Buddhist Aberrations

Ready to Mine: Zen's Legitimating Mythology and Cultish Behavior.  Stuart Lachs

News Reports

Other Resources

Video: ICSA Conversations - Ready to Mine: Zen's Legitimating Mythology and Cultish Behavior, Stuart Lachs 

From ICSA Periodicals

Compassion Betrayed: Spiritual Abuse in an American Zen Center - Katherine V. Masis

Zen and the Art of Student Abuse - Christopher Hamacher

Ready to Mine: Zen's Legitimating Mythology (video) - Stuart Lachs

ICSA Group Page on Aum Shinrikyo

The Crimes and Teachings of Aum Shinrikyo - Hiroshi Hirata

Conflict Between Aum Critics and Human Rights Activists in Japan - Yoshihide Sakurai, PhD

The Chemistry of a Conflict: The Chinese Government and the Falun Gong - Patsy Rahn

Reflections on Falun Gong and the Chinese Government - Michael D. Langone, PhD

Cults, State Control, and Falun Gong: A Comment on Herbert Rosedale's "Perspectives on Cults as Affected by the September 11th Tragedy” - Thomas Robbins, PhD

Ancient Wisdom for Modern Predicaments: The Truth, Deceit, and Issues Surrounding Falun Gong - Frank Tian Xie, PhD; Tracey Zhu, MD

The PRC and Falun Gong - Michael D. Langone, PhD

Falun Gong and the World: How Many Eight-Years Do We Need? – Comment on Langone (2007) - Frank Tian Xie, PhD

Reply to Xie - Michael D. Langone, PhD

We thank Josh Baran for providing the following list of resources.

TIBETAN BUDDHISM

Sogyal – Inside the Dark World: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/sexual-assaults-violent-rages-inside-dark-world-buddhist-teacher/

Sogyal – Letter from current and ex-members: https://www.lionsroar.com/letter-to-sogyal-rinpoche-from-current-and-ex-rigpa-members-details-abuse-allegations/

Sogyal – statement from Matthieu Ricard: http://www.matthieuricard.org/en/blog/posts/a-point-of-view--2

Sogyal – Harvey Weinstein and Sogyal Rinpoche – a comparison of abuse in 3 parts: https://medium.com/@tahlianewland/harvey-weinstein-and-sogyal-rinpoche-a-study-of-responses-part-1-management-f7413d904c0b

Sogyal – Comparison Part 2: https://medium.com/@tahlianewland/harvey-weinstein-sogyal-rinpoche-a-comparison-part-2-culture-1fcc5bfc7599

Sogyal – Comparison – Part 3: https://medium.com/@tahlianewland/harvey-weinstein-sogyal-rinpoche-comparison-part-3-reactions-f0c793df3a1d

Sogyal – article from 2011: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2011/jul/01/lama-sex-abuse-sogyal-rinpoche-buddhist

Lama Norhla – Tibetan Buddhist Leader: https://www.lionsroar.com/kagyu-thubten-choling-addresses-sangha-about-lama-norhla-rinpoches-sexual-misconduct-with-students/

Lama Norhla dies: https://www.lionsroar.com/lama-norlha-rinpoche-founding-abbot-of-kagyu-thubten-choling-dies-at-age-79/

Diamond Mountain death and dysfunction: https://www.npr.org/2015/03/18/392629261/how-self-improvement-became-self-destruction-on-diamond-mountain

Diamond Mountain – New York Times expose: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/us/mysterious-yoga-retreat-ends-in-a-grisly-death.html

Diamond Mountain – Rolling Stone expose: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/sex-and-death-on-the-road-to-nirvana-20130606

Matthew Remski Commentary: http://matthewremski.com/wordpress/spiritualized-narcissism-as-trauma-response-a-review-of-and-meditation-on-a-death-on-diamond-mountain-by-scott-carney/

Shambhala Community - Buddhists in U.S. Agonize on AIDS Issue – NYTimes - http://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/21/us/buddhists-in-us-agonize-on-aids-issue.html

Shambhala Community - Project Sunshine Final Report (Feb 2018) http://andreamwinn.com/offerings/project_sunshine/

Shambhala – sexual abuse (Mar 2018): https://extibetanbuddhist.com/more-sexual-abuse-revelations-at-shambhala-centers/

More on Shambhala: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/05/buddhist-group-admits-sexual-abuse-by-teachers

ShambhalaCrime: https://shambhalacrime.wordpress.com/2018/03/27/how-shambhalas-administrators-bury-abuse-one-survivors-experience/

