March 19, 2024

An Open Letter to the 2016 US Conference of Mayors Regarding the Keynote Speaker the XIV Dalai Lama

An Open Letter to the 2016 US Conference of Mayors

Regarding the Keynote address by the XIV Dalai Lama on June 26, 2016

Site: Indianapolis, Indiana

Date: June 24-28, 2016

“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”

by James C. Stephens

In 1996, the XIV Dalai Lama, recognized at that time as the god-king of Tibet, was awarded the key to the City of Pasadena.  Concerned about the series of events, Dr. Arthur Glasser, Dean Emeritus of Fuller School of Intercultural Studies and I attended the Dalai Lama’s acceptance speech at Pasadena City Hall.

In an interview, aired on CBN, I asked Dr. Glasser how one should address the visit of the Dalai Lama. He replied, “He is a foreign personage of prominence, we should be respectful of him, but to offer him the key to the city, Christians would tend to react. They would say, ‘the key, the authority, what sort of authority is going to be understood by the Dalai Lama?”

Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner, and the Dalai Lama being awarded the US Congressional Gold Medal in the US Capitol Rotunda.

Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner, and the Dalai Lama being awarded the US Congressional Gold Medal in the US Capitol Rotunda.

As a former Buddhist youth leader and graduate of a Buddhist Study Academy, I had an intimate knowledge of the practice of Buddhism (1970-1984).  In 1981, prior to a Buddhist pilgrimage I had an accident in a train station in Japan.  For the following three years, I investigated other religious paths and practices and made a decision to become a follower of Jesus Christ, believing Him to be my Savior and Messiah.  In the ensuing years, I have studied Christianity as zealously as I had Buddhism, and came to deeply respect the historic Christian faith as originally delivered to the Jewish Apostles.

At the same time, I have continued to watch with concern, the deterioration of Christianity in the West and the funding of various religious traditions in America that have taken root through Government support.  I have closely watched the Dalai Lama and his work in the US and have seriously investigated his worldview, one which he carefully disguises in his public personae as a man of peace.  Formerly a paid agent of the CIA, his work continues to be heavily supported by the US Government as a key speaker at major universities, corporate venues, coliseums, and government halls.  It was also quite disconcerting that he was invited to be the keynote speaker at the Second Anniversary of 9-11 at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. He now has become a leading spokesman for climate change.

While I understand that his story is quite engaging, have seen movies about his life, read many of his books, heard him speak,   I find myself questioning the American public’s naiveté in writing him a spiritual blank check and elevating him,  in a sense,  to the position of “the pluralist pope” by providing a public platform to introduce his curriculum of secular ethics to our public school system.

As leaders of your respective cities, I urge you to pursue a candid and intelligent survey of the available external evidence of my concerns, which I believe will satisfy a reasonable mind.  While, I agree with Dr. Glasser that we should treat dignitaries from other countries with respect, our mandate as gatekeepers requires us to carefully weigh any proposal or ideas arising from those who are invited into our house, in this case, the US Council of Mayors.

In the early nineties, while teaching in the UK, I spoke to the Director of the London Buddhist Society who proudly showed me the loophole in the 1988 Religious Reform Act which opened the door in the UK to teach all religions and introduced a new curriculum overriding centuries of public policy wherein Christianity had been taught in their school system for hundreds of years.  Fast forward to 2016, and Sadiq Khan the new Mayor of London is a Muslim and all of Europe is in the throes of great religious turmoil as a result of the refugee crisis. The Dalai Lama recently shocked others when he stated, “There are now too many (refugees),” he said. “Europe, for example Germany, cannot become an Arab land,” he added with a laugh. “Germany is Germany. From a moral point of view too, I think that the refugees should only be admitted temporarily. The goal should be that they return and help rebuild their countries.” (India Times, June 01, 2016 by Kunal Anand).

