Mohan Guruswamy’s view of Dalai Lama
Dear friends,
I have always respected and believed in His Holiness the Dalai Lama and I still do, we may not share the same religious views but I love him very much as he is one of my teachers. I just wish he would really help a segment of his people who practice Dorje Shugden by integrating us into the mainstream on the basis we are people and not based on our religious orientation to segregate us. I wish this humbly so much.
It’s a great sadness to be in the position where I am automatically labelled as “against” His Holiness due to my choice of Dorje Shugden practice, I have too received teachings and instructions from other teachers which I can’t neglect. When a promise is made, it’s made. In Tibetan Buddhism, having Guru Devotion and integrity is very vital, it’s one of the components to become enlightened. My personal guru gave me Dorje Shugden and not the Dalai Lama so he cannot take it away even if I am segregated from the rest and further persecuted.
I found this article on India’s Mohan Guruswamy’s view on the Dalai Lama’s role very interesting. I don’t fully agree but it is nevertheless fascinating to say the least. Mr. Mohan Guruswamy is a powerful think-tank and has been involved intimately with the Indian government. So it is truly interesting to see what this intellectual and deep thinker has to say about Dalai Lama, India, China, Shugden and the predicted splintering of Tibetans post Dalai Lama. Please read carefully and share your thoughts.
I truly wish His Holiness well, may he live long and continue to teach and benefit a lot of people around the world.
Tsem Rinpoche
India’s Tibet Option
26 May 2016 | Mohan Guruswamy
Tibet is not only India’s largest geographical neighbor but also its most significant in terms of the environment. Many major Indian rivers like the Brahmaputra, Indus and Sutlej originate in Tibet. Though we have been brought up to believe that the Himalayas are an impenetrable barrier, they are in fact quite porous and the ethno-cultural traits of the people who inhabit the crest of India amply reflect the influence of Tibet in India. This to and fro movement of people continues even today despite the deployment of the world’s two largest standing armies in a bid to define borders. India’s influence on Tibet too has not been insignificant.
Despite a historical political identity entwined with China, Tibet has traditionally looked towards India for economic and spiritual sustenance. Tibet has also had a long history of struggle with China and this Dalai Lama is not the first one to seek refuge in India. The British had an active policy to create a buffer against China in the form of an independent Tibet. Not only that, the British also sought to open Tibet to the world and to its influence. When the Tibetans proved recalcitrant the British sent in a military expedition led by Col. Francis Younghusband to do just this. The Chinese Amban in Lhasa watched the Younghusband expedition’s exertions in Tibet passively and one immediate consequence of this was an assertion of Tibet’s independence.
Almost immediately after their civil war triumph in 1949, the Chinese Communists reasserted control over Tibet, which had by then enjoyed over four decades of relative independence. For over fifty-six years since India has tried to head off the Tibet problem by accepting its annexation into the Peoples Republic of China. In these fifty-six years the Chinese Communists initially tried to solve the Tibet problem by attempting to wipe out Tibetan nationalism and Buddhism with Mao’s Communism. It didn’t succeed. This policy has now been replaced by creeping “Hanization” and massive doses of economic development. These too have worked only partially for the Chinese, but they seemed to do better with this than with the Maoist iron hand. Though Tibet is now relatively passive, it still remains a dry tinderbox and the Chinese dread the likelihood of any spark that may set off a fire.
For India too the policy has worked partially. Nearly 150,000 Tibetan refugees now live in India, and India has willy-nilly become the fulcrum of a worldwide struggle by the Tibetans to regain their nation. In short the Tibet issue, though dormant now, is still very much alive and whether India likes it or not, it is being played out in its front yard.
The stature of the Dalai Lama
Central to this sustained struggle has been the ever-increasing international stature of the Dalai Lama who has become the symbol of many ideals and images. The mix of new age spiritualism, ethics, ecological values and politics has won for the Dalai Lama many influential and wealthy western adherents to Tibetan Buddhism and supporters of Tibet’s cause. Macleodganj today is a magnet that draws large numbers of young westerners seeking a new meaning to and purpose in life. True the Dalai Lama has become many things to many people but what should be relevant to us is that he has emerged as a man of great stature and influence. Presidents and Prime Ministers now vie to receive him and the pictures that get transmitted world over electronically reminds the world that there is still a Tibetan nation still yearning to be free and peacefully struggling for it. This is a powerful image.
Stalin did not live to see his wry question about the number of divisions with the Pope answered. But one must wonder what he would have had to say if he witnessed the Polish priest who became the Pope catalyzing the collapse of the Communist regime in Poland, which in turn unraveled the Warsaw Pact and Soviet hegemony over Eastern Europe? The Chinese have a better sense of history and hence rightly worry about the broad wake the peripatetic Dalai Lama leaves behind as he reiterates his message all over the world. India too must worry about this.
