‘Not The Tibetan Way’: The Dalai Lama’s Realpolitik Concerning Abusive Teachers | open buddhism
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‘Not The Tibetan Way’: The Dalai
Lama’s Realpolitik Concerning
Abusive Teachers
4 hours ago
Written by Stuart Lachs & Rob Hogendoorn
1 hours
Is the Dalai Lama personally accountable for his enabling behavior towards the abusive
Tibetan Buddhist lamas and violent spiritual teachers he is being warned about? Does
he take ownership of ignoring the plight of victims and survivors who follow his advice
and “out” abusive teachers at great personal risk? How does the Dalai Lama judge the
Tibetan lamas and other spiritual leaders he continues to endorse after they have been
exposed? Cui bono: to whom (or what) is it a benefit? To answer these and other
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questions, this article examines the Dalai Lama’s conduct towards four abusive and
even criminal spiritual leaders that he endorsed in the past 50 years. To bring the
imperatives and motives that governed the Dalai Lama’s discharge of his temporal and
spiritual duties during that era into focus, we take his own view of his institution—that
of the Dalai Lama lineage—into account. Evidently, the Dalai Lama’s religious
realpolitik concerning these four abusive, criminal leaders won the day—to the
detriment of people he could have placed out of harm’s way by expressing his
disapproval in public, and in time. By letting the victims and survivors do the hard
things while he focusses on the continuity of Tibetan institutions, including his own, the
Dalai Lama’s conduct matches that of his religious peers—other media-savvy, powerwielding priests.
In this article, we examine the 14th Dalai Lama dealings with
abusive and criminal teachers in the 1970s through 2010s.
This long-read makes use of numeric end
that open on hover and take you to the endnot
at the bottom of the page on click. Clicking t
First, we will explain why it is appropriate to view the Dalai
blue thumbnail at the end of the listed endnot
Lama as an ordinary priest, going about his duties in the
takes you back to where it was inserted int
ways ordinary priests do.1 We will then describe the Dalai
text. The captioned images will enlarge in a
Lama’s relations with four abusive teachers—Buddhist and
non-Buddhist—he was being warned about, and the enabling
new tab on click
This article is a joint effort of Stuart Lach
effect his conduct has. Finally, we will discuss some
1940) and Rob Hogendoorn (b. 1964), bot
consistent patterns that emerge from our close examination
who have been involved as practitioners of
of the Dalai Lama’s behavior, as well as the dysfunction of
Buddhism for many years. Stuart has been a
ordinary feedback mechanisms that could have him change
his ways.
practitioner of Zen and Ch’an Buddhism
beginning in 1967. Rob has been a practiti
of the Geluk sect of Tibetan Buddhism sinc
the early 1990s. Both of us have spent muc
time at Buddhist centers and monasteries.
We will take the Dalai Lama at his word and see how his
Stuart in Taiwan, Japan, and Korea, as we
word matches his actions. And in doing so, we will return
number of centers in the USA. Rob in Europe
him to the world he shares with the rest of us. But first, to
and India. We both continue to practice
value the Dalai Lama’s self-defined mission properly, let us
today.Having practiced for many years, ea
our respective traditions, we have witness
briefly consider the political, this-worldly nature of the office
problems that arose within our respective
he holds.
groups. Commonly these problems are not
visible to the casual observer or even, for one
reason or another, to a long-time practitione
Political Innovation
Yet, these problems strike us as man-made
The ancient practice of formally instating reincarnated lamas,
besides being practitioners, we have also
commonly called trülkus, was a political innovation native to
integral to all religious endeavor. And so,
looked at Tibetan Buddhism and Zen/Ch’a
respectively with a critical eye, especially s
Tibet that developed between the 11th and 14th centuries.2 Its
they are practiced in the west. We have brough
worldy utility was aptly summed up thus: ‘The tulku model
in disciplines, such as sociology, history, a
religion from outside of Buddhism to help
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provided a political counterpoint to the power of the nobility,
a rallying point during times of national turmoil, and a means
of succession among celibate monastics.’3 Tibetans took to
the idea en masse: Through the ages, many hundreds major
and minor trülku lineages, some say thousands, became
firmly
intrenched.4
Quite literally, these trülku lineages took
on a life of their own. While traditional screening of trülkus
18-04-2021 19:12
understand what we were seeing and
experiencing as insiders, that is, active
practitioners in our respective traditions.
We both have over the years written critic
about our respective traditions. An easy se
on the internet will turn up most of our work. I
doing so, we think you will see how invol
we are in Buddhism. We also have felt the
has lapsed since the 1960s, their numbers have increased so
wrath of people who do not take lightly ha
much that Tibetan exiles now talk of a ‘trülku boom’ in a
their practice of Buddhism and Buddhist
deprecating way.5
leaders being looked at closely and questione
In a sense, we are now looking, simultane
as both insiders and outsiders, at the 14th D
As a matter of course, formally instated trülkus attracted their
own dedicated following and prosperous patrons. Amassing
Lama and Tibetan Buddhism. Over our ye
friendship and collaboration, we have seen
certain similar features between Tibetan
rights of property and considerable wealth of their own, aside
Buddhism and Zen/Ch’an Buddhism. This
from whatever religious function serve, effectively turns their
not be as surprising as one may think, as t
offices into religious corporations. And so, the orderly
are traditions that place much importance on
passage of power, assets and other property, as well as
wisdom, hierarchy, and enlightened leaders
These leaders, whether titled Lama, Rinpoc
followers and sponsors, from one deceased trülku to the next
Tulku, Roshi, Guru, or Master, are suppos
became a priority.6 With each consecutive incumbent, the
beyond the understanding and, importantly
self-perpetuating power and symbolical capital of these
lineages grew. Fourteen generations later, many find it
critical view of ordinary folk—that is, you a
us. We beg to differ, and this article
demonstrates why.
impossibly hard to imagine Tibetan Buddhism without
them.7
To invest the executive powers of the head of state in one
such lineage, that of the Dalai Lamas, is a further political
enhancement of the original trülku idea.8 This custom began
in the 17th century and, once again, was motivated by the
worldly needs of the day.9 In 1642, the 5th Dalai Lama was
bestowed with this title by the Mongol leader Güshi Khan.
He and his Mongol patron thereby established joint temporal
and religious rule of Central Tibet—at least in theory. As
Georges Dreyfus summarizes: ‘Instead of insisting on
continuous control of the monastic order by political
authorities, in Tibet monastic groups have tended to take over
the instruments of political domination. The institution of
Martin Brauen: ‘The Dalai
Lamas: A Visual History’
(2005)
incarnated lama manifests this unique Tibetan solution.’10
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Savvy Political Operator
Most Dalai Lamas, however, turned out to be ineffectual leaders, whose precarious authority
was curbed by powerful or even devious patrons, ministers, and regents. Only three
incumbent Dalai Lamas capitalized on the politics of their day to actively lead the Tibetan
nation. They are called ‘the Great Fifth,’ the Great Thirteenth,’ and ‘the Great Fourteenth,’
respectively. It is with good reason that these three great leaders are seen as savvy political
operators.
Given the political nature of the institutions he embodies—that of a trülku and Dalai Lama—
it is hardly surprising that the present Dalai Lama does not believe that they are integral to
Buddhism. Rather, he sees these institutions as the products of their time—to be changed or
abolished at will. Indeed, in the 1960s through 2010s the Dalai Lama consistently argued that
the widespread instating of trülkus has outlived its purpose. He did so on the basis of
decidedly this-worldly considerations.11
The Dalai Lama relinquished his political authority and abdicated the throne as Tibetan head
of state in 2011. At that time, he transferred the political leadership of the Tibetan exiles to
the Harvard-educated Tibetan lawyer Lobsang Sangay, who is called Sikyong or President.12
Even so, the Dalai Lama continued to call his own office a ‘man-made institution’ that could
cease any time.13 Indeed, he called the Dalai Lama institution ‘backward.’14 In 2017, he
stated that ‘lama institutions’ that create ‘lama politics’ must end, because they reflect badly
on Buddhist monastics.15
A year later, the Dalai Lama reiterated that ‘the system of recognizing incarnations of
previous spiritual masters is a Tibetan cultural tradition. It is not a practice taught by the
Buddha. In the 1960s I discussed limiting the number of tulkus, but one adviser told me that
would be difficult because it is the Tibetan’s custom. Nowadays being recognized as a
rinpoche has become a position of social status, not one of religious import, and this is not
healthy.’16 News reports made clear that he actually said that the ‘lama institution’ has
‘feudal’ origins and must end.17
The Last Dalai Lama?
Throughout the 14th Dalai Lama’s reign, he kept Tibetans dangling with the possibility that
he might be ‘The Last Dalai Lama’—effectively a form of political blackmail. He frequently
hinted—and sometimes threatened—that his lineage will end with him. Already in 1975, he
told a BBC-reporter that he believed that he might be the last incumbent.18 In 1976, the Dalai
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Lama denounced the perceived materialism and factionalism of Tibetan exiles in so many
words, and refused to accept their ritual long-life offering—tantamount to a threat of
abandoning the Tibetan people to their fate.19 In 2014, once again, the Dalai Lama told BBC
Newsnight that he might be the last to hold the title.20 Two years later, people close to him
discussed the Dalai Lama’s succession in the documentary The Last Dalai Lama?21
Apparently, though, the historical origins of the Dalai Lama institution are of less concern to
the religious heads of all Tibetan traditions, for their recent resolutions attempt to preordain
the matter: ‘The present status of the Tibetan people being extremely critical, all Tibetans
genuinely wish for the continuation of the Institution and Reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in
the future. We therefore strongly supplicate to His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama for the
same.’22 With this, the religious heads effectively short-circuit the decision-making process
on the matter. And so, although the Dalai Lama himself argued that his office is ‘feudal’ or
‘backward,’ becoming the 15th Dalai Lama seems to be his predestined end. Here, David
Graeber’s dictum ‘one should never underestimate the power of institutions to try to preserve
themselves,’ comes to mind.23
‘Will He Poison The Baby Dalai Lama?’
Tenzin Gyatso (b. 1935) is perhaps the best-known Tibetan in the world. He is better known
as the Dalai Lama, to be precise, the 14th holder of the title of Dalai Lama.24 That Tenzin
Gyatso lived long enough to assume the powers of the 14th Dalai Lama was not a foregone
conclusion even after he was recognized as such. Since 1805, just one out of five Dalai
Lamas had reached adulthood. The others—that is, the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th—died
mysteriously of “stomach trouble.” It is not unlikely they were poisoned.25
Absent the Chinese occupation in 1950, following precedent,
a regent would have ruled Tibet until at least the 14th Dalai
Lama’s 18th birthday. In 1940, Life magazine had a full-page
photo of the regent of the day with the caption: “The KingRegent of Tibet: will he poison the baby Dalai Lama?”
Instead, the regent himself was murdered a few years later,
while he was imprisoned inside the young Dalai Lama’s
Potala Palace in the Tibetan capital Lhasa. Gyello Döndrup,
one of the elder brothers of the Dalai Lama, alleges that their
father suffered a similar fate.26
‘Picture of the week: The
King-Regent of Tibet’ (‘Life
Despite the clear political and power-broking aspects
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Magazine,’ 1940)
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connected to the position of Dalai Lama, its 14th office
holder has become the world’s leading symbol of peace,
compassion, timeless wisdom, human kindness, and non-violence. He is viewed by Tibetans
as the physical manifestation of Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion, while many
others in addition to Tibetans, believe he is a living saint. 27
He is commonly referred to as His Holiness even by clearly secular commentators.28 Though
the Dalai Lama won the Noble Peace Prize in 1989, among other international awards, he
usually describes himself as a ‘simple monk.’29 Yet truth be told, the Dalai Lama’s real-time
exercise of priestly authority in important cases, does call into question his saintly image.
This is what this article will show.
A Not So Simple Monk
In addition to being a simple monk, the Dalai
Lama is a consummate scholar, a charismatic
rhetorician, an uncommonly effective orator, a
shrewd priest, and an experienced politician. He
surely ranks first among the longest-ruling
religious leaders: The Dalai Lama saw no less
President George W. Bush with his painting
than eight Roman-Catholic Popes reside on the
of the Dalai Lama (Mickey Lemle, The Last
Apostolic Throne of St. Peter in Rome. Having
Dalai Lama, 2016)
assumed full religious and political power in
1950, his reign is longer than that of Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first American president to send him a gift—an exclusive
Patek Philippe watch.30 The Dalai Lama was alive during the inauguration of 15 US
presidents. He has met the Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack
Obama, and erstwhile Vice-President Joe Biden in private. In 2007, he received the
Congressional Gold Medal from George W. Bush during a ceremony at Capitol Hill—the
first time an American President met the Dalai Lama in public.31
As a young man, the Dalai Lama traveled through China between July 1954 and June 1955,
repeatedly meeting Chairman Mao of the Chinese Communist Party and the first prime
minister, Zhou Enlai. From November 1956 until March 1957, he sojourned in India, to
attend the 2,500th birth anniversary of the historical Buddha. He met prime minister
Jawaharlal Nehru and other dignitaries there and, once again, Zhou Enlai.32 These tours
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thrust him into the limelight of modern media, so that by now
the Dalai Lama has at least 65 years of political negotiating,
public speaking, and media experience under his belt.33
The imputed benevolence of
his title precedes him since
the days before he was born.
This lends a certain lustre to
the Dalai Lama’s presence
that even professional
The 14th Dalai Lama &
Chairman Mao of the Chinese
Communist Party (1954)
skeptics find hard to
resist.34 Indeed, Tibet House US had the temerity to turn him
into a comic character in a graphic novel, to wit a caricature
William Myers et al., ‘Man Of
of his normal self—and of Tibet and the Tibetans too.35 So,
Peace: The Illustrated Life
to bring us down to earth, perhaps with a bump, let us briefly
Story of the Dalai Lama of
look at his involvement with the notorious Nxivm-cult.36
Tibet (2016)
This serves as a first-pass overview of a typical real-life
situation in the Dalai Lama’s day-to-day interactions with
other teachers and priests.
‘An Elephant’s Nose’
On April 5th, 2009, the Dalai Lama canceled his scheduled appearance during a conference
of the World Ethical Foundations at the 17,500 seat Times Union Center in Albany, NY.37
According to his host Clare Bronfman, along with her sister Sara, heiresses to the Seagram
fortune, ‘His Holiness spent an entire year vetting us out. I believe him to be an incredibly
well-educated man of deep critical thought who considers his participation in anything he
does very deeply.’38 The problem the Dalai Lama faced was that the World Ethical
Foundations Consortium was connected to Nxivm, a litigious self-help group. Nxivm was
headed by Keith Raniere (b. 1960), a controversial leader with a questionable history having
been investigated by 25 state attorney generals and others for operating a pyramid marketing
scheme.39 In spite of the prestige of the Dalai Lama’s presence, Skidmore College and
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, which is Raniere’s alma mater, refused to be part of the
conference.40
The Dalai Lama backed out not long before the event after hearing warnings by the abovementioned universities and local newspapers, not to be associated with Raniere and Nxivm.
A columnist of the Daily Gazette of Albany, NY actually called the Dalai Lama’s
41
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cancellation a ‘no-brainer.’41 However, shortly
thereafter Keith Raniere, along with his followers
Nancy Salzman, Sara Bronfman, and Mark
Vicente—who came along to document the
encounter—traveled to Dharamshala, India to
meet with the Dalai Lama and address his
concerns: numerous pending lawsuits and being
The 14th Dalai Lama, Keith Raniere, Nancy
labeled a cult leader. The Dalai Lama asked for
Salzman, and Sara Bronfman (Dharamsala,
evidence to counter the allegations, though he had
2009)
already invited Raniere and his followers for a
meeting the very next morning.42
For whatever reasons, literally overnight, the
Dalai Lama persuaded himself that allegations
that Raniere was in charge of a cult named Nxivm
were unfounded and revoked his cancellation.43
The conference was rescheduled, and the Dalai
Lama appeared with Raniere, Salzman, and the
The 14th Dalai Lama & Keith Raniere
(Palace Theater, May 6, 2009)
Bronfman sisters at a smaller venue, the 3,000
seat Palace Theater in Albany on May 6,
2009.44 The Dalai Lama also wrote the foreword
to The Sphinx and Thelxiepeia (2009), which was co-authored by Raniere.45
In response to a question from the audience during his public talk in the Palace Theater, in
the context of explaining his attending the meeting after first canceling, the Dalai Lama
addressed the media: ‘I’m always telling the media people, [that they] should have a long
nose, as long as—[applause], wait, wait, wait—as long as an elephant’s nose and smell in the
front and behind. That’s very important.’ He added that they should dig deep into issues and
to be open and impartial: ‘Whether [it’s] a politician, or the mayor [laughing, who was sitting
on the stage], or religious people, the bishops [a Bishop was sitting next to him], or myself,
[they] must sort of watch and make clear, inform the public, provided it must be very honest,
unbiased, objective, that’s important!’46
A Reasonable Priest
As we said, in this paper we intend to take the Dalai Lama at his word, that is, to look at
some of his words and actions as a tried and tested religious leader, with long noses, to smell
in the front and behind, to inform the public in an honest and objective way. We will assess
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his personal responsibility and accountability by viewing the Dalai Lama as a media-savvy,
power-wielding religious authority, whose doings exhibit the same measure of logical
consistency and transparency as that of a reasonable priest.47
In recent years, the Dalai Lama has championed secular
ethics outside religious belief. Surely, his secular values
repudiate sexual abuse and criminal forms of violence under
the guise of religion or spirituality.48 Also, in the
documentary The Great 14th, the Dalai Lama says he has
three principal commitments: secular ethics, religious
harmony, and the cause of Tibet. 49 Underlining both the
temporal nature of his own office and the primacy of the rule
of law, the Dalai Lama confirmed that lamas who break the
law—he himself included—should be prosecuted.50 It stands
to reason to do as he does, so we will assess the Dalai Lama’s
discharge of his duties during his reign as the Tibetan head of
state, in particular his public endorsement of abusive
teachers, from a temporal, secular perspective.
The 14th Dalai Lama, ‘Beyond
Religion: Ethics for a Whole
World’ (2011)
We will look into the Dalai Lama’s involvement with two famous Tibetan lamas, both part of
orthodox Tibetan Buddhist lineages who, however, lived and taught for most of their lives in
the West: Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoché and Sogyal Lakar, formerly known as Sogyal
Rinpoché.51 We also examine the Dalai Lama’s dealings with two self-proclaimed nonTibetan teachers: the Japanese Shōkō Asahara, who was put to death for releasing sarin gas
in the Tokyo subway system which killed 13 people and injured thousands more, and the
aforementioned Keith Raniere, who in 2020 in a trial in New York City received a 120-year
prison sentence for a long list of crimes.52
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
‘It is not the Tibetan way to confront errant behavior on the part of the lamas. We prefer to let
them learn about their mistakes on their own,’ the Dalai Lama told John Steinbeck IV and his
wife Nancy. The year was 1989, and the American Nobel laureate’s journalist son and his
wife pressed the Tibetan leader to introduce a system of checks and balances, to counteract
the prevalent abuse of power by lamas in the West. Theirs was a wasted effort, as it turns out.
