Letter from Helen Gradwell, Western Shugden
Society
URGENT REQUEST FOR HELP TO GAIN FREEDOM FROM
RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION
My name is Helen Gradwell. I studied at and
graduated from Sunderland University with a B'Ed (Hons) and worked
for several years as a Primary School teacher in the North East.
In 1998 I became a Buddhist nun and my spiritual name is Kelsang
Pema.
I am a practitioner of the Buddhist Wisdom Deity
called Dorje Shugden. This is a centuries-old wisdom practice
that helps people to develop virtuous minds such as love, compassion
and equanimity.
I am writing this letter on behalf of all Shugden
practitioners throughout the world. You may have already heard
that millions of these practitioners in both the East and West
are experiencing great suffering and sorrow caused by the Dalai
Lama's actions of religious discrimination.
Between 1996 and 1998 the Western Shugden Society,
a loose affiliation of Shugden practitioners from throughout the
world, made repeated requests to the Dalai Lama to completely
stop these actions of discrimination. They sent many petitions
and letters to this end but, giving invalid reasons, he never
accepted to stop these actions of discrimination.
Subsequently, the Western Shugden Society performed
peaceful demonstrations against the Dalai Lama in an attempt to
draw his attention to the sufferings being experienced by millions
of people through his actions of religious discrimination.
However, his actions did not stop but became
worse. In January this year, he launched an aggressive campaign
against Shugden practitioners and so the Western Shugden Society
has decided to organise demonstrations against the Dalai Lama
continually until he stops this religious discrimination.
For detailed information we request you to please
read the enclosed booklet The Tibetan Situation Today—Surprising
Hidden News.[59]
Further information can be found at the following website: www.westernshugdensociety.org.
As you know, the Dalai Lama is seeking religious
freedom from the Chinese. We Shugden practitioners throughout
the world are seeking religious freedom from the Dalai Lama. We
understand you are helping the Dalai Lama to accomplish his religious
freedom, and sincerely request you to please help us achieve our
religious freedom from the Dalai Lama.
Specifically, we are asking four things of the
Dalai Lama:
1. To give freedom to practice Dorje Shugden
to whoever wishes to rely upon this Deity.
2. To stop completely the discrimination
between Shugden people and non-Shugden practitioners.
3. To allow all Shugden monks and nuns who
have been expelled from their monasteries and nunneries to return
to their monasteries and nunneries where they should receive the
same material and spiritual rights as the non-Shugden practitioners.
4. To tell the Tibetan community throughout
the world in writing that they should practically apply the above
three points.
In the UK alone there are thousands of Shugden
practitioners who are suffering both materially and spiritually
due to the Dalai Lama's negative policies. We are seeking help
from each permanent member of the United Nations Council: the
UK Prime Minister, US president, French President, Russian President
and Chinese President.
Could you please grant me an appointment to
meet you or your representative so that I can discuss with you
in more depth ways in which you might be able to help us achieve
our goals. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I look
forward to your reply.
1 May 2008
59 Not printed. Back
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