Spotlight on Tibetan Buddhism V: The Critics and Alternatives

        First to my friends and readers, I apologize for the delay in this post I have been sick for about two weeks. I hope to publish more regularly in the near future.

        The content of this post will be limited to the material collected at the Dalai Lama's talk at TD Garden. I received pamphlets from the International Shugden Community and a Christian with a large sign reading "Saved by Jesus or Lost to Hell."

The International Shugden Community

         Shugden practitioners protested the Dalai Lama's recent U.S. talks and they have organized into the International Shugden Community. The International Shugden Community has published several pamphlets and continue to protest the Dalai Lama for his alleged civil rights violations. The central disagreement is over the status of Dorje Shugden, also known as Dolgyal and Gyalchen Shugden, and whether Shugden practitioners are allowed to be part of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism that the Dalai Lama leads. The Shugden community's protest at TD Garden was large and they chanted "False Dalai Lama, Stop Lying." The three pamphlets that they handed out were titled "Dalai Lama: The Worst Dictator in This Modern Day," "Reting Lama: How He Chose the False Dalai Lama," and Images of Discrimination and Segregation." I will take each of these publications in turn.        

Pamphlet 1) "Dalai Lama: The Worst Dictator in this Modern Day"

         The main claim in this pamphlet is that the Dalai Lama has "falsely banned the worship" of Dorje Shugden. The vast majority of the pamphlet was unspecific claims that he has removed all Shugden practitioners form Tibetan communities. The most specific statement was that in February 2008 he expelled 900 innocent Shugden monks from the Tibetan community. The pamphlet does not specify what actions were taken to expel these 900 monks. In short, this pamphlet is unconvincing due to lack of details.

Pamphlet 2) "Images of Discrimination and Segregation"

         This pamphlet (pictured below) claims that there is widespread discrimination of Shugden practitioners. The evidence consists entirely of images of signs and notices in public view. While these signs do provide some evidence of discrimination, ultimately its not compelling. For instance, one of the signs is outside of a medical center. If Shugden practitioners were denied medical care, why do we not see pictures of them suffering for lack of medical care? That would be compelling evidence that real meaningful discrimination exists. That such evidence is not presented means that either there isn't meaningful discrimination or that they simply failed to present compelling evidence of such discrimination.

Pamphlet 3) "Reting Lama: How He Chose the False Dalai Lama"

Summary: Reting Lama and a high government official Langdun had a strained relationship. A son of one of Langdun's relatives is the true Dalai Lama and this was supported by Langdun. Reting then faked seeing a vision containing the words A, KA, and MA. The false Dalai Lama was chosen from the Amdo Kumbum region and was born Muslim. In his youth the current Dalai Lama was not attentive to his studies and did not care for the Buddhist way of life. Reting later admitted, while in prison, that he had lied about seeing the letters A, KA, and MA. Having learned the truth the Tibetan Government publicly announced that any person who had received a special position from Reting, including the Dalai Lama would be removed from office. In 1959 due to political turmoil the current Dalai Lama escaped to India and created the Tibetan exile government. Though the current Dalai Lama is a Muslim, he has maintained the pretense of being a Buddhist holy being. In this way he has cheated people throughout the world.

Commentary: Even if this is all true, from a non-Buddhist perspective, this is not convincing. It would be more surprising to me if there was no political turmoil over choosing the leader of a religion. That being said IF this is true, this would be devastating to a devout Tibetan Buddhist. There are a few things that stand out. First, that a relative of a high government official would just happen to be the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama seems more politically motivated than Reting choosing someone from the Amdo Kumbum region. Second, the repeated insistence that the current recognized Dalai Lama is not even Buddhist, but Muslim. In addition, the only evidence given for this claim is his birth to Muslims. This is unnecessary and perhaps anti-Muslim. Third the only cited sources are essentially anonymous sources which cannot be verified independently. In short, like the other two pamphlets this is ultimately not convincing.

