Dharamshala: — The 12th Conference of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon tradition strongly condemned Dolgyal followers for their hate protests and baseless allegations against the spiritual leader of Tibet His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama graced the conclusion of the religious conference. "However, we need to be more rational these days. We have to analyse the texts as Buddha himself has said to derive the real benefit from his teachings," His Holiness said while urging the importance of warmheartedness and affection towards one another.
At the end of the meeting in the Himalayan town of McLeod Ganj in Dharamshala, on Saturday, the leaders unanimously condemned the Dolgyal followers for their "continued hate campaign" and the "false allegations" against the Tibetan spiritual leader, according to a statement released on Saturday.
"12th Religious Conference of the Four Schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon Tradition Condemn Dolgyal Followers for Campaign against His Holiness the Dalai Lama," they said in the statement dated June 20, 2015.
"The 12th Religious Conference of the Four Schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon Tradition strongly condemn the false allegations and the continued hate campaign carried out by the Dolgyal cult group against His Holiness the Dalai Lama," they said in the statement.
"His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a global icon, known for his immense contribution towards world peace and particularly for his service in the promotion of Tibetan Buddhism and culture," they said.
The religious leaders praised the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, saying, "We are deeply grateful and appreciate His Holiness the Dalai Lama's concern for the Tibetan people and Buddhists worldwide, and for truthfully explaining the harmful effects of propitiating Dolgyal."
The statement concluded saying, "Therefore, we, the participants of the 12th Religious Conference of the Four Schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon Tradition, under the leadership of our respective spiritual heads, wholeheartedly pledge to follow your advice and urge others to do the same."
Addressing the first day of the conference, Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the democratically elected political leader of the Tibetan people spoke about "the isolated incidents of extremism" within the Tibetan Buddhist community. Dr Sangay also urged the need to abstain from "religious extremism" such as the one propagated by Dolgyal followers, and condemned the views and practices of the "cult group," who are increasingly being manipulated by the Chinese government to serve their own political motives.
While discussing a wide range of other topics related religion, the leaders have discussed the need of finding ways to develop Tibetan academic studies, the preservation of Tibetan culture, and promotion of world peace.
The three-day conference was attended by over 66 representatives from 58 monasteries and Buddhist institutes, including H.E Gaden Tripa Rizong Rinpoche, H.E Sakya Trizin, H.E Karmapa Rinpoche, H.E Menri Trizin, Shabdrung Rinpoche, H.E Drukchen Rinpoche's Representative Khenpo Tenzin and H.E Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche's representative Kathok Gezey Rinpoche.
