Dorje Shugden Ban - To Sum It Up

Dorje Shugden BanTo Sum It Up

Source: http://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/dorje-shugden/to-sum-it-up.html

Yes, there is a ban.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been filmed many times instructing Tibetans (both lay and ordained) that those who do not give up the practice of Dorje Shugden should be kicked out of the monasteries.

First of all, is there a ban?

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What is this conflict about?

The Dalai Lama banned an ancient practice, and the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) have taken it upon themselves to enforce this ban through whatever means possible. The CTA refers to the Tibetan leadership which is based in Dharamsala, North India.



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● Since 1996, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has spoken on countless occasions against Dorje Shugden.

● In July 1996, the Central Tibetan Administration’s constitution was changed, without a referendum, to include the ban on Dorje Shugden. There was no vote, no Dorje Shugden practitioners and leaders were consulted, and there was no dialogue, debate or discussion held with the people. Thus, the people who would be most affected by this decision were not informed at all, and the policies were implemented without their consent, by a government that claims to be a democratic one.

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How did the ban come about?


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How did the ban come about?● Since then, in a move reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution in China, monks have

been forced to swear out of the practice in front of thousands of their compatriots and threatened with expulsion should they refuse to do so. The Tibetan leadership have also organised riots against Dorje Shugden practitioners, to intimidate them into giving up the practice. Those who refuse to participate in these riots are threatened with fines and expulsions, or are accused of being sympathetic towards Shugden practitioners (and therefore may face discrimination and accusations of being a traitor themselves).

● Dorje Shugden practitioners, both lay and ordained, who refuse to give up their practice are harassed and a great stigma befalls their families. They carry this stigma with them wherever in the world they are; stories abound of Dorje Shugden practitioners living in Australia, Taiwan, Switzerland and the United States who are harassed by the local Tibetan communities and pressured into leaving the area.



How is the ban enforced?In general, a combination of fear, intimidation, peer and community pressure, and violence are used to enforce the ban. More specific examples of enforcement include:

● Signs are put up in the Tibetan settlements saying non-Shugden people should not associate with Shugden people. This trend has spilled over to Tibetan Buddhist centres around the world – most recently, some Dharma centres in Singapore with these signs at their entrances

● Dorje Shugden practitioners are not allowed to hold positions in the civil service or any kind of roles in the Tibetan leadership

● As recently as 2014, the Central Tibetan Administration published lists of Dorje Shugden practitioners on their official website. These lists included their photos, names and addresses so Tibetans can identify them easily. What reason would you need such detailed information about Shugden worshippers, if not to direct some harm or violence against them?



● Dorje Shugden practitioners have been violently attacked regardless of their age. As recently as 2013, an 84-year old monk was attacked and stabbed by five masked men bearing knives. During the attack, they said nothing so as not to reveal their true intentions. After the attack, they ran away without taking any valuables, therefore dispelling the idea the attack was part of a botched robbery.

How is the ban enforced?



● As recently as 2014, those in support of the ban have violently taken over Dorje Shugden monasteries upon the death of their caretakers

● Medical treatment is denied to Dorje Shugden practitioners and signs are erected outside clinics clearly stating this

● Dorje Shugden practitioners are told they will not be served in restaurants and shops

● Dorje Shugden practitioners are banned from certain temples and from attending His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachings

● Dorje Shugden practitioners have been denied refugee status at the Tibetan reception centre in Nepal




● Dorje Shugden monks have their homes pelted with rocks

● Dorje Shugden monks are denied monastic identity cards showing that they belong to a particular monastery

● Dorje Shugden practitioners, on a daily basis, face online threats, attacks and vulgar verbal abuse directed at them

● Privately, many Dorje Shugden practitioners receive nasty messages and publicly, anti-Shugden people tell everyone that they should boycott those who rely on Dorje Shugden

● The Tibetan leadership has organised riots of 3000-4000 people against Dorje Shugden practitioners who were peacefully conducting their pujas in their prayer hall




● Dorje Shugden practitioners are forced to swear out of the practice in front of thousands of people

● Wherever they emigrate, the local Tibetan population creates visa problems for Dorje Shugden practitioners, harasses them at their homes and dharma centres, and ostracises their children in school

● Those who are not Dorje Shugden practitioners but show sympathy, support or even some kind of understanding of what Dorje Shugden practitioners go through, are themselves subjected to pressure until they agree that no one should be allowed to practice Dorje Shugden




● Relatives of Dorje Shugden practitioners are pressured for their relatives’ practice. Sometimes, the pressure is so great that either Dorje Shugden practitioners are forced to leave their homes in order to protect their family, or their families kick them out altogether for refusing to give up the practice

