Mindfulness Meditation Research: Issues of Participant Scree

What is the mind? What is the mind of a human? What is the mind of the one who investigates the human? Can the human mind understand itself? Can a human mind understand the mind of an other? This is psychology.

Re: Mindfulness Meditation Research: Issues of Participant S

Postby admin » Mon Dec 09, 2019 9:02 am

Part 4 of 6

Particularly, it is these instances of intimidation, and the structural implementation of the manipulation of people, that bring such systems of thought into the proximity of cults (Hassan 2018). But, since these challenges cannot be solved individually, analyses of the underlying structures and of the complex interrelations promoting such incidents are required, without disregarding the need for immediate prevention of such practices, and urgent relief for those already affected. The following passage may clarify how far Vajrayāna has deviated from its core by now:

Please understand the harm that you have inflicted on us has also tainted our appreciation for and practice of the Dharma. In our decades of study and practice of Tibetan Buddhism with you, we trained our minds to view you as the ‘all embodied jewel’ and the ‘source of all the teachings and blessings’ of the Buddha-Dharma. We trusted you completely. Yet, we struggled for years because your actions did not square with the teachings. Today, for many of us who have left you, the Lerab Ling community, and Rigpa the organization, our ground of confidence in the Buddha-Dharma has been compromised. Some of us, who chose to depart abruptly Lerab Ling, left all of our possessions, because we were desperate to break away from your abuse and the community that supported it. […] Whether we departed abruptly or have faded away from you and Rigpa, we struggle to rekindle an appreciation for the transformative teachings and teachers we encountered.

-- (Standlee et al. 2017, p. 7)


In reviewing teachers, ensuring that their actions correspond with what they teach is a core factor, and it is said the actions of sages are refined, or differentiated, like barley flour. Corrupt Dharma, however, presents as cruel behaviour, covert objectives, lack of transparency and a double bind of authorities and their entourages.

This tradition of allowing gurus, i.e., tulkus, to behave in an unorthodox manner, was embedded in tantric Buddhism in India, and Tibetan Buddhists faced with the problem of rogue behavior by lamas often cite the conduct of Tilopa, the Indian guru who led Naropa to enlightenment by putting him through a series of extremely painful ordeals. To speak of only two, once Naropa followed Tilopa’s orders to leap into a blazing fire, and another time, he jumped into a ditch full of ravenous leeches. Both experiences were nearly-fatal, but Naropa did not complain, and after resuscitating him with his magical powers, Tilopa initiated him into ever higher levels of Mahamudra, the path of the Transcendent Gesture. Because Naropa subsequently taught Marpa, a Tibetan, whose disciple Milarepa became the quintessential Tibetan ascetic yogi, the story of Naropa is given special significance, and is often cited by Tibetan Buddhists to prove that true guru devotion knows no rational limits.

-- Against Hell: A Refutation of the Buddhist Hell Realms, Based on Their Historic Origins, Political Purpose, Psychological Destructiveness, Irrationality, and Demonstrable Inconsistency With the Original Buddhist Teachings, Framed as A Searching Review of Sam Bercholz’s After-Death Memoir, "A Guided Tour of Hell", by Charles Carreon


"Now is the time of the Kali Yug, the age of darkness," the tenth Karmapa said. "In Tibet, the only dharma left is superficial teachings, so it is not worth your trouble to save it."

-- Buddha's Not Smiling: Uncovering Corruption at the Heart of Tibetan Buddhism Today, by Erik D. Curren


Whatever may have been the practical effect of incarnation in former times, it is, as matters stand at present, an incarnation of all vices and corruptions, instead of the souls of departed Lamas......

The present Tibetan Buddhism is corrupt and on the road to decay.


-- Three Years in Tibet, by Shramana Ekai Kawaguchi


Clinging to self-interest is said to be far from the attitude of a bodhisattva (Gyalchok and Gyaltsen 2006, p. 558) and, in that way, one is even losing the necessary conditions of Vajrayāna attitude and practice, as such behavior is the opposite of the basic practices condensed as “parting from the four clingings” (Gyalchok and Gyaltsen 2006, p. 525). Together with the silencing of trauma and its victims, the commercialization of Vajrayāna has now led to the concealment of personal interests. This shows in its highly confusing structural, terminological and psychological issues.

Idealists are understood to represent the world as it might or should be.... In the arts, similarly, idealism affirms imagination and attempts to realize a mental conception of beauty, a standard of perfection.

-- Idealism, by Wikipedia


2.3. The Narrative of Physical Closeness to One’s Guru Being Interpreted a Sign of Having ‘Good Karma’

The commercialization of any meditation techniques attributed to Buddhism, and attempts to make use of them without ever having studied them in their original language contexts, lead to the development of international substructures. Many of the large numbers of people attracted to these strive towards reaching positions within these organizations, which are often described as a particular physical closeness to the teacher, or towards income—all of which is covered and concealed by a spiritual cloak.

It was well known among Tibetan lamas that the best fund-raising was to be had in the overseas Chinese communities of East and Southeast Asia and North America.

"In 1984, Thrangu Rinpoche came up with an idea to get money in Taiwan," said Jigme Rinpoche, Shamar's brother, a lama in his own right and the director of two large monasteries in France since the mid-seventies. Like Shamar, Jigme lived at Rumtek in the sixties and seventies. Now in his late fifties, the soft-spoken, baby-faced Jigme exudes an air of motherly care that seems ill-suited to controversy; Yet, he has been the most outspoken of Shamar's supporters in criticizing Thrangu's role.

"Thrangu Rinpoche chose a monk, he was called Tendar," Jigme said. "He left Rumtek with Thrangu Rinpoche in 1975 and followed him to his retreat place Namo Buddha in Kathmandu. Thrangu Rinpoche had the idea to present this Tendar as a high lama."

With specific instructions from Thrangu, the new "Tendar Tulku Rinpoche" went to Taipei with the credentials of a spiritual master, in order to teach and raise funds for Thrangu's work in Nepal and elsewhere. Jigme told me that "Thrangu Rinpoche asked his own monks in Taiwan, who knew that Tendar was merely an ordinary monk, to keep his secret and pretend that Tendar was a high lama." The monks in Taiwan went along with Tendar's masquerade until the following year when Tendar himself, apparently fearful of discovery, backed out of the scheme, but not before raising enough money to demonstrate the potential of this approach to his boss Thrangu Rinpoche.

Thrangu later elaborated on this strategy and reportedly went on to promote dozens of undistinguished lamas to rinpoches. "These lamas owed their new status and loyalty to Thrangu Rinpoche personally," Jigme explained. "Later, Situ Rinpoche followed his lead, recognizing more than two hundred tulkus in just four months during 1991, as we learned from our contacts in Tibet."

In 1988, while traveling in Taiwan, Thrangu met with Chen Lu An. "Mr. Chen approached Thrangu Rinpoche with a plan to raise millions of dollars for the Karma Kagyu in Taiwan," explained Jigme Rinpoche. In exchange for a percentage of donations, a kind of sales commission that would go to his own Guomindang party, Chen offered to conduct a large-scale fund-raising campaign. Chen asked Thrangu to convey his proposal to the four high lamas of the Karma Kagyu: Shamar, Situ, Jamgon, and Gyaltsab Rinpoches.

Together, according to Jigme -- who said the Rumtek administration received reports from a dozen loyal monks in Taiwan who heard about this plan from their devotees and other Tibetans on the island -- Thrangu and Chen worked out the details of a plan to raise as much as one hundred million dollars by finding a Karmapa and then touring him around Taiwan.

Beforehand, they would create interest with a publicity campaign announcing the imminent arrival of a "Living Buddha" and promising that whoever had the chance to see the Karmapa and offer him donations would be enlightened in one lifetime. On his arrival, the tulku would perform the Black Crown ceremony at dozens of Tibetan Buddhist centers and other venues on the island.

"With such a plan," Jigme said, "according to our monks on Taiwan, Mr. Chen assured Thrangu Rinpoche that he would be able to get between fifty and a hundred people to donate one million dollars each, along with hundreds of others who would give smaller amounts."

According to Jigme's sources, Thrangu asked Chen to keep the plan to himself. He promised Chen he would personally inform the Karma Kagyu rinpoches of their plan and Chen's offer to carry it out. However, when Thrangu returned to India, he did not share the plan with Shamar, Jamgon, or Gyaltsab, but only with Tai Situ. Situ was reportedly excited by the plan. "Soon after," Jigme explained, "Thrangu Rinpoche took Situ Rinpoche on a secret trip to Taiwan to meet with Mr. Chen."

"Together, the three worked out the details of a fund-raising tour for their future Karmapa. The plan was worked out at least four years before they announced Ogyen Trinley. Situ Rinpoche and Thrangu Rinpoche wanted to bring Gyaltsab Rinpoche into their plans, but they didn't think they could trust Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche." In any event, they were apparently certain that Shamar would not agree to participate and would spoil the plan, probably exposing it as he had exposed an earlier idea of Thrangu's, to take over the Karmapa's Kaolung Temple in Bhutan.


-- Buddha's Not Smiling: Uncovering Corruption at the Heart of Tibetan Buddhism Today, by Erik D. Curren


Although the narrative of striving toward positions within spiritual groups is explained as a special closeness with the teacher and his agendas, the intermingling of interests already diverges from traditional texts, where the foundation and necessary condition of Buddhist practise is explained by the basic attitude of going beyond worldly concerns. As this attitude is the benchmark dividing between spiritual and other paths, there is no spiritual path which includes working for one’s own positions and profits, regardless of whether one is in an international Buddhist center, which is described as a good way to identify with the projects and goals of one’s guru, or anywhere else.

Just when [Thubten] Norbu's departure seemed secure, however, complications arose. Neither he nor his accompanying servant had passports, and they had fled Tibet with insufficient funds to pay for extended overseas travel. Thus, both of them needed to quickly secure some form of sponsorship.

At that point, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) stepped forward with a ready solution. By coincidence only weeks earlier the agency had inaugurated the perfect vehicle for discreetly channeling financial support to persons like the Dalai Lama's brother. On 18 May, the San Francisco-based Committee for a Free Asia (CFA) had been formally unveiled to the public as a means to "render effective assistance to Asians in advancing personal and national liberty throughout their homelands." The committee's charter further declared its intention to assist noncommunist travelers, refugees, and exiles in order to "strengthen Asian resistance to communism." Left unsaid was the fact that the committee was made possible by financial assistance from the CIA. [15]

***

Fosmire also received help from yet another of the Dalai Lama's older brothers, Lobsang Samten. A gentle sort, the twenty-five-year-old Lobsang had already suffered one nervous breakdown. Briefly serving as lord chamberlain in Lhasa, he had escorted the Dalai Lama to India during the Buddha Jayanti and decided not to return. Instead, he had made his way to the United States, and the CIA had arranged for him to study English at Washington's Georgetown University. When this did not prove to his liking, the agency periodically drove him down to Peary to help with translations. "He was never really in the resistance mood," said Greaney. "He preferred to come over to my house and play with the kids."

***

For the better part of a week, the location of the Dalai Lama and his escape party was a mystery to the outside world. The first to get a hint of his fate was the CIA; this came after the lord chamberlain's message to Yarlung was forwarded by courier on horseback to Tom and Lou at the NVDA rear base in Lhuntse Dzong. [22] Upon reading this, Tom took his radio set and, together with a small band of guerrillas, sprinted to intercept the Dalai Lama near the Chongye valley, thirty kilometers north of the Drigu Tso. Lou followed in his wake with another group hauling the bulk of the weapons received during the second weapons drop.