The stability of a nation depends upon its religious statecraft, but also upon religious freedom and freedom of conscience.  Engraved on the North entrance of Los Angeles City Hall, the words of Israel’s King Solomon, the wisest King in history ring true,

“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”

Samuel P. Huntington, Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University warned in his 1993 essay on The Clash of Civilizations, “What ultimately counts for people is not political ideology or economic interest. Faith and family, blood and belief are what people identify with and what they will fight and die for.”   While it is the duty of Christians in pluralist societies to cooperate with people of other faiths in seeking a just ordering of society, we are also required to hold to our original founding principles that made America a land in which refugees were welcomed to her shores.  It is a very simple question of hospitality, you are welcome to stay in our home, but there are a few rules you must follow. A guest is no longer a guest, when they begin to tell you how to run your own household. A lesson we all must remember as most of us are guests (immigrants) to Turtle Island.  The First Nations know that the land belongs to the Creator and not to any one man and if violated will vomit those out which defile her.

Charles Bridges (1794-1869), one of the leaders of the Evangelical party in the Church in England called its leader’s decisions into question when they began to chase after the traditions of men which had not proven to provide steady counsel to direct the affairs of state.  He stated, “The Bible exhibits a divinely appointed remedy commensurate with man’s infinite distress, and accepted of God in its power and prevalence. Who can doubt the excellency of the things that are written, so rich in counsel and knowledge—‘words fit for a prince to speak, and the best man in the world to hear? Such a minute and practical standard for relative life and social obligation!”

Over the last several years, the Dalai Lama has been developing a secular curriculum of ethics that he desires to be introduced into the curriculum of our nation’s schools.  His talks on “Beyond Religion” that seemingly appeal to the secularist mindset are touted to teach compassion and ethics without religion.  As Mayors, many struggle with the pluralist mix of religious and “none’s” in their cities.  However, embracing an untried curriculum with a questionable agenda designed by scholars from a progressive, Buddhist socialist background albeit supposedly stripped of any religious intent, still presents a major challenge to the prevailing foundations of the United States of America.

“If the foundations be destroyed, how can the righteous stand?”  Who now becomes the interpreter of what is right and what is wrong in a nation that has abandoned the faith of her fathers?  Some may argue, “Oh, but it’s for those who are not religious” and the like.  However, our laws and justice system were founded on Judeo-Christian principles as any astute legal mind will attest.  New curriculum proposals are serious changes of course that pack within them, unforeseen consequences. Making quick friends will bring lasting regrets.  This is not limited to any one foreign guest or leader in our nation, as our internal issues and crisis require more than a new Band-Aid. Our moral crisis is severe and it is not time to switch boats in midstream.  While the Dalai Lama as a foreign personage may provide key insight into our shortcomings providing a valuable outsider’s point of view, it does not mean that the solution he holds out with the other hand is an acceptable alternative.

The prophets of Troy, warned the city fathers not to trust Greeks bearing gifts.  The prophets out rightly said, “Burn the Trojan Horse.”   The City fathers instead accepted the gift and you know the rest of the old story.  Not unlike King Hezekiah that showed his enemy all his treasure stores unwisely, only later to have the City sacked.  It didn’t happen overnight, but set in motion a process whose seeds of destruction were carefully planted over time.

Yes, peace and compassion and mindfulness at first may sound wonderful. Who would reject them?  A wise man however, remembers “caveat emptor,” buyer beware.  The seller of his wares may call into doubt the integrity of the country’s foundation, promoting vain imaginations of how peace can be won by just calling a city a city of compassion. One may clean the outside of the cup, but inside it’s full of dead man’s bones.  As a young Buddhist, I recall marching in a Buddhist Brass Band dressed up in Santa Claus uniforms and playing Christian hymns  for the Los Angeles Mayor’s Christmas party.  Marketing Buddhism as American as Mom and Apple Pie; strategies cooked up by Madison Fifth Avenue Ad executives.

