From #MeToo to “Let’s Pretend”—Pema Chodron Calls Out Shambhala’s Shameful “Business as Usual.”

It is a shameful and tragic sadness that in their clumsy attempt to “move forward” Shambhala plants more seeds of pain and destruction along the path. Pema Chodron, whose example of accountability, change and compassion in this situation shows the true way forward, was not content to standby and support the pretense of this decision.

By Kellie Schorr

Everybody draws a line in the sand at some point.

It’s that marker we put down to let people know when they’ve gone too far or said too much. It’s the “I can take ‘this’ but not ‘that’” moment. It’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Contemplative, dedicated, patient and wise, the Buddhist author, nun, and teacher Pema Chodron must have placed her line with a great deal of prayer and thought.

Shambhala just crossed it.

Business as Usual

Starting in June of 2018, Buddhist Project Sunshine issued the second of three reports revealing a stunning set of allegations of sexual abuse and cover-ups regarding Shambhala leaders including administrators, teachers, and the “King” of Shambhala, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. All the dominoes started to fall.

• The Sakyong fled to “retreat” in India.
• The presiding board of administration stepped down.
• Investigations paid for by Shambhala revealed they found the allegations were credible and the Sakyong had abused his power.
• A letter from the Sakyong’s own attendants, the Kusung, detailed instances of him degrading, biting, and physically abusing his staff.
• The interim board declared Mipham’s behavior “at odds with the fundamental principles of Shambhala.”
• Financial reports detail lavish spending and misuse of funds.

Eighteen months later, with the approval of Shambhala’s board, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is coming back. He is scheduled to give an initiation ceremony in June. For Pema Chodron, who stayed with Shambhala through the worst of the storm, it was enough.

“It feels unkind, unskillful and unwise for the Sakyong to just go forward as if nothing had happened without relating compassionately to all of those who have been hurt and without doing some deep inner work on himself.” She wrote. “How can we return to business as usual when there is no path forward for the vast majority of the community who are devoted to the vision of Shambhala and are yearning for accountability, a fresh start, and some guidance on how to proceed?”

Resigning her title as an acharya (senior teacher), Chodron is a powerful voice for reason and accountability in an organization that has careened wildly after evidence of abuse, mismanagement, and corruption exposed what some claim is more cult than community.  She would know, she was there for it all.

A Tale of Two Leaders

In the same reports that brought light to accusations about Shambhala’s lineage holder and king, many others were implicated including two published authors. Lodro Rinzler was accused of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior with a Shambhala member after a signing event. Pema Chodron’s name was listed as a leader who dismissed abuse claims. That both were from Shambhala and shared space on the shelf at Barnes and Nobles would be the only things they had in common. They offer two different ways to deal with Shambhala’s #MeToo moment.

Rinzler is a millennial meditation teacher and author who touted his relationship with Sakyong Mipham as his “root teacher” until the report went public. He then disavowed the relationship and left Shambhala claiming to protest their bad actions. A few weeks later, while he was safely on his honeymoon and out of contact with media, reports surfaced of his own abhorrent abusive actions that led Shambhala to suspend his teaching and publishers to suspend his contracts prior to his very public renunciation.

To date, he has never made a public comment about the accusations.

After his elongated “honeymoon of silence” Rinzler quietly functioned as CSO (Chief Spiritual Officer) of MINDFL in New York City. He started self-publishing articles on Medium. He put up cute memes about meditation. He did some “live” online meditation sessions then opened his own online sangha. Without so much as a nod to the pain that has occurred, he is back to business as usual. 

Chodron is a powerful voice for reason and accountability in an organization that has careened wildly after evidence of abuse, mismanagement, and corruption exposed what some claim is more cult than community. ~ Kellie Schorr Share on X

Pema Chodron’s root teacher was not the Sakyong, but his father, esteemed teacher Choygam Trungpa Rinpoche (who had his own controversial history of sex with students and alcohol-driven behavior). In the third release of Buddhist Project Sunshine, a victim reported she told Pema Chodron about the sexual abuse she had suffered at the hands of a senior teacher. Chodron was accused of dismissing the report, minimizing the victim’s experience and telling her, “I don’t believe you” and “you were probably into it.”

When confronted with the accusation, Pema Chodron admitted it was true.

She talked about her experiences in a 1970’s Shambhala culture of free sex and wild times that she did not participate in but was well aware of what went on. She met with the victim and apologized to her, as well as published a public apology. About that meeting she wrote:

“I began by apologizing for the things I had said and then asked if she had anything she wanted to say to me. It turned out she had many questions for me, and I tried to answer them as genuinely as I could…I was able to tell her that I feel very differently now; I believe what she told me and, going forward, I hope to be a better listener and not again say such insensitive and hurtful remarks to those who come to me for help.”

Chodron later said on an interview with Oprah Winfrey, “I was very grateful she accepted my apology.”

Let’s Pretend

The contrast between the two responses couldn’t be clearer. Shambhala’s board seems to have chosen to follow Rinzler’s example of absence and unaccountability. Knowing the 24/7 news cycle will sweep any scandal under the rug if you give it enough time, they decided to wait, and slowly bring the Sakyong back into public life which aligns with their prior policy of, “Let’s Pretend.”

Let’s pretend it is all okay now.  Shambhala seems to believe the accusations are old and he hasn’t abused anyone for 18 months (that we know of). He’s done contemplation and understands he hurt people. They made new bylaws and ways to report abuse. It’s a new day.

Let’s pretend there were consequences. Staying in your wife’s family monastery for 18 months isn’t a proportionate consequence. It’s the equivalent of a “time out.” They can talk about his pain and contemplations (discussions of the Sakyong’s bad actions seem to always focus on his pain, and his regret, never the victims). While no actual accountability, repayment or change is evident, we are just supposed to assume he learned his lesson.

Let’s pretend we are bigger than this story. Shambhala centers and supporters talk with great affection about their teachings, the Great Eastern Sun, and their belief in an enlightened society.  However, by continuing to hang the Sakyong’s picture on the altar and refusing to honor or acknowledge the reality of pervasive abuse they simply marinate in the story and create more harm.

Let’s pretend it is his destiny. One of the challenges of the tulku model and “Kingship” of the Sakyong is that it is considered inborn. He did nothing to earn his position and has no need to repair the challenge to his legitimacy. “He has innate knowledge of the Dharma and he must teach,” they say.  Truth is—if he is really a tulku and has innate knowledge, he could give it no matter what position he holds. Simple monks and nuns without palaces and yogis and yoginis who work and raise families teach dharma every day. He doesn’t need to be a “King” to teach, and he has no actual right to teach about compassion (after biting his attendants and being unfaithful to his marriage) even if he is a “King.”

It is a shameful and tragic sadness that in their clumsy attempt to “move forward” Shambhala plants more seeds of pain and destruction along the path. Pema Chodron, whose example of accountability, change and compassion in this situation shows the true way forward, was not content to standby and support the pretense of this decision.

“You are the sky,” Chodron once wrote. “Everything else—it’s just the weather.”

For Shambhala, I think it’s about to rain.

Photo: source

Editor: Dana Gornall

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