Tibetans believe the Dalai Lama to be a living God. But he is also human and must die like all humans. He is now in his seventy-second year and time is certainly not on his side. As long as he is alive he keeps the embers of Tibetan nationalism from conflagrating with the blanket of the new age Buddhism that he has woven. When this Dalai Lama is gone, the embers might just combust. In which case, the Chinese might just demand that it is for India to hose it down. The Chinese will naturally not see Tibetans as freedom fighters but as miscreants propped up by the inimical West and their Indian lackeys. As General Musharaff once famously said one man’s freedom fighter may be another man’s terrorist. But just as we demand that Pakistan must dismantle the terrorist camps in POK, China too might well demand that India close down the Tibetan movement in India. Or else there are so many places where the Chinese can resume the game they once played in the Naga Hills. A good part of Central India seems “ripe for revolution” and the Chinese may be sorely tempted to resurrect Maoism in another country.
Post Dalai Lama scenario
We can be certain that it is the present Dalai Lama’s stature that keeps the lid on Tibetan militancy. After him the political power of the next Dalai Lama will almost certainly be challenged. Many of the younger Tibetans in exile will not accept the legitimacy and leadership of another incarnation. The incarnation will in any case take many years to grow into mature adulthood and till then some manner of bureaucratic regency will actually be in charge. This regency will not have the moral and spiritual stature of the present Dalai Lama. That will have to be earned and only time can tell if the next incarnation chosen by the regency will fit the bill. The chosen leadership of the exiles will not go unchallenged. The Chinese will almost certainly try to foist their own incarnation and will try to legitimize it with all the power available to them. It is unlikely that they will succeed, but it will certainly obfuscate the situation and preclude any future compromise on the issue of the spiritual leadership of the Tibetan Buddhists.
While the spiritual leadership may be contested, it is almost inevitable that a new generation of Tibetan exiles will stake a claim for the temporal leadership of the Tibetan nationalist movement. If this is contested by the regency around the India based incarnation, then we will almost certainly see a competition for the hearts and minds of young Tibetans and this will inevitably lead to more assertive postures as the factions jockey for power. Such internal struggles often result in greater militancy. On the other hand we may see a duality of leadership emerging among the Tibetan exiles, a spiritual leadership that tends to the soul and a militant leadership that leads the struggle for attainment of political goals. The possibility of this must however be deemed a bit remote as the recrudescence of Tibetan Buddhism/Nationalism is facilitated by the steady flow of money from the West and from Asian countries like Taiwan and Thailand. Without this money the political leadership is likely to fail to assert control and the lama theocracy thus might be able once again to combine spiritual and temporal leadership, as is now. In all likelihood the struggle for supremacy might leave both sides debilitated and the Chinese will be able to exploit this to their advantage. The splintering of the exile leadership into two or even more factions would be a desirable objective for the Chinese.
Even the religious leadership could very well be splintered. The Dalai Lama recently went public with a stinging attack on the followers of the Shugden spirit indicating that it has indeed become a major challenge. The Karmapa is also here in India after a somewhat mysterious flight from Tibet. Then we will inevitably have a second Dalai Lama in China. Even among the exiles the leadership could very well be splintered between the sects with the Gelugpa supremacy being challenged. Already we see some signs of this with the major monasteries of the Tibetan sects asserting themselves with lavishly laid out monasteries with their own hierarchies and reincarnates. Some reincarnates are now even western born! With so much of western influence, content and dependence it is not inconceivable that the Tibetan sects may well go the way of the Hare Krishna and Rajneesh sects which finally lapsed into the hands of dubious characters with wide-ranging interests including narcotics trafficking. The Chinese will do well to encourage the sundry ambitions of some of the more worldly-wise monks.
Some possible consequences for India
This will not be without consequences for India. People who have closer ethno-linguistic links to Tibet than to the plains populate the entire Himalayan region from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. Geographically much of Ladakh is an extension of the Tibetan Changthang and the main language spoken is a Tibetan dialect. The Tawang tract in the other end was, till it was annexed by India in the early 1950’s, under the temporal control of the Dalai Lama in Lhasa. The Bhotia’s of Sikkim are also a Tibetan race speaking a Tibetan dialect. The term Tibet derives from Tho Bhot, the original denotation for Tibetans. It is not difficult to see the relationship between Tho Bhot and Bhotia. The Dalai Lama has so far shown great restraint by not overtly interfering with the functioning of the numerous monasteries, but a future religious leadership might not be so restrained, particularly when there is so much easy western money involved. In a nation where sub-national separatist movements are constantly erupting, the possibility of this being stoked in the Himalayan region should not be excluded.
We must not forget that the border dispute with China is in reality a border dispute with Tibet. It is another matter that if Tibet was independent, and hence weak, it would have been unable to assert its claims in the manner the Chinese did. But the point here is that the Tibetan government in exile has never publicly stated its position on the border question. Like the Chinese Communists, the Taiwan regime has also insisted that the border demarcation was an unequal agreement foisted upon China by Imperial Britain. It would seem that all the parties concerned see this as an unfinished business. Most of the monasteries in India’s Himalayan region, new and old, are now under the influence of Tibetan Buddhists, currently unified under the Dalai Lama. India’s somewhat tepid attempts to exert influence have been vigorously contested by various Tibetan factions as we see in the case of the Rumtek monastery in Sikkim. Quite clearly India is in need of an active policy for the Himalayan region, which will bring a secular and nationalist leadership to the fore. So far we seem to only be interacting with and hence recognizing the religious hierarchy. This policy should equally apply to the Tibetan exiles in India.
