In the early 2013 I received the below booklet Behind the Thangkas. See note below and no one gave us their name?
Apparently I am the author and as you will see it was given out at the Rigpa Fall retreat in California.
So there is no misunderstanding I have no competence to write such a book, and someone else published this in my name.
We have ourselves published this document but kept its authorship confidential.
We have no problem in its contents but needed to correct the impression that we had been the source of this booklet.
https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/a-response-to-the-blog-behind-the-thankas/
Also included was the following article:
Filed under: RIGPA |
Dialogue Ireland 
You are certainly are not wearing an Easter bonnet! Such raw hatred without addressing a single point. Please some coherent reply or get off the stage. For now serious editing , next time delete!
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You Mary Finnigan,
You better watch your words, your poor mind is so obstructed,
you speak like a fool.
Think about the imprints this will leave and the consequences of it will be devastating.
If you could transmit the nature of the Mind like Sogyal Rinpoche does….Unstead you remain into your hatred depraved feelings, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx this is not the main concern, the point is you didn’t understand, you still don’t understand and most of all, you better regret what you did and xxxxxxx !!!!
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Like moth to a flame, I find myself clicking on the new threads. Sigh.
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Oh my. Now there’s a twist.
What’s with the hand-written note – was that part of the item distributed?
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I was not in the slightest surprised at your comments. Whether a women was abused yesterday or decades ago doesn’t excuse the fact that abuse has happened. If Sogyal is no longer behaving badly then this is a good thing. Only time will tell if this is the case.
It is not your place to debase the experience of someone else and call them stupid, making things up etc just because you don’t agree. I am yet to see you show any understanding or empathy towards those who have suffered what abuse can do to a person’s life especially at the hands of a “Guru”.
It is possible to have a meaningful dialogue and still disagree without resorting to accusations and inferring others are unstable. You don’t have to like the women who have posted here but you should show them some respect.
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I have no idea what has actually happened between ST and any of those women. Mary Finnigan has made excellent job in sabotaging the whole issue by coloring things, making things up, talking BS for DECADES. Her dear friend Victoria Barlow is equally – I must say – stupid in handling her own life and the stories she has told in the internet.
I haven’t been putting my head in the sand, but have been discussing things with Rigpa people, have been WATCHING in retreats: therefore I can compare the 2 worlds presented. Unlike most of these people (including Finnigan who hasn’t been around for 4 decades).
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BellaB: I have read through the documentation on this site regarding this man. There have been thousands of comments debating this issue. If you want to stick your head into the sand and not acknowledge what is happening them good for you. However those have been abused are going to continue to document their awful experiences whether you like it or not.
As you clearly haven’t experienced any abuse what gives you the right to tell others they are making it all up?
Don’t you understand the concept of sisterhood t? That is assuming you are a women. Wouldn’t you want to be sure that you have got it right instead of consistently implying on this blog that these women are liars?
As someone who has seen systematic abuse of women by a charasmatic leader I would not stick my head in the sand and deny its existence because it is too difficult for me to comprehend that my “Guru” was capable of such things.
It is very difficult to come forward and speak out of such injustices as the amount of vilification from people like you who refuse to acknowledge their “Guru” could do such things. With power comes a responsibility on the part of the Guru to ensure these things never happen. It is his responsibility to ensure his reputation can be upheld from such accusations. If he was never alone with any women then he can prove this but as he was clearly alone with these women on many occasions then he is going to find it difficult to prove his innocence. As a Guru I don’t understand how he didn’t understand the importance of proper right conduct when women were around.
Why should these women give up in their search for acknowledgement of the abuse they have endured? I can’t see any reason for them to do so. If they prevent 1 other women from being abused by this man then this is a great thing.
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“Sogyal lunged…” by Victoria Barlow, decades ago
“Reports on…” by Mary Finnigan, journalist, friend of VB
“He ordered…” by who ever knows?
“According to…” by Mary Finnigan
“Theremust have been…” by Mimi/Janine (?) or M. Finnigan, who wrote the absurd Behind the Thankas blog.
Small circle.
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Here’s one example of media and journalism today:
http://www.alternet.org/world/exhibit-how-islamophobic-meme-can-spread-wildfire-across-internet
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Mary do you know who published the document you authored and put my name on it?
Should have gone to specsavers!
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There’s a Through the Looking Glass environment at DI.
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Many?
Not all (if any?) are seriously victims. Victoria Barlow, the main architect of the gossips was his girlfriend, not a victim of rape as she claimed for decades. Just breathe and find out what is actually going on.
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BellaB: Just because Sogyole Rinpoche “humbly admits” in your opinion he has many faults this does not excuse his behavior of the many documented cases of sexual abuse of women.
You seem to miss an important point here. These women devotees went to a man who was considered a highly respected Buddhist teacher only to have an experience of exploitation and abuse. Can show in the Buddhist teachings where it says that this kind of behavior is acceptable?
This man should be stopped from holding teachings about enlightenment when he is quite clearly not practicing what he preaches.
I wonder if someone from your family had been abused by this man you would be quite so flippant in your comments.
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“He appears to be still going strong though — despite a groundswell of awareness that he is a charlatan — a businessman without any effective training as a Tibetan Buddhist lama.”
Yeah, yeah… maybe because he is a realized being, he is considered as a real lama both by the students and by other Tibetan Buddhist lamas. He has humbly admitted he may have faults as a human being. There goes your narcissism accusations. Your view about him is outdated and wrong… maybe you could seek education in reality. Might be shocking for your delusions. Was Tungpa liked and appreciated by everyone?
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My response has appeared as Anonymous. Did not intend this to happen. My name is Mary Finnigan. I have been campaigning to take the sadistic sexual predator Sogyal Lakar aka Rinpoche out of circulation as a teacher for more than 20 years. He appears to be still going strong though — despite a groundswell of awareness that he is a charlatan — a businessman without any effective training as a Tibetan Buddhist lama.
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Oh dear — sorry about this Mike. I have acknowledged authorship of Behind The Thangkas for some time now and in several internet locations. I will contact Rigpa California and set the record straight.
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