It makes me very sad to watch them.

I can highly recommend these clips. Presently one can watch:

• Survivor
• Can You Afford To Stay In Your Own Room
• Spread the Dharma
• Punished For Being Human
• Purification
• Lojong Teachings
• Karma
• Disrobing
• Suffer More
• Dear Geshe-la

NEW: The former NKT nun created now her own website: http://www.xtranormalbuddhist.co.uk/

Last Update: 09 Jan 2012

This time I am deliberately saying that they “run a campaign against the Dalai Lama” because a good friend of mine in whom I have trust and who read the WSS book “A Great Deception” said it is ridiculous to claim that the book wants “to restore peace and harmony between Shugden and non-Shugden practitioners within Buddhist communities world-wide” while its main target is just the good reputation of the Dalai Lama which they try to put down by all means, and at all costs.

In the new campaign the Western Shugden Society / New Kadampa Tradition are writing “Open Letters to British Political Leaders“, among them British Prime Minister David Cameron MP, Foreign Secretary William Hague MP, and to Home Secretary Theresa May MP. I wonder why they should take any organisation seriously that says it has “no leader nor registered office” and which official website hides its identity via domain by proxy server? Answer: This time the Western Shugden Society puts a name under the letter. Very clever ;-) The letter is signed by “John McBretney*, PhD, BSc (Hons), Retired Civil Servant Representative, Western Shugden Society.” Ouch!

In the open letters the WSS refers to the self-written book (with no author) “A Great Deception” [nomen est omen ;-)] as a source of information for those high politicians. I wonder how they can really think such a book can convince any informed or reasonable person who can rely on an armada of qualified researchers?

I think the new campaign makes the WSS / NKT into an object of laughter or an object of compassion. How can they really believe to have any chance to convince the mainstream with their crude theses? My understanding is that hostility and pride lead the WSS/NKT more and more away from reality and that these delusions create an own reality for NKT/WSS members with the Dalai Lama as the “evil and cruel” dictator and themselves as the true, honest and pure human beings who must convince the world of their own “truth”.

As an enclosure the WSS added to their letters also their book “A Great Deception”. I feel the following review of “A Great Deception: The Ruling Lamas’ Policies” hits the nail on its head:

»Childishly written (“we wrote to the Dalai Lama for his side and he didn’t respond, so that proves he’s guilty” a paraphrase true to the book’s spirit), and mostly unsubstantiated “facts” (sometimes citations for works also produced by the same group as the book – notice the book doesn’t actually have an author.) I don’t think it is likely that EVERYTHING in the book is just made up, but it certainly can’t all be true either (the Dalai Lama, nor anyone else, could not possibly be Muslim, Communist AND Fascist as this volume breathlessly claims.)«

While the NKT/WSS are following their perception of the Dalai Lama as an evil and cruel dictator, the Dorje Shugden Website follows it’s own strange approach. In their Mission Statement they write:

»This website, an ongoing work in progress, is dedicated to the glorification and deeper appreciation of the name and holy work of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who by peaceful, increasing, subjugating and wrathful means spreads in this world the general and profound teachings of the Buddhadharma that can dispel all suffering and its causes. We believe that what may sound contradictory today, will be revealed as skilful means in the future.«

Looking on the huge image of Shugden they projected onto a wall on a building, I just thought ‘so much self grasping and grasping to an idea, this is just ridiculous’. And like a comment to this thought I found in the right corner of that image an ad for the musical “WiCKED”. Wicked, indeed.

____

* John McBretney is the Resident Teacher of the NKT Heruka centre in London. John said to a Mexican Newspaper: “La Western Shugden Society (WSSREP, por sus siglas en inglés), con sede en Londres, es seguidora del budismo de Doryhe Shugden pero, a diferencia de la tradición Kadampa, esta agrupación hace activismo político en pro de la libertad religiosa. Apro entrevistó telefónicamente a su vocero, John Mc Bretney.”

Translation: »The WSS, based in London, follows the Buddhism of Dorje Shugden but, differently to the Kadampa Tradition, this group is politically active in favour of religious freedom. Apro interviewed their spokesman, John McBretney, by telephone.«

John McBretney sees no contradiction to say that WSS is political active and NKT is not political active while he and the far majority of the WSS are both WSS followers and NKT followers. I assume the idea is, when they are engaged for WSS they are political active and when they are engaged for NKT they are not political active, and at that time when they are “pure NKT practitioners” the past political actions and the future political actions do not exist, hence they are political inactive (just living in the present moment with no relation to past and future), and they do not have the perceived faults of the Dalai Lama “who pollutes religion with politics”. There is no contradiction for WSS members “To free Buddhism from pollution by politics” by pouring more politics into religion, and by splitting oneself into a Dr. Jekyll und Mr. Hyde personality.

–Update–

New Kadampa CultWatch is online again as NKT Cult Watch.

Actually I think there is a fine line between the freedom of religion, and a setting which creates an environment that undermines the freedom of an individual or actually encourages the exploitation of individuals on a material, emotionally or sexual level. What is more important, the concept of “freedom of religion” or that the people’s freedom and well-being is not harmed in the name of religion? In Germany the concept of “freedom of religion” was seen as higher than the concept of the “rights of animals”, therefore a German court gave permission in the name of “religious freedom” for kosher butchering. A decision I feel to be quite questionable even in mundane perspective not to speak about a Buddhist point of view.

Researchers like Margaret Thaler Singer stress the rights of the individual not to be harmed in the name of religion and researchers like Massimo Introvigne stress the rights of the freedom of religion and that New Religious Movements should not be harmed by denouncing them or portraying them in a biased manner. Actually I appreciate both approaches. But for my taste how Introvigne writes about Singer appears to me also as being biased and at times even hostile. Maybe I am wrong about Introvigne, but to me the key point seems to be that if we cling too strongly to ideas of purity (etc.) or hold fanatically to the concepts of rights, there is a tendency to see these ideas as more important than the sentient beings’ welfare. These attitudes will always lead us away from being really human, compassionate and wise. All types of fundamentalism or inhumanity go together with the attitude that certain concepts are seen as more important than sentient beings welfare and freedom. What makes the things even more complicated is that these concepts also claim to exactly know what is good or bad for the being’s welfare… We’re walking on razor’s edge…

It was mainly from my Wikipedia work, what I learned there as an editor, some explorations into the so–called “cult” or “anti-cult” stuff, and exchanges with INFORM that protected me from falling from one extreme to another, which means after having followed devotedly a cult movement to apply the same black and white patterns but now as an “anti-cultist”. This danger really exists after having left a cult. One is at risk to not recognize the black-and-white patterns and to fall under their spell again. In that sense one needs really a “deprogramming” of one’s bad mental attitudes in order to really ‘get rid of the cult’ not only outwardly but also inwardly, in the own mind.

During my visit to INFORM and in the last days I learned three things. One is with respect to NKT, the second has to do with the Geshe title claim of Kelsang Gyatso, and the third thing I learned is to question the ways of how to deal with groups which have a lot of destructive patterns. Besides the INFORM visit, one of the highlights with respect to my thinking about NKT and the issue of destructive movements or spiritual leaders who lead their students astray was a meeting with Claude AnShin Thomas, the head of the German Buddhist Monastic Congregation, Ven. Bhikshuni Thubten Choedroen, who I met with in Kassel (Germany) on July 18th, 2011. I was thinking it might be helpful to share some of the points here in brief:

INFORM’s Statistics of Enquiries
It was quite astonishing for me to learn during my INFORM visit that in 2008 and 2010 the most enquiries with respect to groups were with respect to the New Kadampa Tradition. The NKT topped even Scientology. Here are the statistics. They are available for the public and were provided by Suzanne Newcombe (PhD), Research Officer at Inform:

2008
In 2008 Inform received enquiries about 84 different groups about which it already had some information. Of these specific groups, those about which Inform received the most enquiries were:

39 New Kadampa Tradition
37 Mehdi Zand / World of Yaad
22 Church of Soientology
20 Mohan Singh
15 Unification Church
8 The Family International
6 Brahma Kumaris
5 School of Economic Science
4 Exclusive Brethren
4 Hizb ut-Tahrir
4 International Churches of Christ
4 Landmark Education
4 Soka Gakkai International

Inform notes in their report about 2008: “A considerable amount of staff research time arose out of the enquiries about the New Kadampa Tradition, Mohan Singh, and Mehdi Zand and the World of Yaad.”

