A research colleague at Centers For Apologetics Research (CFAR) just sent a Guardian article to me by Mary Finnigan on Tantric sexual abuse which I think is an important read in light of the upcoming Kalachakra Ceremony in Washington, DC July 6-16. I’ve posted a segment of the article and the link to the remainder of the article at the end. But, before the article, I’d like to briefly relate two of my observations in relation to the article which underscore the dangers that loved ones who have ventured into tantric Buddhism may face.
A number of years ago, while visiting Seattle, I recall a young woman who had come to faith in Jesus Christ who had been a consort of a leading Tibetan lama. She said that it was nearly impossible for her to talk about and so she was reticent to even say much more than it was tantamount to spiritual rape and intimidation. It was so awful she desired to forget. Few can understand the horror.
During one summer course that we’d held years ago for Christians desiring to understand what Buddhists believed, we visited Dharmadhatu, a Tibetan Buddhist Center in West Hollywood. They were very welcoming and subsequently, we had a very honest, long and open dialogue about the differences between Christianity and Buddhism.
At one point they openly discussed their own trials and tribulations with their founder, Osel Tendzin who had died of AIDS as well as nine other Tibetan lamas in Boulder, Colorado. They were struggling with the fact that Tendzin didn’t tell his female consorts who he had performed tantric rituals with that he was infected with AIDS. It was something they said that they will struggle with for years.
The following article from the Guardian provides an important head’s up for those who have loved ones who may be headed down this horrific spiritual path.
SEX ABUSE CLAIMS CALL BUDDHIST TABOOS INTO QUESTION
Allegations against Sogyal Rinpoche highlight the dangers
of Buddhist injunctions against gossip and insistence on loyalty.
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The Guardian
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by Mary Finnigan
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Friday 1 July 2011
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In November 1994 an American woman known as Janice Doe filed a $10m lawsuit against the Tibetan lama Sogyal Rinpoche, charging him with sexual, mental and physical abuse. The case was dealt with out of court and Janice Doe signed a non-disclosure agreement in return for a cash settlement.
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Sogyal denies allegations of abuse, but fresh evidence against him was recently aired in an investigative documentary called In the Name of Enlightenment, broadcast on Vision TV in Canada. A beautiful young woman identified as Mimi described an abusive sexual relationship. She was the first person claiming direct experience of Sogyal’s exploitative attentions to go public since the 1994 lawsuit.
Sogyal (surname Lakar – Rinpoche is a title that means “precious one”) is the frontman for a Tibetan Buddhist organisation called Rigpa, which has a worldwide reach with 130 centres in 41 countries. He has a bestselling book, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, to his name and he starred alongside Keanu Reeves in the movie Little Buddha. Sogyal is a formidably successful guru – probably the best known Tibetan after the Dalai Lama.
His trajectory into Buddhist superstardom suffered only a temporary setback following the Janice Doe lawsuit – despite the fact that lurid rumours about his sex life circulate on the internet with increasing volume and persistence.
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The allegations raise a wider question: why are victims of sexual exploitation by charismatic religious leaders reluctant to denounce their abusers?
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In the Canadian documentary, Mimi highlights the Stockholm syndrome – a term used to describe the paradoxical reactions of individuals who bond with their abusers. “The person beating us, she says, “is also the only one giving us affection – and food and a roof over our heads.”Sociologist Amanda van Eck is deputy director of Inform, the cult information resource at the London School of Economics.
She says fear is probably the main reason why women stay silent: “In some groups there has been fear of retribution,” she says, “which means they don’t want to speak publicly.
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In other cases, which may overlap with fear of retribution, they are fearful of negative consequences – damnation, of not being saved, of possession by evil spirits, of being attacked by negative forces and so on.”If the outside world has been demonised by cult leaders, Van Eck says, women may also be fearful that no one can be trusted.
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Many women who have described abusive sexual relationships anonymously on internet forums refuse to come out of hiding because they want to move on, rather than relive traumatic periods in their lives. Some also feel a need to protect their families.In my personal experience, there are two taboos in Buddhist organisations, both of which have merit and both of which can be used as manipulative tools.
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One of them is an injunction against gossip – useful when trying to establish a calm mental state, but also useful to prevent the circulation of critical comment.The second is samaya – the bond of loyalty that is one of the key tenets of Tibetan Buddhism. It supports the relationship between teacher and neophyte, but it can be deployed unscrupulously as a threat – break your samaya and attract dire consequences to yourself and your loved ones.
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You may find the complete article at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/jul/01/lama-sex-abuse-sogyal-rinpoche-buddhist
For more on Tantric Ritual Abuse http://www.trimondi.de/EN/deba02.html. June Campbell’s story.
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