Shambhala in Newsweek: http://www.newsweek.com/buddhist-group-admits-abhorrent-sexual-behavior-teachers-830333

Blog – The Boulder Buddhist Scam - https://boulderbuddhistscam.wordpress.com/chogyam-trungpa/

Osel Tenzin Scandal: http://www.drbachinese.org/vbs/publish/228/vbs228p018e.pdf

Trungpa – Chapter from Stripping the Gurus: http://www.strippingthegurus.com/stgsamplechapters/trungpa.html

Bad Karma in the Dharma – Blog Post - http://blog.world-mysteries.com/ancient-writings/bad-karma-in-the-dharma/

The Trouble with Trungpa: https://simplesuttas.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/sotw-the-trouble-with-chogyam-trungpa/

Trungpa and the Poet: https://theendlessfurther.com/tag/w-s-merwin/

Dalai Lama on Sogyal and Abusive Teachers: https://buddhism-controversy-blog.com/2017/10/10/the-dalai-lama-on-abuse-by-buddhist-teachers-or-gurus/ and https://buddhism-controversy-blog.com/2017/08/11/hh-dalai-lama-and-others-speak-out-about-sogyal-rinpoche-his-behaviour/

Tibetan Buddhist organization and cultic behavior: https://buddhism-controversy-blog.com/2015/04/21/why-kadampa-buddhism-nkt-has-all-the-characteristics-of-a-cult/

Lamas who give Tibetan Buddhism bad name: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2012/oct/08/tibetan-lamas-buddhism

Confessions of Kalu Rinpoche (video) - https://youtu.be/z5Ka3bEN1rs

Diifi-Cult Blog mostly on Tibetan Buddhism: https://buddhism-controversy-blog.com/

Confronting Abuse of Power in Buddhist Communities: https://www.lionsroar.com/confronting-abuse-power/

Sangharakshita, Triratna, and FWBO - https://buddhism-controversy-blog.com/2017/09/02/mark-dunlops-response-to-sangharakshitas-february-2017-memoir/

Sangharakshita – Recent BBC and Guardian pieces - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/19/buddhist-sexual-abuse-triratna-dennis-lingwood and http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-37432719

FWBO, Sangharakshita, and “the dark side of enlightenment” - http://www.ex-cult.org/fwbo/Guardian.htm and https://buddhism-controversy-blog.com/2016/09/27/fwbo-triratna-sangharakshita-cases-of-sexual-abuse/

Ex-FWBO: http://www.ex-cult.org/fwbo/

Buddhism and Faith-based abuse: https://www.lionsroar.com/an-expert-on-faith-based-abuse-talks-about-how-buddhists-can-address-sexual-misconduct/

Theravada Monks abuse: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-07-24/news/ct-met-monk-sex-cases-20110724_1_thai-monks-buddhist-monks-paul-numrich

ZEN SCANDALS

Joshu Sasaki Zen Teacher – Sex Scandal: http://sweepingzen.com/everybody-knows-by-eshu-martin/

Joshu Sasaki Zen Teacher – Sex Scandal: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/05/us/joshu-sasaki-a-zen-master-tarnished-by-abuse-claims-dies-at-107.html

Joshu Sasaki Roshi Zen teacher – Sex scandal: https://dangerousminds.net/comments/when_gurus_go_wild_leonard_cohens_zen_teacher_wants_to_see_your_tits

Sasaki Archive of articles: http://sasakiarchive.com/

Book – Single White Monk – about a third of the book addresses the Sasaki scandal and his death – confused personal account filled with rationalizations and willful blindness - http://a.co/8kwF9A3

Tricycle podcast with Jack Shozan Haubner about his book, Single White Monk.. some discussion about the Sasaki sex scandal – but Shozen is a confused apologist and the interviewer does not get to the heart of the matter - https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/single-white-monk-sex-scandal-goes-viral/

Eido Shimano Zen Teacher – Sex Scandal: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/11/from-zen-buddhism-to-preying-on-vulnerable-women/281475/

Eido Shimano Zen Teacher – Sex Scandal: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/the-zen-predator-of-the-upper-east-side/383831/

Open Letter on the Shimano Scandal: https://www.upaya.org/2011/01/open-letter-from-roshi-regarding-eido-shimano/

Eido Shimano - New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/21/us/21beliefs.html

Eido Shimano – Tricycle Obituary and Personal Reflection: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/death-eido-roshi-metoo/

