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The '''Western Shugden Society''' (or WSS) is a group of ] who advocate ].
{{Infobox Organization
|name = Western Shugden Society
|image =
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|abbreviation = WSS
|motto =
|formation = 2008
|type = community or confederation
|status =
|purpose = ]
|headquarters =
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}}


The German Buddhist Monastic Association (DBO) states that the Western Shugden Society as well as the newly founded International Shugden Community (ICS) are both ] of the ] – an "organisation (that) is marked by rigid, sectarian structures, with ] as its intangible and sole ruler." In a brief supplement to the statement the DBO responds to assertions of the Western Shugden Society / International Shugden Community (ICS). <ref>"Supplement to the statement of the German Buddhist monastic community (DBO) on the protests against His Holiness the Dalai Lama by the International Shugden Community (ISC), May 1st, 2014, http://buddhistische-ordensgemeinschaft.de/dbo_statement-shugden-protests-Dalai-Lama.htm#ESN</ref>
The '''Western Shugden Society''' (or WSS) is a campaigning group established in 2008 to ] against the ]'s ban<ref>Dalai Lama, direct quote in Chhaya, Mayank (2007). ''Dalai Lama: Man, Monk, Mystic''. New York: Doubleday. p. 189.</ref><ref>Waterhouse, Helen (2001). ''Representing western Buddhism: a United Kingdom focus''. quoted in Beckerlegge, G. (2001). ''From sacred text to internet. Religion today'', v. 1. Aldershot, Hants, England: Ashgate. p. 137.</ref><ref>Partridge, C. H. (2004). ''New religions: A guide : New Religious Movements, Sects, and Alternative spiritualities''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 206.</ref><ref>Curren, Erik D. 2006. ''Buddha's Not Smiling: Uncovering Corruption at the Heart of Tibetan Buddhism Today''. Staunton, VA: Alaya Press. p. 17</ref> of the practice of ] within the Tibetan exile community.<ref>Wilson, Richard, & Mitchell, Jon (2003). ''Human Rights in Global Perspective: Anthropological Studies of Rights, Claims and Entitlements''. London: Routledge. p. 10.</ref> The group became dormant for several years, and then re-emerged in 2013 as part of the "International Shugden Community", a coalition of groups defending the practice of Dorje Shugden.


According to Tibetologist Thierry Dodin, "The demonstrators are almost exclusively western monks and nuns, ordained in the ] (NKT) according to the group’s own ritual." and "The NKT can be described typologically as a ] on the basis of its organisational form, its excessive group pressure and blind obedience to its founder. The organisation’s extreme fanaticism and aggressive missionary drive are typical cult features too." Dodin states that it is the ] "that since the 1990’s has held spectacular demonstrations whenever the Dalai Lama went to the West."<ref>, May 8, 2014, retrieved May 12, 2014</ref>
When talking to the Western media, the Dalai Lama stated that "he had not advocated a ban, but he had stopped the worship of the spirit because it was not Buddhist in nature."<ref>BBC.co.uk,Protest at Dalai Lama prayer ban, Tuesday, 27 May 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/nottinghamshire/7421888.stm</ref> When talking to Tibetans, he said: "These monks must be expelled from all monasteries. If they are not happy, you can tell them that the Dalai Lama himself asked that this be done, and it is very urgent."<ref> (4:24-4:41), France 24 (2008-08-08). retrieved 2009-10-24.</ref>


Scholars reject NKT/WSS claims. ] for example states "The cult and agency attack campaign is futile since its main claims are so easy to refute."<ref name="huffingtonpost.com"> retrieved Mar. 5, 2014.</ref>
Dorje Shugden is a ] of the Gelug and Sakya traditions, who has been worshipped for over three hundred years.<ref>Dalai Lama (1996-06-16). ''His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Address to the Buddhist Society''. The Middle Way. November 1996. Vol. 7, No. 3. p. 148.</ref> The WSS state that they are an organized community of Dorje Shugden practitioners from around the world, with no leader and no registered office. Critics have claimed that the WSS is not a legitimate organization, but rather an effort by the Chinese government to discredit the Dalai Lama.


Scholars reject NKT/WSS claims that the ] has suppressed religious freedom, indicating that the situation is actually the opposite. Thurman says:
==Background==
{{quote|They then went on the attack, claiming they had been "banned" and "excommunicated," etc., when in fact the Dalai Lama was exercising his religious freedom by not accepting students who reject his advice, and actually go so far as to condemn him!<ref>, Huffington Post, retrieved 03/11/2014.</ref>}}
{{Main|Dorje Shugden controversy}}
], ], ].]]
In 1996 the Dalai Lama openly advised against the ] of Dorje Shugden "in the interest of Buddhism and the Tibetan national cause."<ref name="dl138">
{{cite news
| title = The Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies (Parliament in Exile) Resolutions Passed unanimously in June 1996.
| publisher = The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
| url = http://www.dalailama.com/page.138.htm
| accessdate = 2009-09-08}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> This was reported in the ] as a ban.<ref name="ni9808">
{{cite journal
| last = Chamberlain
| first = Sara
| title = Deity banned - Outrage as Dalai Lama denounces Dorje Shugden
| journal = ]
| issue = 304
| publisher = New Internationalist Publications
| location = ], ]
|date=August 1998
| url = http://www.newint.org/issue304/update.htm
| doi = 10.1038/34325
| id =
| accessdate = 2008-09-09
| volume = 391
| pages = 135
| last2 = Higuchi
| first2 = Niro
| last3 = Schimel
| first3 = Joshua P.}}</ref> A statement in September 1996 from, Ven. Lobsang Nyima Rinpoche, the ] of Tibetan Buddhism referred to it as a "ban",<ref name="dl147">
{{cite news
| title = Statement of His Eminence The 100th Ganden Tri Rinpoche (Head Of the Gelugpa Sect) regarding the worship of gods and protectors
| publisher = The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
| date = 1996-09-20
| url = http://www.dalailama.com/page.147.htm
| accessdate = 2008-09-09 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080605185808/http://dalailama.com/page.147.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-06-05}}</ref> as did a ] resolution in 1997.<ref name="dl139">
{{cite news
| title = Resolution passed by the Tibetan Youth Congress (1997)
| publisher = The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
| url = http://www.dalailama.com/page.139.htm
| accessdate = 2008-09-09 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080804092046/http://dalailama.com/page.139.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-08-04}}</ref>


