Revised with new material and additional chapters

2017 edition by Alan J. W.

(Warning: includes a brief sexually explicit event)

I originally wrote this article fairly quickly in August 2015, under difficult circumstances.  Looking through it recently, I felt it needed some ‘tidying up’ grammatically; plus some amendments, supplementary material and occasional updates.

Most of the additions, and changes to the original text, are to be found in the later more autobiographical section.

The amendments are to clarify dates and other details; the extra inclusions to expand upon historical attitudes and key events: most notably in my exposition on the crisis at the Croydon centre during the late 80’s.  I was, indirectly, privy to the unfolding drama at the time, and thought this an ideal forum for a bit more disclosure.  This important topic now occupies a separate section.

The penultimate chapter features an allegorical story conjured up during this revision.  This is intended to mirror and parody the dysfunction that has dogged Triratna/ FWBO for decades now.

After which the article concludes with a return to general issues.  A cautionary set of comments covering a spectrum of concerns raised on this, and other, websites.

There are also some more recent developments outlined at relevant points in the narrative.  Some of these relate to situations, as yet, unresolved.

I make no apologies for the rather graphic description of a sexual assault.  I have no desire (now or in 2015) to present a sanitised account; suggesting a lack of conviction in my opinion.

I have decided to use my own name (as I did in my second article for Dialogue Ireland) minus the highly unusual Polish surname.  This is to save surviving members of my family from embarrassment.  Rest assured that the Triratna Order know my identity, as I knew (to greater or lesser extent) many of the male seniors and Preceptors, primarily in the UK.

I was involved with the Triratna Buddhist Community/ FWBO intermittently from March 1977 until, circa, June 2000.  During the late 70’s and mid-80’s I was heavily involved, and in the centre of Triratna activities: including the ordination process from Aug 84 until, circa, late 1985.  I was, however, never ordained into Sangharakshita’s Order: for reasons all too evident in the content of this article.

I will start by making a few general points, that I feel have not been given the importance that they merit, in other commentaries on Triratna/FWBO that I have read.

I will then move on to specifics: in a much more autobiographical account of my experiences – which may well make disturbing reading!  I am willing to give a sworn affidavit that this account is the truth as I experienced it.  I am also amenable to testifying this assurance in a court of law – if this becomes necessary.

General points

1/ During the period of my involvement – and at present – there was an overwhelming cult of personality built up around the person of Sangharakshita.  The sheer scale of this personality hype would be difficult for an outsider to grasp.  To give a small example: In the mid-1980’s, Sangharakshita (who from now on, to save space, I will refer to as simply Sr) was quoted as saying that, old encyclopaedias were more reliable – information-wise – than more modern editions.  He added that Order members (ie, members of Sr’s Order, from now on to be referred to as OMs) should consider carrying a dictionary with them whenever possible.  Incredibly, OMs that I knew at the time took this advice seriously, and a few did start brandishing dictionaries (old ones of course), even though this topic had nothing at all to do with Buddhism.

This unconditional adulation was given added potency by the extravagant, and wholly unmerited, titles that Sr gave to himself.  During the 70’s and 80’s he was no less than: The Venerable Maha Sthavira Sangharakshita!  It is easy to imagine the effect this extravagant titling had on impressionable 20+ youths!

Almost every utterance made by Sr, was given the sanctity of the 10 stone tablets brought down from Mount Sinai by Moses.  Most Buddhist teachers do not generate anything like this scale of extreme adulation – so why did Sr?  There has to be a suspicion that it provided the perfect cover for his extra-curricular activities.  OMs and Mitras (the latter meaning fairly committed followers, and often workers for Triratna/FWBO services and business ventures) were in such awe of the man that they found it impossible to question his sexual conduct; even his closest followers felt hindered in this respect.

Thus, he was able to remain active as a sexual predator, with damaging consequences for some of his conquests, for a minimum of 15 years – no questions asked!  This fact, in itself, points to Triratna/FWBO being an insidious cult – but there is much more to support this conclusion.

2/ During the period of my involvement Triratna/FWBO was primarily a young person’s movement.  In the late 70’s most of us were in our 20’s, and it was unusual to find an active OM older than 35.  Young people are, of course, much easier to manipulate than more mature followers.

Extremist groups like the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, and now the Jihadi groups in Syria and Africa, have found their most loyal and fanatical recruits amongst the young.

It may seem fanciful to compare the Triratna/FWBO with such homicidal groups – but is it?  Recently, Buddhist monks in Burma/Myanmar have been involved in a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign, against their neighbouring Muslim communities – deaths have occurred.  I feel ashamed to admit that the image of Buddhism as being a peaceful, sublime religion is rather naïve.

Just prior to this updated edition, concerns were raised in the media and on-line, about the content of certain entries within the ‘Clear Vision’ internet resource, aimed – primarily – at school children.  This included an interview with Sr, in which he eulogised his promiscuous sexual behaviour as being beneficial to Triratna/FWBO history!  This interview has now – at least temporarily – been removed.  Some apparently homoerotic photos also caused concern.  Suitable for children?  Historically, Triratna have always tended to prioritise the induction of young people into deeper involvement – not the mature.

3/ The Triratna/FWBO group was, and still is, very insular.  People from other Buddhist organisations were never invited to give talks.  To become a Mitra until the late 90’s (there may have been some changes since) involved an undertaking to refrain from close association with other, non-FWBO, Buddhists.  Sr, and his minions, claimed that fraternisation with other groups would ‘confuse’ the aspiring Mitra.

4/ This leads to a vital point: Sr’s teaching diverges in important respects from mainstream Buddhist doctrine (the Dharma).  The differences are more than just academic.  Sr’s concept of a ‘Higher evolution’, with an attendant ‘Spiral path’, is alien to other Buddhists of any school.  These ideas owe far more to Darwin and Nietzsche than any Dharma teacher.  Sr and his chief disciple Subhuti have, since the late 70’s, tried to instil into the minds of every OM, the claim that they are some sort of spiritual ‘master race’; vastly superior to any other Buddhist Order.  This has led to Triratna/FWBO adopting a rigid, paralysing hierarchy: resulting in an abusive, bullying attitude being shown, historically, towards the Mitras Sr’s Order are, and were, supposedly responsible for.

As one, soon to withdraw, OM told me in 1997: the Order regarded Mitras as ‘some sort of sub-human species’ during the 1980’s!  He wasn’t joking, and this attitude fuelled the impetus for the abuse that I, and other Mitras, suffered – especially during this decade.

Subhuti, and many other seasoned OMs, seemed to believe that they occupied a far higher strata of consciousness than the rest of us; simply because they were senior OMs in contact with Sr.  This collective delusion has nothing to do with Dharma practice, but is the inevitable consequence of the alien concept of ‘The higher evolution of man’: in reality the psychological condition of ‘Ego Inflation’!

It is my contention that Sr’s concept of the ‘higher evolution of consciousness’ is the destructive virus at the heart of Triratna’s malaise. This is because of the causal links between this non-Buddhist tenet, the rigid – even frost-bitten – hierarchy and the elitist arrogance referred to above.  This has historically encouraged the development of abusive modes of conduct – psychological, emotional and sexual – by Sr and some of his senior colleagues, and may well do so again.

It follows that Triratna will never be a genuine and benign form of Buddhism, until this poisonous doctrine is discarded!  I strongly adhere to this view.

Sr’s negative attitude to the practice of Insight Meditation (Vipassana) is a related problem.  The meditation practices taught by his Order are regarded by genuine Buddhists as supplementary practices; optional to the main practice of insight meditation: which cultivates spiritual insight, and eventually leads to enlightenment.

Sr, in the past, has made the ludicrous claim that insight meditation, in its most popular forms, leads to alienation and even mental illness.  This is belied by the fact that multitudes of people around the world – including myself – are practising some form of insight meditation: without any discernable ill effects!

So, these are the general factors that lead me, and many other people, to conclude that Triratna/FWBO is really ‘The sect of Sangharakshita’, and not a genuine Buddhist group.  That it is potentially, and in the past was actually, inherently abusive and a danger to the psychological and emotional well-being of its members.

The 1970’s

In 1977/78 I was living in a large, single sex, Triratna/FWBO community in East London, and working within the small housekeeping team.  I had developed a close relationship with an older OM; let’s call him P.  Although I knew that P was bisexual this had never been a problem.

In the spring of 1978, senior OM Subhuti (the community chairman) gave a talk at a communal meeting, which outlined the, soon to be notorious, ‘Greek love’ model of spiritual friendship.

According to Subhuti, relationships between members of the opposite sex are often marred by ‘neurotic dependence’, stifling to the spiritual aspirations of both partners.  He suggested, therefore, that two possible alternatives should be considered as outlets for sexual gratification: promiscuous, casual heterosexual sex, free of commitment; or a homosexual relationship, particularly – and this is the crucial point– between a committed and experienced mentor, and his pupil.

This, of course, was to initiate the wave of deeply inappropriate relationships, between OMs and same sex Mitras, which were a conspicuous feature of the late 70’s and 80’s.  I noticed my friend P enthusiastically supporting this latter proposal, and realised that it had already been discussed during inclusive Order meetings.  I did not know then that these ideas originated from Sr.

Shortly after Subhuti gave this talk, P tried to forcibly seduce me: he simply pulled me into his room, pushed me onto his bed, and started groping at my genitals.  He was trying to masturbate me and I froze in shock!  Because we were friends: he could see how ‘freaked out’ I was and stopped after about 4 minutes.  I had not become aroused, so the act was unconsummated.  Because we were friends: I kept quiet about the incident and never mentioned it to anyone.  P died some time ago.  A few other sexually charged incidents – less serious but still disturbing – involving other, same sex, community members occurred during this period.

At the time, I strongly believed that P had been manipulated by Subhuti, and through him by Sr, into behaving in a manner that was out of character for him – and it was alarmingly so.  I still believe this.   Subhuti, and his teacher Sr, bear a direct responsibility for the emotional distress this and other similar incidents (like the one described by ex-Yashomitra in his open letter of 2003, which occurred during his first visit to Padmaloka in 1980) had on the young, impressionable and traumatically shocked recipients.  My relationship with P was seriously damaged by this incident, and we failed to keep in contact after I left the community a few months later.

It had been intimated to me that Sr was gay, although it was sacrilege to say so openly.  I also knew that Sr always seemed to have a close young male companion: there were about 4 different consorts for Sr during the period of my FWBO involvement.  I knew all of these young guys: not well, but I mixed with them during the normal course of my FWBO activities.  They were all youthful, easy-going and straightforward types – but most importantly they were all heterosexual!  I could tell this, the way that many men intuitively can.  Consequently, it seemed inconceivable to me that any of these relationships could be sexual in nature.  Why would a gay man like Sr want close relationships with consecutive youths who were not gay themselves?  I found this puzzling, but knew of the dangers of consulting senior members of Sr’s Order on such a sensitive subject.

What I had failed to realise, in my naivety, was that Sr PREFERRED very young heterosexual companions.  I cannot possibly prove it, but I believe that he was sexually excited by the prospect of a gay relationship with a young straight consort; whom he could ‘convert’ to his own sexual orientation, and then cast aside when he wanted a change.  I am convinced that this was the case.  Instead of examining this harmful aspect of his sexual nature, within the context of insight meditation practice, and the Buddhist precepts (ie, moral guidelines), Sr simply tried to incorporate this behaviour pattern into his teaching: with damaging consequences for some of his young companions, and eventually the small group of OMs who naively followed his example.

The Buddhist, especially Theravada, view on sexual desire is unambiguous: while practising insight meditation, one focuses on the arising of feelings of sexual craving.  One observes these feelings objectively and dispassionately, and changes in their intensity.  One notes the passing of these desires.  They are just transient phenomena: they arise and then die.  There is no meaning or purpose in becoming attached to such ephemeral cravings: but that is exactly what Sr did for a minimum of 15 years!

Thus, there are serious questions arising from Sr’s teaching: if he presents it, as he does, as being Buddhist doctrine (the Dharma).  His attitude to the question of sexual craving, being a strong indication of a seriously flawed interpretation of the Buddha’s exposition.

The 1980’s

During the 1980’s the ordination process became lengthy and arduous.  Mitras were prepared for ordination in different ways.  Some, including myself, were treated to a sustained course of what became known as ‘Fierce friendship’ or ‘Feedback’.

This latest perversion of the Buddha’s teaching, like all new ‘developments’ in the FWBO, had its origins in closed meetings between OMs – in the early 80’s.  The original intention seems to have been to promote a more confrontational style of ‘spiritual friendship’; but in the stark, unsophisticated culture of the FWBO, this soon descended into bullying and manipulative ‘mind-games’!  I do know that Sr and Subhuti, were well aware of what became an accepted feature of the ordination process.

In August 1984, in a wave of enthusiasm, I asked Sr for ordination.  We had a familiarity with each other from the late 1970’s.  I remember that he looked at me rather coldly and said, ‘You’re putting your head on the block’.  He might well claim that he has no recollection of such a conversation: but selective amnesia has become Sr’s ‘stock-in-trade’ has it not?

He claims that he does not recall having had a sexual relationship with ex-Yashomitra in 1982: a relationship that lasted for around 6 months from the spring of that year.  The problem here is that everyone knows that Sr has an excellent memory: as his latest volume of memoirs, and the infamous ‘Conversations with Bhante (Sangharakshita), August 2009’ proves.  Perhaps the fact that ex-Yashomitra was only 18 at the time – turning 19 during the course of the relationship – has something to do with this uncharacteristic memory lapse!   After all, if Sr had admitted that at the age of 56, he had lured an 18 year old heterosexual youth into having sex with him, over a period of 6 months, it would have seriously damaged his reputation and that of his Order.

Since the publication of the original article, in September 2015, I have been informed that the age of consent for homosexual acts at this time was 21 years.  This, of course, makes his temporary memory loss legally expedient!

Another similar case, involving a former German Mitra, came to light in 2016.  The individual in question, circulated a detailed account of his alleged sexual relationship with Sr; dating to the period, circa 2003, when the Triratna founder was supposedly celibate.  Sr again claimed a temporary loss of memory.  Following this, the Order office (central admin) requested that all OMs should delete any copy of this embarrassing disclosure emailed to them – thus destroying evidence of this alleged sexual liaison!  This episode was reported by a reliable source.

What Sr meant by his comment, about putting my head on the block, was a mystery to me for about 7 months; after which, I was targeted for a period of ‘fierce friendship’.  It is partly for this reason that I am convinced that Sr knew about this new venture into abusive behaviour.

