Scandalous feeding on rumors and gossips by pro-Shugden

GUEST POST

The following was sent by a monk from Sera Monastery (India), Tsering, to counter the misinformation by the Western Shugden Society / New Kadampa Tradition.

The pro-Shugden website lately ran a number of “stories” in an attempted discrediting of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The one that particularly all the pro-Shugden websites are trying to “promote”, rather unsuccessfully, is the falsehood that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is not the real incarnation of His predecessor. Rather the Shugden supporter websites (WSS and Wisdom Buddha blog) goes as far as to such a rumor-mongering of implicating His Holiness the Dalai Lama to a Muslim pedigree.

Nothing is far from the truth. The Shugden supporters have mostly based their so-called reports on rumours, purposely created by them for their own consumption. The alleged theory that His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama is not the true reincarnation of the Dalai Lamas is based on an anonymously published booklet called the “Expressing the Ocean of Truth” (tib lit: gtam drang bden rgya mtso) that was circulated in around year 2000-01. Other than this, there is nothing substantial that Shugden supporters could prove of their assertion.

This booklet, as could be seen, deals in its entirety on the person of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama with unsubstantial and baseless claims and allegations. The purpose as said above, is solely to malign the reputation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and nothing else.

Although there are differing opinions as to the source of this booklet, many believe it as handiwork of Shugden supporters themselves with assistance of other adversaries deeply antagonistic towards the Dalai Lama. Particularly among them are Gangchen Lama and Nga-Lama Lobsang Yeshi alias self-proclaimed Kundeling Rinpoche who conspired with their Communist masters to belittle His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the eyes of international community. The current flooding of Internet with all sorts of such unfounded and baseless rumours is seen by large number of people as working towards this direction only.

Moreover, by calling Taktser, the hamlet in Amdo Kubum where His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was born, as a Chinese Muslim village is implying that the area belonged to China, thus flagrantly contradicting the historical facts and holding out the historically Tibetan area to PRC.

The second unjustifiable allegation that the pro-Shugden has made in their writings is about the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The writers in the same website, says that the monks in Sera and Ganden are not happy with the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It further claims that the monks are wary of His Holiness again speaking on the “Shugden issue” and inspiring “provocation.”

This assertion of the Shugden supporters are absolutely untrue. The visit, first of all, is heartily welcomed by all Tibetans from all walks of lives, including the monks of Sera monastery barring few handfuls of Shugden supporters. We as a monk community, feel it very fortunate to once again be in the presence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to blessed by his kindness and benevolence. And by saying so, I also meant many of those who follow Shugden propitiation, if their claims of respecting His Holiness are not mere empty words.

Secondly, the purpose of the visit is to initiate many hundreds of monks into “Bikkhu”, who otherwise may have to go to Dharamsala to receive it. It is His Holiness’ compassion that foresaw the difficulties of many monks to travel to Dharamsala, including the financial difficulties that He has decided instead to come to Sera to perform the ordination, relieving the many hundreds of monks of their difficulties.

Thirdly, whereas the retaliating against the actions of Shugden supporters is concerned, it would have been done a long time back if it were not His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s advice to His followers to observe restraint. The way some of the Shugden supporters engaged themselves, for their own vested interest, in cheap politics founded on a particular faith is rather disquieting and condemnable.

The Tibetan people as whole are deeply hurt by the actions of few of the Shugden activists for such a plot to incite communal disharmony and discrediting of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. At the same time we do not blame all the followers of Shugden for such actions, for their sheer lack of insight into the true nature of the course that their self-proclaimed well-wishers and leaders are leading them to.

Therefore, this is also a time for those Shugden followers, who regard the Tibetan national interest as supreme, to rethink over the actions of some of their so-called well-wishers that is apparently in line with the avowed strategies of PRC to foment division and instill crack in the Tibetan people’s unity.

The Tibetan people as a whole, in spite of the attempt to dent, stands firm in their conviction to follow the advice of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at both spiritual and secular level.

The recent Special General Meeting in mid November that saw the representation of all walks of lives of the Tibetan people, reaffirmed the supreme leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and therefore, harping otherwise by few handful of Shugden supporters would do nothing good except distancing themselves from the mainstream Tibetan society.

The Western Shugden Society tried also to show that Trijang Rinpoche’s thrones have been removed from Ganden at the orders of HH. But this is absolutely incorrect and the thrones are still there. I happened to be there recently. It is the pro-Shugden Dokhang House, now break-away from Shartse, that have taken away all the religious artefacts that late Trijang Rinpoche had donated to shartse monastery, all at their will.