Instead we seem to have a policy that willy-nilly recognizes the Dalai Lama as the head of all Buddhists. The Buddhism that prevails in Tibet is a local evolution that combines many erstwhile Tibetan beliefs and practises with the Buddhism that went from India. To that extent it is a strain of Buddhism that is unique to Tibet. To treat the Dalai Lama as the head of a Buddhist church is akin to treating the Pope as the religious head of the Christian world, which as we know comprises of many sects and traditions. This is what India seems to be doing, quite clearly without any application of mind. This is fraught with serious consequences for though India has several million indigenous Buddhists; we seem to have anointed the Tibetan Dalai Lama as the only Buddhist leader we recognise. This is giving him a status well beyond his laity.
The present situation
The Chinese are very clear about what they think about the Dalai Lama. They mince no words and describe variously him as a duplicitous, treacherous and fraudulent troublemaker who is more of a political leader and less of a religious preceptor. They also darkly hint from time to time that the Dalai Lama is the sharp end of a deep wedge sought to be driven into China to disrupt its historical unity. They also unequivocally dismiss all claims of an independent Tibetan existence for over a thousand year’s atleast. They describe the Dalai Lama espousing the yearnings of a suppressed Tibetan people as the yearnings of a power hungry feudal wishing to re-establish a primitive and medieval system once again over a long tyrannized people. The Chinese believe that the majority of the Tibetan people are happy and thriving after their liberation by the Communist Party. They may well be right, but history tells us that it is always a determined minority that empires have to worry about.
We also need to recognize the new political realities brought about by the end of the Cold War and the rapid expansion of China’s economy. The demise of the Soviet Union has also seen the final demise of Communism, as we knew it. In China after the second coming of Deng Xiaoping it seems that socialism gave way to a dynamic Asiatic capitalism where a strong and even authoritarian state enshrines individual wealth seeking and profit making private enterprises as laudable national goals. China is today vigorously engaging the world in pursuit of markets for its factories and raw materials and energy for its economy. We have seen this coalescence of the macro-economic goals of the state and the micro-economic goals of national enterprises vigorously pursuing global market shares and profits elsewhere in Asia before. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore being the more notable instances. A new and economically dominant China is rapidly emerging and the Chinese people are beginning to enjoy superior standards of living. This has caught the imagination of the world. Will Tibetans be immune to the charms of a more materialistic world and a far higher standard of living? Doctrinaire Communism might have found it difficult to compete with Buddhism, but freewheeling Capitalism and the material prosperity it brings with it might just be able to consign Tibetan Buddhism to the dustbins of history, as it did to Chinese Communism. We know what happened in the West where Religion and Nationalism are no longer driving forces.
The new post-Communist China thus reserves the highest premium to “internal harmony” while it is embarked on the rapid transformation of its economy within the window of opportunity its current demographics offers. Three decades from now, China will be an aging nation and hence it feels that it must make the best of the present opportunity. This is the dominant mood among China’s leaders and they would be extremely loathe to let the ambitions of a relatively small number of Tibetans distract them from the goals they have set for China. China can contemplate two or more systems within one nation, as is now the case with Hongkong and on offer to Taiwan. This is essentially a common economic system with a fairly generous allocation of administrative power, as we see in the case of Hongkong. What system can the Chinese offer the Tibetans? The Dalai Lama is increasingly speaking about a Buddhist way of life in Tibet within China. How can China agree to this when it essentially undermines the political authority of the center?
Ofcourse there is good reason to believe that the Dalai Lama is not entirely serious about this and just keeps offering it knowing very well that the Chinese will not and cannot accept it. The Chinese are greatly averse to even the relatively mild mannered public protests of the kind the Tibetans have been staging in various world capitals. We must not forget the searing image of the self-immolating Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Tri Quang, and the impact it had on young minds in the USA. A self-immolation took place in New Delhi a few years ago, but things have materially changed since then. But what happens when this happens in a western capital or even in New Delhi in front of western media at a time when it is believed that the USA is pulling all stops to recruit India as a frontline state against a rising China?
Not long ago a small group of Tibetan youths attempted to enter the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi. When this happens again, we can be sure that it will be a more major effort and in a post Dalai Lama era may not even be peaceful. What then? Will it leave the improving Sino-Indian relations untouched? The Chinese will expect strong action against the Tibetan exiles and if we do just that we might have to factor the impact it may have on civil society in India and abroad. We must also remember that the majority of young Tibetans are India born and thus entitled to the rights of free speech and expression, political organization and activity given to all Indian citizens. In the recent days there has been some indication that the Tibetan nationalist movement has begun attracting some young Indians, particularly those concerned about the ecology.
In the recent years Sino-Indian trade has burgeoned to make China India’s leading export market for manufactured goods. Last year the bilateral trade exceeded US$ 40 billion. Political ties between the two countries have also improved considerably, and there are high expectations of a mutually satisfactory resolution of the border issue. The Chinese have also conducted themselves with much reticence with reference to Nepal. The Chinese seem to realize that the demographic window of opportunity that gave them a youthful population is going to shut in a couple of decades and that they have to make the best use of it. The goal of Harmonious Society adopted by the recently concluded National Congress is in consonance with this. But this does not mean that will compromise on the core issue of Tibet being an integral part of China.
