The patriarchal model as a primary suspect?

Article de Jean-Loup Adenor dans Marianne

I just read the article “Le disciple d'un gourou New Age mis en examen pour des agressions sexuelles sur huit victimes” by Jean-Loup Adenor, published in Marianne on May, 27th 2021.

It’s quite good and factual, but what struck me while reading it was the editing line in which Lama Kunzang Dorje (Robert Spatz) is presented as a “New Age Guru”, whose principles are those of a “Buddhism deviated to his own glory”[1].

The article explains that the “liberalisation of morals” and the popularity of “orientalism” (especially Buddhism) in the aftermath of the May 68 unrest created the context in which the abuse could take place[2]. “New forms of spirituality” appear, that seem acceptable because “the figure of the Dalaï-lama is reassuring”[3]. Lama Kunzang Dorje is also referred to as the “lama”[4], as if he weren’t a genuine lama, i.e. a lama considered as such by Tibetan hierarchs.

The article finishes by stating that other court cases will be filed against Robert Spatz and the OKC organisation. OKC is short for Ogyen Kunzang Choling, both the name of the organisation when it was directed by Robert Spatz and the current organisation under the direction of Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche, abbot of Shechen Nepal, and Pema Wangyal Rinpoche, a son of the founder Kangyur Rinpoche. The website of the current organisation doesn’t seem to consider “Lama Kunzang”[5] as a “New Age Guru” teaching a “deviated Buddhism”.

I don’t know who decided on this “New Age” editing line. It seems to me that what Lama Kunzang was teaching was Nyingma Buddhism, as he learned it from his teachers, and as he understood it. Was his Buddhism more deviated than that of Chogyam Trungpa or Sogyal Lakar? Both the Buddhism taught in Vajradhatu/Shambala and Rigpa is still considered as Buddhism and endorsed as such by Tibetan hierarchs. OKC and Lama Kunzang were and are still endorsed as a Buddhist center and a Buddhist teacher. Notwithstanding the fact that those three forms of Buddhism do look like New Age religions and that all three had issues with abuse. Condemnations have been pronounced for two of them. Sogyal Lakar’s Rigpa is still under investigation and a Report has been published about the allegations. In France, a Bhutanese lama and retreat instructor, Lama Tempa (Karma Tshojay) of Kagyu Ling in Bourgogne, was condemned to 12 years prison for rape and sexual aggression on four women.

“New Age” and “new forms of spirituality” in the aftermath of May 68 don’t seem like an obvious explanation for the cases of abuse in these four Buddhist centers. For Tibetan hierarchs these centers and their teachers are/were authentically Buddhist. They even issued letters to prove so.

In the complete CIASE report about Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church France 1950 – 2020, we find the following paragraph:

§0617 En particulier, les abus sexuels sont plus fréquents dans le cadre de l’Église catholique que dans d’autres instances de socialisation non familiales ou amicales, comme les colonies, camps de vacances et centres aérés (0,36 %), l’Éducation nationale (0,34 %)140, les clubs de sport (0,28 %) ou encore dans le cadre d’activités culturelles et artistiques (0,17 %). La conclusion qu’il est possible d’en tirer au plan sociologique est que les deux institutions qui fonctionnent sur un modèle patriarcal, revendiqué dans le cas de l’Église, implicite dans celui de la famille, favorisent l’exposition des personnes socialement « dominées », que sont les femmes et les enfants, aux violences masculines[6].”

Like the Catholic Church, Tibetan Buddhism is very clearly a patriarchal religion, no matter the adoration of female deities and yoginis in its tantric forms, and therefore is likely to “favour the exposure of socially 'dominated' people, such as women and children, to male violence”. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Catholicism, Buddhism, or a New Age religion, if it operates on a patriarchal model (with a priest, Guru, lama, ...), there is a fair chance abuse may take place.

It’s not about specific lama’s, or their Western disciples, being “rotten apples”, nor about their respective deviated doctrines, but if the (religious) community operates on a patriarchal model, like in some families, abuse may be favored or be more likely to take place.

The TB relation between a teacher and a student (guruvāda) can be a supplementary risk factor. One should not forget that a teacher most often doesn’t have one single student, but a group of students, with the same guruvādin link to the teacher, plus a “samaya” link between students. The relationship is not only with the teacher, but with a whole group of initiates. Secrecy is an important part of vajrayāna and can be made use of by a predator.

Accentuating the importance of picking the right lama, is to be blind to what really goes on in a TB community. If it’s not the guru, it can be one of the educators, or one of the other students of the guru, as in the case of the above mentioned article. It’s about the community and its patriarchal (religious) model. The obligation to secrecy and the commitment to the guru and the gurukula, favor secrecy and denial and create a bigger barrier for whistle-blowers.

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[1] “Le disciple d'un gourou New Age mis en examen pour des agressions sexuelles sur huit victimes”
“Les enfants doivent y recevoir une éducation conforme aux principes de Spatz, un bouddhisme dévoyé à sa seule gloire.”

[2] “Pour comprendre ces dérives, il faut se replacer dans le contexte de la fin des années 60. La société française traverse une période de libéralisation des mœurs, c'est l'arrivée en France du New Age, baigné d'orientalisme et notamment du bouddhisme.”

[3] “À l’époque, ce sont de nouvelles formes de spiritualité dont personne ne se méfie vraiment car la figure du dalaï-lama rassure.”

[4] “ Le « lama », qui n'a assisté à aucun de ses procès, est condamné à cinq ans de prison avec sursis.”

[5] “Conformément aux vœux de ce grand maître, Lama Kunzang, un de ses disciples d’Occident, fonda en 1972 à Bruxelles le centre d’études tibétaines Ogyen Kunzang Chöling, grâce à l’appui et aux conseils du fils aîné de Kangyour Rinpotché, Tsétrul Péma Wangyal Rinpotché.”

“Après le parinirvana de Kangyour Rinpotché, survenu en 1975, ce sont Kyabjé Dudjom Rinpotché et Kyabjé Dilgo Khyentsé Rinpotché qui ont assumé la direction spirituelle des centres Ogyen Kunzang Chöling, qu’ils ont visités et dans lesquels ils ont enseigné à plusieurs reprises.

Depuis le départ de Kyabjé Dilgo Khyentsé Rinpotché en 1991, Ogyen Kunzang Chöling s’est placée sous l’autorité spirituelle de son petit-fils et successeur Shétchen Rabjam Rinpotché, abbé du monastère de Shétchen, ainsi que de Péma Wangyal Rinpotché.” OKC-net

[6] Automatic translation :

“§0617 In particular, sexual abuse is more frequent in the Catholic Church than in other non-family or friendly socialisation settings, such as camps, holiday camps and leisure centres (0.36%), national education (0.34%)140 , sports clubs (0.28%) or cultural and artistic activities (0.17%). The sociological conclusion that can be drawn from this is that the two institutions that operate on a patriarchal model, which is asserted in the case of the Church and implicit in the case of the family, favour the exposure of socially 'dominated' people, such as women and children, to male violence.”