Western Shugden Society

The Western Shugden Society was a campaign group that advocated for worship of Dorje Shugden within Tibetan Buddhism, and which dissolved itself, along with its parent organisation, the International Shugden Community, after a 2015 Reuters investigation determined that the religious sect had the backing of the Chinese Communist Party and had emerged as an instrument in Beijing's long campaign to undermine support for the Dalai Lama. Many members were also members of the New Kadampa Tradition. The WSS considered Kelsang Gyatso, who founded the NKT, the final teacher in the Dorje Shugden "spiritual lineage". Inform, a charity which advises people about new religious movements, describes the WSS as a "front organisation" for the NKT.

Aims

According to their website, the aims of the WSS are

To free practitioners who rely upon the enlightened deity Dorje Shugden and their families from suffering;
To restore peace and harmony between Shugden and non-Shugden practitioners;
To re-establish the common spiritual activities of Shugden and non-Shugden practitioners in Tibetan monasteries;
To free Buddhism from pollution by politics

Academic views

Robert Barnett of Columbia University is critical of the WSS:

International Shugden Community

The International Shugden Community was registered as a company in Norway and California. Its Norwegian directors were teachers at the Nordic Kadampa Meditation Centre in Oslo, which is part of the New Kadampa Tradition. Its American directors included teachers at Tushita Meditation Center, Westlake, California and Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Center, Ulverston.

Dissolution

A 2015 Reuters investigation determined "that the religious sect behind the protests has the backing of the Communist Party" and that the "group has emerged as an instrument in Beijing’s long campaign to undermine support for the Dalai Lama". Lama Tsetsa, a monk who had formerly been a part of the Shugden movement, said the Chinese United Front Work Department had paid him and a small number of other Tibetans within the organisation to stage protests against the Dalai Lama. After the Reuters investigation revealed that China backs it, the International Shugden Community halted operations and disbanded.