Dorje Shugden

Dorje Shugden (Standard Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་ཤུགས་ལྡན་, Wylie: rdo rje shugs ldan, Tibetan pronunciation: [toːtɕe ɕuktɛ̃]), also known as Dolgyal and Gyalchen Shugden, is an entity associated with the Gelug school, the newest of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism.^[1] Dorje Shugden is variously looked upon as a destroyed gyalpo, a minor mundane protector, a major mundane protector, an enlightened major protector whose outward appearance is that of a gyalpo, or as an enlightened major protector whose outward appearance is enlightened.

Promoters of Dorje Shugden consider it to be the protector of Je Tsongkhapa's pure dharma, traditionally regarded as the founder of the Gelug school.^[2] The Dorje Shugden controversy arose in the 1930s within all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, including the Gelug school itself, regarding Dorje Shugden's nature, status of enlightenment, differences from traditional Gelug teachings, replacement of traditional Gelug protectors, sectarian functions, and actions by western adherents of the New Kadampa Tradition.^[3]

^ Matthews, Carol S. (2005). "New Kadampa Tradition". New Religions. Religions of the World. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers. pp. 128–143. ISBN 9780791080962. LCCN 2004024514.
^ Sparham, Gareth (13 July 2020) [28 October 2011]. "Tsongkhapa". www.oxfordbibliographies.com. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/obo/9780195393521-0169. ISBN 978-0-19-539352-1. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
^ Kay, David N. (2004). "The New Kadampa Tradition: The Identity of the NKT". Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, Development, and Adaptation. Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 100–113. ISBN 9780415753975. OCLC 51315294.

[1] Matthews, Carol S. (2005). "New Kadampa Tradition". New Religions. Religions of the World. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers. pp. 128–143. ISBN 9780791080962. LCCN 2004024514.

[2] Sparham, Gareth (13 July 2020) [28 October 2011]. "Tsongkhapa". www.oxfordbibliographies.com. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/obo/9780195393521-0169. ISBN 978-0-19-539352-1. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.

[3] Kay, David N. (2004). "The New Kadampa Tradition: The Identity of the NKT". Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, Development, and Adaptation. Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 100–113. ISBN 9780415753975. OCLC 51315294.

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