spiritual abuse buddhism

Tricycle is a nonprofit that depends on reader support. The guru? insulting or ridiculing someone's spiritual beliefs. He was most recently seen in Thailand. When the guru took her away over long weekends, none of the adults asked any questions. However, the wheels of the Belgian court system grind slowly, and the group of accusers have been almost helpless against Robert S.s team of lawyers. Werner Vogd: The subject of spiritual development has interested me for a long time, not least for personal reasons. I think this is a prerequisite in a modern environment. Yes; as I mentioned earlier, we have to be prepared to see the teacher as a human being who can be sick, addicted, mentally disturbed, deluded, or flawed in some other waylike anyone else. What resources are lacking for survivors of sexual misconduct by Buddhist teachers? Of the many issues raised in the discussions of the recurring problem of abuse, it seems to me there is a key aspect that has yet to receive the attention it deserves. The hyperconcentration of authority in the most revered teachers of Tibetan Buddhism lends itself to abuse, said Lama Tsultrim Allione, one of the first American women to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist nun and a former member of Chgyam Trungpas group who knew the Sakyong when he was a child. Ultimately, the only way to avoid despair over the monster or superhuman dilemma and to transcend the attendant problems is to develop compassion for oneself and others. On the contrary, we are supposed to apply our minds to see through to the true nature of all things. First published in Buddhismus aktuell no. Local centers are dealing with the fallout in their own ways. Ben has had to undergo a long and painful process. That was about it for the Tibetan influence, however. It means that we dont put the blame on a single individual or look only there for the origin of the situation. Of course it doesnt feel good to criticize ones teacher, to remove him from office or contribute to the possibility of his being sent to prison. Rob Hogendoorn, a Dutch publicist and long-time Buddhist, is currently following some twenty cases in which Buddhist teachers in the Netherlands have been accused of sexually abusing their students. For example, in Mahayana Buddhism there are explicit instructions around seeing the teacher as a fount of knowledge and wisdom. By day, they develop research-based purpose strategies to help organizations achieve their growth objectives while serving the needs of their stakeholders. In the following interview, adapted from the German quarterly Buddhismus aktuell (Buddhism Today), Vogd explains his findings and delves into the psychological and spiritual worknamely the cultivation of compassionthat can help practitioners navigate the student-teacher dynamic and reap its intended benefits. Litigation hasbeen pending against Robert S. in Belgium since Livia and others filed suit in 1997. The essay concludes by demonstrating how the prevailing and persistent occult perception of the Ernst Schfer Tibet expedition of 193839 has retained far-reaching consequences to the present day, with the result that the Tibetans and the Dalai Lama are either subsumed by the right wing and neo-Nazis, or demonized by the Left as agents of a Tibeto-Buddhist global conspiracy. The letter claims that Sogyal justified his violence as wrathful compassion or skilful means, and it repeats several times that the students no longer believe this to be so. Since the letter was leaked, blog forums and Facebook groups have come alive with discussions about Buddhism in the West and the relationship between students and teachers. We need to ask how we can create structures and principles that support Westerners as they enter into Buddhism in a way that ensures they clearly understand the ethical obligations of their teachers. The file contains accusations of over 170 crimes, including kidnapping of children, torture, sexual abuse, fraud, falsification of documents, money laundering, and tax evasion. Dealing with Abusive Behavior by Spiritual Teachers He said he would enter a period of self-reflection., accused of decades of sexual assaults and violent rage, an effort to address issues of past harm in our community. The study of Rigpa was only part of a larger study that we carried out in order to show how people manage to find happiness, freedom from suffering, and well-being on the Buddhist path of liberation, and what kinds of obstacles and problems they encounter. One woman wrote that for years, before he was married, the Sakyong would kiss and grope her when he got drunk. Hal holds a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of King's College, where they helped over-looked voices tell their stories across more than 10 publications. An expert on faith-based abuse talks about how Buddhists can address sexual misconduct by Hal Atwood | February 27, 2018 Buddhist Criminologist Michael Salter talks to Lion's Roar's Hal Atwood about addressing and preventing sexual abuse in Buddhist communities. Werner Vogd is a German sociologist and anthropologist who chairs the department of sociology at the University of Witten/Herdecke. Lakars book