The contours of the emerging geo-political scenario of this century are becoming apparent. The USA and China are generally expected to be the two great powers as we advance towards the midpoint of the century. There is much discussion about a new containment policy by the USA and many suspect that India is envisaged as a centerpiece of this strategy. This is something China will like to avoid and so antagonizing India will not be desirable from its perspective. On the other hand there are many in India who would like just this to happen. This then raises the possibility of Tibet becoming a possible rallying point for this. As India enters a period when a great economic expansion is most possible, it would be unwise for it to get involved in an expensive international rivalry. This will require very adroit management of our domestic politics and keeping it insulated from outside pressures.
To conclude India’s national interests require:
- That the Tibetan movement in India does not cause a rupture between India and China.
- That India must not lower its guard in the Himalayan region and must assiduously develop a secular nationalist leadership among the peoples of the region, as in Sikkim.
- That India’s military presence in the Himalayan region is not reduced.
- That India not allow the Dalai Lama to assume the leadership of all Buddhists in India.
- That the Tibetans born in India are gradually integrated into mainstream Indian society.
- That the Chinese are made to realize that Tibetan aspirations must be met, if not fully then substantially.
- That the Chinese realize that India has legitimate concerns and interests in Tibet and that they must be sensitive to these.
- That the Chinese realize that given India’s open society it is not possible for India to put a clamp of Tibetan political activity in India.
- That the Chinese are made to realize that for India to curb Tibetan political activity in India would require altering the nature of Indian society and that the Indian people will not accept any curbs on any legitimate political activity in India.
- That India plays a more active role in encouraging a dialogue between China and Tibetan leaders.
Mohan Guruswamy
Centre for Policy Alternatives
Source: http://strategicstudyindia.blogspot.my/2016/05/indias-tibet-options.html
(Some background information on Mr. Mohan Guruswamy- He heads the Centre for Policy Alternatives, New Delhi, an independent and privately funded think-tank. He is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi. He is the author of several books on policy issues the latest being Chasing the Dragon: Will India Catch-up with China? A Harvard graduate, he is a frequent commentator on matters of current interest in the print and electronic media; and has held senior positions in government and industry.)
For more interesting information:
- I don’t like this title
- A Story of Buddha With Sick Man
- The Dalai Lama & Panchen Lama in India in 1956
- Is This True Religious Freedom?
- Tibetan refugee youth speaking up
- My Precious Teachers
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Mohan Guruswamy is a political commentator and the author of several books on policy issues expressed his personal view what he thought of Dalai Lama. He held several post senior positions in government and industry.
The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959, many Tibetans sought refuge in India from the Chinese invasion 60 years ago. India’s generosity and kindness has provided Tibetans their lands to rebuild their monasteries and homes. The Tibetans are not officially recognised as refugees in India on paper, they are designated as “foreigners” then. Over the years , little has changed and the Tibetan Leadership did nothing to solve the problems and the land disputes. HH the Dalai Lama is under the India law, by right there should be religious freedom for EVERYONE including Shugden people. The Tibet issue is China’s internal affair and should not be made an international issue. Tibet is part of China. It is natural and reasonable for Dalai Lama to have a solution for Tibet within China’s structure. Dalai Lama should have a peaceful discussion with China to solve the disputes once for all.
Interesting read.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
I take a different view to what is presented here.
I feel it will be a very different world for the Tibetans once ‘India’s greatest guest His Holiness the Dalai Lama passes on as all man must. The entire world, bows to China’s hegemony and the opportunity to do commerce with China. There is no one in their right mind who would not want a piece of the prosperity of the Chinese.
I do think, India, will rethink its positioning with China once the Dalai Lama ceases to be in the picture. With a greater bias towards working and engaging with the Chinese. India’s role and duty is first to its people, idealism can take a back seat in the face of practicality and commerce.
This opinion piece not only brings to light the lesser known and thought about issues pertaining to the India-Tibet-China quandary but also present the very probable future issues in relation thereto.
Mr. Mohan Guruswamy sets out the lesser thought about issues in such a concise and thought provoking manner. To illustrate, he touched on the complex historical spiritual dependency and support of Tibet by India, he cleared up the misnomer of recognising the 14th Dalai Lama as the Head of Tibetan Buddhism etc, things that would provide further perspectives to ponder on when deliberating about India-Tibet-China quandary.
As for his analysis of the future issues, it is very probable for the current spiritual leadership model to be contested upon the passing of the 14th Dalai Lama. Recent event such as the impressive number of support for Lukar Jam, who was quite vocal about his stance which differs from the Dalai Lama/CTA’s in the recent Tibetan elections seems to lend credence to such analysis. Whilst Lukar Jam’s journey was abruptly cut short, it goes to show a significant shift in the mindset of the Tibetans, particularly of the younger generation. In the past, anything that is questions the Dalai Lama or his institution will not be entertained at all.