I was then living near the London Buddhist Centre (in East London) and working in its affiliated building cooperative.  For a period of several months, I was endlessly criticised for practically everything I did, by the OMs working with me – and a few others.  I could do nothing right.  It was obvious I was being bullied, and the abuse was becoming relentless.  Some of the criticism seemed to be projected from my tormentors’ own minds; inappropriate and inaccurate; more to do with their own psychological tensions, than my failings.

It seemed to me that the intention was, to either force me to withdraw my ordination request, or break down my personality: to make me ‘more receptive to the Order’ as one OM put it.  Other Mitras had similar experiences.

I remember that one of my fellow Mitras was forced to come to my aid, on one occasion: because the abuse had become so spiteful.  This was spiritual I, FWBO style!

Some Mitras sought to have a sexual relationship with a senior OM of the same sex – an alternative to ‘feedback’.   In a speech given to an FWBO conference on the ordination of men in July 1986 (see: www.ex-cult.org/fwbo/SubQuote.htm), Subhuti outlined the same points I described in the above section on ‘Greek love’; which I originally heard him give, circa, April 1978.  So this ‘proposal’ was not just a topic for discussion, or a passing whim: it had been an on-going practice by Sr, and a few of his closest disciples, for more than 8 years!

The truth is that a small group in the Order, adopted the practice of having sexual relationships with same sex Mitras – often more than one at a time – in direct imitation of Sr’s promiscuity.

To give an example of the kind of thinking that prevailed, during the late 70’s and entire 80’s, I include this link to a comment made by an individual ordained, circa 1984, here:  www.ex-cult.org/fwbo/Jnanavira.htm

A few comments by Ratnottara (sic) are included.  How do we know a Mitra’s sexual orientation – or its flexibility – unless homosexual overtures are attempted, in certain circumstances?  This is the, paraphrased, suggestion from Jnanavira that I find most alarming.

I invite the reader to compare this statement, with the ordeal I suffered at the hands of my friend P, circa April 1978!  Despite all the criticism and controversy, I am told that there are still people in the Order who adhere to views similar to these.

At the time I was writing the original version of this article, I was unaware that a former close friend of Sr, and holder of prestigious positions in the Order until the early 2000’s, was under investigation by the Norfolk police for sexual offences against a minor.  So, in a few cases ‘Greek love’ spiralled almost out of control!

Experienced and less impressionable Mitras, knew that the sexual variant of OM/ Mitra relationships were tacitly considered, by both parties in these arrangements, as a quicker route to ordination than simply waiting for your turn in the queue!  These discreet homosexual liaisons were unlikely to be discussed in such blatant terms, but the implication was obvious, to many of us.  A sexual relationship with Sr, of course, was an even faster track to ordination – and I know of a few such cases!

Another problem concerned the financial side of FWBO business ventures.  I worked in a number of such ‘Right Livelihood’ situations, and was told, in more than one case, to register as unemployed: so that I would receive ‘Unemployment Benefit’.  Another possibility was a government cash support scheme for new business enterprises.  The money I received in benefits was topped up with an allowance for lunches, expenses and retreats – an illegal practice of course.

These funding methods were considered by many in the Order as ethically acceptable: although likely to lead to great personal difficulties, if discovered by the relevant government department.  It was by using such reprehensible tactics that Triratna/FWBO acquired some of its wealth.

During the mid-1980’s, my relationship with members of my family became strained, and in one case fatally damaged.  My rapport with friends outside the FWBO was also seriously impaired; I lost friends I had known since I was a teenager.  This is, of course, a frequent outcome for individuals inducted into a cult (or the less provocative term – sect): as you develop friendships with people in the cult/sect, your previous long-term relationships run into difficulties.  This gradual estrangement becomes more pronounced as your involvement intensifies.

The dynamics involved here are quite complex: but I think the reader will have an intuitive sense of how this joint process of induction into a cult/sect, and alienation from previous relationships works.  It is for this reason, I feel, that people often find it difficult and painful to leave Triratna/FWBO: they must retreat from the friendships they have developed to re-enter, in effect, an emotional vacuum.  To heal the damage done to old associations is difficult and distressing; this is how I found it.

The late 1990’s

The difficulties for Triratna/FWBO first entered the public domain in the late 1990’s.  There was a famous article in The Guardian newspaper (Oct 97), and websites sprang up criticising Sr, and his organisation, in troubling terms.

In the wake of all this, the Triratna Order became withdrawn and inactive – at least at the centre I was then attending.  In the months that followed, during 1998, the public position the Order had decided on became evident.  A portion of The Guardian article had been devoted to outlining the difficulties that increasingly developed, at the Croydon centre – just outside London.  Particular criticism had been cast on the behaviour of its former chairperson: Padmaraja.  Consequently, the inner circle of Triratna /FWBO (then called: The college of Preceptors and Presidents) decided to shift all the blame, for the troubles within the organisation, at the feet of Padmaraja: instead of the real culprit Sr himself!

This policy seemed to work reasonably well – at least temporarily.  Even OMs who had been active in the 1980’s, and knew the truth (that Sr, strongly backed by Subhuti, was largely responsible for the growth of extreme views, and modes of conduct) could be relied upon to ‘tow the party line’.  They were fearful of the consequences of ‘rocking the boat’: alienating their colleagues and risking eventual expulsion from the Order.

People outside the Order, mostly old Mitras, who knew the truth and might be tempted to speak out, were dealt with on an individual basis.  In my own case, I was effectively excluded from a local centre and its activities by the anxious chairman, after tentatively challenging historical inaccuracies – at the end of the 1990’s.

I only saw Kulananda’s letter to, The Guardian newspaper, (see: www.ex-cult.org/fwbo/Guardian.htm) recently for the first time (early 2015): I was shocked and mortified!  Written in the immediate aftermath of the critical Guardian article of October 1997, it reveals the extent to which Sr’s inner circle, of favoured OMs, are willing to deceive the interested public.  It is a transparent attempt to expunge the darker chapters from their sect’s historical record.

It would be illuminating to scrutinise the letter’s contents: Kulananda claimed that ‘difficult, indeed tragic, events’ only happened at one centre: ie, in Croydon.  This is a deliberate falsity!

Kulananda knew that a semi-official policy known as ‘Fierce friendship’ or ‘Feedback’ was commonplace at other UK centres.  He knew that this involved many OMs in the practice of persistent criticism (to put it tactfully) of Mitras in their charge; often those who had asked Sr for ordination.  He knew that this behaviour often descended into outright bullying and intimidation.  He also knew that this practice was officially brought to an end in the early 1990’s, after discussions at Order meetings: presumably because of the troubles at the Croydon centre, and the broadcast of the first BBC film criticising the FWBO in 1992.  I checked all of these facts with a senior OM in the late 1990’s, so the information is reliably sourced.

Kulananda then claims that lessons have been learned, and safeguards put into place to prevent a recurrence of abusive situations.  Well, the only ‘safeguard’ at that time, 1997, was the appointment of a President to oversee the activities at allocated Triratna/FWBO centres – usually more than one.  At that time the President of the Dublin centre was Kulananda himself.  I can’t help wondering – with a wry grin – just how ‘safe’ the fair people of Dublin felt, at having such a reprehensible character as the overseer of their FWBO centre!

The other Presidents were Sr sycophants: guaranteed to quash creative innovations, like the introduction of different meditation techniques, which a few in the Order might have wanted to experiment with.  In short, their job was to ensure the continuation of Sr’s tired and failed formula; and monitor the conformity of their allocated Order chapters (groups of OM’s assigned to a centre) to the official Triratna ‘party line’.

On 26 Sept 2016, the BBC made a second, 10 min short, film on Triratna/ FWBO and its founder – as part of a regional broadcast.  You can read a summary of its content on the following webpage:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-37432719

The female OM assigned to liaising with the media, at the time, was Munisha.  She states – elsewhere – that she became involved with Triratna in 1991: so clearly she was reliant on Order seniors for ‘information’ on historical events prior to this date.  At this time Sr’s inner circle, of ultra-loyal OMs, is usually referred to as ‘The College of Preceptors’: who are responsible for the ordination process and other matters.

The on-line comment I made following the broadcast, was precipitated by a statement by Munisha at its conclusion.  It is worth repeating here, as it encapsulates many of the doubts some of us had, regarding Triratna’s much vaunted ‘Safeguarding Guidelines’:

‘Triratna say that every centre is expected to have a Safeguarding official and policies in place.  My understanding is that the “Safeguarding guidelines” produced by Triratna central are only recommendations.  Each centre is a separate legal entity, so they are free to adapt (change) these guidelines as they see fit.  

This means that they are inapplicable as presented, and can be “watered down” (by hardline extremists active in some centres), so as to make their general intentions impotent.  The underlying purpose of these guidelines is to keep complaints, of misbehaviour by senior Triratna personnel, within the organisation’s internal structures.

Those of us with long past experience of Triratna/FWBO culture, will recognise that the resultant long-term effect will be to dissipate complaints, until the aggrieved party loses interest.  This is how it was in the past – an exercise in frustration!

We have had a similar deception played on us before: in 1997, Kulananda claimed that procedures were in place, to protect the public from future abusive behaviour.  This was a reference, presumably, to the appointment of Presidents to oversee the activities, and general ethos, at individual centres.

Unfortunately for the public, the true purpose of these Presidents was to ensure that every centre, and its attendant “Order chapter”, towed the “party line”; ie, conformed to the Preceptors’ control: not to protect vulnerable and idealistic attendees at their classes and retreats!

It is time the Triratna Preceptors – who control its activities – stopped insulting our intelligence.’

This post (Dec 2016 @ Dialogue Ireland), with some minor paraphrasing, succinctly expresses the concerns the growing number of Triratna critics had – then and now.

At the conclusion of his letter to The Guardian, Kulananda suggests that the behaviour of OMs is somehow monitored by their peers, and if necessary criticised.  At the time of his correspondence, this statement did not conform with my long FWBO experience!

To give a particularly memorable example, of how questionable conduct by an OM was addressed by others in his/her chapter (local OM group), I will relate an experience I had in 1998: a few months after Kulananda’s letter was published.

I had become disturbed by the erratic behaviour of a senior OM at a London centre; a former friend.  This was causing me some anxiety.  I wrote a letter detailing my concerns, which I then sent to a number of local OMs.  Unfortunately, I had no response from this complaint, and it seemed to be summarily dismissed.  When I brought the subject up with the centre chairperson, he curtly replied that ‘The Order isn’t some sort of court!’

This is the reality of how complaints, against individuals in the Order, were often dealt with; and I had undergone a similar unresolved dispute 13 years earlier.  There was no real accountability in the Order in 1997, or earlier; Kulananda was being somewhat disingenuous!

Whilst revising this article, Triratna central (Munisha, Dharmarati and others) have been keen to extol the virtues of the new ‘Safeguarding guidelines’: this seems to include a provision for suspending OMs found guilty of serious transgressions.  Whether this proposal will translate into concrete, effective action remains to be seen.

There are tentative signs that some genuine reforms are finally on the agenda – time will tell.

The Croydon centre: late 1980’s

Returning to his letter: Kulananda’s comments about Padmaraja (the unnamed Croydon chairman) and his role in the crisis at this centre, late 1980’s, is a misrepresentation of the historical facts.

He claims that the former Croydon chief was distorting FWBO teaching.  The truth is that Padmaraja was the head of a team of about 11 OMs: including a Treasurer and a Mitra Convenor (responsible for the Spiritual education and welfare of all Croydon based Mitras).  Several of these OMs were involved in bullying Mitras (This was after all the heyday of the ‘Fierce friendship’ frenzy); so it was a wider problem than just one senior OM.

The women’s wing of the centre was considerably smaller than the men’s, and had far less influence on events.  Kulananda’s comments pertain to the ethos at the men’s community of Aryatara in Purley, just south of Croydon, an outer suburb of London.

The Aryatara community managed the centre – with help from the undersized women’s contingent – and a restaurant.  There were about 9 OMs and 20 Mitras at Aryatara – also perhaps a few Friends (defined as ‘less committed’ than Mitras).

Padmaraja’s function, as Chairperson, was to host community meetings, other events, and generally act as a figurehead for Croydon FWBO – not to teach Sr’s interpretation of the Dharma (Buddhist doctrine)!

For a men’s community mostly comprised of Mitras, this was the responsibility of the Mitra Convenor.  He/she would organise, and usually lead, Mitra study groups: the main focus of Dharma teaching in the FWBO.

For the bulk of the 1980’s this position was taken by Padmavajra.  Insiders will know that he is the least likely senior OM to deviate from Sr’s path.

This is an ideal opportunity to point out, that it was Padmavajra’s successor as Mitra Convenor (in circa 1988) who was to initiate the crisis, and transformation, at Aryatara – and hence the wider Croydon situation.  This was a little known OM from Venezuela called Manjunatha: who was persistent in criticising the tightly controlled, and authoritarian, regime that had developed in the community and centre.  He was initially alone in voicing his concerns, at Aryatara Order meetings.

To my knowledge Manjunatha has never received public recognition, for his great service in inaugurating what became known as ‘The revolution’ in Croydon: ie, the ending of the highly regimented situation that had developed there.

His predecessor, Padmavajra, had no involvement in this process of reformation; indeed it only became possible following his departure from the role of Croydon Mitra Convenor.

Kulananda’s comment about Padmaraja leaving the Order ‘when his activities came to light’ also makes no sense.  Most of the Croydon OMs (although admittedly not Padmaraja) were quite well integrated into the wider Order: they attended regional order meetings, conventions, etc.  As a result, the Order as a whole were well aware of what was going on in Croydon; the fact that Mitras were being bullied was not unusual –  the same behaviour was going on elsewhere in the UK.

There was little concern about the Croydon situation until the latter half of the 1980’s – why?  The reason was because of an annual decrease in the number of Croydon based Mitras considered ready for ordination, by Sr and other senior OMs.  Sr’s primary concern has always been with the growth of his Order.  The success of any Triratna/FWBO centre was evaluated, by him, in terms of how many potential OMs they put forward.  Sr, and now the Preceptors, have their own criteria for the ‘readiness’ of a Mitra for ordination.

The problem was that Padmaraja’s criteria had diverged from Sr’s, during the course of the 80’s.  There was a growing mismatch, and by 1986 the differences of opinion (on readiness for ordination) had become irreconcilable.  This is what caused Sr, and other seniors, to move against the charismatic Croydon chairman: not Kulananda’s allegation that he was distorting FWBO teaching.  During the mid-80’s, I do not remember there being any concerns about this: indeed the situation in Croydon was admired by many OMs I knew at the time.  Sr’s ambition to ordain as many people as possible was at the root of the problem.  Padmaraja left the Order in 1989.