The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, published in 1992, won over the hearts of millions of readers, thus providing him and his international organisation Rigpa with tremendous wealth and power. They are heterodox, so there is a lot of mixing of traditions. The name of religion has been used as an instrument of exploitation, he said. Like many women around the Sakyong, she desperately hoped to become his wife, she wrote, and she rationalized his boorishness by telling herself that the Sakyong was trying to show her the patterns of my own poverty mentality and grasping.. Doctrines of karma can play into this in an unfortunate way if somebodys abuse is framed as: you must have hurt someone in the past, which is why youre being hurt now.. Sogyal was loved only in his role as a master, not as a whole person who was fallible like anyone else. Now 76 years old, he did not appear in court, citing health reasons. But as soon as we begin to think that the fantasies and sensations that we had in the initial phase of bliss are eternal, true, and enduring, we are doomed to forfeit our love and be left with nothing but concepts and stereotypes. In Asia and in Europe, they met exotic gurus who gave them new perspectives on life. The Dalai Lama to Buddhist sex abuse victims: "You have - Quartz Whether it be dakinis, legends, or the apocalypse: religions portray myths as accepted facts, in order to call ethical principles into question, and sometimes even to break the law. Healing in the wake of systemic abuse means seeing our teachersand ourselvesclearly and with compassion. to take some time to meditate intensely. Buddhism | Definition, Beliefs, Origin, Systems, & Practice His book, Organized Sexual Abuse, is a comprehensive analysis of sexual abuse by organized groups. Yes, like other religions Buddhism describes a nonmaterial, spiritual reality (perhaps the realer reality) and addresses what happens after we die. Some names of first-hand testimonials were changed for protection. Given the spiritual risks of disobeying their gurus and the potential of teachers to abuse their spiritual authority, many Buddhist leaders like the Dalai Lama have argued for a more conservative approach to guru devotion. wildcards are supported. I think all forms of authority can be misused in sexual misconduct, and I dont think there is any religious doctrine that is exempt from that. At the same time, he was encouraged to ignore Sogyals behavior by other members of the Rigpa community who were important to him, so that a network grew for the collective cultivation of oblivion. Almost twenty years have passed since the first claims were filed, and no end is in sight. Three of the groups he can point to are in Germany. Buddhism and Abuse| The Unspeakable Truth (2023) - In August 2017, the Lions Roar: Have you come across contemporary reports of abuse in Buddhist communities? Are You Spiritual But Not Religious? - Lion's Roar Unethical, abusive behavior by spiritual teachers, including so-called "tantric masters," can never be justified, excused or tolerated. This view dovetails with the Buddhist perspective: According to the law of dependent co-arising (paticca-samuppada), there is no fixed core of personality but rather a complex network of cause and effect from which all our entanglements and suffering arise. For many students, Buddhist leaders and organisations have been too slow in reacting to Sogyals behaviour, if they reacted at all. Added to this is the fear of recognizing that they may have contributed to their own suffering by upholding the system of taboos and deceptions. I had had an interest in Buddhism for a number of years, but I grew up in fishing villages and islands on the Scottish coast, so accessing this spiritual path was jarred . Unfortunately, some of these gurus were not what they claimed to be. ]: Transcultural Encounters in the Himalayan Borderlands: Kalimpong as a Contact Zone. How do we understand responsibility? The media? Dagyab, Human Rights in Tibet before 1959 R. Barnett, Tibet as Hell on Earth E. Sperling, The Myth of Shangri-la Tibet & the Occident by T. Shakya, Shangri-la in Exile: Representations of Tibetan Identity & Transnational Culture T. Huber, Violated Specialness: Western Political Representations of Tibet R. Barnett, Imagining Tibet: Between Shangri-la & Feudal Oppression Dodin/Rther, Sacred Words & Earthly Powers: Christian Missionary Engagement with Tibet J. Bray, Between Tolerance & Dogmatism: Tibetan Reactions to the Capuchin Missionaries in Lhasa, 1707-1745 I. Engelhardt, Saving Tibet from Satans Grip: Present-day Missionary Activity in Tibet R. Barnett, The Tulkus & the Shugden-Controversy M. von Brck, Shugden Controversy & Human Rights M. Mills, Shugden Interdiction in the Western Himalaya M. Mills, The Predicament of Evil: The Case of Dorje Shukden G. Dreyfus, Protests against the Dalai Lama over Dorje Shugden R. Barnett, Dorje Shugden Conflict: Interview with Thierry Dodin, Notes on the Shugden protests R. Barnett, The Dalai Lama & the Shugden Cult J.