Dorje Shugden Controversy - Arguments For and Against The Practice - Replies From Shugden Practitioners

Replies From Shugden Practitioners

Responding to the above three points, some members of the Western Shugden Society (a campaigning group established in 2008) replied:

Pro-Dorje Shugden Lamas such as Geshe Kelsang Gyatso have asked the Dalai Lama to present valid reasons supporting his claims and, in the absence of any response, have continued to engage in the practice. They continue to rely on teachers such as Trijang Rinpoche, who taught that Dorje Shugden is a Buddha. Trijang Rinpoche, the junior tutor and "root guru" of the current Dalai Lama, is seen by the FPMT and others as "One of the foremost Tibetan Buddhist masters of our time". Remarking on this debate in his text on Dorje Shugden Trijang Rinpoche stated:

Yet all this talk is nothing but babbling speculation. Why? Because this great guardian of the teachings is well known to be the precious supreme emanation from Drepung monastery's upper house, Dragpa Gyaltsen, arising in a wrathful aspect. The proof is unmistaken. Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen, as is taught in the lineage, was the final birth in a reincarnation lineage that included the Mahasiddha Birwawa, the great Kashmiri Pandit Shakya Shri, the omniscient Buton, Duldzin Dragpa Gyaltsen, Panchen Sonam Dragpa, and so forth; this is proven by valid scriptural quotation and reasoning. These great beings, from a definitive point of view, were already fully enlightened, and even to common appearances, every one of them was a holy being that attained high states of realization. What worse karma could there be than denying this and asserting that he was born in the preta (spirit) realm?

McCune comments, "As we see, the Shukden issue is far more complex than it appears at its surface. Both sides offer seemingly convincing arguments in favor of their respective points of view."