Sogyal Rimpoche: Guardian Article
an18...@anon.penet.fi
Emma Brooker which appeared in The Guardian, London
dated 10/01/95.
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[FIRST ARTICLE]
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SEXUAL HEALING
Mary Finnigan
The Tibetan lama Sogyal Rimpoche is being sued for $10
million in the United States by a woman who alleges sexual
harassment, coercion and abuse. Sogyal (Rimpoche is an
honorary title meaning Precious Jewel) has been teaching
Buddhist meditation for more than 20 years, with a
world-wide following and meditation centres known as The
Rigpa Fellowship in London, France, Ireland, America and
Australia. He is the author of a best-seller, The Tibetan
Book of Living And Dying, and appeared in Bertolucci's film
Little Buddha. The Rigpa Fellowship in London has issued a
letter informing its members that a suit has been brought
against Sogyal Rimpoche. Although he is not a monk, and has
not taken vows of celibacy, he is accused of using his
position to obtain sexual favours. Allegations like these
threaten to blow a hole in the aura of asceticism and
austerity surrounding Buddhism in the West.
In the late 1960s, western hippies seeking spiritual
enlightenment were drawn to the Tibetans' exuberant,
colourful style. Tibet was seen as a Buddhist Shangri-La -
a far cry from the reality of a country under repressive
Chinese occupation.
In the seventies, rumours started to circulate about other
globe-trotting Buddhist gurus, who were said to be seducing
their students and behaving more like spiritual barons than
spiritual mentors, exercising _droit du seigneur_ among
their followers. The late Trungpa Rimpoche was one of the
first high-ranking Tibetan lamas to learn English, which he
studied at Oxford in the mid-sixties. He fathered a child
while still a monk, discarded his robes and settled in
America, where he gained a reputation as an inspired
meditation teacher. He became a role model for others,
including Sogyal Rimpoche. He was also an alcoholic and a
notorious womaniser. He died of drink in 1987. Before his
death, he chose Osel Tenzin, an American student as his
successor. Osel died of Aids, after passing the HIV virus
to several of his students.
Although not all Tibetan teachers are monks - many have
renounced their vows and some are from non-celibate
traditions - if a sexual relationship arises, the imbalance
of power in the teacher-pupil relationship can lay the
student open to abuse. Many Buddhists see this as a
contravention of the moral code which frowns on all actions
that cause harm.
At a conference of western Buddhist teachers in India last
year, the Dalai Lama urged delegates not to be afraid of
criticising corrupt gurus. "If you cannot find any other
way of dealing with the problem," he said, "tell the
newspapers."
Last year, an American woman and former pupil of Sogyal
decided to bring a civil case anonymously, and was allowed
by the court in Santa Cruz, California, to use the
pseudonym Janice Doe. She says in her suit that she
approached Sogyal at a time of a time of confusion, shortly
after her fathers death. According to the suit, Sogyal told
her that "through devotion and his spiritual instruction,
she could purify her family's karma". The woman alleges he
seduced her the next day, claiming that she would be
"strengthened and healed by having sex with him".
However unconvincing such an argument may sound, the Zen
priest Yvonne Rand, who is counselling Janice Doe, points
out that the relationship between guru and disciple is one
of power and submission. People who seek guidance from a
spiritual master want to believe what he or she tells them.
"Many women who seek out spiritual teachers come from
dysfunctional families. They may have experienced physical
and/or sexual abuse, had no father or bad father
relationships, so are looking for a good father. This
creates blind spots in their perception of a teacher."
Rand is emphatic that such high risk relationships rarely
benefit both parties. This opinion is shared by other women
who have had sexual liaisons with their gurus.
"I was touched by his need for me," says one, who had a
long relationship with a lama, "but it was difficult and
strange, in no way a normal relationship. It fuelled my
fantasies about having special qualities, but he debunked
them. I felt empowered by him but though he treated me with
respect, I was always aware he had other lovers."
Another woman speaks of the confusion that arose from being
first a humble devotee, then an exalted sexual partner,
then back in the ranks again. "I felt used," she says "He
put his needs above mine."
More recently, a young English woman attended a residential
retreat. She thought she had been singled out for special
attention only to discover that she was being invited to
join a harem. "At first I was flattered, and very open and
trusting. He encouraged me to fall in love with him - but I
realised that he was toying with me. I noticed several
other young, pretty women going in and out of his
apartment, when I confronted him with this, he dropped me
for the rest of the time I was there."
