Chushi Gangdruk means “Four Rivers and Six Ranges” and named after the geographical region of Kham, Tibet.
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: Heinrich Hauff
Origin and history of Chushi Gangdruk
Tibet’s most famous guerilla force, the Chushi Gangdruk (Four Rivers and Six Ranges) was founded in the mid-1950s to serve as a guerilla force to protect the Dalai Lama and Tibet from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who had entered the Tibetan plateau. In the years since they entered exile, the Chushi Gangdruk and their feats have taken their place amongst the legends of Tibetan history. Yet, the true story of their origins is one that the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala) has heavily manipulated and distorted for the purposes of propaganda.
The stage was set for Chushi Gangdruk’s establishment when in 1950, the Tibetan governor of Kham (a province in East Tibet) colluded with the Chinese forces and surrendered the entire region to the PLA. Disappointed by what they viewed as an act of betrayal, a successful and charismatic merchant named Andruk Gompo Tashi and some of his fellow Khampas sought to consult the most famous of oracles, the Panglung Oracle (kuten) who takes trance of enlightened Dharma Protectors such as Setrap Chen, Kache Marpo and also Gyalchen Dorje Shugden.
The Chushi Gangdruk was formed as a volunteer militia to protect the Dalai Lama and defend Tibet from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). In 1959, it was the Chushi Gangdruk who cleared the way for the Dalai Lama’s safe passage into India with the assistance of the Dharma Protector Gyalchen Dorje Shugden.
While in trance, Dorje Shugden instructed the group to band together and establish a militia. Their encampment, which came to be known as Lokha-Chaksta Drikung Thang, was located at Pangong Tso, a lake bordering India in Southwest Tibet, that is in the shape of a ritual chopper (drigug). Dorje Shugden’s instructions came after he had previously given extensive advice and instructions to the Tibetan people on how to save their country from falling completely into the hands of the Chinese. That previous advice however, had fallen on deaf ears.
Fortunately, this time Andruk Gompo Tashi and his friends paid heed to Dorje Shugden’s counsel. The militia group named itself the Chushi Gangdruk after their geographical region of Eastern Tibet. They formed their iconic emblem from a pair of crossed swords, a ceremonial sword of the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden that the Panglung Oracle had given to Andruk Gompo Tashi, and a sword resembling the Wisdom Sword of the Buddha Manjushri that was auspiciously found at the site of their camp at Pangong Tso.
Pangong Tso
The Chushi Gangdruk camp grew as new members were enlisted. Dorje Shugden, acting through the Panglung Oracle, personally instructed many able-bodied men to go to Pangong Tso and join the Chushi Gangdruk. As the numbers of Andruk Gompo Tashi’s small group of resistance fighters swelled, the group grew into a formidable militia and a force to be reckoned with. At their camp, the group trained and waited for instructions, readying themselves for the time they would be called on to play a vital role in the survival of the Tibetan nation, culture and religion.
In 1959 when the Dalai Lama made his famous escape from Tibet, it was members of the Chushi Gangdruk that escorted the Dalai Lama in his historic flight to India. The decision to flee Tibet was also made upon consulting with the Panglung Oracle who, when in trance of the Protector Dorje Shugden, gave precise instructions including the exact route to be taken by the Dalai Lama. This route would through the Pangong Tso area which the Chinese army had learned to avoid, thanks to reports they had received about a fierce guerilla resistance group which was based there. It was not a coincidence that the location Dorje Shugden had chosen for the Chushi Gangdruk to form their base became a strategic point a few years later when the Dalai Lama was forced to escape. A few years before 1959, the protector Dorje Shugden in his perfect clairvoyance already knew the fate that would befall the Tibetan people. Such flawless foresight is only found in Buddhas. Dorje Shugden would also go on to advise the Panglung Oracle to remain in Tibet and to delay his own departure until the Dalai Lama had safely escaped. In this way, Dorje Shugden assured that he would be able to continue assisting and advising people through the Panglung Oracle until the very last minute.
Picture of the Dalai Lama and his armed bodyguards from the Chushi Gangdruk taken in an unknown location in Tibet during the Dalai Lama’s great escape.
Clearing the way for the Dalai Lama
There is no denying the instrumental role that the Chushi Gangdruk played in the escape of the Dalai Lama. The truth of Dorje Shugden’s crucial role in the Dalai Lama’s daring escape has been recorded by many members of the escape party including the changtso of Sera Mey’s Abbot, Losang Yeshe who was present when Dorje Shugden issued the urgent advice for the Dalai Lama to leave Tibet.
In an interview with renowned French-born Tibetologist Claude Arpi, published on rediff.com, Dapon Ratuk Ngawang, one of the senior leaders of the Chushi Gangdruk as well as a close confidant of Andruk Gonpo Tashi, recalls how the group already knew prior to the events from the uprising on March 10, 1959 that the Dalai Lama would not be able to stay on in Lhasa and would have to leave Tibet.
