Former teacher at Boulder's Shambhala accused of sexually as

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Sara Bronfman’s Lover, Lama Tenzin, suspended by Dalai Lama overcorruption claims
by Frank Parlato
October 31, 2017

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Readers of Frank Report might recall that Sara Bronfman introduced the ‘Venerable’ Lama Tenzin Dhonden, the self described ‘Personal Emissary for Peace for the Dalai Lama’, to Keith Raniere around 2008.

The three worked together to bring the Dalai Lama to Albany in 2009 and reportedly Sara Bronfman and the Lama Tenzin, a monk, became lovers for a time.

According to the Guardian, on October 5, 2017, The Venerable Lama Tenzin, 53, was suspended as Secretary and Trustee of the Dalai Lama Trust. The suspension pends an investigation into allegations that Lama Tenzin extorted payments from A Washington State businessman in 2008.

Daniel Kranzler claims he was forced to pay Lama Tenzin as much as $250,000, some of it in cash, to prevent the Lama Tenzin from working to cancel the Dalai Lama’s appearance at the Seeds of Compassion event in San Diego.

Lama Tenzin denies the allegations. He maintains he received $50,000 in legitimate salary, plus expenses for his work. He retained Patterson Belknap, a New York City law firm, to defend against possible civil or criminal charges.

Attorneys for the firm said the event “occurred nearly a decade ago,” the accusations are “largely inaccurate and otherwise relate to conduct that is not unlawful, unethical, or even inappropriate” and were “designed to falsely and unfairly tarnish” Lama Tenzin’s reputation.

The case does raise two questions:

– Why did Kranzler wait nine years to come forward to claim he was extorted into making payments to Lama Tenzin?

– Why did the Dalai Lama suspend Lama Tenzin if the charges against him are so weak?

A Buddhist monk makes two vows: the renunciation of money and sex. While Lama Tenzin may or may not be guilty of the charges in Washington State, the record is pretty clear that he broke his vow of celibacy with Sara Bronfman.

***

Sara Bronfman met the Venerable Lama Tenzin Dhonden in Idaho in 2007. He visited the heiress in Albany in 2008. Sara encouraged Lama Tenzin to invite His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Albany to meet and work with Keith Raniere. The Dalai Lama agreed to a four day visit in April 2009.

Clare Bronfman told the Albany Times Union she had a vision of “… bringing His Holiness together with Keith, believing that we may have certain tools that His Holiness would think would be good and beneficial for humanity.”

The Venerable Lama Tenzin told the media, “With the ethical tools developed by Keith Raniere, and the presence, wisdom and guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, we have the essential ingredients to transform our society.”

It wasn’t long before the Venerable Lama Tenzin was transformed by Raniere’s ethical tools, it seems:

Lama Tenzin went with Sara to Necker Island for a NXIVM seminar.


Sara Bronfman at Necker Island.


Lama Tenzin with Sara’s mother Georgia Bronfman.


Lama Tenzin with Raniere-disciple Allison Mack, at Necker Island.


Sara with her host on Necker Island – Sir Richard Branson.

According to a transcript of a March 24, 2015, recorded telephone conversation between Barbara Bouchey and Kristin Keeffe, two ex-harem members of Keith Raniere, as filed in the court records of the People vs. Barbara Bouchey [Note: The case against Bouchey was dismissed because of the perjury of Clare Bronfman]:

Kristin Keefe: [Do] you know who Sara was having an affair with? Lama Tenzin.

Barbara Bouchey: Well, that was obvious.

Kristin: She was sleeping with Lama Tenzin, then she was sleeping with Emiliano.

Barbara: Well, here’s the thing, Sara’s mother’s best friend caught Sara and Tenzin in the hot tub canoodling.

Kristin: That was, what’s her name, Sue White?

Barbara: Yeah, they weren’t having sex, but they were in the hot tub in a hot-necking embrace. So, I mean, you could tell. I’ve showed up to her house a couple of times and the two of them come out of that bedroom.

Kristin: Yeah, I’ve seen him come out of the… bedroom. It wasn’t even a secret. Keith use to say to her in front of other people, how’s your husband?

Barbara: Yeah, I know, honestly.

Clare announced to the media that the Dalai Lama would appear in Albany for four days of talks and meetings in colleges, side by side with Keith Raniere. It would culminate with a lecture by the Dalai Lama on Sunday, April 9, 2009, at the Albany Times Union Center.

Stories in the Albany Times Union, the Albany Student Press, The Daily Gazette and Metroland reported people’s astonishment at the coupling of the Dalai Lama with Keith Raniere.

The Albany Times-Union reported that, despite the stature of the Dalai Lama as a religious leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Skidmore College and Raniere’s own Alma Mater, Rensselaer Polytechnic, declined to host the event.

A Rensselaer spokesperson explained, “While we have the highest respect for the Dalai Lama and his teachings, we chose not to accept the invitation based on a variety of considerations.”

The University of Albany agreed to rent out one of their arenas with a condition, “that by no means were we going to allow NXIVM to be part of our relationship with the Dalai Lama. NXIVM and the organization were not going to have any part with dealing with our students, or advertising or recruiting,” according to U. Albany’s vice president for development, Fardin Sanai.

Daniel Weaver, writing in the Schenectady Gazette, wrote “Keith Raniere has been involved in controversy for the last 20 years. He’s been the subject of lawsuits and investigations. He has initiated numerous lawsuits, many of which appear to be frivolous. He also harasses people…. He is hardly a poster boy for humanitarianism, peace and ethics; and his invitation to the Dalai Lama to speak makes one question the motive of the invitation.…. Raniere has not utilized compassionate ethical methods and solutions to address problems. Keith Raniere has brought anything but peace to the Capital Region.”

Following the negative publicity, the Dalai Lama canceled his appearance. Times Union Publisher George Hearst spoke with a representative of the Dalai Lama. Afterward, Hearst said in his newspaper, “There’s enough stuff out there that (they) don’t need to expose His Holiness to this kind of risk.”

For NXIVM, this was a PR nightmare.

Sara wrote on her blog:

“The highly paid media campaign designed to destroy our company, or any person or entity related to it, reared its ugly head at the news of [The Dalai Lama’s] visit. We had naively believed people would be excited about his visit and that our community would put their pettiness aside to unite for this momentous occasion. We were wrong. His visit was met with fear and cynicism and some of our local media sources worked ardently to destroy the honor faster than we could build it.”

Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman in the audience when the Dalai Lama appeared in Albany.

Raniere and Nancy Salzman flew to India to see the Dalai Lama and brought Sara and Clare with them. The Dalai Lama agreed to deliver a single lecture. He was coming to the US for a Harvard University sponsored speaking engagement and could spare a couple of hours in Albany.

Sara called it a success.

“After an onslaught of negative articles and powerful local personalities voicing their lack of support for his proposed visit, His Holiness postponed until the truth became evident,” Sara wrote on her blog. “In the end the truth prevailed, but in the process we lost participants, money and good faith.”

The press announced the rescheduling, noting that the Dalai Lama event moved from the 7,500 seat Albany Times-Union Center to the much smaller 2,800 seat Albany Palace Theater.

When questioned if there was any financial incentive from the Bronfmans connected with the Dalai Lama changing his mind about appearing in Albany, Lobsang Nyandak, representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the Americas, told the Times Union that the Dalai Lama would not receive money for his trip. When asked for clarification, he said that whatever money was received would be “used for charitable and other purposes as per His Holiness’ guidance.”

Reportedly, two days before the Dalai Lama’s appearance in Albany, the Dalai Lama Trust was registered in New York State.


The Dalai Lama with Lama Tenzin.


On May 6, the Dalai Lama spoke at Albany’s Palace Theatre to a crowd of about 2600.

Onstage, the Dalai Lama presented Sara and Clare with white silk scarves, called “kataks,” which, according to Tibetan culture, symbolize purity.


The Dalai Lama appears onstage with Clare and Sara Bronfman.


On stage with the Dalai Lama. How much it cost the two heiresses for this moment is anybody’s guess.

Seated cross-legged on a chair, the Dalai Lama spoke about compassion for an hour and a half.

When the time came for questions, the Dalai Lama was asked about his canceled, then re-scheduled, visit.

The Dalai Lama replied as follows:

Oh. Firstly I received an invitation that, in principle, I accepted. Then I received some request that I should not go there because of this is controversial; some allegations.

“Then we carry further investigation. Then finally, including this organization’s teacher [Keith Raniere], and his, some friend, {Nancy Salzman] came to see me in Dharamsala and I discuss, I observe, basically, they are carrying some kind of movement about ‘ethics.’

“Then, as I mentioned earlier, it is my moral responsibility to support any movement by any person who carry, who are working for ethics. Because in today’s world many problems essentially our own creation. Nobody want more problems, but due to lack of ethics, lack of principle, this unwanted man-made problems happen. Whether politician, whether businessman, whether a religious person, whether anyone, moral principle is very essential, like backbone.

“So, therefore, I felt, I feel it is my moral responsibility, but, at the same time, these allegations [of Mr. Raniere being an unethical person].


Keith and Nancy listen attentively to the Dalai Lama.

“So when I met them personally in Dharamsala, I told them very friendly, very openly, ‘As far your sort of work for promotion of ethics, I fully support. Is my moral responsibility, but, at the same time, those allegations you must make very clear.



If you have done something wrong, you must accept, you must admit, and change, make correction. If you not done [anything unethical], make clear all these allegations, truthfully, honestly, openly, transparently.’



“Then some media, I always telling media people, ‘media people should have long nose, as long as (audience laughs and applauds)


The NXIVM audience laughs when the Dalai Lama said the media should have a 'long nose.' I believe they thought he meant the media had the long nose of Pinocchio. But he asked the audience to stop laughing and explained he meant the long nose of the elephant.

… wait, wait, wait… [applause dies down] as long as an elephant nose and smell, in the front and behind. That’s very important. And make clear to the public what’s going on. Whether with the politician or with the mayor or religions people, the bishop or myself, must sort of watch and make clear, and inform public, provided it must be very honest, unbiased, objective, that’s important. Sometimes, say, one company financing a newspaper then newspaper report a little bit biased. I think not as biased as Chinese propaganda. But sometimes you see a little sort of biased sort of version also is happening. That must be avoided, must be honest, truthful.



“So, now I think in front of, I think the public, I want to to tell the media people, ‘please carry continuously, all these spots where you have some doubt, thorough investigation.’

“And those concerned people’s side: ‘Also make clear. All your work must be transparent.'”



“So, that’s my view. So, I feel, no problem, come here, meet people, and talk. Because of some criticism remain distance? Not much use. Come face to face and talk, friendly, bluntly. Truth always win. So, more talk, more investigation, truth will become more clear clear, clear, like that. So, that’s my answer.” (applause).


The Dalai Lama makes a seemingly prophetic utterance when he says that transparency will make truth about Keith Raniere clear.

At the event’s conclusion, the Dalai Lama greeted Raniere on stage and placed a katak around his neck.


The Dalai Lama places the white scarf of purity on Keith Raniere

After the lecture, Sara wrote on her blog:

“As we stood in the rain to say goodbye to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, he touched each of our cheeks and held our faces next to his with the words ‘thank you’ and ‘see you again.’ Tears started running uncontrollably down my cheeks.… his visit was a privilege we fought for….. It was a long road, and one paved with hardship, adversity, and tremendous growth…. However my hope for humanity was restored by possibly the greatest leader of our time…. who has a strong enough sense of himself not to seek external security, and who conforms to truth as his standard …. It was a victory for us, for this region and for humanity. I feel proud to have been a part of this great feat.”

Clare wrote on her blog.

“Due to the ongoing struggle several of my closest friends and I have (had) here in Albany – how we have been portrayed in the media – his visiting and message was particularly moving. His coming brought about a certain contradiction: what is written about NXIVM, Keith, Sara and myself in the press – being labeled as a cult – and a world leader showing his support for us after thorough investigation.”

The Dalai Lama asked the media to investigate Keith Raniere.

The New York Post, Vanity Fair, Forbes, The New York Observer, the Nation, and the Albany Times Union reported many things previously unknown to the public.

This included allegations of statutory rape; efforts to hide the paternity of his son; a lovesick letter he sent followed by veiled death threats to his ex lover; and that, according to allegations contained in court records, the Bronfmans, following Keith Raniere’s advice, lost more than $150 million in bad real estate and commodities investments, and detailed Bronfman-Raniere’s history of litigation. The Times Union called NXIVM a “litigation machine.”

According to sources, Keith told his followers that the Times Union paid women to lie on the record.


Keith Raniere tells followers ‘the brighter the light the more the bugs.’

Earlier this year, the Frank Report broke the story about the human branding and blackmail scheme of Raniere. The New York Times then turned that into a worldwide story.

Hundreds of media outlets have since stuck their long noses into the Raniere camp. The smell has been piquant.

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Revealed: Dalai Lama’s ‘personal emissary’ suspended over corruption claims: Tibetan monk who is gatekeeper to the Dalai Lama in the US strongly denies allegations he demanded improper payments
by Katherine Ellison in San Francisco and Rory Carroll in Los Angeles
October 27, 2017 03.00 EDT

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The Dalai Lama (right) with Tenzin Dhonden in Idaho in 2005. Dhonden, 53, has been suspended from the Dalai Lama Trust pending an investigation. Photograph: Ted S Warren/AP

For more than 15 years, Tenzin Dhonden has stood between the Dalai Lama and multitudes of US philanthropists, celebrities, scholars and officials eager for even an instant in the revered Buddhist leader’s presence. In his red and saffron robes and gleaming bald pate, the smiling Tibetan monk, widely known as Lama Tenzin, has introduced himself as the Dalai Lama’s “personal emissary for peace”.

Yet the monk has now been suspended as secretary and trustee of the Dalai Lama Trust, a charitable organization chaired by the Dalai Lama, pending an investigation into allegations from a prominent Seattle-based technology entrepreneur who claims that, between 2005 and 2008, the monk abused his role to extract unjustified payments from him.

The Dalai Lama is said to have expressed “deep disappointment and concern” over complaints about his gatekeeper, which include the allegation he demanded payments in return for ensuring the spiritual leader appear at a major event in Washington state.

Dhonden, 53, strongly disputes the allegations. In a move that shows how seriously he regards the potential impact of the claims against him, the quiet monk, who is respected in Dharamsala, the hill town in India which hosts the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, has contracted Patterson Belknap, a major New York City law firm to defend him.

Attorneys for the law firm said in an email that the allegations against their client relate to events that “occurred nearly a decade ago, are largely inaccurate and otherwise relate to conduct that is not unlawful, unethical, or even inappropriate”. They added in the email the allegations have been “designed to falsely and unfairly tarnish” Dhonden’s reputation. A source close to the monk said any payments he received were for legitimate work done and business expenses.

Those lawyers are now locked in a behind-the-scenes battle with Daniel Kranzler, the Seattle businessman and philanthropist who claims that for several years he felt pressured into making payments to the monk, including some he alleges were made in cash to avoid leaving a trace.

Kranzler first relayed his concerns to the Dalai Lama during a face-to-face meeting over the summer, according to two other people present at the meeting. He has also laid out his accusations to the Dalai Lama in two letters, both of which have been seen by the Guardian.


The Dalai Lama in London. Many relied on Dhonden for access to the spiritual leader. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

Dhonden was not present at his San Diego home, a ground-floor apartment, during a visit this past weekend, and there is some suggestion he may be in India. The Dalai Lama Trust, which has a website that still lists Dhonden as its “venerable” secretary, has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

For more than two weeks, the Dalai Lama, and other figures close to the Buddhist leader, also held their silence, declining to respond to multiple requests for comment. However on Tuesday, the Dalai Lama’s personal secretary confirmed in an email that Dhonden has been suspended since 5 October, adding that the monk has been asked to respond to the allegations “in order to reach a conclusion” over the accusations.

It is a difficult predicament for Dhonden, whose star has been on the rise since 1991, when he arrived in the US and taught meditation and counseled terminally ill patients. In 2000, he founded a not-for-profit organisation called Friends of the Dalai Lama, based in La Jolla, California, near San Diego, which he still controls. Over time, Dhonden became the Dalai Lama’s de facto emissary, a position that led to frequent contact with some of the Buddhist leader’s many rich and well-connected supporters.

Many, but not all, relied on Dhonden for access to the Dalai Lama. “Everything I have to approve,” he told the San Diego Union Tribune in a 2015 interview. “There are many requests, demands coming to me.” The same article quoted admirers who praised Dhonden’s “equanimity” and “pure goodness”.

It is little surprise that Dhonden has, along the way, established connections with some of the Dalai Lama’s most high-profile US admirers – Kranzler said he introduced the monk to Steve Jobs, the singer Dave Matthews and other well-known artists and rich businesspeople interested in Buddhism. Dhonden may also have made enemies of some in the US over his ability to control access to the spiritual leader.

W​​e had no choice not to give in to what we clearly saw as blackmail

-- Daniel Kranzler, businessman and philanthropist

Concerns have recently been expressed by some other American Buddhists, for example, about the monk’s judgment following an 80th birthday celebration Dhonden organized for the Dalai Lama in California in 2015.

The event, held in Anaheim, south of Los Angeles, featured a giant golden cake, testimonials by minor celebrities and dancers in tight body suits who circled around the spiritual leader while a lotus flower-shaped contraption lowered other dancers from the ceiling.

Richard Grace, a Napa vineyard owner who has been friends with the Dalai Lama for more than 20 years, was in the audience, and was horrified. “How does anybody think that’s appropriate?” he said. “It was insulting.”

Grace, a former marine officer, blamed Dhonden.

Upon hearing friends and acquaintances also criticise the monk’s performance as emissary he resolved to alert the Dalai Lama – a task complicated, he said, by Dhonden loyalists in Dharamsala he claimed had insulated the spiritual leader from such complaints.