-U. This is why people searching for liberation take the threefold refuge: with the Buddha, who showed the way; with the dharma, the teaching of dependent co-originationand the insight that we do not have ourselves to thank for our sense of self or ego; and the sangha, the community of practitioners. From a sociological perspective, people in and of themselves are not good, bad, gracious, holy, or deluded. Only Robert S. allegedly had access to true reality. It includes a list of actions religious institutions can take to reduce the risk of abuse in their communities. Conflict at diverse Austin church leads to claims of spiritual abuse In recent years, Vogd has conducted hundreds of interviews with students of Buddhism in Germany as part of an expansive investigation into the relationship between practice and self-reported happiness and well-being. 'Rinpoche'), the founder of Buddhist organisation Rigpa, was probably the most famous Buddhist teacher after the dalai . Tenzin Peljor also points out the legal grey area with regard to homeopathic medicine: A certified psychotherapist is subject to very clear regulations. Students come to them with their fantasies of illumination and liberation, but their teachers disappoint them and thereby bring them back to real life in a positive sense. SPIRITUAL CONFUSION: A ROADBLOCK TO RECOVERY - The Sober World Its understandable to want nothing to do with something that is unpleasant or traumatic. Imagining the Wild Man. Born in Germany as Michael Jckel, Peljor became a Tibetan Buddhist monk in 1998. The fact that a discussion is now finally taking place is mainly due toa scandal featuringone of the most famous Tibetan teachers in the West: Sogyal Lakar. The Newspaper as a Prophecy: Transformations of a Global Genre, forthcoming in the proceedings of the conference The Tibet Mirror A Tibetan Newspaper in Kalimpong: Current Researches and Perspectives in Paris (November 17-18, 2016). Livia told nobody about the abuse. The Perrines are two of 21 people who told Religion News Service in recent interviews that they were spiritually abused at Resurrection, which is the seat of ACNA's Upper Midwest Diocese. Some observers consider Tibetan Buddhism to be particularly susceptible to abuse, because it uses secret practices that are performed in confidence between a teacher and his students. I think it may be easier for a sociologist to grasp the Buddhist teaching of not-self. Another woman wrote that the Sakyong summoned her one night and when she refused to have sex with him, he pushed her face toward his penis and said, You might as well finish this. She wrote, I was so embarrassed and horrified I did it. A third woman wrote that the Sakyong groped her in 2011, after his daughters first birthday party. So did Sogyal Rinpoche, author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, who was accused of decades of sexual assaults and violent rage. Your book describes people who feel deeply touched and transformed by this practice. The reason was that their guru wanted to prepare the next generation for the coming apocalypse. He was compelled to oppose them. The Buddhist understanding of sexual misconduct is quite attuned to power relations. I think that decision can easily be made prematurely. The group? People who contact Hogendoorn often recount horrific stories and then ask, Is this normal? Der ermchtigte Meister (The Empowered Master), a book based on Vogds interviews with Sogyals students, explores the tensions and contradictions experienced by practitioners when they are led by a teacher who they believe possesses great wisdom, but whose actions are unquestionably abusive. In our study we found that Zen and Vipassana teachers are often quite successful in debunking such illusions. How do we understand blame? I would love to believe that in the Buddhist context, but its not the case. Tricycle. One of the things about compassion is: were not promising more than we can offer. Are they willing to make some hard and painful decisions in order to stand up for a new beginningincluding the dismissal of certain favorite leaders who contributed substantially to the cultivation of deception? Like psychological transference in . Violent actions and thoughts, actions which harm and debase others and thoughts which contemplate the same, stand in the way of spiritual growth and the self-conquest which leads to the goal of existence and they are normally deemed unskilled (akusala) and cannot lead to the goal of Nirvana. These days, they are feeling sad, confused, angry and betrayed. Continuous new writings from leading Buddhist teachers and New York Times bestselling authors, including: Sharon Salzberg Topics: Current Events, Michael Salter, Misconduct, Were glad to have you here. Within a religious organization, spiritual abuse is when a religious leader shames or controls . What is the difference between this systemic perspective and the kind of moral perspective through which one either condemns what happened between Sogyal Rinpoche and his students or attempts to legitimize it? A criminal allegation needs to go to police, particularly around child abuse. We need guidance, because there are multiple examples of sexual misconduct throughout the West over the last forty years. This does not mean, however, that we have to switch off our powers of reasoning. This led to the name of the Buddhist group, whose headquarters