2010
The 2010 Annual Report is not finalised. For 2010 the comparative figures are:

28 New Kadampa Tradition
27 Mohan Singh
13 Church of Scientology
9 Falun Gong
6 Rigpa
5 Exclusive Brethren
5 Adidam
5 Friends of the Western Buddhist Order
5 School of Economic Science
4 Unification Church
3 Brahma Kumaris
3 Diamond Way Buddhism
3 Divine Light Mission
3 Hizb-ut-Tahrir
3 Jehovah’s Witnesses
3 Landmark
3 New Frontiers
3 Rastafarianism
3 Sahaja Yoga
3 Schiller Institute
3 Universal Church of the Kingdom of God
3 Mehdi Zand

1996-2010 enquiries about the New Kadampa Tradition:

1996 – 19 enquiries
Including:
2 former members
3 current members
2 media

1997 – 9 enquiries

1998 – 11 enquiries
Including:
3 current members
1 media

1999 – 6 enquiries
2000 – 6 enquiries
2001 – 6 enquiries
2002 – 3 enquiries
2003 – 3 enquiries
2004 – 2 enquiries
2005 – 1 enquiries
2006 – 7 enquiries

2007 – 17 enquiries
Including:
8 former members
1 current member

2008 – 39 enquiries
Including:
6 current members
13 former members
1 media

2009 – 23 enquiries
Including:
3 current members
6 former members

2010 – 28 enquiries
Including:
5 current members
7 former members

Geshe Title of Kelsang Gyatso

The Geshe title of Kelsang Gyatso is somewhat a mystery, while he claims to hold a Geshe title, some sources say he didn’t receive the Geshe degree. The New Kadampa Tradition sent their point of view to INFORM together with the permission to make it available if someone asks for it: »Separate document regarding Geshe Kelsang’s personal situation«. (PDF) If one reads it carefully and has some background it shows some inconsistencies, e.g. in Tashi Lhunpo it is not possible to study to become a Geshe, one is offered the Khachen degree. It seems that Kelsang Gyatso indeed didn’t really receive the formal Geshe title, and he himself states that he didn’t accept the changes with respect to it, hence he had to bear the consequences of this decision.

The arguments the New Kadampa Tradition is using to defend the Geshe title are not very helpful because it is not uncommon either to call someone out of respect a Geshe or even just for fun. To praise a learned person as a master and to write long life prayers which portray him to be a great teacher is a common approach in Tibetan Buddhism. The statements made in long life prayers shouldn’t be taken literally. Our Lharampa Geshe in Italy even forbade to recite his long life prayer “because it is not true.” To use long life prayer statements as arguments to settle a controversy about a Geshe title is not very productive in such a context.

The problem seems to be more that the Geshe title is sometimes used or given even if persons did not do the final debates and exams. For instance according to a Geshe at Nalanda monastery (France) Geshe Michael Roach received his Geshe title after he had done the amount of work of four years of study and because he was a generous sponsor. In that context some argued this is the way how corruption enters education and spirituality. I have been told that sometimes even cooks can get an honorific Geshe title. According to a fully ordained nun from the Tibetan Centre in Hamburg (Germany) Khensur Rinpoche Geshe Jampa Tegchok, who taught from 1997-1982 the Geshe program at Manjushri Institute (now NKT’s “mother centre”), a program which was approved by the Dalai Lama, and who served for seven years as an abbot in Sera received the Geshe title without the final requirements. But this is perfectly accepted by everybody and nobody has challenged it, he is held in highest esteems! So there is a type of acceptance, ambiguity or flexibility which is different to our Western world where it is a very clear process when one obtains a PhD. Trying to get some clarity I wrote to some learned persons:

Actual there are some Geshes, who didn’t do their Geshe exam but use the title Geshe and this is perfectly accepted and no problem within Tibetan Buddhism. I just heard that also my 80 year old teacher who was aboot for 7 years of Sera Je in India, Geshe Jampa Tegchok, and who was in the first 2 years together with Kelsang Gyatso at Manjushri Centre, did not do the Geshe exam, still it is perfectly fine for him to have the Geshe title and it is commonly accepted.

Carola Roloff (PhD) replied in an email:

That is true, although I know Tibetan geshes who do not feel that this is appropriate. It seems that it became more and more quite common, at the same time this leads to an inflation of the academic geshe title. Similarly it is criticized that more and more Tulkus are appointed. Generally speaking there are several geshe titles. The term geshe, lit. kalyanamitra, already occurred from the 8th century onwards, as we can see from the Kadam Chöjung and thus correctly pointed out by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Actually yesterday I learned that even Dromtönpa is considered to have been a geshe in the sense of a scholar, although he was a lay person. It seems that the geshe title by Gelugpa monasteries came only in existence by the 18th century. I have raised the issue of Tibetan scholar titles in my MA thesis and in relation to Rendawa in my PhD thesis.

When I asked for her permission to quote this statement, she agreed and asked to add the following paragraphs:

However, I would like to point out that this is a very complex issue. For example, in the Tibetan Gelug monasteries in Indian exile it was possible that you receive the geshe title as long as you were enrolled, even if you were travelling most of the time and did not join the classes, as long as you participated in the final exam. This does not mean that you have or do not have the knowledge required. It will depend on many circumstances such as the person’s ability and determination, the teachers close to the person etc., whether the knowledge has been accumulated.

For somebody who worked most of the time for the monastery and therefore was not able to join the classes, it was sufficient to memorize a certain text (minimum 50 pages/folios?) to receive the geshe title. During the traditional final debate session such person would sit next to the main of three main candidates, who sits in the middle, but would not be expected to say anything. This leads indeed to situations in which persons who never studied the major five texts receive a geshe title.

On the other hand there are monks (and nuns) who did the full study, which nowadays takes 17 years, but did not receive the geshe title, either because they did not want it (in the case of some monks), or because they did not receive it (in the case of nuns), although they seem to have passed all exams required according to the gelug exam regulations and perhaps could even become a geshe lharampa. Why some monks did not want the title may have various reasons such as (apparent or true) modesty/renunciation, or lack of money to make the traditional offering to the whole community of monks after they have received the degree. But again, this does not mean that those who accepted the geshe title are always true or not true practitioners.

So again, as so often, things are not black and white and have a very complex background. There are also cases like Lama Yeshe–founder of the FPMT and Manjushri Centre near Ulverston/Cumbria)–who was a Tulku and a Rinpoche but never used those titles. As far as it was told to me his situation was similar to that of Kelsang Gyatso but he never used the Geshe title.

Not Isolating Groups
We have a very sad case in Germany were the Vietnamese abbot (Thich Thien Son) of a huge community in Frankfurt (Pagode Path Hue) is accused of having inappropriate sexual relationships with some of his male students. According to former members he even claims wrongly this would be a part of the monk’s training and other masters would do it likewise. This abbot had been the former head of the Deutsche Buddhistische Ordensgemeinschaft (DBO). After extensive research by the DBO board and engaged Buddhists, based on five affidavits the “abbot” was finally expelled from the DBO. The DBO made a public statement on their website too. Some concerned Buddhists and the DBO informed teachers, musicians, and the Jade Buddha project about the findings of the DBO to be able to make an informed decision. Though many terminated their collaboration with the Pagode in Frankfurt, some didn’t. Among them was Claude AnShin Thomas and his decision was felt by some as controversial. Due to different reasons and circumstances the head of the DBO and I were able to meet him, and it was quite an extraordinary experience… To make it short, though Claude Anshin refused to take sides or positions with respect to the accusations his point of view is: “if the accusations are true the group needs help, if they are not true, they need help too and if they are semi-true they also need help. Isolating groups is not a good way of dealing with such problems.”

Though the DBO statement and my own engagement in this case were not based on the wish to isolate the group, public statements such as these will rather naturally lead to an isolation and though such public statements might be useful to protect others and to enable people to make an informed decision, they aren’t necessarily the best way to address spiritual, power, sexual, material or emotional abuse.

