Dorje Shugden

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Statue of Dorje Shugden
Statue of Dorje Shugden

Dorje Shugden (Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་ཤུགས་ལྡན; Wylie: rdo-rje shugs-ldan), "Vajra Possessing Strength", is a deity in Tibetan Buddhism.

Contents

[edit] Nature and function

There are differing views regarding Dorje Shugden's origin, nature and function. According to the researcher David Kay there are two opposing conceptions:

  • a wrathful aspect of Manjushri (fully enlightened being) who protects the Dharma teachings.[1][2]
  • a wrathful spirit of a deceased lama now working as a worldly protector.[3]

According to Kelsang Gyatso, of the Kadampa tradition, a proponent of Dorje Shugden, it is correct to consider Dorje Shugden as an emanation of Manjushri but not one that shows the aspect of a worldly being. He says that the form of Dorje Shugden reveals the complete stages of the path of Sutra and Tantra, and such qualities are not possessed by the forms of worldly beings. He goes on to say that Dorje Shugden appears as a fully ordained monk to show that the practice of pure moral discipline is essential for those who wish to attain enlightenment.[4]

Significantly, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso's view is also held by other Tibetan Lamas past and present who are or were considered great masters, including: Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche (root Guru of many highly regarded Tibetan Lamas of the early 20th century), Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche (junior tutor of the 14th Dalai Lama), the Panchen Lamas (including the 9th and 10th), Geshe Rabten Rinpoche, and Kyabje Zong Rinpoche. There is strong evidence that the view that Dorje Shugden is an emanation of Manjushri has also been held by the Fifth Dalai Lama, the Eleventh Dalai Lama, and the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. The Fourteenth Dalai Lama later decided this view was mistaken; this "change of heart" has created the current controversy. [5]

According to the academic David Kay, the opposing position is that Dorje Shugden is actually a 'jig nen pa'i srung ma (a worldly protector) whose relatively short lifespan of only a few centuries and inauspicious circumstances of origin make him a highly inappropriate object of such exalted veneration and refuge.[6]

[edit] Protector of Buddhism

According to Trijang Rinpoche, the Junior Tutor of the Dalai Lama and foremost Gelugpa scholar of the last century:

"Dorje Shugden always helps, guides and protects pure and faithful practitioners by granting blessings, increasing their wisdom, fulfilling their wishes, and bestowing success on all their virtuous activities."[7]

According to Renée de Nebresky-Wojkowitz, Dorje Shugden is said to be the successor of Nechung (Pehar) as the head of the wrathful forces protecting Buddhism against evil.[8] According to this view, Dorje Shugden is a particularly important deity in the Tibetan pantheon, since he would replace the present state oracle, Nechung.[9]

[edit] Body mandala

Unlike other Dharma protectors, the practice of Dorje Shugden has a body mandala. This indicates that he is a fully enlightened being because only Buddhas have body mandalas. The Dorje Shugden body mandala is based on the 32 deities of Lama Losang Tubwang Dorjechang (Je Tsongkhapa), which in turn is based on the Guhyasamaja Tantra, the "king of Buddha's Tantric teachings". The five aggregates of Tulku Dragpa Gyeltsen became the five families of Dorje Shugden, which are the same nature as the five Buddha families: Vairochana Shugden (Buddha Vairocana, Buddha's form aggregate), Ratna Shugden (Buddha Ratnasambhava, Buddha's feeling aggregate), Pema Shugden (Buddha Amitabha, Buddha's discrimination aggregate), Karma Shugden (Buddha Amoghasiddhi, Buddha's compositional factors aggregate), and Duldzin Dorje Shugden (Buddha Akshobhya, Buddha's consciousness aggregate). As in Guhyasamaja, the five families of Dorje Shugden are accompanied by 9 goddesses or great mothers, 8 Bodhisattva monks and 10 wrathful guardians.[10][11]

[edit] Previous incarnations

According to most Gelugpa Teachers, the lineage of his previous lives includes Buddha Manjushri, Mahasiddha Biwawa, Sakya Pandita, Butön Rinchen Drub, Duldzin Dragpa Gyaltsän, and Panchen Sönam Dragpa.[12]

It is generally accepted by both adherents of Dorje Shugden[13] and opponents of the practice[14] that Dorje Shugden appeared in his current form as the reincarnation of a Buddhist Teacher in the Gelugpa Tradition named Ngatrul (Tulku) Dragpa Gyaltsen. Dragpa Gyaltsen was a highly-regarded teacher at the same time as the Fifth Dalai Lama (17th century CE) and considered by Gelugpa practitioners to be an emanation of Buddha Manjushri.