So, when you listen to the Dalai Lama and his fascinating story, one must ask oneself the more difficult questions as a mature leader whose constituency no doubt contains a high portion of Christians, “Why has the Dalai Lama been chosen as the keynote speaker? What is the agenda? Am I about to embrace something I have no understanding of and discard what I have known? Am I willing to implement an ideology that may be divisive to many of the people I shepherd? As the wise King Solomon said, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end leads to destruction.”   Even the wisest king lost his way for a time and embraced many false ideologies, before coming to his senses at the end of his life. Is it not better to question your own judgment upfront and seek what your elders once taught? Why waste present possibilities and needed reformation by embracing what you only perceive to be a better way?

Doubts may arise as distance lends enchantment to the view. Carefully weigh and survey the information you hear for the destiny of your city depends upon the wisdom of its counselors.

“When warnings for instruction are not received, they are tokens of destruction. This is a truth which none almost deny, and none almost believe. Had it been believed, many desolating judgments in former ages had been prevented; nations and cities should have abode in prosperity, which are now sunk into ruin, yea, into hell.”

               -(John Owen to the UK Parliament in a day of reflection on the nation’s spiritual state).

 

Resources:

EpicycleMedia:  The Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism playlist.

https://youtu.be/5oAZMn3Vx6E?list=PL6ysZa-S0tJs_l4PCIVlIQseHTebCFiXq

“The Dalai Lama and the Anatomy of Politically Correct Buddhism” by James C. Stephens based on a chapter in InterVarsity Press’s Guide to New Religious Movements edited by Dr. Ronald Enroth, Sociology Professor at Westmont College, Santa Barbara.

http://www.worldviews101.com/?p=2420

Dalai Lama and the Kalachakra: A Wake-Up Call for the West.  Stephens’ Interview of Victor Trimondi on the Dalai Lama and 9-11 (in English and Chinese).

http://www.worldviews101.com/?s=interview.

The Shadow of the Dalai Lama: Sexuality, Magic and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism by Victor and Victoria Trimondi

This study is not for the fainthearted. If you want to live in the world of fantasy, don’t read this expose.

http://www.trimondi.de/SDLE/Contents.htm.

“Our study is divided into two parts. The first contain a depiction and critique of the religious foundations of Tibetan (“Tantric”) Buddhism and is entitled Ritual as Politics. The second part (Politics as Ritual) examines the power politics of the Kundun (Dalai Lama) and its historical preconditions. The relationship between political power and religion is thus central to our book.”

Critical Forum for the Investigation of the Kalachakra Tantra and the Shambhala Myth.

http://www.trimondi.de/SDLE/Annex.htm.

The Kalachakra-Tantra is anything but pacifist, rather, it prophesies and promotes a bloody religious war for world domination between Buddhists and non-Buddhists (Shambhala myth).

The text explicitly names the “leaders” of the three monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) as opponents of Buddhism: “Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, the White-Clad one [Mani], Muhammad and Mathani [the Mahdi]”. The Kalachakra Tantra describes them as “the family of the demonic snakes” (Shri Kalachakra I. 154).

Thus, the Kalachakra Tantra is opposed to all religions of Semitic origin, and for this reason has been pressed into service by right-wing radical and anti-Semitic circles for their racist propaganda.

The Kalachakra Tantra invokes a global war between the Islamic and the non-Islamic world in which the followers of Mohammed are presented as the principal enemies of the Buddhists. The original text refers to Mecca, where the “mighty, merciless idol of the barbarians” lives as a “demonic incarnation” (Shri Kalachakra I. 154).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shoplifting at Nordstrom

