Claim: Dorje Shugden punishes/harms people from other traditions
This argument says that there are historical stories of Dorje Shugden destroying people who practice Nyingma teachings and that there are many examples of Dorje Shugden harming others as an evil spirit. It is even said that Dorje Shugden has killed several Nyingma Lamas, and he is thus feared by the Nyingmas.
Answer:
- All of these stories are pure superstition. Tibetan society has been for centuries highly supersitious, with all sorts of tales of spirits doing various things. Are we to base public policy on superstitions? Could you see this argument being used by any other country’s government?
- From a Buddhist point of view, all harm comes from our own negative karma. We do not blame other beings for our suffering, but take responsibility for it. If somebody stubs their toe, they could create a story about how it was Dorje Shugden’s fault. But in reality, it was the person’s own karma, so it would be going against basic Buddhist understanding of the laws of karma to use Dorje Shugden as a scapegoat for all the suffering that has befallen Tibet for the past 50 years.
- The only person spreading these fears is the Dalai Lama, not Dorje Shugden practitioners. He is making these wild claims to make people afraid of Dorje Shugden to justify his ban.
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