[edit] Lineage of practice

Over the last 300 years, Dorje Shugden practice has been a central Protector practice of almost every Gelugpa Monastery in Tibet and in exile.[15]

This practice is said to have been revealed directly by Je Tsongkhapa himself to Pabongkha Dechen Nyingpo's Guru, Tagphu Dorje Chang.[16] Pabongkha Rinpoche then passed the lineage of this practice to his heart disciple Trijang Rinpoche. All modern-day Gelugpa practitioners are directly or indirectly students of these Lamas.

[edit] Practice

The practice of relying upon dharmapālas began in ancient India as part of the Buddhist tantra tradition, and spread to Tibet[17] and Japan. The main purpose of relying upon Dharma Protectors is to avert the inner and outer obstacles that prevent practitioners from gaining spiritual realizations, and to arrange all the necessary conditions for their practice.[18] The practice of Dorje Shugden is most commonly associated with Gelugpas, where he is considered to be a special protector of Je Tsongkhapa's teachings. There are also Sakya[19] and Nyingma[20] practitioners of Dorje Shugden.

[edit] Origin of the practice

The practice of relying upon Dorje Shugden as a Dharma Protector can be traced back 300 years. One of the first people to venerate Dorje Shugden was the Lozang Gyatso, 5th Dalai Lama. After initially expressing distrust of Dorje Shugden, later in his life he composed a prayer[21] and crafted a statue[22] to show his respect for Dorje Shugden. In the 18th and 19th centuries rituals related to Dorje Shugden as an enlightened being began to be written by prominent Gelug masters. The Fifth On-rGyal-Sras Rinpoche (1743-1811, Kelsang Thubten Jigme Gyatso - skal bzang thub bstan 'jigs med rgya mtsho), an important Lama and a tutor (yongs 'dzin) to the 9th Dalai Lama wrote a torma offering ritual[23]. Also, the Fourth Jetsun Dampa (1775 - 1813, Losang Thubten Wangchuk Jigme Gyatso - blo bzang thub bstan dbang phyug 'jigs med rgya mtsho), the head of Gelug sect in Mongolia also wrote a torma offering to Shugden in the context of Shambhala and Kalachakra[24].

It is generally accepted by both adherents of Dorje Shugden[25] and opponents of the practice[26] that the appearance of Shugden in his current form is traced back at the time of the 5th Dalai Lama. According to Mills, he is "Supposedly the spirit of a murdered Gelugpa lama who had opposed the Fifth Dalai Lama both in debate and in politics, Shugden is said to have laid waste to Central Tibet until, according to one account, his power forced the Tibetan Government of the Fifth Dalai Lama to seek reconciliation, and accept him as one of the protector deities (Tib. choskyong) of the Gelukpa order."[27] According to anthropologist Mumford, who studied the practice of Dorje Shugden among Nyingma adherents in Nepal, the 5th Dalai Lama tried to subjugate Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen as a spirit through various rituals, which were not successful.[28] This is how the view of Dorje Shugden as a worldly protector arose, disputed by the Gelugpa adherents of this practice. According to them, Dragpa Gyaltsen was a highly-regarded teacher at the same time as the Fifth Dalai Lama (17th century CE) and considered by Gelugpa practitioners to be an emanation of Buddha Manjushri.

Later in life, the Fifth Dalai Lama composed a praise to venerate Dorje Shugden, indicating that he now thought Dorje Shugden to be a Buddha.[29] This is significant, because the current Dalai Lama bases his opposition to the practice in part upon the Fifth Dalai Lama's originally negative attitude towards Dorje Shugden.[30]

Key figures in the modern popularization of worshipping Dorje Shugden are Je Pabongkha (1878-1941), the principal holder of all Gelugpa sutra and tantra lineages, including Gelugpa Mahamudra and Ear-Whispered (Oral) Lineage, who seems to have been the first famous historical Gelugpa figure to promote Shugden worship as a major element of Gelugpa practice; and Trijang Rinpoche (1901-1981), the main disciple and successor of Je Pabongkha who was also one of the tutors of the present Dalai Lama. The Lama Phabongkha put great emphasis on spreading this practice and thus made the practice quite popular in the Gelug tradition. Kay says that Je Phabongka was scolded by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama for doing so and promised to stop, however after the death of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, being freed from danger of retribution he began to spread the practice again.

