The Scapegoating of Dorje Shugden and Dorje Shugden Practitioners

In a recent letter, taking up many pages, Shugden (‘Dholgyal’) is once again blamed for Tibet’s religious and political problems:

Dharamshala, Edition 205, December 3, 2008

The warning that overpowers the dark side of the Three Realms, the self-voice of truth that reveals nakedly the self-embarrassment of the enemy who ambushes Tibetan religion and politics!

Written by some interested persons including Thupten Choepel

With our own eyes, we are observing a matter of life and death, where Tibetan religion and policies, including Tibetan nationals, are on the verge of extinction. This gloomy predicament has not occurred without a cause, nor was it simply due to the invasion by China. It is also not that there is lack of sufficient instruction from qualified gurus and deities, nor something that has taken place suddenly. This is a repercussion of negligence, backward, and many unfavorable conditions in many ways – the most serious of which is the Dholgyal issue… I view that China, Dholgyal, and Dholgyal society are equal in creating obstacles to Tibetan religion and politics.

Which brings us to a series of articles called "The Buddhist Witch", whose author has presented theory and research into how a witch-naming, scapegoating psychology has enabled the superstitious persecution of Dorje Shugden practitioners (induced by the actions of the Dalai Lama). Judging by the comments, people have found these articles thought-provoking, so we include some extracts here. If you are interested, please go to the original blog.

The Buddhist witch: Part one

... it is still apparent to me that there are enormous parallels between the naming and shaming of Shugdenites, particularly in India’s exiled Tibetan community, and the naming and shaming of so-called witchcraft practitioners all over the world.

The Buddhist witch: Part two

Well, let’s remove the Shugden scenario from its current political and religious context and examine it in stark academic terms. The fact is, once you’re familiar with examples of witch persecution around the world, the similarity with the kind of social ostracism and persecution that’s being visited on Shugden practitioners in the Exiled Tibetan Community in India, and indeed in the West too, becomes all too apparent.

Like ‘witches’, Shugdenites are accused of conducting harmful practices. In the language used, the nature of this harm is often vague, but it includes a general harm against other practitioners and against unwitting Shugden worshippers too. And just as with accusations against so-called ‘witches’, actual proof of this harm is rather scant. In fact, there is none. Not even the most ardent detractors of Shugden worship have been able to show any tangible evidence of the harmful and destructive nature of Shugden practice…

Like ordinary witchcraft trials the world over, no evidence has been needed to confirm the guilt of Shugden worshippers in perpetuating what is considered a harmful practice . With witch persecution, the effectiveness of the accusation has never depended on actual or reliable evidence. The same is the case here. For the most part, the claim of harmful practice against Shugdenites is reliant on hearsay and hypothesis, and the same would be true at any witch trial. It is given authority by numerous lamas, including the Dalai Lama, just as once inquisitors and sometimes even the Pope lent weight and authority to allegations of witchcraft and heresy…

And like those accused of being witches elsewhere, Shugdenites are currently being shunned within their communities. More than that, this ostracism is completely socially acceptable to most constituents of those communities.

The Buddhist witch: Part three

Witchcraft cannot be proven. Indeed, no proof is required. The success of any accusation relies entirely on whether or not the accusation can gain popular sanction. This is the basis of another theory: status degradation. If the accuser is able to convince the community that the person he or she has accused really is a witch, then he or she will have managed to reduce the status of that person in the eyes of everyone else. Moreover, they will have elevated their own status considerably….

I think it’s certainly pertinent that the Dalai Lama did not begin his campaign against Shugden in earnest until many of the most influential Shugden practitioners had died or had passed from influence….

It is an interesting fact that it’s taken over 10 years for Shugden to surface as a human rights issue within any degree of credibility. The impregnable reputation and status the Dalai Lama has enjoyed has ensured that the issue has never received popular sanction. And the vilification of proponents of Shugden has ensured that their case has not, until recently, been properly aired.

Moreover, as a consequence of the ban on Shugden, and the claims levelled against Shugden as a practice, lamas such as Trijang Rinpoche and Phabongka Rimpoche, who once enjoyed great status, are now discredited and even widely despised.

The Buddhist witch: Part four

The traitor within the gates: The underlying thesis of this theory is that, in the view of the persecutors, witches can be likened to traitors. It identifies the fact that, in social terms, witches are not generally viewed as an external threat. They are almost always people known to the accusers, and close to them. In truth, in most communities, the witches identified are usually neighbours, friends or family members – not strangers. So they are ‘within the gates’, operating within the confines of the community, part of the fold. And this makes the malicious acts attributed to them even more reprehensible. After all, there’s nothing more despicable than betrayal. And nothing inspires fear quite like the suspicion that someone close to you is out to get you.

Of course, the acts of treachery ascribed to witches are as invisible as they are harmful. And this makes the perceived breach of faith that much more acute….

…. In Dorje Shugden and his practitioners, Tibetans have been able to find the cause for a host of misfortunes that afflict them- from cattle disease to inexplicable deaths.

….. Tibet has found its scapegoats. And so has international Tibetan Buddhism.

The Buddhist witch: Part five

Where a cause to something is not evident, it is readily created. This is the real psychology behind witch naming. It is born from fear. And it is universal.

In many ways, the Yellow Book seems to be where much of the current conflict started. It’s a book of stories. Or, I should say, it’s a catalogue of misfortunes. The same sort of misfortunes I became familiar with in stories relating to witch naming in African, European, North American, Asian and Pacific accounts. Something bad happens, something supernatural is attributed as the cause. This is the pattern…

When you look at the stories above, there is nothing remarkable about the cause of death. These are ordinary deaths, by all accounts. Falling on a bicycle spoke is unfortunate, but it’s not unfathomable, and neither is it mysterious. Well, of course, neither is getting hit by lightning. Neither are any of the multitude of misfortunes generally attributed to witches….

How come these far-fetched accounts seem to have had such a big impact on the Dalai Lama, on lamas in other schools, and on ordinary Tibetans?

The Buddhist witch: Part six

“The danger of Dorje Shugden practice is that it can cause Buddhism to degenerate into a form of spirit worship.”

The above statement by the Dalai Lama was used to explain his stance on Dorje Shugden practice during the first demonstrations on the ban in the late 1990s. It is something he has reiterated several times in 2008 during the most recent demonstrations.

For those who are aware that the Dalai Lama himself is involved in various forms of spiritism, this has often been a source of tremendous bemusement. That involvement includes personally consulting the Nechung oracle on numerous issues, the nature of Dorje Shugden being just one of those issues…

The Buddhist witch: Conclusion

In Australia in 2008, when members of the Western Shugden Society protested against the Dalai Lama outside Sydney’s Olympic Park, a TV reporter asked a Tibetan supporter of the Dalai Lama what all the fuss was about. Her response was insightful. She said she didn’t really know much about the protesters, but she suspected they practiced some kind of Tibetan witchcraft. These were the words she used. They were in English. Nothing was lost in the translation.

In New York a month or two later, during the most dramatic moment of the protests by far, WSS demonstrators were surrounded by a highly energised and volatile crowd of Tibetan Dalai Lama supporters. I watched footage of the event online later. The most striking thing for me were the many Tibetan women waving their aprons at the protesters. This is a gesture Tibetans use to ward off spirits.

Of course, there was another common reaction that day. Many people waved money, or threw coins at the protesters, indicating that they had been bought off by the Chinese. In other words, they were treacherous. There were perfidious violators of trust. Like witches everywhere, they were traitors within the gates, and objects of utter contempt.