Thurman explains that members of the cult want:
In a speech made at a Tibetan University in Southern India January 2008, the Dalai Lama said:
{{quote|to force their supposed mentor to adopt their perspective that the demonic spirit is an enlightened being, almost more important than the Buddha himself, and perhaps also rejoin their worship of it, or at least give them all his initiatory teachings in spite of their defiance of his best advice.<ref>Thurman, Robert. Foreward. In Bultrini, Raimondo. ''The Dalai Lama and the King Demon''. Tibet House 2013. Thurman states "However, the members of the cult are not content with this situation of having to choose between adopting His Holiness the Dalai Lama as their spiritual mentor or ignoring his judgment and persisting in the Gyalpo Shugden worship. They want to force their supposed mentor to adopt their perspective that the demonic spirit is an enlightened being, almost more important than the Buddha himself, and perhaps also rejoin their worship of it, or at least give them all his initiatory teachings in spite of their defiance of his best advice. So, they feel compelled to attack His Holiness, in order to force him to join their fundamentalist version of a Gelukpa outlook."</ref>}}
<blockquote>
Recently monasteries have fearlessly expelled Shugden monks where needed. I fully support their actions. I praise them. If monasteries find taking action hard, tell them the Dalai Lama is responsible for this."<ref> (3:33-3:49), Al Jazeera's People & Power, 2008-09-30, retrieved 2008-12-04</ref>
</blockquote>


Regarding NKT/WSS claims that there is prohibition of Shugden, and therefore a repression of religious freedom, Thierry Dodin states:
The Tibetan Government in Exile is enforcing this ban in national institutions:
{{quote|No, such a prohibition does not exist. Religious freedom is not at issue here. No one, and most definitely not the Dalai Lama, is repressing religious freedom.<ref>, May 8, 2014, retrieved May 12, 2014</ref>}}
<blockquote>
In sum, the departments, their branches and subsidiaries, monasteries and their branches that are functioning under the administrative control of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile should be strictly instructed, in accordance with the rules and regulations, not to indulge in the propitiation of Shugden.<ref> The Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies, Parliament in Exile, retrieved 2009-10-31.</ref>
</blockquote>


Nathan W. Hill, Lecturer in Tibetan and Linguistics at London University SOAS’ (School of Oriental and African Studies), states that the Dalai Lama does not control the ] government, or any other government:
However, in May 2008, the Office of Tibet in London claimed that, rather than banning the prayer, the Dalai Lama is advising against it, adding that those who choose to ignore his advice cannot expect to attend his teachings. They also state that he considers Dorje Shugden a fierce spirit who can be used to curse others. Devotion to this spirit is seen by the Dalai Lama as encouraging sectarianism, harming the prospects for Tibetan autonomy and, indeed, the Dalai Lama’s own longevity.<ref name="ni-vb">
{{cite news
| last = Baird
| first = Vanessa
| title = Buddhists at loggerheads
| publisher = ]
| date = May 2008
| url = http://interact.newint.org/blog/vanessa-baird/buddhists-at-loggerheads
| accessdate = 2008-09-09}}</ref><ref name="tibet">
{{cite news
| title = His Holiness the Dalai Lama's response to media a question on Shugden at the press conference in Indianapolis on August 16, 1999
| publisher = ]
| date = 1999-08-16
| url = http://www.tibet.com/dholgyal/hhdl.html
| accessdate = 2008-09-25 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080429002126/http://www.tibet.com/dholgyal/hhdl.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-04-29}}</ref>


{{quote| This accusation makes no sense … the Dalai Lama is not head of any state; he has no military or police at his command; he has no political jurisdiction over which he can exercise suppression. Some members of the Gelug sect left the authority of the Dalai Lama in order to follow what they see as a purer form of religion. These people may not be very popular in other parts of the Gelug sect, but their human rights have not been violated nor their freedoms suppressed; even if some people did want to suppress or silence the pro-Shugen side, they simply have no means of doing so.”<ref>Distance from Dalai Lama protests among differing opinions, May 8th, 2014, http://theforeigner.no/pages/news/distance-from-dalai-lama-protests-among-differing-opinions/</ref>}}
The WSS claim that the Dalai Lama and the TGIE have not responded to any of their attempts to dialogue on the subject and supporters say that the TGIE have simply discredited the opposition.<ref>http://dorjeshugdenblog.wordpress.com/2008/10/04/reasoning-from-madness-the-dalai-lamas-campaign-against-human-rights/</ref> Tsultrim Tenzin, MP in the Tibetan Government in Exile, when asked if the Tibetan Parliament debated the Dorje Shugden issue replied:
<blockquote>
There was no argument. If there was some opposition, then there will be some argument, but there is no opposition. We do not have any doubt about the Dalai Lama's decisions. We do not think he is a human being. He is a supreme human being, and he is god, he is Avalokiteshvara, he has no interest himself, he always thinks of others. Everybody is happy. Our system is everybody is happy. There is democracy, full democracy. Everyone can experience whatever he likes.<ref> (5:20-5:47), Al Jazeera's People & Power, retrieved 2008-12-04</ref>
</blockquote>


Similarly, ] scholar Robert Barnett of ] states that "ID cards are not given out by the Tibetan government in exile, but by the Indian authorities".<ref name=Barnett>, 2008-07-23, retrieved 2009-10-31.</ref>
]
The WSS also claims that about one third of the Tibetan population, including hundreds of previous Tibetan Buddhist teachers, used to rely on Dorje Shugden. They state that the Dalai Lama abandoned the practice of Dorje Shugden in the 1970s and that in 1996 he and the Tibetan Government in Exile imposed social obstacles on those not willing to follow his lead, resulting in access to various jobs, positions, schools, and monasteries in the Tibetan community in exile becoming impossible without publicly renouncing Dorje Shugden, while those who showed support for him were rewarded with key positions and visits by the Dalai Lama.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}


