Good Night Lama – The “Blackmail Tape”
THE DOCUMENT ENTITLED “BLACKMAIL TAPE”
TAPED MESSAGE FROM CHIP RODARMOR – JULY 22, 1983
The voice of Jacqueline Keely, Lama Yeshe’s Administrative Assistant:
“This tape recording is a message from Geshe Kelsang Gyatso delivered to Lama Thubten Yeshe on July 22, 1983 by Chip Rodarmor and Geshe Kelsang’s translator. At enormous expense Geshe Kelsang sent Chip and Tenzin all the way from England to California especially to represent Geshe Kelsang by delivering his blackmail. We hope that these facts are clearly apparent to you.”
The voice of Chip Rodarmor:
“Dear Lama Yeshe, thank you very much for your gifts to us which Tenzin and I both deeply appreciated. We were deeply disappointed at not being able to see you. We feel that we were unable to accomplish one of the most important purposes of our visit to you, which was to explain the urgency and serious dangers in the present situation. We meant to protect you and to protect the FPMT from very serious legal dangers, which would be extremely damaging to your reputation and of FPMT internationally. We do not feel, therefore, that your taped response to our first meeting is acceptable under the circumstances and, therefore, urge you to consider very carefully this taped communication. Please know that we are sincerely and faithfully trying to protect you from these dangers but that you are ignoring us. Please do not ignore us now. The situation at present is that present trustees of the Manjushri Institute, including Peter Kedge and Harvey Horrocks, are involved in irregularities with respect to and violations of the terms of the Manjushri Institute Trust Deed. These constitute civil illegalities and please appreciate that some of these are major. They are very important – and that some of these are viewed by the Charities Commission as extremely serious and could constitute a basis for the removal of three of the four trustees of the Manjushri Institute, including Peter Kedge, Harvey Horrocks and yourself, Lama.
Please also appreciate that the situation, that the present situation, especially with respect to the trustees of the institute, also involve criminal illegalities. Many of these are very serious violations of the law with respect to the conduct of business operations, particularly Lotus Trading Company. Some of these illegalities are extremely serious criminal actions carried out by the trustees themselves and others very closely connected with FPMT. Tenzin and I are not in a position to say what these illegalities are. But if you wish to know the details, and if you wish to know the people involved we urge you to call Peter Kedge or Harvey Horrocks and ask them because they know and its very possible that Jacie Keeley knows as well. Who is involved in the criminal illegalities? Basically, they are key members of FPMT, of the FPMT organisation.
Now at present, the Charities Commission holds a type-written report numbering close to 100 pages which not only summarise a number of civil and criminal illegalities with respect to the conduct of the management of Manjushri Institute but also contains supporting evidence. Please also appreciate that our attorney in London, who is an expert in Charity Law, also holds details of the most serious criminal illegalities conducted by some of the trustees and others and supporting evidence. Now, the immediate consequence of not signing the agreement that we presented to you a few days ago is that our attorney in London will turn over the details of the most serious criminal illegalities to the Solicitor General’s Office. The consequence of this will be a police investigation of the trustees of the Manjushri Institute in addition to the conduct of the FPMT organisation. In addition to this the Charities Commission will start a full investigation of the civil and criminal illegalities contained in the report which I mentioned – which the Charities Commission already has and has examined over the last few weeks, but at our request, is not investigating yet. This report explicitly requests the Charities Commission to remove three trustees from the Manjushri Institute, including Peter Kedge, Harvey Horrocks and you, Lama. And the details given are the illegalities, which I have already mentioned.
Lama, please also appreciate the overall consequence of these actions proceeding in the court and also in the Charities Commission. Please realise that there probably will be a public trial of trustees of the Manjushri Institute in addition to other key FPMT people. Please also appreciate that you, Lama, will probably have to go to court to answer questions and possibly even to stand trial. If prosecuted, trustees of the Manjushri Institute will probably go to jail and possibly also other members of the FPMT. And finally, the Charities Commission, through its own investigation, and as a result of the public trial, and possible prosecution of trustees and other FPMT will formally remove the 3 trustees I have mentioned from the Manjushri Institute. Now please appreciate that the FPMT, as a result of this, will be disgraced internationally. The purpose of Tenzin and my coming from England to see you in California was to impress upon you the grave seriousness of the present situation and to obtain your signature on the agreement we presented to you along with the letter from the Institute. This action we have taken has been at the recommendation of the Charities Commission and also of our own attorney in England.
