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There may be many among you who have never been involved in the practice of Dholgyal at all. In many other cases, you may have practised it in the past, but have later given it up. With the hope of strengthening your sense of conviction about this, I have brought here some statements made by lamas in the past. I am going to read them out to you.

 

Consequently, two groups of practitioners were organised. One was led by Nagrampa Dhondup Gyatso, who acted as the Vajra Acharya of (a performance of) the Dorje Drolo ritual and the other was led by Nangjung Ngagchang Losang Khyentse, who acted as the Vajra Acharya of (a performance of the) Yangsang Karma Dragpo ritual. Likewise Rigzin Pema Thinley of Dorje Drag, Dharma King Terdag Lingpa, Vugja Lungpa, Drigung Tulku Rinpoche, Katshal Zurpa Ngari Kunchok Lhundup and Palri Tulku performed the Wrathful Lama, Yama, Phurba, Loktri practice for seven days, at the conclusion of which a fire ritual was performed, during which the ‘perfidious spirit’ and his entourage were burnt. Everybody was convinced (of its success because of) the wonderful signs that appeared and the smell of burning flesh that they all witnessed. Thus, many sentient beings were explicitly granted the gift of fearlessness, because their lives were saved. And indirectly these creatures (‘byungpo means creature or evil spirit) were delivered to the peaceful state of being, released from having to experience the intolerable suffering of bad states of rebirth due to their increasingly negative actions.

To the deities, Legden, Chagdrug, Leshin and Magzor,
Who have been propitiated and whose practice (has been done)
I offer this sublime libation.
The so-called Drakpa Gyaltsen pretends to be a sublime being, even though he is not,
Is harming everything - both the dharma and sentient beings –

Do not support, protect or give him shelter, but grind him to dust.

To the female protectors like Nodjin Yangghaza, etc. and Gyalpo Ku-nga,
I offer this sublime libation.
The so-called Drakpa Gyaltsen pretends to be a sublime being, even though
he is not,
And since this interfering spirit and creature of distorted prayers
Is harming everything - both the dharma and sentient beings -
Do not support, protect or give him shelter, but grind him to dust.

 

To the seven Barwa brothers like Tse-marpa etc.
I offer this sublime libation.
The so-called Drakpa Gyaltsen pretends to be a sublime being, even though
he is not,
And since this interfering spirit and creature of distorted prayers
Is harming everything - both the dharma and sentient beings -
Do not support, protect or give him shelter, but grind him to dust.

Having agreed before the root and lineage lama Vajra Dharas
If you protect this perfidious spirit,
Will you not cause your own past pledges to degenerate?

There are groups of interfering spirits who display inopportune miracles
In the form of human sickness, cattle disease, hailstorms, famine and
drought.
May their power and ability
Their body, speech and mind be smashed into tiny particles.

So, this is the declaration issued by the fifth Dalai Lama. It is quite strongly worded.

There is no difference between me and Avalokiteshvara    

Without involving in too much chatter

Put into practice what I showed you earlier

 

In order to dispel obstacles, perform the dispelling ritual of the White Umbrella deity and Charka and the previously described Lukdril.

 

(H.H.- From this point on it is written in the cursive (Trukyig) script. It goes like this.)   A fire ritual was performed at the site of the Upper Palace in Drepung. H.H.- this indicates that there was some problem with the Upper Palace. This is what we find in the Vase Gyachen. Again, in another division of the Sangwang Gyachen called the Drithue Gyachen, we find the following:

 

On the first day of the female Earth- Bird year, at Drepung, a black woman the size of a mountain placed her right foot on the Upper Palace, and her left foot on the Choekorling at Drepung. There was a haze of dust.

 

This also shows that the Upper Palace was marked by controversy. Therefore, the claim by Dholgyal practitioners that there exists a prayer propitiating Shugden composed by the Fifth Dalai Lama is unlikely to be true. Even if it were considered to have been written by the Fifth Dalai Lama, it must have been written during the initial period (of this affair) when he has stated himself that he tried skilfully to employ peaceful methods. Nevertheless, while we may accept (the assertion that he did write such a prayer) as true, usually when we are confronted with a situation in which we have to decide which of two options is correct - for example, between a statement made by the Buddha earlier in his life and another that was made later- according to the Vinaya, the later statement is considered more reliable than the former. So, the later a statement was made the more importance is attributed to it. Therefore, even if we accept that the propitiation prayer does belong to the Fifth Dalai Lama, what he said distinctly, clearly and emphatically during the later stages of his life must be considered as of overriding importance. So, this has concerned the involvement of the Fifth Dalai Lama.