That being said, it is hard to envisage the success of Tibetan nationalistic movement at this juncture, taking into account the current fragmented landscape of the Tibetan nationalistic efforts/movement. And also from the financial aspect of things where such funding has primarily always been from the West and heavily leveraging on the 14th Dalai Lama’s allure. Moreover, the economic potency of China has made many countries more cautious/reserved and this can be seen from the increasing number of world leaders who now shy away from meeting the 14th Dalai Lama to avoid being in China’s bad books.
It definitely would be interesting to see how things will enfold in future.
Dear Cindy,
From what I see, things are not looking good for the Tibetans in exile. HH Dalai Lama has lost his “flare” (in terms of political moves) after 60 years of exile, and people are kinda lost interest in the whole “Free Tibet” cause. The Tibetan leadership, CTA, is not holding up well, with lots of rumours of embezzlement, and with the recent “scolding” from the state oracle, it clearly shows that even the gods are not happy.
With their incompetent leadership, and with HH Dalai Lama’s old age, I really feel sorry for the Tibetans in exile. I feel they should just get Indian (or other countries) citizenship and move on with their lives, instead of “gambling” it on the incompetent leadership of CTA.
With all the donations and monetary help from different countries, the CTA didn’t spend it well in educating their people. Instead they purposely keep them uneducated so that they will not think for themselves and just listen to their government.
I feel, after the passing of HH Dalai Lama, China will employ the “divide and conquer” method to the Tibetans. Mostly likely China will enthrone their own HH Dalai Lama and that will definitely cause division within the Tibetan community. When this happened, I would say it is the “return of karma”, because the CTA is separating the people using the Dorje Shugden and the 2 Karmapa issues.
I wish the Tibetans all the best, but I don’t see they would have any chance to survive after the HH Dalai Lama’s passing.
Mohan Guruswamy is astute in his wide-angle analysis of the Tibetan conundrum. Mr Mohan laid down The Post Dalai Lama scenario plain and simple, where the only possibility would be a contested spiritual leadership while the Tibetan youth will attempt to claim a control stake in the nationalistic movement. But like any other movement, it will not do without strong financial backing and support. Easy money from the west might be out of reach if the nationalistic movement is fragmented without an iconic leader that has the backing of the people. On the other hand, the Indian support is dwindling in light of a stronger and growing Sino-Indian relationship. India plays a significant role in the ensuing of Tibetan cause. Hence, once the geo-political tension between China and India gives way for socio-economic advancement, there is little room for the Tibetan movement, and it will be downplayed as a localized movement. It is recommended for the Tibetans to be united before the octogenarian Dalai Lama departs from the scene. Otherwise, neither China, India nor the new generation Tibetan leaders will be able to rein in the peril of zealous nationalism.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing the article from Mohan Guruswamy, which is declamatory and rhetorical in nature.
Humbly, bowing down,
Stella Cheang
What a powerful opinion piece from Mr. Mohan Guruswamy! I guess it is inevitable to ignore the fact that Tibetans are long overdue in their stay in India and they have been graciously giving and accommodating to 150,000 Tibetans. I must salute India for their great generosity and kindness. No other country would give and show this much respect, care and tolerance towards Tibet. India has not only provided Tibetans their lands to rebuild their monasteries and homes, they’ve literally given the Tibetans a chance to rebuild their life again. So to try in provoke India in any way is not advisable and sorry to say this, even His Holiness the Dalai Lama is under the India law. So by right there should be religious freedom for EVERYONE including Shugden people. Why has India failed to address this issue to the Tibetan leadership is what I am still dumbfounded about.
So what Mr. Mohan brought up is indeed a startling truth and what he said that was really logical and stood out were…
1. Dalai Lama who has become the symbol of many ideals and images. The mix of new age spiritualism, ethics, ecological values and politics has won for the Dalai Lama many influential and wealthy western adherents to Tibetan Buddhism and supporters of Tibet’s cause. Macleodganj today is a magnet that draws large numbers of young westerners seeking a new meaning to and purpose in life. True the Dalai Lama has become many things to many people but what should be relevant to us is that he has emerged as a man of great stature and influence.
—This is so true… Dalai Lama has become larger than life due to great marketing and the media. He has become a celebrity and a model for Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibetan cause which is being use to draw in the sponsors “wealthy western supporters”. But question is where does all that money go to?
2. Tibetans believe the Dalai Lama to be a living God. But he is also human and must die like all humans. He is now in his seventy-second year and time is certainly not on his side. As long as he is alive he keeps the embers of Tibetan nationalism from conflagrating with the blanket of the new age Buddhism that he has woven. When this Dalai Lama is gone, the embers might just combust. In which case, the Chinese might just demand that it is for India to hose it down.
—-Well said! It is exactly what we’ve been discussing all the time, what exactly is going to happen to the Tibetan in exile especially their exile government once the Dalai Lama is gone.
3. We can be certain that it is the present Dalai Lama’s stature that keeps the lid on Tibetan militancy. After him the political power of the next Dalai Lama will almost certainly be challenged. Many of the younger Tibetans in exile will not accept the legitimacy and leadership of another incarnation. The incarnation will in any case take many years to grow into mature adulthood and till then some manner of bureaucratic regency will actually be in charge.
—–This is happening as we speak.