Barnett says the WSS is "severely lacking in credibility":
The WSS further states that on 9 January 2008 the Dalai Lama instigated public swearings in monastic universities in ], and now throughout the world. They claim that this is aimed at making social life impossible for anyone not who doesn't renounce Dorje Shugden and that this has caused social segregation. Those who refuse to renounce Shugden have been publicly denounced as "unclean", "traitors to the Tibetan cause" and "enemies of the Dalai Lama". They state that without the new yellow identity card which has been introduced, it is not possible "to attend common Prayer Halls, to buy goods in shops, to obtain visa’s for travelling and families are being torn apart." The WSS maintains that this ostracizes Shugden practitioners and amounts to religious apartheid.<ref name="wss-shudgenban">
{{quote|I also made it clear that the Western Shugden group's allegations are problematic: they are akin to attacking the Pope because some lay Catholics somewhere abuse non-believers or heretics. The Western Shugden Group is severely lacking in credibility, since its form of spirit-worship is heterodox, provocative and highly sectarian in Buddhist terms and so more than likely to be banned from mainstream monasteries – while its claimed concerns about cases of discrimination in India should be addressed by working within the Tibetan community instead of opportunistically attacking the Dalai Lama in order to provoke misinformed publicity for their sect.”<ref name=Barnett/>}}
{{cite web
| title = Forced signature and ID card campaign- Outcast Society Emerging
| publisher = Western Shugden Society
| url = http://www.westernshugdensociety.org/en/reports/shugden-ban-forced-signature-and-id-card-campaign/
| accessdate = 2008-09-15}}</ref>


] about the cross-cultural confusion in the Dorje Shugden issue:
]
{{quote|A stunning recent example of this: some Tibetan monks who now introduce Westerners to practices centred on a native Tibetan deity, without informing them that one of its primary functions has been to assert hegemony over rival sects! The current Dalai Lama, seeking to combat the ancient, virulent sectarianisms operative in such quarters, has strongly discouraged the worship of the “protector” deity known as Dorje Shugden, because one of its functions has been to force conformity to the dGe lugs pa sect (with which the Dalai Lama himself is most closely associated) and to assert power over competing sects. Western followers of a few dGe lugs pa monks who worship that deity, lacking any critical awareness of its sectarian functions in Tibet, have recently followed the Dalai Lama to his speaking engagements to protest his strong stance (for non-sectarianism) in the name of their “religious freedom” to promulgate, now in the West, an embodiment of Tibetan sectarianism. If it were not so harmful to persons and traditions, this would surely be one of the funniest examples of the cross-cultural confusion that lack of critical reflection continues to create.<ref>Makransky, John (2000). Buddhist Theology: Critical Reflections by Contemporary Buddhist Scholars, John J. Makransky, Roger Reid Jackson, p. 20, in Introduction to Contemporary Academic Buddhist Theology; Its emergence and rationale)</ref>}}
Shugden practitioners have also been subjected to violence. Most recently, ] reported on October 2, 2008 that Tibetan monks been "handed jail terms ranging from four to nine years in connection with several explosions in Markham county, Chamdo, during Tibetan protests earlier this year", including "one at the residence of a Tibetan who worships Shugden, a controversial deity espoused by Beijing but regarded with suspicion by those loyal to the Dalai Lama."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/tibetans-10022008095355.html |title=Tibetans Jailed For Blasts |publisher=] |date=2008-10-02 |accessdate=2009-05-19}}</ref>


The German Buddhist Monastic Association (DBO) formally dissociates itself from the protests against the Dalai Lama, and points out that the protesters are not Buddhist monks and nuns according to the Buddha’s teachings (]), that "their behaviour in public represents neither the Buddha nor his teachings (Dharma) nor the Buddhist community (Sangha)" and that
As a result of this situation, some Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, such as Dagom Tensung Ling and Gaden Samdrupling, Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries in the United States set up by ], have separated from the Dalai Lama. According to Geshe Kuten Lama, a teacher at Gaden Samdrupling:<ref name="citybeat146102"/>


{{quote| Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and centers as well as the practitioners themselves are free to decide whether or not they will follow the Dalai Lama’s advice. And a majority among them have spoken out against a controversial practice such as that of the organized followers of Shugden that causes disharmony and depreciates other religious communities.<ref>"Statement of the Deutsche Buddhistische Ordensgemeinschaft (DBO, German Buddhist Monastic Association) on the Protests against the Dalai Lama by the International Shugden Community (ISC), May 1st, 2014, http://buddhistische-ordensgemeinschaft.de/dbo_statement-shugden-protests-Dalai-Lama.htm</ref>}}
<blockquote>
There was one primary reason why we established our monastery: to preserve our lineage. The hardship is because the Dalai Lama took our religious freedom, our human rights. But it is very hard for us ordinary persons to explain to the world because he is so powerful and famous and our words are not too important.
</blockquote>

The first protests by Dorje Shugden practitioners in the West were organised by the Dorje Shugden Coalition (DSC). For instance, in May 1998, 130 DSC protestors demonstrated as the Dalai Lama visited ] in the ]. The DSC said they would continue to follow the Dalai Lama on his tour of the United States until he gave them the religious freedom they said they were being denied.<ref name="CNN980503">
{{cite news
| last = Tornquist
| first = Cynthia
| title = Dalai Lama greeted by protesters in Manhattan
| publisher = ]
| date = 1998-05-03
| url = http://edition.cnn.com/US/9805/03/buddhist.dissension/index.html
| accessdate = 2008-09-06}}</ref> The DSC campaign lasted for two years from 1996 until October 1998. At that time, the main sponsoring organization, the ] (NKT) and its leader ] confirmed that they had stopped all involvement in the campaigning.<ref name="prnetwire021125"/> In 1996 there had been other groups associated with the NKT such as the Shugden Supporters Community and the Freedom Foundation.<ref name="IND960715">
{{cite news
| last = Brown
| first = Andrew
| title = Battle of the Buddhists
| publisher = ]
| date = 1996-07-15
| url = http://www.tibet.com/dholgyal/CTA-book/chapter-5-5.html
| accessdate = 2008-09-06 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080430154804/http://www.tibet.com/dholgyal/CTA-book/chapter-5-5.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-04-30}}</ref>

==Aims ==
According to its website the WSS is an ] coalition of Dorje Shugden practitioners from many different countries. Its aims are fourfold:<ref name="WSS-dl-letter">
{{cite web
| title = Letter to the Dalai Lama of Tibet
| publisher = Western Shugden Society
| date = 2008-04-12
| url = http://www.westernshugdensociety.org/en/reports/letter-to-the-dalai-lama-of-tibet
| accessdate = 2008-09-06}}</ref>

#To give freedom to practice Dorje Shugden to whoever wishes to rely upon this Deity.
#To stop completely the discrimination between Shugden people and non-Shugden practitioners.
#To allow all Shugden monks and nuns who have been expelled from their monasteries and nunneries to return to their monasteries and nunneries where they should receive the same material and spiritual rights as the non-Shugden practitioners.
#That the Dalai Lama tell in writing to the ] community throughout the world that they should practically apply the above three points.

