Sunday, January 28, 2018
Clouds Of Scandal And Rank Incompetence At White House | The Last Word |...
Trump'/s budget and cutting of entitlements.SS, Medicare(aid) ,food stamps would hurt the vulnerable and do harm to the economy -his budget would increased the deficit.
Trump master of distraction now its victim.
Trump not a conservative .His budget doomed to fail increases tax cuts and federal spending impossible to balance the budget. unless borrowing $ and not pay it back.
Promises not to harm entitlements breaks promise by this budget
Rosy scenarios of economic growth occasioned by deficit spending by GOP lawmakers
Rep Charlie Dent,R PA " (SIC) I'm not one who thinks you can pay for an increase in military spending on the backs of domestic discretionary programs which constitute 13-14% of all federal spending." David Frum,Jonathan Alter, Nicholas Confessore
Saturday, January 27, 2018
Donald Trump Remarks Aid White Supremacists' Political Ambitions | Rache...
setting 1924 picking demo nominee to face Coolidge and it comes down to a split between Al Smith and Wm MacAdoo (had Klan backing) Reference to a 1915 film "Birth of A Nation" a film laced with racial bigotry.
Klan supported prohibition-thought they should have a say in all elections
AL Smith a "Catholic "wasn't backed by Klan Klan backed MacAdoo ? treas secy under Wilson
Klan backed "prohibition"
Anti Klan plank convulses convention and > 1000 police show up to prevent the calamity of violence anti Klan plank loses by one vote 133 ballots finally an un known John Davis picked and loses by landslide to Coolidge
20,000 Klansmen amass across Hudson river in NJ burn crosses anmd effigy of Al Smith
Baltimore Sun June 29,1924
1927 Donald Trump's father arrested in Queens amid Klan riots never happened Re:Donald.
RECURRING NIGHTMARE OF THE KLAN
- PERSISTS DECADE AFTER DECADE
- Desire to leave the fringe for a permanent footing
- Prone to violence and a fascist mindset
- Goals to exert real mainstream political power
- What to expect from the Klan in the future
Charlottesville incident
- Trump defends the alt right as construed by his ellipsis statements
- "Very fine people on both sides"
- Many are innocent legal protesters registered legally
- Republican leaders distance themselves mildly condemn him
- One white house official:" The president went rogue"-stunned unplanned?
- Folding up notes putting them in his suit coat pocket
- Not to be treated ass surpise why?
KKK's long history
- real force
- not a fringe polit element
- wielding of political power + terror
- Jim Crowe era in the South
- Permanent fascistic violent racist element in Amer, hate culture
- they wax and wane
- they have never gone away
- Other Video NO NAZI SCUMBAGS ALLOWED IN US MILITARY
Maddow: Racism Is 'A Persistent Infection' In White American Culture | R...
UKIAH CA ROBBERY OF ARMED TRUCK TO RAISE FUNDS FOR WHITE SUPREMACIST CAUSES 3.6 million gotten and donated to white hate groups
Perpetrated by grp called "the order" assassinated Alan Berg 1984 Denver radio host and a jew https://www.denverpost.com/2009/06/17/the-murder-of-alan-berg-in-denver-25-years-later/
The murder of Alan Berg in Denver: 25 years later – The Denver Post
https://www.denverpost.com/2009/.../the-murder-of-alan-berg-in-denver-25-years-lat...
Jun 17, 2009 - Even after a quarter century, the violent murder of Denver talk-radio icon Alan Berg at the hands of a white supremacist group reverberates amid fresh reminders of hate crimes. ... Berg, 50, was killed by automatic- weapon fire in 1984 as he returned home from dinner with his ex-wife, Judith Lee Berg.
Even after a quarter century, the violent murder of Denver talk-radio icon Alan Berg at the hands of a white supremacist group reverberates amid fresh reminders of hate crimes.
It has been 25 years since Berg was gunned down in the driveway of his Congress Park condominium, and the commemoration comes just days after a white supremacist allegedly opened fire at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., killing a security guard.