According to the biography of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, there is no mention of any ban of Dorje Shugden or his oracle. On the contrary, it mentions advice given by Dorje Shugden through the oracle at Tromo Dungkar Gonpa which the Thirteenth Dalai Lama appreciated and followed.[31]

Dorje Shugden was the Dharma Protector of the three most prominent Gelugpa masters of modern times, Pabongka Rinpoche (1878-1941), Tomo (or Domo) Geshe Rinpoche (1866-1936), and later Trijang Rinpoche (1901-1981). Since in the nineteenth century an estimated eighty percent of Tibet belonged to the Gelugpa tradition[32], a great number of people became spiritually connected (through dam.tshig) with these masters and through them with Dorje Shugden.

David Kay maintains that Pabongkha Rinpoche, a Gelug Lama of the 20th century, who received this practice from his root guru, is attributed with spreading reliance on Dorje Shugden widely within the Gelug tradition "during the 1930s and 1940s, and in this way a formerly marginal practice became a central element of the Gelug tradition."[33] Followers of Dorje Shugden reply that this practice has not been marginal but instead widely practiced by Gelugpas for the past 300 years.[34] Today there are perhaps a million Dorje Shugden practitioners worldwide.[35][36]

Phabongka was famous for his view that lamas should not become involved in politics, as demonstrated by the fact that he reportedly declined to take over as Regent of Tibet when asked by Radeng Rinpoche before Taktra Rinpoche accepted the regency.[37]

[edit] Why practitioners now rely on Dorje Shugden as their protector

Many Buddhist rely on Dorje Shugden as their principal Dharma protector. Geshe Kelsang explains the reason for this:

“ Buddhas have manifested in the form of various Dharma Protectors, such as Mahakala, Kalarupa, Kalindewi, and Dorje Shugden. From the time of Je Tsongkhapa until the first Panchen Lama, Losang Chökyi Gyaltsän, the principal Dharma Protector of Je Tsongkhapa's lineage was Kalarupa. Later, however, it was felt by many high Lamas that Dorje Shugden had become the principal Dharma Protector of this tradition.

Among all the Dharma Protectors, four-faced Mahakala, Kalarupa, and Dorje Shugden in particular have the same nature because they are all emanations of Manjushri.

However, the beings of this present time have a stronger karmic link with Dorje Shugden than with the other Dharma Protectors. It was for this reason that Morchen Dorjechang Kunga Lhundrup, a very highly realized Master of the Sakya tradition, told his disciples, "Now is the time to rely upon Dorje Shugden." He said this on many occasions to encourage his disciples to develop faith in the practice of Dorje Shugden.

In recent years the person most responsible for propagating the practice of Dorje Shugden was the late Trijang Dorjechang, the root Guru of many Gelugpa practitioners from humble novices to the highest Lamas. He encouraged all his disciples to rely upon Dorje Shugden and gave Dorje Shugden empowerments many times.[38]

 ”

[edit] Controversy

Main article: Dorje Shugden controversy

According to many Gelugpa Lamas, such as Trijang Rinpoche and Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Dorje Shugden's origin can be traced back to the Wisdom Buddha Manjushri through a lineage of enlightened beings. Trijang Rinpoche, the 97th Ganden Throne holder (head of Gelugpa tradition) and Junior Tutor of the Dalai Lama, who practiced Dorje Shugden until his death, stated in a commentary: "Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen, as is taught in the lineage, was the final birth in a reincarnation" and adds "These great beings, from a definitive point of view, were already fully enlightened and, even to common appearances, every one of them was a holy being that attained high states of realization."[39] This view is echoed by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso[40], who is well known for his open opposition to the Dalai Lama's ban on the practice[41].

According to the researcher David Kay: "Whilst there is a consensus that this protector practice originated in the seventeenth century, there is much disagreement about the nature and status of Dorje Shugden."[42]

Kay sees two dominant views[43]:

  • One view holds that Dorje Shugden is an enlightened being
  • Opposing this position is a view which holds that Dorje Shugden is actually a worldly protector

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso explains that these two views of Dorje Shugden, reflect the difference between the view held by the ordinary appearance of Tibetan people and that held by practitioners.

