In December 2014, DorjeShugden.com had the opportunity to chat with the International Shugden Community's (ISC) spokesperson, Kelsang Rabten. In this exclusive 3-part interview, Kelsang Rabten shares his thoughts on the progress the ISC has made in their efforts to bring down the ban on Dorje Shugden's practice, and some of the challenges they have faced.
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Kelsang Rabten and ISC obviously prefer to be doing something else other than the protests, but their compassion for the many Tibetans and non-Tibetans who suffer discrimination due to this Shugden ban has inspired them to speak up. The protests are huge logistical challenges, expensive and takes up much time, not to mention bearing much varied and uncomfortable weather conditions, travelling and basically having to speak up for something that no one else wishes to speak up for or even perhaps dared. ISC has a tremendous challenge of protesting against someone like the Dalai Lama, that many in the world think cannot be creating this religious discrimination. Protesting against a popular public figure that has the aura of holiness and sanctity is indeed not going to curry friends or put ISC in a favorable light. Yet Kelsang Rabten and the hundreds of ISC people continue to overcome enormous challenges to protest. They get nothing in return. No one is paying them. No perks or benefits of any kind but in fact ignored and even spat upon at times and insulted. So why do they continue? Because there is a ban. There is religious discrimination against Shugden practitioners within the Tibetan communities and practitioners around the world. They can see this and now more are seeing the truth. The ISC gets nothing for this but are peaceful and selfless activists for the ban against Shugden to stop. ISC wishes to see the pure lineage of Lama Tsongkapa and Trijang Rinpoche not trampled upon. Their reward is to release millions of Shugden practitioners who did not have a voice or choice from discrimination. No one should be discriminated against due to their religious orientation.
ISC’s approach may be direct and perhaps even offend some people but please realize, they have asked for dialogue for years with the Dalai Lama with no success. They have repeatedly asked for peaceful and positive dialogue to resolve this issue. But neither His Holiness the Dalai Lama nor his people have consented to dialogue. Even if they don’t consent to dialogue with ISC, dialogue with Tibetan Shugden leaders would be a good start, but nothing of the sort has happened. Exasperated, ISC has decided to invest enormous time and personal resources to protest peacefully to ask the Dalai Lama for dialogue and stop the discrimination. The Dalai Lama ironically and ISC are not deriving any benefits from the protests, but it must be done because the Dalai Lama must understand his talks against Shugden have hurt millions of people. The protests are not helping the Dalai Lama he must understand, but bringing his attention to something he perhaps does not wish to address. Dalai Lama may not think there is a ban and that he is only giving ‘advice’ against Shugden, but his words against Shugden are even more powerful than a ban. His ‘simple’ advice against Shugden carries heavy negative ramifications. Why should he ‘advise’ against Shugden which has been practised by millions for four hundred years? All lamas who practised Shugden have been wrong and only the Dalai Lama is right on this issue? Very illogical to say the least.
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6 сен 2024
