Recently in Dharamsala, representatives of each of the four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism as well as of the Bon religion, together with the five permanent representatives of the above mentioned traditions in the Assembly of Tibetan People´s Deputies, and several special invitees, convened under the auspices of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Although the main topic of the conference was the state of progress of Tibet´s religious traditions in India, all the delegates expressed concern over the numerous rumours of sectarianism spreading among the various Buddhist centres in the West. The following appeal was sent to the various Buddhist centres in the West:

It is a basic Buddhist belief that formenting dissension within the Sangha is one of the most harmful mistakes a Buddhist can make, for it destroys the life of Dharma, a great source of happiness for man. In Tibet itself we had always advocated a policy of non-sectarianism, and this tradition was upheld by most doctrine-holders throughout Tibet´s history. To continue this approach in the present time, when our spiritual traditions are individually presenting themselves in predominantly non-Buddhist western countries, is particularly important.

We Tibetans tend to speak about our own Gurus and their traditions in very exalted terms particularly in passages of prayer to Lineage Lamas and so forth. Howerver, we do not intend thereby to demean the Gurus of other lineages. Therefore we must take special care that students do not draw wrong implications when hearing or translating these teachings.

A second possible condition permitting the growth of sectarianism is that, although the teachers-administrators of the centres may not directly encourage sectarian tendencies in new students, they perhaps are not sufficiently active in their efforts to safeguard against it. This is not meant as a criticism; it is just that we feel our Lamas have to take extra precautions in presenting Buddhism in the West. Since the West is not a Buddhist culture and most of the students there are new to Buddhism, the Lamas should assume a greater degree of responsibility in guarding against this type of misunderstanding and negative activity.

Our traditions of Buddhism from Tibet are constituted of both the fundamental teachings of the Buddha which includes both the Sutrayana and Tantrayana and certain unique qualities that the Lamas of the specific lineages brought out of or developed from within these fundamental teachings. No doubt both of these aspects of our lineages are very important. At present when Buddhism in the West is still in an early formative stage we feel it to be most appropriate for our teachers to place emphasis upon the fundamental teachings common to all orders rather than upon the minor details of difference. Not only would this create a greater sense of harmony amongst the various centres of our Tibetan traditions, but also generally within the western Buddhist community.

Sectarianism is not only harmful to sentient beings but is destructive to Buddhism in general and to the Tibetan cause in particular. Therefore, we, the delegates of Tibet´s four Buddhist Traditions, as well as of the Bonpo, issue this appeal to teachers, adminitrators and students in all Tibetan Buddhist centres throughout the world to dedicate every effort to counteracting it.