Whatever Kulananda’s view is: assessments on readiness for ordination are necessarily subjective. Since the inception of Sr’s Order, nearly 50 years ago, hundreds of people have resigned; many leaving Buddhism altogether.  What does this suggest about Sr’s judgement on preparedness?  Who can say whether Padmaraja’s intuition, on the durability of an individual’s membership of the Order, would have been more, or less, accurate?

I have to say that the attempt by Kulananda, and other members of Sr’s inner circle, to blame Padmaraja for everything that went wrong at the Croydon centre, is one of the most despicable and cowardly acts in Triratna history – why?  Because further to the fabricated fantasy that unethical behaviour only occurred in Croydon, senior OMs have tried to coalesce all the blame for this misconduct on one key member of the Croydon Order chapter: Padmaraja.

Thus Padmaraja was, by implication, the source of all the past woes of the Triratna/FWBO: conveniently diverting attention away from the culpability of the Order’s founder, Sr!

The information disclosed in this section came from a few people, who had lived and worked in the Croydon regime, for several years during this period – so again it is reliably sourced.

Allegory: The unexploded bomb in the basement

One of the most important texts of the Mahayana school (the largest of the two main branches of Buddhist tradition) is the Lotus Sutra.  This contains 7 parables that are intended to point to the higher spiritual truths of the Dharma.

While revising this article I thought up one of my own:

A large, extended family move into a house that, unbeknown to them, has an unexploded wartime bomb buried under its basement.

Quite by chance the head of the family discovers this secret; he confronts the embarrassed estate agent.  The unscrupulous property salesman admits his omission of this explosive detail in his sales pitch.

He assures the household chief that the 500lb bomb is now harmless and incapable of detonation.  As a gesture of contrition, at his obvious deceit, he offers a substantial refund on the price of the house.  The family head accepts this offer, and chooses to believe that the buried ordinance is now safe.

He discusses the issue with his wife, and they decide to keep this potentially dangerous knowledge a secret.  No one in their family will ever know; and they get to keep the money refunded by the estate man!

Years go by … and the, now elderly, dominant couple have kept to their pact of silence – but something strange has happened.  Minor subtle changes in their behaviour have generated resonances in the wider household; and these have increasingly manifested as perturbations to the family’s natural equilibrium.  Consequently, a generally unsettled atmosphere now predominates.  Some noisy arguments have worried the neighbours, who have begun to complain.

Two of the younger family members have become so concerned by the increasing tension that they decide to move out.  A local dignitary tells them of the unexploded bomb: apparently hushed up by property developers.  In a state of panic, the two cousins phone and email the inhabitants of the troubled household.

The culpable family head, and his wife, tell their residential kin that the two estranged relatives have become mentally ill.  They left the house to ‘sort themselves out’.  The main bulk of the family accept this explanation – although a few nurture secret doubts.

After a while the two ex-inhabitants contact the local authorities, and appeal to them to have the house declared unsafe.  The responsible agencies have trouble gaining access to the property; their phone calls and letters are unanswered, etc.  The whole process of officially dealing with the problem has stagnated.  A court order is the only remaining option.

Meanwhile, inside the troubled building, the situation has become increasingly desperate.  The residents rarely leave the house, or communicate with outsiders.  There are frequent and frightening confrontations.  Some members of the household are suffering from severe depression, recurrent headaches and bouts of vomiting.  Two of the female inhabitants have had miscarriages, and there have been associated incidents of incestuous sexual liaisons.

The two family heads, who have clung to their shared confidence, are faced with an unpalatable choice: if they admit their cover-up of the explosive secret, they would be damned by the rest of the family.  Their status as family guardians and seniors would be over – they would be abandoned.

If, on the over hand, they keep to their pledge of silence, the volatile situation in the house could only get worse.  What should they do, with court proceedings now pending?

Because the purpose of the story is to illuminate the darker undercurrents in Triratna/FWBO history – rather than revealing Buddhist insights – this is technically an allegory, not a parable.

Conclusion

The Preceptors (the ultra-loyal upper tier of the Order) Presidents and other seniors, will tell you that this document concerns decades old Triratna history – greatly exaggerated.  There are now, or soon will be, ‘Safeguarding Policies’ in place to prevent recurrences – they will say.

Unfortunately, this is far from the truth.  The OMs who were most active in promoting, and practising, ‘Greek Love’ and ‘Fierce Friendship’ are still occupying executive positions in the Order – in many cases.

Subhuti is now President of the London Buddhist Centre: whereas during the period covered in this article he was its chairman, or later Sr’s secretary.  Other culpable senior OMs are now listed as Preceptors or/and Presidents – names withheld to protect the guilty!

Some of these individuals have conditioned younger OMs to adopt their views, on the importance of hierarchy, discipline – whatever you want to call the ideological template for potentially abusive behaviour.  The suppression of information on past unethical behaviour is still going on, and has led to false claims in the media: most notably the BBC Sept 2016 TV film.

According to Munisha, quoted in this 10 min’ TV clip, Sr withdrew from any role in guiding Triratna policies in 2000, and was blind – both statements are untrue!

So, the conditions for a fresh outbreak of ‘Greek Love’ or ‘Fierce Friendship’ are still very much in place: all it needs is for someone influential in the Order to push the right button!  Believe me, it really is that simple: I have seen it happen in the past.  The result would be a substantial rise in the number of Triratna casualties.  There are individuals still struggling with the psychological and emotional consequences, of Sr’s highly questionable interpretation of Buddhist doctrine – even decades later!

Moreover, the much heralded ‘safeguarding procedures’ will be ineffective without some degree of monitoring, or even management, by an external body; perhaps a charity with expertise in abuse issues.  This is a subject under discussion on concerned websites, as I write.

Many people become involved with groups like Triratna/ FWBO at a vulnerable point in their lives: they may have suffered a painful loss, or the end of a long-term relationship.  Initially, Triratna seems like the best thing that has ever happened to them.  They are willingly drawn further into its rigid, multi-tiered hierarchical structure.

Until the advent of the internet, it might have been several years before these followers realised that all was not well, within the inner sanctum of this organisation.  They could sense a dark core of unethical behaviour involving Sr and some of his minions.

Now there is a lot of information available on-line regarding Triratna.  So anyone with concerns can quickly access relevant websites.

That is the value of documents like this: to warn the public of the dangers of involvement; in the light of Triratna’s historical record to date.  This makes it far more likely that aspirants will make a swift exit, easing the transition to an alternative situation.

If you have an interest in Buddhist teaching and meditation, I suggest that you do plenty of research on the internet.  It is not good to rely on Wikipedia: I am told that they depend too much on contributions from the organisations themselves.  You need to dig much deeper.

Use Google search: look for personal testimonies, endorsements and informed analysis of different Buddhist groups.  There are other Buddhist cults at large in Europe and elsewhere, so please be careful.  Check reports on local associations on-line before attending their classes and events.  Good luck!

© Alan J. W.                         June 2017

Robert and Iris Landon’s home

Written Sunday June 18:

Spending the next 3 days at the Van Der Hum Convention in Carrick, Co. Laois. The property is owned by Robert and Iris Landon. They have created a Convention Centre on an active farm. The dining space is another barn and today Sunday they must have served over 500 meals after morning service.

                   Barn used to serve meals.
I was able to talk to Robert who is originally from Glenville, Co Cork. He has cattle and barley. He is a gentle presence everywhere. The organisation by John Connolly a worker from Co. Armagh is superb. Generally the Friends like the Amish they don’t like their photograph taken. The barn where the meetings take place are generally full of barley but are transformed into a meeting space.

You will see from the cars the numbers present.

Caravan Park

The river is where tomorrow there will be a baptism.

Castledermot Baptistery.

It is interesting to note that believers baptism was a feature of Irish Christians before the Normans came. This post gives an insight into this history. So the practice was very much at the heart of the Christian faith in Ireland.

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/early-christianity-in-castledermot-and-moone-and-a-quaker-village-in-ballitore-co-kildare/

The two workers I have been dealing with are John Connolly and Craig Fulton.  Delightful conversations with people from Peru, Atlanta and South Africa. Here in Ireland from Downpatrick, Mullingar, Bannon, Edenderry and one from Summerhill in Dublin. A full report of the Convention will follow.

I had a room which I was informed were originally US Army WWII vintage.

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2017/06/15/no-name-2×2-dialogue-ireland-director-is-going-to-the-van-der-hum-convention-in-co-laois-june-17-20/

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2017/06/15/no-name-2×2-dialogue-ireland-director-is-going-to-the-van-der-hum-convention-in-co-laois-june-17-20/

Having begun a process with Craig Fulton and John Delaney which you can read in the post above, I was kindly invited to go to the Convention and duly arrived last Saturday June 17. For obvious reasons the agenda we will be addressing will likely have to wait till September, but I am waiting to hear from Craig in written form how he sees this proceeding. All I asked for at this time was an acknowledgement of agreement to proceed but too date I have not received this.

It became clear that this is not a public event but rather understood as a private meeting for members only not that it is very clear who members are.
This means that though my role was as a participant observer, this was for some in conflict with the spiritual renewal of participants which was there sole purpose in attending the Convention. So unless there is a named person speaking I will not be quoting from testimonies which can easily be recognised.

As I try to assimilate the experience of the week end I am also having conversations with ex members to bounce my views off them. Naturally they are looking at the event through a negative lens as they have left whereas, I have or did not have such an experience.
I will in later posts address the issue of young people, Theology, history, baptism and the organisation of the Convention. Other ideas will I am sure present themselves and I will return to these in time.
What struck me about the internet was that the Friends had nothing up themselves. This is an advantage on the one hand, but on the other hand, others can make critiques and no one has any idea whether what they are saying is true or false. I could find no pictures of the Conventions other than pictures of Workers at these meetings they hold in places like Geneva. So it will be of interest that I have some of the first photographs of what things look like.

The other thing which will likely change the face of the Truth is that most of the folks there were on line and even though they do not use TV they are very much up to speed. In some ways those fighting to keep people away from TV are wasting their time as in fact most young people watch very little TV and if watching anything will watch it on a lap top, tablet or phone. In fact such a revolution is going on that it is likely it will not be long before the Conventions can be seen on line.
This began to strike me as I talked to young people but on Saturday 17 I had about 407 views which is a normal daily figure. Then on Saturday 18 it went up to 484
which was quite normal. People were obviously, seeing me around and wanted to get a sense of who I was so by Monday it had risen to 724. Tuesday the 20 it was 844, but as of yesterday the longest day of the year it peaked at 1235. Today Thursday 22 it went to 1598. This suggests a desire on behalf of those involved to have a bit of background about the movement they are part of. Who do you think you are,? is a popular TV programme. I am sure who you are as a movement is of great interest to many.

Let us start from the very beginning, then on the other hand let’s start at the end.

After lunch on the last day I decided to give my testimony in the Convention. It had appeared before lunch when I stood up that I was ignored but Craig confirmed I would be welcome to share. First of all I thanked the Landon family for their hospitality and Craig for having invited me.

I realised that most of the Friends there came to the Convention to be ‘apart’ from the world. But I on the other hand came to be ‘a’ part of your world from outside in the world. I made the point that I was a participant/observer, but that I also myself was a believer so could identify with what they all were doing that four days. I told them that on June 6th 1966 with over 20,000 people around me in Earls Court, near Kensington in London I stepped forward to cross over the boundary from death to life as Dr Billy Graham was preaching. I also commended Dalton McGuinness for his sharing earlier where he gave a deep analysis of forgiveness based on his own experience at school. He gave the example of how by taking the risk of to acknowledge wrong to his teacher by admitting he had left a bat under the stairs he opened up a new relationship with his teacher. She had asked who had left it there in breach of regulations. The bat was supposed to be returned to a box where they were stored. It was clear that his insights arose out of deep reflection and focus.
Having worked in a large restaurant called Quaglinos in the West End of London which had major banquets I was amazed at the organisation and the spirit of cooperation evident in distribution of the food and its swift delivery, and clearing away by teams in the spirit of putting on the apron of service. Where I had worked there would have been a lot of expletives and chaos, here it worked like clock work, or with a gentle presence of the Spirit.. There were no rotas no calls for volunteers, all was working and each took his or her place of service. Also you were struck not by the division of the group into adults, elderly and children. All were part of an intimate tapestry of cooperation. The little ones gave out the juice and they were sweet.

More to follow but no more today.

Dutch investigative reporter Dirk Mostert of Brandpunt (KRO-NCRV) investigated sexual abuse by Buddhist teachers, with a specific focus on Sogyal Lakar (aka Sogyal Rinpoche of ’The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying’) and his international organization Rigpa.

It is clear that Sogyal is coming under increasing scrutiny and I was able to have a very fruitful discussion with a Dutch researcher Rob Hogendoorn who is currently researching up to 18 cases of abuse by Buddhist teachers. We will return to look at the Irish situation as we are approaching the Retreat in Beara.

https://www.dzogchenbeara.org/sponsor-unique-features-of-the-temple/

https://buddhism-controversy-blog.com/2017/06/21/abuse-in-the-buddhist-community-this-victim-tells-her-story-for-the-first-time/

Please find the English text here for the video.

Sogyal and Rigpa on Dutch TV (Brandpunt 13-06-2017)

Sacha de Boer
00:00:00.00
And now: abuse within the Buddhist community. A peaceful, cuddly religion. Incense, meditation, monks that are fond of laughing, and, above all, very ‘zen’: that is our idea of Buddhism. But it has a very different side as well, which is hardly ever discussed. A world of abuse of power, sexual abuse, and violence. How is it possible that a religion that is thought to be so peaceful, enables monks and gurus with wrong ideas?

Rob Hogendoorn
00:00:28.17
People assume that any person from Asia wearing yellow ochre robes is respectable. And that is just not true.

Oane Bijlsma
00:00:28.60
He said: “Look! Look!”, as he showed an image of a Tibetan deity with an enormous erection, a fat, veined erection, forcing me to watch.

Rob Hogendoorn
00:00:41.00
This is Sogyal. Sogyal abuses a number of young female members in his entourage.

Olivier Raurich
00:00:51.56
The system is such that the bad Lama can do anything: he can ask money, sex, he can ask anything.

Ron Sinnige
00:00:55.40
Over here, it’s very easy to pose as a teacher. Nobody knows what you did in Tibet or Japan: perhaps you were a butcher on the next corner.

Rob Hogendoorn
00:01:09.60
There’s a lot of dead wood.

Oane Bijlsma
00:01:10.39
Indeed, a gross abuse of power.

Voice-over
00:01:13.28
At thirty, Oane Bijlsma is not quite sure what to do with the rest of her life. A friend suggests that she might join a meditation course.

Oane Bijlsma
00:01:22.04
At first, it did not mean much. But I was looking for something, and the idea of learning more about meditation and practicing meditation appealed to me. I thought the first night was really good.

