Dorje Shugden is an emanation of Manjushri who arose to protect the purity of Tsongkhapa's Gelug teachings against dilution from other lineages.
⚠ The 14th Dalai Lama declared the Dorje Shugden practice harmful in 1996, and the identification as a Manjushri emanation is rejected by many Gelug and all non-Gelug authorities.
Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen, a Gelug lama who died under mysterious circumstances in the court of the Fifth Dalai Lama, arose as the wrathful spirit Dorje Shugden, riding a snow lion in the robes and pointed hat of a Gelug monk to guard the purity of Tsongkhapa's lineage.
⚠ Whether this transformation was the rebirth of a Manjushri emanation or the creation of a harmful gyalpo spirit is the central dispute — Dreyfus (1998) traces the competing narratives in detail.
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