Grace contacted Marty Krasney, the director of Dalai Lama Fellows in San Francisco, who shared similar concerns.

The duo then enlisted Kranzler to join them at a meeting they arranged to convey their concerns to the Dalai Lama while he was speaking at the University of California in San Diego. The in-person meeting was, they believed, a rare chance to circumvent Dhonden’s influence over the spiritual leader’s information flow.


The Dalai Lama and his emissary Tendzin Dhonden (far left) during a blessing ceremony. Photograph: Ted S Warren/AP

The meeting was scheduled for 10 minutes but ran more than an hour, according to those present.

Grace said the allegations of financial impropriety left the Dalai Lama “slack-jawed” with surprise – a description echoed by Krasney and Kranzler.

The most serious of those allegations relate to a large public event featuring the Dalai Lama that Kranzler’s charitable nonprofit, the Kirlin Foundation, organised in 2008 called Seeds of Compassion.

In Kranzler’s first letter to the Dalai Lama, which was sent in July, he said said it was only after his planners had reserved seats for 150,000 attendees and committed to several million dollars in expenses that Dhonden allegedly threatened to cancel the Dalai Lama’s trip unless he received additional payments.

Kranzler claimed the monk demanded “very substantial payment in various forms” for the event to go ahead, adding: “We had no choice not to give in to what we clearly saw as blackmail.”

The letter contained a breakdown of those alleged payments. Some were said to be documented in checks and bank deposits, while others, Kranzler alleged, cannot be traced because the monk “asked to be paid in cash to avoid records”. In all, Kranzler alleged in the letter, he paid Dhonden more than $250,000 in connection with the Seeds of Compassion visit. He further alleged it was only after the event ended and Dhonden asked him to buy him a $850,000 house to continue to arrange events with the Dalai Lama that “I said ‘enough is enough’”.

The source close to Dhonden said he had never owned a house of such value, and any payments he received were for legitimate work.

The San Diego meeting with the Dalai Lama, and ensuing letters detailing complaints about his emissary, were rare exceptions to convention around the Dalai Lama, said Robert Thurman, a Columbia University professor of Buddhist studies, who co-founded the Tibet House in New York and is one of the Dalai Lama’s closest US collaborators.

“It is considered a breach of etiquette to bring up unpleasant matters to the Dalai Lama,” Thurman said. That custom, he added, “leads to whistleblowers not being rewarded”. Thurman said the Dalai Lama never profits from conference talks or appearances, never even taking honorariums.

Ultimately, the Dalai Lama may now be required to decide whom he believes: his long-serving monk or a trio of American Buddhists now questioning his integrity. The case may also rest on the Dalai Lama’s interpretation of any documented payments to his emissary, and whether or not he believes they were justified.

A source close to Dhonden who asked not to be identified said the monk received far less than the $250,000 Kranzler claims he paid them, and insisted the payments he did receive were for legitimate work setting up the Seattle event.

The source said Dhonden received approximately $50,000 in salary in 2007 and 2008 for event preparations, plus legitimate expenses, but no clandestine cash payments. The source also asked why Kranzler only came forward this summer, nine years after he claims he was strong-armed into making these payments.


‘It is considered a breach of etiquette to bring up unpleasant matters’ ... the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India. Photograph: Ashwini Bhatia/AP

That question was addressed in Kranzler’s second letter to the Dalai Lama, which was sent earlier this month, after Dhonden’s lawyers mounted a strong defense of their client.

Kranzler said in that second letter that he “held his silence” for almost a decade “because in my own simple inept Dharma, I felt that it was inappropriate to speak ill of someone”. He changed his mind, he said, after he was “asked by a number of people in the community that support your wisdom and message of compassion, as well as several individuals in the Private Office of Your Holiness, to ‘tell the truth’.”

Ron Rabin, the executive director of the Kirlin Foundation at the time the alleged payments were made, said he had no knowledge of any under-the-table cash payments and had no direct conversations with Dhonden about cancellation of the event.

These false allegations, raised after nearly a decade, are an attempt to unfairly tarnish Lama Tenzin’s reputation

-- Statement from Tenzin Dhonden

However, Rabin said he was told by Kranzler at the time that the monk, who was not involved in the day-to-day organization of Seeds of Compassion, was threatening to cancel the event unless he received payments. He said the foundation concluded the monk was “the direct line to His Holiness” and “in that sense we had to keep Tenzin happy”.

Asked by the Guardian why he would have made payments to the monk if he believed they were inappropriate, Kranzler replied that had he not paid the money “the Dalai Lama wouldn’t have come to Seattle and thousands of lives wouldn’t have been changed”. He added: “If the cost of that was to pay the man, so be it.”

But it is clear that Dhonden, who has a reputation for being a humble and soft-spoken monk, is determined to fight back against his accusers.

“These false allegations, raised after nearly a decade, are an attempt to unfairly tarnish Lama Tenzin’s reputation,” a representative for the monk said in a statement to the Guardian. “Lama Tenzin has lived a modest life, working tirelessly to organize public events, that have enabled millions to connect with the mission of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”

The statement added that “any concerns” have “already been refuted by documentation” provided to the Dalai Lama Trust, adding: “We are confident that the truth will reveal itself and there will be a positive outcome.”

Additional reporting by Julia Carrie Wong

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Letters of The Current Situation
by The Chronicles
February 2, 2006

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The Current Situation (TCS), as it was known, grew into a bitter dispute that seemed unresolvable, and over the course of the next three years, generated a flurry of letters and official statements, several of which are presented on this page.

In late November 1988, rumors began to circulate that the Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin was sick with AIDS and that he may have infected a sangha member with HIV. Regardless of your point of view on the issues, the turmoil that followed was excruciating and heartbreaking.

Many sangha members called for the Regent to step down, and many others expressed their support of the Regent's continued leadership.

The Current Situation (TCS), as it was known, grew into a bitter dispute that seemed unresolvable, and over the course of the next three years, generated a flurry of letters and official statements, several of which are presented on this page. Most of these letters and documents were widely circulated at the time. But the last three—Karl Springer's letter to Khyentse Rinpoche in July 1991, and Khyentse Rinpoche's letters in reply to Karl Springer and Patrick Sweeney a few weeks later—have only recently come to light and are presented here for the first time in a public format.

Khyentse Rinpoche died just seven weeks after these letters were sent. Before his death, he left copies with one of his students for safekeeping and said that they might be useful someday. Last summer (2005) these letters made their way to North America, where they passed through several hands before finding their way to the Chronicles.

***

December 29, 1988
Statement to the Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin
from the Vajradhatu Board of Directors

Statement to the Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin
by Vajradhatu Board of Directors: David I. Rome, Loppon Lodro Dorje (Eric Holm), Jeremy J. Hayward W.O.G.S., Kenneth H. Green O.G.S., John W. Roper O.G.S., Charles G. Leif O.G.S., Samuel Bercholz O.G.S., Michael A. Root, Mitchell M. Levy, Kasung Dapon James J. Gimian, Kasung Dapon Martin Janowitz
December 29, 1988

VAJRADHATU
Buddhist Church of Canada
L’Eglise Buddhiste de Canada

Board of Directors:
Vidyadhara the Venerable Chogyam Trungpa, President
Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin, Executive Vice President
David I. Rome, Executive Secretary
Lodro Dorje Holm, Head of Practice and Study
Samuel Bercholz, James M. Gimian, Kenneth H. Green, Jeremy J. Hayward, Martin Janowitz, Mitchell M. Levy, Charles G. Lief, Michael A. Root, John W. Roper, Karl G. Springer, Ronald C. Stubbert

Vajradhatu U.S.A.
1345 Spruce Street
Boulder, Colorado 80302

Vajradhatu Europe
Zwetschenweg 23
3550 Marburg Germany

Major Centers
Karma Dzong
1084 Tower Road
Halifax

Nova Scotia B3H 2Y5
Gampo Abbey
Pleasant Bay
Nova Scotia B0E 2P0

Dharmadhatus
Edmonton, Alb.
Montreal, P.Q.
Nelson, B.C.
Ottowa, Ont.
Vancouver, B.C.

An Ontario Non-Profit Corporation

STATEMENT TO THE VAJRA REGENT OSEL TENDZIN

The three jewels, gurus of the lineage, herukas, dakinis, dharmapalas, lokapalas, guide us, inspire us.

Sir, at this time the future of our sangha and the continuation of the Vidyadhara's teachings are in great danger because of your actions.

You have engaged in unprotected sexual activity after knowing you had HIV disease and AIDS illness, with individuals whom you did not inform of your condition.

You have used your position as Vajra Regent in order to induce others to fulfill your sexual desires.

Also, you have in our view engaged in the three main symptoms of corruption described in the Court Vision:

"The first is pleasure-seeking, love of luxury and sexual indulgence; the second is love of power and indulgence in the abuse of one's subordinates; the third is infatuation with one's charisma and intelligence."

These violations have become the source of great pain, confusion, and loss of heart in our sangha. You have lost the trust and confidence of your colleagues, the Directors of Vajradhatu and the Nalanda Foundation, and of a large number of students of the Vidyadhara. Even now, your attempt to continue in power is causing further pain and divisiveness in our world. By all these transgressions, you have clearly violated your oath as Director of the First Class of Vajradhatu.

Therefore, as Directors of Vajradhatu and the Nalanda Foundation and as Ministers of the Realm empowered by the Vidyadhara and bound by our oaths to him - and also as your vajra brothers, fellow students and friends - we find it necessary to clearly censure all these violations - both to yourself and to the sangha. We find that for the spiritual welfare and psychological well-being of our communities, in order not to encourage factions and divisions in the sangha, and to provide the best opportunity for the continuation of the Vidyadhara's teachings it would be best for you to voluntarily withdraw yourself at this time from all activities of leadership, teaching and administration in the spheres of Vajradhatu, the Nalanda Foundation and the Kingdom of Shambhala.

Acknowledging our appreciation for your generosity and great service in the past, to the dharma and to the sangha, we make this statement with sadness.

We pledge our continuing support for your personal welfare and that of your family.

With humility and deep devotion to the dharma and the Great Eastern Sun vision, for the sake of all beings, this statement has been composed and agreed to at Dorje Dzong, Halifax, on the 29th day of December, 1988.

(Signatures)
David I. Rome
Loppon Lodro Dorje (Eric Holm)
Jeremy J. Hayward W.O.G.S.
Kenneth H. Green O.G.S.
John W. Roper O.G.S.
Charles G. Leif O.G.S.
Samuel Bercholz O.G.S.
Michael A. Root
Mitchell M. Levy
Kasung Dapon James J. Gimian
Kasung Dapon Martin Janowitz

This letter from the Board, which asks VROT to step down, is the first official document of the turmoil. Because the board operated by consensus, and because individual members had very different points of view about what action to take, this letter was a hard-won compromise. Although its existence and intent were widely known in the community at the time, the letter itself was never made public.

***

January 17, 1989
Letter to the Sangha
from the Vajra Regent ösel Tendzin

 Letter to the Vajradhatu Board of Directors
by The Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin
January 17, 1989

THE KALAPA HOUSE
17 January 1989

Dear Members of the Noble Sangha:

I am delighted to be able to write to you to express my appreciation for your courage and devotion. The way you have handled yourselves during this difficult time is a mark of the power of the teachings and of your own intelligence. Although many obstacles may still cloud our vision, they are all temporary. I have great confidence that the strength of our practice will enable us to cut through any and all of these.

During this upheaval I have never lost faith in my guru, and I have relied solely on his blessings to be able to act properly. Although the faults of myself and others are the cause of this apparent confusion, this situation has provided a means for purifying whatever negative karma has been accumulated. As Lord Buddha said, there is no fault so grievous that it cannot be purified, and as the Vidyadhara Trungpa, Rinpoche himself said, “Whatever occurs in the confused mind is regarded as the path; everything is workable. It is a fearless proclamation, the lion’s roar.”

At present there are individuals in the sangha who would like me to remove myself from the sphere of Vajradhatu and Nalanda Foundation. If I were to do such a thing it would violate the oath I took with my guru, and it would also violate my heart. I intend to continue in my activities with humble dedication to fulfilling the Vidyadhara’s wishes.

As to my current plans, I have decided to return to retreat to continue my practice. There have been various indications that if I do so my health will improve. My fundamental conviction is that in working with disease, dharma is the best medicine. Many students have requested that I grant the Abhiseka of Vajrayogini and lead the Vajradhatu Seminary as scheduled. Whether I do so will depend on my health. The main point now is for everyone to practice without complications so that we can fulfill our goals.

I have always considered all of you my friends, my dharma brothers and sisters. I have great affection and love for you and nothing but sincere wishes for your long life, prosperity, and success on the path. I would like to reaffirm my commitment to working with you in upholding the command of the victorious ones and in particular of the glorious piercing light of sanity, the Vidyadhara, Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche. Please stay well and practice with a hard and soft mind.

All my love to you.

With blessings,
The Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin

A few weeks later, the Regent sends this message to the sangha. In it he says that there are individuals in the sangha who would like him to remove himself from office, but there is no reference to the Board’s statement. He says that doing so would “violate the oath I took with my guru, and it would also violate my heart.”

***

October 17, 1989
Letter to the Sangha
from His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Letter to the Entire Adhatu Sangha
by Ven. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
October 17, 1989

TO THE ENTIRE ADHATU SANGHA

I have recently learned that the conflicts occurring within the Vajradhatu Sangha have still not been resolved. This has caused me great concern and I am very much unhappy that these problems continue.

As I have communicated to you earlier, it is my deep conviction that the Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin was carefully appointed by Trungpa Rinpoche and was confirmed by His Holiness Karmapa. It is my feeling that all students having had a connection with Trungpa Rinpoche should respect his appointment and in this way follow Trungpa Rinpoche’s instructions.

If they follow the Regent’s instructions that is good, since in doing so that is serving Trungpa Rinpoche. Trungpa Rinpoche appointed the Regent knowing his capacities and seeing completely his capabilities to continue his lineage. Those who are experiencing difficulties following the Regent now should realize that it is necessary to do so in order to follow Trungpa Rinpoche’s instructions.

Everyone is aware that Vajradhatu is quite well-known for its grandness and for how well organized it is. Among the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism it is one of the biggest and most highly regarded organizations and it has taken great Bodhisattva activities to create this. You should all realize that because of your own problems you may be damaging the Sangha that Trungpa Rinpoche created.

As for officials of Vajradhatu who were appointed by Trungpa Rinpoche the purpose of this was so that you would take responsibility for his teachings to flourish. Following the leadership of the Regent as you were instructed to by Trungpa Rinpoche will be only the way to sustain Vajradhatu.

To help all of you, Trungpa Rinpoche put each of his centers under the care of different protectors and Dharmapalas. By going against that which benefits the centers, obstacles and difficulties may be encountered.

I am giving this advice not because of my partiality but simply because this is the only way to benefit and continue the Sangha and because of my deep commitment to Trungpa Rinpoche which you all know very well.

You are constantly in my thoughts and you should all continue to do the practices I have advised in order to overcome present obstacles.

With Blessings:

H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Writing to the community at the request of the Regent and Karl Springer, His Holiness says, “Those who are experiencing difficulties following the Regent now should realize that it is necessary to do so …”. This unequivocal message was met with simultaneous rejoicing and despair, and provoked the Board of Directors to send its own delegation to meet with Khyentse Rinpoche, Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, and other prominent Kagyu and Nyingma teachers in Asia.

***

November 28, 1989
Letter to the Sangha
from the Vajra Regent ösel Tendzin

Letter to Vajradhatu Board of Directors
by Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin
November 28, 1989

VAJRADHATU
An Association of Buddhist Meditation Centers
28 November 1989

Dear Vajradhatu Sangha Member:

It was in January that I last addressed all of you. At that time, I informed you of my plans for retreat and requested everybody to continue with the practice and study of the dharma as given to us by the Vidyadhara, Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche. It has been a turbulent year. In some sense, the turbulence has expressed the naked and raw quality of our emotions, and at the same time has, in my mind, provided deeper access to understanding fully our own commitment. Some of this has been extremely embarrassing. However, as we have been taught, shedding the fortification of ego is not only embarrassing but painful.

Now it appears to me that it is time for all of us to take some definite steps to go forward, personally and as a sangha. It is time for us to re-examine as thoroughly as we can our practice and our place in this life. We all have a particular seat. We all have our innate worth. However, only the dharma can bring about that kind of equanimity and understanding.

Fortunately, the Vidyadhara was ruthless in working with his own students in this respect: he did not hand people solutions, did not provide baby food to grownups, and was constantly warning all of us of the dangers of spiritual materialism, self-made gurus, and spiritual trips. In this way he created Vajradhatu to carry on the authentic dharma which is not based on ego and the deceptions of mara. He let every one of us live out our karma in the context of a larger vision and a larger world. For that we should be eternally grateful.

How shall we now proceed to fulfill the Vidyadhara’s wishes and to fulfill our own lives? First of all, I feel that it is necessary for all of us to abandon ill will and negativity toward each other. Sometimes thoughts become so vivid that they stick in the mind like real entities. And as we might have experienced in our practice, no matter what we do, it is hard to dissolve them. Even if we practice all the different techniques, sometimes we still cling to negative feelings and emotions. Therefore, I feel we must practice as Milarepa did when encountering the demons in his cave. After trying all the techniques he could think of, he finally embraced the demons and said, “All rights, let’s play together.”

Please understand that I am not advocating some kind of love and light approach to the strong or bitter feelings we might have. I am not advocating lip service as practice. We must do this – for our own happiness and for the teachings to continue. There is no other way. If we carry with us even the slightest suspicion which could produce hatred, then we will find ourselves living in the hell realm, when our intention is to practice the dharma.

