Dorje Shugden (, Wylie: rdo rje shugs ldan, ), also known as Dolgyal and Gyalchen Shugden, is an entity associated with the Gelug school, the newest school of Tibetan Buddhism. Dorje Shugden is variously looked upon as a destroyed gyalpo, a minor mundane protector, a major mundane protector, an enlightened major protector whose outward appearance is that of a gyalpo, or as an enlightened major protector whose outward appearance is enlightened.
Dorje Shugden was first worshipped as a minor spirit in Buddhism during the 17th century.Christopher Emory-Moore. "Branding a New Buddhist Movement: The New Kadampa Tradition's Self-identification as 'Modern Buddhism'". Journal of Global Buddhism (Vol.21 11–28). Mills, Martin. Identity, Ritual and State in Tibetan Buddhism. Routledge 2003, page 366. In the 1930s, increased worship of Dorje Shugden under Pabongkhapa, who portrayed Shugden as a violent protector of the Gelug tradition, resulted in the Dorje Shugden controversy. Debates have centered on Dorje Shugden's nature and role—including his association with sectarianism, his place within traditional Gelug teachings, and whether he is enlightened or not—and the actions of his adherents in the International Shugden Community and the New Kadampa Tradition. Promoters of Dorje Shugden consider it the protector of the "pure dharma" of Tsongkhapa, traditionally regarded as the founder of the Gelug school.
History Dorje Shugden, also known as Dolgyal, was a gyalpo (or "angry and vengeful spirit") of South Tibet that was subsequently adopted as a "minor protector" of the Gelug school, the newest of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism, headed by the Dalai Lamas (although nominally the Ganden Tripas).Schaik, Sam van. Tibet: A History. Yale University Press 2011, page 129.
Dorje Shugden worship developed relatively recently within Buddhism, likely dating back to the 17th century at the earliest.Are We Prisoners of Shangrila? Orientalism, Nationalism, and the Study of Tibet by Georges Dreyfus, JIATS, no. 1 (October 2005), THL #T1218, 21, section 3: The Shukden Affair and Buddhist Modernism, retrieved 2014-05-09. According to early histories, the 5th Dalai Lama destroyed Shugden through fire ritual exorcism and tantric rituals. Later, adherents of Shugden said that the 5th Dalai Lama was unsuccessful.Bultrini, Raimondo. The Dalai Lama and the King Demon. Tibet House 2013.
Dorje Shugden remained a minor Gelug protector until the 1930s when Pabongkhapa Déchen Nyingpo "started to promote him aggressively" as the main protector of the Gelug tradition. Pabongkhapa transformed Dorje Shugden's "marginal practice into a central element" of worship amongst his own disciples, replacing the original protectors appointed by Tsongkhapa and "replacing the traditional supra-mundane protectors" of the tradition. This change is reflected in artwork, since Dorje Shugden artwork is absent from the Gelug tradition before the end of the 19th century.Himalayan Buddhist Art 101: Controversial Art, Part 1 - Dorje Shugden by Jeff Watt, retrieved Feb. 16, 2014.
Pabongkhapa fashioned Shugden as a violent protector of the Gelug school, employing him against other traditions as a symbol of Gelug exclusivism.Kay, David (2004). Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, Development and Adaptation. London: RoutledgeCurzon. p. 43. "A key element of Phabongkha Rinpoche’s outlook was the cult of the protective deity Dorje Shugden, which he married to the idea of Gelug exclusivism and employed against other traditions as well as against those within the Gelug who had eclectic tendencies." Shugden was a key symbol associated with Pabongkha's persecution of the Rimé movement, which promoted inclusivity and the sharing of practices across different strands of Buddhism. Nyingma Buddhists were also forcibly converted by Pabongkhapa and his disciples, and relics associated with Padmasambhava (a Buddha considered second only to Shakyamuni among the Nyingma) were destroyed.Kay, D. N. (2004). Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, development and adaptation. RoutledgeCurzon critical studies in Buddhism. London: RoutledgeCurzon. p.43."As the Gelug agent of the Tibetan government in Kham (Khams) (Eastern Tibet), and in response to the Rimed movement that had originated and was flowering in that region, Phabongkha Rinpoche and his disciples employed repressive measures against non-Gelug sects. Religious artefacts associated with Padmasambhava – who is revered as a 'second Buddha' by Nyingma practitioners – were destroyed, and non-Gelug, and particularly Nyingma, monasteries were forcibly converted to the Gelug position. A key element of Phabongkha Rinpoche's outlook was the cult of the protective deity Dorje Shugden, which he married to the idea of Gelug exclusivism and employed against other traditions as well as against those within the Gelug who had eclectic tendencies." p.47. "His teaching tour of Kham in 1938 was a seminal phase, leading to a hardening of his exclusivism and the adoption of a militantly sectarian stance. In reaction to the flourishing Rimed movement and the perceived decline of Gelug monasteries in that region, Phabongkha and his disciples spearheaded a revival movement, promoting the supremacy of the Gelug as the only pure tradition. He now regarded the inclusivism of Gelug monks who practised according to the teachings of other schools as a threat to the integrity of the Gelug tradition, and he aggressively opposed the influence of other traditions, particularly the Nyingma, whose teachings were deemed mistaken and deceptive. A key element of Phabongkha's revival movement was the practice of relying upon Dorje Shugden, the main function of the deity now being presented as 'the protection of the Ge-luk tradition through violent means, even including the killing of its enemies'." Pabongkhapa taught that Shugden was "the protector of the tradition of the victorious lord Manjushri", and thus replaced the traditional Gelug protectors Pehar, Nechung, Palden Lhamo, Mahakala, Vaisravana, and especially Kalarupa, who was traditionally believed to have been appointed by Tsongkhapa himself as the main Gelug protector.Kay, David (2004). Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, Development and Adaptation. London: RoutledgeCurzon. p. 48. "It seems that during the 1940s, supporters of Phabongkha began to proclaim the fulfilment of this tradition and to maintain that the Tibetan government should turn its allegiance away from Pehar, the state protector, to Dorje Shugden."Kay, David (2004). Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, Development and Adaptation. London: RoutledgeCurzon. p. 48. "Phabongkha's claim that Dorje Shugden had now replaced the traditional supramundane protectors of the Gelug tradition such as Mahakala, Vaisravana and, most specifically, Kalarupa ('the Dharma-King'), the main protector of the Gelug who, it is believed, was bound to an oath by Tsong Khapa himself."