20150908_145904 (1)The other day, I was trying on some clothing at Nordstrom’s Rack and noticed their warning sign about shoplifting. I think it’s interesting that they begin with “Don’t steal” which is an abbreviated form of the eighth commandment “You shall not steal” found in Exodus 20:15. They follow that with “It’s bad karma” an assimilated concept of karma that Buddhists would define as “action driven by intention which leads to future consequences” which yield good or bad fruit in this life or the next depending on the deed. In the Judaeo-Christian faith, which holds to the fact that we have just one life and then comes the judgment, the Apostle Paul, said “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” (Galatians 6:7-8;Leviticus 25:3-5). The Nordstrom’s sign ends by stating, “Plus, shoplifters will be prosecuted.” Evidently, whoever put together this warning is weak on their understanding of the Buddhist concept of Karma and simply can’t wait til karma catches up with the thief. If they really believed in their religion/philosophy wouldn’t they just say, “It’s bad karma to take articles without paying for them?” So, they lean on the Law that tries and prosecutes the shoplifter in this life. I guess they just can’t wait. It affects their bottom line.

When you analyze the sign, it’s quite a confusing and mixed bag of Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Judaism. An example of the collision and intermingling of religious language and terminology. And if we in Christian circles think we can get away with using pop terms, we need to think again. I recall sitting in a large well known evangelical church where the college pastor, commenting on how great their summer camp was saying, “I thought I died and went to Nirvana.” Language has meaning, a fact that is not lost on those who are attempting to hijack true love and introduce their own abominations to the mainstream who often simply haven’t a clue.

RED ALERT COUNTDOWN 4 days until the Kalachakra Ceremony in WDC Prophecy in the Kalachakra of the Buddhist War

Friday, July 1, 2011

Red Alert:Compilation on the Kalachakra in Washington, DC

by James C. Stephens

THE PROPHECY IN THE KALACHAKRA OF THE BUDDHIST WAR AGAINST THE EVIL SNAKE RELIGIONS.

The history of interaction between Islam and Buddhism is a bloody one.  Vajrayana Buddhism, originally from India, was forced over the Himalayas for survival after losing its battles with Islam in India.  The Kalachakra ceremony sets the stage as it introduces the Shambhala myth where “two superpowers will then have control over the world and take to the field against one another. The Tibetans  foresee a Third World War ” (Henss, 1985, p.19).

In the Kalachakra Tantra, the “false doctrines” that need to be battled are nominated.  The Kalachakra nominates Mohammed, Enoch, Abraham and Moses among the Jews, then Jesus for the Christians.

 WHY WASHINGTON, DC THE CAPITOL OF THE FREE WORLD?

FEDERAL TRIANGLE. The area is known as the Federal Triangle which was designed and laid out by Frederick Law Olmstead, who was also the landscape architect for Central Park in New York and Stanford University in California.  The District of Columbia is laid out “according to Egyptian pagan beliefs” in the shape of the Egyptian hieroglyph daleth, a triangle which Freemasons use to identify occult sites.  It mirrors the constellation Sirius.

In the Capitol Dome a pantheon of Greek Gods is prominently displayed where the Dalai Lama was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. The obelisk, or Washington monument is but an ancient Egyptian phallic symbol whose construction was stopped for a season during the great Finney Revival.   Dagon as you may recall was the fish god with the trunk of a fish and the head and hands of a human worshipped by the Philistines (I Chronicles 10:10). Many of the ceremonies of Baal worship are reminiscent of Tibetan tantric rites complete with female sexual consorts.

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” ~Revelation 18:4 KJV.  

EGYPT- TIBET CONNECTION. The occult writings of Jesuit Athanasius Kirchner (1602-1680) reveal his research that ancient Egypt influenced   the tantric culture of Tibet.  Siegbert Hummel saw the “Land of Snows” as almost a reserve for Mediterranean traditions” and likewise nominated Egypt as the origin of the tradition of Tibetan mysteries.  But it was the occultist (and founder of the Theosophical Society) Helena Blavatsky who saw the origins of both cultures as flowing from the same source. The two “supernatural secret societies”, who whispered the ideas to her were the “Brotherhood of Luxor” and the “Tibetan brotherhood.” (Trimondi: Shadow of the Dalai Lama pg. 131).