There is a great deal of evidence to support the points I’ve been making in this series - that supporters of Shugden are indeed the ‘witches’ of Tibetan Buddhism. They are the scapegoats of the Tibetan predicament. …

Ironically, China then is not the real problem. The real problem is Shugden. China’s invasion is just the natural consequence of the evil of Shugden worship. Though karma is invoked here, the parallel to accusations of witchcraft elsewhere couldn’t be clearer.

An open letter to Tsering, a monk at Sera Monastery

Dear Tsering,

I hope this letter find you well and happy. I'm responding to recent comments you made on Tenzin Peljor's blog 'refuting' the points made by Shugden practitioners on various Western Shugden Society websites.

In general, I find your letter to be defensive and high in accusatory rhetoric but low in references and logic that refute these claims by the Western Shugden Society. Just saying that someone is wrong does not make them wrong, and just saying that someone is right does not make them right. This is the main problem with the Dalai Lama's claims about Dorje Shugden for example – everyone believes him although he has provided no actual evidence. Such blind belief is not acceptable in Western countries where we like to examine evidence and think for ourselves. This also used to be the case for Gelugpas in the Tibetan tradition in previous times. Sadly, now, the Dalai Lama's word is truth and law and not questioned by most (not that they have any power if they disagree.)

You have provided no evidence to refute the points made by the Western Shugden Society. For example, with respect to the Dalai Lama coming from a Muslim village, Taktser, the only thing you say is:

Moreover, by calling Taktser, the hamlet in Amdo Kubum where His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was born, as a Chinese Muslim village is implying that the area belonged to China, thus flagrantly contradicting the historical facts and holding out the historically Tibetan area to PRC.

If I understand you correctly, the only thing you are refuting is that Taktser is Chinese. It is agreed that at the time when the Dalai Lama was discovered, the village was, indeed, in Tibet. However, you have not given any evidence to refute that the Dalai Lama is from a Muslim village and family, so I can only assume that you accept this as true.

I'm personally not familiar with the booklet you quoted, 'Expressing the Ocean of Truth'. You say it is an anonymous publication, but, if so, that is hardly surprising. You cannot be unaware that if someone in feudal Tibetan society speaks out against the Dalai Lama, they can put themselves in grave personal danger. For example, it is well known that the 9th Panchen Lama had to flee Tibet in 1924 in fear of his life for having offended the 13th Dalai Lama. Gunthang Tsultrim was shot in 1976, allegedly for opposing the Dalai Lama's plans to unite all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism under him. Such retribution for opposing the Dalai Lama is well known. Tibet was no Shangri-la and certainly no democracy. There are many bloody tales of revenge in Tibetan history.

You attribute this book to Shugden practitioners, but on what evidence? This is like the TGIE accusing Shugden practitioners of murdering Ven Lobsang Gyatso and his assistants while providing no evidence. Shugden practitioners have been providing a useful scapegoat for the Dalai Lama and his followers for everything that goes wrong in Tibetan society, and congruent with that is the fact that anyone who dares criticize the Dalai Lama is immediately assumed to be a Shugden practitioner and/or the PRC! However, it is clear that it is not just Shugden practitioners who are critical of the Dalai Lama and unhappy with the direction he has taken, both secular and religious. There are documents and articles written by Tibetans that are implicitly, if not explicitly, critical of the Dalai Lama. The Mongoose Canine letter is explicitly critical, but there is also a growing amount of implied criticism on the Internet.

For example, there are many now who recognise the need for a genuine democratic system of government for the Tibetan people, and they aren't getting it. In an article about the separation of religion and politics, Samten Karmay says:

The separation of church and state does not imply abandoning the practice of the established religion. Far from it, it secures freedom of religious exercise and therefore the right of personal choice whether one wishes to practice a religion or not.

Freedom of religious exercise is clearly not what the Dalai Lama wants. He faces a dilemma because if he allows a truly democratic Tibetan society, he will no longer be able to dictate a ban on Dorje Shugden practice. It's probably for this and many other reasons that it's unlikely that there will be be true democracy in Tibetan society while he has power.

Samten Karmay concludes:

A secularization of the exiled community should contribute towards solving the unending sectarian problems and lead to true unity amongst the Tibetan people, without any further religious interference in the political domain.

In banning the practice of Dorje Shugden and making laws to prohibit it, we can see TGIE's political interference in the religious domain – but they are fulfilling the Dalai Lama's wishes. Samten Karmay's solution is to separate 'church and state' as a means of eliminating sectarianism, not banning the practice of Dorje Shugden, although to be fair he clearly agrees with the Dalai Lama's view.

You also say:

The second unjustifiable allegation that the pro-Shugden has made in their writings is about the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The writers in the same website, says that the monks in Sera and Ganden are not happy with the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It further claims that the monks are wary of His Holiness again speaking on the "Shugden issue" and inspiring "provocation."

This assertion of the Shugden supporters are absolutely untrue. The visit, first of all, is heartily welcomed by all Tibetans from all walks of lives, including the monks of Sera monastery barring few handfuls of Shugden supporters. We as a monk community, feel it very fortunate to once again be in the presence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to blessed by his kindness and benevolence. And by saying so, I also meant many of those who follow Shugden propitiation, if their claims of respecting His Holiness are not mere empty words.

This clearly shows that you're not a Shugden practitioner and have no idea what suffering they're going through. You're completely out of touch with reality on this one, but that's hardly surprising since Shugden and non-Shugden monks are now segregated in the monasteries and encouraged to have nothing to do with each other. You don't even know the people you're living next to.

I personally find it amazing that, even though Tibetan Shugden practitioners are suffering because of the Dalai Lama's actions, they still find it in their hearts to love him. This is a testament to their spiritual realizations. The monks are apprehensive about his coming visit because it was the Dalai Lama's visit to the monasteries in January 2008 that re-ignited the bad feeling over the Shugden Issue and the subsequent 'referendum' that met no standards of democracy and that split the monasteries. It is the Dalai Lama himself who is causing all this suffering and disharmony due to his fanatical pursuance of his self-made policy of banning Shugden worship. He will not leave things alone, so of course the monks are afraid of his next visit. You can love your mother while at the same time knowing that because of her anger or mental illness she will still beat you. These monks are in a similar predicament. How can they be happy when the Dalai Lama himself said:

Recently monasteries have fearlessly expelled Shugden monks where needed. I fully support their actions. I praise them. If monasteries find taking action hard, tell them Dalai Lama is responsible for this.

The monks obviously fear that after the Dalai Lama's next visit, at best they will be put under more pressure to give up their practice and at worst they will be homeless. Knowing this, would you look forward to his visit, Tsering? You have security because you either never engaged in the practice of Dorje Shugden or you have renounced it. Can you imagine how it feels for a Buddhist monk to have their security threatened by their ordaining Master and Buddhist Elder simply because they refused to renounce their Protector practice that they took a commitment to do? They are keeping their spiritual commitments to their Spiritual Guides, and the Dalai Lama is not! It beggars belief. The Dalai Lama acts more and more like someone who's become an irrational control freak – who, under his power, would not be afraid? The Dalai Lama should be a refuge and protector of others, not an unpredictable threat.

This goes to show how crazy this situation is – it's the complete opposite of what it should be. Your complete lack of empathy for the Shugden monks displays your single minded devotion to the Dalai Lama and your lack of understanding of what he's doing to them. Why should the Shugden monks fear a famous Buddhist Teacher who preaches love, compassion, tolerance and acceptance unless he isn't practising what he's preaching? This is sad, but true.