Berg, who was Jewish, gained a strong following in the early 1980s through talk radio, where his liberal views mixed with a combative and often-abrasive on-air persona. In the process, he ignited the anger of The Order, a splinter group of the Aryan Nation white nationalist movement that financed its anti-government goals with bank robberies in the Pacific Northwest — before turning to murder.
Berg’s slaying marked an early signpost on the road that led to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, said Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala.
“In a sense, it was one of the opening shots of a truly revolutionary radical right,” he said, “perfectly willing to countenance the mass murder of American civilians for their cause.”
A revolutionary mindset
Groups such as The Order moved the far-right away from its roots as a restorationist movement and into a violent, revolutionary mindset, Potok said. Berg appeared on a hit list that included TV producer Norman Lear; a federal judge from Kansas; and Morris Dees, one of the founders of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Anath White, now a writer and movie producer in Los Angeles, was the last producer to work with Berg. She recalls the shows shortly before he was killed when he confronted members of the Christian Identity movement, who believed Jews were descended from Satan.
Berg challenged the members. The exchange was rancorous.
“That got him on the list and got him moved up the list to be assassinated,” White said.
But she is certain that even if Berg had known how dangerous the Christian Identity people and their supporters were, he would not have canceled or changed his tack for those shows.
“He was a person who took risks for his beliefs,” she said.
Berg, educated as a lawyer, had spoken before on the danger of his celebrity. “Hopefully, my legal training will prevent me from saying the one thing that will kill me,” he said. “I’ve come awfully close.”
Berg, 50, was killed by automatic- weapon fire in 1984 as he returned home from dinner with his ex-wife, Judith Lee Berg. Eventually, four members of The Order were indicted in the slaying, but only two were convicted — alleged triggerman Bruce Pierce and alleged getaway driver David Lane.
Lane died in prison in 2007. Pierce continues to serve his 252-year sentence at a federal prison in Pennsylvania and remains active in the movement through correspondence, which he signs, “I Serve God, Race & Truth.”
No one was ever convicted of murder in Berg’s killing. But investigators quickly zeroed in on who pumped 13 bullets into his body, and why.
The Order, formed by nine men who met in a Washington-state farmhouse in 1983, was dedicated to separation of the races and the annihilation of Jews. They targeted Berg not only because he was Jewish, but also because he ridiculed them and their leaders on the air, prosecutors contended.
Berg billed himself as “the man you love to hate.” But in 1994, Judith Berg told The Denver Post that the private man wasn’t much like the raging, controversial personality he presented on the air.
“He wanted people to look at themselves and to be conscious of their thoughts — to take responsibility for their attitudes and decisions,” she said. “The angry image was largely shtick.”
Norm Early, who was Denver’s district attorney then, declined to prosecute on murder charges, saying the evidence wouldn’t stand up in court.
Violating his civil rights
Federal authorities tried four suspects in 1987, and the two found guilty were convicted of violating Berg’s civil rights. Lane, then 49, was sentenced to 150 years. Pierce, then 33, got the same, in addition to sentences on other charges stemming from the robberies in the Northwest.
Richard Scutari was accused of acting as a lookout for Pierce. Though acquitted of that charge, he was sentenced to 60 years on federal racketeering charges for other Order-related crimes. Scutari was denied parole in 2000 and can’t apply again until 2016.
Jean Craig was accused of collecting information on Berg to assist in the plot. She, too, was acquitted in the civil rights case but convicted for other crimes.
Bob Mathews, a co-founder of The Order, was believed to be another lookout. But before he could be prosecuted, Mathews died in a blaze that resulted from a gun battle with FBI agents in Washington state.
White, Berg’s last producer, testified at two trials and still gets chills at the memory. But she felt that if anything good came from the tragedy, it was a wider awareness of the threat that loomed.
“Alan’s death blunted a lot of this activity at a crucial time,” White said. “I think something horrible like what just happened at the Holocaust museum proves that these folks don’t always go away. But I’d like to believe there are fewer of them out there now.”