On 25 March, eight days after he departed Lhasa, the Dalai Lama and his followers arrived at Chongye and linked up with Tom's advance NVDA party. While there, the Tibetan leader was enlightened about the CIA supply drops and the RS-1 radio, which was kept hidden. Discreetly taking his leave, Tom returned to the radio and keyed a message to Okinawa. Tibet's god-king, he informed the agency, was alive and well....

The Dalai Lama's move was not unexpected, and the agency already had an inkling that India would give its nod. Two days earlier, CIA Director Dulles had informed the rest of the NSC that Prime Minister Nehru had privately hinted his support of asylum for the Dalai Lama, but not for the fleeing armed rebels, for fear of provoking incursions by the PLA. [25]

At the same time, policy makers in Washington had come to the conclusion that the Dalai Lama's exile was in the United States' interest. [26] Given its radio link at the scene, the CIA was the logical intermediary to facilitate Indian approval. No time was wasted; at 1:00 in the morning on Sunday, 29 March, a message was sent from Washington to the CIA's New Delhi station asking that it relay the plea directly to Nehru.

Back in Tibet, the Dalai Lama and his entourage had not waited for an answer. Leaving Lhuntse Dzong and riding for a day, they reached a village just four hours from the Indian frontier. Huddling that night inside their tent during a torrential downpour, the CIA agents turned on their radio and learned of New Delhi's official consent via Washington. [27]

Tom and Lou waited until early the next morning for the rains to lighten and then made a dash to Phala's tent and passed on the news. For the first time, they saw the lord chamberlain break into a wide smile.

The Dalai Lama, though haggard after almost two weeks on the road and weakened by a bout of dysentery, was visibly elated....

By the end of the second week of April, the Dalai Lama had reached Bomdila and made immediate contact with [P. N.] Menon and Dave. Just as quickly, their talks grew heated. Counseling moderation, Menon urged the monarch to refrain from any mention of an independent government in exile during his initial public statement, which he would presumably make upon confronting the mob of newsmen at Tezpur. At this, the Dalai Lama bristled. His press announcement had already been penned, he said, and he was determined to push for independence. The monarch told Menon defiantly that if New Delhi insisted that he accept the limited role of prominent religious leader, perhaps he should not accept Nehru's offer of asylum.

Clearly unsatisfied, the Dalai Lama departed Bomdila by jeep on 18 April and was finally able to meet Gyalo and relay his early frustration with New Delhi. The Dalai Lama also used the opportunity to pass his brother a verbal message to the U.S. government, reaffirming his determination to support the resistance of his people and asking Washington to recognize his exiled government and supply those who were continuing the resistance.

***

Throughout the month of April, the U.S. government took pains to ensure that it did not appear to be instigating or exploiting the revolt for cold war profit. If such a perception arose, there was fear that Nehru might lash out against both the United States and the Tibetans. This even applied to U.S. aid for Tibetan refugees; to avoid the impression that it was being offered for political rather than humanitarian reasons, no supplies were to be sent unless requested by India, and preferably for indirect distribution through the Indians themselves. [7]

***

Howard Bane was senior to Hoskins and in theory would act as the primary point of contact with Gyalo. In addition, the CIA had started contributing a stipend for the Dalai Lama and his entourage -- "providing them with rice and robes," said Hoskins -- and Bane was in charge of the purse.

***

the Dalai Lama and his entourage had taken up residence in the town of Dharamsala. Situated 725 kilometers northwest of New Delhi in the Himalayan foothills, Dharamsala -- literally, "rest house" -- was once a traditional stop for Hindu pilgrims. By 1855, it had become a flourishing hill station for the British, only to see its popularity plummet after a devastating 1905 earthquake. Its last bloc of residents, a handful of Muslims, left for newly created Pakistan in 1947.

For the Indian government, Dharamsala's remote location and lack of population were now its major selling points. Since the Dalai Lama had crossed onto Indian soil, he had made his temporary quarters near another former hill station, Mussoorie. But because Mussoorie was just a short drive from New Delhi, the monarch enjoyed easy access to the media limelight. Influential leaders such as Krishna Menon cringed at the young Tibetan's frequent and sympathetic contact with the press, leading them to propose more permanent -- and distant -- quarters at Dharamsala. With little choice, the Tibetan leader made the move in April 1960.

If the Indians thought that Dharamsala was the answer to stifling the Dalai Lama, they were sadly mistaken. Using its isolation to his advantage, he converted the town into his de facto capital, then made good on his threats over the past year and began creating a government in exile. Part of this involved reforming the cabinet offices that previously existed in Lhasa. It also involved preparation of a draft constitution.

***

Gyalo arrived in the United States during late spring and called on Michael Forrestal, then special assistant to the President. Through Forrestal, the Dalai Lama's brother was told that Kennedy offered his deepest sympathy on behalf of the American people for the plight of the Tibetans. In time-honored doublespeak, Kennedy also said that the U.S. government desired to do what it could within the limits of practical and political circumstances to improve the Tibetans' fortunes.

***

On the afternoon of 16 October 1964, the arid desert soil around Lop Nur in central Xinjiang Province rippled from the effect of a twenty-kiloton blast. "This is a major achievement of the Chinese people," read the immediate press communique out of Beijing, "in their struggle to oppose the U.S. imperialist policy of nuclear blackmail." [1]

The detonation had not been unexpected. For the past few months, the United States had been closely tracking China's nuclear program using everything from satellite photographs to a worldwide analysis of media statements made by Chinese diplomats. India, still smarting from the 1962 war, had supported this collection effort by allowing the CIA to use Charbatia in April to secretly stage U-2 flights over Xinjiang. By late September, there were enough indications for senior officials in Washington to publicly predict the blast three weeks prior to the event. [2]

Such forewarning did nothing to dampen anxiety in New Delhi. This resulted in a windfall of sorts for the Tibet project, with the CIA using the Indians' more permissive attitude to push for a series of covert initiatives aimed at raising Tibet's worldwide profile. The first such scheme was an effort to recruit and train a cadre of Tibetan officers for use as administrators and foreign representatives. An advisory committee of U.S. academics and retired diplomats was established to oversee this project, with Cornell University agreeing to play host and the CIA footing the bill.

In the fall of 1964, an initial group of four Tibetans arrived at the Cornell campus for nine months of course work in linguistics, comparative government, economics, and anthropology. Among the four were former Hale translators Bill and Mark; both had been at Georgetown University over the previous two years honing their English skills. A second group, totaling eight Tibetans, arrived in the fall of the following year. Included was former Hale translator Thinlay "Rocky" Paljor and Lobsang Tsultrim, the nephew of one of the Dalai Lama's bodyguards. As a teenager, Lobsang had joined the entourage that fled Tibet with the monarch in 1959. Midway through the semester, half of the class was quietly taken down to Silver Spring, Maryland, where they were kept in a CIA safe house for a month of spy-craft instruction; all eight later reassembled, completed their studies at Cornell, and went back to India together. [3]

These first dozen Cornell-trained Tibetans were put to immediate use. Three were assigned to the Special Center. Others were posted to one of the CIA-supported Tibet representative offices in New Delhi, Geneva, and New York. The New Delhi mission -- officially known as the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama -- was headed by a former Tibetan finance minister and charged with maintaining contact with the various embassies in the Indian capital. The Office of Tibet in Geneva, led by the Dalai Lama 's older brother Lobsang Sam ten, focused on staging cultural programs in neutral Switzerland. [4]

The New York Office of Tibet, which included three Cornell graduates, formally opened in April 1964 following a U.S. visit by Gyalo Thondup. This office concentrated on winning support for the Tibetan cause at the United Nations, which was becoming an increasingly difficult prospect. In December 1965, Gyalo was successful in pushing a resolution on Tibet through the General Assembly for the third time, but some twenty-six nations -- including Nepal and Pakistan -- joined the ranks of those supporting China on the issue. [5]

During a break from lobbying at the United Nations, Gyalo had ventured down to Washington for meetings with U.S. officials. Among them was Des FitzGerald; one of the strongest advocates of the Tibet program within the CIA, he had since left his Cuba assignment and in the spring of 1965 was promoted to deputy director of plans, putting him in charge of all agency covert operations. FitzGerald used the opportunity to invite Gyalo to dinner at the elite Federalist Club. Joining them was Frank Holober, who had returned from an unpaid sabbatical in September 1965 to take over the vacant Tibet Task Force desk within the China Branch. Remembers Holober, "Des loved Gyalo, fawned over him. He would say, 'In an independent country, you would be the perfect foreign minister.'"

Gyalo proved his abilities in another CIA-supported venture. Because the Dalai Lama had long desired the creation of a central Tibetan cultural institution, the agency supplied Gyalo with secret funds to assemble a collection of wall hangings -- called thankas -- and other art treasures from all the major Tibetan Buddhist sects. A plot of land was secured in the heart of New Delhi, and the Tibet House -- consisting of a museum, library, and emporium -- was officially opened in October 1965 by the Indian minister of education and the Dalai Lama. It remains a major attraction to this day....

***

Ever since arriving on Indian soil, the CIA had secretly channeled a stipend to the Dalai Lama and his entourage. Totaling $180,000 per fiscal year, the money was appreciated but not critical. Most of it was collected in the Charitable Trust of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, which in turn was used for investments, donations, and relief work.

***

In 1970, Lhamo Tsering returned to New Delhi after his prolonged deployment to Nepal. Waiting for him at the Special Center was John Bellingham, who was anxious to finalize a formal demobilization plan for Mustang. Until that point, the CIA was still funding 2,100 guerrillas at a cost of $500,000 a year. Pressed for time, Lhamo Tsering outlined a schedule whereby the force would be cut by a third over each of the next three calendar years. Without delay, Bellingham approved the scheme. [15]

Part of the demobilization plan involved a rehabilitation program for the guerrillas, to ensure that they would be able to support themselves. Members of the Special Center were immediately deployed to Kathmandu and Pokhara to oversee this program. Their purpose was to ensure that rehabilitation funds would be wisely invested in self-generating enterprises. Although the demobilized guerrillas had few marketable skills, existing Kathmandu-based projects funded by the Dalai Lama and foreign aid groups demonstrated that Tibetan handicraft and carpet factories were profitable ventures.

Drawing on this precedent, the first third of the rehabilitation funds was channeled into two carpet factories in Pokhara. Part of the money was also used to break ground for a thirty-room budget hotel in the same town. With a third of the guerrillas dutifully filing out of the mountains to take up employment at these sites, demobilization appeared to be progressing according to plan.

***

The Dalai Lama has gone from strength to strength, winning the 1989 Nobel Prize for Peace and earning an enormous international audience that includes Hollywood celebrities, rock musicians, New Agers, and scores of other Westerners looking for answers in the East.


-- The CIA's Secret War in Tibet, by Kenneth Conboy and James Morrison


Therefore, this mainstream habit of rationalizing closeness to authorities in the sense of a demonstration of ‘good karma’, often intermingled with one’s own position in any spiritual group, is a trap in the path itself and a dead end—the effects of which have become obvious by now. Furthermore, people being played against each other, in the light of the new narrative about the physical closeness to any master and the frequency of meetings, has paved the path for abuse at all levels. Contrary to that, in the traditional texts, one was taught to rely on the teachings and not an individual (Kongtrul 2012, p. 68). Thus, the spiritual path itself was regarded as a highly individual process towards autonomy.

Lies: Intentional Errors of Fact. In some contexts this is called bluffing. If the speaker thinks that lying serves a moral end, this would be a Pious Fraud.

