Reply to the Untrue Statements Made by Dawa Tsering of “Tibet Religious Foundation of H.H. the Dalai Lama” during an Interview by Radio Free Asia (reprint)

Published:2012/03/12    16：30

(By the True Heart News interviewing team in Taipei)

The True Enlightenment Education Foundation has long been campaigning for uncovering the obscene evil nature of Tibetan “Buddhism.” Recently, the action has gained massive public support. Regarding this issue, Radio Free Asia, established and supported partly by the U.S. government, had conducted an interview with Zhang Gongpu, the Chairman (was then the CEO) of the True Enlightenment Education Foundation together with Teacher Yu Zhengwei. Dawa Tsering, Director of Tibet Religious Foundation of H.H. the Dalai Lama, was also invited to reply to the questions raised by the True Enlightenment Education Foundation. Due to the limited scope of the report, Chairman Zhang has explicitly replied to the non-factual statements by Mr. Dawa Tsering during the interview as follows:

Firstly, Mr. Dawa Tsering questioned whether the Foundation has the qualification to comment on Tibetan “Buddhism”; he considered that those who do not understand the Tibetan language and have never practiced Tibetan Tantra are not qualified to comment on Tibetan “Buddhism.” However, in fact, there are some members in the Foundation, who not only understand the Tibetan language but have also practiced Tibetan Tantra before. All of them gave up Tibetan “Buddhism” after they have uncovered its devious obscene nature.

Leaving aside the above point, let’s start with the question: is it possible to know Tibetan “Buddhism” without understanding the Tibetan language? For propagating purpose, Tibetan Tantric Buddhism has continually translated lots of tantric books in Taiwan. These books were written by dharma-kings and rinpoches of Tibetan “Buddhism,” and translated by their most trusted Taiwanese disciples. Is Mr. Dawa Tsering implying that all these translated texts are incorrect?

If these texts were incorrect, then Mr. Dawa Tsering should have urged all sects of Tibetan “Buddhism” to recall all the books they have published in Taiwan to show their responsibility for this issue. It is a grave negative karma to allow those misleading books to circulate in Taiwan, which could terminate readers’ wisdom-life of the dharmakaya. Since Mr. Dawa Tsering considers himself a Buddhist, he should be clearly aware of the serious consequences according to the law of causality.

Conversely, if both the Chinese and English versions were properly translated, then the faults should lie with the original authors, including the Dalai Lama. Moreover, since ancient times in China, there have been lots of publications about the esoteric transmission of Tibetan “Buddhism.” Numerous authors have openly published many books on tantras, about which there is hardly any secrecy.

However, Mr. Dawa Tsering ignores the facts and misdirects the issue to that “one cannot criticize Tibetan ‘Buddhism’ without understanding the Tibetan language.” Isn’t it plain clear that the more he tries to cover up, the better-known it will become?

Furthermore, Mr. Dawa Tsering said, “Tibetan ‘Buddhism’ is also called Esoteric School because of its secret meaning, which can only be explained to you by the gurus.” Therefore, he considers that one needs to be highly advanced in Tantric practice to be able to comment on it. Nevertheless, during the interview, we quoted the following from the 14th Dalai Lama’s book A Survey of the Paths of Tibetan Buddhism: “In addition, tantra speaks of the point in the completion stage when the practitioner is advised to seek a consort, as an impetus for further realization of the path. In such cases of union, if the realization of one of the partners is more advanced, he or she is able to bring about the release, or actualization of the resultant state.”

The “secret meaning” mentioned by Mr. Dawa Tering earlier is no more than the Dual Operations of Bliss and Emptiness. Lamas are only utilizing female sex organs to gain the greatest tactile bliss of the forth-joy. They have mistaken the perceiving mind in the state of enjoying the tactile bliss, which is empty and formless, for the “emptiness-nature” of orthodox Buddhism, thus claiming that they have achieved Buddhahood. As stated above, there is actually no secret in Tibetan “Buddhism.” However, pretending to be mysterious, Mr. Dawa Tsering still tried to confuse people by claiming that there is the “secret meaning” transmitted only by the gurus. In the Dalai Lama’s book where the couple-copulation practice of a male and a female is described in such a plain and straightforward way that no one would misinterpret his words.

Moreover, such a devious couple-copulation practice violates not only the Buddha’s teachings but also social morals and the law. Why should it be that one must actually experience the copulation practice to know it is wrong? It is not necessary to take poison and die of it to know it is not edible.

