The world’s media have been reporting on this growing crisis surrounding the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, a crisis that has led to a major tragedy of violence and bloodshed within the Tibetan Buddhist community in India, and which has now spread to Buddhist communities around the world. Two of the principal political issues underlying this crisis are: (1) the Dalai Lama’s unilateral decision to abandon Tibetan independence as a political goal, and (2) his ban on the religious practice of Dorje Shugden.
Many newspapers and television networks have now reported on this situation, presenting in many cases the extreme views of the major contestants or the opinions of other journalists, usually unsubstantiated. Now that the public at large is aware that there is a problem, what is needed is a deeper investigation and analysis of the many complex issues involved, with the aim of ending this great tragedy of unnecessary human suffering.
16 June 1988– ‘Dalai Lama asks Home Rule, with Chinese Role, in Tibet’, The Washington Post:
‘The Buddhist spiritual leader proposed talks with China to make Tibet “a self-governing, democratic political entity . . . in association with the People’s Republic of China [which] could remain responsible for Tibet’s foreign policy.”
‘The Dalai Lama said he was “well aware that many Tibetans will be disappointed by the moderate stand” these new ideas represent.’
16 November 1988– ‘Dalai Lama offers Tibet Compromise’,The Boston Globe:
‘The Dalai Lama, revered by Tibetans, said yesterday he would settle for less than full independence for Tibet to prevent assimilation of the region by China. “I am not insisting we should be an independent country,” the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibetans said in an interview.’
11 March 1996– ‘Refugees chafe at Dalai Lama’s rule’,The Independent(London):
‘Tibetan refugees began an 18-day walk from their northern India headquarters to New Delhi yesterday, hoping to step up pressure on China for Tibet’s independence. The march reflected growing impatience by a younger generation of Tibetans with the Dalai Lama, whose offer to compromise on independence has failed to win concessions from China.’
26 January 1997– Paul Salopek, ‘The CIA’s Secret War in Tibet’, Chicago Tribune:
‘The Americans came, he said, in a big turboprop plane, a gleaming machine that he and other awed Tibetans called a “sky ship”. They wore sunglasses and baggy flight suits. They packed shiny automatic weapons on their hips. And speaking through an interpreter, they asked Nawang if he wanted to kill Chinese.
‘ “I told them I would be very happy to kill many Chinese,” recalled the 63-year-old rug merchant, one of thousands of exiled Tibetans living in this picturesque Himalayan capital.
‘ “I was very young and strong then. Very patriotic. I told them I would even be a suicide bomber.”
‘The strangers, Air Force pilots working with the CIA, must have liked what they heard because on that hot day back in 1963, at a secret air base in India, they took Nawang and 40 other Tibetan recruits on the first airplane ride of their lives. It was a journey that would stretch halfway around the world and into one of the murkiest chapters of the CIA’s long history of covert activity in Asia: a secret war in Tibet.’
20 November 1997 – John Goetz and Jochen Graebert, ‘Verklärt, verkitscht – Hollywood feiert den Dalai Lama’ (‘Modified and kitschified – Hollywood fetes the Dalai Lama’), ARD(German TV documentary):
‘Things are not so harmonious and tolerant around the Dalai Lama – especially not when it comes to his own power.
‘Shugden is one of many traditional Tibetan protector deities. For many years the Dalai Lama also worshipped this centuries old Deity. But now he has banned the worship of this Deity.
‘It’s alleged that Shugden worship endangers the personal safety and health of the Dalai Lama. There is a ban on any Shugden worshippers receiving employment in roles from Ministers to nurses. And on top of this the Dalai Lama demands that people spy on each other: [quoting government letter:] “Should anyone whosoever continue to worship the Shugden Deity, make a list of their name, address and place of birth. Keep the original and send us a copy of the list.” Denunciation and spying have poisoned the atmosphere amongst the Tibetan exiles.
‘The Dalai Lama is renowned throughout the world for his wisdom. But in reality he makes all his important political decisions in a highly dubious manner: he asks traditional Tibetan oracles for advice.