1959 Tibetan Uprising Day
“[Our work was to] clear the escape route for His Holiness in Lhoka region [south of Lhasa] by making sure that not even a single Chinese soldier remained on that route. This, we did, by either killing or catching Chinese soldiers along the way. That was in March 1959. Before reaching Lhoka region, all the Chushi-Gangdruk volunteers were scattered in all the four directions. We sent many volunteers along the route from Lhoka to areas near Lhasa to clear the way for His Holiness and to make sure that the Chinese authorities could not capture His Holiness. [We already knew that] His Holiness might not be able to stay in Lhasa, but it was the responsibility of the Tibetan government to ensure that he was safe from the [actions] of the Chinese authorities. We were waiting and fighting in the meantime. On 17 March 1959, His Holiness left Lhasa by foot.”
Ratuk Ngawang, who played a key role in the Dalai Lama’s escape to India, later commanded the Tibetan secret regiment known as the Special Frontier Forces, which was based in Uttar Pradesh, India. The accounts in the interview were also written in his memoirs (published in Tibetan by Amnye Machen Insitute, Dharamsala) where he recounts his early life in the Kham province of Eastern Tibet and details of the famous escape to India with the Dalai Lama.
Ratuk Ngawang (middle)
Heroes of the Tibetan cause
It is precisely due to accounts like this that the Chushi Gangdruk is remembered for their acts of heroism and bravery in the face of impossible odds. Yet, the fact the Chushi Gangdruk even had the opportunity to protect the Dalai Lama is solely attributed to the timely and insistent advice Dorje Shugden gave for them to be established and to train. This advice was delivered through the famed Panglung Oracle who, until he received confirmation of the Dalai Lama’s safe arrival in India, delayed his own departure and remained in Tibet so that Dorje Shugden could continue to speak through him to all who required help. Through the oracle, many lamas and monks made their safe passage to India with support from the Chushi Gangdruk.
As the only organised resistance movement inside Tibet, the Chushi Gangdruk played an instrumental role in protecting Tibetans’ escape and leading insurgencies against PLA military forces. Even after the Dalai Lama had left Tibet, they continued with their resistance movement. Together with Indian military commandos, the Chushi Gangdruk established a new base in Mustang, Nepal. Called “Establishment 22”, the combined group of Chushi Gangdruk and Indian army commandos, trained by the CIA, waged a guerrilla war against the PLA for 13 years.
Chushi Gangdruk
When the US and China agreed to a reconciliation policy in 1969, all support and assistance for the Chushi Gangdruk and Establishment 22 was revoked. By 1974, the armed forces of the Chushi Gangdruk was entirely disbanded.
The fall of the Chushi Gangdruk
Members of the Chushi Gangdruk, now in retirement, continued to play an essential part in the Tibetan community-in-exile. The group took on a new role as representatives of the Khampas and Tibetans from the Eastern regions, and established headquarters in Majnu-Ka-Tilla, the Tibetan settlement in New Delhi, India. Chushi Gangdruk members took up key positions in the Tibetan government-in-exile, now known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).
The unity they had fought with however, was not to last in exile and it was not long before disharmony and discord set in. In 1994, some heads of the Chushi Gangdruk signed an accord with the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission (MTAC) in Taiwan, agreeing to the Kuomintang Party’s One-China Principle, acknowledging that Taiwan and Tibet were part of the People’s Republic of China. This was perhaps due to frustration that had built up in members of the Chushi Gangdruk, having witnessed the stagnation of the Tibetan cause and their leadership fail the people with one broken promise after another.
The Chushi Gangdruk accord with the MTAC angered the Dalai Lama whose view was that the signing had challenged the CTA’s authority. The CTA responded by forbidding all Tibetans from contact with the MTAC and the dismissal of the Chushi Gangdruk heads who had signed the accord, replacing them with new executive members. It is well-known amongst the Tibetan people that to disagree with the Dalai Lama and the CTA is tantamount to suicide even though the CTA claims to be a democracy. No matter how badly the CTA fails their people, the Tibetans are not allowed to express disappointment and to take steps to improve their own future. To do so would imply the CTA is not doing their job, and therefore be regarded as treason and disloyalty.
Ironically, whilst the Chushi Gangdruk who signed the accord were labeled traitors, in essence, the Dalai Lama had already agreed to the One China Policy when he gave up the fight for independence in Strasbourg, France in 1988. It was noted in a Phayul.com article titled ‘Has MTAC turned over a new leaf?’ written by Luke Ward, who wrote that “whilst this accord bears obvious similarities to the Middle-Way Approach of the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration, many Tibetans were irked by the fact that MTAC believed itself within its rights to sign an accord, furthermore with an organization that is not a part of the government, and does not represent the Dalai Lama. The resulting controversy split Chushi Gangdruk.”
Having forsaken their illustrious legacy in exchange for political favours, members of Chushi Gangdruk are left in a lurch and at the mercy of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). Click to enlarge.
The actions of the CTA caused a rift and resulted in the split of the Chushi Gangdruk. That may have been the CTA’s intention all along, seeing that the Chushi Gangdruk was the brainchild of Dorje Shugden. By 1994, there were already murmurings that the Tibetan leadership was opposed to the worship of Dorje Shugden because it represented the supremacy of the old Gelug spiritual guard which the Tibetan leadership needed to break in order to assume full control over the Tibetan people. The new group, with its CTA-elected heads, formed the Dhotoe Cholka Welfare Society with its headquarters in McLeod Ganj, the town in Dharamsala, India where the Dalai Lama has his official residence and where the CTA is headquartered.