At the moment I am in the process of sorting out these understandings, and I asked Suzanne Newcombe (PhD), a research officer at INFORM what she thinks about it. With her permission I quote her here:

Sociological research shows that it is when groups are social and physically isolated that the most harmful things happen. Extremism in both thought and behaviour is moderated somewhat by contact with other groups and ‘mainstream society’. This is partially behind Inform’s policy of always trying to maintain directly contact with the groups we study. ‘New’ groups or those with charismatic leadership can change very quickly and unpredictably, so it is also good to have contact so that one can have accurate information about what is actually happening.

In the Canadian Rigpa documentary one of the women says that she approached a visiting monk at Sogyal’s centre in France asking what it meant to be a ‘consort’ and was told by this person that it was ‘a great honour’. She later felt that this individual was colluding and supporting what she would describe as Sogyal’s ‘abuse’ of women. I wonder what would have happened if that monk would have said – no Buddhist should cause harm by sexual relationships. There is a fine line between being seen as ‘endorsing and colluding’ and being available to moderate, observe and counsel individuals away from harm. Being able to say clearly and with specific examples, how Thich Thien Son’s actions have caused harm to some of those who were in relationship with him, is very helpful.

and

One of the key theories sociologists use is that of ‘deviance amplification’ the wikipedia link here is a fair introduction: Deviancy amplification spiral. Traditionally, it focuses on media involvement in demonising sections of society or particular groups. However, you can also sometimes see the same cycle at work with say, a ‘problem’ child in school – the child becomes labelled as a problem and then acts more and more in accord with the label. If you want more reading along these lines, let me know and I’ll think a bit more.

It might be interesting for you to read some of Eileen’s work in positioning Inform – you can download the academic ‘What Should We Do About the Cults‘. (or from this page http://inform.ac/node/1547)

I hope this is some food for thought.

updated: July 28, 2011 at 4:13 pm

I first came across the NKT when I was given a paid for respite break by a local charity, at Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre near Ulverston. I knew nothing of the NKT’s reputation or indeed that there were Buddhist groups with a bad rep.

My impressions were good. I went to puja (prayers sung to simple tunes) nearly every day, read books in the library and tried out meditation. I guess not many people talked to me, but the ones who did were kind and gentle, and I was able to reach some very basic realisations about my life in Buddhist terms. It made good sense, I very much wanted more, and I asked if I could move in. Immediately and with little consideration I was told no, only very select students could live at that centre, but I might try smaller NKT centres elsewhere.

A little over two months later I moved into Chenrezig Centre in Lancaster city centre. I was allocated a room that was large, but had only a skylight to allow in daylight, and no adjustable ventilation – the room was baking hot in summer and freezing cold in winter. We were discouraged from using much heating to save the centre money, despite we were paying towards bills and some of us were also making a monthly donation, as well as buying things for the centre out of our own pockets.

After a few weeks as a resident I was asked by the financial director to give my laptop computer to the resident teacher of the centre. At the time I didn’t believe he could be serious, and I laughed it off. Now I’m sure he was.

I was put under a lot of pressure to make financial donations in indirect ways – to pay for new robes for the resident teacher, to pay for her and other residents to attend teachings at other centres, and such like. I was on disability benefits, and I must have given thousands of pounds to the NKT while I was a member, one way or another.

Despite all this, I was quite happy there for some time. I was appointed meditation room supervisor, which meant keeping it clean, putting out and removing chairs and cushions for pujas and teachings, and organising the more complex puja rituals. I attended both General Program (GP:basic) and Foundation Program (FP:intermediate) classes, and although I wasn’t always entirely happy with answers to my questions, I was persuaded to believe this was due to my inexperience as a Buddhist practitioner. I was told Geshe Kelsang was both a Buddha and my guru, and I accepted that as part of the conditions of belonging to the tradition.  I had little idea what it meant or how to check it out, and we were discouraged from reading any books other than his. As with so many things, no one said you absolutely must not, but the usual phrase was, “Why would you want to?”.

Later the centre was to become divided. Neil Elliott, who had been Gen-la Thubten, moved in along with his wife, and he, the resident teacher and the financial director made a lot of decisions and changes that affected the rest of us, but in which we were allowed no part. NKT centres are definitely not democracies, and being a resident does not give you any say in what happens there.

After about 15 months I had a rough time with jetlag, following a trip to the US, where I had given a presentation on disability and spirituality. Despite my previous hard work and financial support of the centre, I was asked to leave. By now I had permission to take ordination as a nun, which had been granted on the condition of full support of my teacher, and now she was the main player in having me removed from the centre. A man living outside the centre was allocated to speed up my moving process, and within a short time I moved out to Bardsea, a village near Manjushri KMC. Manjushri still refused to consider me for residency, but I hoped that by being nearby and showing willingness and hard work, they might overlook my disabilities and allow me to move in.

Life in Bardsea was horribly lonely.  The village is small, most people drive off to work all day, and those that are left are the elderly, who don’t go out much. I had hoped that going to Manjushri centre would be enough, but it turned out to be the icing on the cake of great loneliness. I was allocated cleaning jobs two mornings a week – toilets and the large dining room – and I came in faithfully to do these.  Rarely did anyone talk to me, and I wonder if anyone even noticed I was doing the work. I went to puja every day, walking a half hour each way, and often no one really spoke to me there either. I attended the resident teacher’s GP class and the Sunday FP, which was where I got most of my interaction for the whole week.

Despite these bad experiences, I decided to go ahead and ordain. The time came, we had preparations the day before, and then the ceremony in the morning.  I took my vows and went home after lunch, in my robes, back to my empty flat, with a certain sense of failure and thoughts of, what’s actually changed? I had heard from other people that the high of being ordained usually lasted a few weeks, but mine didn’t last a day. Still, I was determined I was going to be a good nun and continue to develop my mind in Buddhist ways. I was unprepared for how often I would feel a failure, and how I would still find myself questioning what the NKT and my guru Geshe Kelsang were doing.

Following summer festival, I applied to move to Losang Dragpa centre in Todmorden, West Yorkshire. I had been refused previously, but now that I was a new nun, and there were new people in key roles at LDC, I was accepted, and moved in October. This was just as well – as evenings began to draw in walking to Manjushri centre along unlit lanes with no pavements was beginning to feel very risky, though no one cared to check on my welfare when I didn’t attend. At LDC things were not always a smooth ride.  My accommodation was two rooms in one of the blocks behind the castle – buildings that looked like run down council flats both outside and in. Our stairs had no carpet, just old flaking underlay, the buildings were barely heated, and in the cold, damp Yorkshire winter I had frequent colds and coughs I found hard to shake off.

Other things were quite well.  I had frequent access to my FP teacher and occasional access to the resident teacher, who I admired very much – though it has to be said a lot of the residents didn’t like her because she hardly came out of her rooms.

My work for the centre was mainly ironing guest bedding and helping in the kitchen, as well as some time cleaning in the three meditation rooms. My disabilities were somewhat catered for in that I only had to work mornings, and I tended to get light duties during weekend events. It must be said that when I tried to get across the case for increasing disabled access to the centre I was told that disabled people never showed any interest in attending!  There was a chalet building that had apparently been intended to be wheelchair accessible, but on knowledgeable inspection really wasn’t. The NKT attitude to disability is a misapplication of one of the ten conditions for a human life to qualify as precious (according to Tibetan Buddhism): no physical or mental afflictions. Disabled people naturally have more difficulty accessing teachings and NKT sees little reason to make it easier for them. I struggled with this complete lack of compassion throughout my time in the NKT.

I was aware that other centre residents had a much harder time than I did in some ways – many were working full time at low paid jobs in order to pay their rent, bills and buy basic food, and on top of that they had to spend a set number of hours each week working for the centre, plus most of us were getting up early to attend teachings from 7am to 9am two days a week.  Stories abounded of how much good it had done some of our teachers to be exhausted to the point of crying throughout teachings and pujas through their excessive commitment to the centre.

On a day to day basis life at LDC was not easy, I still questioned things, but I took my ordination seriously, and tended to consider that this was as good as it gets.  I was living in a large centre, attending teachings several times a week, and pujas daily, and what more could a new nun ask for? I did want to volunteer in the local community, but my resident teacher wouldn’t hear of it, and directed me to train to work on the centre’s reception desk instead.