Voice-over
00:01:42.88
Very quickly, Oane immerses herself completely in the practice of meditation. She starts here, at the Buddhist organization Rigpa in Amsterdam. Because she wants to intensify her meditation practice, she spends time at Lerab Ling, Rigpa’s headquarters in the South of France. There, she meets Rigpa’s great spiritual leader: Sogyal Rinpoche.

Oane Bijlsma
00:02:02.20
He is a Tibetan Lama with a portly build, who has certain mannerisms and a quaint accent, which suggest that he is somehow different.

Dirk Mostert
00:02:21.68
And that is thought of as inspiring?

Oane Bijlsma
00:02:23.40
Yes. At first, you might believe him to be wise because of the one-liners and stock phrases he uses. His stories suggest much of what is thought of in the West as being Buddhist wisdom.

Voice-over
00:02:44.63
In France, Oane is inspired by her spiritual leader. She is not alone. Sogyal has thousands of followers worldwide, some of whom come from the Netherlands. At the end of May, they gather in this venue near Amsterdam. Sogyal is leading the yearly Amsterdam City Retreat.

Dirk Mostert
00:02:55.98
Good morning madam, can I ask you a question?

Passer-by 1
00:02:56.96
That depends.

Dirk Mostert
00:03:01.41
Why are you here?

Passer-by 1
00:03:05.64
Sogyal Rinpoche, the retreat.

Dirk Mostert
00:03:07.91
What does he mean to you?

Passer-by 1
00:03:08.36
Very much. Good advice, and wisdom.

Passer-by 2
00:03:13.96
To me he is a spiritual teacher who is very great help in day to day life.

Passer-by 3
00:03:22.60
He is a very inspiring man.

Passer-by 4
00:03:24.32
It makes me glad and happy, and he has a great part in that.

Dirk Mostert
00:03:28.54
Enjoy yourself, bye.

Voice-over
00:03:28.64
Back to Oane: She enjoys life in Lerab Ling a lot. She starts to volunteer. Moreover, she has a relationship with one of Sogyal’s confidants. This gives her direct access to the spiritual leader, so that she can observe him behind the scenes.

Dirk Mostert
00:03:48.02
How does he behave?

Oane Bijlsma
00:03:48.12
He is a real tyrant. He behaves as if he has a natural right to demand anything, anytime—no matter if it is in the middle of the night, or from the other side of the world. His will alone is the law.

Voice-over
00:04:09.80
Who is this Sogyal Rinpoche? Why does he behave like a tyrant? The answer comes from researcher and publicist Rob Hogendoorn. He is a practicing Buddhist, and he has been researching Buddhism and spiritual leaders for years. Sogyal Rinpoche is one of them.

Rob Hogendoorn
00:04:28.08
Sometimes Sogyal takes some food in his mouth, chews on it, and hands that bite to a follower who is expected to chew on it some more. It has been documented that Sogyal gathers members of his entourage around him while he is taking a crap.

Voice-over
00:04:50.13
Sogyal has been active in Europe since the 1970s. Dozens of lectures are available on the internet.

Sogyal
00:04:55.44
Then the trouble with us, is that we have so many stories. Stories, stories, stories.

Rob Hogendoorn
00:04:56.80
There are two Sogyals. According to Sogyal himself, he is a highly realized Tibetan master, who has been spoonfed on enlightenment, so to speak, which is supposedly why he behaves as enlightened as he does. The Sogyal of the facts on the ground, however, is a son of a family of traders.¹ After his flight from Tibet, this Sogyal was first trained by French friars, and later by English Anglicans. He does not know the Tibetan tradition from the inside out at all.

Voice-over
00:05:40.98
According to Hogendoorn, Sogyal is nothing but a merchant’s son from Tibet who has set himself up as a spiritual leader with a YouTube channel and meditation centers in 40 countries.

Rob Hogendoorn
00:05:45.52
Apparently, some day he found that he could launch himself as a Lama, and he did just that.

Sogyal
00:05:52.64
It is there when you are happy. It is there when you are sad. It is there when you are lonely.

Rob Hogendoorn
00:06:06.86
He is not a monk, but he is wearing a garb that hints at a monk’s robe. This appeals to the perception and appreciation of all things Asian and exotic. Because this film offfers no journalistic perspective, viewers would never surmise that something is wrong.

Voice-over
00:06:23.00
But there is definitely something wrong. Clearly, Sogyal likes to surround himself with attractive young women. They are called ‘dakini’s’ and form an inner circle. Here, they appear during a ceremony in Lerab Ling.

Rob Hogendoorn
00:06:44.11
Sogyal surrounds himself with an entourage of followers and he abuses young women that belong to that entourage.

Oane Bijlsma
00:06:52.56
At the time, several people told me that Sogyal enters into a ‘contract’ with members of the inner circle. Whoever asks him ‘work with me’, allows him to demonstrate unacceptable behaviour towards him or her. From then on, Sogyal has ‘permission’, so to speak, to beat you, have sex with you.

Dirk Mostert
00:07:27.00
Whenever and however he likes?

Oane Bijlsma
00:07:27.10
Exactly.

Rob Hogendoorn
00:07:27.24
Supposedly, his sexual relations with these young women fall within the scope of ‘tantra’. Another excuse would be ‘guru devotion’, a submission to the teacher that is supposed to accept anything he does, without protest. And his behaviour is also legitimized with the notion of ‘crazy wisdom’. This would be a form of wisdom that is beyond the ken of ordinary mortals, looks crazy, and is supposed to assist Sogyals followers on their spiritual path. This then would turn beating a student from being downright crazy into wise.

Voice-over
00:08:06.91
During our investigation, we receive rather risqué photographs from an anonymous source. These photographs, that were never shown in public before, show ‘dakini’s’ in provocative clothing and partly nude. They also show Sogyal in a way that is unfamiliar to most people. We showed the photographs to Oane.

Oane Bijlsma
00:08:29.12
I know both of these girls. They belonged to the inner circle at the time when I met them first in 2011, and still do. To be frank, these photographs confirm the image of Sogyal having a harem and actually living this way.

Voice-over
00:08:55.48
As far as we can see, what is shown in these photographs is not illegal. But according to Oane, all of this is miles way from Buddhism as she understands it.

Oane Bijlsma
00:09:02.52
I have always considered it to be perverse. It does not feel healthy. It does not look healthy. He might as well be a wealthy little business man with a prediliction for certain women and cigars. He is not alone in that, but if that is the case do not call yourself a Buddhist organization.

Voice-over
00:09:24.44
Shortly after the photographs were taken, one of the ‘dakini’s’ accuses Sogyal openly of sexual abuse. She has left Rigpa and tells her story in a Canadese documentary.

Mimi
00:09:32.96
So there was this moment when I was alone in his room with him, and then he said: ‘undress’. And having been for only two months working as an attendant for him, I just considered it to be another test of devotion.

Voice-over
00:09:56.84
Before that, Sogyal had already been discredited. In the 90s, a woman files a complaint for damages caused by sexual harassment. By reaching a settlement , Sogyal does not have to appear in court.

Dirk Mostert
00:10:09.40
Did his organization or Sogyal argue against the charges being made?

Rob Hogendoorn
00:10:11.05
No, and that is typical: Sogyal and his organization do not deny that he does these things, they merely deny that he brings harm to others.

Voice-over
00:10:24.62
Meanwhile, in Lerab Ling, things become clearer to Oane: this is not right. During breakfast, she herself is confronted with the perverse behaviour of her spiritual leader.

Oane Bijlsma
00:10:43.98
At that time, he asked me: ‘Did you have a good fuck?’

Dirk Mostert
00:10:49.32
This is what he asked, this Tibetan Buddhist teacher?

Oane Bijlsma
00:10:50.71
Yes, in front of everybody. He asked this during breakfast in the morning, with everyone present. People giggled and laughed, finding it hilarious, waiting to see how I would respond.

Dirk Mostert
00:11:04.14
Did you find it degrading?

Oane Bijlsma
00:11:04.24
Yes. It is shocking and gripping, to say the least, because it hurts people’s integrity.

Dirk Mostert
00:11:10.48
Yours as well?

Oane Bijlsma
00:11:14.40
Yes, mine as well.

Voice-over
00:11:14.40
By this time, we would like to hear what Sogyal and Rigpa have to say about this. We ask the spiritual leader for an interview. The retreat in Amsterdam seems to be a good occasion to speak with him, and we await his response to our request. Within the Netherlands there are more than 50.000 practicing Buddhists and some 350 persons who call themselves Buddhist teacher. One of them is Ron Sinnige.

Dirk Mostert
00:11:27.38
Where could I check if you are any good?

Ron Sinnige
00:11:46.44
Nowhere. I cannot tell you that.

Dirk Mostert
00:11:53.26
There is no register, for instance?

Ron Sinnige
00:11:53.36
No.

Dirk Mostert
00:12:02.05
Sinnige, who works for the trades union FNV, gives guidance to a small group of Zen Buddhists in Utrecht. He regularly witnesses charlatans and fake-guru’s popping up around him.

Ron Sinnige
00:12:10.60
Over here, it is very easy to pose as a teacher. Nobody knows what you did in Tibet or Japan: perhaps you were a butcher on the next corner. And people will in fact join you. When you say things that seems deep or wise, people will find it wonderful.

Dirk Mostert
00:12:32.12
Before you know it, you have a class of your own?

Ron Sinnige
00:12:32.12
Before you know it you will have a class of your own, yes.

Dirk Mostert
00:12:36.96
While drivelling on a bit?

Ron Sinnige
00:12:36.96
Yes, I do know a few of those.

Dirk Mostert
00:12:38.36
Does this worry you?

Ron Sinnige
00:12:44.52
Well, it is not good PR, of course. In fact, it is very bad. I think people still believe that Buddhism is a fairy tale, an island of uniqueness and quiet, and of immaculacy and purity: these kind of things, these kind of things! It is not like that! We are all human! We are all human! And those who pronounce most loudly that they are a ‘teacher’ or a ‘master’: well, look again. I would look again, if I were you.

Dirk Mostert
00:13:22.38
Those, you would have to mistrust them?

Ron Sinnige
00:13:22.48
I would be careful, to be sure.

Voice-over
00:13:25.62
According to researcher Hogendoorn, many people in the Netherlands have no clue as to what might be expected of a Buddhist teacher—and what not.

Rob Hogendoorn
00:13:32.60
Once, I got a telephone call by a man whose wife had visited a small Buddhist temple in some town. During the first visit, she was asked to undress. She did, upon which the teacher undressed himself and began stroking and touching her, ever more intimately. This man called me, feeling completely insecure, and asked: ‘Is this normal? Does this go with it?’

Dirk Mostert
00:14:10.30
Apparently, he thought it did.

Rob Hogendoorn
00:14:14.20
So, it was left to me to say: ‘What you are telling me is not normal, and it does not go with Buddhism.’

Rob Trip
00:14:19.27
Good night. Abuse cases: usually, this makes us think of the Catholic Church. But now victims of sexual abuse within Buddhist circles step forward. The past months, the NOS spoke to several victims. At least eight Buddhist teachers are said to have been responsible for dozens of sexual abuse cases. This is the first time that victims speak out openly.

Voice-over
00:14:41.56
In 2015, research by Hogendoorn brings to light a large abuse case within the Buddhist community of Waalwijk. It was reported first by the NOS Eight O’Clock News.

Anonymous
00:14:52.00
At some moment, he reaches over and pulls your pants down, telling you: ‘I am doing this for you. Do not think of girls. Try to just feel it.’

Rob Hogendoorn
00:15:04.38
There was publicity in 2015, but at that time the exact nature and scale of the abuse was not brought out fully into the open. One of the reasons I know this, is because after that I have been approached by new sources, new victims, and new bystanders.

Voice-over
00:15:19.64
According to Hogendoorn, he is working on 17 files on Buddhist teachers who are or were active in the Netherlands and went too far, for example in Middelburg.

Rob Hogendoorn
00:15:23.94
This is footage shot by Omroep Zeeland of the community of ‘Lama Kelsang Chöpel’,  who had previously been known as the Austrian Gerhard Mattioli. He used to be a skipper writing books on pleasure cruising.

Dirk Mostert
00:15:48.04
And he abused people?

Rob Hogendoorn
00:15:48.40
Yes. He has abused several women in his community. The wounds are very deep. It has cost people their marriage. It has cost children the marriage of their parents.

Dirk Mostert
00:16:06.33
Did the police or judicature intervene?

Rob Hogendoorn
00:16:06.39
Some of the victims in Middelburg have talked to the police, but so far they did not report a crime.

Dirk Mostert
00:16:09.08
Why did they not do that?

Rob Hogendoorn
00:16:13.20
They were very afraid of this Lama. He had them believe that he was capable of performing ‘black magic’, so that he could harm them from a distance with certain ailments, etcetera.

Dirk Mostert
00:16:28.48
Did they really believe that he could?

Rob Hogendoorn
00:16:28.48
Some did. I have spoken to people who still believe that this man posesses such powers, even though they have known for some time now that he was a charlatan.

Voice-over
00:16:39.76
After he was accused, Mattioly flees the Netherlands. Reportedly, he is working in Germany now. Shortly after the first incident, Oane, once again, is confronted with Sogyal’s unacceptable behaviour. She was working in Sogyal’s appartment at the time.

Oane Bijlsma
00:16:52.68
He grabbed my head from behind, and pushed me towards an image he held in his hand, saying: ‘Look! Look!’. It was a drawing of a deity with a very huge, fat, veined, larger than life erection in his hands. And I thought: ‘OK?’

Voice-over
00:16:54.33
Right before the retreat, Rigpa let us know that there would be no interview with Sogyal. Supposedly, he did not have the time. In an attempt to get some response, we visit the retreat.

Dirk Mostert
00:16:56.52
We cannot film here?

Daan Meerburg
00:17:39.12
This is a private retreat. You have not been invited and you have to leave.

Dirk Mostert
00:17:44.68
And you are not willing to answer my questions?

Daan Meerburg
00:17:45.20
We are busy doing other things. We are busy with a retreat, not with a television programme. So, once again, I request you to leave.

Dirk Mostert
00:17:54.38
And if I remain here?

Daan Meerburg
00:17:56.64
Than I will in fact have you removed.

Voice-over
00:18:09.48
Rigpa and Sogyal refuse to answer direct questions about the abuse. We get in touch with Olivier Raurich, former director of Rigpa France. He tell us that this has been a deliberate strategy for years.

Olivier Raurich
00:18:10.04
Rigpa paid quite a lot of money to train some of the main people, including myself, because I was really one of his main spokesmen in France, to learn how to answer questions like: ‘Your guru is accused of sexual abuse, what is your answer?’ So, I began to be trained in that. They told me not to answer at all, and instead to say things like ‘The Dalai Lama is supporting Sogyal Rinpoche one hundred pecent’, and repeat that, only that, without answering ‘yes’ or ‘no’. And at that time, I began to understand that there really was something fishy about this, so I decided to quit.