Did she learn anything from her intimacy with the guru? "He
gave me good advice, but I am left with a hangover of pain
and confusion. I also have doubts about Buddhism. If
anything, I have learnt to be more cautious."
Rand and the British Buddhist teacher Ngakpa Chogyam
Rimpoche share the view that the majority of westerners
sign up too quickly with their gurus and find themselves in
a much more intense relationship than they had bargained
for. This is especially true of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism
which, at an advanced level, incorporates sexual union into
spiritual practice.
Rand believes that westerners often fail to make the
distinction between a teacher who helps along the way and a
guru who is an enlightened being.
"Some Tibetan lamas do not see themselves as accountable in
the western sense of the word," says Ngakpa Chogyam. "They
get blown off-centre by too much adulation."
This potential for adulation makes it vital that teachers
accept responsibility for the well being of their students.
Responsibility must include, if not celibacy, then extreme
care with sex. According to psychologist Deborah Clarke,
everyone who enters into a spiritual or therapeutic
relationship is vulnerable to exploitation.
"I'd be furious if a guru made a pass at me," she says.
"They should all know by now that people with that sort of
power have a moral and ethical duty not to abuse it."
[END]
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[SECOND ARTICLE]
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`Before long my guru had persuaded me to start a sexual
relationship with him'
Emma Brooker
Religion and sex, says Dr Liz Puttock, a specialist on
women in new religious movements, is a potentially
explosive combination. "The idea of spiritual
transformation through sex has always existed in the
Tantric tradition which is strong in Tibetan Buddhism."
Historically, Buddhism took off in the west in the 1960s at
a time of great sexual experimentation; inevitably the two
sometimes converged.
Puttock believes cultural misunderstanding has contributed
to some cases in which sex abuse has been alleged against
gurus. "Some of the lamas came over from Tibet with no
experience of our culture, not even speaking the language,
and when eastern ideas are mediated by eastern gurus,
westerners can be susceptible. Spiritual and sexual
energies can become confused."
One British expert, who wishes to remain anonymous, is
sceptical about many abuse allegations. "What goes on in
new religious movements is very close to what goes on in
life. Male bosses take advantage of female subordinates;
some psychotherapists sleep with patients as a way of
`curing' them. It's a grey area. People can be turned on by
the idea of sleeping with their guru. It makes them think
they are special, then they feel used when they realise
they're not. That's one end of the spectrum; at the other
are vulnerable people who have been exploited."
Alex Jones, a 40-year-old journalist, belonged for four
years to an extremist Buddhist sect originating in Japan.
"I became involved, with my husband when I was 28. I was
interested in meditation, like most hippies then, and at
first it just involved chanting every day.
"They seemed very gentle people but after a while it became
apparent that they were horribly old-fashioned in their
attitudes to women. The idea of women as property seemed to
be implicit: my marriage was going badly and senior members
of the group suggested to my husband that this was because
I was not sufficiently spiritually attuned to him and he
should therefore find another partner.
"By that time, our commitment to the organisation had grown
considerably. When I announced that I was stopping
chanting, a fellow member threatened me with a knife and
tried to rape me. I found he actually had raped two other
members. I tried to encourage them to press charges with
me, but the pressure on them was too intense and they
backed out. Eventually my husband found a younger, more
`attuned' woman to replace me, and I managed to walk away
from it, though, not without the odd threatening call."
Mark Dunlop spent 12 years in a community founded by a very
successful Buddhist guru. "I joined in 1972. I was a bit of
a hippy, interested in meditation. I didn't feel especially
vulnerable, though my father had just died. I was just
interested.
"I moved into the community after a few months and before
long, my guru had persuaded me to start a sexual
relationship with him. He told me all men are bisexual and
I had to break through that barrier to achieve spiritual
enlightenment. I'm not gay and I hated it, but it carried
on for four years. He wasn't even charismatic, I just
believed him. He was promiscuous and had lots of other
liaisons. The group was against relationships with people
from outside. I started seeing a woman I really liked and
was told to stop. I knew then that I had to get out."
Dunlop's allegations are known to Ronald Maddox, general
secretary of the Buddhist Society. He describes the guru as
"clever and successful, but he's an elderly man and I don't
think much of that sort of thing goes on now."
[END]
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Jeffrey DeLeo
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