‘Lhasang Tsering: “In terms of introducing democracy, I can only say that the exile government is half-hearted. In fact, almost embarrassingly so. The question of independence was decided by the Executive in isolation. Not even the parliament was consulted, let alone the people. So I say: the decision to give up the goal of independence was undemocratic.” ’
5 January 1998– Beat Regli, ‘Dalai Lama: Discord in Exile’, 10 vor 10,SF1(Swiss TV documentary):
‘A ban that shakes many Tibetan Buddhists at the core of their faith. In just one monastery in southern India about a thousand monks refuse to comply with the Dalai Lama’s decision.
‘Anonymous threats are spread against anyone who refuses to obey his directives: Whoever reveres Dorje Shugden, “... must be targeted and firmly opposed. We must bring them before the public. They have to be killed.”
‘The Thubten family was literally chased out of their residential area.
‘Mrs Thubten: “About a hundred people attacked us. Had we gone out of our house, they definitely would have killed us.”
‘Fanatical followers of the Dalai Lama tried to burn down this family’s house. They successfully forced these people who revere the Deity now banned by the Dalai Lama to flee. They lost everything. This family are pariahs of the Tibetan Community in India.
‘Mrs Thubten: “They broke into our house and destroyed everything. They smashed the china; demolished the TV with stones; wrecked the fridge. All the windows, they destroyed everything. My husband worked thirty-five years for all this.”
‘Only few victims are willing to speak out against this persecution.’
March 1998, Laura Durango, ‘Report – Bad Times’,Diario de Cordoba:
‘The media all over the world is taking notice of this conflict. The Swiss televisionSF1, the German televisionARDand the Canadian magazineNOWhave already reported on the supposed methods used by the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan government in exile to ban the worship of Shugden: destruction of statues and images of this Deity, forced signature campaigns to make people promise to stop their worship, intimidation of those who refuse to do so, expulsion of monks from their monasteries and punishments compared to those of Hitler against the Jews.’
26 April 1998– Julian West, ‘Tibetans accuse Dalai Lama of spiritual betrayal’, The Daily Telegraph (London):
‘All is not well in Shangri-la. In the Dalai Lama’s mountain headquarters the chanting of Tibetan monks has been disturbed by loud voices of dissent.
‘Many members of the 130,000-strong Tibetan exile community are convinced that the Dalai Lama has betrayed their dream of a Tibet free of Chinese occupation.
‘Some are even accusing “His Holiness” of sacrificing Tibetan independence for “his own spiritual ideology” by constantly changing his aims and failing to modernise their society.’
28 April 1998– Karen Butler, ‘Monks, nuns to protest Dalai Lama in NY’, United Press International(UPI) (New York):
‘Followers of the Dalai Lama will petition the Tibetan holy man during his visit to New York City this week asking him to reverse his ban on a traditional Buddhist practice, which they say is religious persecution.
‘It is the first time that the Dalai Lama has been faced with a protest from his own followers while visiting the United States.
‘The Dalai Lama, who arrives Friday, reportedly stopped Dorje Shugden as a protector deity in 1976 after an oracle told him that the deity was a malevolent spirit harmful to the leader’s well being.
‘A High Lama, Kundeling Rinpoche, says that on Saturday about 150 monks and nuns plan to present the Dalai Lama with a petition bearing 15,000 signatures objecting to the ban, which he compares to President Clinton forbidding Christians from worshipping the Virgin Mary.’
30 April 1998– ‘Major Change in Political Complexion as Tibetans Call for Militant Campaign’,East Asia Today Reports, BBC World Service:
‘The death of Thupten Nudup[sic], the fifty year old monk, who self immolated this week in Delhi, is, according to analysts, producing nothing short of a sea change among the followers of the exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
‘Tens of thousands of them came onto the streets of Dharamsala, the seat of their exiled government, to pay respects to the dead man.’
30 April 1998– Nadine Brozan, ‘Buddhists to Protest Dalai Lama during US Visit’, The New York Times:
‘The Dalai Lama may be bearing messages of peace when he arrives in New York today at the start of a 15-day American tour, but he faces the threat of protests from a coalition of Buddhists who contend that he has kept them from worshipping a deity that they revere.’
30 April 1998 – Karen Michel, ‘Protesting the Dalai Lama, All Things Considered’, National Public Radio, (USA):
‘The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, is starting another visit to the United States.
