Buddhist Monks Protest Ban on Shugden Religion

July 18, 2008 by
Kenneth Elder  
Kenneth Elder
Kenneth Elder
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Protest  |  Monks  |  Religious Tolerance  |  Tibetan Buddhism  |  Ban  |  Dalai Lama

Protest Calls for Religious Tolerance

Philadelphia-- Approximately two hundred protesters marched down the Avenue of the Arts and around City Hall after the Dalai Lama's speech on July 15th. The protesters were demonstrating against the Dalai Lama's policies regarding the Shugden religion. They called for religious
Buddhist Monks Protest Ban on Shugden Religion
Date: July 15, 2009
Philadelphia, PA
United States of America
 tolerance and an end to the ostracizing of Shugden worshippers.

The Western Shugden Society, who organized the march, is opposed to the Dalai Lama's ban on the practice of Dorje Shugden Buddhism in Tibet. The decree to ban this particular division of Buddhism was proposed by the Dalai Lama on March 30th, 1996. The Dalai Lama has since said that he does not plan to change the status of the ban.

Reasons for the ban are unclear.

In an interview with the Tibetan Minister for the Department of Security, the Western Shugden Society stated that "[they] do not have any intention to undermine the well-being of his holiness; at the same time [they] cannot compromise [their] religious principles for the sake of political expediency."

The ban is enforced by issuing ID cards to those who take a vow not to practice Shugden Buddhism. It is then difficult for Shugden worshippers who do not have the ID to find work and join organizations. Kelsang Pema, the Western Shugden Society Press Officer, compared the ID system to the star used to mark Jews during the Holocaust.

According to the Western Shugden Society, the Dalai Llama has destroyed all Shugden Temples and shrines and has expelled all Shugden practitioners from the Tibetan community.

Despite its shortness, the march was energized, with protestors shouting, "Dalai Llama, stop lying!" throughout its duration. The march began after the Dalai Lama's speech at the Kimmel Center on the Avenue of the Arts. The marchers stayed in one unified group the entire time and were bordered by police officers and large Philadelphia Police SUV's.

Shugden Buddhism's principles are "to develop virtuous minds of love, compassion, wisdom, and spiritual protection."

The march will be happening again in Times Square, New York City.

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It is a shame how much manipulative and dishonest the New Kadampa Tradition - the most controversial 'Buddhist' New Religious Movement performs a misinformation campaign against the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Society. No matter how much this cult is able to deceive less informed Western media, there are enough Western researcher and knowledgeable people who can she led on this. The protesters are not even proper Buddhist monks. For a summery of most of the controversial background one can read this article: http://info-buddhism.com/Western_Shugden_Society_unlocked.html and this website: http://www.nktworld.org/ There is also a well informed blog site: http://westernshugdensociety.wordpress.com/
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Posted on 03/04/2009 at 3:03:36 PM

How does your issue with the NKT negate the Dalai Lama's persecution of Shugden practitioners? There is so much evidence on the web of the persecution that has happened and continues to happen, most of which hasn't been made by the NKT. See www.westernshugdensociety.org It doesn't appear to be logical to say that this issue of persecution shouldn't be looked into because of one person's, or a few people's issue with one group of Shugden practitioners, who are almost the only ones left with the freedom to practise the Shugden prayer and speak out about what is happening. Saying that this issue should be disregarded because of issues with one group of Shugden practitioners is like saying ' I have an issue with one group of Jews, therefore the holocaust didn't happen and all the evidence should be ignored'. It could be said that arguments such as those you present are just seeking to blur the issue, and take the focus off of the main issue of a so called champion of human
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Posted on 09/05/2008 at 12:09:47 AM

I was a member of the NKT cult for a few years. During this time I was told the NKT are the only pure Buddhist tradition and its leader, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is the only spiritual guide who is not corrupted by mixing politics with religion. Now we see that he is doing precisely this by having his followers stage these political protests against the Dalai Lama. In a letter to a US magazine he said that he stopped protesting in 1998 because he realised it was a Tibetan political issue not a Buddhist or NKT issue. Now he has started his campaign all over again. I for one am unhappy that he has chosen to do this and cannot see him as my spiritual guide any more. The sexual scandals and sudden resignations of senior NKT teachers is another reason I chose to take a closer look at what was really going on in the NKT. I suggest all current NKT members do the same. You have been lied to about DS and lied to about so much more.
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Posted on 09/04/2008 at 2:09:55 PM