Moreover, Mr. Dawa Tsering explained: “So, even though some monks know the meanings of the doctrine, they cannot openly talk about it. This is how they keep their precepts…Tibetan ‘Buddhism’ is also called Esoteric School because of its secret meaning, which can only be explained to you by the gurus.” This is because the core tenet of Tibetan “Buddhism” is based on the Couple-Practice Tantra. Not only does it obviously violate the Buddha’s teaching, but it is also against social moral and even the law; its doctrine fully conforms to the nature of a cult. No wonder their adherents must be restrained by using its own Samaya Precepts that say they will fall into the Vajra hell if they divulge the inner secrets. Tibetan Buddhists try to conceal the Couple-Practice Tantra by passing it down through oral transmission rather than written texts. Mr. Dawa Tsering further added: “Some points and regulations in Tibetan Tantrism are not in agreement with the society’s views nowadays! So, for various reasons, they are not allowed to be publicly discussed.”

This statement is clearly just evading the issue of whether Tibetan “Buddhism” holds the Couple-Practice Tantra as their fundamental doctrine. The Buddha dharma is utterly pure and openly available to all people. It is looked up to as something hard to achieve. How is it possible that the Buddha’s teachings are something shameful and dirty which must be kept secret from people? Furthermore, Buddha Sakyamuni’s teachings are all spelled out within the Tripitaka texts without reservation, even the Kangyur and Tengyur of the Tibetan Canon as well as the Tibetan Tantras of different sects have been openly published. In view of this, what Mr. Dawa Tsering said “they are not allowed to be publicly discussed” must refer to the couple-copulation practice, which does exist in Tibetan “Buddhism” and the practice of which indeed cannot be disclosed to the public.

Mr. Dawa Tsering then gave an example of “uniting” with a female dakini trying to confuse the viewers further. In the end, he made a conclusion: “On one hand it mentions about joining with a wisdom-woman; on the other hand, it talks about the flow of semen, something along that line. So people tend to think of it as some sort of sexual behaviour, but no one actually knows what it is.” Mr. Dawa Tsering publicly stated that “no one actually knows what it is,” and since he does not know the answer himself, on what ground can he defend Tibetan “Buddhism”?

In order to convince Mr. Dawa Tsering, we will highlight statements in “The Dalai Lama at Harvard,” a book by the Dalai Lama - the head of the foundation for which Mr. Dawa Tsering works. It says that due to the nature of the response of our physical body, the different levels of consciousness would then be subject to change. The strongest change in the level of consciousness that can be utilized by a practitioner occurs during sex. Because of this fact, sex is used as a technique of tantric path.

The Dalai Lama explicitly points out that their religious practice is “sex,” and further claims that “sex is used as a technique of tantric path.” Is it not clear enough? Anyone who understands Tibetan “Buddhism” would know its tenet is the couple-copulation practice. Is Mr. Dawa Tsering the only person who does not know? Is he just playing innocent or is he telling a bald-faced lie?

In order to cover up his clumsy lies, Mr. Dawa Tsering brings up two criteria for practicing the couple-practice. The first is that the practitioner must posses an extremely high level of attainment – a level that no one has reached in the last few centuries, and the other is that lamas who have received precepts in Tibetan “Buddhism” are forbidden to practice, since they are not allowed to have any contact with females.

It is easy to see that Mr. Dawa Tsering is dishonest. In his previous statement, he argued that he has no idea of what a union with a wisdom-woman is; now he says that lamas who have received precepts cannot have any physical contact with females and therefore practice is forbidden. This proves that Mr. Dawa Tsering was obviously aware of the fact that this practice requires actual physical contact between male and female bodies, and that such contact is not allowed for lamas who have received precepts. As a matter of fact, everyone can well understand the purpose and implication of bodily contact between a male and a female. The so-called practice of the “dual operations of bliss and emptiness” is nothing more than sexual intercourse. Mr. Dawa Tsering was telling a flat out lie that he did not know what union with a wisdom-woman truly meant. His statements are self-contradictory and he is a dishonest person.