Eido Shimano – NY Times Obituary - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/26/obituaries/eido-shimano-buddhist-leader-who-resigned-in-scandal-dies-at-85.html

Shimano in Hawaii: http://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/02/27/hawaii-news/scandalized-zen-abbot-spent-4-years-in-hawaii/

Shimano Archive: http://sasakiarchive.com/

Encountering the Shadow in Buddhist America (1990) by Katy Butler: http://katybutler.com/site/encountering-the-shadow-in-buddhist-america/

Events are the Teacher / SF Zen Center crisis – Katy Butler: http://katybutler.com/site/events-are-the-teacher-working-through-the-crisis-at-san-francisco-zen-center/

Essay on San Francisco Zen Center Sex scandal and the role of the Zen master: http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/CriticalZen/Richard_Baker_and_the_Myth.htm

Richard Baker and SF Zen Center: https://www.sfgate.com/books/article/Meditating-on-a-20-year-old-scandal-An-2857821.php

Scandals in emerging Western Buddhism - http://dro.dur.ac.uk/3932/1/3932.pdf

Genpo Merzel Zen Teacher – sex scandals: https://www.lionsroar.com/open-letter-to-dennis-genpo-merzel-signed-by-sixty-six-zen-teachers/

Genpo Merzel – Another Zen Sex Scandal: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/sex-sangha-apparently-we-still-havent-had-enough/

Genpo – more: https://clearviewblog.org/2011/02/23/the-cloud-of-knowing-not-knowing-sex-power-and-sangha/

ClearView Project and Guidelines: http://www.clearviewproject.org/safeharborethics.html - free downloadable PDF - http://www.clearviewproject.org/images/Safe_Harbor001.pdf

New York Times on Scandals in American Zen: https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-shocking-scandal-at-the-heart-of-american-zen

More on Zen Scandals in America: http://sweepingzen.com/the-shadow-of-the-roshi-sex-scandal-and-secrecy-in-american-zen-buddhism/

Abuse of Power in American Buddhism: http://www.lionsroar.com/confronting-abuse-power/

New York Times story on Zen scandals: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/world/asia/zen-buddhists-roiled-by-accusations-against-teacher.html

Zen Mythology – Stuart Lachs: https://buddhism-controversy-blog.com/2017/07/16/ready-to-mine-zens-legitimating-mythology-and-cultish-behavior/

Stuart Lachs Page – multiple essays on Zen issues: https://terebess.hu/english/lachs.html

Zen Sex scandals: http://religiondispatches.org/zen-and-the-art-of-the-sex-scandal/

Abuse in Buddhism: https://www.lionsroar.com/openletteronabuse/

Getting a Handle on Scandal – from Buddhist Geeks conference: https://youtu.be/HaYFgDl6Nmw

Zen scandals: https://tricycle.org/magazine/under-lens-american-zen-community-crisis/

Dainin Katagiri Zen Teacher sex scandal: http://sweepingzen.com/a-letter-to-nonin-chowaney-from-sojun-diane-martin-on-dainin-katagiri/

Chapter on Maezumi’s legacy: http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195367645.001.0001/acprof-9780195367645-chapter-9 (need to purchase the book, Zen Masters, to access to full essay – Recommended)

Letter from Maezumi’s daughter: http://sweepingzen.com/a-letter-from-kirsten-mitsuyo-maezumi/ and a response - http://sweepingzen.com/response-to-kirsten-mitsuyo-maezumi/

Dutch Buddhists and sexual abuse: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2015/05/dutch-buddhists-embroiled-in-sexual-abuse-scandal-nos/

German Zen leader admits to child sex abuse: http://www.dw.com/en/buddhist-priest-in-augsburg-trial-admits-to-child-sex-abuse/a-39279326 and http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/child-sexual-abuse-buddhist-monk-convicted-sentenced-hans-d-augsburg-bavaria-germany-a7836436.html

International Zen Association – from France: http://www.darkzen.org/articles/azi.html

Zen at War / Zen as a Cult of Death - https://apjjf.org/2013/11/30/Brian-Victoria/3973/article.html and http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/11/books/meditating-on-war-and-guilt-zen-says-it-s-sorry.html and http://www.darkzen.org/articles/zenholy.htm

Sexual Ethics, Zen Scandals, and Cults - http://sweepingzen.com/sexual-ethics-zen-scandals-and-cults/

NOTE: Both U.S. Buddhist publications - Tricycle and Lions Roar - have published many essays on the issues related to sexual scandals and spiritual abuse in Buddhist communities, mostly Tibetan and Zen. If you are interested in numerous points of view, recommend visiting both websites and search. www.lionsroar.com and www.tricycle.org

Additional Resources

Canadian Public Broadcasting interviews Shambhala whistleblower Andrea Winn who wrote the "Report Sunshine,* and who says "sexual abuse is embedded in the Shambala Community."

