by Prof Robert Thurman
Concerning The Current Wave of “Protest Demonstrations” Against His Holiness the Dalai Lama by the Just-formed New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) Shugden Protest Front Group, The International Shugden Community (ISC).
In the case of the current wave of ISC “protests” against the Dalai Lama, we have to ask ourselves–what is the real motive? What does the small group of highly motivated, well-organized, seemingly media-savvy “protesters” really want? They say they want “religious freedom,” but they have always had religious freedom in India or the West, nobody has banned them worshiping as they wish. Within Tibet they have special support from the Chinese government that dominates Tibet (not giving such freedom to pro-Dalai-Lama Tibetan Buddhists), and outside of Tibet they have their own monasteries, Meditation Centers, and support networks. Their Western followers are free to worship as they choose, and are also free to attack the Dalai Lama, as they are doing. They say they want to end “segregation,” but they themselves choose to separate themselves from member of their own Gelukpa sect who decline to propitiate the protector entity they call Shugden, as well as from other sects of Buddhism.
See also
- The Dalai Lama And The Cult Of Dolgyal Shugden by Robert Thurman/Huffington Post
- The Dalai Lama Gives New Yorkers A Lesson On Wisdom As Opponents Protest Outside – Huffington Post
- Tibet’s Mystic Politics: Review of The Dalai Lama and the King Demon by Raimondo Bultrini – Rebecca Novic/Huffington Post
Tibetan Buddhism – Struggling With Diffi·Cult Issues 