As for myself, I hold no grudges toward anyone, nor do I wish to see anyone suffer because of anything I may do or have done. At the same time, it is supremely important that all of us understand clearly the reality of cause and effect, so that we can impartially contemplate how situations such as this occur, and how they can be boycotted, as Rinpoche used to say. Panic brings about fear, fear brings about frozen space. Frozen space brings about the appearance of ego. It was my feeling a year ago and it is my feeling now that if we would not have panicked, but actually stuck together as a family, as a sangha, we could have boycotted the tremendous upheaval that occurred, and at the same time made great progress in our understanding. Since this process of ego is continually going on, we undoubtedly will have a chance to work on this again. However, we might as well start fresh right now.

I have been working on my health, with the help of the guru’s blessing and the blessings of the late Very Venerable Kalu, Rinpoche and of course His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse, Rinpoche, and also Trogawa, Rinpoche. Sometimes I feel great, sometimes not so good. Even so, I feel it is time once again for me to take up active leadership of Vajradhatu and the Nalanda Foundation, and depending on my health, give the various teachings that are necessary for people to progress along the path. Therefore, I would like to announce my intention to grant the Vajrayogini Abisheka in late May at Karme Choling, and to preside over the 1990 Vajradhatu Seminary at Rocky Mountain Dharma Center. Everyone will be kept informed with regard to the technicalities such as application forms, etc. Those are the teaching commitments that I would like to make at this time. I will stay on retreat until then.

Finally, I would like to make it completely clear as to my understanding of lineage and especially what was given to me as sacred trust by the Vidyadhara. As I have said, all of us have a place in this mandala, and none is higher or worth more or lower or worth less than any other. Nevertheless, in order for karma to ripen, in order for the dharma to bear fruit, there must be one lineage holder in whom resides the spiritual and temporal authority to say “Yes” or “No”. That karma has fallen to me. The samaya of my relationship to my own duty for me is beyond good and bad, success and failure. And having been warned over and over again by the Vidyadhara about the dangers of democracy, I must reiterate the nature of this command. At the same time, everyone is invited into the boiling pot of chaos which is our world. Everybody is appreciated for who they are. So the real middle way is neither authoritarian nor democratic, but simple the natural hierarchy based on the blessings of the Buddha and the Victorious Lineage.

In conclusion, I would like to wish everybody excellent health, wonderful dharma experiences, and worldly success of all kinds. Keep smiling.

With Blessings,
Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin

These Regent reflects: “It was my feeling a year ago and it is my feeling now that if we would not have panicked, but actually stuck together as a family…we could have boycotted the tremendous upheaval that occurred…” He then goes on to announce his “intention to grant the Vajrayogini Abhisheka….and to preside over the 1990 Vajradhatu Seminary.”

***

February 15, 1990
Letter to the Sangha
from His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Letter to the Sangha
by Ven. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
February 15, 1990

Ven. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
15/2/90

To the Sangha,

I have received many letters expressing the concerns of your community. Since I could not reply to everyone individually, I would like to convey here the fruit of my reflection.

I feel strongly that it is very important that the Vajra Regent do a strict retreat, starting with this New Year of the Horse, and at least for the duration of this year.

I suggest also that everyone close to Trungpa Rinpoche – such as representatives of the Regent, Lady Diana, the Board of Directors, the Sanyums, the Sawang (if his studies allow him to come), as well as old and new students who wish to attend – gather on the occasion of the anniversary of Trungpa Rinpoche’s parinirvana and perform together the Mahamudra sadhana for seven days. At the end of this period of intense practice and supplication, a meeting should be held with all the participants. By all means, out of this meeting, a constructive solution must be found to resolve the current conflicts.

Mutual understanding, loving-kindness, and harmony among the brothers and sisters who constitute your sangha is vital in order for everyone to progress in their practice and to preserve the work Trungpa Rinpoche accomplished in the course of many years for the benefit of beings.

I shall keep everyone in my prayers,

With all my best wishes and greetings for the coming Horse Year,
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

After receiving further information about the conflict, His Holiness suggests very strongly that the Vajra Regent go into strict retreat. He also implores the sangha to gather together to practice the Sadhana of Mahamudra for seven days. He goes on to say, “By all means, out of this meeting, a constructive solution must be found to resolve the current conflicts.” This gathering never occurred.

***

August 26, 1990
Statement to the Sangha
from His Eminence Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche

Statement of His Eminence Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche to the Vajradhatu Sangha
by His Eminence Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche
August 26, 1990

KARME-CHOLING
Barnet, Vermont 05821 802-633-2384
Founded by the Vidyadhara, the Venerable Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche

STATEMENT OF HIS EMINENCE JAMGON KONGTRUL RINPOCHE TO THE VAJRADHATU SANGHA
Sunday, 26 August, 1990

First I would like to acknowledge the twentieth anniversary of the arrival of the Venerable Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in North America and the founding of Karme-Choling. It is good for us to appreciate this today.

The Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin passed away last night. I would like to express my sorrow, and I send my thoughts to Lady Rich and the family of the Regent. The Vajra Regent received the lineage transmission from Trungpa Rinpoche, and he accomplished a great deal over many years in teaching dharma for the benefit of others. His exertion and accomplishment are worthy of respect and appreciation. Please let us join in a short period of meditation for the Vajra Regent.

I feel very sorry about the difficulties that the Vajradhatu sangha has been going through. His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and I met recently in France and talked about this. His Holiness and the Kagyu lineage holders are concerned about the future of Vajradhatu. Trungpa Rinpoche put a great effort into establishing the whole mandala; this must not be wasted. It is important that the sangha have clear direction in the future for the continuity of Trungpa Rinpoche’s teaching.

His Holiness and the Kagyu lineage holders are all in agreement that the Sawang Osel Rangtrol Mukpo should become the lineage holder of Vajradhatu. This is in keeping with the intention of Trungpa Rinpoche, who acknowledged the Sawang as head of the Shambhala lineage and wished him to take on such responsibility.

I communicated this to the Vajra Regent before my visit to see him in the hospital in California. The Regent acknowledged this and expressed his full support and blessings for the Sawang to become the leader of Vajradhatu.

In keeping with his father’s wish, the Sawang will continue his studies with His Holiness; he will also start to become more involved in teaching and administration for Vajradhatu. His Holiness and the Kagyu lineage holders will do our best to guide and help him with these responsibilities.

We feel strongly that this is the best way for Trungpa Rinpoche’s teaching to continue. We hope this will bring all of the Vajradhatu sangha together. We request that everyone support this, in order that the great work of Trungpa Rinpoche may flourish.

His Eminence expresses his sorrow at the Regent’s death the previous day. He goes on to say, “It is important that the sangha have clear direction in the future for the continuity of Trungpa Rinpoche’s teaching. His Holiness and the Kagyu lineage holders are all in agreement that the Sawang ösel Rangtrol Mukpo should become the lineage holder of Vajradhatu.”

***

August 26, 1990
Statement to the Sangha
from His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Statement of His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche to the Vajradhatu Sangha
by His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
August 26, 1990

KARME-CHOLING
Barnet, Vermont 05821 802-633-2384
Founded by the Vidyadhara, the Venerable Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche

I was very sad to hear of the death of the Vajra Regent and would like to express my deep condolences to the whole Vajradhatu sangha. I am saying prayers and conducting ceremonies for him. It is of great concern to me that the important work begun by Trungpa Rinpoche should continue and develop in the best possible way. As Trunga Rinpoche’s eldest son, the Sawang knows very well how best to accomplish the wishes of his father, and I feel that in the present circumstances he should take on spiritual and administrative responsibility for the sangha founded by Trungpa Rinpoche.

My prayers are always with you all for the continued flourishing of the Vajradhatu community.

His Holiness expresses his deep condolences to the sangha on the death of the Vajra Regent. He says, “It is of great concern to me that the important work begun by Trungpa Rinpoche should continue and develop in the best possible way. As Trungpa Rinpoche’s eldest son, the Sawang knows very well how best to accomplish the wishes of his father…..”

***

July 29, 1991
Letter to His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
from Karl Springer

Letter to His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
by Karl Springer
July 29, 1991

His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
c/o Her Majesty Ashi Kusang
Dechen Choling Palace
Thimpu, Bhutan
29 July 1991

Your Holiness:

I hope this letter finds you in good health and excellent circumstances. I have heard from Chansur Ngodrup that Your Holiness is once again in retreat at Samtsen Choten and I remember it as a truly delightful place. It has been nine months since I last wrote to you and this time has been a difficult one in terms of my health. I am recovering very slowly and will enter hospital this week for an operation that may prove very helpful. I have spent this time in a sort of semi-retreat, spending virtually all of my time at home, seeing only a few close friends. My health has not permitted anything else. Fortunately my illness is not life-threatening, just painful, so through the Guru’s blessing I anticipate a full recovery.

Of course I have had no involvement at all in any kind of politics or struggle during this time which has been very beneficial for my health and my state of mind. I feel much more settled and simple than at any time before and my mind feels much clearer. I have given considerable thought and contemplation to everything that has occurred in my life and, in particular, during the past few years and this has led me to want to communicate once again with Your Holiness. First I would like to express my most heartfelt and sincere gratitude to you for your incredibly kind and wise activity in relation to all of Trungpa Rinpoche’s students, including myself. We can never repay your generosity.

I would like to inform you of some understandings that I now have regarding the recent years of difficulty, and request your blessings for the journey ahead. I have realized, quite strongly, that I and some other students will simply not be able to continue to relate to Vajradhatu in the same way we have in the past. The first reason for this is that having spent a great deal of time with Trungpa Rinpoche I know with certainty that the way Vajradhatu is now existing is very definitely not what he wanted. I completely understand why Your Holiness gave the direction you did and I will never question this or object to it in any way. However I can not be part of Vajradhatu as it is now, since this would be for me going against my understanding of my Guru’s instructions which I can never do. I know Your Holiness will understand this.

My second difficulty has to do with the situation concerning the Vajra Regent’s main student and lineage successor. When I saw Your Holiness in France you and H.E. Jamgon Kongtrul asked me to convey your decisions to the Regent and ask his agreement. Immediately after the Regent’s death it was announced by His Eminence that the Regent had fully agreed to The Sawang assuming the leadership of Vajradhatu. This was not entirely true and was very misleading for those hundreds of students who were very devoted to the Regent. The message that I brought back from France included your decision about the Sawang leading Vajradhatu in the future but it also included a number of other points among which were: that the Regent remained the leader of Vajradhatu while he was still alive and all his decisions should be respected and: that the Regent had been instructed by Trungpa Rinpoche to choose his own dharma heir and lineage successor and he retained the right to do so.

It was only based on these conditions that The Regent expressed his agreement to the decision regarding the Sawang. As Your Holiness already knew The Regent had indeed selected his dharma heir, Mr. Patrick Sweeney, and sent him to receive Your Holiness’ blessings at the very retreat place in which you are now. After The Regent’s passing we had hoped that all of the students would be told all of these facts but this has not happened. I can only tell you that this is very difficult and painful for me and for many students who were close to The Regent and who knew these facts anyway. It seems to me absolutely necessary that these facts be told so that the deepest wishes of both Trungpa Rinpoche and his Regent may be fulfilled. Trungpa Rinpoche told me personally many times that it was of greatest importance to him that he could transmit lineage to his Regent and that his Regent must do the same. This was actually a vital part of his teaching, the very core of his brilliance in bringing vajrayana to the west. Following this understanding The Regent did, in fact, establish his own dharma heir and this is of great importance to me and others here.

In addition I also discussed this with the Regent shortly before his death and he told me that it was deeply important to him that he had been able to empower a dharma heir and of great importance that Your Holiness and His Eminence recognized his prerogative to do so. He intended for his own dharma heir to carry on his teachings regardless of who ran Vajradhatu. Given all of these factors I hope and trust that you will understand why I feel that Trungpa Rinpoche’s students must at least be told these facts; what actually took place. I also trust that you will understand why I and some others here can not be part of Vajradhatu. We feel totally compelled to follow our understanding of the deepest instructions of our two main teachers, The Vidyadhara and the Vajra Regent and to work together with The Regents successor and the small sangha which shares this common samaya.

Of course it should be clearly understood that I am not questioning The Sawang’s leadership of Vajradhatu at all only saying that we must be free to conduct ourselves independent of Vajradhatu at this point. We simply can not do otherwise. It is, of course, completely important to us that we have Your Holiness’ blessing to carry on with our spiritual journey and to work for the benefit of all beings in this way which is the only way we can possibly proceed.

I would like to thank Your Holiness with all my heart for your help in all of this and request, once again, that you allow us the great privilege of receiving your blessings once again in North America. This is now everyone’s deepest wish. Mr. Sweeney, Lady Rich and I will continue to work together with other students here to fulfill the wishes of our teachers. We supplicate Your Holiness assistance in clearing away any and all obstacles to these aspirations.

May your health prosper and may your lotus feet remain steadfast in this world for the benefit of all beings. Please think of me with kindness.

With deep devotion and longing,
Karl G. Springer

In this letter, written almost a year after the Regent’s death, Karl expresses the difficulties that he and others have experienced since the Vajra Regent’s death. In particular, Karl points out that while the Regent had agreed to the decision that the Sawang would assume leadership of Vajradhatu, he did so under certain conditions. One of these conditions was that the Regent retained the right to choose his own dharma heir and lineage successor “regardless of who ran Vajradhatu.”

***

August 10, 1991
Letter to Karl Springer
From His Holiness Khyentse Rinpoche

Letter to Karl Springer
by Dilgo Khyentse
August 10, 1991

10 August 1991

Into the hand of Karl, who is of unequalled faith and love, [1]

I received your letter, in which you have given me the news that, there, you are doing well and virtue is increasing. I am delighted to know this. Here, I too am well, practicing in retreat wherein virtue increases, and making offerings celebrating the end of the retreat.

The matter at hand

During this period in which the Sawang is studying and training, Kongtrul Rinpoche and I have not appointed any Regent, Vajracharya, Acharya, and so on. Both the supreme Trungpa Rinpoche and his Regent, who has passed away, placed great faith, trust, and hope in me, in dependence upon which I have accepted the responsibility of offering you this counsel: it is important to practice the inconceivably profound instructions that you received from the supreme Trungpa Rinpoche, without squandering them; to propagate [such instructions] to others, and [to avail yourselves of] the methods that prevent harmony among the dharma centers from diminishing and permit all to come about for the best; therefore, act accordingly. I have written about this to Patrick as well in a letter sent separately.

As you are presently unwell, it is important that your own practice continue without fail. It is exceptionally important principally to foster freedom from any ground for controversy, a peaceful environment, and harmonious consensus within the dharma centers. In the fulfillment of the intentions of Trungpa Rinpoche and the Regent, were the practice of profound instructions to be sustained within an atmosphere of harmony free from contention and turbulence, there would be nothing to surpass that. There would, by contrast, be neither purpose nor benefit in newly appointing a regent of the Regent, instituting a holder of his lineage, dividing the dharma centers into two sections, and so on. Therefore, it is important that, beginning now, any and all allegations concerning this be set aside completely.

In response to the circumstances you have described in your letter, I would remind you that both previously and subsequently I have offered you advice in order that an excellent collection of benefit and happiness may come about, both provisionally and finally. Therefore, the meaning of that should be understood by all, and I will not forget to pray to the Three Jewels on your behalf.

Dilgo Khyentse
Satsam Choten in Paro, Bhutan
First day of the seventh Tibetan month

_______________

Note:

1. A literal translation of a lovely way of saying, “Dear Karl.”

His Holiness’ replies comes quickly. “There would … be neither purpose nor benefit in newly appointing a regent of the Regent, instituting a holder of his lineage, dividing the dharma centers into two sections and so on. Therefore, it is important that, beginning now, any and all allegations concerning this be set aside completely.” His Holiness died in September 1991, just seven weeks after this letter was sent.

***

August 10, 1991
Letter to Patrick Sweeney
From His Holiness Khyentse Rinpoche

Letter to Patrick Sweeney
by Dilgo Khyentse
August 10, 1991

10 August 1991
Into the hand of Patrick, who is of unequalled faith and love, [2]

I am delighted to know that, there, you are doing well and virtue is increasing. Here, I too am well, practicing in retreat wherein virtue increases, and making offerings celebrating the end of the retreat.

The matter at hand

During this period in which the Sawang is studying and training, Kongtrul Rinpoche and I have not appointed any Regent, Vajracharya, Acharya, and so on. Both the supreme Trungpa Rinpoche and his Regent, who has passed away, placed great faith, trust, and hope in me, in dependence upon which I have accepted the responsibility of offering you this counsel: as I advised you previously in Bodhgaya, it is important that you practice the inconceivably profound instructions given by the supreme Trungpa Rinpoche, without squandering them, in common with the other students, and in a harmonious manner, as well as [to avail yourselves of] the methods that prevent the former tradition from diminishing and foster the expansion of the dharma centers along a path of excellence; therefore, act accordingly. There would, by contrast, be neither purpose nor benefit in newly appointing a regent of the Regent, or instituting a holder of the lineage of his tradition. Therefore, it is important that, beginning now, any and all allegations concerning this be set aside completely.

Both previously and subsequently I have offered you advice in order that an excellent collection of benefit and happiness may come about, both provisionally and finally. Therefore, the meaning of that should be understood by all.

Dilgo Khyentse
Satsam Choten in Paro, Bhutan
First day of the seventh Tibetan month

_______________

Note:

2. A literal translation of a lovely way of saying, “Dear Patrick."

His Holiness’ letter to Patrick, dated the same day, conveys what is essentially the same message. “There would … be neither purpose nor benefit in newly appointing a regent of the Regent or instituting a holder of his tradition. Therefore, it is important that, beginning now, any and all allegations concerning this be set aside completely.”