What would have been convincing in these series of pamphlets is a direct line from the recognized Dalai Lama's actions to some real suffering of the Shugden practitioners. In the first two pamphlets this connection was attempted, but the evidence was neither convincing nor compelling. Whether the current recognized Dalai Lama is not actually the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama makes no difference to a non-Buddhist. To a Buddhist it would make a difference, but even then the evidence is lacking.

Christianity as an alternative to Buddhism?

After leaving the Dalai Lama's talk I took a second to talk to a man holding a sign saying "Saved by Jesus or Lost to Hell." I asked him if he thought it was inappropriate to proselytize at the location of the Dalai Lama's talk and if he agreed with the Dalai Lama that Western religions should (for the most part) stay in Western countries and that Eastern religions should stay in Eastern countries. He stated that if he was in Tibet or any other eastern country he would be doing the same thing and that Christianity isn't a religion, its a relationship with God. That if Christianity wasn't the truth that he was wasting his life. He then handed me a pamphlet titled "Have You Believed Another Gospel?" and said "You're probably the only person I'll talk to all day."

I have stated here that the Dalai Lama doesn't understand the stakes for certain Christians to do missionary work. If you believed that everyone who was not Christian was going to suffer an eternity of anguish, you would be rather immoral not to try to convince all you could to become Christian. Second notice he doesn't even acknowledge that Christianity is a religion, but rather it is simply a relationship with God. Christianity, for this man, is not one among many religious options, but rather the one true and good way to live one's life, and the only way to be saved from eternal damnation.

This concludes my series on Tibetan Buddhism. I have reached out to the International Shugden community for comments.

Spotlight on Tibetan Buddhism IV: Visit to the Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies

The Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies is located in Medford, MA. As you approach the door of the center there is a mandala drawn with chalk at the entrance. This is an abstract representation of the universe and mandalas are often used to establish a sacred space. As I entered the door, I was asked to take my shoes off and one of the senior staff met me and I was able to ask her some questions prior to the service. The service itself was 'Medicine Buddha Puja', which entailed asking the seven Medicine Buddhas to help with physical ailments. Each Medicine Buddha has a different role with different specialties. As it was explained by Geshe Tenley (Geshe is a title meaning teacher), there are some doctors who specialize in the physiology of the heart, some specialize in lungs, and etc..., just like the different Medicine Buddhas have different roles. 

The ritual itself involved chanting, in this particular service, in English, and the content of this particular chant can be found here. The goal of this chanting was to praise and ask for help from the Medicine Buddhas. Puja means offering, so many people brought food, flowers, or candles as offerings as a practice of generosity and that the items may be blessed through the ritual.

The chanting was in unison and comprised the entire service aside for questions at the end. Hearing the chanting brought to my mind the idea of collective effervescence proposed by an early sociologist of religion, Emile Durkheim. Where people lose their individual identity during a group ritual or event and a feeling of oneness with the group emerges. I firmly believe that this experience of losing oneself in a group is a human desire, perhaps even a human need; but it is responsible for both good and evil. In this case it was an authentic expression of what I have come to recognize as a quite noble religion.

I was welcomed by everyone. They were quite concerned that I would not be able to sit on a mat for an hour or more of chanting. I did not chant myself, but listened as the sing song cadence fell gently upon my ears. I felt transported into another time and place, beautiful Buddha statues adorned the room and made me realize just how difficult it must be to transport a culture from another country to a new location.

In particular, relic traditions like Tibetan Buddhism seem hard to build in a non-native country. Take coordinating the construction of a stupa as an example. A stupa is a representation of the Buddha's mind. To build a stupa many relics are placed inside of it at various stages in its construction. Merely seeing a stupa will liberate any sentient being at least in the short term. You may see people often circumambulating, that is walking in a circle around, a stupa, which will help one attain enlightenment and a better rebirth. To learn more about this particular stupa, and stupas in general check out http://www.kurukulla.org/stupa-project-kurukulla-tibetan-buddhist.php.

Before the chanting I was able to ask questions of Wendy Cook, a former director and current teacher at the Center. I found the answers to the questions to be thoughtful and helpful to understand Tibetan Buddhism. What follows is not word for word, but a reconstruction of the questions and answers based on my notes and memory. Also an important disclaimer, each interview I take to be an individual's understanding of a particular faith not representative of the tradition at large or even of the organization to which the interviewee belongs.