Even the religious leadership could very well be splintered. The Dalai Lama recently went public with a stinging attack on the followers of the Shugden spirit indicating that it has indeed become a major challenge.
— Now why would it be a challenge if there was no ban?
Instead we seem to have a policy that willy-nilly recognizes the Dalai Lama as the head of all Buddhists.
—–So super right and TRUE!
To treat the Dalai Lama as the head of a Buddhist church is akin to treating the Pope as the religious head of the Christian world, which as we know comprises of many sects and traditions. This is what India seems to be doing, quite clearly without any application of mind. This is fraught with serious consequences for though India has several million indigenous Buddhists; we seem to have anointed the Tibetan Dalai Lama as the only Buddhist leader we recognise. This is giving him a status well beyond his laity.
—Wow powerful but TRUE remarks here. Sorry but H.H. is not the head of all Buddhism nor is He the head of even the Gelug school, so what Mr. Morhan said is very true and this is the common misconception which the media has often misunderstood. If only people were smart enough to investigate a little bit more. This common misconception is what Tibetan Leadership uses to manipulate others to follow them.
I do see like what Mr. Mohad foresees there will be two Dalai Lamas in the future… will it ever get less complicated?
Whatever it may be, I just hope that Dorje Shugden practice will be preserved and looking at the situation at hand, I think it will be so and in fact spread even further which is something positive for us because it mean Lama Tsongkhapa’s lineage will also spread.
Mohan Guruswamy has given a sharp and perceptive assessment and analysis of the current India-Tibet-China political relationship and of the Dalai Lama’s role as a Spiritual Leader and the defacto Head of the Tibetan Government in Exile.
There are some points which I would like to reiterate here in light of the impact they will have on the continuity and growth of the Buddhadharma going forward. My main concern here is how Tibetan Buddhism will move forward via the existing system of the Dalai Lama(or his successor) at the helm, guiding it forward from his base in India, after the 14th Dalai Lama passes away.
HH the Dalai Lama has, from the time he started his tenure as Leader of the Tibetan community in exile, built up his international stature to such a level that now he is unquestionably the Head of Tibetan Buddhism in the eyes of the World. The heads of countries respect him. Many, especially in the Western world, including celebrities, revere him and see him as synonymous with Buddhism to which he has given an image of being a spirituality that is in sync with New Age ideas and inclinations, as well as answering the modern quest for a new meaning to life. His winning of the Nobel Peace prize not only enhanced his stature as a religious and political leader, it also gave a boost to the image of Buddhism as a religion of peace. At home, many Tibetans, especially adults and those of the older generation, still see him as a Living God.
Imbued with this stature and image, he can do no wrong. The Western mass media also see him in this way. Hence, the conflicts and problems within the Tibetan community, that seemed to have arisen from issues putting a group of laity, monastics and high Lamas on one side and the Dalai Lama on the other side(like the Shugden issue)are straightaway viewed with the preconception and assumption that ‘the Dalai Lama is always right’. Thus, despite brave and determined efforts, the voice of the Shugden practitioners is still being quelled at every turn. Unfortunately, what the Buddha taught about the essence of the Dharma as being kindness and compassion, and the importance of authenticity of source and lineage, as ensuring the authenticity of the Dharma we receive today, are never given any thought.
When the Dalai Lama, who has built up such a powerful and invincible image of a Spiritual leader, dies, what will happen to the Buddhadharma going forward? Who will be the effective spiritual leader to step into his shoes and carry the torch of Dharma forward into the future? Even if the expected scenario materialises and there are two 15th Dalai Lamas, one based in India and one based in China, how will this affect the continuity and growth of the Dharma? Both new incarnations will take years before they can assume their roles. In China, the situation will somehow be stable, even if a regent has to be appointed to fill the vacuum. There is the Chinese appointed 11th Panchen Lama who can fill the vacuum, as he is currently being groomed for the role of a Spiritual Leader. Nonetheless, can he assume the role(even temporarily) of the Dalai Lama as head of Tibetan Buddhism outside China?
On the Indian side, there appears to be no likelihood of that vacuum being filled. Does anyone in the CTA have the credibility and capability to assume the role of regent?
Going forward, one trembles at the prospect of the Dalai Lama passing away, with the conflict of the ban on Shugden practice not resolved. What will happen to the Buddhadharma? Doesn’t the CTA care?
Mohan Guruswamy offered a clear view on the current and future India/China relationship with the issue of Tibetan-In-Exile as a thorn in growing cooperation between the two. The issue of the refugees needed to be resolved after over 50 years of limbo. China is certainly not going to hand Tibet over to the CTA, not now and definitely not in the future. The Dalai Lama said he was willing to settle for autonomy but look how the CTA conducted themselves. Why would China allow potential traitors bringing unrest into their country after investing so much into rebuilding and improving the living standard of Tibetans.
Mohan Guruswamy was so right that the Dalai Lama should not be allowed to assume leadership of all Buddhists, not only in India but worldwide. Each sect of Tibetan Buddhism have their own head and the Dalai Lama is actually not even the head of his own school, the Gelugpa. And yet he has been interfering with the affairs of the Gelugpas by putting a ban on one of their practices, protector Dorje Shugden. Religious wise, he has no authority to implement this ban but due to his international affluence and the dependency of the Tibetans in exile (habituation from their feudal system), the Dalai Lama gained political mileage. He has even started interfering with the recognition and status of other sects, ie. the Kagyus, the Shakyas….