This becomes clear in John and Nancy Steinbeck’s memoir The Other Side of Eden: Life with
John Steinbeck (2001).53
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During the preceding years, the American couple had witnessed up close, the destructive
behavior of their own Buddhist guru, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoché.54 John Steinbeck IV first
met Trungpa in 1971, and Nancy Steinbeck first met him in 1975. While Trungpa’s
alcoholism was open and well known, his use of cocaine, the sleeping pill Seconal, and at
least on one occasion, LSD was kept hidden from the majority of his followers. His incessant
substance abuse and predatory promiscuity, including with minors, wreaked havoc in his
Vajradhatu community in Boulder, Colorado, but also set an example for the abuse that took
place at his other centers across the western world.55
Trungpa’s offspring was not spared. In 1963, four years after
escaping from Tibet, Trungpa moved to the United Kingdom.
He left his one-year-old son and the child’s mother, a Tibetan
nun, behind in a refugee camp in India, where the boy spent
his formative years.56 Trungpa abandoned the boy again in
1970, shortly after he had summoned him to the UK. Three
years later when the boy arrived in the United States,
Trungpa sent him to boarding school.57
Trungpa abandoned his second son at the age of four—that
Gesar Mukpo, ‘Tulku’
is, the first child he had with Diana, his seventeen-year-old
(Festival Media, 2011)
British wife. Nicknamed Taggie, he is autistic and epileptic.
Taggie was left in the care of an untrained group of American
devotees and later, under the ‘curative’ regime of hard-handed Tibetan monastics in Sikkim,
India. Trungpa’s third son, likewise, was repeatedly abandoned to ad hoc caregivers, burning
through seventeen schools in different countries.58 Arguably, even though the three boys, like
the Dalai Lama himself, were declared trülkus of high Tibetan teachers, Trungpa, with this
style of parenting, repeatedly exposed himself to charges of endangerment and criminal
neglect of a child.59
Not even animals were safe with Trungpa. Former devotees gave testimony ‘about his
strangely superstitious hatred and abuse of cats, evidently because they weren’t sufficiently
grief-stricken at the death of Shakyamuni Buddha.’60 Trungpa’s former “head butler” wrote
about the mistreatment of a dog:
" One night after supper Rinpoche said, “Get Myson and bring
him in here.” I dragged the shaking dog into the kitchen and
following Rinpoche’s instructions I sat him on the floor and
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covered his eyes with a blindfold. I set up stands with lighted
candles by either side of his head. Myson couldn’t move his
head without being burned. Rinpoche rook a potato and hit
Myson on the head with it. When the dog moved, the fur on his
ear would catch on fire. I put out the flames. Now and then
Rinpoche would scrape his chair across the tiled floor and
whack him again on the head with a potato. “Sir,” I began
hesitantly, trying to stop him. “Shut up,” snapped Rinpoche,
“and hand me another potato.” I started to empathize with the
dog. In fact, I became the dog. I was blindfolded and was
banged on the head with a spud and if I turned my head my
ears would burn and there was the squealing sound of the chair
on the floor. Pissing in my pants I was that dog not being able
to move, feeling terrified and at the same time excited. Finally,
the scraping chair and the potato throwing stopped and we
released the shaking dog, who ran upstairs to Max’s empty
room. “That’s how you train students,” Rinpoche calmly
stated to me.’ “Jesus,” I thought, “that’s pretty barbaric.”
Rinpoche had me change the telephone number so that Max
[the owner of the dog] could not call us before he came back.
He arrived, bags in hand, concerned that he had not been able
to reach us. Before he could say much else Myson rushed in
and jumped all over him in exuberant delight. Rinpoche
deliberately scraped the kitchen chair across the tiled floor. The
terrified dog shot out of the house and fled across the field. Max
was shocked and pointedly asked, “Rinpoche, what did you do
to my dog?” “I don’t see any dog,” he replied, looking at me.61
Trungpa’s Successor
Though Trungpa certainly had hundreds if not more disciples, he designated only one
successor, Thomas Rich, who was named Ösel Tendzin by Trungpa and titled Vajra Regent.
Like his teacher Trungpa, the Regent was highly promiscuous. Unfortunately, he was HIVpositive which he kept secret aside from two members of the Board of Trustees, thereby
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risked transmitting HIV to the followers—male and female—that he forced himself on. In
fact, one twenty-year-old, the son of a follower, contracted AIDS from the Regent and died.
The Regent also engaged in unprotected sex with male street prostitutes.62
According to the Regent, Trungpa had discussed being HIVpositive with him before his death. The Regent added that he
came away from that conversation with Trungpa feeling he
could ‘change the karma.’ ‘”Thinking that I had some
extraordinary means of protection,” Tendzin reportedly told a
stunned community meeting organized in Berkeley,
California in mid-December, “I went ahead with my business
as if something would take care of it for me.”‘63
In spite of Trungpa’s and his self-chosen Regent, Ösel
Dyan Zaslowsky, ‘Buddhists in
Tendzin’s years of alcohol, drug, and sexual abuse, Kalu
U.S. Agonize on AIDS Issue’
Rinpoché, a widely sought-after meditation master of the
(New York Times, February
Kagyü school, and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoché, hierarch of the
21, 1989)
Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism and a recognized
master, scholar, and poet, as well as other leading Tibetan
lamas continued to endorse Trungpa and his regent Ösel Tendzin—right until their protégés’
untimely deaths due to alcoholism and HIV/AIDS respectively.64 The Dalai Lama followed
suit with his endorsements.
There is an irony here, in that Trungpa, his Regent as well as the Tibetan priests who
endorsed them as intercessors and advocates, supposedly are all wise and even enlightened
teachers. Yet, they seemed unaware of common human limitations: addictions to alcohol,
drugs, sex, money, and power. It also appears that upholding the good name of the Tibetan
Buddhist institution and the reputations of its prominent teachers was more important to the
leading priests, including the Dalai Lama, than protecting the unsuspecting public.
Stripped Naked By Force
John Steinbeck IV became Trungpa’s follower in the early 1970s.65 As one of Trungpa’s
early followers, John Steinbeck IV was acquainted with the all-American coterie of poets and
authors that occasionally held court at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, a
department of the nascent Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado.66 One well-known member
of this group was the poet W.S. Merwin.67 In 1975, at a drunken Halloween bash taking place
during a three month-long Buddhist ‘seminary’ program for advanced students, Merwin and
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his poet girlfriend Dana Naone were physically assaulted and
stripped naked by force—by order of Chögyam Trungpa.68
The Merwin-scandal was
investigated and made public
in the spring of 1979, right
before the Dalai Lama’s
historic first visit to the
United States of
America.69 That summer, the
authoritative magazine
Cover of ‘The Party’ (1977)
Tibetan Review, which was
co-funded by the Dalai
Lama’s exiled administration in Dharamsala, copied the
article ‘”Buddha-Gate” Scandal and cover-up at Naropa
Cover of the ‘Boulder
Monthly’ (March, 1979)
revealed’ in the Berkeley Barb.70 But perhaps more
importantly, the July issue also contained a disconcerting letter by Karl Springer, Trungpa’s
head of external affairs. Springer’s letter was distributed at the end of 1978 and alleged a
power grab and murder plot against the 16th Karmapa by the Dalai Lama’s principal
supporters.71
It’s inconceivable that Springer would have begun this
campaign without Trungpa’s consent, for the rhetoric was
outright incendiary. The 16th Karmapa was the head of the
Kagyü sect to which Trungpa belonged, while the 14th Dalai
Lama is the most prominent member of the Geluk sect.72
Predictably, a vocal polemic about Tibetan inter-sectarian
strife ensued. In effect, the brouhaha instigated by Springer
created a diversion that held the attention of Tibetan Review’s
readers all through the summer of 1979—meanwhile,
Trungpa’s alcohol-fueled, violent, and licentious conduct
directed towards his western followers was left undiscussed.
Cover of ‘Berkeley Barb’
(March 29-April 11, 1979)
Looking For Patrons
The Dalai Lama responded to the drunken bash and violence
that took place at the three-months-long Vajrayana ‘seminary’ in 1975 by canceling a planned
visit to Vajradhatu, Trungpa’s center in Boulder during his tour of the United States. He thus
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evaded reporters’ probing questions about the cultish “Buddha-gate” scandal and the alleged
murder-plot against the Karmapa.73
After all, this was his first ever visit to America and the
stakes were high.74 When president Richard Nixon wooed
Chairman Mao in the early 1970s, he ordered the Central
Intelligence Agency to stop bankrolling the Dalai Lama and
Tibetan guerilla forces as part of the normalization process as
demanded by China.75 Consecutive US administrations
repeatedly denied the Dalai Lama a visa. And so, by 1979 he
was anxious to gain a foothold in US politics and look for
needed new patrons of Tibet.
Moreover, at this time the fear of religious cult leaders was
Cover of ‘Tibetan Review’
fresh in people’s minds. The murder-suicides in Jonestown,
(July 1979)
Guyana in 1978 where 918 people died mostly from cyanidelaced kool-aid, was only a year past.76 If asked outright about the violence and drinking that
occurred at the Vajrayana retreat, the Dalai Lama could hardly avoid the unequivocal
repudiation of Trungpa’s addictions, baseless assassination allegations, and violence, without
forfeiting American benefactors’ hoped-for support of the Tibetan cause. A public rejection
by the Dalai Lama could have caused collateral damage too: his high-profile comments on a
religiously inspired, violent bacchanal in the nude might well have jeopardized Naropa
Institute’s long sought-after academic accreditation and public funding.77
Evidently, the Dalai Lama was unwilling to disavow Trungpa and his community. The
reasons for this are legion. He and Trungpa had at least one guru in common: Dilgo Khyentse
Rinpoché. This alone would have led the Dalai Lama to exercise restraint.78 But he and
Trungpa had personal ties as well, going back to the first years of exile.79 Also, Trungpa’s
network of Buddhist centers across the United States, among the first of their kind, could act
as one of the ‘operating bases’ for the Dalai Lama’s future visits.
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The Dalai Lama and Chögyam Trungpa (Dharmadhatu, New York, 1979) [photo: Jan Andersson]
And so, the Dalai Lama bypassed Boulder, the mainstay of Trungpa’s activities at the time,
altogether. Instead, he held several private meetings with Trungpa, Ösel Tendzin, and their
board of directors in their Dharmadhatu center in New York City. Moreover, Trungpa’s
pseudo-military militia Dorje Kasung provided the Dalai Lama with motorcades and a
security detail.80 In 1981, after the fuss over Trungpa’s misconduct had died down, the Dalai
Lama made up for lost time and spent a week with him and his Vajradhatu community in
Boulder, which was considered to be ‘a great blessing’ by Trungpa and his followers.81
Left Out In The Cold
When John and Nancy Steinbeck called upon the Dalai Lama for assistance in 1989, he had
been well aware of and had tolerated the abusive behavior of Chögyam Trungpa and his
successor, the Vajra Regent, for ten years or more. In response to the Steinbecks’ request, he
confined himself to a generic warning to westerners against religious conversion and
cautioned them to ‘examine the teacher with utmost scrutiny. There are many charlatans.’
After John Steinbeck IV reminded the Dalai Lama of what he already knew, he told him
about Trungpa’s alcoholism and sexual abuse, and that Ösel Tendzin transmitted HIV/AIDS
to a young male follower. The Dalai Lama said:
" I would say that if you are going to follow a teacher, you must
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examine his behavior very carefully. In
your case, with Trungpa Rinpoche, you
had a lama who was drinking alcohol.
We say, in our tradition, that a lama is
never supposed to drink. Now,
occasionally there have been some
teachers who drink alcohol and claim to
turn it into elixir. If I were considering
following a teacher who drinks alcohol
and claims to turn it into elixir, or
Cover of ‘The Other Side Of
excrement to gold, I would insist on
Eden: Life With John
seeing this happen. If I saw it happen, I
Steinbeck’ (2001)
may follow this teacher. Unless I see
that happen, I would never follow him.
The student has to take the responsibility of examining the
behavior of the teacher very carefully, over a long period. You
cannot be hasty about these things.82
The Dalai Lama’s posture, of course, projects a rather dubious distribution of responsibility
and accountability between the unimpeachable Trungpa and his supposedly less than
thoughtful followers. Interjecting the hypothetical that he himself—the Dalai Lama, of all
people—might become Trungpa’s follower one day, in effect, he dismissed the victims and
survivors as having been ‘hasty’ and irresponsible in choosing their guru. The Steinbecks’
plea that the Dalai Lama might take the lead in establishing a mere modicum of oversight fell
on deaf ears, witness his response to their call to action in 1989:
" “I am a believer in nonsectarianism. I try to provide as much
motivation as I can. I have no interest in promoting myself.
There are no Dalai Lama centers, no Dalai Lama monastery.
Wherever I can contribute, I am willing.” To our dismay, he
continued, “It is not the Tibetan way to confront errant
behavior on the part of the lamas. We prefer to let them learn
about their mistakes on their own.83
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After their conversation, the couple clearly felt left out in the cold with no support that the
Dalai Lama’s moral authority could have imparted. The Steinbecks were hardly gullible
teenagers at this time. Both John and Nancy had spent years with Trungpa’s group, so were
very aware of the abuse taking place. John was drafted into the Army in 1965 and served in
Vietnam. Along with the famous actor Errol Flynn’s son Sean, he founded Liberation News
Service, an independent news service reporting from Vietnam, where John had returned after
release from the Army. He broke Seymour Hersh’s Mai Lai Massacre story and testified to
the US Senate on drug use among soldiers in Vietnam. Nancy by this time was working in a
“silk sheet” alcohol rehab clinic.
‘How Is Their Cover-up Any Different?’
By no stretch of the imagination would the Steinbecks be viewed as naive at this time, which
was 1989. Yet we see them taking to heart the Dalai Lama’s often repeated words espousing
tolerance, respect, kindness, and compassion. So surely, they believed, if he, the most
prominent and respected Tibetan Buddhist only knew what was transpiring with Tibetan
Buddhism in America, that he, the Dalai Lama would step in and offer some oversight to set
it on a straight course. Unfortunately, that was not to be. Their disappointment with the Dalai
Lama and their wake-up light shining on the Dalai Lama and other leading priests in Tibetan
Buddhism is evident in the Steinbecks’ biting words:
" “How is their cover-up any different from the decades of
secrecy in the Catholic Church regarding their priests’ sexual
abuse of choirboys?” I countered. John and I continued to be
disappointed as the Dalai Lama and other lineage heads
maintained their silence and offered no consequences to
renegade lamas. By deliberately ignoring the situation, in what
appears to be a fearful political ploy, these titular deities, these
so-called God Kings are adding to the confusion instead of
delineating clear moral guidelines. Their concern about the
truth leaking out, which might drain their monastic coffers, flies
in the face of all the teachings and vows they give concerning
“right action.” Will it be a matter of time before they follow
suit with the Catholics in offering apologies?’84
In 1993, at the Western Buddhist Teachers Conference held in his residence in India, the
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Dalai Lama, the central figure of the conference, told Western Buddhist teachers the
following about Trungpa:
" I’ve heard both sides. I once brought this up with my late guru
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoché, and Khyentse Rinpoché said: “It is
true that some of the things he had done are outrageous and
difficult to understand. But at the same time, he was someone
who seemed to have a certain degree of realization.” That’s all
that Khyentse Rinpoché said. One of the things that I noticed, is
that the structure of his organization seemed to have been
modeled on Japanese organizations. One of the sad things that I
noticed about this particular organization is that I met some
people who are from the organization who seemed to be living
in constant fear and anxiety. I don’t know why. Why do such
things happen? This is a Buddhist organization. They should
not create any sort of fear in the organization. But an individual
expressed to me that while they were in that organization, they
felt some kind of fear. Why, I don’t know. What was it? I don’t
know. I think that’s sad.85
Evidently, the reassuring words of his guru Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoché kept the Dalai Lama
from looking deeper into the harm that he was warned about early on, or the reason for the
fear and anxiety some students were living with. Perhaps he was insinuating that the problem
was that Trungpa’s organization was modeled on Japanese—not Tibetan—organizations. Yet,
his professed concern did not keep the Dalai Lama from frequenting Trungpa’s centers in the
1980s through 2000s. In fact, at least until 1993, he entrusted Trungpa’s American followers
with the task of keeping him safe.
Before the US government began assigning the Secret Service to protect the Dalai Lama on
his visits, members of Trungpa’s ‘militia’ Dorje Kasung served as his chauffeurs and security
detail. The Dorje Kasung or Dharma Protectors, a group within Shambhala, was formed in
1977 by Trungpa with uniforms and style modeled on the British military. They are trained to
protect the space where the teachings are given. So, instead of distancing himself, the Dalai
Lama chose to be dependent on Trungpa for security and a certain amount of mobility when
visiting the USA.86
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Shoko Asahara’s Doomsday Cult
Little did the Steinbecks know that at that time, the Dalai
Lama did not just ignore the problems they mentioned with
regard to Trungpa and his organization. He ignored serious
misgivings about his years-long involvement with the
infamous Japanese guru Shōkō Asahara as well. Asahara was
the founder and leader of Aum Shinrikyō, a Japanese
doomsday cult group. At the height of its powers, Aum
claimed to have some 10,000 Japanese members, 1,100 of
whom lived in communes.
Asahara with some of his disciples would go on to
masterminding nerve-gas attacks, first in 1994 attacking a
building in Matsumoto, 110 miles from Tokyo. In 1995, they
The 14th Dala Lama and
Shōkō Asahara (Promotional
material of Aum Shinrikyō)
attacked the Tokyo subway system during rush hour by
having five members on different subway lines simultaneously releasing bags of the deadly
sarin nerve-gas. Aum’s large-scale assault with nerve gas killed thirteen people and wounded
nearly 6,000. The police quickly figured out that Asahara and Aum were responsible for the
attacks. Asahara was captured shortly after, tried and found guilty of murder, and was
executed by hanging for his crimes on July 6, 2018, along with six other Aum-members.87
Ignoring Aum’s negative press, both in Japan and the Tibetan
Review, but even more so, warnings of concerned Tibetans
living in Japan and the alarming story of a Japanese victim
who travelled to Dharamshala to personally warn one of his
aides, the Dalai Lama continued to endorse Asahara for
years. His endorsement was influential in Aum achieving the
much coveted, tax-friendly recognition as a religious
organization. The Dalai Lama received 1.5 million US
dollars in donations from Asahara though it is not clear that
The Dalai Lama’s Written
the money was directly related to Asahara’s recognition as a
Endorsement of Aum Shinrikyō
religious organization. What is 100% clear, however, is that
(May 26, 1989)
the Dalai Lama’s endorsement did not hurt in attaining
religious organization status.88
After Aum’s fatal sarin attack in 1995, reporters accosted the Dalai Lama during his visit to
Japan. They also traveled to Dharamshala, to ask Tibetan officials questions about the Dalai
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Lama’s eye-catching presence in Aum’s promotional literature and videos. Only a year later,
the Dalai Lama’s spokesmen disclosed that he accepted a large donation from Aum
Shinrikyō. But even then, they covered up an aide’s meeting with an ex-member of Aum
Shinrikyō in 1990 and the objections Tibetans living in Japan raised in 1991. As a result, the
true extent and financial rewards of the Dalai Lama’s seven meetings with Shōkō Asahara
over the years, remained unreported at that time.
