IIIIIIIII Date: 9 Februrary 2006


Question:

Dear Shamar Rinpoche,
I have been to Kathmandu as well as New York . It seems many Tibetan people are angry with you. They say you disrespect the Dalai Lama because you deliberately go against his recognition of the 17th Karmapa, Orgyen Trinley. Could you explain your side of the story?

Answer from Shamar Rinpoche:

I will answer you as clearly as possible. Firstly, I have never done anything to hurt the people who are upset with me regarding this issue. I am certainly not angry with them. However, I do see them as religious extremists. Let me describe the nature of these people by giving an example. Let us say there is a dog that is innocently sleeping. Some people come by and start teasing it. They kick the dog and throw stones at it. Naturally after a while this animal will react. It will become desperate and fight back. Later on these people will not admit they teased the dog before they were hurt. No, they will only say, “ That is a vicious, aggressive and dangerous dog. It should be locked up.”

This story of the dog teasers best illustrates the typical nature of those who attack me.