As you said in your tape that you agree with the proposal that we have offered you, then please sign the agreement now to take back to England with us on Monday. If we are unable to return to England with your signature on that agreement, which you have already indicated you agreed with, then please know, Lama, without doubt that civil and legal actions will commence next week.
Lama, I will call you at 10:30 tomorrow morning to hear your response to this communication. I sincerely hope from the very bottom of my heart that you will be willing to sign the agreement, which represents an extremely tolerant, and an extremely peaceful solution to this overall problem under the circumstances. However, if there are further questions that you wish to ask – if there is any way in which Tenzin or myself can be of further assistance to you in understanding the present situation please let us know and we are completely at you disposal from now until the time that we actually have to leave for England, which is Monday afternoon. Please listen to my tape carefully so that you do understand completely what is involved and that there will be no regret in the future if legal actions are, in fact, taken. Good night, Lama.”
Funny how the people who were doing the dodgy dealing were residents at Manjushri and therefore disciples of Kelsang Gyatso. That Rodarmor ( a reall slimeball if you hear his voice) should twist this to steal Manjushri from Lama Yeshe as they did is an indication of the cynical manipulation of circumstance that is the NKTs nature. They even produced a video to tell ‘their side’ Funnily it doesnt make any mentio of all this blackmail. Where is Chip now, I wonder? In retreat or in hell?
Jamie
July 14, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Does anybody inform me what Tharchin name was before he got ordained ?
poospoon
July 14, 2010 at 9:02 pm
[...] Kelsang Gyatso. Charles ‘Chip’ Rodarmor is the person who delivered the so-called ‘blackmail tape‘ to Lama Yeshe. What they offer is the NKT point of [...]
New Kadampa Tradition – Multiple ‘Histories’ « Western Shugden Society – unlocked
July 16, 2010 at 2:26 am
chip is tarchin
paul
July 16, 2010 at 1:30 pm
TP, why don’t you tell the truth? The ‘Priory Group’ were trying to prevent Manjushri Institute from being sold by the FPMT to raise funds for their global expansion – there was no blackmail involved because, if the priory group had not acted, Manjushri Institute was doomed anyway, against the wishes of the students.
FPMT were also raising funds in other ways, including drug smuggling. Lama Yeshe was aware of this but I doubt he was the instigator. I doubt you would let me post a direct link that tells the truth about this issue, so if you want to full story, google ‘manjushri institute stolen’.
Tell The Truth
July 17, 2010 at 6:19 pm
@’tell the truth’
you give a good impression here how NKT operate.
1. you give yourself a name which implies you were to have a better understanding or you are somewhat superior (a ‘possessor of the truth’), while at the same time you accuse the other person to spread lies or untruths. these tactics are already present with the pseudonym you have chosen
2. then you deliberately accuse the other person to not tell the truth which implies he would lie.
The ten first words of your comment are already a spin of the facts!
First of all: this is a document as it is, I didn’t comment it, I didn’t add anything to it. So how can your properly claim I would not tell the truth? Where is the untruth I tell?
All the other sentences of your comment I didn’t read nor do I wish to read them. I assume they are in line with the rewriting of history by the NKT and aim to spread a story, where the NKT is the innocent, selfless, faultless hero and others are to be blamed as corrupt or full of faults and the cause of all the problems.
Everybody who wishes to understand the story of Manjhushri Institute, I recommend the academic research by David Kay and to apply common sense to put the information he provides and the attitudes of the NKT leadership into perspective.
That NKT is so much compelled to rewrite their history and either attack scholars as “heavily biased” or even threaten to sue them might be just due to the fact, that they have to hide actions which were not correct at all. Maybe the past if following NKT like a shadow…
Thank you for your comment, its up to the reader to make his or her own mind about this “blackmail tape”…
tenpel
July 18, 2010 at 9:04 pm
Dear Tenpel,
My point is you posted this under the title ‘blackmail tape’, This leads the reader to a particular conclusion, does it not? This is your spin on the meaning of the transcript but you haven’t posted any context as to why this happened in the first place. Because you have posted this out of context, it’s misleading. No doubt your intention is to harm the reputation of the NKT – why else would you have posted this?
I suggest that your readers get the full story before jumping to the conclusion you have led them to.