There is a three part documentary on youtube.com about the Dalai Lama's persecution of Shugden practitioners. Here's a link to part one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5sOm-uQH9Y
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Posted on 08/13/2008 at 9:08:01 AM

Below is a link to the Western Shugden Society response to the letter from the Australian Sangha Association: http://shugdensociety.wordpress.com/2008/08/11/western-shugden-society-response-to-the-australian-sangha-association/
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Posted on 08/13/2008 at 9:08:24 AM

The WSS/NKT has repeatedly denied that Shugden practitioners were involved in any wrongdoing or violence prior to the oath taking at the major Tibetan monasteries. This is clearly not the case. You can't get much more neutral than the non-Buddhist Indian police, who had this to say about the link between Shugden practitioners and the late scholar-monk Geshe Lobsang Gyatso: An extract from the Sternstunde transcript (Swiss television) of an interview conducted with Mr. Prithvi Raj, SP Kangra on the triple murder at Dharamsala: Prithvi Raj (PR), Chief Police of Kangra District: We have identified two of the murderers, and we have clear indications that the murderers are directly linked to the Shugden association and directly connecting these murderers with the case. But so far we have not been able to arrest them. One is called Tenzin Chozin, the other is called Lobsang Chodrak. Before the murder, the principal received threatening letters from the Shugden association. source:
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Posted on 08/04/2008 at 6:08:03 AM

It is amazing how the NKT has manipulated the same footage on its website of the counter-protest three times in a row now. I guess in a way it's good, it gives them time to manipulate and skew the old stuff. Each reincarnation of the footage has been edited with more PR music and slow motion shots. But no new information is ever presented. Don't be easily misled. The people posting this information are members of a controversial new religious movement: www.nkttruths.org www.nktworld.org
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Posted on 07/31/2008 at 4:07:28 PM

The so called Dorje Shugen issue is a case of blatant trampling by the Dalai Lama on the human rights of many Tibetans and Westerners, that has been mostly ignored by the people of the press, either because they do not care to investigate or because they've turned apparently into Dalai Lama's fans. I don't know if someone here saw the demonstrations against the Dalai Lama at Lehigh, Pennsilvania, or other places. Between three and six hundred monks and nuns. They've been following the entire Summer tour of the Dalai Lama, from Germany to England, to Australia and finally the United States. These people are saying that the Dalai Lama is not doing what he preaches. Unfortunately what they are saying is true. The success of the Dalai Lama, beyond his charisma, comes from the teachings about universal love and compassion that he learned from his Gurus. But not only is he doing the opposite of what these sublime teachings teach, he's also been persecuting the people faithful to those
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Posted on 07/30/2008 at 10:07:50 PM

The so called Dorje Shugen issue is a case of blatant trampling by the Dalai Lama on the human rights of many Tibetans and Westerners, that has been mostly ignored by the people of the press, either because they do not care to investigate or because they've turned apparently into Dalai Lama's fans. I don't know if someone here saw the demonstrations against the Dalai Lama at Lehigh, Pennsilvania, or other places. Between three and six hundred monks and nuns. They've been following the entire Summer tour of the Dalai Lama, from Germany to England, to Australia and finally the United States. These people are saying that the Dalai Lama is not doing what he preaches. Unfortunately what they are saying is true. The success of the Dalai Lama, beyond his charisma, comes from the teachings about universal love and compassion that he learned from his Gurus. But not only is he doing the opposite of what these sublime teachings teach, he's also been persecuting the people faithful to those
Add a Comment

Posted on 07/30/2008 at 9:07:45 PM

For more information on the Dalai Lama's ban of the Buddhist practice of Dorje Shugden please visit: www.westernshugdensociety.org www.wisdombuddhadorjeshugden.org If people do not give up their practice of Dorje Shugden, they lose their jobs, are denied medical care and the right to buy food, are considered national traitors, have their businesses boycotted, etc., etc., etc. All Tibetans are being forced to publicly declare a 'double-oath' that they will (1) forever renounce the practice of Dorje Shugden and (2) withold providing material or spritual support to anybody who does continue to practice. The world needs to look into what is going on.
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Posted on 07/23/2008 at 2:07:47 PM

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