“ Regarding Dorje Shugden, there are two different ways of perceiving him. One is according to the ordinary appearance of Tibetan people, and the other is according to the appearance of the qualified practitioner. These two appearances came originally from the 5th Dalai Lama. First Dorje Shugden appeared to him as a harmful spirit which he tried to destroy,[44] (albeit unsuccessfully), and because of this many people came to view Dorje Shugden as a harmful spirit. In this way the ordinary appearance of Dorje Shugden developed. Later, the 5th Dalai Lama realized that he had misunderstood the real nature of Dorje Shugden, and he then began to engage in the practice, and composed prayers to him[45]. In these prayers he invites Dorje Shugden to come from Chöku, the Dharmakaya, clearly indicating that Dorje Shugden is an enlightened being. Since that time the appearance of the qualified practitioner developed.

Later Lamas such as Tagphu Dorje Chang and Pabongka Rinpoche perceived Dorje Shugden as a manifestation of Buddha Manjushri. These Lamas realized that Dorje Shugden is the same mental continuum as Duldzin Dragpa Gyaltsen. Duldzin Dragpa Gyaltsen is the same mental continuum as Sakya Pandita who is a manifestation of Manjushri. For followers of Je Phabongkhapa and Trijang Rinpoche, including myself, it is impossible that Duldzin Dragpa Gyaltsen, the manifestation of Manjushri could be reborn in an uncontrolled way as a worldly spirit. Not only Gelugpa Lamas believe this, some Sakya Lamas also believe that Dorje Shugden is a holy being. In the book by Dhongtog Tulku Tenpai Gyaltsen[46] he says that Dorje Shugden cannot be a worldly spirit because he is a Bodhisattva. He says that Dorje Shugden is a protector Deity of the Sakya tradition. Previously the Sakya monastery in Rajpur, India always used to practise Dorje Shugden puja, but maybe nowadays that has changed.

Although Je Phabongkhapa's view is that Dorje Shugden is an enlightened being, the 13th Dalai Lama, using his political power, did not allow Je Phabongkhapa to publicize this view, so he had to accept the lower position of Dorje Shugden. Therefore, at that time Gelugpa practitioners lost their freedom to say publicly that Dorje Shugden is an enlightened being. To the majority of ordinary Tibetans Dorje Shugden appeared as a worldly spirit. At that time there were many stories and rumours about how Dorje Shugden would help some people, harm others and so forth, all according to the ordinary appearance of the majority of people, most of whom were very superstitious. The stories mentioned in Zemey Tulku's ‘Yellow Book’ are just superstitions. He was not necessarily expressing his own view in this book, but telling about many different superstitions according to ordinary people's appearance of Dorje Shugden. Of course the view of Dorje Shugden as a harmful spirit was neither Trijang Rinpoche's view nor was it Je Phabongkapa's.[47]

 ”

According to Kay

“ One view holds that Dorje Shugden is a 'jig rten las 'das pa'i srung ma (an enlightened being) and that, whilst not being bound by history, he assumed a series of human incarnations before manifesting himself as a Dharma-protector during the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama. According to this view, the Fifth Dalai Lama initially mistook Dorje Shugden for a harmful and vengeful spirit of a tulku of Drepung monastery called Dragpa Gyaltsen, who had been murdered by the Tibetan government because of the threat posed by his widespread popularity and influence. After a number of failed attempts to subdue this worldly spirit by enlisting the help of a high-ranking Nyingma lama, the Great Fifth realised that Dorje Shugden was in reality an enlightened being and began henceforth to praise him as a Buddha. Proponents of this view maintain that the deity has been worshipped as a Buddha ever since, and that he is now the chief guardian deity of the Gelug Tradition. These proponents claim, furthermore, that the Sakya tradition also recognises and worships Dorje Shugden as an enlightened being. The main representative of this view in recent years has been Geshe Kelsang Gyatso who, like many other popular Gelug lamas stands firmly within the lineage-tradition of the highly influential Phabongkha Rinpoche and his disciple Trijang Rinpoche."[48] ”