Next, let’s examine if the two conditions Mr. Dawa Tsering raised earlier conform to the facts. At first, he stated,“Firstly, it is possible, but no one has practiced it in centuries - that stage or level is extremely high.“ Mr. Dawa Tsering remarked that no one is qualified for such practice for centuries; but in reality, there is never a shortage of living “Buddhas” with “extremely high level of attainment” in Tibetan “Buddhism.” Take the Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama for instance, the former is proclaimed to be the embodiment of Amitabha Buddha and the latter is proclaimed to be the embodiment of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. If those were not lies told by the Tibetan Buddhists to its followers, then why would these two lamas, who have already reached the level of ultimate perfection, not be qualified? In addition, the lamas in the recent reported sex scandals, Khenpo Pema Choephel Rinpoche of the Nyingma Sect, and Dharma Master Sheng Lun, officially certified by Sakya Sect, are both among the reincarnated living “Buddhas,” who were formally enthroned and qualified as the Vajra gurus and who can transmit the dharma of Highest Yoga Tantra. Aren’t these two living “Buddhas” the actual examples of engaging in the Couple-Practice Tantra? To our surprise, Mr. Dawa Tsering stated, “No one has practiced it in centuries.” Is this not a bald-faced lie?

Thus both theoretically in the religious doctrines and in reality in actual physical practice, the couple-copulation practice of Tibetan “Buddhism” currently exists. What Mr. Dawa Tsering said does not conform to the facts at all, and his talks are merely to cover up or patch together lies to defend Tibetan “Buddhism.”

He further mentioned that the ordained monks are not allowed to practice it - this proves again Mr. Dawa Tsering’s dishonesty. The truth is, the monastic discipline of Tibetan “Buddhism” stipulates that their ordained monks must practice the Couple-Practice Tantra. The copulation-practice is indeed forbidden in monastic discipline of orthodox Buddhism. However, Tibetan “Buddhism” had established their own Samaya Precepts, which stipulate that Tibetan Buddhist monks must practice the copulation-practice. Moreover, these precepts are placed at the paramount position. Receiving the empowerment of the Highest Yoga Tantra from the gurus also means accepting the Samaya Precepts which are held as the foremost root precepts. In Tibetan “Buddhism,” should there be any conflict between the disciplines of orthodox Buddhism and the Samaya Precepts, the Samaya Precepts would take precedence over all others.

However, the Samaya Precepts focus on the concepts in preparing for the Couple-Practice Tantra. Take the fourteen root downfalls as an example, the first says, “Vajra-holder’s all accomplishments come from the acharya, therefore any contempt for one whom one received the teachings is held to be the first downfall” and the second one says, “Acting against the words of the Buddha is held to be the second downfall.“ The practitioners must regard their gurus as the Buddha and fully accept their teachings, dharma, words, or deeds without any doubts. This lays the ground for the actual practice of copulation tantra in the future in that, a practitioner cannot refuse the guru’s request for performing the Couple-Practice Tantra.

The fifth one says “Abandoning the right dharma-root bodhichitta is held to be the fifth downfall.” This primarily refers to keeping the white bodhi from leaking while performing the Couple-Practice Tantra, which means a lama should retain his semen during practicing the Couple-Practice Tantra with female adherents, otherwise it would be a violation which will cause a root downfall. In addition, the seventh one, “revealing secret dharmas to those who are unready is held to be the seventh downfall,” is the provision for secrecy of the Couple-Practice Tantra in Tibetan “Buddhism.” It forbids all adherents from disclosing the secret of the copulation practice; if they disclosed it, it would be a violation which will cause a root downfall. The last one states, “Slandering the intrinsic wisdom of a woman is held to be the fourteenth downfall.” A female who arouses the “wisdom” of great pleasure throughout the entire body of a lama through sexual techniques during the couple-practice behind closed-doors is called a dakini, wisdom-woman or a “Buddha” mother because she can enable a lama to attain “Buddhahood” and become a Tibetan Tantric “Buddha” in a lifetime. For this reason, to slander the “intrinsic wisdom” of a female is to negate the Couple-Practice of the Highest Yoga Tantra, and therefore it would be a violation which will cause a root downfall.

Due to the obligation to follow the Samaya Precepts, even the Gelug Sect, which is most renowned for keeping the precepts in a clean and pure manner, also advocates the Couple-Practice Tantra. Their so-called “keeping the precepts in a clean and pure manner” is to abide by the Samaya Precepts to “diligently” practice the Couple-Practice Tantra. For example, Tsongkhapa, the patriarch of the Gelug Sect claims in The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Esoteric Path, “Without the qualified female consort, one cannot rapidly achieve Buddhahood by other expedients.” The Dalai Lama in The Union of Bliss and Emptiness also states, “In Guhyasamaja, in the section related to entering into union with a consort, it is said that if the consort is an action seal, a live consort, visualizing deities on her body becomes an actual body mandala practice. But if one is entering into union with a visualized consort, it does not.” These are all evidence which proves that the Couple-Practice Tantra must be achieved by actually practicing with a physical female consort. That is why the monastic disciplines of Tibetan "Buddhism" cannot forbid the Couple-Practice Tantra, but rather must encourage it. Knowing perfectly well what he says does not tally with the facts, Mr. Dawa Tsering still deliberately distorts the truth. He is not an honest man.

