‘Sogyal Rimpoche; my very good friend, but he’s disgraced’

Here we present a review of a recent book about the life of the disgraced Tibetan Buddhist teacher, Sogyal Rimpoche. 

Sex and Violence in Tibetan Buddhism: The Rise and Fall of Sogyal Rimpoche

by Mary Finnigan and Rob Hogendoorn. Portland, Oregon: Jorvik Press, 2019, pback, 191pp., £15.95

review by Dhivan

The headline comes from an address by the Dalai Lama, given in Ladakh in August 2017, after eight former students of Sogyal Rimpoche wrote an open letter to their teacher, regarding his physical and sexual abuse of students as well...

This week's free eBook and much more!

The COVID-19 crisis has affected us all differently. I’ve been very aware of the situation in India and the work Triratna charities are doing there to meet the material and spiritual needs of people with fewer protections than exist in many other parts of the world. To raise money for one of these charities, the Karuna Trust, I’ve recorded an album of Buddhist mantras. The album has raised £917 so far, but with a fundraising target of £5,000 there’s still a...

Chairs' Letter – June 2020

Dear Order members and friends,

June was my last month of solitary lockdown in South Wales. In practice that meant spending even more time than usual on my computer, although I did manage one week offline. I also read Analayo’s Compassion and Emptiness and re-read The Glass Bead Game, and went for long walks along deserted lanes and footpaths in the national park.

I emerged from my week off to the deluge of discussion around the subject...