Should His Holiness' lawyers plead a "crazy wisdom" defense? Otherwise it sounds like just another horny monk story to me. And remind me why celibacy is supposed to be such a good idea in the first place?
Not just consensual sex, this is sexual assault by someone whose karmic stream is supposed to be 17 lifetimes into purity and pure compassion. So much for the mythology...
To me this is a reminder that meditation is not a complete antidote to trauma. Chogyam Trungpa was a refugee of sorts had a major car accident, and had the isolation of a guru who had no equal to confide in or receive true emotional support. I don't know the Karmapa's story but I'm sure there's similar tale. Researcher Bruce Alexander said that isolation and disconnection from one's source culture is a huge factor in addiction and we're seeing that in a lot of Tibetan gurus, whether it be substances or sex addiction.
I don't wish for the demise of Tibetan Buddhism, having seen good observations of it in India when integrated with a Tibetan community, not disconnected from culture. Something strange happens when you take the visible part of a religion, bring it to a consumer culture, disconnected from the original culture.
That said, I hope the woman gets child support and that this pervasive problem is addressed.
I see the Karmapa as a person troubled in his role. It’s the bullshit around who he’s supposed to be that needs to die.
You sit on a throne and then fight to avoid supporting the child for whom you forcibly impregnated a woman? I guess all those mantras did no good.
This chap would do well to take off the robes and get honest work so his abandoned child can have shoes.
Remember when this “the REAL KARMAPA!” emerged and all the good little adherents hung his picture from the mirror of their Priuses?
I am soooooo shocked! Didn’t know this yet, learned about this just now. It’s devastating and really hard now to have any faith and trust at all anymore in Buddhist lamas.
This guy is a monster. Trigger warning: sexual abuse. From the article:
"Han says she had aspired to become a nun and had taken celibacy vows for the duration of the traditional Karma Kagyu three-year-three-month retreat. She says on October 14, 2017, the Karmapa entered her private meditation cell during that retreat and sexually assaulted her while the two were left alone in her room, the court documents claim. This assault left her pregnant with the Karmapa’s child, Han alleges in the court document. Han abandoned the retreat and her plans to become a nun, it continues."
This guy ruined this poor woman's life. Totally destroyed her spiritual development. Of course I don't know, but she may likely have been a virgin (considering monastic life for a vocation, likely traditional conservative Chinese upbringing, etc.), and walked into her cell, raped her, taking her virginity, and totally ignored her, save for a few other sexual encounters.
This guy should be in jail. That's what needs to happen here. JAIL.
Buddhists will point to the assault and say that it's actually compassion.
Not all Buddhists of course, but enough for there to be no consequences or altered perception of him in most places he goes.
Make me think Chines hackers
Oh wow. We don't get many of your ilk around here, but I'm glad you stopped by, because you demonstrate an important feature of the larger spiritual marketplace that Shambhala operates in.
This is a common trope among those who defend and excuse the wrongdoing of Tibetan lamas-- to accuse those who voice criticism as being Chinese agents. It's soooo hilarious to watch. I've even been labeled a Chinese stooge myself; I consider it a badge of honor.
We don't see it that often in the Shambhala-sphere because Trungpa and Co. tried so hard to side-step the quagmire of Sino-Tibetan politics. But we have apologists who demonstrate a similar trope-- that anyone who criticizes the guru must have a nefarious agenda.
I'm glad you brought it up, though, because it shows so clearly why this phenomenon you call "Vajrayana Buddhism" (I prefer to call it "lamaism") can never be reformed. As long as it has apologists like you calling people Chinese spies, it will remain opaque to scrutiny and will always act as a refuge for pedophiles and rapists.
Not to be glib here, because there is an alleged victim, but as a person wishes for the complete and total downfall of Tibetan Buddhism, this is "good news". Again, my deepest sympathies to the victim here.
The silver lining is that the shine has officially come off Tibetan Buddhism. No more coolness among the counter-culture, no more expensive retreats with exotic Tibetan teachers, and no more celebrities flaunting Buddhism as their religion, drawing more unsuspecting people into it's deceitful and abusive web.
Stock in Tibetan Buddhism is about to hit an all time low. Glad I sold a long time ago.
It's pretty clear at this point that institutions who hold a lot of power and claim to have definite answers on the spiritual path = complicated issues, including abuse most of the times.
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