It's laudable that the Dalai Lama is coming to the monasteries to grant ordination to those who could not afford to travel to Dharamsala, but how many of those would-be monks will be Shugden practitioners? The answer is “none” because he refuses to ordain anyone who practises Shugden. Denying ordination to those who practise Shugden unless they give up their practice is yet another despicable method of control.

Then you say:

Thirdly, whereas the retaliating against the actions of Shugden supporters is concerned, it would have been done a long time back if it were not His Holiness the Dalai Lama's advice to His followers to observe restraint.

The Dalai Lama started this problem and I don't see any restraint from his side. There was no restraint when he split the monasteries this year, precipitating the formation of the Western Shugden Society, their letter and demonstrations against the Dalai Lama's ban. Can't you see that the Dalai Lama is the one responsible for fomenting all this conflict and misery?

Please quote passages from his speeches where he said not to harm Shugden practitioners. Let's see some evidence. Rather, there is evidence for the opposite:

Recently monasteries have fearlessly expelled Shugden monks where needed. I fully support their actions. I praise them. If monasteries find taking action hard, tell them Dalai Lama is responsible for this. Shugden followers have resorted to killing and beating people. They start fires. And tell endless lies. This is how the Shugden believe. It is not good.

These are terrible falsehoods. Shugden practitioners of course have done none of these things. Does this sound like the Dalai Lama is really trying to create harmony between Shugden and non-Shugden Tibetans?! Are the Wanted Posters in Southern India, Dharamasala and even New York -- giving the addresses and photographs of Dorje Shugden practitioners -- encouraging restraint? On the contrary, they are there to encourage violence. The recent mob at the New York demonstrations did not seem to be showing any restraint. It was only due to the quick thinking and action of the New York Police in evacuating the demonstrators that a riot was averted. There are suspicions that this near riot was incited to teach the demonstrators a lesson.

In comments on a Tricyle blog, one Tibetan said:

Therefore you NKT/WSS people ought to be careful––New Yorkers are restrained compared to the reception you may get if you persist in staging media stunts in future, if you get thrashed, you may regret not heeding this tip.

In the 1990s, the Dalai Lama himself refused to acknowledge that wanted posters existed or that Dorje Shugden practitioners were being harmed. This is from the Swiss TV Documentary in 1998:

Reporter: Why don't you simply advise people not to worship the deity Dorje Shugden and instruct others to be tolerant and avoid violence towards those who continue to worship it?

Dalai Lama: Nobody harming! Nobody harming on them!

Reporter: But I've seen the calls for violence in the newspapers

Dalai Lama: No, no, no

Reporter: I've seen it with my own eyes

Dalai Lama: No, I think rumors!

How could the Dalai Lama deny what the reporter had personally witnessed? How stupid does he think people are? This is denial, not advising restraint -- he is simply denying that there is violence because it would destroy his reputation.

You conclude by saying:

The recent Special General Meeting in mid November that saw the representation of all walks of lives of the Tibetan people, reaffirmed the supreme leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and therefore, harping otherwise by few handful of Shugden supporters would do nothing good except distancing themselves from the mainstream Tibetan society.

I doubt that you are in touch with the thoughts of all your own countrymen and women. In her blog, a Tibetan woman called 'Mountain Phoenix' says of the meeting:

This meeting could have been both special and historic, if we had taken the bold and painful step that I believe is unavoidable: To allow the Dalai Lama to retire into the religious sphere, and set the stage for the separation of religion and politics.

Are you going to characterise all critics of the Dalai Lama's approach as Shugden-worshipping-Chinese-sympathisers? This is lazy and wrong and it prevents the Dalai Lama from seeing that there are many Tibetans who disagree with his stance on both political and religious issues. The comments from Tibetans on the Samten Karmay article are unanimously supportive of a separation of religion and politics, so there are many who disagree with you concerning the 'supreme leadership of His Holiness'.

I'd like to say that, despite refuting your obvious wrong claims, I personally have no interest in Tibetan politics. My only interest is the religious freedom of Shugden practitioners. I wish all Shugden practitioners to be able to practise free from slander or persecution by the Dalai Lama.

On Behalf of Concerned Dorje Shugden Practitioners in Europe and India

(The author first offered this open letter to Tenzin Peljor's comments section (on his anti-Shugden website, Western Shugden Society Unlocked), but Tenzin Peljor declined to post it. He claimed that Tsering had sent his letter originally to this blog, but we never received anything from Tsering.)

A Critique of 'Why the Dalai Lama Matters' by Robert Thurman, Part 4

Continued from Chapter 2: What has the Dalai Lama Accomplished?

The next section is 'accomplishments and impacts'. Here, Thurman waxes lyrical on the Dalai Lama's achievements in various spheres but, as before, is somewhat prone to exaggeration. For example:

If you understand Buddhism not merely as a world religion, religion as primarily a system of belief and the Dalai Lama as being a great philosopher in the tradition he claims as his own, that of the Seventeen Great Professors (Pandits) of Nalanda University (the great Monastic University of classical India), then he emerges not as a religious preacher but as a world teacher. The Dalai Lama can be classified as someone like Albert Einstein, Arnold Toynbee, Bertrand Russell or Stephen Hawking who advances human knowledge from a philosophical and scientific point of view. If Buddhism is one third ethics, one third psychology and religion as therapy, and one third scientific wisdom, then the Dalai Lama brings new aspects of those three values to the world. (page 39)

These days the Dalai Lama talks about 'the Nalanda Tradition'. He mentioned it again in an interview in Nottingham in May 2008:

So some people criticize me, I banned that sort of spirit worship; that is not true. I just simply make clear what is the reality, whether as we are follower of Nalanda tradition, we are not spirit worshipper. So there is a sort of danger, I feel in my eye, the degenerating, the pure Nalanda tradition eventually become like spirit worship. That is not good.

Thurman says that the Dalai Lama claims this tradition as his own. These days, the Dalai Lama does not talk about the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism so much as the Nalanda tradition. This term is his own invention. The Dalai Lama was not educated in the 'Nalanda tradition' but in the Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, a tradition he seems to have disowned and for which he shows increasing disrespect.

The Dalai Lama's Junior Tutor and Guru is Trijang Rinpoche, the Spiritual Guide of a whole generation of Gelugpa teachers from the highest Lamas to the most humble novices. The Dalai Lama has ordered Trijang Rinpoche's thrones to be removed from Ganden Lachi and Shartse monasteries. The thrones represent the continuing presence of this great Master, so what is the Dalai Lama saying by ordering their removal? Even though Trijang Rinpoche treated the Dalai Lama as his own son and cared for him in every way, how does the Dalai Lama repay that kindness? By branding him as a 'spirit worshipper', telling everyone he was 'wrong, yes wrong' and having his thrones removed from two monasteries where he was revered.

The Dalai Lama is clearly trying to destroy Trijang Rinpoche's reputation. In Buddhism, respect for one's own Teacher is vital. It is said to be the root of the path. The Dalai Lama has cut his root. Even so, he continues to travel around the world, giving the teachings from the very lineage he has turned his back on.

Where does the Dalai Lama's knowledge come from? It comes only from Buddha through the Dalai Lama’s teachers, whom he has thoroughly disrespected by calling them 'spirit worshippers' and enabling the persecution of their followers. The Dalai Lama is not the source of these teachings. Whereas the theory of relativity as formulated by Einstein was a unique achievement that came from his own thought experiments, if the Dalai Lama is teaching Buddhism correctly, he has nothing doctrinally “new” to offer. Buddha's insights were uniquely established two and a half thousand years ago and the content is non-negotiable. Buddha is the true genius and advancer of human knowledge, but he's not given the credit – the Dalai Lama takes the credit in Thurman's mind.