Sogyal Lakar
Unchastened by his conversation with John and Nancy Steinbeck concerning serious
problems of abuse with Chögyam Trungpa, the Dalai Lama was as ready as before, in spite
of knowing of abuse by Sogyal Lakar too, to award his much sought-after endorsement.89
Suffering no consequences from furthering Shōkō Asahara’s mission either, the Dalai Lama
went on to help jump-start the sluggish career of Sogyal. In 1992—the very year the Dalai
Lama wrote his foreword to Sogyal’s best-selling The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying—he
received a ten-page letter detailing his abusive behavior.90 But even before that time, he had
already received warnings about this.
On November 2, 1994, a woman identified only as Janice Doe filed a widely published
complaint for damages against Sogyal and his organization Rigpa. This civil case was settled
out of court for an undisclosed sum. A contemporaneous news report cited the Dalai Lama’s
secretary Tenzin Geyche Tethong as saying that Tibetan Buddhist leaders ‘have been aware
of these (allegations) for some years now.’91
In March 1993, approximately twenty-five
western Buddhist teachers travelled to the Dalai
Lama’s residence in India to discuss with him for
four days ways to go forward in western
Buddhism, but also, and perhaps primarily, to
discuss sexual scandals seemingly rampant with
Buddhist teachers in the West. Sogyal’s behavior,
who the Dalai Lama referred to as his friend, was
very much on the
participants’ minds.92
The
Western Teachers Conference
(Dharamshala, March 1993)
meeting has become widely known as the Western
Buddhist Teachers Conference, which to this day, the Dalai Lama refers to and quotes from
often, specifically in relation to abusive Buddhist teachers who will not change their
ways.93 Though there have been subsequent such meetings, it is not a regular yearly affair.
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The Dalai Lama counseled the western teachers
to “out” such abusive teachers who are fixed in
their ways. Though he gave much input to the
wording of the conference’s closing statement,
months later he did not sign his name onto it’s
Open Letter to the western Buddhist community
at large. This, of course, diminished its impact.
The Network for Western Buddhist Teachers:
‘An Open Letter’ (1993)
Well-known western Buddhist author Stephen
Batchelor, like the Steinbecks, was hardly a
naive teenager at this time. He worked much
with the Dalai Lama formulating the exact wording of the final statement to meet his
satisfaction, was left with ‘the slightly unpleasant taste of having been used.’ He later wrote:
" The Dalai Lama had succeeded in communicating his concerns
and proposing a solution, but by removing his endorsement
from the letter, his staff ensured that he did not have to take any
responsibility for what it said. Once again, I became aware of
how what appeared on the surface to be a shared cause between
Tibetans and Westerners could also conceal conflicting
agendas.94
Public Perception
History shows that the Dalai Lama is aware of the public perception of himself and the cause
of Tibet and is keen to avoid image damage, as is his prerogative. In March 1993, for
instance, right after his conference with the western Buddhist teachers ended, the Dalai Lama
was quick to send an ‘angry fax’ to director William Sessions of the Federal Bureau of
Investigations (FBI). That very week, the FBI had been engaged in psychological warfare
with the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas.
As part of that FBI operation, its agents in Waco loudly played ‘the sound of rabbits being
slaughtered,’ Christmas carols, an Andy Williams album, Nancy Sinatra singing ‘These
Boots Are Made for Walking,’ and ‘chants recorded by followers of the Dalai Lama,’ through
the night. When the Dalai Lama made known his offense to the FBI playing Tibetans’
chanting, however, Sessions immediately ordered them to stop playing the Tibetan tapes.95
So, evidently, the Dalai Lama chooses his battles. To take credit for Western Buddhist
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teachers’ public statement without taking responsibility, of
course, would be viewed as a deft piece of politicking by
many a seasoned priest. In effect, the Dalai Lama’s
participation in the 1993 conference confirmed his moral
rectitude in the public eye, while not signing the Open Letter
reduced the risk of being held accountable for
exposing Tibetan lamas—more particular, perhaps, lamas of
other sects than his own—to legal battles in the West, to face
charges of abuse.96
US Congress, House
Committee on Government
Reform, ‘The Tragedy at Waco’
(2000)
As a dyed-in-the-wool politician, the Dalai Lama must
realize that his association with the teachers he endorses
carries evidential weight—as a character witness, that is.
This may sound harsh, but when abusive teachers are
exposed by victims, survivors, and witnesses in mainstream
media or the courts, while the Dalai Lama continues to publicly endorse them, he actually
errs on the side of the teacher. Why? When there is a viable alternative: do nothing, keep
silent.97
In each of the four cases we’ve looked into, the Dalai Lama chose differently, however. He
chose to back people who he was well warned were courting trouble and scandal, but who
also transferred to him considerable amounts of money or large exposure, showing him
extreme deference that projects to western audiences his image as a revered and sanctified
being.
Selective Indignation
Clearly, the Dalai Lama is perfectly capable of putting his foot down—he did cancel his
appearance during the Nxivm event, at least at first. He is an assured, effective communicator
as well—FBI-director Sessions learned this during the Waco standoff. The Dalai Lama does
not shy away from stirring up controversy either—witness his much publicized, imperative
stance in the inter- and intra-sectarian dispute over the Tibetan deity Dorje Shukden since the
mid 1970s.98 Finally, the Dalai Lama is very particular about his endorsements—withholding
his signature from the western teachers’ Open Letter in 1993 attests to that.
While whistle-blowers who denounce unethical, abusive, and even criminal conduct in
public, bear the brunt of airing their overt criticism, the Dalai Lama routinely absolves
himself from justifying why he continues to endorse the very ‘friends’ he is being warned
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about. His consecutive dealings with Chögyam Trungpa, Shōkō Asahara, Sogyal Lakar, and
Keith Raniere are cases in point: The Dalai Lama did not distance himself from these repeat
offenders unless and until his own image was at risk of being tarnished in media reports.99
Unprincipled, transactional conduct and selective indignation by a priestly authority and
moral leader—any priestly authority or moral leader—are problematic, of course. But they
are hardly surprising: a reasonable, media-savvy, power-wielding priest may be expected to
put the perceived interests of his office and the institutions he represents first. That is exactly
how all manner of religions turn themselves into ‘religions for abusers’—slanted playing
fields from which victims and survivors come off worst.100 Also, with his conduct, the Dalai
Lama, like priests in other religions, sets a norm from which the usual harmful results follow.
This becomes clear from the response to a reporter’s query by one of his most celebrated
followers.
No ‘Morality Police’
The world-famous monk Matthieu Ricard, the Dalai Lama’s main French interpreter,
frequently accompanied Sogyal Lakar, while Ricard’s charity was sponsored by Rigpa, which
is the name of Sogyal’s organization. Marianne-reporter Élodie Emery questioned Ricard
about Sogyal’s downfall in 2017. According to Ricard there is no ‘morality police’ in
Buddhism.101 About the Dalai Lama, Ricard said:
" Having served him for the last twenty-five years, I can testify
that he is strongly allergic to any kind of duplicity and pretense.
On the other hand—and once again—it is not his role to act as
an international Buddhist policeman. He can only remain as a
teacher and as a point of reference, demonstrating by his own
example the qualities of any Buddhist practitioner worthy of
the name.102
Rejecting a ‘morality police,’ Ricard would have
Buddhist teachers’ duty of care devolve to every
man for himself, and the Devil take the hindmost.
Apparently, he is unaware that ‘demonstrating by
his own example the qualities of any Buddhist
practitioner worthy of the name’ might obligate
the Dalai Lama—as well as himself—to stop
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Matthieu Ricard (World Economic Forum,
Davos, 2017)
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endorsing or even retract previous endorsements of
abusive Buddhist teachers. Also, Ricard seems to
overlook the Dalai Lama’s avowed commitment to
human rights and secular ethics.103
By Ricard’s rendering, the Dalai Lama simply bears no responsibility or accountability for
his endorsements at all.104
The Dalai Lama, according to many, is viewed as the as the world’s most authoritative
Buddhist, and as such is looked at as the prime example of Buddhist morality and of living a
selfless upstanding life. To propose that the Dalai Lama bears no responsibility or
accountability for his endorsements makes him into an empty and truthless figurehead—a
caricature of a holy man. Yet, the Dalai Lama’s avowed commitment to the Charter of the
Tibetans-in-Exile and of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, both of which he
signed onto, demands that his endorsements actually mean something.105 Certainly, many
people have this in mind when they see him as a guide to right and compassionate living, and
addressed as “His Holiness.”
Religious Realpolitik
More research is needed to establish the facts of the matter in more detail, but even a cursory
glance at the history of his tours of the West reveals that the Dalai Lama was feted by
numerous spiritual fortune hunters—Tibetan Buddhist or otherwise—of dubious pedigree.
From his side, he has welcomed them in his residence on their visits to Dharamshala.106 As a
rule, such teachers use the acquired photo opportunities, commendations, forewords, et
cetera, to great effect, sprinkling themselves, their communities, their promotional material,
and websites lavishly with the Dalai Lama’s stardust, to draw prospective followers in.107 In
a word, the Dalai Lama Sells.108
Some people have argued that the Dalai Lama’s
religious commitments do not allow him to resist such
overtures, but his own conduct belies this.109 In 2006,
the American Tibetan Buddhist teacher Geshe
Michael Roach, for instance, found out the hard way
that the Dalai Lama’s hospitality has its limits. Roach
had openly broken his vows of celibacy with one of
his students and made claims for his own attainment
Nina Burleigh, ‘Sex and Death on the
among other acts that the Dalai Lama disapproved of.
Road to Nirvana’ (Rolling Stone, June
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The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in
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2013)
Dharamshala dismissed Geshe Roach in no uncertain
terms, refusing him a visit.110
It may be hard to determine just what criteria are normative in each particular case but,
clearly, the Dalai Lama is not everybody’s friend. And so, each time the Dalai Lama himself,
as is his wont, pays no heed to the public or private “outing” of the derailed teachers he
endorses, his (in)actions speaks volumes. In effect, the Dalai Lama routinely advises others
to do what he himself evades, that is, “out” in the media abusive unchanging teachers. But at
the very least, stop endorsing questionable figures whose abuses have been thoroughly
exposed.
The significant issue is not why the Dalai Lama acts this way—it might be called the priestly
response par excellence. But: how does he get away with it? Surely, most professional
observers would give short shrift to other religious and political leaders’ long-standing
transactional relations with the likes of Trungpa, Asahara, Lakar, and Raniere, as the Dalai
Lama has maintained. At times, it seems as if the Dalai Lama’s persona, as authorized
representative of ancient and spiritually pure Tibet, allows him to retain an aura of sanctity
that distorts people’s sense of reality. It even blunts the critical faculty of professional
skeptics such as journalists and academic scholars.
Why else do so many observers fail to register that the Dalai Lama’s conduct mirrors the
religious realpolitik of other priests promoting the interests of their offices and institutions?
Why else do they find it so hard to hold him accountable for the actual exercise of his priestly
authority—both his acts of commission and omission?
25 Years Later
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The 14th Dalai Lama meets victims and survivors in Rotterdam (September 14, 2018) [Photo: Marlies
Bosch]
Fast forward to 2018, when the Dalai Lama made a scheduled four-day visit to the
Netherlands. This was a time of the growing power of the #metoo-movement that “outs” men
or women in power who are sexually abusive to people they had power over. This coupled
with a robust letter writing campaign that reached over 1,000 signatures in the first week and
the resultant media attention, pushed the Dalai Lama to meet for twenty minutes with four
people who had been involved with sexually abusive Tibetan lamas.111
That is correct, it took a robust letter writing and media campaign to get the Dalai Lama on a
four-day visit to the Netherlands, to agree to a twenty-minute meeting to hear four first-hand
accounts of students who were involved with abusive lamas. Even with that time frame, the
first fifteen minutes or so, the Dalai Lama did most of the talking, lecturing these four people
as if they came to be counseled by him. Actually, they wanted him to hear their testimonies
and their requests, as well as to receive the written accounts, for his eyes only, of twelve
people in all. Because they were feeling rushed by his aides, while not being told how much
time they were allocated, the four were forced to interrupt the Dalai Lama’s talking, not an
easy position, to get him to understand why they were there.
The Dalai Lama did not seem to realize that his doing the talking instead of listening, was
another form of abuse. Also, he did not realize when he told the four victims and survivors—
three women and one man—to out the abusive teachers who will not change, just how
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difficult that in fact is, as one of the women bluntly told him. Unfortunately, she did not
remind the Dalai Lama that he himself refuses to do just that! But when the Dalai Lama told
the four people that they should not put the whole responsibility on his shoulders, she did
retort that making individual victims and survivors responsible for outing the abusive teacher
amounts to the same. Somehow, the Dalai Lama found it hard to express his sympathy with
the man who was frequently beaten by his lama as a child while young girls were being
abused. And so, one of the women told him: ‘Can’t you just say that you’re sorry that it
happened?’
Unique Meeting
This meeting with the Dalai Lama was unique in that he was forced to stop talking and to
listen to what the visitors had to say. It was also unique in that he was told that he did not
understand what was involved in following his advice of “outing” abusing teachers. This
meeting in the Netherlands was unique in yet another important way, for the first time, in his
own words, the Dalai Lama corroborated that he had been familiar with the many allegations
against Sogyal’s abuse for twenty-five years.112
A day later, he repeated his remark on Dutch national television to reporter Nicole le Fever of
the Dutch Eight O’Clock News.113And yet, this knowledge did not keep the Dalai Lama from
visiting Sogyal Lakar’s centers and events, including the three-day opening of its main
temple, Lerab Ling, in 2008 in southern France, where he was clearly the main attraction to
Sogyal’s almost uncontrollable delight. It also proves that the Dalai Lama was aware of
Sogyal’s long history of abuse while not “outing” him as he advised others to do.
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Sogyal Lakar, Carla Bruni & the 14th Dalai Lama (Lerab Ling, France, August 22, 2008)
In spite of this knowledge, the Dalai Lama further authenticated Sogyal’s legitimacy by
allowing one of his organizations—the Tenzin Gyatso Institute in Berne, NY—to be named
after him.114 To this day, Rigpa claims to have ‘the gracious patronage of His Holiness the
Dalai Lama.’115 Sogyal instructed his spokespeople to answer questioning journalists with
‘the Dalai Lama is supporting Sogyal Rinpoché one hundred percent.’116 And who can
question their claim after seeing the video of the opening ceremony beginning with the Dalai
Lama flying in on a private plane followed by the prominent position he played during the
three-day event in 2008?117
Don’t Do What I Do, Do What I Say
Perhaps tellingly, the Dalai Lama declared about Sogyal Lakar: ‘Now recently Sogyal
Rinpoche, my very good friend, he [is] disgraced. So, some of his own students now made
their criticism public.’118 But he only said so after Sogyal had stepped down. How much
pain and suffering could have been avoided if he spoke earlier? After all, he had 25 years to
consider his options.
Is the Dalai Lama’s view that Sogyal was ‘disgraced’ by his followers’ disclosure of his
abusive behavior—not by his actions? This is a curious conclusion, especially so, since it is
the Dalai Lama who counsels followers to expose their own unrepentant abusive teachers.
Whatever the Dalai Lama meant with the peculiar sentence structure above, it is clear that he
had nothing to do with his ‘friend’s’ disgrace.
Not having confronted Sogyal’s abuse for twenty-five years—victims’ and survivors’
numerous warnings be forgotten— but having endorsed him instead, the Dalai Lama washed
his hands of the affair once his ‘very good friend’ was brought into disrepute—just like he
did with Chögyam Trungpa, Shōkō Asahara, and Keith Raniere.
It sounds all well and good to say as the Dalai Lama has, ‘It is not the Tibetan way to
confront errant behavior on the part of the lamas. We prefer to let them learn about their
mistakes on their own.’ This is fine as long as one can blind oneself to the effects on the
victims of ‘the lamas’ while they are supposedly learning—decades long—about their
mistakes on their own. Unfortunately, as we have seen above, at least a few lamas are
exceedingly slow learners when it comes to learning of their own mistakes. Too, with these
lamas, both Trungpa and Sogyal in particular, as is common with most people, the longer
they get away with questionable behavior, the more entrenched and extreme becomes that
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behavior.
We have also seen above how the highest-ranking trülkus of the different schools of Tibetan
Buddhism from the Dalai Lama down, have refused to admonish, in any way, these slowlearning lamas.119In fact, the opposite has occurred, they have continued to endorse these
very lamas for periods longer than 25 years. This is in spite of the Dalai Lama in 1993
counselling western teachers to “out” abusive Lamas/Dharma teachers/Zen masters who after
warnings, will not change their behavior. Apparently the old saying, ‘Don’t do what I do, do
what I say’ appears to be the lesson of the Dalai Lama.
False Sense Of Security
Some students of Tibetan Buddhism in the west taking the Dalai Lama’s public words to
heart, were perhaps naive—but no less justified—in their expectations of him. Arguably, the
Dalai Lama’s meeting with the western Buddhist teachers in 1993, as well as his frequent
references to that meeting, provided some casual observers with a false sense of security. But
when there were scandals involving Tibetan Buddhist lamas, the Dalai Lama was as quiet as
the proverbial church mouse and nowhere to be seen.
The Dalai Lama himself, however, is anything but naive. For decades, his unprincipled
dealings with abusive and even criminal teachers were transparent and consistent to the point
of being highly predictable. Meanwhile, the organizations founded and led by Trungpa,
Asahara, Lakar, and Raniere served as scattered outposts of the Dalai Lama’s realm that
provided him with much-coveted connections to political, financial, and religious patrons,
favourable media exposure, institutional and practical assistance abroad, and grassroots
support for him and his good causes.
Some have discredited the Dalai Lama’s statements as recorded by John and Nancy
Steinbeck as inauthentic—‘fake news,’ before the term gained currency. However, there is no
reason to doubt their credibility. In fact, the Dalai Lama’s words ‘We prefer to let them learn
about their mistakes on their own,’ sound like an eerily accurate description of his actual
behavior. The Dalai Lama does prefer this. He acts as if he feels no moral responsibility to
the public at large when it comes to associating with abusive lamas. And in doing so, he is
the spitting image of a reasonable priest.120 The Dalai Lama accepts no personal
accountability for his continued endorsement of abusive friends who sink into disrepute. He
distances himself only when they bring discredit upon his office or his activities on behalf of
the Tibetan people.
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The Dalai Lama’s Flip
The HBO documentary series The Vow was broadcast during the Covid-19 pandemic. It
showed the Dalai Lama’s association with Keith Raniere and Nxivm, and importantly, how
little “investigating” warnings from reputable sources may mean to him when he is endorsing
questionable people. Raniere, Sara Bronfman, Nancy Salzman, and Mark Vincente flew to
Dharamshala by private plane, and their meeting with the Dalai Lama resulted in an almost
magical over-night change of mind. He went from canceling his appearing with Raniere on
stage to agreeing with a stage appearance together—thereby endorsing him while a whistleblower was being sued.
