The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Magda v.d. Berg

Observers and supporters of the Tibetan situation can generally be divided into two camps. One camp holds the view that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a god king and everything he does is infallible. If someone associated with him does something wrong, illegal or even criminal, then the Dalai Lama himself is innocent and absolved of all responsibility – his good name and reputation are being exploited by individuals who do not have the Tibetan people’s best interests at heart.

The second camp holds the view that the Dalai Lama is an ordinary human being capable of making mistakes. In this case, people here believe the Tibetans are worthy of support because of what they perceive as China’s inhumane acts, and not because the Dalai Lama is perfect and infallible. Ironically enough, the Dalai Lama himself professes to be a member of this camp, saying that he is nothing more than ‘a simple monk’.

With either view, the Dalai Lama is always innocent no matter what happens around him and it is precisely this view that is presented in Misbruikslachtoffers willen dalai lama spreken in Nederland (“Abuse victims want to speak with Dalai Lama in the Netherlands”), recently published by the Dutch publication Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. The article seeks to hold someone responsible for the recent spate of sexual abuse in the Tibetan Buddhist community, but it stops short of blaming the Dalai Lama himself. Instead, it says that:

…the Dalai Lama is insufficiently aware of how Buddhist teachers use him to build an image of trustworthiness.

That is to say, the blame lies with the perpetrators of the abuse and it is also the fault of those surrounding the Dalai Lama, because they did not make him more aware of the situation sooner. How realistic however, is this view? Consider these questions:

1. Is it possible that the Dalai Lama was ignorant? That is, he did not know his supporters were abusing women and that is why he did nothing about it? No, because the abuse was widespread and the accusations have been going on for decades, and not just a couple of months. At some point, someone must have told him that certain lamas were being accused of improper and inappropriate acts with their students, and he should have acted there and then.
2. Is it possible the Dalai Lama was disempowered? That is, he knew his supporters were abusing women but could do nothing about it? No, because the Dalai Lama can issue diktats and proclamations banning entire religious practices like the worship of Dorje Shugden. Therefore it is very much within the Dalai Lama’s realm and capacity to speak up strongly against the abuse of women. He does not need anyone’s permission to speak.
3. Is it possible that the Dalai Lama is innocent or naive? That is, he did not consider people may be taking advantage of him? No, because someone who is singlehandedly capable of keeping the Tibetan cause alive for 60 years, will know everything that is happening in every corner of his community, especially what is being done by prominent Tibetan lamas. Someone who is that politically-shrewd, who can galvanize support from all corners of the globe, will know that he is being used by teachers to “build an image of trustworthiness”.
4. Is it possible that someone viewed as a Buddha, did not have the clairvoyance to know that people were stealing money, embezzling funds, murdering people and abusing women, and using their association with him to whitewash their crimes? Tibetans and Tibetan Buddhists view the Dalai Lama as Chenrezig. If people view the Dalai Lama as Chenrezig, then he definitely has clairvoyance. If he has clairvoyance, then he definitely knew about the abuse. And if he knew about the abuse, then he chose to do nothing about it. However, if people want to argue that the Dalai Lama is innocent and did not do anything because he did not know about it, then they are saying he does not have clairvoyance. If he does not have clairvoyance, therefore he cannot possibly be Chenrezig. Either the Dalai Lama is Chenrezig and thus possesses clairvoyance, or he is not. It cannot be both.

Everyone knows that as the topmost authority in the Tibetan community, there is nothing stopping the Dalai Lama from speaking up strongly against the abuses. With the imposition of the harsh ban against Dorje Shugden practice, the Dalai Lama has proven that he has no qualms about expressing his displeasure or imposing draconian measures against anything he manifests a dislike of. Thus the very fact that the Dalai Lama refused to distance himself from abusers like Sogyal, as the article mentions, until a written letter was published makes it clear that the Dalai Lama was aware of what was going on and chose to turn a blind eye until he was confronted with it and could not ignore it any longer.

Hence we arrive at a disturbing prospect – is it possible that the Dalai Lama knew about the sexual abuses all along and did not do anything because he supported the lamas’ actions? That is precisely what ‘De dalai lama beschermt nu bijna misbruikers‘ (“The Dalai Lama now almost protects abusers”), also published by Nederlandse Omroep Stichting, posits. By appearing in photographs with them, or agreeing to speak at their events, the Dalai Lama is in fact endorsing their behavior to the detriment of the unsuspecting public, risking their safety and spiritual practice.

Buddhist author Rob Hogendoorn is in agreement about this. Interviewed as part of Anna Mees and Bas de Vries’s article, Hogendoorn says:

If he [the Dalai Lama] speaks too clearly on this subject, he runs the risk of division among his own people

If Hogendoorn’s summation is accurate, then it means the Dalai Lama is aware of the abuse and is unwilling or unable to do anything about the situation. But how is this an indictment of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala)? Just like the Dalai Lama, the CTA has also been privy to the knowledge that some Tibetan lamas have been exploiting their positions in order to sexually abuse their students, and therefore they have been as equally unwilling and inactive as the Dalai Lama in dealing with this.

Hollywood actor Richard Gere with not one, but two lamas accused of sexual misconduct (Gangten Tulku and Sogyal Rinpoche).

The CTA does not need the Dalai Lama’s approval to sanction these perpetrators; in remaining silent and allowing the abuse to continue, they are as equally complicit as those who appear in photographs next to the abusers. If the CTA is unwilling to sanction the abusers then at the very least they should not encourage the Dalai Lama to befriend these sex offenders; the CTA does not need to push the Dalai Lama in the direction of these abusers and sully his name by associating with them, all for the sake of financial contributions to the Tibetan administration. The CTA, in effect, compromised what is right, for what they found to be financially lucrative.

It is without doubt deeply incongruous and hypocritical to ban the allegedly ‘bad’ Dorje Shugden practice, while at the same time supporting a litany of clearly wicked so-called ‘spiritual’ figures who harm spiritual-seekers and damage the Dharma. Is it therefore worth supporting the Dorje Shugden ban, when it is being enforced by the very same people who made excuses for and continue to endorsed sex offenders? The CTA should also consider this – when they ignored, and even supported, these sex offenders they never thought that it would come back to haunt them. They never thought that the media would call them out on their silence, and find them complicit in the crime through their refusal to do anything. Continuing with the Dorje Shugden ban, the CTA should consider that it is only a matter of time before the media and the public will turn against them too.

It is high time the Tibetan leadership steps up. For 60 years, the entire survival of the Tibetan people has rested on the Dalai Lama’s reputation but with each news report that considers the possibility that the Dalai Lama is protecting these abusers, more and more are developing an unflattering view of the Dalai Lama, whether rightly or wrongly so. When such a view takes root, it will affect the Dalai Lama’s ability to foster and raise support for the Tibetan cause and community. This alone should be enough to motivate the Tibetan leadership to mature their democracy and take control of the situation before it is too late. Maturing their democracy means endorsing people for their merits and capabilities, instead of endorsing people who are politically correct or financially lucrative. It means doing what is good and right, and not what is easy and convenient. It means removing factors like the Dorje Shugden ban that divide the community, as well as respecting differences and people’s right to make their own decisions even if it does not necessarily agree with the leadership.

Misbruikslachtoffers willen dalai lama
spreken in Nederland (NOS)

Original Dutch version (Source: https://nos.nl/artikel/2249800-misbruikslachtoffers-willen-dalai-lama-spreken-in-nederland.html)

English Translation: Abuse victims want to speak
with Dalai Lama in the Netherlands

English translation (Source: https://nos.nl/artikel/2249800-misbruikslachtoffers-willen-dalai-lama-spreken-in-nederland.html)

‘De dalai lama beschermt nu
bijna misbruikers’ (NOS)

Original Dutch version (Source: https://nos.nl/artikel/2249831-de-dalai-lama-beschermt-nu-bijna-misbruikers.html)

English Translation: ‘The Dalai Lama now
almost protects abusers’

English translation (Source: https://nos.nl/artikel/2249831-de-dalai-lama-beschermt-nu-bijna-misbruikers.html)

Dalai Lama to meet sex abuse
victims in The Netherlands

It appears that His Holiness the Dalai Lama has agreed to a “short audience” for the victims of sexual abuse. What can the Dalai Lama say during this “short audience” that will really help the victims, when he will not do anything else beyond that? He will not speak up against their abusers, he will not punish them and he will not excommunicate them from the Tibetan and Tibetan Buddhist community. His secretary has already made it very clear – while the Dalai Lama disagrees with these lamas’ actions, he as the head of the Tibetan people has absolved himself of all responsibility for their behavior, despite having endorsed them for decades.

The fact is that the Dalai Lama is only speaking up against the sexual abuse because he now has public pressure to do so. Just as the current Pope was finally forced to address similar issues in the Catholic Church after decades of successive Popes ignoring them, the Dalai Lama now has no choice but to say something. Had these crimes not come to light, they would have been ignored and swept under the rug, just as so many other troubling issues within the Tibetan community tend to be treated. Nevertheless, while the Dalai Lama has said something, he is apparently not going to do anything about it.

In other words, in consideration of the very serious damage inflicted on the victims by those he empowered, all the Dalai Lama seems to offer is a token denouncement. This itself is void of any power and this meek censure appears to be designed more for his public relations than to remedy the situation and prevent further abuses. This is all according to the Dalai Lama’s secretary Tseten Samdup Chhoekyapa, who says the Dalai Lama will not do anything about these abusers. Instead, he places that heavy mantle on the victims. Is it fair that the victims, who have already suffered so much, are the only ones who should fight to hold the sex abusers accountable for their actions?

Surely the man whom the Tibetan leadership positions as the head of Tibetan Buddhism, should be stepping in to sanction the inappropriate, highly improper and downright illegal behavior of these teachers. After all, the Tibetan leadership falsely promotes the Dalai Lama as the head of Tibetan Buddhism in order to justify his ban against Dorje Shugden; that is, according to the CTA, the Dalai Lama as the so-called head is apparently well within his rights to punish people for practicing Dorje Shugden. But while the Dalai Lama speaks up incessantly against Dorje Shugden, and is very strict in enforcing segregation against Dorje Shugden practitioners, the Dalai Lama’s secretary has now made it clear he will not be doing the same against the sex offenders.

So which one is it? Is the Dalai Lama the CTA-positioned head of Tibetan Buddhism, and therefore somehow justified to ban Dorje Shugden? If so, then he also has the right to sanction and punish the abusers, but is now choosing not to do so. And if he will not sanction the abusers because it is not his place to do so, how then does he have any right to ban Dorje Shugden?

In refusing to strongly denounce the perpetrators of the abuse, and refusing to speak up against them and discourage people from going to seek spiritual guidance from them, the Dalai Lama is in effect perpetrating the destruction of Buddhism by endorsing and ignoring sexual abuse. The question now is not what the Dalai Lama will say about these sexual abusers, but what will he do about them. What will the Dalai Lama do about these sexual abusers?

Click to enlarge (Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/dalai-lama-to-meet-sex-abuse-victims-in-the-netherlands-10719754)

Dalai Lama, visiting the Netherlands, gets tough with abusers (DutchNews.nl)

Unbelievably, this was the actual advice given by the Dalai Lama’s secretary on how to deal with the abuse:

If we are feeling uneasy in the presence of a teacher it is best to distance oneself. Rather than talk to other students sharply or divisively it is best to softly move away’, NOS quotes the secretary’s earlier advice.

This statement is essentially victim-blaming by the Tibetan leadership, saying that it is the fault of the students rather than their abusers. Instead of taking any serious action against the perpetrators, they condemn the victims. Apparently, there is no onus on the so-called lamas to control their desires and actually practice the Dharma they preach and make money off of.

It is obvious to everyone – the CTA are trying to avoid confronting the bad guys in order to protect the financial benefits they derive from a lucrative relationship with these abusers. But the Westerners are not naïve and ignorant, and they can see clearly what is happening. It is obvious the Dalai Lama wants to remove himself from any responsibility or accountability, although it is clear that he endorsed the very lamas who were criminals, thereby enabling and emboldening them to continue with their criminal acts.

The CTA should post the lamas’ faces on their website and condemn these abusers in the same way they condemn Dorje Shugden practitioners. Why can the CTA segregate Dorje Shugden practitioners, although the practice only affects Buddhists, but refuse to do the same for people who do something that is universally reviled? So while the Dalai Lama’s secretary says that the Dalai Lama condemns these acts, it is all just words and no action. The CTA should actually issue statements against the abusive lamas, and denounce their actions strongly, firmly and without doubt. They should accompany these statements with actual sanctions instead of playing messenger, carrying messages back and forth with no opinion of their own.

Click to enlarge (Source: https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/09/dalai-lama-visiting-the-netherlands-gets-tough-with-abusers/)

Dalai Lama meets alleged abuse victims (BBC)

It turns out that in the end, the Dalai Lama did meet with four people representing a group of sexual abuse victims. When they tried to present their case to the Dalai Lama however, he was disappointingly not very “receptive” and at the beginning, did not even want to hear about them. Is this how someone who is promoted as the epitome of compassion should act with traumatized victims? It is indeed troubling that the Dalai Lama needs to be convinced to listen to the worries and requests of victims, while he happily meets with and attends the events of sexual abusers.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45521075. Click to enlarge.

Dalai Lama meets alleged victims
of abuse by Buddhist gurus (ABC)

The four people who met with the Dalai Lama to ask for his support in their fight for justice left their audience with mixed reactions. After the meeting, the Dalai Lama did not meet with reporters and his office did not immediately respond to requests for a comment. This is typical of the Tibetan leadership who would prefer to sweep difficult issues under the rug. Surely it would be better for the Dalai Lama and his office to issue a statement regarding the meeting, rather than allow the tone and outcome of the meeting to be set by victims who were disappointed upon meeting him. The Tibetan leadership would rather shirk and avoid responsibility, than think about alleviating the suffering of these traumatized people.

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/dalai-lama-meets-alleged-victims-abuse-buddhist-gurus-57820565. Click to enlarge.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Magda v.d. Berg

It should have been a restorative and healing experience for victims of sexual abuse going to meet the international man of compassion, His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They had hoped that the meeting would be a fruitful one, and they would be able to elicit some kind of promise from him to do something about their pain. Instead, according to reports from BBC, ABC and Radio Free Asia, the victims left with “mixed responses”, with some even expressing disappointment.

“Meeting the Dalai Lama was a disappointment”. Just a few years ago, such a phrase or thought would have been unthinkable. Yet, the fact these types of feelings are being reported with increasing frequency should come as no surprise to anyone. It is the result of decades of refusal from the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala) to take responsibility for their people and their actions like any responsible leader or government.

The Dalai Lama with Rigdzin Namkha Rinpoche, one of the lamas accused of exploiting his relationship with the Dalai Lama to sexually abuse his students

Is it possible that the reports might be inaccurate and can therefore be discredited? Not really, since the BBC is held as the gold standard of journalism, and relied upon all around the world as a source of objective information. In war-torn areas, or regions of great strife and conflict, people turn to the BBC for their news. So the fact this meeting and its unfavorable outcome captured the attention of the BBC and ABC indicates the severity of the matter and something that the Tibetan leadership should take very seriously but clearly failed to.

So while the BBC has traditionally joined other media outlets in providing unquestioning supporting for the Tibetan government, it now seems that the tide is turning as the Dalai Lama makes gaffe after public relations gaffe. But is anyone really surprised when the CTA’s reaction towards these sex crimes has been underwhelmingly lackluster, even to the point of being protectionist towards the sex predators? Let us examine the facts:

1. Why do victims of sexual abuse have to beg THE man of compassion to listen and help them? The fact the BBC said the Dalai Lama was “receptive”, putting the phrase in speech marks, implies that he was not actually that receptive to the audience. In the same way you might describe a person as “interesting” to avoid saying what you really feel about them. One of those present even said that the Dalai Lama did not want to hear about their cases and that essentially, he had to be convinced. It is disturbing that the Dalai Lama and his people would have to be convinced to meet with victims of sexual abuse. The reality is that they made it complicated because they did not actually want to hold the audience and be confronted with facts , but were forced to due to public pressure and the need to appear as though they are doing something.
2. Why do victims only get 20 minutes? The Dalai Lama will fly around the world to attend events hosted by these sex offenders. He will stay with them, eat their food, give teachings in their Dharma centers and endorse their organizations, and he will spend hours with sponsors. He spends hours commenting on the religious practice of others and the domestic policies of other countries. But he only granted 20 minutes to these victims who have suffered so much at the hands of people that he endorsed. On top of that, he will not do anything concrete to sanction the offenders. These victims have had their lives turned upside down by the very people he said would be safe and okay to associate with.

The Dalai Lama accepting an offering from the alleged sex offender Rigdzin Namkha Rinpoche. Would the Dalai Lama accept an offering from any Dorje Shugden practitioner? What is acceptable about sexual abuse, and not acceptable about Dorje Shugden practice?

3. Why does the Dalai Lama teach people to be responsible, when he himself rejects responsibility for the actions of those whom he allowed to use his name and reputation as an endorsement of their behavior? The Dalai Lama cannot claim ignorance in this matter. It is clear that the abusers used his name and their association with him in order to build trust and lure people within striking range of their criminal misdeeds. Many allowed themselves to be in harm’s way because they trusted the Dalai Lama’s commendation of these predators. The abuses were not once off and spanned many years during which time it has come to light that the Dalai Lama’s office was informed of such abuses. It is clear that these abusers are guilty of the crimes that they have been accused of. Yet, the Dalai Lama has until now refused to take any responsibility although it would have been less likely that the abuse was perpetuated had the abusers not received an endorsement from the Dalai Lama.
4. Why does the Dalai Lama speak so strongly on so many other issues but he will not speak up against sexual abuse? The fact sexual abuse is universally reviled means that there will not be any damage to the Dalai Lama’s reputation if he speaks up against it and against their perpetrators; he would actually be lauded and praised for his open-minded attitude and willingness to side with the victims and prevent further victims from being harmed. The Dalai Lama will even speak up against issues that do not concern him, for example the caste system in India or the mistakes that he perceives were made by Nehru. The Tibetan leadership will publish books, videos, pamphlets, hit lists and posters against Dorje Shugden. Yet, the Dalai Lama and CTA will not do anything about a topic that directly concerns them i.e. how the Dalai Lama has endorsed the perpetrators of these sex crimes. So the fact that the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan leadership will not say or do anything against these lamas and their actions is highly suspicious.
5. Why does the Dalai Lama endorse criminals? Sogyal Rinpoche and those of his ilk are not the first offenders whom the Dalai Lama has endorsed. The Dalai Lama met with Japanese cult leader Shoko Asahara before he injured thousands in the Tokyo subway. The Dalai Lama has also accepted US$1mil to grace an event hosted by American cult leader Keith Raniere who was recently indicted on various crimes, including sex trafficking. And when the Dalai Lama was younger and living in Lhasa, he was tutored by the Nazi Heinrich Harrer. Again, this tendency of the Dalai Lama to affirm harmful people seems to be habitual. What is even more disturbing is how the Dalai Lama regards many of these people as his personal friends.

The Dalai Lama with Heinrich Harrer, who was a member of the Nazi Party. The Dalai Lama seems to have made it a habit to associate with unsavory characters.

6. Why does the Dalai Lama act as the spiritual leader of all Tibet only when it is convenient? In reality, the Dalai Lama is not the spiritual leader of any of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism, even the Gelug school to which he belongs which is led by the Gaden Tripa. However, the Tibetan leadership have used people’s ignorance of this fact to promote the Dalai Lama as the spiritual leader of all Tibet. And when he is interested in something, the Dalai Lama will take advantage of this ignorance to get involved. For example, he used this ‘position’ when he interfered in the recognition of the Karmapas, although the Dalai Lamas have never been involved in the process. His endorsement of one candidate over another led to a division in the Karma Kagyu school. The Dalai Lama fell back on this ‘position’ once again when he banned the practice of Dorje Shugden, although he had no spiritual right to overrule the practice of thousands of people who been received it from their personal teachers. However, when the issue becomes too difficult or inconvenient, the Dalai Lama and Tibetan leadership will refuse to take responsibility and pretend that there is nothing they can do. In the case of the Karma Kagyu division, when confronted with the results of his actions, the Dalai Lama said he would not do anything about it. Similarly, in the case of the Dorje Shugden ban, the Dalai Lama will not lift the ban even though it has divided the Tibetan community. Now, the Western world is seeing that the Dalai Lama will not take responsibility for the actions of people he has endorsed even when it concerns sexual abuse.
7. Why does the Tibetan leadership attack those who hurt no one with their choices, but endorse people who actively go out of their way to manipulate, exploit and abuse the vulnerable? The CTA will publicize hit lists of Dorje Shugden practitioners who protest against the ban, but they will not do anything against these sex offenders although they clearly have the means and platform to do so. If they took just a portion of their budget allocated to attack Dorje Shugden practitioners, and redirected it towards educating these lamas on the evils of sex abuse, it would have saved so many people the heartache and devastation of becoming victims of these sex crimes. Is it not better to have a list of known sex offenders to warn would-be victims than a list of Tibetans who are criminalized just because they protest the Dalai Lama and the CTA’s autocratic ways?

Self-styled Tibetan Buddhism “expert” Robert Thurman (right) with Sogyal Rinpoche. While Robert Thurman’s daughter, Uma, has accused others of assaulting her, here her father is seen with the sex abuser Sogyal Rinpoche. Where is Thurman’s compassion and empathy for the experiences his daughter and others like her have suffered?

8. Why does the Tibetan leadership have a warped view of what constitutes a crime? On the one hand, they say that Dorje Shugden practitioners are “criminals in history”. This is because they dare to defy the Dalai Lama’s ban of the practice and hence, only because they refuse to listen to the Dalai Lama, they become criminals. On the other hand, when people commit actual crimes by sexually abusing their students, those people are not accused of being criminals. No resolutions are passed in the Tibetan parliament condemning their crimes. No books are published warning people against them. For the Tibetan leadership’s information, in the real world, in the democratic world, in the world outside the Tibetan community, a crime is anything that actually hurts other people. This includes murder, theft, embezzlement and money laundering (incidentally, all things that Dalai Lama associates have been accused of). It does not include “not listening to the Dalai Lama”. So what crime do Dorje Shugden practitioners commit when they keep their personal practice and refuse to abide by the Dalai Lama’s diktats to give up the practice? Does the Tibetan leadership actually understand what a crime is?
9. Why does the Tibetan leadership want to damage the reputation of Tibet? Whatever the CTA wants to insist about how much they have done towards the Tibetan cause, the reality is that no one has done as much as His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The reality is that the entire welfare of the Tibetan cause rests on the Dalai Lama’s name and reputation. With each successive gaffe by the Dalai Lama, the damage to the Dalai Lama’s reputation only makes it harder for the CTA to raise funds and raise awareness. So perhaps the CTA does not really care about Tibet after all? It is clear they will do nothing to protect the future of the Tibetan cause by protecting the reputation of the man upon whom all of it rests. In the same vein, the CTA portray themselves to be defenders of the Buddha’s teachings but in fact their complicity in these crimes harm the Buddhadharma.
10. Do the Tibetan leadership truly love the Dalai Lama? Thanks to the CTA’s ineptitude, refusal to deal with the sexual abuse and hiding behind the Dalai Lama’s name, they have left their leader exposed, opening him up to the world for questioning. Now that people know the Dalai Lama endorses sex abusers, it puts him at risk of being accused of every tragedy being used to his advantage. It leads people to wonder if the Dalai Lama’s silence over self-immolations is his complicit approval for the suicides and deaths of his people. It leads people to wonder if his silence over the schisms in the Karma Kagyu is his approval for the division of the school.

Tulku Lobsang, who is accused of sexual abuse, seen here with the Dalai Lama. Tulku Lobsang’s name was included in the complaint that four people presented to the Dalai Lama in the Netherlands, alleging that a group of Tibetan lamas had been sexually abusing their students. Tulku Lobsang would not be included if the accusers did not have proof of his crimes.

What can the Dalai Lama do?

It is interesting that the Dalai Lama will meet the victims. It is good that he has ‘denounced’ the abusers. But the question on everyone’s lips is, what will the Dalai Lama himself do about all of this? Because a simple denouncement in such a serious matter does not rectify the situation.

If the Dalai Lama does nothing, then while it might sound good when he asks victims to report their abusers to the authorities, it is actually nothing more than his refusal to get involved. He brushes the responsibility back on traumatized victims to do something; the responsibility is on them to get justice and he himself will do nothing more. No wonder the victims left the audience with mixed reactions, when the Dalai Lama is staunchly refusing to do anything more about these crimes. It is very similar to the Pope in the Catholic Church and his treatment of the abusers, whereby he is forced by public pressure to do something, and not because he personally appears to find something wrong with or disturbing about their actions.

The Dalai Lama is not exactly a shy and retiring wallflower. He has in the past strongly condemned Dorje Shugden practitioners and initiated many campaigns against them. Therefore, relating to the sex offenders he can, as he has done to Dorje Shugden practitioners:

1. Repeatedly and strongly denounce Sogyal Rinpoche, Sakyong Mipham, Gangten Tulku, Lama Norlha, Lama Yeshe Nyingpo, Lama Choedak Rinpoche, Tenzin Dhonden, Rigdzin Namkha Rinpoche, Tulku Lobsang and Lama Ogyen Kunzang Dorje in his teachings and gatherings.
2. Segregate these sex abusers from the Tibetan monasteries, schools, hospitals, restaurants and shops.
3. Call for their books to be removed from bookstores.
4. Force their location to be reported at all times, so potential victims can be aware and protect themselves. In the West for example, sex offenders are required to report to their local authorities and have to wear an ankle monitor.
5. Have a section on his website condemning these sex offenders. He has this section against Dorje Shugden practitioners on both his official website and the CTA’s website.
6. Call for people to stop going to them to receive teachings. Given their crimes, why should people go to them to receive teachings on compassion, renunciation and cutting attachments?
7. Call for the monasteries to expel them. Why should the other practitioners who have not broken their vows be exposed to or be associated with such behavior?
8. Warn Tibetans, in the Tibetan language, against associating with them.
9. Demand that they offer restitution to their victims. After all, these abusers broke the faith and trust of their victims who were genuine and sincere in their practice. What could be more destructive to Buddhism than destroying people’s faith in it?
10. Use the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile to enact laws amongst the exiles that provide stringent measures to punish this behavior or prevent future abuses.

The 41st Sakya Trizin with Sogyal Rinpoche. Why do lamas continue to associate with sex offenders like Sogyal and continue to be friends, because this behavior endorses their actions to the public and their students?

Thus the question these victims of sexual abuse should really be asking is why the Dalai Lama does not do any of the above for Sogyal Rinpoche, Sakyong Mipham, Gangten Tulku, Lama Norlha, Lama Yeshe Nyingpo, Lama Choedak Rinpoche, Tenzin Dhonden, Rigdzin Namkha Rinpoche, Lama Ogyen Kunzang Dorje and Tulku Lobsang who have harmed them? And the question everyone should be asking is why he feels so comfortable denouncing Dorje Shugden lamas, but he will not repeatedly denounce these abusive lamas who are dangerous? Being so harmful to Buddhism, and so damaging to people’s faith, they warrant much stronger denouncements from the Dalai Lama so he can warn the vulnerable. The Dalai Lama’s public denouncement of these offensive and abusive lamas is nowhere near loud enough, strong enough or thorough enough. He can, and should, be stronger and more vocal in denouncing and segregating them from Tibetan communities worldwide, so they have nowhere to hide and have to face up to their crimes. After all, he does this to Shugden people and surely these abusive lamas are much more dangerous and destructive to Buddhism than Dorje Shugden practitioners?

Or perhaps the Dalai Lama is just a closet sexist. In the last few months, he has made comments about how he should be reborn as an attractive woman, otherwise it is useless (i.e. it is useless to be female unless you are attractive). It is precisely this chauvinistic approach that allows for others to follow suit. Combined with his silence, this approach enables his abusers and protects them because everyone assumes they are the Dalai Lama’s friends, and therefore beyond reproach. Therefore unless the Dalai Lama does something stronger, people will not dare to sanction those he has endorsed, in the same way it took decades for Hollywood to act against the powerful Harvey Weinstein despite widespread knowledge of his crimes. It was the industry’s silence that allowed Weinstein to continue abusing young actresses.

Another photo of Robert Thurman and Sogyal Rinpoche getting quite chummy. It appears they have a close relationship. Why does Robert Thurman and others like him endorse the criminal actions of people like Sogyal by associating with them?

Is the Dalai Lama’s charm wearing off?

So now the world knows that the Dalai Lama is not interested in protecting sex abusers, how does the CTA want to explain it away this time? When they failed to regain Tibet, they blamed people’s worship of Dorje Shugden, saying that it upset Palden Lhamo and harmed the life of the Dalai Lama. Which god will they blame this time, for this sexual abuse scourge that has taken over the Tibetan community?

As a spiritual leader in his community, the Dalai Lama is failing people who look to him for spiritual guidance. How will the victims feel now they have approached Tibetan Buddhism’s supposed highest authority, and not received the support they had been seeking? How many will be disheartened and potentially give up their practice, or give up their faith in the lamas? In refusing to sanction these abusers, the Dalai Lama is damaging Tibetan Buddhism by allowing them to continue operating despite the fact they have been found to be guilty.

And as a secular leader in his community, the Dalai Lama is failing his people because he refuses to sanction someone for committing a secular crime. Even political leaders will rebuke and refuse to associate with people who have committed crime. How many more people will be at risk of abuse, because these abusers are allowed to get away scot-free?

Whether secular or spiritual, the bottom line is that when given a choice of behaving as politician or spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama consistently opts to be political, encouraged by a Tibetan leadership that acts only when it benefits them. So can the Tibetan leadership really be that inept? Perhaps the Dalai Lama is not at fault for any of this. Perhaps it is the Tibetan leadership’s repeated failure in their duty of care, to check out and thoroughly vet these people before they push the Dalai Lama to associate with them. Is it that the Tibetan leadership are so blinded by the riches and bank accounts of these people, that they become blind to their faults and actions too?

Either way, someone has to be held responsible, whether it is the Tibetan leadership or the Dalai Lama himself. Hundreds of victims of sexual abuse are counting on it.

[BBC] Dalai Lama meets alleged abuse victims

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45521075. Click to enlarge.

[ABC] Dalai Lama meets alleged victims
of abuse by Buddhist gurus

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/dalai-lama-meets-alleged-victims-abuse-buddhist-gurus-57820565. Click to enlarge.

[RFA] Dalai Lama Meets in the Netherlands
With Sex Abuse Victims

Source: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/meets-09142018173444.html. Click to enlarge.

Further Media Coverage

The various incidents of sex abuse have caught the attention of Western media who have written extensively about it. This has been going on as far back as 1989, when a teacher associated with one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist organizations in the world was caught intentionally transmitting AIDS to his partners. Since that time, the Tibetan leadership has remained silent whenever they have been faced with a sex scandal.

Yet, when someone refuses to give up Dorje Shugden practice, the CTA will tell all and sundry about the lama’s supposed ‘crime’ of refusing to abide by the Dorje Shugden ban. Their refusal to give up the practice is framed as an anti-Dalai Lama act of disloyalty, and therefore criminal. But what actual law does practicing Dorje Shugden break that makes it a crime? And how come the CTA is so vehement about condemning Shugden practitioners, but will say nothing when people abuse women and break actual laws?

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA)
and their stance towards sexual abuse

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Video: “In the Name of Enlightenment -
Sex Scandal in Religion” – About Sogyal Rinpoche

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or watch on our server:
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The New York Times

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/21/us/buddhists-in-us-agonize-on-aids-issue.html

The Independent

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/abuse-alleged-at-monastery-for-tibet-exiles-698788.html

The Guardian

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2012/oct/08/tibetan-lamas-buddhism

The Guardian

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2011/jul/01/lama-sex-abuse-sogyal-rinpoche-buddhist

Sogyal Rinpoche

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has referred to Sogyal Rinpoche as “a good friend”.

These are perhaps the most well-known incidents of sexual abuse to hit the headlines and rock the Tibetan Buddhist community in recent times. Sogyal Rinpoche was the subject of a documentary in 2011 detailing his alleged crimes, and also the subject of a lawsuit that was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Despite all of this, the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan leadership continued to associate with him and make public appearances with him, thereby endorsing his activities and behavior.

In more recent times, the exposé against Sogyal Rinpoche by his own senior students has been so thorough and public, that he was forced to resign. A few months later, he announced that he was diagnosed with cancer. He has not been seen publicly since. While his victims continue to suffer the trauma of his abuse, and while he remains in hiding, the CTA has not issued any statements against his behaviour or disassociated themselves from him. How come they are silent over these atrocities, but are so vocal against Dorje Shugden which is not illegal anywhere in the world? How come they force people to disassociate from Shugden practitioners, and enforce segregatory policies against them, but have not disassociated themselves from someone who has been accused of abusing women for decades?

Lion’s Roar

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.lionsroar.com/letter-to-sogyal-rinpoche-from-current-and-ex-rigpa-members-details-abuse-allegations/

The Telegraph

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/sexual-assaults-violent-rages-inside-dark-world-buddhist-teacher/

Medium (Part 1)

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://medium.com/@tahlianewland/harvey-weinstein-and-sogyal-rinpoche-a-study-of-responses-part-1-management-f7413d904c0b

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://medium.com/@tahlianewland/harvey-weinstein-sogyal-rinpoche-a-comparison-part-2-culture-1fcc5bfc7599

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

Yet another leader of another large Tibetan Buddhist organization has been forced to step down after being accused of inappropriate sexual behavior with his students. In his statement, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche took responsibility for everything, basically all but admitting to the actual acts. Still, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche has enjoyed the Dalai Lama’s and the Tibetan leadership’s endorsement for many years, again despite the fact that rumors about his impropriety have existed for years. The Tibetan leadership will endorse anything, no matter how illegal it may be, if it has the potential to be financially lucrative. But as long as someone practices Dorje Shugden, they are bad and evil, no matter how much benefit they bring to others, just because they refuse to abide by the Tibetan leadership’s ban on the practice.

Tricycle

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/sakyong-mipham-rinpoche-sexual-abuse/

Think Progress

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://thinkprogress.org/buddhist-leader-sexually-assaulted-students-report-finds-0d08e17cedd9/

Lion’s Roar

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.lionsroar.com/report-alleges-sexual-misconduct-by-leader-of-shambhala-community/

Tricycle

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/shambhala-leaders-resign/

The New York Times

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/nyregion/shambhala-sexual-misconduct.html

CBC.ca

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/new-allegations-surface-against-shambhala-leader-1.4743325

Tricycle

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/sakyong-mipham-rinpoche-sexual-assault/

Gangten Tulku

Hollywood actor Richard Gere with not one, but two lamas accused of sexual misconduct (Gangten Tulku and Sogyal Rinpoche).

As the head of 22 monasteries in Bhutan, Gangten Tulku is in a position of influence. He was even pictured with Hollywood actor Richard Gere, together with another sex offender, Sogyal Rinpoche. And while Gangten Tulku’s inappropriate activities are not as public as Sogyal Rinpoche’s, nevertheless within certain circles, his affairs have become very well-known. These are most notably recorded by Christine Chandler on her website extibetanbuddhist.com and in her book Enthralled: The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism. Ms. Chandler is a trained social worker and psychologist, who specializes in the areas of sexual abuse and dysfunctional systems.

In an email to one of our sources, Ms. Chandler writes:

All of the residents who were Tibetan Buddhists, studied with all the lamas in Crestone. So I did about four or five 10 day retreats with Gangten. I was never close to him, but we all practiced and studied with all the Lamas there. During one of his drupdens, a really long mantra chanting experience, — he was very good at creating altered states of mind through mantra- a Bhutanese dance troupe that had been performing, was complaining about him groping the young Bhutanese women.

This information is mirrored in her book, in which she writes:

I also attended several retreats with a tulku from Bhutan, a master at creating altered states of mind through mantra chanting in his retreats. This high Bhutanese lama was the same married tulku, who was later called out by Tsultrim Allione for groping female Bhutanese dancers.

Source: Chandler, C. (2017). “Crestone, Colorado”, Chapter 22 of ‘Enthralled: The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism’.

This paragraph in the book references some Bhutanese dancers being groped by a married tulku and although the married tulku’s name is not given, based on Ms. Chandler’s emailed reply, it can be safely concluded that the married tulku is Gangten Rinpoche. More importantly, this time the paragraph directly credits Lama Tsultrim Allione as the source of these claims about Gangten Rinpoche. Ms. Chandler writes that:

Allione had been raising women’s issues in the Tibetan sanghas quietly, before. But when she started complaining, openly, about a certain visiting tulku from Bhutan and his sexual gropings of young, Bhutanese women in a travelling dance group, after they came to her objecting, this Bhutanese high lama let her know that she had gone too far and she had better shape up, or be literally banished from the Tibetan Lamaist scene. She would no longer have the Tibetan lama ‘seal of approval,’ as a respected female Tibetan Buddhist teacher; helping the lamas spread Tantra in the West if she kept on complaining about their sexual abuses. This would destroy her niche in the Tibetan “Dzogchen” teacher circuit.

Source: Chandler, C. (2017). “The Dakinis and Their “Spiritualized Feminism”.”, Chapter 18 of ‘Enthralled: The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism’.

Again, this references the groping of female Bhutanese dancers and again, it draws a connection to Lama Allione. Ms. Chandler says that Lama Allione was eventually browbeaten and threatened into silence. Given what we know about how the Tibetan leadership condones the abuse through their silence, and refuses to give their support to the victims, this conclusion is no surprise. It is merely another instance of power play at work, whereby the abuses surrounding Gangten Tulku are hushed up and brushed under the rug, while Lama Allione is silenced and forced to stop speaking up. An email from a close student of Lama Allione confirms this conclusion, saying:

Yes, unfortunately Gangten Tulku is one of the worst offenders. He has a history of abuse of female students, and I recently discovered that it’s a bit of an open secret that he’s also abused young monks in his monasteries. He’s been largely ousted from American dharma circles due to his impropriety, but still has a presence in Europe and Bhutan.

It would be logical that a close student of Lama Allione would be privy to the allegations about Gangten Tulku’s improper behavior, given their proximity to her. Once again, the Tibetan leadership shows that any behavior exhibited by a non-Shugden lama is acceptable, and they will not do anything to protect the victims (or even those trying to expose the abuses) as long as the lama does not practice Dorje Shugden. However, once a lama does practice Dorje Shugden, they become justified and open targets for vulgarities and abuse, simply because of their religious choices.

ExTibetanBuddhist.com

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://extibetanbuddhist.com/this-sexual-abuser-hollywood-doesnt-want-you-to-see/

ErikJampa.com

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.erikjampa.com/single-post/2017/11/11/Calling-Out-the-Guru-from-Afar-On-Dzongsar-Khyentses-Sex-Contract-and-Subsequent-Backlash-from-the-Buddhist-Community

Lama Norlha

Lama Norlha with the CTA-endorsed 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje

Here are even more allegations concerning yet another lama, regarding sexual impropriety and inappropriate relationships with students. Where is the Tibetan leadership’s voice in all of this? How come they are not funding and publishing statements, brochures, booklets and pamphlets that counsel and caution against this, but they will pay for videos, books, websites, etc. against Dorje Shugden?

If the CTA only speaks up against Dorje Shugden because they do not condone the practice, does it therefore mean that through their silence over these sexual allegations, the CTA condones this improper behavior?

Lion’s Roar

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.lionsroar.com/kagyu-thubten-choling-addresses-sangha-about-lama-norhla-rinpoches-sexual-misconduct-with-students/

Tricycle

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/kagyu-thubten-choling-monastery-working-sex-impropriety/

Lama Yeshe Nyingpo

In the comments section of this post, people are cautioned against attending this teacher’s events, saying that he has been expelled from his monastery and has been banned from teaching under the Karma Kagyu banner. How come the Tibetan leadership do not speak up against this?

Little Bangkok Sangha

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: http://www.littlebang.org/lama-yeshe-nyingpo/

Lama Choedak Rinpoche

Lama Choedak Rinpoche with the Dalai Lama

A married teacher admits to several affairs, then leaves for retreat instead of facing the consequences. A teacher is supposed to unite families, and not be the factor that breaks relationships and drives loved ones apart.

While the Tibetan leadership has no comments about the importance of remaining faithful to one’s spouse (i.e. a private choice), they have plenty to say about people who opt to retain their Dorje Shugden practice and refuse to give it up in accordance with the ban (i.e. another private choice). How come the CTA feels qualified to comment on and police one private choice, but do not apply the same level of interference when it comes to other choices which are actually harmful? The hypocrisy is staggering.

BuddhistChannel.tv

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=49,10104,0,0,1,0#.W2Zc-i2B19I

Tenzin Dhonden

Tenzin Dhonden (left) was the Dalai Lama’s personal emissary to the United States

This monk, the Dalai Lama’s former emissary to the United States, was found to be selling access to the Dalai Lama. In this way, he ended up associating the Dalai Lama with a cult organization, NXIVM. For a US$1 million “donation”, he orchestrated the Dalai Lama’s appearance at a NXIVM event, where the Dalai Lama gave a talk attended by the group’s leader Keith Raniere who has recently been arrested and indicted on several charges including sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor.

Tenzin Dhonden himself has also been accused of improper relationships and contact with women through his connection with NXIVM, although he is supposed to be a monk.

Someone who represents the Dalai Lama can sell access to His Holiness and have relations with women although he is a monk, and the Tibetan leadership will never say anything because it brings them money. But when a person protects their religious freedom and refuses to abide by the ban on Dorje Shugden, and refuses to give up the practice, the Tibetan leadership turns them into pariahs and paints them as deserving targets of violence and vulgarities.

FrankReport

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://frankreport.com/2016/02/13/should-lama-tenzin-be-defrocked-is-dalai-lama-to-blamed-for-endorsing-keith-while-tenzin-was-sleeping-with-sara-bronfman/

The Guardian

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/27/dalai-lama-tenzin-dhonden-tibet-monk-corruption-accusations

The Guardian

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/29/tenzin-dhonden-dalai-lama-corruption-celebrity-investigation

Rigdzin Namkha Rinpoche

Rigdzin Namkha Rinpoche with Sogyal Rinpoche, both of whom have been accused of sexual abuses

Many allegations have been made about his sexual impropriety with Nepalese nuns. Because none of the women have been willing to come forward to confirm them or denounce him, they remain as allegations. However, as the saying goes, where there is smoke, there is fire and people who have not been in compromising positions with people will never be accused of improper sexual conduct.

Complaints have been lodged about his conduct to the Office of the Dalai Lama, to no avail. Rigdzin Rinpoche also happens to be the only lama who came close to recognizing the American teacher Tara Wangchuk, who says she is the reincarnation of the Dorje Shugden lama Domo Geshe Rinpoche, a claim which has been widely discredited. It is said that Wangchuk grew close to him, wanting to use of his connection with the Dalai Lama in the hopes it would lead to a formal recognition. Even back then, members of her group complained about his “overt sexual presence” and “feelings of discomfort around him”. Ex-students have been active on social media complaining about his conduct, and implied that he has made use of his relationship with the Dalai Lama to continue unchecked.

Facebook

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the full post. Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1459918927422287/permalink/1590324004381778/

Reddit

Source: https://old.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/3pcnxe/rigdzin_namkha_gyatso_rinpoche/. Click to enlarge.

Lama Ogyen Kunzang Dorje

In 2016, following a 20-year trial, a Belgian national by the name of Robert Spatz a.k.a. Lama Ogyen was found guilty of rape and other sexual abuse, child kidnapping with aggravating circumstances of torture and money laundering, amongst many charges. During the trial, it was revealed that some members of the organization had been forced to make large financial contributions to the community, which Robert Spatz personally benefited from. He was tried in absentia, and given a suspended jail sentence of 4 years and his organization Ogyen Kunzang Choling (OKC) was also found guilty on a number of charges and ordered to pay damages to some 30 plaintiffs in civil proceedings.

Spatz appealed the verdict and as a result, an entire website has set up by the victims seeking justice: https://www.okcinfo.news/en/ Interestingly, the Dalai Lama visited OKC in Brussels in 1990, at the height of the abuse. OKC continues to operate unfettered and the Dalai Lama has never once condemned Spatz, an act which would surely help the victims in their quest for justice.

L’Avenir

Source: https://www.lavenir.net/cnt/dmf20180425_01161205/robert-spatz-un-imposteur-un-escroc-un-esclavagiste-des-temps-modernes-et-un-violeur. Click to enlarge.

DH.be

Source: http://www.dhnet.be/actu/faits/le-conseil-de-robert-spatz-le-gourou-de-la-secte-okc-plaide-l-acquittement-5aea0a22cd70c60ea6c2a9d0. Click to enlarge.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Shashi Kei

The Dalai Lama is in Sweden on a visit that from the beginning has been marked by controversy. Even before he touched down in Malmo, a group of distressed people were already waiting to meet him, seeking restitution for the sexual violations inflicted upon them by Tibetan personages close to the Dalai Lama and have come under his protection. Before the dust had even settled on that issue, the Dalai Lama sparked another furore that may yet tip over an already delicate and highly volatile issue – the immigration crisis and rising xenophobia in Europe.

A chart showing the most anti-immigrant countries in Europe

In addressing a conference in Malmo, Sweden, the Dalai Lama callously proclaimed that “…Europe belongs to Europeans” and that ultimately refugees should “develop their own country”. In other words, refugees should not be allowed to remain in European countries forever. What the Dalai Lama said needs to be put into context to expose the tremendous harm his words will surely create. Malmo today is home to a large population of immigrants and refugees, and the Dalai Lama’s words come at a time when resentment against migrants and refugees are escalating in the European Union countries. The Dalai Lama’s statement directly targets an already disadvantaged and marginalized group of people facing increasing contempt by Europeans. It does not matter if the Dalai Lama seems to start off his message in a benevolent tone by asking Europe to receive, help and educate refugees seeking asylum when his ultimate message is to deny these refugees the opportunity to establish new homes and lives in Europe.

The Tibetan spiritual leader’s statement triggered angry responses, with one observer calling the Tibetan spiritual leader a “hypocrite” and “bootlicker”, and another calling him “a bigot of the first order”. Yet another felt his words and views were more aligned with those of “a neo-Nazi white supremacist”. While it may appear inappropriate to tag a Nobel Laureate and a Buddhist monk with such adjectives, outrage towards the Dalai Lama is not without its own justification.

“The Dalai Lama is a hypocrite”

Most migrants and refugees in Europe today come from war-torn countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Eritrea and Kosovo. Syria, for one, is a country that has persisted in a ruinous civil war that has witnessed a full inventory of war-related abominations including chemical weapons unleashed on innocent people. Virtually all of these refugees have suffered devastated lives, lost loved ones and many suffer crippling mental states due to trauma and severe stress. For these people, Europe represents a fresh start so it is shocking that the Tibetan spiritual leader, himself a refugee who has benefited significantly from the kindness of India and the people of the world, would deny the same kindness to others. This is even more surprising when you consider how the Dalai Lama goes along with the Tibetan people’s portrayal of their leader as a Buddha and the divine embodiment of compassion.

When the Dalai Lama made the statement that refugees should develop a country of their own, he calls attention to the diaspora of Tibetan refugees, approximately 150,000 strong who have been in exile for the last 60 years. The Dalai Lama is their head and he has set up an exile government, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in Dharamsala, North India. As refugees, the Tibetan people enjoy much more than others. To begin with, no other refugee group or displaced persons have been allowed to set up a “government” with its own political, legal and bureaucratic structures within the jurisdiction of another country. And yet, the Dalai Lama’s CTA regards itself as a legitimate Tibetan State and functions like one, with its own Parliament, Cabinet and even Judiciary. Most countries of the world extended diplomatic-level treatment to the CTA’s officials as well as the Dalai Lama. Across the globe, organizations and people of all races, creed, religion and nationality have donated countless millions of dollars to the ‘Tibetan cause’ over the past 60 years, again out of kindness. None of this however, has made any impact on how the Dalai Lama views others who have been similarly struck with the ravages of war and conflict.

Syrian refugees looking for new lives in Europe. A far cry from the lavish homes of wealthy Tibetan refugees.