Kevin Simpson, Jason Blevins and Karen Auge contributed to this report.
In Berg’s own words
After Alan Berg’s death, The Denver Post collected some of the quotes that made him “the man you love to hate.”
On newspaper reporters:
“You guys stink, just plain stink; you crawl, you’re the bottom of the barrel; I mean, you suck!”
On self-help books:
“Most people aren’t OK, so let’s quit prodding them. Let’s build huge wino farms and put all the winos on them and let them live out their lives in peace, until they drink themselves to death.”
On religion:
“Until I know better, I’m it. I’m God.”
To Morley Safer of “60 Minutes”:
“You’re even ruder (than I am). You go around sticking microphones in people’s faces and intimidating them and violating their rights, and when they try to explain to you, that part ends up on the cutting-room floor.”
On Denver:
“Compared to what goes on in Denver, I’m damned exciting. I’m not waving a big flag for myself, but Denver is not a very exciting community.”
On the danger of his job:
“Hopefully, my legal training will prevent me from saying the one thing that will kill me. I’ve come awfully close.”
The Order (white supremacist group)
 | |
| Motto | Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; Jeremiah 51:20 |
|---|---|
| Formation | September 1983 |
| Extinction | December 1984 |
| Type | White supremacist, Christian Identity, neo-fascist, neo-Nazi, White separatist, White nationalism, domestic terrorist, revolutionary |
| Purpose | Paramilitary fomenting white nationalist revolt, against the "Zionist Occupation Government" and establishment of the Northwest Territorial Imperative |
| Location |
|
Key people
| Robert Jay Mathews (leader), David Lane |
The Order, also known as the Brüder Schweigen (German for Brothers Keep Silent) or Silent Brotherhood, was a white supremacist terrorist organization active in the United States between September 1983 and December 1984. The group raised funds via armed robbery. Ten members were tried and convicted for racketeering, and two for their role in the 1984 murder of radio talk show host Alan Berg.
History[edit]
The Order was founded by Robert Jay Mathews in late September 1983 at Mathews' farm near Metaline, Washington.[1] Mathews was baptized into the Mormon faith as a high schooler. He formed the "Sons of Liberty", an anti-communist militia mostly made up of Mormon survivalists that had no connection to the historical organization of the same name.
A fundamental goal of The Order was revolution against the American government, which its members, and those of other white supremacist groups, believed to be controlled by a cabal of prominent Jews. The Order was named after, and partly modeled on, a fictional terrorist group in William Luther Pierce's novel The Turner Diaries.[2] The Order's goals included the establishment of a homeland (now the Northwest Territorial Imperative) from which Jews and non-whites would be barred. They often referred to the United States federal government as ZOG, an acronym for Zionist Occupied Government. Members of the Order included Randy Evans, Gary Yarborough, Bruce Pierce, Denver Parmenter, Frank DeSilva (also known as Frank Silva), Richard Scutari, David Lane, Randy Duey, and David Tate.
The Order drew up a hit list of enemies, and on June 18, 1984 radio talk show host Alan Berg was murdered in front of his home by Bruce Pierce, assisted by other members of The Order.[3] Berg was number two on The Order's list.[4]
In December 1984, authorities were able to track Mathews down to a house on Whidbey Island where he refused to surrender.[2] During a shootout, the house was ignited by incendiary flares, became engulfed in flames and Mathews was killed.[2] Mathews is considered a martyr by some white nationalists.[5][6]
Funding[edit]
The next discussion to take place was funding for actions of The Order. Options included bidding on lumber-jacking and timber contracts, counterfeiting money, diaspora funding from overseas oil countries and robberies. Timber contracts would serve as legal funding, counterfeiting money would appeal to the ideals of the group, undermining the government. Counterfeit money would raise new, clean money for the organization while also devaluing US currency. Robbery was first denied as an option due to its sinful nature, until someone mentioned they could rob pimps and dope dealers, which would raise money for the organization as well as set back street criminals in their businesses.[7]
The organization won a bid on a timber trimming contract for a trail in the Salmo-Priest Wilderness. After five hours of blistering work, Matthews decided to call off the work and head home. Headed back to the trucks, David Lane muttered, "Well, we're going to have to be better thinkers than our fathers were, because we're sure not the men they were,"[7] while Matthews mentions that the pay off from the job "would not fund the right wing for a week anyway."[7] The Order decided to try their hand at robberies, attempting to target pimps and dope dealers. After weeks of trailing black men in flashy cars and realizing they had no idea what a pimp or dope dealer truly looked like, they decided to switch to other crimes for funding.
