Philadelphia at a Standstill for Dalai Lama Protest
Today, Philadelphia police shut down Broad Street, halting rush hour traffic as Western Shugden Society demonstrators marched from the Kimmel Center, venue for the Dalai Lama’s talk, to circle around City Hall.
“Dalai Lama, Stop Lying. Dalai Lama, Stop Lying. Dalai Lama, Stop Lying…. “
Walking down Broad Street, escorted by the Police Captain, we could feel the presence of the lineage Gurus.
The powerful chants of Shugden practitioners protecting the pure Gelugpa tradition drew city workers to their office windows and out onto the sidewalk, where they could see our banners and receive our message: Please, we asked them…. look, listen and learn. We need your help, because in the monasteries and in the towns in India, people are experiencing so much pain and suffering due to the mistaken words and harmful actions of the alleged Buddha of Compassion, the Dalai Lama.
As the first Capital city in America, Philadelphia is very familiar with the principles of democratic freedom. One elderly man took a Western Shugden Society booklet from a demonstrator and read it on the sidewalk. A while later he returned to thank us for what we are doing. “This is history in the making,” he said.
We could feel for ourselves that this was true.
Published: 17 Jul 2008