The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to ds@dorjeshugden.com.
By: Magda v.d. Berg
It should have been a restorative and healing experience for victims of sexual abuse going to meet the international man of compassion, His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They had hoped that the meeting would be a fruitful one, and they would be able to elicit some kind of promise from him to do something about their pain. Instead, according to reports from BBC, ABC and Radio Free Asia, the victims left with “mixed responses”, with some even expressing disappointment.
“Meeting the Dalai Lama was a disappointment”. Just a few years ago, such a phrase or thought would have been unthinkable. Yet, the fact these types of feelings are being reported with increasing frequency should come as no surprise to anyone. It is the result of decades of refusal from the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala) to take responsibility for their people and their actions like any responsible leader or government.
The Dalai Lama with Rigdzin Namkha Rinpoche, one of the lamas accused of exploiting his relationship with the Dalai Lama to sexually abuse his students
Is it possible that the reports might be inaccurate and can therefore be discredited? Not really, since the BBC is held as the gold standard of journalism, and relied upon all around the world as a source of objective information. In war-torn areas, or regions of great strife and conflict, people turn to the BBC for their news. So the fact this meeting and its unfavorable outcome captured the attention of the BBC and ABC indicates the severity of the matter and something that the Tibetan leadership should take very seriously but clearly failed to.
So while the BBC has traditionally joined other media outlets in providing unquestioning supporting for the Tibetan government, it now seems that the tide is turning as the Dalai Lama makes gaffe after public relations gaffe. But is anyone really surprised when the CTA’s reaction towards these sex crimes has been underwhelmingly lackluster, even to the point of being protectionist towards the sex predators? Let us examine the facts:
- Why do victims of sexual abuse have to beg THE man of compassion to listen and help them? The fact the BBC said the Dalai Lama was “receptive”, putting the phrase in speech marks, implies that he was not actually that receptive to the audience. In the same way you might describe a person as “interesting” to avoid saying what you really feel about them. One of those present even said that the Dalai Lama did not want to hear about their cases and that essentially, he had to be convinced. It is disturbing that the Dalai Lama and his people would have to be convinced to meet with victims of sexual abuse. The reality is that they made it complicated because they did not actually want to hold the audience and be confronted with facts , but were forced to due to public pressure and the need to appear as though they are doing something.
- Why do victims only get 20 minutes? The Dalai Lama will fly around the world to attend events hosted by these sex offenders. He will stay with them, eat their food, give teachings in their Dharma centers and endorse their organizations, and he will spend hours with sponsors. He spends hours commenting on the religious practice of others and the domestic policies of other countries. But he only granted 20 minutes to these victims who have suffered so much at the hands of people that he endorsed. On top of that, he will not do anything concrete to sanction the offenders. These victims have had their lives turned upside down by the very people he said would be safe and okay to associate with.
The Dalai Lama accepting an offering from the alleged sex offender Rigdzin Namkha Rinpoche. Would the Dalai Lama accept an offering from any Dorje Shugden practitioner? What is acceptable about sexual abuse, and not acceptable about Dorje Shugden practice?
- Why does the Dalai Lama teach people to be responsible, when he himself rejects responsibility for the actions of those whom he allowed to use his name and reputation as an endorsement of their behavior? The Dalai Lama cannot claim ignorance in this matter. It is clear that the abusers used his name and their association with him in order to build trust and lure people within striking range of their criminal misdeeds. Many allowed themselves to be in harm’s way because they trusted the Dalai Lama’s commendation of these predators. The abuses were not once off and spanned many years during which time it has come to light that the Dalai Lama’s office was informed of such abuses. It is clear that these abusers are guilty of the crimes that they have been accused of. Yet, the Dalai Lama has until now refused to take any responsibility although it would have been less likely that the abuse was perpetuated had the abusers not received an endorsement from the Dalai Lama.