Then, following summer festival 2007, our cold, damp “paradise” on the hill fell apart. The first I heard of it was when a lay woman resident I was friendly with came to talk to me – about her feelings concerning our resident teacher having suddenly announced she was leaving. Despite being a nun, I had not been told, and the news was at least two days old. I managed to see the teacher before she left, and later found out she was not honest with me. Scandal had fallen once more on the NKT – Gen-la Samden, a monk and very high teacher, had been having sexual relations with nuns and lay women in the name of tantric practice. My resident teacher was one of those nuns. I found out at this point that what Samden did was exactly the same as what Neil Elliott, also serving as Gen-la, had done some years previously, though when Elliott had moved to Chenrezig centre we were given a watered down version – that he had given back his vows in order to marry Diane.

Our little world fell apart quickly – within a couple days of our teacher leaving we were informed she wouldn’t be replaced, the centre was closed, we all had to move on. A letter was shown around, declaring the centre to be impure, and leaving us in turmoil. Were we, the residents, also impure? Were the teachings we had received there corrupt?  No one came to help us or advise us. Later Gen-la Khyenrab, who had replaced Samden, said that sending someone to us in our time of need would have been like sending someone into a lion’s den. Both then and now my response to that is, didn’t the NKT have a Bodhisattva – a highly realised practitioner – in its ranks, who could have taken whatever was thrown at them, and helped lead us through the mess we were left in?  It’s ironic that many of us had heard of centres being suddenly closed, but we never thought it would happen to us.

The next few weeks and months were very strange. Residents gradually left, most of them for other NKT centres – despite all that had happened! I applied for a couple of centres – Manjushri, and Madhyamaka near York.  Both offered me a pre-residency working visit, then when I disclosed my disabilities both rejected me, despite my successful residency at LDC. I found myself directed to Nagarjuna centre in the Midlands. It sounded good – was known for taking people with disabilities, pets and/or children. I visited and found it completely isolated, with the format of the working day incompatible with making the long bus journey to town and back.  It was rumoured that the resident teacher, a lay woman, was permitted to have a TV, which was absolutely banned in all other centres. There was something odd about the place, like a kind of dumping ground for NKT misfits where they could cause little trouble.

Around this time I really began to leave the NKT. I visited the FPMT centre (a similar but reputable Buddhist tradition) in Leeds, where I was accepted, NKT ordination and all, and treated with great compassion and respect. Ultimately I was to be unable to continue with the FPMT either due to the traumas caused by NKT; this was no fault of theirs.

I decided to remain a nun, wearing robes and keeping my vows, but trying to make a go of it on my own, on the edges of but not fully involved with other traditions. I moved out from the run down block behind the castle that used to house LDC, tried to keep up a practice, and failed, even despite attending FPMT weekly.  In April I returned my robes, along with a letter returning my vows and expressing my disappointments, in a box posted to Geshe Kelsang. I knew by then not to expect a reply, and I never got one. I had been in NKT about three years, and a nun for around 21 months.

It’s three years now since I posted off my robes. I have changed and moved on but am still working to integrate my NKT experiences into anything coherent as a part of my history.  It’s deeply confusing – there is so much potential good in the beautiful teachings of the Buddha, but the organisation warps them, bending them to maximise its financial profits and minimise its responsibilities to its members. Therefore when a person sees the light and leaves the NKT it is hard to trust again, hard to find the spiritual direction and fulfilment that we need, and that led us there in the first place.

I am left distrusting of ritual and of teachers, even when I have researched a group and found it to be reputable. I feel some desire to strike out on my own spiritual path, but I don’t know how to find it without some direction and the company of others going a similar way. In other words, I don’t trust groups or teachers, and I don’t trust my own judgement. This, for me, is the lasting legacy of my time in NKT.

I valued being a nun more than anything at the time, but now everything holy and pure seems suspect, even though the real difficulty was not that I was too impure for the NKT – but that I was actually too pure for them! I could not, and ultimately would not, rationalise their failure to practise what they preached. Therein lies the irony of being a NKT survivor.

Copyright: this essay may be forwarded by email or printed out in full. Permission is not given for publicly selectively quoting from this essay, or for full or partial publication on websites, blogs or for-profit publications, without the author’s explicit consent.  If you do not know who the author is you must not use it for these purposes.

Ordination ceremony July 28th 1999 at Manjushri

From the Ordination Handbook, p.20

As our renunciation deepens it will transform into bodhichitta, and our ordination vows will transform into Bodhisattva vows and finally into Tantric vows. In this way we can become a higher being able to maintain our ordination into our next life.

Objection: It is impossible that ordination vows can continue into the next life. The Vinaya and all commentaries on the Vinaya are clear about this. If the ordination vows could be carried into the next life then it follows very soon one would break one of the four root vows in the next life by just having sex through one of the three doors of the body, and since one has broken the root vows in one’s youth one cannot receive ordination in that very life again.

The ordination vows last for one life and cease with the death. Ordination vows cannot ‘transform into Bodhisattva vows and finally into Tantric vows”, if it were so then also all the ordained persons would receive the Bodhisattva vows and the Tantric vows by a miraculous way of transformation. The Bodhisattva vows and the Tantric vows as well as the ordination vows are conferred only by the proper ceremony as described in the scriptures, a qualified abbot/Sangha or master, and with a concious intention to receive them. Bodhichitta must be developed by applying the Mahayana teachings and renunciation supports that mind but does not transform into it otherwise if follows the Bodhisattvas who have attained uncontrived Bodhichitta have no renunciation because their renunciation would have transformed into Bodhichitta. What ‘higher being (is) able to maintain (the) ordination into our next life’? Please give an example and a scriptural source.

Ordination talk – Spring Festival 2000, Calistoga, California

In the Kadampa tradition we can carry our ordination with us from one life to the next. This is very different from the Hinayana tradition which nowadays Tibetan Buddhism is following. Western people need Kadam Dharma and it is particularly suited to them. Our Vinaya sutra is the Perfection of Wisdom sutra and Lamrim is its commentary. Our Vinaya is Lamrim. Through improving our Lamrim practice we improve our ordination. This is a different way of practising ordination from the Hinayana tradition, even different from the Mahayana tradition. Our ordination practices are very special and very clear, they are not complicated, so you should be happy with them.

Objection: In the ancient Kadampa tradition there exist no teaching that claims that the ordination would be carried to the next life. Atisha didn’t say that nor did any Kadampa master make such an assertion. Those in the Kadampa tradition, who were ordained, were ordained according to the Vinaya and especially about Atisha it is said that he had respected and followed the Vinaya in a perfect manner. Please give an example and an exact scriptural source where any of the old Kadampa master made such a claim. There is no one who has said this. According to the Vinaya the vows cease at the end of the life. The ordained Kadampas (e.g. Atisha) and the ordained Gelugpas (e.g. Je Tsongkhapa) as well as all the other ordained persons of the Tibetan schools of Buddhism follow the Vinaya. The explanation above is indeed ‘very different from the Hinayana tradition which nowadays Tibetan Buddhism is following.’ Statements like ‘Our Vinaya sutra is the Perfection of Wisdom sutra and Lamrim is its commentary. Our Vinaya is Lamrim.’ are twisted and wrong explanations. Neither the Perfection of Wisdom sutra nor Lamrim reveal or are texts that reveal how ordination vows are conferred and what the duties and rituals of monastic communities are. Though Lamrim practice supports an ordained person it cannot replace the Vinaya and the practice of the Vinaya. It is true what Kelsang Gyatso says: ‘This is a different way of practising ordination from the Hinayana tradition, even different from the Mahayana tradition.’ Yes, it is, it is self-made. I disagree with the conclusion of Kelsang Gyatso: ‘Our ordination practices are very special and very clear, they are not complicated, so you should be happy with them.’ This ordination has no support from any tradition, it is twisted, self-created and this wrong explanation shouldn’t be accepted. Actual it is really sad to read such twisted explanations.

However, still the NKT ordination can be considered to be valid insofar as it can be seen to be a so called “Rabjung ordination”. Such an ordination—usually given to Tibetan kids under the age of 18—does not confer actual ordination vows and the person is an “in-between” which means the person is neither a real lay person nor a real ordained person, such a Rabjung does also not belong to the Buddhist monastic order but is approaching to become a member of it by aspiring to become a novice or a fully ordained person.

