[GesheAtukTseten]

Tashi Delek to my fellow brothers and sisters in the Dharma,



I am writing this post from my home here in Dharamsala. As someone who has spent a lifetime studying our sacred texts while simultaneously examining the structures of Western democratic governance, I feel a profound sense of sadness and urgency regarding the recent administrative decisions emerging from Drepung Gomang Monastery.



The immediate catalyst for our collective concern is, of course, the wrongful expulsion of Geshe Lharampa Atuk Tseten—a scholar of immense erudition and unblemished moral standing. However, alongside his individual expulsion, the monastery has quietly passed a sweeping structural rule: a blanket ban barring any of its monks from running for parliament in the future without first resigning their monastic vows or status.



As a devout practitioner who deeply loves both our traditional heritage and our exile democracy, I see this blanket ban as an absolute tragedy. It is an act of political self-mutilation that strips our highly educated, deeply moral religious scholars (Geshes) of their fundamental right to participate in the democratic process.



 Depriving Governance of Moral and Intellectual Integrity



Let us analyze this decision logically. Our exile democracy—painstakingly constructed under the visionary guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama—was never meant to be a blind imitation of Western secularism that discards our spiritual foundation. It was meant to be an enlightened system where the values of the Dharma inform the policies of the state.



A Geshe Lharampa spends twenty to thirty years undergoing rigorous training in logic, ethics, philosophy, and compassion. These individuals represent the pinnacle of Tibetan intellectual and moral achievement. By forcing a monk to choose between his sacred robes and his civic right to serve his nation in the Parliament, the monastery is ensuring that our future legislative bodies will be systematically deprived of these highly trained minds.



This rule does not protect the purity of the monastery; rather, it effectively weakens and silences the voice of the monastic community in Tibetan governance. It reduces the representation of the monastic body to a mere symbolic token, ensuring that independent, articulate scholars like Geshe Atuk Tseten can never again bring their analytical training to bear on the floor of our Parliament.



 Free Debate is Not a Violation of the Robe



The justification given for this regression is that political involvement brings worldly controversy to the monastery. But we must ask: since when is representing the electorate and engaging in transparent, democratic debate a violation of monastic ethics?



When Geshe Atuk Tseten spoke on the parliament floor in March, questioning budgetary allocations and administrative accountability, he was acting with the precise, critical analysis that the Vinaya and our philosophical traditions encourage. To punish this civic engagement by banning an entire class of spiritual scholars from future governance is an overreach that damages the credibility of our democratic charter.



We are entering a fragile historical period where the survival of our identity depends on the strength, unity, and intellectual caliber of our leadership. Excluding our most educated monastic scholars from the legislature is a dangerous step backward.



 Defend Our Democratic Franchise—Sign the Petition



We cannot afford to remain passive observers as our democratic franchise is systematically narrowed. We must voice our profound regret and opposition to both the individual injustice faced by Geshe Atuk Tseten and the structural ban placed on our monastic community.



A global petition has been established on Change.org to urge the leadership of Drepung Gomang Monastery to revoke the wrongful expulsion of Geshe la and to reconsider these regressive, disenfranchising policies.



I earnestly call upon every forward-thinking Tibetan, every scholar, and every devout practitioner to visit this link today:



[Change.org Petition to Protect Monastic Representation and Support Geshe Atuk Tseten](https://www.change.org/p/petition-requesting-drepung-monastery-to-revoke-the-wrongful-expulsion-of-atuk-tseten)



Cast your vote by adding your signature. Share this message through your professional networks, your local community forums, and your monastic circles. Let us collectively remind our leadership that true harmony is achieved by upholding the democratic rights of all citizens—whether ordained or lay.



In solidarity for the Dharma and Democracy.