Recently, at an FPMT Center in Deerfield Beach, Florida, they proudly advertized that the teachings they gave were in the “lineage of the Dalai Lama”. But what is this lineage exactly? Does it begin and end with the Dalai Lama?

Buddhism is so much more than philosophy, science or 'religion as therapy' (a curious choice of words!). Boiling it down to mundane subjects of study seems to do Buddhism a grave disservice. Maybe it is the academic in him, but Thurman here misses the magic of Buddhism. No amount of philosophy, science or therapy can lead to permanent liberation from suffering and the full enlightenment of Buddhahood.

Later, Thurman gives us some insight as to why he wrote his book:

The main accusation against the Dalai Lama that surfaces from time to time around the world is that of being ineffective. People have said, “What has the Dalai Lama ever accomplished, for all his running around the world meeting celebrities?” In fact, answering that question is one of the main drives of this book. (page 45)

It is clear what the Dalai Lama has accomplished by doing this – celebrity and power. And Thurman seems to be justifying this lifestyle (or defending it, not sure which). While it is true that the Dalai Lama has been so far ineffective in his political work for Tibet, no doubt he will also receive more accusations against him in the future as a result of his illegal and unconstitutional actions. It could be argued that the main accusation against the Dalai Lama already is, 'Why is he lying?' or 'Why is he using Buddhism to maintain his own power and position at the cost of harmony in the Buddhist community?' Not surprisingly, Thurman does not address these questions.

He has been working on and gradually introducing a democratic constitution in the exile community as a way to live in exile and a model of self-rule whenever it is recovered in Tibet. It is a secularist constitution based on the separation of church and state, in which all religions are equal under the law (p 51)

Since 1959 the Dalai Lama has had ample opportunity to introduce a democratic system of government into the Tibetan community in exile. Why hasn't it happened? Could it be because he wants to continue the union of politics and religion for his own ends?

More and more Tibetans see the faults with this system. For example, in an article called “He Has Got It Wrong” (on pro-Tibetan Phayul, taken from the Times of India), Eliot Sperling says of the recent meeting (November 2008) about Tibet’s future in Dharamsala:

And while the Dalai Lama has repeatedly stated that the Tibet issue is not about him but about all Tibetans, the end result of the special meeting bears out China's stance: in spite of his democratic rhetoric, the Dalai Lama has never empowered Tibetans to feel comfortable taking stands at variance with him. Accusations of disloyalty to the Dalai Lama remain a weapon in political and personal feuds in Dharamsala.

In her article commenting on this newspaper opinion piece, a Tibetan woman calling herself Mountain Phoenix says:

So when we look at the outcome of this “special meeting”, there was nothing special about it, let alone “historic”. The ultimate decision was again not to decide but to leave the decision to the Dalai Lama.

In the article 'Tibetan Religion and Politics', posted on Phayul, Samten G Karmay makes a powerful case for separation of church and state based upon the incompatibility of the role of head of democratic government with being a spiritual master:

In this theocratic system the head of the state was not only the political leader of the people, but also their spiritual master. In other words, the whole population was subjected and put in the position of spiritual disciple to the master. Within the context of this essentially religious bond no devotee would ever dream of opposing the view of the master, because that would be tantamount to breaking the sacred relationship between the master and the disciple. How does this fit with the discussion of democracy among the Tibetans in exile for whom HH the Dalai Lama is the political leader, but who nonetheless bestows on them the Kalachakra initiation?

This ties in with the Mongoose-Canine letter, in which the writer says:

Moreover, to challenge Lamas you have used religion for your aim. To that purpose you had to develop the Tibetan people’s blind faith. In the end you adopted the same activity that you yourself had pointed out was mistaken in other Lamas. For instance, you started the politics of public Kalachakra initiations. Normally the Kalachakra initiation is not given in public. Then you started to use it continuously in a big way for your politics. The result is that now the Tibetan people have returned to exactly the same muddy and dirty mixing of politics and religion of Lamas which you yourself had so precisely criticised in earlier times.

The implication is that the Dalai Lama has used his position as a Spiritual Leader through Kalachakra initiations to keep the Tibetan people docile because they would never challenge their Teacher with whom they have 'samaya' (sacred bond) through initiation. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso of the New Kadampa Tradition has been branded 'a samaya breaker' for the very reason that it is claimed that he received this initiation from the Dalai Lama in 1954 and has subsequently spoken out against him (N.B. he never received this initiation).

The point of the Dalai Lama using Kalachakra for political purposes is mentioned again later in the Mongoose-Canine letter:

Nowadays you have given the Kalachakra initiation so many times you have made the Tibetan people into donkeys. You can force them to go here and there as you like. In your words you always say that you want to be Gandhi but in your action you are like a religious fundamentalist who uses religious faith for political purposes.

Samten G Karmay's article was well read and received many supporting comments from Tibetans. Some examples:

religion and politics should be separated in order to have a true democratic system.people will more freely speak out when its a religious person most people don’t want to speak freely.the present tibetan govt needs to listen to people and stop calling people who give their opinion as chinese spy etc.this is not democracy

**************

As you know, Tibetan government in exile, in realty there is no democracy. It's like still old Tibet style empire rules, Lama Rules or one of the linage rule. One man leader for ever and at the same time they call it real democracy. In fact no Democracy and it's like banana democracy. Young educated Tibetans have no chances to become a Top leader of Tibet as a 'President".

**************

You are right -- majority Tibetans has no power to tell or comment to the head of the exile. Because our head leader is Religious one. One of the four linage of mahayana Tibetan Buddhism. If you do so there is Dhamtsik Samaya breaking between a guru and the deciple.

Since the Dalai Lama alone has the power to determine whether democracy is introduced or not, and there is no democracy, the facts speak for themselves. Thurman should not whitewash this situation by pretending that the Dalai Lama is pro-democracy when his clear lack of action in this area shows that he is not. Either the Dalai Lama is fooling Thurman, or Thurman is fooling us.

Thurman talks about the Dalai Lama's enthusiasm for inter-religious dialogue. Why then doesn't the Dalai Lama want to talk to Dorje Shugden practitioners to resolve the big schism in his own community? Their pleas for understanding are ignored. The Religion section in the recent Memorandum has fine words for the Chinese, but surely the Dalai Lama and his government should get their own house in order first?

Thurman also mentions that the Dalai Lama defends the Muslim religion. In these times, when Muslims tend to be demonized as terrorists due to the actions of a relative minority of fanatics, this is a laudable thing to do. But surely it would have been worth mentioning here that the Dalai Lama has a natural sympathy with Muslims because he is from a Muslim family and was born in a Muslim village? It is a curious omission.

Thurman talks about 'what we might call the magic of the Dalai Lama's special presence' (page 62). He reports that 'the effect of his presence is galvanizing; people often burst into tears, forget what they were planning to say, commonly change their preconceived ideas completely'. Is it a good idea to mention this? Thurman's intention is probably good, and what he wants to show is how his Guru’s presence has a powerful effect on others’ minds. However, there have been many charismatic leaders throughout history who have had powerful speech and been able to get people to do what they want, and this has not always worked out to their advantage. Does Thurman really want us to think that the Dalai Lama has some power to influence others, and maybe even to be able to control their minds?

