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On Thursday 22 May the Dalai Lama gave a speech at the Royal Albert Hall, after which he was set to come out and start a human-chain handshake, which would run all the way up a line of over 2,000 participants to the Chinese embassy. The event was orchestrated by Avaaz.org, a worldwide organisation of political campaigners connected by the internet. However, instead of thronging hordes of pro-Tibet protesters, Kensington was filled with the angry faces of pro-China protestors and the hostile chanting of the words, “Dalai Lama, stop lying.”
The purpose of this symbolic, three-mile handshake was to deliver a 1.7 million person signature petition to the embassy urging for an open and meaningful dialogue on the subject of Tibet. However, the street in front of the Hall was barricaded off and lined with hundreds of protestors.
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There were two major groups demonstrating. By far the biggest was the Western Shugden Society (WSS), a newly formed group of Buddhists who campaign for the rights of those who follow the Dorje Shugden deity. The worship of this deity has caused a major rift in Tibetan Buddhism. The WSS claim that the current Dalai Lama has outlawed worship of the deity and actively encourages the violent persecution of its worshippers. “His words and actions are causing people to suffer,” said Kelsang Pema (birth name: Helen Gradwell), spokesperson for the group. Speaking to me from the front line of the protests, she said: “He is trying to stop protests in Indian monasteries under force. He should start practising what he preaches.”
The Dalai Lama has denied all knowledge of violence against the group and within the Tibetan community worshipers of Dorje Shugden are treated with suspicion, especially following the murders of three of the Dalai Lama’s closest disciples in 1997. Though the group was never proved to be involved with the murders, mistrust is rife. Across the street from the WSS a small group of Tibetans were holding their own counter-protest. A young man with the group, who preferred not to be named for fear of reprisals, spoke to me about the Shugden followers. “They are a dangerous cult,” he said. “They should be supporting the Dalai Lama instead. They are ignoring the fact that Tibetans are being killed. We do not support them.”
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A few metres east of the Tibetans stood the second major protest group - the Chinese. Sporting “One China” t-shirts, the group were objecting to the Dalai Lama’s involvement in political issues. One of its members, Jonsson Li, explained: “We do not recognise the Dalai Lama as a political leader. He is a religious leader, not a prime minister and should not be involved in issues concerning China.” When I asked him whether Tibet had a legitimate claim to independence, he produced various documents, which he claimed proved irrefutably that Tibet was and always would be a Chinese province. However, my scepticism forced me to move on after he started talking about the Dalai Lama being on the CIA’s payroll.
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At 4.45pm the Dalai Lama finally emerged from the back of the Royal Albert Hall. We caught a very brief glimpse of him, surrounded by a heavy entourage walking out of one of the exits in the distance. The shouts of “stop lying” intensified, creating a thunderous crescendo of hostility. A young boy waving a Tibetan flag ran to the barricades and screamed, “Stop lying” right back at the WSS before being hustled off by the police. After a few tense minutes three Tibetan children (the first participants in the handshake) were escorted through the barricades. With that, the Dalai Lama disappeared and the children were left to continue the human-chain.
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The rest of the event continued smoothly with many of the participants further down the line oblivious to the melee at its start. It culminated outside the Chinese Embassy where the petition was presented. Speaking through a megaphone atop an open top bus, Avaaz.org campaign director Paul Hilder congratulated the participants. “I think it’s been a really successful and beautiful day,” he told me. I asked him about the conflicting views and protests at the beginning of the event. “We’ve sent out a message promoting dialogue between the divides,” he said. “These issues need to be resolved. We’ll see how successful we’ve been in coming days.”
More information on Avaaz and their activities here.
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Posted by anonymous @ 18/08/08 13:27:53
Another point: Regarding the Karmapa Conflict HHDL stated his opinion about the candidate when he was asked by those Kagyue Lamas responsible for the Karmapa\'s recognition. From the four responsible Kaygue Lamas only one, Shamar Rinpoche, established a different candidate. So when HHDL is asked after a conflict has arisen to express his view, and he does it, there is nothing wrong with this. It is again up to people to decide whether he is correct or not. The majority of the Kagyuepas follow the candidate as recognized by three of the four Kagyue Lamas in charge, and as later confirmed by HHDL. The same is with the Shugden issue: the majority sees it exactly that way. Those who have their own point of view follow their views. So what\'s wrong here, besides that some people are unhappy because their view is not held by the Dalai Lama and they may have lost power and influence? Are they led by compassion, politics, justice or even grudge or what drives them?