***

December 22, 1988
Kalu Rinpoche’s talk to the LA Dharmadhatu

https://media.s3bubble.com/embed/aprogressive/id/Ffar28632#

Kalu Rinpoche talk to the L.A. Dharmadhatu
Transcribed from the tape by Tara Carreon

[Translator] Good evening members of the sangha, friends. On behalf of the Dharmadhatu of Los Angeles, and Vajradhatu, I’d like to welcome everyone this evening, and particularly to express our gratitude to The Learned, Very Venerable Kalu Rinpoche for The Extraordinary Gift of his Presence with us here this evening. The Venerable Kalu Rinpoche, as I’m sure most of you know, is The Senior Meditation Master of the Kagyu Lineage, One Of The Greatest Yogis and Practitioners, Masters Of The Profound Path Of The Kagyu Lineage That The World Has Ever Known. Rinpoche Is Renowned For His Retreat Practice And Accomplishment, For His Wisdom, And For His Compassion. And It’s Quite Extraordinary That We Have The Auspicious Coincidence of The Embodiment Of Compassion With Us At A Time That It Is Most Appropriate For Us. So we’re very grateful to Rinpoche for being here and very grateful to auspicious coincidence for his being here, and we welcome you Rinpoche and request you to address us….

[Kalu Rinpoche] During my last trip to North America several years ago -- this was before the passing away of Trungpa Rinpoche -- I went to Boulder where I had been asked by Vajradhatu and Dharmadhatus to perform the initiation, the empowerment, of kalachakra, both for the benefit of peace and happiness in the world, and particularly for the benefit of the students of Trungpa Rinpoche. At that particular time, Trungpa Rinpoche was quite ill. And I performed this ceremony with the thought that I should be doing something to prolong his life if it was possible; if not, then simply to do something which would please him. And at that time, I was accompanied by most of the lamas here present tonight, and the translator at that time was Ken McCloud. And everything went very excellently in Boulder at that time. And at that time I made a very strong connection with various members of the Dharmadhatu organization, and our minds became as one from that time.

At this particular point in time, I have been extremely happy to be among you once again, and to see various members of the Dharmadhatu, and most particularly the Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin. However, there seems to be some problems these days. And in spite of my great happiness at meeting all of you, and particularly the Vajra Regent once again, there are things which are making me a little sad.

The present situation is like this:

At one time there was a rabbit. And there was a great wind. And during this time, some trees were blown into the water, and made a very great sound. The rabbit became very afraid of this sound. He wasn’t used to hearing it, so he ran away. When he was running away, he ran into a couple of deer. And the deer said, “What are you running from?” And he said, “There’s something the matter here in the ocean. I’m running away from this sound ‘Jow.’” And the deer became very afraid, and they started running away with the rabbit.

Many animals gathered as the news spread that there was some terrible sound, “Jow,” which was coming from the ocean. And they all ran away. And eventually they came and met a lion. And this lion was completely fearless. And he said, “What are you running away from?” And they said, “Well, there’s this sound ‘Jow,’ at the ocean.” And he said, “I’m not afraid of this.” He had a tremendous amount of pride, and he had the rabbit lead him to the ocean where the sound had come from. And he stood up on the rocks to look over into the water to see where the sound had come from. And he made his body very, very high, and he looked down into the water, and he saw his own reflection. And he said, “Ah, this must be the particular thing that is making this particular noise. I’m very strong. I can defeat this particular enemy.” And he jumped in, and made the sound “Jow” once again, and died. And nothing came of all of his courage.

The present situation is like this. [LAUGHTER] I really feel the present situation is like this. At this particular point in time, as all of you already know, the Vajra Regent has contracted AIDS. And people worry very much about the fact that he might have passed this on to many people. As far as I’m concerned, the panic that people are feeling at this particular point is much like these animals running away from the sound “Jow, Jow, Jow.” As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing to this particular worry.

I’ve been aware of this situation for some time now; however, I’ve heard just recently that due to the activity of Ken McCloud, and one of the people at his center, that some of the information concerning the Vajra Regent has gone into the newspapers. My own feeling about this is that we in the dharma centers, be they the Vajradhatu, Dharmadhatu, or my own centers here, all of us are working to provide beings with peace of mind as well as happiness and comfort physically. This is the reason why we have dharma centers, in order to benefit others. Now persons who have AIDS have other very serious sicknesses they are suffering physically. And this sort of publicity which is blaming others for the difficulties that a person might have, is only adding unhappiness to the person’s physical suffering. They are suffering in their minds if they follow this type of news.

In America, you have a lot of people looking over the laws of the land, and taking care of the health of the citizens of this country. You have the President, you have the Supreme Court, you have everybody from the top to the bottom. You have hundreds of thousands of police, and other persons who are taking care of people’s situations, whether people are harming one another, or are benefiting one another. As far as I’m concerned it is not the work at all of the dharma centers to examine exactly what is happening in another center’s group. I have control myself only of my own organization. And if Ken McCloud and other persons within my own organization are being harmful to others, this is something which I can put a stop to. This is something which I will put a stop to. This sort of activity of putting things into newspapers and making publicity which is harmful to other people in various ways, is something which is against the principles of our religious organization. We don’t have an organization for this sort of purpose. The purpose of our organization is to be of benefit to others.

As little as we can say, as little as we can discuss with others about this subject, the better, simply because this is a tremendous cause of distraction within our meditation practices. This is of very little benefit to the minds of anybody.

There are agencies in the American government, no doubt, that take care of people who have AIDS. And they are able to make an examination of a person. And if a person has AIDS, this is something between them and government agencies. And they should simply ask, “What do I do now?” And if they don’t have AIDS, then that’s just fine.

After receiving further information Kalu Rinpoche addressed the LA sangha in December 1988, just seven days prior to the Board letter to the Regent. Thank you to Tashi Armstrong and Suzanne Townsend for bringing this talk to our attention. It was added to the list of documents below on June 14, 2016.

[admin]

Boston Dharmadhatu: The Early Days
by Anna Taylor
May 7, 2018

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

In this 1979 article, published in part by the Vajradhatu Sun the same year, Anna Taylor takes a look back at the beginnings of the Boston Dharmadhatu just eight years earlier. Here—three years shy of Boston’s fiftieth anniversary—are excerpts from her original article. This portrait of the first tentative steps and missteps of the Boston sangha is worth a fresh look, in part because it is funny, tender, and insightful. But this piece also provides a very interesting glimpse into how we viewed our baby steps so soon after they were taken, and how quickly Trungpa Rinpoche’s mandala became more or less fully manifest. By 1979, Vajradhatu, Shambhala Training, the Kalapa Court, Naropa, the Kasung, and much more had been established and—if not yet fully matured—were distinct and formidable landmarks of the mandala.

I remember in early 1974 being first told about the practice of prostrations and thinking it was a joke in very poor taste. Now [1979], new people come to the Boston Dharmadhatu, to our loft in the center of town, where Shambhala Training is carried out by friendly and efficient crews, where regular daily and all-day weekend sittings are open to the public, where two or three classes are held simultaneously most evenings, where pretty elegant receptions are periodically staged with a fair amount of aplomb, including occasional grand visitations from Rinpoche and the Regent, where ngöndro and Vajrayogini sadhana are practiced, and the new people seem to accept it all quite easily. I suspect they can live with all this mostly because of Rinpoche’s inspiration and perseverance—slowly ploughing, aerating and fertilizing the ground for years; partly also because people in general are much more sophisticated about practice today; but in small part, too, because we, the Buddhist neanderthals, died on a strange and wonderful assortment of crosses for them over the past seven years (which may be the same thing as saying that we were some of that hard, rocky ground that was ploughed).

The Boston Dharmadhatu started in 1972 with Patricia Shelton’s hatha yoga group, which met at her East-West Center. We were followers of Rudrananda, Muktananda, Vankatesananda, Vishnudevananda, Satchitananda, Ram Dass and the American Dream. The first official meetings were held at Persis McMillen’s estate in Concord, with Beth Gordon as coordinator. Rinpoche gave a talk there on The Way of the Buddha, which is in the Myth of Freedom. Narayana (later the Regent Osel Tendzin) and Olive Colon gave meditation instruction under a tree and we sat in a little outlying cottage and did walking meditation in the fields. Then we got a small loft on Charles Street, in Beacon Hill. There were 12-15 members and we met on Monday nights. On Wednesdays, we had open house—40 minutes of sitting and listening to a tape by Rinpoche. Every other Sunday, there was a nyinthun attended by four or five people.

Sitting style tended to extremes: some people sat propped up against the pillars and walls, some were prone, and some sat in the rigor mortis of full lotus (occasionally picking their toes). Walking meditation was a time for virtuoso performances, a la Jacques Tattit and the Lippizaner Stallions. Every now and then, one of the capricious Olympians from the hills of Vermont would come down and talk about pain. It was considered an art form and they were its chief exponents. Outbursts of anger, rudeness and fits of depression were considered signs of a serious practitioner. Politeness, friendliness and tidiness were considered middle-class cop-outs. In the next two years, some of us proceeded, with startling abandon, to jettison middle-class respectability and security in the form of non-meditating husbands and wives, sports cars, furniture, jobs, girdles, bras, ties, soap and razors. Some of us gave up teetotalling and vegeterianism, some of us gave up drugs (pot in particular—the only thing Rinpoche actually asked us to give up). We exchanged them for booze, sex, cynicism and the glimmer of some distant light.

Rinpoche would come to give talks and seminars Transcending Self-Indulgence, Is Meditation Therapy?, Open Secret of Enlightenment, The Intelligence of Confusion, etc. He didn’t wear a beard, long hair, flowing whites or beads. He didn’t chant into the microphone with closed eyes. His eyes were always open and he was always late, he wore suits, his hair was short, he smoked and he drank in public and, it was rumored, he had relations with some of his female students.

Some of us were shocked and relieved at the upfront quality of his behavior. Some of us were just shocked and never got beyond that. Some of us listened to his talks and they were like swallowing timed capsules—timed to go off months and years and perhaps decades later. It was like hearing extraordinary poetry—a lot of it was totally obscure, but there was something evocative, something haunting that kept us coming back. And so the culture implanted in us by Rinpoche began to ferment slowly, in the heat of our muddled practice. We began to experience learning not as acquiring, but as undoing, being undone.

From time to time, Karl Springer would appear amongst us. He was learning to be Sol Hurok (an early twentieth century music agent and impresario) at the time, and went in for festivals. His education proved somewhat expensive to the rest of us, but definitely broadened our horizons. There were two festivals: the Dharma Festival in 1973 and the Mandala Festival in 1975.

The Dharma Festival brought us into uneasy partnership with the followers of Ram Dass. We Buddhists tended to be small, nervous, alcoholic, and we travelled in clouds of smoke. The dasses tended to be tall, handsome, vegetarian and they moved in an aura of mint tea. They lived on Washington Road, in a Victorian mansion owned by professor David McClelland, a sort of Harvard Don Quixote of the counterculture. We lived two blocks away in a large house on Upland Road. They would sneak over to our house at night for alcohol and protein binges, resorting secretly to cow flesh and woman flesh on our premises. They thought of us as arrogant debauchees and we thought of them as holy noodles. There was a grain of ugly truth on each side.

Ram Dass drew 3,000 people to a talk and slide show called, Gurus of the Ages. Allen Ginsberg and Bhagavan Dass sang, Keep on truckin’ down the eightfold path. Rinpoche talked to a crowd of 1,200 people at Rindge Auditorium on Tibetan Buddhism and American Karma. He talked about the validity of our glimpses into the teachings, our enormous good fortune at having this opportunity to practice and the need for more discipline. He was very moved and so were we.


A Nalanda Video Presentation: Psychology East and West: Chogyam Trungpa, Ram Dass, John Baker, Jim Green, and Moderator Duncan Campbell. Shown on Wide Screen Video. An historic forum on the diverse traditions of psychology and spirituality presented by their renowned spokesmen, held at Naropa Institute's Summer Program, 1974. Wed. July 9, 8PM, $2. Harvard Science Center, Hall B, Cor. Kirkland & Oxford Sts., Cambridge

The Mandala Festival was a totally Buddhist effort. We mounted an exhibition of Tibetan art at MIT (which resulted in the publication of Visual Dharma by Rinpoche, based on his lecture); there was a folk concert and a Peter Serkin concert, a poetry reading, lectures and a panel discussion between Rinpoche, Eido Roshi, an eloquent Episcopal father and a dapper rabbi, chaired by the ubiquitous Harvey Cox; it also snowed most of the time even though it was April and we lost $10,000.

Festivals and houses were our specialty in Boston. The original idea of getting a house was Alan Sterman’s, who soon after thought better of it and went “Outward Bound”. The rest of us found ourselves just bound, panicky, fighting assorted windmills and ourselves.

In looking for a house, we divided into two camps—those in favor of hippy funk and those in favor of uptight Zen. The uptight Zen won and we rented 169 Upland, in Cambridge, at twice the amount we had expected to pay. Before we even moved in, we clashed over the issue of whether or not to admit dogs and non-meditating husbands (I had one of the latter, for a while).

The political system was one of rampant democracy: part town meeting, part encounter group. Dharmadhatu business and house business were discussed in the same meetings, by everyone: who was going to give the next talk, should people take showers in the upstairs bathrooms during nyinthun, and what brand of marmalade we should buy. We threw the I Ching and drew Thunder in the Middle of the Lake. We couldn’t decide whether we were a Cambridge commune or a practice center. There was one notable discussion in which we argued about the size, shape and height of the table we were going to make. It lasted eight hours. We never made the table.

We had external problems, too, in the shape of the sisters McLaughlin and their brother Richard, the Commissioner of Highways for Massachusetts. All three lived opposite us. The McLaughlins were powerful local dieties. They had clout in city hall. They could summon police and health inspectors and stop garage sales at a moment’s notice. We tried to propitiate them by inviting them to tea (they stood us up), sending over a nice Irish boy (Kevin Lyons) to talk with them, and by working for their cancer drive. There was an exhilarating (and temporary) breakthrough in our relations when the McLaughlins finally came to our very successful neighborhood open house at 30 Hillside, our third house. But in the meantime, they complained to the landlord that we had topless women running around the premises. We finally tracked that idea to the source—Christopher Pleim, our dedicated practice coordinator, who at the time wore his beautiful blond hair half-way down his back and would frequently run around without a shirt in the summer.

The afternoon the McLaughlins stood us up for tea, we pulled down the shades, brought out all our private stashes of liquor, consumed all the carefully prepared finger sandwiches and had our first blow-out party. The news of this spread quickly to Tail of the Tiger and soon the Boston Dharmadhatu developed the contradictory reputations for its gentility and its orgies. We often had our blasts in the shrine room. Cocktail glasses—and once, a pair of nylon panties, in a tigerskin design—ended up on the shrine.

During nyinthuns, as one sat unfocusing on the Persian rugs, a small part of the intricate design would detach itself and move off—a cockroach, one of many. They, too, were drawn to Buddhist communes and multiplied somewhat faster than the sangha. The great question was what to do with them. So we asked the Vermont Olympians. We got a lot of interesting advice: 1. Do not kill them under any circumstances. Relate with them. 2. Kill them, but only with natural products—Molotov cocktails of borax, baking soda, pepper… 3. Usher them out, whenever possible, on little pieces of paper, one by one, pointing them gently at the house next door. 4. Have a non-Buddhist kill them (the Shabbas goy approach, used also on larger game, such as lobsters). We finally asked Rinpoche, who told us to have them exterminated, to do a thorough job and to keep the place clean. The first part was easy and a relief, the second a challenge. Apart from our laziness, cleanliness was equated in those days with middle-class uptightness, inhibitions and goal-orientation—the only sin we recognized. But every time we cleaned the place for a grand visitation, we would be delighted and amazed at how elegant it could look. Finally, it began to dawn on us that we could enjoy this sort of environment all the time. It was a big epiphany.

When Rinpoche or Khyentse Rinpoche would come to stay in the house, they were given rooms on the second floor. We would then clean the first and second floors, hoping they would not venture to the third. Khyentse Rinpoche had a disconcerting habit of darting into rooms that were not on public display. He also left behind him an indelible impression of what true aristocracy is—treating his little grandson, us and the attendant monks with the same unvarying awareness, consideration and humor.

The Karmapa’s visit in ’76 was quite a lesson for us as interior decorators and practitioners. We watched ourselves turning our funky Victorian Hillside house into a rococo palace of satin and brocade. We got some idea of how a Vajrayana teacher is treated traditionally. We were also amazed by the whole stretching process we went through—stretching of purses, minds, schedules. The same people who were shocked at the idea of paying $15 a month dues in ’74, contributed $250-500 a piece for the visit. The experience was a mixture of boot camp and mahamudra.

In 1977, after searching for two years, goosed by the Regent (who said one day, when he was sitting in the Upland shrine room, “You have to get out of this place. I can smell your dirty laundry from here.”), we found a large loft off Copley Square. We finally had some neutral space, not tied into our domestic situation, in Boston proper. Not only that, but it was right next to Styx and Chaps, two gay bars, which was extremely convenient for half the membership. It was also close to Filene’s, which houses Boston’s famous bargain basement, which took care of the other half of the membership.

The following year, there was a whole change of the guard. Bob Morehouse, Chris Pleim, Joe Harvey and I all left the administration, one after the other, and central casting sent in a new crew—our inspired ambassador, Winfield Clark, our able new coordinators, William Karelis and Holly Hammond, and their Shambhala equivalents, Ellen and Peter Lieberson. They, and a whole phalanx of competent doers, old and new, now run the Dharmadhatu.


711 Boylston. photo by Robert Morehouse

That is not to say that all is smoothness and light in our $2,333 a month haven at 711 Boylston. Women, older people, people with children particularly complain that we do not provide a really accommodating environment for them. But more of them are coming, and in the old days, everyone who came to the Dharmadhatu at Upland felt lonely and somewhat left out of the ongoing domestic situation, while the inmates frequently felt threatened and invaded by visitors. One thing hasn’t changed too much: people are still startled by our predilection for liquor, cigarettes and coffee, and now three-piece suits and certain quaint feudal practices.

