Enough of the Lies! Naropa University and Shambhala Mountain Center Boulder, CO

"As a recent graduate of Naropa University in Boulder, repeat visitor of Shambhala Mountain Center, and longtime student of Shambhala I felt compelled to reach out to the Daily Camera this week. As you may already know, news has been coming out all month about Shambhala assisting multiple pedophiles in avoiding prosecution.

The word back from Naropa has been “we are disconnected from Shambhala for decades.” The word from Shambhala has been “we could have done better.” As someone who has attended both organizations, I now find myself deeply ashamed for every dollar and minute they got of mine.

In my time studying at Naropa University I was repeatedly told that Naropa and its contemplative approach to education come directly from the teachings of Chogyam Trungpa. The Shambhala school of Buddhism was covered extensively in Buddhist Psychology Part 1 and 2, maitri (a meditation invented by Trungpa), as well as Senior Seminar Part 1 and 2. All of these classes were mandatory for my contemplative psychology degree. The majority of these classes were taught by ex-followers of Trungpa. Upon the recommendation of the college I went on retreat at Shambhala Mountain Center yearly and took Shambhala meditation classes at the Boulder Shambhala Center.

I write this because the idea that Naropa and Shambhala are separate is as much a lie as that Naropa is a secular university.

I am deeply ashamed to hear that Shambhala has repeatedly stepped between pedophiles and any meaningful repercussions for their actions, but I cannot say I am surprised.

Trungpa slept with his students. This has always been known. His son Sakyang Mipham was accused of sexual assault last year. I repeatedly heard about Naropa teachers having sexual relationships with students in my time as a Naropa student. I personally witnessed Naropa teachers dating students they had taught. I repeatedly heard about a situation where a Naropa student was in a sexual relationship with with a teacher’s underage son.

This is what I heard as a nontraditional Naropan trying to keep my head down and just get to graduation. I can only imagine what other stories exist. As the Denver post quoted a former Shambhala Mountain Center staff member in its last article about the allegations: “Every young girl I knew had something happen.”

Enough of the lies."

https://www.dailycamera.com/2019/07/09/opinion-darryl-collette-enough-of-the-lies-about-naropa-and-shambhala/

Tiebten Buddhisms 'Rape' and Abuse Scandal

"One of the best-known figures in Tibetan Buddhism has been accused of rape, sexual assault, beatings, and psychological abuse in an extraordinary new insider account.

Sogyal Rinpoche—the founder of a leading Buddhist organization—is accused by two women of “rape” and “non-consensual” sex in a book that will be published Thursday.

Mimi Durand said she had tried to block out the emotional torment before accepting what had happened to her. “I realized I’d been raped,” she told the book’s authors.

A second woman alleged that Sogyal had forced her into non-consensual sex at a building belonging to Rigpa—Sogyal’s Buddhist organization—in northwest London.

A third woman gives a shocking account in the book of the way she says the lama took advantage of her when she went to him looking for help in overcoming the grief of losing her father.

A fourth, Oane Bijlsma, a Dutch woman who was once part of Sogyal’s inner circle, claimed: “It’s a BDSM cult minus a safe word.”

Read full article Here


The FACT Team  

Research on Cult Conversion by University of Cordoba - Spain

We are helping University of Cordoba in Spain in their research on cult conversion and the affects on families. Please read more and find the link below. 

"I am currently working on a research in the Department of Psychology at the University of Córdoba (Spain). This research aims to analyze how families experience the cult conversion of a loved one, in order to identify many other variables of interest. This investigation can shed evidence of the seriousness of the problem of cults in spanish and english-speaking countries, as well as the need for better specialized attention to victims and their families.

For participation in this investigation it is only necessary that a family member of a victim (parents, siblings, cousins, couples) complete an online questionnaire of less than 30 minutes. That is why we would appreciate your collaboration sharing the questionnaire with affected families and through social networks, in order to facilitate us the access to the sample and allow this research to go ahead."

If you would like to participate in this research here is the link to the questionnaire: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf2rwTrseL0K48MtsL0Cur_dSCbpeHatorDGH9aGWbbWUMWIg/viewform

Thank you for your participation.

Sincerely,
The FACT Team  

Ex Naropa Teacher, Katsura Kans Appeal - Denied

Ex Naropa teacher, Katsura Kan was found guilty on March 18, 2019 in the wrongful death of one of his students, Sharon Stern.

Kan filed an appeal and that appeal was Denied and Dismissed on June 10, 2019.

Tibor Stern
on Behalf of Sharon Stern Estate

Shambhala International Fights to Survive in Face of Sex Scandal

"BOULDER, Colo. (RNS) — The sexual misconduct scandal rocking Shambhala International, one of the largest Buddhist organizations in the West, is causing the organization to suffer financially, and many of their properties and programs are being sold off or downsized.

Started in the 1970s by the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who also founded Naropa University, Shambhala has been embroiled in crisis since last summer, when Trungpa’s son and the organization’s current spiritual leader, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, was accused of sexual misconduct.

Since the initial report, more allegations have been made against other senior teachers in Shambhala, suggesting a pattern of cover-ups and failure to address sexual misconduct at the upper levels of the group’s leadership.

But at the heart of Shambhala’s financial woes is the fact that, since the allegations broke, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche has stepped back from his leadership role and is no longer teaching. Much of the organization’s revenue was generated from his teachings.

Shambhala’s entire governing board, the Kalapa Council, resigned when the scandal broke in July of last year and was replaced with an interim board that is attempting to hold the organization together. As they attempt to change Shambhala’s culture and regain the trust of their followers, they are also struggling with a drop in revenue.

According to a statement released by the interim board in March, revenue is down almost 60 percent from the beginning of 2018, and the organization has a debt of more than 1.3 million, with the entire amount due in August."

Read full article Here