Meanwhile, the dejected members of the original Chushi Gangdruk in New Delhi reformed themselves to become the Dokham Chushi Gangdruk. Both the Chushi Gangdruk groups vie for the position as the Khampa representative in the Tibetan parliament-in-exile.
Following the CTA’s witch-hunts of Dorje Shugden practitioners that formally began in 1996, and Dalai Lama’s now infamous declaration to outlaw the Dorje Shugden practice in 2008, the heads of the Delhi-based Dokham Chushi Gangdruk removed members who chose to continue their Dorje Shugden practice. The group also vowed to disassociate with anyone who continued with the outlawed Protector practice “for the happiness of” the Dalai Lama.
In this way, the original group based in Delhi, once seen as traitors for signing the agreement to recognise the Kuomintang’s One-China policy, have once again became the darlings of the CTA for their vow to disassociate themselves with Dorje Shugden.
Meanwhile, the Dharamsala-based Chushi Gangdruk group created by the CTA has been sectioned by the very same people who established them. The CTA’s ploy to divide and conquer this fierce group of fighters whom they knew had the potential to oppose their misdeeds, had worked.
Chushi Gangdruk, another victim of the CTA’s divisive policies
In the muddled waters of Tibetan exile politics, the position of being either pro-Tibetan or anti-Tibetan is very loose and fluid in nature. Where it was once clear which group was the ‘official’ Chushi Gangdruk and representative of the Kham people, today, that position is an ambiguous mess as both the Delhi and Dharamsala groups compete for recognition and the entitlements for their members.
By disassociating with Gyalchen Dorje Shugden, the Chushi Gandruk today have forgotten their roots and the very reason for their founding. Image from ‘Arrested Histories: Tibet, the CIA, and Memories of a Forgotten War’ written by Carole McGranahan, published by Duke University Press, 2010. Click to enlarge.
Putting the CTA aside, both Chushi Gangdruk groups are in essence, illegitimate and very far removed from their origins. Since both groups have uncoupled themselves with Dorje Shugden, whatever claims they have to be Chushi Gangdruk are rendered void. A Chushi Gangdruk group can only be regarded as legitimate by means of legacy, and if the present groups do not recognise their origins in Dorje Shugden, then those groups are without any official roots. So, how can they declare themselves to be the “official” Chushi Gangdruk?
Formed especially by Dorje Shugden to protect the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people, the Chushi Gangdruk have themselves fallen to the deceptive web of lies weaved by the CTA about Dorje Shugden being a demon spirit who harms the life of the Dalai Lama. They, of all people, should remember that it was Dorje Shugden who saved the Dalai Lama’s life. And they, of all people, are best positioned to legitimately and strongly refute the CTA’s false accusation that Dorje Shugden can harm the Dalai Lama. By their choice to forsake their patron deity for favor with the Dalai Lama and the CTA, both Chushi Gangdruk groups have in truth, chosen the material rewards of political alignment. The choice to disregard the purpose of their being is another reason why neither of the Chushi Gangdruk groups is legitimate.
Chushi Gangdruk commemorating its 60th Founding Anniversary at Lhagyalri in Dharamshala, India.
It is apparent that the dispute between the Chushi Gangdruk is another situation of Tibetan in-fighting thanks to the CTA’s divisive policies. Dividing brother against brother is a common CTA tactic that recurs regularly – the CTA’s ban of the Dorje Shugden practice and their interference the recognition of the 17th Karmapa have caused two significant monastic orders in Tibetan Buddhism to fall into disarray, just so that the CTA can increase their hold on Tibetans-in-exile. Not content at dividing the community on religious lines, the CTA further divides the exile community along divergent political aspirations; that is to say, rangzen (total independence) versus umaylam (meaningful autonomy). Whilst officially the CTA advocates umaylam, in a more subtle fashion the CTA supports rangzen advocates, with members of the Tibetan leadership attending rangzen camps and conferences held to discuss and organize the movement for full independence. Their actions being so discordant with their official policies have, as a result, led two camps of the Tibetan diaspora into what has oftentimes been a violent clash of political ideology.
Using monetary entitlements such as pensions and allowances, the CTA’s money politics has found another victim in the Chushi Gangdruk. Instead of being the shield that defends the Tibetan people’s unity, by allowing itself to be intoxicated by the miasma that is exhaled from the CTA machinations, it has become part of the wedge the CTA drives into the Tibetan community. Today, the Chushi Gangdruk is no longer heroes of the Tibetan people and defenders of the Tibetan cause. It would not matter which Chushi Gangdruk is regarded as the official one, it is only a hollow tree barren of its ability to bear fruit. History will record that the Tibetans lost their country to China, but Tibet lost its soul at the altar of the CTA’s political agendas.
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Anonymous
December 20, 2018
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Tenzin Kelsang
December 21, 2018
Once again we see the supreme protector Dorje Shugden went through so much to protect His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the preparation was even as early as a few years before the invasion. This is proof of Dorje Shugden’s clairvoyance.
Dorje Shugden knew that China will be invading Tibet in the future and hence he has started to plot the escape of His Holiness and even his route of escape is well planned and protected. This is how compassionate Dorje Shugden is.
However, after the Dorje Shugden ban came out. CTA said it was Nechung who help His Holiness to escape and Dorje Shugden is a demon who will harm His Holiness. This is totally absurd. This is how CTA lied to justify the ban and to gain benefit from it. However, the truth will always prevail and this is the truth.