Report on Sogyal Rinpoche

The One Pure Dharma: The New Kadampa Tradition is Controversial--And Growing. Why?

Scherer, Bee (2018). ‘Neo-orthodox Tradition and Transition: Lama Ole Nydahl and the Diamond Way’ (Extended version of ‘A Neo-orthodox Buddhist Movement in Transition: The Diamond Way’, in E. Gallagher (ed.) 2017. Visioning New and Minority Religions: Projecting the Future. London: Routledge, pp. 156-165), available online at https://info-buddhism.com/Ole_Nydahl_and_Diamond_Way_B_Scherer.html    In the More tab of that article you’ll find more papers by Bee Scherer. 

Surviving Mind Control in the Buddha Maitreya Cult

A Psychological Report on the New Kadampa Tradition - By TENPEL JUNE 6, 2019 

Preservation and Transfer of the Knowledge of Tibetan Medicine

Tibetan Buddhism in the West: Problems of Adoption and Cross Cultural Confusion (Stuart Lachs)

David N. Kay (1997). The New Kadampa Tradition and the Continuity of Tibetan Buddhism in Transition. Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 277-293 

L.S. Dagyab Rinpoche. Problems in the development of Tibetan Buddhism in the West. From TIBETAN REVIEW October 1992, pp. 15–17. Originally written in German in cooperation with Regine Leisner, translated into English by Susanna Maass-Sagolla. The original was published in the 02/1992 edition of the German magazine Tibet-Forum. 

www.yogadangers.com    https://www.facebook.com/yogadangersdotcom/   https://www.facebook.com/MeditationDangers/

The Britton Meditation Lab at Brown University:  https://www.brown.edu/research/labs/britton/research

Britton Lab research on the “Varieties of Contemplative Experience.” (meaning not-so-good experiences) https://www.brown.edu/research/labs/britton/research/varieties-contemplative-experience

Lindahl, J.R. (2017) Somatic Energies and Emotional Traumas: A Qualitative Study of Practice-Related Challenges Reported by Vajrayāna Buddhists. Religions 8(8), 153;   https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/8/8/153.      

Taking Responsibility and Seeing Eye to Eye with the Guru – L. S. Dagyab Rinpoche & Norden Dagyab

Woven: Leaving Shambhala

 Anders, A.I.M (2020). Psychological and Societal Implications of Projecting the Shadow on the Feminine in Tibetan Buddhist Contexts DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93297, in Psychosomatic Medicine (IntechOpen) 

Summary of Reports of Dagri Rinpoche Sexual Assault Allegations – The Advocacy Group, November 9, 2020

Update November, 13, 2020 – FPMT update on the fact findings of the FaithTrust Institute

Update November, 14, 2020 by TARA-SOS

Full CC report

Press Release

CC’s Tweet (which sums it): “Our inquiry into Buddhist charity Rigpa Fellowship found former trustees failed to recognise the seriousness of abuse allegations. Today’s report heavily criticises institutional failings to provide a safe culture and environment.“

Regarding abuse by Dagri Rinpoche within the FPMT

DRAFT Summary Report from FaithTrust Institute  (can’t be downloaded but can be read)

Buddhist Project Sunshine

Anders, A.I.M. (2022). Mental health in Sowa Rigpa. Tibetan medicines conceptual contributions to medical diagnostics and treatment of mental diseases based on its merging with Anu- and Atiyoga techniques, Shaker Verlag, Print ISBN: 978-3-8440-8624-9, PDF-ISBN 978-3-8440-8629-4 (open access).

Anders, A.I.M. (2022). Risk factors of mental health in patients from Buddhist groups and related diagnostic issues. A study of group participants of twenty international Buddhist organizations; S. 1-119, Shaker Verlag, Print-ISBN 978-3-8440-8450-4; PDF-ISBN 978-3-8440-8499-3 (open access), Beginn einer Buchreihe: Psychotherapy, Buddhism and Tibetan Medicine.

Two documentaries at ARTE on abuse in Buddhist organizations