But there does seem to be a different quality about the membership today. People seem to be more at ease in the world, more together and more inclined to discipline than the old stretcher cases that used to arrive at the Dharmadhatu five, seven years ago. We were then, by and large, a prize bunch of bewildered delinquents who had no place else to go.


Anna Taylor, circa 1972. Photograph by Karen Tandee Roper

We seem to have acquired the strength to extend ourselves further, as in Shambhala Training, the whole notion of Shambhala world, of Buddhist teachings secularized, and at the same time to mine more deeply, as in our Buddhist studies, which are getting more demanding, more precise, more doctrinal.

Looking back on the history of the Boston Dharmadhatu, what one sees are milestones of resistance, Rinpoche’s arduous task of taming untamable beings in terms of practice, study, relating to each other and the environment. It has been a slow, often painful maturing process for us, a slow housebreaking process—and the rare experience of watching a true master practice the paramita of patience.

Thank you to Anna’s friend, Lillian Thibodeau, for retrieving this gem from her files, and thank you to the Shambhala Sun Magazine for permission to republish.

Originally posted in August 2006




His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa and CTR, Boston, 1976


711 Boylston St shrine room during the Karmapa’s visit, 1980; Photo Mary Lang


Lynn Newdome plays the anthem in front of 167 Upland Rd, 1982; Photo Mary Lang


Waiting for the Karmapa’s departure, 1980; Photo Mary Lang


Waving goodbye to the Karmapa, 1980; Photo Mary Lang


Binny Clarke; photo by Robert Morehouse


Boylston Construction; photo by Robert Morehouse


Boylston Entrance; photo by Robert Morehouse


Boylston Shrine Room; photo by Robert Morehouse


Buchannan, Morehouse, Clark; photo by Robert Morehouse


At the airport; photo by Robert Morehouse


Photo by Robert Morehouse


Standing: Richard Haspray, Alice Haspray, Holly Hammond, Gaylon Ferguson, David Sable, Chris Pleim, Mark Wagner, Ellen Kearney, Jan Watson, Peter Lieberson, Robert Morehouse, William Karelis, Phil Stanley, Richard MacGregor, and Daniel Mead. Seated: Chögyam Trungpa, and Winfield Clarke; photo by Robert Morehouse


Ann Doubilet; photo by Robert Morehouse


The Vajra Regent; photo by Robert Morehouse


The Vajra Regent Teaching in Boston; photo by Robert Morehouse


Judy Lief & Chris Pleim; photo by Robert Morehouse


Richard Wurtz; photo by Robert Morehouse


Bill Wooding and Bob Morehouse; photo by Robert Morehouse

[admin]

East–West Center
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 8/24/19

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

-- Institute of Pacific Relations, by Wikipedia

-- East-West Center, by Wikipedia

-- Cultivating Consciousness; an East-West Journey, by Roney-Dougal, Serena M., The Journal of Parapsychology

-- Namji Steinemann, by East-West Center

Not to be confused with EastWest Institute.

The Boston Dharmadhatu started in 1972 with Patricia Shelton’s hatha yoga group, which met at her East-West Center. We were followers of Rudrananda, Muktananda, Vankatesananda, Vishnudevananda, Satchitananda, Ram Dass and the American Dream. The first official meetings were held at Persis McMillen’s estate in Concord, with Beth Gordon as coordinator. Rinpoche gave a talk there on The Way of the Buddha, which is in the Myth of Freedom. Narayana (later the Regent Osel Tendzin) and Olive Colon gave meditation instruction under a tree and we sat in a little outlying cottage and did walking meditation in the fields. Then we got a small loft on Charles Street, in Beacon Hill. There were 12-15 members and we met on Monday nights.

-- Boston Dharmadhatu: The Early Days, by Anna Taylor

The East–West Center (EWC), or the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West, is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific, and the United States. It is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.

History


Jefferson Hall Conference Center


Thai Pavilion

The East–West Center originated as a University of Hawaii at Manoa faculty initiative with a February 16, 1959, memo from professor Murray Turnbull, then acting Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, to political science professor Norman Meller, then chairperson of the faculty senate, that proposed the creation of an International College of Cultural Affairs. However, University of Hawaii President Laurence H. Snyder stated that budgetary constraints prevented proceeding at the time with the idea.[1]

Two months later, following radio reports of an April 16, 1959 speech in Washington, D.C. by then Sen. Lyndon Johnson (D-TX) that proposed the creation of an international university in Hawaii "as a meeting place for the intellectuals of the East and the West," history professor John Stalker and Meller urged President Snyder to respond at once to Johnson's suggestion.[2] With the prospect of federal funding, President Snyder appointed a faculty committee chaired by Turnbull to rapidly prepare a substantive proposal for creating an international college.[3]

On June 9, 1959, Sen. Johnson introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate to establish an educational center in Hawaii to provide for "cultural and technical interchange between East and West," with a companion bill introduced in the U.S. House by Delegate John A. Burns (D-T.H.);[4] the Mutual Security Act of 1959, signed by U.S. President Eisenhower on July 24, 1959, called on the State Department to study the idea and report back to Congress by January 3, 1960.[5]

On May 14, 1960, President Eisenhower signed the Mutual Security Act of 1960 which authorized the creation of a Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West (East–West Center) at the University of Hawaii, and on August 31, 1960, signed the Department of State Appropriation Act, 1961, which appropriated $10 million for the Center (including $8.2 million in capital spending for six new buildings), and on September 30, 1961, President Kennedy signed Supplemental Appropriation Act, 1962, which appropriated an additional $3.3 million for the Center.[6]

On October 25, 1960, the University of Hawaii signed a grant-in-aid agreement with the State Department to establish and operate the East–West Center, and received its first installment of $1.1 million in federal funding on November 8, 1960.[7]

University of Hawaii art professor Murray Turnbull served as interim director and acting chancellor of the East–West Center through 1961,[8] when anthropologist Alexander Spoehr, the former director (1953–1961) of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu, was appointed as the East–West Center's first chancellor, serving for two years before resigning at the end of 1963.[9] University of Hawaii president Thomas H. Hamilton served as acting chancellor of the East–West Center for a year and a half from January 1964–June 1965.[10] In July 1965, he was succeeded by former newspaper publisher and diplomat Howard P. Jones, the former U.S. ambassador to Indonesia (1958–1965),[11] who served as chancellor for three years before being succeeded in August 1968 by linguist Everett Kleinjans, the former vice president of International Christian University in Tokyo, who had lived in Asia for sixteen years.[12]

On May 9, 1961, then U.S. Vice President Lyndon Johnson was a guest at groundbreaking ceremonies for the East–West Center's first six buildings.[13] Five of the new buildings, designed by architect I. M. Pei, were built along the new East–West Road where a new 21-acre (85,000 m2) East–West Center campus just west of Manoa Stream on the east side of the university campus replaced chicken coops, temporary wooden buildings for faculty housing, and the Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station.[14] A sixth building built under the federal grant for the East–West Center was Edmondson Hall, designed by architect Albin Kubala and built on McCarthy Mall.[15]

Four of the six buildings were completed and opened in September 1962: Edmondson Hall (a four-story building containing classrooms and laboratories), Kennedy Theatre (an 800-seat theatre), Hale Kuahine (a four-story women's dormitory for 120 students), and Lincoln Hall (a four-story residence hall for senior scholars and faculty).[16] The other two buildings: Jefferson Hall (a four-story conference center, cafeteria, and administrative office building) and Hale Manoa (a 13-story men's dormitory for 480 students) were completed and opened in September 1963.[17] "Seien" (Serene Garden), a Japanese garden designed by Kenzo Ogata of Tokyo, and located behind Jefferson Hall, was a 1963 gift of Japanese business leaders; the Japanese tea house Chashitsu Jakuan (Cottage of Tranquility) in the garden was presented to the university in 1972 by Sen Sōshitsu, the 15th-generation grand tea master of the Urasenke Foundation.[18]

In May 1967, the Thai Pavilion, a gift of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit of Thailand in 1964, was assembled just in time for King Adulyadej's dedication of the pavilion on June 6, 1967; it is located between Lincoln Hall and Jefferson Hall, in front of Hale Kuahine.[19]

In 1969, the four-story wing of Moore Hall designed by architect Hideo Murakami was built with East–West Center federal funds on the west side of East–West Road across from Lincoln Hall.[20]

In 1977, John A. Burns Hall, located south of Hale Manoa on the 21-acre (85,000 m2) East–West Center campus, was completed. The four-story building for administrative offices was designed by architect John Hara to integrate with the style of the other East–West Center buildings (its windows mimic those of Lincoln Hall). It was built with State of Hawaii funds to compensate the federal government for the University's use of Edmondson Hall, the Kennedy Theatre, and the 4-story wing of Moore Hall, which had been built with federal funds for the East–West Center.[21]

Structure

EWC program areas include Education, Research, Seminars, a Washington, D.C. office (which also houses and administers the United States Asia Pacific Council), an Office of External Affairs and the East–West Center Foundation.

East-West Center Foundation
by East-West Center
Accessed: 8/24/19

The East-West Center Foundation is a private non-profit organization, established in 1982 to broaden and diversify private support for the Center. The success of the East-West Center is built on effective public-private partnerships. Funding from the US government covers most of the Center's basic operating expenses, while programming depends on private funding by individuals, private agencies, foundations, corporations and governments throughout the region. Increasing private support makes it possible to continue and expand its most high-impact programs and create new initiatives.

The East-West Center Foundation is guided by a board of directors drawn from business and community leaders, and includes a representative of the East-West Center Alumni Association.

EWC Foundation Staff

Jody Huckaby
Advancement Director
1601 East-West Road
Honolulu, Hawaii 96484-1601
Phone: (808) 944-7437
Fax: (808) 944-7106
Email: HuckabyJ@EastWestCenter.org

Gary Yoshida
Development Officer
1601 East-West Road
Honolulu, Hawaii 96848-1601
Phone: (808) 944-7196
Fax: (808) 944-7106
Email: YoshidaG@EastWestCenter.org

Jennifer Leger
Development Associate
1601 East-West Road
Honolulu, Hawaii 96848-1601
Phone: (808) 944-7105
Fax: (808) 944-7106
Email: LegerJ@EastWestCenter.org

Foundation Board of Directors

Chair
Mr. Russell J. Lau
Chairman and CEO
Finance Factors, Ltd.
Honolulu, HI

Vice Chair
Ms. Gae Bergquist Trommald
Senior Financial Advisor, AVP, CRPC, Partner
The Hochuli Group of Merrill Lynch
Honolulu, Hawaii

Elected
Mr. Aaron J. Alter
Executive Vice President &
Chief Legal Officer
Hawaiian Airlines
Honolulu, HI

Mr. Kelvin M. Bloom
Honolulu, HI

Mr. Eddie Flores, Jr.
President and CEO
L&L Drive-Inn and L&L Hawaiian Barbecue
Honolulu, HI

Dr. Richard S. Kennedy
Honolulu, HI

Ms. Corianne W. Lau, Esq.
Partner
Dentons US LLP
Honolulu, HI

Ms. Sharon Lucien
Principal
Lucien Consulting
Honolulu, HI

Mr. Raoul Magana, CFA
Vice President, Commercial Real Estate Division
First Hawaiian Bank
Honolulu, HI

Jean E. Rolles
Honolulu, HI

Ms. Trudy Schandler-Wong
Honolulu, HI

Mr. Gulab Watumull
President
Watumull Brothers, Ltd.
Honolulu, HI

Ms. Denise Hayashi Yamaguchi
Executive Director, Hawaii Agriculture Foundation
CEO, Hawaii Food & Wine Festival
Honolulu, HI

Member Appointed by East-West Center Board of Governors

Mr. R. (Rick) Brian Tsujimura
Of Counsel, Ashford & Wriston, LLP
Honolulu, HI

EWCA Representative (Invited by the Board)

Ms. Susan Heftel-Liquido
Vice President for Development
Chair, Develoment Committee, EWCA
Retired President/CEO
Heftel Management
Honolulu, HI

East-West Center Foundation Officers

President
Dr. Richard R. Vuylsteke

Vice President
Ms. Karen Knudsen

Treasurer
Mr. Ralph Carvalho

Assistant Treasurer
Mr. Clinton Nonaka

Corporate Secretary
Ms. Carleen G. Gumapac

Members of the Foundation Board are active in the Center's vibrant, international community and engaged partners in bringing the cultural vitality and diversity of the Center into the Honolulu and regional communities.

In Honolulu, opportunities include attendance to:

• art performances and gallery shows; addresses by regional leaders and talks by visiting media, analysts, and other experts
• trainings for young and emerging leaders focusing on the environment and economic social entrepreneurship
• student/participant programming including the Concert on the Lawn

In addition, Foundation members can assist students professionally by serving in the Mentoring Program and by assisting the Education Program with student recruitment and networking on behalf of students (student services link). Foundation members can also serve as Host Families for students through the Friends of the EWC.

In the region, the Center holds an international alumni conference and an international media conference every two years, and in-field programming is increasingly drawing on Center supporters and alumni for input and insight.

Research Program

The Research Program conducts studies on economic development, trade, energy, governance, politics, security, conflict reduction, population, health, and environment. Under the Research umbrella is the Pacific Islands Development Program (the research and training arm and regional secretariat of the Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders representing 22 Pacific island nations).

Education Program

The Education Program offers educational opportunities for students and professional development seminars and workshops for educators from the U.S. and the region. The Student Program is carried out in partnership with the University of Hawaii and other universities in Hawaii and the continental U.S. scholarships are awarded annually in an international competition. Also under the Education Program are the Asia Pacific Leadership Program (APLP) (a certificate program for graduate-level students and mid-level professionals)[1], AsiaPacificEd and the Asian Studies Development Program (both work with primary, secondary, and college educators to infuse Asian Pacific content in curricula), and Education 2020 (a focus on new approaches to educational challenges in the Asia Pacific Region). Most of education program participants reside in EWC dormitories like Hale Manoa Dormitory.

East–West Seminars

East–West Seminars bring professionals from government, civil society, business and the media together for short-term dialogue and exchange programs to share knowledge and address issues of regional and global concern. Included in the Seminars Program are the Media Program (provides journalist with first-hand examination of issues in the region and the U.S.), Senior Policy Seminar (brings together top level foreign affairs and security officials, private sector and civil society leaders to discuss key regional issues), and the Asia Pacific Executive Forum (brings to American cities discussions on topics that affect the economics and business of the region). The East–West Center also organizes various women empowerment programs. It recently organized 2014 Changing Faces Women’s Leadership Seminar at Hawaii which saw the participation of 13 women entrepreneurs from the Asia Pacific Region.

Office of External Affairs

The Office of External Affairs (OEA) connects the resources and research of the EWC with the local, national, and international community through educational outreach, public programs, briefings, and media relations. Within the OEA is the News and Information office (provides EWC research findings, opinion pieces, and analysis of issues to journalists and the public), the Arts Program (presents performances and exhibitions illuminating the cultural values and art forms of national and ethnic traditions in the region), and the Alumni Office (works with an international network of professionals from more than 50 countries who have had a past affiliation with the EWC).

East–West Center Foundation

The East–West Center Foundation expands and enhances support for the EWC with private resources that support scholarships, research, and seminar initiatives not covered by core Congressional funding.

Funding

Approximately half of Center funding comes from the U.S. government, with additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and the governments of the region. In 2005 the EWC received a total of $37 million (including $19.2 million from the U.S. Congress).

On May 7, 2009, President Barack Obama requested a reduction in federal funding for the EWC, from $21 million in fiscal year 2009 to $12 million for fiscal year 2010.[22] The outcome of the 2010 request was a $2 million increase in the Center's budget.[22] Subsequently in 2011, a request to reduce the budget by 50% (reduction by $10.7 million) was placed as part of the budget proposal.[22] The outcome of this request was a $2 million decrease in the Center's budget.[22]

Impact

The impact of the EWC is far-reaching. More than 50,000 people have participated in EWC programs since 1960, including many who currently hold positions of leadership throughout the United States and the Asia Pacific. Alumni include heads of government, cabinet members, university and NGO presidents, corporate and media leaders, educators and individuals prominent in the arts.

East–West Center Gallery

The East–West Center Gallery presents changing exhibits of traditional and contemporary arts of the Pacific region. The gallery is located on the campus of the University of Hawaii, and is open daily except Saturday. Cultural performances are also presented.

Hale Manoa Dormitory


Hale Manoa Dormitory

Hale Manoa is the East–West Center's student dormitory.[23] This 13-story building, constructed in 1962, was designed by American architect I. M. Pei, and is located in the University of Hawaii, Honolulu.[24] The dormitory has a housing capacity of more than 400. This is a predominantly graduate student dormitory and most of the residents are mainly recipients of East West Center scholarships or are affiliated with their programs. Hence here there are EWC Graduate Degree Fellows, Asia Pacific Leadership Program participants, EWC Affiliates and others who are not directly funded by the EWC. A large majority of the residents are international students from the Asia-Pacific region like China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Recently, there has been a move to bring in more students from South Asian countries.

It was an all-male dormitory, whereas a sister dormitory, Hale Kuahine, situated just next to the Imin Center and also a I. M. Pei building, housed all the females. Currently, both Hale Manoa and Hale Kuahine are unisex dormitories.