-- A List Of Fallacious Arguments, by Don Lindsay


And, far from the meaning of the term karma (Kongtrul 2012, pp. 184–91), within traditional Tibetan texts of Buddhist philosophy, such ‘good karma’ demonstrations, by means of striving for positions and physical closeness to a supposedly spiritual teacher, have increased the building of hierarchies and covert rivalries among group members. Furthermore, simplistic conceptual implications that others, who are not running after such issues, have any ‘bad karma’ and even ought to be ‘purified’, were employed. As conceptualizing one’s own sublimity goes along with identification and giving up one’s self-responsibility along with that, this not only furthers arrogance and increases narcissism, but serves to cover up dysfunctional group aspects and is critical when it comes to one’s own progress on the path. This issue impacts not only on the individual, but also on the Buddhist group, other groups of (Tibetan) Buddhism and society. Therefore, in addition to relying on traditional procedures to examine the qualifications of a teacher (Kongtrul 2003, p. 42), these need to be updated to meet the current societal challenges, especially regarding attitudes of exploitation towards women.

2.4. Structural and Terminological Issues in Developing Power Imbalances

Downgrading introspection in the value scale of Western cultures (Attersee Anders 2016, p. 11) for long has resulted in an uncritical incorporation of ideas seemingly satisfying this need. Therefore, the longing for introspection (Attersee Anders 2016, p. 11; Attersee Anders 2017, p. 14) has been approached through the uncritical and unreflective adoption of social hierarchies and power imbalances accompanying so-called Buddhist meditation. This has led to the commercialization of any meditation techniques attributed to Buddhism and attempts to make use of these concepts without ever having studied them in original language contexts. The statement of one of the probands, saying “below the surface it looks different than at first glance” (respondent #1), reflects the structural and terminological challenges one faces when looking below the surface.

2.4.1. Structural Challenges

In recent decades, feudal structures (Anders 2019a, p. 35; Finnigan and Hogendoorn 2019, p. 139) and hierarchies of power imbalances have been copied unreflectively from Asia to Europe in the name of Buddhist spirituality, teaching and training. The strict hierarchical organization in international Tibetan Buddhist organizations teaching Vajrayāna supports maintaining the power of a particular lineage, in terms of combining secular with spiritual power, just as in ancient Tibet. The silencing of abuse victims is enforced more swiftly in such structures, thus serving to silence trauma. Besides strictly hierarchical command structures, a covert attitude of exploitation can be observed, especially towards the feminine. And although their financial gains long seemed to justify the strategy to disregard both the traditional and the contextual procedures of teaching certain techniques only to prepared people, the high price we all pay for it now shows. The opinion of some masters and their entourages to be beyond the law of the countries they are in, together with their disregard for the Convention on Human Rights, especially Women’s and Children’s Rights, currently present society with particular challenges. Society must compensate for the costs of those who have become chronically ill as a result of exploitation, stigmatization and trauma, and the respective burden of isolation and silencing that they carry. Particularly, since the feminine was not only devalued, but considered an exploitable mass to be controlled, this type of knowledge transfer and business, in recent decades, was performed at the expense of many women. After the disclosure of the first cases testifying abuse, we reached a point where these once seemingly flourishing centers of international Buddhist organizations in many countries have turned into religious as well as societal challenges, instead of an individual issue. In order to illustrate these circumstances, quotes from testimonials, as well as statements from probands, which are taken from the current research project (Anders 2019b, 2019c), will be presented in the following text. People from different countries, who learned about my research project through word of mouth or social media over time have requested the questionnaires via email. The links to the English or German version of the questionnaires were sent to the participants, together with an individual TAN via email. In this way, they could be pseudonymously filled and submitted in protected places. Thus, even when participating in the study on health in Buddhist groups, there is a distribution that reflects the tabooing in groups on the one hand and tremendous distress of those affected, who have to fear for their safety and sometimes their lives. It is currently evident that filling out the questionnaire in safe places using a pseudonym was used by some people as a medium of, and a cry for, help. At the same time, however, there is also information indicating that severely traumatized people require therapeutic care urgently and, due to triggers when writing, cannot complete the questionnaire at all. The probands wrote from their experiences in international so-called Buddhist organizations—many of which have a huge number of centers in many countries, which increases and complicates the issues addressed, and renders legal procedures and necessary victim compensation almost impossible. The number of centers may indicate a large number of directly and indirectly affected individuals, seminar attendees, workers and their children—not all of whom are members. Someone who stated that he was part of the Zen-Suzuki groups in Germany and different Tibetan Buddhist groups such as the Rangjung Yeshe Gomdes, Drikung and Rigpa Centers described his experiences as follows:

I found this mixture increasingly unacceptable. Glorifying attitudes, struggling for recognition, power over others and striving for top positions, under the carpet of niceties and hugs, denying and suspending unpleasant truths, neurotic devotion to a strictly hierarchical and non-transparent system that confuses spiritual devotion with self-abandonment. It was quite striking how easy it was to manipulate the vast majority of the participants, most of them were actually waiting for what I found to be a consequence of a lack of genuine personal responsibility. Even teachers unwilling to create such manipulations were wrapped up in a web of what I call ‘sangha-show’. Unfortunately, they do not seem to understand this. Often enough with a feeling of being at the pinnacle of evolution to be able to teach others. In the vast majority of groups, I found little room for what I consider to be genuine practice, which I believe to imply an ability of being honest with oneself, but instead any other substitute activities, concealed by incredible effort of pretending to be advanced already.

-- (respondent #1)


The manipulation described above is masked by a conglomerate of seemingly Buddhist terminology and the formation of stereotypes (Anders 2019a, p. 34), within which hidden agendas are communicated. Besides the resulting self-deception rendering one’s own path a dead end, this is the context for double bind, causing severe diseases after years of exposure. In the international Buddhist groups, hierarchies, similar to the ones in Buddhist monasteries where women are ranked below the youngest of monks, as well as the level of physical closeness to the master, are considered important ordering principles. Whereas the former corresponds to the working and command hierarchies, the latter is spiritually connotated, constituting an inherently risky conceptual connection between sexuality and spirituality. These two structures may overlap, and what was called the ‘inner circle’ in the organization Rigpa might well have other names in other organisations, e.g., Kusung in the organization Shambala. Baxter outlined the implications of these structures as follows:

Individual experiences are very different. There are varying degrees of closeness to Sogyal Lakar, with the closest relationships regularly referred to as the ‘inner circle’. The experiences of some of the members of the inner circle are very different from the experiences of many of those who are less close. […] a. some students of Sogyal Lakar (who were part of the ‘inner circle’, as described later in this report) have been subjected to serious physical, sexual and emotional abuse by him; and b. there were senior individuals within Rigpa who were aware of at least some of these issues and failed to address them, leaving others at risk.

-- (Baxter 2018, p. 4)


Thus, at this point, the aspect of silent testimony has been touched upon. In the following subchapter, some core aspects of terminological challenges will be addressed.

2.4.2. Decontextualisation of Terms and Concepts

Whereas the word-by-word commentaries on Buddhist philosophical texts in Tibetan monastic education focus on explaining the meaning of terms and context for the purpose of one’s own autonomy on the path of training, translations disregarded these differentiations, as well as existing semantic connotations in the corresponding languages, whilst commercializing Buddhist spiritualty. Thus, the decontextualization unfolded, ascribing new, simplified meanings to terms. Particularly, beyond clear definitions, differentiated use of language and logical conclusions, the understanding of meaning became more difficult. Thus, an understanding of meaning that goes beyond a mere repetition of terms was lost. In particular, an inability to understand introspective patterns and establish true self-reflection based on them, and the fact that teachers no longer teach from experience, means a loss of conveyed meaning—that is, the prevailing concepts ascribed to Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and Vajrayāna practice have little to do with what was taught in original language contexts.

In compliance with the request of the priests in my dormitory, I delivered a sermon on the ten Buddhist virtues, which seemed to please them greatly. They confessed to me that, priests as they were, they found no interest in the theoretical and dry expositions of Buddha’s teachings to which they had been used to listen, but that my delivery was so easy and pleasing that it aroused in them a real zest for Buddhism. This fact is a sad commentary on the ignorance of the average Tibetan priests.

-- Three Years in Tibet, by Shramana Ekai Kawaguchi


Furthermore, the current wording has been used to disguise the facts of abuse for decades. Therefore, allowing the painful naming of those issues, and listening to those concerned by indoctrination and abuse, will be a step towards urgently needed change. Depending on the victim’s personality and the damage suffered, these expressions may vary. We have seen this naming of facts in the open letter by eight people from the organisation Rigpa, saying “we now see clearly the many ways that you betrayed our trust, manipulated and abused us and our Dharma brothers and sisters” (Standlee et al. 2017, p. 7) and in many other groups, as well. Concurrently, we can observe the stigmatization and silencing accompanying this, not only by the groups themselves but also by Tibetan authorities, particularly the instillation of fear of losing a ‘pure view’. In early stages of counselling and treatment of the people affected, issues of isolation, stigmatization, silencing and fear are crucial. It is due to these issues, that people have committed themselves to secrecy to this day. Furthermore, if this secrecy is violated, some of them are threatened with methods of slander and social isolation. In particular, the perception (Anders 2019a, p. 39) of critically minded individuals and abuse victims has been systematically questioned, while they, at the same time, have been socially isolated (Anders 2019a, p. 39). One person from the organisation Rigpa described this as follows:

With Rigpa: Refusal of any discussion on the part of Rigpa, I felt the situation to be hopelessly stuck. My person as a critic was accordingly ridiculed, portrayed as psychologically ‘strange’. Usually this happened with most ‘dissidents’, that was one reason to go, some form of ethics was completely missing. Right was what was in the mind of the master or what was thought to be so. One could call it a general refusal to engage in dialogue. Other organizations: Even if the lama is okay and doesn’t abuse students, unfortunately there are always various phenomena: worship of the lama in a western, blind and seemingly naive way, completely intransparent structures regarding money, power, ways of decision. Fixation on career in the ranking in the ‘Sangha’. Willing adaptation of authoritarian structures. Those who don’t want to or can’t fit in will fall out sooner or later, the social pressure is often subtle but very high. Mixing of the whole sub-cultural mishmash of hippie, New Age small ideologies, green alternative behaviors with the traditional ballast from Asia: feudalistic structures, special hierarchies, outdated interpretations, etc. [sic.] Efforts to mix psychological methods with Buddhism.