Even Mark Vincente, at the time a Raniere loyalist and film
maker brought along to record the meeting, appears surprised
by the Dalai Lama’s overnight flip. According to Vincente,
‘the whole idea about having him come [to the Albany stage
appearance] was to basically vindicate Raniere.’ Not
surprisingly, Raniere, like Sogyal the year before, could
hardly contain himself over receiving this highest stamp of
approval, the Dalai Lama’s endorsement, as is clearly shown
HBO, ‘The Vow: A Nxivm
in the documentary.121
Story’ (Season 1, 2020)
At that time, Clare Bronfman had just filed a criminal
complaint with the Saratoga, NY District Attorney against Barbara Bouchey, a former
executive board member of Nxivm. Bouchey, who had been the Bronfman sisters’ financial
planner, resigned two weeks before the Dalai Lama’s visit, along with eight key
female followers. Bouchey was in fact a long-time lover and loyalist of Raniere but resigned
when she discovered that she was just one of many Nxivm women who were sexual partners
of Raniere.122
Together, this group of women hoped to “wake up” other people in Nxivm and get the
government involved, to hold Keith Raniere accountable. In response, civil charges were
brought against Bouchey. This was not really surprising, as Clare Bronfman, with almost
unlimited financial resources, had a history of pursuing people through the courts that caused
trouble for Raniere. ‘Of course, it didn’t do anything,’ Bouchey said, looking back on the
failed intervention that immediately preceded the Dalai Lama’s visit.
The footage of his meeting with Raniere in Dharamshala proves that the Dalai Lama was
aware that some litigation was ongoing, but also that he wasn’t clear who was suing whom.
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His questions were less than probing, as were the questions of his advisors. The Dalai Lama
satisfied himself with Sara Bronfman’s remark ‘There is no lawsuit;’ Nancy Salzman’s
‘They’re not against him [that is, Keith Raniere], none of them are against him;’ and Keith
Raneire’s ‘The things that are said are not only just opinion, but the facts that they use are
incorrect: to propagate that we are a cult, we are a cult, we are a cult, with no evidence.’
Clearly, the Dalai Lama did not bother to have his aides check in with Barbara Bouchey or
her fellow apostates, or other, easily checkable media reports and long-term records of
lawsuits.123 In the words of Mark Vincente, Raniere’s film maker brought along to document
the meeting, ‘seemingly out of nowhere,’ the Dalai Lama agreed to appear in the Palace
Theater in Albany after all. It seemed like a set piece: was the Dalai Lama agreeing out of
nowhere or was it arranged before filming?
Will He Learn?
Evidently, neither the result of his own supposed careful vetting, or Raniere’s widely reported
track record, nor his too easy a denial, raised the Dalai Lama’s concern enough to call for at
least a pause in his support for Raniere. And so, the Dalai Lama, one of the world’s leading
advocates of secular ethics, squandered yet another real opportunity to warn the public at
large of a less than ethical teacher by withdrawing his moral support.
Raniere was recently convicted and sentenced to an almost unheard of 120-year sentence,
convicted of a long list of crimes: racketeering, sex trafficking, child pornography
possession, and others—to what is effectively a life sentence. Clare Bronfman, his loyal
supporter and financial backer, received a sentence of 81 months. The Dalai Lama remained
in seclusion inside his residence in India at the time and wasn’t traveling abroad, most likely
because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Hence, he was hardly questioned by media about his
connection to Raniere.
Few journalists, if any, had a chance to question the Dalai Lama on his appearance in the
documentary, The Vow either, while its wide media coverage in the United States may well
have escaped him. Therefore, it remains to be seen what lessons, if any, the Dalai Lama
learned “about his mistakes” in being involved with Nxivm. Will he continue to endorse and
vindicate the very people he is warned about? Will he continue to ignore the very media
exposure of offenders he himself calls for? Will he accept any personal responsibility and
accountability at all for his transactional attitude towards persons with questionable histories
with the law and society’s ethical standards and the way they reciprocate his endorsement?124
We say transactional because the Dalai Lama or organizations affiliated with him reaped
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considerable benefits from his association with characters whose history broadcast clear
warning signs of trouble ahead: $1.5 million from Asahara, for instance. Then too, ten days
after being on the stage with Raniere, $2 million showed up in a new foundation with the
Dalai Lama’s name on it. Coincidence, perhaps?125 But the Bronfman sisters were some of
the most loyal of Raniere’s followers: they bankrolled him with $ 100 million for years.
Moreover, they stood to receive a vast inheritance. To the Dalai Lama, their mere proximity
provided a motive for the cultivation of goodwill between them.126
Symbolic Capital
If any money transpired between the Dalai Lama, his
foundations and Trungpa or Sogyal directly is unknown.127
However, both of these lamas had control of large sums of
cash which they spent lavishly on themselves. At the very
least, they and their organizations afforded the Dalai Lama
much exposure to western audiences, covering him in social
and political capital—all expenses paid—while presenting
him as the supreme representative of Tibetan Buddhism, as a
sacred being beyond question.
Once more, the question arises: How does the Dalai Lama
get away with acting in so evident a transactional manner
Mary Finnigan & Rob
when dealing with people with questionable histories, yet
Hogendoorn, ‘Sex and
still, both he and Tibetan Buddhism of which he is the main
Violence in Tibetan Buddhism:
representative, are viewed as the epitome of untainted, pure
The Rise and Fall of Sogyal
spiritual attainment? Perhaps it has to do with the West, to a
Rinpoche’ (Jorvik Press, 2019)
large extent creating the myth of Tibetan Buddhism as an
untainted religion surviving unspoiled by modern ideas and lifestyles, in isolation from the
rest of the world in an imaginary Kingdom of Shangri-La made famous in the movie Lost
Horizon in 1937.129
The Buck Never Stops
As a ‘simple monk,’ the Dalai Lama upholds this supercharged image while he directly
interferes with real life situations in exiled Tibetan Buddhist communities and monasteries
throughout Asia, and Tibetan Buddhist communities in the West—via constant endorsements,
audiences, teaching tours, residencies, requests, exhortations, and interdictions.130 Moreover,
for more than 60 years the Dalai Lama served as the religious and temporal leader of the
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Tibetan people at the same time, acting as the exiles’ head of state.
The 14th Dalai Lama, Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela (Madame Tussauds Wax Museum,
Amsterdam)
Traditionally, each person who holds the office called Dalai Lama is understood to be an
emanation of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara—the Bodhisattva known for his compassion for
all sentient beings. It is safe to say, then, that any Dalai Lama’s words carry a rather unusual
weight. Indeed, the ‘immutability’ and ‘inviolability’ of his public office tend
to supersede the responsibility and accountability for the way the Dalai Lama acquits himself
of his tasks in real life. To many, both Tibetan Buddhists and not, the Dalai Lama is a
‘sovereign’ it seems, who never gets called on for his words and/or actions, who can do no
wrong. The buck never stops with him.
Arguably, by ending his political role in 2011, by abdicating the throne as Tibetan head of
state—even though everyone, including the Tibetan President Lobsang Sangay, still defers to
his political judgement—the Dalai Lama became even less accountable. Previously, the
Constitution of Tibet and Charter of Tibetans-in-exile, at least in theory, provided that the
Dalai Lama’s executive functions could be taken over by the Council of Regency ‘in the
highest interests of the State.’131 Now, he has reverted his position ‘back to its role and
responsibility as being the spiritual head.’ In effect, the Dalai Lama alone determines if his
‘constituents’—the Tibetan people, people across the Himalayas, and ‘other Buddhists who
are connected to the Dalai Lamas’—still support the continuation of the office he holds.132
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However, the Central Tibetan Administration in exile is not a full-blown democracy—nor
does it claim to be one.When everyone is responsible for evaluating the Dalai Lama’s
discharge of his self-defined mission, most likely no one is. Which of his followers would
dare to stand up to a ‘simple monk’ who is the emanation of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara
and the last beacon of hope of the Tibetan people? It is a highly effective means of control, of
course. If the only option to have the Dalai Lama remain in this world is to see him as allgood, this curtails any open and transparent judging of his actions as he claims to call for. But
ask yourself: does this benefit or corrupt the Dalai Lama’s office and the Tibetan cause?
Words, Actions, Reputation
No matter what is the Dalai Lama’s personal learning process, some constants in his conduct
are clear: ignoring well founded warnings of deep problems with people he is associating
with; letting himself be used to legitimate questionable people and activities; quietly
accepting large amounts of money; private meetings with controversial people; leaving
victims, survivors, and whistleblowers out in the cold, while gaining access and exposure to a
wide audience; and being preoccupied with the continuity of his own office.
All this considered, the Dalai Lama’s involvement with Chögyam Trungpa, Shōkō Asahara,
Sogyal Lakar, and Keith Raniere, as well their abusive communities, offers a valuable
perspective on the way he performs his duties as a religious, moral, and political leader over
a long period of time. It also gives us a window into seeing how well the Dalai Lama’s words
and actions match or not. If anything, history shows that he is an exceedingly poor judge of
character.133
Hopefully, a more down to earth view of the plausible motives and imperatives that have
guided the Dalai Lama’s fulfilment of his responsibilities since the 1970s, helps those at risk
of being abused recognize his enabling behavior towards abusive teachers before they are
harmed. Again, in the Dalai Lama’s own words, ‘they [media people, researchers] should dig
deep into issues and to be open and impartial. Whether a politician, or the mayor, or religious
people, the bishops, or myself, must sort of watch and make clear, inform the public,
provided it must be very honest, unbiased, objective, that’s important!’
Not Too Holy To Fail
Good and bad aspects of being human can operate at different times in the same person. A
well-founded critique of the Dalai Lama’s failure to protect the public at large by confronting
or condemning his abusive ‘friends,’ does not diminish his numerous achievements. Also, it
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does not negate his preeminence as a lucid expositor of Tibetan Buddhist ideas. On the other
hand, such a critique is not indicative of a reprehensible susceptibility to Chinese propaganda
or the silent support of the oppression of the Tibetan people. There is just no good reason to
believe that the Dalai Lama is too holy to fail. These are specious arguments, that deny his
agency.
The simple fact of the matter is that the Dalai
Lama was Tibetans’ absolute ruler for more
than 60 years. Since 1991, the Charter of
Tibetans-in-exile promulgates that the Central
Tibetan Administration must ‘endeavor to
improve the purity and efficiency of academic
and monastic communities of monks, nuns, and
George W. Bush, the 14th Dalai Lama and
tantric practitioners, and shall encourage them
Nancy Pelosi (Congressional Gold Medal
to maintain proper behavior.’ Right after the
Ceremony, October 17, 2007)
Dalai Lama went into exile in 1959, his
administration made the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights a cornerstone of its Constitution. The Charter that is now in force, likewise,
mandates the Central Tibetan Administration to adhere to the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. On top of that, the Dalai Lama urges the necessity of a secular approach to
universal ethics.
Such express commitments do not merely bring about entitlements, but obligations as well.
After all, Tibetans are not merely subject to human rights abuses, some of the Tibetan lamas
the Dalai Lama endorses, commit them. Given his avowed commitment to the Charter of the
Tibetans-in-exile, it is a fair question to ask what the Dalai Lama does to ‘improve the purity’
of Tibetan lamas, and ‘encourage them to maintain proper behavior’ when he has the chance.
His international stature as a moral leader and champion of secular ethics implies that the
Dalai Lama’s dealings with non-Buddhist abusive leaders merit critical scrutiny as well. The
untold numbers of victims and survivors in four continents deserve that much. Let us then not
judge the Dalai Lama’s words and actions by his reputation, but rather, the other way
around.134
1. We use the word ‘priest’ here in its neutral sense, derived from the ecclesiastical Latin
presbyter or ‘elder,’ to denote a person who performs religious ceremonies and duties in
a non-Christian religion. !
2. Turrel Wylie submits that the concept of the trülku fulfilled social, cultural, and political
needs that were felt in Tibet around the 14th century. The erstwhile Mongol patrons
were riled by the recurring sibling rivalry between scions of the Khön (Wyl. ‘khon)
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family dynasty from Sakya (Wyl. sa skya) in Tibet. The Khön clan had acted as the
Mongol’s regents of Tibet since the days of Kublai Khan (b. 1215 d. 1294), but was
marginalized by the 3rd Karmapa Rangjung Dorjé (Wyl. karma pa rang byung rdo rje, b.
1284 d. 1339). According to Wylie, Mongol rulers were attracted to his political profile
for three main reasons: First, the transfer of political power from one trülku to the next
would eliminate the sibling rivalry inherent in biological lineages; second, trülkus,
especially celibate monks committed to frugality, would lack the patrimonial
connections with which to foment rebellion; and third, transitioning the charisma from
the person to his or her office would institutionalise the rule by priests, irrespective of
personal charisma. A few decades later, however, the Mongols were overthrown by the
Chinese Ming dynasty, which kept the Karmapa lineage from achieving long-term
political supremacy in Tibet. Wylie, Turrell V. (1978). Reincarnation: a political
innovation in Tibetan Buddhism. In Louis Ligetti (Ed.), Proceedings of the Csoma de
Kőrös Memorial Symposium, Hungary, 24-30 September 1976 (pp. 579-586). Budapest:
Akadémiai Kiadó; Gardner, Alexander. (2011). The Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje:
b.1284 – d.1339. Treasury of Lives. Retrieved April 14, 2021. Throughout the endnotes,
Tibetan names and words are transliterated according to Turrel Wylie’s (Wyl.)
sanctioned orthography, but only on their first appearance. Wylie, Turrel V. (1959). A
standard system of Tibetan transcription. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 22, pp.
261-267. The transliterations were phonetically transcribed with the online Tibetan
Phonetics Converter of the Tibetan & Himalayan Library (THLib.), except where widely
established renderings of terminology, proper names, and locations exist. At the first
mention of well-known names, the proper ThLib. transcription is noted. Tibetan
Phonetics Converter of the Tibetan & Himalayan Library. Retrieved April 14, 2021. !
3. Hirshberg, Daniel A. et al. (2017). Preface: The Tulku (sprul sku) Institution in Tibetan
Buddhism. Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines, 38, pp. i-iii. See also: Dreyfus, Georges. (1995).
Law, State, and Political Ideology. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist
Studies, 18 (1), pp. 117-138. !
4. Estimates of the number of trülkus in exile in the 1970s through 2010s have mounted
from circa 120 to 1,000. Most authors agree that their number rapidly increased in exile.
Bomhard, Allan R. (Ed.). (2002). The Tantric Mysticism of Tibet: By John Blofeld (1913
—1987): Revised and edited by Allan R. Bomhard. Charleston: Charleston Buddhist
Fellowship; Hixon, Lex. (1976). The Moment You See Him. The Laughing Man, 1 (2),
pp. 51-54; Aziz, Barbara N. (1976). Reincarnation Reconsidered: Or the Reincarnate
Lama as Shaman. In John T. Hitchkock & Rex L. Jones (Eds.), Spirit Possession in the
Nepal Himalayas (pp. 343-360). Warminster: Aris and Phillips; Saklani, Girija. (1978).
Tibetan Refugees in India: A Sociological Study of an Uprooted Community; Bärlocher,
Daniel. (1982). Testimonies of Tibetan Tulkus: A Research among Reincarnate Buddhist
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Masters in Exile: Volume I: Materials. Ph. Dissertation, Universität Freiburg, Freiburg.
pp. 67-68; Michael, Franz. (1982). Rule by Incarnation: Tibetan Buddhism and Its Role
in Society and State. Boulder: Westview Press. p. 43; Avedon, John F. (1998). In Exile
from the Land of Snows: The Definitive Account of the Dalai Lama and Tibet Since the
Chinese Conquest. New York: Harper Perennial. pp. 119; Buswell Jr., Robert E. &
Donald S. Lopez Jr. (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton: Princeton
University Press. p. 847; Asshauer, Egbert. (2006). Tulkus—The Mystery of the Living
Buddhas: Conversations, Encounters, Backgrounds. Ulm: Fabri Verlag. pp. 43, 156;
Asshauer, Egbert. (2010). Das tibetische Tulkusystem: Entwicklung und Bedeutung.
Tibet und Buddhismus, (3), pp. 29-33; Levine, Norma. (2018). The Tibetans. In The
Spiritual Odyssey of Freda Bedi: England, India, Burma, Sikkim, and Beyond (pp. 133168). Merigar: Shang Shung Publications. !
5. Dagyab Rinpoche has referred to the rapid increase of the number of trülkus in exile as a
‘trülku boom.’ Dagyab Rinpoche. (1992). Religion: Problems in the development of
Tibetan Buddhism in the West. Tibetan Review, 27 (10), pp. 15-17. Marco Pallis noted in
1960 that ‘of late years’ some ‘suspicious occurrences’ demonstrated lapses in the
traditional screening of formally instated trülkus. Pallis, Marco. (1960). The Way and
the Mountain. London: Peter Owen Limited. pp.169-170. The 14th Dalai Lama,
likewise, said: ‘”So, in Tibetan history, some lamas [were] really wonderful, but some
lamas [are a] disgrace. I think..” [continues in Tibetan]. Translator: “So, this master
Chösang Rinpoche, has said that when someone is recognized as a reincarnation of some
high lama, of a predecessor, it seemed that there was some wisdom in it, in recognizing
the reincarnation. But when this reincarnation actually proves to be a disgrace, then I
really feel very sad from the depth of my heart.” Dalai Lama: “So there are cases now,
frankly speaking, [in which] the individual lama utilizes the name of reincarnation, but
never pays much attention to study and practice. So, these lamas disgrace the
Buddhadharma.'” Gyatso (the fourteenth Dalai Lama), Tenzin. (2019). Interaction with
College Students. YouTube.com. Retrieved April 9, 2021. In 2011, the Dalai Lama
critiqued: ‘Today, there are recognized Tulkus in all the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the
Sakya, Geluk, Kagyu and Nyingma, as well as Jonang and Bodong, who serve the
Dharma. It is also evident that amongst these Tulkus some are a disgrace. (…) In the
recent past, there have been cases of irresponsible managers of wealthy Lama-estates
who indulged in improper methods to recognize reincarnations, which have undermined
the Dharma, the monastic community and our society.’ Gyatso (the fourteenth Dalai
Lama), Tenzin. (2011). Reincarnation. Dalailama.com. Retrieved April 9, 2021. For
critical observations on the formal institution of tulkus by the Dalai Lama’s brother
Tenzin Choegyal, see: McGirk, Tim. (2013). Reincarnation in Exile. Believermag.com.
Retrieved April 9, 2021; Craig, Mary. (1998). Kundun: A Biograpy of the Family of the
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Dalai Lama. London: Fount. pp. 161. !
6. Anya Bernstein writes: ‘The identification of the successive incarnation of high lamas,
an institution that developed in Tibet as early as the eleventh century, ensured the
inheritance of leadership and property from one generation to the next at a time when
celibate monastic communities replaced noble families—previously the primary patrons
of Buddhism—to became centers of Buddhist power and governance. Taking a Weberian
view of authority, Turrell Wylie suggested that the institution of reincarnation facilitated
the “transition from charisma of person to a charisma of office: a change essential to the
establishment of a hierocratic form of government that could survive as an institution
regardless of the charisma of any individual.” Focusing on the role of reincarnation in
the transfer of property, Melvyn Goldstein demonstrated how features inherent in
reincarnation transformed the Tibetan political system itself, resulting in what he called
a “circulation of estates,” large blocks of arable land intermittently held by incarnate
lamas in power.’ Bernstein, Anya. (2017). Buddhist Body Politics: Life, Death, and
Reincarnation in Transnational Eurasis. Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines, 38, pp. 157-182. !
7. For present purposes, we take our estimate from the total of 14 Dalai Lamas since the
first was born in 1391. Their number sits between 8 consecutive Panchen Lamas and 17
consecutive Karmapas. The Tibetan tradition posits that the 3rd Karmapa was the first
major trülku, but modern scholarship calls that assumption into question. Wylie, Turrell.
