Not so good news for Buddhists

[Namdrol]

I almost never heard of child abuse case in Buddhism, here is one of the rare ones, not so good news for Buddhists...

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=3,10930,0,0,1,0

Chief Sanghanayaka Thera Of Great Britain Sentenced To 7 Years In Prison For Child Abuse
The Colombo Telegraph, June 5, 2012

London, UK -- The Chief Sanghanayaka Thera of Great Britain and chief incumbent of the Thames Buddhist Vihara has been convicted of four counts of indecent assault on a underage and sentenced to 7 years in prison, a judge ruled today. He is also banned for working with children for life and his name is added to sex offenders register, a court spokesman told The Colombo Telegraph.

Venerable Pahalagama Somaratana, 65, of Dulverton Road, Croydon was convicted at Isleworth Crown Court on May 1 of four counts of indecent assault on a female under 16 between January 1, 1977 and December 31,1978 at an address in Chiswick.

He was found not guilty of the rape of a female under 16 between January 1,1977 and December 31,1978 at an address in Chiswick and not guilty of indecent assault on a female under 14 between January 1,1985 and December 31, 1986 at an address in Croydon.

In May 2010 Child Abuse Investigation Command officers began an investigation into historical allegations of indecent assault and rape. On Tuesday, 14 September 2010 a (then) 64-year-old monk was arrested on suspicion of an historical indecent assault and rape. He was questioned at Heathrow police station and later bailed pending further enquiries

He was charged on September 12, 2011 and further charged on  November 11, 2011.

On Friday, September 23 Pahalagama Somaratana appeared on bail at Feltham Magistrates’ Court charged with rape of female under 16 between January 1, 1977 and December 31, 1978 at an address in Chiswick and indecent assault on a female under 16 between January 1, 1977 and December 31, 1978 at an address in Chiswick.

Pahalagama Somaratana has been charged with another eight counts of sexual abuse on Friday, November 11 the London Metropolitan police told Colombo Telegraph. According to the metropolitan police these eight indecent assaults on a female under 14 took place between January 1,1985 and December 31,1986 at an address in Croydon.

The 65-year-old Pahalagama Somaratana Thero appeared on bail at Feltham Magistrates’ Court on Friday, December 2 and was bailed to appear at Isleworth Crown Court on December 20, 2011.

[thor]

Thank you for sharing this. I was of the same opinion that such things did not happen within Buddhism, but this is a very rude awakening. I fear that there will be a knock on effect on attendance on other Buddhist centres, both in England and the rest of the world. I also wonder if this incident will result in more such cases coming to light, for the errant monk who was sentenced.

[Big Uncle]

It is the sign of this degenerate times but then again, there's always bad religious people in every religion. So, it is not unusual that there are bad monks. But it is not necessary to focus on these bad monks who obviously don't hold their vows.

It would be better to look and focus on the monks and nuns who do hold their vows and are a source of inspiration to many like the Dalai Lama, Reverend Cheng Yen of Taiwan, Tenzin Palmo and the list goes on. They are real modern day inspirations that are still alive that we can rely on and who do hold onto their precious vows. Our practice should be based upon such holy beings and not 1 or 2 who don't give a hoot about their vows.

[diamond girl]

I have read many such cases in other religions and in my ignorance never imagined it was also present in Buddhism. So, I was indeed shocked to read what is here. This made me search other cases and I found this story on the following link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/21/us/21beliefs.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&sq=zen&st=cse&scp=2
Sex Scandal Has U.S. Buddhists Looking Within

An interesting extract from this article:

"The root of the problem, some experts say, is that the teacher/student relationship in Buddhism has no obvious Western analogy. Priests and rabbis know the boundaries, even if some do not always respect them. Doctors, too, have ethical canons they are supposed to honor. A spiritual figure like a priest, an authority figure like a teacher, a therapeutic figure like an analyst — the Buddhist teacher may be all of those, but is not really like any one of them. Even sanghas, or Buddhist communities, that discourage such relationships often have no process for enforcing a ban, and as one Zen society in New York is learning, that can lead to problems."

