Tibetan group disbands over deity dispute

By RICHIE DAVIS Bulletin Contributing Writer

Published on November 28, 2008

The 16-year-old Tibetan Association of Western Massachusetts, with about 130 members, has voted to disband following a split vote, according to one of its founding members.

The 51-to-15 vote, with five abstentions, came Oct. 18 following a protest involving some of its members last spring against the Dalai Lama. That protest, at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y., was on his stance against worship of Dorje Shugden, a protective deity in the Tibetan Buddhist faith.

"It's really heartbreaking," said Sonam Lama, a Deerfield stonemason and founding association board member who said he voted against the disassociation. Lama is not a believer in Shugden but sees the issue as one of freedom of religion and expression by Tibetans in this country.

Lama, who immigrated to this country in 2000, said, "I don't understand the Dalai Lama's thinking.

He said the "segregation" of followers of the 400-year-old deity is especially pronounced in India, with some retailers even refusing to allow believers in their shops.

The Western Massachusetts organization, founded in 1992, was one of 33 Tibetan associations recognized by the exiled government and is the only one that has disbanded, said Sonam Lama.

He said the Oct. 18 vote followed a letter from the government's New York office which he said argued that Tibetans "must be united against China, not against each other."

Pasang Norbu of Amherst, listed by the exiled government's Web site as president of the Western Massachusetts association, said the Chinese government which forced Tibetan Buddhists into exile in 1959 is trying to politicize the differences the Dalai Lama has with Tibetans who believe in Shugden.

"He lets them do what they want regarding faith," he said. "Buddhists do not believe just on faith. It's not like a religion; it's more like a philosophy," he said.

In his own message to exiled Tibetans, the Dalai Lama - both a Buddhist leader and the head of state - "strongly discourages" them from following Shugden because of concerns it will lead to sectarianism and "the danger of Tibetan Buddhism degenerating into a form of spirit worship."

He leaves the decision up to the individual, but the Dalai Lama asks followers of Shugden to not attend his formal religious teachings.

Williams College religion professor Georges Dreyfus called the conflict "a difficult issue that is being manipulated by outside forces who are only too happy to use this issue" and said he believes that charges of religious persecution "are greatly exaggerated."