Dorje Shugden

Dorje Shugden (Standard Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་ཤུགས་ལྡན་, Wylie: rdo rje shugs ldan, Tibetan pronunciation: [toːtɕe ɕuktɛ̃]), also known as Dolgyal and Gyalchen Shugden, is an entity associated with the Gelug school, the newest school of Tibetan Buddhism. Dorje Shugden is variously looked upon as a destroyed gyalpo, a minor mundane protector, a major mundane protector, an enlightened major protector whose outward appearance is that of a gyalpo, or as an enlightened major protector whose outward appearance is enlightened.

Dorje Shugden was first worshipped as a minor spirit in Buddhism during the 17th century. In the 1930s, increased worship of Dorje Shugden under Pabongkhapa, who portrayed Shugden as a violent protector of the Gelug tradition, resulted in the Dorje Shugden controversy. Debates have centered on Dorje Shugden's nature and role—including his association with sectarianism, his place within traditional Gelug teachings, and whether he is enlightened or not—and the actions of his adherents in the International Shugden Community and the New Kadampa Tradition. Promoters of Dorje Shugden consider it the protector of the "pure dharma" of Tsongkhapa, traditionally regarded as the founder of the Gelug school.