New web site invitations dialogue of abuse allegations in opposition to seventeenth Karmapa

0
197

[ad_1]

“Therapeutic Our Sanghas” goals to supply a “wanted protected area for practitioners to debate the influence of abuse allegations with out dealing with retaliation.”

A brand new web site referred to as “Therapeutic Our Sanghas” invitations Tibetan Buddhist practitioners to share the influence on themselves and their communities of allegations of sexual assault and abuse in opposition to the seventeenth Karmapa.

The positioning invitations guests affected by the allegations to share their tales and expertise, that are posted to an interactive map, and provides background on the Karmapa and on the allegations. It’s an initiative of a bunch of lay and monastic practitioners within the Karma Kagyu faculty of Tibetan Buddhism, who’ve chosen to stay nameless to guard themselves in opposition to doable retaliation. They’re supported by students Ann Gleig and Amy Langenberg.

The seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is the pinnacle of the Karma Kagyu lineage and one of many main figures within the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy. As outlined in a timeline on the “Therapeutic Our Sanghas” web site, the Karmapa has been the topic of allegations of sexual assault and abuse by a number of girls, together with of fathering a toddler with a former pupil in a sexual encounter she describes as non-consensual. The allegations have been the topic of civil instances in a number of international locations, together with a paternity swimsuit launched in Canada.

Whereas these allegations and the ensuing authorized actions have acquired some press protection internationally, the positioning’s organizers say that they “have been met with a deafening silence by practically all Buddhist leaders.”

In response, the organizers say that Therapeutic Our Sanghas provides practitioners affected by the allegations “a protected area the place we are able to come collectively, assist each other start to heal our personal ache and our fragmented communities, and reply properly and compassionately.”

The analysis of students Ann Gleig and Langenberg examines sexual abuse and sexual abuse allegations throughout North American and transnational Buddhist lineages. Of their analysis, they are saying, “Now we have constantly discovered that the response to allegations of abuse is the determinative issue within the technique of therapeutic for victims/survivors, in addition to the group members who assist them.

“We really feel strongly that the grassroots initiative Therapeutic Our Sanghas supplies a wanted protected area for practitioners to debate the influence of abuse allegations with out dealing with retaliation, and that it’s a step alongside the best way to higher supporting victims/survivors.”

“We see the necessity for a number of initiatives to alter entrenched cultures of silence and unaccountability round abuse in Buddhism,” they add.

[ad_2]