Anti-Dalai Lama Buddhist group reportedly disbands - Lion's Roar
A not-entirely unexpected revelation, though I'm surprised that Reuters' journalists gathered evidence to the effect. As a bit of back-ground, the purported rationale for protesting H.H. was that the later was discriminating against worshippers of Dorje Shugden. In essence, his H.H. asked that such practitioners refrain from attending certain of his teachings, expunged the practice from monasteries he was responsible for, and (from what I gather) personally decided not engage Shugden-folk in tantric teachings and the like. His reasoning for all that being that, after doing some research on Shugden, he determined that it was associated with explicitly encouraging some rather un-dharmic feelings towards non-Gelugpa practitioners, and even against previous Dalai Lamas. I.E. Shugden-veneration practices fostered the poison of hatred, and were an obstacle to forming a genuine student-teacher relationship with H.H. himself, since they implicitly fostered a sort of psychological resentment and egotism. The ISC used this as a rallying-point for claiming that they were the targets of religious discrimination, the violation of their human rights, and so forth. Quite a few Westerners seem to have been sucked-into the matter by that argument.
The thing of it is, is that the argument was always non-sense, at least in my view. Most to the point: from the point of view of Vajrayana practitioners themselves, "deities" such as Dorje Shugden are merely manifestations of the mind; i.e. symbols or projections of certain qualities or aspects of consciousness. They have no existence independent of mind, so they are not worshipped in the same sense as God is worshipped in theistic practices. And there are a lot deities (or yidams) to work with, if you do the sorts of tantric practices in which you need one as a liturgical focus. So already, on this basis, the outcry was already a bit suspicious... It would be like an Anglican complaining that the vicar won't allow him to pray to the Green Goblin and advocate Freemasonry in church...
The Buddhist organization International Shugden Community, known for its global anti-Dalai Lama protests, has announced it will disband and cease all demonstrations. According to Reuters, the group posted a statement on their website on March 10 saying the International Shugden Community (ISC) will dissolve, along with its online presence.
In December, a Reuters investigation exposed that China had long been financially backing the group in order to discredit the Dalai Lama and co-opt Tibetan Buddhism. Lama Tseta, a monk and former member of the ISC told Reuters that he had been paid by China to organize Shugden events overseas. China’s involvement in the group’s activities stems from a long history of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s vilification of the Tibetan spiritual leader.
His Holiness told a Reuters reporter that he was aware of the group’s decision to disband, but that he didn’t know the reasoning behind the dissolution. He added that Reuters’ investigation of the group had been “very helpful.”
Shudgen has led protests against the Dalai Lama at events around the world for years, claiming His Holiness and his teachings to be “false.” Western recruits of the sect have followed His Holiness to speaking engagements across North America, Europe and Australia.
The ISC worships the deity Dorje Shugden, or Dolgyal, who is seen as a protector amongst the sect’s followers. His Holiness has outwardly expressed his disapproval of revering this particular deity, believing it to be a negative spirit.
The group’s official statement of its termination closes with “May everybody be happy.”
Anti-Dalai Lama Buddhist group reportedly disbands - Lion's Roar
The thing of it is, is that the argument was always non-sense, at least in my view. Most to the point: from the point of view of Vajrayana practitioners themselves, "deities" such as Dorje Shugden are merely manifestations of the mind; i.e. symbols or projections of certain qualities or aspects of consciousness. They have no existence independent of mind, so they are not worshipped in the same sense as God is worshipped in theistic practices. And there are a lot deities (or yidams) to work with, if you do the sorts of tantric practices in which you need one as a liturgical focus. So already, on this basis, the outcry was already a bit suspicious... It would be like an Anglican complaining that the vicar won't allow him to pray to the Green Goblin and advocate Freemasonry in church...
The Buddhist organization International Shugden Community, known for its global anti-Dalai Lama protests, has announced it will disband and cease all demonstrations. According to Reuters, the group posted a statement on their website on March 10 saying the International Shugden Community (ISC) will dissolve, along with its online presence.
In December, a Reuters investigation exposed that China had long been financially backing the group in order to discredit the Dalai Lama and co-opt Tibetan Buddhism. Lama Tseta, a monk and former member of the ISC told Reuters that he had been paid by China to organize Shugden events overseas. China’s involvement in the group’s activities stems from a long history of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s vilification of the Tibetan spiritual leader.
His Holiness told a Reuters reporter that he was aware of the group’s decision to disband, but that he didn’t know the reasoning behind the dissolution. He added that Reuters’ investigation of the group had been “very helpful.”
Shudgen has led protests against the Dalai Lama at events around the world for years, claiming His Holiness and his teachings to be “false.” Western recruits of the sect have followed His Holiness to speaking engagements across North America, Europe and Australia.
The ISC worships the deity Dorje Shugden, or Dolgyal, who is seen as a protector amongst the sect’s followers. His Holiness has outwardly expressed his disapproval of revering this particular deity, believing it to be a negative spirit.
The group’s official statement of its termination closes with “May everybody be happy.”
Anti-Dalai Lama Buddhist group reportedly disbands - Lion's Roar