A Modern-Day Schism in the Buddhist Community

A schism (sangha-bheda, literally a split in the Sangha) is a division in the community in which two groups of bhikkus of common affiliation, with at least five in one group and four in the other, conduct Community business seperately in the same territory. 

- an excerpt from Buddhist Monastic code translated by Thai bihikku Thanissaro

This is precisely what the Dalai Lama is inciting within the Tibetan community. Monk against monk, spiritual brother against spiritual brother. Lay and ordained people are being unjustly ostracized and banned from spiritual institutions and community.  The Dalai Lama is not speaking out against these actions, he is not saying that these actions are unacceptable by the Tibetan Buddhist Community, rather he is inciting this behavior, there is video footage of him saying that these Shugden monks should be banned from all monasteries. 

For an authentic spiritual practitioner non-acceptance makes your spiritual path impotent because it is classified by rejection. This is why the members of the WSS (www.aboutwss.org) are calling the Dalai Lama a liar and hypocrite.

For example... the first two pics are unacceptable in the modern world. They represent a mindset that so many civil rights activists worked hard to overcome. And now the world's champion of peace has become one of these closed minded individuals that such civil rights activists as MLK and Gandhi were working against.

Now look at the pictures below, discern for yourself if there really is a big difference....

This is completely shameful and the Dalai Lama is facilitating this schism within the Sangha (Spiritual Community) a where there was previously no problem.  This is regarded

 as a heavy negative action since the Sangha is supposed to represent purity and positivity in this world...a group of people who are putting the teachings into practice within that community and inspiring each other to progress spiritually. When you engage in actions that cause a division within this community you create causes not to meet such a community

 again. This is very bad because the Sangha is an object of Buddhist Refuge which basically means that you are creating causes not to have an object of refuge. So I pray for the Dalai Lama 'cause that's some bad karma.  Below are the pics you might see in a Tibetan mo

nestary in India.

Dalai Lama, Please stop lying and give religious freedom to Buddhists who wish to rely upon their wisdom protector, Dorje Shugden!

Get it straight

Hey all, 

I don't know how many people will even be checking this out, but anyways, here you go.

Within the exile Tibentan community as of late there has been some saddening events of persecution and harm that have taken place. I don't want to go into it in great detail, but in short basically there 2 spheres persecution. One, the Tibetan gov't actions, such as no ID cards, denying gov't positions, not allowing education to school children, forcing monasteries to expel monks (which takes away their financial sustenance and social sphere). Two, the publics actions... that is, the Tibetan people. Refusing to do business with, sell food & resources to other fellow Tibetans, robbing, burning, breaking people's homes and businesses (sounds a little like the southern US 100 years ago).  

Imagine you are a mother of a young child who has fleed Tibet for fear of the Chinese communist government rule in Tibet. You go to India to join your fellow Tibetans in exile.  You do not speak Hindi, (or any other language other than tibetan).  Now your friends refuse to talk to you, you are denied employment, your child is denied an education and you can't get a gov't ID or gov't aid. what are your choices? 

leave and go to a different country? don't think so

go back to Tibet? don't think so

stay in india with no job, no money, no friends and two mouths to feed?

Who are the people bearing the brunt of such horrible actions?

so basically, if you practice the prayer, make offerings to, and go for refuge to a particular Buddhist Deity, Dorje Shugden you are part of this marked group. The reason is because there are many people saying that this Buddha, Dorje Shugden is not a Buddha, but an evil spirit, a demon in fact who serves no function but to harm Tibetans, Tibetan freedom and the Dalai Lama. There still has been no concrete evidence to prove these points other than that the Dalai Lama has said so. 

Why?

There are people in Tibet, in India, and throughout the world who practice the prayers to Dorje Shugden upon the advice of their spiritual guide who in turn were advised by their spiritual guide and so on.  For the most part from what I've seen, these are kind-hearted people from all classes, races, and societies. Upstanding citizens who do volunteer work and try to be spiritual people in this modern age of materialism. 

I'm not here to get into an extensive debate on the nature of Dorje Shugden. I know in my heart who Dorje Shugden is (wisdom Buddha Manjushri) and what he functions to do (protect and bestow spiritual attainments), and I have received much spiritual benefit which I cannot deny. My intention in writing this is not to convince other people about Dorje Shugden or to convince others to practice these prayers. If you wish, you can try it and find out for yourself and make your own decision. 

What I am going to talk about is freedom. So of course, personally I am not experiencing any infringement of my freedom as a result of my practice of Dorje Shugden because I live in America and we have rules against that, so does Tibet... and India, and the Tibetan gov't in exile is breaking these laws. 

Q: So why is nothing being done? 

A: b/c the Dalai Lama is always right

huh?

uummm... what happened to checks and balances, separation of church and state?

So lets get down to the basics... is religious freedom a basic human right or is it not?

in this case, religious freedom is being taken away under the banner of what is 'right'. In my opinion religious freedom is not a subject of debate. people should have the right to practice what they wish. 

Now, some people argue that Dorje Shugden practitioners have engaged in sexual misconduct, divisive actions, stealing, and even murder. So for this reason they infer that Dorje Shugden is an evil spirit. getting poetic here: Do the actions of men implicate the divine? Simply because a person hangs a banner above their door, it doesn't show what is in their heart. So yes, there have been people who practiced or claimed to practice the prayer of Dorje Shugden that have stolen, engaged in sexual misconduct, lied and probably killed. But do we outlaw Islam and Muslims because of suicide bombings, the World Trade Center attack... twice? NO

I repeat...NO

Why?

Because there are sincere Muslims who wish for peace and harmony, and they should have their freedom to practice their faith as they choose. which they do, thankfully. So why are these Dorje Shugden practitioners in Tibet and India denied that same human right. Especially by a gov't whose leader is preaching love, compassion, acceptance, dialogue, etc.

... this is not all i have to say, but it think this is good for now.

peace & love