Prayer: Reveal the hidden deeds of darkness in our nation, O YESHUA, KING OF KINGS. Reveal the hidden structures of corruption and the secret societies. May You raise up men and women of God, like prophets and judges of old to combat the rise of darkness in our nation’s capitol.  We ask for chastening and cleansing of the Congress and for righteous men and women to serve as our President, Vice President, Cabinet,  Representatives, Senators, Judges, and Military leaders. We pray for a purging and outpouring of the convicting power of the HOLY SPIRIT on the Nation.

THE WESTERN LAMA.  Is it any coincidence that US President Barack H. Obama is supporting a war in Egypt? That he’s called “The Western Lama” by the Dalai Lama? By others in the Middle East, a King?  That in “Batman Begins” a “supernatural secret society” out of the Himalayas is out to establish a new order of things by destroying the unredeemable Gotham City? That we presently are fighting a war in Afghanistan, where Greek magic came into contact with the teachings of tantric Buddhism. That out of the region of Swat, in Pakistan, Al Quaeda’s stronghold, Padmasambhava, the Tantric Tibetan Shaman launches out to Tibet where he conquers Tibet’s indigenous gods and converts it to Vajrayana Buddhism?   That the hosts of the upcoming visit of the Dalai Lama to Chicago following the Kalachakra ceremony in Washington DC is the Theosophical Society , the White Buddhists?

 SYNCRETISM. While attending the “Seventh International Conference on Christian-Buddhist Dialogue” at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, I was troubled by the syncretism that I witnessed between Roman Catholicism and Buddhism.  While I initially expected that I would be mostly talking with Buddhists about the Gospel, I found myself in five or six conversations with Catholics, including Roger Corliss who seemed to be making the pilgrimage to Buddhist thought and practice. They were intrigued why it was that I, a former Buddhist, left Buddhism for Christianity. The conclusion of the matter usually was, “A man cannot serve two masters.”  They seemed to walk away sad. I wonder if they ever even knew the LORD Jesus?

PRAYER: May those who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ,  find themselves more and more devoted to our Savior and Master Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Yeshua Ha’Moshiach and serve YHWH with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. 

MANDALA POLITICS. One talk on religion and politics focused upon “The Mandalization of Politics.”  I recall hearing years ago of the discovery of a map of Tibet which showed how it was conquered through ritual magic events and when all the lines were assembled together it resembled a woman nailed down. Their attempts kept being thwarted to take over Tibet, until they subjugated a woman under the water. Finally, they were able to take Lhasa, the capitol of Tibet. When I look at the map of Turtle Island dotted with all the mandala and vase locations, I wonder what the Tibetan shamans are seeing? Is the final victory lap for them in Washington, DC?

PRAYER: Unveil the Tibetan plans of establishing the Shambhala Empire and its expansion in America. Reveal to us what the dot matrix mandala and vase map is attempting to do. Forgive us, O Master Yeshua Ha’Moshiach, for not being wide awake to the incursion of Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and other false religions on our land and not welcoming the immigrant into our nation and sharing the Gospel with them.  Forgiveness for rejecting Your Torah and not keeping Your statutes (Amos 2:4).

You have said, “For three transgressions of Judah and for four I will not revoke its punishment, Because they rejected the law of the LORD, and have not kept His statutes; their lies also have led them astray, those after which their fathers have walked…For commanding the prophets saying, ‘You shall not prophesy!’ (Amos 2:4 a, 12b).

Forgiveness for bestowing honor on the Dalai Lama, a foreign god-king paid by the CIA.

He who punished ‘the altars of Bethel” (Amos 3:14), do you not think He will punish the United States who has funded the Dalai Lama and the Kalachakra Ceremony in Washington, DC? Repent, turn back to the God who you trusted in your founding. “In God We Trust” shall be a broken covenant for which the US will be held accountable.