Voice-over
00:19:03.52
Raurich leaves, as does Oane. By that time, she has spent almost a year within Rigpa. She visits Rigpa’s headquarters in Amsterdam to talk about the abuse.

Oane Bijlsma
00:19:12.36
I got no answers.

Dirk Mostert
00:19:14.54
Answers that go to the question why and how?

Oane Bijlsma
00:19:14.64
I got answers like: ‘This is beyond your ken. It is tantra. People ask for it. They want to be worked with,’ these types of answers. Like: ‘Nobody is unhappy. Nobody considers this abuse.’

Voice-over
00:19:31.92
In the end, Rigpa sends us a statement. The organization writes that any form of abuse is thought to be ‘unacceptable’, and that complaints are taken ‘seriously’. Supposedly, Oane had every opportunity to share her story. Rigpa writes: ‘We are not familiar with the facts that Oane reported, so we can not respond to them.’ The full statement is on our website. In 2015, Oane also reports to the complaints office for sexual abuse in Buddhist circles, which had just been founded.

Oane Bijlsma
00:19:58.76
I reported to the complaints office.

Dirk Mostert
00:20:05.00
What did that get you?

Oane Bijlsma
00:20:05.74
So far, it got me nothing, because they do nothing beyond registring stories.

Dirk Mostert
00:20:11.40
What use does that have to us?

Oane Bijlsma
00:20:14.80
No use at all: that is why I share my story with you.

Voice-over
00:20:17.96
Last Saturday: Oane meets former Rigpa members who have turned their back on the organization because of the continuing reports on sexual abuse.

Eremita Zekaite
00:20:29.96
Hey hello, I’m Eremita!

Oane Bijlsma
00:20:32.08
I did not know it was you!

Odette Groenheide
00:20:38.00
A teacher having sex with someone who is his student, is unacceptable to me. It involves so much power. You cannot say: ‘Well, it is up to them. It is their own responsibility.’

Voice-over
00:20:53.32
What do these two ex-members make of the photographs?

Eremita Zekaite
00:20:53.78
Are these connected to Sogyal?

Odette Groenheide
00:20:59.12
These were probably taken during one of his yearly visits to Australia. Apparently, anything goes while he is there. This is not normal.

Eremita Zekaite
00:21:08.60
This is horrible. It is very confronting that this is possible.

Odette Groenheide
00:21:09.03
This blond woman looks very unhappy.

Eremita Zekaite
00:21:23.95
Rigpa must stop! Such a club should not exist. But they are very powerful.

Rob Hogendoorn
00:21:30.76
In the West, Buddhist teachers are often soloists, with no oversight. There is no central organization or hierarchy. When a Catholic priest abuses a child or an adult parishioner, everyone knows that that is not right. Within Buddhism, powerful voices say about sexual relations between teacher and student : ‘That depends.’

Oane Bijlsma
00:21:53.87
This is the mysterious, unique and wise Buddhism from Shangri-la, which is so very beautiful. The idea that there is no abuse of power or sexual abuse because it is Buddhism, is naive.

Rob Hogendoorn
00:22:17.91
I support the unambiguous standard: sexual relations between teacher and student are taboo, full stop.

¹ To clarify and be precise: Sogyal is a member of the Lakartsang, or Lakar family. Lakartsang was a family of traders in the Rongpatsa valley in Kham. Sogyal still carries their name. His personal name is a contraction of Sonam Gyaltsen.

From around 1932 until 1954 the family lived in territory controlled by the Kuo Mintang and the People’s Liberation Army of the Chinese communistst, some 200 kms. away from the Tibetan border.

Witness her family history, Sogyal’s mother takes great pride in her family’s business acumen. Before Sogyal launched himself as a ‘Lama’ and ‘Rinpoche’, he went by the name Sogyal Lakar, which, like his brother Thigyal Lakar, he took from his mother.

Sogyal himself has a son: Yeshe Gyaltsen, who’s mother is Marianne Jurgaitis.

Many contemporaries who knew Sogyal in Tibet simply referred to him as Sogyal Lakar. According to the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, Sogyal still used that name in 2011, when he was last registered as a board member of the International Campaign for Tibet in Amsterdam.

So, my reference to him being a son of a family of traders is factual. The remark about him being ‘a merchant’s son’ wasn’t mine, but does allow for the fact that female members of a Tibetan traders family can be reckoned to be merchants too.

Sogyal’s mother, Tsering Wangmo, is the sister of Khandro Tsering Chödron, who, by complete surprise, wed Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lödro when she was around eighteen years old, to ‘prolong his life’. He was around 56 years old at the time.

Sogyal’s biological father’s name is Jamga. Besides this name, little else is known about him. Tsering Wangmo later (re)married with Tsewang Paljor, secretary of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lödro.

Matrimonial alliances such as these were very common at the time. Since time immemorial, Tibetan clans in Kham sought to be associated with royal or aristocratic lineages, with incarnation lines or monastic sects, and other wealthy or powerful families.

Such relationships served as a means of political and religious legitimation, evoking the desired historical associations and bestowing prestige.

– Rob Hogendoorn, June 25, 2017

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2017/06/26/sogyal-rinpoche-do-you-think-the-irish-are-suckers-for-sex/

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/buddhist/tibetan-buddhism-lamaism/

The summer retreat is our main event of the year, a unique opportunity to receive teachings from Sogyal Rinpoche in the extraordinary environment of Dzogchen Beara. Everyone is welcome!

The retreat will include teachings from Sogyal Rinpoche, presentations of his best recent teachings by his senior students as well as guided meditations and contemplations.

Sogyal Rinpoche is a world-renowned Buddhist teacher from Tibet and author of the ‘The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying’, of which over three million copies have been printed, in 34 languages. He is also the spiritual director of Dzogchen Beara.

With his remarkable gift for presenting the essence of Buddhism in a way that is both authentic and profoundly relevant to the modern mind, Sogyal Rinpoche is one of the most acclaimed teachers of our time.

The atmosphere Rinpoche creates is one of incredible warmth, love, and penetrating insight, as if he were speaking directly to the heart of each and everyone present.

He is often called an incredible communicator, and people around the world remark on the power his teachings have to reveal a glimpse of the innermost nature of mind and bring lasting transformation and confidence in how to face the challenges of daily life.

Note the feudal thrones elevated above the people. This is what Hegel called Lamaism which is unreformed Tantric Hinduism. This includes hell realms and for women consort sex. It is not that some women get abused it has sex at its heart. Let us give you some idea about how this works as you know a photograph tells a lot of tales.

Now I would like you to look at this photograph. Note the fact that they are holding hands. That suggests common purpose. Who is to the right? It is none other than the leader of the Aum Group from Japan who tried to take over the Japanese state with Sarin gas attacks. Please start engaging your mind and stop the mindfulness which takes out the critical mind. We have much mindlessness in the transformation of our western mind. 

Dialogue Ireland attempted to resolve this conflict over Carrig Eden a few weeks ago by mediation. We are happy to see that the Minister Simon Harris has managed to bring this to a conclusion and that both bodies seem to be happy with the outcome.

Simon Harris TD

Very pleased to have received confirmation that the Department of Housing and Wicklow County Council’s offer to buy Carraig Eden has been accepted. Tiglin residents living in the house will no longer face eviction and the service can continue to grow and develop. Well done to everyone who has worked so hard on this.

PRESS RELEASE

The IAOG, owners of Carraig Eden in Greystones, Co Wicklow have been in ongoing communication with Wicklow County Council, Minister Simon Harris and Stephen Donnelly TD regarding the sale of Carraig Eden, in order to assist the work of Tiglin. The board of IAOG and many of those involved in Christian Churches Ireland have consistently supported the work of Tiglin by providing volunteer support, significant financial donations and other resources, and one of IAOG’s directors is a founding director of Tiglin.

Our discussions and negotiations with Wicklow County Council, Minister Simon Harris’s office and Stephen Donnelly TD have been cordial and respectful and much appreciated by all involved. The positive impact on the community of both IAOG and Tiglin, though different, has been acknowledged by all concerned in these discussions.

To date, IAOG have purposely not entered the public media or social media arenas regarding the sale of Carraig Eden out of respect for all concerned, not least those who are most vulnerable in this situation.

It has always been the desire of IAOG to sell Carraig Eden to an organisation with an ethos similar to our own, while at the same time achieving a fair price to resource our own work, which serves thousands of people across Ireland, many of whom have been affected by addiction as well as other life challenges. This work is being carried on, in many cases, in buildings that are far too small to meet the needs of the expanding services that are being provided to these communities. To sell Carraig Eden below its market value would be a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

We are delighted to report that IAOG have agreed the sale of Carraig Eden to Wicklow County Council at the lower end of its market value, in order to support the deserving work of  Wicklow County Council and Tiglin at Carraig Eden.

Thank You to all those who prayed for and supported us as we were engaged in private negotiations. It means a lot to us.

The Board of Irish Assemblies of God Ltd

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/christian/palmarian-church/

http://www.rte.ie/tv/programmes/livelinecallback.html

Dr Magnus Lund is a world expert on the Palmarians and you can read his free new book on the Church here.

https://magnuslundbergblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/palmar-final11.pdf

Please please read the pdf’s here courtesy of The SBP.

16bn2017-07-16

17bn2017-07-16 (1)

The Sunday Business Post cover the JW Convention at City West. Report by Barry Whyte. He shows how there is deeply dangerous policy of the denial the rights to obtain blood transfusions. Millions of people have been affected for over 50 years. Also the hideous splitting of families by the non biblical policy of disfellowshipping. Then a kangaroo court and no due process in their internal courts.

The Sunday Business Post
Page 16 and 17

Special Report July 16, 2017

For him, the
end times are
not to be feared,
but welcomed.
‘Jehovah’s
Witnesses are
not afraid,’ he
says. ‘In fact, it
excites us

Stephen Taylor is the overseer for circuit three of Ireland’s five Jehovah’s Witnesses circuits. This year, he is also the chairman of the organisation’s annual convention.
Last Friday morning, he was standing in front of a crowd of 6,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses –
that is to say, virtually every single one of them in Ireland – giving a lecture on endurance. Indeed, endurance is the very theme of this year’s conference; and not without very good reason, as Taylor points out, in an increasingly turbulent modern world, torn by war and famine and terrorism. But for Jehovah’s Witnesses, such horrors are in fact a good sign – a sign that the world has entered the end times and that God is about to intervene to save the faithful. Taylor directs the congregation to a chapter
from the Bible (to be specific, Hebrews, chapter 10, verses 36 to 39) which illustrates his point. “For you need endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the fulfilment of the promise,” he recited. “For yet a very little while and the one who is coming will arrive and will not delay.” To bolster his point, Taylor introduces a video from Anthony Morriss III, one of the global governing council of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in New York – effectively one of the religion’s highest cardinals.
On the video, Morriss applauds his fellow Witnesses for their hard work throughout the
year, not least in helping to build a new, plush headquarters on more than 100 acres of land in upstate New York. “However, other things that have taken place in the last year haven’t been so positive,” he warns in the video. “We know you have been watching, that there have been natural disasters, disease epidemics, political unrest, murderous attacks, and terrorist strikes in one place after another. “Perhaps you have personally experienced ill health, economic challenges, the loss of a loved one in a death, or opposition to the stand you are taking as a true Christian. “Drawing close to our heavenly Father will aid us in the stability and the strength to overcome the most daunting  obstacle, and strengthening our loyalty to Jehovah now is essential to remain loyal during future tests, including the upcoming great tribulation.” The crowd applauds loudly, if politely.
✽ ✽ ✽
Despite their small numbers – just over 6,000 members in Ireland, and eight
million worldwide – everyone knows a little bit about Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Most people are aware that they travel door to door to talk about God, or that they exude a slightly unworldly and pious air, or that they eschew smoking and voting and refuse blood transfusions. But all that only scratches the surface of an organisation that has grown swiftly in size in the last 30 years. What few people know is that Jehovah’s
Witnesses are an insular, self-contained community that can often be ruthless in rooting out members who fail to live up to its standards. Most Irish people are entirely unaware of the – especially their keen desire for the arrival of the end times. Mark and Ros Scully live in Kimmage in Dublin. They were raised by Jehovah’s Witness parents and made the decision to become baptised to the faith when they read the Bible themselves and began to understand the gravity of the prophecies contained within. For both Mark and Ros, those prophecies – particularly the crucial one that God is readying himself to intervene to rescue the faithful – are a source of hope in difficult times. “We’re waiting for God to act on behalf of the whole human race that is suffering so much with problems that we can’t solve for ourselves,” Ros told The Sunday Business Post. “That’s the whole point of this convention: to keep going, we’re nearly there.” That’s part of the reason why they don’t vote in earthly elections, Mark said. There’s hardly any point. “For someone to vote, they have a conviction that this candidate or that candidate is going to be the best option to solve whatever they see as the big issues,” he said. “Respectfully, we contend that however well-meaning any politician is, they don’t have the answers.” “We’re just looking to give our support to God’s kingdom,” Ros added. These views reflect the wider core tenets of the Jehovah’s Witness faith. Mark O’Grady lives in Galway and was raised
in a Jehovah’s Witness family. For him, the end times are not to be feared, but to be embraced and welcomed. While others may look at Donald Trump’s US presidency, the instability caused by Brexit, the regular eruptions of terrorism and violence, and the warnings about climate change chaos as looming disasters, he sees them differently.
“The difference is that Jehovah’s Witnesses are not afraid. In fact, it excites us,” he says.
“This convention has shown us how we can endure these times. “We might still get a shock when we read them in the news and are upset by it, but at the same time it’s only a sign of good things to come very soon [when Jehovah intervenes].” Rebekah Ogrin lives in Galway, and has taken the decision to work part time in order to dedicate more of her life to spreading her faith. She works three days a week and then goes door to door on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays and sometimes Sundays to speak to people about Jehovah.
“You can see that people are becoming more closed off because of the increase in violence in the world. People are afraid,” she says.
“But I do think in general when you look across every span of what’s happening in the
world, it gives you a moment of pause to think: things are not okay. “I do believe God has a set time already to act. For God, nothing is impossible.”
✽ ✽ ✽
The Jehovah’s Witnesses have a long history in Ireland, stretching back to their founder, Charles Taze Russell. But it is by no means a pleasant one. Russell was born in Alleghany in upstate New York in 1852. A student of scripture from a very early age and, he founded the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania in 1881. The purpose of the organisation was to publish religious tracts and treatises, which would then be distributed by what were known as colporteurs – effectively door-to-door salesmen of Bibles and religious texts. That organisation would, after a number of splits and schisms, become the Jehovah’s Witnesses. But long before that, Russell had visited Ireland and planted the first seeds. Having arrived in 1891 while on a trip from the US to Cork,
he disembarked in Cobh and worked his way northward to Dublin and Belfast, setting up a number of local congregations as he travelled. The method of propagation was the same in Ireland as it was in the US: small groups of Bible scholars would distribute the religious pamphlets to the doors of other churches. But while the method was the same, the ground was substantially less fertile. Catholic Ireland was a land more used to religion being fed to the faithful, rather than the Protestant evangelical tradition of debating the meaning of particular chapters or passages of the Bible. As a consequence, it took a while for the Jehovah’s Witnesses to get a foothold in Ireland. Though the organisation was growing in scale and membership in the US – going from a company that spread religious texts to a full blown religion with a very strict moral code – it was having difficulty dealing with the dominant religious organisation in Ireland at the time.