‘Ordination handbook’. Ordination talk on July 29th 1999

He calls the vows ‘initial or basic ordination. The second level is called the Getsul – Getsulpa and Getsulma in Tibetan, or Shramanera and Shramanerika in Sanskrit… The third and highest level of ordination within the Pratimoksha is the Gelong ordination – Gelongpa and Gelongma in Tibetan, or Bhikkshu and Bhikkshuni in Sanskrit…’

He says he is following Geshe Potawa’s idea of ordination – that when he gained the realization of renunciation… ‘Only then did his basic ordained vows become actual Pratimoksha vows.’

There follows a discussion of how the New Kadampa ordination is Prasangika, following Khedrubje’s commentary to the Perfection of Wisdom sutras, and that the Vinaya Sutra ordination ‘can only be received from a highly qualified senior Teacher who has been ordained for at least ten years’ – so ‘superficially this was incorrect’ (Geshe Potawa saying that due to receiving Lamrim teachings from Dromtonpa he developed renunciation so his ‘ordaining master’ was Dromtonpa… but Kelsang Gyatso is following Geshe Potawa’s view of ordination.

The previous monastic vows follow ‘Madhyamika-Svantantrika’ commentaries due to the influence of powerful Madhyamika-Svantantrika Masters ‘materially and politically’ according to ‘my root Guru, Kyabje Trijang Dorejechang’.

Therefore when you ‘receive your ordinained vows (from KG) you do not have real renunciation, and your vows are artificial. However, later through the practice of Lamrim your artificial renunciation becomes actual renunciation and your vows become real ordained vows. As your renunciation deepens, and your wish to attain nirvana strengthens, your ordained vows transform into Getsul or Shramanera vows, and you become a Getsul or Getsulma. By continuing to improve your renunciation until it becomes spontaneous, your Getsul vows will transform into Gelong vows and you will become a Bhikkshu or Bhikkshuni.’

Quote:

‘Nowadays the practice of Vinaya has almost died out. Not only the Vinaya but Buddhism in general is degenerating, including the Tibetan Gelug tradition… however here in the West we are very fortunate. For this is not a degenerate time but an increasing time…Since we are living in an increasing time we need to do everything very purely and correctly…If we followed the example of the tradition of a degenerate time, it would be impossible for us to make any progress….According to our Kadampa tradition of Mahayana Buddhism, you do not need to receive Gelong vows, full ordination, in a separate ritual ceremony.

As our renunciation deepens it will transform into bodhichitta, and our ordination vows will transform into Bodhisattva vows and finally into Tantric vows. In this way we can become a higher being able to maintain our ordination into our next life. This is the most profound way of understanding Kadampa ordination. The Dharma is the same but we are practising differently. We have a special presentation, which is simpler, more practical, and causes less confusion. This understanding is very important, otherwise in the future you may develop confusion about your ordination because we are practising very differently from Tibetans. So you need to know these things. This is a special method of practising Dharma and keeping ordination vows for the western practitioner.

Western people are well-educated; they do not have blind faith but immediately question and try to understand the truth. We cannot be like a fully ordained monk who has taken 253 vows but who is not keeping even one. We should never do this; we need to do everything correctly and purely. The Kadampa ordination solves all these problems. Practically speaking, all the 253 vows included in the Vinaya sutra are included within the ten commitments. The commitment ‘…abandon engaging in meaningless activities’ includes abandoning all meaningless activities – mental, verbal or physical. But whether we can abandon them all depends upon our practice of Lamrim.

The actual words of the Kadampa ordination are brief but the practice is very extensive. It is a condensation of the entire practice of Lamrim and includes all the meanings of the Perfection of Wisdom sutra. In the future we can say that our Vinaya Sutra is the Perfection of Wisdom sutra, and Lamrim is its commentary.

…we must be confident that our ordination is correct. If people say that you are doing wrong, you can tell them that we like our tradition, we are happy with it and for us it is enough.

Objection: Here the meaning of what Geshe Potowa said is confused. What Geshe Potowa wanted to emphasize is that due to the influence of Dromtöpa he developed renunciation and this realization made him really an renunciate not the ritual or the ordination. However, this does not imply that he did not receive the ordination vows by the proper Vinaya ceremony nor does this statement by Geshe Potowa imply that his vows were established by developing renunciation. The vows are not received by developing or not developing renunciation but by the proper Vinaya ceremony otherwise it follows that newly ordained people don’t receive the vows by the ceremony of ordination and if they haven’t received the vows they cannot break them, hence they can have sexual intercourse, they can kill human beings, lie about attainments or steal without breaking their vows—at least as long as they haven’t develop renunciation.

From the Ordination ceremony July 29th 1999.

According to the Hinayana Vaibhasika school, ordination vows are subtle physical form and disappear at the time of death, but according to the Mahayana, vows are a type of mind and we do not necessarily lose our ordination when we die. If we can maintain the determination to keep our vows through the death process and into our next rebirth, we will still be ordained in our next life.

When most ordinary beings die they forget everything from their previous life. Their memory and mindfulness degenerates, and when they take their next rebirth they are unable to remember anything. If they were ordained they will again have to receive ordination from their Spiritual Guide. However, those practitioners who have gained profound realizations of moral discipline, which are powerful enough to withstand death, can carry their ordination with them into future lives. The Mahayana view is different from that of the Hinayana Vaibhashika tradition, and is more correct.

Objection: Here two different things are mixed up. The ordination is always based on the Vinaya which Tibetans relate to the Hinayana school. Though realised beings can carry Bodhisattva vows into the next life they cannot carry the ordination vows into the next life unless they are Bodhisattvas who have abandoned all delusions (on the 8th ground) because all Arhats are natural Bhikshus or Bhikshunis due to the purity of their mind.

I will add here some other explanations without commenting on them because those who have knowledge and understanding will be able to judge them for themselves.

Spring Festival 2000, Calistoga, California, Ordination talk – final draft prepared by Dekyi.

We Kadampa Buddhists are trying to bring the Dharma into mainstream of human society and to help people integrate their daily activities with their practice of Dharma. Now we are beginning. I understand we have a very special opportunity here. No Buddhist has ever done this before.

Right now it is your responsibility to improve yourself. Sometimes people respect you and regard you as their Spiritual Guide, as a Holy being, or maybe like a Buddha. Even though we are not yet a Buddha it is right for us to teach the Holy Dharma because from the student’s side, whether his or her Teacher is a real Buddha or not depends upon the student’s faith, and view, not on the actual qualifications of the teacher.

But from our side we shouldn’t believe that we are anything special. If we come to believe that we are a Holy Being or a Buddha we are making a mistake.

We know that we are not a Buddha but we don’t need to say this to our students, because they have faith in us.

Some of you come to me and say, ‘Geshe-la, I am not being honest with my students, I have so many problems, delusions of anger, attachment, jealousy, many negative thoughts. I am just pretending to be a qualified Teacher, I am not being honest.’ Sometimes you might think like this because you are an educated westerner. You should never allow your delusions to make you discouraged, this is ridiculous!

I do appreciate that when some teachers get discouraged, that in reality they are being honest, but that is foolish. If you allow your students to see you unhappy they will lose faith, trust and confidence in you. Of course we have to judge ourselves, but when we find many faults we should not get discouraged but rather we have to encourage ourselves and make a strong determination to improve. This is very important.

We are not saying we are Buddhas, we are simply giving teachings with a good motivation. We are like a mother who cooks food for her children, while at the same time eating the food herself. We are striving to understand the Dharma while at the same time we are also teaching and encouraging others to practice, and practicing and improving ourselves. If faithful students see you as a Buddha, that is alright, you don’t need to say to them, ‘no, I am not a Buddha’. That is not necessary. At the same time you don’t need to say you are a Buddha. Just give people the freedom to believe whatever they want. If your students have pure view of you they will receive the blessings of the Buddhas through you.

You can understand from even the slightest experience that the Dharma works and can make you happy. But if you just read books on an intellectual level, understanding and thinking you know it without putting it into practice, you will have nothing. Only maybe increased pride, thinking that you are a Dharma teacher, and very special.