-- (respondent #2 in Anders 2019b)


Due to the use of stigmatisation and slander as a threat (Anders 2019c) against group members, and, in this way, destroying their wider social and professional resources, it is not easy for members to distance themselves from such organizations, as was shown, for example, with the statement “you have encouraged us to defame others, in particular in France, who have spoken out against you in recent years” (Standlee et al. 2017, p. 8). At this point, counselling, particularly concerning legal and social protection and sorting out the double bind members are caught in, can help people to leave cruel groups in a timely manner and, in this way, also prevent the development or chronification of mental diseases. It is the combination of a personality cult (Anders 2019a, p. 34), together with the phrase ‘crazy wisdom’ and the neologism ‘karma purification’, that allows for violence and irresponsible deeds on the part of the leaders and their followers. That is, people are taught to believe they have to suffer abuse to have their so-called ‘bad karma’ purified (Anders 2019a, p. 39). Thus, actual reality widely diverges from the idealized picture or projected ideas of healers (Anders 2019a, p. 37). Whereas the master of the narrative would be allowed arbitrariness without any consequences, due to having been attributed with uninterrupted access to ‘absolute truth’, other people’s perceptions are systematically questioned. They get used to being told that they have the ‘wrong perception and view’, because it is inconsistent with the authority’s. Thus, this narrative traps people by setting ‘purification’ as an impossible standard (Hassan 2013, p. 16), with shame and guilt at its core, while assuming any ‘master’ would be in a position to ‘purify’ their ‘bad karma’ and conceptualize his group as being allowed, or ordered by himself, to do so. This new kind of group manipulation, called ‘karma purification,’ serves to justify violence and abuse against individuals. This is supplemented by a denial of self-responsibility, and the constant merging of one’s mind with so-called spiritual leaders, which is referred to as ‘guru yoga’. Apart from this kind of mind control, group pressure imposes various stereotypes regarding how a good Buddhist is supposed to speak and act. The very compassion that was once defined as a clear sign of the effects of authentic, correct practice, is absent in so-called teachers manipulating and abusing their followers. It is the ambiguous two-faced reality they create, with ideal images to which people are required to adapt to, which in turn binds them into such systems of exploitation and abuse. That is, due to their longing for the quickest path to enlightenment and chasing of promises such as enlightenment in one lifetime, people are made to pay for a growing number of seminars which supposedly lead to this. Instead of gaining access to their own spirituality, however, they are drawn into a net of dependencies and devaluations. Thus, although Vajrayāna has both compassion and bodhicitta as its central premise, it is these very qualities which have increasingly disappeared. Within these new narratives of Vajrayāna Buddhism, the victims themselves are even being blamed for the harm they have suffered, stigmatized and excluded. These actions of wounding and secondary wounding speak for themselves. Now that their reputation and structures are at stake, it has become evident that the secrecy and silencing these organizations have enforced has not done them any good.

2.4.3. Confusing Concepts

The new terms and meanings ascribed to Buddhist practise served to conceptualize risky relational structures and double bind, covering the entire system, which is confusing, because any action one chooses may be interpreted as the wrong choice. Double bind may show in many ways, for example in the discrepancies between the public and private face of leaders or position-holders, which were addressed in the following statement:

This letter is our request to you to stop your unethical and immoral behavior. Your public face is one of wisdom, kindness, humor, warmth and compassion, but your private behavior, the way you conduct yourself behind the scenes, is deeply disturbing and unsettling. A number of us have raised with you privately, our concerns about your behavior in recent years, but you have not changed.

-- (Standlee et al. 2017, p. 2)


Asked why he took the decision to separate from the organization Rigpa after approximately ten years of study and work there, one person shared the following:

I saw directly that while they present a very acceptable public image behind that is a lineage of pure violence. They believe they are accountable to no one and are quite capable of taking someone’s head off believing they are above any law. They also use remote viewing to injure people. One of their major teachers publicly said Tibetan Buddhism was a system that could be used by a good person or a terrorist. I have seen both sides.

-- (respondent #3)


The manipulation, indoctrination and abuse (Anders 2019a, p. 34) that are currently coming to light do not only impact on single individuals, but the on the group structures themselves, their group dynamics and the social and health systems of respective countries. Due to their questionable concepts and double bind, it stands to reason that years spent in such a system are not conducive to one’s health, but are likely to impair it. Apart from the damage to health and the economic conditions of individuals, however, any groups that consider themselves and their masters to be above the law of the country are inflicting further damage. Thus, an overall rationalizing system, based on new meanings ascribed to seemingly Buddhist terminology and concepts, has evolved around these inconsistencies, attributing obvious misconceptions to the participants themselves. Concerning the ethical guidelines which are currently written for groups, one person said: “anyone or any group can make guidelines. It is actually getting them implemented that is the problem. Most large organisations, e.g., [sic e.g.,] company, religious group or government all try to hide wrongdoing as they don’t want to be sued or lose reputation” (respondent #3).
admin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 36125
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:21 am

Re: Mindfulness Meditation Research: Issues of Participant S

Postby admin » Wed Jan 08, 2020 4:49 am

Part 5 of 6

2.5. Economical, Physical and Psychological Abuse

The devaluation of others (An Olive Branch 2019b, p. 6), abuse of power, rumors and slander (An Olive Branch 2019b, p. 6) that were described as taking place in the organization Shambala are common behavior in many groups. When asked about the kinds of abuse experienced or witnessed, the following reply was given:

Abuse of donations, of blind devotion, of the readiness for manipulation; abuse of power or power imbalances; abuse of unknowingness and abuse of the openness to engage in other traditions; abuse of naivety and good faith. Abuse of generosity, abuse of the Dharma to sexually utilise women. Abuse of the Dharma for concealing flaws, lack of education and of realisation. Abuse of the Dharma in order to present oneself as a great teacher. Abuse of Dharma in order to aggressively release one’s own negative emotions on others. Abuse of the Dharma in order to gain a position of elevation. Abuse of the Dharma in order to refuse communication.

-- (respondent #1)


The abuse or violence experienced in person was also described as: “humiliation, exposure, psychological violence, repression, deprivation of healthy self-esteem, intrigues, defamation campaigns, systematic manipulation and lies. Theft: […] misuse of tied donations” (respondent #1). Concerning the organization Rigpa, the primary concerns in the open letter to Sogyal Lakar addressed the following actions of abuse: “1. Your physical, emotional and psychological abuse of students. 2. Your sexual abuse of students. 3. Your lavish, gluttonous, and sybaritic lifestyle. 4. Your actions have tainted our appreciation for the practice of the Dharma” (Standlee et al. 2017, pp. 2–3). The writers of the letter elaborated as follows:

We have received directly from you, and witnessed others receiving, many different forms of physical abuse. You have punched and kicked us, pulled hair, torn ears, as well as hit us and others with various objects such as your back-scratcher, wooden hangers, phones, cups, and any other objects that happened to be close at hand. We trusted for many years that this physical and emotional treatment of students—what you assert to be your ‘skillful means’ of ‘wrathful compassion’ in the tradition of ‘crazy wisdom’—was done with our best interest at heart in order to free us from our ‘habitual patterns’. We no longer believe this to be so. We feel that we and others have been harmed because your actions were not compassionate; rather they demonstrated your lack of discipline and your own frustration. Your physical abuse—which constitutes a crime under the laws of the lands where you have done these acts—have left monks, nuns, and lay students of yours with bloody injuries and permanent scars. This is not second hand information; we have experienced and witnessed your behavior for years.

-- (Standlee et al. 2017, p. 3)


Nowadays, even harmful incidents are reframed as being the ‘perception’ of the individual only. This psychological trick of shifting the fault to the victim builds on simplified and distorted versions of philosophical discourses on the relative and absolute truth. These discourses on a view meant for individual practice are then applied to power imbalances, the manipulation of groups and the denigration of individuals. For this reframing, sometimes the terms ‘illusion’ and even ‘hallucination’ (Zopa 2019) are employed, which devalues the experience of this damage by defining it as an individual problem or even as a mental illness. This demonstrates a way of manipulating huge groups, and patterns of isolating individuals and victims, as well as silencing trauma. That is, instead of dealing with the damage, the groups have to adapt to the prescribed point of view, thought and talk. Thus, unwanted aspects are pressed into the unconscious. That perspective was then spiritually masked and promoted as a so-called ‘pure view,’ which people are manipulated to adopt, especially by inducing the fear of ‘creating bad karma’ through naming the incident or speaking up. In addition to this structural silencing of victims, they are stigmatized as ‘having a bad karma’ and patterns of ignoring or even excluding them from the group lead to secondary wounding. Thus, based on the distorted concepts described above, the ‘reality’ or ‘truth’ is defined by the abuser and his entourage, by prescribing the way of thought for the group. Thus, the damaging incidents remained hidden for decades, by stigmatizing victims and ignoring the harm endured, instead even framing it as beneficial in the sense of the assumed purification of their ‘bad karma’. Furthermore, the exploitation of those working in such a Buddhist organization was described as follows:

I tried to be cheerful and accommodating within reason, but they expect way too much from people. At a certain point after working between 8–10 h or if I got injured, I started telling people I was going to bed. They looked shocked like someone slapped them. Those who worked to exhaustion were seen as the most devoted until they could no longer complete tasks. After I threw my back out building the foundation for the lama’s cabin, I refused to do work that would harm me physically (I already had back problems from excessive manual labor during formative years in foster care).

-- (Anders 2019c, respondent #4)


These statements, made by people from the ‘inner circles’, bear far-reaching implications, as became apparent with the letter of Kusung (Morman et al. 2019), in the organization Shambala, because they show the layers and strategies beyond the public, nice face of the organization. The survey questioned whether one’s own education and training was taken into account when being selected for a job in the Buddhist group. One of the answers was: “they treat everyone as an underclass of servants that exist to serve the lama” (respondent #4) and the person explained further “it was based on what the lama decreed. Almost everyone obeyed like slaves” (respondent #4). Thus, in such structures, the devaluation and exploitation of others, using very well-trained people as slaves for one’s own purposes is regarded as normal. The extent of the damage inflicted on the person concerned, and its impact on his or her life, is only revealed when listening to his or her narrative, which is not taken seriously in current Buddhist discourses. Here is an example:

I separated from my first guru (from the now-defunct Ratna-Shri Drikung Kagyu center in Berkeley, California) because he sexually violated my best friend. The lama chose her because she was mentally ill and had a history of abuse. He told her he could heal her trauma through sexual acts. I separated from another center and lama (Dzogchen/Nyingma) in Oregon because students were being worked to exhaustion, financially exploited, and discarded. They were told if their minds were pure, they would not need much sleep and their bodies would not get injured from backbreaking labor. People were told the world was ending and they should use their credit cards and savings to make donations because the merit they would get would be incalculable. This place was run like a cult. The teacher also was very controlling and made homophobic comments. […] One of the students worked so much, she had a nervous breakdown and ended up in an institution. No one from the sangha visited her and they banned her from the center, I practiced on my own for years after this until […] after I discovered that my best friend’s child had been raped by the lama/tulku Shenpen Rinpoche, in addition to other children. I had been struggling with my faith for years prior to this […] I could no longer represent an organization or faith that did this as a monk. I lost my faith in Buddhism completely after seeing that the historical Buddha subjected rape victims to interrogation and expulsion if their mindfullness [sic mindfulness] during an assault was deemed insufficient. That’s not compassion. I also was offended by The Buddha’s misogyny in general. I don’t even know what enlightenment means anymore. [???]

-- (Anders 2019c, respondent #5)


Having once held a special position is by no means consolidating: “I was also declared my first Lama’s regent, which meant I was expected to run his center and find his rebirth when he died. I’m not looking for that pervert’s reincarnation. Some work was voluntary, while a lot of it was expected or coerced” (respondent #4). These were some of the terms and concepts used for rationalizing and silencing trauma. The reframing of the perception of group members (Anders 2019a, p. 40) by the elites, allowing them to behave arbitrarily and explaining it as ‘crazy wisdom’ (Anders 2019a, p. 37; Baxter 2018, p. 12; Standlee et al. 2017, p. 5), and defining harm as no-harm, caused by so-called ‘good motivation’, are some of the main manipulative tricks employed. The analysis of terms and concepts for the rationalization of trauma leads to group dynamics that go well beyond the dichotomy of perpetrator and victims. Some psychological aspects of this will be addressed in the following chapter.