● Dorje Shugden practitioners are told they will go to hell for their practice

● Dorje Shugden practitioners are told that they are unlearned in Buddhism because they are Western/not Tibetan and have no right to comment

● Dorje Shugden practitioners are accused of working for the Chinese government or being Communist agents. Within Tibetan society, this accusation is tantamount to being labelled a traitor and the stigma of this accusation is so great that anyone labelled as such is immediately assumed to be against His Holiness the Dalai Lama and working for the ‘enemy’




REASON #1: Dorje Shugden is a spirit

This reason can be countered in many ways: ANSWER #1 (Part 1)

Tibetans believe His Holiness the Dalai Lama is Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion. If Dorje Shugden is a spirit as it is claimed, why hasn’t His Holiness simply bound and destroyed him, and sent his consciousness to a pure land?

Many rituals exist within the Buddhist faith to allow for this and there are many examples of spirits being subdued in this way. For example, Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) is famous for his subjugation of spirits. When he first arrived in Tibet, the land was very wild with many spirits roaming and creating obstacles for the spread of the Dharma. One such spirit was Nechung whom Guru Rinpoche subdued and bound to serve the Dharma.

cont...

Why did the Dalai Lama ban Dorje Shugden?






So why hasn’t His Holiness destroyed Dorje Shugden if the practice is as harmful as he makes it out to be? If Dorje Shugden is a harmful spirit as it is claimed, then destroying him would stop Tibetans from being harmed by Dorje Shugden. It would also stop Dorje Shugden from creating negative karma by harming others. That would be the compassionate thing to do for both Tibetans and Dorje Shugden.

Is it that His Holiness, a ritual master, is unskilled in doing this? It does not make sense that someone who is viewed as a Buddha cannot overcome a spirit; someone who is viewed as a Buddha should be MORE powerful than a spirit. So going back to the original premise – if His Holiness is a Buddha, and Dorje Shugden is a spirit as claimed, His Holiness should be able to bind Dorje Shugden. Since His Holiness the Dalai Lama has not done so, it can only mean that Dorje Shugden is as powerful as His Holiness i.e. he is also a Buddha himself.

cont...





From a more scriptural point-of-view, according to the Buddhist belief system, a Buddha is a being who is free from karma. If you can be harmed, you have the karma to receive the harm. Since His Holiness the Dalai Lama has not yet bound or destroyed Dorje Shugden, it can only mean that Dorje Shugden does not have the karma to be harmed or destroyed i.e. he is a Buddha.





This reason can be countered in many ways: ANSWER #2

Being a Buddha, His Holiness definitely possesses clairvoyance. So how is it that for the 30 years that he practiced Dorje Shugden, His Holiness did not see Dorje Shugden’s nature as a spirit, and overnight, suddenly realised that he is? It cannot be that His Holiness suddenly developed clairvoyance; he was born a Buddha and possessed this ability since birth. So to say that it took him 30 years to see that Dorje Shugden is a spirit is illogical.






Countless Buddhist masters from all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism (Gelug, Sakya, Nyingma, Kagyu) have relied on Dorje Shugden over the last 400 years. It is impossible that NONE of those masters were attained, NONE of them could see that Dorje Shugden is a spirit, and ALL of them were fooled by Dorje Shugden. It cannot be possible that only His Holiness has the clairvoyance, knowledge and wisdom to check and see that Dorje Shugden is a spirit, and that no one else in Tibet possesses these qualities or abilities.






Similarly, it cannot be that no one within the Tibetan Buddhist system possesses the power, ability and ritual knowledge to destroy a being that is supposedly just a spirit. If the fear of Dorje Shugden is so great, then Buddhist masters from all traditions should gather to subjugate Dorje Shugden and end the fear once and for all. Why have they not gathered and if they have, why have they not been successful if Dorje Shugden is only a spirit?






His Holiness is a pure monk. According to the Buddha himself, those who hold even their refuge vows very well (let alone their monk vows) are protected from all forms of harm, including spirit harm. Therefore, if the claim that Dorje Shugden is a spirit is true (which it is not), then His Holiness who is a pure monk has nothing to be afraid of because his vows protect him. And those who are not monks but hold their refuge vows well also have nothing to be afraid of.







According to the teachings of His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche (the tutor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama), Dorje Shugden comes from a great incarnation line of lamas. These lamas were famed for their attainments and scholarship, and had thousands of students who relied upon them for teachings. Up until today, monks from Drepung Loseling and Gaden Shartse monasteries continue to study texts authored by one of Dorje Shugden’s previous incarnations, Panchen Sonam Drakpa.

