Protests arrive in Madison
We started our demonstrations in Madison on Saturday as a long caravan of buses and cars snaking slowly down the highway to the Veteran’s Coliseum.
It was beautiful to see this procession, knowing it represented a close, international family of sincere Buddhists preparing to engage in one perfectly compassionate action with peaceful hearts and pure intention… to insist without ceasing, as loudly as we can, that the Dalai Lama stop persecuting Shugden practitioners.
We began protesting in a secure pen adjacent to the venue entrance. As people arrived and lined up at the doors, they were open and receptive to the information we shared with chants and new publicity.
Police had been well-briefed about events in New York, and their presence in Madison felt like a supportive protection circle.
Once again as the day progressed, particularly after the Public Talk ended, Tibetan Dalai Lama supporters harassed Western Shugden Society protesters with loud shouts, skirt flapping and obscene gestures. They threw money and tore up booklets in front of us. One man held up a bloody photo of a murder victim, saying Shugden practitioners were involved, sharing his misinformation with anyone who would listen. (However, when he was asked for evidence on camera, he turned and ran away.)
Yet all this seemed so tame compared to the events that transpired in New York City … and New York City in turn now seems tame compared to the actual shared experiences of monks who have been attacked by raging mobs with stones in Tibet-in-exile lands simply because of their faith in Dorje Shugden.
Dalai Lama, you have the power to resolve all this with just a few words. Until you do, we will never stop telling the world the truth about your actions.
Published: 21 Jul 2008