For millions, the Dalai Lama is the symbol of peace and compassion; perhaps the most recognized spiritual leader except for the Pope himself. But Tibetan Buddhism itself is not a homogeneous and unitary stream, and recent protests have revealed some serious fault lines. PNS correspondent Loralie Froman is a freelance journalist and practicing Buddhist who writes on contemporary religious issues.

New York -- Thousands who came to hear the Dalai Lama speak in Manhattan last week were startled to see a gathering of monks and nuns, clad in maroon and gold, holding signs that said, "Dalai Lama give religious freedom" and "Dorje Shugden is not an evil Chinese spirit. Please don't lie."

The protesters were members of the Dorje Shugden International Coalition, which recently set up headquarters in Brooklyn.

To outsiders, who view the Dalai Lama as a man of piece and wisdom, dedicated to restoring Tibetan Buddhists to their homeland, the dispute clearly came as a surprise, but in fact the dispute reflects ancient conflicts and intrigues.

Shugden is the name of one of hundreds of "protector deities." In particular, Shugden is said to guard the Gelupga, one of four streams in Tibetan Buddhism.

For many years the Dalai Lama, himself a follower of the Gelupga, worshipped Shugden, but in the mid-1970s he began to speak against the deity. In 1996, the Dalai Lama said Shugden followers were a "spirit worship" cult that threatened the health and cause of Tibet.

After that, the Tibetan parliament-in-exile called on government employees and state-supported monasteries to stop worshipping Shugden or resign, according to translated government documents. Shugden supporters say such claims have caused violence in the exile community, discredited important lamas, and forced newcomers to Buddhism to grapple with a puzzling debate. The coalition claims that in Dharamsala, India, seat of the exile government, citizens took the Dalai Lama's edict as an excuse to destroy images of the deity, rough up Shugden followers, and put up "wanted" posters for those who continue to worship the deity.

Accounts of such activities spread throughout the exile community, but the Dalai Lama has generally denied them. "Nobody harming," he told Swiss national television earlier this year. "Rumors. I think rumors."

In recent days, the Dalai Lama's office in New York has conceded that recommendations were made against Shugden, but added that there is no ban, and people are free to choose.

In New York this week, in a public talk to several thousand exiled Tibetans now living in the United States, the Dalai Lama again clamed that Shugden is an evil spirit. He told his followers not to be frightened by the protests, according to Tibetans present at the talk.

The power of his words was apparent in the emotional confrontations on New York streets.

"You are trying to destroy our religion," a follower of the Dalai Lama shouted at protesters. Another called Shugden worshippers "a Heaven's Gate cult. They're fear mongers . . . . a hate group."

Kelsang Dekyong, an Irish-born Buddhist nun who speaks for the coalition, counters, "The people who are ranting and raving about us have spirituality and politics irreversibly mixed in their minds." She adds, "I think there's a cult of the Dalai Lama."

The coalition, which has representatives from most western countries, Tibet and other Buddhist nations, says the Dalai Lama's statements have left some two million Shugden practitioners worldwide confused.

Coalition members argued that the Dalai Lama's real reasons are political. "He's blaming Shugden as a scapegoat for not being able to free Tibet," Said Kundeling Rinpoche, a Tibetan Lama who lives in the exile community and is chief Asian representative of the coalition.

"You can't accuse the Chinese of being undemocratic and repressive and at the same time persecute a section of your own population," says James Burns, Scottish representative of the coalition. Burns is a long-standing supporter of the Dalai Lama but disagrees with him on this issue.

Before he left New York, according to the coalition, the Dalai Lama was presented with a petition bearing 13,500 names requesting that he lift the ban.

The Dalai Lama's private office has not responded, and has refused to give the coalition a hearing.