‘This one could be less peaceful than previous visits. A group of dissident Tibetan Buddhists says the Dalai Lama’s ban on the worship of a Buddhist Deity called Dorje Shugden amounts to religious oppression. The Dorje Shugden International Coalition is also criticizing the Dalai Lama for heeding the advice of an oracle to issue the ban.’
1 May 1998– Costas Panagopoulos, ‘Zero Worship: The Deity the Dalai Lama Doesn’t Love’, New York Magazine:
‘The Shugden Coalition ... has collected some 15,000 signatures petitioning the Dalai Lama to lift the ban, which, the Coalition claims, has incited human-rights violations - house-to-house searches, destruction of prayer books and images of the deity - among some of his followers, primarily in Dharmsala, India, seat of the Tibetan leader’s exiled government. ... also cites the Tibetan regional council’s statement that it is unlawful to worship gods not recognised by the government, and the fact that the Dalai Lama’s private office has asked for the names, birthplaces, and addresses of Shugden worshippers. “The Dalai Lama portrays himself as a Gandhi figure,” says Jampel, “but he is acting more like a modern-day Hitler.” ’
3 May 1998– Cynthia Tornquist, ‘Dalai Lama Greeted by Protestors in Manhattan’, CNN TV:
‘Nearly 130 worshippers of a Buddhist Deity protested Sunday against the Dalai Lama during his visit to midtown Manhattan.
‘Worshippers of the Dorje Shugden, a 350-year-old Buddhist Deity, accuse the Dalai Lama of instigating a ban against the worship of the Deity, which they say is one of the most revered in the Buddhist religion.
‘A spokesman for an international coalition to lift the ban says worshippers are being discriminated against in many Buddhist regions of Asia. The group says the Dalai Lama is oppressing human rights.’
4 May 1998– John Zubrzycki, ‘Patience of Tibetans Wears Thin’, Christian Science Monitor, International Section:
‘As Thupten Ngodup watched the first three Tibetan hunger strikers being taken away under cover, he decided there was only one way to fight back.
‘So as Indian riot police surrounded their camp in New Delhi at dawn the next day to pick up the three remaining protesters, the former monk poured kerosene over himself, struck a match, and walked behind a banner demanding independence for Tibet.
‘Mr. Ngodup died two days later on April 29….
‘Despite spending nearly 40 years in exile, the Dalai Lama remains the undisputed symbol of the Tibetan exile movement. But more and more exiles are beginning to question his authority as the political leader of their struggle. “There is a stagnation in the Tibetan struggle caused by indecision on the part of the leadership and a lack of political will to take the necessary steps to achieve results,” says Lhasang Tsering, former president of the Tibetan Youth Congress.’
5 May 1998– Neelesh Misra, ‘Tibetans Try to Storm Embassy’, Associated Press , (New Delhi):
‘Indian police showered baton blows on Tibetan demonstrators trying to storm the Chinese Embassy today to protest Beijing’s rule of their homeland. About a dozen protesters were left injured and bleeding.
‘In a guerrilla-style operation that took the police off guard, about 200 slogan-shouting protesters converged on the embassy from different directions, waving banners and Tibetan flags.
‘Monks and nuns jostled and traded punches with the outnumbered policemen, who summoned reinforcements and attacked the crowd with bamboo truncheons.’
‘ “The self-immolation was just the beginning”, said Pema Lhundhup, joint secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress. “The frustration is boiling over. More and more Tibetans are getting ready to die.” ’
11 May 1998– David Van Biema and Tim McGirk, ‘Monks vs Monks’, Time Magazine:
‘Tibet’s political and religious leader garnered not only a 1989 Nobel Peace Prize for efforts on behalf of his Chinese occupied homeland but also (as the Apple Computer ads strove to exploit) the vague undifferentiated goodwill of a cynical and over caffeinated world still auditioning sources of truth, calm and peace.
‘All the more jarring, then, that upon arriving in New York City last Thursday to start a 16-day American tour, the icon of enlightened harmony was met by demonstrators. And not just any protesters, but saffron-and maroon-robed Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns hefting a sign that read dalai lama, please give religious freedom and accusing him of suppressing devotions to a deity known as Dorje Shugden.’