Q: What is religion?
A: I find the answer to this question in the history of the word, developed in part by Robert Thurman. In this etymology of the word 'religion' means to bind, whether it be through ritual, morality, belief, or etc...

Q: What is Tibetan Buddhism?
A: Religion and science of the mind. There is philosophy as well, including cosmology and metaphysics.

Q; Is Tibetan Buddhism a religion?
A: Tibetan Buddhism definitely has a religious component, but there is also a long tradition of philosophy and debate.

Q: How are deities viewed in Tibetan Buddhism? Some people think of Buddhism as an atheistic religion or tradition.
A: There is no quick answer to this, but many people view Buddhism as atheistic because there is no Creator God. In general the deities represent qualities to aspire to, how one represents the different deities will be different.

Q: Tell me about your stupa.
A: Tibetan Buddhism is a relic tradition. Various holy objects are placed within the stupa at various stages in its construction, including scriptures, incense, perfume, Buddha statues, and deity statues. An important point is that a stupa is not just an empty monument, but filled with sacred objects.

Q: What is the purpose of Medince Buddha Puja? How does it work? (The ritual I witnessed at this service)
A: During the chanting we will be petitioning the seven Medicine Buddhas who respond to help with illness and injury, or in the case of near death they also help ensure a better rebirth.

Q: I am confused about how there can be no self and reincarnation, can you help me understand how these concepts work?
A: Keep in mind that in Tibetan Buddhism its not that there is no self, but no independent self. We are dependent on many things for our existence. I can't answer this question fully in such a small amount of time as this requires a lot of study. However, I and anyone, are always a result of karma, or all previous activities. Where I am today is a direct result of actions that were performed by me and other things that I depend on.

Q: So is it similar to building a Lego structure where actions slowly construct a being that nevertheless is dependent on so many other factors?
I do think that is a good analogy, but again this is a very complicated question.

(I really thought this last exchange about karma and reincarnation was an excellent way to understand how reincarnation was viewed in a tradition that does not believe in a stable unchanging self. Though I caution readers not to take this metaphor as anything more than a stepping stone to understanding)

After the service I also asked Geshe Tenley some more questions about Tibetan Buddhism, in retrospect some of my questions were ill formed, but he handled them all with care and at one point said my favorite line of the night, "Until you get the question of the object you are ignorant of the object." (Again the question and answers are based on my notes and memory not word for word, English was his second language, but this is the best way I can interpret the answers in American English)

Q: Do you agree with the Dalai Lama that Westerners shouldn't convert without a lot of study in Tibetan Buddhism?
A: Yes, quick converstion is not good, it can be very harmful. Westerners are always changing their religion, first this one, then that one.
(At this point one of the followers stated that it would be difficult for me to find anything that anyone there would disagree with the Dalai Lama about)

Q: Have you ever had a Christian or someone from any other faith try to convert you?
A: I have lived in a monastery most of my life and now I teach here. I have sometimes eaten a cookie (host, communion wafer) at Christian churches

(After some discussion the topic of the Shugden protesters came up)

Q: What's going on with the Shugden protesters anyways?
A: They don't know peace.

At the end of the night I was given a bag full of snacks and talked at length about my overall project to one of the followers. He seemed to think that people seemed to talk about the differences between religion more often than the similarities.

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My overall impression of the night was very positive. If you want to learn about or even EVENTUALLY convert to Tibetan Buddhism, then this would be a great place to learn more. As a visitor you can receive several free books which I have not yet been able to even read, let alone review. The only thing that concerned me even slightly was the comment that it would be hard to find any disagreement with the Dalai Lama. It should be noted that this was one of the followers, not an official teacher or director of the center. However, frankly there does not seem to be a lot that I know of in the Dalai Lama's corpus of teaching that one can reasonably disagree with if you already follow the tenets of Tibetan Buddhism. The final word of 'A Religion Critic' is that this is a great authentic place to learn about Tibetan Buddhism, so please visit to learn more about humanity!