Eli Buchen
December 21, 2018
I think if one is enamoured by the Dalai Lama and visions of Shangri-la one will be quite easily swept to think that Tibet was conquered by the Chinese. But if one were to dig much deeper, prior to 1950 whereby the Communist armies came into Tibet, Tibet was a country that was heavily influenced by the Qing Dynasties, received help and even military assistance.
Some scholars have pointed to the fact that there was a pact signed together between Tibet-Mongolia acknowledging each other’s independence in 1913, yet no agreement signed with China. Of course China was in great turmoil post 1911, with the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, Chinese Warlords period, followed by World War 2, then followed by Kuomintang and Communist forces fighting all over China.
Mountains
December 25, 2018
“What does Empress Cixi and the 14th Dalai Lama have in common?”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has a ‘method’ in his very powerful rule.
The Dalai Lama will always say it is not up to him and it’s up to his people. He gave up his power to the people. But it is not really up to his people. His people and his parliament must seek his approval for all decisions or carry out his will. If you ask his people do they want a 15th Dalai Lama after him, they have to say yes as the current one (14th) is watching them and you have to be politically correct to say yes. Who dares to say no? You don’t want to displease him. Who dares to say we want genuine democratically elected leaders. Remember, none of the Dalai Lamas were ever democratically elected (the penny drops). All the Dalai Lamas sit in power on the throne till the end of their lives.
Also how the next Dalai Lama will be found, the current Dalai Lama will definitely set the mechanics during his lifetime and then sit back and say, it’s the people who wanted it this way. It’s the people who wanted another Dalai Lama. Of course they have to say that. If they say they don’t want another Dalai Lama after this one, it is tantamount to treason. It will offend the current Dalai Lama and make him upset. In order for a stateless leader like himself to continue to get millions in aid for free as he has been for 60 years, he must appear democratic. How will he get money to support his vast expenditure of his lama court, if no free donations in the millions are given? So behind the scenes, Dalai Lama pulls all the strings but in front, he acts like he is doesn’t know anything and not involved and his elected leaders are running the show. Nothing can be further from the truth. Just like the last empress Cixi of China. She always enthrones little emperors handpicked by her from her royal family and extended families and controlled their power and ruled China from behind them as their regent during their adolescence. As a woman she could not be the emperor or ruler of all China, so she was clever and put young kids she chose from her royal families on the throne to be their regent and controlled them from behind the gauze curtain. She was suppose to hand power back to them when they reach the age of maturity to rule China, but she never did. She would place the young emperors on the throne during audiences and sit behind a curtain and dictate orders to the ministers in the name of the emperor as their regent. So in this way, she was acting in the name of the emperor (regent), but actually she was in full control. When time came to hand power over to the emperor, she would have them poisoned. Then place another new very young emperor on the throne. She did this for decades.
She was literally the power behind the throne. She could not be dethroned in this way yet she held all power. Like this, she ruled China till her death which was near impossible for any woman to do so. The last emperor Puyi she placed on the throne before the kingdom fell to civil war. (This spawned the movie by director Bernardo Bertolucci “The Last Emperor” and the emperor was played by John Lone.) When time came for the maturing emperors to take actual power from Dowager Cixi during her regencies, she would have them poisoned and install another young emperor and continue to be the regent. In this way, she stayed in power. She didn’t get a chance to poison Puyi because she passed away (rode the dragon to heaven) during his adolescence.
The other only female ‘emperor’ in Chinese history is We Xetian (Empress Wu). Another very incredibly intelligent woman who beat the men around her at their own game and ruled China as a woman.
The Dalai Lama started the Dorje Shugden ban. It came from him and only he can start it. But now he says, it is not him. Because it would make him look bad if he admits the ban came from him which it did. He claims everyone in the monasteries took a vote and they voted Dorje Shugden out. Ignorant western audiences wouldn’t know any better. They had no choice but to vote Dorje Shugden out or the abbots of the monasteries would be dishonorably discharged by the Dalai Lama himself. He places them in power and he can remove them. All Abbots of the great Gelug Monasteries are chosen by the Dalai Lama himself. He can remove them from power anytime, therefore the abbots are frightened of the Dalai Lama. Dalai Lama says he just advised to not practice Shugden, but his people, the abbots in charge, the monasteries took it to another step and outlawed Dorje Shugden and it’s the will of the people. So his ban on Shugden appears democratic. It was up to them. But it is not. He rules behind a ‘gauze’ curtain that he handed his power over to his personal ‘Puyi’ (Lobsang Sangay).
The Dalai Lama cannot show the world he is in full charge, because he would be seen as a dictator and therefore lose all free aid money which he and his government subsist on. Dalai Lama is behind the gauze and holds all power and Lobsang Sangay ‘Puyi’ is on the throne. Strangely similar to Empress Cixi. If Lobsang Sangay does things that does not please the Dalai Lama, you can bet your bottom dollar, he will be dethroned. Again, no Dalai Lama was ever democratically voted into a lifetime of power.
Photos-Empress Cixi of China.
Tenzin Kelsang
December 27, 2018
Chushi gangdruk is a special guerilla force that was set up according to the instruction of Dorje Shugden a few years before the invasion of Tibet in 1959 which forced His Holiness the Dalai Lama to flee Tibet overnight and sought asylum in India through the Himalaya mountains.