Members of the Tibetan diaspora, both in India and those scattered around the world, are also known to be some of the wealthiest in the world, even if the financial disparity between ordinary Tibetan refugees and those of the Dalai Lama’s inner circle is significant. While most Tibetan refugees take on casual jobs as waiters and kitchen hands, subsist with seasonal work as laborers or sweater sellers or otherwise eke out an existence with meager earnings from various cottage industries, there is an upper strata of Tibetans who hail from the ruling families and monastic elite of old feudalistic Tibet. These are the Dalai Lama’s people who have largely retained the old tradition. These Tibetan ‘refugees’ are rich beyond imagination and occupy high positions in the CTA, controlling the CTA’s shadowy network of fund-raising agencies. The Dalai Lama himself makes approximately $20-25 million a year from book royalties and speaking engagements channelled through a series of tax-free structures, eventually ending up in his personal control.

A house in Camp 4 at the Tibetan settlement of Bylakuppe, one of the largest in India. Take note of the colorful Tibetan prayer flags on the roof. Does this look like the home of a refugee?

In the meantime, it is estimated that at least $50 million a year is generated by the many ‘Tibet centers’ around the world set up to spin the well-worn yarn of China’s oppression and the grievances of the Tibetan refugees. In truth, many Tibetans, especially officials in the CTA, have secured dual citizenships or permanent residency in Europe, the US, Canada and India. There are no other known refugees groups in the world with the wealth and privileges of the Dalai Lama’s people. At the same time, the CTA makes it taboo for ordinary Tibetan refugees to consider Indian citizenship which many are legally entitled to. These people are needed to maintain the façade of hardship that defines the Dalai Lama’s struggle.

Therefore to label the Dalai Lama a hypocrite may be rude but is not void of the truth. The Dalai Lama will be hard-pressed to answer why he has failed to follow his own counsel and that even after 60 years, the Dalai Lama’s CTA has not sought to return to their homeland or develop their own country. Instead the CTA scuttles every opportunity for reconciliation with China that might actually result in the Tibetan people finally returning home, which the Dalai Lama said every refugee should aim to do. Neither has the Dalai Lama spoken against those who have moved out of the settlement camps in India to set up homes ashore. To the CTA, these people are ambassadors of the Tibetan struggle against China but the same view and treatment are not accorded to the refugees in Europe.

The Tibetan Machiavelli

The Dalai Lama’s Malmo statement does not make sense. What it does do however is expose his shrewdness as a politician. In recent years, there has been rising discontent towards existing immigration policies in various European Union (EU) countries. In Sweden, just like in Italy, Hungary, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, there is a surge in popularity of political parties that are anti-immigration. In the meantime, there is growing pressure on the incumbent governments of Germany, France and the United Kingdom to adopt anti-immigration and anti-refugee policies. In 2016 while visiting Germany, the Dalai Lama said that Germany should not become an Arab state, alluding to the significant population of immigrants to the country from Muslim countries. And it is this ultranationalistic and Islamophobic tune the Dalai Lama is playing and beckoning the people of Europe to dance to.

The Dalai Lama’s racist statement against Muslims making Europe their home is extremely dangerous. For a man of peace and compassion who has made millions preaching the word of interfaith harmony, who has sold countless books based on that theme, and who has filled stadiums to preach peace to all brothers and sisters of the globe, it comes across as very strange that he is targeting Muslims. If the Dalai Lama’s logic is to be followed, it would not be remiss for anyone to say that America is for Americans, South America is for South Americans, Australia is for Australians, Asia is for Asians, and Africa is for Africans. According to the Dalai Lama’s logic and statement, Muslims should be the only religious group who are not allowed to migrate anywhere in the world, or to reside anywhere apart from their native lands and countries of origin. This is a very dangerous statement for the Dalai Lama to make because it seems as though he is targeting Muslims. If he is not, why does this shrewd diplomat not make any reference to any other refugees in Europe, for example his own Tibetan people who have been in Europe since the early 1960s and have been happily settled there for decades now?

The Dalai Lama’s objective is plain enough. In recent years, popularity and support for the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan cause have waned. For instance, in 2017, Sweden announced that it would no longer recognize the CTA’s yellow book as a valid international travel document. This is tantamount to not recognizing the CTA as a legitimate body that can issue valid travel documents. Sweden was not the only one as an increasing list of nations began to sway away from the Tibetan Cause, primarily due to China’s far-reaching economic might and the unravelling image of the Tibetan leadership as one scandal after another erupts.

The Dalai Lama has sparked outrage over his sexist and racist comments, and for his refusal to address sexual abuses by Tibetan Buddhist teachers. He has, in fact, even admitted to have known about the abuses for the last 25 years, making his inaction all the more disturbing.

As the current European leadership realigns their priorities away from the Tibetans, the Dalai Lama’s chosen method to address this is to capitalize on the wave of ultranationalism sweeping across Europe, stoking resentment towards existing European governments who have backed away from openly supporting the Dalai Lama’s political agenda. Doing so would again enamor the European people, eager for a shift in immigration policies, to the Dalai Lama. In addition, changes in European governments would provide the Dalai Lama with opportunities to build fresh alliances. The attrition is of course the lives of the helpless refugees hoping to rebuild broken lives. It also does not matter that the spiritual leader’s words would create enmity towards refugees and immigrants who have already settled in Europe. Clearly when it comes down to a choice between humanity and compassion or political agenda, the latter wins hands down. This should not be a shock to anyone because the history of Tibet shows the Dalai Lamas to be feudal theocrats who wield religion as powerful instruments of control and influence.

The Dalai Lama’s use of Buddhism to serve his politics is also visible in the Dorje Shugden conflict, which the Dalai Lama ignited in 1996 and the CTA has executed since. The Dorje Shugden conflict deeply divided the Tibetan community and in that way, the Dalai Lama has been able to control the Tibetan people more thoroughly than any other Dalai Lama before him, pitting one group against the other. The Shugden conflict also presented the Dalai Lama and CTA with an alibi for the multiple failed promises made to the Tibetan people to return them to the homeland. Again, the moral and spiritual decay resulting from mixing politics and religion is deemed acceptable attrition.

The double standard

One angry reader accused the Dalai Lama of being a bigot while another referred to him as a ‘white supremacist’. Again, harsh words but one needs to explore if there is any truth behind such resentful words.

The Dalai Lama’s advice is for Europe to deny immigrants and refugees a chance to rebuild their lives in Europe. Has it slipped the Dalai Lama’s mind that Europe continues to shelter Tibetan refugees? Perhaps European nations should stop accepting Tibetan refugees clamoring to leave India and start their lives anew in Europe.

If Europe belongs to Europeans, would the same logic not apply to Asiatic and African countries? If so, then how come the Dalai Lama has not censured the European nations for its vicious and colonial past? Great Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands were amongst some of the most brutal colonial powers that conquered and annexed militarily-weaker nations. India, China, South East Asia and Africa fell prey to these conquests and were mute witnesses to their people becoming slaves, to the destruction of their cultures and to the criminalizing of their religions. The people who were conquered were forcibly anglicized. How come India, China and Africa were not allowed to remain as they were, unmolested? How come the Aborigines of Australasia were not entitled to retain their identity and culture? How come the Natives of the Americas were denied the right to their lands and way of life? Why does the Dalai Lama not address these issues and instead advocate only for pure European nations? Are Asian and African people not also entitled to be themselves?

And as one critic pointed out, the Dalai Lama neglects the simple fact that some European nations have an active role in conflicts around the world that have turned ordinary people into refugees. Today the most aggressive imperialist country in the world is the United States of America, which the Dalai Lama regards as a friend and an ally. At the same time, the US has directly and indirectly initiated armed conflicts in the Middle East and around the world, and yet the Dalai Lama has not once condemned the USA or indeed any other European nation.

The Dalai Lama’s statement provoked harsh criticism from the public, who found his remarks to be incongruous with his publicized image as an all-accepting man of peace

Since Europe belongs to Europeans, should the thousands of Tibetans settled in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, England and so on return back to India or perhaps China? Why is it that the Dalai Lama only targets certain refugees to say that they are not allowed to stay in Europe? Why does he make an exception for his own Tibetan people? Why are the Tibetans allowed to stay in Europe and make Europe their home, he should be asked? Why the double standard? Perhaps Europe should start deporting all the Tibetans out of Europe since they are not Europeans and they do not belong there. The Dalai Lama and his Tibetans should get a taste of his own racist xenophobic statements. Remember, according to the Dalai Lama, Europe is for Europeans. So let us enact the Dalai Lama’s new immigration policy for Europe by immediately deporting Tibetans from Europe now.

The true character of the Tibetan leadership

The reality is, the Dalai Lama’s words betray the true character of the Tibetan leadership. Not so much the guardians of Shangri-La or some sort of utopic paradise, but more an oppressor of the people. Today the CTA proclaims that it is a democracy but its highest law, the Tibetan Constitution, exposes this deception. Everything in the Tibetan Constitution reads like ultimate power is vested in the people and it appears to be so, if not for the few lines that says that every law promulgated by the Constitution is in fact subject to the will of the Dalai Lama, the god and king of the Tibetan people, the consummate politician and the autocrat who has held on to power longer than any living monarch, dictator, despot, Prime Minister and President of any government in the world. What is more, the reign of the Dalai Lama is not limited by borders nor can any international law contain the Dalai Lama’s influence and reach. So powerful is the Dalai Lama that his government can even proclaim citizens of other nations to be criminals and authorize what is effectively a campaign against the worshippers of a religion operating well within the laws of a country. It is therefore nothing for the Dalai Lama to influence the immigration policies of Europe.

Dalai Lama: FAR RIGHT Nationalist &
Tibetan Supremacist

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[PressTV] Dalai Lama says Europe
belongs to Europeans, not refugees

Source: https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/09/15/574161/Dalai-Lama-refugee-crisis-Europe. Click to enlarge.

[Inquisitr] Dalai Lama Slammed As
Racist White Supremacist For Saying
‘Europe Belongs To Europeans’

Source: https://www.inquisitr.com/5073839/dalai-lama-slammed-as-racist-white-supremacist-for-saying-europe-belongs-to-europeans/. Click to enlarge.

以下文章是读者来函。我们欢迎读者投函，请将投函至以下电邮： ds@dorjeshugden.com。

作者：Magda v.d. Berg

对被佛教导师性侵的受害人来说，跟达赖喇嘛这位慈悲的国际代表见面，带来的应该是修复和治愈创伤的经验。受害人希望这场会面能带来成果，能从达赖喇嘛口中听到他的承诺——承诺为受害人的伤痛做些什么。无论如何，根据英国广播公司、美国广播公司和自由亚洲电台的新闻报道，受害人的反应不一，一些受害人甚至透露了内心的失望。

“跟达赖喇嘛的会面令人失望”。这句话在好几年前是难于跟达赖喇嘛联想在一块的。然而，我们近来越来越频密地听到类似的报道，无论如何，这并不令人意外。这是藏人行政中央几十年以来拒绝为藏人和本身的行动负责任的结果。

达赖喇嘛与仁增南开嘉措，其中一位被指责利用本身跟达赖喇嘛的关系，
伤害他的弟子的施暴者。

这些新闻有可能错误报道，因此并不可信？未必如此，英国广播公司拥有很高的新闻报道标准，是全世界各地许多人信赖的新闻来源。在战火连天的地区或冲突区，大家都依赖英国广播公司获得最新消息。因此，这次的会面与不太令人满意的结果，引起了主要媒体如英国广播公司和美国广播公司的关注。这说明了事件的严重性，以及作为藏人领导应该认真看待之，却没有办到的事实。

英国广播公司传统上跟其他媒体公司，长期大力支持藏人领导，如今看起来情况改变了。但是，藏人行政中央对性侵案的消极反应，甚至于包庇性侵受害人的事实，是否令人感到意外？且让我们一一检视以下几个相关事实：

1. 为什么性侵受害人需要向慈悲的代表乞求他的聆听和帮助？英国广播公司特别引述说达赖喇嘛的反应是“乐于倾听”的，即说明了他并非如此。同理，你可能会用“有趣”来形容一个人，从而避免说出你内心真正的感受。在场的人甚至形容说，达赖喇嘛其实并不愿意倾听他们的遭遇，必须被说服如此做。令人不安的是，达赖喇嘛必须被说服来跟性侵受害人见面。事实是，他们将事情复杂化，并且并非真心希望安排这场会面和面对事实；却在公众压力和企图让别人觉得他们在做些什么的情况下，进行了该场会面。
2. 为何受害人只有区区的20分钟？达赖喇嘛全世界巡回出席性犯罪者所主办的活动，跟他们一起住、一起吃饭，还长时间相处。他也花时间评论他人的宗教信仰，其他国家的内政；却吝于施舍20分钟，给遭到他所认可的性犯罪者伤害的受害人述说不幸遭遇。不仅如此，他甚至不会采取任何具体的行动来制裁这些罪犯。这些受害人的人生不幸地，被得到达赖喇嘛认可的人所摧毁了。

达赖喇嘛接受性侵案嫌疑人仁增南开嘉措的供养。达赖喇嘛会接受多杰雄登人的
供养吗？性侵是被接受的，修行多杰雄登却是不可被接受的？

3. 为何达赖喇嘛一方面教导世人要负责任，但是本身却拒绝为那些利用他的名声招摇撞骗者的恶行负责？在此件事上，达赖喇嘛难逃其咎。显然的，这些施暴者，利用他的名声和关系，来建立一般人对他们的信任，从而方便向无辜者施暴。许多人基于对达赖喇嘛的信任，把自己暴露成目标。这些暴行并非就此一回，而是在达赖喇嘛的办事处知情的情况下，仍持续了很长的一段时间。显然的，这些施暴者并非是清白的，他们都得到达赖喇嘛撑腰，才会让事情陷入今日如此不堪的局面，而达赖喇嘛却拒绝扛起任何责任。
4. 为何达赖喇嘛在其他议题上直言不讳，针对性侵案却绝口不提？性侵是普遍谴责的罪行，如果达赖喇嘛在性侵案上谴责施暴者，根本不会对他的名声带来任何破坏；反之会赢得更多人的赞美和欢呼。他会被赞颂为一位思想开明的领袖，愿意站在受害人的角度着想，防止更多人受害。达赖喇嘛会在与己无关的印度的种姓制度，或者所谓的尼赫鲁犯错的议题上畅所欲言。达赖喇嘛和藏人行政中央也会针对多杰雄登人，出书、制作影片、印刷传单、攻击清单和海报有话直说；但是在对他们的声誉会造成直接影响的议题上，譬如达赖喇嘛认可的性犯罪者做出恶行的事件上袖手旁观。因此，达赖喇嘛和藏人领袖对这些喇嘛和他们的行为举止，一言不发和袖手旁观的举动是非常可疑的。
5. 为何达赖喇嘛给罪犯背书？索甲仁波切和他的同流之辈，并非初犯。达赖喇嘛曾跟日本地铁毒气杀人日本邪教教主麻原彰晃会面，也曾接受高达一百万美元的捐款，为基斯拉尼尔站台。基斯拉尼尔是涉及性贩卖活动和其他等多项罪行的美国性爱邪教教主。年轻的达赖喇嘛住在拉萨时，曾接受纳粹党员海因里希哈勒的教导。这再次证明了，达赖喇嘛为罪犯站台和背书书并非新鲜事。更令人不安的是，达赖喇嘛把这些人当成知心朋友。

达赖喇嘛跟纳粹党员海因里希哈勒合照。
达赖喇嘛似乎倾向于跟这些可厌的人物打交道。

6. 为何达赖喇嘛只在有利的情况下成为全西藏的精神领袖？事实上，达赖喇嘛并非四大藏传佛教流派任何一个传承的精神领袖。即便是他来自格鲁派，真正的精神领袖却是甘丹赤巴。无论如何，藏人领袖利用大家对此事实的无知，继续到处宣扬达赖喇嘛为整个西藏的精神领袖。每当达赖喇嘛对某件事感兴趣时，他即会利用大家的无知乘机介入。譬如，他在插手大宝法王事件上，就利用了本身的“地位”。他认可噶玛噶举传承的另一位领袖，也造成了该派的分裂。在禁止多杰雄登法门事件上，即便他没有任何权利如此做，却再次利用此“地位”插手。无论如何，每当情况变得困难或不利于他们时，即会拒绝扛起责任，假装无能为力。在造成噶玛噶举分裂的事件上，面对质问时，达赖喇嘛选择了袖手旁观。同样地，在多杰雄登禁令问题上，即便这项禁令造成了西藏人的分裂，他也不会解除禁令。现在，西方世界终于领教了达赖喇嘛不会对他认可的人的偏差行为，即便涉及的是严重的性侵罪行，扛起任何责任。
7. 为何藏人领袖攻击坚持自己的修行且无害的人；却认可操弄、利用和欺压弱势的人？藏人行政中央会耗费心机发布上街示威的多杰雄登人的攻击清单，即便有足够的平台和能力，却继续放任性侵人。如果他们将用在攻击多杰雄登人的拨款，转移到教育这些喇嘛关于性侵的邪恶，肯定会减少很多烦恼和破坏。能发出一张性侵者清单，警告下一个可能的受害者，是不是比发出攻击上街抗议达赖喇嘛和藏人行政中央集权的涉及者清单来得强？

以藏学“专家”自居的罗伯特·瑟曼（右）和索甲仁波切合照。罗伯特·瑟曼的女儿乌玛·瑟曼声称被性侵的同时，她的父亲却跟同样是性侵人的索甲仁波切亲密合照。
罗伯特·瑟曼对他的女儿和其他的性侵受害人的慈悲心和同理心都去了哪里？

8. 为何藏人领袖对罪行的定义如此之扭曲？他们一方面说多杰雄登修行人是“历史上的罪犯”，因为这群人敢于违背达赖喇嘛下达的修行禁令；因此不听从达赖喇嘛命令的人都是罪犯。另一方面，一群有证据涉及性侵他们的弟子的人，却未被标签为罪犯。藏人即没有在国会通过法令谴责这项罪行，也没有出版任何书籍警告世人。藏人领袖要知道的是，在真实的世界、民主世界、藏人社区以外的世界里，伤害他人的行为才是真正的罪行——譬如谋杀、偷窃、贪污和洗黑钱（与达赖喇嘛有关连的人经常所涉及的恶行）。显然，这些罪行并不包括“不遵从达赖喇嘛”。因此，多杰雄登人不听从达赖喇嘛的忠告，不放弃修行又到底犯了哪一项罪行？藏人领袖到底明白什么是罪行吗？
9. 为何藏人领导要去破坏西藏的声誉？尽管藏行政中央一直对外声称本身为西藏正义事业付出了很多，事实却是没有人比达赖喇嘛付出得更多。整个西藏正义事业的未来建立在达赖喇嘛的名声和地位之上。达赖喇嘛越是犯错，藏人行政中央就越是难于获得捐款，或提高公众对西藏正义事业上的醒觉。又或者是藏人行政中央压根儿都不关心西藏的未来？显然，他们在保护这位承担了西藏正义事业未来的达赖喇嘛的声誉问题上漠不关心。基于同样的原因，藏人行政中央将本身塑造成佛教教义的维护者，实际的情况却是，他们成为性侵共犯的举动，伤害了佛法。
10. 藏人领袖是不是真心爱护达赖喇嘛？基于藏人行政中央的无能，拒绝处理性侵案投诉，以及躲在达赖喇嘛背后的逃避举动，导致达赖喇嘛陷入面对全世界质问的窘境。当世界知道了达赖喇嘛支持性犯罪者的事实，使他有可能被指责利用每个不幸来谋取本身的利益。譬如，达赖喇嘛对自焚举动的沉默，会被视为他默许藏人的自杀行为。他在噶玛噶举派事件上的沉默，则被视为他默许这个藏传佛教传承的分裂。

涉嫌性侵的祖古洛桑跟达赖喇嘛的合照。在荷兰提交给达赖喇嘛的藏传佛教导师
性侵弟子的陈情书中，侵害人包括了祖古洛桑。如果祖古洛桑没有涉及其中的话，
他的名字不会出现在陈情书中。

达赖喇嘛可以怎么做？

达赖喇嘛接见那些受害者的举动非常引人注目。他“谴责”性犯罪者的举措固然是好，但人人搁在嘴边的问题是：面对这一切，达赖喇嘛本身又会怎么做？因为他简单的一句谴责并不足以改正问题。

若达赖喇嘛什么都不做，其建议受害者向执法单位举报性犯罪者的话或许中听，实际却无异于告诉众人，他无意参与其中。他将责任推到饱受创伤的受害者身上，让他们自己采取行动。这也意味着寻求正义的责任，落在受害者身上，而达赖喇嘛自己便无需多做什么。达赖喇嘛坚决不对这些罪行采取更多行动，怪不得受害者见了达赖喇嘛后会有复杂的情绪。就像天主教会的教皇对待性侵案的受害者那样，若非社会大众对他施压，他不会有所行动。他采取行动不是因为觉得那些罪行有什么不对，或是对那些人的罪行感到气愤。

达赖喇嘛并非冷淡、内敛之人。过去，他严厉谴责多杰雄登信众，更组织、动员排挤他们。于是，他是能用他对待多杰雄登信众那样的态度，去对待那些性犯罪者：

1. 在开示和集会上重复且严厉的谴责索甲仁波切、萨姜米庞仁波切、岗顶祖古、喇嘛诺那、 喇嘛耶喜宁波、喇嘛秋达仁波切、丹增东登、持明学会的南卡仁波切、 祖古洛桑及喇嘛乌金昆桑多吉。
2. 将这些性犯罪者从藏人寺院、学府、医院、餐厅和商店隔离。
3. 要求他们的书籍从各大书店下架。
4. 强制他们时时上报行踪，让众人警惕、保护好自己，避免成为下一个受害者。好比在西方，性犯罪者必须向当地执法单位报到，也会受强制佩戴电子脚环。
5. 在他的网站上开设一个栏目，谴责这些性犯罪者。目前，在他和藏人行政中央（西藏流亡政府）的网站上都设有讨伐多杰雄登信众的栏目。
   呼吁大众停止向他们求法。他们犯了罪行，人们为何还要向他们寻求关于慈悲、出离心和断欲的教诲呢？
6. 要求寺院驱赶他们。为什么其他坚守清净戒律的僧众要接触这等事，跟这样的行为扯上关系？
7. 用藏文警告藏人不得与他们维持关系。
8. 要求他们补偿受害者。毕竟，这些性犯罪者摧毁受害者对他们的信念和信任。他们原本怀着一颗虔诚的心来修行。还有什么比摧毁别人对佛教的信心来得更具破坏性？
9. 利用流亡西藏人民议会立法严惩此等行为或防范未来悲剧一再发生。

第41任萨迦法王与索甲仁波切。为什么上师们继续与性犯罪者如索甲仁波切往来？继续往来意味着他们向大众及自己的弟子展示出认可性犯罪者的信息。

因此，受害者应该要问的是：为什么达赖喇嘛不对伤害他们的索甲仁波切、萨姜米庞仁波切、岗顶祖古、喇嘛诺那、喇嘛耶喜宁波、喇嘛秋达仁波切、丹增东登、持明学会的南卡仁波切、喇嘛乌金昆桑多吉及祖古洛桑采取以上任何一种行动？每个人也该问问：为什么达赖喇嘛在谴责信仰多杰雄登的上师时如此毫无顾忌，却不对这些侵犯他人的上师如此赶尽杀绝？对佛教及别人的信仰构成巨大伤害，他们应当承受来自达赖喇嘛更为严厉的谴责，这样才能对脆弱的群众起警告作用。达赖喇嘛对这些性犯罪的上师的公开谴责根本就谈不上严厉或彻底。他可以，也应该更严厉，更强烈谴责他们，将他们从世界各地的藏人社群隔离。唯有这么做，他们才无处藏匿，才会面对相应的法律制裁。毕竟，达赖喇嘛是以此等手段对付多杰雄登信众。而这些侵犯他人的上师肯定比信仰多杰雄登的人来得更加危险，对佛教也更具破坏性，难道不是吗？

又或者达赖喇嘛暗地里是个有性别歧视的人？过去几个月，他才说自己应该转世变成一个很有吸引力的女人，否则就一无是处（做女人若无吸引力就一无所用）。正是这种大男子主义的思想引导他人依样画葫芦，加上他对性侵案的沉默，人人都以为这些性犯罪者是达赖喇嘛的朋友。因此，他们获得一定程度的“庇护”，也不受谴责。除非达赖喇嘛采取更强烈的手段，否则人们不敢制裁那些他认可的人。正如好莱坞必须用上几十年的时间才能将哈维·韦恩斯坦这位大人物绳之于法，虽然人们一早就知道他的罪行。正是好莱坞行业里的沉默促成韦恩斯坦一而再再而三的侵犯年轻女演员。

另一张罗伯特·瑟曼与索甲仁波切的照片显示他们二人关系友好、亲近。
为何罗伯特·瑟曼等人要与像是索甲的人为伍，为他背书？

达赖喇嘛魅力不再？

现在人人皆知达赖喇嘛无意保护性侵案的受害者，那么藏人行政中央这一次又要用什么来解释呢？过去他们无法使西藏重获自由，便将信仰多杰雄登的人当成代罪羔羊，说这个信仰激怒吉祥天母，还危害达赖喇嘛的性命。这次藏人社群中发生性丑闻的灾难，他们打算怪罪哪个神明？

作为藏人的精神领袖，达赖喇嘛让那些为向他寻找修行指引的人失望至极。那些受害者已经见了藏传佛教最高权威却求助无门，试想想，他们会有什么感受？有多少人会心灰意冷，然后或会放弃他们的修行，或是失去对上师的信心？达赖喇嘛不愿制裁这些性犯罪者，结果藏传佛教受到伤害，因为这些性犯罪者确实有罪，但他依然纵容他们自由行事。

而作为藏人的世俗领袖，他也让其子民失望至极，因为他不愿意制裁违反世俗法律的人们。即使是政治领袖也会谴责犯法的人，拒绝与他们往来。想一想，让这些性犯罪者逍遥法外，还会有多少人会成为下一个受害者？

不管是世俗或宗教领袖，最重要的一点是：当达赖喇嘛可以在扮演政治领袖或是扮演宗教领袖的角色中做选择时，他一直都选当政治领袖，旁边还有只为自己谋福祉的流亡藏人领袖的推波助澜。因此，流亡藏人领袖真是如此无能吗？或许这一切都不是达赖喇嘛的错。或许是流亡藏人领袖不断的疏忽，没有好好筛选达赖喇嘛的交友圈子。流亡藏人领导难道被这些人的财富蒙蔽了双眼，以至于他们看不见这些性犯罪者的过失和行为？

不管是哪个原因，总得有一个人担起这个责任，不管是流亡藏人领袖或是达赖喇嘛本身。上百名受害者都在翘首以盼。

[英国广播公司] 达赖喇嘛与据称性侵案受害者会面

资料来源： https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45521075。点击放大。

[译文] 达赖喇嘛与据称性侵案受害者会面

西藏精神领袖达赖尊者在荷兰会见四位据称性侵案受害者

该组人要求会面讨论由几个国家的前任或现任佛教导师们所涉及的性侵指控。

“我们以开放的心态在佛教里找寻皈依，直至我们因它之名而遭受侵害。”他们在文中指出。

一名发言人称达赖喇嘛听闻性侵案后表示“难过”，并“持续谴责”这种行为。

1989年诺贝尔和平奖得主达赖喇嘛目前正访问欧洲。

在周五出席20分钟见面会的三位女士和一位先生，呈交了来自12位据称是受害者的证词。

其中一名出席者乌瓦纳·毕尔玛告诉埃菲社，这是“一次非常复杂的会面”。

她说，达赖喇嘛最初“不愿意聆听”他们的案件，但补充说，经过了10分钟的谈话，他变得“比较愿意接受”。

“进入尾声时，他变得比较亲近，不再试图说服我们这不是他的错，而是开始聆听我们说的话，”毕尔玛女士说。

何谓藏佛佛教？

此次会面落在本觉会（Rigpa）为其创办人索甲拉嘎尔，又称索甲仁波切所涉的性侵案做出道歉后的一周之后。本觉会是一个活跃于西方的国际佛教组织。

索甲仁波切因1994年出版的个人著作“西藏生死书”而著名，该书销售量高达三百万册。

上个月，由本觉会所委的律师在一项独立调查中发现，索甲仁波切的某些“内圈”成员“严重遭受来自他的肉体、性和精神虐待。”

该报告补充说，该组织的某些资深成员对此有所听闻，却“未能解决这些问题，陷他人于危险当中。”

已卸任的本觉会前领袖索甲仁波切以健康为由，拒绝接受此次调查访问。

[美国广播公司] 达赖喇嘛与称遭佛教上师性侵
的受害者会面

资料来源： https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/dalai-lama-meets-alleged-victims-abuse-buddhist-gurus-57820565。点击放大。

[译文] 达赖喇嘛与称遭佛教上师性侵的受害者会面

四名称遭受藏传佛教上师肉体和精神虐待的人士，周五在荷兰向达赖喇嘛提交一份来自12名据称受害者的证词，并向他请愿。

一个使用“metooguru”为标签，并通过一项网络请愿收集了约1,300个签名的小组，要求与这位精神领袖会面，以便他可以收到他们所收集到的证词。达赖喇嘛在荷兰为期四天访问的第一天，与四位代表会面了约20分钟。

达赖喇嘛是藏传佛教其中一派的领袖。此次周五鹿特丹酒店见面会的主办人希望这位诺贝尔和平奖得主将利用他的道德权威来对信仰做出更广泛的影响。

“我们想从他身上得到的是，他要十分清楚知道，事实就是藏传佛教传统的宗教领袖并不凌驾于法律之上，” 与达赖喇嘛会面的四个人之一，乌瓦纳·毕尔玛这么说。“即便他们声称他们的传统允许所谓超越善恶的行为，事实并非如此。”

这群来自荷兰和比利时的据称受害者表示，达赖喇嘛答应将采取行动，包括在11月举办的佛教上师会议上提出他们的性侵和精神、肉体虐待报告。
会面之后，达赖喇嘛并没对记者发表谈话。其随行人员也没有立刻对置评要求做出回应。

跟他会面的群众中出现了不同的反应。其中一位与会者表示，她有点失望。

然而自称自小在比利时的佛教教派中长大而遭肉体虐待的里卡多·门德斯表示，他很高兴看到达赖喇嘛似乎为他们的证词所动容。

“他就像是：好，现在我有了这些材料，我有这些文件，来自真人的真实故事。我可以用这些材料在佛教圈子里说‘这个人、那个人有此行为，你们不应追随他们，而且这并不是藏传佛教。’”

这让门德斯对未来抱持希望。

“或许，或许这就是这一次会面将带出的结果，他（达赖喇嘛）的谴责将变得名正言顺。”他说。

[自由亚洲电台] 达赖喇嘛在荷兰接见性侵案受害者

资料来源：https://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/meets-09142018173444.html。点击放大。

[译文] 达赖喇嘛在荷兰接见性侵案受害者

据消息，达赖喇嘛于周五在荷兰的鹿特丹接见四名声称被上师性侵及受上师精神折磨的信众。
在此前一周，他们四人代表12名信众请求与藏传佛教精神领袖会面，向达赖喇嘛描述受害成员的痛苦经历，并要求达赖喇嘛采取行动，为他们的问题找解决方案。

据自由亚洲电台藏语部的消息，好几位藏传佛教上师的名字：瑞士持明学会的南卡仁波切、奥地利维也纳的南登免朗中心的杜固洛桑、在全球拥有过百道场的本觉会的索甲仁波切，以及比利时一位名为罗伯特·斯帕茨（又名“喇嘛乌金昆桑多吉”），都出现在周五的控诉书中。

提出与达赖喇嘛会面的请愿者包括来自奥地利、澳洲、比利时、法国、荷兰及美国的佛门弟子。

近几个月来，西方藏传佛教上师，包括本觉会的索甲仁波切、国际香巴拉的萨姜米庞仁波切都卷入性丑闻中。

对索甲的独立调查结果于上周公布，显示许多针对他的指控属实。

据悉，在长达20分钟的会面中，达赖喇嘛拒绝记者的提问，但告知与会者，他将于11月份，跟藏传佛教各大领导人在印度会面时，提及藏传佛教圈子内滥权的问题。

“我们对他的诉求是非常清晰的。藏传佛教的宗教领导也受法律约束”。与会者乌瓦纳·毕尔玛在会面后这样表示。联合通讯社如此报道。

“即使他们声称他们的传统认可那些超越善恶之别的行为，但实际并非如此。”

与83岁的达赖喇嘛的会面，正值罗马天主教会深陷神职人员在美国、欧洲等地滥用职权的风波之时。

报道、翻译：自由亚洲电台藏语部；英文编辑：李察·芬尼

[印度斯坦时报] “并非新鲜事”：达赖喇嘛说他早已
知晓佛教导师涉嫌性侵

令人难于置信，达赖喇嘛坦言对于佛教导师性侵事件，他早已知情——25年前即知情——但是没有采取任何行动制止。此话令性侵受害人不安，因为他们赖于达赖喇嘛的名声和言论为标准，衡量哪些导师是可以信赖的，哪些是不可信赖的。

到底谁是哪位在25年前达赖喇嘛听闻的性侵导师，而他又针对此采取了什么行动？如果达赖喇嘛没有在当时采取任何制止行动的话，等于他默许这些施暴者继续他们的暴行长达25年。《印度斯坦时报》的跟进访问，进一步确认了跟达赖喇嘛会面后，受害人的结论——达赖喇嘛不会对他们伸出援手，他压根儿不想帮助他们。

资料来源： https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/dalai-lama-i-knew-of-sex-abuse-by-buddhist-teachers-since-1990s/story-238DdgDwzQYU5rDfTSgl8M.html。点击放大。

[询问报] 对佛教导师性侵事件，达赖喇嘛早已知情，这“并非新鲜事”

另一篇报道显示达赖喇嘛早已知晓性侵事件，但是却袖手旁观。他对这些受害人的慈悲心在哪里？如果不是向达赖喇嘛这位藏传佛教领袖求助，他们还能向谁求助？

达赖喇嘛达赖喇嘛再次推卸责任，推说“佛教领袖应多注意类似事件”。难道达赖喇嘛不是其中一位宗教领袖吗？虽然事实未必如此，但是藏人行政中央一直将达赖喇嘛定位为所有藏传佛教的宗教领袖。

那么，为何这位领袖没有做出关注，也没有采取任何行动制止。反之，他呼吁其他人“关心他们可耻的行为”？为何达赖喇嘛把责任推卸给其他宗教领袖？他并未把自己定位为宗教领袖？如果事实如此，达赖喇嘛可能应该考虑只专注于本身的私人事务，不再插手藏人的宗教议题。

资料来源： https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1032920/dalai-lama-knew-sex-abuse-by-buddhist-teachers-its-nothing-new。点击放大。

更多媒体报导

接二连三的性丑闻已经引起西方媒体的关注及大篇幅报道。最早期的性丑闻发生在1989年：全球其中一个最大规模的藏传佛教道场的上师被爆故意向多个伴侣传播艾滋病。自那时起，流亡藏人领袖每每遭遇性丑闻时就沉默不语。

然而，当有一个人拒绝放弃多杰雄登的信仰，藏人行政中央就会详述雄登上师的种种不是和“罪行”，因为他们拒绝跟从多杰雄登的禁令。他们的拒绝跟从被勾勒成“反达赖”，是背叛的行为，于是他们就是罪犯。然而，信仰多杰雄登实际上是触犯了哪条法律，以至于是一种罪行？而且，为何藏人行政中央如此激烈的谴责多杰雄登信众，却对人们侵犯女性，违反法律的行为视若无睹？

藏人行政中央及他们对性侵犯的立场

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视频：“以成佛之名——宗教里的性丑闻”
关于索甲仁波切

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纽约时报

此图已经过裁剪，请点击放大阅读全文。资料来源：https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/21/us/buddhists-in-us-agonize-on-aids-issue.html

独立报

此图已经过裁剪，请点击放大阅读全文。资料来源：https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/abuse-alleged-at-monastery-for-tibet-exiles-698788.html

卫报

此图已经过裁剪，请点击放大阅读全文。资料来源：https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2012/oct/08/tibetan-lamas-buddhism

卫报

此图已经过裁剪，请点击放大阅读全文。资料来源：https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2011/jul/01/lama-sex-abuse-sogyal-rinpoche-buddhist

索甲仁波切

至尊达赖喇嘛将索甲仁波切称为“好友”。

这些或许是近代藏传佛教界最广为人知、最具撼动性的性丑闻。索甲仁波切成了2011年一部纪录片的主角，里头详述他被指控的罪行，以及他一件用无人知晓的金额而达成庭外和解的官司。尽管如此，达赖喇嘛和流亡藏人领袖依然与他往来，一起公开露面，从而认可他的活动和行为。

近期，索甲仁波切遭资深弟子揭发罪行，将一切摊在阳光底下，因此他被迫辞职。几个月后，他被诊断患癌，从此退出大众视线。遭他侵犯的受害者继续活在创伤中，他也继续躲着，藏人行政中央依然没有发表任何声明，讨伐他的行为，也没有跟他划清界限。为何他们对这样的暴行视若无睹，却对没有违法的多杰雄登信仰如此大肆讨伐？为何他们强制人们跟信仰多杰雄登的人划清界限，实施隔离政策，却几十年来不跟被指控性侵女性的人划清界限？

Lion’s Roar

此图已经过裁剪，请点击放大阅读全文。资料来源：https://www.lionsroar.com/letter-to-sogyal-rinpoche-from-current-and-ex-rigpa-members-details-abuse-allegations/

每日电讯报

此图已经过裁剪，请点击放大阅读全文。资料来源：https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/sexual-assaults-violent-rages-inside-dark-world-buddhist-teacher/

Medium（第一部分）

此图已经过裁剪，请点击放大阅读全文。资料来源：https://medium.com/@tahlianewland/harvey-weinstein-and-sogyal-rinpoche-a-study-of-responses-part-1-management-f7413d904c0b

此图已经过裁剪，请点击放大阅读全文。资料来源：https://medium.com/@tahlianewland/harvey-weinstein-sogyal-rinpoche-a-comparison-part-2-culture-1fcc5bfc7599

萨姜米庞仁波切

至尊达赖喇嘛与萨姜米庞仁波切

另一个大规模的藏传佛教道场领袖也在被控与弟子有非正当性行为后被迫下台。萨姜米庞仁波切在文告中承担一切责任，承认自己的行为。即便如此，萨姜米庞仁波切依然享有来自达赖喇嘛和流亡藏人领袖多年的背书和认可，尽管关于他的性丑闻已存在多年。流亡藏人领袖会为任何东西背书，不管那些东西是否违法，只要那些东西能给他们带来金钱利益。但只要一个人是信仰多杰雄登的，他们就是罪人，是恶人，不管他为其他人带来多少福祉。这一切只因他们拒绝遵从流亡藏人领袖所实施的禁令。

Tricycle

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Think Progress

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Lion’s Roar

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Tricycle

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纽约时报

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CBC.ca

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Tricycle

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岗顶祖古

好莱坞演员理查·基尔跟两位涉嫌性行为不端的上师合照。（岗顶祖古和索甲仁波切）

作为不丹22所寺院的负责人，岗顶祖古的地位深具影响力。他甚至曾与好莱坞演员Richard Gere以及另一位性犯罪者索甲仁波切合影。 虽然岗顶祖古的不当行为并不像索甲仁波切那样公开，但在某些圈子里，他的事情已几乎已是无人不知。 其中最广为人知的是克里斯汀·钱德勒在她的网站extibetanbuddhist.com和她的著作《Enthralled：The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism》中的记录。 钱德勒女士是一名训练有素的社会工作者和心理学家，专研究性虐待和功能失调。

钱德勒女士在给我们其中一个资料来源的电邮中写道：

所有信仰藏传佛教的居民都向克雷斯通的所有上师们学习，所以我曾跟岗顶一起做了大约四到五天的闭关。我从未跟他亲近，但我们都在那里跟所有的上师们一起修行和学习。 在他的其中一个“竹登”（drupdens），一个很长的诵咒经历中——他十分善于通过咒语来营造超常规的意识状态——一个参加表演的不丹舞蹈团曾抱怨他非礼抚摸年轻的不丹妇女。

这些讯息都反映在她的书中，她写道：

我还参加了几次与一位不丹祖古的闭关，这是一位在闭关时通过诵咒来营造超常规意识状态的大师。这位不丹高僧跟后来被簇钦·艾莉昂揭穿涉嫌非礼不丹女舞者的已婚祖古是同一个人。

资料来源： Chandler, C. (2017). “Crestone, Colorado”, Chapter 22 of ‘Enthralled: The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism’.

书中的这一段提到一些不丹舞者被一未已婚祖古非礼，虽然这位已婚祖古的名字并未被提及，但根据钱德勒女士的电邮回复，可以肯定地推论出这位已婚祖古是岗顶仁波切。更重要的是，这一次这段文中还直接指明簇钦·艾莉昂是提供这些针对岗顶仁波切指控的资料来源。

过去艾莉昂曾私下在藏传佛教僧众中提起女性问题，但当她在接受投诉，并公开指责某不丹祖古非礼前来演出的年轻不丹女舞者之后，这位不丹高僧就警告她说，她的所为已经过分，必须收敛，否则将把她逐出西藏上师圈。 如果她继续投诉他们的性侵事件，她将不再得到西藏上师为她“背书”，继续作为一位协助上师们在西方弘扬密法的受敬重藏传佛教导师。这将导致她在藏传“大圆满”导师圈中失去容身之处。

资料来源： Chandler, C. (2017). “The Dakinis and Their “Spiritualized Feminism”.”, Chapter 18 of ‘Enthralled: The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism’.

这里再一次提及对不丹女舞者的非礼事件，且也再度跟艾莉昂喇嘛扯上关系。钱德勒女士说，艾莉昂喇嘛最终受到威胁，被逼保持沉默。据我们所知的西藏领导人如何以沉默默许虐待，并拒绝向受害者提供支持的情况看来，这一结论并不令人意外。 这不过是职场权力游戏的又一例，跟岗顶祖古有关的的虐待丑闻被掩盖，而艾莉昂喇嘛则被逼保持沉默。艾莉昂喇嘛的其中一位亲近弟子透过电邮证实了此事：

是的，很不幸岗顶祖古是最严重的罪犯之一。他曾有侵犯女弟子的历史，而我最近还发现，他也曾侵犯他寺院里的年轻僧人，这几乎可说是一个公开的秘密。他的不当行为致使他在很大程度上遭到美国佛教界的驱逐，但他依然在欧洲和不丹出没。

由于关系密切，艾莉昂喇嘛的亲近弟子对有关岗顶祖古不当行为的指控有所了解是合乎逻辑的。西藏领导人再一次显示只要是非雄登上师，只要那个上师不修持多杰雄登，他所作出的任何行为都是可以被接受的，而他们也将不会采取任何行动来保护受害者（甚至尝试揭发虐待行为）。然而，一旦确定某位上师是多杰雄登修持者，他们就会单凭自己的宗教选择，自然成为暴力和蛮横对待的公开目标。

ExTibetanBuddhist.com

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ErikJampa.com

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喇嘛诺那

喇嘛诺那与藏人行政中央支持的第十七世噶玛巴邬金钦列多杰合照

这里有更多关于另一位上师对弟子进行性骚扰和不伦关系的指控。西藏领导人对这些事件有什么表态？他们怎么不资助和出版声明、传单、小册子等来辅导和对这类事件提出警示，却愿意为反多杰雄登的视频、书籍、网站等付费？

如果藏人行政中央只是因为不接受这个修持而反对多杰雄登，那是否意味着他们对这些性指控的保持沉默就等于是允许这种不正当的行为？

Lion’s Roar

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Tricycle

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喇嘛耶喜宁波

在这篇文章的评论部分，人们被警告不要参加这个导师的活动，说他已被逐出寺院，并被禁止在噶玛噶举旗下教学。 西藏领导层为何不对此作出反对声明？

Little Bangkok Sangha

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喇嘛秋达仁波切

喇嘛秋达仁波切与达赖喇嘛

一位已婚上师承认涉及婚外情后，选择离开去进行闭关而不是面对后果。上师本应促进家庭团结，而不是成为破坏关系和导致情人分开的因素。

西藏领导层对忠于伴侣（一种私人选择）的重要性没有任何评论，却对那些选择继续修持多杰雄登而拒绝跟从禁令（另一种私人选择）的人百般刁难，藏人行政中央凭什么认为自己有权批评和监督一个私人选择，但当涉及另一个实际带来危害的选择时，却不采取同等程度的干预？其虚伪程度实在令人震惊。

BuddhistChannel.tv

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丹增东登

丹增东登 （左）是达赖喇嘛在美国的特使

这位达赖喇嘛的前美国特使被发现为达赖喇嘛穿针引线，最终将达赖喇嘛与邪教组织NXIVM联系在一起。 为了一百万美元的“捐款”，他策划让达赖喇嘛出席NXIVM活动，让达赖喇嘛在该组织领导基思·拉尼埃所出席的一场演讲中发言，这位领导最近因涉及包括非法性交易、合谋非法性交易和强迫劳动等多项罪名被捕和被起诉。丹增东登本人也被指控通过与NXIVM的关系，与女性建立不正当关系和联系，虽然他本应是一名僧人。

一个代表达赖喇嘛的僧人，可以为达赖喇嘛穿针引线并与女人发生关系，而西藏领导人永远不会说什么，因为它给他们带来了金钱利益。 然而，当一个人为了维护宗教自由，拒绝遵从多杰雄登禁令和拒绝放弃修持而抗议时，西藏领导层却将他们变成贱民，并将其塑造成一个可以暴力和蛮横对待的目标。

FrankReport

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卫报

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卫报

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持明学会的南卡仁波切

持明学会的南卡仁波切与索甲仁波切，两人都被指控性侵犯

他与尼泊尔僧尼的不正当性行为遭到许多指控，但由于没有一个女人愿意出面证实或指证他，所以至今依然也还只是指控。 然而，正如俗话所说的“无风不起浪”，一个没有被捉奸的人，永远不会被指控涉及不当性行为。

人们已针对他的行为向达赖喇嘛办事处提出了投诉，但无济于事。持明学会的南卡仁波切恰好也是唯一一位几乎要认证美国导师达拉旺秋的上师，后者自称是多杰雄登上师绰摩格西仁波切的转世，尽管这一说法广被否决。 据说，旺秋接近他是希望利用他与达赖喇嘛的关系来得到正式的认证。 即使在那时，她的小组成员也已经针对他的“性开放”和“在他身边感觉不自在”作出投诉。 前弟子们一直在社交媒体上抱怨他的行为，并表示他利用自己与达赖喇嘛的关系继续猖獗下去。

面子书

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红迪（Reddit）

资料来源：https://old.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/3pcnxe/rigdzin_namkha_gyatso
_rinpoche/。 点击放大。

喇嘛乌金昆桑多吉

2016年，经过20年的审判，一位名叫罗伯特·斯帕茨或喇嘛乌金的比利时公民因涉嫌强奸和其他性侵犯，儿童绑架及严重酷刑和洗钱罪等多项罪名成立。审判期间也揭发了该组织的一些成员被迫向社区提供大笔财政捐助，受益者是罗伯特·斯帕茨。 他缺席审判，被判缓刑4年，他的组织乌金昆桑措林也因多项指控被判有罪，在民事诉讼中被令向约30名原告人支付赔偿金。

斯帕茨对判决提出上诉，结果却是寻求公道的受害者设立了一个完整网站：https：//www.okcinfo.news/en/。有趣的是，达赖喇嘛曾于1990年，在虐待事件的最高峰时期访问设于布鲁塞尔的乌金昆桑措林。 乌金昆桑措林继续自由运作，而达赖喇嘛从未谴责过斯帕茨，尽管这种做法肯定会协助受害者取得公道。

L’Avenir

资料来源：https://www.lavenir.net/cnt/dmf20180425_01161205/robert-spatz-un-imposteur-un-escroc-un-esclavagiste-des-temps-modernes-et-un-violeur。 点击放大。

DH.be

资料来源：http://www.dhnet.be/actu/faits/le-conseil-de-robert-spatz-le-gourou-de-la-secte-okc-plaide-l-acquittement-5aea0a22cd70c60ea6c2a9d0。点击放大。

Will the Dalai Lama’s government (Central Tibet Administration) co-operate or secretly work against his plans and call an end to the Tibetan struggle?

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Shashi Kei

It has been a busy week for Tibet watchers. As the Dalai Lama tours Europe, the spiritual leader has been triggering alarms, first claiming that he cannot be held responsible for sex offenses committed by Tibetan lamas and teachers he has personally endorsed, and next by stoking Islamophobia by making a statement that “Europe belongs to Europeans” and that the migrants and refugees in Europe (who are mainly from Muslim countries) should ultimately return to their own countries.