All this is quite disheartening but like what Big Uncle said we should not focus on the rotten eggs but on the Masters who have made a big impact and difference in teaching Buddhism...

[yontenjamyang]

It is a sign of the degenerate times and also the fact that Buddhism is more pervasive now ie more popular. Cases of child abuse are usually related Christian priest or Catholics if I am not wrong. This is the first time I hear of a Buddhist case. Obviously this is not so good news but the thing we can learn from it is that all religion are run by humans and humans have weaknesses. Focus on the teachings and not just the people. One case should not effect the public's thinking so much.
In Vajrayana, where guru devotion is very important, this can be very sensitive if one do not understand the need to rely on the Guru. We can explain that in the 50 stanzas on the spiritual guide, we are asked to check out the guru first. Just like we check out a doctor we can check the Gurus for their knowledge, experience, lineage, character, methods and impact on others and their opinion of the Guru etc before we commit. Hence, it is actually safer in Vajrayana.

[KhedrubGyatso]

This headline does not come as a surprise to me. It is a sign of this degenerate times that even those who are supposed to show examples of good ethical behaviour are the ones who do the opposite. Two of the 5 impurities of this kaliyurga period  is that of the impurity of living beings and their enjoyments/desires.
Even though such incidences are uncommon especially amongst Buddhist Sangha some damage in people’s faith will have been caused. As practitioners, we are taught to not focus on faults of others but to be mindful that if we do not practice sincerely and with a pure motivation we will also have such propensities to deviate from our spiritual path. Another good attitude to adopt is to take responsibility that we cannot depend on others to gain attainments but to accomplish it ourselves and show the way to others.

[Positive Change]

Thank you for sharing this. I was of the same opinion that such things did not happen within Buddhism, but this is a very rude awakening. I fear that there will be a knock on effect on attendance on other Buddhist centres, both in England and the rest of the world. I also wonder if this incident will result in more such cases coming to light, for the errant monk who was sentenced.

This is indeed a rude awakening but not entirely "new". There have been other rumours and gossip about teachers or Lama's having wives or consorts with no understanding of what consorts mean. But that aside, Buddhism is not without its bad press. The whole Dorje Shugden bad in itself is bad press. Not as degrading? I beg to differ... I feel the negative press stemming from the ban is far more degrading than this story with monk on many levels.

We are in samsara and though there are highly enlightened beings within this realm that manifest certain efficacious methods to spread the Dharma, there are also those who like the case of this monk who do the opposite.

Such news especially one's of a sexual nature coming to light is never good for any cause and would set Buddhism back and will undoubtedly cause a ripple effect. However, all is not lost as with the bad there is also the good. We each have show by example how we are as Buddhist more than ever.

[hope rainbow]

Does it really come as a surprise that some monks fail, that some monks do disrobe, that some monks brake their vows... It is very unfortunate, but it does not help to be naive neither.
Monks are not perfect, wearing the robes does not make one a Buddha, only the holding of the vows can lead one to success. The moment the monk broke his vows he ceased to be a monk, for what is a monk without his vows?

It is also way to convenient for some lay people to use these awful stories of men of the orders that mis-behave and mis-represent the teachings they are supposed to embody. It is too convenient to use this so as to reject spirituality all together.
And I have heard this, I have seen this: "Religion is C#@*, look at how the monks behave".
It is convenient and stupid too.
And we must be vigilant to bring up the facts and separate an awful act from and ordained person from the teachings of a religion.

Christian churches face more of these scandals.
Do we really want to know why? Let me tell you what I think the reason is: because the Christian churches are implanted in countries in which these scandals do come out, they get addressed, priests are being brought to court, these countries, these societies do not tolerate this, they expose the abuse and everyone gets to know about it.
It may be that some other countries deal with these problems out of court, or even worse ignore the problems, but I don't think it means that they do not exist.

