Dorje Shugden is a Dharma Protector of the Sakya and Gelug traditions, who has been worshipped for over three hundred years. However, this Dharma Protector's precise nature as either an enlightened being or a worldly being has been the subject of debate among some adherents of Tibetan Buddhism since his appearance in the 17th century. The Dorje Shugden controversy arose in the late 1970s when the Dalai Lama started to speak out against the practice, which has intensified since 1996 when he issued an "explicit ban," suppressing the practice within the Tibetan exile community.