practices are in no way Buddhist, i am referring to the Shugdon practice, i read some of their teachings where it was directed to give your will to shugdon.. no Buddhist Teaching would ever suggest that one can find salvation outside one's self. Shugdon is not a Wrathful Protector he was a monk, who became a "SupraNatural" being.. Buddhism does not involve "Spirit Worship"
http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Dorje_Shugden_-_Origins/id/4993863"snip...Dorje Shugden - Origins
This issue has a long history and involves not only the Fourteenth Dalai Lama but also the Thirteenth, and the Fifth Dalai Lama as well. This history is discussed extensively in an article by Geshe George Dreyfuss.
Within Tibetan Buddhism there are several main schools (Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug) and each of these have many sub-schools. The practices and Deities emphasized vary somewhat from school to school. In the Tibetan tradition there are hundreds of Dharma Protectors, with each monastery having its own Dharmapala. Some of them are considered to be enlightened beings, some not. However Dharmapalas are not the main teaching of any Buddhist school.
The "founding myth" behind Shugden worship involves a lama named Drakpa Gyaltsen (1618-1655) who was a rival of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Lobsang Gyatso (1617-1682). In fact the former seems to have been a candidate to become the Fifth Dalai Lama himself (i.e., while a child some lamas proposed him as the reincarnation of the Fourth), but was passed over. Their rivalry continued, however, and according to legend resulted in the early death (perhaps the murder) of Drakpa Gyaltsen. Later Trijang Rinpoche said, in reality there was no rivalry and pointed to that event as a "skilfull means" (to tame the mind of disciples).
There is the saying in Tibetan tradition, murder victims often become transformed into vengeful spirits. And so Shugden adherents believe the Lama Drakpa Gyeltsen was able to transform his wrath to religious ends, namely the protection of the Gelugpa tradition against "political pressures toward greater ecumenicalism" among Tibetan Buddhist sects. Hence his transformation into the "protector deity" Shugden. Geshe George Dreyfuss doubts the historicity of this legend, because there are no reliable scriptural sources of the historical background for this, and this legend was written about later by apologists of Shugden.
What can be stated as a fact is that the beginning of worship of Dorje Shugden was the death of the Lama Drakpa Gyaltsen at the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama. However it is not clear if he was "reborn" out of grudge, out of compassion or even if he was enlightend.
Key figures in the modern popularization of worshipping Dorje Shugden are Pabongkha (1878-1944), a charismatic Khampa lama who seems to have been the first historical Gelugpa figure to promote Shugden worship as a major element of Gelugpa practice; and Trijang Rinpoche (1901-1981), a Ganden lama who was one of the tutors of the present Dalai Lama. The Lama Pabongkha put great emphasis on spreading this practice and was scolded by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama for doing so. Pabongkha Rinpoche promised to stop. After the death of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama Pabongkha began to spread the practice even more than before. Out of his influence and charisma the practice became quite popular in the Gelug tradition. But there were also high Gelug Lamas like the senior tutor of H.H. the Dalai Lama, Kyabje Ling Rinpoche, Kachen Yeshe Gyaltsen and others who not only didn’t practice Shugden but also advised against the practice...snip"
i have also talked to people who joined NKT and were started out on High Vajra teachings without essential preliminary preparations.. which can take years of study under a Guru before it is safe to begin such teachings.
http://newkadampa.blogspot.com/2007/11/experience-with-nkt-from-t.htmlBuddhists traditionally are shy about criticizing other groups.. our Lama of the Gelupa tradition cautioned us without any reservation against having anything to do with NKT. i am not so shy, this is the West, people here dont understand such things and the consequences can be grave. Buddhism involves learning a new Vocabulary, much of it Sanskrit. simply because many of its concepts are totally absent here.. and involve much Right Brain activity.. also foreign here.. i takes a while, slow and steady is the best course. the effects of meditation are not always apparent, it is slow and subtle, it is compared to learning to play a musical instrument, daily practice, study:its learned from others, and takes about as long.. about a year, my experience is that after about 2 months you see noticeable things, it is simply a method of training the mind, one also learns to disassociate emotions from words, thoughts etc, especially negative emotions. and one spends less time away from the present, major distractions are thoughts involving emotional tags/frames and thoughts about past and future, its all about staying in the present
I lived far from any groups in TX, i started by ordering tapes/dvd/cd's from
http://www.snowlionpub.com http://www.soundstrue.com http://www.onespirit.commy first teaching was from Pema Chodron "When Things Fall Apart", and getting unstuck, don't bite the hook
Robert Thurman, jack kornfield, sharon salzberg
best site is htttp://www.buddhanet.net they have good meditation instruction.. ,
http://www.buddhanet.net/ac-instruct.htmi found this cd very helpful
http://www.dharmacrafts.com/104xBG/2050CD/end-chime-for-meditation-cd.html to my meditation
http://www.buddhanet.net/audio.htm good samples
best meditation book
http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Mind-Psychology-Rob-Nairn/dp/1570627630/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1225937240&sr=8-1i bought several 6 tape set teachings, i dedicated hours EVERY DAY, got up at 4am to study and meditate when it was quiet, went to bed very early.. after a couple months i had quit drinking, 25 year hard core alcoholic,.. and i just ran into a Tibetan Monk in El Paso that invited me to his group .. i did 3 meetings a week for 4 years.. totally changed my life
good luck.. feel free to PM me if you want
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