It is one thing to teach from texts how we can achieve enlightenment; it is an entirely different level to author and compose texts describing the path to achieving enlightenment, AND have the entire monastic community accept these texts as being genuine and authentic. Therefore it is not possible that someone of this caliber (who composed texts that lead us to enlightenment) can reincarnate as a spirit and it is not possible that the monastic community would study texts authored by a spirit as part of their core syllabus.



REASON #2: The practice of Dorje Shugden shortens the Dalai Lama’s life

ANSWER #1

Tibetans believe His Holiness is Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion. According to the Buddhist belief system, a Buddha is a being who is free from karma. To be harmed, you must have the karma to receive harm.

Therefore since His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a Buddha and free from karma, he cannot be harmed. Thus his life cannot be shortened by anyone, let alone a spirit (which is what anti-Shugden people claim Dorje Shugden to be).




REASON #2: The practice of Dorje Shugden shortens the Dalai Lama’s life

ANSWER #2

Prior to the ban, millions of people practiced Dorje Shugden including the sangha of the three great Gelug monasteries of Gaden, Sera and Drepung. None of them ever prayed for His Holiness the Dalai Lama to be harmed, and since the time of the 5th Dalai Lama, when Dorje Shugden was first relied upon, none of the Dalai Lamas have ever come to any harm because of Dorje Shugden or his practice.

Likewise, according to eyewitness accounts from those who were directly involved with His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s escape into India, it was Dorje Shugden who saved the Dalai Lama’s life. It was Dorje Shugden who, through an oracle medium, advised His Holiness to leave Tibet and even specified which route to take. It was also a thangka of Dorje Shugden that His Holiness carried on his back as he made his way out of Tibet and into India.




REASON #3: The practice of Dorje Shugden harms the Tibetan cause

ANSWER #1

Dorje Shugden was practised by the majority of Gelug lamas for 400 years with no adverse geopolitical effects. So how is it that suddenly the practice harms the Tibetan cause, when it did not for four centuries prior?

Is one single deity, a so-called spirit, so powerful that he alone can prevent the resolution of the Tibetan situation and none of the Buddhas or attained lamas in Tibet can stop him?





ANSWER #2

It is ridiculous to say that one deity can cause the loss of an entire country. Those who claim that Tibet was lost because of Dorje Shugden are also saying that all the Buddhas (Shakyamuni, Guru Rinpoche, Lama Tsongkhapa, etc.) and attained lamas in Tibet were not powerful enough to stop him.

It would also be saying that a deity that they call a spirit is more powerful than all the Buddhas and that even today, these Buddhas are still not powerful enough to help resolve the Tibetan situation.





ANSWER #3

To say that one deity can cause the loss of a whole country is to deny that karma exists, and that one spirit (as he is claimed to be) can override the karma of six million Tibetans. If a Buddha cannot override the karma of six million Tibetans to resolve the Tibetan situation, how is it logical to claim that a spirit can do so?





ANSWER #4

The official Protectoress of Tibet is actually Palden Lhamo and not Dorje Shugden. Therefore should the Tibetan community wish to hold any deity responsible for their political failures and for failing to protect Tibet, logically it would be Palden Lhamo.

This is NOT to say that Palden Lhamo or any of the hundreds of protector deities should be blamed; it is to say that there is no logical reason why it is Dorje Shugden’s responsibility, and not Palden Lhamo’s, for the resolution of the Tibetan situation. In fact, the responsibility for the current state of the Tibetan situation should lie squarely on the shoulders of the Tibetan leadership.




REASON #4: Relying on Dorje Shugden is harmful to Buddhist practice

ANSWER #1

The Tibetan leadership claim that Dorje Shugden is a jealous spirit who harms practitioners who do not keep their commitments. They say that Dorje Shugden takes revenge on people who stop engaging in his practice.

Logically, this does not make sense because His Holiness the Dalai Lama stopped relying on Dorje Shugden in 1996. Yet for the last 18 years, not a single ounce of harm has come to him and His Holiness continues to be very strong, healthy and still travels the world tirelessly to teach Buddhism.

Similarly, thousands of other Buddhist practitioners have given up the practice of Dorje Shugden as a direct result of the ban. If Dorje Shugden were just a jealous spirit who seeks revenge, then surely harm would have fallen on these ex-practitioners who do so much to disparage and destroy Dorje Shugden’s name. Yet no harm has come to them and in fact, they continue to be very vocal offline and online about their hatred and dislike for Dorje Shugden.





ANSWER #2

It is claimed that when we rely on Dorje Shugden, we break our refuge vows and we are no longer Buddhists. Now, His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself practiced Dorje Shugden for over 30 years. If his reliance on Dorje Shugden meant that he was not a Buddhist during this time, then all the teachings he gave to millions of people were not valid.