It's a curious thing to talk about and, more than anything else, it indicates a somewhat unexamined faith. Thurman doesn't see how it could be misunderstood, which is a little naïve of him. If people said such fanatical things about Geshe Kelsang, no doubt his critics would jump on the bandwagon with their accusations of 'mind control cult'; so why do no alarm bells sound when people talk so glowingly of the control the Dalai Lama exerts over others?

Thurman talks extensively about Tibetan, Tibetans and the Tibetan cause, which is also the other main motivation for his writing this book. He's obviously trying to coax Chinese sympathizers to see a different view of the Dalai Lama with one aim in mind – the fulfilment of the Dalai Lama's wishes for autonomy for Tibet within China. This is where the book is quite political and a little obvious in its intentions. Thurman is saying “look, the Dalai Lama is really a very special guy and you can trust him, so give us back Tibet!”

Whilst not wanting to get too political, I have to mention an obvious lie about the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan resistance, and the CIA because it has implications for Thurman's trustworthiness and honesty. Thurman says:

Tibetan warriors did fight for over a decade as guerrillas (with a low level of support from CIA until betrayed by Henry Kissinger and President Richard Nixon), against the Dalai Lama's instructions, but admittedly with his admiration for their bravery.

Does Thurman really believe this version of events? There is evidence that the Dalai Lama himself was on the CIA payroll in the 1960's, to a tune of $186,000 per annum. From the Wikipedia article on the 14th Dalai Lama:

In October 1998, The Dalai Lama's administration acknowledged that it received $1.7 million a year in the 1960s from the U.S. Government through the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and also trained a resistance movement in Colorado (USA).

According to a report in a Vancouver newspaper:

Funds to pay this army were funnelled through the Dalai Lama and his organization, which received US$1.7 million a year, later reduced to $1.2 million. (Of this, the Dalai Lama himself was paid $186,000 a year. But no one has ever suggested that he pocketed it. The money was used to operate his exiled government's offices in Geneva and New York.) The last year in which the stipend was paid out was 1974. By then, of course, U.S. policy had changed to one of embracing China, not antagonizing it.

According to Thurman, the guerrillas fought ‘against the Dalai Lama's instructions’; yet the Dalai Lama's administration received the funds to pay for the army from the CIA, with the Dalai Lama himself being paid. No one can claim that the Dalai Lama didn't know what was going on, or that it was against his instructions.

From an interview with the Dalai Lama with the New York Times in 1993:

Q: In Tibet, from the late 1950's until the early 1970's, one of your brothers was involved in leading a guerrilla movement against the Chinese. In fact, the guerrillas were supported by the C.I.A. How did you feel about that?

A: I'm always against violence. But the Tibetan guerrillas were very dedicated people. They were willing to sacrifice their own lives for the Tibetan nation. And they found a way to receive help from the C.I.A. Now, the C.I.A.'s motivation for helping was entirely political. They did not help out of genuine sympathy, not out of support for a just cause. That was not very healthy.

The Dalai Lama says “they found a way to receive help from the CIA” as if the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Administration knew nothing about it; but they were on the payroll! The Dalai Lama is being disingenuous, as is Thurman in misrepresenting events. The aim is to maintain the Dalai Lama's public image as someone who does not agree with armed struggle, which is obviously wrong.

Things become even more nefarious when the Mongoose Canine letter states:

The problem of your government splitting the Tibetan guerilla fighters in Mustang. In fact, they were originally organised by your government with the help of the CIA. In 1969, as a consequence of Nixon’s policy with China, you provoked a fight among the Tibetan guerillas over their weapons. This fight finally destroyed them.

What then are we to make of Thurman's statement:

But overall, in spite of massive oppression, Tibetans have maintained the non-violence the Dalai Lama has asked of them. The greatness of this achievement cannot be overstated (page 74)

Thurman seems attached to Tibet and what it represents in his mind, as he is attached to the Dalai Lama and what he represents. Such attachment is obviously going to influence his views. Either Thurman is deliberately misrepresenting events, or he is genuinely in the thrall of the Dalai Lama and Tibet and ignoring obvious truths. This is also evident when he says:

Nowadays the world is spinning out of control in a “war on terror” which is endless in principle because violence simply breeds more counter-violence. Then, to our amazement, we encounter a people who eschew terrorism and violence from the beginning. (page 74)

Michael Parenti is an American political scientist, historian and media critic whose article Friendly Feudalism: The Tibet Myth explains the excesses of Tibet as a feudal society. The view that Tibet was some kind of Shangri-la filled with happy, non-violent practising Buddhists is a complete myth.

As for 'eschewing violence from the beginning', there was almost a riot in New York in July 2008 when a large group of Tibetans who had just been to a teaching by the Dalai Lama surrounded a much smaller group of Western Shugden Society protestors to spit, jeer and throw things. The protestors had to be evacuated by New York Police for their own safety. There have also been many other instances of violence against Dorje Shugden practitioners, some of which are itemized on the Dorje Shugden Controversy article in Wikipedia.

Again, there are many more points in this chapter that merit comment, but we will finish on something positive -- the Dalai Lama's concluding statement from his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech:

I pray for all of us, oppressor and friend, that together we succeed in building a better world through human understanding and love, and that in doing so we may reduce the pain and suffering of all sentient beings. Thank you. (page 95)

We pray that the Dalai Lama will live by these words and stop all the problems he has created in the Buddhist community through his divisive actions. Dalai Lama, please give religious freedom to Dorje Shugden practitioners.

Riot After Dalai Lama's Teaching in NYC

A huge riot erupted in New York City after the Dalai Lama's teachings July 17, 2008 in which an organized mob of the attendees of the Dalai Lama's teaching surrounded the peaceful protesters demonstrating against the Dalai Lama's ban on the mainstream Buddhist practice of the Wisdom Buddha Dorje Shugden.

Mob of Angry Dalai Lama Followers Attack Protesters

Dorje Shugden Press Coverage Updates

The Capital Times: 07-20-08
Dalai Lama's visit sparks protest

Channel 3000 News: 07-20-08
Dalai Lama Begins Six-Day Madison Trip
Public Talk Site Of Protests

Time Magazine: 07-18-08
The Dalai Lama's Buddhist Foes

The Buddhist Channel: 07-18-08
Supporters of Dalai Lama clash with Buddhist sect

Western Shugden Society - Dalai Lama Demonstration in New York on July 17, 2008

Mobs supporting the Dalai Lama clash with Western Shugden Society demonstrators in NYC

A personal first-hand account of the demonstration at Radio City Music Hall, July 17 2008

In the morning I took the subway from my apartment to Radio City Music Hall. Because there are so many Tibetans in my neighborhood I saw some people dressed in traditional Tibetan clothing who were probably headed to the Dalai Lama's teaching.

The first thing I noticed as I approached is that the chanting had already started. I was arriving just at 12noon and it wasn't scheduled to begin until 12:30pm. There was, as is typical for NY at that time of day, huge amounts of foot traffic. But from the direction I was approaching I could only hear the chants from about a block away (because the protesters were directing their chants in the opposite direction). The protesters, a few hundred westerners and a hundred Tibetans, lay and ordained, had started chanting around 11:30 -- they started early!