V. (1978). Reincarnation: a political innovation in Tibetan Buddhism. In Louis Ligetti
(Ed.), Proceedings of the Csoma de Kőrös Memorial Symposium, Hungary, pp. 24-30
September 1976 (pp. 579-586). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. Dreyfus, Georges. (1995).
Law, State, and Political Ideology. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist
Studies, 18 (1), pp. 117-138; Van der Kuijp, Leonard W. J. (2005). The Dalai Lamas and
the Origin of Reincarnate Lamas. In Martin. Brauen (Ed.), The Dalai Lamas: A Visual
History (pp. 15-31). Chicago: Serindia Publications. !
8. Wylie, Turrell. V. (1978). Reincarnation: a political innovation in Tibetan Buddhism. In
Louis Ligetti (Ed.), Proceedings of the Csoma de Kőrös Memorial Symposium, Hungary,
pp. 24-30 September 1976 (pp. 579-586). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; Dreyfus,
Georges. (1995). Law, State, and Political Ideology. Journal of the International
Association of Buddhist Studies, 18 (1), pp. 117-138; Van der Kuijp, Leonard W. J.
(2005). The Dalai Lamas and the Origin of Reincarnate Lamas. In Martin. Brauen (Ed.),
The Dalai Lamas: A Visual History (pp. 15-31). Chicago: Serindia Publications. !
9. The 3rd Dalai Lama, Sönam Gyatso (b. 1543 d. 1588), was the first to bear that title. The
title Dalai Lama (Wyl. ta la’i bla ma, ocean,’ ‘vast,’ or universal lama) was given to him
by the Mongol ruler Althan Khan (b. 1507 d. 1582). The first two Dalai Lamas were
recognized posthumously, many years after their deaths. Van der Kuijp, Leonard W. J.
(2005). The Dalai Lamas and the Origin of Reincarnate Lamas. In Martin Brauen (Ed.),
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The Dalai Lamas: A Visual History (pp. 15-31). Chicago: Serindia Publications. The 5th
Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lopsang Gyatso (b. 1617 d. 1682), unified Tibet in the wake of a
civil war. In 1642, the Mongol leader Güshi Khan (b. 1582 d. 1655) enthroned the 5th
Dalai Lama as the ruler of Tibet. He thereby established the yön chö (Wyl. yon mchod,
‘patron-spiritual teacher’ or ‘donor-donee’) relation of joint political and religious rule
that became the hallmark of the hegemonizing Tibetan political ideology. See the
extensive discussions of the lineage of the Dalai Lamas in: Mullin, Glenn H. (2001). The
Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation. Santa Fe: Clear Light
Publications; Brauen, Martin. (Ed.). (2005). The Dalai Lamas: A Visual History.
Chicago: Serindia Publications. !
10. Dreyfus, Georges. (1995). Law, State, and Political Ideology. Journal of the
International Association of Buddhist Studies, 18 (1), pp. 117-138. Retrieved April 14,
2021. !
11. In 1979, for instance, the 14th Dalai Lama said about trülkus and his own office:
‘Buddha in all his teachings has never mentioned any special status, only qualification.
(Regarding) the Tulku system there was some connection with the social system of Tibet
in the past. And some of this will change. (…) This Tulku system evolved in the Tibetan
society, so it will go on its own evolution and changes. Basically it has nothing to do
with the teaching. (…) Rebirth is there, reincarnation is there. But not the lineages.’
Bärlocher, Daniel. (1982). Testimonies of Tibetan Tulkus: A Research among
Reincarnate Buddhist Masters in Exile: Volume I: Materials. Universität Freiburg,
Freiburg. pp. 112-125. In 2011, the Dalai Lama reiterated the same view and said: ‘The
one who is qualified as a result of one’s own study and practice is known as Lama. A
Tulku, even without such a standard of education, enjoys status in society in the name of
the former Lama. And there are many who lack the Lama’s qualification and even bring
disgrace. So I used to say since some forty years ago that there needs to be some system
to regulate the recognition of Tulku. Otherwise it is not good to have many unqualified
ones.’ Author unknown. (2011). Transcript of Video-Conference with His Holiness the
Dalai Lama and Chinese Activists. Dalailama.com. Retrieved April 6, 2021. In 2005, he
said: ‘In the early sixties, on one occasion, I think it was during the meeting with heads
of religious schools, I [stat]ed some historical facts. It is important to keep the
recognition and the lineage of some of these lamas who are historically authentic and
based in Tibetan history. (…) But until now, in many cases if one has money—enough
money—then one gets tülku recognition from the monastery. This almost is like buying
[the position] with money.’ Brauen, Martin. (2005). Introduction and Interview with His
Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. In Martin Brauen (Ed.), The Dalai Lamas: A Visual
History (pp. 6-13). Chicago: Serindia Publications. Evidently, the Dalai Lama’s personal
evaluation of the formal instatement of trülkus is contested. Donald Lopez is reported to
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have found that the religious heads of all Tibetan traditions decided on a ‘moratorium’
on the recognition of trülkus in the early 1960s, ‘which lasted a decade before some
unnamed group broke it, ushering in open season on tulku recognition.’ Author
unknown. (2013). The Tulku Institution in Tibetan Buddhism: A Symposium at USF,
February 15 & 16, 2013. Tsadra.org. Retrieved April 7, 2021. Also, the Dalai Lama’s
actions did not always match his view: in response to the so-called ‘trülku boom’ of the
1960s through 2000s he too began conferring formal recognition on numerous young
trülkus. See also: Asshauer, Egbert. (2003). Das Tulkusystem: ein Stück tibetische
Identität. Tibet und Buddhismus, (67), pp. 25-30; McGirk, Tim. (2013). Reincarnation in
Exile. Believermag.com. Retrieved April 9, 2021; Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse
Rinpoche. (2016). Time for Radical Change in How We Raise Our Tulkus. Tricycle: The
Buddhist Review. Retrieved April 17, 2021. !
12. A new presidential election will be held in 2021. Singh Dhillon, Gangadeep. (2020).
Explained: How Tibetans across the world will elect their parliament-in-exile. Indian
Express Retrieved March 10, 2021. In the documentary The Great 14th, the Dalai Lama
says about his abdication: ‘This is the right time, now. Now hand it over, all my
legitimate political authority. The almost four-century old tradition of the Dalai Lama
institution as head of both [the] temporal and spirituality, now that, sooner or later, had
to change. The Great 14th Dalai Lama—[laughing] quite popular…—at such moment,
to voluntarily end it, I feel very proud. I proudly, happily, ended that.’ Rawcliffe,
Rosemary. (2020). The Great 14th. Retrieved April 15, 2021. !
13. Author unknown. (2014). Dalai Lama concedes he may be the last. Retrieved April 12,
2021. !
14. Mishra, Pankaj. (2015). The Last Dalai Lama? The New York Times. Retrieved April 14,
2021. !
15. Gyatso (the fourteenth Dalai Lama), Tenzin. (2017). Inauguration of Seminar on
‘Buddhism in Ladakh’. Retrieved April 14, 2021. !
16. Gyatso (the fourteenth Dalai Lama), Tenzin & Thubten Chodron. (2018). The
Foundation of Buddhist Practice (2). Somerville: Wisdom. pp. 92. See also: Author
unknown. (2017). Dalai Lama about Sogyal Rinpoche and Rigpa with students from the
University of California. Youtube.com. Retrieved April 9, 2021. In 2019, a statement on
the Dalai Lama’s own website said: ‘In seeking to balance preserving tradition and
modern development, His Holiness suggested that the custom of recognising reincarnate
lamas may have had its day. He remarked that no such custom existed in India. There is
no reincarnation of the Buddha or Nagarjuna. He wondered what place this institution
has in a democratic society.’ Author unknown. (2019). Addressing Students from North
Indian Universities. Dalailama.com. Retrieved April 9, 2021. !
17. Jensen, Karen & Matthew Abrahams. (2019). Buddha Buzz Weekly: Dalai Lama
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Considers End to Reincarnated Political Leaders. Tricycle: The Buddhist Review.
Retrieved April 9, 2021; Mohan, Lalit. (2019, October 2019). Institution of Lama has
‘feudal’ origins. The Tribune. Retrieved April 14, 2021; Author unknown (2019, October
26). Reincarnation feudal, should end now: Dalai Lama amid successor row with China.
The Times of India. Retrieved April 14, 2021. !
18. Kewley, Vanya. (1975). The Lama King BBC One London. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
!
19. Gyatso (the fourteenth Dalai Lama), Tenzin. (1976). Statement of His Holiness the
Dalai Lama on the Seventeenth Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day, 10
March 1976. Retrieved April 12, 2021; Author unknown. (1976). Editorial: The Last
Dalai Lama? Tibetan Review, 11 (3), pp. 3-4; Author unknown. (1976). News Report:
Dalai Lama Assails Tibetan Complacency. Tibetan Review, 11 (3), pp. 4-5; Dreyfus,
Georges B. J. (1998). The Shuk-den Affair: History and Nature of a Quarrel. Journal of
the International Association of Buddhist Studies, 2 (21), pp. 227-270; Mills, Martin A.
(2009). Charting the Shugden Interdiction in the Western Himalaya. In J. Bray & E. De
Rossi Filibeck (Eds.), Mountains, Monasteries and Mosques: Recent Research on
Ladakh and the Western Himalaya: Proceedings of the 13th colloquium of the
International Association for Ladakh Studies (pp. 251-270). Pisa: Fabrizio Serra;
Nowak, Margaret. (1984). Tibetan Refugees: Youth and the New Generation of Meaning.
New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. pp. 29-30. !
20. Author unknown. (2014). Dalai Lama concedes he may be the last. Retrieved April 12,
2021. See also: Eigendorf, Jörg. (2014). Der Dalai Lama will keinen Nachfolger mehr
haben. Welt am Sonntag. Retrieved April 15, 2021; Author unknown (2014, September
9). Tibetans Say ‘Last Dalai Lama’ Report Is Misleading. Voice of America News;
Mishra, Pankaj. (2015). The Last Dalai Lama? The New York Times Retrieved April 15,
2021. !
21. According to professor emeritus Robert Thurman of Columbia University in New York
City, the Dalai Lama said he would not reincarnate to duck out of a situation in which
the Chinese Communist Party uses ‘a Dalai Lama puppet person to try to keep the
Tibetans distracted from their destruction of the Tibetan culture and environment.’ The
Dalai Lama’s interpreter Thupten Jinpa notes that when the Dalai Lama says he is the
last, he means that he may be the last one in his lineage to be awarded ‘the formal
recognition as the continuation of the institution.’ All the same, the Dalai Lama himself
said: ‘If today I die, I think most probably two Dalai Lamas may happen.’ The Harvardtrained lawyer Lobsang Sangay, who succeeded the Dalai Lama as the Tibetan exiles’
head of state, is unequivocal: ‘This Dalai Lama has the final say on the next Dalai Lama,
no one else. No power, no money, no Chinese leader can replace this Dalai Lama as far
as the next Dalai Lama is concerned. So, the 14th Dalai Lama will decide on the 15th
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Dalai Lama.’ Lemle, Mickey. (2016). The Last Dalai Lama? New York: Alive Mind. See
also: Frayer, Lauren. (2019). Who Will Decide On The Dalai Lama’s Successor — His
Supporters Or Beijing? NPR. Retrieved April 12, 2021. In the documentary The Great
14th, the Dalai Lama reiterated that whether there will be a 15th Dalai Lama is up to the
majority of the Tibetan people, but that under the present circumstances the institution
will remain: ‘So, in order to keep the Dalai Lama institution continuously and more
respectful, [it is] better to distance [it] from political power.’ Rawcliffe, Rosemary.
(2020). The Great 14th. Retrieved April 15, 2021. !
22. Author unknown. (2019). 14th Tibetan Religious Conference affirms the Dalai Lama’s
sole authority in his reincarnation, illegitimizes China’s meddling in religious affairs.
Central Tibetan Administration. Retrieved April 12, 2021. !
23. Graeber, David. (2018). Bullshit Jobs: A Theory. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 308.
!
24. The Dalai Lama’s full name is Jétsün Jampel Ngakwang Lozang Yéshé Tendzin Gyatso
Sisum Wanggyur Tsungpa Mépé Dépel Zangpo (Wyl. rje btsun jam dpal ngag dbang blo
bzang ye shes bstan ‘dzin rgya mtsho srid gsum dbang bsgyur mtshungs pa med pa’i sde
dpal bzang po). Jeffrey Hopkins translates it into English as ‘Leader-HolinessGentleness-Renown-Speech-Dominion-Mind-Goodness-Primordial-Wisdom-TeachingHold-Vastness-Ocean-Being-Triad-Controlling-Unparalleled-Glory-Integrity.’ Gyatso,
Tenzin (the fourteenth Dalai Lama). (2006). Kindness, Clarity, and Insight: The
Fourteenth Dalai Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso (Revised and updated ed.). Ithaca:
Snow Lion Publications. p. 12. The 14th Dalai Lama assumed full religious and political
authority in 1950. Shakabpa, Tsepon & Wangchuk Deden. (2010). Necessity of the
Fourteenth Dalai Lama to Assume Religious and Political Authority Suddenly (Derek F.
Maher, Trans.). In Henk Blezer et al. (Eds.), One Hundred Thousand Moons: An
Advanced Political History of Tibet: Volume 2 (pp. 943-994). Leiden: Brill. !
25. Author unknown. (1940). Picture of the week: The King-Regent of Tibet: will he poison
the baby Dalai Lama? Life, 8 (15), pp. 32-33. Leonard van der Kuijp writes: ‘the 9th
through 12th [Dalai Lamas] were also at the mercy of a succession of regents, their
political ambitions and interests, and those of their families. None of these Dalai Lamas
lived beyond twenty-one and it is likely that their untimely deaths resulted from foul
play.’ Van der Kuijp, Leonard W. J. (2005). The Dalai Lamas and the Origin of
Reincarnate Lamas. In M. Brauen (Ed.), The Dalai Lamas: A Visual History (pp. 15-31).
Chicago: Serindia Publications. See also Norbu, Thubten J. & Colin M. Turnbull.
(1968). Tibet. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 312; Richardson, Hugh E. (1984). Tibet
And Its History (Second edition, Revised and Updated ed.). Boulder: Shambhala. p. 59;
Mullin, Glenn H. (2001). The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of
Reincarnation. Santa Fe: Clear Light Publications. pp. 343-346. The fourth Dalai Lama,
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Yönten Gyatso (b. 1589 d. 1616) and sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso (b. 1683 d.
1706), died in their mid-twenties. Brauen, Martin. (Ed.). (2005). The Dalai Lamas: A
Visual History. Chicago: Serindia Publications. pp. 60-61, 93-101. !
26. Gyello Döndrup (Wyl. rgyal lo don ‘grub, b. 1928) is the 14th Dalai Lama’s second
oldest brother. Author unknown. (1940). Picture of the week: The King-Regent of Tibet:
will he poison the baby Dalai Lama? Life, 8 (15), pp. 32-33; Craig, Mary. (1998).
Kundun: A Biograpy of the Family of the Dalai Lama. London: Fount, p. 125. For the
struggle of power that preceded the Regent’s untimely death in 1947, see Finnigan,
Mary & Rob Hogendoorn. (2019). Sex and Violence in Tibetan Buddhism: The Rise and
Fall of Sogyal Rinpoche. Portland: Jorvik Press, pp. 13-15. The 14th Dalai Lama’s
accession to the throne in 1950—ahead of time, aged 15—was his government’s
response to the conquest of Tibet by the Chinese occupying force in 1950. !
27. A bodhisattva is a realised being who renounces nirvana in order to be re-born in the
human realm to help other beings to enlightenment. !
28. Brown, Andrew. (2012, May 17). Does Buddhism need the supernatural stuff? The
Guardian. Tibetans commonly call the Dalai Lama Kündün (Wyl. kun ‘dun, ‘exalted
presence’), Gyelwa Rinpoché (Wyl. rgyal ba rin po che, ‘precious conqueror’) or
Kyapgön Rinpoche (Wyl. skyabs mgon rin po che, ‘precious protector’). !
29. Author unknown. (Date unknown). Brief Biography. Dalailama.com. Retrieved April 3,
2021. !
30. Wind, Eric. (2016). The Dalai Lama’s Patek Philippe, Gifted By FDR Via An OSS
Officer Who Was The Grandson Of Leo Tolstoy (Seriously). Hodinkee.com. Retrieved
April 3, 2021; Laird, Thomas. (2006). The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai
Lama. New York: Grove Press, p. 294. !
31. Gyatso (the fourteenth Dalai Lama), Tenzin. (2017). U.S. Congressional Gold Medal
Ceremony Acceptance Speech. Dalailama.com.Retrieved April 14, 2021; Bush, George.
(2007). Speech by President George Bush. Dalailama.com. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
President George Bush looked back fondly on his interactions with the Dalai Lama in
the documentary The Last Dalai Lama? As a token of his appreciation, he showed the
portrait of the Dalai Lama he has painted. Lemle, Mickey. (2016). The Last Dalai Lama?
New York: Alive Mind. !
32. DD News. (2014). Dalai Lama: The Political and Spiritual Guru of Tibetans.
YouTube.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Wangchuk, Rapker & Tharchin, Choyang.
(2014). Visit of His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, Tibet to India (1956-57).
YouTube.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
33. Author unknown. (no date). Chronology of Events. Dalailama.com. Retrieved April 3,
2021; Author unknown. (no date). Visit to India – 1956 to 1957. Dalailama.com.
Retrieved April 3, 2021; Author unknown. (Date unknown). Dignitaries Met 1954 –
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1989. Dalailama.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021. His sojourns in China and India mark
the Dalai Lama’s first extended exposure to real time reporting by modern mass media.
!
34. The Dalai Lama can get testy when his usual bonhomie and readiness to laugh off
objections do not produce the usual enchanting, disarming effect and are met with
determined questioning instead. For two instances of such interactions, see his interview
with Dutch politician Paul Rosenmöller and a townhall meeting with a large group of
Dutch graduate students, moderated by reporter Twan Huys: Rosenmöller, Paul. (2009).
Dalai Lama. Spraakmakende Zaken. Npostart.nl. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Huys, Twan.
(2009). Dalai Lama. Nova College Tour. YouTube.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
35. Myers, William et al. (2016). Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of the Dalai
Lama of Tibet. New York City: Tibet House US. !
36. Nxivm is pronounced as nexium. !
37. Parry, Marc. (2009, March 13). For Dalai Lama, third choice is charmed. Times Union.
Retrieved April 3, 2021; Ettkin, Brian. (2009, March 18). Details on Dalai Lama’s visit.
Time Union. Retrieved April 3, 2021. Curiously, before he cancelled his visit the Dalai
Lama did not list his visit to Albany on the upcoming appearance schedule on his
official website. Ettkin, Brian. (2009, March 29). Details light on Dalai Lama visit.
Times Union. Retrieved April 3, 2021. The Dalai Lama was scheduled to appear at the
University of Albany, The College of Saint Rose, and the Times Union Center. On
Sunday April 5th, 2009, Tenzin Dickyi, the special assistant to the Dalai Lama’s
representative in the Office of Tibet in New York, and the Dalai Lama’s secretary Tenzin
Taklha sent cancellation messages. George R. Hearst III, the publisher of the Times
Union and president of the University of Albany Foundation, told Brian Ettkin that
Taklha ‘was not excited to cancel. He was really hoping to go forward, but there’s
enough stuff out there that (they) don’t need to expose His Holiness to this kind of risk.’