But the biggest bombshell was dropped a few days before the Dalai Lama even left for Europe. On 12^th September 2018, a video was published on YouTube showing a group of Tibetans in an audience with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India where his Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; Tibetan leadership) is based. What the Dalai Lama said in the audience essentially signals the end of the Tibetan struggle, whether one defines that as a fight for complete Tibetan independence (rangzen) or a push for the Chinese government to grant autonomous rule to the Tibetan leadership (umaylam). During the talk, neither of the two were proposed or mentioned; instead, it sounded like the Dalai Lama was saying that the Tibetan struggle should come to an end.

The gist of what the Dalai Lama said to the Tibetan group is as follows:

Translation

 

1. We, as Tibetans, should stay under China and we should protect our cultures, religion, dharma, education and so on. For example, in China, there are a few autonomous zones and therefore, the three provinces (Kham, Amdo and Ü-Tsang) have the same rights and opportunity to protect our religion and culture.
2. You Tibetans love money right? Do you want money or not? Do we prefer a free Tibet but we become beggars (poor) or do we prefer to stay in an autonomous zone under China? That way, if we ask China for money, they will give. [Dalai Lama laughs]
3. We have some Tibetans who went to the USA, Belgium for money, isn’t it? We will become a union.
4. In a few years from now, there will be big changes. Firstly, I wish to make a pilgrimage to China. [people crying] Then, step by step, I wish to go to my birthplace, Lhasa.
5. Can we [Tibetan refugees and the CTA] conquer China to get a free Tibet? [Dalai Lama laughs] If you guys have miracles to show, then it is different. Now India and USA are becoming friends with China.

Dalai Lama: “Xi Jinping will invite me in
1 or 2 years for a pilgrimage”

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

or watch on our server:
http://video.dorjeshugden.com/videos/DalaiLamaReturns.mp4

In effect what the Dalai Lama said was equivalent to his acceptance of the One China policy that the CTA and its allies have rejected all this time. And it is not difficult to surmise what drove the Tibetan spiritual leader to that conclusion and resolve.

60 years of abysmal failure by the CTA

When the Tibetan people first followed the Dalai Lama into exile in 1959, they did not even bother to build proper houses on the lands the India government gave them. Based on the promises the Tibetan leadership made and the proclamations of Nechung, the State Oracle that the Dalai Lama relies on and trusts, they expected to return to their homeland in no time. For years, many of the older generation lived with their bags packed, ready to return at a moment’s notice. There was no reason to doubt. Perhaps karmically, there was a good chance back then for the Tibetans to regain their homeland either by coercion or by accord with China. But the CTA failed to take advantage of 60 years of financial assistance and sponsorships, American government grants, political support of Western governments, the global media, and support from the global academic fraternity and world public. All these were squandered away when the CTA officials, first under Professor Samdhong Rinpoche and then Dr Lobsang Sangay, chose to focus on infighting, internal politicking and jockeying for power and money.

Dr Lobsang Sangay and the Department of Information and International Relations launching material that demonizes a Buddhist practice as part of the CTA’s efforts to find a scapegoat for its 60 years of failures.

Under the present Sikyong Lobsang Sangay who occupies the highest post within the Tibetan leadership, the CTA has splintered, as has the Tibetan community. The Tibetan people’s highest office has been struck by one disgrace after another, ranging from financial improprieties, to election fraud, to a wave of sex scandals, distortions of the CTA’s Constitution, religious bigotry which resulted in the trespass of inalienable human rights of the people, to picking fights with China and reopening old wounds between India and China. Under the Sikyong, the CTA has even slyly undermined the Dalai Lama’s efforts to draw China back to the negotiation table, for example, by undoing the Dalai Lama’s reconciliation efforts with China vide the Panchen Lama issue.

All these shenanigans have come at the cost of attention on the Tibetan cause and the credibility of the Tibetan leadership. At the same time, China was allowed to pull itself together after Mao’s devastating policies and go on to grow from strength to strength. As the trajectory of China’s meteoric rise intersects with the descending curve of the Dalai Lama’s global popularity, the Tibetan struggle has become intractably buried under other more pressing global issues, economic considerations and shifting interests and alliances.

A realistic estimation

The Dalai Lama knows this and realizes that for the Tibetan culture and identity to survive, it has a better chance under a China seeking to win over the Tibetan people in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), more so than a kakistocratic CTA whose interest in the Tibetan struggle seems to be laced with personal agendas. The CTA cannot do for the Tibetans and Tibetan Buddhism what China can, regardless of what motivates China’s beneficent actions. A tangible benefit to the Tibetans remains just that, a tangible benefit. In the last 60 years, the CTA has failed to nurture a single Tibetan figure to succeed in the global arena in any field, just like how it failed to cultivate a positive environment for Tibetans to succeed in. Today, unemployment is high amongst Tibetan youth and the monastic system seems compromised as the number of people joining the Tibetan Buddhist order drops to negligible numbers. Even the presence of the Dalai Lama in India has failed to draw aspirants to ordain into the Tibetan Buddhist monastic community. In contrast, there are three times as many Buddhists in China as there are members of the Communist Party. More and more Tibetans have chosen to emigrate to Europe, the US and Canada to seek opportunities and as a nation in exile, the people are divided, thanks to the CTA’s policy of alienating those they cannot control.

CTA has subtly encouraged Tibetan self-immolation as a means to create sympathy for its political agenda. Over 150 Tibetans perished unnecessarily.

Seeing how the CTA is, the Dalai Lama knows that even if, by some miracle, the Tibetan leadership regains control of Tibet, it would not be the end of their problems but perhaps only the beginning. In fact, the Dalai Lama even jokes with the people in the audience, gently asking if they have the ability to produce miracles. The question remains whether the CTA has the wherewithal to manage six million Tibetans in TAR when they have clearly failed to attend to the needs of 150,000 Tibetans in the diaspora, of which it is estimated that only 80,000 remain in the Indian settlements under the CTA’s purview.

Becoming beggars

Hence, the Dalai Lama’s speculation that the people will become “beggars”. This is a brutally honest insight on the part of the Tibetan spiritual leader. Tibet, prior to 1959, was backwards, isolated and poor. Life expectancy was a short 36 years and only 5% of the population had any sort of education. There were no proper roads, no financial institutions or monetary system, no schools or education system, no industrial infrastructure and indeed no framework or political heredity to support a modern and free society. The Dalai Lama himself acknowledged this in 2001 when he recognized that Tibet prior to 1959 was “very, very backward”.

In exile, the CTA has been entirely reliant on donations from governments and the general public. How can the Dalai Lama expect his Sikyong Lobsang Sangay and his team to suddenly improve from this state when they have failed for 60 years under much more supportive circumstances? The Dalai Lama has seen how an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 Tibetans have shed their reliance on the CTA over the years and chosen instead to venture out on their own to foreign countries such as Canada, the US, Switzerland, France, Germany, Nepal, Bhutan and even India without the Tibetan settlements.

Yes, it is indeed public knowledge that the CTA has only been doing well because of the generous grants from countries such as the US (who share a common anti-China interest with the CTA) and sponsorship from the well-meaning global public. It is estimated that the CTA receives at least $70 to 90 million a year collectively from benevolent individuals around the world and countries such as the US and India. The CTA has not bothered to develop any industry or sought to become financially independent in its history but instead has been quite happy to be a welfare ‘state’ relying on handouts. It is without doubt that this gravy train will come to an abrupt stop the moment the Dalai Lama returns to Tibet, signaling a forfeiture of his refugee status; there will no longer be a need for these external donors to continue funding their operations. The Dalai Lama knows that the Tibetans will have no choice but to receive handouts from the Chinese government, in the same way they have been from Western nations and sponsors. Ironically, the Tibetans have for decades accused their detractors of being on Chinese payroll or Chinese paid traitors. To tag a Tibetan with this label is to sentence him to a life in banishment but now it would appear that the Dalai Lama himself will be taking Chinese money.

The Chamdo Prefecture law that prohibits the politicisation of the Dorje Shugden practice. Click to enlarge. Source: https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/07/30/illegal-organizations/chinas-crackdown-tibetan-social-groups

Therefore, based on political as well as financial pragmatism, the Dalai Lama knows that the only realistic way forward is for him and Tibetans to become Chinese citizens. However, this conclusion is not without serious repercussions:

1. The decision to come into China’s fold means that after 60 years of nursing off India’s generosity, the CTA is now going to switch sides in the Sino-Indian conflict. Although both India and China are making efforts to become friends, they still view each other with considerable suspicion. The CTA has been a willing collaborator when India played the ‘Tibet card’ in the past. Will the Tibetan leadership now become a willing accomplice when China in turn, plays the Tibet card on India? Will Dr Lobsang Sangay be hoisting the Chinese flag at the Indian-Chinese border as he did with the Tibetan one in Ladakh, which irked the Chinese greatly? 
Similar considerations apply to the CTA’s relationship with the USA from whom they have received aid in consideration of being a thorn at China’s side. With China’s rise to global dominance and prominence, the US has sought to resist this shift in the geopolitical balance of power and the CTA has been a willing pawn in this gamesmanship.
2. How will the Dalai Lama tell the thousands of ‘rangzen warriors’, both Tibetan and Western, to effectively lay down arms? As it is, the Dalai Lama’s preference of seeking autonomy over independence is already highly unpopular. In essence, the Dalai Lama is asking all rangzen as well as umaylam efforts to cease immediately. For as long as these activists are still agitating China, each camp with its own demands, there is no incentive for China to entertain the Dalai Lama’s wishes. In addition, how will the Dalai Lama explain away the Tibetan leadership’s subtle encouragement of Tibetans to self-immolate as a method to garner world sympathy for its cause? What did over 150 Tibetans die for if not for their wish to see a free Tibet?

Dr Lobsang Sangay launching a CTA-sponsored book that glorifies Tibetan suicide by self-immolation.

3. In order to return to Tibet as one nation, will the Dalai Lama reverse the highly divisive policies of the CTA? For example, for the past 22 years, the CTA has accused a significant segment of its population in exile to be Chinese spies purely on the basis that they are worshippers of the Dharma protector Dorje Shugden. In 1996, the CTA banned this Buddhist practice and proceeded to marginalize its practitioners by legislation, even to the point of criminalizing this religious practice, effectively sanctioning assaults on Shugden adherents. All this was part of the CTA’s strategy to distract their people’s attention by keeping their focus on a false enemy rather than their ineptitude. In effect, the CTA invented an enemy out of a benign religious practice, the result of which was to tear apart the Tibetan community in India and the TAR, and indeed anywhere there is a presence of Tibetan Buddhism.

In implementing this decree in the name of the Dalai Lama, the CTA compelled all Tibetans to prove their loyalty to the Dalai Lama by forcing Dorje Shugden worshippers to abandon their faith. This created unrests within the TAR and in response, the Chinese government moved to make it a crime to use the Shugden issue to instigate differences and disharmony. By the CTA’s hand, the Dorje Shugden issue has become a major fault line in Chinese-Tibetan affairs and this must be solved before there is any hope of the Dalai Lama and Tibetans returning home. To allow the Dalai Lama to do so without first disarming the Dorje Shugden issue which the CTA weaponized, would be to invite the potential of this fault line to become a quake of seismic proportions. In this sense, the CTA has created a big hurdle for the Tibetans to return home.

On the other hand, for the CTA to suddenly reverse their stance on the Dorje Shugden practice would expose their deception to the world. Many Tibetans and Buddhists around the world believed the Tibetan leadership when it said that Shugden was a malignant spirit and its practitioners are on China’s payroll. On that basis, a large percentage of Buddhists denounced their teachers, families and friends. How the CTA backs out of this fabrication without losing even more credibility will be something to watch out for. And yet, it has no choice but to do so.

The official website of the Central Tibetan Government carries material that accuses the Dorje Shugden practice to be a demonic practice. The Dalai Lama will need to take steps to remedy this since there are millions of Shugden Buddhists in China. Click to enlarge.

Caught in its own lies

The Dalai Lama’s words to the group of Tibetans made public on 12^th September 2018 raises a moral dilemma for the Tibetan leadership. It has demonized the practice of Dorje Shugden to such a degree and yet it must now do what it has falsely accused Shugden practitioners of doing. The Tibetan leadership must favor the Chinese government and toe the CCP line, something it falsely accused Dorje Shugden practitioners of doing. The CTA must now accept Chinese funds to survive whereas for the past 20 years, it has accused anyone who had anything to do with China to be traitors to the Tibetan cause. It must now uphold China’s law to regard as a crime any attempt to use the Shugden issue to divide the community, a charge it falsely leveled at Shugden Buddhists previously.

It must acknowledge and endorse Tibetan lamas and monasteries that practice Dorje Shugden, along with other traditional Gelug deities, when previously it took the stance that the Dorje Shugden practice is anti-Buddhism. It must now encourage loyal Tibetans to become friends with Shugden practitioners as a means to foster harmony, something that the Chinese government would expect of the Dalai Lama. Previously, the Tibetan leadership would accuse anyone who does not support its religious apartheid against Shugden Buddhists, to be anti-Dalai Lama.

Shouldn’t Tibetans help the Dalai Lama to visit and return to Tibet? If so, Tibetans abroad must cease their criticisms of China to fulfill the Dalai Lama’s dream. If Tibetans are loyal to the Dalai Lama, they will do so. After all, Tibetans shouldn’t be selective of which policies of the Dalai Lama they wish to support and don’t support. After all, Tibetans call themselves democratic but as long as the Dalai Lama is at the ‘helm’ in the background, it will never be democratic. It has been 350 years of whatever the Dalai Lama dictates, he gets. Tibet has been under feudal rule from the line of Dalai Lamas from the 5th to the current 14th. Tibetans are trained to obey without question all of the Dalai Lama’s decisions even in exile in 2018. After all, he is a God-king. Democracy is a name the Tibetan exiled regime gave themselves in exile to look progressive. Being ‘progressive’ fits the western ideal of democracy therefore making them ‘deserving’ of free donations from the west which they have grown fat off of. Donations that allow the Tibetans to continue to be a welfare state in exile for nearly 60 years. Many subsidized minorities in the west have huge social issues, continues to struggle with education and self sufficiency, alcoholism, drug issues, domestic violence and petty crimes. The subsidies were meant to help them get ahead but instead turned some of them reliant, complacent and dependent. Somewhat of a similar situation for many Tibetan youths in India as well as their ‘government’ in exile. Free aid for 60 years did not help the Tibetans nor get their country back. 

How the CTA can accomplish all that is stated above without looking either completely inept or decidedly deceptive is something it has to work out. For now, it is trapped in the web of lies it spun for over two decades. As to whether the Dalai Lama has the will and stamina to break though this CTA-created entanglement is yet to be seen but as long as the CTA is still perpetuating this lie (it recently launched a book in Taiwan demonizing Dorje Shugden) then it is unlikely that the Dalai Lama’s wish to see his homeland will ever be realized.

Fit to be labelled the Most Famous Refugee in the World, the Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 and has been living in India for almost 60 years.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Heinrich Hauff

When Sweden’s Democrats, an extreme right-wing political party with a white nationalist agenda gained a significant win to become the deal-maker who would form the next government of Sweden, the entire European community braced itself for an outpouring of extremist views.

Europe was already in the grip of a tense situation. Yet a very provocative statement was made from a totally unlikely source, His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama, who should have known better than to create even more problems for the Europeans. Only three days after Sweden’s election results, the Dalai Lama, at the start of his European tour in Malmo, Sweden, spoke publicly about how “Europe is for Europeans”. This has since ignited debates that have been raging for nearly two weeks with no signs of dissipation.

With the now infamous ultranationalistic and racist statement, the Dalai Lama revealed how far removed he is from current global affairs and how ignorant he is about the tragedies that have struck the Afghan people and other afflicted groups who have since become reluctant refugees. This is not to mention the disasters that have visited the people of Somalia, Eritrea and those under the Assad and other totalitarian regimes. If the Dalai Lama does not have his finger on the pulse of global affairs, it is only proper for him to refrain from speaking on inflammatory socio-political topics. Especially seeing how he had caused a furore with his remarks on Indian political issues just a month prior. This is especially so given the fact that he has utterly failed to solve the Tibetan refugee problem even after 60 years in exile. Shouldn’t the Dalai Lama focus on solving his own problems instead of creating new ones for the Europeans?

The need for the Dalai Lama to not be issuing political statements couldn’t be any more apparent especially when innocent lives are at stake. For these refugees fleeing their homeland, the conditions in their countries of origin are far from being resolved and are unlikely to be in the near future. To send refugees back to situations where they would face mortal peril is tantamount to signing their death sentence. In addition, what exactly does the Dalai Lama mean when he speaks of their eventual return? And when? In five years? Ten? How arbitrary and miscalculated all that is.

Syrian refugees make up a large percentage of the European Refugee Crisis

As a monk with neither formal education nor training in politics, the blunders the Dalai Lama has made have had wide-reaching consequences, especially when parties manipulate them with harmful agendas. The bottom line is this – for the Dalai Lama to be making statements that stoke Islamophobia, he is carelessly disregarding human lives.

Theo Horesh, the author of the article, “The Dalai Lama Owes An Apology” published in the Elephant Journal, could not help but note the irony:

“The Dalai Lama is himself a refugee who cannot return home without fearing for his life, but he doubled down when asked to clarify his remarks the next day. Perhaps he did not recognize the way his words were being used, or else he simply misspoke. But it is unlikely, given that he is the head of state to a nation in exile and a perceptive thinker who chooses his words carefully.”

Even though popular opinion may place the Dalai Lama as a veteran statesman who saved his people from genocide, it is time to ask what this Nobel Peace Prize winner has really achieved. To begin with, what has the Dalai Lama done to really help the people of Syria, for example, when they were torn apart by war and before they were forced to become refugees? What has the Dalai Lama done to help afflicted countries such as the African nations find peaceful resolutions to the violent disputes that have plagued them? Most relevantly, what has the Dalai Lama done to resolve the Tibetan refugee crisis? (if we can even call it a crisis in this day and age)

1. Tibet is still a part of the People’s Republic of China and there is no sign of the Dalai Lama ever regaining sovereignty over his own homeland.
2. The Dalai Lama himself is still a refugee.
3. The Dalai Lama’s subjects in exile are still refugees. What’s more, Tibetan refugees have also sought to make Europe their home. So it is not only those who fled from war-torn Syria that make up Europe’s refugee population but also Tibetan refugees who contribute to the concerns of the Europeans. Why the Dalai Lama did not address his own people and demand that they are repatriated from Europe is a mystery. After all, they have been there much longer than any other refugees.
4. There is no progress with the Middle Way Approach to seek autonomy within China. In fact, all dialogue with China came to a grinding halt many years ago.

Migrants being rescued in the Mediterranean Sea

Truth be told, the Tibetan people are more hopeless today than they were in 1959 and the Tibetan refugee population who continue to trust and rely on the Dalai Lama’s government is only about half the number in diaspora. The rest seem to have taken matters into their own hands. Shouldn’t the Dalai Lama demonstrate that he can ably solve the Tibetan people’s issues before meddling with Europe’s migrant problems?

For this former head of the Tibetan government-in-exile, the past 60 years have presented countless opportunities to resolve the Tibetan refugee crisis. China’s rise as a global superpower could have meant a slew of benefits for the Tibetan people, but instead of placing emphasis on building relations with the Chinese government, the Dalai Lama directs his attention to everywhere else but China.

In his article, Horesh also displays extraordinary astuteness in his observation of why the Dalai Lama’s Islamophobic statement is ridiculous. He gives the hypothetical example of a Syrian immigrant who has carved a new life in an adoptive country for the past 10 years – his new wife is Turkish, his children are German, and his business is located in Berlin. How can you repatriate such a person back to a country that he and his wife and children have no cultural connection with? How can you ask them to unravel their lives all over again and agree to be alienated one more time just because the Dalai Lama said so?

If we were to go along with the Dalai Lama’s philosophy on refugees returning to develop their home countries, then the question that begs asking is, when will Tibetans-in-exile in Europe and North America be returning to Tibet? What about the Tibetans who have taken foreign partners and those in families with children of mixed race? Are they to reject their new found homes where they have lived for the majority of their lives to simply return to Tibet? After being in Europe for so many decades, many Tibetans are merely Tibetan in name, but culturally they are not. Will these Tibetans who have absorbed decades of foreign culture just transplant themselves and integrate instantly in Tibet, China? Or is the Dalai Lama’s philosophy only for Muslims? If not, why doesn’t it apply to Tibetans too?

Until today, the Dalai Lama has made little progress for the Tibetan cause with the Chinese Government but maintains close relationships with Western leaders

Whether knowingly, or as some allege, unknowingly, the Dalai Lama stoked racist and negative religious sentiments with his irrational statement. This is another sign that as a Buddhist monk, he should not involve himself with European politics as his lack of knowledge in political affairs can be used to hurt other people. It is a glaring revelation that the Tibetan leader lacks in education, exposure and history.

“Like all identities, Europeanness is a mental construction. There is no essence to it; rather, it is what we make it. And the more expansive our idea of it, the more inclusive it can be of the people actually living in it.”

Theo Horesh is brilliant in saying that identities such as ‘Europeanness’ are a mental construction. Of all people, the Dalai Lama who champions Buddhist teachings on subjects like the inherent emptiness of all phenomena, should already know this. Yet, the Dalai Lama conveniently forgets that Albania, Kosovo and Bosnia are three countries in Europe that are also Muslim states. Even Turkey is predominantly Muslim. All of these three Muslim countries are not recent inclusions in the European Union, and therefore the Dalai Lama’s statement on Muslims not being a part of Europe, and on how Europe is for Europeans is another shout out of his ignorance. But more to the point, shouldn’t a spiritual leader promote tolerance and pluralistic views? If our concept of personal and national identities can be broadened to be more inclusive, then clearly there is a better chance for people to live together in harmony.

Horesh summarizes it well when he says that the Dalai Lama’s half-hearted statement has caused hurt, immediately increased Islamophobia and played into the hands of extreme right-wing policies that could be damaging in the long-term. In the present day, these xenophobic extremists are attacking Muslims but who will be next? Will they target other refugees or migrants such as Indians, Asians, Pacific Islanders and so on?

Ultimately, the false identity of Europe for Europeans is a very negligent and damaging statement from someone such as the Dalai Lama who is regarded as a “seasoned politician”. Given that this statement has drastically decreased respect for the popular Tibetan leader worldwide, then perhaps the Dalai Lama who is the most famous refugee in the world, as Horesh says, should apologise.

The Dalai Lama Owes an Apology

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.elephantjournal.com/2018/09/the-dalai-lama-owes-an-apology/

In 2017, approximately 100 Tibetans gathered in Dharamsala to protest against the Tibetan leadership and to call for integrity in the Tibetan leadership. Scenes like this are becoming increasingly common; even the idea that the Dalai Lama might be disturbed to hear about their protest no longer makes these frustrated Tibetans hesitate. However, because they called for greater accountability in their government, these Tibetans were denounced as traitors. But will this soon be a thing of the past? When will Tibetans brave enough to protest against the leadership no longer be harassed and called “anti-Tibetan” or “anti-Dalai Lama”?

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Sil Klose

As His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s reputation is increasingly lying in tatters, Tibetans are growing emboldened when it comes to voicing their opinions against him.

Contextually-speaking, it is not easy for Tibetans to speak up against the Dalai Lama. Centuries of indoctrination to worship the Dalai Lama as a god-king has developed a culture of unquestioned obedience to everything he says. Backing this up is the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala) who enforce his diktats, under the guise of supporting his work but usually using his instructions as a cover to settle personal scores and vendettas, and fulfill private agendas.

So while to Westerners the Dalai Lama appears to be a smiling, giggly, charming old monk (and by nature, he truly is), Tibetans know differently. They know that the Dalai Lama should be obeyed without question, and that to displease him or to displease those who claim to represent him, can invite swift and oftentimes violent retribution in the name of “protecting the Dalai Lama”. They know that to hint, let alone speak, against the Dalai Lama’s policies can result in segregation and discrimination, as has been the experience of Dorje Shugden practitioners who have refused to abide by his ban against this centuries-old Buddhist deity.

Dorje Shugden practitioners have been kicked out of their homes and monasteries and rendered homeless, and refused service in shops, restaurants and even hospitals. The children are bullied in school, the parents are refused employment and the lamas are detained and questioned without basis, to prevent them from being able to teach. In the worst of cases, they are attacked and stabbed, or murdered whether it is by poison or being driven off the road. So to speak up against the Dalai Lama, Tibetan leadership and their policies can be fatal and the fact Tibetans are overcoming centuries of Dalai Lama-worship to join the chorus speaking up against him is a surprise indeed.

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It started with a Tibetan teenager, Tenzin Sherab, making fun of Samdhong Rinpoche, the ex-Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister) and current personal emissary of the Dalai Lama. At a public celebration in New York, the young man bravely took to the stage and mocked Samdhong Rinpoche’s manner of speaking, mimicking the inflections and cadence of his voice. The only reason he probably felt brave enough to do so is because he was in America and not India, and therefore away from the oppressive hand of the CTA.

Nevertheless, it was unprecedented that anyone might conceive of publicly mocking a monk who is the Dalai Lama’s right-hand man in this manner. Even more damning for the CTA’s reputation is that the audience laughed uproariously and gleefully circulated the video on social media. In years gone past, Samdhong Rinpoche would have been untouchable and beyond reproach; as the Kalon Tripa and the Dalai Lama’s emissary, the same courtesy extended to the Dalai Lama would have been extended to him. It now seems to be no longer the case, thanks to the CTA’s actions and how they have destroyed people’s faith in and respect for the monastic community.

The public mocking of Samdhong Rinpoche was followed by Tibetan students questioning Lobsang Sangay when he visited the Tibetan Children’s Village school in Dharamsala. The youths asked about the CTA’s role in the Dorje Shugden controversy and the “President” of the CTA reacted by showing his displeasure, his face instantly darkening and a snarl forming on his lips. Instead of answering their questions, he skirted around the subject and attempted to change topic. There are a few issues with this:

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1. Why even hold a public forum if some questions cannot be asked? And how can the CTA’s top leader, albeit a mere figurehead, be so uncouth as to refuse to answer the electorate’s questions? As future voters of the Tibetan community, the students had every right to ask their leader whatever they want. Is the CTA really a democracy when its leader tries to dictate what topics are appropriate for discussion and what are not?
2. Is this Harvard-educated lawyer so easily shaken? If the equilibrium of the CTA’s top leader can be thrown off balance due to a couple of questions from a few youths far younger than him, is he really fit to be the President of an entire diaspora of Tibetan people? Is he qualified to lead the people in the Dalai Lama’s absence?
3. True to form, the teenagers were summarily detained and questioned, and asked about their affiliations, allegiances and personal beliefs. It is worrisome that a few simple questions can result in the draconian treatment of children and it is insulting that the CTA thinks their own people are not smart enough to think and form their own opinions, but need to be fed the questions and put up to asking them.

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Unfortunately for the CTA, the difficult questions are not going away. In more recent times, members of Parliament have been questioning the accuracy of the Nechung Oracle in official parliamentary sessions which are recorded and broadcasted. It is well-known that the Dalai Lama heavily relies on the Nechung Oracle and the forthcoming proclamations during the trance. His predictions however, have been shown to be unreliable and because people cannot question the Dalai Lama without being attacked for it, they are instead choosing to question the people he relies on. The logic is as such – if you cannot question the man who is making the decisions, then question the decisions he is making and the people who are helping him to make them.

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That is to say, why does the Dalai Lama rely on Nechung if he has been proven over decades to be unreliable? Surely that is a reflection of other potentially-poor choices and decisions the Dalai Lama has made, including the ban on Dorje Shugden and his involvement in the recognition of the Karmapas. As seen in this video below, these members of Parliament (MPs) have even been trying to dissociate themselves from the Nechung Oracle, ashamed and embarrassed that a so-called democracy is relying on spirits and gods for their policy-making.

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After MP Tenpa Yarphel questioned Nechung, it opened a floodgate of uncomfortable questions to be raised in the Tibetan Parliament. This latest series of videos contains the most overt criticism of the Dalai Lama yet to be made public. Some MPs are now openly saying there is no need to listen to everything the Dalai Lama says. Others are now saying that people who question or criticize the Dalai Lama should be left alone and not be harassed for their opinions, nor labelled a “Dalai Lama hater” just because they do not share the same views as him.

This is big, big news as the people now protecting critics of the Dalai Lama are not ordinary Tibetans, but those who are supposed to be the leaders of their community. First, MP Khenpo Kada Ngedup Sonam is actively discouraging Tibetans from following the Dalai Lama’s advice on universal ethics, saying that the advice applies only to the Dalai Lama’s Western audiences. Then the MP Andruk Tseten tells the listening MPs that people who dislike the Dalai Lama, like Dorje Shugden practitioners, do not affect the Dalai Lama’s life. That in fact, it is people who claim to be devoted to the Dalai Lama but disregard his instructions who actually harm the Dalai Lama’s life. In saying this, he backtracks on what the Dalai Lama has claimed all along (that China and Dorje Shugden practitioners are anti-Dalai Lama and anti-Tibetan).

What all of this does is allow Tibetans to feel it is possible to speak up against the Dalai Lama, because now they know their words will not have an effect on his life. In the past, it was always claimed that people who criticize the Dalai Lama will harm his life; now, Andruk Tseten says that this is not the case. On the one hand, cynics might think Khenpo Kada Ngedup Sonam and Andruk Tseten are posturing, saying things that will never happen just to look democratic and open-minded to the outside world. But even if it is posturing, there is always the risk that their posturing will backfire and Tibetans will take their words as encouragement, and it will embolden them to talk.

Instead of things improving for the CTA, they are becoming decidedly worse. The Dalai Lama’s reputation in the Western world is on the decline, amongst both governments who refuse to meet with him as well as the general public, given the exposé of his refusal to act on the sexual abuse cases. When the Dalai Lama is no longer the unquestioned leader he used to be, the CTA will need all the friends they can get for on their own, the CTA has not achieved much and without the reputation of the Dalai Lama backing them, they have no standing of their own.

So rather than continuing down this path, before they reach the point of no return, it would be prudent for them to extend a hand of reconciliation and create as many alliances as possible, even with those whose friendship they have previously rejected such as Dorje Shugden practitioners. Loyalty takes a long time to build up, but is easily destroyed overnight. Case in point – 60 years of goodwill is now in danger due to the Tibetan leadership’s silence over the abuse of women. If the CTA has any hope of enjoying the fruits of loyalty in the future, they had best start protecting and forming it now before it is too late.

Members of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile
speak against the Dalai Lama

“Don’t act on everything just because Dalai Lama says so,” says Khenpo Kada Ngedup Sonam

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Khenpo Kada Ngedup Sonam, a member of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile (MP), reminds his fellow MPs that it is not necessary for them to listen to the Dalai Lama’s instructions.

He announces to all of them that whenever the Dalai Lama speaks about universal ethics, that is for his Western audience and the instructions are not for them (the Tibetans). As such, they do not need to follow it.

If people want to follow the Dalai Lama’s teachings on universal ethics, Khenpo Sonam says that it is enough for them to follow the 16 Pure Human Laws (མི་ཆོས་གཙང་མ་བཅུ་དྲུག).

Khenpo Sonam then reminds the listening MPs that the Dalai Lama recently gave the same instruction, saying that, “We Tibetans do not need to follow, I have already said that the universal ethics are not for us.”

How come Tibetans are exempt from practicing universal ethics?

Why is the Dalai Lama telling Western audiences one thing, and Tibetan audiences another?

“Leave Dalai Lama’s critics alone,”
says Tibetan MP Andruk Tseten

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Member of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, Andruk Tseten, reminds Tibetans of the importance of following the Dalai Lama’s instructions and not disappointing him.

He said that considering the Dalai Lama’s advancing age (84 years old), it will be good for him to lessen his public programs if they are not important. Andruk Tseten says that it is important to make the Dalai Lama’s body and mind be relaxed and at peace, and the way to do this is by not disappointing the Dalai Lama.

Andruk Tseten says that if people like Dorje Shugden practitioners dislike the Dalai Lama, that is due to their ignorance. And if those ignorant people choose to disregard the Dalai Lama’s instructions, it is not a big deal. Andruk Tseten says that their choice will not affect the Dalai Lama’s life and activities. That is good Andruk Tseten says that because in a democratic society, people do not have to agree with everything the leader says and this does not make them ignorant. They do not need to be penalized for thinking different from their leaders. It just shows they have their own way which might be just as good. 

But if people who call the Dalai Lama their precious lama do not follow his instructions, then it will harm his life and activities. Those people who follow the Dalai Lama, but disregard his instructions, are the ones who disappoint and harm him. They are the people who do not bring peace to the Dalai Lama.
 

Sikyong Lobsang Sangay launched a CTA-sponsored book that glorifies Tibetan suicide by self-immolation.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Shashi Kei

It has been 60 years since the Dalai Lama fled Tibet to set up an exile government in Dharamsala, North India. As a third generation of Tibetan refugees drift with uncertain futures in exile, most of them today have not seen, let alone lived in, their homeland. And yet a deep ultranationalism accompanied by animosity towards China persists due to very effective indoctrination that has been championed by the Dalai Lama’s exile Tibetan leadership, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).

Faced with a powerful nemesis and finding itself with no military or economic might, the CTA has instead co-opted two very powerful weapons in its assault against China – the Dalai Lama and the Buddhist religion. In the name of the Dalai Lama, the CTA commandeered Buddhism as a political tool and with that, created pockets of anti-China agitators in every place in the world where the Tibetan Buddhist faith is being practiced.

According to the CTA’s narrative, the proper practice of the Buddha’s teachings compels unquestioning compliance with all of the Dalai Lama’s thoughts, which by extension, translates into the CTA’s policies and its political aspirations. The Dalai Lama is presented as a Buddha and hence all Buddhist adherents owe him a duty of obedience. In doing this, the CTA places the Dalai Lama at risk of being compared to the infamous Pope Boniface VIII, the megalomaniacal pontiff who decreed that salvation was not possible unless the people subjected themselves to him completely. Similarly, one is not a proper Buddhist unless one supports the Dalai Lama ergo, the CTA. This is notwithstanding the fact that the Dalai Lama is not even the absolute spiritual head of his own lineage, the Gelug school, let alone of Buddhism overall.

The CTA has subtly encouraged Tibetan self-immolation as a means to create sympathy for its political agenda. Over 150 Tibetans have perished unnecessarily over the years. When will the CTA finally speak up strongly to discourage the Tibetans from self-harm?

Being in exile accorded the Dalai Lama more power than any of his predecessors or any other Tibetan Buddhist figure, as the world became intoxicated with the Shangrila myth. It is upon this privilege and power that the CTA draws its legitimacy. In the decades since the Dalai Lama escaped Tibet, the Tibetan leader has commanded immense vogue and created a significant global space within which the CTA has increasingly worked its mischief, often undermining the Dalai Lama’s efforts.

The Sabotage

A number of incidences bear testimony to this. For instance, in July 2017 amid a tense standoff between India and China, the President of the CTA Lobsang Sangay decided it was an opportune time to assert Tibetan independence, and to raise the Tibetan flag at Pangong Tso (Pangong Lake), which lies between India and China. Sangay’s taunt of China was all the more provocative given it was done within eyeshot of Tibet. That injudicious act infuriated China, a result at odds with India’s seeking of a peaceful solution to its border woes. To redress the injury, the Indian Foreign Secretary subsequently instructed all Indian government officials to refrain from participating in Tibetan events organized to mark the 60^th anniversary of the Dalai Lama’s exile in India. In essence, the CTA significantly diminished almost 60 years of goodwill the Dalai Lama had built with the CTA’s generous host.

More recently, the Dalai Lama’s efforts to close the gap between Dharamsala and Beijing with accord on spiritual matters has been brazenly thwarted by his own Tibetan government-in-exile. In April 2018, the Dalai Lama acknowledged that the China-enthroned Panchen Lama Gyaincain Norbu is in fact the “official Panchen Lama”, a statement that effectively endorses China’s legitimacy in recognizing and enthroning high lamas. This represents a complete reversal of the Tibetan leadership’s past stance, which asserted that Gyancain Norbu is merely a political stooge and a false incarnation of the popular 10^th Panchen Lama. Given the importance of the Panchen Lama, deemed to be the highest-ranking Tibetan lama in China, the Dalai Lama’s acceptance of the Chinese Panchen Lama was clearly designed to thaw relations with Beijing and draw parties back to the negotiation table. The head of the CTA, Lobsang Sangay was with the Dalai Lama when his proclamation on Gyancain Norbu was made and so there cannot have been a miscommunication.

His Holiness the 11th Panchen Lama, Gyaincain Norbu.

Nevertheless, just two days later, the CTA saw it fit to publish on its official website an article critical of the Chinese Panchen Lama and demanded the release of their authorized Panchen Lama candidate, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima whom they claim had been kidnapped by China in 1995. To ensure that their point was not lost, another two stories were published on the CTA website in May 2018, both critical of the Chinese Panchen Lama. In essence, these stories demolished whatever foundations of friendship the Dalai Lama was constructing with Beijing.

Co-opting Buddhism

Not content with undermining the Dalai Lama’s diplomacy on the domestic front, the CTA has gone international with its attempts. In his recent speeches made during world tours, Lobsang Sangay has framed the Sino-Tibetan conflict as the struggle between Communism and Buddhism, masquerading the fact that it is more accurately a quarrel over who has dominion over the Tibetan nation – a communist regime or a feudal theocracy to whom the Tibetan people were regarded as mere chattel prior to 1959.

The CTA’s misuse of Buddhism is subtle but delivers devastating effect. An example is the Tibetan leadership’s 1996 ban on the worship of a popular Tibetan Buddhist deity, Dorje Shugden. The 2004 Human Rights Watch Report on Tibet dedicates an entire section to Dorje Shugden, articulating how the CTA’s diktat on the Shugden practice created deep divisions amongst Tibetans in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and worldwide. Banning the worship of Dorje Shugden was a calculated and deft strategy. Dorje Shugden, an ancient deity worshipped by many Tibetan Buddhist schools, was carefully chosen from amongst the thousands of deities in the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon due to the popularity of his practice.

The International Shugden Community, whose members comprise of Shugden practitioners from all over the world, have suffered discrimination

The CTA conceived the idea of Dorje Shugden being an instrument of the Chinese, constructed with the aim of destabilizing the reign of the Dalai Lama. In this way, Tibetans were pitted against one another. Dorje Shugden practitioners on the one hand were summarily painted as anti-Tibet, anti-Dalai Lama and pro-Chinese traitors while non-Dorje Shugden practitioners were pro-Tibet and pro-Dalai Lama. The result of all this was unrest within the TAR, precisely what the Chinese government fears most due to the tendency for unrest to escalate into uprisings in China’s frontier regions. It was a clever ruse on the part of the CTA, turning Tibetan Buddhists worldwide into de facto Tibet activists, intent on suppressing Dorje Shugden practitioners with the TAR and across the globe, all for the sake of the so-called ‘Tibet cause’.

A Noxious Assault on Freedom

Whilst effective, this strategy exacts a very high attrition on communities dragged into supporting the CTA’s agenda, namely discord and disharmony in erstwhile peaceful societies not involved in Sino-Tibetan aggressions. Still, it is a cost the CTA seems prepared to inflict as we see in its recent interference in Taiwanese spiritual affairs. Since 1949 Taiwan and China have had fraught relations. As tensions renewed between the two nations under Taiwan’s new President, Tsai Ing-wen, the CTA waded in to introduce further enmity and mistrust between the small island nation and the juggernaut China.

In August 2018, CTA representative Dawa Tsering proudly launched a new anti-Shugden book in Taiwan, titled “Tibetan Dharma Protectors, Deities and Demons”

In August 2018, the CTA via its agency Snowland Publications in Taiwan published Tibetan Dharma Protectors, Deities and Demons. The book was written in Chinese with a foreword by Dawa Tsering, the CTA’s representative in Taiwan. At first glance, the publication of an educational book on Tibetan Buddhism seems benign enough. However, on closer inspection, it bears all the hallmarks of good propaganda material created with one intention – to use the Dorje Shugden issue to divide the community and blame China.

With chapter titles like “How did Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen [who arose as the said divinity Dorje Shugden] become an evil spirit”; and “The Poison of Dolgyal [a derogatory name for the deity]” and “The Consequences of Propitiating Shugden” there is no doubt what the objective of the book is. Not a single page acknowledges the fact that the highest lamas of the Gelug and the Sakya, including the 14^th Dalai Lama, had worshipped the deity.

Dawa Tsering said in an interview with Radio Free Asia that Dorje Shugden “violates Buddhism” while sidestepping the fact that the very idea of a book that disparages a religion and seeks to create disharmony in a foreign state violates the simplest concept of freedom and decency. This is the CTA once again undermining the Dalai Lama’s work to portray the Tibetans as harmless and soulful citizens of a heavenly Himalayan nation.

Not only is it suspicious that an official of the supposedly democratic CTA is again conflating religion and politics, but now the CTA is stirring trouble in another country whose religious affairs are of no concern to any foreign government, let alone an exiled and stateless administration whose primary preoccupation should be the welfare of its refugee populace and the fulfilment of the Dalai Lama’s wish to return to Tibet.

Prior to the new Taiwanese publication, Lobsang Sangay had launched yet another anti-Shugden book in 2016, written with the purpose of segregating and creating further divisions within the Tibetan community.

The CTA’s latest anti-Shugden book purports to expose Taiwanese Buddhist groups that it claims have been infiltrated by the Chinese government. The basis of this allegation is purely on account of the groups’ worship of Dorje Shugden, the deity that the CTA had pre-emptively outlawed despite claiming to be a democracy. According to the book’s line of thought, the evil government of China has corrupted Buddhism in Taiwan and therefore, even if a Buddhist practitioner has no interest in Sino-Tibetan politics, he should still oppose China as a means of defending the integrity of his faith. That makes him a supporter of the Dalai Lama and CTA by default.

The CTA’s act has far-reaching consequences:

• To begin with, it trespasses on Taiwan’s spiritual affairs, rightly an internal issue that the CTA should have no say over.
• It specifically targets certain Taiwanese Buddhist groups. Thus, the CTA is implying that all good Taiwanese Buddhists should disregard Taiwan’s laws that provide for freedom of religion, and instead obey the CTA’s decrees.
• It attempts to criminalize Taiwanese citizens who choose not to abide by the CTA’s diktats regarding Dorje Shugden.
• It conflates spirituality with politics, implying that a Taiwanese citizen’s personal choice of worship is somehow a reflection of their private political beliefs.
• It brings to Taiwan the same unrest it created within the TAR and in other Tibetan Buddhist communities worldwide.
• It is an external administration passing judgement on Taiwanese citizens, thereby disregarding the sovereignty that Taiwan claims for itself and its people. How is that any different from, say, Germany passing a decree about Greek citizens? Or from China making decisions on Taiwan’s behalf, to put it into a context a Taiwanese citizen can relate to?

The CTA’s own treatment of Shugden Buddhists is nothing short of draconian. For instance, it publishes on its official website a series of notices and parliamentary resolutions that criminalizes Shugden worship and compels the Tibetan populace to apply pressure on Shugden Buddhists to give up their faith. Now the CTA wants the people of Taiwan to similarly turn on their own countrymen and splinter the Taiwanese Buddhist community. The deeply divided Tibetan community worldwide and the unrest in the TAR such as that reported by the Human Rights Watch in 2004 bear witness to the damage suffered by those who have listened to the CTA.

The official website of the Central Tibetan Administration carries material that undemocratically accuses Dorje Shugden practitioners worldwide to be “Chinese spies” and “criminals in history”. Click to enlarge.

What the CTA aims to do – constrain the people’s choice of belief while planting dissension and bringing strife upon Taiwan’s Buddhist community – contravenes the most fundamental international laws that prohibit a State from interfering with the internal affairs of another State thereby compromising its sovereignty. This is notwithstanding the fact that the CTA is not legally a State by the definition of established International Law, although it behaves and demands to be accorded the privileges and status of one. In fact, for 60 years, the CTA has acted outside the ambit of every global regulatory body and the reach of international law, a convenience they have exploited fully. Next, and given prevailing tensions between Taiwan and China, the CTA’s book that accuses Shugden Buddhists of being Chinese agents serves to induce further sentiments detrimental to the development of peaceful reunification between Taiwan and China. Stirring anti-China sentiments can only damage cross-strait ties at a time when they are already frail.

A Simple Business Decision

It may perplex some to see how a government that claims to base its policies on Buddhist values such as ahimsa (non-violence or non-injury) engage in such treachery to serve its political agenda. This is especially so when the Dalai Lama became famous off the back of touting messages of peace all over the world, even being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. But there is a simple explanation – the CTA is after all an exile government and as such, its reason for existing holds only as long as the 150,000 or so Tibetans who followed the Dalai Lama into exile continue to be refugees.

The CTA’s locus standi ends the moment the Dalai Lama’s spiritual and political plans are accomplished, symbolized by his return to China-controlled Tibet. The success of the Dalai Lama’s work comes at the demise of the CTA, which will simply have no role in the TAR. It is highly unlikely China will consider, let alone allow, for a separate administration to operate autonomously with its own set of rules, especially one that has spent six decades actively seizing every opportunity to destabilize the region.

The CTA will have to dissolve its core and supporting structures including the countless Office of Tibet premises around the world that have drawn, according to conservative estimates, an annual average of USD50 million into the CTA’s coffers for the past 60 years. This money is supposed to be applied towards improving the standard of living of the Tibetan refugees but, given the string of global propaganda campaigns that keep resentment towards China at a peak, critics cannot help but wonder if the donations and grants have been used to bankroll the CTA’s schemes instead.

Should the Dalai Lama manage to draw the Chinese government into a settlement, this gravy train would come to an abrupt halt and career politicians like Lobsang Sangay would lose all prestige accorded him. He will instead have to return to his position as an assistant lecturer, given the lack of demand in the otherwise lucrative lecture circuit for a failed President who has no achievements to call his own. Which politician-businessman would seek such an end? There are such incongruities between what the CTA portrays and its actions that lend credence to China’s labelling of the CTA as a “separatist government”. The Dalai Lama has called for a cessation of CTA hostilities towards China saying that it is foolish to regard China as the enemy and that the past is past. Clearly, the CTA disagrees. It cannot afford not to.

中国染指“凶天”渗透分化海外藏人

Source: https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/hx1-08202018101135.html. Click to enlarge.

Originally published on June 11, 2009

(Source: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=49.0)

This website helps me to see things better but what I as I have always believed deep in my heart the same beliefs as expressed in this website…

I respect H.H. the Dalai Lama and I respect Dharmaphala Dorje Shugden. Just like my teacher Lama Yeshe who had supreme faith in H.H. and trusted Dorje Shugden his whole life till he passed away.

LAMA YESHE was the very symbol of skillful compassionate action in constant motion and he mentioned many times that Dorje Shugden made his works grow as far as it did during his life time. Lama stayed true to his root teachers such as H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, Geshe Rabten and H.H. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche showing us what guru devotion is really meant to be free of political inclinations.

In his practice of Dorje Shugden, Lama never hinted even slightly of sectarianism, or disregard for any form of religion never mind Buddhism. Lama would sometimes make breakfast for us students and during breakfast go into a dharma subject we were unclear about, or praise of H.H. the Dalai Lama or one of his personal teachers.

That truly was an age of ‘innocence’ sort of a way to say. Very inspiring stories at that. I miss those days before the controversies. Much simpler back then. Simpler that there was next to zero in lama-bashing, centre-bashing, lineage-bashing or siding up with H.H. the Dalai Lama for political reasons.

It was Lama who cared for me and taught me patiently. It is Lama whom I owe everything to. I will choose Lama always.

I am grateful to Lama for the dharma he imparted to so many. I express my gratefulness to Lama by myself never criticizing or doubting any of his practices or the practices he so compassionately gave us.

If Lama can have such deep affection/faith for H.H. the Dalai Lama, tremendous effort of guru devotion in his lamas, and keep up the practice of his protector Dorje Shugden throughout his life and see no conflicts, then I will do the same in my limited capacity.

I respect the Dalai Lama from my heart, but my root guru is Lama Yeshe and he advised us to practice Dorje Shugden and I will do so till the end.

