New Kadampa Tradition / Kadampa Buddhism & Western Shugden Society

After some time of silence the Western Shugden Society (WSS) / New Kadamapa Tradition (NKT) has picked up again the unilateral fight against the Dalai Lama in the name of “justice” and “religious freedom” etc. At least the WSS runs a new trial of that campaign.

This time I am deliberately saying that they “run a campaign against the Dalai Lama” because a good friend of mine in whom I have trust and who read the WSS book “A Great Deception” said it is ridiculous to claim that the book wants “to restore peace and harmony between Shugden and non-Shugden practitioners within Buddhist communities world-wide” while its main target is just the good reputation of the Dalai Lama which they try to put down by all means, and at all costs.

In the new campaign the Western Shugden Society / New Kadampa Tradition are writing “Open Letters to British Political Leaders“, among them British Prime Minister David Cameron MP, Foreign Secretary William Hague MP, and to Home Secretary Theresa May MP. I wonder why they should take any organisation seriously that says it has “no leader nor registered office” and which official website hides its identity via domain by proxy server? Answer: This time the Western Shugden Society puts a name under the letter. Very clever ;-) The letter is signed by “John McBretney*, PhD, BSc (Hons), Retired Civil Servant Representative, Western Shugden Society.” Ouch!

In the open letters the WSS refers to the self-written book (with no author) “A Great Deception” [nomen est omen ;-)] as a source of information for those high politicians. I wonder how they can really think such a book can convince any informed or reasonable person who can rely on an armada of qualified researchers?

I think the new campaign makes the WSS / NKT into an object of laughter or an object of compassion. How can they really believe to have any chance to convince the mainstream with their crude theses? My understanding is that hostility and pride lead the WSS/NKT more and more away from reality and that these delusions create an own reality for NKT/WSS members with the Dalai Lama as the “evil and cruel” dictator and themselves as the true, honest and pure human beings who must convince the world of their own “truth”.

As an enclosure the WSS added to their letters also their book “A Great Deception”. I feel the following review of “A Great Deception: The Ruling Lamas’ Policies” hits the nail on its head:

»Childishly written (“we wrote to the Dalai Lama for his side and he didn’t respond, so that proves he’s guilty” a paraphrase true to the book’s spirit), and mostly unsubstantiated “facts” (sometimes citations for works also produced by the same group as the book – notice the book doesn’t actually have an author.) I don’t think it is likely that EVERYTHING in the book is just made up, but it certainly can’t all be true either (the Dalai Lama, nor anyone else, could not possibly be Muslim, Communist AND Fascist as this volume breathlessly claims.)«

While the NKT/WSS are following their perception of the Dalai Lama as an evil and cruel dictator, the Dorje Shugden Website follows it’s own strange approach. In their Mission Statement they write:

»This website, an ongoing work in progress, is dedicated to the glorification and deeper appreciation of the name and holy work of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who by peaceful, increasing, subjugating and wrathful means spreads in this world the general and profound teachings of the Buddhadharma that can dispel all suffering and its causes. We believe that what may sound contradictory today, will be revealed as skilful means in the future.«

Looking on the huge image of Shugden they projected onto a wall on a building, I just thought ‘so much self grasping and grasping to an idea, this is just ridiculous’. And like a comment to this thought I found in the right corner of that image an ad for the musical “WiCKED”. Wicked, indeed.

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* John McBretney is the Resident Teacher of the NKT Heruka centre in London. John said to a Mexican Newspaper: “La Western Shugden Society (WSSREP, por sus siglas en inglés), con sede en Londres, es seguidora del budismo de Doryhe Shugden pero, a diferencia de la tradición Kadampa, esta agrupación hace activismo político en pro de la libertad religiosa. Apro entrevistó telefónicamente a su vocero, John Mc Bretney.”

Translation: »The WSS, based in London, follows the Buddhism of Dorje Shugden but, differently to the Kadampa Tradition, this group is politically active in favour of religious freedom. Apro interviewed their spokesman, John McBretney, by telephone.«

John McBretney sees no contradiction to say that WSS is political active and NKT is not political active while he and the far majority of the WSS are both WSS followers and NKT followers. I assume the idea is, when they are engaged for WSS they are political active and when they are engaged for NKT they are not political active, and at that time when they are “pure NKT practitioners” the past political actions and the future political actions do not exist, hence they are political inactive (just living in the present moment with no relation to past and future), and they do not have the perceived faults of the Dalai Lama “who pollutes religion with politics”. There is no contradiction for WSS members “To free Buddhism from pollution by politics” by pouring more politics into religion, and by splitting oneself into a Dr. Jekyll und Mr. Hyde personality.

–Update–

New Kadampa CultWatch is online again as NKT Cult Watch.