Similarly, His Holiness’ own teachers relied on Dorje Shugden for their entire lives (60-80 years). If relying on Dorje Shugden means all of them were not Buddhists, then all the teachings they gave throughout their entire lives (including those they gave to His Holiness the Dalai Lama) are no longer valid. This would mean His Holiness received teachings from unqualified teachers and is therefore not qualified himself to teach.

Thus, if people wish to receive teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama and believe his teachings to be authentic, it is not logical for them to simultaneously believe that Dorje Shugden’s practice is harmful to our Buddhist practice.





ANSWER #3

According to the Tibetan leadership, relying on Dorje Shugden results in us going to the Three Lower Realms (i.e. being reborn as an animal, hungry ghost or in one of the hells). However, contrary to these claims, many Dorje Shugden lamas have been reborn in a perfect human body and their incarnations were recognised by His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself.

For example, His Holiness the Dalai Lama recognised the reincarnation of his own guru, His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche. This incarnation, known as His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Chocktrul Rinpoche, now resides in Vermont, USA as the spiritual guide of Trijang Buddhist Institute. Likewise, His Holiness the Dalai Lama also recognised the reincarnation of Lama Yeshe, known as Lama Osel, who relied on Dorje Shugden until the day he passed away.

If these Dorje Shugden-practicing lamas went to the Three Lower Realms (as the Tibetan leadership claims), then it should not have been possible for His Holiness the Dalai Lama to recognise their reincarnations.




REASON #5: Dorje Shugden’s practice promotes sectarianism and division

ANSWER #1

Many of the Gelug liturgies propitiating Dorje Shugden’s assistance contain prayers composed by great Sakya and Kagyu masters. It is not logical for a practice which incorporates prayers from other lineages and traditions to be considered sectarian.

Furthermore, the claim that Dorje Shugden takes revenge on Gelug practitioners who rely on practices from other lineages also does not make sense.





ANSWER #2 (Part 1)

Dorje Shugden originally began as a Sakya practice. From the 18th Century onwards, the Sakyas starting with Morchen Kunga Lhundrub regarded Dorje Shugden as an enlightened being. Some quick facts about the Sakya tradition of Dorje Shugden practice:

● Morchen Kunga Lhundrub composed a Sakya prayer (kangsol) to invoke upon Dorje Shugden.

● The 30th Sakya Trizin Sonam Rinchen included Dorje Shugden in the pantheon of Sakya protectors. He placed Dorje Shugden together with Setrap and Tsiu Marpo, collectively calling them Gyalpo Sum (Three Kings).





ANSWER #2 (Part 2)

● The 31st Sakya Trizin Kunga Lodro composed prayers to Dorje Shugden including a wrathful torma offering called “Swirl of Perfect Sense Offerings”. He also first coined the term ‘Shugden Rig Nga’ to refer to Dorje Shugden and his four cardinal emanations.

● The 37th Sakya Trizin Kunga Nyingpo was considered to be an incarnation of Dorje Shugden.

● The 39th Sakya Trizin Dragshul Trinley Rinchen recognised Dorje Shugden as being of the same nature as Chenrezig / Avalokiteshvara in his writings.

Although the Sakyas today no longer rely as heavily on Dorje Shugden as they used to, this historical information clearly shows that Dorje Shugden’s practice will benefit anyone and everyone regardless of faith, tradition and self-created divisions.





ANSWER #3

In Geshe Lhundrub Sopa’s biography, which includes a foreword from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, he states clearly that thousands of students received teachings from His Holiness Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche. Amongst this corpus of teachings and practices was Dorje Shugden, which Pabongka Rinpoche’s students in turn taught to their own students.

Therefore it would not be untrue to say that Dorje Shugden was historically relied upon by the vast majority of Gelugpa practitioners, and was an accepted part of the Gelug monasteries. Those who did not feel an affinity with Dorje Shugden were not forced to engage in his practice, and those who relied on him chose to do so willingly. There was no need for separate monasteries to be identified as Shugden-practicing and non-Shugden practicing monasteries.

cont...





ANSWER #3

Considering that there were no divisions in Tibetan Buddhism until the ban came about in 1996, therefore it was the ban that created division in the Tibetan and Tibetan Buddhist community, and not Dorje Shugden himself.




For More Information On...

● Why can His Holiness the Dalai Lama not do this?● What is with all this name-calling?● Why has the ban been enforced with so much

enthusiasm?● Why will Dorje Shugden practitioners not give up

their practice?● Evidence of the ban● Many more information about Dorje Shugden.



● http://www.tsemrinpoche.com/● http://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/dorje-shugden/to-sum-it-up.html● http://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/dorje-shugden/will-the-dalai-lam

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o-what-i-want-to.html● http://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/category/dorje-shugden

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Dorje Shugden Ban - To Sum It Up

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