Dr David Butler of University College Cork, who chronicled the growth of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Ireland in the early 20th century in a paper called A Most Difficult Assignment: Mapping the Emergence of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Ireland, told The Sunday Business Post that in those early days their members were frequently subject to attack and vilification, and their papers stolen from them and often burned. Indeed, in their 1937 yearbook, the Jehovah’s Witnesses described Ireland as “the darkest place in the British Isles” in which “priests follow the pioneers from place to place, find where literature has been left and immediately cause its destruction”. This was no mere
hearsay. It refers to a real incident in 1931 in which, as Butler describes it, “literature was stolen in an armed ambush, soaked with petrol and set alight, while local police, clergy and children stood around the bonfire singing Faith of our Fathers”.
The attacks on the fledgling religion continued through the first half of the 20th century –
many members “were portrayed as communist foreigners, and there were several instances of mob violence leading to actual injury”, Butler writes in his paper. By 1950, there were still only a handful of Jehovah’s Witness congregations in Ireland: two in Cork and one each in Dublin, Limerick and Waterford. In May 1956, two members were attacked in Doonass, Co Clare, which led to a district court case in Limerick at which the Reverend Patrick Ryan and nine of his parishioners were charged with maliciously damaging £3 worth of books, Bibles and other literature, as well as assaulting the two members. All of the charges were dismissed, which may or may not have had something to do with the dramatic entry of the bishop of Killaloe, the Most Reverend Dr Joseph Rodgers.
The judge presiding declared that the two Jehovah’s Witnesses had been “guilty of
blasphemy”, and that they had “come into this village [of Clonlara] and attack and outrage all that these simple Irishmen hold dear. I think the two men were lucky to escape so lightly.” Bishop Rodgers was so outraged by the whole affair that he wrote to the then taoiseach, John A Costello, expressing his anger that the attorney general could have proceeded with the case, given the “pernicious and blasphemous literature distributed and sold in my diocese”. Costello, the record shows, was not unmindful
of “the just indignation aroused among the clergy and the people by the activities of the
Jehovah’s Witnesses”, but insisted that the law had to be upheld.
Things really began to change for the Jehovah’s Witnesses of Ireland in 1965, when
Dublin played host to the organisation’s International Convention. It brought 3,500 members to the country at a time when the Witnesses had just 268 members in Ireland and 474 in the North. Soon afterwards, a national branch office was opened in Dublin. In 1982, membership numbers surpassed 2,000 for the first time. By 1989, that number had passed 3,000. By the end of 2011, according to Butler’s account, there were more than 6,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in Ireland.

✽ ✽ ✽

Today, Ireland’s Jehovah’s Witnesses are a very closely disciplined congregation. Even Butler, who is generally benign in his assessment of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, describes them as “a carefully-run organisation, tightly controlled in all its aspects by central headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, and run with all the efficiency of a modern international business-house”. Many of its sternest critics come from the ranks of its former members, a lot of whom were expelled from the religion – a process known as disfellowshipping – after they were deemed to have violated the strict moral code.
Brian O’Donnell is one of those disfellowshipped ex-Jehovah’s Witness. O’Donnell had been a high-ranking member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Ireland and had gone to the organisation’s missionary training centre in England, where “I got a cert that said
I was an ordained minister because I’m a direct representative of the Watchtower, as opposed to an associate member”. He continued: “What would happen was, you’d have missionary status and if there was a congregation in need of advice, someone like
myself – someone who’d be highly trained – would be sent to sort it out.” O’Donnell was also a school overseer. Despite all of this, in 2008 he was expelled from the organisation.
As he described it, he was accused of speaking ill of the organisation and was disfellowshipped in absentia. That, however, was not the end of the matter, he said.
“Being excommunicated means the rest of the church members are encouraged not to
speak to me,” he said; to shun him, effectively. “It sounds harmless, but the rest of the congregation would be instructed not to have any contact with the person, not even to say hello
on the street. In a family context, it could break families up.” While his expulsion clearly still rankles with him, he pointed out that this practice of shunning has had much more severe impacts on other disfellowshipped members. “It would be isolating. I was in it 17 years, and what could happen was that you lost all your friends. I used to do teaching in the congregation, and suddenly that’s gone. If you were the sensitive type, you’d take offence. I’ve probably got thick skin, so I moved on. “They are a very controlling organisation, and they’re going to believe I’m attacking them. But this is just my testimony, and I don’t bear any ill will against the Jehovah’s Witnesses organisation. I’m just stating the facts of what happened to me. I’m not out on any vendetta. I’m getting on with my own life.” O’Donnell is not the only one who has had to get on with their own life after expulsion from the religion. The internet is full of websites on which former members point out the things they feel they couldn’t mention while they were members, and Facebook has dozens of closed groups of disfellowshipped ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses who compare notes on their excommunication and discuss the difficulties it has caused them. One Irish woman, who did not wish to be named or identified for fear it would further damage her frayed relationship with family members, described how both she and her husband were disfellowshipped after their marriage ended. She is now living with another man, and he with another woman, but she finds the loneliness difficult to bear. “I never thought I would ever leave the Jehovah’s Witnesses,” she says. “My beloved daughter and mother and all my friends and extended family shun me, and are advised to not even have contact via social media or texts. I am blocked from even seeing a picture of my daughter online.”

Mike Garde is the founder of Dialogue Ireland, an organisation that gathers information on new religious movements.

He described the Witnesses as “a domineering organisation” and compares it to North Korea, but he believes that the biggest issue
for the Jehovah’s Witnesses is the one that perhaps people know best: their rejection of blood transfusions.
“I would say the main issue from my point
of view is that it’s not about their beliefs – the
belief that Jesus is in a frozen state in heaven,
or the belief that only 144,000 people are
going to the heavenly stage and the rest are
drones on earth, that’s not the main point,”
he said.

“The main point is the breach of human  rights in regard to blood transfusion, and the deaths of children who have been victims of that doctrine.”

Even a cursory glance at records here in Ireland shows that, on several occasions, the courts have had to intervene to save the lives of both adults and children of the Jehovah’s
Witness faith who have found themselves in medical distress and needed blood transfusions to save their lives.

Garde pointed out that while there have been no fatalities yet in Ireland, there have been plenty elsewhere – directly attributable to this article of faith. ”A lot of people make the point that Jehovah’s Witnesses are lovely people and nice citizens – but that’s true of everyone. If you hold principles like that, it can have a terrible effect on families,” he says.

 
David Dunlea, a spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Ireland, politely disputed the idea that the refusal of blood transfusions was an abuse, or that disfellowshipping was a one way expulsion. On blood transfusions, he pointed out that while adult Witnesses are entitled to decline any medical treatment they see fit, the matter became more complex and emotional when it came to children. “The reality is that parents don’t have the
ultimate decision-making authority for their children,” he said, which can precipitate the
involvement of the courts. “But I think, sometimes, in these cases it can get cold and clinical, because what you lose sight of is that you have traumatised parents of a sick child who are trying to do their best. “They love their children, but they’re committed
to a particular way of life, and for them to have a blood transfusion can feel like an
assault on them. What we always would do in that situation, and in my experience with
the courts and the legal system, is just ask, if they were going to overturn our wishes, to
please bear in mind what that means for us, and how traumatic it’s going to be, and only
do it as a very last resort.” As for disfellowshipping, Dunlea conceded that it happened occasionally, usually when “someone chooses to follow a course that’s contrary to the core teaching and requirements” of the organisation. “We take those requirements seriously.” He pointed out that disfellowshipping wasn’t nice for anyone involved, but insisted it was never a decision taken lightly. He explained the reasons by way of an analogy. “In a previous job, I used to distribute defibrillators, and when someone is going into cardiac arrest, one of the things that the machine says is: ‘Stand clear, don’t touch the patient.’ The reason is that if you’re in touch with the patient when the shock is delivered, it could minimise the value of the shock to them, but also hurt you.
“And the only thing I could say about it is, for one thing, you only ever know one side
of the story. One person’s experience is ‘I was shunned and controlled’, but it’s only ever one side you hear. “There’s no doubt it’s difficult for everyone involved, but we stick to the Scriptures and we feel that if we do that, we can’t go far wrong.”

✽ ✽ ✽
But on Friday – the first day of the convention – none of those controversies is anywhere in evidence. Indeed, the only issue being debated is how to endure these difficult times until God’s return. It is a question that has dogged the religion in the past, especially when predictions about the end times have been made and not come to pass.
For Karl O’Grady, who is also working at translating the organisation’s Bible teachings
into the Irish language, the issue of when is a red herring: what matters is that the signs are all around us that God’s return is imminent. “In the Bible, it doesn’t give an exact time,” O’Grady said. “Jesus was asked by his disciples when it’s going to be, and he didn’t give an exact time, but he did say what would happen – the signs to look out for.
“The exact date, I wish I knew. I’ll tell you as soon as I find out.” Dunlea’s view is similar. Indeed, so convinced is he of God’s impending return that, for him, even the growth of the organisation is a secondary concern. “I don’t doubt that the numbers will continue
to grow,” he says. “I think we have something special, a way of life that is meaningful and
which will continue to resonate with people.” “But the big concentration is on when God’s day does come. I don’t know when it’s coming – but the sooner the better

L R H could not resist talking to everyone when he came to Dub.in. QA person I met about 10 years ago told me his mother run a B&B in Ballsbridge and after awhile the Special Branch sent him packing from Ireland circa 1956?

A lot of people are not aware of the fact that Tom Cruise is number two in the PR external affairs role.

Here is the famous statement issued by the Dalai Lama in 1993.

Here we were told to contact the media to let them know we were dealing with an abusive Lama. This is the introduction to a claim of serious criminal behaviour

If one presents the teachings clearly, others benefit. But if someone is supposed to propagate the Dharma and their behaviour is harmful, it is our responsibility to criticize this with a good motivation. This is constructive criticism, and you do not need to feel uncomfortable doing it. In “The Twenty Verses on the Bodhisattvas’ Vows,” it says that there is no fault in whatever action you engage in with pure motivation. Buddhist teachers who abuse sex, power, money, alcohol, or drugs, and who, when faced with legitimate complaints from their own students, do not correct their behaviour, should be criticized openly and by name. This may embarrass them and cause them to regret and stop their abusive behaviour. Exposing the negative allows space for the positive side to increase. When publicizing such misconduct, it should be made clear that such teachers have disregarded the Buddha’s advice. However, when making public the ethical misconduct of a Buddhist teacher, it is only fair to mention their good qualities as well.

The Dalai Lama has known for 40 years that he has a very special serial abuser, psychopath, brainwasher and clear user of women under the guise of crazy wisdom, but in reality it was crude sexual desire and personal gratification. He has also been aware that Sogyal is a violent person using every opportunity to feed his sexual needs and violent streak. This behaviour is not an issue for Buddhists it must be reported to the civil authorities as it criminal activity. To produce the document above has enabled this violence to continue unabated for 40 years. You don’t send a person like this on retreat you call the police and get the victims to give victim statements and let the police pursue this. You must know that as early as 1997 I was made aware at a Conference at the LSE in London that he had a lovely little plan where he abused women outside their own country to lessen the police action.

“However, when making public the ethical misconduct of a Buddhist teacher, it is only fair to mention their good qualities as well.”

It is only good when addressing the rapist and making criminal charges to see his good qualities? When a violent out of control person is fingered it is important to see his good points. Do you not see what this results in?

I would like you to look at the video below and see how the DL deals with his sexual abuser colleague? The problem is not just a rotten apple it is the barrel of Tibetan Buddhism itself which is the problem. It is in fact unreformed Tantric Consort Sexual Hinduism what Hegel called Lamaism, and in reality has nothing to do with Buddhism. We have addressed this on our blog.

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/httpdialogueireland-wordpress-comthe-visit-of-his-holiness-the-dalai-lama-to-lerab-ling-2008/

In reality what is now happening is that the Lamaists are trying to dump Sogyal to divert attention away from the serious issues at hand. Lamaism is the problem and Sogyal is a side show. Admittedly a big side show but side show none the less. As you can see the Dalai Lama has his consorts and also he was in league with the founder of the Aum Cult in Japan. Yes the one that put Sarin gas into the subway system. Note them holding hands.

So in conclusion this is not about an individual Lama but about a total system. There will be an attempt to make him the scapegoat now. However, the Dalai Lama is an accessory to these crimes. How do I know? I have been writing outlining these issues to his office in London without a reply for over 10 years. Also many genuine Buddhist scholars who I count as friends have written briefing documents but wanted to make an exception to these crimes for TB and the DL. Sorry he is up to his eyes in this.

It is our view that most of the efforts are there to deflect from the DL and TB and the meister is Tenpel.

Here is our assessment of what Tenpel is up to.
https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/tenzin-peljor-disgruntled-monk-or-cta-puppet/

Here you will find my comprehensive research and I believe it is pretty conclusive.
https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/tenzin-peljor-ordained-by-the-dalai-lama-and-connected-to-ringu-tulku/

In general we have three categories which expand on the Lamaism and Consort sex narrative.
https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/buddhist/rigpa/
https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/buddhist/
https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/buddhist/tibetan-buddhism-lamaism/

This expert analysis was given by our Buddhist expert.

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/briefing-document-on-sogyal-rinpoche/

We then had the views of Joanne Clark.

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2013/01/11/open-letter-to-sogyal-rinpoche-from-joanne-clark/

She and others when the Lamaism thesis was clearly shown here went literally nuts on line. She just could not see how her DL could be part of the problem.

Here is the Word document

Statement on Sogyal

What we got in our original post was only a small section of this letter.

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2017/07/21/letter-from-sogyals-current-and-ex-members-and-rigpas-reply-can-the-dalai-lama-claim-immunity/

Full statement exposing Sogyal by present and former members.