Sometimes we read our Kadampa books and see some contradictions. Maybe you think it is not clear or maybe you get discouraged. Using your wisdom you should contemplate the meaning and then come to your own conclusions. Or, the meaning may not be clear because your mind is not clear, this indicates that you don’t have much wisdom.

If you read and study the books carefully you will gain the confidence to teach others. It is not wrong to teach if your motivation is pure.

At the beginning don’t expect quick results. I am not saying you have to do everything at once, now we are just opening the door to practice. But do keep the intention to practice. If you give up this intention, then you have broken your vows. Some small damage or degeneration of your vows will happen but every month you can do Sojong and renew your vows and purify your downfalls.

After the third recitation I will click my fingers, this sound indicates that you have received the ordination vows. Generate a strong joyful feeling, a happy mind, thinking, ‘I have received the Dharma Jewel, actual refuge, within my mind and I am protected from samsara’s suffering’. So be happy, OK?

Ordination talk – Ven. Geshe-la, Spring Festival 2000, Calistoga, California, USA by Dekyi

I didn’t take classes on Highest Yoga Tantra myself. I spent most of my study years in debate. The focus in our monasteries was on debate, on philosophical subjects, Dharmakirti’s text alone took many years of study. I received Tantric initiations and some essential teachings from my root gurus, then I concentrated on my own reading of Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings. I imagined he was talking to me. I would read one paragraph, and through re-reading and contemplating the meaning, eventually it really felt as if he was speaking to me directly. It was like a real oral transmission. The first time I read it I understood the meaning, the second time my understanding improved and by the third reading I had begun to have a deep understanding of the material. In this way I studied the Tantras on my own.

Actually in Tibet at that time there were no Tantric classes, I learnt mainly through reading books and listening carefully to my Teachers. You can do this, these books are your Teacher and your Spiritual Guide. Your Spiritual Guide cannot always be with you in person, but your Dharma books are always with you. If you read and study the books carefully you will gain the confidence to teach others.

Gen-la Samden Sojong April 1993, Toronto. Transcript by Kelsang Wangden

Excerpts:

Very nice to see so many Kadampa monks and nuns here today. Or New Kadampa, New Kadampa monks and nuns. It’s quite important that we do regard ourselves as New Kadampa monks and nuns. It’s clear that since Geshe-la, Venerable Geshe-la arrived in the West that he has created many, many new things. Often within our tradition we feel that it is merely the presentation of Buddha’s teachings that is new. The presentation of Buddha’s teachings is new but there are many other new things that can be found within our tradition that previously didn’t exist. We know the instructions themselves, at least the presentation is new. We know, for example, with respect to the sutra instructions, twenty-one meditations, for example, you will not find the twenty-one meditations explained before. Even within the Tantric instructions there are many, many new presentations given to us by Geshe-la. The programs, entirely new. The communities – new types of communities. Mixed communities of monks, nuns, lay people, all together. This is new.

Also we have to understand that the presentation Geshe-la has given of the ordained way of life is new. Our vows are new, aren’t they? No one had these, specifically these vows before. I think this is something we have to think about very, very carefully, because, with respect to this last point, we are not monks and nuns living in monasteries. We’re monks and nuns living in towns and cities. We’re not merely monks and nuns studying and meditating. If only! We’re monks and nuns doing lots of other things as well: teaching, we’re distributing publicity, meeting lots and lots of people, bank managers, even. It’s unheard of. It’s entirely new. And we’re not living in single sex communities, are we? We’re mixing with all types. We live in Communities, monks, nuns, lay people, female and male, so I think it is important that we think carefully about what it is to be a Kadampa monk or nun.

We have to understand how the ordained way of life is still very much relevant or significant in today’s age, in today’s society. And feel confident, really confident, following that ordained way of life which is not going to be the same as the ordained way of life followed by a monk, for example, in a monastery, studying, meditating, no other goal, meeting no lay people, being able to focus on their practice. If we feel the ordained way of life is, should be, like that, then we’ll run into problems straightaway… We can enjoy our ordained way of life, thinking that for us it’s the best possible way of life.

[There follows an explanation of how to deal with attachment by developing love]

So we can be this monk or nun living with people, loving them, acting out of love, helping them in whatever way we can, being with them, having a nice time with them, enjoying their company. And we’re moving forward. …Geshe-la has said that great bliss, the mind of great bliss, is the supremely peaceful mind, It’s the greatest inner peace we can experience. Why did he say that? We’re moving towards the great bliss that is the inner peace of a Buddha. So again we use that opportunity, when we’re with others we can act in accordance with our Tantric vows, and we try to generate a blissful mind, because we have some control over our attachment, we can try to generate a blissful mind, and at that time we can say that we’re developing our inner peace….That’s what we want! We’re making that journey to the inner pure land of a Buddha, here. So we can start to feel blissful when we’re with others. And our mind becomes even more peaceful….

….We can be monks or nuns living in this kind of society and having so much fun. Seriously…we can be enjoying – personally I feel there is no greater way of enjoying ourselves. If we understand the importance of developing inner peace, practising contentment, with external and internal conditions, revealing that contentment, showing contentment, practising discipline. Especially just watching our mind…And eventually controlling.

We can be the perfect monk, the perfect nun. In our heart we’re loving others, we’re feeling compassion towards others, wherever we may be, whoever we may be with. Deepening, stabilising that inner peace. Further, in accordance with our Tantric discipline we can be feeling blissful when we’re with others. Seems to me, without those Bodhisattva, without the Pratimoksha discipline it’s difficult actually. ..Why do I want to generate bliss? It’s so finally I can experience the inner peace of nirvana, of enlightenment.

Personally I feel that the Kadampa way of following the ordained way of life is the best by a mile, by a hundred miles, by a million miles. Honestly I do, I really do. At these times, in this kind of society, it’s not just that we are able to make swift progress because we are monks and nuns, but we are able to help others in such an extraordinary way. I think if we do it properly, I really do feel that we can bring ourselves so much enjoyment…And we can bring others so much enjoyment. We can be the best example for everyone. Absolutely everybody. Trying, at least, to maintain peace of mind when in the presence of others. Because you know we are very busy, we’re living in a chaotic world…

It seems already, without, even experiencing the unchanging peace of nirvana, we can bring others even a little bit of peace in their lives. That peace we know is the foundation of freedom and happiness. So with that inner peace, we ourselves experience fewer problems. We’re a lot happier. So through this we can actually help others become free of their problems…

Shutting ourselves in our room, ignoring our attachment, or fighting with our attachment, we going to be really miserable. As well, just going out and indulging our attachment are two extremes…

So we’ve got to find that middle way, haven’t we, that is the Kadampa way, being able to live in this kind of society, in these kinds of communities, in these kinds of times, as a monk or a nun….So personally I feel that it is definately possible, if we get it right, I think it’s so relevant, so significant, I really feel that it’s still the best way to practice Dharma, it’s the best way to help others. If we’re still not sure about why that is, then we do need to think about it quite deeply, and we need to discuss it with others….So as I said earlier, then we can go out into this big, wide world with confidence, with real confidence. It’s never been done before, it’s new, which is fantastic. Geshe-la has given us this because he thinks it’s the best way, doesn’t he? Otherwise he wouldn’t have given us it. The best way. So we need to think, how is it the best way? How is it the best way for me, how is it the best way for others? Best way for the whole world.

I can only give an introduction. I haven’t had much time really to explain what is so special about the Kadampa ordained way of life. But we need to think about it, don’t we? It’s new. New Kadampa. We’re New Kadampa monks, we’re New Kadampa nuns, with new vows that no-one’s ever had before, doing what nobody’s ever done before. So fully discuss it with others, just make use of this opportunity we have to discuss with our many spiritual friends. Many Sangha Jewels within our communities. Use them.

