Actually, the biggest criticism of Master Hua regarding Tibetan Buddhism was largely centered around consort practice. Master Hua was a firm upholder of the Vinaya, and the notion that enlightenment requires the breaking of precepts (especially monastic parajikas) was something that he did not accept. On this matter, he was very much orthodox, and was simply agreeing what the Shurangama Sutra, which he taught widely. I'm not saying Master Hua was right to say what he said, but he also had things other than racism on his mind.Malcolm wrote:Huseng wrote:
I think it has more to do with the widespread fear among Chinese Buddhist bhikṣus about Tibetan Buddhism.
Which is fundamentally based on racism against Tibetans.
As for the Taiwanese group that protests HHDL's teachings, they too base themselves on the teachings of the Shurangama (and other) Sutra in criticising consort practices. That is their main arguement, that Anuttara Yoga Tantra and Tibetan Buddhism is not legitimate Buddhadharma. There are even articles urging people not to study the Lam Rim Chen Mo because they consider it a preparation, grooming if you will, for sex. They do have some legitimacy to their points in that so-called Tibetan masters have been known to have affairs with women in Chinese communities (the scandals seem more common in such places). Now, a huge part of the problem is the confusion between who is a monastic and who is a lay teacher, as well as a general lack of understanding of Tibetan Buddhism. This allows people to be more readily taken advantage of. The abundance of sexual imagery further complicates things. It does not help that texts like Lama Tsong Khapa's Ngag Rim Chen Mo has been available for a while in Chinese translation, from which people can quote things out of context. The groups are definitely making huge generalisations, and they are certainly slandering good, honest practitioners. All the more reason for tantra to be kept out of public view, but that's not going to happen any time soon. So the issue is not really as clear cut as one would hope.
As for homophobia, I think perhaps we are need to restore some balance to our views. As I mentioned earlier, one of the best things someone interested in this matter could do is to contact direct disciples of the Master, such as Ven. Heng Sure, as I mentioned previously. Also, I remember reading an account of how Master Hua met with gay people, and he would advise them in regards to reducing desires, in much the same way that he counseled his other students to reduce their desires. So perhaps it is not as much of a double standard as it seems. As mentioned previously by another poster on this thread and by myself in another thread, only 8th bhumi bodhisattvas and above are beyond the state of retrogression. I'm not claiming that Master Hua was either below or above such a state, but it's something to keep in mind.