The camp of this guerilla force is placed exactly on the only route that is safe for His Holiness to leave Tibet which deterred the presence of the Chinese army which makes it safe for His Holiness to escape. From this, we can see that Dorje Shugden’s clairvoyant abilities and his planning to save His Holiness started years before China invaded Tibet.
It was also Dorje Shugden who advised His Holiness the leave Tibet immediately while Nechung oracle who is the official state oracle of Tibet advised His Holiness to stay. Fortunately, His Holiness decided to leave and they followed the instruction that Dorje Shugden gave them. Eventually, they reach India safely. Hence, It is Dorje Shugden who saved His Holiness’s life.
Tsering Ngodup
December 29, 2018
‘Karmapa’ Ogyen Trinley no longer recognised by Indian govt as 17th Karmapa. Indian government is not happy he did not show respect to India for all the years he took refuge in India. He simply renounced his Indian protectorate papers and took a Dominican republic passport. He could have had the courtesy to let Indian government know beforehand and thank them.
Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/67279793.cms?&utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
Dondrup Shugden
January 2, 2019
In time of history from 1950 to 1974 when Chushi Gangdruk was formed with the instructions and guidance from Dorje Shugden via His oracle Panglung Kuten and the disbandment, this is a group of Heroes who would stand to protect the Dalai Lama and Tibetans under strict code of morality and integrity. And against all odds.
Members of this elite group signed an accord which would have benefited Tibetans in declaring that Tibet though part of China on a macro level would retain autonomous rule within Tibet.
However as this group was formed and guided by Dorje Shugden, it was not possible for CTA to accept what it stood for as it would go against the illegal ban by the Dalai Lama and CTA to forbid worship of Dorje Shugden. As such CTA took effective measures to cause disharmony and total disarray among this original heroes.
CTA as always will use whatever advantageous resource they have to make divisive policies to split the group and ensure that they will forsake their Protector, Dorje Shugden.
As correctly mentioned in this article, Chushi Gangdruk in forsaking Dorje Shugden will not longer be of the same essence it had been in 1950 when it was formed.
Such are the consequences of the divisive policies of the Dalai Lama and CTA to create disharmony and discord in order to hold onto unquestionable power over Tibetans.
Is this therefore democracy? Only fools will think so.
Samayakeeper
January 2, 2019
I have heard similar stories from my Tibetan friends living in Tibet and India of these Tibetan heroes. Most of my friends heard the stories from their parents, who were friends of the original Chushi Gangdruk (thus first hand news). These Tibetan warriors are akin to the US war veterans, who were unceremoniously chucked aside after their ‘honorable’ discharge after their services were not useful anymore. That’s how grateful and noble the Central Tibetan Administration is.
Dorje S
June 21, 2019
I must say the CTA is even worse. What they chucked away is not only Chushi Gangdruk, they even threw away the very protector who saved their lives. Furthermore, they label this protector as demons and ban his practice. This is beyond ungrateful, this is called betrayal.
tenzin
January 2, 2019
Times changed. People changed. But sadly CTA still same as before. No change! Time and time again we read and ponder what CTA really do. What they are really capable of. Truthfully nothing. Nothing ever good nor proud. The unsung heroes and the heroes whose brave acts were dump like thrash just to shut up the truth about Dorje Shugden. When in reality the cta should be the ones disbanded and thrown deep into the ocean. Everything about CTA should be erased forever in tibetan’s history. Such disgrace for tibetans.
Belinda Mae
January 2, 2019
Why does CTA always have to split things up? Aren’t they tired having to always tell lies and make people split up with loved ones, with their spiritual Guru and etc.? Why does CTA choose to ignore or not to accept that Dorje Shugden is a Buddha and has saved HH Dalai Lama from Tibet to India? Even the Chushi Gangdruk was formed by Dorje Shugden to saved HH Dalai Lama’s live. The CTA is so ignorant and blinded that they cannot see the truth.
Geraldine Sarie
January 2, 2019
It’s like proverb saying peanuts forgetting it skin. CTA is being ungrateful of what Chushi Gangdruk had sacrificed so much. Without this group of heroic and the help of Dorje Shugden, I believe HHDL may not have secure escape to India. Without them, will DL receive honor from Noble Prize and well known to worldwide?
Tsetan
January 2, 2019
Whatever is not benefit to the CTA and make CTA look bad, CTA will find all way to destroy it. Therefore it is not surprise that CTA being ungrateful to Chushi Gangdruk which related to Dorje Shugden. How can you trust a leadership is always benefit themselves instead of their peoples. The results is after 60 years,Tibetan in exile still suffering and stateless,
Tashi ryan
January 2, 2019
Of course CTA will want to forget this group of real heroes. If they ‘re remembered then people will eventually find out that it was Dorje Shugden who cleared the escape way before anyone actually realised. So CTA won’t want anyone to know the truth which is this group of heroes helped Dalai Lama to escape via Dorje Shugden help!
Richard Tamlak
January 2, 2019
That’s what CTA good at, be ungrateful and split their people up by ungratefully ban Dorje Shugden practice. They wanted to forget what Dorje Shugden had done to them, that Dorje Shugden had rescued them to exile to India. If they dig back this history, they’ll be slapping their own face by saying Dorje Shugden practice has problem.