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dorje Shudgen Society, India.
  2. ^ Kay, David N. (2004). Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, Development and Adaptation - The New Kadampa Tradition (NKT), and the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives (OBC), London and New York, ISBN 0-415-29765-6, Page 230
  3. ^ Kay: 2004, 47
  4. ^ Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Heart Jewel, Tharpa Publications, Page 91
  5. ^ Dorje Shugden and Dalai Lama - Spreading Dharma Together
  6. ^ Kay: 2004, 47
  7. ^ Heart Jewel p 92
  8. ^ Renée de Nebresky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet, Paldjor Publications, 1998, Delhi, India, pp.134-144
  9. ^ Oracles and Demons, p.134
  10. ^ Renée de Nebresky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet, Paldjor Publications,1998, Delhi, India, pp.134-144
  11. ^ Heart Jewel
  12. ^ Dorje Shugden
  13. ^ Heart Jewel, Tharpa Publications
  14. ^ The Fifth Dalai Lama
  15. ^ Glen Mullin The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation p.208
  16. ^ Music Delighting the Ocean of Protectors by Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang
  17. ^ Dorje Shugden - The Wisdom Buddha Protector of Je Tsongkhapa's Tradition
  18. ^ Dorje Shugden - The Wisdom Buddha Protector of Je Tsongkhapa's Tradition
  19. ^ Dorje Shugden and Dalai Lama - Spreading Dharma Together
  20. ^ Mumford, Stan. Himalayan dialogue: Tibetan lamas and Gurung shamans in Nepal, page 126. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1989.
  21. ^ Dorje Shugden - Praise by 5th Dalai Lama - Shugden Society
  22. ^ Dorje Shugden and Dalai Lama - Spreading Dharma Together
  23. ^ "'Jam mgon rgyal ba'i bstan srung rdo rje shugs ldan gyi 'phrin bcol phyogs bsdus bzhugs so", pages 33-37. Sera Me Press (ser smad 'phrul spar khang), 1991.
  24. ^ "'Jam mgon rgyal ba'i bstan srung rdo rje shugs ldan gyi 'phrin bcol phyogs bsdus bzhugs so", pages 31-33. Sera Me Press (ser smad 'phrul spar khang), 1991.
  25. ^ Heart Jewel, Tharpa Publications
  26. ^ The Fifth Dalai Lama
  27. ^ Mills, Martin A, Human Rights in Global Perspective, Routledge ISBN 0-415-30410-5, page 55
  28. ^ Mumford, Stan. Himalayan dialogue: Tibetan lamas and Gurung shamans in Nepal, page 126. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1989.
  29. ^ Dorje Shugden and Dalai Lama - Spreading Dharma Together
  30. ^ The Fifth Dalai Lama
  31. ^ 'phags.pa 'jig.rten dbang.phyug gi rnam.sprul rim.byon gyi 'khrungs.rabs deb.ther nor.bu'i 'phreng.ba.bzhugs.so, compiled by Phurchog Yongzin Thubten Jampa Tsultim Tenzin, Dharamsala, 1984, pp. 621, 630 and 648.
  32. ^ Ursula Bernis, Shugden Society
  33. ^ David N. Kay: Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, Development and Adaptation, London and New York, published by RoutledgeCurzon, ISBN 0-415-29765-6, page 48
  34. ^ Dorje Shugden - The Wisdom Buddha Protector of Je Tsongkhapa's Tradition
  35. ^ Allegations of Religious Persecution[1]
  36. ^ Protest at Colgate University, NY[2]
  37. ^ A History of Modern Tibet, 1913-1951, p. 362;
  38. ^ Heart Jewel - Tharpa Publications
  39. ^ Music Delighting the Ocean of Protectors by Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang, Page 8
  40. ^ Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Heart Jewel, Tharpa Publications
  41. ^ Geshe Kelsang's Open Letter December 9th 1997 to the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala and to the Office of Tibet in London.
  42. ^ Kay: 2004, 46
  43. ^ Kay: 2004, 47
  44. ^ The Fifth Dalai Lama
  45. ^ Dorje Shugden and Dalai Lama - Spreading Dharma Together
  46. ^ http://books.google.com/books?ei=bBokSPT_A6HytAPDmqDHDQ&id=XvIKAAAAYAAJ&pgis=1
  47. ^ (Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, talk.religion.buddhism, 19 December 1997)
  48. ^ Kay: 2004, 47

[edit] External links

[edit] Supporters of Dorje Shugden

[edit] Dorje Shugden critics