The WSS states four reasons for protesting, using four slogans:<ref name="WSS-why">
{{cite web
| title = Why we're protesting
| publisher = Western Shugden Society
| url = http://www.westernshugdensociety.org/en/protesting/
| accessdate = 2008-09-15}}</ref>
#"Dalai Lama, Give Religious Freedom" - The WSS claim the ban interefers with religious freedom.
#"Dalai Lama, Stop Lying" - The WSS accuse the Dalai Lama of lying for a number of reasons.
#"Hypocrisy" - The WSS claim that the Dalai Lama is a hypocrite, inflicting human rights abuses while lecturing on human rights and religious freedom.
#"Ostracism" - The WSS claim that the ban is creating untouchables within the Tibetan community.

The WSS website<ref name="WSShome">
{{cite web
| title = Home page
| publisher = Western Shugden Society
| url = http://www.westernshugdensociety.org/
| accessdate = 2008-09-06}}</ref> offers little information about the structure or size of the group. All group membership entails is to be sympathetic to the aims of the WSS.

The WSS states that it is independent of any other group.<ref name="WSShome"/> Protesters representing the WSS at demonstrations in 2008 were principally Western Buddhists and Tibetans living in the West, affiliated with various groups who practice Dorje Shugden including the ] and others such as students from Dagom Tensung Ling and Gaden Samdrupling, Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries in the United States.<ref name="citybeat146102">
{{cite news
| first = Gregory
| last = Flannery
| title = News: Freedom Celebration Tibet Fest supports endangered tradition
| url = http://citybeat.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid:146102
| publisher = Citybeat
| date = 2008-09-18
| accessdate = 2008-09-25}}</ref> Some of the people who took part in these demonstrations were ordained monks and nuns, both Western and Tibetan.

==Activities ==
The WSS engages in non-violent, peaceful protests and states that all such protests will end when the Dalai Lama lifts his ban, or at least when he accepts Shugden practitioners' invitation to dialogue, which has been in place since 1996.<ref name="dl138"/>

], ].]]Following the expulsion of the first six monks, all Dorje Shugden practitioners, from ] in ], ], ], the WSS wrote to the monastery on 9 April 2008 stating that the expulsion was based on wrong and false reasons. They said that unless the monastery reversed the expulsions by 22 April they would "immediately organise worldwide public demonstrations directly against the Dalai Lama whenever he visits any country." Although the letter came from the WSS, they requested the monastery reply to the Dorje Shugden Devotees Society in Majnu Ka Tila, ].<ref name="WSS-letter-to-sera">
{{cite web
| title = Letter to Sera Lachi, Sera Jey and Sera Mey
| publisher = Western Shugden Society
| date = 2008-04-09
| url = http://www.westernshugdensociety.org/reports/letter-to-sera-lachi-sera-jey-and-sera-mey/
| accessdate = 2008-09-17}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> On 12 April they wrote to the Dalai Lama with their fourfold aims, also giving him until 22 April to respond, and again care of the Dorje Shugden Devotees Society.<ref name="WSS-dl-letter"/>

===Demonstrations===
Ten years after the original DSC campaign ended, and following no response to the two WSS letters, demonstrations began under the WSS umbrella in ], United States on 22 April 2008 and since then several thousand people from a number of countries have taken part.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}} They chant two slogans, "Dalai Lama, Stop Lying" and "Dalai Lama, Give Religious Freedom,"<ref name="Bulletin080714"/> calling the protests "Shugden Protests, a Journey in Compassion." Protestors chant in ] as well as the language of the country they are in (such as ]), and also with some protestors being Tibetan, in the ].<ref name="WSShome"/><ref name="WSS-news-stoplying">
{{cite news
| title = Dalai Lama Stop Lying - Shugden Protests, a Journey in Compassion
| publisher = Western Shugden Society
| date = 2008-09-14
| url = http://www.westernshugdensociety.org/en/news/dalai-lama-stop-lying-a-western-shugden-society-musical-production/
| accessdate = 2008-09-17}}</ref>

Between 22 April and 17 August 2008 the WSS protested outside twelve locations where the Dalai Lama was giving talks in the United States, ], ], ], and ]. The ] reported that there were 500 protesters at the demonstration on 28 May 2008 outside the ] in ], England, where the Dalai Lama had been invited to speak to the ] of Blackfriars.<ref name="BBC080530">
{{cite news
| title = Dalai Lama in Oxford
| publisher = ]
| date = 2008-05-30
| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/content/articles/2008/05/30/dalai_lama.shtml
| accessdate = 2008-09-06}}</ref>

At the start of the Dalai Lama's visit to Australia, '']'' reported that there were a total of 50 demonstrators on 11 June at the ] in ] as he held a meditation course for about 5,000 followers at the ].<ref name="SMH080611">
{{cite news
| title = Members of Parliament meet Dalai Lama
| publisher = ]
| date = 2008-06-11
| url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/members-of-parliament-meet-dalai-lama/2008/06/11/1212863684475.html
| accessdate = 2008-09-06}}</ref> As the Dalai Lama spoke to a crowd of about 5,000 at the Stabler Arena, ] in ], ] in the United States on 13 July, about 300 protestors stood outside chanting slogans.<ref name="Bulletin080714">
{{cite news
| last = Overton
| first = Andrew
| title = Dalai Lama Called A Hypocrite By Protesters
| publisher = ]
| date = 2008-07-14
| url = http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm?newsid=19849215&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8
| accessdate = 2008-09-06}}</ref>