July 14, 2017

Sogyal Lakar,

http://openboeddhisme.nl/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Letter-to-Sogyal-Lakar-14-06-2017-.pdf

The Rigpa Sangha is in crisis. Long – simmering issues with your behaviour can no longer be ignored or denied.

As long time committed and devoted students we feel compelled to share our

deep concern regarding your violent and abusive behaviour. Your actions have hurt us

individually, harmed our fellow sisters and brothers within Rigpa the organization, and by extension Buddhism in the West.

We write to you following the advice of the Dalai Lama, in which he has said that students of Tibetan Buddhist lamas are obliged to communicate their concerns about their teacher:

If one presents the teachings clearly, others benefit. But if someone is supposed to propagate the Dharma and their behaviour is harmful, it is our responsibility to criticize this with a good motivation. This is constructive criticism, and you do not need to feel uncomfortable doing it. In “The Twenty Verses on the Bodhisattvas’ Vows,” it says that there is no fault in whatever action you engage in with pure motivation. Buddhist teachers who abuse sex, power, money, alcohol, or drugs, and who, when faced with legitimate complaints from their own students, do not correct their behaviour, should be criticized openly and by name. This may embarrass them and cause them to regret and stop their abusive behaviour. Exposing the negative allows space for the positive side to increase. When publicizing such misconduct, it should be made clear that such teachers have disregarded the Buddha’s advice. However, when making public the ethical misconduct of a Buddhist teacher, it is only fair to mention their good qualities as well.

The Dalai Lama, Dharamsala, India March 1993

This letter is our request to you to stop your unethical and immoral behaviour. Your public face is one of wisdom, kindness, humour, warmth and compassion, but your private behaviour, the way you conduct yourself behind the scenes, is deeply disturbing and unsettling. A number of us have raised with you privately, our concerns about your behaviour in recent years, but you have not changed.

Those of us who write to you today have firsthand experience of your abusive behaviours, as well as the massive efforts not to allow others to know about them. Our concerns are deepened with the organizational culture you have created around you that maintains absolute secrecy of your actions, which is in sharp contrast with your stated directive of openness and transparency within the Sangha. Our wish is to break this veil of secrecy, deception, and deceit. We can no longer remain silent.

Our deep and heartfelt hope is that this collective note might yield a more tangible result than any of our individual discussions with you have. We hope that long lasting and sincere changes may come about rather than shortlived pledges.

Our primary concerns are:

1. Your physical, emotional and psychological abuse of students.
2. Your sexual abuse of students.
3. Your lavish, gluttonous, and sybaritic lifestyle.
4. Your actions have tainted our appreciation for the practice of the Dharma.

1. Physical, emotional and psychological abuse.

We have received directly from you, and witnessed others receiving, many different forms of physical abuse. You have punched and kicked us, pulled hair, torn ears, as well as hit us and others with various objects such as your back scratcher, wooden hangers, phones, cups, and any other objects that happened to be close at hand. We trusted for many years that this physical and emotional treatment of students –what you assert to be your “skilful means” of “wrathful compassion” in the tradition of “crazy wisdom” – was done with our best interest at heart in order to free us from our “habitual patterns”. We no longer believe this to be so. We feel that we and

others have been harmed because your actions were not compassionate; rather they demonstrated your lack of discipline and your own frustration. Your physical abuse

– which constitutes a crime under the laws of the lands where you have done these acts – have left monks, nuns, and lay students of yours with bloody injuries and permanent scars. This is not second hand information; we have experienced and witnessed your behaviour for years. Why did you inflict violence upon us and our fellow Dharma brothers and sisters? Why did you punch, slap, kick, and pull our hair? Your food was not hot enough; you were awakened from your nap a half hour late; the phone list was missing a name or the font was the wrong size; the internet connection was slow; the television movie guide was confusing; technology failed to

work; your  assistant wasn’t attentive enough; (1)  we failed to “tune into your mind” and predict what you wanted; or you were moody because you were upset with one of your girlfriends. There are hundreds of examples of trivial incidents that have set you off and your response has been to strike us violently. Your emotional and psychological abuse has been perhaps more damaging than the physical scars you have left on us. When we have worked for you while organizing and setting up the

infrastructure for you to teach at different places around the world (Europe, North America, Australia, and India and Nepal), your shaming and threatening have led some of your closest students and attendants to emotional breakdowns. You have always told us to be appreciative of the personal attention that you give, that you were “pointing out our hidden faults” in our character, and freeing us from “our self –

cherishing ego.” We no longer believe this to be so. It was done in such a way that was harmful to us rather than helpful, a method of control, a blatant means of subjugation and undue influence that removed our liberty. You have threatened us and

others saying, if we do not follow you absolutely, we will die “spitting up blood like Ian Maxwell.” (2)

You have told us that our loved ones are at risk of ill -health, or have died, because

we displeased you in some way.” (3)

At public teachings, you have regularly criticized, manipulated and shamed us and those working to run your retreats. You have told us for years that this is part of your unique style of “training” students and that this shaming is part of the guru-disciple relationship. We no longer believe this to be so. As more students verged close to emotional breakdowns because of your “trainings”, you introduced “Rigpa Therapy” for your closest students. Trained, practising therapists (who are also your students) were given the task of dealing with the pain that was being stirred up in the minds of those who you were abusing physically, emotionally and psychologically. During one

to one sessions, the therapist heard from the student of your “crazy wisdom” methods and the trauma that it caused the individual. One such “Rigpa Therapy” method for processing the trauma was to negate the validity of seeing you, the teacher

and instigator, as the source of the trauma. Instead, we were instructed to see old family relationship histories as the issue. In effect, our very tangible and clear discernment of seeing you as an abuser was blocked and instead we were blamed and made to feel inadequate. On the occasions when the “therapy” did not result in

a student changing their view of you, you shamed the therapist into feeling that they weren’t doing their job properly and were not skilled.

1. Sexual Abuse

You use your role as a teacher to gain access to young women, and to coerce, intimidate and manipulate them into giving you sexual favours. (4) The ongoing controversies of your sexual abuse that we can read and watch on the Internet are only a small window into your decades of this behaviour. Some of us have been subjected to sexual harassment in the form of being told to strip, to show you our genitals (both men and women), to give you oral sex, being groped, asked to give you photos of our genitals, to have sex in your bed with our partners, and to descibe to you our sexual relations with our partners. You’ve ordered your students to photograph your

attendants and girlfriends naked, and then forced other students to make photographic collages for you, which you have shown to others. You have offered one of your female attendants to another lama (who is well known in Rigpa) for sex. You have had for decades, and continue to have, sexual relationships with a number of your student attendants, some who are married. You have told us to lie on your behalf, to hi

de your sexual relationships from your other girlfriends. Publicly you claim that your relationships are ordinary, consensual, and proper because you are not a monk. You deny any wrongdoing and have even claimed on occasion that you were seduced. (5)

You and others in your organization claim this is how a Buddhist master of “crazy

wisdom” behaves, just like the tantric adepts of the past. We do not believe this to be so and see such claims as attempts to explain away egregious behaviors.

1. Gluttonous lifestyle

Your lavish lifestyle is kept hidden from your thousands of students. It is one thing for you to  accept an offering of the best of everything (that we may have) as an acknowledgement of our  gratitude for spiritual teachings. It is quite another to de

mand it from us. Much of the money that is used to fund your luxurious appetites comes from the donations of your students who believe their offering is being used to further wisdom and compassion in the world. As attendants, drivers, and organizers for you, most of our time and energy is taken up providing a steady supply of sensual pleasures. You demand all kinds of food be prepared for you —at all hours of the night and day — by your personal chefs and attendants (who Rigpa pays for) who

travel the world with you. You demand all forms of entertainment; this includes having detailed TV guide schedules for the shows that you often watch for hours on end each day; elaborate movie lists so you know what’s playing in theaters near you at all times; continual supply of take out restaurant food; drivers and masseuses on call 24 hours a day to serve you and deliver you and your companions to theatres, expensive restaurants, venues to shop and secretive places where you can smoke your expensive cigars. With impatience, you have made demands for this entertainment and decadent sensory indulgences. When these are not made available at the snap of a finger, or exactly as you wished, we were insulted, humiliated, made to feel worthless, stupid and incompetent, and often hit or slapped. Your behaviour did not cultivate our mindfulness or awareness, but rather it made us terrified of making a mistake. You tell your students that you spend most of your time engaging in Buddhist study and practice, but those of us who have attended you in private for years know this is not the reality. We feel it is unethical that ours and others’ financial contributions to you

believed to be furthering the Dharma — are used to support this lavish lifestyle. Please stop living a duplicitous life. If you have no shame about your behaviour then let it see the light of day. Allow the rest of your students to see who you really are, and let them make their own informed decision about whether you are the teacher for them.

1. Tainted our appreciation for the practice of the Dharma.

Please understand the harm that you have inflicted on us has also tainted our appreciation for and practice of the Dharma. In our decades of study and practice of Tibetan Buddhism with you, we trained our minds to view you as the “all embodied jewel” and the “source of all the teachings and blessings” of the Buddha-Dharma. We trusted you completely. Yet, we struggled for years because your actions did not square with the teachings. Today, for many of us who have left you, the Lerab Ling community, and Rigpa the organization, our ground of confidence in the Buddha

– Dharma has been compromised. Some of us, who chose to depart abruptly Lerab Ling, left all of our possessions, because we were desperate to break away from your abuse and the community that supported it.

We are not showing a lack of trust and respect, being a “trouble maker” with “negative talk” as you often assert when anyone has dared to object to your methods. In fact, we have trusted you too long, given you the benefit of the doubt over and over again. When we’ve attempted to raise these concerns you’ve shamed us, and threatened to withhold the teachings from all the students because we had “doubts.” You have encouraged us to defame others, in particular in France, who

have spoken out against you in recent years. We have seen how you hold the teachings “hostage” and demand that students show their devotion through continuous “offerings” in the form of money and free labour. You tell us this is how to become an authentic Dharma practitioner. We do not believe this to be the path of the Dharma.

With regards to your abusive behaviour, your sexual misconduct, and your lavish

lifestyle, we see no clear or identifiable ethical standards or guidelines to which you are held. There is a vacuum of accountability. We hope that sending you this letter, sharing it with your peers, and the Rigpa Dzogchen mandala students, will serve to fill that vacuum.

What you have taught in the last thirty years, and in particular The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying , has brought immense benefit to so many people including those who write to you today. If we are wrong in what we write, please correct

our mistaken view. If your striking and punching us and others, and having sex with your students and married women, and funding your sybaritic lifestyle with students’ donations, is actually the ethical and compassionate behaviour of a Buddhist teacher, please explain to us how it is. If, however, we are correct in our assessment, please stop your behaviors that we believe to be harmful to others. In closing we want to acknowledge that most of the public critique of you that is found on the Internet is

factual. Some of us, who have held positions of responsibility within Rigpa, struggle

with our own part in having covered for you and “explained” away your behaviour, while not caring for those with traumatic experiences. Our past motivation to see all the actions of our tantric teacher as pure obscured us from seeing the very real harm that you are inflicting. We are each taking a long and serious look at our own behaviours, trying to learn from them, and supporting each other on our journey. We can no longer stay silent while you harm others in the name of Buddhism. Our deepest wish is to see Buddhism flourish in the West. We no longer want to indulge in the stupidity of seeing the Guru as perfect at any cost. The path does not require us to sacrifice our wisdom to discern, our ethics and morality, or our integrity, on the

altar of “Guru Yoga.” Our heartfelt wish is that you seek guidance from the Dalai Lama, other reputable lamas of good heart, or anyone who can help to bring you back onto the true path of the Dharma.

With deep respect for the Dharma,

Mark Standlee,

student for 33 years, Three Year Retreatant, former Director of the

International Rigpa Online Courses & Rigpa US Teaching Services for 5 years,

International Senior Instructor

Sangye,

student for 16 years, Three Year Retreatant, Buddhist monk for 14 years, Co

director of technology for Rigpa International

Damcho,

student for 15 years, Three Year Retreatant, Buddhist nun for 10 years,

personal assistant to Sogyal Lakar

Matteo Pistono,

student for 19 years, former Rigpa US Board Member, author

of Fearless In Tibet: The Life of the Mystic of Tertön Sogyal

Joanne Standlee,

student for 18 years, Head of Sogyal Lakar’s household in US for 15

years, National Director for Rigpa US for 7 years, Director of Zam America for 5 years, Rigpa Instructor

Graham Price

, student for 20 years, Sogyal Lakar’s personal attendant and driver,

Michael Condon,

student for 21 years, Rigpa Instructor, Sogyal Lakar’s p

ersonal

attendant and driver in the US

Gary Goldman

, student for 23 years

—————————

——————

¹

Sogyal Lakar gut punched a nun in front of an assembly of more than 1,000 students at Lerab Ling in France, August 2016.

²

In December 2005, in a live streamed teachings from the unfinished temple, Sogyal Lakar said that Ian Maxwell, one of his oldest students, was “an asshole”, as Ian lay dying in the hospital in Paris. After Ian’s death Sogyal Lakar said that Ian, “died spitting up blood” because he had defied him in the past. Sogyal Lakar regularly used this incident, saying, “Do you want to end up dying spitting up blood like Ian for defying me?” as an example to other students when he threatened them with dire consequences if they did not obey his commands.

³

Sogyal Lakar told Graham Price that his beloved partner, Elena, got sick (and died a year later) because Graham had shouted at him. In reality Graham didn’t even raise his voice.

https://behindthethangkas.wordpress.com/2011/11/20/13-dakini-janine/   is just one example

https://behindthethangkas.wordpress.com/2011/11/20/16-the-three-year-retreat/

“Gerard demanded an interview with Sogyal, who was initially wary, but then admitted he had had sex with Janine. He tried to shift the blame onto her claiming that she had seduced him and that he was at first resistant, but later gave in to her demands.”

Lerab Ling residential monastics Ani Damcho Drolma and Ngawang Sangye struggled for many years to fulfill Sogyal Lakar’s ever increasing demands while receiving physical and emotional abuse. They asked for help from the community but were victim blamed, and viewed as being unappreciative of the blessing of working close to the lama. There was extreme pressure to stay and conform. They both felt as though they had to “escape” the predicament as there was no arena in which to negotiate their position, or find resolution in how to tolerate their working

relationship with Sogyal Lakar. As a gesture for support and with an understanding for the many emotions and issues that could arise for individuals as a result of reading this letter we are sharing some resources and helpful links

https://sanghacare8.wixsite.com/sanghacareresources

As well as a blog where concerned students can connect with each other

https://whatnow727.wordpress.com/

Full statement as Word document

Statement on Sogyal

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2017/07/21/letter-from-sogyals-current-and-ex-members-and-rigpas-reply-can-the-dalai-lama-claim-immunity/

In general we have three categories which expand on the Lamaism and Consort sex narrative.
https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/buddhist/rigpa/
https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/buddhist/
https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/buddhist/tibetan-buddhism-lamaism/

This expert analysis was given by our Buddhist expert.

