Update on the Dalai Lama’s Court Case in New Delhi, India

Below is an update on the Dalai Lama’s Court Case which came from a valid source in New Delhi.

The Dalai Lama had finally sent a response through his advocate to the High Court of New Delhi, India, on the 19th of December, 2008. This was precisely 9 and a half months after he had received a Notice from the Court-questioning his actions behind the Ban and asking him to provide a response. His response has been inconclusive and irresponsible!

Samdhong Rinpoche

To begin with, it is Samdong Rinpoche, the supposed Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in Exile, who has incidentally, responded on the behalf of the Tibetan leader. The Dalai Lama, on the other hand, has stayed aloof, apparently to demonstrate his sanctimonious position, which is probably even beyond diplomatic immunity! The response, in itself, is a ridiculous compilation of excessive lying and denials. It claims the court has no legal jurisdiction in matters of religion-the ban being a religious directive of the Tibetan leader-who has a mandate to guide the Tibetan people in the religious and political sphere.

On the other hand, as stated, there is a vehement denial of the fact that the Dalai Lama ever even placed a ban, or issued the referendum. Samdong claims that there has been no discrimination, no abuse of human rights, no suppression of religious freedom, no jobs have been denied, and no students have been expelled from schools! The 15, or so, monks who were denied entry to the settlement, were rejected due to the ban placed by the monasteries themselves,  not by the Dalai Lama.

The Prime Minister, would rather engage in mud-slinging, as he wants the court and the world, to take note of the unholy liaison, of Kundeling Rinpoche and Lama Gangchen Rinpoche with the Communist Chinese government. According to Samdong: It is to minister the misdeeds and animosity of this duo, that such vicious attacks have been made to the holy Dalai Lama.

To prove the immaculate antecedents of the Dalai Lama, almost all of  his ministries have attested letters to the effect. There even seems to be a letter from an obscure Indian minister.  The National Human Rights Commission of New Delhi (NHRC) claims to the effect that no objections had been raised against the Dalai Lama. A letter from a so-called press Union, calling itself UBO, alleged to be in Switzerland, claims that the Swiss TV Channel Documentary ’10 vor 10′, was one-sided and biased in its interpretation of the on-going deity controversy, thus giving the Dalai Lama a clean sheet.

These, in substance, are clever ploys and face saving tactics on the part of the Dalai Lama and his Government. The Tibetan Government in Exile has even claimed, that under the leadership of the Dalai Lama there is harmony and good-will amongst all the Tibetan traditions, wherever Tibetans abide within and outside Tibet! And this, Samdong claims “has never happened before in the history of Tibet”.

The ball is now back in the court of Shugden practitioners and a response is being prepared. Please make prayers for the success of this court case.

Dalai Lama Taken to Court for Religious Discrimination

As stated in my last post, Al Jazeera has featured ‘The Dalai Lama: The Devil Within’ as one of their top stories of 2008. Below is the section of the documentary focused on the Dalai Lama being taken to court on grounds of religious discrimination by Kundeling Rinpoche.

As the lawyer for the persecuted Shugden practitioners, Shree Sanjay Jain, explains:

“It is certainly a case of religious discrimination in the sense that if within your sect of religion you say that this particular Deity ought not to be worshipped, and those persons who are willing to worship him you are trying to excommunicate them from the main stream of Buddhism, then it is a discrimination of worst kind.”

Al Jazeera adds:

“No matter what the outcome of the court case, in a country where millions of idols are worshipped, attempting to ban the Deity is an uphill battle. One in which many Buddhist monks have lost their faith in the spirit of the Dalai Lama.”

For a full transcript, see Al Jazeera News Documentary, October 2008.

Dorje Shugden News Updates

Quotes from the article Tibet Fest Supports Endangered Tradition

“There was one primary reason why we established our monastery: to preserve our lineage,” Kuten Lama says. “The hardship is because (the Dalai Lama) took our religious freedom, our human rights. But it is very hard for us ordinary persons to explain to the world because he is so powerful and famous and our words are not too important.”

“We’re talking about basic human rights — being able to eat, being able to have housing, (not) having your life threatened,” Farnsworth says. “You can talk about love and compassion all you want, but people are being hurt by the Dalai Lama’s actions”.

Pressure mounts on the Dalai Lama to solve the problem of religious freedom amongst Tibetan exiles (from the Wisdom Buddha Dorje Shugden Blog)

Recently, five delegates from the European Tibet Support group came to Dharamasala. They said:

“For the last few months, Shugden devotees have protested widely. They are alleging that there is no religious freedom in the Tibetan exile community. A lot of world have picked up on this news and people are starting to pay attention to the issue.

On the other hand, we are fighting for religious freedom in Tibet. When there is a claim of a violation of religious freedom amongst Tibetan exiles, it is difficult for us to do our work.

Therefore, it would be good if you could solve this problem among yourselves.”

Court proceedings against the Dalai Lama and Kalon Tripa Samdhong

The first hearing was held at the Delhi High Court on September 12. The lawyer for the Dalai Lama and Samdhong Rinpoche sought more time, surprisingly saying that they could not reply yet. They have sought an extension until November 19 2008.