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What is Dalai lama?

What is the Dalai Lama's problem with Dorje Shugden?

  • It is said that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is actively repressing those who practice of Dorje Shugden. Why is this so?

  • Answer:

    The problem comes from the lack of separation between religion and state/politics in Tibet (diaspora).Even if the DL steps down he still has a dominant influence.Because religion plays a big role unification of various religious groups becomes important, and because he is the ultimate leader his opinions on the meter are important and also more far-reaching than the religion itself. Dorje Shugden is perceived as a forceful Gelug sect protector, the most dominant of the 4 + sects of Tibetan Buddhism. That was all nice I guess in times when schools were actively fighting with each other for dominance and supremacy and with the Gelug coming up as the victor. But with the unification rime movement reanimating the other schools, and especially after the exile, the perception of devotions related to him in the eyes of those other schools probably started to be a problem for the religious and even national unity.The ban on it probably therefore comes as a political move to facilitate unification, rather than a spiritual/religious one.However the practice was popular with the Gelug sect (it seems that even the DL himself practiced it as well as some of his main teachers) and that naturally created some resentment. The majority of the order followed his advice. Some did not and as DL distanced himself from those that did not it created some problems for them, even persecution in some instances. Now that probably was not what he intended, but that is what happens when a religious leader has too much social and political influence and religion is not just a private meter. An additional problem comes from the New Kadampa Tradition, a "rogue" Tibetan Buddhist organisation that functions as a sect in the west separate from mainstream Tibetan tradition. They are using it as a promotional tool and have overblown it, organised protest etc even if not personally involved as they are westerners not affected by Tibetan communal struggles. There are some hints that the Chinese might also be supporting the opposition for their own needs, though I'm careful about such information that might as easily be empty propagandist accusation.

Goran Mekota at Quora Visit the source

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He is not the first Dalai Lama to speak out against Dorje Shugden. What is Shugden? Shugden is a spirit which was proposed as a protector spirit for Tibetan Buddhists... however... the idea of Shugden is that it brings harm to those who mix Gelugpa (Dalai Lama is head monk of Gelug school) with non-Gelugpa practices. Shugden, in other words, is a harmful spirit. Some go so far as to call it devil worship. Followers of Dorje Shugden wrote tales of how he hurt those who broke the rule, and there was even a murder case where followers of the spirit killed someone who spoke out against it. After much meditation, the Dalai Lama merely asked his followers not to involve themselves in these practices, and he has the right to do this as the spiritual leader of the community. White people protest against the Dalai Lama with Shugden signs, and the same four or five 'informational' images are repeated relentlessly on social media like Twitter by accounts with stock names, avatars, and no other posts. Really, it seems as though a large amount of money has gone into funding spambots and slanderers. Where does the money come from? I cannot say for sure, but you are welcome to take an educated guess.

Jacob Hallam

The first understanding must be that spiritually is based around two energies that annihilate each other when combined. Spiritual ritual, practices, and theology are engineered to pour either fire or water into your spiritual system. When you mix and match the practices you in essence pour water or put out the fire of faith. So, a spiritual leader will ban all practices that cause this. They will also ban or out right crush practitioners of such practices. (The Catholic inquisition that wiped out the cathars.) This creates all the strife in the world within every religion. Sunni vs Shiite Catholic vs Protestant Northland Buddhist vs Southland Buddhist Taoism seems to be the only religion that has found a way to recognize and honor both the yin and yang within its community. I really wish everyone could understand this as a chemistry lesson and not as an arrogant evil leader who has a manical need to use power.

Mischa Alyea

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