Notes

1. Kamins (1998), pp. 77–81.
Turnbull, Murray (1959–1991). Papers related to the founding of the East–West Center. Honolulu. OCLC 60710891.
Turnbull, Murray (November 11, 2003). "Faculty initiative". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. 9A.
2. Kamins (1998), pp. 77–81.
Lawrence, W. H. (April 17, 1959). "Butler cautions South on rights; Warns 1960 platform will back integration – Editors also hear Fulbright". The New York Times. p. 17. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
3. Kamins (1998), pp. 77–81.
4. Kamins (1998), pp. 77–81.
Boylan (2000), pp. 168–169.
. (June 10, 1959). "Hawaii center sought; Bills call for an East–West educational bridge". The New York Times. p. 39. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
5. U.S. Congress (1962), pp. 5, 194–196.
. (November 14, 1959). "East–West Center due for approval". The New York Times. p. 5. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
6. U.S. Congress (1962), pp. 5, 194–196.
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (May 16, 1960). "Statement by the President Upon Signing the Mutual Security Act of 1960". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
7. U.S. Congress (1962), pp. 5, 194–196, 200.
Sutton, Horace (November 12, 1960). "Where the twain will meet". Saturday Review. pp. 44, 47–48.
. (December 18, 1960). "News notes: Classroom and campus". The New York Times. p. E7. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
8. Kamins (1998), pp. 77–81.
U.S. Comptroller General (1978), p. 42 (Appendix II. Principal officials concerned with matters discussed in this report).
Tswei, Suzanne (April 19, 1999). "Honored artist and educator Murray Turnbull's always took an unorthodox approach to teaching, and he's still improvising on his life and career". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
Oshirio, Joleen (January 27, 2008). "Articulating an artistic reality; Murray Turnbull has spent his career giving form to ideas". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
9. Kamins (1998), pp. 77–81.
U.S. Comptroller General (1978), p. 42 (Appendix II. Principal officials concerned with matters discussed in this report).
Oliver, Douglas (1996). "Alexander Spoehr". In National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) (ed.). Biographical memoirs. Volume 69. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press. ISBN 0-309-05346-3. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
. (July 21, 1961). "Awakening in Hawaii". Time. pp. 46, 49. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
. (April 2, 1962). "Trouble in the East–West Center". Newsweek. p. 84.
Bartlett, Stephen W. (July 18, 1964). "Hawaii's East–West Center: A dialogue between cultures". Saturday Review. pp. 44–47, 61–62.
10. Kamins (1998), pp. 77–81.
U.S. Comptroller General (1978), p. 42 (Appendix II. Principal officials concerned with matters discussed in this report).
. (November 28, 1964). "Where the twain get together". Business Week. pp. 34–35.
. (February 26, 1965). "New tides in the Pacific". Time. pp. 66–67. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
Davies, Lawrence E. (May 23, 1965). "Hawaii students aware of issues; Speakers of all viewpoints invited to Pacific campus". The New York Times. p. 49. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
11. Kamins (1998), pp. 77–81.
U.S. Comptroller General (1978), p. 42 (Appendix II. Principal officials concerned with matters discussed in this report).
Shavit, David (1990). The United States in Asia: A historical dictionary. New York: Greenwood Press. p. 270. ISBN 0-313-26788-X.
Trager, Frank N. (August 29, 1965). "The U.S. and Indonesia – A tragedy in diplomacy". The New York Times Magazine. p. SM26. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
Davies, Lawrence E. (July 4, 1966). "Center defines East–West needs; It hopes to respond more to Asian requirements". The New York Times. p. 3. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
. (September 20, 1973). "Howard P. Jones Is dead at 74; Envoy to Indonesia, 1958–65". The New York Times. p. 50. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
12. Kamins (1998), pp. 77–81.
U.S. Comptroller General (1978), p. 42 (Appendix II. Principal officials concerned with matters discussed in this report).
Davies, Lawrence E. (October 26, 1969). "Scholars revise Hawaiian center; Problem-solving is stressed by cooperating cultures". The New York Times. p. 32. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
Trumbull, Robert (January 13, 1972). "Alumni of East–West Center in Hawaii are holding influential posts in Asia". The New York Times. p. 14. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
Turner, Wallace (April 1, 1975). "Asian-Pacific cultural and technical interchange institution is facing major changes". The New York Times. p. 15. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
Trumbull, Robert (November 6, 1980). "Scholars of world lured to Hawaii; East–West Center, set up by U.S. to improve international ties, has a creative approach". The New York Times. p. A15. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
13. Kamins (1998), pp. 78–79.
Kobayashi (1983), p. 127.
Associated Press (May 10, 1961). "Johnson lands in Hawaii". The New York Times. p. 19. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
14. Kobayashi (1983), pp. 111–112, 114, 122–132.
15. Kobayashi (1983), pp. 122–126.
16. Kobayashi (1983), pp. 111–112, 114, 122–132.
. (May 13, 1962). "East–West link rising in Hawaii; Center's first buildings due for use in September". The New York Times. p. 11. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
17. Kobayashi (1983), pp. 111–112, 114, 122–132.
Davies, Lawrence E. (June 2, 1963). "Hawaii nurtures U.S.-Asian amity; Study center brings people of 26 nations together". The New York Times. p. 31. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
18. Kobayashi (1983), pp. 126, 128-129.
19. Kobayashi (1983), pp. 140–141, 143.
20. Kobayashi (1983), pp. 114, 146, 148.
21. Kobayashi (1983), pp. 114, 126, 130.
22. David A. Fahrenthold (20 April 2011). "Even in an era of budget cuts, these government programs won't die". The Washington Post. PostPolitics. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
23. "Place Names of Hawaii - Hale Manoa". Retrieved 29 December 2015.
24. "Hale Manoa Dormitory". Emporis is a global provider of building information. Retrieved 29 December 2015.

References

• Boylan, Dan; Holmes, T. Michael (2000). John A. Burns: The man and his times. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-2277-3.
• Kamins, Robert M.; Potter, Robert E. (1998). Malamalama: A history of the University of Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-2006-1.
• Kobayashi, Victor N. (1983). Building a rainbow: A history of the buildings and grounds of the University of Hawaii's Manoa Campus. Honolulu: University of Hawaii at Manoa. hdl:10524/654. OCLC 10579299.
• U.S. Comptroller General (Staats, Elmer B.) (1978). East–West Center: progress and problems. Report to Congress (PDF). Washington D.C.: General Accounting Office. OCLC 3867189. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
• U.S. Congress House Committee on Foreign Affairs (1962). Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange between East and West (East–West Center). Hearings before the Subcommittee on State Department Organizations and Foreign Operations of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Eighty-seventh Congress. December 13, 14, 1961, January 8, 1962. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 16326474.

External links

• East–West Center
• East–West Center Washington, DC
• East–West Center Gallery
• East–West Center Alumni Blog
• University of Hawai'i at Manoa

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Ann Hartman
by East-West Center
Accessed: 8/24/19


Dean, Education Program
hartmana@EastWestCenter.org
Phone:
808.944.7619
Fax:
808.944.7070
Education: M.A., International Education, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; B.A., Psychology, St. Olaf College, Minnesota, Teaching Certifications Grade 7-12, English as a Second Language and Social Studies

Area of Expertise: International education and training, building Asia Pacific regional knowledge and networks among students, young leaders and journalists, women’s entrepreneurship and leadership development, Pakistan-US relations and media environment in Pakistan

Ms. Ann Hartman is Dean of the East-West Center Education Program. She provides overall leadership for the Center’s graduate student programs, ensuring an enriching intellectual, social and cultural experience for students in residence at the EWC, a cooperative relationship with the University of Hawaii, and international partnerships with institutions across the Asia Pacific region.

Previously, she spent 15 years in the Seminars Program at the East-West Center, coordinating short-term professional development and exchange experiences for journalists, young leaders and women entrepreneurs. She led the East-West Center’s two flagship short-term dialogue and exchange programs: the Jefferson Fellowships for journalists and the New Generation Seminar for young leaders. Through this work, she built partnerships in and led visits to Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Philippines, Pakistan, Myanmar and India in Asia and Youngstown, Milwaukee, Austin, Seattle, Lowell, Boston, Miami and Washington, DC among other cities in the United States on topics such as climate change, innovation offshoring, health issues, the politics of globalization, the global economic crisis, Asia Pacific security and the U.S. role, the future of jobs, the South China Sea, and heritage preservation. From 2011-2014, she designed and led a Pakistan-U.S. Journalists Exchange, bridging gaps in understanding between the two countries through study tours and dialogue. From 2008-2017, she was the co-coordinator for the Changing Faces Women’s Leadership Seminar, a training program for female innovator entrepreneurs. Ms. Hartman co-authored the book chapter, “Changing Faces Women’s Leadership Seminar: A Model for Increasing Asia Pacific Women’s Entrepreneurial Participation,” in the 2014 academic text Women and Leadership Around the World.

Ms. Hartman came to the East-West Center in 2002 from a career in teaching, training, and program administration. She was Associate Peace Corps Director for programming and training in Uzbekistan (1997–2001), where she assured quality work assignments and training for 150 volunteers and positive development outcomes for the Government of Uzbekistan. She was a Peace Corps volunteer teacher and teacher trainer in Multan, Pakistan (1990-1991) and Stara Zagora, Bulgaria (1991-1993).

Ms. Hartman received her master’s degree in international education from the Center for International Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and her BA from St. Olaf College in Minnesota. She has teaching certifications in social studies and English as a second language.

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Namji Steinemann
by East-West Center
Accessed: 8/26/19



Director, AsiaPacificEd Program for Schools
SteinemN@EastWestCenter.org
Phone: 808.944.7596
Fax: 808.944.7070
Area of Expertise: K-12 education on Asia and the Pacific region; Policy and curriculum issues for improved Asia Pacific-related education; Asian American history and related issues

Namji Steinemann is associate director of the EWC Education Program and directs the AsiaPacificEd Program, a national program that helps K-12 schools meet curriculum, assessment and instructional needs concerning the Asia Pacific region. She is the former vice president of the Asia Society’s Education Program and the chief architect of the Society’s Asia in the Schools program. She also served as executive director of the National Commission on Asia in the Schools. Formerly, Steinemann was a Peace Corps teacher in Thailand. She currently serves on the editorial board of Education About Asia, and is active in the National Council for Social Studies Teacher Education and Professional Development committees, and the Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Selection Subcommittee. She is a graduate of East Carolina University and has lived in Korea, Thailand and France.

***

East-West Center Press
by University of Hawaii Press
Accessed: 8/24/19

Ways of Thinking of Eastern Peoples: India, China, Tibet, Japan (Revised English Translation): East-West Center Press

Deutsch, Eliot. 1969. Advaita Vedanta: A Philosophical Reconstruction. Honolulu: East-West Center Press.

Schopenhauer and Buddhism, by Peter Abelsen
Amsterdam, Holland
Philosophy East & West, Volume 43, Number 2
April 1993
by University of Hawaii Press

***********************

Education
by eastwestcenter.org
Accessed: 10/18/22

Education Program: A multicultural student community committed to positive change

The East-West Center's graduate student programs, carried out in cooperation with the University of Hawai‘i (UH), are designed to foster a shared sense of community and develop the leadership skills and regional literacy needed for regional cooperation and community building among nations. Since it was established in 1960 by the U.S. Congress, the East-West Center has supported more than 8,000 students from Asia, the Pacific, the United States, and around the world. Graduate students from over 40 countries, Hawai‘i, and from across the U.S. live in residence at the Center, where they learn, work, and live together. Through cultural exchange, shared experiences, and collaborative preparation for future leadership roles throughout the region, the East-West Center experience creates lasting relationships and an active network of people committed to positive change.

Subscribe to our electronic newsletter to receive periodic email announcements and updates about our student scholarships and fellowships.

[admin]

Shastris
by Shambhala Dechen Choling
Accessed: 8/24/19

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

Peter Conradi

Peter Conradi

Peter first encountered the Dharma while Visiting Professor at Colorado University Boulder in 1978-80. He had the good fortune to help serve Trungpa Rinpoche on his last public teaching in London in January 1986, to accompany the Sakyong to one week of Shakespeare plays in 2002, and to be in the party accompanying the Sakyong to Tibet in 2004. He also taught from 1990-92 at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, where he helped kick-start the first ST programmes in Eastern Europe.

Peter Conradi was Professor of English Literature in London before becoming a freelance writer. His books include Going Buddhist, Panic and Emptiness, the Buddha and Me, At the Bright Hem of God: Radnorshire Pastoral, A Very English Hero: the Making of Frank Thompson, and Iris Murdoch: A Life, the authorized biography. In 2001 Peter was adviser to the film Iris with Kate Winslett and Dame Judi Dench. In 2009 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL). At the “Awake in the World Festival” in 2013 he spoke about Trungpa Rinpoche’s remarkable use of English. He lives partly in London and partly in Wales where he likes to garden, hill-walk and to help run retreats.

Know more about Peter J Conradi as free lance writer or his election to the Royal Society of Literature.

***


Mark Duggan

Mark Duggan

Shastri Mark Duggan first connected with the teachings of the Dorje Dradul in 1981 and attended seminary with the Varja Regent in 1988. He subsequently studied with Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamso Rinpoche from 1998-2006 and is now dedicated to the Scorpion Seal path with the Sakyong. In his professional life, he works as a software engineer in the field of cloud orchestration. He also has a keen interest in Irish traditional and world music.

***


Yeshe Fuchs

Yeshe Fuchs

Yeshe Fuchs has been a student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche since 1976 and became a student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche after his father’s death. Recently the Sakyong has appointed her a Shastri (Senior teacher).

She has been working in Shambhala administration, coordinating visits of Buddhist teachers for many years, and lived in Boulder/USA, France, Nova Scotia/Canada and Germany.

She is teaching Shambhala Buddhism with love and passion. She is the mother of four children and lives in Hamburg. She says that her appreciation of life is growing with age, and she feels that the trust in one’s basic human goodness, life energy and a sense of humor are essential.

***


Jane Hope

Jane Hope

Shastri Jane Hope was born in the North of England and studied Fine Art. She belonged to an experimental theatre group called the Exploding Galaxy who performed with Pink Floyd and various other 60’s bands and was employed for 15 years as a Bereavement Counsellor, working with parents whose baby had died. She managed to combine her work life with writing books and has three published books, including “The Beginners Guide to Buddhism”. She was a founder member of the London Shambhala group which began in her home and has taught extensively in UK, North America and Europe. Since 2004 she has been involved in helping to establish Shambhala centres in Ukraine. In 2010, she was appointed by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche as Shastri for Ukraine and London.

***


Simon La Haye

Simon La Haye

Simon La Haye has been a student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche for over 35 years, and has been teaching on the Shambhala vision during that time.

He has always been involved in the administration of Shambhala, and more particularly was the director of Dechen Chöling for more than 10 years.

Since 2014 he is teaching full time. In particular he is interested on how we can bring the experience of meditation in our daily life.

He says:”I discovered Buddhism in Asia in the seventies. What seduced me, when I visited Laddack for example, beyond the philosophy and the practice, was that society expressed kindness and generosity: for me this was the expression of civilization much more that technological advance or materialism. This is what I found again in Shambhala.”

About meditation and practice he said:

“Holding on makes us uptight and serious, we want to control the world instead of letting it surprise and charm us. Meditation teaches us to be present to our experience rather than looking at what “could have been” or planning for the future. By just being, we can meet our inner nature. This gives us confidence to trust ourselves, to value our experience. By being, our life can become a joyful and appreciative exploration of our world.”

***


Suzanne Prysor-Jones

Suzanne Prysor-Jones

Shastri Suzanne Prysor-Jones has been a student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche since 1997, she teaches the Shambhala Buddhist Way since 2008 and was appointed Shastri in 2013. She has a doctorate in social policy and has worked in health systems in developing countries for many years. She has been leading the Shambhala group in Montpellier (France) for several years.

***


Andrew Sacamano

Andrew Sacamano

Andrew Sacamano was born into the Shambhala community, and grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He attended Vajradhatu seminary in 1990, and worked in the kitchen at Karmê Chöling in the early 1990s. A member of the Dorje Kasung since his teens, for many years he staffed Shambhala Sun Summer Camp, and served on the camp’s board. He has held various leadership posts in Shambhala. He currently serves as one of the shastris for Boulder, and also is a member of the Council of the Makkyi Rabjam as the Kasung Shastri and international Dorje Kasung Education Officer. He works as a software security engineer and lives with his wife, Molly, in Boulder Colorado.

***


John Seex

John Seex

John Seex works as a psychotherapist, supervisor and trainer supporting people to develop compassion towards themselves and others. He is a meditation teacher within the Shambhala Buddhist tradition where he has been a practitioner for over twenty years. He is part of the Karuna Faculty and lives in Stroud.

***


Ancilla van Steekelenburg

Ancilla van Steekelenburg

Ancilla van Steekelenburg (Arnhem, NL) has been a dedicated student of the Sakyong since 1997. She has been the director of the Arnhem Shambhala Meditation Centre, where she also has served as a meditation instructor and teacher since 2000. She loves being with her husband and two children and their dog. In her professional life she is a teacher at the University of Applied Sciences for Social work where she gives mindfulness (MBSR) and compassion (MBCL) training to professionals and students. She has her own company where she offers mindful parenting to parents and children with ADHD.

[admin]

As sale of Boulder’s Marpa House closes to keep Shambhala solvent, residents say they feel misled: Developer says he’s at total loss on suggestions of impropriety
by Madeline St. Amour
The Denver Post
PUBLISHED: August 8, 2019 at 10:08 am | UPDATED: August 8, 2019 at 10:45 am

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

Marpa House in Boulder pictured on July 30.

The real estate developer who closed on Boulder’s Marpa House reportedly visited residents and offered to help them try to buy the house so it would remain a cohousing community.

The Community of Marpa House [COMH], a group that tried to save the historic property, in a statement said it “felt misled by the actions of John Kirkland.”