Telling the Truth
July 21, 2010 at 6:24 am
Hi TTT,
as you can see I put “Blackmail Tape” in the heading and the link to that post from the very beginning in apostrophe. The document is just as it is. Obviously Jacqueline Keely, Lama Yeshe’s Administrative Assistant, felt that the close students of Kelsang Gyatso are blackmailing Lama Yeshe.
The document is using the terms “blackmail” and “blackmail tape”. This is how they have called it. Seeing these facts, how can you properly claim this would be my spin?
I agree this document is only one side of the story. I would like to post also Kelsang Gyatso’s “Eradicating wrong views” a document by NKT defending their point of view. I tried hard to get it from ‘Thubten Gonpo’ but was not successful. In case you have it, please send it to me, I would post it here too.
All in all there were two documents circling at that time. This “Eradicating wrong views” by KG and another one by Lama Yeshe. Both parties sent them to the Tibetan Buddhist centres and the Office of HH the Dalai Lama in London. To be fair both should be posted here. Your are welcomed to send one or both documents.
As you can see I also recommended Kay’s research in my comment above to understand the conflict in full. He used also both documents and interviewed people from both sides.
You assume that I would have a bad intention and that I want to mislead people. This is not so. The reason why I posted this document is because newkadampa.com does not provide it any more so that it was not accessible any more.
I agree. The research by Kay, Waterhouse and Bluck are a very good start for that. A summery of it can be read here:
http://info-buddhism.com/new_kadampa_tradition.html#Historical_background_of_the_formation_of_NKT
tenpel
July 21, 2010 at 9:23 am
tell the truth-if the priory group were primarily KGs disciples, and somebody at the priory was selling drugs, then they and KG should have been aware of it-why didnt they do anything? Why did K Gyatso preside over it and do nothing? Lama Yeshe was never at the Priory and KG was there all the time-so who was to blame for the moral decline?
Anon
July 23, 2010 at 7:00 pm
The statement below mentions a 100 page document held by the Charity Commission. I have written to the Charity Commission for clarification and their reply was ‘we do not hold a copy of this document or have any record of having received it’.
If there is to be any truth about the document or its existence then it is encumbent upon those who claim its existence and the contents to provide proof of their claim. Otherwise, the may be seen to embellished the history of the Manjushri and its subsequent take over.
Perhaps there will be clarification from someone who knows and can provide the evidence.
Now at present, the Charities Commission holds a type-written report numbering close to 100 pages which not only summarise a number of civil and criminal illegalities with respect to the conduct of the management of Manjushri Institute but also contains supporting evidence. Please also appreciate that our attorney in London, who is an expert in Charity Law, also holds details of the most serious criminal illegalities conducted by some of the trustees and others and supporting evidence. Now, the immediate consequence of not signing the agreement that we presented to you a few days ago is that our attorney in London will turn over the details of the most serious criminal illegalities to the Solicitor General’s Office. The consequence of this will be a police investigation of the trustees of the Manjushri Institute in addition to the conduct of the FPMT organisation. In addition to this the Charities Commission will start a full investigation of the civil and criminal illegalities contained in the report which I mentioned – which the Charities Commission already has and has examined over the last few weeks, but at our request, is not investigating yet. This report explicitly requests the Charities Commission to remove three trustees from the Manjushri Institute, including Peter Kedge, Harvey Horrocks and you, Lama. And the details given are the illegalities, which I have already mentioned.
John Swainson
April 18, 2011 at 7:17 am
Dear John, I am a bit in hurry and I lack time… so I can offer only a short and likely only a superficial answer.
The above post is a manuscript of a recording in which Lama Yeshe was “blackmailed” by Chip on behalf of Kelsang Gyatso. Chip claims in the presence of Lama Yeshe that “Now at present, the Charities Commission holds a type-written report numbering close to 100 pages which not only summarise a number of civil and criminal illegalities with respect to the conduct of the management of Manjushri Institute but also contains supporting evidence.” if you found out that such a report does not exist at the Charity Commission this might indicate that Chip lied to Lama Yeshe and just pressured/deceived him to follow Kelsang Gyatso’s wishes; but it could also indicate that the CC didn’t take such a type-written report seriously or threw it away… Actual I don’t know.
What do you think?