2.6. Psychological Aspects

In the specific situation of indoctrination and manipulation with Buddhist terms and concepts, individuals of the entourages obtained special positions with privileges due to their physical proximity to leaders, and usually consider themselves to be above ordinary folk in a kind of spiritual narcissism. Considering the fact of the trauma dynamic itself makes it impossible to refuse positioning, tacit silence about abuse results in a positioning close to the perpetrator. For these individuals, this constitutes a narrow path dividing privileges and their own subjugation and self-abuse. Simultaneously, they themselves are bystanders and witnesses, whose positioning, which they rarely seek, is challenged, because of their identification with the perpetrator, or because of a more or less conscious fear of being victimized themselves. Some even take on the role of teachers indoctrinating the group by unreflectively adopting the previously described concepts and, thus, stigmatizing victims and isolating them socially. Now that the realities of indoctrination, and the current circumstances of economic, physical and psychological abuse (Anders 2019a, p. 39; An Olive Branch 2019a, p. 7; 2019b, p. 6; Standlee et al. 2017, p. 3; Baxter 2018, pp. 16, 23, 29; Finnigan 2019; Winn 2018, p. 5; Winn et al. 2018a, p. 6; Winn et al. 2018b, p. 6) are emerging, it would be appropriate to use courage and strength to thoroughly restructure organizations, to compensate victims and to prevent further damaging incidents rather than whitewashing them, which only the established elites and entourage, who have already profited at others’ costs, would benefit from. Although such ensuing damages are inconsistent with even the basic Buddhist assumptions of non-damage, they continue to be rationalized by its elites, who try to reframe their subordinates’ perception and, in these ways, put group pressure on them, in favor of their own agendas. When it comes to trauma (Newland 2019, p. 213), the agenda is to silence and isolate the victims, and deprive them of people who simply listen, which deprives them of the urgently needed social networks to prevent the outbreak and chronification of disease. While employing the same, dubious terminology, group members, who have not only witnessed the abuse, but often enriched themselves in the role of teachers, translators and command-takers for very many years, continue to preach their versions of ‘pure view’, the ‘karma purification’ of others and Buddhist meditation on such grounds. This means that the instructions of such teachers cynically preaching a ‘pure view’ that whitewashes abuse and exploitation and regards the victims to be the objects of so-called ‘karma purification’ are not only stigmatizing those affected by abuse, but are also continuing to manipulate their seminar participants. Whoever is chosen as an object of that ‘purification’ is not only covered with projections of the unpleasant elements of the projecting group, they are made into the object of acts of slander, stalking and bodily harm. This frequently results in multiple and complex traumatizations and secondary traumatizations. These are the consequences of ignoring the individual and collective unconscious (Hark 1988, pp. 188–89), the discourse of which has permeated scientific fields and social contexts in Europe and America for more than one hundred years, and promoting identification with the collective psyche (Jung 1990, pp. 53–59), instead of updating knowledge and teaching in a culturally sensitive way. Thus, the prescribed ways of thinking, talking and reframing push people into being objects of the group unconscious (Jung 1990, p. 59). This shows in the fact that, while consciously preaching their understanding of compassion, many of the group members are quite unconcerned by the pain and damage inflicted on the victims. Although, at this point, an urgently needed dialogue could be developed, respected authorities dictate to others how they should feel and think, reframe the trauma as aggression, and, in this way, work towards collective silencing. In such ways, the victims are subjected to the projection of many unwanted aspects of the group. It is the power imbalances (Baker 2019, pp. 85–89) within the structures of established centers that facilitate this. Although it was said in Buddhist teachings that genuine teachers were able to explain and impart knowledge through their own understanding and insight, and that their behavior would grow increasingly refined, it seems that nowadays we instead see the repetition of fancy and nice-sounding words. Both the victims and their society pay a high price for this. Furthermore, some individuals were subjected to pseudotherapies (e.g., ‘Rigpa therapy’) (Anders 2019a, pp. 34, 42; Standlee et al. 2017, pp. 4–5; Baxter 2018, pp. 31–32) in their Buddhist groups, which impacts negatively on their trust. As in many countries psychotherapy or trauma therapy is not available in a timely manner, this, in turn, leads to chronic diseases. Thus, people are psychologically damaged by increasing dependency, insecurity, fear, and the identification processes with the master as well as with his group. Stereotyping and the requirement of beautifying one´s speech, as well as merging in the so-called ‘guru yoga’, serve to reduce access to one´s own feelings and to deepen dependency. The seemingly required disintegration of boundaries, instead of development of self-reliance, endangers mental health. From a psychological perspective, along with the impact of physical and psychological violence and traumatization, the patterns of constant humiliation and the systematic questioning of one’s own perception are detrimental, especially when this is tolerated for decades, believing it will serve the purpose of enlightenment. Some people consider themselves advanced, and assume that they are training in sophisticated meditation techniques, even though they actually just rehearse dissociation.

2.6.1. Rationalisation of Damage for Silencing Trauma

The following example reveals the pattern of systematic humiliation towards those of the ‘inner circle’: “With impatience, you have made demands for this entertainment and decadent sensory indulgences. When these are not made available at the snap of a finger, or exactly as you wished, we were insulted, humiliated, made to feel worthless, stupid and incompetent, and often hit or slapped” (Standlee et al. 2017, p. 6). Here, the shifting of anger to any other person willing to take it is illustrated: “or you were moody because you were upset with one of your girlfriends. There are hundreds of examples of trivial incidents that have set you off and your response has been to strike us violently” (Standlee et al. 2017, p. 4). In An Olive Branch report on the organization Shambala, out of 62 people contacting the listening post, there were “35 incidents of sexual misconduct […] 7 incidents of child abuse […] 10 incidents of physical violence” (An Olive Branch 2019b, p. 5). Sexual coercion was described in the open letter from the organization Rigpa, as follows:

You use your role as a teacher to gain access to young women, and to coerce, intimidate and manipulate them into giving you sexual favors. […] The ongoing controversies of your sexual abuse that we can read and watch on the Internet are only a small window into your decades of this behavior. Some of us have been subjected to sexual harassment in the form of being told to strip, to show you our genitals (both men and women), to give you oral sex, being groped, asked to give you photos of our genitals, to have sex in your bed with our partners, and to describe to you our sexual relations with our partners. You’ve ordered your students to photograph your attendants and girlfriends naked, and then forced other students to make photographic collages for you, which you have shown to others. You have offered one of your female attendants to another lama (who is well known in Rigpa) for sex. You have had for decades, and continue to have, sexual relationships with a number of your student attendants, some who are married. You have told us to lie on your behalf.

-- (Standlee et al. 2017, p. 5)


This shows how, on the basis of the above-described concepts of merging, even with the wants of the perpetrator, the patterns of humiliation and manipulation, intimidation, coercion as well as seduction were mixed with sexual issues. Claiming that the subjects were bound to vows, which the group leader himself fails to keep, is evidence of their double standards. It is only a matter of time before people see through this and take their own steps: “You have always told us to be appreciative of the personal attention that you give, that you were ‘pointing out our hidden faults’ in our character, and freeing us from ‘our self-cherishing ego’. We no longer believe this to be so” (Standlee et al. 2017, p. 4). The consequences of such behaviors are already showing, in a loss of trust. For instance, a person who attended seminars at Rigpa for approximately ten years shared the following: “I left immediately I heard about the abuse because I knew one person who highlighted it and knew they were honest and reliable” (Anders 2019c, respondent #3). Thus, self-responsibility, developing self-awareness and trust in one’s own perception, as well as supportive social relationships, rather than the social isolation and silencing resulting from the above-mentioned circumstances, are essential for regaining one’s own strength and freedom. Furthermore, understanding that the pure view described for Vajrayāna practise is definitely not the pattern of positive thinking by all means, which serves as a panacea for all, might help one to think and care for oneself. That is, positive thinking is not an adequate means to solve the damage of trauma, depersonalization and silencing addressed here. Nor will victims benefit from hypocritical compassionate talk, instead they will find such talk to be cynical. Particularly, there is a need to restore their dignity and work to provide reparations, as addressed in the open letter:

We are not showing a lack of trust and respect, being a ‘trouble-maker’ with ‘negative talk’ as you often assert when anyone has dared to object to your methods. In fact, we have trusted you too long, given you the benefit of the doubt over and over again. When we’ve attempted to raise these concerns you’ve shamed us, and threatened to withhold the teachings from all the students because we had ‘doubts’.

-- (Standlee et al. 2017, p. 8)


When asked about personal experiences of indoctrination, one person replied:

Presenting a very narrow perspective of fundamentalist Tibetan Buddhism as the only true view. Selective and manipulative quotation from scriptures. Using Buddhist teachings to psychologically cleverly exploit needs [sic.] Avoiding systematic teaching on the basics of Buddhism, e.g., the actual teachings, e.g., ethics, and subtle dismissal of such teachings as low [sic.] Attempts to seduce people along rapid paths, e.g., Atiyoga, lacking one’s own basics, lacking students’ basics, or lacking basic knowledge on how to convey these. The sale of mere tradition-bound phenomena to be Buddhism. Establishing a Lamaism instead of Buddhism. Confusing ‘Tibetism’ with Vajrayana.

-- (respondent #1)


Such behaviors attempt to keep the ‘students’ in one’s own organization and seduce them into lifelong schooling. The impact of self-exploitation, and payment for unending seminars on the lives of students is easily disregarded. The following statement was shared by someone from the organization Rigpa: “The teacher/lama said people were not to go outside the group for teachings. Other lamas /teachers were brought in to teach.” (respondent #3). Similarly, coercion was described by another person: “we were told not to take outside teachings and not to ever discuss teachings from outside the lineage, including the Buddha’s words. My first teacher wanted to force me to give up my child and send her to a monastery. I refused and went over his head and said I was out if this was required. The teacher I appealed to agreed with me” (respondent #6). Furthermore, the decontextualized use of the phrase ‘crazy wisdom’ and its usage to rationalize misbehavior and the subsequent damage is shown here: “You and others in your organization claim this is how a Buddhist master of ‘crazy wisdom’ behaves, just like the tantric adepts of the past. We do not believe this to be so and see such claims as attempts to explain away egregious behaviors” (Standlee et al. 2017, p. 5). Another example of elaborating on this neologism and its impact is found here:

Very often it was taught Lakar would apply wrathful wisdom, a traditional tool of TB, historically e.g., Milarepa. In this way the ground was prepared if disloyal students would report nonsense (i.e., the truth). The majority of them simply left without any attempts towards disclosure. Karma (negative) could be very quickly matured and passed in Lerab Ling in case of unpleasant events. Any small sign of whatsoever, even good weather, was considered ‘magical’. A constant show was presented on how much Lakar would take care of all the students and he would work day and night for their good. Reality looked different. Most of the students he didn’t know and he only cared about money and his reputation. Due to the high fluctuation of students, however, it would have taken a considerable effort on his part. Dharma was always taught in ways that fitted, e.g., what hells would await a person breaking samaya. However, no basics were taught whatsoever regarding sound knowledge of samaya and examining the [spiritual] teacher. In fact, hardly any Westerners ever have the chance to examine a Tibetan lama. This is impeded by language limitations, disassociation from the students and brief stays. In the case of Lakar, a highly professional image was created for those new and older students, who were not in the ‘inner circle’, that had nothing in common with reality.

-- (respondent #1)


Thus, it is important to deconstruct such pseudo-professional images, which deceive the public, and have a look at the education and integrity of a person, and their leadership qualities instead. The levels of manipulation and false praise for the promotion of some and the denigration of others were illustrated through the example of the organization Rigpa in Germany:

Typical public methods at Rigpa: public humiliation, abuse, exposure, exaggerated false praise, promoting or degrading people in the ‘Rigpa Ranking’. Promoting and exploiting intrigues, power games and denunciation among students. Encouraging a sense of value within the collective and for the individual by cleverly presenting the Lama and his organisation as unique, exceptional, significant, superior to others, more advanced, etc. and then reducing the pupils to pocket size by public speech. I have called this attracting and domestising. Secrecy as a measure to create unofficial, subtle, non-formal structures within the so-called ‘sangha’. Ideologically, this is justified by the selective use of specific parts of texts from the canon of Tibetan Buddhist texts, partly in a quite subtle and manipulative ways. Encouraging unhealthy ambitiousness and worldly interest by publicly displaying students’ diligence, dedication, working enthusiasm, readiness to donate, etc. by setting up a gold standard in devotion. Great ‘devotion’ = greater progress on the path, thus also greater appreciation by the collective, thus higher ranking. The longing for alternatives for family and social belonging is being exploited to a very great extent.