The 13th Dalai Lama limited the practice of Shugden propitiation, after which Pabongkhapa apologized and promised not to practice Shugden worship any more.Bultrini, Raimondo. The Dalai Lama and the King Demon. Tibet House 2013. Pabongkhapa said: "I shall perform purification and promise with all my heart that in the future I will avoid propitiating, praying to, and making daily offerings to Shugden. I admit to all the errors I have made, disturbing Nechung and contradicting the principle of the refuge, and I beg you, in your great heartfelt compassion, to forgive me and purify my actions."
Characteristics
A characteristic of the iconography of Dorje Shugden is the central figure surrounded by four cardinal emanations. According to Nebresky-Wojkowitz, these are: East: The "body emanation" (sku'i sprul pa), which is white and has a mild expression (Vairochana Shugden) South: The "emanation of excellence" (Ratna Shugden) West: The "emanation of speech" (gsung gi sprul pa), which is white with "a slightly wild expression" (Pema Shugden) North: The "emanation of karma" ('phrin gyi sprul pa), which has with a green body and ferocious mood (Karma Shugden)Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1998:138–139)
Dreyfus describes Dorje Shugden as "a fearsome deity, holding in his right hand a sword dripping with blood and in his left hand the heart torn out from the chest of its enemies".Dreyfus, Georges (2011). “The Predicament of Evil: The Case of Dorje Shukden” in Deliver Us From Evil, p. 60, Editor(s): M. David Eckel, Bradley L. Herling, Boston University Studies in Philosophy and Religion. Frederick Bunce describes Dorje Shugden as baring fangs, with "three bloodshot eyes", and flames protruding from his eyebrows and facial hair. He has yellow-brown hair standing on end, and "his nostrils issue rain clouds with violent lightning". He holds a flaming sword in his right hand (khadga, ral-gri) and a skull-cup (kapala, thod-pa) filled with organs in his left. Under his arm, he carries "a mongoose (ichneumon or nakula, nehu-li) and golden goad/hook (ankusha, lcags-kyu)", and his body is bejeweled. He wears elephant skin on his top half, a tiger skin loincloth, a "five-skull crown", a "garland of fifty freshly severed heads", and an "apron of carved human bones". He stands on a "carpet of human skins on one hundred thousand thunderbolts (vajra, rdo-rje) on the back of a garuda-like bird (khyung)".Bunce, Frederick. An Encyclodpaedia of Buddhist Deities, Demigods, Godlings, Saints and Demons. p. 441
Michael von Brück describes Dorje Shugden as being "fierce and violent" and destroying all his enemies. He says animals are sacrificed to him symbolically, he lives among "skeletons and human skulls", near a blood of lake, with a dark-red body and facial expressions similar to rakshasas. He notes that none of these are unique to Dorje Shugden, being "more or less stereotypes for dharma-protectors in general".von Brück, Michael (2001). "Canonicity and Divine Interference" in Dalmia, V., Malinar, A., & Christof, M. (2001). Charisma and Canon: Essays on the Religious History of the Indian Subcontinent. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 337.
Control under Vajrabhairava In Phabongkhapa's text, Shugden is to be controlled by Vajrabhairava.von Brück, Michael (2001). "Canonicity and Divine Interference" in Dalmia, V., Malinar, A., & Christof, M. (2001). Charisma and Canon: Essays on the Religious History of the Indian Subcontinent. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 340-341. Michael von Brück provides a translation of Phabongkhapa's text which states:
New Kadampa Trust According to the NKT, Dorje Shugden worship is "the very essence of the New Kadampa Tradition", and the protector is presented as the deity most able to help practitioners. The NTK's versions of The Heart Jewel and Wishfulfilling Jewel sādhanās, compiled by Kelsang Gyatso, incorporate the elements of the Dorje Shugden sādhanā. Dorje Shugden may also have influenced Geshe Kelsang's teaching that practitioners cannot mix with other traditions, a view which has been criticised by other Buddhists.
David Kay notes that Kelsang Gyatso, the founder of the New Kadampa Tradition, departed from Pabongkhapa and Trijang Rinpoche (his root guru) by stating that Dorje Shugden's appearance is enlightened, rather than worldly.Kay, David (2004). Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, Development and Adaptation. London: RoutledgeCurzon. p. 101-2. Kelsang Gyatso explicitly rejected the idea that Dorje Shugden was worldly rather than a Buddha, and made Dorje Shugden worship central to the practices of the New Kadampa Tradition.