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Preface
The purpose of this book is to achieve the following four aims:
- 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; and
- to free Buddhism from political pollution.
Achieving these aims depends solely upon whether the present Dalai Lama will accept the four points set out at the conclusion of Chapter 4 of this book.
The Dalai Lama wishes to ban Shugden worship in general; and in particular to remove Tibetan Shugden worshippers from their communities, and Western Shugden worshippers from the international Buddhist community. Since 1996 the Tibetan exile government has continually applied effort to fulfil these wishes. In February 2008 alone, 900 monks who are Shugden practitioners were expelled from their monasteries in India.
In 1996 the Tibetan exile government publicly decreed to the Tibetan communities of each country, including Tibet, that Shugden practitioners were their national enemies and were against the Dalai Lama's wishes. The decree stated that unless Shugden practitioners promised to stop Shugden worship they would not receive any official position or job, nor any help or support, even medical assistance, either from the Tibetan exile government or from individual members of the Tibetan community. Further, any connection at all with Shugden practitioners should be cut. Children of Shugden practitioners were no longer permitted to attend Tibetan schools, and Shugden practitioners themselves could not join community meetings, social events and so forth.
The Tibetan exile government put the Dalai Lama's wishes into practice directly in India, and in the same way the Dalai Lama's official representative in each country throughout the world has directly and practically followed the orders of the exile government. These representatives have organised vigilante groups in their respective regions and directly prevailed upon such groups to defame, threaten, and sometimes physically harm Shugden practitioners. In this way many Shugden temples have been closed and shrines destroyed, individual Shugden practitioner's houses have been burned down, practitioners have been brutally beaten, and children have been banned from their schools. Tibetan Shugden practitioners are repeatedly accused unjustly of being 'the Tibetan national enemy' and ostracised from their communities.
This inhumane treatment directly violates basic human rights and principles of democratic law, but nevertheless pervades almost every Tibetan community today, whether in the East or West. For example, in Tibet itself where the Chinese now give basic equal rights to everyone, all Shugden practitioners still suffer from a lack of religious freedom caused by other Tibetans who continue to work within Tibet to fulfil the Dalai Lama's wishes there. And in Switzerland, a democratic country, which hosts a large Tibetan exile community, Shugden practitioners suffer from a lack of religious freedom caused by the unjust and discriminatory actions of groups organised by the Office of the Dalai Lama's Representative, which acts directly against democratic law in continually working to fulfil the Dalai Lama's wishes. It is the same in all other countries. The Dalai Lama himself, the Tibetan exile government, the present and former abbots of the main monasteries of the Gelug Tradition, and the Dalai Lama´s official representatives in each country throughout the world, have all broken international law and are abusing basic human rights. They are criminals wearing spiritual masks.
The source of all these problems is just one single person – the Dalai Lama himself. It is very clear that the Dalai Lama's people are acting against Shugden practitioners simply out of blind faith, and only to fulfil his wishes.
Since the Dalai Lama first created this international problem in 1996, the world's media, including the BBC in the UK, have continually received information about it. In many countries in 1996 and 2008 they directly witnessed thousands of Shugden practitioners engaging in international public demonstrations against the Dalai Lama, protesting 'Dalai Lama give religious freedom!' and 'Dalai Lama stop lying!'. There is no doubt that, for example, the BBC understands this international problem, including the inhumanity of the situation; the violation of basic human rights; the fact that it is entirely caused by the Dalai Lama, who acts like a 21st century dictator; and the fact that the suffering is experienced by millions of innocent people throughout the world. However, the BBC does not broadcast any true information about this international problem, but instead always supports the 21st century dictator, the Dalai Lama. Why is this?
From the very beginning until now, the Dalai Lama and his exile government have striven to hide this international problem that the Dalai Lama himself has created. Whenever a journalist asks the Dalai Lama 'Why have you banned Shugden worship and caused so many problems?' he replies saying that it is not true that there is a ban, it is merely rumour; there is no problem. Following this lie, when journalists ask the same question of the Dalai Lama's representatives in each country, they again receive the same bland reply 'This is not true, it is just a rumour; there is no problem'. If you were to telephone the Dalai Lama right now and ask him 'Why have you banned Shugden worship and caused so many problems?' he would still reply saying 'This is not true, it is rumour; there is no problem'.
There is no greater liar or a person more powerfully deceptive than this in the world today. So far the international community has had no opportunity to receive clear and true information about Tibetan ruling lamas in general, nor about this present Dalai Lama in particular, who keeps the name of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion, whilst harming peoples' spiritual life and causing suffering to millions of innocent people. It is for these reasons that the Western Shugden Society has prepared this book to provide this preface a great deception information, and we hope that the world's media will investigate more fully and publicise the issues raised in this book.
The book mainly focuses on the source of this ban – the Dalai Lama himself – and on the ancient flaw in the system of the Tibetan government – the 'Lama Policy' – that continues in the Tibetan exile community today, a fundamental flaw which allows this one man to use his position as religious leader to exercise political power, and his position as political leader to enforce his own religious prejudices.