After several days of protesting it felt like we were in a groove. We knew the chants, in Tibetan and English, and it felt as if I had built up a bit of endurance from the previous days of work. The scale of this protest was much larger than any of the ones we had previously done in terms of its impact, as there were literally thousands of people streaming by who heard our chants, read our signs, took our literature, and asked what it was all about. They were typically open-minded for New York, and many professed surprise and then horror at what the Dalai Lama was doing -- professing religious freedom and human rights in Radio City on the street opposite, and denying it to his own people behind the scenes in India. One man said: "I paid over a hundred bucks for this ticket and you're telling me that he does not practice what he is going to preach?" Tickets ranged from around forty bucks to a thousand, for a talk that took not much longer than an hour. Some passers-by tried to grasp the concept of the Dalai Lama using his political power to stamp out a religious tradition -- "Would it be like the Pope saying he has decided to stop worshiping Saint Christopher and that from now on everyone else therefore has to stop worshipping him too, or else be ostracized and pushed out of their monasteries and schools?" (Not a bad analogy, except that the Pope is historically the spiritual leader of all Catholics whereas the Dalai Lama has never been the head of Buddhism.)

Right from the start, we were continuously drawing the ire of Tibetans who were attending the Dalai Lama's talks. We were getting the finger with some outbursts of yelling. Tibetan women would flap their dresses at us (which I've been told means that they are showering us with their menstrual blood...ugh). I said, "Boy those Tibetan women are intense" and my friend replied in jest (I think!), "That's why there are so many monks."

There were groups of young lay Tibetan men who would stop and stare at us for a long time. Their presence was quite ominous and the police were watching them closely. Some of them were taking photos of the Tibetans protesting with us. They were clearly doing so to identify them later and threaten them and their families, as they have done already in coarse and violent language on phayul.com and elsewhere. And they have acted on some threats already -- for example, they boycotted a restaurant of a Dorje Shugden practitioner who had attended the demonstration in Hamilton New York, causing it to go out of business.At one point there were some Tibetan women gathered across the street and I could see the leader instructing the others to get photos of all the Tibetans protesting with us. The Tibetans we are with and who we are supporting are very brave as they face a mob mentality for going against the wishes of the Dalai Lama, but they remained calm and cheerful throughout. Now that they have decided to take a stand after 12 years of persecution, they are resolute; and some of them said it is as if a deep hurt inside, caused by the Dalai Lama's actions, is being resolved.

At the start of the day, the media presence did not seem huge, but I'm not sure. I just didn't see those TV station vans with the transmission antenna on the roof. There were a lot of people taking photos. I think we were near the top list of tourist attractions in the city. There were some professional photographers shooting us and videotaping us. One looked like a Chinese news group but I couldn't tell.

There was another group with about 15 people protesting in the pen next to us. They were spectacularly quiet and were protesting the US government's using Tibet to attack China with CIA funds. They spent quite some time just looking at us.

We chanted for just about the entire time during the Dalai Lama's talk. We gave out thousands of pieces of literature -- a leaflet with the basic facts called "Dalai Lama give religious freedom" and a booklet chronicling the abuses, including the forced signature campaign, called "The Tibetan Situation Today, Surprising Hidden News." Throughout the Dalai Lama's talk, Tibetans were amassing on various corners of the streets and we were told by the police to stay away from our barriers on the sidewalk side to avoid angry confrontations as their mood was getting ugly. They made everyone handing out literature along the sidewalks go back into the pen for safety (throughout the day, those handing out literature were made to go in pairs). When the talk got out at 4pm, that's when things got really intense. The Tibetans gathered in force outside Radio City, all down the sidewalks, and on the northwest corner of 50th and 6th Ave and started their own chants: "Shame on you! Shame on China! and something like, "Go away Dorje Shugden." They were all pumping their hands in unison towards us. At one point I noticed that the entirety of 6th Ave from 51st down to 49th was filled completely with Tibetans who were yelling at us. The side streets were filled too.

I was asked to do security facing the sidewalk (facing west) and a mob of Tibetans gathered about 15 feet from us and started yelling. Some were giving us the finger, some were flapping their dresses. One woman came up and started spitting at us. I put my body in between and got some spit on me and water (I think someone threw a water bottle at us). She looked at me and told me I would die with blood running out of my mouth. There were no police on our side of the pen as they were completely occupied with the stream of Tibetans pouring out of Radio City and crossing 6th ave on 50thth Street. I could see people getting violent and the police were being very physical defending themselves throwing people on the ground and shoving them away when they started getting violent. My brother who had a better vantage point told me a couple of people were arrested because they hit police officers. One woman went to hit a police officer and he took her down by twisting her arm. Another woman was handcuffed by three police officers but I did not see her being led away so perhaps they let her go. The police maced others who were trying to attack the protesters, some of the protesters on the outskirts of the demonstration pen felt it. The scene was so intense. Crowds of onlookers also were gathering on all corners and 6th Avenue was closed to traffic during rush hour for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, because there were no police on our side, the Tibetans were starting to work themselves into a frenzy. There were two young Tibetans who were getting really agitated and I was really afraid because it looked like they were about to attack us. Some older Tibetans were trying to calm them down but I could tell it was a dangerous situation. I told one of our security people that there were no police on this side and she went off to tell someone...

(One policeman said that the Dalai Lama himself had incited the rage during his talk. As 90 percent of the audience were Tibetan or Nepalese, he might have said something in Tibetan that was not translated. I don't know as I was not in the talk, but they came out with such a sense of purpose that it seems that somewhere along the line they had been incited to do something about us. This would be in keeping with what is happening in India, with Dalai Lama followers being incited to violence against Shugden practitioners by the government in exile, Tibetan youth congress and womens' association etc, all acting on the words of the Dalai Lama. Certainly the Dalai Lama, as usual, showed no inclination to come over and talk to us -- that has been the case for the past 12 years. He is happy to talk to any religious leaders of any faiths, just not Buddhist Dorje Shugden practitioners. Nor did he send a representative. No one in his entourage said anything to calm the angry mood. From what was translated in the talk he gave, he spouted the same reasons for banning the practice, all of which have been answered over and over again on this blog and elsewhere, and shown to be unreasonable.)

.... Finally a HUGE police officer came over (to my relief!) This dude was way taller than me (and I'm 6'1") -- he was diesel with the chiseled jaw and everything. His instincts were right as he walked right over to the two young Tibetans, stood two feet in front of them and rested his nightstick right on his shoulder. As you could imagine those two calmed right down.

The Tibetans on the west side of the pen were still getting rowdy so about 3 other officers came over. The Tibetans were yelling at us and throwing money at us. They were throwing dollar bills and coins at us saying we were paid by the Chinese. The cops told the Tibetans to back up away from the protesters but one man keen on picking up the money he thew at us didn't listen and ran right up to the barrier that the protesters were behind. The 3 officers grabbed this man and slammed him on the ground. They threw him back into the angry mob and they were shocked. The police all whipped out their nightsticks and twirled them around letting them know the consequences of breaking the barrier. Another female police office ran over with some additional metal barriers and they pushed back the Tibetan mob about 100 feet to a safe distance.

See the video of the riot in New York City.

[It made me wonder what it must be like for the monks and lay people in India who have complained now for years about the ostracism and fear they feel in the face of the Dalai Lama's followers who are so against them. They have had rocks hurled at their houses, mobs breaking into their houses and destroying their shrines and statues. Monks have been pushed out of their monasteries, where they have been since they were small boys (the Dalai Lama says they can go back to China and China can take care of them but they've never been to China in their lives!) People have been ostracized and humiliated, wanted posters have been put up, and on it goes. We got a little glimpse of what it is like to be shouted at, spat at and reviled, but the difference is that, luckily for us, we had the New York police force between us and them.]