 

Next, the collected works of Thukhen Lobsang Choekyi Nyima (1737-1802) contain a biography of Changkya Rolpai Dorje (17 17-86). The biography describes how Changkya Rolpai Dorje travelled to Lhasa from Amdo. It reads as follows:

 

One day, he (Changkya Rolpai Dorje) went out to make a circumambulation of the monastery (H.H.- this is at Ganden) and as he reached the right corner of the mountain behind Ganden he became aware of the smell of a great (column) incense smoke rising from the village that lay down below on the floor of the valley. He asked, “What is the name of that village?” Someone familiar with the area told him, “It’s called Thagye.” (“Tha” means edge and “Gye” means expand. So, together, it means “the edge expands.”) He responded, “That is an auspicious sign” and seemed to be very pleased. This, I (Thukhen Lobsang Choekyi Nyima) think is an extremely good sign that due to the grace and kindness of Je Lama himself (Changkya Rolpai Done) the tradition of Gyalwa Tsongkhapa will spread and flourish in all places, at all times.

 

Then, as he continued his circumambulation, a tantric Geshe accompanying him explained the stories associated with each and every one of the many naturally formed stone images of deities, mantras, and hand and foot imprints on stones that were lying above and below on the sides of the road. In particular, he was shown a stone on which there was a very clear image of Tsongkhapa, which was said to have formed during the time of the Seventh Dalai Lama.

 

[H.H.-I don’t remember this. Do any of you know about this? An image of Tsongkhapa, which was said to have appeared during the time of the Seventh Dalai Lama. Which direction is it in? The direction from which the Thirteenth Dalai Lama extracted Tsongkhapa’s hat from its treasury is in the East.]

 

Then they sighted a footprint, which was not attributed to anyone in particular. At that point, Je Lama (Changkya Rolpai Dorje) jokingly said, “this foot print probably belongs to a Nyingmapa. So, those of you who are followers of Phurbuchock had better avoid it. At that point, Thukhen Rinpoche said, if a Nyingmapa is able to leave his footprint at the seat of Je Tsongkhapa, then I should also be able to leave a foot print on the jewelled ground of Sukhavati. That made everybody burst into laughter. [He just boasted a little as a joke.]

 

Later, when they looked into it, they found that there was a saying that the footprint belonged to Khonton.

 

[H.H - Do any of you know about this?]    

 

Then he went to the place where Machen was propitiated. Since, Je Lama (Tsongkhapa) and his disciples didn’t propitiate worldly spirits, even the spirit belonging to Je Lama’s (Tsongkhapa’s) own birthplace was not given a place within the circumambulatory limits.

 

[H.H. - What I want to say starts from here.]

 

Previously, some Ganden Throne holders propitiated Dholgyal and inauspicious events took place. Consequently, Trichen Dorje Chang (Trichen Ngawang Chokdhen 1677-1751) (here it very clearly states that the spirit was Dholgyal destroyed the images and so forth of him and banished him from the premises of the monastery. Then, he went to Lambar and Lhasa and repeatedly said, “This time I went to Ganden and was able to do something extraordinary”.

 

This is what appears in the biography of Changkya Rolpai Dorje, composed by Thukhen Rinpoche.

 

Trichen Ngawang Chokdhen was the root guru of the 7th Dalai Lama and an extremely great being. He was from Amdo, so we are from the same region of Tibet, and became the first Reting Rinpoche. He was really an incredibly great being. It was he who was responsible for making Gyalchog Kalsang Gyatso what he was. These two, both Lama and disciple, had great devotion for each other. I am moved to tears, particularly when I reach the point in Gyalchog Kalsang (Gyatso’s) biography where Trichen Rinpoche says he doesn’t want anything except Reting. When the time came for him to leave for Reting, Gyalchog Kalsang requested him to stay a little longer. But, Trichen Rinpoche says, “Now, I will go”. Then Trichen Rinpoche mounts his horse and sets off. According to past accounts, there was a place in the Potala called the Wanglatang. That’s where Trichen Rinpoche left from and as he began his descent, Gyalchok Kalsang watched after him from the window of Wanglatang. It is really moving, because they both wept.

 

Anyway, I have been wondering what we might find in Trichen Ngawang Chokdhen’s biography. There is one by Changkya Rolpai Dorje. At first I thought there must be a biography of Trichen Ngawang Chogdhen by Gyalchog Kalsang as Trichen was his root lama, but there isn’t. He probably didn’t have time to write one. However, he instructed Changkya Rolpai Dorje to write Trichen’s biography instead. So, this is what we find on page 67 of the biography of Trichen Ngawang Chokdhen composed by Changkya:

 