Proof is here: the monk was arrested in England.

The Pope himself addresses this directly and speaks to the world on this:
http://www.vatican.va/resources/index_en.htm

And on the main page of the Vatican Holy See is a BIG LINK named ABUSE OF MINORS: THE CHURCH'S RESPONSE.
http://www.vatican.va/phome_en.htm
There is something to learn from this, there honesty in this way of doing, and maybe the Holy See was pushed to "come out", but I can only see good in this.

We do live in a degenerated age, and human beings of many capacities do undertake monk's vows, and there will be misbehavior, unfortunately. This unless monks and vow holders are keeping to their practices and holding their vows spontaneously and joyfully.

[pgdharma]

This is indeed bad news but in every religion there are always a few black sheep in the family so it is no surprise to find a few black sheep within the Sangha community during this degenerate age. Let us not focus on this bad incident but to focus on the good side of the Sangha community and those Lamas who have contributed so much in spreading the dharma to benefit sentient beings.

[negra orquida]

I just happened to be thinking about this issue a few days ago.  I never imagined that Buddhist monks would commit sexual abuse until I saw this video of Kalu Rinpoche.

Confessions of Kalu Rinpoche	Small | Large

Transcript (extracted from http://tantrismuskritik.blogspot.com/2012/01/confessions-of-kalu-rinpoche-ive-been.html)

When I was 9 my father passed away and I had a very difficult life you know. People thinks that Kalu Rinpoche always lived in a very comfortable life. That's what all people been thinking of because the previous Kalu Rinpoche was popular.

For me, my father past away, I was transported to different Monastery and when I was like 12 and 13, I've been sexually abused by other monks. So for me I don't believe in monks so much you know, so you know and when I was 15 I did 3 years retreat from the guidance of my Root Guru you know and then like and I did 3 years retreat and no body cares about me so much you know. Nobody knows where I am, how I am you know and after 3 years retreat, all the people are interested because you know they kind of think that I have this great qualification and something which I can remember about my past life and it's nothing like that.

And then some people just said I kick out from I, when I came out from my Monastery. no I mean when I came out from the 3 year retreat I mean. When I came out from 3 years retreat and many people were making roomer's and saying that I kicked out my mother, my family and you know, I kicked out my own teacher. Actually, it's nothing like that.

My own Tutor, he tried to kill me, that's the truth. and I was at that time, I was really traditional. Very good traditional Buddhist practitioner. They tried to kill me because you know, I am not doing what they want me to do. You know it's that time I was really really good you know. A traditional person you know and then he tried to kill me with the knife and everything, and it was a shocking moment for me. And after that he left because when he realized about his own mistake how can he still live with me. So he left.

I never kicked out anybody. I had a family misunderstanding for 2 years and a half, and recently like 6 months ago, I had a family reconnection and everything is good and after that you know well when I was 18 I had all these big problems you know, then one manager tried to kill me and everything.

It's all about money, power, controlling because if you can control the president, you can get what you want. That's the way it is and you know and then I became a drug addict because of all this misunderstanding and you know I went crazy. I became an alcoholic, I became a drug addict. I did lots of crazy things but not the bad things and then after that I asked my root Guru you know what is going on with my life I don't know because I see all these Buddhist people who are not Buddhist. They look like a Buddhist and they sound like a Buddhist and they act like a Buddhist and I am so confused.

He said, "Rinpoche you have the capacity to change the structure in your own lineage in your Buddhist organization". So that's why I'm trying to do, trying to build a school and to build my own structure for the poor people because for me the Buddhism and all this religious organization, spiritual organization it's all about how to protect the society, how to protect the environment, how to protect our self. How to be afar from the weakness, how to understand the true meaning of point. And so you know I will do whatever is best for society so that's why I plan to build a school and my life it's not easy.