Emergency Post: A Religion Critic's response to Ferguson

Normally I spend days on the editing process on one of my posts alone. But this will not be nearly as heavily edited. Because of its importance, I want to post it quickly. It is my hope that the questions I ask in this post will be contemplated whether you hear the questions from me or elsewhere. One reasonably might ask what 'A Religion Critic' could possibly contribute to the discussion of Ferguson, but in saying this you would also have to ask what Al Sharpton, a minister, can contribute. Religion has a place in these discussions and religion will be used by all sides. The legacy of MLK Jr. has already been cropping up. The aforementioned Al Sharpton will be having a press conference on the topic of Ferguson in less than an hour from the publishing of this post. If I can't contribute quickly and intelligently to Ferguson, then I am not worth of the title that I have chosen for myself. In short the no indictment and rioting in Ferguson is an event that takes precedence over my project. (I also think of my main project as important for facilitating peace). Sticking to my role as a religion critic I am going to talk about slavery, civil rights, and its relationship to religion in America historically.

According to Mark Noll's The Civil War as a Theological Crisis, the first major theological dispute between Christians over how to read the Bible in America was a direct result of slavery. BOTH sides were Christian, that is they both read the Bible and both typically went to church. The Bible was read by the pro-slavery movement more literally than the abolitionists. The abolitionists started ignoring direct passages that seem to approve of slavery. Instead they focused on the love of Jesus and to love your neighbor, which included slaves. (Yes, you can argue that, in the Bible, slavery did not mean race based slavery, but by and large this was not an argument being made in antebellum America). This dispute was not resolved by theological argument. Rather it was resolved by the North winning the civil war. But, what's the point? Why would I bring this up in a modern day context? The point is even if you are a Bible believing Christian there are important disputes that often cannot always be resolved by looking at the plain text in the Bible. In fact, the pro-slavery movement was more inclined to look at the plain text of the Bible than the abolitionists. Remember this as it applies to current civil rights abuses; two people can both be Bible believing Christians and disagree!

Even more directly David L. Chappell's Stone of Hope deals with the origins of the civil rights movement. Who was it that led the civil right's movements? It wasn't white liberals who trusted in reason and enlightenment ideals to change the world. It was primarily African American ministers and religious leaders who borrowed the prophetic language from the Old Testament who were able to enact change. In short, they found a theology or philosophy that motivated action. Just as importantly the Southern white churches and religious leaders were less active in supporting anti-civil rights legislation and causes than would be expected. Especially considering the religious support of slavery in the antebellum period. One possibility is that there was not nearly as much Biblical support for segregation as there was slavery. The Bible just doesn't command or permit someone to cut themselves off from those who look different than you. In fact there should be a community of believers that doesn't take into account race or position. (Yes, I know the lack of awareness of social distinctions is color blindness, but I am relaying this conception in the context of outright segregation). Thus, the segregationists could not very well rely on the Bible to support their cause.

But what's the bottom line here? We need philosophies or theologies (depending on your preference) that support calls to action. There shouldn't be a large number of philosophies or theologies because unity is also important. But perhaps we can develop or reuse a few good ones, perhaps even prophetic religion. Prophetic religion a la King (and many many' others), was a great rallying point. In any case, one of the most critical questions that we can ask ourselves is: "What philosophies or theologies can we use or develop to help us take actions to end systematic racism and in the long run peace?" Secondly, "What actions should we take?" Of course, the philosophies or theologies we use to call us to action will in part determine which actions we take. But the reverse should also be true. We should judge the philosophies and theologies, in part, on what actions they can feasibly support. At this point, these are the most critical questions I can develop in regards to the no indictment decision in Ferguson and the systematic racism that led to this situation. Riots do not simply happen after a single incident, but the shooting of the unarmed Michael Brown was the straw that broke the camel's back. And this systematic racism is what we need to address with both our questions and our actions. We should also spend time developing further questions. I am A religion critic not THE religion critic. I always hope that others will join in conversation with me and that I will be welcome to join in the conversation with others.