11 May 1998– Kenneth Woodward, ‘A Scratch in the Teflon Lama’, Newsweek:
‘The reputation of His Holiness - despite constant trafficking with politicians, fund-raisers and media and movie stars - has remained as lofty as the Himalayas. He is the Teflon lama.
‘Now there is a scratch. At the start of a religious visit to the United States, the Dalai Lama was picketed in New York City last week by a group of Buddhists charging him with - of all things - religious intolerance.’
13 July 1998– Christopher Hitchens, ‘His Material Highness’, Salon Magazine:
‘The Dalai Lama has come out in support of the thermonuclear tests recently conducted by the Indian state, and has done so in the very language of the chauvinist parties who now control that state’s affairs. The “developed” countries, he says, must realise that India is a major contender and should not concern themselves with its internal affairs. This is a perfectly realpolitik statement, so crass and banal and opportunist that it would not deserve any comment if it came from another source. ...
‘The greatest triumph that modern PR can offer is the transcendent success of having your words and actions judged by your reputation, rather than the other way about. The “spiritual leader” of Tibet has enjoyed this unassailable status for some time now, becoming a byword and synonym for saintly and ethereal values. Why this doesn’t put people on their guard I’ll never know.’
1 August 1998– Sara Chamberlain, ‘Deity Banned – Outrage as Dalai Lama denounces Dorje Shugden’, New Internationalist:
‘Buddhists picketed the Dalai Lama’s recent visit to the United States and Europe. They protested against the ban on the worship of the 350-year-old deity, Dorje Shugden, whom they say is one of the most revered in the Buddhist religion. In 1996 the Dalai Lama announced that worship of Dorje Shugden was banned and explained that his oracle, Nechung, has advised him that the deity was a threat to his personal safety and the future of Tibet.
‘According to P.K. Dey, a human-rights lawyer from Delhi: “Those worshipping Shugden are experiencing tremendous harassment … Dalai Lama supporters are going from house to house searching. For example, in Clementown, India, the house of a family of Shugden worshippers was stoned and then firebombed. Wanted posters describe people believed to be Shugden leaders as the top ten enemies of the state.”
‘Dorje Shugden worshippers say the ban and its implementation are in direct conflict with the proposed constitution of a free Tibet, laid down by the Dalai Lama in 1963. The constitution states that all religious denominations are equal before the law, and every Tibetan shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. But when Dorje Shugden worshippers challenged the ban, the Tibetan Government-inexile stated that: “Concepts like democracy and freedom of religion are empty when it comes to the well-being of the Dalai Lama and the common cause of Tibet.”
‘During recent peace vigils a petition with 15,000 signatures was handed to the Dalai Lama stating the need for all Tibetan traditions to flourish. Protesters asked him to sign a declaration of freedom to worship Dorje Shugden. The Dalai Lama refused.’
24 August 1998– Archana Phull, ‘Anti-Shugden agenda flares up conflict’, The India Express:
‘The “anti-Shugden agenda” of a convention to be hosted by the United Cholsum Organisation of the Tibetans in McLeod Ganj from August 27 has again flared up the Dalai-deity conflict with over 120 members of the Dorje Shugden Charitable and Religious Society, Delhi deciding to throng the venue, without any invitation, to seek direct “evidence of Cholsum accusations on Chinese funding to the hard core Shugden to divide the Tibetan community.” ’
2 September 1998– Hema Shukla, ‘Protest by religious dissidents reflects schism among Tibetan exiles’, Associated Press:
‘NEW DELHI, India: About 150 Tibetan protesters accused the Dalai Lama of religious repression Tuesday, reflecting a schism in the Tibetan exile society that was once seen as cohesive.
‘The demonstrators were believers in Dorje Shugden, a Tibetan deity whose worship was banned by the Dalai Lama in 1996. They wore white masks during their protest march to symbolise what they called attempts to silence them.
‘Tibetan officials have indicated that the Dalai Lama believes the spirit of Dorje Shugden is working against him, hampering his goal of winning autonomy for Tibet from China.
‘ “We want the world to know that Tibetan society has problems. There is religious repression,” said Cheme Tsering, a spokesman for the marchers. ...’
