Lama is SO UNGRATEFUL and unappreciative of the glorious Gelug Lineage inherited from his tutors His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche and His Holiness Kyabje Ling Rinpoche and all past Gelug lineage master all the way back to Lama Tsongkhapa, then Dalai Lama should give back these precious teachings and establish His own tradition which is without Dorje Shugden practices!
Why then was Dalai Lama giving his annual teachings on Lama Tsongkapa’s “Great Stages of The Path To Enlightenment” (the Lamrim)? Does Dalai Lama know that Lamrim is “tainted or contaminated” because all the Gelug Lineage Lamas who had passed it down to the present day had been practising Dorje Shugden?
The conclusion is that Dalai Lama is getting more and more illogical, hypocritical, unreasonable, disrespectful of his gurus and all Gelug Lineage Masters, disrespectful of Dorje Shugden followers’ human righst and religious freedom …. the list goes on.
Why is Dalai Lama doing all these? For goodness sakes, Please stop! Please stop creating more damages and sufferings! Please LIFT the ban on Dorje Shugden!
Eli Buchen
January 8, 2015
The fact that the dalai lama allowed the most erudite Gelug lama Trijang Dorje chang to practice dorje shugden is perhaps the only evidence that the Dalai Lama is actually working hand in hand with Dorje Shugden to spread the Dorje Shudgen and Tsongkhapa lineage. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that Trijang Rinpoche will one day lead the Dorje Shugden people and movement to overcome the Dorje Shugden ban.
samayakeeper
January 12, 2015
Again the Dalai Lama, who calls himself “a simple man,” took the opportunity to bash his guru and Dorje Shugden. People who attended the teaching were looking forward to a dharma teaching but it was tainted by the political rhetoric that he dished out. When will the Dalai Lama relent and just focus on propagating the dharma?
Eli Buchen
January 17, 2015
There is something even more powerful than the buddhas and protectors it is called Karma. Thats for you Liu Xian since you asked.
Michaela Smith
October 19, 2017
The CTA is not capable of planting the seed of and implementing real democracy where freedom of speech, differences in opinion, and constructive feedback can be accepted. Tenpa Yarphel is being called a Chinese dog just because he said Nechung’s prophecy is inaccurate.
Dalai Lama should set things right
August 13, 2018
Dear Dalai Lama,
Since you started the cruel ban against the 350 year Dorje Shugden practice, how has it benefit your Tibetan society and Buddhism in the world? Things have become worse and most educated Tibetans can see this. They don’t speak out not because they don’t see your ban as wrong, but you instill fear in them and not respect. It is like fear of a dictator. I am sorry to say so. Everyone is divided. There is no harmony. Before your ban there was more harmony and unity.
By enacting the ban, you split the monasteries, split so many families, split regions in Tibet apart, split your disciples from you, split your own gurus from you, split Tibetan Buddhism apart. You have created so much disharmony.
It is not democratic what you have done to ban a religion within your community. You always talk of tolerance and acceptance and democracy and yet you do not accept and tolerate something different from your beliefs. When people practice Dorje Shugden you ostracize them, ban them from seeing you, ban them from using Tibetan facilities. You know you have done that. There are videos that capture your speech and prove this point. You even had people expelled from monasteries just because they practice Dorje Shugden. Some of the monks you expelled have been in the monastery for over 40 years. Many older monks shed tears because of this.
Many young educated Tibetans lost confidence in you as they saw the damage the Dorje Shugden ban created and they lose hope. Many have become free thinkers. They reject what you have done. So many people in the west left Buddhism because of the confusion you created with this ban against Dorje Shugden which is immoral.
You could of had millions of people who practice Dorje Shugden to support, love and follow you, but you scared them away. They are hurt and very disappointed. They loved you and respected you deeply before the ban. It has been 60 years and you have failed to get Tibet back. Your biggest failure is not getting Tibet back after 57 years in exile. Now you are begging China to allow you to return to Tibet to the disappointment of thousands of people who fought for a free Tibet believing in you. So many self-immolated for a free Tibet and now you want Tibet to be a part of China with no referendum from Tibetans. Just like a dictator, you decide on your own. It was your government and you that lost Tibet in the first place. Your policies and style of doing things do not benefit Tibet and Buddhism. You have been the sole ruler of Tibet your whole life and you still have not gotten our country of Tibet back for us. Our families and us are separated. Yet you create more pain by creating a ban to further divide people. Please have compassion.
No other Buddhist leader has banned or condemned any religion except for you. It looks very bad. You are a Nobel laureate and this is not fitting of a laureate. You should unite people and not separate them by religious differences.
You said Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi did not do right to the Rohingya people in Myanmar due to religious differences, but you are doing the same thing to the Shugden Buddhists within your own society. There is a parallel in this. You separate the Shugden Buddhists from the others in Tibetan society.
You have lost so many people who would have loved and supported you. You have lost so much support around the world. The Shugden Buddhists who love you number in the millions. When you are fast losing support from governments and private people, it will not do you well to lose more.
After you are passed away in the future, the rift you created between the Dorje Shugden and non-Dorje Shugden people will remain for a while and that will be your legacy. Disharmony. You will be remembered for this. Not as a hero but a disharmony creator.
Dorje Shugden will spread and further grow, but you will be no more as you are a human. No one wishes you bad and in fact we hope you have a long and healthy life, but we have lost so much hope and have so much despair because of you. All the hundreds of Dorje Shugden lamas, tulkus and geshes are maturing and there are hundreds of Dorje Shugden monasteries in Tibet who will not give up Dorje Shugden. You have made a mistake. These hundreds of teachers and teachers to be will spread Dorje Shugden further in the future.
The gurus that gave us Dorje Shugden as a spiritual practice and you have called these holy gurus wrong and they are mistaken in giving us Dorje Shugden. How can you insult our gurus whom we respect so much? If they can be wrong, then you can be wrong. Then all gurus can be wrong. So no one needs to listen to any guru? You have created this trend. It is not healthy. Your own gurus practiced Dorje Shugden their whole lives. Your own gurus were exemplary and highly learned.
Dalai Lama you have created so much pain with this ban against so many people due to religion. You are ageing fast. Are you going to do anything about it or stay stubborn, hard and un-moving. You show a smile and preach peace and harmony wherever you go. But will you do the same to your own people? Please rectify the wrong you have done. Please before it is too late. You can create harmony again or you can pass away in the future with this legacy of peace. May you live long and think carefully and admit what was a mistake in having this unethical ban against Dorje Shugden religion.