By this time I could see that the sidewalks on both sides of 6th ave were completely filled with Tibetans. The energy in the air was intense. I've never experienced anything like this. We were surrounded by an angry mob on all sides. The police closed down 6th ave and I could see 4 or 5 police officers on horseback just firmly staring down the throngs of Tibetans. It was an impressive sight. Looking up one would see many people looking out of their office windows gazing at this spectacle. Now all the press were on the scene. People with a phone or camera were calling people and taking photos from the windows of the NBC building. What is amazing actually is how little press coverage there has been considering how much press was there for the riot. It seems to be hard to be the first one to blow the whistle. You need a lot of guts to investigate a story like this. One journalist in Australia wrote an article questioning the persona and theatre of the Dalai Lama, and he received death threats for his efforts.

As WSS spokesperson, Kelsang Pema, said in a press release: "If this intense reaction and mob mentality is the result when a few people publicly question the Dalai Lama's actions on American soil with police present and western laws, imagine how difficult it is for these people to speak up against their unelected leader in the Tibetan community in exile. I hope that the western media will investigate."

I was so proud, the WSS chanting was so powerful and loud and continuous, yet peaceful. It carried the weight of the huge blessings of our lineage and I felt this is why so many Tibetans were moved and challenged by our chants. Our group of 400 or so protesters, outnumbered by 10 to 1 (just a guess), really posed a challenge to these thousands of Tibetans.

Finally 5pm came and the police called in the buses -- our own three buses and an extra one they provided. They told us they were concerned for our safety and that no one should leave the demonstration pen on their own -- we all needed to be shipped to a safe spot far away from the Tibetans. Others told me later that the police were impressed by our discipline -- we did what we were told, which made their job much easier. Also, as the protesters were being herded rapidly on to the buses, they were trying to pick up their trash after them, until one officer called through the megaphone: "Leave the trash. Get on the bus. We'll clean up."

As we boarded the buses I noticed that the Tibetans weren't going anywhere. They were cheering that we were leaving but they all stayed and showed no signs of going anywhere. They were definitely there for the duration.

We were so jammed into those buses because none of the New Yorkers had arrived on the buses. So we all squeezed in, and accompanied by a police escort, we were rescued out of the mob scene. The relief was deeply felt. The bus driver of the bus I was on gave me a high five. He said "That was awesome, you guys got federal agents, secret service, and the nypd out there." I looked out the window and saw an escort of at least 10 nypd officers on motorbikes. One of the other bus drivers said: "You guys did a great job out there today. I think they got the message." I hope he is right, but probably we'll have to keep demonstrating for a bit longer yet.

They drove us over to 9th ave where they dropped us off. And we headed back to our Dharma Center where we felt so relieved to do puja and have GP teaching class (on the spiritual potential of this precious human life). As we sang the Migtsema, the praise to Je Tsongkhapa, I just started weeping, the relief was so great. Dalai Lama, give religious freedom.

Thank you.

Posted courtesy of a member of the Western Shugden Society attending the demonstrations

MIDTOWN CLASH OVER DALAI

July 18th, 2008 By Pilar Conci and Jamie Schram
Article and video from the New York Post

Followers of the Dalai Lama's nonviolent teachings lost their cool yesterday - tossing coins and water bottles at Midtown protesters.

After the Dalai Lama finished a two-hour speech on human suffering at Radio City Music Hall, his audience of several hundred people stepped onto Sixth Avenue to chants of "Dalai Lama, stop lying!" from the protesters - who claim the Tibetan spiritual leader persecutes Buddhist Shugden practitioners.

Supporters waved money and threw coins at the protesters suggesting they were paid by the Chinese government.

There were no arrests at the protests.

Demonstrators Evacuated By Police After Mob of Thousands of Hostile Dalai Lama Supporters Surrounds Them

New York, NY (PRWEB) July 18, 2008 -- Approximately 500 Tibetan and Western Buddhists engaged in a peaceful demonstration today outside of Radio City Music Hall as the Dalai Lama gave his public talks. This group, the Western Shugden Society (WSS), say they are demonstrating to question the Dalai Lama's unexamined actions and wishing to be heard since the Dalai Lama has repeatedly refused requests for dialog. The demonstrators spent 6 hours chanting "Dalai Lama Give Religious Freedom" and "Dalai Lama Stop Lying" in Tibetan and English to draw attention to their cause.

The demonstrators remained peaceful even after the Dalai Lama's public address finished and throngs of people in traditional Tibetan outfits poured onto the streets, at which time 40-50 police were brought in including 6 on horseback to control the group of thousands who were now surrounding the demonstrators.

Police erected metal barriers to push the crowds back. Some of them had to be physically restrained and forced to the ground as the aggressors began throwing objects, including bags of coins and bottles, spitting at, and yelling at the demonstrators.

The demonstrators remained contained, cooperated with police and agreed at the suggestion of the police to be evacuated with escort from the area while 6th Avenue was blocked off for 20 minutes during rush hour. They were told by police that this was necessary as it would have taken many hours to disperse the crowds.

Kelsang Pema, spokesperson for the WSS, says, "If this intense reaction and mob mentality is the result when a few people publicly question the Dalai Lama's actions on American soil with police present and western laws, imagine how difficult it is for these people to speak up against their unelected leader in the Tibetan community in exile. I hope that the western media will investigate."

From PR Web

Impassioned Buddhists Protest Dalai Lama on the Streets of NYC

New York, NY (PRWEB) July 15, 2008 -- This Thursday, from 12:30-5:00 p.m., 600 Tibetan and western Buddhists from around the world, including 200 monastics, join with one voice to demonstrate against the Dalai Lama outside of Radio City in NYC where he will be speaking. In this unprecedented event, more than 100 Tibetans will participate in the Western Shugden Society (WSS) organized protest to speak out against the man who has been touted as an icon of peace and tolerance.

The demonstrators hope to bring to the attention of the West the hidden persecution taking place in the Tibetan community in exile and increasingly in the west through the newly imposed oath and identity card campaign.

Kelsang Pema, western Buddhist nun and spokesperson for the Western Shugden Society (WSS), an umbrella organization made up of Shugden practitioners from many Buddhist traditions and countries, explains: "By decree of the Dalai Lama, with political motivation, exile Tibetans are being asked to sign an oath promising to give up a 400-year old mainstream daily prayer to the Buddhist deity Dorje Shugden, and state that they will not give spiritual or material assistance to anyone remains a practitioner. Without signing this oath, they are refused an identity card, without which they are denied basic human rights such as food and travel documents. Thousands of monks have been segregated within, or expelled from, monasteries without resources, supporters have been denied medical treatment, families are being ostracized and segregated within their communities."

"Since this enforced ban by the Dalai Lama is causing so much spiritual, emotional and physical harm to practitioners both in India and now in the West, and for years he has refused to engage in dialog around this issue, we have no choice but to ask for the help of fair-minded citizens of the west to rectify this inhumane action by drawing attention to it with demonstrations and hoping that the press will investigate," Pema continues.

The only aim of the WSS is to have the Dalai Lama lift the ban on this prayer so that millions of practitioners across the world can live again without fear or harassment.

For further information, visit www.westernshugdensociety.org.

From PRWeb

What about the WSS demonstrations?

An account of the first Western Shugden Society demonstration in May from someone in attendance:

Yesterday the Western Shugden Society held a demonstration at Colgate University in Hamilton, protesting the Dalai Lama's ban of Dorje Shugden and the persecution of followers of this Buddhist lineage of Je Tsongkhapa in the Tibetan exile community in India.There were over 200 Dorje Shugden practitioners from the West (from 10 countries altogether, but mainly the USA and Canada), and nearly 100 Tibetan monks, nuns, and lay people, including Geshes (doctors of divinity) and Rinpoches (reincarnate Lamas).

