“One of the most important and tragic killer is the lack of compassion and kindness in our hearts.” We all have a natural feeling of kindness, a natural compassion. “But it seems that we can […]
Controversies, abuse, and cultish tendencies in Buddhist communities
Category: Buddhism
Launch of ‘Recovery from The New Kadampa Tradition’ resources website
Dr Michelle Haslam, clinical psychologist and ex-resident of a New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) centre, has teamed up with several collaborators and supporters to relaunch her report based website http://www.newkadampatraditionreport.org. The site now also links to […]
Monastics Must Be Celibate – Also in Vajrayana?
By Joanne Clark Some time ago, I recall a comment on Facebook that caused something of a stir. A person posted a memory of HH Dalai Lama saying during a teaching or question/answer session (or […]
Knowns and Unknowns Regarding Sogyal Rinpoche’s Biography
By Bernd Zander A review of “Sex and Violence in Tibetan Buddhism: The Rise and Fall of Sogyal Rinpoche” by Mary Finnigan and Rob Hogendoorn One main concern for Sogyal Rinpoche’s (SR) former students is […]
The Bodhisattva vows: “Failing to ward off defamation”
The Buddha taught the “eight worldly conditions” (Lokavipatti Sutta), instructing his disciples among others not to be attached to status and not to have aversion to disgrace. In Tibetan Buddhism we speak of “the eight […]
A Timely and Important Book “Fallout: Recovering from Abuse in Tibetan Buddhism”
By Joanne Clark Fallout: Recovering from Abuse in Tibetan Buddhism, by Tahlia Newland, is the story of Rigpa students coming to terms with disclosures of Sogyal Lakar’s abuses over decades, as revealed in the letter […]