The Order raised money through violent crime. This began with the robbery of a sex shop, which netted them $369.10.[8] Their later attacks were more effective, including several lucrative bank robberies, as well as bombings of a theater and a synagogue. The Order ran a large[9] counterfeiting operation, and executed a series[citation needed] of armored car robberies, including one near Ukiah, California that netted $3.6 million.[10] Proceeds from these robberies were distributed to leaders of sympathetic organisations such as William Pierce (National Alliance) and Frazier Glenn Miller, Jr. (White Patriot Party).[11]
Convictions[edit]
Ten members of The Order were tried and convicted under Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) statutes with the help of the testimony of Frazier Glenn Miller, Jr., who testified against Order members in order to have his own sentence reduced. In a separate trial, three other members of The Order were tried and convicted of violating the civil rights of Alan Berg.[12] No one has been charged in the murder of Berg. David Lane, the getaway driver for Berg's assailants, was sentenced to 190 consecutive years on the charges of racketeering, conspiracy, and violating Berg's civil rights. He died in prison in 2007.[13] Order member Bruce Pierce was sentenced to 252 years in prison for his involvement in the Berg murder, and died of natural causes at the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex on August 16, 2010 at the age of 56.[14]Like Mathews, Lane and Pierce are regarded by many white supremacists as heroes, political prisoners and martyrs. In another trial, 14 men were charged with sedition, conspiracy and civil rights violations.[13] Thirteen of them were acquitted, and the judge dismissed the charges against the fourteenth man for lack of evidence.[13] Over 75 men and women were tried and convicted of various charges connected to The Order.[clarification needed]
A 2011 NPR report claimed that some of the people associated with this group were imprisoned in a highly restrictive Communication Management Unit.[15] Richard Scutari, a member of the Order, was sentenced to a 60-year prison term in 1986,[16] and was removed to USP Marion CMU in July 2008.
'
Further reading[edit]
- Dees, Morris. Gathering Storm: America's Militia Threat. Harper Perennial, 1997. ISBN 0-06-092789-5
- Flynn, Kevin; Gerhardt, Gary. The Silent Brotherhood. Signet, 1990. ISBN 978-0-451-16786-6.
- Söderman, Magnus; Holappa, Henrik. Unbroken Warrior: The Richard Scutari Letters. Nationellt Motstånd Förlag, 2011. ISBN 978-91-85737-04-8
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Angry Monk Reflections On Tibet 2005
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/subdivisions/tibetan_1.shtml
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is a religion in exile, forced from its homeland when Tibet was conquered by the Chinese. At one time it was thought that 1 in 6 Tibetan men were Buddhist monks.
Norbulingka Palace ©
The best known face of Tibetan Buddhism is the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in India since he fled Chinese occupation of his country in 1959.
Tibetan Buddhism combines the essential teachings of Mahayana Buddhism with Tantric and Shamanic, and material from an ancient Tibetan religion called Bon.
Although Tibetan Buddhism is often thought to be identical with Vajrayana Buddhism, they are not identical - Vajrayana is taught in Tibetan Buddhism together with the other vehicles.
History
Buddhism became a major presence in Tibet towards the end of the 8th century CE. It was brought from India at the invitation of the Tibetan king, Trisong Detsen, who invited two Buddhist masters to Tibet and had important Buddhist texts translated into Tibetan.