- Why does the Dalai Lama speak so strongly on so many other issues but he will not speak up against sexual abuse? The fact sexual abuse is universally reviled means that there will not be any damage to the Dalai Lama’s reputation if he speaks up against it and against their perpetrators; he would actually be lauded and praised for his open-minded attitude and willingness to side with the victims and prevent further victims from being harmed. The Dalai Lama will even speak up against issues that do not concern him, for example the caste system in India or the mistakes that he perceives were made by Nehru. The Tibetan leadership will publish books, videos, pamphlets, hit lists and posters against Dorje Shugden. Yet, the Dalai Lama and CTA will not do anything about a topic that directly concerns them i.e. how the Dalai Lama has endorsed the perpetrators of these sex crimes. So the fact that the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan leadership will not say or do anything against these lamas and their actions is highly suspicious.
- Why does the Dalai Lama endorse criminals? Sogyal Rinpoche and those of his ilk are not the first offenders whom the Dalai Lama has endorsed. The Dalai Lama met with Japanese cult leader Shoko Asahara before he injured thousands in the Tokyo subway. The Dalai Lama has also accepted US$1mil to grace an event hosted by American cult leader Keith Raniere who was recently indicted on various crimes, including sex trafficking. And when the Dalai Lama was younger and living in Lhasa, he was tutored by the Nazi Heinrich Harrer. Again, this tendency of the Dalai Lama to affirm harmful people seems to be habitual. What is even more disturbing is how the Dalai Lama regards many of these people as his personal friends.
The Dalai Lama with Heinrich Harrer, who was a member of the Nazi Party. The Dalai Lama seems to have made it a habit to associate with unsavory characters.
- Why does the Dalai Lama act as the spiritual leader of all Tibet only when it is convenient? In reality, the Dalai Lama is not the spiritual leader of any of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism, even the Gelug school to which he belongs which is led by the Gaden Tripa. However, the Tibetan leadership have used people’s ignorance of this fact to promote the Dalai Lama as the spiritual leader of all Tibet. And when he is interested in something, the Dalai Lama will take advantage of this ignorance to get involved. For example, he used this ‘position’ when he interfered in the recognition of the Karmapas, although the Dalai Lamas have never been involved in the process. His endorsement of one candidate over another led to a division in the Karma Kagyu school. The Dalai Lama fell back on this ‘position’ once again when he banned the practice of Dorje Shugden, although he had no spiritual right to overrule the practice of thousands of people who been received it from their personal teachers. However, when the issue becomes too difficult or inconvenient, the Dalai Lama and Tibetan leadership will refuse to take responsibility and pretend that there is nothing they can do. In the case of the Karma Kagyu division, when confronted with the results of his actions, the Dalai Lama said he would not do anything about it. Similarly, in the case of the Dorje Shugden ban, the Dalai Lama will not lift the ban even though it has divided the Tibetan community. Now, the Western world is seeing that the Dalai Lama will not take responsibility for the actions of people he has endorsed even when it concerns sexual abuse.
- Why does the Tibetan leadership attack those who hurt no one with their choices, but endorse people who actively go out of their way to manipulate, exploit and abuse the vulnerable? The CTA will publicize hit lists of Dorje Shugden practitioners who protest against the ban, but they will not do anything against these sex offenders although they clearly have the means and platform to do so. If they took just a portion of their budget allocated to attack Dorje Shugden practitioners, and redirected it towards educating these lamas on the evils of sex abuse, it would have saved so many people the heartache and devastation of becoming victims of these sex crimes. Is it not better to have a list of known sex offenders to warn would-be victims than a list of Tibetans who are criminalized just because they protest the Dalai Lama and the CTA’s autocratic ways?
Self-styled Tibetan Buddhism “expert” Robert Thurman (right) with Sogyal Rinpoche. While Robert Thurman’s daughter, Uma, has accused others of assaulting her, here her father is seen with the sex abuser Sogyal Rinpoche. Where is Thurman’s compassion and empathy for the experiences his daughter and others like her have suffered?
- Why does the Tibetan leadership have a warped view of what constitutes a crime? On the one hand, they say that Dorje Shugden practitioners are “criminals in history”. This is because they dare to defy the Dalai Lama’s ban of the practice and hence, only because they refuse to listen to the Dalai Lama, they become criminals. On the other hand, when people commit actual crimes by sexually abusing their students, those people are not accused of being criminals. No resolutions are passed in the Tibetan parliament condemning their crimes. No books are published warning people against them. For the Tibetan leadership’s information, in the real world, in the democratic world, in the world outside the Tibetan community, a crime is anything that actually hurts other people. This includes murder, theft, embezzlement and money laundering (incidentally, all things that Dalai Lama associates have been accused of). It does not include “not listening to the Dalai Lama”. So what crime do Dorje Shugden practitioners commit when they keep their personal practice and refuse to abide by the Dalai Lama’s diktats to give up the practice? Does the Tibetan leadership actually understand what a crime is?