were in Brussels: Ogyen Kunzang Choling (OKC). Any money that they had was donated to the OKC, leaving them with no savings. In the 1970s, thousands of Europeans embarked on a spiritual journey aimed at breaking free from the demands of the old world. He died in August 2019. But in order to be able to do that, we must first have compassion for ourselves. McQuire/WP, Neo-orthodox Tradition and Transition: Lama Ole Nydahl and the Diamond Way B. Scherer, The Buddhist Lama and the Indian Farmer: Negotiating Modernity and Tradition in the Development Plans for Kushinagar, India J. Falcone, Essence of the Vinaya Ocean Je Tsongkhapa, Shila Samyukta Sutra (Being Endowed with Morality) Buddha, Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (The Four Noble Truths) P. Harvey, The Noble Eightfold Path Bhikkhu Bodhi, Vasubandhus Treatise on the Three Natures A Translation and Commentary J. Garfield, Self-Immolations of Tibetans T. Dodin I, Self-Immolations & Buddhism T. Dodin II, Self-Immolations of Tibetans: Reactions & Consequences T. Dodin III, Polarization Destroys Democracy Garfield, Death & Madness at Diamond Mountain S. Carney, Rebirth: The Case of a Siamese Sergeant F. Story, Foreign News in Early Tibetan-Language Newspapers: Covering Adolf Hitler in the Melong, Revue d'Etudes Tibtaines 37(2016): 315-334. Yet the adults claimed that her story was just the visions of an impure mind. The pressure to comply didnt only come from above, says Ben: The real pressure comes from the sides. Ethnologist Marion Dapsance wrote her doctoral thesis about Rigpas fraudulent ways. The OKC is made up of people who give up the control over their lives to serial abusers. Ben sees the rise of cults and gurus as a sign of the general erosion of democracy. When she continued to resist, he began to threaten her. If Ive been practicing that, how can I manage at the same time to remain criticalperhaps even toward an idealized teacher? Mark Dunlop, a long-time Triratna student, claims in a blog post that his teacher Sangharakshita explained to him the path to enlightenment as follows: If I was to make spiritual progress, I needed to break through this unconscious anti-homosexual conditioning. And the way to do that? This can be a transformative practice, but only when the lama is truly awake, said Lama Tsultrim, who leads a Buddhist center in Colorado and just published a book, Wisdom Rising: Journey Into the Mandala of the Empowered Feminine.. Instead, he turned to the angry young man, and with a smile on his face, asked . A lot of my research is with survivors of pedophiles, so we see people who have been severely abused and exploited typically by those who have been close to them. Olivier Rich |Sogyal Lakar Rinpoche teaching in Dzogchen Beara | CC BY-NC 2.0. When asked about this, the hosts replied they had assumed their visitor was so enlightened that he did not need to eat or drink. What are some of the challenges around talking about sexual abuse in Buddhist communities? Gabriella Angotti-Jones/The New York Times, The Sakyong, with his fiance, Khandro Tseyang, in 2006, has apologized to his followers, admitting to relationships with women in the community. He is known as the Sakyong, a Tibetan word that translates roughly as king, and his students take vows to follow him that are binding across lifetimes. True joy can only be found by seeking happiness for others instead of oneself, treat every living being as if it was your own mother even the tiniest insect: such quotes were simply part of Bens system, because he had been raised buddhistically in Nyima Dzong in the south of France. There will be other communities you can join. Meditation practice can provide you with stability and flexibility. Michael Salter is a criminologist specializing in gendered violence, child abuse, and mental health. A few days before the Sakyong stepped aside, Ramoes Gaston, a volunteer at the Manhattan center, on West 22nd Street, who has studied Shambhala for eight years, said the revelations had ripped his world apart. At the time, our only thought was: what do we have to do to get invited in by the guru as well? Today, Ben knows that he built the house in which his female childhood friends were allegedly abused. I think one of the reasons why faith-based abuse has been so prominent in the West is because, over the last hundred years, the Christian church had a major role in running child-focused institutions. In the following interview, adapted from the German quarterly Buddhismus aktuell ("Buddhism Today"), Vogd explains his findings and delves into the psychological and spiritual worknamely the cultivation of compassionthat can help practitioners navigate the student-teacher dynamic and reap its intended benefits. The woman behind the expos, Andrea Winn, grew up in the Shambhala community in Halifax and says that she and many other children were sexually abused by adults in the community. Were asked to invest a tremendous amount of faith in our teachers once weve decided who our spiritual guide is going to be. [00:55:51] And then suffering disappears. Joseph Goldstein, With Stephen Batchelor, Sharon Salzberg, Andrew Olendzki, and more. They believe he possesses supernatural abilities and