-- (Anders 2019c, respondent #2)


These examples clearly illustrate the highly sophisticated psychological methods employed to internally promote some yet abuse others. Hence, it is not difficult to discern the kind of arrogance and intangibility established among the elites of the system, and the impact of such behavior and indoctrination on others who, for years or even decades, have invested their time and labor to gain access to spirituality and were played around with and abused. One person elaborated on the system of using people who were uneducated for their jobs and leaving out those who were well educated, which seems to be a strategy used in many of contemporary international Buddhist groups: “Very often utterly incompetent individuals were employed, I got the impression the permanent chaos associated with that allows for better manipulation” (Anders 2019c, respondent #2). Someone who left the organization Pathgate after ten years shared the following information a few months after his separation:

There is one single teacher in Pathgate […]. He functions as an authoritarian leader, dictating every aspect of students’ lives […] gives Buddhist teachings, taichi and qigong [sic Taichi and Qigong] classes, provides advice to students, dictates their daily routines, and delegates jobs and functions for regular students, whether they are staying at the center or not. […] I realised that Pathgate was a cult and PY was behaving like a authoritarian cult leader. I concluded that his behaviour was unethical, narcissistic, manipulative and aggressive, which is not what an authentic Buddhist teacher should have. […] Psychologically, I feel anger, depression and a sense of injustice. Professionally, I have not been in a stable job for 6–7 years because PY has discouraged his students to detach from mainstream society.

-- (respondent #7)


He shared his testimony on violence and manipulation as follows:

I did not experience violence towards me personally. I saw PY verbally abuse students on multiple occasions. I saw him humiliate students publicly several times. I saw him physically strike a female student on 1 [sic one] occasion. On these occasions the students were upset and crying after. I felt uncomfortable but I justified PY’s abuse as ‘crazy wisdom’, that the teacher was using skilful methods to teach the students and ‘purify their negative karma’, Now I realise that there was no wisdom in PY’s methods, he was simply abusive and there was no justification for it. Many students are so brainwashed and fearful of PY that they are conditioned to accept the abuse.

-- (respondent #7)


These examples show ways of rationalizing the damage employed in order to silence trauma and victims. That is used to divide people against each other and isolates the victims. Be it within the group or outside, this often constitutes secondary traumatization. Thus, the traditional doctrines distorted are the concepts of mindfulness and pure view - that is, the interpretations of what is translated as absolute and relative reality, and their respective methods of training, taking the goal as the path. Furthermore, there is a dangerous distortion in the teacher-student relationship, which impacts on the concept and method of guru yoga and the meaning of devotion in that context, as well as on the pure views being ascribed to the teacher only. Moreover, the idea of ‘karma purification’ is a neologism that attracts people with cleansing fantasies, constitutes a risky mainstream uniting of purity, exclusiveness and exclusion and, in this way, presents challenges for society. If silencing the victim does not seem to be enough, other methods of isolation and intimidation are employed.

2.6.2. Methods of Isolation and Intimidation—Portraying Others as Crazy or rlung Diseased

In many societies, social isolation has been a tool employed for punishment. However, in some of these Buddhist groups, the isolation is employed for the traumatized victims of abuse, to demonstrate the strength of a leader against someone’s autonomy, or because of the concealed jealousy of anyone in the entourage. People in power and their established entourage have the opportunity to use social isolation by spreading rumors about someone, employing public slander or ordering others to do so. And such slander campaigns are not limited to group borders, but may be extended to members’ social background, key relationships or professional relationships. Nowadays, due to the internationality of these groups, they can go far beyond national borders. While victims previously had the opportunity to move home or relocate abroad, such strategies no longer work. Inside the group, any offense can be justified using the new concept of ‘karma purification’. By then publicly framing such methods, as well as the individuals’ isolation, as the victim’s perception problem, the perpetrators have little to fear from within. Moreover, those who begin to doubt the legitimacy of such methods may be sufficiently scared of being made victims themselves. Thus, the extent to which the unreflective adoption of these concepts, by people who consider themselves not bound by any national law due to their religious elevation leads to can be seen. Unfortunately, projecting one’s ideals onto a Tibetan myth and the overall indiscriminate idealization of Buddhist values has prevented corresponding societal measures being taken to investigate and respond to the conditions behind the superficial image, and to limit its dangers to society. Particularly within psychotherapeutic contexts, the mainstream idealization of mindfulness meditation has hindered victims from being heard, taken seriously and receiving the required psychotherapeutic treatment. It is these confusing and grueling methods, covertly applied in a group, that, over many years, have made people sick. Another method to avoid self-responsibility and being held accountable is to distract from violence, exploitation and abuse by stating that there was no intention to harm, as if the damage to the victim were less severe because of the rationalized intention of the perpetrator. Furthermore, in instances where a person is among those who can define and change the rules, it is always possible to harass someone by simply publicly accusing the person of having broken rules -- those in power may even alter the rules the second before the complaint, if needed — for reasons such as jealousy. In such cases, although there was no fault to criticize, there usually are no consequences for the perpetrator. Such conditions result from imported hierarchies, based on the assignment of positions to unqualified or ethically incapable persons, and the failure to implement democratic processes, which results in members being unable to remove a person, and the absence of legal implementation, as though these structures were beyond public legal frameworks, as well as the terminological tricks used. Another method commonly employed in traditional Tibetan contexts is refusing communication altogether, which is rationalized as the “breakthrough of truth”:

In both his letter to me of 4 July 2018, and the letter 18 July 2017 to the eight letter writers, I noted that Sogyal did not deny the allegations against him, but instead pointed out that he did not ever intend to cause harm. Having heard evidence from a number of witnesses and listened to some recorded teachings by Sogyal, I have concluded that it would not be safe to treat his lack of denial as a tacit admission. Sogyal has stated publically that he considers that he will not defend himself against attack, and others (e.g., Witness N) spoke to me of the Buddhist belief that there is no need to respond to any form of attack against you—‘wait and the truth will come’.

-- (Baxter 2018, p. 10)


However, sitting out of issues of such magnitude will not lead to any constructive solutions, but rather cause damage and disputes over decades — the resolution of which is merely postponed to future generations. Considering the retrospective whitewashing of historiography to preserve the elite's influence, common hypocrisy (Sogyal Rinpoche [2018] 2019; Carreon 2019) and so-called masters who assume themselves beyond legislation, a good first step for our societies would be to invoke human rights concerns and their implementation, along with claiming compensation payments from the organizations that have enriched themselves at the expense of their victims. Such a system of slandering, systematically humiliating women and stigmatizing people, even with terms referring to psychiatric diseases, creates distress and fear in the group and for the individual. This is because people know that, if they become the center of attention for whatever reason, or if they dare to withdraw from the group or even leave it, they will be treated the same way. Stalking is also a common method, including but not only at the organization Rigpa. From the organization Rigpa:

It was striking that Rigpa wanted to find out if and which other teacher I would turn to. […] When I first came to a seminar, rather soon after I had left, I met a ‘senior student’ of Rigpa, we knew each other. He was a bit uneasy about me. He had already conveyed messages from Sogyal Lakar to other Lamas on several previous occasions, as I knew. Anyway, as Rigpas’ representative, he paid his respects and handed over a letter. Then the Lama intensely looked at me, and upon parting he told me to come again, in a compassionate tone. I cannot prove it, but I know of similar cases where lamas were informed that student xyz would come, he/she would have difficulties, or too much lung or something similar. At this point I would consider that as a precaution against negative information about Sogyal Lakar which ex-disciples could tell.

-- (Anders 2019c, respondent #2)


These experiences result in distrust, not only in others but also in oneself, which was described as follows:

Distrust. Trusting other people has become much more difficult for me than it was when I was younger, before my participation in an abusive sangha. Boundary: By this I intend to clearly disassociate from people who act strongly dishonest, who permanently manipulate, and/or who present characteristics of belonging to particular subcultures. Anger: When it comes to abuse in religious groups and concealment, and when ritualised behaviour is being sold for spiritual practice, my fuse has become quite short. Resignation: I have no more patience to use energy and time on others.

-- (respondent #1)


The challenging group structures described above were developed based on inherited hierarchical command structures, decontextualized concepts and neologisms, as well as on psychological manipulations that were unquestioned for decades. However, since they not only impact the individuals and their health, but, due to the situation of many individuals, also on society, its judgement and attention to this are now required. The following chapter illustrates some consequences for the victims.
admin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 36125
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:21 am

Re: Mindfulness Meditation Research: Issues of Participant S

Postby admin » Thu Jan 09, 2020 1:21 am

Part 6 of 6

2.6.3. Breakdown of People

Due to economic abuse, which many people do not see any way out of, considering their loss of resources due to conceptual preconditions of ‘karma purification’, together with the dangers of stalking and slander when simply distancing themselves from or leaving such a group (Anders 2019b, 2019c), there are prolonged stays in, and delayed separation processes from, these organizations. People often abandon external social contacts in favor of their group, which is reinforced by doctrines forbidding engagement with non-Buddhists and joining other Buddhist groups (Anders 2019b, 2019c). However, even within their group, members receive little support in the case of damage, due to the conceptualization of ‘karma purification’, implemented or ordered by a supreme authority, which has to be accepted by all group members and will otherwise negatively affect them, the assignation of psychiatric diseases to those one wants to get rid of and the common taboo surrounding abuse. The loss of social contacts in turn impacts negatively on mental health. However, the unconscious dynamics of fear that such could also impact oneself in the same ways should also be taken into consideration. This means that, over the years, a system of fear builds up behind the surface of a seemingly harmonious community. This becomes even more complicated when a cult, such as Ogyen Kunzang Choling (OKC) in Europe, invites respected and venerated Tibetan Buddhist authorities to teach seminars and they accept the invitation, which is another kind of whitewashing routine (#OKCinfo 2019b, slide 19). Considering the indoctrination, harassment, double bind and physical injuries, inflicted on members and seminar participants, mental diseases are the obvious outcome. Due to the delayed departure from the group and members’ lack of social and economic resources after unscrupulous exploitation by such groups, these diseases are often complex and chronic. Thus, child abuse, and the seduction and coercive control of adults under a spiritual umbrella (An Olive Branch 2019b, pp. 26–27; #OKCinfo 2019a; #OKCinfo 2019b, slide 7, slide 37) as well as a lack of education (#OKCinfo 2019b, slide 28) forms the structural and contextual background which should be considered when analyzing evidence regarding damage to individuals. Often, the victims of abuse themselves emphasize that the psychological impact exceeds the physical injury:

Your emotional and psychological abuse has been perhaps more damaging than the physical scars you have left on us. When we have worked for you while organizing and setting up the infrastructure for you to teach at different places around the world (Europe, North America, Australia, and India and Nepal), your shaming and threatening have led some of your closest students and attendants to emotional breakdowns.