Tenzin K
January 2, 2019
Chushi Gangdruk group was formed for meaningful and purposeful reason which instructed by Dorje Shugden. From here we can see that how could Dorje Shugden harm His Holiness the Dalai Lama now where Dorje Shugden had saved Dalai Lama escape from Tibet to India. Look at how and when Chushi Gangdruk has been formed. It has been planned to safeguard His Holiness and the fellow Tibetans since 1950s.
And now look at how the Tibetan leadership manipulate the Chushi Gangdruk for discriminating Dorje Shugden. The baseless reasoning can never shadow the truth. Through the fact from this article more people wil get to know the truth of who help the Dalai Lama escape to India and how powerful Dorje Shugden with his clairvoyant forming Chushi Gangdruk to help Dalai Lama.
Vajra10
January 2, 2019
If the CTA serve their people with good motivation & not to gain personal benefits. There will not be so many wars, problems & the CTA will not need to worry about people trying to take over them as they are doing great in managing the community.
Tenzin Sangye
January 2, 2019
Chushi Gangdruk group which is the real heroes behind protect His Holiness Dalai Lama escape from Tibet. In history Chushi Gangdruk form by intruction of Dorje Shugden. CTA divides Chushi Gangdruk group and take their credit away in Tibetan in exile and twist the origins story how this group form to protect Dalai Lama. I am not surprice see in current CTA did the same think use their politic power to divides people and even involve to separate two kamarpa issue. This the the truth what CTA good for.
Sonam Choephel
January 3, 2019
As the so-called spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama strictly abstains from drinking alcohol in accordance to traditional monastic codes. However, it has recently been reported that the religious leader owns his own vineyard in Switzerland! Apparently, various celebrities, including the likes of Roger Moore, Sepp Blatter and Zinedine Zidane have all made trips to the vineyard. What will people say when they find out that a Buddhist monk, who promotes abstinence from alcohol, owns a vineyard that produces wine for sale? This is certainly not going to sit well with his image of a religious leader and member of the Buddhist monastic order.
http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1546557813.mp4
Jampa Youdon
January 10, 2019
Dear Tibetan government-in-exile (Dharamsala),
Sharmapa Rinpoche is the highest authority in the Karma Kagyu after Karmapa. By age-old tradition, Sharmapa is the one that confirms the real incarnation of Karmapa. He recognized Thaye Dorje as the genuine Karmapa. But Dalai Lama endorsed Orgyen Trinley as the real Karmapa. Dalai Lama is a great lama but there has never been a tradition of him recognizing a Karmapa.
Both ‘Karmapas’ have big followings in and out of Tibet. So which one should we follow? We have to follow the genuine Karmapa. If we follow the fake one, we will get fake teachings, fake lineage and no results. We can even take rebirth in the lower realms.
Only the Tibetan leaders can tell us which is the real Karmapa. You have told us which one is the real Panchen Lama. We follow the Panchen of your choosing. Since then we have condemned China and condemned the fake Panchen Lama. Now it is the same situation with Karmapa. We have denounced the fake Karmapa and ask him to step down. He is destroying the Karma Kagyu Lineage.
This issue has torn the Karma Kagyu sect in half. There are many who are so confused and some gave up Tibetan Buddhism altogether because of this. We must solve the confusion. This does not look good for the Tibetan government in exile because the confusion was started by Tibetan government. I support Dalai Lama and Tibetan government. But so many of us need to know the real Karmapa already. Don’t remain silent. Which one is the real Karmapa.
Tibetan government in exile, you have created two Gelugs (Pro-Dorje Shugden and against), you have created two Panchen Rinpoches, two Karmapas, two Dromo Geshe Rinpoches, two Kundeling Rinpoches and so on. When are you going to solve all the confusion. You are destroying Tibetan Buddhism.
Carole McQuirre
February 1, 2019
I’ve been operating an online hate group on FB against the NKT. I use to be a part of that organization. I loved my guru Geshe Kelsang, but I didn’t like some of the underlings who ran the organization. I was there for over a decade and it was time for me to be given a position of a teacher and have the respect I felt I deserved. I didn’t get what I wanted and I felt angry and slighted. It reminded me of my abandonment issues I’ve had throughout my life. I’ve never belonged anywhere and people usually left me and I just couldn’t stand it. I got my personal emotional issues mixed up with my spiritual direction. I projected my personal issues onto my teacher and the organization and I have done that so many times in my life ruining good situations.
I left NKT and told whoever would listen to me who I was abused in NKT. I started a FB page to encourage other ‘victims’ to speak out against NKT. Being the vast organization that NKT is, it was not difficult to find other people who had left for one reason or another and had things to say against NKT. Our little group even got close to some of the events coordinators of the Dalai Lama and we were given a chance to take pictures with Dalai Lama which we promptly did. The photo with the Dalai Lama we thought gave us some validation towards our stance against NKT-but it backfired. It gave us a high to have a photo with the Dalai Lama but after a while we realized we can never be close to the Dalai Lama. We can never get the care and amount of teachings we use to get from Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Being close to the Dalai Lama is like celebrity worship not so much as having a personal guru who is there for us.