First to come was Shantarakshita, abbot of Nalanda in India, who built the first monastery in Tibet. He was followed by Padmasambhava, who came to use his wisdom and power to overcome "spiritual" forces that were stopping work on the new monastery.
Groups within Tibetan Buddhism
- Nyingmapa: Founded by Padmasambhava, this is oldest sect, noted in the West for the teachings of the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
- Kagyupa: Founded by Tilopa (988-1069), the Kagyupa tradition is headed by the Karmapa Lama. Important Kagyupa teachers include Naropa, Marpa, and Milarepa.
- Sakyapa: Created by Gonchok Gyelpo (1034-1102) and his son Gunga Nyingpo (1092-1158).
- Gelugpa: (The Virtuous School) Founded by Tsong Khapa Lobsang Drakpa (also called Je Rinpoche) (1357 - 1419), this tradition is headed by the Dalai Lama.
- New Kadampa Tradition: one of the major Buddhist schools in the UK, founded by the Tibetan-born Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Some Buddhists and non-Buddhists regard the NKT as outside the mainstream tradition.
Special features of Tibetan Buddhism
- the status of the teacher or "Lama"
- preoccupation with the relationship between life and death
- important role of rituals and initiations
- rich visual symbolism
- elements of earlier Tibetan faiths
- mantras and meditation practice
Tibetan Buddhist practice features a number of rituals, and spiritual practices such as the use of mantras and yogic techniques.
Supernatural beings are prominent in Tibetan Buddhism. Buddhas and bodhisattvas abound, gods and spirits taken from earlier Tibetan religions continue to be taken seriously. Bodhisattvas are portrayed as both benevolent godlike figures and wrathful deities.
This metaphysical context has allowed Tibetan Buddhism to develop a strong artistic tradition, and paintings and other graphics are used as aids to understanding at all levels of society.
Visual aids to understanding are very common in Tibetan Buddhism - pictures, structures of various sorts and public prayer wheels and flags provide an ever-present reminder of the spiritual domain in the physical world.
Tibetan Buddhism is strong in both monastic communities and among lay people.
The lay version has a strong emphasis on outwardly religious activities rather than the inner spiritual life: there is much ritual practice at temples, pilgrimage is popular - often including many prostrations, and prayers are repeated over and over - with the use of personal or public prayer wheels and flags. There are many festivals, and funerals are very important ceremonies.
Lay people provide physical support to the monasteries as well as relying on the monks to organise the rituals.
Tibetan monastery ©
Atisha reintroduced Buddhism into Tibet ©
Dorje Shugden atop his snow lion ©
Lamas
Tibetan monastery ©
A lama is a teacher. They are often a senior member of a monastic community - a monk or a nun - but lay people and married people can also be lamas. They are very often reincarnations of previous lamas.
As well as being learned in Buddhist texts and philosophy, lamas often have particular skills in ritual.
The Dalai Lama
Dalai is a Mongol word meaning ocean, and refers to the depth of the Dalai Lama's wisdom.
The first Dalai Lama to bear the title was the 3rd Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso. (The two previous incarnations were named "Dalai Lama" after their deaths.)
The current Dalai Lama (2002), Tenzin Gyatso, was born in Amdo, Tibet in 1935 and is the fourteenth Dalai Lama.
]
Tantra
Tibetan Buddhism was much influenced by Tantra, and this has brought in a wealth of complex rituals and symbols and techniques.
Tantra originated in India and appears in both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. It brings Tibetan Buddhism a magical element and a rich portfolio of heavenly beings. It also brings a wide variety of spiritual techniques such as mantras, mandalas, ceremonies, and many varieties of yoga.
Rituals
Rituals and simple spiritual practices such as mantras are popular with lay Tibetan Buddhists. They include prostrations, making offerings to statues of Buddhas or bodhisattvas, attending public teachings and ceremonies.