15 September 1998– Jim Mann, ‘CIA gave Aid to Tibetan Exiles in ‘60s, Files show’, The LA Times:
‘For much of the 1960s, the CIA provided the Tibetan exile movement with $1.7 million a year for operations against China, including an annual subsidy of $180,000 for the Dalai Lama, according to newly released U.S. intelligence documents.
‘The money for the Tibetans and the Dalai Lama was part of the CIA’s worldwide effort during the height of the Cold War to undermine Communist governments, particularly in the Soviet Union and China. In fact, the U.S. government committee that approved the Tibetan operations also authorized the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba.’
November 1998– Brendan O’Neill, ‘Dalai Lama “a religious dictator”’, Living Marxism:
‘... There is no outlet in Tibet or northern India for Shugden worshippers to protest about what is happening. The only independent newspaper in Tibetan exile society,Democracy, was forced to close in March 1996 after it criticised government-in-exile policy. ...
‘Perhaps it is not surprising that the Dalai Lama should be able to suppress debate in Tibetan society. More disturbing is that the Western media has also been largely silent about this. It seems that for many the Dalai Lama is beyond reproach; as Hollywood’s and the liberal media’s favourite good guy he can do no wrong.
‘ “It’s not the politically correct thing to do, to criticise the Dalai Lama”, says Dan Coote of the British branch of the Dorje Shugden Coalition. When Coote sent out press releases at the beginning of this year he was told by some journalists that “they would not touch this story”, because it was “too critical” of the Buddhist leader. “There seems to be a double standard”, says Coote, ‘‘where some freedoms are seen as worthy of support, while others are ignored”.’
10 January 1999 – ‘Dorje Shugden worshippers barred from Dalai Lama meet’, The India Express:
‘Theological differences among Tibetan Buddhists reached a climax here on Saturday with the arrival of the Dalai Lama with worshippers of Dorje Shugden deity demanding that they be derecognised as Tibetans so that they can apply for Indian citizenship.
‘Before the Dalai Lama’s arrival in Hubli where he will conduct a series of religious classes, a notice was sent to all the communities stating that followers of Dorje Shugden, addressed as Dolgyal (a derogatory term), would not be allowed to attend the seminar. Passes were issued only to those people and monks who gave a written statement that they were not followers of this deity.’
10 March 1999– Iain S. Bruce, ‘The Dark Side of the Dalai Lama’, The Scotsman:
‘To much of the Western world he is the very embodiment of kindness and peace, a gentle robed figure of great wisdom and limitless virtue. Feted by politicians, pop stars and Hollywood stars, the seemingly undisputed spiritual and political leader of the movement to free Tibet has always seemed like a pretty safe bet in a diplomatic arena populated by rogues and charlatans.
‘The cracks in the Dalai Lama’s impeccable image, however, are beginning to show and accusations are being levelled with increasing frequency which link the 1989 Nobel laureate to religious repression, despotism and murder.
‘ “The Dalai Lama has two faces. In the West he enthusiastically creates an atmosphere of liberalism and open dialogue; in the East he treats people as a monarch does his subjects”, says Lama Kundeling, the abbot of the Atisha monastery in Bangalore and a respected member of the exiled Tibetan community. “There is no freedom for us – he has a total monopoly over all spiritual and secular matters and spreads confusion and distress among the Tibetan people.’’ ’
5 January 2001– ‘Of the Dalai Lama and a witch-hunt’,Frontline (India’s National Magazine):
‘What has been the impact of the ban?
‘Kundeling Rinpoche: “Severe. I call it the Tibetan Inquisition initiated worldwide, but particularly in India. For example, the house of every Tibetan was searched, pictures and images of Dorje Shugden were trampled upon, desecrated, burnt or destroyed publicly. The houses of prominent people – followers of Dorje Shugden – were attacked during the nights, and death threats issued to all those who did not follow the dictates of the Dalai Lama. A number of monks were expelled from the monastery at the Mundgod settlement for having participated in a peaceful protest march organised by me on May 15, 1996 in the Mundgod settlement. When the Dorje Shugden Society was established in April 15, 1996 in Delhi, the Dalai Lama and his so-called ministry used threats, money, and the Indian bureaucracy to close it down forcibly.”’
