Contributors

This blog has been enriched by contributions from a wide range of guest writers, including scholars, clinicians, Buddhist practitioners, journalists, survivors of abuse, and translators. Some contributors have chosen to remain anonymous for personal, ethical, or professional reasons. All contributions reflect the authors’ own perspectives and experiences.

Contributor with a Provided Biography

Joanne Clark Bio

Joanne Clark

I am an American, living in Australia, now retired. After traumatic experiences during my time with Rigpa New York (1998-2000) and later with KTD, HH Karmapa’s Kagyu Centre in Woodstock New York (2000-2004), I have continued my spiritual path away from Dharma centres. I now study and practice from the teachings of HH Dalai Lama and from the past masters of India and Tibet.

I have a Bachelors Degree in English Education and have taught in various capacities throughout my life, including homeschooling various numbers of my children and stepchildren. I have also completed a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling and worked for a brief period as a Crisis clinician. I left this work to care for my mother whose health needs had increased. After her death, I volunteered and trained as a counsellor for survivors of sexual assault with the University of Massachusetts in Amherst for two years. I ended this upon moving back to Australia where I am now spending most of my time (pre-covid) caring for grandchildren so that my daughter can return to work.

I have been writing about controversial issues within Western Buddhist Dharma Centres for nine years now. I seek to better understand how a religion that I treasure, a religion with such remarkable teachings on love, compassion and wisdom can be used to create environments of ignorance and harm—and how we can better insure safety in the transmission of the Dharma, particularly the Vajrayana, to the West.

Other Contributors

In addition to Joanne Clark, the blog features contributions from a wider group of writers:

Named contributors (alphabetical order)

  • Alan J. W.

  • Andrea Ballance

  • Aparimana

  • Bernd Zander

  • Carol McQuire

  • Christopher Hamacher

  • Coline R. Moore

  • D. Choegyal

  • Justin Whitaker

  • Kaitlyn Hatch

  • Kiera Van Gelder

  • Linda Ciardiello

  • Mark Dunlop

  • Michelle Haslam

  • Nina Drew

  • Patrick Lambelet

  • Rob Preece

  • Sandy Clarke

  • Stuart Lachs

  • Tenzing Wangdak

  • Thierry Dodin

  • Zuzana Čerňáková

Contributors writing anonymously or under a pseudonym

  • A participant in the Heartwood Survivor Program

  • An anonymous journalist

  • An anonymous monk

  • An anonymous OKC survivor

  • An anonymous scholar

  • An anonymous Spanish former New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) practitioner

  • Multiple anonymous New Kadampa survivors

  • Different anonymous Rigpa survivors

Additional contributions

  • Translated articles from various international press sources