I regret opening my FB page as it vented out my rage and it was the platform for many other people who had blame and anger issues to collect vast amounts of negative karma. We were never able to have any cases or legal suits against NKT with all of our bantering because there was nothing substantial or genuine in the so called abuses we claimed we received while in NKT. NKT continues to grow while the rest of us who left are nowhere in life. Nowhere in our spiritual practice and just living empty lives. For me I’ve gotten tired of the page I’ve started and FB and it’s a horrendous effort to go there to post things or read any comments. Barely anyone visits the page anyways these days. How much can people vent out their anger at someone or something which is not to blame in the first place?
I don’t have the courage to apologize to my teacher or rejoin NKT because I am a coward. I’ve always been a coward looking for the easy way out. But I am thinking about it. I realize my mistakes. I realized my mistakes which comes from me.
Alex
February 3, 2019
The Chushi Gangdruk is one of the parties that escorted His Holiness the Dalai Lama to escape Tibet during the Chinese invasion in 1959. it was a very dangerous moment for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the only reason that His Holiness is alive today is due to the successful escape that is being pre-planned and guided by Dorje Shugden.
Before His Holiness’s escape, a few oracles have been consulted and that includes the Nechung oracle and Dorje Shugden oracle. Nechung oracle told His Holiness the Dalai Lama to stay in Tibet while Dorje Shugden oracle gave the instruction for His Holiness the flee Tibet immediately.
Luckily, they adhered to Dorje Shugden’s advice and His Holiness left the Potala Palace that very night. During the trance, Dorje Shugden gave very specific instructions on the escape including which route His Holiness should use and who will be escorting him. There are many miracles during the escape and many monks can testify
Karma Kagyu School Does Not Need Dalai Lama
February 10, 2019
Karmapa Thaye Dorje Ignores the Dalai Lama
(1) Decades ago, the Shamarpa asked the Dalai Lama to endorse Thaye Dorje as the Karmapa. Shamarpa proved to the Dalai Lama that Thaye Dorje was the Karmapa. The Dalai Lama still refused as it will make the Dalai Lama look bad for endorsing Ogyen Trinley. ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJJXYAz3Bz0
It is known that Tai Situ Rinpoche recognized Ogyen Trinley by stealth. Tai Situ Rinpoche used the Dalai Lama’s fame to promote his Ogyen Trinley candidate in order to secure the Karmapa wealth of many generations.
(2) Even though the Dalai Lama endorsed Ogyen Trinley as Karmapa, Thaye Dorje could not be restrained and continues to grow immensely in popularity all over the world. Even without the Dalai Lama’s endorsement, the Karmapa Thaye Dorje is growing in importance. Tai Situ Rinpoche thought that without the Dalai Lama’s endorsement, the Karmapa Thaye Dorje would fall and become nothing. He was wrong.
(3) Shamarpa Rinpoche had asked the Dalai Lama to at least ordain Thaye Dorje as a monk when he was very young and the Dalai Lama refused. This refusal hurt Shamarpa and the Karmapa Thaye Dorje very much. The Dalai Lama sidelined Shamarpa Rinpoche and Thaye Dorje. It was a grievous insult and detrimental interference. In the Karma Kagyu tradition it is the Shamarpa who is the first and foremost to recognize the Karmapas and only in his absence do other regents recognize the Karmapas. Not only did the Dalai Lama interfere in Karma Kagyu affairs but the Dalai Lama took sides. That caused so much fighting and disharmony within the Karma Kagyu school of Buddhism. Tai Situ Rinpoche was wrong not to consult with Shamarpa Rinpoche in all of this.
(4) The Dalai Lama had no business interfering in Karma Kagyu traditions by recognizing a Karmapa. In the history of the Karma Kagyu school, there has not been one Karmapa recognized by a Dalai Lama nor did they ever need the Dalai Lama’s endorsement. This interference by the Dalai Lama has caused the Karma Kagyu school to take two sides and broke them up and created much disharmony. The disharmony, fighting and mud-slinging as to which one is the real Karmapa has continued to this day in 2019.
(5) Shamarpa Rinpoche passed away in 2014 and it is up to the Karmapa to recognize his incarnation without the endorsement or interference of the Dalai Lama.
(6) Now the Karmapa Thaye Dorje recognizes his son born in 2018 as Shamarpa Rinpoche’s incarnation and he does not ask the Dalai Lama to endorse this incarnation. He does not need it. The Dalai Lama has done enough damage. This will shift the dynamics of the Karma Kagyu school again in favor of the Shamarpa Rinpoche’s side. Unfortunately, it will make Ogyen Trinley look strange and left out in the cold. Within the Kagyu school, the Shamarpa is the next highest incarnation after the Karmapa. The Karmapas always recognized Shamarpas and vice versa. It shows that the Karmapa Thaye Dorje has the full authority to recognize the next highest incarnation within their school on his own. This Shamarpa will be spiritually trained by the Karmapa Thaye Dorje himself without the influence of the aged Dalai Lama and his government-in-exile which most Karma Kagyus consider a regime.
(7) During the Kagyu Monlam prayers in Bodhgaya on January 2019, Thaye Dorje was there leading the Monlam (New Year’s prayers) and so was the Dalai Lama in Bodhgaya, giving teachings in another location nearby. The Dalai Lama, while in Bodhgaya, wanted to meet Thaye Dorje but Thaye Dorje refused. Thaye Dorje avoided the Dalai Lama. It was an insult to the Dalai Lama that he had to accept for all the damage he had done in their Karmapa affair and Karma Kagyu school.