-- (Standlee et al. 2017, p. 4)


Asked for the testimony or personal experience of people’s breakdown, one testimony stated:

People asking critical or unwanted questions were talked down, humiliated, marginalised, ridiculed, or got a special corruptive treatment, original tone: ‘You’re that far, we may introduce Rinpoche directly, if you like’. People who broke mentally for various reasons were made a case for Sanghacare. This usually meant that one was desperately looking for someone to whom the person was referred, who was not from the Sanghacare. It was quickly moving from hand to hand just like a hot potato. As these ‘cases’ also ended up with me, I have personally experienced this several times. Once the issue was solved, or alleviated, Sanghacare would praise herself on her great work. By the way, it was striking how many students of Lakar accepted tasks, quickly looking for someone else to ‘do the job’, to then present the success after completion. I also know personally from some cases that they were being ‘psychologically’ approached: Admonition, angry impression, threats (samaya and other consequences), withdrawal of love, exposing (this also has an intensive effect on others). Intimidation, bad cop-good cop—playing, acting authoritatively, focused attention and attentive love-bombing.

-- (respondent #1)


In addition to the development of mental diseases and the frequently fragile economic situation of those concerned when leaving such an organization, however, they lost confidence in elitist masters and suffer a spiritual crisis.

2.6.4. Spiritual Crisis and the Concept of One’s Own Spirituality Depending on a Male Master

Although a spiritual crisis may have already developed while participating in the group, it often only comes to consciousness when the acute economic and psychological crisis subsides. For ordained people, who are required to take off their robes in order to make their living, this may involve even more complex processes of disidentification and dealing with emotions such as shame or guilt. Someone shared the following: “I wasted almost 2 decades of my life as a monk. I missed out on many normal life experiences because I was stupid and idealistic. I regret everything. I miss my other friends” (Anders 2019c, respondent #4). Another respondent stated that, “being a Buddhist and monk was a huge part of my identity, social interaction, and worldview and leaving put me into an existential and psychological crisis. I’m doing better now, but it was scary. My therapist was not really familiar with spiritual crises” (respondent #4). Others talk about the effects of the information they received: “I no longer identify as any type of Buddhist as a result of the harm that has befallen people I love at the hands of abusive clergy and a corrupt and complicit hierarchy and laity, but I was ordained as a monk in the Drikung Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism for 18 years […] and have practiced and studied Nyingma and other lineages as well as Chinese and Japanese Buddhism” (Anders 2019c, respondent #4). For whatever reason, many people regard their spirituality as only being accessible through a mediator or through identification with a leader figure. Thus, such a high level of identification with the master and his organization, and the resulting delegation of self-responsibility to him, seems to be quite seductive. By identifying with their master and group, people deceive themselves, instead of learning to undertake an inner, self-reflexive process by using the methods described in the original languages within Buddhist texts. Some even consider their emotional excitement and the fantasies regarding the colorful imagery of Tibetan Buddhism to be insight or realization. Although initially the personal gains and the economic resources acquired may seem to prove this attitude right, it is a dead end in terms of Buddhist practise. Some were even misguided in terms of the thought of bodhicitta, just as in this case: “I no longer attend any Buddhist centers or seminars, but attended many in the past [sic.] I used to attend because I believed in cultivating qualities associated with the bodhisattva ideal and wanted to help decrease the suffering of sentient beings” (respondent #4). It is important to understand that spirituality goes far beyond such a narrow frame of helping. In traditional Vajrayāna, it is about clarity and the unfolding of capacity, based on realizing the light of clarity.

The physician told me that the Dalai Lama was not seriously ill and that it was because I had healed so many patients that he wished to see me. But, he added, as he was very busy, I must not talk long with him. He said that the Dalai Lama might have something that the physician must consult me about....

The Dalai Lama then began by praising me for having healed many poor priests at Sera. He told me to stay long at Sera and to do as I had done, and I answered that I would do with pleasure as he wished me....

He was pleased to tell me that he was thinking of appointing me to some high office. ...

I was often invited to the chief physician’s to talk about medicine with him. He taught me several things about medicine that I did not know, though the medical knowledge which I had gained from my own books enabled me to keep up with him in the talk. This must have done a great deal to make the chief physician welcome me so much. He even said he would be most glad to recommend me as a Court Physician.

He said that he would do his best to that end, telling me at the same time to see the premier and some other Ministers of State. My answer was however that I could not very well stay long in Lhasa, for I was most earnest to study Buddhism. I told him also that I intended to go to India to study Samskrt, and at this he felt very sorry, for when I left there would be no good doctor in the city. When I said that my object was not medicine, but to study Buddhism, the physician very plausibly argued that as it was the ultimate object of Buddhism to save men, I might as well stay in the city as a doctor to practise medicine. The doctor, I said, only relieved men of earthly pains, but could hardly do anything toward the salvation of souls. What doctor, however skilful, could save a dying patient? Besides, I feared I might do them more harm than good, for I had only a smattering of medicine after all. I might heal them of their diseases, but I could not give peace to their souls, while a priest could free them from the most painful and durable of all diseases. It was more urgent to study how to heal this. Buddha was the greatest doctor, who had given eighty-four thousand religious medicines to eighty-four thousand mental diseases, and we, as His disciples, I said, must study His ways of healing. On these grounds I declined his offer. Finding me so firm in my resolution, the physician went on to say that, if I ever tried to leave the city for India, or some other far-off country, the Dalai Lama would give orders to keep me in the country, and that my only happiness lay in staying to work among the priests.

-- Three Years in Tibet, by Shramana Ekai Kawaguchi


2.7. Impact

The commercialization of Buddhist concepts and terminology has led to considerable terminological confusion, which has even reached the field of science. Mindfulness being promoted as a panacea, while disregarding context or culture, is only one example of this (Attersee Anders 2016, p. 46). The damage to the knowledge imparted in Buddhist philosophy by the distortion of concepts, commercializing spiritual methods for (psycho)therapy, and indoctrinating as well as abusing people, cannot be estimated yet. It may take a few generations to clear the terminological chaos, go beyond the silencing of victims and heal the wounds of psychological trauma. This is especially true in terms of its impact, treatment and transgenerational transmission. The pattern of unquestionably idealizing anyone who claims him- or herself a dignitary of Buddhist meditation or Vajrayāna, without at least inquiring about his education, reviewing his integrity and leadership qualities, as well as evaluating his individual level of maturity, has paved the way towards an increasing loss of social control. As the financial inflow and the inflated notion of their own grandiosity seemed to prove such organizations right for a long time, the question of where this lack of self-responsibility (Anders 2019d) and social control would lead in the long run hardly arose. However, the unequal distribution of power arrangements, which incited conflicts in and among groups, as well as damaging their students’ compassion for other students and stigmatizing and silencing victims, will change, depending on the individuals’ ability to assume self-responsibility, rethink their social structures and find their own spirituality without mediators. As soon as those affected succeed in truly acting jointly and in solidarity, inevitable changes will be initiated. Society is now challenged with providing for the compensation and treatment of victims, claiming refunds from these international Buddhist organizations and providing their members and seminar participants with methods for spiritual autonomy. This current pile of fragments arose from a failure to assume leadership responsibility and accountability, along with a lack of acknowledgement of the personal and social impact of the unconscious. As the shadow of the unconscious tends to be projected towards the female, even when attempting to reconcile this by visualizing female Buddhas in a way that is incompatible and ambiguous, one might consider measuring change against genuine dialogue with women.

3. Self-Responsibility, Autonomy and Integrity as Factors for Change and Knowledge Preservation

An unreflective decontextualizing of concepts and interventions in the name of Buddhist religion has turned them into dangerous balancing points, threatening people’s mental and physical health.

In 1947 Theodor W. Adorno defined what would be later called "blaming the victim," as "one of the most sinister features of the Fascist character". Shortly thereafter Adorno and three other professors at the University of California, Berkeley formulated their influential and highly debated F-scale (F for fascist), published in The Authoritarian Personality (1950), which included among the fascist traits of the scale the "contempt for everything discriminated against or weak." A typical expression of victim blaming is the "asking for it" idiom, e.g. "she was asking for it" said of a victim of violence or sexual assault.

-- Victim blaming, by Wikipedia


Besides the methods of silencing, the enforced isolation of victims needs to be addressed in order for change to come about. If we fail to face the challenge of healing these wounds and restructuring existing infrastructure to avoid further damage in the name of Vajrayāna, not only will its knowledge be lost, but the stories of all the victims will remain silenced, and serious hostilities will emerge, that are no longer easy to cure. Since, in this period of time, the Vajrayāna has lost its heart, which is the very bodhicitta, any practice merely carrying its name will not lead to the intended consequences, either. Therefore, what is needed now is the devotion for the path itself. Although much more analysis is needed to understand the impact of the conscious and unconscious dynamics at work and the silencing of trauma, the necessary change will come about by counteracting the maintenance of power imbalances, and making self-responsible decisions. If these acts of resistance allow for autonomy, responsible acts of compassion and integrity, they will impact positively on the preservation of the meaning of Vajrayāna.

Funding

This research was funded by the [German] Federal Ministry of Education and Research, grant number 01UL1823X.

Federal Ministry of Education and Research: Political Staff and Organization
by Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany)

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is headed by Federal Minister Anja Karliczek.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is headed by Federal Minister Anja Karliczek. She is supported in her duties by the Parliamentary State Secretaries Dr. Michael Meister and Thomas Rachel, and the Permanent State Secretaries Christian Luft and Prof. Dr. Wolf-Dieter Lukas. The Federal Ministry, with over 1000 staff members, is divided into eight Directorates-General.

The Directorates-General

The BMBF is organized in eight Directorates-General, each of which is responsible for different tasks.

Directorate-General Z - Central Services

The Directorate-General for Central Services discharges central control and regulatory functions and provides a suitable framework for optimum work in the BMBF. It covers the responsibilities of human resources and staff development, organization, staff planning and management, budget, legal affairs, data protection, and information technology. Further tasks are tender review and corruption prevention, controlling, grant-awarding procedures, and staff at BMBF-funded research institutions.

Directorate-General 1 - Strategies and Policy Issues

Directorate-General 1 deals with policy and strategy issues. This includes the further development of the High-Tech Strategy, the development of a basic concept for innovation policy, and the creation of effective instruments for the promotion of the gifted. Another task is raising awareness of research through public dialogue and the Science Years. And finally, Directorate-General 1 performs an advisory function within the BMBF and addresses generic issues. Central fields of work are innovation-friendly framework conditions, new perspectives for the knowledge society, cooperation between the Federal Government and the Länder, equal opportunities, and statistics.

Directorate-General 2 - European and International Cooperation in Education and Research

Directorate-General 2 is responsible for the governance and development of Germany's international cooperation in education and research. This includes cooperation within Europe and the European Union, bilateral relations throughout the world, and German representation in multilateral organizations such as the OECD and the United Nations. In discharging this function, Directorate-General 2 is supported by a network of counsellors at German Embassies in major partner countries and in Brussels, by the BMBF's International Bureau at DLR, and by German research, science and education organizations that are engaged in international cooperation.

Directorate-General 3 - Vocational Training and Lifelong Learning

This Directorate-General is subdivided into two Directorates.

Directorate 31 "Vocational Training" is responsible for all questions regarding training and training places. This includes the Vocational Training Act and the Upgrading Training Assistance Act. The development of new training occupations, the modernization of existing training occupations and the regulation of required qualifications in further training are a permanent task. The annual Report on Vocational Education documents the development of initial and continuing vocational training in Germany.

Directorate 32 deals with the areas of lifelong learning, educational research and continuing education. Horizontal topics, such as cultural education and new media in education are also developed further in this Directorate. The most extensive national school programme to establish all-day schools is located here just as the monitoring of international benchmarking studies (e.g. PISA) and the national education report issued jointly by the Federal Government and the Länder.