Congress, you stay in session over the Fourth of July for figuring out how to deal with the US Deficit.  Instead of celebrating Independence, may you instead don sack cloth and ashes and repent for failing to steward the nation and serving as gatekeepers. Remembering,

“On the 30th Day of April in 1863, President Lincoln issued this proclamation for a National Day of Fasting, humiliation and prayer. He said, “We have been recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. We have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand, which has preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us. We have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated by unbroken success, we have become too self sufficient, and too proud to pray to the God that made us. It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended power to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”

The question posed to the Christian community originally about the tidal wave of Buddhism in America was, “Who opened the door?” I read some interesting commentary by Ron Campbell which shows how all of Washington, D.C. is laid out in Masonic ritualistic form and is dedicated at a deeper level to the sun god. Ron Campbell asked, “To what deity was Washington, D.C. dedicated? Is it possible that through Masonic rituals, our nation’s government has been symbolically offered to the kingdom of darkness?”

He also addresses the falsehood of Masonry, a secret religious and fraternal order. The Mason, “Manley Hall wrote that a Mason’s religion ‘Must be universal: Christ, Buddha or Mohammed, the name means little for he recognizes only the light and not the bearer.” However, “Roman Catholics, Assemblies of God, and Presbyterian Church of America, and Missouri Synod Lutherans, have said membership in a Masonic Lodge is incompatible with the Christian faith.” The Southern Baptists have refused to admit to this.  “Preacher’s during the First and Second Great Awakening condemned it (Freemasonry)” along with the famous evangelist Charles Finney who openly opposed freemasonry.”

Could we not agree then with the Prophet Isaiah’s confession? “Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips among a people of unclean lips” Are we standing for what we believe or are we like the proverbial frog in the boiling pot, being heated degree by degree until the frog is too complacent to act any longer and boils to death?

“While we do believe in religious liberty, do we not hold to a separation of Church and State? The Supreme Court ruled against prayer in public arenas just weeks before, but here was an event paid for by millions of American tax dollars which featured burning incense, prayer wheels, spiritual sand paintings, prayer monuments, and public Tibetan prayer by the spiritual head of the entire Tibetan Buddhist world.

While, they have a right to assemble as did the Nation of Islam, Promise Keepers and others, but one former State Supreme Court Justice questioned their right to have major public financial backing for a spiritual gathering on the National Mall. The Smithsonian catalogue in 26 pages did much to promote Tibetan Buddhism, religious art, nuns, and the spread of the Buddhist Dharma (teaching) groups in the West. This is tantamount to a State Church being given financing.

As Christians we believe that God loves the Tibetan people whom He created as equals, but He also detests all idolatry. Our nation was not founded on Buddhist principals, it was founded on Judaic-Christian principals. Even though many may contend we live in a post-Christian society which is their right to proclaim, it is our undying commitment that we must continue to call our nation back to its original foundations, while still repenting for our historic failings, e.g., mistreatment of First Nations, African Americans, and allowing the detestable practices of secret societies such as Freemasonry and Skull and Bones (John Kerry and President Bush are members). A call to return the skull and bones of Geronimo from your shameful men’s club.  For President Obama to issue a formal apology for insulting the First Nation’s Hero Geronimo in the latest capture and killing of Osama bin Laden. For a restitution of all the 200,000 First Nation bodies held without rest in the Nation’s capitol to be returned to their tribes for proper burial.  For National and Denominational repentance for the shameful covenant breaking of the American Government and complicity of American Christian denominations in the abusive boarding school systems. (II Chronicles 7:12-22).

God has set before us today a blessing or a curse. If you obey His commands, “The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you… the LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you…” (Deuteronomy 28:8-9). However, if we worship idols, burn incense to other gods, turn prayer wheels, build vain sand mandalas and prayer monuments to false deities, He has promised to curse us.

This is instructive to the Tibetan people who may wonder why God has judged their nation and to us if we do not turn away from our nation’s present wickedness. God is long-suffering and yet His judgments are righteous and forthcoming.

He said, “The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you shall not understand, a nation of fierce countenance who shall have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young.” This will all come about “If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name the LORD your God…” (Deut. 28:49,58).