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Deity or Demon?

The Controversy over Tibet's Dorje Shugden

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Tibetan Buddhists of the Gelugpa Lineage have been battling over a protector god named Dorje Shugden—and whether this spirit is a benevolent deity or an agent of evil. The conflict remained largely unknown to Westerners until 1996, when disciples of Geshe Kelsang Gyatso of the New Kadampa Tradition in England picketed the Dalai Lama (who had asked his followers no to worship Shugden), accusing him of restricting their religious freedom. In 1997, Geshe Lobsang Gyatso, a prominent Gelugpa monk, and two of his disciples were murdered in Dharamsala. Some Gelugpas, the Indian police, and consequently the International press, have ascribed the killings to Shugden worshipers.

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