At the demonstration outside ] in ] on 17 July, chaotic scenes surrounded the protest as police, including ], had to separate the WSS protestors, said to number about 200-300 and the Dalai Lama supporters who numbered several thousand to avoid a possible clash, with some of the Dalai Lama supporters approaching the WSS protestors, as they left a lecture by the Dalai Lama.<ref name="DLD20080717">
{{cite video
| people = Kelsang Pema
| title = Dalai Lama Demonstration - New York City 17 July 2008
| medium = ]
| publisher = Western Shugden Society
| location = ]
| url = http://www.westernshugdensociety.org/en/news/dalai-lama-demonstration-new-york-city-17-july-2008
|date = 2008}}</ref> Hundreds of the Dalai Lama supporters shouted "Long live the Dalai Lama" toward the protestors and waved currency notes to make the point that they believed demonstrators were paid ] agents. The WSS deny this and request proof. Some of the Dalai Lama supporters also ] at the demonstrators and threw things.<ref name="HT0718">
{{cite news
| title = Supporters of Dalai Lama clash with Buddhist sect
| publisher = ]
| date = 2008-07-18
| url = http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=5d703160-42d2-48a6-b9e5-fdcf0180336d&&Headline=Dalai+Lama+fans+clash+with+Buddhist+sect&strParent=strParentID
| accessdate = 2008-09-06}}</ref> Eventually the police had to close down ] for about twenty minutes to escort the protestors away from the scene. One protestor claimed that the 50 police officers who were there urged the protesters to leave the scene for their own safety, as they could not protect them.<ref name="citybeat146102"/>

WSS press speaker, Kelsang Pema, who had flown from England for the demonstration, referred to the Dalai Lama as the "] Monk" and claimed that he "pretends he doesn't speak English to avoid getting into any discussion of serious issues." She also denied that the group had been paid by the Chinese government. "We get no money from the Chinese. They can check our organization. We’re clean."<ref name="madison297004">
{{cite news
| last = Ivey
| first = Mike
| title = Dalai Lama's visit sparks protest
| publisher = ]
| date = 2008-07-20
| url = http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/297004
| accessdate = 2008-09-06}}</ref> She also called him a ] and compared the treatment of Dorje Shugden practitioners to the treatment of the ] in ], saying it is<ref name="DLD20080717"/>{{cquote|reminiscent of ] where the Jews received a ] as the victim. Here if you follow the Dalai Lama's views you get an ]. If you don't follow his view, you have no identification card. Without it you can’t buy food in shops, you can’t get visas for travelling, you can’t get medicines in hospitals, people are having their homes burned, thousands upon thousands of monks are homeless.}}

The Dalai Lama had been asked about the protest during his talk. He said that he used to follow the same practice, but that he had given it up because it was intolerant of other Buddhist teachings, adding, "This is just spirit worship. After I read more about it, I realized my mistake and dropped my practice. I think 99% of Tibetans follow my practice. Some small portion worship this spirit. I am committed to freedom of speech, freedom of talk. So I say to them, enjoy freedom of talk." He also argued that two past Dalai Lamas had restricted the practice, and that he was following tradition. The WSS asserts that he has for more than a decade "been fostering a campaign of intimidation, humiliation, and ostracism" against practitioners of Dorje Shugden.<ref name="nyt080717">
{{cite news
| title = Dalai Lama Fans Clash With Protesters
| publisher = ]
| date = 2008-07-17
| url = http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/dalai-lama-fans-clash-with-pro-china-protesters/
| accessdate = 2008-09-08}}</ref> They also argue that even if the worship of Dorje Shugden has now become a minority religion due, ironically, to the actions of the Dalai Lama, it is still correct to protect the religious freedom of minorities.

==='A Great Deception'===

The Western Shugden Society has published a book entitled ''A Great Deception - The Ruling Lamas' Policies'' (Western Shugden Society, 2009 ISBN 978-0-9563918-0-3) in which they claim to expose the mixing of religion and politics (called 'lama policy') by the Fifth, Thirteen and Fourteenth Dalai Lamas and the negative consequences of this for Dorje Shugden practitioners, Tibetan Buddhists in general, and others. The stated aims of the book are fourfold:<ref>.retrieved 2009-12-05</ref>

* To liberate millions of innocent practitioners of the Buddhist Deity Dorje Shugden and their families from suffering
* To restore peace and harmony between Shugden and non-Shugden practitioners
* To re-establish the common spiritual activities of Shugden and non-Shugden practitioners
* To free Buddhism from political pollution

The book will be generally available from January 2010.

===Other activities===
The WSS has been appealing to the general public through the media, including interviews on radio and television such as an interview on ] in ] on 11 June 2008<ref name="ABC-radio">
{{cite episode
| title = Dalai Lama protests
| episodelink =
| series = The Religion Report
| serieslink =
| url = http://abc.com.au/rn/religionreport/stories/2008/2270792.htm
| airdate = 2008-06-11
| season =
| number = }}
</ref> and ] also in Australia<ref name="MSN080615">
{{cite episode
| title = Television interview with WSS Spokesperson, Kelsang Lhachog
| episodelink =
| series = Nine MSN
| serieslink =
| url = http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-au&brand=ninemsn&tab=m165&mediaid=195278&from=39&vid=8D82F93D-EA79-4E09-AC87-B5033EDF179A&playlist=videoByTag:mk:en-AU:vs:0:tag:aunews_ausunday:ns:MSNVideo_Top_Cat:ps:10:sd:-1:ind:1:ff:8A
| airdate = 2008-06-15
| season =
| number = }}</ref> to investigate what they claim are social injustices being carried out against Dorje Shugden practitioners within the Tibetan exile community and elsewhere.