Directorate-General 4 - Science systems

Directorate-General 4 deals with the development and promotion of the German science system, including institutions of higher education and non-university research, and with support for the cultural sciences. Its responsibilities in the higher education sector include the Initiative for Excellence, the Higher Education Pact 2020 and the Quality Pact for Teaching, the Bologna reform, legislation in higher education, and training assistance legislation. Further tasks are the development of the German science system, joint promotion of science together with the Länder, support for research infrastructures, and the improvement of general conditions for science (Academic Freedom Initiative).

Directorate-General 5 - Key technologies - Research for Innovation

All projects related to modern key technologies are located in Directorate-General 5. These technologies open up new market and employment opportunities; they enable sustainable business, change vocational requirements and influence our everyday life. Nanotechnologies, electronics, optical technologies or microsystems technology are among them just as modern software systems, the further development of the Internet or the development of security research. Research at universities of applied sciences ensures that innovative research projects are rapidly implemented in industry; in this field too, Directorate-General 5 is making contributions.

Directorate-General 6 - Life Sciences - Research for Health

Directorate-General 6 is responsible for all central research areas in the life sciences. The area of health research includes basic genetic aspects, the origin and prevention of illnesses, effective control of the most common diseases, a healthy diet, individualized medicine, the treatment of patients suffering from specific diseases or requiring long-term care, and the innovative capacity of the health care industry.

Responsibility in the area of bio-economy focuses on the development of innovative concepts for securing an adequate food supply and for using renewable resources and biotechnological methods which save resources and the environment and protect the climate. Promoting the dialogue on ethical and legal aspects is another important task because research results may have a lasting impact on our lives.

Directorate-General 7 – Provision for the Future - Basic and Sustainability Research

Directorate-General 7 deals with central issues of government provision for the future. It covers a broad range of activities from basic scientific research to sustainability research. This includes research into the structure of matter and the origin of the universe, the changes and risks in System Earth, the future of the energy supply, the potential of new environmental technologies, climate change and its impact, and the prospects of sustainability concepts including social and economic aspects.

Directorate-General 7 is responsible for project funding in these areas and addresses institutional issues of major national and international centres which operate large research facilities for basic scientific research and nuclear fusion.


Conflicts of Interest

The author declares no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

References

#OKCinfo (ex-OKC born-kids). 2019a. Sexual Abuses of Young Girls. Available online: https://www.okcinfo.news (accessed on 6 September 2019).
#OKCinfo (ex-OKC born-kids). 2019b. 40 Years of Abuse in the Name of Dharma the Story of Ogyen Kunzang Choking and Lama Kunzang Dorje, (aka Robert Spatz, or RS in This Presentation). Available online: https://okcinfo.news/archives/ (accessed on 6 September 2019).
An Olive Branch. 2019a. Shambhala Final Project Report. Available online: https://www.dropbox.com/s/eloezy0vc0nhg ... l.pdf?dl=0 (accessed on 20 March 2019).
An Olive Branch. 2019b. Report on the Shambhala Listening Post. Available online: https://www.dropbox.com/s/111arue9y4gtk ... l.pdf?dl=0 (accessed on 20 March 2019).
Anders, Anne I. M. 2019a. Psychische Auswirkungen von Machtmissbrauch in buddhistischen Gruppierungen und essenzielle Aspekte bei psychotherapeutischen Interventionen für Betroffene. SFU Forschungsbulletin 7: 32–49. Available online: http://journals.sfu.ac.at/index.php/sfu ... ew/245/276 (accessed on 30 June 2019). [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Anders, Anne I. M. 2019b. Forschungsergebnisse—Zitate von Zeitzeugen aus Deutschland Aktuelle Zeitzeugenaussagen aus unterschiedlichen Organisationen. Available online: https://www.transtibmed.ethnologie.uni- ... index.html (accessed on 1 July 2019).
Anders, Anne I. M. 2019c. Research Results the Following Results are from the Research Project TransTibMed and Provide Contemporary Witness Reports. Available online: https://www.en.transtibmed.ethnologie.u ... index.html (accessed on 1 July 2019).
Anders, Anne I. M. 2019d. Addressing Current Incidents in Buddhist Communities and Self-Responsibility. Available online: https://www.en.transtibmed.ethnologie.u ... index.html (accessed on 29 May 2019).
Attersee, Anne I. M. 2014. Kognition und Emotion in der Tibetischen Medizin Eine Darstellung und Interpretation aus Emischer Perspektive. Aachen: Shaker. [Google Scholar]
Attersee Anders, Anne I. M. 2016. Selbstreferenz Ein dynamisches Selbstreferenzmodell auf der Grundlage von graduellem kognitivem Training. Wiesbaden: Springer. [Google Scholar]
Attersee Anders, Anne I. M. 2017. Introspektion als Wirkfaktor in der Psychotherapie Eine psychotherapiewissenschaftliche Modellbildung zu Effektstrukturen des Graduellen Kognitiven Trainings. Wiesbaden: Springer. [Google Scholar]
Baker, Connie A. 2019. Traumatised by Religious Abuse. Discover the Cultures and Systems of Religious Abuse and Reclaim Your Personal Power. Eugene: Luminare Press. [Google Scholar]
Baxter, Karen. 2018. Report to the Boards of Trustees of: Rigpa Fellowship UK, and Rigpa Fellowship US. Outcome of an Investigation into Allegations Made Against Sogyal Lakar (also known as Sogyal Rinpoche) in a Letter Dated 14 July 2017. Available online: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/ ... report.pdf (accessed on 1 September 2018).
Berzin, Alexander. 2010. Wise Teacher, Wise Student. Tibetan Approaches to a Healthy Relationship. Ithaca and New York: Snow Lion. [Google Scholar]
Carreon, Charles. 2019. Dharma Teachers: Please Retract Your Homages to Sogyal. Available online: https://www.change.org/p/mindrolling-je ... -to-sogyal (accessed on 4 September 2019).
Coleman, Graham, and Thupten Jinpa, eds. 2008. Das Tibetische Totenbuch. Die Große Befreiung durch Hören in den Zwischenzuständen. München: Arkana. [Google Scholar]
Dalai, Lama. 1992. Einführung in den Buddhismus. Freiburg: Herder. [Google Scholar]
Dudjom, Jikdrel Y. D. 1991. The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. Its Fundamentals and History. Boston: Wisdom Publications. [Google Scholar]
Finnigan, Mary. 2019. 4) Trungpa Rinpoche and the Rock Star Lifestyle November 20, 2011. Available online: https://behindthethangkas.wordpress.com ... lifestyle/ (accessed on 14 January 2019).
Finnigan, Mary, and Rob Hogendoorn. 2019. Sex and Violence in Tibetan Buddhism the Rise and Fall of Sogyal Rinpoche. Portland: Jorvik Press. [Google Scholar]
Gyalchok, Shönu, and Könchok Gyaltsen. 2006. Mind Training. The Great Collection. Boston: Wisdom Publications. [Google Scholar]
Hark, Helmut. 1988. Lexikon Jungscher Grundbegriffe. Olten: Walter Verlag. [Google Scholar]
Hassan, Steven. 2013. Freedom of Mind. Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults and Beliefs. Newton: Freedom of Mind Press. [Google Scholar]
Hassan, Steven. 2018. Combating Cult Mind Control. The#1 Best-Selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults. Newton: Freedom of Mind Press. [Google Scholar]
Herman, Judith L. 2015. Trauma and Recovery. The Aftermath of Violence—From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror. New York: Basic Books, Member of Perseus Books Group. [Google Scholar]
Jung, Carl G. 1990. Die Beziehungen zwischen dem Ich und dem Unbewussten. Olten: Walter Verlag. [Google Scholar]
Kongtrul, Jamgön L. T. 1999. The Teacher-Student Relationship. Boston: Snow Lion. [Google Scholar]
Kongtrul, Jamgön L. T. 2003. The Treasury of Knowledge Book Five: Buddhist Ethics. Boston and London: Snow Lion. [Google Scholar]
Kongtrul, Jamgön L. T. 2012. The Treasury of Knowledge Book Seven and Book Eight, Parts One and Two Foundations of Buddhist Study and Practise. Boston and London: Snow Lion. [Google Scholar]
Köttl, Miriam. 2009. Heilung aus der Perspektive Tibetischer Medizin. Aachen: Shaker. [Google Scholar]
Langel, Helmut. 1995. Destruktive Kulte und Sekten. Eine kritische Einführung. München and Landsberg: Moderne Industrie. [Google Scholar]
Morman, Craig, Ben Medrano, Laura Leslie, Louis Fitch, David Ellerton, and Allya Canepa. 2019. An Open Letter to the Shambhala Community from Long-Serving Kusung. Available online: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W3fN12 ... h5uU7p5pM0 (accessed on 16 February 2019).
Newland, Thalia. 2019. Fallout. Recovering from Abuse in Tibetan Buddhism. Australia: Escarpment Publishing. [Google Scholar]
Patrul, Rinpoche. 1998. Words of My Perfect Teacher. A Complete Translation of a Classic Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. New Delhi: Vistaar Publications. [Google Scholar]
Richard, Matthieu, and Kurz Vivian, eds. 2010. The Collected Works of Dilgo Khyentse. Volume Two the Excellent Path to Enlightenment. The Wheel of Investigation. The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel. The Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones. The Hundred Verses of Advice. Boulder: Shambala Publications. [Google Scholar]
Sogyal, Rinpoche. 2019. Paying Homage to Sogyal Rinpoche. First published 2018. Available online: https://sogyalrinpoche.org/paying-homag ... l-rinpoche (accessed on 4 September 2019).
Standlee, Mark, Damcho Sangye, Matteo Pistono, Joanne Standlee, Graham Price, Michael Condon, and Gary Goldman. 2017. Open Letter to Sogyal Lakar. Available online: https://www.lionsroar.com/wp-content/up ... -2017-.pdf (accessed on 1 August 2017).
Tsepak, Rigzin. 2003. Tibetan-English Dictionary of Buddhist Terminology. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. [Google Scholar]
Winn, Andrea M. 2018. Project Sunshine: Final Report. A Firebird Year Initiative to Bring Light and Healing to Sexualized Violence Embedded Within the Shambhala Community February 27, 2017–February 15, 2018. Available online: http://www.andreamwinn.com/pdfs/Project ... Report.pdf (accessed on 1 January 2019).
Winn, Andrea M., and Carol Merchasin. 2018a. Buddhist Project Sunshine Phase 3. Final Report. The Nail: Bringing Things to a Clear Point A 2-Month Initiative to Bring Activating Healing Light to Sexualized Violence at the Core of the Shambhala Buddhist Community August 23. Available online: andreamwinn.com/project_sunshine/Buddhist_Project_Sunshine_Phase_3_Final_Report.pdf (accessed on 1 January 2019).
Winn, Andrea M., Richard Edelman, Carol Merchasin, Elizabeth Monson, and Women Survivors. 2018b. Buddhist Project Sunshine Phase 2. Final Report. A 3-Month Initiative to Bring Healing Light to Sexualized Violence at the Core of the Shambhala Buddhist Community June 28. Available online: andreamwinn.com/project_sunshine/Buddhist_Project_Sunshine_Phase_2_Final_Report.pdf (accessed on 1 January 2019).
Zopa, Lama R. 2019. Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Advice to Students of Dagri Rinpoche. Available online: https://fpmt.org/lama-zopa-rinpoche-new ... -rinpoche/ (accessed on 14 May 2019).

© 2019 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
admin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 36125
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:21 am

Previous

Return to Psychology

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests