Helmut Gassner on the Dalai Lama and Dorje Shugden

If you have not yet had the chance to read Helmut Gassner's speech at the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation Hamburg, on March 26th 1999, it is well worth doing so.

Helmut Gassner is a long-term Western Buddhist monk, scholars and practitioner, and he was the interpreter (and chauffeur) for the Dalai Lama for 17 years. He has a unique inside understanding of the Dalai Lama's motives and so on, and personally knew all the original players in this drama.

According to a contemporary:

"Of those of us who had gathered around and subsequently left Geshé Rabten, the outstanding exception was Helmut Gassner. He stood loyally by Geshé and retains his robes to this day. He spends his time between the center in Switzerland and Trijang Labrang in Feldkirch, Austria. Helmut is notable for wading into the shocking Dorje Shugden scandal with his courageous speech to the Friedrich-Naumann Foundation in 1999."

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.

The Cult of Dorje Shugden or the Cult of the Dalai Lama?

The Dalai Lama’s big lie

“In an interview with NEWSWEEK earlier this month, the Dalai Lama expressed his worries about the Dorje Shugden. "That cult is actually destroying the freedom of religious thought," he said.”

- Newsweek April 1997

“The problem with Dolgyal practice is that it presents the spirit Dolgyal (Shugden) as a Dharma protector and what’s more tends to promote the spirit as more important than the Buddha himself. If this trend goes unchecked, and innocent people become seduced by cult-like practices of this kind.”

- The Dalai Lama’s Advice Concerning Dolgyal (Shugden), June 2008

This shows that in ten years, nothing has changed. The Dalai Lama is consistently using this derogatory term in relation to Dorje Shugden practice and practitioners, throwing mud that he hopes will stick so that Buddhists who have faith in him will also share this view. He uses the term 'cult' to dismiss the practice and humiliate those who practise it, but -- as with most of the Dalai Lama's pronouncements – few of his fervent followers have checked to see if there is truth in what he is saying.

What is a cult?

Let's examine objectively the claim that Dorje Shugden practice is a cult.

Firstly, a definition from the Chambers Dictionary:

Cult: a an unorthodox or false religion; b the people adhering to such a system.

For the practice of Dorje Shugden to be a cult, it would have to be unorthodox and/or a false religion.

The practice of Dorje Shugden and the pure Gelugpa tradition is not unorthodox.

• It is estimated that before the Dalai Lama began forcing Tibetans to give up the practice of this Deity 30 years ago, two thirds of Tibetan Buddhists were sincere Gelugpas who practiced Je Tsongkhapa’s tradition without mixing it with other traditions and relied upon Dorje Shugden as the main Dharma Protector of this tradition. Shugden practice was never regarded as heretical before the Dalai Lama began criticising it. It was a mainstream practice.

• The Dalai Lama himself practised it until he was in his forties and his eminent Teacher Trijang Rinpoche -- the greatest Gelug Master of the twentieth century, who was the Throne Holder of Je Tsongkhapa's tradition -- also practised it and promoted it widely until his death. Most Gelug Lamas relied upon Dorje Shugden.

• Before the Dalai Lama's ban, Shugden practice was relied upon as the main Dharma Protector of the Gelug tradition. If the practice of Dorje Shugden is cult-like, it follows that the Gelug tradition he has protected for the last 400 years must be a cult.

The practice of Dorje Shugden and the pure Gelugpa tradition is not a false religion.

• This authentic spiritual practice was transmitted and practiced by great Gelug Spiritual Guides such as Tagpo Kelsang Khedrub Rinpoche, Phabongkha Rinpoche, Trijang Rinpoche, Song Rinpoche, Geshe Rabten, Geshe Ngawang Dargye, Domo Geshe Rinpoche, Lama Yeshe and Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, to name but a few -- not to mention many Sakya Masters such as Morchen Dorjechang Kunga Lhundrup. The integrity of these Masters is beyond reproach -- one has only to check their life stories to see their qualifications and their teachings to see that they taught the genuine Dharma of Buddha Shakyamuni. These great Masters are therefore completely trustworthy.

• Dorje Shugden is an incarnation of the Wisdom Buddha Manjushri because he comes from a long line of enlightened Masters starting with Manjushri himself. The proofs by Trijang Dorjechang are irrefutable and are given here.

• The spiritual benefits of relying upon Dorje Shugden are well known by those who sincerely pray to him with compassion. In his praise to Dorje Shugden, the 14th Dalai Lama says:

Especially pacify all harm to us, the yogis and entourages,

That arises because of previous karma and immediate conditions,

And spontaneously accomplish, just as we wish,

All good things, both spiritual and temporal!

These are precisely the results of practising this Dharma: all obstacles are pacified and all good conditions for quick spiritual progress are gathered through this Dharma Protector's blessings.

Why is the Dalai Lama getting away with this big lie?

In summary, there is no valid reason whatsoever for the Dalai Lama to keep using the word 'cult' in relation to Dorje Shugden practice. Dorje Shugden practice was in the mainstream of the Gelugpa tradition before the Dalai Lama's ban. It is neither heretical nor extreme, as can be seen by the way in which people rely upon this Buddha and the prayers they make to him.

How the Dalai Lama can get away with making such statements without valid reasons is astounding. No other leader's words would be accepted just because of who he is.

(And, even if some people agree with his view, it is still entirely wrong for the Dalai Lama to impose his view on those who do not agree through political and secular means, backed up by the Tibetan Government in Exile.)

The cult of the Dalai Lama

Buddha himself advised those who wanted to follow him not just to accept his words but to check them carefully for the truth. Buddha's words of wisdom have benefited this world a great deal and are worthy of veneration and trust. However, the Dalai Lama's non-Buddhist words on the issue of Dorje Shugden have caused nothing but disharmony, division and suffering to the Buddhist community and are therefore not to be trusted.

Perhaps it is more appropriate to talk about the cult of the Dalai Lama, who is not the head of any spiritual tradition but who expects people to follow his spiritual diktats blindly, without checking the truth of what he is saying.

It is characteristic of a cult to unquestioningly follow a charismatic leader and to have no freedom as to what to practice. The Dalai Lama's ban gives people no freedom to follow the completely orthodox Buddhist practice of the Gelugpa tradition, symbolized by its Protector Dorje Shugden. He alone dictates what is Buddhist and what is not; and others -- assuming that he is a genuine religious authority rather than a self-appointed one -- blindly believe what he says despite hundreds of years of evidence to the contrary.

Posted courtesy of Lineage Holder.