Tibetan Buddhist Teachers Accused of Abuse

We have only listed Tibetan Buddhist teachers accused of abuse where the accusations have come to light since July 2017 and where a number of people have come forward with similar stories; the details sound totally plausible, coherent and convincing; and the claims have been reported by trustworthy media outlets and/or backed up by trusted people with a good background knowledge.

We don’t want to list anything that may not be a fair representation of a situation, and we don’t have the resources or time to make investigations. However, students should be aware that in the book Karmamudra:The Yoga of Bliss, Sexuality in Tibetan Medicine and Buddhism the author Dr Nida Chenagtsang says, ‘Sexual misconduct is very common amongst high level lamas.’

A list of Controversial ‘Buddhist’ Teachers & Groups can be found here:
http://viewonbuddhism.org/controversy-controversial-teacher-group-center-questionable.html?

Also do a web search of the name of the teacher you’re investigating along with the words ‘abuse’ or ‘scandal’ or ‘complaints’ and so on. Another source for checking out a teacher is to ask about them on Facebook groups such as Beyond the Temple and Survivors of Vajrayana Abuse and their Allies.

When evaluating an allegation, check if there are other trustworthy and reasonable accounts that lend credibility to the accusations and try to talk to people with some background knowledge of the situation.

Sogyal Rinpoche – Rigpa

July 2017 letter exposing abuse by Sogyal Rinpoche, teacher of the Rigpa sangha,
written by eight students. https://www.lionsroar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Letter-to-Sogyal-Lakar-14-06-2017-.pdf

Lewis Silkin report on the independent investigation:
http://beyondthetemple.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/lewis-silkin-report-1.pdf

Note that despite the independent investigation discovering that ‘on the balance of probabilities’ some students were ‘subjected to serious physical, sexual and emotional abuse’ by Sogyal Rinpoche, and that senior individuals failed to address the issue, leaving others at risk,’ Rigpa has not accepted the findings of the independent investigation nor have they denounced Sogyal’s abuse as harmful and unacceptable.

Their superficial efforts at acting on the report’s recommendations have done nothing to change their core belief that abuse is an acceptable part of Tibetan Buddhism and that speaking up about it is wrong – a view espoused in their approved texts and by their ‘spiritual advisers’ (see Dzongsar Khyentse, Khenpo Namdrol & Orgyen Tobyal).

Due to this, and despite their code of conduct (in which a student’s ‘formal application’ for the ‘vajrayana/dzogchen level of spiritual instruction’ automatically includes ‘consent‘) Rigpa cannot be considered an organization where members are safe from harm.

Mimi’s story :https://buddhism-controversy-blog.com/2017/06/21/abuse-in-the-buddhist-community-this-victim-tells-her-story-for-the-first-time/
Her story in English: https://buddhism-controversy-blog.com/2016/12/01/lock-the-door-i-was-devoted-to-a-great-buddhist-master-and-then-i-quit-by-mimi-former-dakini/
Dutch documentary with English subtitles:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Rxljr7KGIE&feature=youtu.be

And:
Sangye’s story: https://youtu.be/YdBtwW5HZFE

https://web.archive.org/web/20050204040420/http://www.american-buddha.com/am.learn.1.htm

https://buddhism-controversy-blog.com/tag/sogyal-rinpoche/

https://buddhism-controversy-blog.com/2016/03/09/sogyal-rinpoche-rigpa-an-interview-with-the-former-director-of-rigpa-france-olivier-raurich/

Good Weekend Article: http://www.smh.com.au/good-weekend/sogyal-rinpoche-and-the-abuse-accusations-rocking-the-buddhist-world-20171115-gzm7ra.html