Ettkin, Brian. (2009, April 6). Dalai Lama cancels his visit to Albany. Times Union.
Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
38. Mueller, Chris, & Jon Campbell. (2009, March 31). Dalai Lama comes with
controversy. Albany Student Press, pp. 1-2. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
39. Orenstein, David. (1997, August 24). Success can quickly turn to ruin. The Times
Union.; Orenstein, David. (1997, August 24). Some dip, others dive into selling. The
Times Union.; Odato, James M. (2012, February 16). ‘Ample Evidence’ to justify
investigation. Times Union. Retrieved April 14, 2021. In 2003, Forbes had already
called Nxivm a ‘cult of personality.’ Freedman, Michael. (2003). Cult of Personality.
Forbes. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
40. Parry, Marc. (2009, March 13). For Dalai Lama, third choice is charmed. Times Union.
Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
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41. Weaver, Daniel. T. (2009, March 29). Op-ed column: Dalai Lama’s visit to Albany
sponsored by cult-like group. Daily Gazette. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
42. Filmmaker Mark Vicente was a long-time Nxivm-member and Raniere-devotee, and the
official photographer of the group who was brought along to document the meeting.
Footage of the Dalai Lama’s interactions with Raniere and his entourage was used in the
HBO documentary series The Vow, first broadcast in 2020. For a transcript and
extensive discussion of the Dalai Lama’s interactions with Keith Raniere and Nxivm,
see Hogendoorn, Rob. (2020, November 8). The Dalai Lama and Nxivm Revisited.
Openbuddhism.org. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
43. Ibid. !
44. See The Vow, season 1, episodes 5 and 6: Author unknown. The Vow: A Nxivm Story.
HBO. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Grondahl, Paul. (2009). Dalai Lama offers message of
wisdom, optimism in Albany. Times Union. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
45. The cover of the book makes a special note of the Dalai Lama’s foreword. !
46. However, during the press conference that preceded his talk the Dalai Lama himself
sidestepped a question about his appearance during an event sponsored by Nxivm. He
merely said: ‘I had an invitation, so I accepted.’ Hogendoorn, Rob. (2020, November 8).
The Dalai Lama and Nxivm Revisited. Openbuddhism.org. Retrieved April 3, 2021;
Grondahl, Paul. (2009, May 7). Dalai Lama offers message of wisdom, optimism in
Albany. Times Union. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Gyatso, Tenzin (the fourteenth Dalai
Lama). (2009). H.H. the Dalai Lama: Public Talk in Albany. YouTube.com. Retrieved
April 3, 2021. Question starts at circa 44.15 mins. !
47. Our approach mirrors that of Hogendoorn, Rob M. (2014). Caveat Emptor: The Dalai
Lama’s Proviso and the Burden of (Scientific) Proof. Religions, 5 (3), pp. 522-559: ‘In
legal matters, personal accountability is judged on a day-to-day basis by a coherent set
of standards that is well-nigh impossible to meet by any one individual. This is done by
taking recourse to the objectifying legal fiction of “a reasonable person.” Within the
context of law, the fiction of a reasonable person presents the objective standard against
which individuals’ actual conduct is measured. Whether such a person actually exists
does not even enter into the discussion.’ See also: Lachs, Stuart. (2019). Tibetan
Buddhism Enters the 21st Century: Trouble in Shangri-la. Openbuddhism.org. Retrieved
April 3, 2021. !
48. Gyatso (the fourteenth Dalai Lama), Tenzin. (1999). Ancient Wisdom, Modern World:
Ethics for a New Millenium. London: Little, Brown and Company; Gyatso (the
fourteenth Dalai Lama), Tenzin. (2011). Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Author unknown. (2014). Discussing Secular
Ethics. Dalailama.com. Retrieved April 17, 2021; Author unknown. (2020). The Need
for Secular Ethics in Modern Education. Dalailama.com. Retrieved April 17, 2021. !
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49. Rawcliffe, Rosemary. (2020). The Great 14th. Retrieved April 15, 2021. See
also: Author unknown. (2018). Principal Commitments. Dalailama.com. Retrieved April
17, 2021. !
50. Richard, Ursula. (2017). Dalai Lama in Deutschland: Mahnende Worte zum Thema
Missbrauch. Buddhismus Aktuell. Retrieved April 8, 2021. !
51. The Tibetan honorific Rinpoché (Wyl. rin po che) is commonly translated as ‘precious
one.’ The word lama (Wyl. bla ma) is the Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit word guru
for spiritual teacher. !
52. It is important to note that the Dalai Lama endorsed other Tibetan Buddhist teachers of
ill repute as well—by visiting or teaching at their centers; having them act as his hosts or
sponsors during visits of their country; welcoming them on stage during public teachings
in the West and audiences at his residence in Dharamsala, India; and so forth. !
53. Steinbeck IV, John & Nancy Steinbeck. (2001). Chapter 43: Icarus’ Flight. In The Other
Side of Eden: Life with John Steinbeck (Kindle ed.). Amherst: Prometheus Books. John
Steinbeck IV (b. 1946 d. 1991) was an American war correspondent, essayist, and
author, married to Nancy Lenn Steinbeck. He was the second child of the Nobel Prizewinning author John Ernst Steinbeck. It is important to note that the Dalai Lama’s
remark in 1989 did not become public until 2001, when The Other Side of Eden came
out. !
54. Chögyam Trungpa (Wyl. chos rgya drung pa, THLib. Chögya Drungpa) was born in
Kham, Tibet in 1939. He died of alcoholism in 1987. Katy Butler wrote about his death:
‘When Trungpa Rinpoche lay dying in 1986 at the age of 47, only an inner circle knew
the symptoms of his final illness. Few could bear to acknowledge that their beloved and
brilliant teacher was dying of terminal alcoholism. even when he lay incontinent in his
bedroom, belly distended and skin discolored, hallucinating and suffering from varicose
veins, gastritis and esophageal varices, a swelling of veins in the esophagus caused
almost exclusively by cirrhosis of the liver. “Rinpoche was certainly not an ordinary Joe,
but he sure died like every alcoholic I’ve ever seen who drank uninterruptedly.” said
Victoria Fitch, a member of his household staff with years of experience as a nursing
attendant. “The denial was bone-deep.” she continued. “I watched his alcoholic
dementia explained as his being in the realm of the dakinis (guardians of the teachings,
visualized in female form). When he requested alcohol, no one could bring themselves
not to bring it to him, although they tried to water his beer or bring him a little less. In
that final time of his life… he could no longer walk independently.’ Butler, Katy. (1990).
Encountering the Shadow in Buddhist America. The Common boundary, (8), pp. 14-22.
See also: Varvaloucas, Emma. (2018). Same Old Story in a New World. Tricycle: The
Buddhist Review. Retrieved April 17, 2021; Remski, Matthew. (2018). Pema Chödrön
on Trungpa in 2011: “I Can’t Answer the Relative Questions”. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
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!
55. Vajradhatu and its sister organization Naropa Institute were founded and incorporated in
Boulder, Colorado in the United States of America in 1974. Legally distinct, the
organizations maintained common officers and boards of directors. John and Nancy
Steinbeck specifically note Chögyam Trungpa’s ‘rampant addictions (a $40,000-a-year
cocaine habit, along with a penchant for Seconal and gallons of sake).’ Ibid. Leslie Hays
was one of the seven sangyum (Wyl. gsang yum, ‘secret consort’) who Trungpa
‘married’ within five months in 1984. She corroborated Trungpa’s alleged cocaine use—
code-named ‘tabi’—and sexual relations with minors in several Facebook posts. Hays,
Leslie. (2018). Tabi. Facebook. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Hays, Leslie. (2019). Ciel.
Facebook. Retrieved April 3, 2021. Andrea Winn, likewise, corroborated Trungpa’s
cocaine use: Winn, Andrea M. (2019). How I decided to end my guru relationship with
Trungpa Rinpoche. Andreamwinn.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021. Vajradhatu was
renamed Shambhala in February 2000. In 2018, Chögyam Trungpa’s son Sakyong
Mipham Rinpoché (b. 1962, see endnote 54) stepped down amidst allegations of sexual
abuse that were corroborated by Andrea Winn’s Buddhist Project Sunshine. This project
underlines, among other problems, the widespread abuse of children by older men in
positions of power in the Shambhala organization. Winn, Andrea M. (2018). Buddhist
Project Sunshine. Retrieved April 3, 2021. See also: Newman, Andy. (2018, July 11).
The ‘King’ of Shambhala Buddhism Is Undone by Abuse Report. The New York Times.
Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
56. According to the Mulasarvastivadin disciplinary code of conduct for novice and fully
ordained monks, sexual intercourse is a ‘defeat’ that can’t be undone. Thereafter, it is
impossible to return to the status of monk. See: Author unknown. (2010). Ordination in
the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition. Dalailama.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021. Trungpa, then,
lost his monkhood in 1962 by fathering a son with Könchok Päldron, a young Tibetan
nun: Ösel Rangdrol Mukpo. However, Trungpa kept up appearances as if he were still a
monk until 1970. In January 1970, he married a 16-year-old barrister’s daughter, Diana
Judith Mukpo (née Pybus on October 8, 1953). Flintoff, John-Paul. (2012). Did I know
you in a past life? The Guardian. Retrieved April 3, 2021. Trungpa and Diana had sex
during her very first visit to his room, late October 1969, while he was recuperating from
a car accident. She had just turned sixteen. Mukpo, Diana J. & Carolyn R. Gimian.
(2006). Dragon Thunder: My Life with Chögyam Trungpa. Boston: Shambhala. p. 16.
!
57. Late 1969, Trungpa summoned Ösel Mukpo to the United Kingdom and left the boy in
the harsh—or in Diana Mukpo’s euphemism: ‘archaic’—care of the monks of his center
Samye Ling in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. When Trungpa and Diana moved to the United
States of America in March 1970, they left Ösel behind in Samye Ling. He joined his
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father’s household two years later, only to be sent to boarding school in Ojai, California
until 1976. Mukpo, Diana J. & Carolyn R. Gimian. (2006). Dragon Thunder: My Life
with Chögyam Trungpa. Boston: Shambhala. pp. 45, 87, 95, 116-120. Ösel Mukpo later
became known as Mipham Rinpoché, the Sakyong (Wyl. sa skyong, ‘king’) of the
Shambhala organization. He stepped down in 2018, in response to allegations of sexual
abuse (see endnote 52). !
58. After their marriage, Diana soon became pregnant and gave birth to Trungpa’s second
son Tendzin Lhawang Tagdrug David Mukpo—nicknamed “Taggie” or “Tagi”— on
March 9, 1971. Another son, Gesar Tsewang Arthur Mukpo, was born April 26, 1973. A
few weeks later, Dilgo Khyentsé Rinpoché determined in a dream that Gesar was the
trülku of Sechen Jamgön Kongtrul. During his marriage to Diana, Trungpa routinely had
sex with large numbers of young female followers and kept a household of concubines.
!
59. Eventually, each of the boys was declared to be a trülku—that is, (re)incarnations or
emanations of deceased Buddhist masters. In 1979, Trungpa’s son Ösel Rangdrol Mukpo
(see endnote 52 and 54) was retroactively recognized as a trülku by Penor Rinpoché
(Wyl. contraction of pad+ma nor bu, b. 1932 d. 2009) the head of the Nyingma tradition.
Shortly after the birth of Taggie Mukpo, the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rikpé Dorjé (Wyl.
karma pa rang byung rig pa’i rdo rje, b. 1924 d. 1981) sent Trungpa a letter from Sikkim
to tell him that he had recognized the boy as a trülku—unseen, that is. The Karmapa
later determined that the boy—who is autistic and epileptic—suffered from ‘trülku
disease’ because he was not being trained in the traditional way. The Karmapa insisted
that he would be cured by his enthronement and monastic education in Rumtek, Sikkim.
Taggie was sent to live in a Sikkimese monastery between 1977 and 1987, after which
the monastics returned him to the care of Trungpa’s students—uncured, that is. He is
now a ward of the State of Vermont. !
60. Montgomery, Dan. (2018). Samaya and the World of Shambhala. Tricycle: The Buddhist
Review. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
61. Perks, John R. (2004). The Mahāsiddha and His Idiot Servant. Putney: Crazy Heart. pp.
60-61. Leslie Hays recounted a similar story involving a cat. Hays, Leslie. (2018). The
cat story. Facebook. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
62. Zaslowsky, Dyan. (1989, February 21). Buddhists in U.S. Agonize on AIDS Issue. The
New York Times, p. A14. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Butler, Katy. (1990). Encountering the
Shadow in Buddhist America. The Common Boundary, (8), pp. 14-22. Ösel Tendzin
(formerly known as Thomas Rich) was born in New Jersey, USA in 1943. He died of
HIV/AIDS in 1990. !
63. Zaslowsky, Dyan. (1989, February 21). Buddhists in U.S. Agonize on AIDS Issue. The
New York Times, p. A14. See also Lachs, Stuart. (2019). Tibetan Buddhism Enters the
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21st Century: Trouble in Shangri-la. Openbuddhism.org Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
64. For a biography of Kalu Rinpoché (Wyl. kar lu rin po che, b. 1905 d. 1989),
see Gardner, Alexander. (2021). Kalu Rinpoche Karma Rangjung Kunkhyab: b.1905 –
d.1989. Treasury of Lives. Retrieved April 14, 2021. For a biography of Dilgo Khyentse
Rinpoché, see: Gardner, Alexander. (2009). Dilgo Khyentse Tashi Peljor: b.1910 –
d.1991. Treasury of Lives. Retrieved April 14, 2021. For discussions of their
endorsements of Chögyam Trungpa, see: Author unknown. (Date unknown). Kalu
Rinpoche’s Instructions to the Sangha of Trungpa Rinpoche—1988. Retrieved April 3,
2021; Author unknown. (Date unknown). Letters of the Current Situation. Chronicles of
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Retrieved April 3, 2021. Krupnick, Robert. (Date
unknown). Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin Library & Archives: About Us. Retrieved April 3,
2021. According to Alexander Gardner, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoché belatedly ordered
Ösel Tendzin to go ‘into retreat, although he refused to surrender control of the
organization.’ Gardner, Alexander. (2021). The Eleventh Trungpa, Chogyam Trungpa: b.
1939 d. 1987. Treasury of Lives. Retrieved April 3, 2021. The 16th Karmapa died in
1981, but he never publicly distanced himself from Chögyam Trungpa either. !
65. Steinbeck IV, John & Nancy Steinbeck. (2001). Introduction. In The Other Side of Eden:
Life with John Steinbeck (Kindle ed.). Amherst: Prometheus Books. !
66. The Steinbecks wrote: ‘The Naropa poetry department, the Kerouac School of
Disembodied Poetics, hosted a weeklong Kerouac Festival that summer [1982]. All the
poets from the first summer at Naropa were back and this time, Ginsberg and Corso,
Ferlinghetti, William Burroughs, Kesey, and Norman Mailer were hanging out at our
house. A video production company was filming them daily in our living room.’
Steinbeck IV, John & Nancy Steinbeck. (2001). The Kerouac Festival. In The Other Side
of Eden: Life with John Steinbeck (Kindle ed.). Amherst: Prometheus Books. The most
prominent poets in this group were Robert Bly, William Burroughs, Gregory Corso,
Allen Ginsberg, W.S. Merwin, Ed Sanders, Gary Snyder, and Anne Waldman. !
67. William Stanley Merwin (b. 1927 d. 2019) was a two-time Poet Laureate. Author
unknown. (Date unknown). About W.S. Merwin. Merwinconservancy.org. Retrieved
April 3, 2021. !
68. For extensive discussions of what became known as the ‘Merwin Affair’ or the ‘Naropa
Poetry Wars,’ see: Investigative Poetry Group. (1977). The Party: A Chronological
Perspective on a Confrontation at a Buddhist Seminary. Woodstock: Poetry, Crime, &
Culture Press. In 1977, John Steinbeck IV was interviewed about the affair by Al Santoli
of the Investigative Poetry Group. Steinbeck first met Merwin in the autumn of 1974 at
Chögyam Trungpa’s Dharmadhatu center in New York City. Ibid. pp. 17, 18, 20. See
also: Clark, Tom. (1980). The Great Naropa Poetry Wars: With a copious collection of
germane documents assembled by the author. Santa Barbara: Cadmus Editions;
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Steinbeck IV, John & Nancy Steinbeck. (2001). Introduction. In The Other Side of Eden:
Life with John Steinbeck (Kindle ed.). Amherst: Prometheus Books. After Merwin and
Naone had left the 1975 seminary, shortly before it ended, a young boy died in the room
they stayed in. Looking back, Trungpa’s wife Diana puts this tragedy in the context of
the Merwin affair and the struggle with their own son Taggie’s disabilities: ‘In some
way, this incident was tied in for me to what was happening with Taggie. This was such
a difficult time in our lives. In a certain sense, Rinpoche was dealing with extreme and
seemingly unworkable energy at the seminary, while I was driving into a high wall of
insanity (his phrase) in terms of Taggie and our family life. In fact, in a scenario that is
unrelated yet strangely in keeping with the dark energies I’ve described, a child died at
the very end of the 1975 seminary from complications of asthma while sleeping in the
room at the hotel that Merwin and Dana had stayed in. (Although they stayed for the
final talk of the seminary, they had left a bit earlier than others.)’ Mukpo, Diana J. &
Carolyn R. Gimian. (2006). Dragon Thunder: My Life with Chögyam Trungpa. Boston:
Shambhala. pp. 192, 211. !
69. Visiting lecturer Ed Sanders and his class at Naropa Institute investigated the matter and
completed an in-depth report in September 1977. Copies of this report circulated widely
in Boulder until August 1978, when Sanders and his class decided to publish it. A
lengthy excerpt appeared in the Boulder Monthly in March 1979. Investigative Poetry
Group. (1979). The Party: A chronological perspective on a confrontation at a Buddhist
seminary. Boulder Monthly, 1 (5), pp. 24-40. The same issue contained an extensive
interview about the scandal with Alan Ginsberg: Clark, Tom. (1979). When the Party’s
Over: An interview with Alan Ginsberg. Boulder Monthly, 1 (5), pp. 41-51. That same
month, the Boulder Monthly’s editor Tom Clark reported on the affair and its cover-up in
the Berkeley Barb under the pseudonym of Robert Woods. Woods, Robert. (1979).
“Buddha-Gate” Scandal and cover-up at Naropa revealed. Berkeley Barb, 28 (13), pp. 1,
4. See also: Spaed, Sam. (1979). Buddha-Gate Revisited. Berkeley Barb, pp. 1, 6. In
1980, Clark published a comprehensive history of the events: Clark, Tom. (1980). The
Great Naropa Poetry Wars: With a copious collection of germane documents assembled
by the author. Santa Barbara: Cadmus Editions. See also: Goldman, Sherman. (1976).
Robert Bly on Gurus, Grounding Yourself in the Western Tradition, and Thinking For
Yourself: An Interview. East/West Journal, pp. 10-15; Marin, Peter. (1979). Spiritual
Obedience: The transcendental game of follow the leader. Harper’s Magazine, pp. 4358; Reed, Ishmael. (1978). American Poetry: A Buddhist Take-over? Black American
Literature Forum, 12 (1), pp. 3-11. !