Posted by anonymous @ 22/06/08 20:41:22
@ \"The Dalai Lama has banned the practice of Dorje Shugden, but on what authority?\"
HH the Dalai Lama is a spiritual and political authority. Mainly because the Tibetans see it that way and accept his compassionate and wise views. Of course there is also a variety of different opinions but in general he is held in highest esteem among Tibetans and Westerners alike. Most Tibetans see him as the greatest of all the Dalai Lamas. From him is expected to offer his view on difficult subjects. But its up to people to check and if they are convinced of what he is saying or not. Because there is freedom also his enemies can express their views - even when they are defamatory. There is no suppression. (I wonder also who in NKT suffers on the Dalai Lama?) As a spiritual authority and one of the highest Tulkus he must give his opinion on spiritual controversial subjects, He has that responsibility to do that. Although Kelsang Gyatso and Lama Kundeling have not a minimum of that acceptance and authority they are free to oppose him and to confuse the Westerners. Why not? BTW Wisdom and compassion is beyond categories of \"politics\" and \"spiritual issues\". Either you are wise and compassionate or you\'re not. To put restriction on something harmful is common sense and also common in this world. However, nice that you can express your view!
Posted by anonymous @ 22/06/08 20:26:20
The Dalai Lama has banned the practice of Dorje Shugden, but on what authority?
Since the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama, the position of Dalai Lama has most definitely been a political one. No one would dispute that the Dalai Lama is the political leader of Tibet and head of the Tibetan Government in Exile, but what of his religious authority? Does he have the right and authority to ban the practice of a religious deity, as he has with Dorje Shugden, or to endorse a candidate to be the next Karmarpa thereby causing a schism in the Kagyu tradition?
The Dalai Lama is not the head of any of the four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism – the Nyingmas, Kagyus, Sakyas and Gelugpas. Each sect of Tibetan Buddhism has its own head. Many people mistakenly think that the Dalai Lama is the head of Tibetan Buddhism, or at least of the Gelugpa school, but if he is not head of any of the individual schools of Tibetan Buddhism, how can he be head of the whole Tradition? There is no \\\'Pope\\\' of Tibetan Buddhism.
The confusion about the Dalai Lama\\\'s religious authority lies in the fact that he is a politician who is also a monk. When the Dalai Lama speaks, is it a politician who is speaking or is it a spiritual leader? No-one is quite sure, but clearly it can\\\'t be both because the aims of politics and religion are opposite and contradictory. It\\\'s not safe for a monk to do the job of politician unless the monk is stronger than the politician. If not, the monk becomes a politician who abuses religion for worldly goals rather than a religious leader who uses power and influence to accomplish spiritual goals.
Unfortunately, in the case of the Dalai Lama, it appears that the politician is uppermost. His actions are causing suffering to millions of Buddhists of the Tibetan lineage. There is one main reason why the Dalai Lama has banned the practice of Dorje Shugden; because it is politically advantageous for him to do so. He is playing the dangerous game of using religion to serve politics. His \\\'religious\\\' reasons for banning this Deity are a smoke screen that hide a political agenda. Since 1961 the Dalai Lama has had the wish to unite all the schools of Tibetan Buddhism under his leadership. In an open letter to the Dalai Lama in 2001, the International Karma Kagyu Organization wrote:
In 1961 the Tibetan government in exile proposed to merge the four Tibetan schools into one religious body headed by Your Holiness. This policy inflicted serious spiritual suffering on much of the Tibetan exile community. Rallying behind Karmapa\\\'s authority, thirteen Tibetan settlements challenged the Exile Government\\\'s plan and as a consequence the whole scheme was abandoned. Later in the seventies Karmapa came under blame because he had chosen to defend the autonomy of the three other lineages.
\\\"This policy inflicted serious spiritual suffering on much of the Tibetan exile community\\\". This is also true for the Dorje Shugden ban. The scheme to merge the schools together may have seemed to be abandoned but His Holiness has not changed his ambitions; he still wants to be the supreme spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism. To this end he has split the Kagyu tradition in the Karmapa controversy and has also split the Gelugpa tradition over the issue of Dorje Shugden.