The group have also set up an account on the ] website ] to promote the activities of the WSS including WSS-made video coverage. The WSS are also using political means to further their campaign. A ] ] ] report in July 2008 contained a letter from Kelsang Pema under her lay name, calling for help to gain freedom from religious discrimination and which confirmed that the WSS would be seeking help from each member of the ] Council, the ], the ], the ], the ] and the ].<ref name="HoCFAC533">
{{cite journal
| title = Letter from Helen Gladwell, Western Shugden Society
| journal = Human Rights Annual Report 2007
| issue = Ninth Report of session 2007-08
| pages = 202
| publisher = ], Foreign Affairs Committee
| location = ]
| date = 2008-07-20
| url = http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmfaff/533/533.pdf
| format = ]
| accessdate = 2008-09-06}}</ref> The WSS have also set up an online petition to the Dalai Lama, asking him to give religious freedom.

A decade ago, in 1997, at the height of the ], ] claimed: "It would not be unfair to call Shugdens the ] of ]," referring to the Muslim extremists of Afghanistan.<ref>], April 28, 1997, </ref> This characterization was repeated in other newspapers in 2002 when reporting about death threats against the ] in ], northern ], which were blamed on the Dorje Shugden practitioners.<ref>"Death threats to Dalai Lama blamed on rival Bhuddist sect", The Sidney Morning Herald, November 16, 2002 </ref><ref>Washington Times, "Dalai Lama faced with death threats", 23 November 2002 </ref> In September 2008, the Western Shugden Society wrote an ],<ref>Official Website Western Shugden Society, Open Letter to Robert Thurman, 10 September 2008, </ref> challenging Thurman to justify his 10-year-old claim: "You should show your evidence publicly through the internet before 25 October 2008. If your evidence does not appear by this date then we will conclude that you have lied publicly and are misleading people." As of November 2009, there has been no response by Thurman on his website.<ref>http://www.bobthurman.com/</ref>

==Western Shugden Society and the New Kadampa Tradition==
], ], ]. At the front are Kelsang Pema of the NKT and three Tibetan monks.]]
There have been claims that the WSS is organised and run by the NKT.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} However, during the 2008 International Spring Festival the Spiritual Director of the NKT, Kelsang Gyatso, explained that in order for the NKT itself to be a part of the WSS, the board of Directors would have had to vote on it.<ref name="NKTIKBU-internalrules">
{{cite news
| title = A Moral Discipline Guide: The Internal Rules of The New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union
| work = §3 and 19§3
| publisher = ] - International Kadampa Buddhist Union
| year = 2008
| url = http://www.newkadampatruth.org/internalrules.php
| accessdate = 2008-09-08}}</ref> A vote, though, never took place as the NKT itself states that it is not directly participating in the activities of the WSS. Individual Dorje Shugden practitioners from the NKT have joined the WSS in their capacity as Dorje Shugden practitioners. Any involvement by the NKT directly in the politics of Dorje Shugden would represent a u-turn, after Geshe Kelsang Gyatso said in an open letter in 2002:<ref name="prnetwire021125">
{{cite press release
| title = Press Statement - Open letter from Geshe Kelsang Gyatso to Wesley Prudin, Editor in Chief, Washington Times
| publisher = Public Relations Society of America
| date = 2002-11-25
| url = http://www.send2press.com/PRnetwire/pr_02_1125-dalailama.shtml
| accessdate = 2008-09-06}}</ref> {{cquote|However in October 1998 we decided to completely stop being involved in this Shugden issue because we realized that in reality this is a Tibetan political problem and not the problem of Buddhism in general or the NKT. We made our decision public at this time -- everyone knows the NKT and myself completely stopped being involved in this Shugden issue at all levels.}}

The WSS does not deny that prominent NKT students have taken part in the demonstrations in their capacity as concerned Dorje Shugden practitioners. Both the NKT and the WSS state that no NKT funds have been used to fund the activities of the WSS, but that WSS activities have been funded by donations from both Westerners and Tibetans, with some, they claim but by no means all, from individual NKT practitioners acting in their private capacity.<ref>What you can do to help "http://www.westernshugdensociety.org/en/what-you-can-do/"</ref> Also, whilst many of the demonstrators are NKT members, some have come from other Tibetan Buddhist groups in the West such as Dagom Tensung Ling and Gaden Samdrupling in the United States.<ref name="citybeat146102"/>

==Perception of the protests by others within the Buddhist community==
Following the demonstrations in Sydney, Australia, the Australian Sangha Association (ASA) issued an official statement in which they said that "Noisy public demonstrations such as these are not appropriate behaviour for ]s and ]s and brought Buddhism in the country into disrepute". They added that they recognized there is a difference of opinion with the Dalai Lama on various issues, and that it is the right of NKT and WSS members to disagree with the Dalai Lama's opinions, but that their disagreement should be expressed in a peaceful, respectful and reasonable manner. On 11 August 2008, the WSS responded to the ASA stating that the WSS protests were peaceful and giving several examples from the 1990s and the present-day where Dalai Lama supporters were not peaceful in attacking Shugden protestors.<ref name="WSS-news-reponsetoletter">
{{cite news
| title = Response to letter from the Australian Sangha Association
| publisher = Western Shugden Society
| date = 2008-08-11
| url = http://www.westernshugdensociety.org/en/news/response-to-letter-from-the-australian-sangha-association
| accessdate = 2008-09-17}}</ref>

==Response to the protests by third parties==
In the United States, the protestors' constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech was ensured by state and local police and governments. The police liaised with the ], the security and law enforcement arm of the ].{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}

Time Magazine reported on July 19, 2008:

{{cquote|Experts seem to think that there is something to the Shugden allegations. "There is considerable anecdotal evidence to support what they say," Stephen Batchelor, co-founder of the Sharpham College for Buddhist Studies and Contemporary Enquiry, wrote in an email to TIME, although, he adds, "I have yet to see any hard evidence." Wrote Donald Lopez of the University of Michigan, "Buddhist monks who apply for an Identity Certificates must also submit a letter form their abbot. I was told that there may have been cases in which, contrary to the policy of the Government-in-Exile, monks who worship Shugden have not been provided with such a letter."<ref> by David Van Biema (2008-07-18), retrieved 2009-10-31.</ref>}}