Perhaps Mr. Dawa Tsering already realized that the public are not convinced by his argument and therefore he tried to blur the focus by referring to other religions’ sex scandals. He said: “Some lamas might have sexual affairs with females, but we can certainly see bad apples in all religions.” However, the crucial point is that the doctrine of Couple-Practice Tantra does not exist in any other religions, nor do they believe that one can achieve Buddhahood or become God through sexuality. The sexual incidents which occur in other religions are just indecency of the individuals and purely isolated cases. The frequent sexual scandals of the lamas are not personal events, and certainly not isolated cases because the doctrines of Tibetan "Buddhism" demand lamas to practice the Couple-Practice Tantra. This is considered to be the way to attain Buddhahood in a lifetime.

The core doctrine of Tibetan “Buddhism” is the Couple-Practice of Highest Yoga Tantra, and its practice stages are: the Action Tantra → the Performance Tantra → the Yoga Tantra → the Highest Yoga Tantra. The first three are the preparatory stages for the final practice of the Highest Yoga Tantra. The Couple-Practice Tantra is the ultimate goal. In fact, from the beginning, the practitioners of Tibetan "Buddhism” are in preparation for performing the Couple-Practice Tantra in reality. Sexual scandals occurred in Tibetan "Buddhism” cannot be regarded as personal problems, but problems of its doctrines.

Mr. Dawa Tsering clearly knows that clergy in other religions must strictly abide by ethical standards. Not only is there no Couple-Practice Tantra in their doctrines, they are also against sexual misconduct which breaks their code of ethics. On the contrary, the doctrines of Tibetan “Buddhism” require its followers to perform the Couple-Practice Tantra. Tibetan “Buddhism” and other religions cannot be placed on a par. Mr. Dawa Tsering should not use other religions as a smokescreen or an excuse.

The True Enlightenment Educational Foundation has never particularly criticized any sexual scandals of other religions, because their situation is different. We understand these incidents are merely indecent behavior of some disciples and are purely isolated cases. Other religions have not distorted the Buddha’s teachings and claimed that the copulation tantra belongs to the Buddhist doctrine. If some other religion were to be under the guise of Buddhism and deceived the public or if a non-Catholic pretended to be Catholic, distorted its doctrines, and claimed that its disciples can become God only by practicing the copulation tantra, violating social morals and destroying disciples’ families, we would then also criticize it on the basis of social justice. Apart from this, we always have due respect for other religion’s missionary activities because the Constitution guarantees the right to religious freedom.

Finally, Mr. Dawa Tsering made a last groundless attempt to slander the Foundation saying that it is manipulated by the PRC to sabotage Taiwan! He is trying to politicize a public welfare activity which simply aims for the protection of Taiwanese females against the sexual abuse by lamas. During the interview, the Foundation has clearly stated that every incoming donation is precisely recorded, checked, and correctly reviewed and controlled by governmental authorities. The Foundation has received compliments from the Taiwan Government many times. Mr. Dawa Tsering is not able to substantiate his accusation, but brazenly uses groundless speculation and devious means to smear the Foundation. His conduct certainly discredits himself entirely!

In reality, the publications of the Foundation are suppressed by the PRC in mainland China. The Foundation has absolutely nothing to do with the Chinese government, let alone receive financial support! Besides, Mr. Dawa Tsering’s statement is rather illogical; if the Foundation were a “leg of China,” then its criticism should have focused on the political matters rather than the Couple-Practice Tantra.

In conclusion, Mr. Dawa Tsering will not answer straight to the point about the erroneous doctrines of Tibetan “Buddhism.” So, he simply phrases series of dishonest empty talks, blurs the focus, avoids the question, and tries to turn a plain public welfare activity into a political conspiracy.

Mr. Dawa Tsering does not even follow the most fundamental Buddhist precept of not lying! Given that he is the spokesperson of Tibet Religious Foundation of H. H. the Dalai Lama, it just goes to show that the so-called Tibetan “Buddhism” is indeed packaged with countless lies. Having repeated the lies for over a thousand years, many uninformed people would take it for granted that they are true. This gives the Foundation a strong sense of responsibility that it must work harder in the future to disclose the erroneous and obscene nature of Tibetan “Buddhism.”(Reported by the Interviewing Team)20120312

Editor’s Note:

This article is an English version of the Chinese edition published on

January 3, 2012.

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