Frighteningly, he is supported by most Tibetans and many Westerners in these actions who argue that \\\'Tibetans must be united at this time in order to achieve a free or autonomous Tibet\\\'. If it is generally felt that Tibetans must be united, the Dalai Lama can justify the removal of anything that he feels might divide them, such as different religious practices and traditions. When the Dalai Lama does this he claims that these practices are \\\'sectarian\\\'. There doesn\\\'t have to be anything wrong with \\\'sectarian\\\'; that which is sectarian is that which is characteristic of a sect. A sect is simply a religious denomination.
Difference is not normally a problem. It\\\'s only a problem if differences are used to stir up disharmony, as the Dalai Lama has by demonising practitioners of Dorje Shugden. Different sects of Buddhism can engage in different practices but still respect each other. Why can\\\'t Dorje Shugden practitioners live happily side by side with those who do not practise Dorje Shugden? This was the case before the Dalai Lama spoke out against the Protector and linked the practice to such emotive subjects as his health and the cause of Tibetan independence. In this way, he made a harmless practice that gives great spiritual benefit into a threat.
In these spiritually degenerate times, religion is serving the needs of politics. Unfortunately, the Dalai Lama\\\'s fame and charisma is so great that no one questions his actions. Buddhadharma is either being destroyed due to attachment to Tibetan nationality or because the Dalai Lama wants supreme power – not just political but also religious, and is operating a \\\'divide and rule\\\' policy. Either way, Buddhadharma is being destroyed; this will be the ugly result of the Dalai Lama\\\'s actions.
What gives him the authority to make pronouncements about someone else\\\'s spiritual practice? It is normal in Buddhism to follow the views, intentions and practices of a respected Spiritual Teacher, but the Dalai Lama has proclaimed his tutor Trijang Rinpoche \\\'wrong\\\' for promoting the practice of the Wisdom Buddha Dorje Shugden. In doing so he has cast doubt on the whole Gelug lineage and is now operating autonomously without any legitimate spiritual authority.
By instigating a grossly biased \\\'referendum\\\' on Shugden and having monks who refuse to give up the practice expelled from their monasteries he has caused a deep schism in the Gelugpa tradition. Who is questioning his actions? Who will stop him? Many Tibetans will accept anything he says because he is their leader and the great majority of Westerners are so blinded by his smiling visage in the media and his public image as a \\\'simple monk\\\' and \\\'man of peace\\\' that they will also go along with what he says. He can do no wrong.
The destruction of Buddha Shakyamuni\\\'s holy teachings through the distorted views and mistaken actions of the world\\\'s most charming and famous Buddhist is an intolerable situation. It\\\'s an \\\'inside job\\\', but how is it that nobody has thought to ask \\\"on whose authority is he doing this?\\\" It is an indictment of our collective intellects in this age of celebrity, where style reigns over substance, that more people are not asking this question.
Posted by anonymous @ 22/06/08 03:42:01
The Dalai Lama has banned the practice of Dorje Shugden, but on what authority?
Since the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama, the position of Dalai Lama has most definitely been a political one. No one would dispute that the Dalai Lama is the political leader of Tibet and head of the Tibetan Government in Exile, but what of his religious authority? Does he have the right and authority to ban the practice of a religious deity, as he has with Dorje Shugden, or to endorse a candidate to be the next Karmarpa thereby causing a schism in the Kagyu tradition?
The Dalai Lama is not the head of any of the four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism – the Nyingmas, Kagyus, Sakyas and Gelugpas. Each sect of Tibetan Buddhism has its own head. Many people mistakenly think that the Dalai Lama is the head of Tibetan Buddhism, or at least of the Gelugpa school, but if he is not head of any of the individual schools of Tibetan Buddhism, how can he be head of the whole Tradition? There is no \'Pope\' of Tibetan Buddhism.
The confusion about the Dalai Lama\'s religious authority lies in the fact that he is a politician who is also a monk. When the Dalai Lama speaks, is it a politician who is speaking or is it a spiritual leader? No-one is quite sure, but clearly it can\'t be both because the aims of politics and religion are opposite and contradictory. It\'s not safe for a monk to do the job of politician unless the monk is stronger than the politician. If not, the monk becomes a politician who abuses religion for worldly goals rather than a religious leader who uses power and influence to accomplish spiritual goals.