70. See endnote 66. The Dalai Lama visited the USA between September 3 and October 21,
1979. !
71. Author unknown. (1979). The Nadir of Sectarian Squabbles. Tibetan Review, 14 (7), pp.
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10-14. See also: Author unknown. (Date unknown). The Sixteenth Karmapa: Rangjung
Rigpe Dorje. Kagyuoffice.org. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
72. Chögyam Trungpa was affiliated with both the Kagyü and Nyingma sects of Tibetan
Buddhism. !
73. Vajradhatu was the name of the umbrella organization of Trungpa from 1973- 1990. The
term has a rich meaning in Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism. Bernie Simon writes that
Karl Springer later apologized to the Dalai Lama on behalf of Trungpa’s Vajradhatu
community: ‘The Dalai Lama asked for an apology and wasn’t satisfied with the halfapology that Karl Springer wrote on behalf of Vajradhatu. So the Dalai Lama cancelled
his plans to visit Boulder, a huge embarrassment for Vajradhatu and Karl Springer
personally.’ Some years later, Simon says, Springer criticized the Dalai Lama’s visit to
the Vajradhatu centre in Washington, D.C. after the Tibetan leader had left. Simon,
Bernie. (2003). The Dalai Lama’s Plumber. Carelesshand.nfshost.com. Retrieved April
3, 2021. For responses to Springer’s letter by the Dalai Lama’s representative in New
York and his secretary in Dharamsala, see Author unknown. (1979). The Nadir of
Sectarian Squabbles. Tibetan Review, 14 (7), pp. 10-14. !
74. Jeffrey Hopkins, who was the Dalai Lama’s interpreter on this tour, writes that the
Tenzin Tethong, erstwhile head of the Office of Tibet in New York, ‘formed a committee
to arrange the details of the visit, which focused on the content of the lectures and
avoided any media hype.’ Gyatso, Tenzin (the fourteenth Dalai Lama). (2006). Kindness,
Clarity, and Insight: The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso (Revised
and updated ed.). Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications. p. 8. !
75. For extensive discussions of Tibetan exiles’ military collaboration with the Centra
Intelligence Agency, see: Mullin, Chris. (1975). Tibetan Conspiracy. Far Eastern
Economic Review, 89 (36), pp. 30-34; Mullin, Chris. (1978). The Question of Tibet:
Tibet and the I.C.J. China Now, May-June 1978, pp. 12-13; Author unknown. (Date
unknown). The Shadow Circus: The Cia in Tibet. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Sonam,
Tenzing & Ritu Sarin. (2001). The Shadow Circus. Dharamsala: White Crane Films;
Conboy, Kenneth & Morrison, James. (2002). The CIA’s Secret War in Tibet. Lawrence:
University Press of Kansas; Dunham, Mikel. (2004). Buddha’s Warriors: The Story of
the CIA-backed Tibetan Freedom Fighters, the Chinese Invasion, and the Ultimate Fall
of Tibet. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin; McGranahan, Carole. (2006). Tibet’s
Cold War: The CIA and the Chushi Gangdrug Resistance, 1956-1974. Journal of Cold
War Stories, 8 (3), pp. 102-130; McGranahan, Carole. (2010). Arrested Histories: Tibet,
the CIA, and Memories of a Forgotten War. Durham: Duke University Press. !
76. In his interview about the Merwin affair in the Boulder Monthly in March 1979, Alan
Ginsberg repeatedly references the massacre in Jonestown, Guyana. Clark, Tom. (1979).
When the Party’s Over: An interview with Alan Ginsberg. Boulder Monthly, 1 (5), pp.
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41-51; Clark, Tom. (1980). The Great Naropa Poetry Wars: With a copious collection of
germane documents assembled by the author. Santa Barbara: Cadmus Editions. pp. 5267. !
77. Hunter, Ann. (2008). The Legacy of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche at Naropa University:
An Overview and Resource Guide. Boulder: Naropa University. p. 8. Daniel Seitz writes:
‘Obtaining regional accreditation was a goal early on: by 1978, Naropa obtained
candidacy status with North Central Association of Schools and Colleges (now the
Higher Learning Commission), and achieved accreditation in 1985. In 1999, the Naropa
Institute changed its name to Naropa University to reflect the expansion of its academic
programs.’ Seitz, Daniel. (2009). Integrating Contemplative and Student-Centered
Education: A Synergistic Approach to Deep Learning. University of Massachusetts,
Boston. pp. 184-185. The Party reports about Naropa Institute’s co-founder Allen
Ginsberg: ‘Ginsberg, fearing the loss of a $4000 grant to the Kerouac School from the
National Endowment for the Arts, responded by initiating the “Merwin cover-up” (later
known as “Buddha-gate”). He contacted both [Robert] Bly and Merwin and asked them
to inform the NEA that there was no connections between Trungpa’s alleged
misbehavior and Naropa or the Kerouac School.’ The grant application was turned
down. Investigative Poetry Group. (1977). The Party: A Chronological Perspective on a
Confrontation at a Buddhist Seminary. Woodstock: Poetry, Crime, & Culture Press. p.
26. !
78. It seems likely that both Chögyam Trungpa and the 14th Dalai Lama occasionally
received the same tantric teachings, initiations or empowerments from Dilgo Khyentse
Rinpoché and other tantric teachers. In that event, their relation would have been
governed by the tantric prohibition of critiquing a ‘vajra brother’ or their mutual tantric
guru. !
79. In 1960, the Dalai Lama appointed Chögyam Trungpa as the spiritual advisor to students
at the Young Lamas’ Home School in India. While there, Trungpa fathered a child on
Könchok Päldron, a young Tibetan nun (see endnote 53). Trungpa kept silent about the
pregnancy, and held this office until 1963, when he received a scholarship to study at
Oxford University in the UK. Looking back on the events of the day, Trungpa’s widow
Diana Mukpo writes: ‘Around this time, Rinpoche received a Spaulding Scholarship to
attend Oxford University. This had come through the intercession of Freda Bedi and
John Driver, an Englishman who tutored Rinpoche in the English language in India and
helped him with his studies later at Oxford. The Tibet Society in the United Kingdom
had also helped him to get the scholarship. To go to England, Rinpoche needed the
permission of the Dalai Lama’s government. They would never have allowed him to
leave if they had known about his sexual indiscretion, nor do I think it would have gone
over very well with the Tibet Society or his English friends in New Delhi. He and
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Konchok Paldron kept their relationship a secret, and it was a long time before anyone
knew that Rinpoche was the father of her child. This caused him a great deal of pain,
although I also think that he hadn’t yet entirely faced up to the implications of the
direction he was going in his relationships with women. At that time, in spite of the
inconsistencies in his behavior, he still seemed to think that he could make life work for
himself as a monk.’ In 1971, the Dalai Lama named Trungpa’s second son, Taggie
Mukpo (see endnote 55 and 56). Mukpo, Diana J. & Carolyn R. Gimian. (2006). Dragon
Thunder: My Life with Chögyam Trungpa. Boston: Shambhala. pp. 72, 132. !
80. Chögyam Trungpa’s widow Diana Mukpo writes: ‘In September 1979, His Holiness the
Dalai Lama made his first visit to America. Members of the Dorje Kasung [Chögyam
Trungpa’s bodyguards] were very involved in the visit. They organized motorcades for
His Holiness’s party wherever he traveled in North America, and they worked with local
law enforcement officials in major cities to help with crowd control and in general to
provide security for His Holiness and his entourage. Trungpa asked Karl Springer to
greet His Holiness on Rinpoche’s behalf when the Dalai Lama arrived in New York on
September 3. Mr. Springer traveled to many cities with His Holiness to help assure that
proper protocol was observed. In early October, when His Holiness returned to New
York, Rinpoche, the Regent, and the entire board of directors of Vajradhatu flew to New
York to meet with him. Rinpoche felt that it was extremely important for his senior
students to meet the Dalai Lama, whom he himself had not seen for more than ten years.
His Holiness and Rinpoche had several private meetings during the visit. Rinpoche was
so happy that this great spiritual figure and the leader of the Tibetan world finally was
setting foot on the American continent. I was unfortunately away for much of this, but I
was able to meet and spend time with His Holiness in New York just before his
departure from North America. I was arriving from Europe to attend the Kalapa
Assembly and spend time with Rinpoche. Although His Holiness was not able to stop in
Boulder during his first visit, when he returned in the summer of 1981, he spent about a
week with our community, which was a great blessing for everyone. Mukpo, Diana &
Carolyn Gimian. (2006). Dragon Thunder: My Life with Chögyam Trungpa. Boston:
Shambhala (pp. 320-321). For an extensive discussion of the Dalai Lama’s first visit to
the US, see Andersson, Jan. (1980). The Dalai Lama and America. The Tibet Journal, 5
(1/2), pp. 48-63. !
81. Mukpo, Diana & Carolyn Gimian. (2006). Dragon Thunder: My Life with Chögyam
Trungpa. Boston: Shambhala (pp. 320-321). Tom Clark suggests that Trungpa’s
followers bought the March 1979 issue of the Boulder Monthly en masse, to take as
many issues out of circulation as they possibly could. Clark, Tom. (1980). The Great
Naropa Poetry Wars: With a copious collection of germane documents assembled by the
author. Santa Barbara: Cadmus Editions. p. 38. In 1981, the Dalai Lama taught at the
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Naropa Institute and the University of Colorado in Boulder. Gyatso, Tenzin (the
fourteenth Dalai Lama). (2006). Kindness, Clarity, and Insight: The Fourteenth Dalai
Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso (Revised and updated ed.). Ithaca: Snow Lion
Publications. p. 207-216. !
82. Steinbeck IV, John & Nancy Steinbeck. (2001). Chapter 43: Icarus’ Flight. In The Other
Side of Eden: Life with John Steinbeck (Kindle ed.). Amherst: Prometheus Books. !
83. Ibid. Once again, note that the Dalai Lama’s remark was made in 1989 and remained
unpublished until 2001. !
84. Ibid. !
85. The entire conversation can be watched online: Author unknown. (1993). The Western
Buddhist Teachers Conference with H.H. the Dalai Lama Frome: Meredian Trust. !
86. See endnote 77. Mukpo, Diana J. & Carolyn R. Gimian. (2006). Dragon Thunder: My
Life with Chögyam Trungpa. Boston: Shambhala. p. 320; Shepherd, Harvey. (1993, July
3). Dalai Lama had more to say than space allowed. The Gazette, p. H6; Smith, Kidder.
(2001). Transmuting Blood and Guts: My Experiences in the Buddhist Military.
Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
87. Shōkō Asahara’s death sentence was carried out on July 6, 2018—as it happens, the 14th
Dalai Lama’s birthday. !
88. For a comprehensive reconstruction of the Dalai Lama’s involvement with Shōkō
Asahara and the Aum Shinrikyō doomsday cult, see: Hogendoorn, Rob. (2020,
December 5). Knave or Fool? The Dalai Lama and Shōkō Asahara Affair Revisited.
Openbuddhism.org. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
89. Sogyal Lakar (Wyl. bsod rgyal lwa dkar, b. 1947 d. 2019) was formerly known as
Sogyal Rinpoché. For a comprehensive discussion of the life and times of Sogyal Lakar,
see: Finnigan, Mary & Rob Hogendoorn. (2019). Sex and Violence in Tibetan Buddhism:
The Rise and Fall of Sogyal Rinpoche. Portland: Jorvik Press. !
90. 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.
Retrieved April 3, 2021. p. 39; Sogyal Rinpoche. (2008). The Tibetan Book of Living
and Dying (Revised and updated ed.). London: Rider. !
91. Lattin, Don. (1994). Best-selling Buddhist author accused of sexual abuse. Free Press.
!
92. An abbreviated version of the conference is available on DVD: Author unknown.
(2011). In Conversation with the Dalai Lama: Highlights of the Western Buddhist
Teachers Conference London: Gonzo Distribution. The entire conversation can be seen
here: Author unknown. (1993). The Western Buddhist Teachers Conference with H.H.
the Dalai Lama. Frome: Meredian Trust. !
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93. See, for instance: Sogyal Truth. (2017). Dalai Lama Speaks About Sogyal Rinpoche.
YouTube.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021. For the Dalai Lama’s original address, see
Gyatso (the fourteenth Dalai Lama), Tenzin. (2017). Inauguration of Seminar on
‘Buddhism in Ladakh.’ YouTube.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021. See also: Mees, Anna &
Bas de Vries. (2018). Dalai lama over misbruik: ik weet het al sinds de jaren 90. NOS.
Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
94. Batchelor, Stephen. (2010). 16: Gods and Demons. In Confession of a Buddhist Atheist
(Kindle Edition ed.). New York: Spiegel & Grau. !
95. The Western Buddhist Teachers Conference was held from 13 until 22 March, 1993.
Between 1990 and 1992, monks of the Dalai Lama’s personal Namgyal monastery
released several CD’s, but it is unclear if these recordings were used in Waco. The
Tibetan chants were played first on Sunday night, March 21, 1993. Boyer, Peter. (1995).
Waco: The Inside Story. PBS Frontline. Retrieved April 5, 2021 (Tibetan chants start at
33.33 mins.); Author unknown. (Date unknown). Chronology of the Siege. PBS
Frontline. Retrieved April 5, 2021. This was widely reported in U.S. media: Bragg, Roy
& Laura E. Keeton. (1993, March 23). Loud wake-up call to cult: Recording of Tibetan
chants. The Houston Chronicle, p. A1; Schneider, H. (1993, March 23). Tibetan Chants
Are Latest Waco Weapon. The Washington Post. See also: Johnston, David. (1993, July
21). Change at the F.B.I.: Final Act for the F.B.I.’s Director Is Painful and Almost Mute.
The New York Times, p. A10; Benson, Eric. (2018). The 25-Year Siege. Texas Monthly,
p. 90. A report by the House Committee on Government Reform of the United States
Congress says: ‘Director Sessions stated he received a letter from the Dalai Lama about
the FBI’s playing of Tibetan chants at the compound during the standoff. The Dalai
Lama objected to the playing of the religious chants. The Director said that he replied
immediately and ordered that the chants be discontinued.’ United States Congress,
House Committee on Government Reform. (2000). The tragedy at Waco: new evidence
examined: eleventh report. p. 1011. One of the Dalai Lama’s spokesmen declared later:
‘If the motivation is to create harmony, to provide a peaceful means to conclude this
whole fiasco, then that would be appropriate. But the use of chants to create the opposite
effect, to antagonize, is very unfortunate.’ Pareles, Jon. (1993, March 28). It’s Got a Beat
and You Can Surrender to It. The New York Times, p. 2. !
96. The Dalai Lama is the most prominent, best-known member of the largely celibate
Geluk sect. Chögyam Trungpa was trained in the Kagyü and Nyingma sects, while
Sogyal Lakar’s extended family has a Sakya-Nyingma background. The Kagyü, Sakya,
and Nyingma sects are largely non-celibate. However, all Tibetan Buddhist sects have
their own cases of abuse. The most recent case to attract widespread media attention is
that of Dagri Rinpoché of the Geluk sect, who allegedly involved the Dalai Lama’s
private office in his case. Littlefair, Sam. (2019). Prominent Tibetan lama accused of
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molestation by three women. Lion’s Roar. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Abrahams, Matthew.
(2019). Nuns Push for Investigation into Molestation Allegations against Teacher Dagri
Rinpoche. Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Retrieved April 3, 2021; FaithTrust Institute.
(2020). Summary Report of Sexual Misconduct Complaints Against Dagri Rinpoche.
Retrieved March 25, 2021; DemaioNewton, Emily & Karen Jensen. (2020). Buddha
Buzz Weekly: Dagri Rinpoche Permanently Removed as FPMT Teacher. Tricycle: The
Buddhist Review. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Meade Sperry, Rod. (2020). Dagri Rinpoche
found to have committed sexual misconduct, FPMT states. Lion’s Roar. Retrieved April
3, 2021. Tenzin Dharpo of the Tibetan website Phayul.com wrote about one of the
women who alleged the abuse: ‘In her video posted on YouTube, she said that an
apology from Dagri Rinpoche during a meeting set up by the private office of the Dalai
Lama, prevented her from reporting the case to police.’ Dharpo, Tenzin. (2020). Dagri
Rinpoche committed “intentional and inappropriate sexual behaviour”, says FPMT.
Phayul.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021. Dagri Rinpoché was arrested for sexual
harassment after a flight from New Delhi to Gagal, India. Allegedly, he groped an Indian
woman on board. Indian news sites reported that Dagri Rinpoché told the arresting
officers that he worked for the Dalai Lama’s Office in Dharamsala, stating that its
address as his residency. For details of the Dagri Rinpoché’s pending criminal case
before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, TC Kangra, see the E-Courts Services (CNR
number HPKA120015502019). The next hearing date is June 2nd, 2021. !
97. This is not an academic issue. In the civil case of 23 ex-adepts’ children against Robert
Spatz (also known as ‘Lama Kunzang’) of Ogyen Kunzang Choling (OKC) in Belgium,
Spatz maintained that the Dalai Lama’s visit to his center in Brussels, Belgium ‘proved’
that he was a bona fide Tibetan Buddhist teacher in a bona fide Tibetan Buddhist
tradition. When Ricardo Mendes, one of those 23 children, met him in Rotterdam in
2018, the Dalai Lama denied knowing Robert Spatz at all, even after he was shown a
photograph of himself and Spatz together. For the victims’ and survivors’ reporting on
this case, see Author unknown. (Date unknown). #OKCinfo: Exposing OKC/Spatz cult.
Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
98. For extensive discussions of this matter, see Sparham, Gareth. (1996). Why the Dalai
Lama Rejects Shugden. Tibetan Review, 31 (6), pp. 11-13; Dreyfus, Georges B. J.
(1998). The Shuk-den Affair: History and Nature of a Quarrel. Journal of the
International Association of Buddhist Studies, 2 (21), pp. 227-270; Batchelor, Stephen.
(1998). Letting Daylight into the Magic: The Life and Times of Dorje Shugden.
Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Spring 1998, pp. 60-66; Von Brück, Michael. (2001).
Canonicity and Divine Interference: The Tulkus and the Shugden-Controversy. In
Charisma and Canon: Essays on the Religious History of the Indian Subcontinent (pp.
328-349). New Delhi: Oxford University Press; Mills, Martin A. (2003). This turbulent
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priest: contesting religious rights and the state in the Tibetan Shugden controversy. In
Richard A. Wilson & Jon P. Mitchell (Eds.), Human Rights in Global Perspective:
Anthropological studies of rights, claims and entitlements (pp. 54-70). London:
Routledge; Gardner, Alexander. (2013). Treasury of Lives: Dorje Shugden. Tricycle: The
Buddhist Review. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Chandler, Jeannine. (2015). Invoking the
Dharma Protector: Western Involvement in the Dorje Shugden Controversy. In Scott A.
Mitchell & Natalie E.F. Quli (Eds.), Buddhism Beyond Borders: New Perspectives on
Buddhism in the United States (pp. 75-91). New York: SUNY Press; Repo, Joona.
(2015). Phabongkha Dechen Nyingpo: His Collected Works and the Guru-DeityProtector Triad. Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines, 33, pp. 5-72. The Association of Geluk
Masters, The Geluk International Foundation, & The Association for the Preservation of
Geluk Monasticism. (2019). Understanding the Case against Shukden: The History of a
Contested Tibetan Practice (Gavin Kilty, Trans.). Somerville: Wisdom Publications. !