See also:

• Update: New Kadampa Tradition – Ordination 2011/18/04
• Australian Sangha Association Statement by ASA
• Are NKT monks and nuns authentic? July 27, 2008
• How important is the Vinaya? 2008/07/25

• New Kadampa Cult Watch

When I checked the WordPress tags I found one WordPress post by Michael-J B. W., a person who was (is still?) extremely skilled in putting a spin on the Wikipedia articles related to NKT or Dorje Shugden. I will comment on that here a bit but before I do that I’ll give a short (and one-sided) background to some of his activities. Michael has not only spun successfully Wikipedia articles, he also removed links to academic papers from my Website about Tibetan Buddhism which were linked on Wikipedia by (ab)using a rule which says that no website which mirrors WP content should be linked. Of course my websites only uses four former articles from WP and there is no problem in linking an academic article which has nothing to do with Wikipedia. WP is flexible enough to allow to link e.g.Prof. von Brück’s or Prof. William’s article though my website indeed include four former WP articles which are marked as being such. Since I’ve encountered Michael’s spins different times, I decided not to say anything or to restrain to respond to his perversions of the facts because I felt any engagement into that direction is just a waste of time.

However, yesterday I glanced through one of his posts, The Virtuous Friend: You Will Know Them by their Root. I was again struck by his abilities to turn the facts upside down. E.g. he wants to give the impression that I would deliberately ignore statements with respect to the teacher student relationship or that I would in a way manipulate or ignore certain information by suggesting e.g. “…but Tenzin Peljor fails to give his audience the surrounding context” or “the quote which Tenzin Peljor left out” or “how Tenzin Peljor pretends that Lama Zopa’s advice on not abandoning Shugden Lamas such as Geshe Kelsang Gyatso does not exist.”

Among others he refers to a post, Characteristics of those unsuitable to be gurus, offered here but Michael ignores that the information these quotes provide were just given for the sake to balance the one-sided and often misleading information of NKT or their followers and the fear and feelings of guilt these install in people and which function to bind people to the NKT making them fear to leave this new religious movement (or this ‘cult’ as some say). He also ignores that unlike Kelsang Gyatso I give exact book titles and page numbers where interested people can actual read the complete context while Kelsang Gyatso mentions certain texts but without mentioning the page number or a publication where people can cross check—not only this, he discourages his students to read books not written by him because they would “confuse” them. So my quotes are means to balance NKT’s or Kelsang Gyasto’s misinformation and they do not claim—unlike NKT or KG—to present the “complete path to enlightenment” implying neither cross checking or anything else is needed to achieve a better understanding of Buddha’s teachings.

Michael goes over the top in his suggestive post when he states:

Indeed, it is also interesting how Tenzin Peljor pretends that Lama Zopa’s advice on not abandoning Shugden Lamas such as Geshe Kelsang Gyatso does not exist. Lama Zopa points out how important it is “not to criticize, to keep the mind in equanimity regarding him.” One wonders why quotes like these do not appear in Tenzin Peljor’s set of advice:

“By giving up Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, you have created heavy negative karma in this life. Since you haven’t given me up, I suggest that you confess to Geshe Kelsang Gyatso about what happened, and devote yourself again to this virtuous friend.” — Lama Zopa Rinpoche

First of all, the ‘set of advice’ Michael is referring to is a compilation of different posts and quotes given in internet forums to fearful NKT followers as a means to help those, who were  manipulated by NKT teachings, to let go their fear and worries to leave that organisation. Since the organisation is totally fixed on Kelsang Gyatso, who himself said that he himself would be the NKT, people should learn that there is no problem in leaving an organisation or a teacher who is not really qualified or even misleading. The ‘set of advice’ states clearly in the beginning:

“This set of advice was compiled quickly for people who left NKT or who are thinking about to leave NKT. It mainly aims to give a quick overview on matters of concern NKT people might have with respect to the Guru. It is aimed to support those who are thinking to leave NKT or who have have left NKT already and who now might have doubts if leaving Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is a negative, positive or neutral action.”

Also I do not pretend that this advice by Lama Zopa Rinpoche does not exist. From what does Michael conclude that? In contradiction to his claim is the fact that I discussed this advice in detail on E-Sangha and put that advice into perspective. Different times I replied to some emails by worried ex-NKT with respect to this advice too. E-Sangha does not exist any more nor do I have a copy of that discussion. To save some time, I just quote from an email I sent to a former NKT follower regarding this advice in 2010:

[... Tulku Rinpoche] advised to ignore this advice.

I wonder why FPMT even puts a personal advice to a specific person online…

Nobody has to accept advice or a teacher which/who is contrary to the teachings. Though it is not good to be negative to one’s teacher and it is correct to inspire to stop such negativity, the teachings suggest to leave a teacher when one realises he is not qualified. And also Je Tsongkhapa comments in his commentary on Guru devotion one should not follow advice of the guru which is contrary to the Dharma.

So leaving NKT or GKG is NOTHING bad, it is virtuous to leave a misleading teacher, because a misleading teacher leads one onto wrong paths. However, one should make a neutral distance, and of course every negativity creates negative Karma but (I think) one should also not be too tight about this. How can one not be upset about being abused? We are human beings, but as Buddhists we work on our states of mind to not respond too negative to things or to respond at least neutral or if possible in a positive manner.

Actual, I do not accept this advice and I wrote something about this and my reasons on E_Sangha in the past.
You can ask also Ringu Tulku about this if you like.

I wonder if Lama Zopa Rinpoche still has this view since he knows now better how much people suffer and are misled in NKT—its a very old advice. I would support that idea to write to Lama Zopa!!! A monk told me when the NKT resident teacher of Paris asked Lama Zopa to be her teacher too, he refused as long as she is a student of Geshe Kelsang!* One can also ask if he finds it a good idea to follow Geshe Kelsang and to learn the Dalai Lama is the enemy of Buddhism (though that is a bit provoking.)

Though I don’t like to write something about this to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, I support the wish to clarify this directly with him.
I would also read or make suggestions with respect to a letter to him, however, the letter must be written by others. For me this matter is finished in a way, and I think it is better people write for whom this really creates worry or is a subject of concern. This makes things more urgent/serious. I do not expect a reply so it would be dishonest if I would write something.

Is this ok for you what I wrote/suggested here?

Though Michael’s post (not to speak about his blog in general) has more perversions, I save my time by just ignoring them and I give rather some quick reasons why I think that actual Kelsang Gyasto is not a reliable spiritual teacher. First of all he has isolated and is isolating himself and his followers from other genuine Buddhist masters, the Dharma (not written by himself), and the Sangha (all the many genuine practitioners and masters outside of the NKT). This is cultish but these are not the actions of a Buddhist master who understands that persons have different needs, Karma and inclinations, and that one can learn from everything and everybody. To create ‘one Dharma for all’ and to bind the own students to one single isolated teacher is also an expression of a lack of compassion and the lack of the wisdom which sees the individual aspects of the phenomena and sentient beings. Because the Buddha has great compassion and because he possesses the wisdom that knows the individual aspects of phenomena, and because all the Buddhas possess these qualities, the enlightened Buddhas know that there are limitless Dharmas for limitless sentient beings. No Buddha has ever claimed that the holy Dharma can be comprised into 22 books written by one single author nor is there any prediction or scriptural quote that this would happen or that such a reduction of the Dharma would be appropriate; instead the scriptures emphasize that there exist limitless doors of Dharmas given by limitless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, they do not say to read the Dharma of another Buddha would “confuse” the own disciple. Secondly instead of seeing the dependent arising of things Kelsang Gyatso has put the blame different times solely on others and claimed at the same time he would have not done any fault at all. This shows for me that he does not apply even basics of Buddhism when he encounters problems because according to the sixteen aspects of the Four Noble Truths there is no singular external cause for the production of a phenomenon (e.g. it is not possible that the Dalai Lama is the sole and single source which created the problems with respect to the Shugden practice). All phenomena are dependent arising and arise due to many causes and conditions, its parts, and by ‘mere’ thought. So how can a Buddhist master who has an understanding of dependent arising (emptiness) put the blame on others? There is a contradiction here.