] scholar Robert Barnett of ] opposes how he was quoted by Time magazine's correspondent David van Biema. He states that he made very clear to him that "ID cards are not given out by the exile administration, but by the Indian authorities".<ref name=Barnett>, 2008-07-23, retrieved 2009-10-31.</ref> According to Barnett:
{{cquote|I also made it clear that the Western Shugden group's allegations are problematic: they are akin to attacking the Pope because some lay Catholics somewhere abuse non-believers or heretics. The Western Shugden Group is severely lacking in credibility, since its form of spirit-worship is heterodox, provocative and highly sectarian in Buddhist terms and so more than likely to be banned from mainstream monasteries – while its claimed concerns about cases of discrimination in India should be addressed by working within the Tibetan community instead of opportunistically attacking the Dalai Lama in order to provoke misinformed publicity for their sect.”<ref name=Barnett/>}}

The WSS agree that the practice has been banned in monasteries, but reply that Barnett's other claims are unfounded: there is no Pope of Buddhism, the Dalai Lama himself is the one abusing the so-called "non-believers", relying upon Wisdom Buddha Dorje Shugden is not spirit worship and his practitioners are not sectarian, and the reason for "provoking" publicity is to help restore religious freedom amongst Tibetans in exile, not for its own sake.<ref>On what authority doe the Dalai Lama do these things? "http://www.wisdombuddhadorjeshugden.blogspot.com/2008/06/on-what-authority-does-dalai-lama-do.html"</ref>

Claims about 4 million Shugden followers made in reports by ]<ref>, France 24 (2008-08-08). retrieved 2009-10-31.</ref> and ]<ref>, Al Jazeera's People & Power, 2008-09-30, retrieved 2009-10-31.</ref> were rejected by scholars.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} Journalist Andy Brown comments:

{{cquote|"There are only about six million Tibetans in the world at most, of whom less than half are members of the Gelugpa order (Steven Lane estimated 30 per cent), where the veneration of Shugden is concentrated. Even among the Gelugpa, only monks can be initiated into the cult of Shugden, and only a minority of those actually are. Most of the experts I talked to thought that about 100,000 people at most could be affected by the Dalai Lama’s ban."<ref>"Battle of the Buddhists", Andrew Brown in The Independent, London, 15 July 1996, http://www.tibet.com/dholgyal/CTA-book/chapter-5-5.html</ref>}}

==Other groups protesting the ban on Dorje Shugden==
In May 2008, a similar demonstration was held in ], although not by the WSS. The founder of Kundeling Monastery, Lobsang Yeshe, who lives in ], has filed a complaint against the Dalai Lama at the ] on the grounds of ]. The prosecuting lawyer, Shree Sanjay Jain, says:

{{cquote|It is certainly a case of religious discrimination in the sense that if within your sect of religion you say that this particular deity ought not to be worshipped, and those persons who are willing to worship him you are trying to excommunicate them from the main stream of Buddhism, then it is discrimination of the worst kind.<ref> (9:35-9:55), Al Jazeera's People & Power, 2008-09-30, retrieved 2008-12-04</ref>
}}

The ] accuse Lobsang Yeshe of being paid by the Chinese and state that he has visited China at least twice. He however denies working for the Chinese, but does confirm that he has Chinese friends and he praises the Chinese "for what they are doing in Tibet", claiming that if Tibetans who followed Dorje Shugden had to live under the Dalai Lama in Tibet, they "would have possibly been ]."<ref> (9:41-10:19)), France 24 (2008-08-08). retrieved 2009-10-24.</ref> He has also made similar comparisons to that of the WSS about the treatment of Dorje Shugden practitioners and the treatment of Jews in 1930s Germany as well as religious apartheid.<ref name="tibetinfo116">
{{cite news
| title = Sowing dissent and undermining the Dalai Lama
| publisher = tibetinfonet
| date = 2008-05-21
| url = http://www.tibetinfonet.net/content/update/116
| accessdate = 2008-09-15}}</ref>

The Dorje Shugden Devotee's Charitable & Religious Society (DSDCRS) based in the Tibetan settlement of Majnu Ka Tila, ], India have presented appeals to the Dalai Lama,<ref name="dsdcrs-intro">
{{cite news
| title = Introduction - What is Dorje Shugden?
| publisher = The Dorje Shugden Devotee's Charitable & Religious Society
| url = http://www.shugdensociety.info/introductionEN.html
| accessdate = 2008-09-15}}</ref> The DSDCRS also held a Press Conference on 29 April 2008 in ] to publicly express their concerns about perceived persecution by the Tibetan exile community.<ref name="tibetinfo116"/>

On 18 December 2013 activists from the held an impromtu protest in New York City against the Dalai Lama's ban of the practice of Dorje Shugden. The protest received mixed reactions from Tibetans. <ref>http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/the-controversy/nagba-protest-in-new-york-city/</ref>


==See also== ==See also==
*] *]
*]


==References== ==References==
{{reflist|2}} {{reflist|2}}

==External links==

===Official website===
*

===International Shugden Community book, 'The False Dalai Lama'===
*

===Supporting websites===
*

===Other Dorje Shugden groups===
*


] ]

Revision as of 16:27, 18 May 2014

The Western Shugden Society (or WSS) is a group of westerners who advocate Dorje Shugden.

The German Buddhist Monastic Association (DBO) states that the Western Shugden Society as well as the newly founded International Shugden Community (ICS) are both front organisations of the New Kadampa Tradition – an "organisation (that) is marked by rigid, sectarian structures, with Kelsang Gyatso as its intangible and sole ruler." In a brief supplement to the statement the DBO responds to assertions of the Western Shugden Society / International Shugden Community (ICS).

According to Tibetologist Thierry Dodin, "The demonstrators are almost exclusively western monks and nuns, ordained in the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) according to the group’s own ritual." and "The NKT can be described typologically as a cult on the basis of its organisational form, its excessive group pressure and blind obedience to its founder. The organisation’s extreme fanaticism and aggressive missionary drive are typical cult features too." Dodin states that it is the New Kadampa Tradition "that since the 1990’s has held spectacular demonstrations whenever the Dalai Lama went to the West."

Scholars reject NKT/WSS claims. Robert Thurman for example states "The cult and agency attack campaign is futile since its main claims are so easy to refute."