- Why does the Tibetan leadership want to damage the reputation of Tibet? Whatever the CTA wants to insist about how much they have done towards the Tibetan cause, the reality is that no one has done as much as His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The reality is that the entire welfare of the Tibetan cause rests on the Dalai Lama’s name and reputation. With each successive gaffe by the Dalai Lama, the damage to the Dalai Lama’s reputation only makes it harder for the CTA to raise funds and raise awareness. So perhaps the CTA does not really care about Tibet after all? It is clear they will do nothing to protect the future of the Tibetan cause by protecting the reputation of the man upon whom all of it rests. In the same vein, the CTA portray themselves to be defenders of the Buddha’s teachings but in fact their complicity in these crimes harm the Buddhadharma.
- Do the Tibetan leadership truly love the Dalai Lama? Thanks to the CTA’s ineptitude, refusal to deal with the sexual abuse and hiding behind the Dalai Lama’s name, they have left their leader exposed, opening him up to the world for questioning. Now that people know the Dalai Lama endorses sex abusers, it puts him at risk of being accused of every tragedy being used to his advantage. It leads people to wonder if the Dalai Lama’s silence over self-immolations is his complicit approval for the suicides and deaths of his people. It leads people to wonder if his silence over the schisms in the Karma Kagyu is his approval for the division of the school.
Tulku Lobsang, who is accused of sexual abuse, seen here with the Dalai Lama. Tulku Lobsang’s name was included in the complaint that four people presented to the Dalai Lama in the Netherlands, alleging that a group of Tibetan lamas had been sexually abusing their students. Tulku Lobsang would not be included if the accusers did not have proof of his crimes.
What can the Dalai Lama do?
It is interesting that the Dalai Lama will meet the victims. It is good that he has ‘denounced’ the abusers. But the question on everyone’s lips is, what will the Dalai Lama himself do about all of this? Because a simple denouncement in such a serious matter does not rectify the situation.
If the Dalai Lama does nothing, then while it might sound good when he asks victims to report their abusers to the authorities, it is actually nothing more than his refusal to get involved. He brushes the responsibility back on traumatized victims to do something; the responsibility is on them to get justice and he himself will do nothing more. No wonder the victims left the audience with mixed reactions, when the Dalai Lama is staunchly refusing to do anything more about these crimes. It is very similar to the Pope in the Catholic Church and his treatment of the abusers, whereby he is forced by public pressure to do something, and not because he personally appears to find something wrong with or disturbing about their actions.
The Dalai Lama is not exactly a shy and retiring wallflower. He has in the past strongly condemned Dorje Shugden practitioners and initiated many campaigns against them. Therefore, relating to the sex offenders he can, as he has done to Dorje Shugden practitioners:
- Repeatedly and strongly denounce Sogyal Rinpoche, Sakyong Mipham, Gangten Tulku, Lama Norlha, Lama Yeshe Nyingpo, Lama Choedak Rinpoche, Tenzin Dhonden, Rigdzin Namkha Rinpoche, Tulku Lobsang and Lama Ogyen Kunzang Dorje in his teachings and gatherings.
- Segregate these sex abusers from the Tibetan monasteries, schools, hospitals, restaurants and shops.
- Call for their books to be removed from bookstores.
- Force their location to be reported at all times, so potential victims can be aware and protect themselves. In the West for example, sex offenders are required to report to their local authorities and have to wear an ankle monitor.
- Have a section on his website condemning these sex offenders. He has this section against Dorje Shugden practitioners on both his official website and the CTA’s website.
- Call for people to stop going to them to receive teachings. Given their crimes, why should people go to them to receive teachings on compassion, renunciation and cutting attachments?
- Call for the monasteries to expel them. Why should the other practitioners who have not broken their vows be exposed to or be associated with such behavior?
- Warn Tibetans, in the Tibetan language, against associating with them.
