What is HHDL’s position on shugden?
The Battle for Truth in Tibetan Buddhism
September 14, 2008 — hongkongphoey
“Yes, a Jedi’s strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan’s apprentice.”
What comes to mind when you think about Tibetan Buddhism?
For most people I expect it would be the happy, smiling face of the Dalai Lama or a Free Tibet flag.
How is it that Buddhist monks and nuns are following the Dalai Lama around the world, calling him a “liar, an evil dictator and a saffron robed Muslim ¹”.
Who are these Buddhists who are accusing other Buddhists of lying? And are they telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Behind these accusations is a group who call themselves the Western Shugden Society. Officially the only information one can find about them is from their own website. They appear to have no leader and no registered office. If one wanted to write to them who would one address the letter to?
Who I am is not important. I have been practicing Tibetan Buddhism for the last 10 years and a follower of Je Tsongkhapa. I was attracted to Buddhism because it showed me that I could find the answers to all of my problems from within my own mind and could thus stop looking outside of myself for the cause of my suffering.
So it is in this light that I seek to explore this rather unpleasant campaign against the Dalai Lama. I am seeking to present a platform in order to debate this situation, using logical reasoning and qualified sources.
Now is the time to debunk the lies, the spin, hearsay, half truths and the rewriting of history.
A debunker is an individual who discredits and exposes claims as being false, exaggerated, unscientific or pretentious.[1] Debunkers often focus on topics such as U.F.O.s, claimed paranormal phenomena, conspiracy theories, alternative medicine, religion, research outside mainstream science orpseudoscientific subjects. The term debunker is applied when a person functions as an activist and performs research, writes articles, gives speeches, conducts seminars, or engages in other activities with the specific intent of discounting the validity of a dubious, bizarre, or abnormal claim.
Debunking is the act of disproving a proposal or hypothesis, generally in an academic or scientific sense.
¹ ’The Tibetan Situation Today’ – published by The Western Shugden Society
