Nottingham, England 26/27 May 2008

To be in Nottingham for me today means to help preserve pure Buddhadharma not just for our lineage, but for other lineages also because, Buddha Dharma has been harmed.

I come here in a first place to protect the doctrine of Je Tsongkhapa so for me, this is the main reason and also for compassion for people who are suffering because they can’t practice the practise they choose, you know, they want, which is Dorje Shugden.

We have the chance to do something, the Indians, they have no chance to do anything we have the chance now to say something, stop, stop now, give us a chance to practise in freedom.

I feel like I’m doing something that is very special and meaningful and, the thing I like the most is being able to talk to people, one on one, about what’s going on because we need to discuss with them.

It seems like there’s a lot of misconceptions about either the practice or what we are trying to accomplish. When people look you in the eye and discuss with you well actually what are you up to and then have an open mind and listen, then it goes very well. so I really enjoy just that communication and dialog about the whole situation because it seems that it’s bridging a gap, it’s allowing some understanding to unfold, and then people begin to think differently.

First they think it is a political situation and then they begin to see it is more what we are trying to do is get religious freedom and that’s it.

And when asking anyone else to do anything we just ask him to be able to do what we’d like to do so that seems to help people understand a little about what we’re trying to accomplish.

1000 demonstrators gathered at Old Market Square in the heart of Nottingham

Old Market Square
If I was someone who wanted to practise a religion and pray daily, and someone told me I couldn’t that would be an infringement of my rights everyone has the right to practise a religion, surely.

You shouldn’t stop a person from doing what they believe in. That’s what I believe.

For somebody to come to me and say I can’t practise my Dorje Shugden would be unthinkable, unbelievable and this is what is happening to those poor monks.

I just can’t even comprehend what they are going through. So I need to come and I need to compassionately and calmly shout and hope that nobody else has to go through this and hope we can make it better for these people in Tibet and keep Je Tsongkhapa’s tradition going because it’s special.

You should be able to believe or not believe, shouldn’t you?
You should be given a choice.

It’s the way of the world, isn’t it?

You’ve got fanatics, haven’t you!

They try and brain wash people.

That’s wrong!

If it’s what you believe, you should be able to believe.
Definitely.

I felt very happy today, very strong, very still, very peaceful, inside ourself. Some people say to us ‘You are angry’ or ‘Be happy’, and actually I felt very happy, all the time. I didn’t feel angry, or nothing at all I didn’t feel also, that none of the group, or the persons of the group, were angry. None of us had this bad intention. I think we did a very good job.

We are, little by little, on the press. So I think we’re going to have good results.

“It’s been a very well organised and effective demonstration, a model if you like of peaceful protest.” John Rees Burgess Human Rights Lawyer.