99. For extended discussions of the Dalai Lama’s distancing attempts, see Finnigan, Mary &
Rob Hogendoorn. (2019). Sex and Violence in Tibetan Buddhism: The Rise and Fall of
Sogyal Rinpoche. Portland: Jorvik Press; Hogendoorn, Rob. (2020, November 8). The
Dalai Lama and Nxivm Revisited. Openbuddhism.org. Retrieved April 3, 2021;
Hogendoorn, Rob. (2020, December 5). Knave or Fool? The Dalai Lama and Shōkō
Asahara Affair Revisited. Openbuddhism.org. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
100. Ganzevoort, Ruard et al. (Eds.). (2013). Geschonden vertrouwen: Seksueel misbruik in
een religieuze context. Tilburg: KSGV. pp. 17-37. !
101. Emery, Élodie. (2011). Pas si zen, ces bouddhistes. Marianne, 756, pp. 72-77. Retrieved
April 3, 2021; Emery, Élodie. (2017). Violences, abus sexuels. le scandale qui déshonore
le bouddhisme. Marianne. pp. 31-32. Retrieved April 3, 2o21. Emery, Élodie. (2017).
Scandale chez les bouddhistes: Matthieu Ricard recommande aux disciples plus de
vigilance. Marianne. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
102. Ricard, Matthieu. (2017). A point of view. Retrieved March 27, 2021. !
103. Gyatso (the fourteenth Dalai Lama), Tenzin. (1999). Ancient Wisdom, Modern World:
Ethics for a New Millenium. London: Little, Brown and Company; Gyatso (the
fourteenth Dalai Lama), Tenzin. (2011). Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. !
104. Again, this is not an academic issue. In the OKC civil case in Belgium (see endnote 94),
Robert Spatz’s lawyer submitted to the court that Spatz and Matthieu Ricard were once
‘contemporaries,’ that is, fellow students of the same Tibetan teacher, Kangyur
Rinpoché. And so, their past proximity was construed as a legal argument underlining
Spatz’s authenticity as a bona fide Tibetan Buddhist teacher. !
105. Since 1991, the Charter of Tibetans-in-exile promulgates that the Central Tibetan
Administration must ‘endeavor to improve the purity and efficiency of academic and
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monastic communities of monks, nuns, and tantric practitioners, and shall encourage
them to maintain proper behavior.’ Right after the Dalai Lama went into exile in April
1959, his Central Tibetan Administration translated the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights into Tibetan. It was made a cornerstone of its draft Constitution for Tibet. The
Charter that is now in force, likewise, mandates the Central Tibetan Administration to
adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. See article 4 and 17 of: Author
unknown. (1991). Charter of the Tibetans in Exile. Retrieved April 3, 2021. Jan-Ulrich
Sobisch and Trine Brox discuss challenges in the linguistic and cultural translation of
human rights by Tibetans such as the Dalai Lama, as well as his idiosyncratic use of
words like ‘religion,’ ‘politics,’ ‘secularism,’ and ‘democracy.’ Sobisch, Jan-Ulrich &
Trine Brox. Translations of Human Rights. Tibetan contexts. In Carmen Meinert &
Hans-Bernd Zöllner (Eds.), Buddhist Approaches to Human Rights: Dissonances and
Resonances (pp. 159-178). Beyond the universality of human rights, Tibetan Buddhist
and other spiritual teachers are subject to the criminal and civil codes of the countries
they are in, for instance those of India, European countries, or the USA. !
106. For an extensive discussion of the concerns Tibetan exiles have expressed over the
required vetting of the many people the Dalai Lama meets, see Hogendoorn, Rob. (2020,
December 5). Knave or Fool? The Dalai Lama and Shōkō Asahara Affair Revisited.
Openbuddhism.org. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
107. Ricardo Mendes, one of the survivors of Robert Spatz and OKC, told the Dutch news
network NOS: ‘By attaching his name and reputation to it, the Dalai Lama legitimized
OKC.’ For this reason, he wanted to discuss the matter with the Dalai Lama himself.
Hogendoorn, Rob. (2020, December 5). Knave or Fool? The Dalai Lama and Shōkō
Asahara Affair Revisited. Openbuddhism.org. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
108. Author unknown. (2019). 1966 Land Rover Series IIA 88. RMSothebys.com. Retrieved
April 3, 2021. !
109. The German monk Tenzin Peljor (Michael Jäckel, commonly known by the contraction
Tenpel) writes: ‘For the Dalai Lama it is first and foremost a religious exercise to see
others as fellow human beings. His view is that one must distinguish between the act and
the person: compassion for people but rejection of destructive acts. In addition, his
actions are based on an understanding of friendship and gratitude that is very different
from Western customs and culture: to whoever helped or helps you, like Heinrich Harrer
or Jörg Haider, you are grateful and indebted in principle. Friendship is not terminated
when some wrongdoings come to light.’ Our translation from Peljor, Tenzin. (2009).
Korrekturen und Reflexionen zum Stern-Artikel über den Dalai Lama. Infobuddhismus.de. Retrieved March 30, 2021. !
110. Kaufman, Leslie. (2008). Making Their Own Limits in a Spiritual Partnership. The New
York Times. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Burleigh, Nina. (2013). Sex and Death on the Road
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to Nirvana. Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Schecter, Anna. (2014). My Brief
Rendez-vous with the Guru. NBC News. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
111. The Dalai Lama’s meeting with victims and survivors in Rotterdam, the Netherlands
came about thanks to a large group of victims and survivors, as well as the numerous
signatories of the petition ‘#MeTooGuru: Support the Dalai Lama’s effort to remedy
sexual abuse’—helped by the media attention the petition garnered. The petition is still
available online. By April 16, 2021, the petition was signed more than 2,600 times. Full
disclosure: to shield the victims and survivors from unwanted attention in (social)
media, Rob Hogendoorn acted as their liaison and press contact before, during, and after
the Dalai Lama’s visit. Mees, Anna & Bas de Vries. (2018). Misbruikslachtoffers willen
dalai lama spreken in Nederland. Nos.nl. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Corder, Mike. (2018).
Dalai Lama meets alleged victims of abuse by Buddhist gurus. Associated Press.
Retrieved April 3, 2021; Author unknown. (2018). Dalai Lama meets alleged abuse
victims. Bbc.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Finney, Richard. (2018). Dalai Lama Meets
in the Netherlands With Sex Abuse Victims. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Rahim, Zamira.
(2018). Dalai Lama says he knew about sexual abuse allegations made against Buddhist
teachers. The Independent. Hogendoorn himself reviewed the events in an op-ed
published by the Tibetan Review. Hogendoorn, Rob. (2018). The Dalai Lama’s Clarion
Call. Tibetan Review. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
112. During their meeting in Rotterdam, the Dalai Lama agreed to the petitioners’ demand
that he would ask the Mind & Life Institute to host a meeting on human sexuality, sexual
abuse by lay and ordained religious teachers, and sexual trauma. He also agreed to put
abuse by lay and ordained Buddhist teachers on the agenda of a gathering of religious
leaders and representatives of the major Tibetan schools in Dharamsala in November
2018. After this meeting had been postponed and rescheduled, its single focus became
the Dalai Lama’s succession—not sexual abuse. Eckert, Paul. (2017). Tibetan Religious
Figures Reject Chinese Role in Dalai Lama Reincarnation. Radio Free Asia. Retrieved
April 3, 2021. And so, at the time of writing, the Dalai Lama has yet two deliver on
these two promises. !
113. Mees, Anna & Bas de Vries. (2018). Dalai lama over misbruik: ik weet het al sinds de
jaren 90. Nos.nl. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
114. For the dubious origins and financial history of the Tenzin Gyatso Institute, see
Finnigan, Mary & Hogendoorn, Rob. (2019). Sex and Violence in Tibetan Buddhism:
The Rise and Fall of Sogyal Rinpoche. Portland: Jorvik Press. !
115. Author unknown. (Date unknown). Who Are We? Rigpa.org. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
!
116. Mostert, Dirk. (2017). Brandpunt: Misbruik in de boeddhistische gemeenschap
Hilversum: KRO-NCRV. The documentary can be seen here with English subtitles:
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Sogyal Truth. (2017). Sogyal Rinpoche & Rigpa – 2017 Documentary – Subtitled in
English. YouTube.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
117. For a short version of the DVD included in the second issue of Rigpa’s View Magazine,
see Lerab Ling. (2013). The Visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Lerab Ling, August
2008. YouTube.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021. For a previous visit by the Dalai Lama to
Lerab Ling in 2000, see Rigpa Videos. (2000). His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Lerab
Ling – September 2000. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
118. Sogyal Truth. (2017). Dalai Lama Speaks About Sogyal Rinpoche. YouTube.com.
Retrieved April 3, 2021. For the original video, see Gyatso (the fourteenth Dalai Lama),
Tenzin. (2017). Inauguration of Seminar on ‘Buddhism in Ladakh.’ YouTube.com.
Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
119. After Sogyal Lakar settled the civil case filed by Janice Doe in 1994, the Dalai Lama did
admonish Sogyal Lakar to settle down and ‘take a lawful wife.’ But he stood by doing
nothing when Sogyal resumed his promiscuous and abusive ‘lifestyle’ as before. And he
continued to endorse Sogyal and visit his centers. Finnigan, Mary & Rob Hogendoorn.
(2019). Sex and Violence in Tibetan Buddhism: The Rise and Fall of Sogyal Rinpoche.
Portland: Jorvik Press. pp. 86-87. !
120. See endnote 45. The Dalai Lama is very much a political player. He was one of the few
world political figures along with UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and US
President George H.W. Bush who sided with General Augusto Pinochet of Chile to help
keep him from being extradited from England to Spain to stand trial for crimes against
humanity. No doubt, much pressure was put on the Dalai Lama to get him to stand for
Pinochet’s defense against extradition. Author unknown. (1999). Forgive Pinochet, says
Dalai Lama. CBC News. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
121. For a verbatim transcript of the Dalai Lama’s meeting with Keith Raniere and his
entourage in Dharamshala, see Hogendoorn, Rob. (2020, November 8). The Dalai Lama
and Nxivm Revisited. Openbuddhism.org. Retrieved April 3, 2021. HBO is currently
working on a sequel that will cover the trial of Keith Raniere and members of his
entourage. !
122. Andrews, Suzanna. (2010). The Heiresses and the Cult. Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 3,
2021; Odato, James M. (2010, March 28). Ex-NXIVM official seeks protection. Time
Union. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Odato, James M. & Jennifer Gish. (2012, February 12).
In Raniere’s shadows. Times Union. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
123. In March 2009, most media reports on Nxivm and Keith Raniere were readily available
on the website of The Rick A. Ross Institute Institute and their original sites. Ross, Rick
A. (2009). NXIVM: formerly known as Executive Success Programs (ESP): founder
Keith Raniere: also linked to “Jness” and Nancy Salzman. Retrieved April 3, 2021. On
March 29, 2009 Daniel Weaver wrote an Op-ed column stating that the Dalai Lama’s
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cancellation of the event ought to be a ‘no-brainer.’ Weaver, Daniel T. (2009, March 29).
Op-ed column: Dalai Lama’s visit to Albany sponsored by cult-like group. Daily
Gazette. Retrieved April 3, 2021. The same day, Brian Ettkin wrote about the vetting
process by the Dalai Lama’s representative Tenzin Dhonden: ‘Mutual friends arranged
for Sara Bronfman and Tenzin Dhonden to meet on separate occasions in Sun Valley,
Idaho, where she requested an audience with the Dalai Lama, Sara and Tenzin Dhonden
said. Bronfman told Tenzin Dhonden that the Dalai Lama might find NXIVM’s tools
useful. “She was being very honest,” Tenzin Dhonden said, referring to Sara Bronfman’s
disclosures to him during their initial meetings about the negative publicity NXIVM has
received. Before granting her an audience, Tenzin Dhonden visited NXIVM’s Colonie
headquarters for a week in January 2008 as part of a background check. He observed
courses and spoke with coaches and participants, he said, and found them to be “very
happy, friendly and sharing.” Tenzin Dhonden said neither he nor anyone else
representing the Dalai Lama has actually participated in NXIVM courses. The
Bronfmans and Tenzin Dhonden said that news reports, along with the cult researchers’
evaluations of NXIVM programs, were sent to the Dalai Lama’s office in India. Tenzin
Dhonden said he’d “briefly” read some newspaper and magazine reports on NXIVM.
While he was observing NXIVM training in 2008, he said, he did not interview any
former participants or NXIVM critics. “I have my own intellectual resource, capacity, to
know persons, to feel persons,” Tenzin Dhonden explained. “I can pick up like that, very
easily.”’ Ettkin, Brian. (2009, March 29). Details light on Dalai Lama visit. Times Union.
Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
124. For an extensive discussion of Tibetans’ concerns about the Dalai Lama’s carefree, highrisk dealings with less than thoroughly vetted characters, see Hogendoorn, Rob. (2020,
December 5). Knave or Fool? The Dalai Lama and Shōkō Asahara Affair Revisited.
Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
125. When The Daily Mail wrote that the Dalai Lama was paid $ 1 million to endorse Nxivm
in 2009, the Dalai Lama’s Office was quick to publish a clarification: ‘We wish to
categorically state that His Holiness the Dalai Lama never takes an honorarium or fee of
any sort, nor does he require that any payment be made to charities or organizations, as a
condition of his making a personal appearance. Therefore, the reported allegation has no
basis. Neither His Holiness the Dalai Lama nor the Dalai Lama Foundation ever
received the alleged $1 million in connection with His Holiness’s appearance in Albany.’
Perry, Ryan. (2018). EXCLUSIVE: Dalai Lama was paid $1 MILLION to endorse
women-branding ‘sex cult’ after secret deal between Buddhist’s celibate U.S. emissary
and his Seagram billionaire ‘lover’. Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved April 3, 2021.; Author
unknown. (2018, January 25). Clarification in Response to the Daily Mail Story of
January 24, 2018. Dalailama.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021. Indy Hack and Frank Parlato
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‘Not The Tibetan Way’: The Dalai Lama’s Realpolitik Concerning Abusive Teachers | open buddhism
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responded by validating ‘a source who declared that the Bronfmans offered the Dalai
Lama one million to speak for NXIVM and that it was her impression that there was
never any concern about his or one of his organizations accepting it.’ Hack, Indy &
Frank Parlato. (2018). Further questions about the Dalai Lama’s Million Dollar Visit to
NXIVM Sex Cult. Frankparlato.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
126. The sisters’ father, Edgar Bronfman Sr. passed away in 2013. Kandell, Jonathan. (2013,
December 22). Edgar M. Bronfman, Who Built a Bigger, More Elegant Seagram, Dies at
84. The New York Times. Retrieved April 3, 2021. !
127. Sogyal did name his center in Berne, New York, the Tenzin Gyatso Institute, after the
14th Dalai Lama. But Sogyal’s devotees always maintained control of its governance
and finances. Finnigan, Mary & Rob Hogendoorn. (2019). Sex and Violence in Tibetan
Buddhism: The Rise and Fall of Sogyal Rinpoche. Portland: Jorvik Press. pp. 141-144.
!
128.
!
129. Author unknown. (Date unknown). Lost Horizon (1937) Imdb.com. Retrieved April 16,
2021. The movie is based on the fantasy novel Lost Horizon by the British author James
Hilton. Hilton, James. (1933). Lost Horizon. London: Macmillan & Co.
The problem with the western people creating and then naturally buying this myth is just
that, it is a myth. The Dalai Lama is, however, the delegated spokesman for Tibet and
Tibetan Buddhism. Because of his social position he has legitimate access to the
language of the institution. His words are not only his—he is also a carrier of the words
of the institution and as such, represents the authority of Tibetan Buddhism. He is the
authorized spokesperson, the delegated representative whose words and speech
concentrates within it the accumulated symbolic capital of the institution—pure,
unadulterated Tibetan Buddhism. It has delegated him as its authorized representative, to
be an object of guaranteed belief, certified as correct—that is, both right and
just.128Bourdieu, Pierre. (1991). Language and Symbolic Power (Edited and Introduced
by John Thompson, translated by Gino Raymond and Matthew Adamson). Cambridge:
Harvard University Press. pp. 107-116. The two chapters ‘Authorized Language: The
Social Conditions for the Effectiveness of Ritual Discourse’ (pp. 107-116) and ‘Rites of
Institution’ (pp. 117-126) explain well the power of institutions as manifest through their
delegated representatives. !
130. Many Tibetan Buddhist centers and monasteries in the West reserve a dedicated room
for the Dalai Lama’s use only, should he desire to sojourn there at any given time. !
131. See Chapter V (‘Of Executive Government’) of the Constitution of Tibet promulgated
by the Dalai Lama in 1963, and article 31 of the Charter of Tibetans-in-exile
promulgated by The Eleventh Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies in 1991. Author
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unknown. (1963). Constitution of Tibet: Promulgated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama:
March 10, 1963; Autor unknown. (1991). Charter of the Tibetans in Exile; Gyatso (the
fourteenth Dalai Lama), Tenzin. (1992). Guidelines for future Tibet’s polity and the basic
features of its constitution. Tibetan Review, 27 (10), pp. 10-14. !
132. See endnote 21 and 22. See also: Gyatso (the fourteenth Dalai Lama), Tenzin. (2011).
Statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the 52nd Anniversary of the Tibetan
National Uprising Day. Dalailama.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021; Gyatso (the fourteenth
Dalai Lama), Tenzin. (2011). Message of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the Fourteenth
Assembly of the Tibetan People’s Deputies. Dalailama.com. Retrieved April 3,
2021; Gyatso (the fourteenth Dalai Lama), Tenzin. (2011). His Holiness the Dalai
Lama’s Remarks on Retirement – March 19th, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2021. In the
documentary The Great 14th, the Dalai Lama says that the Dalai Lama institution should
return to the position of the 1st through 4th Dalai Lamas: ‘only spiritual leader, no
political power.’ Rawcliffe, Rosemary. (2020). The Great 14th. Retrieved April 15,
2021. !
133. The Dalai Lama told Pico Iyer that when he first met Shōkō Asahara, ‘he was genuinely
moved by the man’s seeming devotion to the Buddha: Tears would come into the
Japanese teacher’s eyes when he spoke of Buddha. But to endorse Asahara, as he did,
was, the Dalai Lama quickly says, “a mistake. Due to ignorance! So, this proves” (and
he breaks into his full-throated laugh), “I’m not a ‘Living Buddha!'”‘ Iyer, Pico. (2004).
Sun After Dark: Flights Into The Foreign. In Making Kindness into Reason (Kindle
Edition ed., pp. 51-78). New York: Vintage Departures; Iyer, Pico. (2008). The Open
Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
p. 107. !
134. Hitchens, Christopher. (1998, July 13th). His Material Highness. Salon. Retrieved April
3, 2021. !
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'
I See You
About the author
Stuart Lachs & Rob Hogendoorn
Stuart Lachs (b. 1940) is an independent scholar and long-time Ch'an/Zen practitioner.
Investigative reporter and academic researcher Rob Hogendoorn (b. 1964) began
researching the reception of Buddhism in Western society and culture in the early 1990s.
His modus operandi remained the same ever since: independent, inquisitive and
provocative.
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