Kirkland, along with other developers, closed on the property Wednesday, buying it for $4.9 million. The Community of Marpa House group made an offer for $4.2 million after initially offering $3 million.

Kirkland said he was “taken aback” by the residents’ statements. In an emailed statement, he said he contacted the Shambhala Interim Board’s co-chair when he learned of the “magnitude” of Shambhala’s financial issues.

Shambhala, the Buddhist organization founded in Boulder that owns the house, announced months ago that it was going to sell the property to pay off its debts as it navigates a “difficult period” stemming from accusations of sexual misconduct involving former members.

The organization said it planned to sell the house to the developers, who put in a higher initial offer. The residents will be able to stay through Nov. 9, with free rent for the last 90 days, which Kirkland proactively offered to accommodate residents, Rob O’Dea, spokesman for the project.

Marpa House was founded in 1973 and houses about 40 people in the University Hill neighborhood. Several neighbors have said the residents of Marpa House are great people to live near, and they don’t want the property redeveloped into student housing.

“As a long-time Boulder resident, I fully understand and appreciate the importance of this property to its immediate neighbors, the University community and to Boulder at large. It has been a great honor to work with the board of Shambhala to craft this purchase in a manner that addresses their immediate needs,” Kirkland said in an emailed statement. “I look forward to meeting with neighbors in the coming months as we begin to shape our plans to invest significantly in the property and return it to a condition more reflective of the beautiful surrounding homes and original character as it was built in the 1920s.”

The Interim Board’s co-chairman, John Cobb, said the organization is sad to let go of the property, but that it takes “comfort in Mr. Kirkland’s appreciation and respect for this property and trust that he will work to ensure that it will continue to add value to the Boulder community.”

Kirkland previously was involved with a development of student apartments called Oak House. Construction on those apartments were not finished for fall 2014 move-in, according to previous Daily Camera reporting, so several University of Colorado Boulder students were left scrambling to find a place to live.

The developers who bought Marpa House submitted a preapplication review to the city of Boulder in July through Tom Jarmon, vice president of the Eric Smith Associates, P.C. architecture firm. It proposes converting the property into 16 three-bedroom apartments resulting in 48 occupants.

Kirkland and four others visited Marpa House on June 14 after expressing interest in buying the property, according to Community of Marpa House’s statement.

Group members then realized that Kirkland was the same person who in April had visited and had dinner with them. Kirkland first contacted the group via its website, which offers a way to submit messages. The Daily Camera obtained a copy of the submission, which reads “I would be interested in providing financing for the Marpa House,” and is signed John Kirkland.

On April 23, Kirkland met with two members of the Community of Marpa House (COMH), who both have confirmed to the Daily Camera the interaction described in the statement, along with another resident who observed the interaction. He reportedly brought two bottles of wine and had dinner with the residents.

“During that dinner, members of COMH explained its mission to purchase the Marpa House from the current owner so that the property could continue to operate in the community as it is now,” the statement says. “Mr. Kirkland was given a tour of Marpa House, and stated several times that he wanted to help support our efforts to purchase Marpa House as a community. He also offered to look over some of our financial models and share his insights.”

The community members provided information to Kirkland that included communications with Shambhala’s Interim Board and the group’s proposal, including the offer price.

“COMH felt comfortable sharing this information based on Mr. Kirkland having said that he intended to help with COMH’s efforts to purchase the Marpa House,” the statement says.

Kirkland also left a voicemail for a member, which the Daily Camera obtained. In it, Kirkland says he hopes his meeting with them was “helpful” and explains that he would be taking measurements of the exterior of the house because he thought the appraisal information was not correct, so he wanted to verify it “for you guys.”

Kaleigh Isaacs, a member of the Community of Marpa House, came home to find Kirkland measuring the exterior of the building, she said.

“I asked to speak with him privately as something felt off and some residents were uncomfortable. When I asked him directly if he had any other interests in the property he said that he ‘was not interested in purchasing Marpa House for his own or others’ purposes’ and that he just wanted to help our community group with our efforts,” she said in an emailed statement.

Kirkland, however, said in his statement that he took part in the sale to help the organization.

“Together (with the Interim board), we quickly structured an all-cash sale, for a value greater than their property appraisal would support, and on the accelerated timeline necessary to allow Shambhala to cure their imminent financial crisis,” he wrote. “My understanding was, and has always been, that the residents of Marpa House were Shambhala members and adherents first and, as beneficiaries of Shambhala’s subsidized housing for 40-years, were completely aligned with Shambhala’s desire to avoid complete financial ruin. … After the efforts I’ve led over the past several months to help Shambhala close on this sale, I’m disappointed and quite frankly at a total loss for how to respond to their residents’ suggestion of impropriety.”

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Our Precious Human Chance: Rock Concert Commentary
by Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche
March 4th, 2018
©2018 Vimala

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Rinpoche was watching a crowded Bad Company concert on television one morning and gave the following commentary. Several times as he watched he placed his palms together and said prayers and mantras to bless the beings who were being shown on the screen. Later in the day he also referred to it multiple times, again and again shaking his head in compassion and saying how we sentient beings waste our time, either by not having the dharma or by not practicing it, and so “destroy ourselves.”

Look at this, how many thousands or millions of people are all there together! Look at us, such sentient beings!

We do have the precious human body, speech, and mind. Everything! We can connect to the dharma. We are lucky in every way.

…BUT we don’t go directly into our liberation. We do have the freedom to liberate ourselves, but we don’t grab that and use it. One way we choose it. Then instantly we don’t want to. We don’t want to be awkward. We only want to be slick and go on our own smooth road, deeper and deeper, more and more slippery.

Having connected to the dharma, you can benefit other sentient beings; you can benefit yourself, too. But we don’t want to go straight into that. We twist that, and then at the last minute, when we are dying, then finally we see. Finally we want to go straight. Finally we see what is precious, that what we got was the key to freedom. At that time we would be happy to do it, desperate to, even, but it’s too late. Right now we have that key. What do we do? We drop it. We don’t want to use our freedom key. We don’t want to go to liberation. We want to go deeper and deeper into samsara. That way we will never be liberated.

But that is what we want—to go deeper and deeper into suffering. We think that will be wonderful! We think we will find every happiness there! Look at these people. Why did they all come there, to that place? Was it for something meaningful, some reason? No, nothing. Look at how many people there are! My goodness, so many, like ants, all desperate. For what? Why did they all come? Useless!

These funky old men playing the guitar or whatever, they think they are young and handsome still—sorry, mister! Too late! Actually, more than too late—you look like you never were! Especially that one, embarrassing! All the ladies dancing up there, just about dying to gobble them up—more embarrassing! Everybody is working so hard, trying so hard, doing all these things. For what? Maybe for a little money or fame. A few pennies, maybe. Look what they do for that—so much! Look at how many people, you can’t even count them! Like a huge group of animals.

These people, they don’t know the dharma, they don’t have a connection to it, they don’t know what they are doing or what they are losing. They don’t have any chance or any knowledge or any key. They are just like children playing, or like animals, without thinking.

But we have no excuse. I don’t know what we are doing—practicing the dharma, or connecting to the dharma, or hugging the dharma, or whatever you call it, but it is for liberation. It is for something meaningful. But what do we do? We think our liberation is so meaningful, we turn away from it. We turn our back on it, we turn to the other side, instead. How come you do these things? Because you want a big name? A few pennies? How come we are willing to turn our whole chance at liberation upside-down for just one penny? How sad we are, we sentient beings! We destroy our own chance at liberation.

Look at so many people! Young, old, everybody is there, thousands and thousands. One way they don’t have dharma, so they don’t know what to do or not. But one way, still they could think a little bit, still they could consider how to be a good person, at least. Still they could check to see what is meaningful and what is a waste of time. What is their dharma? Kissing and hugging. What is their liberation? Maybe having sex, drinking, smoking dope. That is their big liberation. Then they think they really got something. Oh, poor sentient beings—how come they are so upside down? [Rinpoche placed his hands together and said Vajra Guru mantra for a few minutes.]

Poor sentient beings! They got it exactly wrong. Their thinking is exactly wrong thinking. They exactly didn’t get it! They got it…exactly…NOT!

For us, particularly right now we have freedom. We have connected to the dharma, just this much—maybe one inch. We have connected to the Buddha maybe just like one touch, one instant, and then we jump away or flinch like we were burned. We say mantra, maybe OM MANI PEME HUNG, OM MANI PEME HUNG, maybe one or two, and then we stop suddenly as if we are afraid someone will catch us. Even when we start, right away we stop our dharma and start our samsara again. Like Reagan said, “Here we go again!” That way we exchange our chance to be liberated for the chance to stay in samsara.

When it comes to the dharma, we always have hesitations and doubts, we are shy or unsure. When it comes to samsara, we go straight, directly into the middle, without hesitation, like it is our own place, our own house, our own chair. With the dharma, it looks like we are afraid to touch it, afraid to look at it, afraid to say one word, afraid to listen. We hug and kiss samsara but are afraid to touch one hair of the dharma.

That’s not how it’s supposed to be. It looks like we don’t know how to practice. How do you do it? First we study, then we contemplate, then we meditate on it. That means we go inside it. The dharma becomes our place. Of course it’s not push-button! Of course at the beginning the dharma is outside and we don’t understand, we have so many questions and so much doubt, it is really uncomfortable! Then slowly slowly as we hear the teachings and read the books, then we start to know it a little bit, like a place we have been before. Then we contemplate and think about it more and more, then we start to get a little more comfortable, like wearing your own pants or your own shoes. You do know them, you do know they fit you, so you just put them on without any hesitation. Like that. Then you practice and go deeper and deeper and then the dharma is becoming really your own place, like your own home. You know each part, each table, each chair, and really you are the most comfortable there, better than anyplace else. Then when really you meditate and realize, even more than your own place, the dharma is becoming YOU! You recognize your own nature. That way you learn, from outer, to inner, to secret, stage by stage.

Why don’t we learn that way? Is it because the dharma doesn’t work? Does it have some fault? No, no. It is because of ourselves—we don’t go into it deeply, straight. We just give it one touch and then jump away. We face toward our liberation for one second and then we turn around and run the other direction.

There are many so-called lamas and practitioners everywhere who have some little understanding of the dharma or who have done some little bit of practice, but then slowly they change. They turn to face samsara. Instead of looking for the dharma they start looking for a little money, or some ladies, or the ladies looking for some guys—maybe slowly, slowly, just a little bit, one penny, one or two ladies. Slowly they exchange their dharma for samsara again. The money—that becomes more important than the dharma. The ladies or the guys—they become more than our liberation.

We do this! We trade benefitting ourselves for harming ourselves, and engage in that. We think that will be our highest liberation.

Look at these people—millions, almost! Wow! They are human beings. But what are they doing, what is number one for them? All the funky guys hugging the ladies, all the ladies hugging the guys, desperately, nakedly. KON CHOK SUM KHYEN—Three Jewels, you know! Hold us in your compassion, we are such ignorant beings!

Look at the funky one singing! Poor guy! GURU RINPOCHE KHYEN—Guru Rinpoche, you know! May you bless all the beings!

Oh, look at this one—it looks like maybe he has a little money, he is dressed up fancy. Is your money going to liberate you? What do you think—is your money going to take you up, or bring you down? Think carefully! I will tell you: Down, only—because you lose your freedom, lose your chance to practice, lose your liberation. Why? Because you are only looking at your money. That way your money actually steals everything from you.

All of you who are trying to practice, trying to learn the dharma, trying to study, be careful! Maybe you are doing good right now, but we are nothing stable. If you get a penny or two, then it’s easy to end up upside-down for many thousands of eons.

This material is being made available as a free download by Vimala Treasures.

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Sex, scandals and betrayals: Charles II and his court: It is said to have been one of the most hedonistic courts in English history – a sexual merry-go-round of flirtation, seductions and infidelities. RE Pritchard explores the sexual liaisons of Charles II and the men and women at his court...
by History Extra: The official website for BBC History Magazine, BBC History Revealed and BBC World Histories Magazine
December 18, 2015 at 10:22 am

[T]he nearest Western model on which to base a Shambhala household seemed to be the courts of European monarchs, with a touch of Asia thrown in the mix; I suppose that if he wanted a more homegrown approach, Rinpoche could have suggested organizing his life around the model of the American White House, which is really another take on a European court, but he was not attracted to this bastion of democracy as a role model for himself or his students.

-- Dragon Thunder: My Life with Chogyam Trungpa, by Diana J. Mukpo with Carolyn Rose Gimian

King Charles II - Portrait - National Portrait Gallery


Portrait Of Charles II - (after) John Michael Wright

Evening Party - Time of Charles II, 1850. A satirical illustration of King Charles II (1630?1685). King Charles II (163-?1685) was know as the 'Merry Monarch'. He had a great fondness for women and had many mistresses. From The Comic History of England by Gilbert Abbott A. Beckett, illustrated by John Leech [Bradbury, Agnew & Co., London, 1850.] (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)

Drawing on a wealth of evidence by contemporary observers, such as diaries, memoirs, letters, gossip and satire, Scandalous Liaisons: Charles II and His Court recounts the king’s many mistresses, including Barbara Villiers and Nell Gwyn. Here, writing for History Extra, Pritchard introduces you to the pleasure-seeking world of Charles II’s court…

Most people think of Charles II as the ‘merry monarch’, with his perky Cockney mistress, Nell Gwyn (perhaps the Barbara Windsor of her day), at the centre of a court remarkable for its gaiety, extravagance, and amorous entanglements. The poet John Dryden, always agreeable to the ruling classes, described it as a “laughing, quaffing and unthinking time”, but it is clear that there was widespread disapproval of this ‘brave new world’, as is suggested by the title of poet Samuel Butler’s Satire upon the Licentious Age of Charles the Second.

For those who heretofore sought private holes,
Securely in the dark to damn their souls,
Wore vizards of hypocrisy, to steal
And slink away in masquerade to hell,
Now bring their crimes into the open sun,
For all mankind to gaze their worst upon,
As eagles try their young against his rays,
To prove if they're of gen'rous breed or base;
Call heav'n and earth to witness how they've aim'd,
With all their utmost vigour, to be damn'd,
And by their own examples, in the view
Of all the world, striv'd to damn others too; ...
For men have now made vice so great an art,
The matter of fact's become the slightest part;
And the debauched'st actions they can do,
Mere trifles to the circumstance and show....
That reconciles all contrarieties,
Makes wisdom foolishness, and folly wise,
Imposes on divinity, and sets
Her seal alike on truths and counterfeits;
Alters all characters of virtue' and vice,
And passes one for th' other in disguise;
Makes all things, as it pleases, understood,
The good receiv'd for bad, and bad for good;
That slyly counter-changes wrong and right,
Like white in fields of black, and black in white;
As if the laws of Nature had been made
Of purpose only to be disobey 'd;
Or man had lost his mighty interest,
By having been distinguished from a beast;
And had no other way but sin and vice,
To be restor'd again to Paradise....
To b' out of countenance, and, like an ass,
Not pledge the Lady Circe one beer-glass;
Unmannerly refuse her treat and wine,
For fear of being turn'd into a swine,
When one of our heroic adventurers now
Would drink her down, and turn her int' a sow.
So simple were those times, when a grave sage
Could with an old wife's tale instruct the age;
Teach virtue more fantastic ways and nice,
Than ours will now endure t' improve in vice; ...
For men are grown above all knowledge now,
And what they're ignorant of disdain to know;
Engross truth (like Fanatics) underhand,
And boldly judge before they understand;
The self-same courses equally advance
In spiritual and carnal ignorance,
And, by the same degrees of confidence,
Become impregnable against all sense;
For, as they outgrew ordinances then,
So would they now morality agen....
So those that think, and do but think they know.
Are far more obstinate than those that do,
And more averse than if they 'ad ne'er been taught
A wrong way, to a right one to be brought;
Take boldness upon credit beforehand,
And grow too positive to understand;
Believe themselves as knowing and as famous,
As if their gifts had gotten a mandamus,
A bill of store to take up a degree,
With all the learning to it, custom-free,
And look as big for what they bought at Court,
As if they 'ad done their exercises for 't.

-- Satire Upon the Licentious Age of Charles II, by Samuel Butler

Samuel Pepys recorded the king dancing to a popular tune of the time, ‘Cuckolds All A-Row’, which well suggests the cheery, heartless, amoral world of the royal court.

Two middle-aged Dharma matrons appear to declare the transcendent nature of their trysts with the tantric master.



A cuckold declares that he was jealous – of his wife’s relationship with Trungpa! He wished he could get that close!

-- Crazy Like a Fox – In “Crazy Wisdom,” Trungpa’s Heirs Sacrifice Truth to Profit, by Charles Carreon

Restoration comedies provoked uneasy laughter about adultery and cuckoldry [an act of adultery committed by a married woman against her husband]. Performances such as these reflected a preoccupation of the upper classes, where young people were married off at unsuitably early ages, in pursuit of money and estates. A wealthy young heiress was considered valuable property, to be secured by any means. On several occasions, men carried off young ladies in coaches, either to marry them or extort money from their relatives.

In Charles’s day, steely-eyed mothers and prospective mothers-in-law were constantly on the hunt for a bride. While Charles was a young man in France, his own mother, Queen Henrietta Maria, worked hard to find him a suitable wife: aristocratic – preferably royal – with money to support him and his indigent entourage, and to finance Charles’s soldiers in England.

Various German princesses were wheeled out for examination – in person or through portraiture – dismissed with Charles’s favourite oath, “Ods’s fish! They are all dull and foggy”. Just before Charles’s restoration to the throne in 1660, Cardinal Mazarin’s niece, Hortense Mancini, seemed a strong contender for the role of Charles’s wife, but the Cardinal ultimately decided Charles was not a good investment (though some years later Hortense became one of Charles’s mistresses).

