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The Western Shugden Society (or WSS) was a campaign group that advocates Dorje Shugden, and which dissolved itself,[1] along with its parent organisation, the International Shugden Community, after a 2015 Reuters investigation[2] determined that the religious sect had the backing of the Chinese Communist Party[3] and had emerged as an instrument in Beijing’s long campaign to undermine support for the Dalai Lama.
| Abbreviation | WSS |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Shugden Supporters Community |
| Type | Non-governmental organization |
| Headquarters | Unknown. Official address given, "Studio 177, 56 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9RG UK", is a rented mailbox |
Parent organization | International Shugden Community |
| Affiliations | New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) |
| Website | www.westernshugdensociety.org Archived July 3, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, internationalshugdencommunity |
According to their website,[4] the aims of the WSS are
- To free practitioners who rely upon the enlightened deity Dorje Shugden and their families from suffering;
- To restore peace and harmony between Shugden and non-Shugden practitioners;
- To re-establish the common spiritual activities of Shugden and non-Shugden practitioners in Tibetan monasteries;
- To free Buddhism from pollution by politics
Robert Barnett of Columbia University is critical of the WSS:
I also made it clear that the Western Shugden group's allegations are problematic: they are akin to attacking the Pope because some lay Catholics somewhere abuse non-believers or heretics. The Western Shugden Group is severely lacking in credibility, since its form of spirit-worship is heterodox, provocative and highly sectarian in Buddhist terms and so more than likely to be banned from mainstream monasteries – while its claimed concerns about cases of discrimination in India should be addressed by working within the Tibetan community instead of opportunistically attacking the Dalai Lama in order to provoke misinformed publicity for their sect.[5]
A 2015 Reuters investigation determined "that the religious sect behind the protests has the backing of the Communist Party" and that the "group has emerged as an instrument in Beijing’s long campaign to undermine support for the Dalai Lama".[2] After the Reuters investigation revealed that China backs it, the International Shugden Community halted operations and disbanded.[3]
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