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Ex-members: Shambhala, Boulder-born Buddhist organization, suppressed allegations of abuse
The Denver Post "conducted dozens of interviews with current and former members and a review of hundreds of pages of internal documents, police records and private communications," and published this long and in-depth look at Shambhala's response to allegations of abuse. The article contains many interviews and discussions of how the institution sought to protect itself by re-orienting or suppressing complaints, often through victim-blaming, and how internal processes failed
Further Developments in the Case of Former Member Michael Smith
Message from the Interim Board: Recent Arrests of Former Shambhala Members The Interim Board issued a communication addressing the arrest, stating that neither it nor the International Care and Conduct Panel were aware of any incidents involving Michael Smith prior to his arrest, and that during the subsequent information discovery process, questions arose related to how the case was handled internally by Shambhala leaders in the 1990s. As a result of this, the Interim Board
Another Former Boulder Shambhala Member Accused of Sexual Assault on a Child
Michael Smith, 54, turned himself in to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office early Friday after the Boulder Police Department issued a warrant for his arrest on one charge of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, according to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office. He met the victim through his membership at the Boulder Shambhala Center. The abuse started when she was 13 years old. Boulder police have also been contacted by another woman, who claimed that Smith
Karme Choling makes decision to rehang pictures, in act of disregard for survivors' mental healt
Last week, Myra Woodruff, the Executive Director of Karme Choling who will be retiring towards the end of the year, sent out a letter to subscribers at Karme Choling, discussing whether or not to rehang the pictures in the shrine rooms of Chogyam Trungpa and Osel Mukpo. After some equivocating, the decision was ultimately made to rehang the pictures. This represents another layer of institutional betrayal, and will likely act to further suppress other survivors from coming fo
A Psychological Report on The New Kadampa Tradition - Dr. Michelle Haslam
(Image posted by Nagarjuna Kadampa Meditation Centre, 24.06.19) This is a report written by an ex-NKT member who is also a clinical psychologist. The report is too long for me to summarize effectively here, but there are many parallels with Shambhala. It is an interesting read that will equip the reader with more concepts and language to help some of the dynamics that may occur in unhealthy spiritual situations. Not exactly the same things have been happening in every insta
Shameless in Shambhala - A New Book of Poems by Osel Mukpo
The latest insult from Shambhala towards survivors. The idea of promoting a poem by Osel Mukpo entitled 'Say Yes' in the context of everything that has happened is beyond the pale. The only thing that would make this even slightly acceptable is donating all proceeds to a survivors' fund. The tone-deaf nature of this communication is unfortunately becoming par for the course in messaging from an institution that seems to want to pay lip service to change while proceeding statu
I Don't Need "I Believe You." I Need "I'll Stand Up For You." - Karen Ra
Photo: Michelle Spollen on Unsplash The tagline of this article by author and survivor Karen Rain says it all: "When it comes to supporting victims of sexual assault, belief is only the beginning." She directly addresses the state of belief and disbelief associated with reporting sexual assault, and a culture caught between overt and unknowingly victim-blaming and shaming. Through sharing a number of her different personal experiences, Karen seeks to move the conversation ou
Institutional Betrayal - Carly Parnitzke Smith & Jennifer Freyd
Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash This paper, from Carly Parnitzke Smith and Jennifer Freyd in the Department of Psychology at the University of Oregon, explores what institutional betrayal is, and the damage it causes. It is very well supported with citations throughout, and explores a number of different examples and instances where institutional betrayal occurs. They describe unhelpful law enforcement and unresponsive legal systems - which can be extended to unresponsive
When Sexual Assault Victims Speak Out, Their Institutions Often Betray Them - Jennifer Freyd
This is a very relevant article, written by Jennifer Freyd, who is a professor of Psychology and the University of Oregon. Drawing on a large body of empirical research, Jennifer discusses how institutional betrayal compounds the harm victims experience after an episode of abuse. She contrasts institutional betrayal with institutional courage, and offers 10 general principles that institutions can seek to incorporate in order to properly address situations of abuse and harm
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