If I must choose between the Dalai Lama and my root guru, Lama Yeshe, then I choose Lama Yeshe. He is the one that cared for me. Patiently taught me the dharma in a down-to-earth pragmatic level.

Lama Yeshe was not considered to be a scholar, or have studied much or even considered learned by his own Tibetan peers. Lama Yeshe was not a Rinpoche per se, nor ‘qualified’ to sit on a throne in a monastic environment, and did not obtain his Geshe degree that some equate as qualified to teach these days, but he was instrumental to bring thousands onto the path of BuddhaDharma.

He had real experiential knowledge of the dharma and was able to convey it in such a way that it would literally change the lives of hundreds as it did me.

I have met the Dalai Lama a few times and feel very fortunate, but the actual lama that took care of me was Lama Yeshe. I will view him as my refuge. In my meditations I invite Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa, Zong Rinpoche to dissolve into Lama Yeshe and then I focus on Lama Yeshe and proceed with my refuge.

Even when Lama was hospitalized for the last time and ‘dying’, H.H. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche flew in to perform the rituals, prayers, ceremonies necessary. The actual cremation H.H. Zong Rinpoche again flew into Vajrapani Institute in California to oversee the whole procedure. That shows us Lama’s deep guru samaya intact that on his deathbed, his great lama would personally fly in to do the rites both during his death process and again during the cremation.

Kyabje Zong Rinpoche performing puja for Lama when he was extremely sick

Lama made no conflicts between the great lamas, his lamas, lineages, schools, diverse religions and certainly not dorje shugden and I think that embodies his capacity to think from a deeper wisdom. I bow to Lama. I MISS LAMA.

I hope his students will keep their samaya clean to Lama. I hope his students will never criticize H.H. the Dalai Lama, H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, H.H. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, their practices and their students.

I HOPE FPMT WILL NEVER CRITICIZE DORJE SHUGDEN WHICH IS LAMA’S PERSONAL DHARMA PROTECTOR. I HOPE THAT FPMT STUDENTS WILL RESPECT LAMA’S WISHES AND PRACTICE THE DHARMA. I HOPE THEY NEVER CRITICIZE STUDENTS, CENTRES AND GREAT LAMAS WHO WISH TO CONTINUE THIS PRACTICE OF DORJE SHUGDEN.

I am very happy to see Lama Yeshe’s sacred picture in this website’s masters sections. Many people are afraid to say the truth to look politically wrong. But that is not what the dharma is about. We should let go of attachment of this sort and just do our practice. Ego-less state of mind is the goal of our practice as Lama would say.

Lama relied on Dorje Shugden, just as Kyabje Zong Rinpoche did. When we condemn Dorje Shugden, aren’t we condemning Lama’s choices? Aren’t we condemning Kyabje Zong Rinpoche’s choices?

Also never to criticize Dorje Shugden and the practices Lama gave us SO THAT HIS CURRENT INCARNATION CAN MANIFEST AS A DHARMA TEACHER. The only way his unmistaken current incarnation can manifest as a great dharma teacher again, is if his students keep samaya clean free of politics and free of politically motivated actions in the name of dharma.

Otherwise, it would be the responsibilities of the students if the current Lama Yeshe incarnation cannot perform the actions as he had set out to do. After all, if we as FPMT members criticize others who practice Dorje Shugden, then that will accumulate very heavy karma. Why? Because we destroy the faith of others in their gurus.

Do we have the right to do that? Does Lama Zopa’s closeness with H.H. the Dalai Lama validate FPMT CENTRES AND MEMBERS TO BE SOME KIND OF SPIRITUAL POLICE. That type of spiritual arrogance will be the downfall of any dharma organization. IT IS CONTRARY TO THE SPIRIT OF LAMA YESHE’S ASPIRATIONS.

We should reflect Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa well, by never criticizing other sects, lamas, lineages, practices, Dorje Shugden, etc. Why because it contradicts Lama Yeshe’s Bodhicitta aspirations. We should not especially criticize lamas who are spiritual heirs of Sera, Gaden, Drepung or who are students of Pabongkha, Trijang, Zong Rinpoches. Why? Because they are OUR LINEAGE LAMAS ALSO AND THEY ALL PRACTICED DORJE SHUGDEN AS THEIR PRINCIPLE PROTECTOR.

What if Lama’s reincarnation decides not to take over?

After all, think, how many years will Lama Zopa be alive. If Lama Osel, doesn’t decide to take over, or manifest as in his previous life, then what will happen to FPMT after Lama Zopa is gone. I shudder to think that. So we MUST CREATE THE CAUSES FOR FPMT TO SURVIVE AND LAMA OSEL TO MANIFEST AS HIS PREVIOUS LIFE BY KEEPING OUR SAMAYA CLEAN. HELPING OTHERS TO KEEP THEIR SAMAYAS CLEAN TO THEIR LAMAS BY NEVER CRITICIZING.

We can set out to cross the bridge, but if others destroy the bridge, then to get to the other side would take much more effort after great delays. Lama Zopa is working so hard, but the sad time will come when he enters death, then if Lama Osel’s incarnation is willing to take over, it will be smooth. Otherwise what will happen. What will become of all that has been started??? That would be such a waste.

So myself, I keep up my practices to create the causes for that. We cannot think of Lama’s work just expanding in our life time which it can due to Lama Zopa. But into future lifetimes. Future generations. So for that to happen, we need continuation of Lama’s successor.

If we just follow along the current political tides, we may look clean and good, but simultaneously it becomes damaging to what Lama’s previous incarnation practiced and that would not be very good. What’s the point if Lama’s centers and works grow now and after Lama Zopa’s passing, it stops, slows down or what not?

Is spiritual attainments gained by flashing pictures we have taken together with the Dalai Lama to other centers and justifying our arrogant authoritarian ways with that? I don’t think so.

I think if Dalai Lama is close to FPMT we should reflect that well by being even more humble, even more gentle, even more kind so we do not stain the name of H.H. the Dalai Lama. We cannot uplift his name or prove our guru devotion to him by putting down anything in regards to Dorje Shugden. That would be a heavy price to pay at the expense of our own Lama Yeshe’s heart protector. That is Dorje Shugden.

So when Lama was alive, we practice Dorje Shugden and Dorje Shugden is ok and a Buddha.

Lama Yeshe (far right) and Lama Zopa (second from right) doing a puja underneath a thangka of Dorje Shugden.

Kopan had monthly ‘secret’ pujas to Dorje Shugden as with most of the centers. The FPMT centers that were fortunate to have a great lama/geshe living nearby would always invite them monthly to the centers to do the monthly Dorje Shugden pujas as instructed by both Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa.

The young Kyabje Pabongkha Rinpoche who resides in Nepal was often invited to Kopan Monastery to perform incredible pujas. Even before the current new Kopan Prayer Hall was built, many preliminary pujas had to be done on the land before the foundation was set. Kopan invited Kyabje Pabongkha Rinpoche to perform them.

Then when Dharamsala started stepping up on their anti-Shugden campaign, Kopan cut their ties with Pabongkha Rinpoche. It remains so till this day amazingly and he is the reincarnation of our lineage master!!!

I was amazed when I heard that from very reliable sources. In fact, Kopan wanted to look good, that the monk administrators influenced some Taiwanese sponsors against Pabongkha Rinpoche. Rinpoche was promised by them to build a Pabongkha Monastery in Nepal, and the Taiwanese had promised to sponsor it.

In order to get on Dharamsala’s good side and to get the sponsorship for themselves, Kopan administrative monks told the Taiwanese sponsors (which I will withhold name from here) that Pabongkha Rinpoche is not following Dalai Lama’s instructions to abandon Shugden practice and that they should not support Pabongkha’s Rinpoche’s intent on building the Monastery in Nepal.

Consequently it worked and unfortunately for Kopan’s karma. My question is, who put Kopan as the spiritual police in Nepal and so daringly create schism between their lineage guru’s sponsors??

For example, the Delhi FPMT branch centre in the past on monthly basis would invite the great Rongtha Gyabgon Rinpoche who lived in Ladakh Budh Vihar, New Delhi to perform the pujas at their centre every month. Dorje Shugden full puja was done at FPMT centre in Delhi monthly with great offerings. It was advised by Lama Zopa. In fact, Lama Zopa used to perform the Dorje Shugden pujas in both Kopan and Delhi himself on many occasions!!

Himalayan Yogic Institute in Katmandu had a Dorje Shugden statue in their side shrine room in a box with offerings, it would be opened from time to time as did the Delhi centre.

So Kopan is now very great, how did Dorje Shugden damage Kopan?? What was the wrong results manifesting now due to the decades that Lama Yeshe practiced Dorje Shugden and had Kopan do pujas monthly?? So if a friend helped us in the past, and we get a new friend, we simply abandon the old friend? Is that ethical or dharmic?

Lama Yeshe in Kopan, 1975 doing a puja during the 8th Meditation Course. Thanks to Lama’s reliance on Dorje Shugden, Kopan has grown to become great today. So how did Lama’s reliance on Dorje Shugden curtail Kopan’s success?

Then Lama dies and we don’t practice because H.H. the Dalai Lama says not to. And HH has reasons beyond our ordinary minds can conceive. Then one unfortunate day, H.H. Dalai Lama passes away (very sad time) and Lama Yeshe is back and then we again practice Dorje Shugden?? I mean that is a strange scenario. Back and forth that is.

It is very sad, because many of the FPMT centers now go on spiritual witch-hunts condemning other centers in their same cities. Using Dorje Shugden practice as negative as their ‘pure’ reasoning to take students away from their respective centers to join the nearby FPMT centers. But in fact they are just as I see it, trying to increase their own memberships.

I have witnessed this. Many, many, many of the older Lama Yeshe students have gone underground with their practices of Dorje Shugden. Some like me do not really go to the centers here in the USA anymore. They will not abandon their practice of Dorje Shugden because of their great devotion to Lama Yeshe and are somewhat flabbergasted at the direction that some new FPMT centers’ are going with their arrogant witch hunts.

What is important to remember is JUST BECAUSE YOU ATTEND THE DALAI LAMA’S TEACHINGS, OR HAVE TAKEN PHOTOS WITH HH DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY VALIDATE YOU AS A SPIRITUAL POLICEMAN AND GO ON WITCH-HUNTS.

We must practice the essence of what HH teaches as did Lama Yeshe, which are tolerance, compassion, forgiveness and not ever slandering any lama, dharma, lineage or practice. As the karmic retributions will fall onto us. We should never mislead new FPMT students toward this line of thought. We are destroying our organization slowly if we do so.

FPMT centers citing so and so practice Dorje Shugden and so therefore they are not pure. That is so hypocritical and political because Lama Yeshe practiced and Lama Zopa was recognized as a tulku by Dorje Shugden himself. In Dorje Shugden is a ghost, then Lama Zopa’s recognition becomes nil.

In fact some of the FPMT centers’ committees are in direct competition to attach students to their OWN centers for fundraising, attendance, membership, etc. So they use the heinous method of condemning Dorje Shugden to scare other centre members into joining FPMT. In fact when they do that, it is a disgrace. Older/senior FPMT students should speak up to new and younger ones who have not had the great fortune to meet our founder, Lama Yeshe.

Lama with His Holiness Zong Rinpoche (seated) and Lama Zopa. Both Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa received Dorje Shugden from Zong Rinpoche Rinpoche. Was Lama praying to a ghost? What Zong Rinpoche praying to a ghost?

Lama Yeshe’s main protector practice was Dorje Shugden till the end. He didn’t take an unfortunate rebirth. Dorje Shugden didn’t harm him? IF LAMA YESHE WAS PRAYING TO A GHOST, THEN WHY DIDN’T HE TAKE REBIRTH IN THE THREE LOWER REALMS??

We must think clearly and not be swept away by convenient political tides in order to fill our dharma centers with membership so it gives it a successful appearance. If that was done, what would be the cost? It would affect Lama Osel’s current incarnation in not being able to manifest as a dharma teacher.

We destroy other people’s faith in their lama, and help them break their samaya with their lama, that karma would return back to us PERSONALLY AND AS A GROUP.

We as FPMT should respect our founder’s wishes and not ever criticize Dorje Shugden, his practitioners, his lineage, his followers in anyway because our founder, Lama Yeshe was one of them.

We shouldn’t practice or not practice what the current political situation pressures us to or not to. We should do what our lama says. So during Lama’s life Dorje Shugden is good and now Lama is dead, so Dorje Shugden is bad??? Wouldn’t that infer that lama was wrong, had bad degenerate practices, lacking in wisdom, had no refuge, had no attainments and wasted his life praying to a spirit??

So if Lama gave us Heruka initiation and practice, then it had no blessings because lama’s refuge degenerated due to his practice of Dorje Shugden?? Since Dorje Shugden is a spirit and Lama kept up his ‘sogtae’ (Dorje Shugden’s initiation) or life entrustment practices his whole life, then all of the other practices lama did was degenerated and ineffective when passed to us.

So any practices Lama Zopa received from Lama Yeshe and passes it to others would logically be degenerate also??? Wouldn’t it?

Lama gave many teachings and practices to us. It is our duty and commitment as his students that we maintain what Lama conferred on us, and not give it up for convenience or the sake of politics or financial benefits.

The implications are quite big if we choose to believe that way….So that would mean many of the practices that Lama Zopa does now and gives others that are directly from Lama Yeshe are degenerated because Lama Yeshe was degenerated?? Of course not. Very dangerous line of thought. Very ruinous direction we are heading toward.

I watched Lama Zopa get brow-beaten into ‘giving’ up his Dorje Shugden practices. And Lama has to be degenerated because H.H. Kyabje Trijang and Zong Rinpoches were degenerated we have to falsely assume. Both these lamas practiced Dorje Shugden till they entered parinirvana (deaths)…Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche entered into 12 days of clear light meditations in Dharamsala and Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, three days.

And their unmistaken incarnations are back recognized by both H.H. the Dalai Lama and Dorje Shugden via his oracle again. How come they didn’t go to the Three Lower Realms since they worshipped Dorje Shugden the ‘spirit’ their whole lives in fact in all their previous many incarnations they worshipped also.

They didn’t descend into the lower realms from a lifetime of practicing and propagating a Dorje Shugden. Since these great lamas have ‘degenerated’ their refuge by the practice of Dorje Shugden which implies they have zero attainments in the first place to choose a spirit to worship, then their other practices naturally became defiled.

Do we choose to believe that way of thought?? I and many others clearly don’t. It doesn’t make sense. Many teachers and thousands of their disciples around the world today are committed and practice Dorje Shugden today. Because they have been given this practice by H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche and H.H. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche. They are following the commands of their root gurus, so what are they doing wrong? We switch gurus like status symbols??

His Holiness Zong Rinpoche (left) and His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche (right) were both Lama’s gurus. Both of them practiced Dorje Shugden, and they in turn conferred this practice onto Lama. Lama maintained his commitment to them until the end of his life, so how come we cannot maintain ours?

These are both the root gurus of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa. So we should not criticize other centers, lamas, students that practice Dorje Shugden. Be true to your dharma practice.

Even if hypothetically lama had given up his Dorje Shugden practices during his life, which he did not, his gurus didn’t give it up. So if his gurus did not give it up, then the practices received by Lama Yeshe would have been degenerated since his lamas are degenerated.

Lama Yeshe was inviting H.H. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche up till his death in the early 80’s to his centers giving teachings, initiations, transmissions and commentaries. And Dorje Shugden life empowerments to hundreds. So however you want to look at it, then many of the practice graciously conferred by lama Zopa today are in one way or another defiled or at least contaminated. Could that be so? I don’t want to go that direction.

So however many photos Lama Zopa takes together with H.H. the Dalai Lama and advertised (as today, affiliations with Dalai Lama in any way would hint at authenticity/genuine practice whether you are or not) or whoever many events of H.H. are sponsored by Lama Zopa, it still cannot wash away the inner degenerate practices received from Lama Yeshe. Is that what we choose to believe?

Lama assisting Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, who he was extremely devoted to. Lama never gave up his commitments. What kind of example are we setting for future generations of FPMT if we gave up what Lama gave to us? What does that say about our devotion to Lama?

Even if Lama Zopa truly gave up his Dorje Shugden practices to be ‘absolved’, then he would have to give up all the practices that Lama Yeshe gave him also or at least don’t pass it to others. Then we have to believe the founder of our FPMT Lama Yeshe WAS WRONG.

In order to be truly clean? Just giving up Dorje Shugden wouldn’t be enough as his root lama, Lama Yeshe would have to be thought of as WRONG IN LAMA ZOPA’S DAILY MEDITATIONS. I also don’t think so.

So I again request everyone to think of the implications. Otherwise Lama Zopa had no formal long term training in Sera, has never studied to be a Geshe and is not a known as a scholar. He is not a Geshe of any rank. But contrary to not being a scholar-Geshe, he has excelled as a great master anyways. How kind of Dorje Shugden to know that Lama Zopa would bring many benefit to others and therefore recognize him as a true reincarnation.

When Dorje Shugden recognized him as a great incarnation, everyone accepted and believed. It is believed and accepted until today WITHOUT QUESTION. So if Dorje Shugden is an evil spirit, what about Lama Zopa? Do we want to go that direction I ask again ? If Dorje Shugden is evil, then why believe Lama Zopa is an incarnation? Since Dorje Shugden pronounced it first.

I am grateful to Dorje Shugden for assisting Lama throughout his holy life. I am grateful to H.H. the Dalai Lama to spread Dharma even further now where the seeds have been sown way back then by the greats like Lama and his contemporaries for it to grow this big now..

This website speaks the same message as Lama Yeshe did. That is guru devotion, tolerance, acceptance and using one’s wisdom mind. I thank all those who participate in it and host it.

Our great current Lama Zopa Rinpoche HIMSELF WAS RECOGNIZED AS A REINCARNATION OF LAWUDO LAMA BY DORJE SHUGDEN HIMSELF.

The famous oracle of Dungkar, taking trance of Dorje Shugden. There was only one oracle at Dungkar, and this oracle took trance of six deities, three of whom are Dorje Shugden or associated with Dorje Shugden.

There was a very famous oracle of Dorje Shugden in Dromo Geshe’s Rinpoche’s Dungkar Monastery. This Monastery was visited by H.H. the Dalai Lama. When Dalai Lama visited, he was so impressed with Dorje Shugden’s prophecies via the Oracle Monk, that there and then H.H. the Dalai Lama composed the prayer and praise to Dorje Shugden. Still in use today. I am sure it is the same prayer as on the Home page of this extraordinary website.

There were many incidences of Lama Zopa wanting to become a monk or join his uncle to go to Tibet when he was very young. His mother relenting finally sent the young Lama Zopa with his uncle to Tibet where they went to Dungkar Monastery.

It was at this Monastery, the monks asked Dorje Shugden in full trance whether this young boy from Nepal was indeed a Tulku Incarnation as the young boy himself insisted that he was. DORJE SHUGDEN CONFIRMED IT. Yes Dorje Shugden took full possession/trance of Dungkar’s oracle and conferred the Rinpoche title on Lama Zopa and till this day it still holds.

So the current holder of the whole FPMT organization, our own Lama Zopa Rinpoche, was recognized, installed and enthroned by Dorje Shugden himself as a reincarnation or a Tulku. It is on that basis that Lama Zopa received special training from Lama Yeshe.

Many didn’t know that Lama Zopa was recognized by Dorje Shugden himself. He is and many of the younger FPMT students can verify that with the book written by the nun Jamyang Wangmo. Excellent book.

I would recommend highly getting this book which tells you everything:

THE LAWUDO LAMA

Written by Jamyang Wangmo (Vajra Publications)

You can get it at any major bookstore. The incredible thing is that His Holiness the Dalai Lama has given a foreword to the book!

Why would His Holiness endorse this book knowing that it was Dorje Shugden who confirmed Lama Zopa’s incarnation status. Isn’t the Dalai Lama inadvertently or indirectly endorsing the recognition made by Dorje Shugden by giving a foreword to this book which is the biography of Lama Zopa Rinpoche?

See Page 172-173 of this book. Also see page 376 (footnote 250, 256) where it mentions clearly that ‘Gyachen’ (short for Gyachen Dorje Shugden) took possession of the oracle that day and pronounced Lama Zopa to be a true incarnation. This Dungkar Monastery oracle was famous throughout Tibet to take trance of Gyachen Dorje Shugden, Tashi Ober, Kache Marpo and Namkar Barzin. Kache Marpo and Namkar Barzin both being Dorje Shugden’s main entourage.

Page 172 and 173

footnote 250, as referenced in Pages 172 and 173

footnote 256

In fact many of the great masters mentioned in this book took Dorje Shugden as their principle protector. Masters such as Serkong Dorje Chang, Geshe Rabten, Zong Rinpoche, Trijang Rinpoche, Trehor Kyorpon Rinpoche, etc. etc. It seems many of the Lamas connected to Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa are great practitioners of Dorje Shugden.

We of FPMT, especially the people who joined after Lama Yeshe’s passing should think of the future from a wide scope. Our founding father was a sound Dorje Shugden practitioner, and his legacy was passed to Lama Zopa who was invested as a Tulku by Dorje Shugden.

Our lineage lamas all practiced Dorje Shugden as their principle protector. We must not criticize this protector in any way. If he was so bad, or truly a spirit, do you think all the dharma protectors of Tibet cannot out beat him?

Do you think the Dalai Lama cannot do some wrathful pujas and just subdue him as was done to Nechung (In Exile From The Land Of Snows. Wisdom Publications by John F. Avedon. Chapter: Wheel of Protection, pp. 238-270). Could it be that and evil spirit can harm the Dalai Lama’s life, merits and activities? If he can be harmed, then what is the point we take refuge?

We must think deeper, harder and refrain from actions of body, speech and mind to get immediate benefit. We must think of our organization, the dharma, and our personal growth on a long term basis. Into our future lives.

I hope all that read this would understand better. That is my hope to write. As I have not said anything for over twenty years.

Yeshe Sangye

FPMT Lineage Lamas

If FPMT is to be a fortress of Dharma, it has to depend on the solid foundations by which it is built, and there is no stronger foundation than to follow the Guru’s instructions, as stated in Je Tsongkapa’s text The Foundation of All Good Qualities. The majority of Lama Zopa’s teachers are well-known stalwarts of Dorje Shugden. It is no secret that Lama practiced Dorje Shugden himself too. In fact, Lama Zopa himself says,

Of course, Lama and I practiced Dorje Shugden for many years. That was always the main thing that Lama did whenever there were problems to overcome. At the beginning of every Kopan course, Lama always did Shugden puja to eliminate hindrances.
Source: http://www.lamayeshe.com/?sect=article&id=1026

It is therefore baffling that Lama Zopa and any of the senior students of FPMT, most of whom have Lama Yeshe as their root guru, would denounce Dorje Shugden today. By contradicting their lineage masters, a number of questions arise:

1. If most of FPMT’s lineage masters are correct about Dorje Shugden and take the Protector as an integral practice, how can the FPMT simply dismiss it on the whim of the Dalai Lama?
2. If Lama Zopa so blatantly disregards the majority of his teachers, how can the FPMT hope to inculcate guru devotion in their students? And if there is no culture of strong devotion to the gurus, how can the FPMT teach higher trainings that requite absolute adherence to the guru’s instructions?
3. If the FPMT agrees with the Dalai Lama and CTA as they seem to, and accordingly treat Dorje Shugden practitioners as criminals of society and enemies of the Tibetan people, then why list “criminals” on their official website as lineage masters?
4. Following on from that, why continue to pass on the lineage teachings to present and future FPMT students if indeed these teachings came from lamas who seriously erred by practicing demon worship, as the FPMT claim Dorje Shugden to be?

Let’s take a closer look at the list of gurus that Lama Zopa names as his teachers:

1. H.H. Pabongka Rinpoche Dechen Nyingpo

Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche’s faith and reliance on Dorje Shugden was undisputed. This enlightened master, who authored what has been recognized as an important Lamrim text (Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand) by the Dalai Lama himself, taught the great importance of propitiating Dorje Shugden as the Dharma Protector of the Gelug lineage.

Read more: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/pabongka-rinpoche-wikipedia/

2. H.H. Trijang Rinpoche

In modern Gelugpa history, there is hardly any significant figure of the Ganden tradition who has not been a disciple of Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche. Trijang Rinpoche’s role in preserving the entirety of the Oral Ganden lineage and then passing it on intact cannot be disputed, and Dorje Shugden’s practice is an integral part of that tradition.

Read more: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/great-masters/tributes/a-tribute-to-his-holiness-kyabje-trijang-rinpoche/

3. H.H. Ling Rinpoche

Kyabje Ling Rinpoche was the heart disciple of Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche, and Ling Rinpoche received all his Dharma knowledge and practices from Pabongka Rinpoche. Ling Rinpoche, in turn, passed his knowledge and practices down to the 14th Dalai Lama. It is a known fact that Ling Rinpoche prescribed Dorje Shugden’s practice to many within the Tibetan community, and also composed prayers to Dorje Shugden.

Read more: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/the-controversy/dalai-lama-and-ling-rinpoche-a-contradiction/

4. H.H. Zong Rinpoche

A heart son of H.H. Trijang Rinpoche, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche had impeccable knowledge of all rituals, art and science, and was renowned for his ‘many actions of powerful magic,’ as a result of which ‘the most marvellous, indescribable signs occurred.’ Zong Rinpoche trusted Dorje Shugden wholeheartedly and advised his students to practice strongly and devotedly.

Read more: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/videos/must-watch/must-watch-advice-from-hh-kyabje-zong-dorje-chang-on-dorje-shugden-part-1/

5. Lama Yeshe

The founder of FPMT and a great practitioner of Dorje Shugden till the end, Lama Yeshe is well known to have commenced all-important Dharma projects with Dorje Shugden prayers. He remained devoted to his teachers and did not give up his practice of Dorje Shugden despite the ban on its practice.

Read more: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/the-controversy/letter-from-yeshe-fpmt/

6. Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche

Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche was a Dorje Shugden practitioner and his devotion borne out of his practice is legendary. Rinpoche absorbed the obstacles to the Dalai Lama’s welfare and works, and took them upon himself through the practice of tonglen. It is therefore incredible that anyone should accuse Dorje Shugden lamas of wishing to harm the Dalai Lama.

Read more: http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/approaching_buddhism/teachers/tsenzhab_serkong_rinpoche/a_portrait_of_tsenzhab_serkong_rinpoche/part_8.html

7. H.H. Serkong Dorje Chang

Serkong Dorje Chang was well known for writing extensive commentaries on the tantric deity Chakrasamvara as well as an extensive confession and propitiation prayer (kangso) to the protector Dorje Shugden. In this kangso, Serkong Dorje Chang identifies Dorje Shugden as the principal protector of Lama Tsongkapa as well as the special protector of Ganden’s Ear-Whispered Lineage, the heart of the Gelug tradition.

Read more: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/great-masters/enlightened-lamas-series/serkong-dorje-chang-1856-1918-2/

8. H.H. Sakya Trizin

History shows that Dorje Shugden was first propitiated by the Sakyas. Dorje Shugden was inducted into the pantheon of Sakya protectors by the 30th Sakya Trizin Sonam Rinchen (1705-1741). Later, Sonam Rinchen named Dorje Shugden together with two other Protectors – Setrab and Tsiu Marpo – as the “Three Kings” (Gyalpo Sum).

Other Sakya high lamas who propitiated Dorje Shugden include the 31st Sakya Trizin Kunkhyen Ngawang Kunga Lodroe, the 33rd Sakya Trizin Padma Dudul Wangchug, the 35th Sakya Trizin Tashi Rinchen, the 37th Sakya Trizin Kunga Nyingpo, the 39th Sakya Trizin Dragshul Thinley Rinchen and the 41st Sakya Trizin, who later recanted his practice under political coercion.

Read more: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/dorje-shugden-on-a-black-horse/

9. Geshe Rabten Rinpoche

Geshe Rabten was the philosophical assistant of the 14th Dalai Lama and the first Tibetan Buddhist master to introduce the complete Vinaya-tradition and the study of the five major topics of Buddhism to the West.

Geshe Rabten’s faith in the Protector is clear by his statement, “This manifestation of the Buddha has no equal. If you are really determined to tame your mind, he will even give you his heart”.

Read more: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/great-masters/tributes/a-tribute-to-geshe-rabten-rinpoche/

10. Geshe Sopa Rinpoche

The Dalai Lama praised Geshe Lhundrub Sopa Rinpoche as an eminent “Buddhist mentor and a guide to hundreds of Western students and a pure lineage holder of the monastic tradition”.

However, this erudite teacher disagreed with the Dalai Lama’s view of Dorje Shugden, saying that “The idea of these ritual texts of Shukden is to spread and strengthen the pure teachings and destroy wrong views and practices, so their language and imagery tends to seem rather sectarian and aggressive”.

Read more: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/geshe-lhundub-sopa-speaks-about-shugden/

11. Gomo Tulku

Lama Zopa himself stated that Gomo Tulku worked to spread the Dorje Shugden lineage:

“My root guru, His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche; Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s guru’s root guru; His Holiness Zong Rinpoche, from whom many of the older students received the initiation of Shugden; and the previous incarnation of Gomo Rinpoche, who has a strong connection with Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, here in Italy, all promoted the practice of Shugden. They were all aspects of the Dharmakaya”.

Read more: http://www.lamayeshe.com/?sect=article&id=1026

12. Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche

Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche was born in the province of Amdo and at age six was recognized as the reincarnation of the former Abbot of Kirti Gompa. Rinpoche received teachings from many high Lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition including the practice of Dorje Shugden, which he kept all his life.

13. Zemey Rinpoche

So highly realised was Zemey Rinpoche that Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang regarded Zemey Rinpoche, one of his heart disciples, as being equal to him in knowledge and attainments. Zemey Rinpoche held all the same lineages, transmissions and practices as Trijang Rinpoche including the practice of Dorje Shugden.

Read more: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/great-masters/tributes/a-tribute-to-h-e-zemey-rinpoche/

14. Ribur Rinpoche

Ribur Rinpoche’s devotion to his guru, Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche was legendary. He faithfully held on to all the teachings he received from Pabongka Rinpoche, including the Dorje Shugden practice.

As Ribur Rinpoche said, “I have had some success as a scholar, and as a lama I am somebody, but these things are not important. The only thing that matters to me is that I was a disciple of Pabongka Rinpoche”.

Read more: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/great-masters/recent-masters/ven-ribur-rinpoche/

15. Choden Rinpoche

Choden Rinpoche, one of the highest lamas in Tibetan Buddhism, was recognized and ordained by Pabongka Rinpoche. Choden Rinpoche was a fiercely steadfast practitioner of Dharma, saying: “I don’t remember too clearly my first meeting with Pabongka Rinpoche, but I do remember that Rinpoche was very happy with me. I really admired everything that Rinpoche did: the way he walked, the way he dressed, everything. I felt, “If only I could be like him”.

Read more: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/great-masters/recent-masters/h-e-choden-rinpoche/

16. Khensur Denma Locho Rinpoche

Khensur Denma Locho Rinpoche of Drepung Loseling Monastery was a direct student of H.H. Ling Dorje Chang. He was an expert on Manjushri’s fierce form, Yamantaka, amongst many other teachings and practices, and was appointed the Abbot of the Dalai Lama’s Namgyal Monastery from 1986 to 1991.

Denma Locho Rinpoche was a scholar of the highest calibre and a very prolific gentle teacher who did not discriminate against Dorje Shugden practitioners although it cost him his reputation.

Read more: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/great-masters/recent-masters/h-e-dhenma-lochoe-rinpoche/

17. Khyongla Rato Rinpoche

Khyongla Rato Rinpoche is a reincarnate lama and scholar of the Gelugpa order of Tibetan Buddhism. Rinpoche was born in the Dagyab region of Kham, in southeastern Tibet and eventually settled in the United States where he founded The Tibet Center, the oldest Tibetan Buddhist Center in New York City.

Read more: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/great-masters/recent-masters/khyongla-rato-rinpoche/

It is truly shocking to see FPMT policies that openly dishonor the practice of its lineage masters. Our root Guru, Lama Yeshe, was a Dorje Shugden practitioner. Kopan manifested with the help of Dorje Shugden. Sadly however, it appears that to be politically correct and on the Dalai Lama’s side far outweighs loyalty to the lineage masters and the pure tradition the masters used their lives to manifest.

Further Developments

After Yeshe Sangye’s stunning article on the fact Lama Zopa was recognized by Dorje Shugden as a Rinpoche, the news spread like wildfire. Lama Zopa tried to issue a clarification but it only served to confirm by Lama Zopa himself that he was indeed recognized by Dorje Shugden.

Lama Zopa’s “clarification” is included below. Notice that he ends it by saying, “So the Lopon for his own benefit asked the oracle of the monastery if this was true.” We ask – who is the oracle of the monastery? The famous Dorje Shugden Oracle of Dungkar Monastery, of course! See here: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/?p=307

Lama Zopa’s 2008 “clarification”
about being recognized by Dorje Shugden:

HOW I WAS RECOGNIZED
(Source: http://www.lamayeshe.com/index.php?sect=article&id=292)

To my very dear friends and students, I heard there is some misunderstanding about how I was recognized, so I just want to give you the details here.

The main disciple of the Lawudo Lama Kunsang Yeshe (who it is said is my previous life) was Ngawang Chopel. He did many retreats during his life and he also followed the Buddha’s example of offering his own body (charity) to the insects and animals for seven days; this was quite amazing as he completely offered and they ate parts of it and he had to be taken to the hospital. Later Ngawang Chopel also built a monastery at Maritika near a cave of Guru Rinpoche (considered one of the most holy places of Guru Rinpoche – where it is said He achieved immortality). Ngawang Chopel was with the Lawudo Lama at the time of his death. The Lawudo Lama explained the signs happening in the death process to him as he was dying.

Since I was born in a very poor family, there was doubt by some if I was the incarnation, mainly on the part of the son of Lama Kunsang Yeshe. When Ngawang Chopel heard this he went immediately to Tibet to consult high lamas and all six lamas he consulted confirmed without doubt that I was the incarnation of the Lawudo Lama Kunsang Yeshe. Two of the six high Lamas were His Holiness Tulshig Rinpoche (one of the teachers of His Holiness the Dalai Lama) and his root guru, the great Lama Rongpu Sangye. So at an early age, long before going to Tibet and the monastery at Pagri (small branch of Domo Geshe’s main monastery), I was recognized. Before I left for Tibet the son of Lama Kunsang Yeshe accepted me as the incarnation and promised to return to me the cave and texts, etc. belonging to his father after I returned from Tibet.

I was brought into Tibet by two uncles; both were my alphabet teachers. Why did I have two alphabet teachers? The first one was from Thami, near Lawudo; he took care of me. When I was very small (maybe four years old) I was always escaping and running home, so my mother sent me far away to the monastery in Rolwaling, a very isolated place high in the mountains near Tibet. There I was in the care of another uncle, Ngawang Gendun, who also taught me the alphabet (Tibetan). I stayed with him in Rolwaling for seven years, memorizing and reading texts and doing pujas called “shi-trol.”

These two uncles took me to Tibet. In Tibet I stayed with another uncle. He was in the Indian army; then he met a Tibetan lady from Tsang and they married and lived in Pagri, Tibet. Pagri was a very busy place for traders from Bhutan, Kalimpong, Lhasa, etc. The three uncles with some other Sherpas left me in the care of my aunt while they went on pilgrimage to Lhasa. They didn’t take me as they thought the journey would be too difficult and I could die, as I was still very young. After living some time in Pagri (hanging around), outside my house I met a very tall monk (externally appearing not to know me) and immediately he asked me if I would be his disciple (there must have been very strong karma with him). I answered him immediately “yes.”

Next day in the morning my aunt made a very nice thermos of tea and bread in a bamboo container inside a basket and took me to the small branch monastery of Domo Geshe Rinpoche’s main monastery about fifteen to twenty minutes’ walk away, where I met the tall monk again – he was the Lopon of this small monastery. The Lopon heard stories of me from people in the village, that I was a tulku from Lawudo near Thami. So the Lopon for his own benefit asked the oracle of the monastery if this was true.

With much love and prayer,
Lama Zopa Rinpoche

If you look carefully, the explanation from Lama Zopa Rinpoche does not deny the fact that he was also recognized by Dorje Shugden.

There are other descriptions such as about hospitals, insects, tall uncles, small monastery, etc. etc. etc. that attempt to distract the reader but Lama Zopa himself writes on the last line that the lopon of this monastery asked the oracle to confirm if he is a tulku or not. But he doesn’t explain what the oracle said and which deity entered the oracle. Of course the possessing being was Dorje Shugden, as stated in the book Lawudo Lama by Jamyang Wangmo. The book was written by one of FPMT’s own nuns and even more surprising, a foreword was provided by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The private office of His Holiness definitely did not read this book carefully before issuing this foreword. Maybe they had no time to scan and read page by page so it most likely slipped past them. One thing is for sure – Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who is a special being, was recognized by the protector of his root guru, Dorje Shugden, another special being.

If Lama Zopa Rinpoche was not recognized by Dorje Shugden, then just say so. Just say that he was not recognized by Dorje Shugden. Simple and straight. But the fact is, he was.

Someone called Ronald Johnson further tried to deny all of this but his attempt was futile, and he was easily and immediately refuted:

You totally miss the point. Also, it would appear that English is not your first language so you would not be aware of the difference between recognized and confirmed. The implications of Yeshe Sangye’s first missive were that Rinpoche was FIRST identified by DS; Rinpoche’s letter clearly indicates that this is not so.

Look, anybody can ask DS anything…I could ask him if Tenzin Gyatso was indeed the Dalai Lama and he would confirm it. So what?

Also, to take a couple of sentences out of Jamyang Wangmo’s 500-page book and make a federal case out of it is simply obfuscation. Anyway, this happened in the mid-50s. The world was a very different place back then…especially Tibet. “

In response, a user on the Dorje Shugden forum known as Mountains says:

Dear Ronald,

My English being 1st or 2nd language has no point in this issue. I understand you are angry. I beg your forgiveness and wish you no ill. I am not attacking Lama Zopa nor FPMT, but the whole shugden issue has divided all of us. Imagine our Tibetan Buddhist world and how it would be if the whole Dorje Shugden issue was never brought up? Who did it harm? The majority of the Gelugpa High lamas and Geshes practiced/practice Dorje Shugden including Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa. Do you see any difference in Lama Zopa before when he was practicing and now when he says he is not?? He is exactly the same. Which leads you to believe with your own eyes, there is nothing wrong with Dorje Shugden. Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa are both sublime beings who practiced a sublime Dharma protector.

(1) Do you deny that Lama Yeshe practiced Dorje Shugden his whole life until his death? Was lama Yeshe wrong in this? Was Lama Yeshe’s refuge commitments degenerated due to this? If not, why is it so bad, that lama zopa was confirmed by Dorje Shugden?? The point is not if he was confirmed or recognized, the point is that DORJE SHUGDEN’S PRACTICE, ORACLES, TRADITION, LINEAGE WAS WIDESPREAD/PREDOMINATE AND VALID IN THE TIBET OF THE 50′S. And you are right, Tibet WAS VERY DIFFERENT BACK THEN. The gelugpas were one and coexisted with the other sects beautifully.

(2) Do you want to hinge on one word of Yeshe Sangye’s letter that is identified? Whether Rinpoche indicates it is or not is not the point, the point is DORJE SHUGDEN was used to confirm his reincarnation status.

In the other Lama Zopa’s book “The Door to Satisfaction” by Wisdom Publications page X of Editor’s Preface, again Lama Zopa mentions clearly in the 3rd paragraph that the Dharma Protector of Domo Geshe’s Monastery CONFIRMED THAT RINPOCHE WAS A REINCARNATE LAMA AND OFFERED ADVICE CONCERNING HIS CARE. That we can conclude since Rinpoche mentions no other names of who else recognized him, whoever else did not hold much weight in the eyes of the ppl to caretake and train Rinpoche at that time. So they had to consult something to CONFIRM AND MAKE SURE Lama Zopa is who the others say he is. Who did they trust to confirm, Dorje Shugden.

If the great emanation of Tsongkapa, Domo Geshe Rinpoche would have a oracle recieving Dorje Shugden’s presence in his temple, definitely Dorje Shugden is a beneficial and beneficient being. Unless Domo Geshe Rinpoche was also unattained? I dont think so. Domo Geshe’s famous oracle in which HH the 14th Dalai Lama himself consulted in the 50′s at Dungkar Choede, can take full possession of 6 different dharma protectors!

They are:

1. Dorje Shugden
2. Namka Barzin (Dorje Shugden’s entourage)
3. Kache Marpo (Dorje Shugden’s entourage)
4. Tashi Obar
5. Genyen Jingkarwa
6. Pawo Trobar

Three of them are Dorje Shugden and his acolytes. Surely Domo Geshe Rinpoche whose people and temple nurtured and took care of Lama Zopa in the early years are not all evil, wrong and degenerate for propitiating Dorje Shugden? Domo Geshe is famed for his devotion to Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche (root guru of Lama Yeshe and HH Dalai Lama), His great meditative concentration on the Vajra Yogini Tantras and his powerful propitiation of Dorje Shugden. Is Domo Geshe wrong to have a famous Dorje Shugden oracle in his monastery that ppl came from all parts of Tibet to consult. On all states of affairs, governmental, secular, etc. Many high incarnations are found by the oracular pronouncements of Dorje Shugden’s oracles past and present, so why not Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Even the current Trijang and Zong Rinpoche incarnations were found and confirmed by the Dorje Shugden oracle or Choyang Dulzin Kuten of Gaden. Then only it was presented to the Dalai Lama for formal recognition. What Dorje Shugden found and recognized was further confirmed by HH. Is that so bad that Lama Zopa was also confirmed by the great protector of Lama Yeshe, Trijang Rinpoche, Zong Rinpoche, Pabongkha Rinpoche, Regent Daktra Rinpoche, Domo Geshe Rinpoche that he is authentic? Of course not.

The incarnations of HH the Dalai Lamas are all confirmed by Nechung Oracle, but recognized and enthroned by the regents of Tibet. So are the confirmations by Nechung Oracle for the Dalai Lama not important? You dont say that Nechung recognized the Dalai Lama, but he plays an important part to confirm that LEADS TO EVENTUAL RECOGNITION. Just the same in the case of Lama Zopa, where Dorje Shugden confirmed he is a real tulku and even gave advice on the care. And in the Tibet of the 50′s Dorje Shugden’s oracular pronouncements carry great weight as his famous oracle in Lhasa called PANGLUNG KUTEN OR ORACLE where many high lamas, nobilities,and government officials consulted for private and governmental affairs. HH kyabje Trijang Rinpoche very much relied on the accuracy of this oracle of Dorje Shugden/Kache Marpo. You can read in his personal autobiography of HH Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche.

(3) If Dorje Shugden was an evil spirit, he would of said that Lama Zopa is not a tulku, dont take care of him. Why would he say that? Because he can forsee Lama Zopa would benefit many and he would try to stop it not being happy about that. Devadatta did whatever he can to stop Buddha, but could not of course. Similarily, Dorje Shugden was so bad, he would try to stop Lama Zopa’s works to flower in the future.

(4) I see that Sangye has taken a couple of sentences out of Jamyang Wangmo’s book, to support the fact that even great lamas alive today are direct, or indirect products of the Dorje Shugden lineage of lamas, oracles and practices. It is not making a federal case. And If it was attempted to be turned into a federal case in any country outside of the Tibetan Exile footholds, it would never be a federal case. Religious freedom is tolerated anywhere in the democratic world. What is happening in the Tibetan settlements can only happen because of the pressures of ostracization. Muslims, satanists,Hindus, Sikhs, atheists, voodoo-followers, Protestants, Baptists, Mormons, Amish, Orthodox, Jews are ALL ALLOWED TO ATTEND ANY BUDDHIST SERMON IN ANY FPMT CENTRE IN THE WORLD. CAN ATTEND ANY TEACHINGS/GATHERINGS/INITIATIONS BY HH DALAI LAMA IN THE WORLD. ONLY DORJE SHUGDEN PRACTITIONERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO. Doesnt that sound funny. Surely Dorje Shugden practitioners are ‘better’ than satanists?? Christians, Muslims would find the image of the Buddha blasphemous, yet their devotees are never barred from HH Dalai Lama’s talks, why is that? Because it cannot never be gotten away with?

(5) My point is simple. FPMT as well as many other centres, lamas, organizations in the world has practiced Dorje Shugden peacefully and without incidence for a long time. In some cases, centuries. What is the big furor now. Suddenly HH Dalai Lama is right and all other lamas are wrong?? Cannot be. If so, then HH the Dalai Lama can be wrong also. In the unfortunate time in the future, when HH passes away, what will stop ppl from saying his ban on Dorje Shugden was wrong?? In fact what is to stop people from saying it now. Since our gurus can be wrong, the whole basis of Guru devotional practices is severely disrupted. This is not a Gelugpa issue, but a issue of freedom to practice whatever lineage we wish free of any lamas condemnations. If one lama can condemn, then all can be condemned. Then who is right and who is wrong?? I dont want to go that direction.

(6) Dont hinge the whole thing on words such as recognition and confirmation. Lama Yeshe and his root gurus/lineage practiced Dorje Shugden. Lama Yeshe consulted Dorje Shugden on many issues throughout his whole life. That is what makes FPMT so great now. Lama himself mentions in his books that it is the protector’s divine help in all his works that made it grow. FPMT’s main sadhanas are composed by lamas that held Dorje Shugden as their principal protectors. So if you wish to throw out Dorje Shugden, you better abandon the practices of for example Cittamanitara, Vajra Yogini and Yamantaka composed by Kyabje Pabongkha Rinpoche. Since he practiced Dorje Shugden and that is a mistake, then the sadhanas he composed that Gelugpas do everyday could be a mistake also. After all he seems to be able to make mistakes. We have to be very careful. That is not the case definitely.

THE POINT IS THIS: FPMT’S ROOTS ARE DEEP-SEEDED IN CONNECTIONS TO DORJE SHUGDEN. YOU MAY DENY CURRENT CONNECTIONS BUT YOU CANNOT DENY PAST CONNECTIONS. PAST CREATES THE FUTURE. SO IF YOU DYE A SCARF RED, IT CANNOT COME OUT BLUE. YOU CANNOT DENY THE SAMAYA CONNECTIONS TO DORJE SHUGDEN THAT ARE DEEPLY INTERRELATED TO ALL OF FPMT’S LINEAGE LAMAS OF THE PAST THAT CREATES/RESULTED IN ITS GREATNESS NOW. IF DORJE SHUGDEN PRACTICE AND PRACTITIONERS WERE ARE EVIL, THEN THE FRUIT MUST BE EVIL, IN THIS CASE FPMT MUST BE EVIL AND IT IS DEFINITELY NOT THE CASE.

Again Ronald, I write this to you in earnest to help you and many people see that Dorje Shugden has never harmed and will never harm. If he does harm, just have the great lamas do a fire puja or binding puja and be done with it. Do you mean all the dharma protectors of Tibet cannot overcome one ‘evil’ spirit Dorje Shugden?? It is not as simple as that. There is a bigger picture as predicted by Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche. Dorje Shugden will go global. China will adopt the practice and on a governmental level promote the practice of Dorje Shugden first in China then from China into the world. The practice will go global and strong in the future generations. HH the Dalai Lama knows that. He cannot openly push it. So in his own way he is pushing it. China is already using Dorje Shugden as one of the bargaining ‘chips’ in the 6th negotiations with the exile govt of Tibet as stated by kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche. China is taking great interest and HH is pushing it in that directions. That is a level much more powerful than our likes and dislikes within the Tibetan Buddhist Community. China will adopt Dorje Shugden’s practice and will make it grow as HH is pushing it into that direction. As predicted in the early 70′s by HH Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang.”

Addendum

Zasep Tulku Rinpoche’s autobiography, A Tulku’s Journey from Tibet to Canada, published in 2016, provides historical evidence and irrefutable proof that the Central Tibetan Administration is falsifying the facts when it comes to the practice of the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden.

The autobiography of Zasep Tulku Rinpoche, a high lama of the Gelug lineage, provides accurate historical accounts of the Dorje Shugden practice. Click to enlarge.

The back cover of the book, click to enlarge.

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Historical accounts show that prior to the politicization of the Dorje Shugden practice by the Central Tibetan Administration, this popular deity was relied upon by Dharma practitioners to help in their spiritual practice. Contrary to detractors’ claims about Dorje Shugden being ‘anti-Dharma’, this Dharma Protector practice was traditionally deemed to be suitable to be practiced alongside the Highest Yoga Tantras.