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/briefing-document-on-sogyal-rinpoche/

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2017/07/24/why-the-dalai-lama-is-now-toast-the-end-of-the-road-for-lamaism/

Full statement exposing Sogyal by present and former members of Rigpa on a number of abuse fronts

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2017/07/24/20477/

Why the western psychology profession,and other academic professionals, who have been covering up for a sexually abusive lama, like lama Sogyal must be called to account:

Every sexually abusive situation, system and cult religion, requires the perpetrators, the deniers, and the enablers. No professional group has been more enabling of these Tibetan lamas and Lama Sogyal than the celebrity psychologists, like Daniel Goleman and Joseph Goldstein, and the numerous other Tantric psychologists, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and others in human services, along with the western Tibetan Buddhist teachers, who have been sitting on the boards with Sogyal Rinpoche, whether at the Dalai Lama’s Mind and Life Institute, or at the Tibet House of the Dalai Lama or on Lama Sogyal’s board, at his new Tendzin Gyatso Institute”; blessed and approved of by the Dalai Lama and named after His Holiness, to train more Tibetan lamas in our midst, in the heartland of the United States, to accomplish the final dumbing down of young westerners.

Newly-minted Tantric gurus and tulkus, who will get just enough of a Western education, like Sogyal, to become expert in fooling us, and who will be also be scanning the audiences, for their own following of guru-worshipers and their own serial sexual consorts.

http://www.tenzingyatsoinstitute.org/en/about-us

Venues that have allowed Sogyal Rinpoche and all the other Tibetan lamas and their bizarre sexual practices, to not only escape exposure, but to continue to keep recruiting and fooling the western public that this is Buddhism and not a ssexually abusive Tantric cult of Lamaism, that has now more centers and organizations in the West, than they had in all of Tibet, before they plunged that country into misery and poverty with their guru-yoga and nailed all female energy down, under their misogynistic thumbs:

Here is celebrity psychologist, Daniel Goleman, popular author who teaches mindfulness, and ‘contemplative’ leadership’ at Harvard Business School, singing Lama Sogyal’s praises at the Garrison Institute retreat he gave, right after the last multimillion dollar lawsuit was filed against Lama Sogyal,when the documentary “In the Name of Enlightenment” was broadcast in Canada, and all the other Tibetan lamas, western Tibetan Buddhist teachers, sexual consorts and nuns, circled the wagons around Sogyal, to protect him.

Dan Goleman has been part of the massive effort by these Tantric psychologists, who have made millions on the commodity of mindfulness, and with their bogus ‘compassionate Tantra Buddhism” an oxymoron, to cover-up for their guru Sogyal and other abusive lamas like him, once again: These psychologists and celebrity academics, should be stripped of their licenses for what they have done to protect an abuser like Lama Sogyal, for the last forty years:

If we don’t call these egregious enablers of sexual abuse to account, they will continue to cover-up for Lama Sogyal and all the other Tibetan lamas. The continued sexual and physical abuse could not have happened without their collusion.

We hope to have video of this segment soon.

The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism

Authored by Christine A. Chandler, M.A., C.A.G.S.
Edition: 1

Here we in Dialogue Ireland have for many years now been aware of the inside track of Lamaism through the writings of Christine A. Chandler. We were made aware of how extremely dangerous this Lamaism project is for the rational western mind. Chris has here put together the total package, not one Lama who like Sogyal is abusing women but rather we have been shown how this about a whole system. This is a systematic unpacking of the future plans of the Lama Religion with it is consort sex and unreformed Hinduism of a Tantric nature.

We highly recommend this book and can tell you if you are in the web of Lamaism this will kill the spider or if you are just doing some mindfullness this will help to get an insight into that world.

Details for purchasing the book are to be found here:

https://www.amazon.com/Enthralled-Guru-Cult-Tibetan-Buddhism/dp/1511543469

When author, Christine Chandler, signed up for a simple meditation retreat, she had no idea she would be severing emotional ties with her ordinary life, in order to obey the intense practices of Tibetan Lamas; becoming one of their many western devotees and ‘change agents’ to help the lamas overwhelm western values and ethics in order to replace them with a Buddhist-disguised Tantric spirituality.

After nearly thirty years as a Tibetan ‘Buddhist,’ Chandler finally realized that she had been part of a thousand-year old, guru-worshiping cult, that uses mindfulness and other contemplative practices, along with ancient and sophisticated cult techniques, to recruit, commit and entrap westerners into the Tibetan Lama’s medieval, misogynistic world. A world where the Tibetan lamas secretly keep harems of young women, cuckold the men, and financially, physically and spiritually exploit all their students.

Chandler had a front row seat to the Tibetan Lama hierarchy, and how it operates, having taken care of the son of Chogyam Trungpa, the notorious ‘crazy wisdom guru.’ This gave Chandler exposure to not only Trungpa’s Vajradhatu/Shambhala inner workings, but also to the dozens of celebrity Tibetan lamas, who have been infiltrating our western institutions with their occult Tantra and with their western devotees, for the last forty years.

Deep inside this Tantric net, Chandler found that all Tibetan Lamas teach from the same guru-worshiping, thought-control plan; whether they call it Shambhala, Mahamudra, Dzogchen or Mahayana Buddhism. It is all Tantra: a cult of mass manipulation and coercive persuasion, designed to undermine the reasoning abilities of educated populations; changing their values and behavior; turning them into obedient devotees; no longer able to think and act for themselves.

Chandler takes the reader through her own experiences, from her first mindfulness meditation weekend, at a Boston Shambhala meditation center, through her next decades, studying with the celebrity Tibetan Lamas and their western inner circles, drawn deeper and deeper into their Tantric net, until she finally breaks free; realizing that being well-educated was no protection but, in fact, makes westerners more susceptible to the lamas’ double-binding techniques; believing they are studying the most esoteric of Buddhist philosophies, while becoming cult members of an atavistic, apocalyptic, superstitious cult; dangerous to our twenty-first century thinking and to the advancement of women’s rights around the world.

Enthralled: The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism exposes the many levels of deception, used by Tibetan Lamas and their western inner circles, to present themselves as beneficial and wise. They collect billions of tax-exempt dollars in donations, recruit wealthy sponsors to their causes,and ensnare new student-recruits into a web of free labor, eventual unquestioning devotion and for many, sexual exploitation by these Tibetan guru-priests.

Chandler deconstructs Tibetan Tantric Lamaism according to the criteria of anti-cult experts, Lifton and Margaret Singer, as an authoritarian, totalistic cult, that radically alters a person’s perceptions, in order to create a ‘change agent’ to further the lamas’ globalist ambitions.

Chandler’s experience finally led her to Crestone, Colorado, a town where the Tibetan Lamas are part of a ‘Spiritual Alliance’ of new-age, world citizens, who are mindfully meditating, chanting, visualizing, humming, and drumming their way backwards, to the end of sovereignty and independence of nations, as this ‘eastern spiritual arm’ experiment, of a global citizen’s movement replaces freedom.

A bold, brave exposition about one of the most misunderstood and misleading ‘new religious movements’ in spirituality today, Enthralled:The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism should not be missed by anyone who cares about truth.

Publication Date:

    Jul 26 2017

ISBN/EAN13:

    1511543469 / 9781511543460

LCCN:

    2016910961

Page Count:

    552

Binding Type:

    US Trade Paper

Trim Size:

    6″ x 9″

Language:

    English

Color:

    Black and White

Related Categories:

    Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs

About the author:

Christine A. Chandler, M.A., C.A.G.S. trained as a social worker and psychologist, who specialized in the areas of sexual abuse and dysfunctional systems. She earned postgraduate degrees in psychology, counseling and family systems therapy, as well as in school psychology. She has worked as a LICSW social worker, family therapist, and licensed school psychologist in the public school systems of Massachusetts, Vermont, and Colorado and as a licensed protective social worker in Massachusetts.

Chandler spent nearly thirty years studying and practicing the most esoteric teachings of the Tibetan Lamas, before realizing she was involved in an authoritarian cult that had purposely targeted the ‘educated’ class, in order to infiltrate into academia, psychology, and other ‘soft sciences,’ to weaken our institutions from within.

She also spent many years taking care of the son of a high-ranking Tibetan Lama, Chogyam Trungpa, giving her a bird’s eye view of the more hidden aspects of Tibetan Buddhism that most people, especially the fringe fans of the Dalai Lama, never see.

In general we have three categories which expand on the Lamaism and Consort sex narrative.
https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/buddhist/rigpa/
https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/buddhist/
https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/buddhist/tibetan-buddhism-lamaism/

This expert analysis was given by our Buddhist expert.

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/briefing-document-on-sogyal-rinpoche/

In general we have three categories which expand on the Lamaism and Consort sex narrative.
https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/buddhist/rigpa/
https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/buddhist/
https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/buddhist/tibetan-buddhism-lamaism/

This expert analysis was given by our Buddhist expert.

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/briefing-document-on-sogyal-rinpoche/

				Enthralled: The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism by M.A., C.A.G.S., Christine A. Chandler Edition: Paperback Price: $22.95		6 used & new from $21.59
Tibetan Buddhism is neither a good idea, good for Tibet nor has anything to do with Buddhism. It is pure Lamaism., August 15, 2017 This review is from: Enthralled: The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism (Paperback) When Chris Candler first came onto our blog and told the tale of what I thought was Tibetan Buddhism I thought she was off the wall. She was claiming that it had nothing to do with Buddhism, and a lot to do with Tibet. However, it was not pretty with connections to Hitler, the CIA and the new glue to keep the Communist party of China in power. I had now for 20 years being dealing with tales of sex abuse, but by a skilful side steps those involved with the Dalai Lama were able to act as if this particular lama was an exception. The problem we were being briefed by Buddhists from Taiwan that these Tibetan Lamaists were trying to mind control with mindlessness training their programme of unreformed Tantric couple sex. This was not just an aberration but the recipe was in fact on the tin. Of course we were told we were under the influence of the Communist Chinese which was a little difficult as we were connecting to the heretics and splitists from Taiwan. The Dalai Lama was himself up to his eyes with this stuff and has forty years covered up this cult of mindfulness and sexual depravity from his western disciples. As an expert in cultism, I always obtained advice from formidable experts in Buddhism who were trying to expose this but they always said this or that Lama was the exception rather than the rule. What Chris Chandler has demonstrated is that the exception is the and the norm and the exception idea is the diversionary tactic to get you off the scent. She used to come onto our blog and she fought hand to hand comment warfare with the trolls and the General of the exception Tenpel the master of diversion. Here is how you can see this working out by following her battles like Arjuna in the chariot. Then I realised I had to go it alone, as Chris wisely realised if she was on social media much longer she might as well take refuge in a place for the overwhelmed. She went into retreat, healing herself by the logos therapy of recovering the western mind, and removing those hidden mindfulness programmes and by writing the book. It is a statement of liberation, it is also a charter for a truly Free Tibet, not one of letting these Slave masters Lamas near the place. Does it involve the continued Han take over of the country? Obviously not but in order for Tibet to be freed it needs to freed from these Lamas on their Feudal thrones. It is not surprising that the philosopher Hegel when categorising this religious grouping in the Nineteenth Century referred to it as Lamaism. The devotion to the Lamas, full of hierarchy and feudalism, with gods, devils and hell realms. Buddha was from the Royal Family of Nepal which was a Hindu kingdom. His whole philosophical project was to get rid of the gods of Hinduism not bring in its most degraded variation. So in modern terms he was not an Atheist but rather an A-Theist. So Chris is to be commended and every education Department in the world where the lamas are present needs to get this book. They have infiltrated into every aspect of our lives from meditation to Death and dying. Here in Ireland one of the chief suspects Sogyal Rinpoche has recently been exposed by his own members as a deeply tarnished person in regard, to sexual abuse for decades, violence and a totally contradictory lifestyle for a real lama. Presidents, educators and corporations have already succumbed to this vision. Be alert and buy this book. It is written not in the modern way of abstraction but on the smithy of Chris’s soul based on being herself captive and in the web of this most seductive nectar for thirty years. The book cries freedom and gives the reader the way ahead for walking free. Photo of the Dalai Lama with the leader of the Aum Cult of Japan

It is great to see that Chris Chandler’s book, “Enthralled,” on The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism has been published. She kindly acknowledges the role Mike Garde of Dialogue Ireland and Lily Chao of the Taiwanese, True Enlightenment Foundation in writing the book.

This book needs to be read widely……….

Going back before the Toronto Blessing and other spiritual developments attached to the Dominionist / New Apostolic Reformation, (NAR.) movement we see how what was called Tibetan Buddhism or what Chris Chandler is calling Lamaism in her book is a powerful influence. She came to understand that this new one world religion had managed to penetrate Evangelicalism. The manifestations show how the theology was subverted. Chandler actually lived in such a community and had to be rescued from it. She was a Buddhist but could see what it was doing to Christianity.

http://bereanresearch.org/dominionism-nar/

https://www.crossroad.to/articles2/05/sarah-leslie/dominionism.htm

http://www.understandthetimes.org/commentary/c102_dominionist.shtml

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?cat=197

Clearing the Planet by Mark Tighe, Sunday Times, September 10.
Clearing the Planet is the sinister plan to take over the world by Scientology. Here in Ireland it is a Fr Ted moment.

People are trying to place a rational spin on an organisation without a rational plan as seen from the opening of the Merrion Square HQ which most people have forgotten about.

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2016/10/17/scientology-non-church-organisation-opens-in-dublin-with-a-lot-of-blow-ins/

PDF of the Sunday Times article.

Victory Centre ST PDF

What is Scientology up to in Ireland? It looks like a bit of make belief brought on by Tom Cruise as number 2 in Scientology getting the headman David Miscavige to believe in Leprechauns. It is part of the tax relief package where Scientologists get tax relief for investing in these ponzi schemes from the IRS. They buy up properties to gain publicity though they have no function and are not open to public visit or scrutiny.
There is no activity going on and they don’t talk to anyone and they only support their own activities. They try to bring public representatives to Clearwater, Florida under the guise they are fighting anti drug campaigns. They also try getting Irish mayors or other public figures involved under false pretenses. Irish people seem unable to understand that this is not about celebrities but undue influences of frightening proportions. Ironically Victory Church will forever be reminded of its prosperity gospel failure by the fact the Scientologists are keeping their title “Victory Centre.”