Scholars reject NKT/WSS claims that the 14th Dalai Lama has suppressed religious freedom, indicating that the situation is actually the opposite. Thurman says:

They then went on the attack, claiming they had been "banned" and "excommunicated," etc., when in fact the Dalai Lama was exercising his religious freedom by not accepting students who reject his advice, and actually go so far as to condemn him!

Thurman explains that members of the cult want:

to force their supposed mentor to adopt their perspective that the demonic spirit is an enlightened being, almost more important than the Buddha himself, and perhaps also rejoin their worship of it, or at least give them all his initiatory teachings in spite of their defiance of his best advice.

Regarding NKT/WSS claims that there is prohibition of Shugden, and therefore a repression of religious freedom, Thierry Dodin states:

No, such a prohibition does not exist. Religious freedom is not at issue here. No one, and most definitely not the Dalai Lama, is repressing religious freedom.

Nathan W. Hill, Lecturer in Tibetan and Linguistics at London University SOAS’ (School of Oriental and African Studies), states that the Dalai Lama does not control the Indian government, or any other government:

This accusation makes no sense … the Dalai Lama is not head of any state; he has no military or police at his command; he has no political jurisdiction over which he can exercise suppression. Some members of the Gelug sect left the authority of the Dalai Lama in order to follow what they see as a purer form of religion. These people may not be very popular in other parts of the Gelug sect, but their human rights have not been violated nor their freedoms suppressed; even if some people did want to suppress or silence the pro-Shugen side, they simply have no means of doing so.”

Similarly, Tibet scholar Robert Barnett of Columbia University states that "ID cards are not given out by the Tibetan government in exile, but by the Indian authorities".

Barnett says the WSS is "severely lacking in credibility":

I also made it clear that the Western Shugden group's allegations are problematic: they are akin to attacking the Pope because some lay Catholics somewhere abuse non-believers or heretics. The Western Shugden Group is severely lacking in credibility, since its form of spirit-worship is heterodox, provocative and highly sectarian in Buddhist terms and so more than likely to be banned from mainstream monasteries – while its claimed concerns about cases of discrimination in India should be addressed by working within the Tibetan community instead of opportunistically attacking the Dalai Lama in order to provoke misinformed publicity for their sect.”

John Makransky about the cross-cultural confusion in the Dorje Shugden issue:

A stunning recent example of this: some Tibetan monks who now introduce Westerners to practices centred on a native Tibetan deity, without informing them that one of its primary functions has been to assert hegemony over rival sects! The current Dalai Lama, seeking to combat the ancient, virulent sectarianisms operative in such quarters, has strongly discouraged the worship of the “protector” deity known as Dorje Shugden, because one of its functions has been to force conformity to the dGe lugs pa sect (with which the Dalai Lama himself is most closely associated) and to assert power over competing sects. Western followers of a few dGe lugs pa monks who worship that deity, lacking any critical awareness of its sectarian functions in Tibet, have recently followed the Dalai Lama to his speaking engagements to protest his strong stance (for non-sectarianism) in the name of their “religious freedom” to promulgate, now in the West, an embodiment of Tibetan sectarianism. If it were not so harmful to persons and traditions, this would surely be one of the funniest examples of the cross-cultural confusion that lack of critical reflection continues to create.

The German Buddhist Monastic Association (DBO) formally dissociates itself from the protests against the Dalai Lama, and points out that the protesters are not Buddhist monks and nuns according to the Buddha’s teachings (Vinaya), that "their behaviour in public represents neither the Buddha nor his teachings (Dharma) nor the Buddhist community (Sangha)" and that

Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and centers as well as the practitioners themselves are free to decide whether or not they will follow the Dalai Lama’s advice. And a majority among them have spoken out against a controversial practice such as that of the organized followers of Shugden that causes disharmony and depreciates other religious communities.

See also

References

  1. "Supplement to the statement of the German Buddhist monastic community (DBO) on the protests against His Holiness the Dalai Lama by the International Shugden Community (ISC), May 1st, 2014, http://buddhistische-ordensgemeinschaft.de/dbo_statement-shugden-protests-Dalai-Lama.htm#ESN
  2. The Dorje Shugden Conflict: An Interview with Tibetologist Thierry Dodin, May 8, 2014, retrieved May 12, 2014
  3. The Dalai Lama And The Cult Of Dolgyal Shugden retrieved Mar. 5, 2014.
  4. The Dalai Lama And The Cult Of Dolgyal Shugden, Huffington Post, retrieved 03/11/2014.
  5. Thurman, Robert. Foreward. In Bultrini, Raimondo. The Dalai Lama and the King Demon. Tibet House 2013. Thurman states "However, the members of the cult are not content with this situation of having to choose between adopting His Holiness the Dalai Lama as their spiritual mentor or ignoring his judgment and persisting in the Gyalpo Shugden worship. They want to force their supposed mentor to adopt their perspective that the demonic spirit is an enlightened being, almost more important than the Buddha himself, and perhaps also rejoin their worship of it, or at least give them all his initiatory teachings in spite of their defiance of his best advice. So, they feel compelled to attack His Holiness, in order to force him to join their fundamentalist version of a Gelukpa outlook."
  6. The Dorje Shugden Conflict: An Interview with Tibetologist Thierry Dodin, May 8, 2014, retrieved May 12, 2014
  7. Distance from Dalai Lama protests among differing opinions, May 8th, 2014, http://theforeigner.no/pages/news/distance-from-dalai-lama-protests-among-differing-opinions/
  8. ^ Tibet scholar denies making Time magazine Shugden comment, 2008-07-23, retrieved 2009-10-31.
  9. Makransky, John (2000). Buddhist Theology: Critical Reflections by Contemporary Buddhist Scholars, John J. Makransky, Roger Reid Jackson, p. 20, in Introduction to Contemporary Academic Buddhist Theology; Its emergence and rationale)
  10. "Statement of the Deutsche Buddhistische Ordensgemeinschaft (DBO, German Buddhist Monastic Association) on the Protests against the Dalai Lama by the International Shugden Community (ISC), May 1st, 2014, http://buddhistische-ordensgemeinschaft.de/dbo_statement-shugden-protests-Dalai-Lama.htm
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