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Zasep Rinpoche and his family were able to escape to safety prior to the events of 1959 through the clairvoyance and prophetic advice of Dorje Shugden through one of his oracles, Lama Gelong Chojor Gyamtso.

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Oracles of the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden were known for the accuracy of their prophecies due to Dorje Shugden being a fully enlightened deity with perfect clairvoyance. As stated clearly by Zasep Rinpoche in his autobiography ‘A Tulku’s Journey from Tibet to Canada’, Dorje Shugden warned the Tibetans of the impending loss of their homeland but his advice was mostly ignored by the Tibetan government.

The Tibetan government chose to consult the worldly state protector Nechung, and Nechung advised that the Dalai Lama should remain in Tibet where he would be safe. This was mistaken advice, as historical events would later show. Fortunately for Tibetan Buddhists all around the world, Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang had great faith in Dorje Shugden and consulted the protector for advice on the Dalai Lama’s safety. Dorje Shugden via the Panglung Oracle urgently adviced the Dalai Lama to leave for India immediately and gave the exact escape route. In saving the Dalai Lama from certain harm, Dorje Shugden prevented the destruction of Tibetan Buddhism and preserved the future of the Tibetan culture and people.

Zasep Rinpoche’s account of events concur with monastic records that it was indeed Dorje Shugden who saved the Dalai Lama instead of Nechung, contrary to the claims of the Tibetan leadership.

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Dorje Shugden’s practice was first established within the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Sakya Throneholders regarded this Dharma Protector as an enlightened being and Dorje Shugden, together with Dorje Setrab and Tsiu Marpo formed the triune of Sakya Protectors known as Gyalpo Sum. Today, Sakya practitioners claim that Dorje Shugden was never widely practiced by their lineage but history proves otherwise. The undeniable fact is that before the CTA’s religious ban, Dorje Shugden was practiced first by the Sakyas and was later transmitted to the Gelug school where it was practiced by the majority of the Gelugpas.

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Contrary to the CTA’s claims that Dorje Shugden’s practice is sectarian, Zasep Rinpoche’s autobiography shows how practitioners of all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism lived and practiced together in harmony, especially during the early years of exile in India. It was only when the CTA launched a virulent smear campaign against Dorje Shugden that the general public began to label Dorje Shugden a sectarian practice. In truth, Dorje Shugden’s practice is no more sectarian than the practices of other Dharma Protectors such as Mahakala Bernagchen, Achi Chokyi Drolma or Dorje Legpa, who protect the Karma Kagyu, Drikung Kagyu and Nyingma schools respectively.

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By the 1980s, the Tibetan government had failed to fulfil multiple promises to return the Tibetan people to their homeland. A scapegoat was needed and they made one out of an ancient Buddhist practice, pinning the loss of Tibet and the failure of the Tibetan cause on Dorje Shugden. In his autobiography, Zasep Rinpoche is of the same opinion, stating that “…the [Dorje Shugden] controversy was orchestrated by the Tibetan Central Administration…”

The Tibetan leadership effectively sanctioned witch-hunts on Dorje Shugden practitioners and persecuted them using government instruments, declaring that simply by being a Shugden worshipper, one was effectively an enemy of the Tibetan nation.

As a result of the hatred against Dorje Shugden practitioners instigated by the Tibetan leadership, virtually all Shugden Buddhists had to fear for their lives, or at least for their safety.

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Dorje Shugden’s beneficial practice has continued to thrive due to the courage and commitment of high lamas such as Zasep Tulku Rinpoche.

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For centuries, Dorje Shugden has been practiced alongside the highest practices of the Gelug and Sakya lineages. Zasep Tulku Rinpoche’s list of transmission is an indication that the highest scholars viewed the Protector as an enlightened being compatible with their yidam practices.

For further reading:

Where is Lama Yeshe? (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/where-is-lama-yeshe/)

FPMT Lineage Masters are Dorje Shugden Believers (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/fpmt-lineage-masters-are-believers-of-dorje-shugden/)

FPMT, Dalai Lama and Dorje Shugden (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/fpmt-dalai-lama-and-dorje-shugden/)

A True Inspiration: Claudio Cipullo (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/news/a-true-inspiration-claudio-cipullo/)

Fabrizio Pallotti (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/news/fabrizio-pallotti/)

Politically Correct at the Expense of the Lineage (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/the-controversy/politically-correct-at-the-expense-of-the-lineage/)

Lama Yeshe and Geshe Rabten (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/mail-out/lama-yeshe-and-geshe-rabten/)

The Broken Samayas of FPMT (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/the-controversy/the-broken-samayas-of-fpmt/)

The Questionable Policies of the FPMT (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/the-controversy/the-questionable-policies-of-the-fpmt/)

Lama Zopa admitted to being recognized by Dorje Shugden (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/others-old/lama-zopa-admitted-to-being-recognized-by-dorje-shugden/)

Recognized by Dorje Shugden, but Speaks against Dorje Shugden (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/the-controversy/recognized-by-dorje-shugden-but-speaks-against-dorje-shugden/)

Kopan Monks Asking for Dorje Shugden Puja for Lama Zopa (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/the-controversy/kopan-monks-asking-for-dorje-shugden-puja-for-lama-zopa/)

Dakini Healed Lama Zopa? (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/the-controversy/dakini-healed-lama-zopa/)

A Tribute to Ven. Lama Yeshe Rinpoche (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/great-masters/a-tribute-to-ven-lama-yeshe-rinpoche/)

 

Acharya Zasep Tulku Rinpoche who book debunks CTA lies about Dorje Shugden

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Yad Hegadi

In 1996, the Central Tibetan Government (CTA; Tibetan exiled leadership in Dharamsala) issued a religious ban on the practice of the Dharma Protector Gyalchen Dorje Shugden. Since that time, the CTA’s Parliament and Cabinet have passed official Resolutions to incriminate this 400-year-old practice, making it taboo for anyone to associate with the practice and its practitioners. The CTA’s diktats against Dorje Shugden were readily accepted by many who, lacking a deeper understanding of Tibetan Buddhist principles and Tibetan societal norms, took the CTA’s word on face value. This was not surprising – Tibet had been isolated and inaccessible for centuries so it was easy for the world to become fascinated with them, thanks in large part to Hollywood’s mythical portrayal of the country and people. With this fascination, people around the world were easily spellbound by what the Dalai Lama and his government said and so when the ban on Dorje Shugden was implemented, outsiders easily believed it without necessarily grasping the hollowness of the CTA’s accusations of the Dorje Shugden practice.

However, initial efforts to ban Dorje Shugden did not take off within the Tibetan Buddhist community. This was principally due to the simple fact that many lamas, learned scholars and older monks knew better than to believe what the CTA claimed about Dorje Shugden. For hundreds of years, the highest and most illustrious lamas and geshes had practiced the deity and personally experienced its benefits, then passed on the practice to their disciples.

Zasep Rinpoche’s book titled “A Tulku’s Journey From Tibet To Canada”, chronicling his life and experiences.

Thus, 12 years after the ban was first implemented, the Dorje Shugden practice continued to be widespread. Realizing stronger enforcement was necessary if the CTA was going to achieve their goals, in 2008 the Dalai Lama personally and forcefully issued a decree that effectively demonized the Shugden practice. What was confusing was that the Dalai Lama was demonizing Dorje Shugden that he himself had written praises to, in worship of the deity. With the Dalai Lama’s decree it became dangerous to even speak about the Dorje Shugden controversy in a neutral way, since not to agree with the Dalai Lama is regarded as both treasonous and blasphemous. With all opposition voices silenced, it became easy for the CTA to persecute Dorje Shugden worshippers.

This is why when an illustrious lama such as Venerable Zasep Rinpoche, with a stainless reputation and known to be disinterested in worldly pursuits, writes honestly about Dorje Shugden, it easily dispels the CTA’s anti-Shugden distortions. This is precisely what Zasep Rinpoche’s book, A Tulku’s Journey from Tibet to Canada, did. Whilst the book is a fascinating, albeit abridged, chronicle of Zasep Rinpoche’s life, it also doubles as a powerful negation of the CTA’s lies about the Protector Dorje Shugden, Zasep Rinpoche simply writing honestly and factually by what he witnessed.

Is Dorje Shugden sectarian?

For example, the CTA claims that Dorje Shugden is a sectarian practice, inferring that those who practice Dorje Shugden are extremists and intolerant of other Tibetan Buddhist traditions. In 2014 the CTA even criminalized the practice of Dorje Shugden, using its Parliament to pass a Resolution proclaiming Shugden worshippers to be “criminals in history”. The then-Speaker of Parliament, Penpa Tsering went as far as going to the Upper TCV School with the purpose of poisoning young Tibetan minds against a religious practice. That the then-Speaker of Parliament, who is a political figure, would intervene on religious matters and make official statements on the validity of a religious practice indicates that the CTA is not a true democracy to begin with. In his speech to the students of the school, Penpa Tsering accused Pabongka Rinpoche, who advocated the practice of Dorje Shugden, of attempting to eliminate Nyingma teachings, even saying that he destroyed statues of Guru Rinpoche and burned down Nyingma monasteries.

Penpa Tsering’s grossly distorted portrayal of Pabongka Rinpoche is typical of how the CTA presents all Shugden practitioners. His speech was littered with inaccuracies, as reflected in Zasep Rinpoche’s Book. Zasep Rinpoche noted how Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo made every effort to keep the Dharma free of corruption and would speak fervently against the degeneration within the Tibetan monastic community. This, and his immense popularity, drew envy and resentment from people who felt that Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo was a threat to their standing, congregation and livelihoods. They began to spread rumors about Pabongka Rinpoche, claiming that he sought to eliminate the other Tibetan Buddhist traditions; this is the same accusation that Penpa Tsering repeated decades later in the school. Zasep Rinpoche personally witnessed how these rumors confused many people’s minds even though there was no truth in them, and Zasep Rinpoche also witnessed that those who knew Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo also saw through the efforts to defame him.

Various heads of Tibetan Buddhist lineages in Buxa Transit Camp. Until the CTA politicized the religion, all Tibetan Buddhist traditions lived and practiced in harmony. In Buxa, lamas of various traditions could be seen engaging in Dorje Shugden pujas together.

As further evidence that the CTA invented stories of Dorje Shugden’s ‘sectarianism’, Zasep Rinpoche wrote that all lamas of the various Tibetan Buddhist traditions lived and practiced in peace, and there was in fact no sectarianism by Shugden Buddhists or indeed anyone. Zasep Rinpoche’s account coincides with stories told by the first generation of Tibetans-in-exile, of the time when all Tibetan refugees lived harmoniously together in Buxa, a transit camp in India. In Buxa, Tibetan monks, nuns and laypeople were housed together regardless of the Buddhist school they were from. As Zasep Rinpoche wrote in his book, each Tibetan Buddhist lineage tended to their own affairs and went about practicing their own deities, and there were no quarrels about whose practice was wrong or right. In the Buxa transit camp, there were even those who practiced Bön, which was not even regarded as a Buddhist tradition until 1977 when the Dalai Lama proclaimed it to be one. Many believed this proclamation was done for political reasons since the Mahasiddha Milarepa, whose teachings became the basis of the Kagyu lineage, had at one time even proclaimed,

“Bön is not a refuge for Buddhists; it is not worthy of being a refuge … It is vital that you should know the sources of the Bön religion…The source of Bön is perverted Dharma. A creation of nagas and powerful elementals, it does not take one to the ultimate path.”

But despite different lamas of different traditions having opposing spiritual views, all of Tibetan Buddhism was in harmony until the CTA fostered rivalry and animosity amongst the sects and gave prominence to sectarianism.

In addition, Zasep Rinpoche’s account of the most famous Dorje Shugden lama, Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, paints a very different picture of Dorje Shugden lamas compared to that which the CTA has been promoting since 1996. In his book, Zasep Rinpoche wrote that Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche commanded the respect of Gelug lamas, as well as lamas from the Nyingma, Kagyu and Sakya traditions. These lamas, such as

“The sixteenth Karmapa Ranjung Rigpe Dorje, Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche, Kongtrul Rinpoche, Zhamar Rinpoche, Katog Situ Rinpoche, Drungpa Gyaktsab Rinpoche, Sakya Dagchen Rinpoche and Nalanda Sakya Chogye Rinpoche would all visit Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche to have spiritual discussions and talk about Tibetan affairs.”

This would not have been possible if Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche was known to have bigoted views; none of these lamas would have met with Trijang Rinpoche had he sought the destruction of their Tibetan Buddhist traditions, which the CTA has claimed of lamas who rely on Dorje Shugden. Similarly, Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche’s students would have embraced their great teacher’s approach towards the other traditions and hence, until the CTA hatched and repeated their lie about Dorje Shugden lamas being sectarian, there are no records of Dorje Shugden lamas instigating violence against other traditions.

Is Dorje Shugden is a fringe cult practice?

The CTA has also claimed that Dorje Shugden is merely a small but dangerous breakaway cult. Again, what Zasep Rinpoche personally witnessed and wrote in his book counters the CTA’s misleading stories. Zasep Rinpoche wrote that when he and his grandfather visited the headquarters of the Sakya high lamas, he saw how prominent the deity was amongst the Sakyas; that is, it was prominent until the CTA made it illegal to practice this Protector. Zasep Rinpoche articulated in detail what he saw at Sakya Monastery, even down to the colors of the buildings within the Monastery’s compound. He also gave descriptions of some of the very special Sakya shrines, including a shrine at Sakya Mugchung dedicated to a Dharma Protector which is in fact the Sakya version of Dorje Shugden also known as Dorje Shugden Tanag (Dorje Shugden on a black horse).

Dorje Shugden Tanag (Dorje Shugden on black horse) which is the form of Dorje Shugden worshipped by the Sakyas

This should not come as a shock because as Zasep Rinpoche correctly pointed out, Dorje Shugden first manifested in the Sakya lineage after being recognized as a Dharma Protector by the Sakya lama Morchen Kunga Lhundrub. The word ‘Mugchung’ refers to a temple within the Sakya town very close to the Sakya lineage’s administrative building, where Dorje Shugden was worshipped. In the Sakya tradition, and even before Dorje Shugden was widely practiced by the Gelug, the Protector was already enthroned by the Sakya together with Setrap Chen and Tsiu Marpo; all three are collectively known as the Sakya Three Kings or Gyalpo Sum.

This history of Dorje Shugden is not Zasep Rinpoche’s invention. In fact, Jeff Watt, who is one of the leading scholars of Tibetan Buddhism, art and culture, also noted in his writings that it was the Sakya lineage, specifically the Khon family that the 41^st Sakya Trizin belongs to, who was responsible for developing the worship of Dorje Shugden. It is difficult to accuse Watt of being sectarian and biased because this scholar is a student of a number of teachers from different traditions, such as Dudjom Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Kalu Rinpoche, Sakya Jetsun Chimey, His Holiness the 16^th Karmapa, and even the 41^st Sakya Trizin himself. Jeff Watt wrote,

“Sakya Trizin Sachen Ngawang Kunga Lodro (1729-1790?) composed a new offering service for Shugden based on the ‘torma throwing’ ritual of the ‘Three Kings.’ Later, Sakya Trizin Trakshu Thinley Rinchen (1871-1936) in his personal diaries written on scraps of paper starting from the age of 8 years records all his thoughts, dreams and miscellaneous experiences. After his passing these were collected and added to his biography. In these diaries, amongst many other topics, he muses over the nature of Shugden and the relationship between Shugden, his father (S.T. Kunga Nyingpo) and his grand-father (S.T. Tashi Rinchen) of whom Trakshu Thinley Rinchen was the incarnation. These are regarded as an interesting curiosity within the Drolma Podrang of the Khon family as well as being their personal family business”.

Jeff Watt pointed out that as a matter of fact, Dorje Shugden also reincarnated into the Sakya bloodline as the 31^st and the 37^th Sakya Trizin. So, what Zasep Rinpoche witnessed regarding the Sakyas’ reliance on Dorje Shugden and the prominence of the practice within their lineage was accurate.

And yet, after the CTA imposed this illegal and unconstitutional religious ban on Dorje Shugden, many Tibetan Buddhist leaders including the head of the Sakya at the time were forced to deny and distance themselves from the Dorje Shugden practice. In his letter to the CTA, the 41^st Sakya Trizin claimed that, “some Sakyas worshipped Shugden as a lower deity, but Shugden was never part of the Sakya institution.” In 2011, the same Sakya Trizin went further and wrote letters urging others to give up the Dorje Shugden practice. And yet, as Zasep Rinpoche saw, Dorje Shugden Tanag was given prominence in the main Sakya Monastery. Why would a “lower deity” who “was never part of the Sakya institution” be given such prominence? The contrast between the actual history of the Sakyas’ worship of Dorje Shugden and their post-Shugden ban denial is a good indication of how the CTA forced everyone to ignore logic and fact, and forced people agree with them or face the consequences.

Likewise, the highest lamas of the Gelug trusted Dorje Shugden and from Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo, the practice was passed on to His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche. Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo and Trijang Dorje Chang were, without doubt, the backbone and pillars of the Gelug tradition in the 20^th century and it would be difficult to find any lama or scholar in the present century that did not study from these two great lamas who were widely regarded as emanations of Buddhas.

Is Dorje Shugden a malicious spirit that harms the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan cause?

Various letters showing Dorje Shugden’s advice to the Tibetan people and to provide instructions ensuring the Dalai Lama’s safe passage out of Tibet. Click to enlarge.

Zasep Rinpoche’s relationship with Dorje Shugden began when he was very young. From very early on, he could already see that Dorje Shugden was not only a very powerful and omniscient deity but also one who was very beneficial, and had the wellbeing of the Tibetan people in his heart. His faith in Dorje Shugden is further enhanced by the fact that he received sogtae (life-entrustment ceremony) from not only Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche but also from Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, two of the greatest Tibetan lamas from whom Gelug practitioners receive the lineage practices.

Zasep Rinpoche’s grandfather was also a firm believer of Dorje Shugden, as was Zasep Rinpoche’s teacher, Lama Gelong Chojor Gyamtso who was an oracle of Dorje Shugden and Kache Marpo (Dorje Shugden’s chief minister and acolyte). Lama Gelong used to take spontaneous trance of Dorje Shugden and speaking through him, Dorje Shugden helped a lot of people and guided them on their spiritual path. A few years before 1959, Dorje Shugden already foresaw that Tibet would be lost to the Chinese and through Lama Gelong in trance, told Zasep Rinpoche’s grandfather of this. Zasep Rinpoche’s grandfather accepted Dorje Shugden’s prophecy without hesitation and immediately took preparatory steps. Hence when Tibet eventually fell a few years later, Zasep Rinpoche’s family did not land on hard times.

Various letters showing Dorje Shugden’s advice to the Tibetan people and to provide instructions ensuring the Dalai Lama’s safe passage out of Tibet. Click to enlarge.

However, as Zasep Rinpoche confirmed in his book, Dorje Shugden did more than save his family. Through the famous Panglung Oracle, Dorje Shugden had prophesied the fall of Tibet a few years earlier and warned the Tibetan people to take pre-emptive steps. However, they failed to act on the Protector’s warning and lost the karmic window to avert the calamity.

Sera Monastery Pomra Khangtsen’s records independently corroborate Zasep Rinpoche’s personal account. According to Pomra Khangtsen’s records, the incident took place in 1956-1957, when the Panglung Oracle told the head of the Chushi Gangdruk what was about to happen. The Chushi Gangdruk, meaning “Four Rivers, Six Mountain Ranges”, were an organization of Tibetan guerrilla fighters formed to resist the Chinese Army. Pomra Khangtsen’s records confirm that a whole two years before the Dalai Lama’s eventual escape, Dorje Shugden already knew that Tibet would be lost and that one day, the Dalai Lama would have to flee. In preparation, the Protector directed the Chushi Gangdruk to establish a new training base south of Lhasa and directly helped to build up a regiment of soldiers who were on standby to help the Dalai Lama. This preparatory step would prove crucial in 1959 during the Dalai Lama’s flight from Tibet, when this guerrilla force provided the necessary protection on the journey. Dorje Shugden was famous for such clairvoyance and compassion towards the Tibetan people before the CTA twisted the truth to serve their own interest.

Various letters showing Dorje Shugden’s advice to the Tibetan people and to provide instructions ensuring the Dalai Lama’s safe passage out of Tibet. Click to enlarge.

Zasep Rinpoche also wrote that a few days before the Dalai Lama’s escape in 1959, the Tibetan people learned of a Chinese plan to harm the Dalai Lama. At this most critical point in his life, Zasep Rinpoche wrote that of all the Protector deities within the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon, the Dalai Lama chose to place his trust in Dorje Shugden and took Dorje Shugden’s very detailed instructions and advice and this was how the Dalai Lama, his mother and his senior and junior tutors, Kyabje Ling Rinpoche and Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche were saved.

There are other sources that back up Zasep Rinpoche’s account of who saved the Dalai Lama – Sera Monastery Pomra Khangtsen’s record of their consultation with Dorje Shugden in 1959, the personal testimonies of Sera monks who escorted the Dalai Lama to safety, the testimonies of the Chushi Gangdruk warriors (before they too were forced by the CTA to change their story) and also Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche’s own writing, as detailed in his biography. Interestingly, when the Dalai Lama wrote his “foreword” for the translation of Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche’s biography, he did not deny that it was Dorje Shugden who gave the advice for the Dalai Lama to flee for his life and provided the route, and who also prescribed some supernatural procedures to ensure the Dalai Lama’s safety.

Venerable Lobsang Yeshe, the changtso of the Sera Abbot who witnessed that it was Dorje Shugden giving the advice for the Dalai Lama to escape safely out of Tibet.

Yet today, Dorje Shugden is said to wish harm upon the Dalai Lama. This point alone is sufficient proof that the CTA lied when it accused Dorje Shugden of being harmful to the Dalai Lama or said that his practice is against the Dharma. First of all, it is highly illogical for Dorje Shugden to go through such great lengths to save the Dalai Lama’s life, only to try and harm him later. The Dalai Lama is the face of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism and in saving his life, Dorje Shugden ensured Tibetan Buddhism had the means to survive and be reestablished in exile. Tibetan Buddhism spreading like wildfire after 1959 was due to Dorje Shugden’s direct intervention in rescuing the Dalai Lama. In fact, the lamas who brought Tibetan Buddhism to the West like Geshe Rabten, Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen, Lama Yeshe and Geshe Kelsang Gyatso all worshipped Dorje Shugden alongside other traditional Gelug deities and Buddhas. Much like Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche, a Dorje Shugden lama who proliferated Dharma in Tibet, these lamas were prolific in their teachings and activities in the West. Thus, far from being anti-Dharma, the truth is that those who practice Dorje Shugden have preserved and spread the Dharma further than any other Tibetan in history.

Records of Sera Monastery Pomra Khangtsen’s consultation of Dorje Shugden, showing the role of the Protector in the formation of the guerrilla group which would eventually protect the Dalai Lama on his flight into exile in India. Such is the significance of Dorje Shugden to Tibetan history, contrary to the CTA’s claims about his existence being harmful to Tibet and Tibetans. Click to enlarge.

Records of Sera Monastery Pomra Khangtsen’s consultation of Dorje Shugden, showing the role of the Protector in the formation of the guerrilla group which would eventually protect the Dalai Lama on his flight into exile in India. Such is the significance of Dorje Shugden to Tibetan history, contrary to the CTA’s claims about his existence being harmful to Tibet and Tibetans. Click to enlarge.

Is Dorje Shugden’s practice ‘demon worshipping’?

Everything the CTA falsely accuses Dorje Shugden of is without proof or basis. Thus, when someone credible like Zasep Rinpoche simply shares his own story, in the process of doing so he easily and inadvertently overturns lies about Dorje Shugden.

For example, Zasep Rinpoche wrote a moving account of how his grandfather’s teacher, Lama Gelong Chojor Gyamtso ascended to Buddha Vajrayogini’s heaven. If the CTA is correct about Dorje Shugden being a demon, how can the oracle of a demon enter into a pure land such as Vajrayogini’s paradise? If Dorje Shugden were a malicious spirit as the CTA claims, then anyone who worships him and encourages others to worship him (let alone takes trance of him!) would surely end up in the lower realms, and not in Vajrayogini’s pure land.

The Dalai Lama recognized and enthroned Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche, the reincarnation of his tutor, Kyabje Trijang Dorjechang. It contradicts the CTA’s claims that all Shugden worshippers will take rebirth in hell.

In fact the Tibetan leadership undermines its own lies about Dorje Shugden. Although they claim that relying on Dorje Shugden leads to a rebirth in the three lower realms, the Tibetan leadership have recognized and enthroned the reincarnations of lamas who strongly practiced Dorje Shugden in their past lives. The Dalai Lama himself recognised the reincarnation of Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche and Kyabje Zong Rinpoche who were great champions of the Shugden practice. This is not to mention the reincarnation of the 10^th Panchen Lama who was an unshakeable believer of Dorje Shugden, and also Kyabje Ling Rinpoche who wrote prayers to invoke Dorje Shugden. Thus Zasep Rinpoche’s story of how Lama Gelong, a Dorje Shugden oracle ascended to Vajrayogini’s paradise, is just one of many on a long list of Dorje Shugden lamas and scholars who have been known to have achieved great attainments.

Why the CTA imposed the Shugden ban

A picture of the Dalai Lama taken during his escape to India. This escape was instructed and facilitated by Dorje Shugden, who even provided the escape route. Click to enlarge.

Zasep Rinpoche’s courage in speaking the truth is very clear and everything Zasep Rinpoche writes about Dorje Shugden in his biography can be cross-checked and verified by referring to other independent sources. This shows that Zasep Rinpoche only wrote what was factual; he is, after all, commonly viewed as a credible and authentic holder of Lama Tsongkhapa’s lineage. And so when Zasep Rinpoche wrote in passing that the CTA orchestrated the Dorje Shugden controversy to deflect attention away from their failures, then there must be substance to his statement.

And we see that in fact, there is; by 1996, the Tibetan leadership had already failed to fulfill many promises to the Tibetan people. They had promised that they would regain their country and the Tibetan people believed them. The State Oracle, Nechung, who holds the rank of a minister in the CTA (the only ‘democratic’ parliament with a spirit as a Minister) had, by 1996, wrongly prophesied that the CTA would achieve victory against the Chinese army on many occasions. In 1987, Nechung boasted, “I will send 100 million divine soldiers to China” but to this day, the Tibetans remain as refugees. Nechung made similar predictions in 1995, 1997 and in 2012 and along the way the CTA issued corresponding promises to the people. By 1996, the CTA ran out of excuses for these prophecies failing to come true, and they had to blame their lack of political accomplishments on something else. So in May 1996, the CTA Cabinet officially blamed Dorje Shugden, saying:

“However, we are yet to achieve the ultimate triumph. Obstructive factors of various kinds, emanating from beings of both the form and formless realms, continue to hinder our efforts. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has investigated these obstructions and their causes for many years. One of the findings of his investigations is that depending on the spirit, Dolgyal, otherwise known as Dorje Shugden or Gyalchen Shugden, conflicts with Tibet’s two protector-deities (Nechung and Palden Lhamo) as well as the protector-deity of the Gelugpa tradition, Pledge-holding Dharmaraja (Damchen Choegyal). The inclination of this spirit is to harm, rather than benefit, the cause of Tibet.”

The CTA remains the only government in the modern world who blames a deity for its political failures whilst simultaneously failing to explain why the Dalai Lama, who is regarded as a Buddha, and the entire pantheon of deities from the four Tibetan Buddhist traditions, as well as Bön, could not help the CTA regain their homeland and fulfill their promises to the people.

Is the Dalai Lama as the CTA says, which is an all-knowing and all-powerful Buddha? In which case, how could such an individual be bested by a “mere spirit”, which is what the CTA claims Dorje Shugden to be? In calling Dorje Shugden a spirit and subsequently blaming the Tibetans’ lack of political progress on him, the CTA are in fact inadvertently saying that the Dalai Lama lacks the power, ability and otherwise wherewithal to subdue something that they say is “just a spirit”. It is another illogical attempt from the CTA to once again demonize Shugden practitioners, without having the basis to do so.

Summarizing it all

The formidable Mongolian lama Guru Deva Rinpoche, who was one of the most prolific patrons of the Tibetan monasteries in exile. It was thanks in part to his sponsorship that the monasteries could be reestablished and while it was convenient to receive his funding, he was accepted by the community. After the ban however, the fact he relied on Dorje Shugden led to him being increasingly persecuted. This eventually drove him out of India and back to Mongolia.

In the CTA’s persecution of innocent Dorje Shugden worshippers, they have been ruthless and brutal. Many of these Tibetans trusted the Dalai Lama and the CTA and followed their leaders into exile. Many, especially the lamas, contributed greatly to the cause of Tibet and to Tibetan Buddhism. As Zasep Rinpoche noted, one such lama was the Mongolian Guru Deva Rinpoche who contributed significantly to the rebuilding of the Dalai Lama’s secular and spiritual empire in exile. Even such a high lama was not spared the CTA’s malice. Guru Deva Rinpoche had supported the publication of a book about Dorje Shugden written by Pisu Jola, a lay practitioner who was discouraged by the injustice he saw the CTA inflict on Dorje Shugden believers. The book contained many stories about Dorje Shugden that would shame the CTA and make it difficult for them to ban the sacred practice. And so, both Pisu Jola and Guru Deva Rinpoche were both severely punished to the point that Guru Deva Rinpoche was forced to move away.

Like Pisu Jola’s book, Zasep Rinpoche’s book serves to expose the CTA’s crimes and lies except this time, the CTA cannot do anything in retaliation because firstly, those who know Zasep Rinpoche, a lama of stainless reputation, cannot find any fault in him. They have never known him to lie, speak ill of others, engage in politicking or any other behavior that would be considered inappropriate and unbecoming of a lama. In addition, Zasep Rinpoche is a resident of Canada, a real democracy that protects one’s basic human rights to his religion, and his freedom of speech and his freedom of thought.

Zasep Rinpoche’s book was published in 2016 and jointly with other lamas who have been educating the world about the truth surrounding the Dorje Shugden ban, it has resulted in the CTA being forced to downplay its horrific persecution of Shugden Buddhists. These days the CTA denies that there is even any discrimination but both the Dalai Lama and CTA’s official websites still contain material that are published to demonize Dorje Shugden and incite hatred against its worshippers.

The fact is that the CTA’s assault on the truth today still persists because most lamas and scholars who know the truth about Dorje Shugden prefer to remain silent and enjoy the ill-gotten privileges of being in the CTA’s good books, rather than saving the holy lineage of Lama Tsongkhapa and the reputation of great Dorje Shugden lamas of old. Hence it is books and writings such as Zasep Rinpoche’s biography that will save Lama Tsongkhapa’s pure lineage whilst the CTA is trying to demolish established traditions and construct their own, to command unquestioning loyalty from the Tibetan Buddhists worldwide.

Zasep Rinpoche’s biography

Zasep Rinpoche is perhaps one of the few remaining tulkus that was recognized, enthroned and received his traditional monastic education within the old Tibetan setting. Within his gripping autobiography A Tulku’s Journey from Tibet to Canada, Zasep Rinpoche tells his story set in a life steeped in tradition of the old tulku system in Tibet. He relates his experience of receiving his monastic education set in the backdrop of life within the monastery as they once were in old Tibet. His story spans his entire experience during his formative years growing up in the setting of traditional Tibetan society as he makes his way out of Tibet. In addition, the book also contains old black and white pictures that are the perfect accompaniment to Zasep Rinpoche’s very interesting story. The book is a must-read for those interested in Tibet prior to 1959 especially monastic culture.

You can purchase the book on Amazon.com by clicking here.

“Zasep Tulku Rinpoche’s A Tulku’s Journey from Tibet to Canada is equal parts autobiography, spiritual epic journey, gripping adventure narrative, inspiring Buddhist life example, and a travelogue spanning nine countries. Of course, this is a must read for Zasep Rinpoche’s students, or anyone contemplating asking to become his student. It is also a “should read” for anyone interested in Tibetan Buddhism. It’s a good read for anyone who enjoys biographies since it contains all the elements of a great spiritual bio: adventure, a fascinating life, spiritual insights, and a glimpse into the lives of a once-hidden people in the land of snows. Rinpoche truly brings Tibet alive in an intimate and honest way. While his love of teachers, Buddhism, Tibet and his people is palpable and constant, he doesn’t portray Tibet as a “Shangri-La”, and he doesn’t hesitate to describe both the good and bad.“

– Buddha Weekly

Zasep Rinpoche’s book titled “A Tulku’s Journey From Tibet To Canada”, chronicling his life and experiences.

The back cover of Zasep Rinpoche’s autobiography

Zasep Rinpoche in his younger days together with his grandfather. It was his grandfather who took Zasep Rinpoche to Tashi Lhapug Gompa to study. Tashi Lhapug, with its 700 monks, was the largest Gelug monastery in the area. It was here where Zasep Rinpoche received his ordination vows.

Zasep Rinpoche’s grandfather in his younger days

After Trijang Rinpoche recognized Zasep Rinpoche as the reincarnation of Konchog Gyurme, Trijang Rinpoche suggested that Zasep Rinpoche enter Sera Monastery to further his studies. On his arrival at Sera, Zasep Tulku entered Sera Je Monastic Collage where he was enthroned as a lama.

Zasep Rinpoche arrived at the home of Geshe Thubten Wanggyel (pictured here) on the morning that Geshela was completing his six-month Heruka retreat with a fire puja. Zasep Rinpoche would end up studying under Geshela for the next 10 years. Geshe happily accepted Zasep Tulku as his disciple, saying, “I’m honored to accept you as my student because my root Guru Trijang Dorje Chang sent you to me. Trijang Dorje Chang knows that we will develop good teacher and student relationship.”

His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, known as the ‘teacher of teachers’, was the junior tutor of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. At the Dalai Lama’s request, Trijang Rinpoche composed his autobiography which invariably demonstrates the deep impact that Dorje Shugden had on his life.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Shashi Kei

A Force of Nature

His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche is without question a phenomenal force in Tibetan Buddhism and his name has become synonymous not only with the stainless tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa but also the highest standards of scholarship and monastic excellence. Trijang Rinpoche is hailed as one of the greatest, if not the greatest master of Tibetan Buddhism in the modern era, continuing a legacy of enlightened deeds that began many lifetimes ago. His recognised reincarnation lineage began as Chandra (Chandaka), the chariot driver who took Prince Siddhartha into the forest to begin his journey to become the Buddha. In addition, in his past incarnations, Trijang Rinpoche had been the Great Atisha, the illustrious scholar Santaraksita, and the exemplary debater and logician Candrakirti. Trijang Rinpoche, who had a close relationship with the 16^th Karmapa, even took reincarnation in the Karma Kagyu lineage as the 8^th Karmapa Mikyo Dorje and he was also the Bodhisattva Dharmamitra.

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From the time Trijang Rinpoche was born to when he passed into clear light, he lived a faultless life. So immense was Trijang Rinpoche’s contribution to the Tibetan people and to the Buddhadharma that until this day, there is not one shred of accusation or charge against him. This is why when Trijang Rinpoche’s flawlessness was called into question, it raised eyebrows. That was the occasion when the Dalai Lama said that the old masters who worshipped the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden were all ‘wrong’. Trijang Rinpoche was one of the old masters the Dalai Lama referred to and he was well known for his trust in Dorje Shugden.

In saying that these old lamas were wrong, the Dalai Lama based his statement purely on their practice of Dorje Shugden and nothing else. Whilst shocking, it is not entirely surprising because at the time, the Dalai Lama was imposing a ban on Dorje Shugden’s practice for reasons that have never been proven or shown to have logical basis in the greater context of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. For example, it is contradictory for the Dalai Lama to declare that old masters such as Trijang Rinpoche are infallible Buddhist masters of sutra and tantra, and at the same time accuse them of being worshippers of a “spirit of the dark forces” which the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; Tibetan leadership based in Dharamsala) say all Dorje Shugden worshippers are.

The Magical Play of Illusion: A Validation of Dorje Shugden

The Magical Play of Illusion. Click on the image to download the English biography (in PDF format). To download the text in Tibetan, please scroll to the bottom of the article.

Trijang Rinpoche entered clear light in 1982 but before he passed away, he wrote his autobiography, The Magical Play of Illusion, at the request of the Dalai Lama. As much as Trijang Rinpoche’s book is a chronicle of the deeds of a Bodhisattva, it is at the same time a firm validation of Dorje Shugden and a narrative of how much the Dharma Protector assisted Trijang Rinpoche in performing his great deeds that continue to benefit people even today. In that sense, the autobiography of this great lama exemplifies the awkwardness of the case against Dorje Shugden; that is, in chronicling the life and activities of Trijang Rinpoche, the book makes it impossible to condemn Dorje Shugden and his practitioners without simultaneously making a fool out of the Gelug lineage and the foundations of Tibetan Buddhism.

The clumsiness is clear right from the beginning. For example, the translator of Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography, Sharpa Tulku wrote in his Preface that,

“My family sought his [Trijang Rinpoche's] guidance and his divination for every major event in our lives, and the advice he gave never failed to be beneficial.”

Over the next few hundred pages of the book, Trijang Rinpoche would articulate repeatedly his deep and unequivocal reliance on Gyalchen Dorje Shugden for advice, divination and prediction. No other Dharma Protector is mentioned with such significance and frequency as Dorje Shugden. Therefore the divinations and advice that Sharpa Tulku’s family benefited from would have come from Gyalchen Dorje Shugden whom Trijang Rinpoche relied on.

This is just but one of many other instances. To point out each and every occasion in Trijang Rinpoche’s life and provide examples where he invoked Dorje Shugden to perform a beneficial act, or turned to the Protector for divination and advice or gave initiations and permissions to Tibetan lamas and personages to practice Dorje Shugden, would yield an essay almost as voluminous as Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography itself. Suffice to say that Trijang Rinpoche’s life is without a doubt an attestation to Dorje Shugden’s divine qualities and the high regard the Protector commanded in Tibet’s lay and monastic community until the Tibetan leadership forcibly changed all that.

The CTA’s Persecution of Shugden Buddhists

On their official website (tibet.net), there is a list of what they call “Dolgyal” followers which the CTA use to defame Dorje Shugden practitioners and direct violence towards them. Is this what a “democratic” government body should be doing? Click to enlarge.

Within the framework of the Tibetan leadership’s ban on Dorje Shugden, the publication of Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography in English in October 2018 is interesting. Trijang Rinpoche wrote his autobiography in 1975, a few years before any murmurings against the Dorje Shugden practice began. Those murmurings became a formal restriction on the practice in 1996, when resolutions were passed to condemn Dorje Shugden practice and vilify Shugden practitioners. The ban however, was disguised as merely a strong advice, an act that was necessary given the Tibetan leadership’s claims to be a democracy. It would undermine the CTA’s purported democracy if it was seen to be preventing its own Tibetan people from exercising their religious freedom although this was precisely what the CTA’s ban was tantamount to.

Sikyong Lobsang Sangay launches anti-Shugden book

That thinly-veiled ban became an outright commandment by the Dalai Lama in 2008 by which time to practice Dorje Shugden was not only socially taboo but also (according to the Tibetan leadership] somehow against the Buddhadharma. In 2014, the CTA’s Parliament formally passed a resolution declaring all practitioners of Dorje Shugden to be “criminals in history“. The CTA’s propaganda machinery went into overdrive and by 2017, the CTA’s religious ban had successfully driven the worship of this deity underground, much like Nero’s persecutions of Christians drove Christianity underground in 64AD.

In this systematic manner, an ancient and hallowed Protector practice became labelled a cult practice and its followers portrayed as violent extremists bent on destroying Buddhism and harming the Dalai Lama. It became common for Tibetans and supporters of the Dalai Lama to demonstrate their loyalty by harboring enmity against Dorje Shugden practitioners and anyone even remotely associated with the practice. For all intents and purposes, the Tibetan leadership’s efforts to eradicate the practice of Dorje Shugden had worked. Which is why the October 2018 publication of Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography in English where it can reach the widest audience was an unexpected surprise.

The Paradox and Explanations

Trijang Rinpoche was regarded as the embodiment of the practice of the pure Dharma and when he was alive, his word was taken as the ultimate spiritual authority. Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography and other writings bear witness to the fact that he propagated the practice of Dorje Shugden widely, teaching all who received the practice that Dorje Shugden is in fact wrathful Manjushri, the Buddha of Wisdom. This was the prevailing view of Dorje Shugden for centuries. The Dalai Lama was aware of that and it has been said that he waited until the last of the old great lamas had passed into clear light before enacting the Dorje Shugden ban.

H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche

For example, the Dalai Lama knew that it would have been impossible to denounce Dorje Shugden whilst living Buddhas such as Trijang Rinpoche were still alive. Trijang Rinpoche would never have given up the practice and in retaining it, his influence alone would have emboldened thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, to join him in maintaining their practice too. In this way, imposing the ban on Dorje Shugden while Trijang Rinpoche was alive would have drastically reduced its efficacy.

Dorje Shugden was after all the main Dharma Protector of Pabongka Rinpoche, Trijang Rinpoche and Zong Rinpoche, and virtually every lama, scholar and practitioner of the Gelug lineage. Despite being the spiritual and secular head of the Tibetan people, the Dalai Lama was still a student of Trijang Rinpoche. Given the tremendous significance of Trijang Rinpoche and his unmatched standing within the Tibetan lay and monastic community, it would not have been difficult for the weight of his word or the significance of his own practice of Dorje Shugden to overshadow the Tibetan leadership’s attempts to demonize the deity.

What some might find unusual is that the Dalai Lama, knowing very well Trijang Rinpoche’s relationship with Dorje Shugden, still allowed the publication of this translated autobiography. The Dalai Lama would have known that its publication would revive the memory of this spiritual giant and with it, a restoration of the name of Dorje Shugden, the deity the Tibetan leadership wanted the world to forget. And yet he allowed it.

Could it be that the Dalai Lama had no influence over the matter? Not so. Those familiar with the ways of the Tibetan leadership know that the CTA can easily shut down the publication of any material or literature that does not support their stance on any issue, for example:

1. The Tibetan magazine Mangtso (meaning ‘democracy’) was shuttered for publishing views deemed critical of the Dalai Lama’s administration;
2. Guru Deva Rinpoche had his printing press shut down after publishing a letter by a Tibetan layperson who questioned the Dalai Lama’s Dorje Shugden ban. Guru Deva Rinpoche, a great benefactor of the Tibetan people in exile, was himself chased out of town and back to Mongolia.

So it is without question that the Dalai Lama could have easily prevented the publication of Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography. The publisher, Wisdom Publications, is owned by the same interests as the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) that is not only opposed to the practice of Dorje Shugden but also comes under the control of Lama Zopa who is a staunch Dalai Lama supporter.

Not only did the Dalai Lama allow the publication of the book, but he also endorsed its contents by writing the Foreword to the autobiography of the greatest Dorje Shugden lama of the modern era.

Foreword written by H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama. Click to enlarge.

Dorje Shugden detractors will insist that the Dalai Lama’s Foreword is yet more affirmation of his opposition to the Dorje Shugden practice, but the Dalai Lama’s own words prove them to be wrong. To begin with, the Dalai Lama excuses Trijang Rinpoche’s Dorje Shugden practice by saying,

“Since his predecessors had close ties to the practice, as did his root lama Phabongkha Rinpoche, it is understandable that my late tutor followed them in propitiating Dölgyal (Dorje Shukden).”

In this sentence alone, the Dalai Lama disqualifies the reasons for imposing the Shugden ban because the Dalai Lama confirms:

1. That past Gaden Tripas relied on Dorje Shugden. The Gaden Tripa is the head of the Gelug lineage and in Trijang Rinpoche’s case, he had two predecessors who were the 69^th and the 85^th Gaden Tripas. The fact Trijang Rinpoche’s erudite predecessors, who occupied the highest seat in the Gelug lineage twice-over, became closely associated with Dorje Shugden practice indicates that it was not a fringe and unauthorized practice after all.
2. That worshippers of this supposed “dark force” experience no ill-effects. In fact, Dorje Shugden worshippers can even reincarnate as enlightened masters like Trijang Rinpoche who is deemed holy, attained and qualified even to become the tutor of the Dalai Lama, an emanation of Avalokiteshvara.
3. That it is natural and understandable for a practitioner to follow his teacher’s worship of Dorje Shugden. The Dalai Lama even confirms that there is a lineage of practice, since Trijang Rinpoche’s own root lama relied on Dorje Shugden. However, this understanding is somehow suspended when the Dalai Lama and CTA forced Dorje Shugden practitioners to break oaths made to their teachers to uphold the Protector practice, and the Dalai Lama even allowed Penpa Tsering to criticize and denigrate his tutor Trijang Rinpoche’s root lama.

Dorje Shugden statue at Nyanang Pelgyeling Monastery in Nepal, made by the Fifth Dalai Lama. Click to enlarge.

Nevertheless, detractors will be keen to point out the Dalai Lama’s reference to the 5^th Dalai Lama. In their indictment of the deity, those opposed to Dorje Shugden often misquote the 5^th Dalai Lama as having said that Dorje Shugden was “an oath-breaking spirit born from perverse prayers …harming the teachings [the Buddhadharma] and all living beings”.

However, not only is this incorrect but the opposite is true. The 5^th Dalai Lama composed the very first prayer to Dorje Shugden, beseeching him to protect Dharma practitioners. He also constructed the very first Dorje Shugden chapel (Trode Khangsar) in Lhasa, and created with his own hands a Dorje Shugden statue for the purposes of worship. All of these are historical facts which have not been disputed.

And notwithstanding his earlier negation of false claims against Dorje Shugden, the Dalai Lama further invalidated that wrong view, albeit subtly, in the very next paragraph where he wrote,

“…and I composed a prayer for the swift return of his reincarnation.”

Even those with the most rudimentary Dharma knowledge will be able to see the contradiction here. If Dorje Shugden is truly a malevolent entity, then Trijang Rinpoche in his previous life as the Gaden Throne-holder and then as the Dalai Lama’s Junior Tutor would have broken his refuge vows and along with it, his monastic, tantric and all other vows.

Why then even spare the effort of composing a prayer for such a person’s swift return? Surely a prolific worshipper of such a destructive demonic force and who had actively facilitated the spread of this ‘evil’ would be heading for the lower realms and remain there for countless aeons according to the laws of karma. And yet the Dalai Lama gave no indication whatsoever that this was to be the result of Trijang Rinpoche’s lifelong worship of Dorje Shugden. Instead with the prayer, the Dalai Lama indicated that he fully expected the swift return of his teacher’s incarnation.

H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama with the current incarnation of H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche. If Dorje Shugden lamas worship a demon and are supposed to take rebirth in the three lower realms, why then did the Dalai Lama recognize the reincarnation of his guru?

The Epilogue of Trijang Rinpoche’s book narrates how the Dalai Lama actively searched for Trijang Rinpoche’s new incarnation and confirmed through divination the identity of the boy who would eventually be enthroned as the new embodiment of Trijang Rinpoche’s mind stream:

“His Holiness felt certain that Trijang Rinpoche’s reincarnation had been reborn in northwestern India, Kungo Palden, full of hope, went with Jamyang Tashi to Dalhousie on May 8, 1983, and stayed with Losang Thupten…” (page 380)

and,

“There, His Holiness gave the verdict that Sönam Topgyal’s child was the true reincarnation of Kyabje Trijang Vajradhara. With a beaming expression on his face, His Holiness then charged Lati Rinpoche and Kungo Palden with responsibility of caring for the child.” (page 381)

Finally, the Dalai Lama performed a hair-cutting ceremony on Trijang Rinpoche’s incarnation and named the boy Tenzin Losang Yeshe Gyatso.

Page 243, click to enlarge.

Allowing the publication of Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography, endorsing the book by writing a Foreword for it, and then skillfully negating very serious charges against Dorje Shugden, all go against the ban on Dorje Shugden that the Dalai Lama himself had imposed over two decades ago. Many examples of this can be found but an especially glaring example is on page 243 where Trijang Rinpoche wrote that it was the Dalai Lama who personally instructed Trijang Rinpoche to seek the advice of Dorje Shugden at the most crucial time. The Protectors Palden Lhamo, Nechung and Gadong had all given their respective advice but the Dalai Lama needed to be sure and so he sought the final confirmation from Dorje Shugden.

In the final analysis, it was upon Dorje Shugden’s instruction that the Dalai Lama and his party fled Tibet following the route prescribed by the deity Trijang Rinpoche regarded as the “chief protector”. Why would a supposedly perfidious spirit save the Dalai Lama if it is true that his intent is to harm the Buddhadharma?

