Heart Jewel

According to my understanding the Dalai Lama’s main wish is to integrate the four Tibetan traditions into one. The leaders of the other traditions will gradually disappear, leaving him alone as head of Tibetan Buddhism. In this way he will be able to control all aspects of Tibetan Buddhism. In the beginning this plan was rejected by the leaders of the Sakya, Kagyu and Nyingma traditions, while the Gelugpa remained neutral. Later, the Dalai Lama changed his approach. He is now trying to destroy the practice of Dorje Shugden and change the Gelug tradition, while at the same time developing a close relationship with the other traditions, especially the Nyingmapa. Gradually he hopes to fulfil his wishes in this way. Therefore this present situation has developed because many people did not accept the Dalai Lama’s decision to ban the practice of Dorje Shugden. I believe that right now the Gelugpas are experiencing difficulties, but that sooner or later it will be the turn of the other traditions. (Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, talk.religion.buddhism, 19 December 1997)

We should not think Geshe-la is simply making things up. His remarks refer to the unsuccessful United Party (1964-1973) headed by the Dalai Lama’s brother, Gyalo Thondup. This political campaign took steps to unite the four Buddhist traditions in Tibet (along with the animistic Bon religion) into one, with the Dalai Lama as its spiritual head. Their plan was ultimately rejected by the spiritual leaders of each tradition.

The Dalai Lama and his ministers had just lost their country. In exile, they wanted to create a unified Tibetan community. To achieve this new unity, exile leaders in their new headquarters in the Indian hill-town of Dharamsala began making plans to extend their control over the five religious schools of Tibet... When word of the United Party’s religious reform got out in 1964, the exiled government was unprepared for the angry opposition that leaders of the religious schools expressed. To them, this unification plan appeared as a thinly disguised scheme for the exile government to confiscate the monasteries that dozens of lamas had begun to re-establish in exile with funds they had raised themselves. (Erik Curren, Buddha’s Not Smiling: Uncovering Corruption at the Heart of Tibetan Buddhism Today, © 2006)

Yet, the sentiments of the United Party still exist today. Another brother of the Dalai Lama, Thubten Jigme Norbue, has publically stated, “I think His Holiness should be limiting [Dorje Shugden worship], because he is the leader of the Tibetan people. And all these different sects, you know, Nyingmapa, Gelugpa, Sakyapa, Kagyupa—he has authority over all of these because he’s the leader of the country, the leader of the people” (An Interview With Thubten Jigme Norbu, Tricycle: the Buddhist Review, No. 27, Spring 1998, p. 80). It is no wonder, then, that the majority of people in the West so readily assume that the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibet, whereas until the present day he was regarded merely as its head of state. Each tradition within Tibetan Buddhism already has its own spiritual head; however, things have begun to change in recent generations: “Since the death of Tsongkhapa in 1419, the Ganden Tripa or ‘throneholder of Ganden (monastery),’ has been the official head of the Gelukgpa sect. Traditionally, this was an elected position. The current Ganden Tripa was appointed by the Dalai Lama” without being chosen by the Gelug hierarchy (Donald S. Lopez, Jr., ibid, p. 73).

The Resolution of the Tibetan Cholsum Convention, which hopes to “ensure the fulfilment of the great religio-political visions of His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” goes so far as to claim that the Dalai Lama “is the overall head of all Buddhist traditions on this earth”! This resolution instructs Tibetans how to ostracize their fellow countrymen from Tibetan society if they happen to be Dorje Shugden devotees. Its recommendations include regarding Dorje Shugden devotees (including Lamas, monks, and nuns) as second-class citizens, that they be ineligible for government programs or foreign aid, that their restaurants and shops be boycotted, and that their books and literature be banned. We should remember that such fanaticism was ratified in the name of a “free Tibet” and the “safety” of a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate! Also, if monks do not sign an oath that they are not Dorje Shugden practitioners, they are expelled from monasteries controlled by the Tibetan government. If, according to the Dalai Lama, it is okay to do Dorje Shugden practice “in private,” then why are monks obligated to declare it publically?

As recently as October 2009, the Dalai Lama’s official website (dalailama.com) has the following listed in its source code as its search engine keywords (i.e., how they want people to find the site):

Official website His Holiness Dalai Lama Tibet Buddhism Dharamsala nobel peace non violence compassion, Dholgyal, Dolgyal, Dorjee Shugden, Shukden, Dorji, NKT, Geshe Kalsang Gyatso, Dorje Shugden Charitable society, Gangchen lama, Trijang rinpoche, Kundeling, Dragon lama, Dragom lama, Dorji Shukden, New Kadampa Tradition, Dorjee

The keywords highlighted in bold above indicate that the Dalai Lama’s website aims to intercept internet users who are looking up information about topics, individuals, and organizations related to the practice of Dorje Shugden. In fact, it seems a little too preoccupied with Dorje Shugden, don’t you think? In contrast, kadampa.org has “Kadampa Buddhism, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, NKT, Buddhist meditation,” and tharpa.com has “books on buddhism, books on meditation, how to meditate, about Buddhism, buddhist meditation practices.” Talk about a difference in priorities!