18 September 2003– Laurie Goodstein, ‘Dalai Lama says Terror may need a violent reply’, The New York Times:
‘The Dalai Lama, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and one of the world’s most prominent advocates of nonviolence, said in an interview yesterday that it might be necessary to fight terrorists with violence, and that it was “too early to say” whether the war in Iraq was a mistake.
‘ “I feel only history will tell,” he said. “Terrorism is the worst kind of violence, so we have to check it, we have to take countermeasures.”
‘The Dalai Lama spoke in his first visit to New York City since the 2001 terrorist attacks. He is on the last stop of a United States tour that has highlighted his dual roles as Buddhist teacher and head of state.’
10 October 2003– Colman McCarthy, ‘The Dalai Lama is no Gandhi’, National Catholic Reporter:
‘If you’ve ever had suspicions that the Dalai Lama is a lightweight, suspect no more. He is.
‘Recently finishing a U.S. lecture tour that attracted rockconcert crowds in major cities, the 68-year-old Tibetan Buddhist came up against a pesky New York Times reporter who asked questions about terrorism and the war in Iraq. In a story headlined “Dalai Lama Says Terror May Need a Violent Reply,” the monk said: “Terrorism is the worst kind of violence, so we have to check it, we have to take countermeasures.”
‘Soothing words to the Bush war makers as they seek $87 billion for countermeasures to bolster earlier countermeasures that failed. No amount of Buddhist incense smoked over the lama’s words can hide their meaning: Kill people to solve conflicts. Here is one more religious leader who is a pacifist between wars, akin to being a vegetarian between meals ...
‘The Dalai Lama joins a long list of people who, in the parlance of celebrity, are famous for being famous. He is an entertainer, a headliner, a showman—complete with maroon robes and a bare shoulder. Nothing wrong with that. A shtick’s a shtick. But he’s nowhere close to being in the company of Gandhi, who said, “I do not believe in any war,” or the Mennonites Church of the Brethren or Quakers who don’t hedge their antiwar convictions, much less wait for history.’
23 May 2007– Michael Backman, ‘Behind the Dalai Lama’s Holy Cloak’, The Age (Melbourne):
‘Rarely do journalists challenge the Dalai Lama.
‘Partly it is because he is so charming and engaging. Most published accounts of him breeze on as airily as the subject, for whom a good giggle and a quaint parable are substitutes for hard answers. But this is the man who advocates greater autonomy for millions of people who are currently Chinese citizens, presumably with him as head of their government. So, why not hold him accountable as a political figure? …
‘What has the Dalai Lama actually achieved for Tibetans inside Tibet?
‘If his goal has been independence for Tibet or, more recently, greater autonomy, then he has been a miserable failure.
‘He has kept Tibet on the front pages around the world, but to what end? The main achievement seems to have been to become a celebrity. Possibly, had he stayed quiet, fewer Tibetans might have been tortured, killed and generally suppressed by China.’
5 February 2008- French Politician Jean-Luc Mélanchon on the Olympic Protests, Telematin, France 2(French TV):
‘Jean Luc Melanchon: “If people want to protest against the Olympics, it means they accept the Dalai Lama’s claims about Tibet. But there we need to look carefully and not be naive. I find it unbelievable, really, to see French people, who would argue forcefully for the separation of church and state, finding it desirable to have a theocracy in Tibet ...
‘We know how these things work. It’s not a simple affair about an association or an NGO. There are strategic interests being played out. Kosovo didn’t demand independence, but ended up with a US military base. So let’s not pretend to be naive, and say that this isn’t about geo-political or geo-strategic issues. People are being manipulated.” ’
6 March 2008 – Brendan O’Neill, ‘Why Tibetophilia won’t set Tibet free’, edited version first published on Comment is Freeon 6th March 2008 (available on www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/4852/, March 10th 2008):
‘At the same time, [free Tibet] campaigners’ unquestioning support for the Dalai Lama suggests they see Tibetans as an immature people who need a godlike figure to lead them. The Dalai Lama was never elected by anybody; rather, in a process that makes Britain’s House of Lords seem almost modern and democratic (I said almost), he was handpicked by a tiny sect of monks who believed that he represents one of innumerable incarnations of the Buddhist entity Avalokitesvara.
‘Indeed, some writers on Tibet have pointed out that the idolisation of the Dalai Lama by Western activists and o