Previously, a very vicious and evil spirit (it is not specifically stated that the spirit is Dholgyal, but it is clear from Changkya’s biography that the spirit referred to is Dholgyal. It also refers to the time when Trichen Ngawang Chokdhen was the Ganden Throne-holder,) possessed a man at Draksep. Some unstable lamas, former abbots, and monastic hostels (khangtsens) did practice in relation to it simply by invoking and propitiating it. A cairn for invoking spirits had also been erected on top of the Iangtse mountain. Considering how inappropriate was this turn of events he issued an edict to the assembly of monks that as there had been no tradition of propitiating worldly spirits and protectors within the premises of this seat of learning since the time of Je Tsongkhapa, henceforth, nobody would be allowed to engage in such activities. The cairn was demolished (this is very clearly stated in the biography of Changkya) and the stones and earth were returned to the places from which they had been taken. The spirit was invoked through a medium in trance and was then ordered not to come through such trances henceforth. Dholgyal replied, “If this is the order of Tri Rinpoche, I have no choice but to leave.” Then, the ghostly spirit fled to Taktse Shol. Je (Trichen Ngawang Chokdhen) himself went into retreat. He made it a rule that the prayer to Dharmaraja composed by the Omniscient Gedun Gyatso (the second Dalai Lama), should be said in the Main Hall of Ganden. Due to Dharmaraja’s wrath the Lamas and former abbots who had been propitiating the spirit were killed and the monastic hostels also suffered many misfortunes. Consequently, such misdeeds entirely ceased and the action that had been taken became an excellent cause for maintaining the purity of the monastery.”

 

This account appears in the biography of Trichen (Ngawang Chokdhen) composed by Changkya Rolpai Dorje, which can be found among Changkya’s Collected Works. It is clearly stated below that this account refers to Dholgyal. However, here it just refers to the Gyen gong (ghostly spirit). The text’s reference to the activities of some “unstable lamas, former abbots, and monastic hostels (khangtsens)” prior to Trichen Ngawang Chokdhen’s becoming the Ganden Throne-holder, is confirmed in the works of Purchok Ngawang Jampa.

 

This is what we find in the Catalogue of the Three Monastic Seats composed by Phurchok Ngawang Tampa:

 

Thus, at the time when Je (Tsongkhapa) himself was alive, apart from those dharma protectors who are bound by oath and are mentioned in the tantras themselves, no objects for propitiating or seeking the slightest help of harmful negative worldly spirits who are ghosts, was ever installed within the premises of this monastic seat. As a result, all the members of the community, both Lamas and disciples lived in harmony and the tradition of study and practice flourished. Even (the cairn) to the spirit of Tsongkhapa’s birthplace was placed outside the monastery. However, nowadays, many people who consider themselves to be followers of Tsongkhapa, and who adopt the three robes of a fully ordained Buddhist monk, go for refuge in ghostly spirits. They will have to face the consequence of meeting with great misfortune.”

 

This account is a very clear. We can compare how things developed later with how they were in the beginning. When Phurchok Ngawang Tampa prepared his Catalogue of the Three Monastic Seats, he describes how things were previously. When Tsongkhapa was alive there was no occasion for the propitiation of worldly spirits whatsoever. However, he complains, for some time since then, even in this monastery (Ganden), some people, who claim to be followers of Tsongkhapa and who wear the three robes of a fully ordained Buddhist monk, go for refuge in ghosts. As a result, even though there was previously great harmony and purity at Ganden, later because of such activities, many inauspicious events have occurred. This is what Phurchok Ngawang Jampa clearly explained.

 

Subsequently, when Trichen Ngawang Chokdhen became the Ganden Throne-holder, because Phurchok Ngawang Jampa was not on the throne, he had no authority and was unable to do anything more that criticise. However, both he and Trichen Ngawang Chokdhen were from Sera Te, as you all know. Trichen Ngawang Chokdhen records that when he came to Lhasa from Amdo, Phurchok Ngawang Jampa was known as the Lhopa Khampa, renowned as one of the top students in dialectics. This is recorded in Trichen Ngawang Chokdhen’s biography. Later, they became guru and disciple, but from the point of view of age, they were contemporaries. That is why it is very likely that when they occasionally met Phurchok Ngawang Tampa would have raised this issue with Trichen Rinpoche.

 

As far as Phurchok Ngawang Jampa was concerned, as he was not the Ganden Throne-holder, there was nothing he could do except complain. Whereas, Trichen Ngawang Chokdhen, who was both the Ganden Throne-holder, and the tutor of the seventh Dalai Lama, used his authority to prohibit the practice of propitiating negative worldly spirits and ordered the destruction of the temples for propitiating such spirits.

On this occasion, the excellent scholar known as Choekyi Lodroe, the illuminator of the Nyingma school and the reincarnated tulku of the incomparable Jamyang Khyentse, [H.H.- Khyentse Choekyi Lodroe was actually a Sakyapa from Derge, but had trained in all four traditions) even though I didn’t know him [H.H.- They hadn’t met each other until then] sent me a gift and an accompanying letter from Derge Menchoe Dzongsar Gon. The letter reads:

They held Gyalpo Shugden as the supreme refuge and the embodiment of all the Three Jewels.

“If you think over and over again of the way
in which the Lotus Holder upholds the Dharma,
it moves the very hairs on your heart.