When Western Shugden practitioners demonstrated over a decade ago on behalf of Tibetan Shugden practitioners in India, the Tibetan Shugden practitioners in the West were too afraid to stand with us. Having the Tibetans with us this time greatly increased the impact of the demonstration.

Many of them decided to come along even though they are frightened of what might happen to them or to their families back in India; but I found them to be peaceful, composed and courageous. We risk only having bad words spoken against us from people who don’t understand the situation. For them, they risk a good deal more than that. [ed: Since that time, a call has gone out from the Tibetan office criticizing the demonstration and urging: “look at the video (of these Chinese spies) and find the names and addresses of Tibetans”, several of them have received threats of violence, and the restaurant of one of their relatives in New York was blacklisted such that they face severe financial difficulties.]

The demonstration started at around 11am and finished after the Dalai Lama had finished his address at around 5:30pm. It was peaceful but powerful. We all chanted the words: "Dalai Lama, stop lying" and "Dalai Lama, give religious freedom". One elderly Tibetan lady held a Tibetan flag and others held placards. Booklets called The Tibetan Situation ~ Surprising Hidden News were distributed in the street to whoever wished to receive them.

The police attending said they had never met such helpful, peaceful, and non-angry demonstrators. [ed: this is a comment that has been echoed by police in all subsequent demonstrations.]

During a break I sat with Geshe Sopa and other Tibetans and found out some more sad stories. For example, Geshe Sopa is a disciple of Trijang Rinpoche, the root Guru of many of the greatest Gelug Lamas including the Dalai Lama; and he received teachings from him directly. He has 4 brothers and 5 sisters in India, and any number of nieces and nephews, but they have not been permitted to communicate with him for years because he refused to give up his practice of Dorje Shugden. He told me: "The connection I have with my Spiritual Guide will last for lifetimes, until I attain enlightenment. The relationship I have with my family, even though I love them, is just one life relationship. I had to choose, so I chose my Spiritual Guide."

Geshe Sopa said to me: "How can I deny the evidence of my own eyes? I know that Trijang Rinpoche practiced Dorje Shugden his whole life. How can I agree with the Dalai Lama and stop this practice, breaking my commitment to my own Spiritual Guide?"

Geshe Sopa now lives in Vermont with Trijang Choktrul (the reincarnation of Trijang Rinpoche) and recently received his American citizenship. He said: "Now I am free to practice openly." He also explained how Trijang Choktrul had chosen to remain as a private citizen so as not to come under the control of the Dalai Lama. He is, naturally, a Dorje Shugden practitioner.

When I thanked Geshe Sopa for coming along and inspiring others to do so he told me that he and all the other Tibetan practitioners were deeply regretful that they had not joined Western Shugden practitioners (principally represented at that time by the New Kadampa Tradition) to protest in 1996. Back then, they had hoped that if they kept their heads down, the problem would go away. However twelve years later the problem has only worsened, especially since January of this year. He said there would have been more Tibetans at this demonstration if there had been more time. It was only three days ago that they had a large meeting in Queens to discuss whether or not to join us. They made their momentous decision at 3am.

The Tibetans at the demonstration had come from all over the US and Canada. When I asked if there were many more Tibetan Dorje Shugden practitioners in the US or Canada other than the ones here today, he replied in surprise: "Of course. This practice is very widespread".

Many of the Tibetans said, when asked by various Western practitioners why they were here: "We need to protect Je Tsongkhapa's tradition."

One of the highlights of the day happened late in the afternoon. The personal representative of the Dalai Lama came out to speak with us, carrying our booklet in his hand. (ed: His name was Tashi Wangdi and he can be seen in various publications over the years as defending the Dalai Lama on this ban.)

In all our previous demonstrations more than a decade ago we had never received such official acknowledgement. This was a clear sign that the combination of Western and Tibetan Shugden practitioners, as well as the powerful rhetoric in our booklet, was having an effect. Our voices were being heard!

The Tibetans crowded around him, along with Kelsang Pema, the Western spokesperson.He started off by smoothly stating practiced words to this effect [ed: this interview now appears here]: "This use of the word "ban" is not correct. Of course the Dalai Lama has spoken up against this practice but it is just his encouragement. I spent much time in India. I can tell you there is no discrimination, you just can't go to any of his teachings. Also you cannot live together, but you can live separately."

Kelsang Pema replied that she had just returned from a two-week visit to India where she observed many things. If people did not sign to say they'd given up their practice, they were not issued ID cards. If you have no ID card you are not a recognized citizen of any state, and you cannot shop at any stores. Others had to promise that they would not "materially or spiritually support" any Dorje Shugden practitioners. She pointed out that people were being expelled from monasteries and children were removed from schools if their parents were Dorje Shugden practitioners. Statues were being smashed. People were not allowed to see their relatives. For example, one mother was visited by four Dalai Lama representatives and told to make her son, a monk, give up the practice of Dorje Shugden or never see him again. All this and more she observed in India a few weeks ago.

The representative replied: "Of course, if this is really happening, it is wrong. I will investigate. Put it in writing. Tell me who is saying these things." Then a Tibetan woman called Heidi gave him a piece of paper that listed grievances. And many of the Tibetans animatedly started telling him one instance after another of abuse – all in Tibetan so I could not understand details [ed: it transpired later that the words they used were very respectful].

The representative was visibly taken aback. He tried to repeat: "There is no ban". He said he wanted the names of people who had experienced these grievances. Pema then asked him to explain why, if there was no ban, the day after she had spoken with the six monks in the monastery about the situation, they had each received death threats. The spokesperson said again: "If this happened, of course it is wrong. I will investigate." All this is on camera. He has promised to investigate all these instances of discrimination and abuse. Let's see if he does. [ed: no sign of him doing so yet].

By the end of the demonstration, everyone was very moved. Geshe Sopa and Atta (the Tibetan spokesperson) and a reincarnate Lama (whose name I cannot recall) all said that they were very grateful to the organizers and Western practitioners who attended these demonstrations. They said: "In the future, you and us will be like milk and water. We will always join you now wherever you need us to do demonstrations. We are members of the Western Shugden Society. We thank you so much for helping us."They asked if we could finish with prayers to Dorje Shugden and then recited some of the prayers from Heart Jewel in Tibetan.

Future demonstrations are planned in the Germany, the UK, Australian, New York and elsewhere, until the need for them goes away. It looks like we may be turning the corner. The press indicate that they are beginning to get a handle on this complicated situation and understand that it is Tibetans who are driving these protests as they are the ones who are being victimized and ostracized. It is gradually becoming clearer that what we have been saying all along is true and not just the ravings of a Western Chinese-sponsored cult. We hope an independent-minded journalist will be curious enough to investigate this for herself/himself.

Earlier in the day, I went with others to the Tibet Office to hand the booklet to three representatives of the Dalai Lama. I spoke with two of them and explained who the booklet was from and asked them to get it to the Dalai Lama before the next day. They said they would but I don't know if they did. Others also tried several different methods to get the booklet into his hands before we protested against him.

The Dalai Lama never replied to any earlier letters sent to him giving him a deadline to stop expelling the monks from Sera Je Monastery (removing all their spiritual and material support, effectively outcasting them in their own exile community) or we would protest publicly, which is why the demonstrations are going ahead.