A commentary on the Observer Triratna article ~ Scale of FWBO / Triratna abuse unfolds

Sangharakshita in 1966. Photograph: John Twine/ANL/REX/Shutterstock

Scale of FWBO / Triratna abuse unfolds

On Sunday 21 July 2019,  The Observer newspaper published a Special Report about the Triratna Buddhist Group, titled “Buddhist, teacher, predator: dark secrets of the Triratna guru”:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/21/sangharakshita-guru-triratna-buddhist-dark-secrets

Triratna have posted their response to The Observer article here:

https://thebuddhistcentre.com/adhisthana-kula/further-response-adhisthana-kula-observer-article

Triratna is primarily UK based, but has around eighty urban centres and retreat centres worldwide, including The Dublin Buddhist Centre, and holds activities in over twenty countries.

Triratna – FWBO: “Buddhist, teacher, predator: dark secrets of the Triratna guru” by Jamie Doward Sun 21 Jul 2019

The Observer

Buddhism

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/21/sangharakshita-guru-triratna-buddhist-dark-secrets

Sangharakshita in 1966. Photograph: John Twine/ANL/REX/Shutterstock

British-born guru Sangharakshita was mired in allegations of abuse for years. Now it seems the scandal in his wealthy order went far wider than previously acknowledged

Coddington Court, near the Herefordshire market town of Ledbury, is a late-18th-century red brick mansion surrounded by farmland.

These days it goes by the name of Adhisthana, reflecting its reincarnation as the headquarters of one of the most influential Buddhist orders in the world, the Triratna Community, whose founder, Sangharakshita, lived there until his death last year at the age of 93. With its impressive grounds and gardens, it looks like a serene place for someone to spend their final years. But behind the scenes, the picture is a rather more turbulent one.

For decades the order has been dogged by claims of sexual misconduct, claims that often strayed into allegations of coercion and abuse but which were thought to involve only a handful of individuals at worst.

Triratna – FWBO: Inside the sect of Sangharakshita by Alan J. W.

 

2017 edition by Alan J. W.

(Warning: includes a brief sexually explicit event)

I originally wrote this article fairly quickly in August 2015, under difficult circumstances. Looking through it recently, I felt it needed some ‘tidying up’ grammatically; plus some amendments, supplementary material and occasional updates.

Most of the additions, and changes to the original text, are to be found in the later more autobiographical section.

The amendments are to clarify dates and other details; the extra inclusions to expand upon historical attitudes and key events: most notably in my exposition on the crisis at the Croydon centre during the late 80’s.  I was, indirectly, privy to the unfolding drama at the time, and thought this an ideal forum for a bit more disclosure.  This important topic now occupies a separate section.

Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) / Triratna: Fears mount over scale of Buddhist sect sexual abuse

Followers allege they were coerced into sex in 1970s and 80s with elders of UK’s Triratna order

 

‘Deep regret’: Dennis Lingwood, now frail at 91, is the founder of the Triratna order. Photograph: Vimeo

The legacy issues involving inappropriate sexual activity by the founder of the FWBO / Triratna, Sangharakshita (Dennis Lingwood)

 

 

Padmaloka community ~ FWBO / Triratna from Dialogue Ireland on Vimeo.

 

https://vimeo.com/195316886?utm_source=email&utm_medium=vimeo-cliptranscode-201504&utm_campaign=28749This video “Padmaloka community ~ FWBO /

 

 

 

Triratna” was produced by BBC (East) and broadcast in the Eastern Region of England on 26 September 2016.  The BBC also produced a news report about this programme:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-37432719

The BBC said they had spoken to three men who say they were pressured into having a homosexual relationship with Sangharakshita (Dennis Lingwood) under the guise of spiritual friendship. One man said he was under the legal age of consent for homosexual sex at the time.

Triratna/FWBO and grooming by Sangharakshita was the Order of the day.

Sangharakshita: ‘Greek Love’, ‘Fierce Friendship’ and the perversion of Buddhism

 

By: Alan J. W.

Dialogue Ireland………

The author has reflected long and hard and through a process of reflection has come to the realisation that under the guise of Buddhism a horrendous sexual injustice has been perpetrated on young men to undermine and leave them incapable of reacting. This revised edition is easier to read and has been broken down into chapters.

The purpose of this article, is to explain how several forms of unethical behaviour were promoted and practised by senior members of Sangharakshita’s Order.  I have employed a psychological perspective, because I feel that this approach gives the most revealing insight into these damaging developments.