I could continue like this but to make it short, I quote from a letter Kelsang Gyatso sent to me and other students of the former NKT resident teacher of Berlin, and NKT’s representative for Germany, Gen Kelsang Dechen. I think for those who have knowledge about Buddhism, NKT’s internal (cultish) dynamics, and psychology or who rely on their common sense it will be easy to recognize that these statements by Kelsang Gyatso are highly manipulative, fear provoking, and contrary to the teachings of the Buddha and the Vinaya (the rules for Buddhist monks and nuns). Kelsang Gyatso threatened those NKT followers who were thinking to follow Gen Dechen—who has full support from Lama Gangchen Rinpoche and Lama Kundeling Rinpoche, two known Shugden Lamas—that if they do so the following will happen:

Wenn Ihr Euch entscheidet Carola zu folgen, wird die Verbindung zwischen Euch und mir automatisch enden. Aufgrund dessen werden Eure Ordinationsgelübde enden. Das bedeutet, daß Ihr nicht mehr länger ordiniert seid und Ihr könnt den Ordinationsnamen, den Ihr von mir empfangen habt, nicht mehr benutzen.

Gleichzeitig werdet Ihr die Überlieferungssegnungen, um meine Bücher zu unterrichten, nicht mehr haben. Das bedeutet, daß Ihr meine Bücher nicht als Dharma-Lehrer unterrichten könnt.

Auf diese Weise werdet Ihr in der gleichen Lage wie Carola sein.

Ich hoffe, Ihr seid Euch im klaren über Eure Entscheidung.

Mit Liebe
Geshe-Ia

(translation)

If you decide to follow Carola [Gen Kelsang Dechen], the connection between you and me will automatically cease. As a result of this your ordination vows will cease. This means that you are no longer ordained and that you cannot use the ordination name any more that you have received from me.

At the same time you won’t have the transmission blessings to teach my books [any more]. This means that you cannot teach my books as a Dharma teacher.

In this way you will be in the same situation like Carola.

I hope you have clarity about your decision.

With love
Geshe-Ia

This approach is “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away” but it has nothing to do with Buddhism.

* Amendment, June 18, 2011

According to to some emails I’ve received in the past days this is not correct. The person asked me to state “According to this person this is not correct, they never asked Lama Zopa to be their teacher.”

• Buddha vs. Buddha BBC Radio 4

April 18, 2011

In a former post I investigated the case of NKT ordination and I asked the question “Are NKT monks and nuns authentic?“. This time I wish to give a slightly different answer to this question.

Actual, one could also answer this question in another or more differentiated way than done in the previous post. E.g. one could say, yes, they are authentic rabjung ordainees but they are not actual monks or nuns who hold the vows of Buddhist monks or nuns, because the rabjung ordination does not confer actual vows. The rabjung ordainee makes promises that belong to the class of “non-revelatory form of virtuous and non-virtuous in-betweens”. Therefore, becoming a rabjung is a virtuous promise but it is not a vow. The advantage is that such a odrination generates habits that bring one closer to getting and holding an actual vow—like that of a novice monk or nun (tib. getsul, getsul ma) or a fully ordained monk (tib. gelong). These promises of a rabjung have neither positively nor negatively the impact of a full vow. (For details see Abhidharma-kośa [Tib. chos mngon pa mdzod] by Vasubandhu.)

New Kadampa Tradition (NKT-IKBU) aka Kadampa Buddhism

• Cartoon NKT Survivor Experiences 2011/04/11
• INFORM statistics – Geshe Title of Kelsang Gyatso – Not Isolating Groups 2011/28/07
• A life in the day of the New Kadampa Tradition 2011/06/07
• BBC: An Unholy Row 2011/26/06
• NKT Ordination – Clarifying More Misunderstandings 2011/22/06
• Delusion & Perversion 2011/13/06
• Update: New Kadampa Tradition – Ordination 2011/18/04
• Experiences with the New Kadampa Tradition and Kelsang Gyatso 2011/01/07
• NKT Chaplaincy, NKT Business & NKT Research 2010/12/13
• Characteristics of those unsuitable to be gurus 2010/11/05
• Waterstones’ Naivety Helps the Spread of the New Kadampa Tradition 2010/14/07
• Good Night Lama – The “Blackmail Tape” 2010/14/07
• The NKT and the UK Charity Commission – Part II 2010/03/07
• New Kadampa Tradition threatened to sue NBO too 2010/03/07
• New Kadamapa Tradition Threats an Author and His Publisher to Sue Them 2010/02/07
• Do New Kadampa Tradition abuse the Charity Status for Political Activities? 2009/21/12
• Eighteen Months Since Leaving The New Kadampa Tradition 2009/11/03
• What is the Truth – Another Smear? 2009/10/09
• The Authors of “The Celibate – Sex. Lies. Salvation.” are NKT Teachers May 11, 2009
• Information about the New Kadampa Tradition 2008/09/18
• A Small Protest of Former New Kadampa Tradition’s Members 2008/09/08
• Bodhisattva Centre Open Day – Review and Reply 2008/09/11
• Australian Sangha Association Statement 2008/07/21
• Are NKT monks and nuns authentic? July 27, 2008
• How important is the Vinaya? 2008/07/25
• New Kadampa Tradition – Multiple ‘Histories’ 2008/07/30
• Master Atisha’s Advice – Are these New Kadampa Truths? 2008/08/01

Western Shugden Society (WSS)

• We are so important, our problems matter: WSS’s new campaign 2011/22/10
• Amazon Unlocks a ‘Secret’ 2010/01/03
• Western Shugden Society Nonsense Renders Me Silent 2009/11/02
• Blog “Western Shugden Society – Unlocked” Moved to Another URL 2009/10/26
• Western Shugden Society / New Kadampa Tradition have Stopped the Protests against H.H. the Dalai Lama 2009/10/04
• “The Western Shugden Group is severely lacking in credibility” – Correction to the Time Magazine Article by Tibet Scholar Robert Barnett 2008/12/14
• Scandalous feeding on rumors and gossips by pro-Shugden 2008/12/13
• A Biased Historical Narrative Does Not History Make 2008/09/24
• Western Shugden Society: Sowing Dissent Through Baseless Allegations 2008/09/29
• Western Shugden Society – Propaganda unlimited 2008/08/01
• How Buddhists view the protests of NKT/WSS 2008/08/31
• Western Shudgen Society violates Buddhist Ethics2008/07/14
• (Un) Holy Truth’s 2008/09/01
• Funny Propaganda 2008/07/22
• Western Shugden Society in New York 2008/07/20
• Western Shudgen Society – The Spin Doctors 2008/07/20
• Western Shugden Society – recent developments 2008/07/15
• Videos 2008/08/12

Dorje Shugden Controversy

• Jake Wallis Simons About New Kadampa Tradition, Tibetan Buddhism, Dalai Lama, Shugden and Religion 2012/23/05
• After the Strom April 23, 2010
• China’s Involvement in the Dorje Shugden Controversy Feb 21, 2010
• Buddhism without Borders: Western Involvement in the Shugden Controversy Feb 20, 2010
• Summary of the State of Shugden Scholarship Feb 20, 2010
• TibetInfoNet Update: Shugden in Kham May 11, 2009
• Wikipedia: Dorje Shugden’s Enlightened Lineage or How to Make ‘History’ 2009/04/15
• The Shugden dispute represents a battleground of views on what is meant by religious and cultural freedom 2008/06/18
• Academic Research regarding Shugden Controversy and New Kadampa Tradition-IKBU 2008/07/24
• Sectarian Rivalry – The Yellow Book by Zimey Rinpoche 2008/10/01
• Religious Fundamentalism in Buddhism 2008/09/05
• Mixing Dharma with Politics 2008/08/13
• The Dorje Shugden Controversy 2008/07/16

Religious Persecution?

• Update on the Situation at Sera Monastery – Visit of H.H. the Dalai Lama 2009/03/08
• India Update – Present Situation 2008/11/17
• Review and Present Situation 2008/07/24
• The ‘Stick’ Referendum – against Buddhist and democratic principles? 2008/08/11
• A former Dorje Shugden follower’s thoughts 2008/08/12
• A Report from Sera and Some Advice 2008/08/23
• A forgotten perspective – Who is persecuted? 2008/09/09

The XIVth Dalai Lama

• Global Tribute to the Dalai Lama – 75th Birthday of The Dalai Lama 2010/07/08
• Words of Truth – Inspiration from the Dhammapada 2009/12/25
• H.H. the Dalai Lama 2008/06/18
• 100 Scholars From China Had A Discussion With The Dalai Lama 2008/05/06

Mixed Topics

• Chinese Electronic Spy Ware Effects Google Search Results on Shugden 2009/04/12