Tibetan temple ceremonies are often noisy and visually striking, with brass instruments, cymbals and gongs, and musical and impressive chanting by formally dressed monks. It takes place in strikingly designed temples and monasteries.
Advanced practices
Tibetan Buddhism also involves many advanced rituals. These are only possible for those who have reached a sophisticated understanding of spiritual practice.
There are also advanced spiritual techniques. These include elaborate visualisations and demanding meditations. It's said that senior Tibetan yoga adepts can achieve much greater control over the body than other human beings, and are able to control their body temperature, heart rate and other normally automatic functions.
Living and dying
Tibetan Buddhism emphasises awareness of death and impermanence. Everything is always dying - the cells of our bodies are dying even while we live, reminding us of our own impermanence. And all the living things around us are dying, too.
This awareness should not produce sadness or despair, nor should it cause a Buddhist to start a frantic pursuit of the impermanent pleasures of life. Instead, it should lead the Buddhist to see the value of every moment of existence, and be diligent in their meditation and other religious practice.
Awareness of death, combined with the understanding of the impermanence of everything, leads the Buddhist to realise that only spiritual things have any lasting value.
Preparing for death
Tibetan Buddhists use visualisation meditations and other exercises to imagine death and prepare for the bardo. They work towards a holistic understanding and acceptance of death as an inevitable part of their journey.
Another way of preparing for death is to take part in helping those who have died through their experience in the bardo. This not only aids the dead, but enables the living practitioner to gain a real experience of the bardo, before they themselves enter it.
Even those who cannot gain the spiritual awareness to have a consciousness of the bardo are helped by achieving a greater experience of the impermanence of everything.
Tibetan Book of the Dead
This is one of the great texts of Tibetan Buddhism, and a big seller in the west. The English title is not a translation of the Tibetan title - the book's true name is Great Liberation through hearing during the intermediate state, commonly known in Tibet as Liberation through hearing.
The book deals with the experiences of a person as they pass between death and rebirth.
Bardo
Bardo is the state between death and rebirth. The different schools of Tibetan Buddhism have different understandings of this state which is regarded as lasting for 49 days.
The experience of a person during bardo depends on their spiritual training during life. An untrained person is thought to be confused as to where they are, and may not realise that they have died. People are often unwilling to give up attachment to their previous life - and their negative emotions - may cause their rebirth to be less good than it would otherwise have been.
In traditional Tibetan Buddhism, the dead person is helped through bardo by a lama who reads prayers and performs rituals from the Book of the Dead, advising the deceased to break free from attachment to their past life and their dead body. In some schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the lama will actively help the dead person to transfer their consciousness from their body, in preparation for rebirth.
Many Tibetan Buddhists believe that it is possible for those left behind to assist the dead person on their journey by doing spiritual work that increases the merits of the deceased and thus helps them to a better rebirth.
During the 49 day period the dead can see clearly into the minds of those left behind, which allows the living to help the dead by thinking good thoughts, meditating on Buddha and other virtuous beings, and engaging in spiritual practices.
New Kadampa Tradition
The New Kadampa Tradition
Atisha reintroduced Buddhism into Tibet ©
The New Kadampa Tradition emerged from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and is one of the major Buddhist schools in the UK. Some Buddhists and non-Buddhists regard the NKT as outside the mainstream tradition.
Origins and history
The New Kadampa Tradition is one of the fastest growing Mahayana Buddhist traditions in the West, with 900 meditation centres in 37 countries. Founded by the Tibetan-born meditation master, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, supporters claim it offers local access to Buddha's teachings, meditation practice and an alternative view to life that promotes peace and harmony.
Kadampa Buddhism was founded in 11th Century Tibet by the Indian Buddhist Master Atisha (982 - 1054 CE). He was invited by King Jangchub Ö, a ruler of Ngari region of Tibet, to reintroduce Buddhism to Tibet. It had first been introduced by Padmasambhava and Shantarakshita 200 years earlier, but was largely destroyed by the anti-Buddhist purges of the Tibetan king, Lang Darma, who was a follower of Bön, the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet.