Unfortunately, in the case of the Dalai Lama, it appears that the politician is uppermost. His actions are causing suffering to millions of Buddhists of the Tibetan lineage. There is one main reason why the Dalai Lama has banned the practice of Dorje Shugden; because it is politically advantageous for him to do so. He is playing the dangerous game of using religion to serve politics. His \'religious\' reasons for banning this Deity are a smoke screen that hide a political agenda. Since 1961 the Dalai Lama has had the wish to unite all the schools of Tibetan Buddhism under his leadership. In an open letter to the Dalai Lama in 2001, the International Karma Kagyu Organization wrote:
In 1961 the Tibetan government in exile proposed to merge the four Tibetan schools into one religious body headed by Your Holiness. This policy inflicted serious spiritual suffering on much of the Tibetan exile community. Rallying behind Karmapa\'s authority, thirteen Tibetan settlements challenged the Exile Government\'s plan and as a consequence the whole scheme was abandoned. Later in the seventies Karmapa came under blame because he had chosen to defend the autonomy of the three other lineages.
\"This policy inflicted serious spiritual suffering on much of the Tibetan exile community\". This is also true for the Dorje Shugden ban. The scheme to merge the schools together may have seemed to be abandoned but His Holiness has not changed his ambitions; he still wants to be the supreme spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism. To this end he has split the Kagyu tradition in the Karmapa controversy and has also split the Gelugpa tradition over the issue of Dorje Shugden.
Frighteningly, he is supported by most Tibetans and many Westerners in these actions who argue that \'Tibetans must be united at this time in order to achieve a free or autonomous Tibet\'. If it is generally felt that Tibetans must be united, the Dalai Lama can justify the removal of anything that he feels might divide them, such as different religious practices and traditions. When the Dalai Lama does this he claims that these practices are \'sectarian\'. There doesn\'t have to be anything wrong with \'sectarian\'; that which is sectarian is that which is characteristic of a sect. A sect is simply a religious denomination.
Difference is not normally a problem. It\'s only a problem if differences are used to stir up disharmony, as the Dalai Lama has by demonising practitioners of Dorje Shugden. Different sects of Buddhism can engage in different practices but still respect each other. Why can\'t Dorje Shugden practitioners live happily side by side with those who do not practise Dorje Shugden? This was the case before the Dalai Lama spoke out against the Protector and linked the practice to such emotive subjects as his health and the cause of Tibetan independence. In this way, he made a harmless practice that gives great spiritual benefit into a threat.
In these spiritually degenerate times, religion is serving the needs of politics. Unfortunately, the Dalai Lama\'s fame and charisma is so great that no one questions his actions. Buddhadharma is either being destroyed due to attachment to Tibetan nationality or because the Dalai Lama wants supreme power – not just political but also religious, and is operating a \'divide and rule\' policy. Either way, Buddhadharma is being destroyed; this will be the ugly result of the Dalai Lama\'s actions.
What gives him the authority to make pronouncements about someone else\'s spiritual practice? It is normal in Buddhism to follow the views, intentions and practices of a respected Spiritual Teacher, but the Dalai Lama has proclaimed his tutor Trijang Rinpoche \'wrong\' for promoting the practice of the Wisdom Buddha Dorje Shugden. In doing so he has cast doubt on the whole Gelug lineage and is now operating autonomously without any legitimate spiritual authority.
By instigating a grossly biased \'referendum\' on Shugden and having monks who refuse to give up the practice expelled from their monasteries he has caused a deep schism in the Gelugpa tradition. Who is questioning his actions? Who will stop him? Many Tibetans will accept anything he says because he is their leader and the great majority of Westerners are so blinded by his smiling visage in the media and his public image as a \'simple monk\' and \'man of peace\' that they will also go along with what he says. He can do no wrong.
The destruction of Buddha Shakyamuni\'s holy teachings through the distorted views and mistaken actions of the world\'s most charming and famous Buddhist is an intolerable situation. It\'s an \'inside job\', but how is it that nobody has thought to ask \"on whose authority is he doing this?\" It is an indictment of our collective intellects in this age of celebrity, where style reigns over substance, that more people are not asking this question.