Either Chip said the truth then there should be such a report or he lied and such a 100 page report has never existed; but there could be some alternative things like CC didn’t feel any worth with that report and didn’t keep it. Actual what NKT or KG write are sometimes only unsubstantiated and ridiculous attacks and a reasonable organisation like CC might have felt that the NKT’s “type-written report ” is just not worth of keeping it…
tenpel
April 18, 2011 at 10:06 pm
Sorry, lousy proof read.
Otherwise, the may be seen to embellished the history of the Manjushri and its subsequent take over.
Should be read as …Otherwise, they may be seen to have embellished the history of the Manjushri Institute and its subsequent take over.
John Swainson
April 18, 2011 at 7:22 am
All things are possible. However,the Commission state they need to know of any evidence relating to criminal action within a charity. They advise that any evidence would also be a matter for the police. If the document existed then it would be investigated, as it was claimed to contain evidence of criminality. Surely, there would be a record of that. If the contents were found to be not worth investigation, then there would be no case for the FPMT to answer.
Either way the ‘blackmail tape’ is evidence enough of an attempt to gain power over the Institute.
The NKT Truth site claim Kelsang Gyatso did not steal the institute and use the so called ‘blackmail’document as evidence to support their case.
John Swainson
April 19, 2011 at 6:27 am
“If the contents were found to be not worth investigation, then there would be no case for the FPMT to answer.”
As far as I understood it, the FPMT replied to the NKT document (or KG document) “Eradicating wrong views” which is said to include quite a lot of strange accusations against the FPMT. I tried to get that document from Chris (Thubten Gonpo). He said it speaks for itself, just reading it makes clear what mind is behind that. So I planned to post it but so far I was not able to get it. (Or at a time someone wanted to give it to me, I was not interested any more in it because I was distancing myself from all of those issues. There is a danger to get suck into it too deeply.)
Thank you for contacting CC and to let us know that actual CC does not have any document about this. This sheds some light on this issue.
tenpel
April 19, 2011 at 8:13 am
Actually, whether or not the document actually exists is of secondary importance. If it does, then all it charts is some of the many corrupt pracitces prevaleent in nymerous Western Dharma centres that went on in the 70s and 80s, when people still hadnt worked out the central importance of morality or justifed drug runs, currency dealings and sexual abuse in the name of :The Greater Good@
What is of importance is the cynicla manipulation of this status quo by Kelsang Gyatso. He threatened Lama Yeshe with exposing the goings on at Manjushri when Lama Yeshe was hardly ever there (remember, the residents complaiend about this and it was one of the reasons Kelsang managed to con people intosigning his letter of condemnation to Lama Yeshe [many of those who signed the letter are no longer Buddhists or have returned to the FPMT fold]
The person who DID reside over the corrupt practices was Kelsang Gyatso-He was the resident teacher and so he presided over the misconduct.
So the blackmail tape was based on threates to lama Yeshe to expose negative actions that were taking place at Manjushri WHILE KELSANG GYATSO WAS IN CHARGE!
Now of course, you might argue that Kelsang may not have been aware of the shenanigans (Like he wasnt aware that Steve Wass and Neil Elliott were shtupping halh his ‘nuns’) but doesnt Buddha have psychic powers? Arent such things mundane siddhis that arise when one develops single pointed concentration (a lowly realisation even the Tirthikas achieve?)
So, either Kelsang DID know abouth then but kept quiet until it served his cult building purposes or he didnt, in which case epithets like the THIRD BUDdHA simply dont pertain.
Either way, the only one who really comes out of it looking dodgy is Kelsang-either he’s a manipulative concealer of the truth unless it suits him or hes NOT buddha. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, I guess.
In fact, Lama Yeshe was the only person who DID comment openly about drug use at Manjushri in the early 80s, and threatened residents with the wrath of a certain protector should they continue. Who told him about the drug use? Why the resident teacher at the time-Kelsang Gyatsi
Dies that mean then that Kelsang is the Third Buddha. No, it simply means that the straights at the Institute at the time were running to Kelsang every time they need ed to piss and, while asking permission, grassed up (pardon the pun) the hippies there who got on their nerves.
Funny old world> A few years later, it was the straights who ganged up to sign the threat letter to Lama Yeshe and, by the time Pocklngton had been bought, the freaks had all but gone, leaving the new mansion to be run by a load of dole claiming idealistic kids who’d never been to the east and knew nothing about Buddhism as it existed in that place. What an easy situation inwhich to convince people that politics and religion are the same (But not, depending on who youre protesting for or against)
Anon
April 19, 2011 at 11:50 am