All these divisions, schisms, hate and sufferings of the people just for political power?
As the younger generation of the Tibetans In Exile are growing up with exposure to the other cultures, they will not be so ready to accept the absolutely rule by the Dalai Lama. As we are already seeing, many of their youths are politically motivated and not religion orientated. They plunge their support into causes without fully researching and understanding the truth, more to be politically correct and following the crowd.
Its time the Dalai Lama and CTA take stock of their actions that had caused so much harm to the Tibetan communities outside and within Tibet. They should realise that unity means acceptance of their people regardless of their orientation.
What should be relevant is that the Dalai Lama has emerged as a man of great stature and influence. Presidents/Prime Ministers now vie for him and his photos which were transmitted electronically all over the World, reminding that there is still a Tibetan nation existing, but still struggling and yearning to be free, which represents a powerful image. The peripathetic Dalai Lama, wherever he goes, all over the world always repeatedly leaves messages to remind people of his presence, purpose and motive for enlightening them! The chinese seems worried about such broad wake tactics! Tibetans believe him to be a living God – but in all reality he is also a human in this lifetime and must also die like every being too! Being over 72 years old, time is no more on his side, but as long as he is alive, he keeps the ’embers’ of Tibetan Nationalism burning; once gone the embers will combust. China may well demand that India to close the Tibetan movement once the Dalai Lama is gone. Presently, Mohan is optimistic that the present Dalai Lama stature keeps the lid on Tibetan militancy tightly. After him, the next Dalai Lama will most certainly be challenged. In view of the present situation under the Dalai Lama control, the Chinese are said not to minced their words for the Dalai Lama. They described him as a duplicitious, treacherous and fraudulant troublemaker, who is more of a political leader than a religious preceptor, and suppressing Tibetans like a power hungry feudal leader. In this regard, let us all jointly pray that despite China’s suppressions and the difficulties of struggles faced by the Tibetans, they will always remain calm, peaceful, safe and compassionate of all ills! OM MANI PADME HUNG.
Wow! What a great opinion piece that just ‘sweeps’ through history and the present to present a compelling view of the present and a vision of the future. It is quite well thought out in its analysis of the dynamics of the Chinese, Indian and Tibetan. However, everything rests upon the demise of the Dalai Lama and when Tibetan nationalism is expected to flare up according to Mr Guruswamy which leads to China tugging at India to do something.
However, I wonder what would be the trigger point for India to do something about the Tibetan problem. How far would the Tibetans in exile turn nationalistic and what would they do to reflect this growing nationalism? But what was expressed are real issues. Everybody knows that the Chinese will stop at nothing to protect the integrity of the empire. Somehow Dorje Shugden and the future of the Dalai Lama incarnations would be inter-related.
Mr Guruswamy’s view on the Dalai Lama’s recognition as the head of sll Buddhism by India is most accurate. It is akin to saying the Pope is head of all os Christianity. Even within Tibetan Buddhism the Dalai Lama is not the head. In fact all the Tibetan Buddist Schools; Gelug, Nyingma, Kagyu and Sakya have their own heads. The Dalai Lama at most is the secular head and hence do not have the spiritual authority to exert power on sipiritual freedom. What he is using is political authority which is confusing, unfair but nevertheless authocratic in its effect that impedes the spiritual freedom of Tibetans.
I agree with Mr Guruswamy’s view that there will be two 15th Dalai Lamas. There will an Indian Dalai Lama and there will also be a Tibetan Dalai Lama.
The Chinese Government will use their “Golden Urn” as a form of divination to chose their Dalai Lama. The Chinese government is in total support both morally and legally on the freedom of religious rights for the followers of Dorje Shugden. One can then see that the 15th Tibetan Dalai Lama will fully support the rights of the followers of Dorje Shugden in Tibet. The 15th Indian Dalai Lama will continue the ban.
One can easily see the 15th Tibetan Dalai Lama embracing the practice of Dorje Shugden. He will teaching Dorje Shugden publicly and have Dorje Shugden replace Pehar (who can now retire) as the new Official State Protector of Tibet. The new State Oracle will a Dorje Shugden Oracle. One could also see Dorje Shugden elevated to the status of a “YIDAM” by the 15th Tibetan Dalai Lama.
I can imagine a future Tibet were Dorje Shugden is publicly embraced and practiced by all Tibetans without any fear. Something we at the present can only hope and pray for and something no one will see with the 15th Indian Dalai Lama.
There are some of us who believe the wrong Tibetan boy was chosen as the 5th Dalai Lama. We believe he was chosen through corruption and bribery. The 5th Dalai Lama’s lineage was one know for violence and murder. We all know of the violence and finally the murder of Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen.
There are some of us who know who the right boy should have been as the true 5th Dalai Lama. We believe that this boy will be the next 15th Tibetan Lama and that this boy’s name was and is TULKU DRAKPA GYALTSEN.
Dorje Shugden will take his rightful place as the 15th Tibetan Dalai Lama and he will sit on his throne in the Potala.
