The Tibet Sun newspaper has highlighted the Dalai Lama’s discrimination against Shugden practitioners and how he transgresses the Indian laws against Deity discrimination and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
The article describes the Dalai Lama’s recent public teachings in Bodhgaya. People of all faiths – Christians, Hindus, Jews – were welcomed… with one notable exception. As the Tibet Sun indicates, Shugden Practitioners are not allowed at the teachings. By publicly discriminating against this one group of people, the Dalai Lama has ostracized them and made them pariahs within their own communities. Encouraged by the Dalai Lama’s repeated public attacks on them, the Tibetan government and other Tibetan organizations have denied Shugden practitioners travel documents, access to medical treatment, places of worship and other basic human rights.
What are the heinous actions that these Shugden practitioners have supposedly engaged in? Only that they believe in their deity and teachers and do not wish to abandon their faith.
Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, governing “freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion” demands that “all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion”.
Being barred from the Dalai Lama’s public talks and blessings is just one manifestation of the Dalai Lama’s discrimination. For Shugden practitioners the consequence of freely professing, practicing and propagating their faith is that they are excluded from the exiled Tibetan society, and they lose their livelihood. They are shunned by their neighbors and barred from any public office within the exiled community.
Article 2 of the United Nations Declaration On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Intolerance And Of Discrimination Based On Religion Or Belief adopted by the General Assembly in 1981 says: “No one shall be subject to discrimination by any State, institution, group of persons, or person on the grounds of religion or other belief”.
Over a thirty-year campaign, the Dalai Lama has completely taken away Shugden practitioners’ basic human rights of religious freedom. He has instigated a systematic discrimination against this group entirely on the grounds of their beliefs.
What is most shocking about this news is how brazen the Dalai Lama has become in enforcing his discrimination. Bodhgaya is the place of Buddha’s enlightenment, a spiritual heart of India – a nation devoted to religious tolerance and harmony. In such a sacred place, in complete defiance of the laws and principles of the land that has sheltered him for six decades, the Dalai Lama continues his crusade to remove Shugden worshippers from the world.
We ask the world to take note of the Dalai Lama flagrantly discrimination against one group solely on the basis of their religion. You can read the original Tibet Sun article here: http://www.tibetsun.com/archive/2010/01/04/dalai-lama-arrives-in-bodh-gaya-for-teachings-prayers/.
(Editor’s Note: This link appears to have been removed from the mentioned website)
To find out more about the Dalai Lama’s persecution of Shugden practitioners, refer to articles in NEWS & THE BAN section of this website
Article is extracted from: http://www.westernshugdensociety.org/chronicle/tibet-sun-newspaper/
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Arisa
January 20, 2011
Newspapers are very good for exposing good news or bad news if they are not censored. Newspaper company is not a spiritual organisation but only perform as a business to secure finances. I believe the Sun newspaper would have paid a substantial sum to the newspaper company to highlight the Dalai Lama’s discrimination against Dorje Shugden Practitioners. This is the only way to show and let the people think and decide what the Dalai Lama does is right or wrong. In the newspaper article it says the Dalai Lama’s public talks was open to everyone including those in other Religions except Dorje Shugden Practitioners who are also in the same Religion as the Dalai Lama. Tibetan Government has even gone against the law set up by the Indian government which says that there be freedom of religious practice.
SabrinaS
August 28, 2016
I would have said Kudos to the Tibetan Sun on exposing the blatant discrimination practised by the Dalai Lama on the Shugden practitioners but I guess it too faced the wrath of the Dalai Lama and his political influence as the article had to be removed. I just find it amazing that the Indian Government, a country who practises religious freedom and acceptance could close their eyes at such an abuse without any actions. What more, to allow the Dalai Lama to practise such injustice at Bodhgaya, one of the holiest sites, where Buddha Shakyamuni gained enlightenment! The Dalai Lama’s turning the Wheel of Dharma at this holy pilgrimage site would have been auspicious but he had to taint the place with discrimination. Totally against Buddha’s teaching of equality and equanimity. I hope that many people had read the Tibetan Sun’s article before being forced to be removed. May the illegal ban on Protector’s Dorje Shugden’s practise be swiftly lifted and the rights of the practitioners be restored.
Anonymous
December 3, 2017