Kritik am Buch „The Shadow Of The Dalai Lama ... - Neues von Shi De

predicted the spread of Buddhism in Europe and North America. (Dalai Lama XIV, 1993a, p. 154).
Even the aggression of his oracle god is not denied by the Kundun: “ His [task], in his capacity as
protector and defender, is wrathful. [!] However, although our functions are similar, my relationship
with Nechung is that of commander to lieutenant: I never bow down to him. It is for Nechung to bow
to the Dalai Lama” (Dalai Lama XIV, 1993 I, p. 312). This statement confirms once again that from a
tantric viewpoint, the politics of the Tibetans in exile is not conducted by people, but by gods. As
Avalokiteshvara and the Kalachakra deity, the Dalai Lama commands the Mongolian god, Pehar, to
make predictions about the future. [1] The Kundun’s comment in this quotation that his functions and
the “functions” of Pehar are “similar” is ambiguous. Does he want to allude to his own “wrathful
aspect” here? On September 4, 1987 a new Nechung medium was enthroned in Dharamsala, since the
old one had died three years before. His official confirmation was attained following a demonstrative
trance session at which the Kundun, cabinet members of the Tibetan government in exile and the
parliamentary chairman were present. About two months later another séance was held before the
Council of Ministers and a number of high lamas. This illustrious assembly of the highest ranking
representatives of the Tibetan people shows how the political prophecies and instructions of the god
Pehar are taken seriously not just by the Dalai Lama but also by the “people’s representatives” of the
Tibetans in exile. Thus, in political decisions neither reason nor the majority of votes, nor even public
opinion have the last word, but rather the Mongolian oracle god.
Dorje Shugden—a threat to the Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s life?
Since 1996 at the latest, Pehar and his Nechung medium have met with embittered competition from
among the Tibetan’s own ranks. This is a matter of the tutelary and divinatory deity, Dorje Shugden.
In pictures, Dorje Shugden is depicted riding grim-faced through a lake of boiling blood upon a snow
lion. It is primarily conservative circles among the Gelugpas (the “Yellow Hats”) who have grouped
around this figure. They demand the exclusive supremacy of the yellow sect (the Gelugpas) over the
other Buddhist schools.
This traditional political position of the Shugden worshippers is not acceptable to the Fourteenth Dalai
Lama (although he himself is a member of the yellow sect) because he is working towards an
integration of all Tibet’s religious orientations, including the Bonpos. With the same resolve as the
“Great Fifth” he sees a one-off chance to multiply the power of his own institution in a collective
movement involving all schools. It is therefore not surprising that even the early history of Dorje
Shugden features an irreconcilable confrontation between the protective god and the Fifth Dalai
Lama, which appears to be repeating itself today.
What took place on that occasion, and what has been the history of the recalcitrant Shugden? The
“pan-Buddhist” program of the “Great Fifth”, but especially his occult tendency towards the
Nyingmapa sect, led the abbot of the powerful Drepung (Yellow Hat) monastery, Drakpa Gyaltsen, to
organize a rebellion against the ruler in the Potala. The conspiracy was discovered and was not carried
out.