Note that while the Dalai Lama spent most of his Foreword criticizing the practice of his guru, he did not dispute any information or specific events in the book that soundly mitigate the case against Dorje Shugden. There are only a few ways to look at this incongruity:

1. It was an oversight on the part of the Dalai Lama. This is highly implausible because the Dalai Lama is well known to be sharp-witted and still in possession of very finely-tuned mental faculties despite his advanced age. In addition, the Dalai Lama has access to a string of aides-de-camp, assistants and secretaries, and not to mention scholars like Sharpa Tulku and his regular translator Thupten Jinpa who would have vetted the book and advised the Dalai Lama accordingly, assuming the Dalai Lama had not read his teacher’s autobiography himself. So this explanation cannot stand on its own merits.
2. The publication of the book was out of the Dalai Lama’s control. Again, as we examined earlier, the opposite is true. Wisdom Publications comes well under the Dalai Lama’s influence. In any case, even if the publisher was a company outside the Dalai Lama’s clout, his willingness to write the Foreword negates this argument.
3. The only other explanation is that the Dalai Lama intended for the book to be published and widely read. A critical Foreword would pique interest in the matter, and lead people to look out for mentions of Dorje Shugden. As inconsistent as this may appear, it makes sense when seen from the perspective of recent developments in two other controversies that have dominated the Tibetan Buddhist landscape, besides the Dorje Shugden conflict – the 11^th Panchen Lama controversy and the Two Karmapa dispute.

Reconciliation

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the Dalai Lama’s candidate for the 11th Panchen Lama, disappeared shortly after he was recognized. A few months later, the Chinese government recognized their own candidate and since 1995, the Dalai Lama has persisted in his claim that the Chinese candidate is a fake and merely a puppet of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Then suddenly in April 2018, the Dalai Lama changed his mind and endorsed the Chinese Panchen Lama.

In 1995, the Dalai Lama accused the Chinese government of abducting a child that the Dalai Lama had recognised to be the 11^th Panchen Lama. In addition, the Dalai Lama declared that the China-enthroned 11^th Panchen Lama Gyaincain Norbu was a fraud, which is a stance the Tibetan leadership have vehemently stood by for the past 23 years. Then suddenly, on 25^th April 2018, the Dalai Lama made a statement that Gyaincain Norbu is in fact the official and therefore the real Panchen Lama. This sudden reversal of the Dalai Lama’s stance on the Panchen Lama controversy was a harbinger of changes to come.

The two Karmapa candidates Thaye Dorje (left) and Ogyen Trinley (right) during their recent October 2018 meeting in France. Although the Dalai Lama has never traditionally been involved in the search and recognition of the Karmapas, Ogyen Trinley was endorsed by the 14th Dalai Lama, setting off a conflict that has plagued the Karma Kagyu tradition for over 20 years.

Just as mysteriously, on 11^th October 2018, the two Karmapa candidates Ogyen Trinley Dorje and Trinley Thaye Dorje met in secret in France before issuing a joint statement declaring their mutual interest in healing the division in the Karma Kagyu lineage. The said division had been caused by a disagreement amongst the four regents of the Karma Kagyu, triggered when Tai Situ Rinpoche declared that Ogyen Trinley was the rightful heir to the Karmapa throne. The Shamarpa, the most senior of the four regents, disagreed with him and insisted that another candidate, Thaye Dorje was the correct reincarnation of the 16^th Karmapa and therefore the rightful claimant to the Karmapa seat. Traditionally it has been the role and duty of the Shamarpa to recognize and enthrone the Karmapa but the Dalai Lama acted outside his authority and scuttled the process. In officially endorsing Ogyen Trinley as the Karmapa, the Dalai Lama crystallized the problem and rendered it intractable even though the Shamarpa presented information to indicate that the Dalai Lama was in error.

The Dalai Lama’s interference divided the Karma Kagyu from 1995 onwards. Given the Dalai Lama’s absolute dominance of all matters relating to Tibetan Buddhism, it has been widely speculated that the Dalai Lama secretly engineered the recent France meeting of the two Karmapas to pave the way for reunification in the Karma Kagyu lineage. This is plausible because it would be highly unlikely for the young Karmapas to openly oppose the Dalai Lama and undo what the Dalai Lama had set in stone. And so there appears to be a change in the Dalai Lama’s stance on the Karmapa issue as well.

The developments in the Panchen Lama and Karmapa issues have one thing in common in that they are both reconciliatory in nature and if the Dalai Lama is seeking to harmonize the Tibetan Buddhist community, then it makes sense to also unravel the Dorje Shugden ban. And what better way to do this than to publicize his teacher, Trijang Rinpoche’s close relationship with Dorje Shugden by writing the Foreword to his autobiography. Given Trijang Rinpoche’s stature, the high regard he commanded at all levels of Tibetan society and seeing how the people still regard him indisputably as an enlightened being, his autobiography is a potent antidote against Dorje Shugden disinformation, and a robust counter-argument against detractors’ demonization of the deity.

It is well within reason to ask why the Dalai Lama does not just announce the abolition of the Dorje Shugden ban if that was indeed his intention.

1. The answer may be as simple as the suggestion that the Dalai Lama does not like to admit that he is wrong. We get a hint of this in a video of the late Shamarpa speaking about his meeting with the Dalai Lama. The Shamarpa recounted how he presented his findings about why the Dalai Lama was in error for endorsing Ogyen Trinley as the 17^th Karmapa. According to the Shamarpa’s narrative, the Dalai Lama did not disagree with his findings but instead replied that he had already endorsed Ogyen Trinley and so he could not withdraw it. We may surmise from this that the Dalai Lama may have a habit of refusing to acknowledge his mistakes regardless of the repercussions.

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The Shamarpa explained that he went to the Dalai Lama to present evidence countering his endorsement of Ogyen Trinley as the 17^th Karmapa. The Dalai Lama refused to retract his endorsement, saying once it had been issued there was no way to withdraw it.

2. Perhaps the Dalai Lama cannot afford to admit he is wrong because in doing so, it would open the floodgates for him to be questioned on a string of other matters. He would no longer be deemed to be faultless and omniscient. As far as the Dorje Shugden conflict is concerned, decades of discrimination against Dorje Shugden worshippers happened based only on the Dalai Lama’s word that the practice is demonic. For the Dalai Lama to openly say that Dorje Shugden is not evil after all would not only discredit him, it would also lay liability on him, for inflicting such a grievous injury on the Tibetan community inside Tibet as well as the Tibetan diaspora around the world.
3. There are quieter ways of bringing about reconciliation. The Gelug tradition is the predominant Tibetan Buddhist sect and accounts for the largest percentage of the Tibetan population around the world. Within the Gelug school, the practice of Dorje Shugden has always been pervasive especially from the time of Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche. Therefore the harm done by the Dalai Lama’s Dorje Shugden ban has been widespread, damaging the unity of the Tibetan nation, the integrity of the Tibetan Buddhist monastic structure, as well as the good name of Tibetan Buddhism. So it may have been deemed wiser to just quietly take effective measures for the damage to heal, just like how the Dalai Lama secretly set up the meeting of the two Karmapas.

Whatever the reasons may be, the Dalai Lama’s allowance for the publication of Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography and then writing a Foreword for it, is a welcome move not only for Dorje Shugden Buddhists but also for Buddhism in general. It is the Dalai Lama’s way of inviting the world and everyone engaged in the Shugden divide to finally discover the truth and then close a very unfortunate chapter in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. Trijang Rinpoche was and still is the embodiment of a life lived perfectly in accordance to the Buddha’s teachings and as such his name itself is holy and his life story is both an inspiration as well as a lamp that guides all beings out of samsara. The Dalai Lama demonstrated great mastery and wisdom in allowing for the words of his holy teacher to permeate the earth to correct gross misunderstandings about a deity that Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche, Heruka himself, had said we needed to depend on.

And to be sure that what Trijang Rinpoche wrote about Dorje Shugden was accurate and dependable, the translator Sharpa Tulku affirmed (on page 21, Preface) that Trijang Rinpoche wrote his story “without fabrication or omission”. If that is indeed the case, and Sharpa Tulku did not conjure up this statement without basis, then to vilify Dorje Shugden is to negate the choices, practices and existence of Trijang Rinpoche, one of the greatest living Buddhas of our time.

Dorje Shugden
in Magical Play of Illusion

Few lamas have as intimate a connection with Dorje Shugden as Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche does. Trijang Rinpoche writes about Dorje Shugden with great affection, as a close friend who protected him from scolding tutors, who helped him to choose the reincarnation of his guru Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche, who helped him to save the Dalai Lama’s life. Indeed, Trijang Rinpoche relied on Dorje Shugden throughout his life, to assist him in activities that would affect thousands of people. All of this is clearly documented in Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography…that is, if you know where to look because in this translation of the autobiography, the Dharma Protector’s role in this great master’s life has been severely downplayed.

Instead of referring to Dorje Shugden by name, the translator refers to him using obscure, vague terms that would be unfamiliar to the majority of non-Tibetans who pick up this book. Why? Because to translate it clearly and honestly would be to recognize and properly record Dorje Shugden’s involvement in Trijang Rinpoche’s life, thereby invalidating the Tibetan leadership’s narrative of Dorje Shugden as a minor practice of spirit worship.

After all, why would a lama of Trijang Rinpoche’s calibre, who accomplished so much (as evidenced by his autobiography), choose to rely on a so-called ‘spirit’?

For realists, it is a foregone conclusion that Dorje Shugden’s involvement was downplayed purely for commercial reasons. The sad truth is that the Dalai Lama’s endorsement by means of a Foreword is necessary for the book to be a commercial success. In order to obtain such a Foreword, the translator would have had to allow the Dalai Lama to write something that criticizes Dorje Shugden, as well as obscure Dorje Shugden’s role in Trijang Rinpoche’s life.

Hence to clarify things, the team at DorjeShugden.com has compiled this list of the 55 times that Dorje Shugden is referred to in Trijang Rinpoche’s autobiography. You can refer to the images below, or click here to download a handy PDF document which you can print out to refer to as you read the book.

Page 1. Click to enlarge.

Page 2. Click to enlarge.

Page 3. Click to enlarge.

Page 4. Click to enlarge.

Page 5. Click to enlarge.

Page 6. Click to enlarge.

DOWNLOAD
Trijang Rinpoche’s Autobiography

The biographies of holy beings such as Trijang Rinpoche serve to inspire and remind us about what is possible if we devote ourselves to our practice. Trijang Rinpoche spent his life tirelessly teaching the Dharma and benefiting sentient beings; his autobiography, which chronicles his deeds, paints the picture of a deeply devoted, kind, humble yet vastly accomplished spiritual practitioner.

Please keep this sacred text on your computers to read at your leisure, or print it to be inserted into statues or keep on your altar. As a Dharma text, please remember to store in a proper and respectful manner.

• English (PDF; 7.6MB)
• Tibetan Part 1 (PDF; 111.2MB)
• Tibetan Part 2 (PDF; 169.2MB)
• References to Dorje Shugden in the biography (PDF; 56kb)

There is trouble in paradise as HH Dalai Lama and Lobsang Sangay argue over Tibetan succession, evidence of deep rifts within the Tibetan community

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Ashok Rao

An explosive article authored by Rajeev Sharma and published on SouthAsianMonitor.com has revealed a shocking and deep rift between the Central Tibetan Administration’s (CTA) President Lobsang Sangay and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The two leaders, one secular and one religious respectively, are supposed to be leading the Tibetan people’s cause in a united front. But as Rajeev Sharma exposes, there is nothing but turbulence within the upper echelon of Tibetan politics.

The spat which has sparked huge debate as to the tattered state of Tibetan politics centers around Lobsang Sangay’s cancellation of the 13th Religious Conference of the Schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon Tradition, which was scheduled to take place between November 29 to December 1 this year. What is shocking however is that he did so when the Dalai Lama was flying back from Japan, knowing full well that the Dalai Lama could not have stopped the cancellation of such a momentous conference. But the intrigue does not stop there. The Dalai Lama is said to have responded to Lobsang Sangay with a heated telephone conversation, a tirade full of expletives towards the duplicitous President. Throw into the mix the issue of the Dalai Lama’s succession and his possible return to China (a point which Lobsang Sangay is trying to take credit for) and you have all the ingredients for a huge explosion which could very well tear the fabric of Tibetan society in half.

One may label Rajeev Sharma as a sensationalist, but his credentials as an investigative journalist are more than sound. The Delhi-based journalist and author is a writer for The Diplomat and has been writing on international relations, foreign policy, strategic affairs, security and terrorism for over two decades. For someone of his character to publish such an article belies the fact that something is very wrong. The whole situation raises a number of interesting thoughts surrounding the current state of affairs of Tibetan politics:

1. The Dalai Lama was angry and shouted expletives at Lobsang Sangay. Everyone knows that the Dalai Lama is in full control. He claims that he is retired from politics but this is just what the West wants to hear. When the West hear this, they keep funding his activities. It looks good to the West that he voluntarily gave up political power because it makes him look progressive. But the truth is that the Dalai Lama controls everything behind the scenes and if you don’t agree with this decisions or go against his will, he will be furious. Every Tibetan knows this very well, and Lobsang Sangay even more so since he got an ear-full after he cancelled the conference.
2. The article mentions that the Dalai Lama’s cancer is terminal. Since the secret is out, why is the Dalai Lama himself trying to cover up this point. Who knows? What is the problem if people know he has cancer? And why are the CTA trying to play it down?
3. The Dalai Lama will not let anyone else dictate who his successor will be. The decision will be on his terms only. Lobsang Sangay tried, but Tibetan society is not real democracy in practice. All Tibetans know that the Dalai Lama is the Lama-King. He is the only one who has full power and control over Tibetan society and no one may contradict him. The face he shows to the West, one that is soft, friendly, diplomatic, easy-going and democratic is just a facade. The face the Dalai Lama shows his own people is completely different. It is fierce and angersome. He is in charge and must be obeyed. That is the reality of the situation. While the West may not realise it, Tibetans know all too well that the Dalai Lama controls everything, including politics. People are not happy with this situation but dare not speak up, since democracy within Tibetan society in-exile doesn’t actually exist.

The CTA have since tried to counter the startling allegations made in Rajeev Sharma’s piece by publishing a statement to clarify the series of events on their own website (Important Clarification from Central Tibetan Administration, https://tibet.net/2018/12/important-clarification-from-central-tibetan-administration/). However, the damage to Tibetan politics has already been done. They simply state that Rajeev Sharma is lying, but give no evidence or outline their own arguments to counter Sharma who has been writing for two decades and has established a name for himself as being trust-worthy and accurate. With such a background, it is hard to refute what he wrote about Lobsang Sangay’s deceptive actions and the CTA’s state of affairs as being false.

Dharamsala is a scenic hill-station in Himachal Pradesh, one of India’s northern states. It is also the de facto capital of the Tibetans in-Exile, since it is where both the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration reside. This satirical political cartoon sums up the situation well. There is always some sort of drama, problem, corruption or mismanagement among the Tibetan leadership. Click to enlarge. Credits: cartoon by Tendor. Source: http://www.tibetanreview.net/weekly-cartoon-4/

It is obvious that Sharma has exposed the CTA more than they cared to be and it hurts. He has embarrassed the CTA and Lobsang Sangay, so they respond in the only way they know how, by condemning and punishing him by calling him a liar. This punishment tactic is an all too common occurance within the Tibetan community, which people like Dorje Shugden practitioners are well aware of. This group of people are condemned, ostracized and punished like Sharma, only to a far greater degree.

Rajeev Sharma tells the situation like it really is, breaking that mirage the Dalai Lama likes to keep people under. Finally the truth is coming out. The CTA is a regime in every sense of the word that depends on the hundreds of millions of free dollars it has been leeching from the West, Japan, Australia and so on. It exists on free money. It is not a good government and has failed all negotiations with China due to the arrogance of its leaders. Why arrogance? Because they think the world will force China to do what the Tibetan leaders want. They really do have an over-inflated sense of self-entitlement.

The Tibetans are at the top of no one’s agenda and they are facing China, an economic and military super power. China will never kowtow to Tibetan demands. Why would they when they have the upper hand? It is the Tibetans who must beg China to be friends and grovel for concessions if at all possible. In recent years, no country has ever dared stand up to USA, but China has. Year by year, China’s power grows and that is why countries all over the world are scrambling to be friends with China, inevitably saying goodbye to their support for the Tibetan cause. The Tibetan cause is something of the past. There are no economic or major political benefits to support the cause anymore. It’s dying, so it’s time to move on.

These days every country elects in leaders that can better their country’s economy. People want leaders who can improve their lives and end the misery caused by the global recession. There is no choice, every country has to do business, trade and side with China to improve their economy. If you side with the Dalai Lama and CTA, what do you get? Nothing! Leaders of countries realize this now and will continue to make friends with China and say goodbye to the Dalai Lama. On a personal level, the Dalai Lama may be rich and famous, he may even sell a lot of books, but that will not get the Tibetan’s their country back. That will not win the support of leaders of the free and democratic world, nor the support of other nations. China no longer wants to play ball with the Tibetans since the Tibetans have nothing to offer. The odds are now in China’s favor, especially since, thanks to Lobsang Sangay and the Dalai Lama, Tibetan politics seem to be in a downward tailspin leading to disaster.

Differences between Dalai Lama and CTA President put Tibetan politics in a tailspin

Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: http://southasianmonitor.com/2018/11/27/differences-between-dalai-lama-and-cta-president-put-tibetan-politics-in-a-tailspin/

A Tibetan youth named Dugkho set himself ablaze in Ngaba’s Soruma township on Saturday. It is not known if he is still alive.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Shashi Kei

Just in the last few weeks, another two Tibetan youths have set themselves on fire in the name of the Dalai Lama. This brings the number of Tibetan self-immolations to 164 since 1998. The bulk, if not all of the Tibetan self-immolators shouted pro-Dalai Lama slogans, as if reading from a set script. They died extremely excruciating deaths, believing that somehow their demise would serve the Dalai Lama’s purpose. Tibet was lost to the Chinese in 1959 and it would be almost 40 years later before the first case of Tibetan self-immolation happened. This itself is interesting and begs the question ‘how’ the Tibetan people came to believe that killing themselves is a noble way to serve their beloved God-King.

Dalai Lama supporters such as Robert Thurman shamelessly uses the tragic deaths of Tibetans to promote his own commercial operations.

Suicide by any means is antithesis to what the Dalai Lama is supposed to embody – the teachings of the Buddha that states, amongst its core beliefs, that all lives are precious and that it is a sin take any life, even if it is one’s own. The Dalai Lama and his exile government known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) who are based in Dharamsala, trot around the world to sell the idea that the Tibetan struggle is in fact a struggle between Communism and Buddhism. In this they claim ownership to the tenets of Buddhism. And yet it seems acceptable to deform the Buddha’s teachings when it suits the Tibetan leadership’s purpose.

At the height of Tibetan self-immolation in 2012 (which saw 86 deaths, the highest in any one year), the question asked by Boston University scholar and regular CNN Blog contributor Stephen Prothero was what the Dalai Lama was doing to stop the Tibetan people from taking their own lives needlessly. Prothero’s question was valid because to the Tibetan people, the word of the Dalai Lama is not only law but also a religious edict. In short, whatever the Dalai Lama decrees must be obeyed and as Prothero so aptly asks, why did the Dalai Lama not use his “vast storehouse of moral and spiritual capital to denounce this ritual of human sacrifice”? (Source: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/12/my-take-dalai-lama-should-condemn-tibetan-self-immolations/)

In Prothero’s article, he cited the Dalai Lama’s response reported in The Hindu when a similar question was posed. The Dalai Lama had said,

“This is a very, very delicate political issue. Now, the reality is that if I say something positive, then the Chinese immediately blame me. If I say something negative, then the family members of those people feel very sad. They sacrificed their own life. It is not easy. So I do not want to create some kind of impression that this is wrong. So the best thing is to remain neutral.”

The memorial for Thupten Ngodrup was erected by the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) on the circumambulation path around the residence of the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala. It is honored with regular ceremonies by TYC. Why glorify self-immolations when it only encourages more to follow suit in committing suicide?

The Dalai Lama’s comment appears diplomatic but it belies an ugly truth. Is the life of a human being not worth more to the Dalai Lama than what others might think of him? The reality is, the Tibetan leadership is anything but neutral when it comes to the idea of Tibetans taking their own lives in protest against China. As spine-chilling as it is to see a human being in sheer agony as flames melt his flesh away, this dramatic spectacle goes a long way towards keeping the Tibetan leadership’s political agenda fresh in the consciousness of the world public. And what about the lives of the Tibetan people? Here, it is important to remember that prior to 1959 when Tibet was lost completely to Mao’s troops, virtually all of the Tibetan populace were regarded merely as chattel, and not citizens.

A few months before the Dalai Lama made that comment to The Hindu, he had praised the courage of those who engage in self-immolation and blamed the self-immolations on “cultural genocide” by the Chinese. In saying that those Tibetans who killed themselves were gallant, the Dalai Lama showed his approval and in fact endorsed suicide. Taking the cue from the Dalai Lama, in September 2012, the CTA convened the Second Special Meeting of Tibetans in Exile, and in that time proclaimed Tibetan self-immolation as the highest form of non-violence, hailing its victims as “national heroes” and insisting that self-immolation is “Bodhisattva deed” (Source: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-04/15/c_134152496.htm)

The Dalai Lama’s government even memorialized one of the first self-immolators, Thupten Ngodup, by constructing a stone bust in his image and placing it in Dharamsala right in the heart of the Dalai Lama’s government. In doing so, they effectively deified Thupten Ngodup, glorifying his act of suicide. This and the CTA’s launching a book in 2012 that praises the ‘heroic acts’ of the Tibetan people killing themselves, resulted in the highest number of suicides in that year.

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This video shows Tibetan Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay and members of the Department of Information & International Relations launching a book that glorifies self-immolation and describes each self-immolator in glowing terms. Why the same resources could not be used to published books that discourages self-immolation, exposes how useful Tibetan deaths are to the CTA’s campaign.

 
The most disturbing issue here is that the Dalai Lama and the CTA could have very easily put a stop to these needless deaths. The ease with which the Dalai Lama turned the Buddhist practice of Dorje Shugden into a crime is ample proof that the Dalai Lama’s word is law. The practice of the Dharma protector Dorje Shugden was an established practice with deep roots amongst the Tibetan monastic elite and yet it was banned by mere utterances of the Dalai Lama, which the CTA duly transformed into law. Various CTA-controlled agencies were deployed and they made it not only taboo but also dangerous for anyone to be associated with Dorje Shugden worshippers. The Dalai Lama’s diktats were carried into the monasteries with express instruction to act on Shugden monks and expel them. Why the same efforts and intensity were not implemented to stop the Tibetan people from killing themselves, is telling.

As a matter of fact, the Dalai Lama and CTA could bring Tibetan self-immolations to a complete halt simply by following the same formula they used to force Shugden Buddhists to abandon their faith. Those who refused were excommunicated by the beloved Dalai Lama which is a fate worse than death for virtually all Tibetan people. Instead of literature propagandizing against the practice of Dorje Shugden, the CTA could easily have printed books and pamphlets warning people that committing suicides creates the cause for one to take rebirth in the lower realms. This is a very powerful deterrent for a deeply superstitious, if not religious, people.

The Dalai Lama’s government allows such memorials for the Tibetan self-immolators whom they regard as martyrs, inside the main temple complex in Dharamsala. When potential self-immolators know that their God-King praises the act of self-immolation by allowing such memorials to be erected, how does this in any way dissuade future suicides?

The online spaces both on the Dalai Lama and the CTA’s official websites that carry warnings against the worship of Dorje Shugden could instead be repurposed to discourage self-immolation. After all, isn’t saving Tibetan lives much more important and a worthier cause than infringing on the religious rights of Shugden Buddhists? And most powerfully, the Dalai Lama could have conveyed his objection to his people self-immolating during his religious and secular talks and events. If the Dalai Lama had done this and stated clearly that to disobey him displeases him and is tantamount to reducing his lifespan, which is one of his justifications to ban the Dorje Shugden practice, Tibetan self-immolation would be unthinkable. Families of would-be self-immolators would forbid their family members from even considering it, especially after witnessing how families and friends of Shugden worshippers were made outcasts and segregated.

And yet the Dalai Lama and CTA took any of these measures that are well within their means.

It is also important to note that the Tibetan leadership seem to focus their glorification of self-immolation on Tibetans inside China. If indeed killing oneself is as noble as the Dalai Lama and CTA seems to indicate, then surely the Tibetan leadership should lead by example and be the first to set their own family members aflame and then themselves. Why should the death of a Tibetan in exile be any less honorable than the death of a Tibetan inside China? Presently the Tibetan leadership-in-exile profit from the death of their own people in China as each self-immolation is turned into another pretext to ask for more financial aid and political support and condemnation of China.

As the journalist and special investigator Dr Andrea Galli noted in his paper “The violently peaceful struggle for Tibet” published by Modern Diplomacy, the intentions of the Tibetan leadership towards self-immolations is clear in the way the CTA invests its attention and effort. Dr Galli reports,

“The exiled Tibetan leadership has allegedly released a Self-immolation Guide on the Internet – an instruction manual to incite and instruct Tibetans residing within China to burn themselves. The author of this manual is Chabdak Lhamo Kyab, who served for two terms as a member of the Tibetan government in exile, known now as the Central Tibetan Government (CTA) and was the head of a clandestine resistance movement and also a public relations counsellor of the Dalai Lama. He now resides in France.

The Self-immolation Guide is a book consisting of four parts: the first part advocates the idea that self-immolators are great, honorable and intrepid heroes and that both these male and female heroes should always be prepared to sacrifice themselves for a just cause. The second part gives detailed instructions on preparations for self-immolation, including picking important days and places, leaving written or recorded last words, and asking trustworthy friends to help record videos or take photos. The third part introduces self-immolation slogans, instructing victims to always shout the same slogans. And the fourth part illustrates other activities that might accompany self-immolation.”

(Source: https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2018/04/16/the-violently-peaceful-struggle-for-tibet/)

It is chilling to realize how virtually all of the 164 self-immolators conducted their suicide according to the Guide published by the Tibetan leadership, the very people who are supposed to be the guardians of their people.

Dr Lobsang Sangay who, in 2012 in his capacity as the Prime Minister of the Tibetan people, launched a book that defies Tibetan self-immolators and provides potential self-immolators with a guide to carry out their act.

And so the issue raised by Stephen Prothero is only the spiny tip of a poisonous vine. The roots grow much deeper and extend into Dharamsala’s corridors of power. The Tibetan leadership’s silence on these suicides and weak rebuff of self-immolations indicate that the Dalai Lama’s people taking their own lives is deemed acceptable as the primary symbol of its opposition to China. For certain it is not a case of the Tibetan leadership not being able to stop the Tibetan self-immolation but a case of how these gruesome deaths serve the agenda of the Tibetan leadership. Tibetan self-immolation may have begun as the people’s protest against China but after 164 needless deaths, it is an attestation to Dharamsala’s callousness and its abject failure to inject hope into the hearts of its own people. As Stephen Prothero so aptly puts it, “The Dalai Lama isn’t just a Noble Peace Prize winner. He is also a man of peace. It is time in this crisis that he started to act like one.“
 

For further reading and coverage:

• Tibet Burning (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/guest-writers/tibet-burning/)
• The real reason the Tibetan leadership does not condemn self-immolations (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/the-real-reason-the-tibetan-leadership-does-not-condemn-self-immolations/)
• Self-immolations have failed the Tibetans (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/features/self-immolations-have-failed-the-tibetans/)
• Both Karmapas urge Tibetans to stop self-immolation (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/news/both-karmapas-urge-tibetans-to-stop-self-immolation/)
• Monk threatens Tibetan leadership with self-immolation? (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/monk-threatens-tibetan-leadership-with-self-immolation/)
• Tibetan leadership allows 151st tragic self-immolation (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/tibetan-leadership-allows-151st-tragic-self-immolation/)
• Boy self-immolates, Sikyong is responsible (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/news/boy-self-immolates-sikyong-is-responsible/)

[CNN] My Take: Dalai Lama should condemn Tibetan self-immolations
by Stephen Prothero

Click to enlarge (Source: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/12/my-take-dalai-lama-should-condemn-tibetan-self-immolations/)

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Shashi Kei

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), which is the Tibetan leadership based in Dharamsala, is in the process of losing another ally. In the recent regional elections in Taiwan, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was dealt a major defeat at the hands of the opposition Kuo Mintang (KMT). The defeat was so sweeping that the DPP even lost the Kaohsiung mayoral seat to the KMT for the first time in 20 years. Overall, the KMT won 15 out of 22 mayoral seats that were being contested, prompting the resignation of President Tsai Ing-wen as DPP Chairperson. And whilst the DPP is still officially the ruling party, the recent mayoral election result is a good indication of how the Taiwanese people might vote in the next Presidential elections in 2020.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen

This election result is of particular interest to observers of the Tibet situation because Tsai Ing-wen and the DPP are strong proponents of Taiwan’s independence. It is here that the DPP has found coalescence with the CTA, as both oppose China’s sovereignty claims over their respective territories. Knowing this, the CTA has exploited this common interest to launch anti-China rhetoric on Taiwanese soil, most recently via a campaign spearheaded by Dhardon Sharling, the CTA’s former Secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR). In allowing this, the DPP have not exactly won themselves many friends, both locally and internationally, as evidenced by the recent elections.

In a recent campaign disguised as a celebration to thank Taiwan for supporting the Tibetan cause, books on the Dalai Lama’s talks were printed and distributed in Taiwan. At the same time billboards with the Dalai Lama’s image adorned busy streets and bus stops in key Taiwan cities. But the CTA was not satisfied merely to keep the Tibetan cause visible to the Taiwanese people. In August 2018, the CTA-owned Snowland Publications launched what was disguised as an educational book on Buddhism.

The book accuses the Chinese government of having co-opted Buddhist groups in Taiwan via the practice of the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden. Dorje Shugden is in fact an ancient and non-political Tibetan Buddhist deity whose practice the CTA subverted in its offensive against China. The rationale is simple – Buddhists (and especially Tibetan Buddhists) worldwide practicing in harmony does not help the CTA’s cause. On the other hand, if the CTA can harness people’s general ignorance about China, and convince Buddhist adherents that China is corrupting their religion, they assume these adherents would become natural supporters of the CTA’s cause, falsely thinking that doing so would be saving the Buddhist religion. It is a ruse that the CTA has exploited with some success.

Sikyong Lobsang Sangay launches new anti-Shugden book. The Central Tibetan Administration has been known to spend a lot of money engaging in activities that defame the practice of Dorje Shugden. Is this how a supposed “democratic” leader should act? Why is the Tibetan leaders criticizing someone’s religion? So much religious freedom infringements. They have so much money and time to spend degrading another person’s faith. This is why they have no peace and harmony within Tibetan society.

The CTA’s strategy in Taiwan follows much the same formula as its game plan against China on Indian grounds. In both cases the CTA leverages on long-simmering issues that both Taiwan and India have with China, and seek to further aggravate their host nation’s relations with China. This follows an old maxim on statecraft – ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend” and so the more enemies China has, the more allies the CTA expect to make. However, just like India, Taiwan is now learning that there is no upside in supporting the CTA. Some quarters in the Taiwanese legislature have accused Tsai of breaking her promise to maintain cross-strait peace that is necessary for Taiwan to grow their economy; part of this failure to maintain cross-strait peace has arisen from allowing pro-Tibet groups to run rampant in Taiwan with their anti-China rhetoric. It is now clear that playing the Tibet card only backfires and ultimately it is the economy and people of countries that allow the Sino-Tibetan conflict to be played out on their land, who suffer.

The DPP’s closest political rival is the KMT and if the KMT is successful in regaining governance of Taiwan in 2020, as the recent mayoral elections seem to suggest, then it is certain that the CTA’s dalliance with Taiwan will end. The KMT holds the ‘One China Principle’ and seeks reunification with China. Therefore supporting the CTA is anathema to the KMT’s political goal and it is likely that by 2020, CTA activities will no longer be welcome in Taiwan. This may come even sooner if the DPP decides that it has to scrap its friendship with the CTA in order to turn around its declining fortunes.

Chiang Kai Shek

How Taiwan has progressed since its founding in 1949 also presents an insight into the sheer incompetence of the CTA and how the CTA could have done much better for the Tibetan people. There are some parallels between the two entities that allow comparison.

The government of Taiwan came about in 1949 after Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek lost control of China to Mao Zedong’s Communist Party of China (CPC). He fled to the island off the south-eastern coast of mainland China. Chiang ruled Taiwan with an iron fist but in 1984, the country’s leadership opened itself to political reform which amongst other developments, saw to a free press, the lifting of bans on new political parties and the legalizing of street protests. With that Taiwan’s first opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was formed.

In a similar way the 14^th Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile that became known as the CTA was formed after the Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959. He was granted asylum in India by the then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The Dalai Lama’s escape from Tibet followed a failed uprising after Mao’s troops marched into Tibet in 1950 reclaiming what it regarded to be China’s territory. Until then, Tibet was a feudal theocracy ruled by the line of Dalai Lamas since the 17^th Century. In exile the Dalai Lama promulgated the Tibetan Constitution that proclaimed the CTA to be a democratic government. The Tibetan struggle became cause célèbre and for a large part of the six decades since 1959, it commanded significant awareness in the consciousness of the Western world more so than the Taiwan issue. But unlike Taiwan, the CTA did not bother to develop a mind set and the corresponding skills to become self-sufficient. Instead it became comfortable with handouts and completely relied on the West to fight its battles. In the meantime, CTA officials behaved like little Napoleons more interested in personal gains than achieving collective victory for the Tibetan people. As a result, the Tibetan refugees continue to be suppressed.

Click to enlarge

Today Taiwan is a fully-fledged democracy with 185 registered political parties. It is a thriving trade and financial capital with a vibrant technology-based economy. Observers attribute Taiwan’s success to its investment in its people. Taiwan’s Human Development Index (HDI), a scale to measure the progress of the nation’s people is 0.907 that is comparable to Japan’s and Austria’s. It is the 7^th largest economy in Asia and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) places the small island nation in the ‘Advanced Economies’ grouping. Taiwan is ranked 15^th in the world by Global Competitiveness Report of World Economic Forum. In addition, Taiwan ranks 19^th in Gross Domestic Product per capita (at purchasing power parity) out of 198 countries.

On the other hand, it is a very different picture with the Tibetan people-in-exile. After 60 years in exile and incalculable financial, political and moral support the Tibetan dream seems to be vanishing. As Taiwan surged ahead in the world by valuing its people and nurturing their talents, the Tibetan leadership remained entrenched in its feudalistic ways and continued to forbid the growth of liberal ideals. Tibetan ‘democracy’ was only a façade to beguile the West and the world public into supporting the CTA’s agenda and to keep donations supposedly for the Tibetan cause, flowing. The only Tibetan democracy magazine, Mangtso, was forced to close and under the present President Lobsang Sangay, election rules and procedures can even be manipulated mid-way through an election to disqualify rival candidates. The CTA remains the sole political party that has used its ‘democratic’ Constitution as a weapon against the people’s exercise of freedom instead of a shield for the protection of their basic human rights. For example, the CTA did not hesitate to use its Parliament to outlaw the practice of Dorje Shugden, declaring Shugden Buddhists to be “criminals”. Yet, in light of all this, the CTA continues to celebrate its triumph as a democracy in September every year.

On March 17, 2014 the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; Tibetan leadership based in Dharamsala) published a resolution on the Dorje Shugden ban (http://tibet.net/dolgyal-shugden/). It, amongst other things, labelled Dorje Shugden practitioners as “criminals in history”. Tibetan government in exile is suppose to be democratic but no democratic government in the world will publish any condemnations on any religious faith because they allow religious freedom. CTA does not allow religious freedom as this is obvious.  Click to enlarge.

Today the third generation of Tibetan refugees languish in hopelessness as those who remain under the CTA face an uncertain future. Desperation has even led to some youths accepting funding from the Chinese in order to spy on the Indians. Of the 150,000 Tibetan people who voluntarily went into exile with the Dalai Lama, only 85,000 continue to rely on the CTA. That number continues to drop as many have realized that they are better off striking out on their own, with some even opting to return to China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. The Tibetan people-in-exile are no closer to regaining their independence promised by their government and neither is there a viable CTA blueprint in place for the Tibetan refugees to live meaningful and successful lives in exile. Whatever the CTA does now may well be too little too late. As the curtains come down on the disastrous play known as the Tibetan cause, it is appropriate to recall an event many years ago.

In 1981, China issued a five-point proposal to Gyalo Thondup, the Dalai Lama’s brother who represented the Tibetans in negotiations with China. Point 1 alludes to the fact that China has entered a new political and economic era. China signalled then that it intends to be a global force to be reckoned with and one that would be able to command the favor of nations of the world. Delivering the proposal to Gyalo Thondup, the then-Chairman of the Communist Party of China gave notice that the Tibetan leadership should not discount China’s resolve to be a world power, meaning to say that the longer the Tibetan leadership delayed coming to an agreement with China, the more difficult it would be for the Dalai Lama and his government to achieve their objective. 37 years later, as yet another supporter experiences the effects of supporting the Tibetan cause, it is clear that the CTA can no longer afford to keep ignoring the Chinese warning as the dragon rises.

China using Buddhism to increase its
influence in South Asia

Source: https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/china-using-buddhism-to-increase-its-influence-in-south-asia201812071718360003/. Click to enlarge.

Within the Karma Kagyu tradition responsibility to recognize the Karmapa lies with four regents. In recent times, three of these regents have recognized competing candidates, confusing followers all over the world. Orgyen Trinley Dorje (left) was recognized by Tai Situ Rinpoche; Trinley Thaye Dorje (middle) was recognized by Shamar Rinpoche; and Dawa Sangpo Dorje (right) was recognized by Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche. In-fighting between supporters of these candidates continues until today, a fact that has fractured the tradition deeply. Add to this the fact that the Dalai Lama interfered by backing Orgyen Trinley, a move with no traditional basis, the schism became a heated debate within the Tibetan community. In response, Shamar Rinpoche claimed that Orgyen Trinley’s recognition was incorrect, that he had evidence of this and that the Dalai Lama had no business in meddling in the affairs of the Kagyu lineage. Now Orgyen Trinley, who the Dalai Lama and the CTA nurtured for a decade has abandoned them and prefers to have freedom as a citizen of Dominica.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Shashi Kei

In the last few days Indian media platforms have published news of their government’s furor and withdrawal of support for the 17^th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, one of three claimants to the highest seat of the Karma Kagyu, the second largest Tibetan Buddhist sect after the Gelug. Interestingly Karmapa Ogyen Trinley who was recognized and enthroned by the Chinese government, was also the only Karmapa claimant endorsed by the 14^th Dalai Lama in 1992. The Dalai Lama’s interference in the Karmapa succession issue was unjustified and went against age-old Karma Kagyu tradition resulting in dire consequences – first, it robbed the Karma Kagyu sect of their right and authority to settle an internal matter on their own, creating confusion and clashes within the lineage that remain until today; second, the Dalai Lama effectively acknowledged that China has the authority to recognize and enthrone high lamas, by endorsing the same candidate of their choosing.

The Indian headlines regarding the loss of confidence in the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley carry a number of significant implications for the Tibetan people-in-exile, both domestic and international:

1. The Tibetan leadership’s politicization of Tibetan Buddhism has backfired

It is clear that the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley does not wish to return to India. According to some news reports, whilst initially shocked he had secretly obtained a Dominica passport, India remained willing to grant Ogyen Trinley a visa to re-enter their country to attend the 13^th Tibetan Religious Leaders Conference. The conference, which was subsequently cancelled, was to be held in Dharamsala in November 2018 but Ogyen Trinley reportedly made no attempts whatsoever to apply for such a visa.

Karmapa Ogyen Trinley.
Click to enlarge.

Still other media outlets reported that India refused to acknowledge Ogyen Trinley’s Dominica passport. These reports stated Delhi was unwilling to grant Ogyen Trinley a visa on his Dominica passport, and would only allow a return via his Yellow Book, an identity document issued by the Indian government indicating its bearer is a Tibetan refugee and protectorate of the Indian state. According to those news reports, Ogyen Trinley refused to use his Yellow Book, saying he was going to surrender it and would only accept a visa on his Dominica passport.

Notwithstanding the contradictory nature of these news reports, the clear message is that Ogyen Trinley has the means to, but no intention of, returning to India. Despite being touted as one of the Dalai Lama’s potential successors, a much-coveted position especially amongst those who seek to use recognitions in Tibetan Buddhism as political leverage, it is clear that the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley has decided that he and the Karma Kagyu are better off staying outside the influence of the Indian government. It remains to be seen whether this is a rejection of the Indian government per se or a skillful way to rebuff the control that the Dalai Lama’s office and the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has been exerting on all Tibetan Buddhist schools, including the Karma Kagyu.

Either way, it appears that the Tibetan leadership has well and truly lost someone who could have assumed a leadership position in a post-Dalai Lama era, not only because they had a hand in splitting the Karma Kagyu but because they have failed to be a part of its potential reunification. Earlier this year, the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley signaled his intention to repair the split by meeting with the ‘rival’ Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje in France. Both Karmapas later issued a joint statement declaring their intention to heal the divide in the Karma Kagyu and reverse the damage caused by the Tibetan leadership. Throughout this process, the Tibetan leadership who were the main progenitors of this split, was nowhere to be seen. There could not be a clearer signal that the Tibetan leadership’s meddling in and politicization of the Karma Kagyu is no longer welcomed.

Joint Statement of His Holiness Ogyen Trinley Dorje and His Holiness Trinley Thaye Dorje. Click to enlarge.

2. The CTA’s ‘culture of fear’ loses its bite

Karmapa Ogyen Trinley’s recent behavior could be a good indication that the Dalai Lama’s office and the CTA no longer command the same level of control over the Tibetan Buddhist schools as they did before. For certain, both the Dalai Lama and the CTA failed to compel the return of the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley to India.

Anyone who goes against the Dalai Lama or the CTA will automatically be labelled as a Chinese spy.

By tradition, each Tibetan Buddhist school recognizes its own head who holds absolute authority in all matters related to the lineage. However, being in exile provided the Dalai Lama clique with a rare opportunity to usurp these powers. Whereas previously the Tibetan leadership ruled by fear (with myriad oppressive devices such as ex-communicating those who were regarded as challengers to its authority or declaring anyone who opposes the Dalai Lama and CTA to be ‘Chinese spies’ and ‘traitors’), it would appear from Ogyen Trinley’s clear denial of the Dalai Lama’s wishes that the Tibetan leadership’s culture of fear is losing its effect.

Or perhaps, the need and urgency to rescue their respective Tibetan Buddhist schools now outweighs the fear of not toeing the Tibetan leadership’s lines, regardless of how valid or invalid the diktats are. Various Tibet watchers such as the Indian author Jayadeva Ranade have commented that the heads of the Sakyas, Kagyus, and Nyingmas have begun building bridges with Beijing independently of the Tibetan leadership, recognizing that this move may be necessary to salvage the integrity of their respective sects. A number of lamas from these various traditions have established their centers and bases in Chinese cities like Chengdu, openly courting and recruiting Chinese students. By contrast and ironically, any Gelug who attempts to perform the same bridge-building that should have been the CTA’s duty is browbeaten into submission, and accused of being ‘anti-Dalai Lama’ and ‘anti-Tibetan’.

3. The CTA is on the last leg of its ‘legitimacy’

The Karmapa Ogyen Trinley’s decision to apply for a Dominica passport and de facto disowning his Yellow Book is a clear signal that CTA-linked documents no longer have any gravity. The Yellow Book is issued by the Indian government to Tibetan refugees, identifying its bearer as a protectorate of India. It was previously deemed an acceptable travel document by a few key countries, and was used by the CTA to assert their legitimacy – having the Yellow Book meant India, at the very least, recognized that Tibetans were refugees from a legitimate state and for another nation to accept the Yellow Book as a travel document was, in the CTA’s view, tantamount to that country’s acknowledgement that they were exiled from their sovereign home.

The Dalai Lama’s endorsement of Ogyen Trinley went against Karma Kagyu tradition and placed the ancient lineage on a collision course with itself.

However, as the CTA’s favor with world nations has waned over recent years, so too has acceptance of the Yellow Book and it appears this rejection has filtered down to a micro level. With the CTA having banked their legitimacy on the Yellow Book, but with many countries now rejecting its validity, the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley’s decision not to return to India may well be due to his realization that the CTA is fading into oblivion and with it, everything that depends on the Tibetan government-in-exile. So it is not only nation states that are rejecting the CTA but also the CTA’s own people too.

The Karmapa Ogyen Trinley’s decision to give up his Tibetan Yellow Book in favor of a state-issued passport should not come as a surprise as many officials of the CTA have secretly secured their own Indian passports and applied for residency in other countries. To begin with, Sikyong Lobsang Sangay is well-known to have held on to his American citizenship. At the very least, it is a clear indication that the man entrusted to lead the Tibetan people does not share the same conviction as he demands of those under him. Similarly, Lobsang Sangay’s cohort, Dhardon Sharling, the former secretary of the CTA’s Department of Information and International Affairs (DIIR), has also procured her Indian passport and was last reported to have resigned from her CTA post, with plans to fly off to the United States. They are just two of many CTA officials who are known to have disavowed their Yellow Books, Identity Cards and Registration Cards, in favor of American and European citizenship. Clearly if the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley’s act of giving up the Tibetan Yellow Book is to be regarded as a betrayal, then it was the CTA that set the precedent.

4. Tibetan leadership’s transgressions created a trust deficit with India.

The most damaging implication of the Indian government’s disavowal of the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley will be felt by the Tibetan leadership and because of that, the Tibetan cause itself. The Karmapa Ogyen Trinley had the Dalai Lama’s endorsement and backing. In the past, that itself was enough as formal accreditation of a high lama’s status and a seal of worthiness. India’s rejection of the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley is tantamount to its rejection of the Dalai Lama’s to-date unquestioned authority to recognize and enthrone high lamas.

Two of the Karmapas – on the top is the Chinese enthroned Karmapa Ogyen Trinley that the Dalai Lama endorsed. India has since stated that it does not recognise Ogyen Trinley as the official 17th Karmapa; At the bottom is Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje whom the Dalai Lama rejected but has continuously received support from spiritual heads of other Tibetan Buddhists sects and also the royal family of Bhutan.

From the start, India had its reservations about Ogyen Trinley and suspected that he might have been planted by China to spy on India. However, India succumbed to the Dalai Lama’s constant pressure and reluctantly accepted the Chinese-enthroned head of the Karma Kagyu. That was without doubt due to the strong influence the Dalai Lama wielded over key Indian politicians. Whether or not the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley is actually on an espionage mission is speculation. If India’s suspicions turn out to be true, then it was the Dalai Lama who facilitated this infiltration. On the other hand, if there is in fact no basis for India to suspect him, then the Dalai Lama and CTA did not exert nearly enough effort to clear his name. Presumably with India’s apprehension hanging over Ogyen Trinley’s head, it would be much easier for the CTA to control him.

However, India is now clear in its rejection of the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley as it views the Karmapa’s lack of consideration for India’s kindness to be gross ingratitude. This negative sentiment will not end with just Ogyen Trinley. As a matter of fact, that the Indian government would openly disown the Dalai Lama’s man would also indicate that it is no longer willing to trust the Dalai Lama as it did before. To put it bluntly, it is a slap on the face of the Tibetan leadership and an indication that the Dalai Lama’s word is losing currency with Indian authorities. This issue first gained traction when it was learned that the Dalai Lama had secretly sent Samdhong Rinpoche to negotiate his return to China. India’s increasing weariness of the Dalai Lama and other CTA politicians spring from the fact that the Tibetan leadership have readily availed itself as a dangerous instrument of statecraft in Sino-Indian affairs, and indeed in the USA and NATO’s (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) rivalry with China. The Dalai Lama’s tag as a wily and opportunistic politician now troubles India as the Dalai Lama makes overtures towards Beijing, with blatant disregard for its impact on Sino-Indian relations.

Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje has himself received support from heads of state and religious leaders alike much to the dismay of the CTA. These include, the Former King of Bhutan Jigme Singye Wangchuck (top left); head of the Drikung Kagyu sect, Drikung Chetsang Rinpoche (top right); Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche, the reincarnation of the Nyingma master Dilgo Kyentse (bottom right); and Hambo Lama Damba Ayusheeyev, the head of Buryat Buddhists in Russia (bottom left).