- Demand that they offer restitution to their victims. After all, these abusers broke the faith and trust of their victims who were genuine and sincere in their practice. What could be more destructive to Buddhism than destroying people’s faith in it?
- Use the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile to enact laws amongst the exiles that provide stringent measures to punish this behavior or prevent future abuses.
The 41st Sakya Trizin with Sogyal Rinpoche. Why do lamas continue to associate with sex offenders like Sogyal and continue to be friends, because this behavior endorses their actions to the public and their students?
Thus the question these victims of sexual abuse should really be asking is why the Dalai Lama does not do any of the above for Sogyal Rinpoche, Sakyong Mipham, Gangten Tulku, Lama Norlha, Lama Yeshe Nyingpo, Lama Choedak Rinpoche, Tenzin Dhonden, Rigdzin Namkha Rinpoche, Lama Ogyen Kunzang Dorje and Tulku Lobsang who have harmed them? And the question everyone should be asking is why he feels so comfortable denouncing Dorje Shugden lamas, but he will not repeatedly denounce these abusive lamas who are dangerous? Being so harmful to Buddhism, and so damaging to people’s faith, they warrant much stronger denouncements from the Dalai Lama so he can warn the vulnerable. The Dalai Lama’s public denouncement of these offensive and abusive lamas is nowhere near loud enough, strong enough or thorough enough. He can, and should, be stronger and more vocal in denouncing and segregating them from Tibetan communities worldwide, so they have nowhere to hide and have to face up to their crimes. After all, he does this to Shugden people and surely these abusive lamas are much more dangerous and destructive to Buddhism than Dorje Shugden practitioners?
Or perhaps the Dalai Lama is just a closet sexist. In the last few months, he has made comments about how he should be reborn as an attractive woman, otherwise it is useless (i.e. it is useless to be female unless you are attractive). It is precisely this chauvinistic approach that allows for others to follow suit. Combined with his silence, this approach enables his abusers and protects them because everyone assumes they are the Dalai Lama’s friends, and therefore beyond reproach. Therefore unless the Dalai Lama does something stronger, people will not dare to sanction those he has endorsed, in the same way it took decades for Hollywood to act against the powerful Harvey Weinstein despite widespread knowledge of his crimes. It was the industry’s silence that allowed Weinstein to continue abusing young actresses.
Another photo of Robert Thurman and Sogyal Rinpoche getting quite chummy. It appears they have a close relationship. Why does Robert Thurman and others like him endorse the criminal actions of people like Sogyal by associating with them?
Is the Dalai Lama’s charm wearing off?
So now the world knows that the Dalai Lama is not interested in protecting sex abusers, how does the CTA want to explain it away this time? When they failed to regain Tibet, they blamed people’s worship of Dorje Shugden, saying that it upset Palden Lhamo and harmed the life of the Dalai Lama. Which god will they blame this time, for this sexual abuse scourge that has taken over the Tibetan community?
As a spiritual leader in his community, the Dalai Lama is failing people who look to him for spiritual guidance. How will the victims feel now they have approached Tibetan Buddhism’s supposed highest authority, and not received the support they had been seeking? How many will be disheartened and potentially give up their practice, or give up their faith in the lamas? In refusing to sanction these abusers, the Dalai Lama is damaging Tibetan Buddhism by allowing them to continue operating despite the fact they have been found to be guilty.
And as a secular leader in his community, the Dalai Lama is failing his people because he refuses to sanction someone for committing a secular crime. Even political leaders will rebuke and refuse to associate with people who have committed crime. How many more people will be at risk of abuse, because these abusers are allowed to get away scot-free?
Whether secular or spiritual, the bottom line is that when given a choice of behaving as politician or spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama consistently opts to be political, encouraged by a Tibetan leadership that acts only when it benefits them. So can the Tibetan leadership really be that inept? Perhaps the Dalai Lama is not at fault for any of this. Perhaps it is the Tibetan leadership’s repeated failure in their duty of care, to check out and thoroughly vet these people before they push the Dalai Lama to associate with them. Is it that the Tibetan leadership are so blinded by the riches and bank accounts of these people, that they become blind to their faults and actions too?
Either way, someone has to be held responsible, whether it is the Tibetan leadership or the Dalai Lama himself. Hundreds of victims of sexual abuse are counting on it.
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