Question asked by Anonymous
If the Dalai Lama says he is advising to stop the practice of Dorje Shugden and he also says "whether people listen to his advice or not is up to them to decide". Then technically if a person has taken teachings/lower tantras etc from the Dalai Lama but wants to practice Dorje Shugden according to the Dalai Lama they are free to do so. He said in an interview that people are free to choose to do what they want.
But of course that person will have to stop attending His Holiness teachings as he has requested. So what is the issue if a person wants to take up Dorje Shugden practice irrespective of who their Guru is. And why should anyone be deliberately turned away from Dorje Shugden practice? Could you please elaborate thank you pastor.
Dear Anonymous,
Thank you for your question. For your first point, yes it would seem so. However, here were need to take into consideration the aspect of guru devotion. if you have received formal refuge/vows/initiations in any of the four classes of tantra from His Holiness, then you have established a formal guru-disciple relationship. As such, you need to follow his advice. He has said in the past that he encourages people not to do the practice, but they are free to choose if they want to do it or not. As state here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/current-affairs/dalai-lama-says-we-can-practise-dorje-shugden-finally.html. However, even if the guru gives advice, the students role is to follow this advice since there is a formal guru-disciple relationship involved.
For the second point, here is where the importance of the guru-disciple relationship comes in. If you have that type of relationship then you must listen to your guru’s advice. If you don’t have that type of relationship or are yet to establish that relationship in your spiritual practice, then of course you can choose to practice Dorje Shugden. I hope that this answer helps. Thank you.