shower him with love. An abusive partner who is using spiritual abuse might: Shame, make fun of, or ridicule your religious beliefs or practices. But if Id met him ten years ago, I could be the one feeling betrayed, lost, and calling my faith into question. The hurt and harm of spiritual abuse is rarely inflicted upon people with the intention to wound anyone. We built the gurus house with our own hands, recalls Ben. What does Buddha mean? Pema Chdrn Are there ways to cope with this other than either carrying on without criticizing at all or angrily withdrawing? using spiritual beliefs to manipulate someone. The daily training regiment in Portugal included karate and 10k runs. But there is a large grey zone for adults. According to Altzinger, the court decision always comes down to the particular judge, and to how credible the womans testimony is. We must avoid this naivet weve seen in mainstream Western faiths that assumes if someone is ordained then they wouldnt hurt anyone. Instead of waking them up, his behavior reinforced their self-deception and the risk of the kind of devastating disappointment that is associated with doubt, depression, and self-hateanything but enlightenment. Healing from Spiritual Abuse Resources Now I feel that theres this possibility for healing.. He says that Europeans still cling to the myth of a heavenly roof over the world, populated by enlightened beings presiding over the wisdom of a thousand years.. The systemic perspective makes it clear that the teacher is also a product of circumstances. Recently, Salter worked on a royal commission in Australia about institutional responses to child sexual abuse. No!, but at the same time you think: this is a test. This helps ensure that when somebody comes forward with a complaint, there is someone with the authority to start a conversation or an investigation. Hartmann, The making of a Shugden hub in the United States T. Dodin, Dorje Shugden (Overview) T. Peljor/WP, A Spirit of the XVII Secolo R. Bultrini, Who is protesting against the Dalai Lama? Anna Sawerthal currently works as a journalist based in Vienna, Austria. Thank you for subscribing to Tricycle! Are students in a position to openly question authority without being sanctioned by teachers or the community? I would really like to see Buddhist communities with more explicit policies and procedures around what constitutes sexual misconduct. 3, 2019. We talked to another deeply committed student who turned away from Sogyal when he discovered the extent of the teachers misconduct, and he finally abandoned his spiritual practice because he could not bear the pain of the betrayal he had experienced. Up until now, almost nobody had been talking about these isolated cases. Buddhism had too good a reputation, and it would have been too embarrassing to admit that, in this regard at least, the situation was not much rosier than in Christianity. We dont want to overstate what we can offer people in the present, because sometimes its quite limiting when people are really suffering. I was looking for wisdom, but I found myself faced with this ridiculous man who was acting a lot like Trump. With every breath I exhale, he said, I hope that some of my mercy is communicated to him., Follow Andy Newman on Twitter: @andylocal, A version of this article appears in print on, The King of Shambhala Buddhism Is Undone by Abuse Report, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/nyregion/shambhala-sexual-misconduct.html. Development by Code Rodeo. We should not underestimate the importance of the sangha: this is where people demonstrate to each other what is right and where the path leads. And at night, she was abused by Robert S.. Note that '*' and '?' Just off the top of his head, Tenzin Peljor can name nine recent cases in Europe. They have more than five years of experience in the corporate and nonprofit sectors assisting with media strategy, campaign activations, sustainability initiatives and employee engagement. Spiritual awakening Insteadas our interviews indicatedsuch scenes heightened the illusion that the students were witnessing a master who had special magical skills. by: Stephen Batchelor, Christina Feldman, John Peacock, Akincano Weber, A weekly update on everything you need to know on tricycle.org, Buddhist teachings to your inbox every Thursday, Course announcements, offers, and events from our partners, Weekly updates and guided meditations from a Buddhist teacher throughout the month of March. She knows that he forced women to strip for him while his male assistant watched. Spiritual awakening Shambhala, a branch of Tibetan Buddhism headquartered in Canada, has long taught the virtue of 'basic goodness.' But a Tapestry special reveals the organization's history is. At the time, almost all the kids parents were in Brussels, where they worked for free in restaurants that belonged to the OKC. The 217-page report is based on more than 8,000 personal stories and 1,000 written accounts from survivors. In between Chgyam Trungpa and the Sakyong, Shambhala was led by an American-born Buddhist who is mainly remembered for having sex with students even after he knew that he had AIDS.

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