Dholgyal (Shugden)
A statue of Dholgyal (Shugden) was forcefully
removed and destroyed by a group of monks in Ganden Monastery, near
Lhasa on the 14 of March 2006. According to Xinhua news agency, the
Chinese authorities, in a statement on the ninth of May, accused the
Dalai Lama of masterminding religious conflict, saying it was another
attempt to sabotage the unity of Tibet. The Dalai Lama violated the
religious freedom of believers, the authorities added. The Chinese
officials further said that the incident was provoked by the Dalai
clique whose purpose was to arouse conflict between different sects of
Tibetan Buddhism, thus sabotaging the unity of Tibet
Since the 1970s, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has
consistently and patiently discouraged Tibetan Buddhists from
practicing or propitiating the Dholgyal (Shugden) spirit. The
discouraging of the propitiation of Dholgyal lies in the interest of
the Tibetan people in general and the Buddha Dharma in particular. It
is a spiritual endeavour started from the time of the Great Fifth Dalai
Lama (1617-1682) and carried on through the ages by Tibet's most
accomplished masters. Provided herein, are information on why His
Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama has taken to discourage the practice
and propitiation of Dholgyal.
The three main reasons why His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama has advised people against the propitiation of Dholgyal
- Such practices degenerate the profound and vast teachings of Buddhism, wherein our ultimate refuge is the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. While the profound teachings of the Buddha are based on the two truths and the Four Noble Truths, the appeasing and propitiating of Dholgyal, to the extent it is done by those who do this practice, degenerate the Buddhist practice into a form of spirit worship.
- It goes against His Holiness the Dalai Lama's non-sectarian approach especially within the Tibetan Buddhist traditions. His Holiness himself practices teachings from the other traditions such as Nyingma, Sakya and Kagyu simultaneously with the Geluk tradition and encourages others to do the same. However, the practice of Dholgyal is extremely sectarian.
- The Dholgyal spirit has a long history of antagonistic attitude to the Dalai Lamas and the Tibetan Government they head since the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama. Throughout that period, it has also been very controversial in both the Geluk and Sakya traditions. In fact, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama and the Great Thirteenth Dalai Lama, as well as many other prominent Tibetan lamas have categorically stated the harmful effects of this practice and have advised against the practice and propitiation of Dholgyal.