Posted by anonymous @ 22/06/08 03:41:36
I think the motivation behind the protest is delusion. Those protesting have no clear picture about the Tibetan exile community and how it is functioning and what the facts in that issue are. Moreover they seem to be misused by the lamas engaged in that conflict: Lama Kundeling (Nga-Lama) and Geshe Kelsang Gyatso who - from my point of view and understanding - suffer mainly on hostility towards the Dalai Lama. Both have their personal history (grudge?) with him and seem to exploit naive Westerners for their personal revenge. Of course both tell their followers they have only compassion and good motivation. I doubt that, I know both of them. For me they are not reliable persons.
Posted by anonymous @ 20/06/08 10:03:03
This issue of the Dala Lama\\\'s religious ban is a major problem in the Tibetan community - people in the West have the democratic freedom to highlight this. The intention behind the protests is compassion and the hope is that the Dalai Lama will engage in dialogue in order to find a solution to this problem that he has created - then the protests will disppear.
Posted by anonymous @ 16/06/08 21:58:54
This issue of the Dala Lama\'s religious ban is a major problem in the Tibetan community - people in the West have the democratic freedom to highlight this. The intention behind the protests is compassion and the hope is that the Dalai Lama will engage in dialogue in order to find a solution to this problem that he has created - then the protests will disppear.
Posted by anonymous @ 16/06/08 21:56:02
No the Dalai Lama is not expelling monks. The monastic community expelled some monks after they pushed up events and even threatened the abbot of Sera. It is their right to expel monks who create disharmony and create quarrel. They were accepted for a very long time but if the community thinks the trouble they create is is enough now, they have the right to expel them. This is something very common and usual, it is neither non-democratic nor against the Vinaya. There is nothing wrong with this.
Posted by anonymous @ 12/06/08 21:17:39
Is the Dalai Lama and his governement expelling monks from monasteries ( YES / NO
), can Shugden practitioner buy food (YES / NO), get Visa ? (YES / NO), can children of Shugden people go to school (YES / NO)? These are the questions to answer first and these are the problems to resolve first.
Posted by anonymous @ 12/06/08 01:05:29
Who is behind the Western Shugden Society? new link: http://info-buddhismus.de/Western_Shugden_Society_unlocked.html
Posted by anonymous @ 08/06/08 01:02:56
Who is behind the Western Shugden Society? Western Shugden Society? unlocked see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27319854@N08/
Posted by anonymous @ 06/06/08 13:57:30
Not facts, just distorted propaganda
Posted by anonymous @ 06/06/08 02:01:21
Visit http://www.wisdombuddhadorjeshugden.org and for the facts on this issue.
Posted by anonymous @ 05/06/08 21:53:32
The New Kadampa Tradition is a harmful cult, but in trying to deflect the attention of its members from its own internal problems, (sexual abuse and fraud amongst things) it is trying to unite against an external enemy, the Dalai Lama. This political campaign has been organised by its leader, Kelsang Gyatso. He is aware that this Shugden issue is nothing to do with the NKT. As he said after his last round of protests,\"in October 1998 we decided to completely stop being involved in this Shugden issue because we realized that in reality this is a Tibetan political problem and not the problem of Buddhism in general or the NKT. We made our decision public at this time—everyone knows the NKT and myself completely stopped being involved in this Shugden issue at all levels.\"
Now he is at it again, taking part in political activities which NKT members have long been told they don\'t do. Political activity is even against the NKT\'s internal rules and constitution. This doesn\'t stop Kelsang. He just sets up a front organisation to do the protesting for him and lies through his teeth.
Posted by anonymous @ 05/06/08 21:34:02
Thank you for this informative article! It is a shame that the controversial New Kadampa Tradition, who is behind the Western Shugden Society and suffers not any oppression from an outer source (rather from the internal leader of that group), undermines the activities of those trying to help to solve the Tibet issue. It is true that many refer to this group as a cult. However, although their protests are more then questionable (maybe an \"insulting campaign\"), the Dalai Lama was relaxed. Thank you for this article.
Posted by anonymous @ 05/06/08 20:22:43
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