Western Shugden Society

Western Shugden Society
AbbreviationWSS
PredecessorShugden Supporters Community
TypeNon-governmental organization
HeadquartersUnknown. Official address given, "Studio 177, 56 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9RG UK", is a rented mailbox
Parent organization
International Shugden Community
AffiliationsNew Kadampa Tradition (NKT)
Websitewww.westernshugdensociety.org Archived July 3, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, internationalshugdencommunity.com

The Western Shugden Society (or WSS) was a campaign group that advocates Dorje Shugden, and which dissolved itself,[1] along with its parent organisation, the International Shugden Community, after a 2015 Reuters investigation[2] determined that the religious sect had the backing of the Chinese Communist Party[3] and had emerged as an instrument in Beijing’s long campaign to undermine support for the Dalai Lama.

Aims

According to their website,[4] the aims of the WSS are

  • To free practitioners who rely upon the enlightened deity Dorje Shugden and their families from suffering;
  • To restore peace and harmony between Shugden and non-Shugden practitioners;
  • To re-establish the common spiritual activities of Shugden and non-Shugden practitioners in Tibetan monasteries;
  • To free Buddhism from pollution by politics

Academic views

Robert Barnett of Columbia University is critical of the WSS:

I also made it clear that the Western Shugden group's allegations are problematic: they are akin to attacking the Pope because some lay Catholics somewhere abuse non-believers or heretics. The Western Shugden Group is severely lacking in credibility, since its form of spirit-worship is heterodox, provocative and highly sectarian in Buddhist terms and so more than likely to be banned from mainstream monasteries – while its claimed concerns about cases of discrimination in India should be addressed by working within the Tibetan community instead of opportunistically attacking the Dalai Lama in order to provoke misinformed publicity for their sect.[5]

Dissolution

A 2015 Reuters investigation determined "that the religious sect behind the protests has the backing of the Communist Party" and that the "group has emerged as an instrument in Beijing’s long campaign to undermine support for the Dalai Lama".[2] After the Reuters investigation revealed that China backs it, the International Shugden Community halted operations and disbanded.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Len Foley. "Official and Important Statement". International Shugden Community. Archived from the original on 2022-11-13. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b Lague, David. Mooney, Paul. and Lim, Benjamin Kang. (21 December 2015). "China co-opts a Buddhist sect in global effort to smear Dalai Lama". Reuters. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  3. ^ a b David Lague; Stephanie Nebehay (March 11, 2016). "Group that hounded Dalai Lama disbands after Reuters exposes Chinese backing". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 15 November 2022. The Buddhist group leading a global campaign of harassment against the Dalai Lama has called off its demonstrations and disbanded, according to a statement on its website. The announcement comes after a Reuters investigation revealed in December that China's ruling Communist Party backs the Buddhist religious sect behind the protests that have confronted the Dalai Lama in almost every country he visits. Reuters found that the sect had become a key instrument in China's campaign to discredit the Tibetan spiritual leader.
  4. ^ http://www.westernshugdensociety.org Archived 2008-08-19 at the Wayback Machine WSS's official website
  5. ^ Tibet scholar denies making Time magazine Shugden comment, Tibetan Review, 2008-07-23.