Photo shows after the demonstrations in Oslo, Norway, the International Shugden Community (ISC) and a group of Tibetans made their way to Rotterdam where the Dalai Lama was scheduled to visit next. There, the group once again held a protest. [Photo/Dorjeshugden.com]

"The first half of 2014 has witnessed the spectacle of groups of Western Buddhists in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Oslo screaming at the 14th Dalai Lama during his visits in the US and Norway, accusing him of 'religious persecution' and 'abuse of basic human rights'."

-"Tibet's Mystic Politics: Review of The Dalai Lama and the King Demon"

The article then said "the Dalai Lama, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize...What on earth, one may ask, is going on?"

On the other side, the "Central Tibetan Administration" (or the 'Tibet government-in-exile') published a "blacklist" of 20 Tibetan Dorje Shugden practitioners on its official website, conniving at and encouraging violent attacks on these Tibetans in exile, which was pointed out by Dorje Shugden followers on their official website (www.dorjeshugden.com).

Therefore, what is "Dorje Shugden"?

Dorje Shugden, as called "Dholgyal" by the "Tibet government-in-exile" and the Dalai Lama, is said to be a Dharma protector, the protector of Gelugpa orthodoxy in particular, consecrated by many schools of Tibetan Buddhism (including Gelug, Nyingma, Sakya and Kargyu sects) since the times of the 5th Dalai Lama in the 17th century. It has been practiced by not only Tibetans (including the 14th Dalai Lama before 1970s) but also Western Buddhists. According to the official website of Dorje Shugden, the sect has around 4 million believers all over the world. (The population of China's Tibet Autonomous Region is simply less than 3 million.) 

Dalai Lama called Dorje Shugden the "Demon King"

As early as the mid-1970s, the 14th Dalai Lama suddenly began advising against the practice of this cult and called Dorje Shugden the "demon king" and "a spirit of the dark forces", prohibiting Shudgen followers from attending his teachings, which led to a marginalization of Shugden practitioners in the exiled Tibetan community:

"Shopkeepers refused to sell to them, and landlords refused to rent to them. In 2008 the Tibetan leadership ordered the monasteries in South India to purge their populations of Shugden devotees. Monks who had formerly lived like brothers were now forbidden to talk to one another. The more zealous engaged in violent scuffles and beatings. Hundreds of monks were expelled, and those who remained were required to publicly denounce the practice under the eyes of the abbots, eager to prove their loyalties. For their part, Shugden representatives began comparing the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government's handling of the issue to the Nazis..." quoted from "Tibet's Mystic Politics: Review of The Dalai Lama and the King Demon (by Raimondo Bultrini, an Italian journalist)".

Therefore, they have started trying to negotiate with the "Central Tibetan Administration" but failed, which arouse rounds of turmoil among the exiled Tibetan community.

Raimondo Bultrini, who questioned in his book "(w)hat kind of religion is this that unleashes a massacre of monks, butchered because of some invisible spirit?"

Shugden side: 14th Dalai Lama connives at religious persecution

When the "Tibet government-in-exile" made public of the 20 Tibetan Shugden practitioners this time, it in effect approved violent acts against the listed Tibetans, dividing the exiled Tibetan population and encouraging violence, in-fighting, and disharmony.

Judging from the description, people may think of the "March 14" Lhasa riot in 2008, which was also incited by the 14th Dalai Lama group.

For the Tibetan Shugden practitioners who came from China's Tibet following their "spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama", their confusion, hurt, and anger could only be bigger.

It is said in reports on Shugden website along with a video recording of Tibetan victims of the "religious persecution" connived by the 14th Dalai Lama: "in Tibetan society, differences in opinion and protest against Tibetan leadership (the Dalai Lama) are not allowed...In reality the Dalai Lama is a cunning and clever politician. When he felt his authority and power was in jeopardy he created a diversion that would embroil the whole Buddhist community in controversy."

Westerners: Dalai Lama's position on the Dorje Shugden issue should be questioned

Some westerns also have voiced their despising of the 14th Dalai Lama, calling him a hypocrite. A US netizen "Mirja Renner" stressed that "One common mistake people make with the respect to the Dalai Lama is that they equate he Nobel Peace prize with a rubber stamp for goodness. It is worth investigating a little deeper...we should also question his and their position on the Dorje Shugden issue. It is a mistake to assume that he must be right spiritual matters..., when one hasn't actually done any thorough investigation on those points."