The Dalai Lama had sidelined Shamarpa and Thaye Dorje when asked to endorse Thaye Dorje decades ago. Now that the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley has run away to the USA, the Dalai Lama wants to be friendly with Thaye Dorje so that he can get on the Karma Kagyu school’s good side. Without the Dalai Lama’s permission, the two Karmapas met in France and decided to mend the rift. This will make the Dalai Lama look bad. Even the Dalai Lama did not think in such a big way or a middle way to help mend the rift. Too bad and too late for the Dalai Lama to make friends with the Karma Kagyu school of Buddhism.
So much damage has been done. But the Karmapa Thaye Dorje is on the way to mending all this.
Karma Tsogyal
Vivek
February 22, 2019
Contemplate this:
Indian journalists sound desperate when they talk about terrorist attacks on India. As this article correctly states, there is little that India can do to address terrorism as they seem to operate from Pakistan. To deal with the terrorists, Indians will have to literally attack Pakistan which it cannot do.
Well, there is something India can do which is to stop Dharamsala’s terrorist activities against China being executed from Indian soil. The Tibetans have been attacking China for decades, yet they say they wish to return to Tibet. How do you return to a place you constantly criticize? The Dalai Lama is literally begging China to allow him to visit the Five Peaks of Manjushri pilgrimage site in China and also his birthplace in Amdo, Tibet. But if the Dalai Lama keeps criticizing China, why would they sit at the bargaining table with him? India allows for all of this to happen on Indian soil, so that would irritate China.
Yet India wants concessions from China on the terrorist issue. Meanwhile, Beijing equates Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader Hafiz Saeed to India supporting the Dalai Lama against China for five decades now. Furthermore, India wants China to speak up against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) Masood Azhar. But India does not speak up against Dalai Lama. Whether the world thinks the Dalai Lama is the good guy or not, he is a thorn in China’s side so anyone that supports him is not supporting China. Similar to the situation, LeT’s Hafiz Saeed and JeM’s Masood Azhar are a thorn in India’s side but they do not bother China and her allies, so why should China do anything about them? If India does something on the Dalai Lama, then it would be fair to ask China to do something about their support of Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Masood Azhar. Simple equation.
These reports are really bare-faced hypocrisy. It implies one nation is helpless against terrorists because the terrorists camp out in another country. But that did not stop the US from heavily bombing Iraq on the basis that it was harboring terrorists. The US did not hesitate to overthrow the government and murder its leader Saddam Hussein.
It is also very hypocritical that the same journalists who are outraged at China’s annexation of Tibet are quiet about Israel’s annexation of Palestine.
It is interesting to note that most terrorist attacks are aimed at the US and her allies. Everyone conveniently forgets that the US has been throwing their weight around for decades and can even determine which leader they want in other countries.
Back to India – if China can convince North Korea to have détente with the US, China can similarly help India with the JeM. India simply has to give up the Tibet card. The article is also a one-sided opinion piece because India faces as many terrorist threats from Bangladesh, with just as many terrorist camps, but because Bangladesh is not China, their involvement is not mentioned.
India is a great country. China and India as friends will be able to influence the globe literally economically and, eventually, militarily. But India has to play fair. By supporting the Dalai Lama, India will get nothing and furthermore, it will be a stumbling block to China’s 1.4 billion people becoming friends with India’s 1.3 billion people.
The Dalai Lama has to be compassionate and stop speaking against China because he has to consider the difficulty he places India in as his host. Each time he criticizes and allows his refugees to protest against China and ask for western support, it makes China look bad. So if the Dalai Lama wants China and India to become closer and benefit each other economically then he has to be silent on this already.
The Diplomat’s Prarthana Basu sums it up very well by saying in the article below that “Now with another terrorist attack infuriating India’s populace, the mystery behind this Chinese silence remains unsolved. While most attribute China’s apparent silence as a favor to Pakistan, as both continue to maintain their “all-weather friendship,” others argue that China holds India responsible for granting political asylum to the Tibetan leader Dalai Lama, whom Beijing equates to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader Hafiz Saeed.”
Mountains
April 27, 2019
1st Time Dalai Lama Finally Admits His Illness Was Serious
In the past it is customary to cover up the Dalai Lama’s illnesses. It could be to not worry his flock. It could also be to not show the world he is just another vulnerable human being. Or it could be he does not want to disappoint people to show he is not a god? Whatever the reasons, the Dalai Lama and regime are well known for covering up his serious illnesses. In the past few years he had cancer of the prostate and that was covered up till the press dug it up. Now with this new video just out April 2019, Dalai Lama admits he was recently very ill. It was serious.
Unfortunately the Tibetan cause will die with the Dalai Lama when he passes. He did nothing to groom up a new leader as he is a dictator. A ruler for life. He has been in power for over 60 years. He will never groom up another person to replace him because he is touted as a god.
http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1556343635.mp4
Ngawang Jigme
May 31, 2019
Unlike 5 years ago, Tibetan leader Lobsang Sangay is not invited to Prime Minister Modi’s swearing-in ceremony this time. It is clear that PM Modi of India snubs the Tibetan leadership once again in favour of deeper ties with China. The Tibetan leadership finds itself increasingly isolated as nobody wants to offend China by lending any support to the ungrateful Tibetans.