Atisha did revive Buddhist practice in Tibet, and founded what is now the tradition of Kadampa Buddhism. Ka means word and refers to the teachings of the Buddha and dam refers to Atisha's special presentation of them, known as Lamrim or stages of the path to enlightenment. Lamrim literally means Stages of the Path and encompasses all Buddha's teachings. Atisha showed how the paths of Sutra and Tantra were not separate and could be practised together.
Three centuries later (in the 13th century) the Tibetan Buddhist master Je Tsongkharpa, one of Tibet's saints, developed and promoted Kadampa Buddhism throughout the country. He reformed the monasteries, emphasizing the practice of moral discipline, systematic study and meditation, which characterize the three Kadam lineages. He also wrote commentaries to many sacred Buddhist texts, clarifying their meanings, and taught the union of Sutra and Tantra. His life was an example of purity in body, speech and mind. His followers became known as New Kadampas or Gelugpas (The Virtuous Ones) who strived to become great Bodhisattvas and Buddhas themselves, so they could help release others from the suffering of cyclic existence.
The New Kadampa Tradition in the West
In 1976 Geshe Kelsang was invited to teach in the UK by Lama Yeshe, the headteacher of the FPMT, Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition.
He taught at FPMT-Centre Manjushri Institute which was based at Conishead priory, Ulverston, Cumbria, England (now called Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre) with the blessing of the Dalai Lama.
In the late 1970s Geshe Kelsang took the controversial decision of opening his own Buddhist Centre in York. He was asked to resign his post at Conishead Priory but resisted pressure to leave after a group of his closest students pleaded with him to stay.
Critics claim this was the beginning of a rift between Kelsang and the FPMT. They also accuse Kelsang of starting a breakaway movement and argue that the New Kadampa Tradition, as it is known today, is not part of the ancient Kadampa Tradition but a split from the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Disagreement with the Dalai Lama
Despite the popularity of the New Kadampa Tradition - often known as the NKT for short - the organisation was involved in a public dispute with the Dalai Lama which began in 1996.
The problem centres on the emphasis placed on the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden by Kelsang.
According to the NKT's website: "A Dharma Protector is an emanation of a Buddha or a Bodhisattva whose main functions are to avert the inner and outer obstacles that prevent practitioners from gaining spiritual realizations, and to arrange all the necessary conditions for their practice".
Kelsang teaches that the deity Dorje Shugden is the Dharma protector for the New Kadampa Tradition and is a manifestation of the Buddha.
The spirit Dorje Shugden is described by some as a "wrathful, sword-waving deity with big ears and menacing fangs" or as "a ...warrior figure, riding a snow lion through a sea of boiling blood".
The New Kadampa Tradition offers this description: "In his left hand he holds a heart, which symbolises great compassion and spontaneous great bliss... His round yellow hat represents the view of Nagarjuna, and the wisdom sword in his right hand teaches us to sever ignorance... Dorje Shudgen rides a snow lion ...and has a jewel-splitting mongoose perched on his left arm, symbolising his power to bestow wealth on those who put their trust in him... His wrathful expression indicated that he destroys ignorance, the real enemy of all living beings, by blessing them with great wisdom."
Dorje Shugden atop his snow lion ©
The NKT venerates Dorje Shugden as its protector deity. The Dalai Lama, however, has rejected and spoken out against this practice. He has described Shugden as an evil and malevolent force, and argued that other Lamas before him had also placed restrictions on worship of this spirit.
After the Lama made these statements public in 1996 some followers of Dorje Shugden protested against the Dalai Lama in London, accusing him of suppressing their religious freedom.
Today members of the New Kadampa Tradition continue to worship Dorje Shugden.
Tibetan Buddhism
Last updated 2004-01-14
Tibetan Buddhism is a religion in exile, forced from its homeland when Tibet was conquered by the Chinese. This article is a detailed look at its history and practices.