Om Benza Wiki Bitana Soha
Some of you may balk at my subjection that the 15th Tibetan Dalai Lama could be Dorje Shugden (Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen). Can this be so really hard to believe after reading Tsem Rinpoche’s blog article, “Sakya Trizin’s Dorje Shugden Prayer.” In that article Tsem Rinpoche stated that two former Sakya Trizin’s were the emanation of Dorje Shugden. He stated that both the 31th and 37th Sakya Trizins were emanations of Dorje Shugden. If Dorje Shugden could on two occasions emanate as the head of the Sakya sect then why could Dorje Shugden not emanate as the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lama and his lineage are all believed to be emanations of Avalokiteshvara. It is curious that the 39th Sakya Trizin BELIEVED THAT DORJE SHUGEN WAS ALSO AN EMANATION OF AVALOKITESHVARA. A quote from Tsem Rinpoche in that article stated,”In this instance the fact that Dorje Shugden is an enlightened being was also confirmed by the 39th Sakya Trizin Dragshul Trinley Rinpoche (1871-1935) who wrote, The one known as Dolgyal is not mistaken on the path to liberation, he is by nature THE GREAT COMPASSIONATE ONE. In this instance, Dragshul Trinley Rinchen was highlighting that Dorje Shugden’s nature is as Avalokiteshvare, a fully enlightened being.”
I have written that some of us believe that Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen was in fact the true 5th Dalai and the other was a imposter . It would make logical sense that if Dorje Shugden was the true 5th Dalai Lama and the 39th Sakya Trizin got it right when he DECLARED that Dorje Shugden is also an emanation of Avalokiteshvare that BOTH DORJE SHUGDEN AND THE DALAI LAMAS LINEAGE ARE BOTH EMANATIONS OF AVALOKITESHVARE. If all that is true then why could not the 15th Tibetan Dalai Lama be Dorje Shugden since both the Dalai Lama and Dorje Shugden are considered to be the emanation of Avalokiteshvare. We would then have the 31th and the 37th Sakya Trizins plus the 15th Tibetan Dalai Lama all being emanations of DORJE SHUGDEN.
OM BENZA WITI BITANA SOHA
Dear Harold Musetescu,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your observations, especially the info on the 39th Sakya Trizin declaring Dorje Shugden also as an emanation of Avalokiteshvara. What you said about the 31th and the 37th Sakya Trizins, plus the 15th Tibetan Dalai Lama all being emanations of Dorje Shugden (or Avalokiteshvara at the same time) is interesting.
China, especially through Zhu Weiqun, head of an influential ethnic-and-religious-affairs committee, insisted that it was the Chinese government responsibility to designate the Dalai Lama’s successor. I think we are familiar with the fact that in December 1995, the Chinese authorities placed a child on the throne of the Panchen Lama in Shigatse. No one knows if the 15th Dalai Lama would be recognised at all, because His Holiness told the BBC it would be better that the centuries-old tradition ceased “at the time of a popular Dalai Lama”, but also “that’s up to the Tibetan people”.
Regardless, I share Guruswamy’s view that for India’s national interests, His Holiness the Dalai Lama should not assume the leadership of all Buddhists in India.
Glad to know you have you read our other articles and please leave a comment when you do!
For those who wish to read more, this is the article “Sakya Trizin’s Dorje Shugden Prayer” https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/sakya-trizins-dorje-shugden-prayer.html, and I pasted a short excerpt here:
The fact that Dorje Shugden is an enlightened being was also confirmed by the 39th Sakya Trizin Dragshul Trinley Rinchen (1871 – 1935) who wrote, “The one known as Dolgyal is not mistaken on the path to liberation, he is by nature the Great Compassionate One.” In this instance, Dragshul Trinley Rinchen was highlighting that Dorje Shugden’s nature is as Avalokiteshvara, a fully enlightened being.”
This is a very different and some will say honest opinion of His Holiness the Dalai Lama by an accomplished Indian academic, and I am sure this article will rattle the Tibetan cage somewhat. It is after all stating a position that does not augur well for the Tibetans in Dharamsala and other exile towns in India.
One does not have to agree with the sentiments of Mr. Mohan Guruswamy, and yet one cannot say that his opinions are devoid of logic. Essentially, as India approaches a rethink of the costs she bears in hosting the Dalai Lama, the Tibetans too must consider their options and approach to China that has proven to be fruitless even after half a century. For the longest time, the Central Tibetan Administration’s strategy seem to be waiting anxiously for the West to win Tibet for them. And in that forlorn hope, the Tibetan government has not bothered to explore other approaches and hence, today the Tibetan people are still stateless.
Like it or not, India has to worry about its border relations with China, and the presence of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan diaspora on its shore. The Tibetan exile population may be small but it is significant, enough to spark Sino-Indian conflict as it did soon after the 1959 when His Holiness sought asylum in India.
Mr. Mohan Guruswamy also clearly understand what many in the West have been mistaken – His Holiness the Dalai Lama is not and have never been the head of all Buddhists or even Tibetan Buddhists. Hence it is incorrect for many mistaken people to say that it was within the Dalai Lama’s right to ban the practice of Dorje Shugden.