An oasis in a galactic desert

Rinpoche sent me an audio message today which included the words

“Dorje Shugden is an oasis in a huge, massive galactic desert that we are wandering through”

I was looking for a photo suitable for a quote of this magnitude and poeticism, to accurately describe how I feel about Dorje Shugden, when I came across this image.

Despite the look on my face, I was actually ecstatic to be there!

Since His Eminence the 7th Panglung Kuten took trance in Kechara Forest Retreat back in June (yes, it really was that long ago!), I have not had the time to go through the thousands of photographs that were shot on the day. So I had no idea this one was taken but I am very grateful that it was! If you look a little more closely at the photo, I am actually crying. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude, so overwhelmed at the opportunity, so overwhelmed with the Dharma advice I was receiving that this dork could not help but turn on the waterworks LOL

As Dorje Shugden blessed literally hundreds of people, Rinpoche took the time to speak to me and advise me, right at the feet of my Protector. Whilst most had just a few seconds private audience with this Buddha, stupid me was sat at the feet of two enlightened beings, making a promise to both of them.

If there has ever been a constant in my life, if there has ever been an OASIS, it is the kindness of my lama and the blessings of my Dharma Protector. To some, it may sound fanatical when I say this but I truly believe we should trust no one but our guru and Dorje Shugden. People can lie to you, cheat you, and whisper sweet words in your ear only to stab you in the back, but the guru and Protector will never do this. Why? Because like Rinpoche says, people have ego and when someone has ego, no matter what they do or say or act, no matter how pleasant and logical it sounds to our ears, their actions will always have the stains of the ego and the self-cherishing mind. In the lama and Dorje Shugden however, there are no such stains. Therefore with no self-cherishing mind (and therefore no motivation to gain for themselves), they have no reason to lie to you, cheat you or stab you in the back. To put it simply, you cannot lie if it is not in your nature to do so.

And how do you test this? By going back to the teachings on karma and examining the results, because cause resembles effect. For all the people who claim to be informed, who claim to be in the right about Dorje Shugden, if their cause is so right, then their effect should be too. Yet, for all the people who claim to know better, who claim to be clean, what have they accomplished with their lives? That alone should be enough to tell you that something’s up with what they believe in.

So for me, this photo is extremely precious because it features both my lama and my Protector, who are my oasis in this “huge, massive galactic desert”.

If you really think that a few nasty words online will harass us into giving up the practice, you have really underestimated and misunderstood the basis of a Shugden practitioner’s faith. Dorje Shugden’s practice is not some phase or trend that ignorant, unstudied injis are going along with. We relied on him and have seen the benefits. There are reasons why we will not simply give him up; they are the same reasons why 18 years of oppression, marginalisation and discrimination has failed to stamp out the name of Dorje Shugden. Our people have been beaten, cut up, spat upon, ignored, shouted at and every single day, we are forced to defend our personal choices. But here is the kicker – when we made the choice to connect with this Wisdom Buddha, we did not factor you and your opinions into the equation, and we still do not. And we never will because when you find your oasis in the desert, you would be a fool to give him and his egolessness up for the sake of pleasing the ego-driven who will do nothing for your spirituality 🙂

Dorje Shugden