In addition, the Tibetan leadership’s recklessness in creating two main Karmapa rivals have placed India in a no-win diplomatic mess with Bhutan. As the Indian journalist Vijay Kranti rightly pointed out, the Karmapas are also a spiritual patron of the Kingdom of Bhutan and so by referring to the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley as a “liar”, “fugitive” and other invectives, India insults a patron of the royal family of Bhutan. As it turns out, the Kingdom of Bhutan has had closer ties with the ‘rival’ Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje, the candidate that India did not recognize, therefore placing India in an awkward position to have rejected the candidate that Bhutan chose to endorse. Either way India loses out and given the delicate and potentially incendiary Doklam issue between India and China, Bhutan’s location is strategic. Yet, once again, the Tibetan leadership’s machinations into Karma Kagyu affairs where it had no business has created yet another hurdle for India to cross.

Click to enlarge

India’s backlash will be ultimately borne by innocent Tibetan refugees who have trusted the CTA, and also by the Tibetan cause. This could not happen a worse time when India is clearly backpaddling from its erstwhile support of the Tibetan people. At the crucial time when China is making great efforts to be acknowledged as a valid authority to recognize and enthrone high lamas, the CTA’s mishandling of the issue resulting in the Indian government’s rejection of the Dalai Lama’s Karmapa choice severely dents the Dalai Lama’s credibility, creating an even bigger opportunity for China.

5. India’s rejection of the Dalai Lama-endorsed Karmapa also calls into question the Dalai Lama’s widely-assumed omniscience.

How the Dalai Lama could not have foreseen that his involvement in the recognition of the 17^th Karmapa would ultimately jeopardize the standing of the Tibetan people with their Indian host, goes against the belief that the Dalai Lama is supremely clairvoyant.

This however, has not been the Dalai Lama’s only spiritual judgement that has been called into question of late. Other recent high appointments by the Dalai Lama have similarly raised eyebrows – the Dalai Lama’s selection of the 103^rd Gaden Tripa Jetsun Lobsang Tenzin Rinpoche (spiritual head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism) passed away not even six months after the Dalai Lama appointed him to be the representative of Lama Tsongkhapa on earth. This was followed by the Dalai Lama’s appointment of the 7^th head of the Nyingma school, Kathok Getse Rinpoche Gyurme Tenpa Gyaltsen who passed away less than a year after his appointment.

Top: The 103rd Gaden Tripa Jetsun Lobsang Tenzin Rinpoche. Bottom: The 7th head of the Nyingma school, Kathok Getse Rinpoche Gyurme Tenpa Gyaltsen. Click to enlarge.

In Tibetan Buddhism, it is believed that rightful candidates for spiritually prominent posts will naturally have the merits to occupy the positions to which they have been appointed. Incorrectly-appointed candidates will face obstacles to their life and health, as a means of clearing the office for the appropriate candidate to assume the position. In the case of the Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje whom the Dalai Lama did not endorse (thereby implying that he is not the rightful head of the Karma Kagyu), he seems to be holding his own, with a commanding presence and spiritual loyalty from within the lineage and without any controversies. This begs the question, did the Dalai Lama get it wrong?

In recent times, the Dalai Lama’s reliance on the Nechung State Oracle has also led his judgement to be called into question. Tibetan Members of Parliament such as Tenpa Yarphel have questioned the wisdom of relying on a deity for state affairs and asked if such a reliance has any place in what is claimed to be a modern democracy. Their incredulity is based the Nechung Oracle’s frequently inaccurate predictions which have, time and again, disappointed the Tibetan people. In 2008 for example, the Nechung Oracle even predicted that the Dalai Lama would soon return to Tibet, a prophecy that the news channel France24 recorded the oracle’s assistant confidently reaffirming. It is, as history tells us, a prophecy that never came to pass.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Politically, the Dalai Lama’s endorsement of Lobsang Sangay, the present head of the CTA, is still the foundation that has emboldened Lobsang Sangay to do as he wills, sending Tibetan harmony down a ruinous course by enforcing divisive policies based on regionalism and religious discrimination. One thing is abundantly clear, that is, the Dalai Lama is prone to mistakes and has been proven to be wrong, often with disastrous consequences.

Conclusion

The Indian government has for the past 60 years been an extremely generous host and protector of the Tibetan refugees. India’s magnanimity has in fact sustained the Tibetan struggle since 1959, continually placing it at odds with China and all the time endangering the wellbeing of the Indian people. The fact that the CTA, the Dalai Lama’s ‘government-in-exile’ was able to form and exist as an administration within another nation was solely due to India’s benevolence. The Tibetan people and the Tibetan cause could not have survived without India.

The Tibetan leadership’s reckless self-serving agenda has landed its generous host in numerous diplomatic disasters over the years.

And yet, the Dalai Lama and the CTA have not wisely leveraged on this. The fact that the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley’s actions have created misgivings and negative sentiments against the Tibetan people is indicative of the Tibetan leadership’s gross mismanagement of 60 years of opportunities and of India’s kindness. Some Indian officials now claim that the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley acted in bad faith, inferring that he is ungrateful to India. Negative sentiments by the Indian people towards the Tibetan refugees have been on the rise in recent years and Karmapa Ogyen Trinley’s decision to snub India aggravates the situation even further. How the CTA has allowed this situation to deteriorate as it has warrants close examination and honest questions to be asked of the Tibetan leadership.

While the focus is on the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley today, it needs to be noted that the Dalai Lama and the CTA set this course in motion decades ago. That the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley felt “trapped” in India and was restricted from moving about freely is due to the ‘Karmapa Conflict’ that the CTA brought to pass. That, the Dorje Shugden conflict, and other catastrophes are the bitter fruits of the Tibetan leadership’s manipulation of Tibetan Buddhism for political objectives, creating schisms within the Tibetan monastic community when there were none. It was borne from perfidious intent and the CTA’s exploitation of India’s kindness to create enmity between India and China in order to inflate the significance of the ‘Tibet card’, which Indian thinkers are now calling to be shut down and given up. In inciting violence amongst the Tibetan community to distract them from the CTA’s failures, breaching the basic human rights of the Tibetan people on Indian soil and agitating inter-sectarian conflicts, thereby setting a precedent for potential inter-religious clashes, the CTA has in fact given nothing back to India except for rhetoric and self-serving speechifying. The Karmapa Ogyen Trinley debacle is just the latest in a long list of wreckage courtesy of the Tibetan leadership’s malpractices.

[THE WEEK]
Ogyen Dorje’s Identity Certificate invalid,
will have to apply for Indian visa

Source: https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2018/12/27/ogyen-dorje-identity-certificate-invalid-will-have-to-apply-for-fresh-indian-visa.html. Click to enlarge.

[THE TELEGRAPH]
Passport anger at Karmapa claimant

Source: https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/passport-anger-at-karmapa-claimant/cid/1680144. Click to enlarge.

[INDIA TODAY]
India does not recognise Ogyen Trinley Dorje as
the 17^th Karmapa Lama, say sources

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/india-does-not-recognise-ogyen-trinley-dorje-as-the-17th-karmapa-lama-say-sources-1418446-2018-12-27. Click to enlarge.

[THE TIMES OF INDIA]
‘Dorje no longer recognised by Indian govt
as 17^th Karmapa’

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/dorje-no-longer-recognised-by-indian-govt-as-17th-karmapa/articleshow/67279793.cms. Click to enlarge.

(Left Karmapa Thaye Dorje and right Karmapa Ogyen Trinley) We have nothing against the real Karmapa. In fact the real Karmapa would be a great benefit to all living beings. But we are against and condemn the fake Karmapa. As the Tibetan leadership has taught us to condemn fake incarnations like the fake Chinese recognized Panchen Lama. We must condemn these fake incarnations. Following a fake incarnate lama would result in receiving fake teachings, fake practices, a broken lineage and basically dangerous to our spiritual practice. Following a fake practice will lead us to take rebirth in a lower realm as taught by the Dalai Lama. So the question is why does the Tibetan leadership not proclaim who is the real Karmapa? They have done so for other incarnations immediately? Why are they quiet about which is the real Karmapa? What are they afraid of? The Dalai Lama refuses to take photos with the Sharmapa recognized Karmapa Thaye Dorje. Do a search on the internet. You will not find any such photos. Yet the Dalai Lama endorsed Karmapa Ogyen Trinley has ran away to the US, rejected the Dalai Lama, rejected his government and rejected India. The Tibetan leaders need to be consistent and not be hypocrites and recognize the real Karmapa already. It has been decades of confusion. This two-Karmapa controversy has torn the Karma Kagyu lineage into two violent and fighting factions mudslinging verbal abuses at each other at every opportunity. It is a disgrace for the Karma Kagyu sect. It is a disgrace for Tibetan Buddhism. It is shameful of the Tibetan leaders. Many have become disillusioned and turned away from Tibetan Buddhism because of this Karmapa controversy. So much damage has been done. Tibetan leaders and government-in-exile perhaps should have never interfered with the Karmapa recognition in the first place? Which one is the real Karmapa?

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Tenzin Jigme

The Tibetan people and Tibetan Buddhists worldwide look to the Dalai Lama for guidance on all spiritual matters. In addition the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; Tibetan leadership based in Dharamsala) has claimed that one of its responsibilities is to preserve all authentic Tibetan Buddhist lineages and protect them from distortions. In the past we have seen the Dalai Lama and CTA move enthusiastically to identify and expose fake incarnations and what they referred to as wrong practices. One example is when the Dalai Lama and Tibetan government moved swiftly to declare the Chinese-enthroned 11^th Panchen Lama Gyaincain Norbu to be a fake incarnation of His Holiness the illustrious 10^th Panchen Lama. The Dalai Lama stated in no uncertain terms that he had “conducted all the necessary religious procedures with great care” and was firm that the boy he identified, Gedhun Chokyi Nyima and not Gyaincain Norbu, was the correct 11^th Panchen Lama. The Tibetan leadership’s rationale was that allowing the recognition and enthronement of a false claimant to a high spiritual seat would corrupt the Dharma, which they have the responsibility to preserve.

There is presently an extremely urgent need for the Dalai Lama and CTA to again “conduct all the necessary religious procedures” carefully and instruct the Tibetan people, especially followers of the Karma Kagyu sect. It is well known that for over 20 years now, there have been two Karmapa factions which have been in conflict with one another, often violently. With one faction headed by the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley and the other headed by the Karmapa Thaye Dorje, the ancient Karma Kagyu lineage is effectively divided. Up until today, it continues to be confusing for ordinary people to decide who is the legitimate Karmapa and who is the impostor, in other words which Karmapa one should follow.

The Dalai Lama and Karmapa Ogyen Trinley, who has often been touted as a potential successor of the Dalai Lama. But now this Karmapa has ran away from Dalai Lama and India. He also had several high profile law suits against him in India still awaiting his return to resolve regarding financial issues.

Both Ogyen Trinley and Thaye Dorje were born in Tibet under the Chinese government, and both managed to escape with mysterious help from influential people with strong Chinese connections. Once in exile, their paths diverged. On the one hand, the Dalai Lama endorsed the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley, giving the impression that he is the rightful claimant to the Karmapa throne. Ogyen Trinley has often been touted as a potential successor of the Dalai Lama. There is even a video of the Dalai Lama speaking to him and Ling Rinpoche, hinting that they could be the next in line to succeed the Dalai Lama.

Having said that, the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley has clearly indicated by his actions in recent times that he will have nothing to do with the Tibetan leadership and has made efforts to break away from the Dalai Lama’s circle. It has led people to wonder why the Dalai Lama’s choice for such an important spiritual seat would do such a thing, and raised questions about the trustworthiness of the CTA’s decisions.

On the other hand, the Shamarpa also known as Shamar Rinpoche, the most senior regent of the Karma Kagyu who has traditionally held the responsibility of recognizing and enthroning the Karmapas, enthroned the Karmapa Thaye Dorje. The Dalai Lama and CTA have not acknowledged Thaye Dorje; the Dalai Lama has never once appeared in a photograph with Thaye Dorje, implying that he does not approve of his recognition. Furthermore, in a revealing statement made by Shamar Rinpoche in 1992, it becomes clear that the Dalai Lama even went back on his promise to give the young Thaye Dorje semi-monk vows. While the Tibetan leadership appear to have ignored Thaye Dorje, Thaye Dorje is well recognized by the most important Karma Kagyu lamas as well as leaders and heads of other Tibetan Buddhist sects, and has often been pictured being received by Bhutan’s Royal Family. Many of these lamas are highly and widely respected and so it is mystifying to ordinary people why the Dalai Lama would ignore and reject the Karmapa Thaye Dorje that so many highly attained lamas from various lineages recognize and accept.

Karmapa Thaye Dorje has himself received support from heads of state and religious leaders alike much to the dismay of the CTA. These include, the Former King of Bhutan Jigme Singye Wangchuck (top left); head of the Drikung Kagyu sect, Drikung Chetsang Rinpoche (top right); Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche, the reincarnation of the Nyingma master Dilgo Kyentse (bottom right); and Hambo Lama Damba Ayusheeyev, the head of Buryat Buddhists in Russia (bottom left).

To confuse matters even more, the Dalai Lama recently graced the Kagyu Monlam Festival presided by the Karmapa Thaye Dorje, and not the festival organized by the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley’s faction. The Kagyu Monlam is one of the most important prayer festivals for Karma Kagyu followers and the Dalai Lama would know the significance of his appearance at the Karmapa Thaye Dorje’s event. So why would the Dalai Lama publicly honor an event presided by the Karmapa he did not approve of and ignore the similar festival organized by the Karmapa faction he endorsed?

The CTA’s inconsistency – stepping in to expose the wrong Panchen Lama and yet staying silent on which is the wrong Karmapa; and also gracing an important event presided by a Karmapa the Dalai Lama refuses to endorse – is troubling, only adding to the confusion many already feel about which Karmapa to follow. After 20 years of Karma Kagyu divisions, perhaps it is time that the Dalai Lama and CTA make careful checks and openly announce which Karmapa everyone should follow, applying the same procedures they performed to warn people of the supposedly fake Chinese-enthroned 11^th Panchen Lama. Recall that apart from declaring the Chinese Panchen Lama to be an impostor, the Tibetan leadership has also confidently declared the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden to be a so-called demon who should be shunned. The CTA even officially legislated to outlaw the practice. In the question of which Karmapa is the real one, it could be an investigation and announcement under the auspices of the CTA’s Department of Religious Affairs.

At this late stage in the matter, it would be unbecoming and a cop-out for the CTA to casually proclaim that both Karmapas are correct and that high lamas can take more than one incarnation. If it was really applicable in this case, then the CTA should have made this declaration from the very beginning of the controversy and avoided violent clashes between the two Karmapa factions. The Dalai Lama could have so easily given Thaye Dorje his semi-monk vows that Shamar Rinpoche had requested, and the Dalai Lama could have declared in 1992 itself that both Karmapas are legitimate and that he endorses both candidates. The fact the Dalai Lama and CTA did not do that would indicate that they already made their selection, and have therefore never believed that both Karmapas are legitimate incarnations of the 16^th Karmapa. Therefore to avoid further delay, the CTA needs to take action now and make things clear for the anxious and confused public – which Karmapa should everyone follow?

That should not be difficult for the Tibetan leadership, given the resources at their disposal as well as their previous history of clear declarations regarding the real Panchen Lama and whether Dorje Shugden constitutes real Buddhist practice or not. For example, the Dalai Lama is believed to be an emanation of the Buddha of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara himself. Therefore the Dalai Lama is fully omniscient and with perfect clairvoyance. That being the case, the Dalai Lama and many attained lamas in his inner circle, as well as Tibet’s state protector Nechung can engage in widely-accepted forms of investigation and divinations to establish for sure which Karmapa incarnation is the right one that the people should follow and support.

The two Karmapas – on the top is the Chinese enthroned Karmapa Ogyen Trinley that the Dalai Lama endorsed. At the bottom is Karmapa Thaye Dorje whom the Dalai Lama refuses to endorse but has continuously received support from spiritual heads of other Tibetan Buddhists sects and also the royal family of Bhutan. Dalai Lama has never taken a picture with this Karmapa Thaye Dorje. Those who support Karmapa Thaye Dorje are considered against the Dalai Lama and called Chinese paid spies or working for the Chinese.

Tibetans and Tibetan Buddhists worldwide deserve to know which Karmapa to revere and which to avoid. Who should they make offerings to, to generate merits towards their spiritual practice and who should they stop supporting? The Dalai Lama and Tibetan leadership has a duty to protect the integrity of all Tibetan Buddhists from corruption, not just the traditions to which they belong. In addition, the Dalai Lama must surely know that those who follow false teachers and undertake wrong practices will end up in the lower realms and out of compassion the Dalai Lama must take steps to prevent innocent people from being harmed.

Neither can the CTA dodge this responsibility and say that as a secular government it cannot interfere with spiritual matters. The CTA is well known for interfering in Tibetan Buddhist matters and even private affairs of respective Tibetan Buddhist schools. In any case, the CTA must rise to its declaration to be a protector of authentic Tibetan Buddhist sects. Similarly, the Dalai Lama must perform his duty to lead followers of the wrong Karmapa away from the path of wrong views and false practices. How can an emanation of Avalokiteshvara and his government-in-exile refuse to rescue innocent people from following a false Karmapa? The fact that the CTA acted so swiftly and without hesitation when it came to the Chinese Panchen Lama Gyaincain Norbu, and yet remained silent for so long on which Karmapa is correct raises questions about whether the CTA is only interested when they can use Tibetan Buddhism as a political instrument to attack China’s credibility. Other damaging conflicts and even those triggered by the Tibetan leadership that do not give the CTA any leverage against China, seem to be neglected regardless of how damaging it is to Tibetan Buddhism. People cannot follow the fake Karmapa. Then they would be receiving fake teachings, false lineage and that would be highly detrimental. The Tibetan leadership must be consistent with all reincarnations to clearly reveal who are real and who is not real as did with Panchen Lama.

In addition, the CTA cannot deflect its responsibility and say that this is an internal Karma Kagyu matter. In fact, any time there is an attempt to distort Tibetan Buddhism as a whole, the CTA must act especially when it involves the second largest Tibetan Buddhist sect, the Karma Kagyu, which holds tremendous influence on practitioners worldwide. The CTA must not delay this any further especially given swirling rumors that the Karmapa Thaye Dorje’s son is in fact the incarnation of the 14^th Shamarpa. Given that the Shamarpa is the second highest position in the Karma Kagyu, the question on everyone’s mind is whether the CTA will recognize the Karmapa Thaye Dorje’s son as the 15^th Shamarpa, or if they will recognize and enthrone their own 15^th Shamarpa candidate to throw the Karma Kagyu into a long, protracted and irreparable division, just like it did with the 11^th Panchen Lama. The ball is in the CTA’s court – after two decades of infighting and disharmony, so much negative karma has been created and so it is high time that the CTA acts without further delays and negligence, to clear up the confusion for millions of Karma Kagyu practitioners worldwide.

Gallery

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, arrives at Gaya airport with Jigme Rinpoche, Karmapa's General Secretary, on the way to Bodh Gaya for the 2018 Kagyu Monlam

Day three of the Fourth International Karma Kagyu Meeting in Bodh Gaya. Jigme Rinpoche, Karmapa's General Secretary, addresses those in attendance

Group photo of participants at the Fourth International Karma Kagyu Meeting in Bodh Gaya

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, visits the Bodhi Tree School in Bodh Gaya

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, is given a warm welcome at the Bodhi Tree School in Bodh Gaya

Pupils perform for Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, at the Bodhi Tree School in Bodh Gaya

Pupils at the Bodhi Tree School in Bodh Gaya

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, visits the Bodhi Tree School in Bodh Gaya

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, visits the Bodhi Tree School in Bodh Gaya

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, visits the Bodhi Tree School in Bodh Gaya

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, visits the Bodhi Tree School in Bodh Gaya

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, visits the Bodhi Tree School in Bodh Gaya

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, visits the Bodhi Tree School in Bodh Gaya

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, visits the Bodhi Tree School in Bodh Gaya

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, visits the Bodhi Tree School in Bodh Gaya

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, visits the Bodhi Tree School in Bodh Gaya

Karmapa arrives at Karma Temple, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Karmapa arrives at Karma Temple, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Karmapa arrives at Karma Temple, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Karmapa arrives at Karma Temple, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Karmapa arrives at Karma Temple, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Karmapa arrives at Karma Temple, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Day one of the Kagyu Monlam, Bodh Gaya, December 2018. His Eminence Beru Khyentse Rinpoche awaits the arrival of Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, is greeted by His Eminence Beru Khyentse Rinpoche

Karmapa arrives at Karma Temple, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, presides over the final session of the Fourth International Karma Kagyu Meeting, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, presides over the final session of the Fourth International Karma Kagyu Meeting, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, presides over the final session of the Fourth International Karma Kagyu Meeting, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, presides over the final session of the Fourth International Karma Kagyu Meeting, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, presides over the final session of the Fourth International Karma Kagyu Meeting, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, presides over the final session of the Fourth International Karma Kagyu Meeting, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, with Lama Jampa Thaye

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, holds an audience with Sandy and Chris Yen

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, arrives at the Kagyu Monlam 2018, alongside His Eminence Beru Khyentse Rinpoche

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, arrives at the Kagyu Monlam 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, pays respect to the statue of the historical Buddha at the Kagyu Monlam in Bodh Gaya

haye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, pays respect to the statue of the historical Buddha at the Kagyu Monlam in Bodh Gaya

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, His Eminence Beru Khyentse Rinpoche, at the Kagyu Monlam in Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, at the Kagyu Monlam in Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, at the Kagyu Monlam in Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, at the Kagyu Monlam in Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, at the Kagyu Monlam in Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, leads prayers at the Kagyu Monlam in Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, leads prayers under the Bodhi Tree, where the historical Buddha attained enlightenment. Kagyu Monlam, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, leads prayers under the Bodhi Tree, where the historical Buddha attained enlightenment. Kagyu Monlam, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, leads prayers under the Bodhi Tree, where the historical Buddha attained enlightenment. Kagyu Monlam, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, leads prayers at the Kagyu Monlam, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa with His Eminence Beru Khyentse Rinpoche at the Kagyu Monlam 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, at the Kagyu Monlam in Bodh Gaya

The Kagyu bodhgayathaya1Monlam, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

The Kagyu Monlam, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa

The Kagyu Monlam, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

The Kagyu Monlam, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, leads prayers at the Kagyu Monlam, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, leads prayers at the Kagyu Monlam, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Day one of the Kagyu Monlam, Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Many groups have an audience with Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, at the Kagyu Monlam in Bodh Gaya, December 2018

A group of Khenpos from Diwakar Buddhist Academy comes to meet Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, at the Kagyu Monlam in Bodh Gaya, December 2018

Many groups have an audience with Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, at the Kagyu Monlam in Bodh Gaya, December 2018. In the background is Solponla Tsultrim Namgyal, Karmapa's Senior Attendant

Group photo with Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, at the Kagyu Monlam in Bodh Gaya, December 2018. In the background is Solponla Tsultrim Namgyal, Karmapa's Senior Attendant

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, on day one of the Kagyu Monlam 2018

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, made a pilgrimage to the site of the ancient Buddhist University of Nalanda

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, made a pilgrimage to the site of the ancient Buddhist University of Nalanda

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, made a pilgrimage to the site of the ancient Buddhist University of Nalanda

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, made a pilgrimage to the site of the ancient Buddhist University of Nalanda

As you can see Karmapa Thaye Dorje who is not supported nor endorsed by the Dalai Lama is leading the most important “Kagyu Monlam 2018″ prayer festival in Bodhgaya. Judging from the attendance, he enjoys great support. The irony is, the other faction of Karma Kagyus who support Karmapa Ogyen Trinley are not happy about this and have many scathing things to say. To add another twist, if you are Tibetan and support Karmapa Thaye Dorje, you are considered contradicting the Dalai Lama and therefore will be branded a traitor, Chinese paid informant and or spy. No one is allowed to contradict the Dalai Lama in this so-called democracy of a Tibetan government-in-exile. Tibetans and their leaders have a habit of branding factions of their own people as ‘paid by Chinese’ spies if they dare disagree with the leadership’s views. Many Tibetans secretly call their own government-in-exile residing in Dharamsala a regime.

Kagyu Monlam 2018: the story so far (photos)

Source: https://www.karmapa.org/kagyu-monlam-2018-the-story-so-far-photos/. Click to enlarge.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Shashi Kei

It is common to hear the Dalai Lama and his government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; Tibetan leadership based in Dharamsala) accuse China of wishing to destroy Buddhism. This narrative is part of an ongoing campaign of indoctrination spearheaded by the Dalai Lama and Tibetan-cause exponents to amass support for the Tibetan struggle. For example, Robert Thurman, known as the Dalai Lama’s man in America, quoted the Tibetan spiritual leader as having said that the Chinese are working to “deliberately annihilate Buddhism”. Thurman further wrote in his 2010 doomsayer article ‘China Is Attempting to Wipe Out Buddhism‘ that “…it became the established policy of the Chinese Communist Party –which is one and the same as the Chinese government – to destroy Tibetan Buddhism…”. The Tibetan President Lobsang Sangay has since redefined the Tibetan struggle not as the political act of the CTA regaining control of Tibet, but as a competition between Communism and Buddhism. Sangay’s inference is that the Communist Party of China (CPC) seeks to destroy Buddhism while the CTA, which Sangay implies is the embodiment of Buddhism, is fighting to preserve it.

Amitabh Mathur

Nothing however, could be further from the truth, according to Amitabh Mathur, the recently-retired Advisor on Tibet Affairs to the Indian government. Mathur wrote in his AniNews.com article (“China using Buddhism to increase its influence in South Asia“, 7^th Dec 2018) that on the contrary, China is in fact seeking to emerge as a leader in the Buddhist world. If Mathur’s observations of China’s intention are correct, then it would be counter-productive for China to wish to destroy Buddhism.

While it is true that Mao Zedong did view religion as poison, the CPC came to see the pitfalls of banning religions. In 1982, under Deng Xiao Ping’s ‘Reform and Opening’, the CPC promulgated what is known as Document 19 that signaled a critical change in the Chinese government’s religious policy. Document 19 saw to the gradual release of religious prisoners from all faiths and religious sects, the reopening of monasteries, churches and convents and the return of seized assets to respective religious bodies. It is still the primary guideline steering CPC religious policy in the present era. In fact, one of President Xi Jinping’s signature lines is “if the people have faith, the nation has hope, and the country has strength” to realize a “virtuous and harmonious society” at home and to create a global “community of shared destiny.” It would appear that far from a desire to destroy Buddhism, China regards it as an asset and has made considerable efforts to develop ethical and cultural capital (‘soft power’) to pacify sentiments in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) and enhance diplomatic ties with its South Asian neighbors.

Mr. Mathur noted that amongst other initiatives, China has assumed management of the Common Text Project (CTP), an ambitious project to develop a single manuscript consisting of key texts from the Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, that will be translated from Tibetan, Pali, Sanskrit and Chinese languages, into English. Mathur enumerated other Chinese initiatives to preserve and promote Buddhism including establishing the Nanhai Buddhist Academy to teach Buddhist courses in Chinese, Pali and Tibetan. The Nanhai Academy is based on the Nālandā Māha Vihāra, the progenitor of the Nalanda tradition that the Dalai Lama has consistently emphasized the importance of. China has also been heavily involved in developing the Gandhara trail of Buddhism, and funding the joint Chinese-Bangladeshi excavation of Nateshwar associated with the ancient Vajrayogini Village, the birth place of the renowned Buddhist monk Atisha Dipankara Srijnana.

China is also reaching out quite successfully to the international Buddhist community through its influence in organizations such as the International Council of Vesak (ICDV), the World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) and the World Buddhist Forum (WBF). The WBF is held every three years, the most recent being the 5^th that was held in Putian, Fujian Province, in October this year. The event, which was recorded as a success, was attended by 1000 representatives from 55 different countries. And then there are China’s investments in Buddhism abroad such as the Lotus Sutra Tower in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka and China’s offer of $3 billion for the Lumbini Project in Nepal. As for Tibetan Buddhism, the Chinese government is reported to be investing $97 billion to boost the economy, building roads, hospitals, schools and other infrastructural and development projects in the TAR. To revive Tibetan Buddhism, China has to date injected in excess of $450 million into restoring Tibet’s major monasteries and other religious sites, with another additional $290 million apportioned for the next five years. The bent of Amitabh Mathur’s article is not so much to suggest that it is wrong for China to seek a handle on Buddhism’s soft power, but that it is doing so at the expense of the “narrative of India-centric Buddhism”. Mathur concluded that India would be doing itself a tremendous disservice if it were to cede control of this power to China. Mathur’s opinion is understandable. After all, India can claim historical legitimacy over Buddhism, evidenced by the fact that it hosts seven out of the eight most significant Buddhist pilgrimage sites. It has also been suggested by Shantanu Kishwar, an intern at India’s Observer Research Foundation (ORF) that the presence of the 14^th Dalai Lama in India gives the country some standing as a custodian of the religion in the global Buddhist community.

Mathur and Kishawar may be right about India’s natural claim to the Buddhist religion but the presence of the Dalai Lama with his CTA in India is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the Dalai Lama as the most visible Buddhist figure could boost India’s image as a protector of Buddhism. On the other hand, the Dalai Lama is not just a spiritual figure but one of the most prominent politicians this century has seen, and one who wields the Buddhist religion as a formidable weapon in his statecraft. The Dalai Lama’s presence on Indian soil has often been a source of friction between India and China, sending India into war with China once and now threatens to do the same again. China regards the Dalai Lama as a ‘separatist’ and views India’s protection of the Tibetan spiritual leader as harboring a dangerous agitator, in the same way India is frustrated by China’s blocking of their repeated attempts at the United Nations to list certain individuals as global terrorists. China’s complaint is not without basis. After a failed armed rebellion against China in the early days of exile, the Dalai Lama seems to have resorted to disseminating unrest into the TAR, understanding that insurrection and instability in China’s troubled frontier regions is what the Beijing government fears most. To do this most directly in the TAR, the Dalai Lama banned Dorje Shugden, an ancient Tibetan Buddhist deity widely practiced by the Gelug sect that accounts for the bulk of the Tibetan populace and a large percentage of non-Tibetan adherents globally. So Dorje Shugden was chosen not only because it would affect most Tibetans in the TAR but because as a popular deity within the Gelug tradition which the Dalai Lama dominates, there would be no one in the lineage who would oppose his ban. Similarly, no one from the other Tibetan Buddhist sects would oppose a ban on the practice as it does not directly concern them. Incidentally the Dalai Lama and the CTA denies this is a religious ban as it contravenes the CTA’s claim to be a democracy. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Watch Report (HRW) on Tibet in 2004 documents this as a religious ban and outlines clashes in areas of the TAR as the result of Dalai Lama loyalists taking up arms against Dorje Shugden Buddhists who were forced to defend themselves. The HRW report focuses on China’s support of Shugden Buddhists (understandably so given its pro-NATO stance), which Mathur also referenced in his article. Shugden Buddhists around the world, even those with no part in the Sino-Tibetan affair, were tagged ‘anti-Dalai Lama’ and ‘destroyers of Buddhism’. Lamas who rely on Dorje Shugden were accused of being fake, ‘unqualified’ teachers. In that way, the Tibetan leadership’s ban created chaos and infringed on the religious rights of Shugden Buddhists worldwide. In this issue, both the HRW and Mathur neglect to ask a few crucial questions:

1. Do they have jurisdiction? Does the Dalai Lama, or indeed any international religious figure, have jurisdiction to override the individual religious freedom and human rights of any citizen of the free world and unilaterally ban a religious practice, and then declare, instigate and perpetuate a witch-hunt against practitioners of that religion?
2. Is this democratic? How does banning a religious practice that involves millions of Tibetan Buddhists around the world, be an act permissible by a supposedly democratic government?
3. Why does the Dalai Lama seek the dissolution of an important chapter of Tibetan Buddhism and, more significantly to present context, how does this fit into the narrative of the Dalai Lama being a guardian of Buddhism and a lauded symbol of religious harmony?

The heaviest burden of the Dalai Lama and CTA’s politicization of Tibetan Buddhism is borne by the religion itself, as it becomes an instrument of conflict rather than one that fosters harmony and peace. The second heaviest is borne by the Tibetan people in the TAR as they are forced to choose between traditional allegiance to the Dalai Lama and their own wellbeing and ability to live harmoniously with all sentient beings, which is what Buddhism actually advocates. In fact, if the CTA is genuinely concerned about the fate and happiness of the Tibetan people in TAR and the future of Tibetan Buddhism, they would stop inciting violence and unrest inside TAR. This is because the brunt of China’s response is felt fully by the Tibetan people in TAR, not by anyone in the CTA who continue to live in relative luxury in Dharamsala. It is not Lobsang Sangay, any CTA official or the likes of Robert Thurman who suffer but the Tibetans in TAR; it is easy to incite violence by proxy when you do not need to experience the consequences.

So while the CTA and those who support the Tibetan struggle accuse China of being heavy-handed in their governing of the Tibetan people, the Chinese response is only logical given the way the CTA is constantly seeking to provoke insurrection, even to the point of encouraging Tibetan self-immolation. Any government would fiercely guard against the potential of insurgency on their own soil. We have even seen how Western powers such as the United States have invaded and attacked other foreign countries which they regard as a threat to their domestic harmony, not based on facts but based on opinion. We have seen how they have literally destroyed entire nations, deposed and / or exterminated the leaders and replaced the government, all in the name of ‘American national security’. Is China not entitled to its own national security?

China has demonstrated its willingness to rebuild Buddhism but as long as the CTA uses the Tibetan Buddhism as a weapon, it will invite caution towards (if not a full clamping down of) that religion.

In the final analysis, the Tibetan leadership and China have switched roles as protector and detractor of Buddhism. China who once banned Buddhism along with other forms of faith-based worship has become one of its most dynamic proponents today. Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama’s government has become one of the religion’s biggest detractors by corrupting it with personal political agendas. Being in exile accorded the Dalai Lama’s inner circle the opportunity to exercise more power over their people than they actually wielded in Tibet. As the Tibetan leadership-in-exile sought to consolidate this power by weakening the hold of respective Tibetan Buddhist sects over their people, they destabilized the foundations of Tibetan Buddhism in the process. They compounded the damage when they initiated the Dorje Shugden conflict with the aim of spreading unrest in China, which was met with a firm response by the Chinese government.

Thus the Dalai Lama’s decision turned an ancient Buddhist practice into a battleground and what ensued was general confusion as both sides issued conflicting narratives that have far-reaching consequences into the rudimentary tenets of Tibetan Buddhism. The result is a loss of confidence in Tibetan Buddhism.In the meantime, China and India vie for predominance in commanding Buddhism as soft power, the space that once belonged exclusively to the Dalai Lama.

[ANINEWS] China using Buddhism to increase its influence in South Asia

Source: https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/china-using-buddhism-to-increase-its-influence-in-south-asia201812071718360003/. Click to enlarge.

Irrational though it may sound, the Tibetan leadership vehemently accuses Dorje Shugden practitioners and those associated with them to be Chinese spies. Hence according to the Tibetan leadership’s logic, now that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have met Kelsang Sonam, a monk who practices Dorje Shugden, they must surely be anti-Dalai Lama Chinese spies.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Shashi Kei

In persecuting Dorje Shugden worshippers, the Tibetan government-in-exile known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA based in Dharamsala) falsely accused every Shugden practitioner to be a Chinese agent or working for the Chinese government against the 14th Dalai Lama. The CTA even passed a resolution declaring all Dorje Shugden worshippers to be “criminals in history”. Besides making a mockery of its own supposedly democratic constitution that provides for freedom of religion, these charges by the CTA are baseless and absurd. To begin with, the worship of this enlightened Tibetan deity precedes the formation of the Chinese Communist Party by at least 350 years.

The attack on Dorje Shugden worshippers is borne out of a toxic concoction of lies, ignorance and blind devotion to the Dalai Lama. The way the CTA whipped up hatred against Shugden practitioners is reminiscent of the way Hitler blamed the Jewish people for all the misfortune that befell pre- and post-World War 1 Germany. Although Hitler’s actions defied logic, it somehow whipped Germany into a frenzy of anti-Semitism. Similarly, it has today become etiquette for fans of the Dalai Lama to develop vitriolic and oftentimes violent resentment towards Dorje Shugden believers. It is now the norm for anyone seen with a Chinese national or Shugden worshipper to be regarded as ‘anti-Dalai Lama’ and ‘pro-human rights abuse’, as irrational as it may seem.

His Royal Highness Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex met Kelsang Sonam, a monk of the New Kadampa Tradition, at a cafe in Merseyside, North West England. Prince Harry told Gen Kelsang that he meditates every day and happily accepted a copy of Geshe Kelsang Gyatso‘s 8 Steps to Happiness, saying he will definitely read it. According to the CTA’s illogical argument, this must mean that Prince Harry is a Chinese spy, in the same way his grandmother Her Majesty the Queen must also be an agent of Beijing for having hosted the Chinese President Xi Jinping.

A good example of this brutish malice was seen recently in the way supporters of the Tibetan leadership turned on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. What was their crime? Not much except they happened to have a chat with a Buddhist monk who also happens to be a Dorje Shugden practitioner. Prince Harry and Meghan were visiting a café and supermarket in Merseyside, North West England when they spoke with the locals. Among the crowd was 69-year old Kelsang Sonam, a monk of the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) which is well known for its proliferation of Tibetan Buddhism in the West. NKT also happens to be known for its outspoken protests against the Dalai Lama’s ban on the Shugden religious practice.

To those who are intent on criticizing, it does not matter how well a monk keeps his vows, how compassionate he is or how purely he practices the Buddha’s teachings. It does not matter what good he has done for the community, nor does it matter that he is a good citizen who is just exercising his freedom to practice his faith. The instant he is known to be a believer of Dorje Shugden, it is the CTA’s logic that he should be regarded as a villain and persecuted for his religion, just like other forms of bigotry that persecute a person based on the color of their skin, their gender or their nationality. Similarly, it does not matter who the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are. The belief of anti-Shugden supporters is that just by being friendly with a Shugden monk, the Duke and Duchess are deserving of condemnation and enmity. In the eyes of the CTA’s supporters, everything that the public loves about Harry and Meghan is to be immediately disregarded solely because they were friendly with a Dorje Shugden believer. This is the extent to which the CTA has fanned hatred against Dorje Shugden believers over the last two decades which today continues to burn wildly.

Click to enlarge and read a selection of the hundreds of comments online about the Duke and Duchess, and their conversation with Kelsang Sonam of the NKT.

Shugden haters like to show pictures of protests by monks campaigning against the Tibetan leadership’s Dorje Shugden ban as evidence of cultish behavior. It defies reason that people who value freedom should be criminalized when they protest against a bad government’s trespass on the citizens’ constitutional rights. And yet this is precisely what the situation is. The outcry that arose amongst Dalai Lama fans against Price Harry and Meghan’s public appearance with a Dorje Shugden monk is a good indicator of how silly and yet dangerous the CTA’s fanning of hatred is. A Buddhist monk becomes a delinquent solely because of his worship of one deity, amongst the pantheon of Buddhas and Protectors he supplicates. A leader who cares for and is interested in his people becomes blameworthy because he does not share the haters’ prejudice and intolerance.

Shugden haters would like the public to believe that the worship of Dorje Shugden is synonymous with political support for the Chinese Communist Government who in turn is tagged with a litany of human rights abuses. In truth, this is an invention of the CTA’s propaganda arm, a falsehood concocted when they ran out of justifications for unlawfully breaching the basic human rights of Buddhists who happen to rely on Dorje Shugden. The Dalai Lama himself practiced Dorje Shugden for decades before he named this Tibetan deity as the scapegoat for all the CTA’s failures. Until then, Dorje Shugden has historically and traditionally been an apolitical religious ritual. This did not stop the CTA from falsely claiming that this Tibetan Buddhist deity works for the Chinese government, although the CTA has never articulated exactly how this works. Neither the Dalai Lama nor CTA has ever explained why the Chinese government would want to co-opt an estimated four million Dorje Shugden Buddhists, mostly non-Tibetans and spread around the world, in its conflict with the Dalai Lama.

However, even if Dorje Shugden is a pro-China religion, what is wrong with that? Why is it a crime to have good relations with the Chinese government? Even the Royal House of Windsor maintains cordial relations with the Chinese government and has hosted the visit of President Xi Jinping with pomp and circumstance. Is the House of Windsor too filled with Chinese spies, starting with Her Majesty the Queen and now the Duke and Duchess? As ridiculous as that sounds, that is precisely what the CTA would have us believe, if we were to follow their logic that any association with China or Dorje Shugden practitioners means someone is an agent of Beijing.

It does not matter that someone is a monk, holds vows and is a lawful citizen who tries to benefit his community. In the eyes of the CTA, the fact he practices Dorje Shugden overrides everything else, and automatically qualifies him and anyone else associated with him as a Chinese spy and anti-Dalai Lama traitor. In this case, it means that the CTA now views Meghan Markle as a Chinese spy.

The objective of the British monarch is the economic prosperity of the British people and with China being an economic giant, in a highly globalized world, it has become a necessity and a matter of survival to have China as a trading partner. Why is it wrong for the British monarch and British government to place the welfare of the British people ahead of the Dalai Lama’s political agenda? This logic applies to governments of the world that have good diplomatic ties with China. And if it is not wrong for governments of the world to preserve amicable ties with China, how is it a crime for Shugden Buddhists to have friends who are Chinese?

The anti-Shugden camp’s criticism of Duke and Duchess of Sussex for merely being seen with a Dorje Shugden practitioner should be treated as an eye-opener for the violent abuses and discrimination suffered by Shugden-reliant Buddhists for over two decades. Should Prince Harry and his wife have obeyed the diktats of the Dalai Lama to ostracize and shun all Dorje Shugden worshippers, even if they are British citizens entitled to practice their religion freely without being molested? In the CTA’s eyes, being seen with a Dorje Shugden practitioner makes Prince Harry an anti-Dalai Lama monarch and one who supports China’s alleged human rights abuses. We can see Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s books, teachings, Dorje Shugden practice and videos will reach more people in UK, Europe and the world in this current generation and definitely into future generations. In modern, democratic nations beyond the influence of the CTA, where the people have cast off the yoke of suppression, whether it be freedom of religion or freedom of speech, it is in these places that Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s works will persist and grow.

So should the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have flouted British laws on religious freedoms, in order to support the CTA’s conflict with China? Should Kelsang Sonam, the 69-year old NKT monk be denied his rights provided under the British Constitution, just because of his worship of Dorje Shugden? Perhaps he should have been taken away and hidden from sight because as a Dorje Shugden practitioner, the CTA has automatically deemed him to be a criminal. In fact, the CTA should seek to emulate Prince Harry and Meghan Markle who meet, share and communicate with people from all backgrounds, cultures, races, beliefs, faiths and religions without prejudice. The Duke and Duchess show, by example, what a truly democratic leader should look like – someone who understands their duties as a leader to serve everyone, regardless of whether they share the same beliefs as them. But who knows if the CTA will ever understand this message because if the Dalai Lama and his people were to have their way, the answer is always going to be ‘yes’ to all the questions raised above.

[MailOnline] Taking notes from yoga-mad
Meghan? Prince Harry reveals he meditates
‘every day’ as he meets a Buddhist monk
during visit to Merseyside

Click to enlarge (Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6590373/Prince-Harry-tells-Buddhist-monk-meditates-day.html)

Is the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley about to breakaway from the Tibetan leadership after two decades of endorsement and support from them? What did the Tibetan leadership do, that led to this turn of events?

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Tyr Beswick

Generating big waves for the wrong reasons

Once again the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; Tibetan leadership based in Dharamsala) and the Dalai Lama’s Karmapa Ogyen Trinley have made headlines, and not for positive reasons either as Ogyen Trinley finds himself the subject of a Taiwanese sex scandal.

2019 thus far has not been smooth-sailing for the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley, as he continues to deal with the fall-out of his ongoing absence from India and his taking up of a Dominican passport. The latest scandal that bears his name is an eye-popping, albeit tabloid-like, exposé that has surfaced in Taiwan, a country where both Karmapas (the Dalai Lama-endorsed Karmapa Ogyen Trinley and the Karmapa Thaye Dorje) have a large following.

According to numerous reports, it now appears that the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley has had many girlfriends in the past, and is currently in pursuit of another. In the most recent case, the girl involved has come out to reveal that she has an ongoing relationship with the Karmapa from five years ago and that they have had sexual relations three times! There is even a recorded conversation, purportedly between Ogyen Trinley and the girl, that adds credibility to the story (see below) and photos of the so-called couple were included too, for good measure.

Having seen this scandalous report, one wonders if Ogyen Trinley’s video for the recent Kagyu Monlam was in anticipation of this scandal blowing up – he had in his video, out of the blue, touched on the topic of sexual relations, a strange topic indeed to bring up during the Karma Kagyus’ largest annual event. Observers have wondered if this was a pre-emptive attempt on his part, to try and open people to the idea that it would not be such a foreign thing for him to have a girlfriend.

出生時’祥雲’降世顯神蹟！
擁千萬信徒’大寶法王’爆桃色糾紛
錄音黨曝光：我們酸甜苦辣都有｜【國際大現場】20190123｜三立新聞台

or watch on our server:
http://video.dorjeshugden.com/videos/Karmapa1.mp4

The Karmapa was born amidst auspicious signs and has shown miracles. The Karmapa who has hundreds of thousands of followers, was exposed with a sex scandal. Audio shown: “Our relationship is a mixture of sour, sweet, bitter and spicy.”

Silence is not golden

While this scandal appears to have come out of nowhere, what continues to stun people is that there has not been thus far, any response from any party, be it the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley’s office, or parties with a vested interest in keeping Ogyen Trinley’s reputation pristine such as the Dalai Lama’s office (Kukey Yiktsang) and the CTA themselves.

Sex scandals have brought down entire empires and so it would be in the CTA’s best interests to strongly deny the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley’s involvement and dismiss the authenticity of the recorded call. After all, this scandal concerns the Karmapa candidate that they endorsed and wholeheartedly supported for over two decades, to the point whispers were heard about his possible assignation as the Dalai Lama’s successor. Even Tibetan state protector Nechung had given his endorsement of Ogyen Trinley as the right Karmapa candidate by taking trance and making offerings to him many times. So where is their defence of their candidate now?

Similarly, if the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley had absolutely no involvement in the scandal, and if the recorded call was faked, it would not be difficult and unusual for him or his office to issue a press release to that effect. The fact he remains silent has led observers to conclude that there may be an element of truth in the scandal.

Therefore a lack of response from the CTA, Dalai Lama’s office and Ogyen Trinley himself is bad public relations at best and, at worst, hurts Buddhism and creates a lot of doubt. In this scandal, it is clear that people’s true colors are showing – after all the schism they created in the Karma Kagyu lineage, the CTA are totally unconcerned about people’s faith in the Karma Kagyu lineage and the Karmapa, and that is why they remain silent on the matter.

