Practicing Contentment: Giving the Guru Your Full Attention

Music Delighting the Ocean of Protectors (by Trijang Rinpoche)

As demonstrated in the essay One Truth, Many Paths, the best way to attain the realization of the inseparability of all Gurus, Deities, and Dharma Protectors is through the practice of one tradition. As a Gelugpa, for example, if I can recognize Je Tsongkhapa as the synthesis of all Three Jewels, how could I ask for anything more?! This is the same thought behind Trijang Rinpoche’s commentary to the following supposedly sectarian verse of praise to Dorje Shugden:

Those who mix or pollute the Ganden teachings,
Whether great beings, ordinary beings, or powerful lords,
You grind into particles of dust, O Deity,
Protector of the Yellow Hat Teachings, praise to you!

…[A]ny who hypocritically claimed to be followers of Protector Manjushri Tsongkhapa’s Teachings while remaining unsatisfied with Je Lama’s precious Teachings of Sutra and Tantra—which, in terms of view, meditation, and action, need not crave more from any other tradition—and, instead, mixed, polluted, or confused them with other modes of view and practice … have met with unpleasant wrathful punishments, such as being punished by authorities, litigation and legal disputes, untimely death, and so forth. (Trijang Rinpoche, Music Delighting the Ocean of Protectors, p. 121)

Buddha Shakyamuni introduced Dharma to the world in three main phases, known as the three turnings of the Wheel of Dharma: the four noble truths, the Madhyamika-Prasangika view (i.e., emptiness of inherent existence), and the Chittamatra view. Long story short, the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions regard some teachings from the third Wheel as definitive (e.g., Buddha nature, clear light), whereas the Gelug tradition regards them merely as interpretive (i.e., provisional skillful means), and instead presents the teachings from the second Wheel as Buddha’s final view.

Those who wish to mix traditions sure do have a lot of details to work out! It’s no wonder, then, that enlightened Teachers such as Trijang Rinpoche exhorted their disciples in such wrathful language to practice the teachings of only one tradition, so as to not become utterly lost and confused…

Melodious Drum (based on Je Phabongkhapa’s Kangso text)

What Dorje Shugden represents is the wisdom in practicing one’s own tradition single-pointedly, which is the middle way between sectarianism and eclecticism. Of course, there is no single Buddhist tradition that is right for everybody. Buddhas present different paths to the world which suit the varying karmic dispositions of disciples, so practicing ‘the many through the one’ could never engender sectarianism or deluded pride in any one tradition, Guru, Deity, or Dharma Protector (Trijang Rinpoche, Music Delighting the Ocean of Protectors, p. 12). After all, how can we cherish the one without respecting the many?

Practicing our tradition single-pointedly also means that we do not go around pointing out any perceived faults in other traditions. We should be satisfied just with what we are doing, not worrying about what other traditions are doing or not doing. This is how we avoid the extreme of sectarianism. However, in Melodious Drum, Victorious in All Directions (p. 44), which is the extensive fulfilling and restoring ritual of Dorje Shugden, we recite a verse of confession which reads:

And I confess actions that especially offend your mind, for having met with the complete unmistaken essence of the teachings, I have either mixed and polluted them with incomplete or false teachings or rejected them altogether.

On the surface, then, it sounds like Melodious Drum is explicitly saying that some non-Gelug teachings are “incomplete” and “false.” This would mean that non-Gelug paths are incomplete paths, which goes against everything I have been saying about there being “one truth, many paths” in Buddhism. I would challenge this interpretation by saying that those non-Gelug teachings are incomplete only insofar as they do not complete the Gelug presentation, which is to say nothing of their place in other traditions. It is a relative judgement, not an absolute one. This distinction can be understood with the following analogy.

Buddha’s teachings are like a vast pharmacopeia, and all its Dharma medicines are pure. But just as an ordinary doctor will contraindicate some medicines that naturally should not be taken along with others (e.g., combining incompatible prescriptions), so will our Spiritual Guide protect us from the confusion that comes from mixing (apparently) contradictory teachings and practices. “There are many paths up to the top of the mountain,” but oftentimes they lead in opposite directions to get there.

(Please note: Two additional verses from Melodious Drum are explained in Does the Dorje Shugden Practice Promote Sectarianism?)

The Yellow Book (compiled by Zemey Tulku)

The Yellow Book’s section on Pema Wangchen says that Geshe Sharab Rinpoche advised him to follow only Je Tsongkhapa’s doctrine. It continues, “The Geshe further added that he was not sectarian and his instructions were proper.” I think there is something to this, unless this Geshe was insincere about being non-sectarian.

It further says that Pema Wangchen became sick because he “did not enter the proper path and abandon the wrong one.” I do not believe that the ‘proper path’ vs. ‘wrong path’ being mentioned here is simply the Gelug tradition vs. the Nyingma tradition, because such an absolute judgement would obviously have been sectarian! Rather I think the proper path is following one tradition (i.e., Gelug or Nyingma), whereas the wrong path is trying to combine the two together. This is consistent with everything I have described so far, and it shows that there was no sectarian rivalry going on. How else can we understand Geshe Sharab’s statement that he was not being sectarian?

When such comprehensive explanations can be given, the fact that detractors to the practice of Dorje Shugden continue to misinterpret the intention of these realized Masters is very sad, and unfortunate.