While this business was going on, a series of courtiers’ young wives loyally laid themselves down for their (prospective) king, with a view to present or future rewards; Charles was always generous to those who did him service, even when he could not really afford it. These young women, like most of the women in Charles’s life, would have been generally dismissed as ‘buttered buns’ – that is, as women who had been recently possessed by other men, and not to be taken seriously.

One such woman was the young Lucy Walter, previously mistress to Algernon Sidney in London, then to Robert Sidney in Holland, probably at the court of Mary, Princess of Orange (sister of Charles). This relationship caused great anxiety to Charles’s advisers, especially Edward Hyde (later Earl of Clarendon) and his mother, who feared Charles might marry a commoner with a bad reputation.

Lucy bore Charles a son, later the Duke of Monmouth. Lucy also bore another child, not by Charles, and the affair fizzled out before her early death in November 1658. Lucy was replaced, very promptly, by Mrs Barbara Palmer, better known as Barbara Villiers, later Countess Castlemaine and Duchess of Cleveland – titles earned by her own efforts in the bedroom.


King Charles II’s mistress Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Castlemaine, c1660s. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Charles had many mistresses in both France and England. One of his servants, Thomas Chiffinch, used to bring them up to him via the back stairs to his room. Charles also had liaisons with many actresses: Mistress Knight, Mistress Weaver;

Rinpoche had also invited Sara Kapp to accompany him, a runway model well known in both New York and Europe. Sara was famous for having pioneered a certain look on the runway, and she became the model for mannequins at Saks Fifth Avenue in the eighties. Later, she was the first "Princess Borghese," the face of the Borghese line of cosmetics.

-- Dragon Thunder: My Life with Chogyam Trungpa, by Diana J. Mukpo with Carolyn Rose Gimian

and one, Moll Davis, was given a house; a pension of £1,000 a year; and an expensive ring.

His Holiness blessed a small white gold tiara inlaid with diamonds for me (a gift from Rinpoche).

-- Dragon Thunder: My Life with Chogyam Trungpa, by Diana J. Mukpo with Carolyn Rose Gimian

Moll’s rival, Nell Gwyn, once put a powerful laxative in her competitor’s food when she was due to be in bed with Charles.

One woman who didn’t want to sleep with Charles was the beautiful young Frances Stuart: she held on to her virginity, despite all Charles’s pleadings, and eventually eloped with the Duke of Richmond – much to the king’s fury.

Another lady put in Charles’s way was the celebrated Italian beauty and sexual adventuress, Hortense Mancini. She was ‘imported’ by Ralph Montagu, the English ambassador to France, who was hoping to supplant Barbara Villiers [with whom the king had lost interest] and further his own career. Unfortunately for Ralph, Hortense was not interested in political manoeuvring, only in gambling and sex; her affair with Charles did not last long.

A philandering brother

While in France with Charles in May 1660, the king’s brother, James, Duke of York, enjoying the licentious atmosphere of the court there, had an affair with Anne Hyde, the daughter of the future Earl of Clarendon, the king’s chancellor. Anne went through a form of marriage with him [possibly not performed by a priest, but by verbal promises only]. By the time the couple returned to England, Anne was pregnant, and despite colourful stories accusing her of promiscuity (spread by courtiers friendly to James), James had to marry her properly [by chaplain], which wrecked his chances of marrying a wealthy foreign aristocrat or princess.

As for public opinion, most people likely tended to agree with the Earl of Sandwich, who told Pepys that, among his father’s many sayings [his father was the previous Earl of Sandwich] was one, that “He that gets a wench with child and marries her afterward, it was as if a man should shit in his hat and clap it on his head”.


Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, who became the first wife of James, Duke of York, the future King James II. She was the mother of two later queens of England, Mary II and Anne. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Anne had a difficult time at court, sneered at for being a commoner and suspected of being a social climber, but she behaved with courage and dignity. James’s marriage did not hinder his continual, relentless philandering, however. A distressed Anne took to comfort eating, becoming increasingly larger, while James’s energetic activities in the hunting field (and bedroom) kept him thin.

One of James’s early affairs was with Lady Anne Carnegie, later Countess of Southesk, who, as Anne Hamilton, had been a teenage friend of Barbara Villiers, a lady who is remembered as being one of the most notorious of Charles’s many mistresses. Trying to be discreet, James apparently took the precaution of visiting the lady only formally, accompanied by a third person (who would wait in an outer room). On one occasion, the person playing gooseberry was Richard Talbot, a courtier and friend of both Charles and James.

While waiting, Talbot looked out of the window, and saw a man whom he recognised coming into the house. Talbot, who had been abroad, did not know that Lord Carnegie, Lady Carnegie’s husband, had been made Earl of Southesk. “Welcome, Carnegie, dear old friend! Where the devil have you been? Why are you here? Are you, too, after Lady Southesk? If so, you had better go away, for I must tell you, the Duke of York is in love with her, and is even now inside, in her chamber.”

The dumbfounded earl was hustled downstairs, out of his own house and into his carriage. Talbot went back, impatient to tell the couple the amusing story of the hopeful visitor. He was very surprised that his story gave them no pleasure at all, and was only annoyed that Carnegie had changed his title to Earl of Southesk without telling him.

The story does not end yet. As Pepys and others at court heard, when Southesk realised his wife was sleeping with the duke, he went to an infected whore in order to get the pox. Southesk then deliberately infected his wife, who in turn transferred it to the duke. Pepys thought this “the most pernicious and foul piece of revenge that ever [he] heard of”. Whether or not the story was true, the duke did contract the pox, which he in turn transferred to his other partners.

At a meeting of several hundred Buddhists in Berkeley, Calif., on Dec. 15, Mr. Tendzin was questioned about AIDS and his sexual relationships. According to a tape of that meeting, he did not deny that he was infected wtih the virus or that he had AIDS. He indicated that he may have infected others and that some people knew of his illness before reports of it spread through the community. Asked why he did not realize he could infect someone else with AIDS, he replied: ''It happened. I don't expect anybody to try to conceive of it.''

-- Buddhists in U.S. Agonize on AIDS Issue, by Dyan Zaslowsky

Royal mistresses

Many court ladies sought the prestige of becoming a royal mistress, if only for a while. One such woman was the pretty young Margaret Brooke, who indicated her willingness to James early on, but would not go further until she was safely married. At 18, she charmed 50-year-old Sir John Denham: a tall, thin, stork-like poet and gambler, who bet against the odds by marrying her. Almost immediately Margaret became James’s very public mistress. This was a situation the court wits relished, and many lampoons and vulgar verses circulated, mocking the unequal marriage and cuckolding. This was too much for Sir John, who, for a while, went mad, reportedly telling the king that he was the Holy Ghost.


Margaret Brooke, Lady Denham, c1660s. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Soon after this, Margaret fell seriously ill; on her deathbed she accused Sir John of poisoning her with a chocolate drink. A post-mortem analysis was performed but, not surprisingly, no traces of poison were found. The story of poisoning was, nevertheless, widely believed. Some thought Sir John was responsible, while others blamed the Duchess of York [Anne Hyde, daughter of the Earl of Clarendon].

Let us now return to Barbara Villiers, who was recognised as the pre-eminent court beauty. Passionate, demanding, insatiable (sexually and financially), and violent-tempered, she dominated Charles and court life – poor Catherine of Braganza, brought from Portugal to be Charles’s queen, stood no chance against the glamour queen of the court, (not least because Barbara was notably fecund and Catherine proved barren), screwing vast sums of money from the king, while being openly unfaithful.

Barbara’s many lovers included actors such as Charles Hart (Nell Gwyn’s first lover); Jacob Hall, a muscular gymnast and acrobat; the court ladies’ ‘cock of the walk’, Harry Jermyn; and the youthful John Churchill (later Duke of Marlborough). Barbara was generous in rewarding her lovers (with Charles’s money), though the swaggering boasts of one, John Ellis, were cut short when she had him castrated. Not surprisingly, Barbara was widely hated. One ballad included the verse,

Next comes Castlemaine,
That prerogative quean;
If I had such a bitch I would spay her;
She swives like a stoat,
Goes to’t leg and foot,
Level coil with a prince and a player.

‘Prerogative’ suggests Barbara’s arrogance, while the Oxford English Dictionary derives ‘level coil’ from the French lever le cul, or ‘hitch-buttock’.

Barbara’s overbearing behaviour, her dreadful public reputation, and the sheer expense of paying her costs and gambling debts, meant that her power and influence over the king eventually declined, and as she spent less time at court, other mistresses superseded her.

Some of these mistresses were deliberately put in the king’s way by court politicians hoping for indirect influence, usually in vain. One such woman was Nell Gwyn, who rose from very humble beginnings to theatre stardom. She became a long-term favourite of Charles, enjoyed not only for her sexuality but her wit, entertainment value, and good nature.


c1670, English stage actress Nell Gwyn, mistress of King Charles II. She bore the king at least one illegitimate son. Original Artwork: Engraving by Walter L Colls, from an engraving by Valck after a painting by Sir Peter Lely. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

More important, emotionally, to Charles was Nell’s great rival, from the opposite end of the social spectrum, Louise de Kéroualle. Louise was brought from the French court, and openly took part in English court politics, hoping to promote French interests. Nell constantly mocked and abused her: ‘Squintabella’ was one nickname, for the slight cast she had in one eye, as well as ‘the weeping willow’, for her tendency to weep when thwarted or upset. Once, when Louise had been appointed Duchess of Portsmouth (as a reward for her sexual favours) she said condescendingly to Nell, who was looking particularly fine, “Nelly, you are grown rich, I believe, by your dress; why woman you are fine enough to be a queen”. Nelly riposted, “You are entirely right, madam, and I am whore enough to be a duchess.”

As it was, at the end, as Charles lay on his deathbed, his thoughts were likely with both women. Louise, he said, he loved and always had, and added, according to legend, “Let not poor Nelly starve”.

The fact was that in Charles’s later years (only in middle age, as we would understand it), his sexual appetite – and, it was widely rumoured, sexual capability – declined, so that more of his leisure time was spent sailing and fishing, while his women settled for a quieter time at court (while picking up other lovers along the way).

By the end of Charles’s reign, there was an increasing sense of weariness and disgust at what was seen as a degenerate court. In 1683, even one of the previously most debauched libertine courtiers, Charles Sackville, wrote a lengthy satire, or diatribe – beginning:

Go on, my muse, and with bold voice proclaim
The vicious lives and long detested fame
Of scoundrel lords, and their lewd wives’ amours,
Pimp statesmen, canting priests, Court bawds and whores…

The picture Sackville sketched was harsh, but not without truth. Certainly the court had devoted itself to pleasure and selfishness, superficial gaiety covering corruption. A good time was had, but it was not really a good time. The intrigues and liaisons were often regarded even then as scandalous; but perhaps, at a distance of more than 300 years, they retain some value as entertainment.

R E Pritchard is the author of Scandalous Liaisons: Charles II and His Court (Amberley Publishing, 2015). To find out more, click here.

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Letter to the Kalapa Council Regarding the Nalanda Translation Committee House
by shambhala.org

This letter reflects one position of an important conversation that is occurring in the Shambhala community. While it isn’t the view of San Francisco Shambhala, it is published here for the sake of transparency and bringing forth the conversation. There are possible inaccuracies in this letter as well as varying opinions on the subject.

Dear Kalapa Council,

First, we deeply appreciate your service to the Shambhala mandala, and in particular, your dedication now, in this difficult period.

As we’ve come to learn, Shambhala has pressing debts and is in need of cash. You have announced your intention to solve the problem by mortgaging a house in Halifax, which is the headquarters of the Nalanda Translation Committee (NTC), with its huge research library of Tibetan and English dharma books and files, where an inventory of their publications resides and from where these are shipped to practitioners the world over, and where the translators meet to work. Larry Mermelstein, the director of the Committee, is a rent-paying resident of the house. (The NTC, incidentally, has been self-supporting since its inception, relying solely on donations and the sale of publications.)

The property was gifted to Nalanda Foundation of Canada, the sister organization to Shambhala, 32 years ago by Shambhala’s most generous donor, Martha Bonzi. The Council controls both organizations and plans to transfer the funds from Nalanda (not a church) to Shambhala (a church).

We understand that Martha Bonzi has donated more than $7 million in gifts over 35 years. Her generosity has literally enabled many of Shambhala’s most central institutions to survive and thrive. (These include the Halifax Shambhala Center and Gampo Abbey, as well as the legally independent Naropa University.) She gave the house for the use of the Translation Committee and its use only — for its work translating the dharma, and as its primary asset, supporting future decades of work. She did not make a formal gift restriction out of her trust for the commitment made by Shambhala, and she clearly stated that the house was never to be mortgaged or sold. This intention was made crystal clear at the time of the gift in 1986 and repeated with equal clarity in writing in early 2013 and 2015, when Shambhala first attempted to mortgage the property. To their credit, the leadership at the time honored Martha’s wishes. Whether the asset remains one of real estate or is sold someday, the commitment made to Martha in light of her wishes was that the resource would be solely used for the ongoing work of the NTC.

We learned of Shambhala’s recent mortgage plan last week in a letter about Shambhala’s finances from its finance director, Ryan Watson. The news about the house was in a single sentence at the end of the fourth paragraph, where it was easy to miss its import. There has been no clarity as to the amount that is planned to be borrowed, but it has been rumored that Shambhala needs $500,000 in the very near term, a very significant percentage of the value of the house and one that will cost at least $3,000 per month over 20 years.

This is not only morally wrong but is self-destructive. Shambhala is, unquestionably, ethically bound to abide by the express wishes of the donor. This is deeply counterproductive if the goal is to rebuild trust though a stated interest in transparency. Shambhala will need generous donors to become sustainable. Why would any future donors contribute to an organization that ignores the intentions of the most generous among us?

As disturbing as this violation of trust is, the reason given by the Kalapa Council for choosing to burden the Nalanda Translation house with a large debt rather than looking at other options is extraordinary. The Kalapa Council stated that “real estate assets that are no longer core to our operations will be mortgaged and may need to be sold.” The only named real estate is the NTC headquarters. Proceeds are meant to be used to retire debt and provide a financial cushion for unnamed use in the future. Please consider the profundity of this message to the sangha. This is not a matter of disposing of unimportant real estate but is gutting the 32 year old financial model that ensures NTC’s ongoing ability to work—to translate and produce material at a cost affordable to the sangha—and to train a new generation of translators. The issue is not whether a house in Halifax is “core to our operations.” Rather it is whether the NTC is core, and if it is, a commitment to protect, rather than undermine, its work is what is needed. Your proposed plan from our point of view does not appear to be the product of strategic thinking. That may be difficult to achieve in a rapidly changing environment that includes leadership changes. But that is all the more reason not to undermine the NTC and to come up with a Shambhala-wide way to address the short term financial needs.

Does the wider Shambhala community — newer students, older students, all of us — still need the work of the Nalanda translators? Is it still “core” to the primary mission of Shambhala — the teaching and practice of Shambhala and Buddhist meditation through accessible root texts?

Nalanda translators have, over their 43 years of existence, made it possible for many thousands of us to study and practice the Kagyu and Nyingma teachings and the Shambhala termas and teachings, including seminal texts like the Werma Sadhana — work that was pioneering, elegant, and profound. As Trungpa Rinpoche said (in 1981) of the translators’ work: “We are continually producing a rain of wisdom at this point.”

But has that rain of wisdom dried up? Is the work of translating Tibetan dharma into English finished, completed? Not by a long shot.

According to Larry Mermelstein there is enough work to keep the translators busy for the rest of their lives. What’s left? So much. Many hundreds of pages of Trungpa Rinpoche’s own writings from Tibet, which were gathered over a period of 20 years by his nephew, Karma Senge Rinpoche, who traveled to wherever Trungpa Rinpoche had been, and found over 90 Tibetans who had kept these writings safe, hidden them, treasured them, for more than a half-century. He has collected over 175 texts, more than 600 pages — a significant portion being termas (treasure teachings) and practice liturgies, along with meditation instructions and pithy advice — all written by Trungpa Rinpoche before escaping Tibet when he was 19. (But then, this was a mahasiddha, a man who was writing dharma and discovering termas beginning at the age of 3!) These include profound and advanced teachings on mahamudra and maha ati, as well as his early Shambhala teachings and termas. There is, in addition, a huge collection of the newly discovered writings of Khenpo Gangshar, one of Trungpa Rinpoche’s primary gurus, a mahasiddha in his own right.

In addition, the translators are training younger people, students of the Tibetan language and new members of the Committee, to continue the work of translation into the future. Harry Einhorn and Tillie Perks, both second-generation Shambhalians, are among their newest members. This was how it worked in the time of Padmasambhava and of Marpa, with his perilous travels to India to gather teachings and return to help plant Buddhism in Tibet. And now it has come to America and the West. Trungpa Rinpoche, seen by many as the second Padmasambhava, worked to plant the dharma here, for us and for those who come after us.

These teachings are the Vidyadhara’s great gift. They are the birthright, the heritage of all of us, all Shambhala practitioners. They are, quite literally, our treasures. They are for the future, for people 100, 1,000 years from now. If you think about it, that is what remains — the teachings. That is why Buddhists honor dharma books, wrap them carefully in brocade and put them on their shrines. The teachings are where the dharma indelibly resides. We must not impede and disrespect the work of the translators — and crucially, we must not violate the stated intentions of a donor who realized the crucial importance of the translators’ work, making the Buddhist and Shambhala teachings accessible to us all, and who honored it by giving them their primary asset, a house to keep, to work in, to have as security. The Nalanda Translation headquarters belongs to the Nalanda Translation Committee. It violates integrity, and common sense, to mortgage it to pay debts not of their making. That is not a legality; it is a moral and dharmic imperative.

Respectfully,
Barbara Elizabeth Stewart & Miriam Tarcov