New York City: Hundreds of Buddhists to Protest the Dalai Lama During His Visit
New York, New York (PRWEB) November 03, 2014 -- Protests in New York City:
Monday, Nov. 3 and Tuesday, Nov. 4,
8:30 am to 4:00 p.m.,
The Beacon Theatre, 74th and Broadway
The protesters claim the Dalai Lama publicly banned a 400-year-old mainstream religious tradition of making prayers to the Buddhist Deity Dorje Shugden. They say he is responsible for an aggressive persecution campaign affecting millions of people worldwide, resulting in suffering and human rights abuses, including the practice of segregation.
For example, signs refusing entry and services to people of Shugden faith have gone up in shop windows, restaurants and medical facilities in Tibetan exile communities, according to research conducted by the ISC and validated by multiple news organizations (1).
“The Dalai Lama needs to bring an end to the suffering caused by his sectarianism and religious intolerance. Millions of Shugden Buddhists lived happily with other Buddhists and practitioners of other faiths for centuries until the Dalai Lama’s sectarian ban. With these protests, all we are asking for is the freedom to practice our religion in peace. We do not ask that he likes or practices our religion but that religious freedom should apply equally to all people,” said ISC spokesman Len Foley.
Foley continued, “Because he is such a powerful political leader and famous speaker we have no other method to ask him to stop this suffering other than to demonstrate against him – to publicly raise our voices – requesting him to change his ways and stop the discrimination. Please support us in expressing our free speech.”
ISC is an umbrella organization comprised of Dorje Shugden practitioners from multiple Buddhist traditions. There are over 4 million people within Tibet, Mongolia, India, the United States and across the world who practice Dorje Shugden prayers.
Recent coverage includes:
Bloomberg Nov 2,
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-02/nyc-protesters-say-dalai-lama-rejects-their-buddhist-sect.html
Public Radio International, The World, Oct 31
http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-10-31/breakaway-buddhists-take-aim-dalai-lama
(1) Al Jazeera Reports, April 13, 2009,
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2008/09/200893014344405483.html (see transcript)
Rachael Jeffrey, International Shugden Community, http://www.internationalshugdencommunity.com, +1 6314058511, [email protected]
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