A scandalous past

Some however, may not be too surprised about this latest expose as the Black Karmapa has previously experienced many scandals. For example:

1. He has been charged in India for money laundering, although there are rumors that the CTA coerced the Indian government into bringing these charges about because the Karmapa refused to cooperate with them. For the CTA to set the Indian government against people who have fallen out of favor is not unheard of – the CTA previously used this tactic against Serkong Tritul Rinpoche of Gaden Jangtse who, before he permanently moved to Taiwan, was arrested by the Indian government and held for four months. His only ‘crime’ was disobeying a CTA directive not to visit Taiwan, at a time when relations between the CTA and Taiwan were not friendly and had broken down.
2. He has always been suspected of being a Chinese spy, borne out of the fact that he is recognized by China as the rightful Karmapa and had escaped to India from China a bit too easily. This suspicion is furthered by the fact his official website is allowed in China while the Karmapa Thaye Dorje’s is not, as well as the fact millions of Chinese yuan were found in his possession when his Ladrang was raided by the Indian government in 2015.
3. He is said to have had many girlfriends in past. It has been claimed that this recent sexual transgression is not his first foray into relationships. In the phone call, the girl he is allegedly pursuing says that he has had many other girls.
4. He has also made a video where he confessed to being depressed and not having the freedom to pursue his own dreams – not the sort of thing a Karmapa usually confesses to. He also said that his education was lacking and he had not received an education typical of someone of his standing. Ordinarily, the Karmapa should have been educated by the four Karma Kagyu regents but due to the split created by the CTA, the four regents found themselves on opposing sides, each supporting different Karmapa candidates and not able to come together to educate just one. The implication is that the CTA is to be blamed for this.
5. He appears to have defected and run away from the CTA and Indian government and has been living in the United States for over a year, citing medical reasons. The question many have asked is what medical treatment a young, healthy person could be receiving when he has had no previous reports of ill health.
6. He secretly obtained a Dominica passport while living in the United States and surrendered his registration documents and yellow card issued by the Indian government to Tibetan refugees. He did so without so much as a ‘thank you’ to them. Interestingly, Dominica does not have an extradition treaty with India, therefore shielding him from extradition laws which might compel his return to India to face his many legal suits.
7. He has been engaged in a strange but obviously politically-charged to-and-fro between him and the Indian government when, with a Dominica passport, he was pressured to return to India to attend a Buddhist conference where he was to be one of the VIP attendees. This would have required a visa from the Indian authorities but to this day, there are contradicting accounts of why he did not get a visa in time to attend the conference. While Indian authorities say he did not apply for one, the Black Karmapa says he tried to apply but did not obtain one – apparently, the Indian consulate in New York had to check with Delhi. In still other media reports, it has been said that the Indian government will only allow him to enter India on the Tibetan refugee yellow card, a document which the Karmapa now refuses to use. The conference was eventually cancelled at the eleventh hour on the pretext that a Nyingma tradition leader had suddenly passed away and his funeral had to be attended to.
8. He claimed, in his Kagyu Monlam video, that he has not received full ordination vows and only has the novice monk vows. Whether it was a preemptive move to imply what he is doing with the girls is acceptable, is a moot point. Even if he has only novice ordination vows, one of the four root vows for a novice monk is to abstain from sexual relations with women. Breaking any of the four root vows means the person is immediately disrobed.
9. In the same Kagyu Monlam video, the Black Karmapa said that the novice monk vows had been given to him without his consent or awareness, and he had only been expecting the upasaka (laymen) vows from the Dalai Lama. Astute observers have surmised there can be only two things the Karmapa is trying to imply. The first is that the Tibetan leadership tried to dilute the Karma Kagyu lineage by introducing Gelug vows to their leader, since within the Karma Kagyu lineage there are many qualified preceptors from whom the Karmapa could (and should) have received the vows from. The second is that the Tibetan leadership were trying to control the Karma Kagyu lineage, by making their leader’s spiritual preceptor a Gelug lama and therefore someone he would be compelled to listen to.

Within the Karma Kagyu tradition responsibility to recognize the Karmapa lies with four regents. In recent times, three of these regents have recognized competing candidates, confusing followers all over the world. Orgyen Trinley Dorje (left) was recognized by Tai Situ Rinpoche; Trinley Thaye Dorje (middle) was recognized by Shamar Rinpoche; and Dawa Sangpo Dorje (right) was recognized by Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche. In-fighting between supporters of these candidates continues until today, a fact that has fractured the tradition deeply. Add to this the fact that the Dalai Lama interfered by backing Orgyen Trinley, a move with no traditional basis, the schism became a heated debate within the Tibetan community. In response, Shamar Rinpoche claimed that Orgyen Trinley’s recognition was incorrect, that he had evidence of this and that the Dalai Lama had no business in meddling in the affairs of the Kagyu lineage. Now Orgyen Trinley, who the Dalai Lama and the CTA nurtured for a decade has abandoned them and prefers to have freedom as a citizen of Dominica.

How did it come to this?

No matter how the situation is examined, things are not looking good for the CTA, the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The Karmapa’s less-than-spectacular track record is turning into a bane, especially to the reputation of the Dalai Lama and his CTA government for it was the spiritually authoritative Dalai Lama who formally recognized the Black Karmapa, welcomed him on his arrival from China, and nurtured him in the Dalai Lama’s own Gelugpa Gyuto Monastery in Dharamsala.

Hence, if this latest in a litany of scandals turns out to be true, it will go down in history as a very shameful episode for the Dalai Lama who has apparently exercised bad judgement of character on multiple occasions. As it turns out, this Karmapa scandal is merely the tip of the iceberg as an increasing number of the CTA’s and the Dalai Lama’s monk friends are involved in sex scandals and have been accused of exploiting and abusing their positions. A shortlist of the more prominent offenders include names such as:

1. Sogyal Rinpoche;
2. Tenzin Dhonden, the Dalai Lama’s peace emissary in the United States;
3. Sakyong Mipham;
4. Gangten Tulku;
5. Lama Yeshe Nyingpo;
6. Lama Norlha;
7. Lama Choedak Rinpoche;
8. Rigdzin Namkha Rinpoche;
9. Lama Ogyen Kunzang Dorje;
10. Tulku Lobsang – yes, the list is long.

Even Lobsang Sangay who calls himself the President of the CTA, has also been called into question for his alleged multiple extramarital affairs with women like Dhardon Sharling, an investigation extensively covered by Tibetan author and journalist Mila Rangzen.

From the Karmapa all the way to Sogyal Rinpoche, and onwards to Lobsang Sangay, one thing all of these people have in common is the fact they were approved of and endorsed by the Dalai Lama. Lobsang Sangay’s candidacy for the position of Sikyong, for example, would surely have received the Dalai Lama’s approval before he was permitted to run.

That being the case, this latest Karmapa scandal is damaging for the Dalai Lama as people will think badly of his decisions. Many will also start to question his psychic abilities, asking if he is truly clairvoyant and how he did not know 20 years ago that all of this would transpire with the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley. This exposé of the Karmapa also comes at a time when the reputation of Tibetan Buddhism is on the decline, thanks to the actions of the aforementioned sexual abusers whose actions the Tibetan leadership have remained silent on and failed to condemn.

Let’s call a spade a spade

The Dalai Lama’s endorsement of Ogyen Trinley went against Karma Kagyu tradition and placed the ancient lineage on a collision course with itself.

Whether the Karmapa, or any monk for that matter, has novice monk vows (getsul) or a fully-ordained Buddhist monk’s vows (gelong) is irrelevant when it comes to sexual relationships. Whether a monk is a getsul or gelong, they all have four root vows:

1. to abstain from lying about any realizations of emptiness;
2. to abstain from taking the life of a human;
3. to abstain from taking something which is not theirs;
4. to abstain from sexual relations.

These four root vows are the very basics of the Buddhist monk code (vinaya), the universally-held standard which makes a clear distinction if someone is a monk or not. Hence, someone holding any level of monk vows should not be having any sexual relations with women, period. Even if the Karmapa were not a monk, the fact that he is wearing robes means he should still represent the monkhood well. His actions reflect on all Tibetan monks and creates the wrong idea in people’s minds that Tibetan monks can have relationships with women.

For people to doubt Tibetan monks and question if they are real is highly damaging to the Buddha Dharma as a whole for a number of reasons:

1. Whether spiritual teachers are married or have relationships is the choice of the individual. However, if they dress like a monk and profess to be a monk, regardless of whatever level of vows they hold, they should act like a monk and not mislead the public. It diminishes the faith of the people in the sangha as a whole.
2. It is not fair to good monks who are celibate and keep their vows clean for a lifetime, to be put next to spiritual teachers like this and have both be treated the same. The same standard should be held for all who profess to be monks, regardless of whatever tradition or Buddhist country they are from.

Since the CTA professes to be a Buddhist government, Tibetan teachers should follow the example set by monks from all other Buddhist nations such as Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Viet Nam and Burma where the public continue to have a very good opinion of their sangha.

In those predominantly Buddhist countries, if a monk has sexual relations with a woman, there are no exceptions whether they are high or low, senior or junior, scholar, royalty, eminent or not – they are immediately disrobed and no longer considered monks, according to the vinaya.

In fact, in those countries, never mind cohabiting with a woman, monks are not even allowed to touch or hold hands with a woman, so strict is their adherence to the vinaya code of conduct. This level of adherence protects the public from developing wrong view about the Buddha Dharma and encourages people to trust bona fide monks. Is it therefore any surprise that public opinion of the Tibetan monks is at an all-time low, when many lamas are abusing their students and the Karmapa is now embroiled in this Taiwanese sex scandal?

The question is where the CTA’s voice is in all of this. Since the CTA considers themselves a bastion of Buddhism, their Department of Religion’s silence over the sexual abuses of the aforementioned Tibetan Buddhist teachers, and the Karmapa’s sexual scandal is all the more shocking. After all, what else is the CTA’s Department of Religion responsible for if not to hold Tibetan teachers to the vinaya?

Time for Tibetan leadership to admit to their shortcomings

All these scandals do not bode well for the CTA and the Dalai Lama, who spend the majority of their time and effort vilifying the Chinese while neglecting their own polity. The CTA is so vocal in criticizing everything else but is silent as a mouse on this. They are outspoken against the Jonangpas, against Dorje Shugden practitioners, against China but they have yet to be heard in this.

The two Karmapas – on the top is the Chinese enthroned Karmapa Ogyen Trinley that the Dalai Lama endorsed. At the bottom is Karmapa Thaye Dorje whom the Dalai Lama refuses to endorse but has continuously received support from spiritual heads of other Tibetan Buddhists sects and also the royal family of Bhutan. Dalai Lama has never taken a picture with this Karmapa Thaye Dorje. Those who support Karmapa Thaye Dorje are considered against the Dalai Lama and called Chinese paid spies or working for the Chinese.

It is high time that the Tibetan government in exile enforce these vinaya rules since they consider themselves a Buddhist majority “country”. The Dalai Lama too has the full authority, as well as spiritual and temporal power, to enforce these rules if he wishes to. But strangely, the Dalai Lama and his government stay silent while major damage is being done to the reputation of Tibetan Buddhist teachers specifically, and the Tibetan community in general. This is certainly not the best way to preserve and turn the wheel of Dharma.

It is important especially now for the Dalai Lama to tell us which Karmapa is real and which is not. Should the people continue to trust the CTA-endorsed Karmapa Ogyen Trinley who has been involved in scandal after scandal, leading up to this latest Taiwanese one? Or should the people switch their allegiance and support to the CTA-rejected Karmapa Thaye Dorje, who has thus far remained scandal-free? Did the CTA endorse the wrong candidate? Or is there something else that is going on, which the public have been kept in the dark about?

With so much preexisting confusion, all this new scandal is doing is adding to the steady decline in the people’s trust in both Tibetan Buddhism and the CTA. The message is clear – if the CTA wants to survive this latest scandal, then we, the people, will REALLY need to hear from both the CTA AND the Dalai Lama.

【全文】驚傳違反戒律
大寶法王遭控交女友

Mirror Media (Taiwan)

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article (Source: https://www.mirrormedia.mg/story/20190123soc001)

[Translation]

Shocking revelation of Karmapa breaking vows and accused of having girlfriends

The 17th Gyalwa Karmapa has tens of millions of disciples worldwide. He has been seen as a “god” since he was young, and by right he should be holding his vows strictly. However, we received a complaint from a female disciple named H (pseudonym) who said that not only was the Karmapa having a relationship with her for five years, but they also had sex three times. According to H, the reason why she hooked up with the Karmapa was due to the introduction of another Rinpoche, who asked H to maintain a “close relationship” with the Karmapa. In order to prove herself, besides providing related photos and her WeChat conversation record with the Karmapa, the most crucial evidence is a lovers-like phone conversation voice recording. We have sent the audio recording to an expert laboratory for verification, and they confirmed that the man’s voice in the recording is really the Karmapa.

《鏡週刊 封面故事》驚傳違反戒律
大寶法王遭控交女友

or watch on our server:
http://video.dorjeshugden.com/videos/Karmapa2.mp4

Mirror Media Cover Story: The Karmapa has broken his vows and is accused of having a girlfriend.

Just as one of the most important annual events of Tibetan Buddhism has ended – the 36th Kagyu Monlam – disciples worldwide gathered in India just so they could catch a glimpse of the Kagyu leader, the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa (Urgyen Trinley) and listen to his teachings. However, since the event on January 9th until it ended, the Karmapa did not show up, but just published a special teaching.

Together for 5 years, breaking vows

Besides being the leader of Tibetan Buddhism’s Kagyu sect, the 17th Karmapa is also lauded as the Tibetan Buddhist religious leader that has the most disciples after the Dalai Lama. He is 34 years old this year and has a high status in Tibetan Buddhism. Although he did not show up at the event, this did not lessen the disciples’ love and admiration for him. He constantly advocates vegetarianism and holding vows in his teachings and two years ago, at a nun ordination ceremony, he invited more than 20 nuns who had been ordained for more than 20 years, to start learning again from the very fundamentals of “Three Refuge and Five Precepts”.

Caption: The 36th Kagyu Monlam just ended, but from January 9th until it ended, the Karmapa did not show up

In the Buddhist scriptures, “Three Refuge and Five Precepts” are the vows that any ordained person has to hold. The Five Precepts include no killing, no stealing, no lying, no drinking alcohol, no sexual misconduct. Sexual misconduct means male-female relationship. Ordained disciples have to self-discipline and to cleanse one’s heart and limit one’s desires, so it is unbelievable that the Karmapa actually lead the way to break the vows.

We were contacted by a female disciple H (pseudonym) who exposed that not only she was with the Karmapa for five years, but they also had sex three times. Beside providing photos of herself with the Karmapa taken at a hotel, she also provided a conversation voice recording of 18 minutes 21 seconds, and content was like a conversation between lovers.

Caption: Female H said that she first had sex with the Karmapa on 13th September 2013, and the next day she met him again as his disciple

Nickname “Xiao Niu”, late-night room visit

To be cautious, we sent the audio recording to (American company) MuScene Voice Forensics Laboratory for it to be compared with two other voice recordings of the Karmapa – an online teaching from the Karmapa to Taiwanese disciples on 6th April 2018, and two videos from the public teaching at Canada’s Lingyanshan Temple on 29th June 2017.

First, the laboratory used the “listening method” to verify the accent, pronunciation habit and common points, etc. between the two audios, then they used software to check. They found that in the two audios, in terms of common vocabulary like “myself”, “it is”, “Taiwan”, etc., the basic frequency and the resonance peak shapes all matched each other, and the linguistic characteristics were even the same. The sample and the audio recording matched 99.9%, and the conclusion was that the voice belonged to the same person.

Caption: MuScene Voice Forensics Laboratory compared and confirmed that the audio recording provided by H is the voice of the Karmapa.

The problem is, how could a religious leader have love entanglement with a Taiwanese woman? When our reporter met H on 15th December last year at our office, H constantly and anxiously touched her hair. Her pretty face had an uneasy and nervous expression and after several deep breaths, she slowly opened her mouth and talked about the torture and pressure she experienced during her five-year relationship with the Karmapa.

Caption: We received a complaint from H, the ex-girlfriend of the Karmapa, saying that the Karmapa has sexual relationships with a few females, and that they were match-made by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

That day was the first time our reporter heard the voice recording between H and the Karmapa. It was recorded when they communicated using Skype on 31st August 2018. In the conversation, the Karmapa’s tone was intimate. He wanted H to call him “Xiao Niu” and repeatedly said he hoped H would go and see him in the USA or Canada. He wanted to meet and talk to H “face-to-face” and even said that they needed to “communicate more” in their relationship.

H said that she had had sex three times with the Karmapa. The first time was on 13th September 2013 in The Grand New Delhi Hotel in New Delhi, India. At that time, all the world Buddhist leaders congregated at New Delhi for the 1st Founding Members’ Conclave of the International Buddhist Confederation. The event ended on the 12th, and on the 13th the Karmapa went to knock on H’s door late at night. That was the first time they had sex. On the 14th, H went to meet the Karmapa as his disciple and they took a photo in the room, as if nothing had happened in the previous night.

Three times love-making, intimate phone conversation

The second time was on 5th March 2015, at the New Delhi Hyatt Hotel. H remembered clearly that she could see the Karmapa’s private apartment from her room and when the Karmapa came to the balcony, they could see each other. The Karmapa also came to knock on H’s door late at night and later, they made love. The next day, H again reverted back to being a disciple and sent the Karmapa off to the USA together with the other disciples.

Caption: The Karmapa stayed at The Grand New Delhi when he attended the Confederation

The third time was in August of the same year at New Delhi’s Sheraton Hotel, on the 21st. H wore an all-white traditional costume to meet the Karmapa and late on the night of the 22nd, the Karmapa again entered the room of that female disciple. He flew off to Europe the next day on a Dharma tour.

We compared the Karmapa’s published itinerary, from the 9th to 12th September 2012, and the Karmapa was really at the Confederation in New Delhi; on 10th March 2015, the official website published that the Karmapa was in a Dharma tour in the USA for two months; on 23rd August 2015, he went to Germany to start his European Dharma tour; and it all matched. Nevertheless, we were not able to verify that they two of them really had sex.

Caption: The Karmapa was recognized when he was seven, and has tens of millions of disciples worldwide (picture taken from the Karmapa’s official flickr karmapaweb)

What confused H was that although her relationship with the Karmapa had clearly surpassed that of guru-disciple, the Karmapa remained neither close nor far with her. Regarding this, H questioned the Karmapa many times, “Why did you look for me?” and he constantly consoled H that she should change to a more gentle tone, and said he knew what she was thinking.

The Karmapa even said in the conversation that, “Actually, after saying all this, you are thinking of me” and he continued to talk to her like lovers do when they are in a relationship, with all “sour sweet bitter spicy flavor”, “when there is love, there is revenge”, and even felt that H was just throwing an unreasonable tantrum because she had feelings for him, and that they talked like lovers do. Although this showed that it was definitely not a normal guru-disciple relationship, but we could only investigate until here and could not verify the lovers’ relationship. Here is a part of their conversation for reference:

Index

[K] Karmapa
[H] His lover

---

[K] Between you and me, I think, is like, sigh…best if we meet and talk face to face
[H] Cannot, I am very unkempt today, I won’t video chat with you, it is very disrespectful to you
[K] No, what I mean is, if you are free, then come and see me, I mean, the best is you can come and see me
[H] Let me tell you, now I don’t have a single cent, it is impossible for me to go overseas and I also do not intend to take a flight to meet any guru
[K] You are not to meet guru
[H] I don’t know whether to call you Your Holiness, or Karmapa, I think even this is disrepectful
[K] No need to call me anything, you just call me…eh…eh…Xiao Niu!
[H] That time we were just being mischievious and talking nonsense, but we should have broken off then already
[K] Ok ok
[H] Why don’t you let me go?
[K] You don’t duhduhduh…are you in Taiwan now?
[H] What?
[K] Are you in Taiwan now?
[H] I am in Taiwan and let me tell you I am not going anywhere, I don’t travel.
[K] I know, and I am not asking you to travel.
[H] What is the relationship between you and me?
[K] The relationship between you and me…has all this: sour, sweet, bitter, spicy…type of relationship
[H] No lah
[K] Really
[H] I…
[K] Got sour, got sweet
[K] In your heart, what you are thinking, I know, I can feel it.
[H] Then you tell me, I can’t even feel it myself
[K] Actually, after saying all this, you are thinking of me
[H] No lah, I am not thinking of you. You don’t use the method you use on the other girls on me
[K] Tell me, yes or no
[H] My drama with you is over, I am not thinking of you, I have nothing to think of you, I only want to make it clear with you
[K] No, got got got
[H] If you have made it clear one year ago, I would have broken off with you long ago
[K] Wait wait, when there is love, there is revenge
[H] No no, you have your so many girlfriends, I am not desperate to become your what

Studying overseas and getting to know the Karmapa

H said the cause of her meeting the Karmapa was from the arrangement of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. When she was studying overseas 11 year ago, she was moved by Rinpoche’s Dharma teaching and decided to became a Buddhist and take Rinpoche as her guru and learn Vajrayana Buddhism from him.

After five years of being Rinpoche’s disciple, Rinpoche alluded to her that she should meet the Karmapa, and after H first met the Karmapa, he asked for her Skype, citing work purposes.

Caption: H said she mostly communicated with the Karmapa via Skype

H recalled that at first she Skype video chatted with the Karmapa. She viewed the Karmapa as a precious guru, and the Karmapa complained about his anguish of being constantly under surveillance and being followed. Then he changed the topic to ask if she had a boyfriend. H had very little romantic experience so she was shocked with this and ended the conversation abruptly.

Later, between 2013 and 2018, most of the time the Karmapa used Skype to maintain a guru-cum-lover relationship with H. In the middle of this, H also used WeChat to discuss with Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche the mode of her interaction with the Karmapa.

According to the WeChat conversation record provided by H between her and Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, when Rinpoche found out that H and the Karmapa were intimate, he then asked H to help to convey to the Karmapa his religious ideas, or asked her to forward to the Karmapa some articles that would benefit him.

Caption: In the Karmapa’s officially published article on 21st January, he talked about monks’ vows

However, later H found out that she was more like a tool being used by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, and what was even more serious was that Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, who appeared serious and proper, was nothing short of a pimp who helped the Karmapa source for female disciples for his own personal gains.

Besides, we also hearn Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s name being mentioned in the conversation between H and the Karmapa,. H complained about Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche to the Karmapa, saying that she was sacrificed between the Karmapa and Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, but after the Karmapa heard about this, he always said good words about Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. Below is part of the conversation between H and the Karmapa:

[H] Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche is scheming to change you, he is going all out to do this, his intention is to change you, Karmapa.

[K] Wait, listen to me. He wants to change me, he wants to become someone he portrayed in his mind or whatever, this is probably his own business, but it has nothing to do with me. This is his (one-sided) thinking. No, he has his own opinion!

Feeling lost, like a pawn

H experienced many struggles and even almost comitted suicide because she was feeling lost, but Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche still asked her to remain by the Karmapa’s side. When Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche noticed that H’s influence on the Karmapa had lessened, he turned from his usual serious and proper demeanor and mocked H to be “lacking in methods”. Only then did H realize that she was just his pawn, and decided to end the relationship with the Karmapa.

Caption: Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche (right) was accused of using a female as a tool to influence the Karmapa (left), and he even became the matchmaker

Before this, H messaged Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and scolded him for being a “pimp”, and he he actually replied “yes”. Later, H confronted Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and asked if he was pimping for the Karmapa. She said it was a shameful action and he replied “ho ho”.

Caption: H exposed Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s plot and accused him of being a “pimp”, and he replied “yes”.

From our investigation, Karmapa was recognized at 7, after he repeatedly manifested miracles, including finding a 300-year-old Hayagriva phurba in the Qinghai Lake when he was 15. He even successfully escaped to India under the heavy patrol of the border army. Furthermore, Tibetan Buddhism emphasizes reincarnation and once a child is recognized as the reincarnation of a high monk or tulku, he will be given a high religious status.

H felt she was not the only one, hence she came forward to tell her experience, so that this can awaken other females who have been hurt and they can boldly come forward to create changes in Tibetan Buddhism, to stop female disciples from becoming the gurus’ playthings.

Response:

We called Stephanie, the translator of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and she replied that all accusations of H towards Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche are false, and the WeChat record could also be fabricated. Stephanie said she has records of all her conversations with Rinpoche which show that Rinpoche did not know the Karmapa’s private life, Rinpoche does not have the Karmapa’s personal contact, and does not know the relationship between the Karmapa and H.

We also emailed the Karmapa’s contact email and at the deadline, we still had not received any response. However, the Karmapa was in retreat, and on the night of the 21st he gave a special teaching via his official website, saying that he only took the upsaka and noice monk’s vows, but he did not take the pratimoksha vows. He stressed that the real ordained vows are not about being restricted and not being allowed to do do this and that. The most important things are the mind of renunciation and to be liberated from cyclic rebirths. The Karmapa also said that recently, there has been no official news about him so there are some rumors and accusations out there, but he thinks the most important is we have to be honest with ourselves, to believe in ourselves, and that he will continue to work hard for the Dharma and sentient beings.

Till dealine, we tried our best hoping to contact the Karmapa himself, and we also tried via contacts who are close to the Karmapa hoping to get some response. Unfortunately the Karmapa was probably in retreat. Hence until dealine, we have not been able to get a response from the Karmapa.

- End of Translation -

Various Media Coverage

Click to enlarge (Source: https://www.mirrormedia.mg/story/20190122soc007/)

Click to enlarge (Source: https://www.mirrormedia.mg/story/20190122soc011/)

Click to enlarge (Source: https://www.upmedia.mg/news_info.php?SerialNo=56471)

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Click to enlarge (Source: https://tw.news.yahoo.com/法王桃花劫-遭罵皮條客-牽線的仁波切冷回yes-001120432.html)

Click to enlarge (Source: https://tw.news.yahoo.com/法王桃花劫-國際頂級聲紋鑑定-認證99-9-就是他-001134752.html)

Click to enlarge (Source: https://www.ettoday.net/news/20190123/1363340.htm)

Click to enlarge (Source: https://www.mirrormedia.mg/story/20190122soc005/?utm_source=feed_related&utm_medium=yahoo)

Click to enlarge (Source: http://www.chinapress.com.my/20190123/与大宝法王3渡春宵-台女爆料：或有更多受害者/)

Click to enlarge (Source: http://www.kwongwah.com.my/?p=631846)

Click to enlarge (Source: http://www.enanyang.my/news/20190123/藏传佛教精神领袖之一-大宝法王破淫戒/)

Click to enlarge (Source: https://www.ettoday.net/news/20190123/1363293.htm)

Click to enlarge (Source: https://tw.appledaily.com/new/realtime/20190123/1505599/)

Click to enlarge (Source: http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/society/breakingnews/2682155)

Click to enlarge (Source: https://www.setn.com/News.aspx?NewsID=489466)

Click to enlarge (Source: http://news.dwnews.com/china/news/2019-01-23/60114192.html)

Click to enlarge (Source: https://news.ebc.net.tw/News/society/149565)

Click to enlarge (Source: http://news.seehua.com/?p=423214)

Click to enlarge (Source: https://www.mitbbs.com/mwap/forum/article.php?board=Military&groupid=52511975&content_type=all)

Click to enlarge (Source: https://www.weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404331613696726739)

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Tibetan Buddhist
lamas who sexually abuse

Sogyal Rinpoche

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has referred to Sogyal Rinpoche as “a good friend”.

These are perhaps the most well-known incidents of sexual abuse to hit the headlines and rock the Tibetan Buddhist community in recent times. Sogyal Rinpoche was the subject of a documentary in 2011 detailing his alleged crimes, and also the subject of a lawsuit that was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Despite all of this, the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan leadership continued to associate with him and make public appearances with him, thereby endorsing his activities and behavior.

In more recent times, the exposé against Sogyal Rinpoche by his own senior students has been so thorough and public, that he was forced to resign. A few months later, he announced that he was diagnosed with cancer. He has not been seen publicly since. While his victims continue to suffer the trauma of his abuse, and while he remains in hiding, the CTA has not issued any statements against his behaviour or disassociated themselves from him. How come they are silent over these atrocities, but are so vocal against Dorje Shugden which is not illegal anywhere in the world? How come they force people to disassociate from Shugden practitioners, and enforce segregatory policies against them, but have not disassociated themselves from someone who has been accused of abusing women for decades?

Lion’s Roar

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.lionsroar.com/letter-to-sogyal-rinpoche-from-current-and-ex-rigpa-members-details-abuse-allegations/

The Telegraph

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/sexual-assaults-violent-rages-inside-dark-world-buddhist-teacher/

Medium (Part 1)

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://medium.com/@tahlianewland/harvey-weinstein-and-sogyal-rinpoche-a-study-of-responses-part-1-management-f7413d904c0b

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://medium.com/@tahlianewland/harvey-weinstein-sogyal-rinpoche-a-comparison-part-2-culture-1fcc5bfc7599

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

Yet another leader of another large Tibetan Buddhist organization has been forced to step down after being accused of inappropriate sexual behavior with his students. In his statement, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche took responsibility for everything, basically all but admitting to the actual acts. Still, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche has enjoyed the Dalai Lama’s and the Tibetan leadership’s endorsement for many years, again despite the fact that rumors about his impropriety have existed for years. The Tibetan leadership will endorse anything, no matter how illegal it may be, if it has the potential to be financially lucrative. But as long as someone practices Dorje Shugden, they are bad and evil, no matter how much benefit they bring to others, just because they refuse to abide by the Tibetan leadership’s ban on the practice.

Tricycle

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/sakyong-mipham-rinpoche-sexual-abuse/

Think Progress

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://thinkprogress.org/buddhist-leader-sexually-assaulted-students-report-finds-0d08e17cedd9/

Lion’s Roar

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.lionsroar.com/report-alleges-sexual-misconduct-by-leader-of-shambhala-community/

Tricycle

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/shambhala-leaders-resign/

The New York Times

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/nyregion/shambhala-sexual-misconduct.html

CBC.ca

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/new-allegations-surface-against-shambhala-leader-1.4743325

Tricycle

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/sakyong-mipham-rinpoche-sexual-assault/

Gangten Tulku

Hollywood actor Richard Gere with not one, but two lamas accused of sexual misconduct (Gangten Tulku and Sogyal Rinpoche).

As the head of 22 monasteries in Bhutan, Gangten Tulku is in a position of influence. He was even pictured with Hollywood actor Richard Gere, together with another sex offender, Sogyal Rinpoche. And while Gangten Tulku’s inappropriate activities are not as public as Sogyal Rinpoche’s, nevertheless within certain circles, his affairs have become very well-known. These are most notably recorded by Christine Chandler on her website extibetanbuddhist.com and in her book Enthralled: The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism. Ms. Chandler is a trained social worker and psychologist, who specializes in the areas of sexual abuse and dysfunctional systems.

In an email to one of our sources, Ms. Chandler writes:

All of the residents who were Tibetan Buddhists, studied with all the lamas in Crestone. So I did about four or five 10 day retreats with Gangten. I was never close to him, but we all practiced and studied with all the Lamas there. During one of his drupdens, a really long mantra chanting experience, — he was very good at creating altered states of mind through mantra- a Bhutanese dance troupe that had been performing, was complaining about him groping the young Bhutanese women.

This information is mirrored in her book, in which she writes:

I also attended several retreats with a tulku from Bhutan, a master at creating altered states of mind through mantra chanting in his retreats. This high Bhutanese lama was the same married tulku, who was later called out by Tsultrim Allione for groping female Bhutanese dancers.

Source: Chandler, C. (2017). “Crestone, Colorado”, Chapter 22 of ‘Enthralled: The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism’.

This paragraph in the book references some Bhutanese dancers being groped by a married tulku and although the married tulku’s name is not given, based on Ms. Chandler’s emailed reply, it can be safely concluded that the married tulku is Gangten Rinpoche. More importantly, this time the paragraph directly credits Lama Tsultrim Allione as the source of these claims about Gangten Rinpoche. Ms. Chandler writes that:

Allione had been raising women’s issues in the Tibetan sanghas quietly, before. But when she started complaining, openly, about a certain visiting tulku from Bhutan and his sexual gropings of young, Bhutanese women in a travelling dance group, after they came to her objecting, this Bhutanese high lama let her know that she had gone too far and she had better shape up, or be literally banished from the Tibetan Lamaist scene. She would no longer have the Tibetan lama ‘seal of approval,’ as a respected female Tibetan Buddhist teacher; helping the lamas spread Tantra in the West if she kept on complaining about their sexual abuses. This would destroy her niche in the Tibetan “Dzogchen” teacher circuit.

Source: Chandler, C. (2017). “The Dakinis and Their “Spiritualized Feminism”.”, Chapter 18 of ‘Enthralled: The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism’.

Again, this references the groping of female Bhutanese dancers and again, it draws a connection to Lama Allione. Ms. Chandler says that Lama Allione was eventually browbeaten and threatened into silence. Given what we know about how the Tibetan leadership condones the abuse through their silence, and refuses to give their support to the victims, this conclusion is no surprise. It is merely another instance of power play at work, whereby the abuses surrounding Gangten Tulku are hushed up and brushed under the rug, while Lama Allione is silenced and forced to stop speaking up. An email from a close student of Lama Allione confirms this conclusion, saying:

Yes, unfortunately Gangten Tulku is one of the worst offenders. He has a history of abuse of female students, and I recently discovered that it’s a bit of an open secret that he’s also abused young monks in his monasteries. He’s been largely ousted from American dharma circles due to his impropriety, but still has a presence in Europe and Bhutan.

It would be logical that a close student of Lama Allione would be privy to the allegations about Gangten Tulku’s improper behavior, given their proximity to her. Once again, the Tibetan leadership shows that any behavior exhibited by a non-Shugden lama is acceptable, and they will not do anything to protect the victims (or even those trying to expose the abuses) as long as the lama does not practice Dorje Shugden. However, once a lama does practice Dorje Shugden, they become justified and open targets for vulgarities and abuse, simply because of their religious choices.

ExTibetanBuddhist.com

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://extibetanbuddhist.com/this-sexual-abuser-hollywood-doesnt-want-you-to-see/

ErikJampa.com

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.erikjampa.com/single-post/2017/11/11/Calling-Out-the-Guru-from-Afar-On-Dzongsar-Khyentses-Sex-Contract-and-Subsequent-Backlash-from-the-Buddhist-Community

Lama Norlha

Lama Norlha with the CTA-endorsed 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje

Here are even more allegations concerning yet another lama, regarding sexual impropriety and inappropriate relationships with students. Where is the Tibetan leadership’s voice in all of this? How come they are not funding and publishing statements, brochures, booklets and pamphlets that counsel and caution against this, but they will pay for videos, books, websites, etc. against Dorje Shugden?

If the CTA only speaks up against Dorje Shugden because they do not condone the practice, does it therefore mean that through their silence over these sexual allegations, the CTA condones this improper behavior?

Lion’s Roar

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.lionsroar.com/kagyu-thubten-choling-addresses-sangha-about-lama-norhla-rinpoches-sexual-misconduct-with-students/

Tricycle

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/kagyu-thubten-choling-monastery-working-sex-impropriety/

Lama Yeshe Nyingpo

In the comments section of this post, people are cautioned against attending this teacher’s events, saying that he has been expelled from his monastery and has been banned from teaching under the Karma Kagyu banner. How come the Tibetan leadership do not speak up against this?

Little Bangkok Sangha

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: http://www.littlebang.org/lama-yeshe-nyingpo/

Lama Choedak Rinpoche

Lama Choedak Rinpoche with the Dalai Lama

A married teacher admits to several affairs, then leaves for retreat instead of facing the consequences. A teacher is supposed to unite families, and not be the factor that breaks relationships and drives loved ones apart.

While the Tibetan leadership has no comments about the importance of remaining faithful to one’s spouse (i.e. a private choice), they have plenty to say about people who opt to retain their Dorje Shugden practice and refuse to give it up in accordance with the ban (i.e. another private choice). How come the CTA feels qualified to comment on and police one private choice, but do not apply the same level of interference when it comes to other choices which are actually harmful? The hypocrisy is staggering.

BuddhistChannel.tv

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=49,10104,0,0,1,0#.W2Zc-i2B19I

Tenzin Dhonden

Tenzin Dhonden (left) was the Dalai Lama’s personal emissary to the United States

This monk, the Dalai Lama’s former emissary to the United States, was found to be selling access to the Dalai Lama. In this way, he ended up associating the Dalai Lama with a cult organization, NXIVM. For a US$1 million “donation”, he orchestrated the Dalai Lama’s appearance at a NXIVM event, where the Dalai Lama gave a talk attended by the group’s leader Keith Raniere who has recently been arrested and indicted on several charges including sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor.

Tenzin Dhonden himself has also been accused of improper relationships and contact with women through his connection with NXIVM, although he is supposed to be a monk.

Someone who represents the Dalai Lama can sell access to His Holiness and have relations with women although he is a monk, and the Tibetan leadership will never say anything because it brings them money. But when a person protects their religious freedom and refuses to abide by the ban on Dorje Shugden, and refuses to give up the practice, the Tibetan leadership turns them into pariahs and paints them as deserving targets of violence and vulgarities.

FrankReport

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://frankreport.com/2016/02/13/should-lama-tenzin-be-defrocked-is-dalai-lama-to-blamed-for-endorsing-keith-while-tenzin-was-sleeping-with-sara-bronfman/

The Guardian

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/27/dalai-lama-tenzin-dhonden-tibet-monk-corruption-accusations

The Guardian

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the whole article. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/29/tenzin-dhonden-dalai-lama-corruption-celebrity-investigation

Rigdzin Namkha Rinpoche

Rigdzin Namkha Rinpoche with Sogyal Rinpoche, both of whom have been accused of sexual abuses

Many allegations have been made about his sexual impropriety with Nepalese nuns. Because none of the women have been willing to come forward to confirm them or denounce him, they remain as allegations. However, as the saying goes, where there is smoke, there is fire and people who have not been in compromising positions with people will never be accused of improper sexual conduct.

Complaints have been lodged about his conduct to the Office of the Dalai Lama, to no avail. Rigdzin Rinpoche also happens to be the only lama who came close to recognizing the American teacher Tara Wangchuk, who says she is the reincarnation of the Dorje Shugden lama Domo Geshe Rinpoche, a claim which has been widely discredited. It is said that Wangchuk grew close to him, wanting to use of his connection with the Dalai Lama in the hopes it would lead to a formal recognition. Even back then, members of her group complained about his “overt sexual presence” and “feelings of discomfort around him”. Ex-students have been active on social media complaining about his conduct, and implied that he has made use of his relationship with the Dalai Lama to continue unchecked.

Facebook

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the full post. Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1459918927422287/permalink/1590324004381778/

Reddit

Click to enlarge (Source: https://old.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/3pcnxe/rigdzin_namkha_gyatso_rinpoche/)

Lama Ogyen Kunzang Dorje

In 2016, following a 20-year trial, a Belgian national by the name of Robert Spatz a.k.a. Lama Ogyen was found guilty of rape and other sexual abuse, child kidnapping with aggravating circumstances of torture and money laundering, amongst many charges. During the trial, it was revealed that some members of the organization had been forced to make large financial contributions to the community, which Robert Spatz personally benefited from. He was tried in absentia, and given a suspended jail sentence of 4 years and his organization Ogyen Kunzang Choling (OKC) was also found guilty on a number of charges and ordered to pay damages to some 30 plaintiffs in civil proceedings.

Spatz appealed the verdict and as a result, an entire website has set up by the victims seeking justice: https://www.okcinfo.news/en/ Interestingly, the Dalai Lama visited OKC in Brussels in 1990, at the height of the abuse. OKC continues to operate unfettered and the Dalai Lama has never once condemned Spatz, an act which would surely help the victims in their quest for justice.

L’Avenir

Click to enlarge (Source: https://www.lavenir.net/cnt/dmf20180425_01161205/robert-spatz-un-imposteur-un-escroc-un-esclavagiste-des-temps-modernes-et-un-violeur)

DH.be

Click to enlarge (Source: http://www.dhnet.be/actu/faits/le-conseil-de-robert-spatz-le-gourou-de-la-secte-okc-plaide-l-acquittement-5aea0a22cd70c60ea6c2a9d0)

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche (left) penned a Facebook post about Sogyal Rinpoche (right), his views of the sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated by Sogyal Rinpoche and his opinion that the students should have approached it from a Vajrayana practitioner’s perspective.

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.

By: Shashi Kei

Google the word “Rinpoche” and Sogyal Rinpoche’s name comes up prominently in the search results. Already well known in certain Tibetan Buddhist circles, in recent years Sogyal Rinpoche has gained worldwide infamy for the alleged sexual abuse of his students. Sogyal Rinpoche’s scandals were widely reported by global media and a formal investigation was commissioned to look into the multitude of charges against him. The 14th Dalai Lama eventually denounced him but not before the Dalai Lama himself was criticized for turning a blind eye to Sogyal Rinpoche’s abuses for years.

Since news of his alleged abuses came to light in July 2017, very few lamas have stood with Sogyal Rinpoche. However, a prominent Bhutanese lama, Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche published a statement in his personal Facebook page, which was later reproduced by a number of Buddhist media outlets such as Buddhist Door (see below). In the statement, he voiced his thoughts on how Sogyal Rinpoche’s students should have approached the issue from the perspective of Vajrayana, if indeed they regard themselves as Vajrayana practitioners.

In essence, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s reasoning was that those who have entered the Vajrayana path voluntarily, especially students who have received tantric empowerments from a Vajrayana teacher, are forbidden from viewing their teacher or their actions as wrong in any way, or regard them negatively. To do so and to condemn and criticize the teacher is to break samaya, or the holy spiritual bond between a student and his teacher. This breakage of samaya represents the collapse of the foundation of a practitioner’s spiritual path. Broken samaya with a Vajrayana teacher not only renders one’s practice impotent but also results in dire consequences.

The gist of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s point was that all dualistic views, for example to think that this is ‘right’ while that is ‘wrong’, or this is ‘good’ while that is ‘bad’, arise from “impure perceptions”. And since the Vajrayana practice aims to be rid of such impure views, the Vajrayana teacher

“…will use anything he can to challenge and go against each individual student’s ego, pride, self-cherishing and dualistic mind, and might well end up telling a voracious, horny man to become a monk.”

The underlying understanding is that everything the Vajrayana teacher does should be seen as ‘methods’ which can range from the benign to the shocking, to help his students abandon impure perceptions.

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche warned that if the foundations of the guru-student relationship are correctly laid and both parties understand and accept the significance of entering into this relationship, then the students can no longer regard the Vajrayana teacher’s actions as that of an ordinary person. After this Vajrayana bond is created, then condemning or criticizing the teacher, or slandering them in whatever way will, according to tantric teachings, yield unimaginable consequences and create the causes for the student to land in Vajra Hell. Whilst the significance of Vajra Hell may be lost on casual readers, for those on the Vajrayana path, there is nothing worse than ending up there. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche argued that in Vajrayana there is no way to circumvent this rule nor are there exceptions to the rule.

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s writing skillfully navigates the fine line between blaming Sogyal and exonerating him altogether. While there is a hint that the sexual activities Sogyal Rinpoche allegedly forced some of his students into may well be a means for a Vajrayana guru to train his students to surrender their ego and projections, the point Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche makes is not so much about whether Sogyal is innocent or guilty.

Sogyal Rinpoche (left) and Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche (right) share a joke. While Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche addressed the issue of Sogyal Rinpoche’s alleged sexual abuse from a Vajrayana perspective, he stopped short of excusing or justifying Sogyal’s behavior.

To be fair, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s post should not be taken as necessarily excusing Sogyal Rinpoche’s behavior and exempting him from the law. In fact, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche was quite candid in his observation that he did not think Sogyal Rinpoche had paid enough attention in making sure Rigpa students understood the significance of having a Vajrayana relationship with him. In addition, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche was clear in explaining that having a spiritual bond with a Vajrayana teacher does not mean the student will be made to endure unsavory or abusive experiences such as that which Sogyal Rinpoche’s students allegedly experienced.

The important point in the article is that there is a vital Vajrayana rule that must not be broken – that is, those who have entered the Vajrayana path, and especially those who have been initiated by their teachers, are forbidden from viewing or criticizing their teacher as wrong in any way. Once this rule is broken, the Vajrayana student will have committed a heinous spiritual crime. This rule that Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche articulated in his article may, for most people, be difficult to comprehend and accept. It may even come across as foolishness for a Vajrayana student to forfeit the right to complain, criticize and bring criminal charges against the teacher when there is depravity and criminality in his actions. However, from a Vajrayana perspective Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s reasoning is flawless.

But if we say that Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche is right about this non-negotiable Vajrayana rule, then this rule must apply to all teacher-student relationships in Vajrayana. If that is the case, then the interesting question that arises is this – if students must, by the Vajrayana rule, see their teacher with pure perception even if he is sexually abusive towards them, then should students not also view their teachers with the same pure view if the teacher happens to be a practitioner of Dorje Shugden, which the Tibetan leadership has unconstitutionally outlawed?

If a Vajrayana student is considered to be Vajra Hell-bound when they accuse and condemn an abusive teacher, then is it not only logical that Vajrayana students will similarly land in Vajra Hell if they criticize or abandon a teacher merely because the teacher practices one particular Dharma Protector along with countless other Buddhas and deities? It would be ridiculous to suggest that one should view a sexually abusive teacher with pure perception but should not view a Dorje Shugden teacher with the same pure view, even if that teacher is compassionate, wise and attained. Surely a Vajrayana teacher who practices Dorje Shugden to uphold a vow he made to his own teacher, cannot be considered bad and false and therefore worthy of condemnation whereas a sexually abusive teacher deserves to be seen with a pure view simply because he does not practice Dorje Shugden. Dzongsar Khyentse himself said that there are no exceptions to the Vajrayana rule if one wishes to practice the Vajrayana tradition. To manipulate the rule to suit a purpose is to corrupt the tradition itself.

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche also wrote,

“If an impure perception – such as criticism of one’s guru – is made deliberately and consciously, and it then goes on to become a well-organized, choreographed public discussion with no room for amendments or correction, it constitutes a total breakage of samaya.”

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s statement fits the Dorje Shugden debacle extremely well. Based on his definition, every single lama, monk and lay practitioner who has received the Dharma from a teacher who worships Dorje Shugden, but now participates in the CTA’s persecution of Dorje Shugden practitioners, has without doubt, committed a breakage of samaya. The bulk of the responsibility for this broken samaya lies with the Tibetan leadership who not only orchestrated the spread of this impure view but also coerced many Vajrayana practitioners into condemning their teachers on account of the teacher’s worship of Dorje Shugden.

The Dalai Lama has been recorded publicly saying that his teachers who practiced Dorje Shugden were “wrong”. Of the Dalai Lama’s two tutors, His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche was well known to have trusted Dorje Shugden throughout his life and wrote the seminal Dorje Shugden text Music Delighting the Ocean of Protectors, describing Dorje Shugden as an enlightened being. His Holiness Ling Rinpoche too, wrote a Fulfilment, Confession, Request for Activity and Serkym text for a number of Dharma Protectors including Dorje Shugden. Thus in encouraging discrimination against Shugden practitioners which include his own teachers, the logical but discomforting conclusion is that the Dalai Lama too has damaged his samaya with his own Vajrayana masters, according to Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s definition.

His Holiness Ling Rinpoche (left) and His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche (right), the two tutors of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, both of whom relied strongly on Dorje Shugden. According to Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, criticizing our masters after we have received initiation from them, will lead to a breakage in the guru-disciple relationship.

Or will the Tibetan leadership decree that the Vajrayana rule applies to everyone except them? There is no tradition in Tibetan Buddhism that states that the Dalai Lama or CTA can override one’s samaya with his teacher and yet this is what has been happening.

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s writing may be in relation to Sogyal Rinpoche’s scandals but the Vajrayana rule that he referred to must surely apply to all situations involving a Vajrayana teacher and his students who are on the Vajrayana path. There cannot be one Vajrayana rule for Dorje Shugden practitioners and another one for others. Those who agree with what Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche wrote, and acknowledge that a proper Vajrayana student must not see the teacher with impure perception, should also understand why Vajrayana students who have received the Dorje Shugden practice from their teacher cannot abandon the practice or criticize their teacher without breaking samaya and creating the cause to end up in Vajra Hell.

On the other hand, those who disagree with Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and insist that the Vajrayana rule should not be used as an escape clause when a lama like Sogyal Rinpoche has perpetrated an illegal act, thereafter cannot use the same Vajrayana rule to justify the Dalai Lama’s banning of Dorje Shugden practice, which not only constitutes a breach of Shugden Buddhists’ human rights but is also unlawful, unconstitutional, not to mention an outright corruption of the very important guru-student relationship.

It means that if readers disagree that the Vajrayana rule mentioned by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche is all-encompassing and without exception, and students should NOT therefore blindly go along when the teacher is wrong (as in Sogyal Rinpoche’s case), then students who regard the Dalai Lama as a teacher should not blindly obey his Dorje Shugden ban when it is clearly immoral and against the law.

So which one is it, to follow the rule or not? It cannot be one or the other, applied as and when it suits the Tibetan leadership’s devices at the time. Practicing the Buddhadharma is not a matter of convenience, or something that can or should be treated whimsically. If the CTA is the Buddhist administration they claim themselves to be, then it is time for them to decide once and for all. The Buddhist world is waiting.

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche Issues
Public Statement on Recent Criticism
of Sogyal Rinpoche

Download the PDF here

Cropped for brevity. Click to enlarge and read the full post (Source: https://www.buddhistdoor.net/news/dzongsar-khyentse-rinpoche-issues-public-statement-on-recent-criticism-of-sogyal-rinpoche)