There's lots of people who doesn't like me and there's lots of people who likes me. Whether you like it or not of who I am it doesn't change in the person who I am. So I will do everything I can I'm my responsibility's but the structure needs to be changed and the Buddhas teachings has to get involved in our personal life. It doesn't mean that you have to get away from your family. Stop thinking about sentient being if you can't help your own family.

So first to be responsible is really important. You know I don't want Buddhism to get involved in business politics. No, I want Buddhism to bring a beautiful image to society and to understand society. That my point of view and wish me the best for my project, for my school which I can do the best for the society. And I'm just a normal human being even you live with me like 1,000 years I will still tell you, I'm just a human being. I always will be and no one is perfect, everyone is perfect.

Anyways all of you people take care, and I'm happy with my life. I'm not going to change the way I am and I'm not going to change who I am. I'm happy I am and at the end I can be myself now. So I wish for all of you, don't fall into confusion, don't fall into confusion about this O.K. If you want to be a Buddhist all you need is the one person who has a spiritual understanding life experience as I've told you many times. I'm so sorry for the cars running here there because I'm outside. Take care. I love you very much and I'm happy don't worry.

Kalu Rinpoche is recognised as a Tulku, and the very monks who were supposed to protect him took advantage of him as a child.. like what everyone has been saying so far, how degenerate times are indeed.  Boddhisatvas choose to be reborn under the most unpleasant and ugly circumstances and meet the most difficult people so they can benefit them.  I think Kalu Rinpoche chose this "life history" as it is a reflection the times now: more and more people are growing up with such backgrounds (abuse, drugs, booze, confusion).  In this way such people will be able relate much better to him and feel closer to him and accept his teachings.  Because he has gone through those tough times himself, whatever he says about loving and forgiving and goodness will bear more weight for those who did not have a lot of love when they were growing up.

[Positive Change]

Kalu Rinpoche is recognised as a Tulku, and the very monks who were supposed to protect him took advantage of him as a child.. like what everyone has been saying so far, how degenerate times are indeed.  Boddhisatvas choose to be reborn under the most unpleasant and ugly circumstances and meet the most difficult people so they can benefit them.  I think Kalu Rinpoche chose this "life history" as it is a reflection the times now: more and more people are growing up with such backgrounds (abuse, drugs, booze, confusion).  In this way such people will be able relate much better to him and feel closer to him and accept his teachings.  Because he has gone through those tough times himself, whatever he says about loving and forgiving and goodness will bear more weight for those who did not have a lot of love when they were growing up.

Through a raging fire of destruction and hurt and from the ashes springs forth the beautiful phoenix, blazingly bright and eternal! An illustration of how from even the darkest moments, a bright sparkle of hope can arise. Perhaps these Boddhisatvas do indeed choose to return under such trying and ugly circumstances to use their lives as examples that all is not lost! I use the word perhaps because as much as I would like to believe it, I cannot be certain for I am like most, skeptical and self defacing.

However, just from seeing how these highly attained beings seem to "blend in" and be accepted by those that most need their help is proof enough for me that even if it is not a predetermined effort, it is surely something that is working!

More and more, tulkus are manifesting such diverse and unusual rebirths to "fit in" with our degenerate times. Gone are the pristine days high in the safe haven of the Himalayas known as Shangri-La!

How fortunate we are to be able to experience such first hand teachings of compassion and may we all aspire to continue this legacy by paying forward and seek the very liberation that will inspire us to.

[dsiluvu]

I used to be surprised and shock or would be if I hear such uglyness in monks raping/abusing and even experiencing such harsh life such as Kalu Rinpoche. But now I am not surprise any more because if you take a hard look around us... it is time we wake up and realise... THIS IS SAMSARA. And all that you project what a monk, nun, person would be, should be is but a naive concept of typical stereotype as samsara gets more and more shocking!

C'mon we've heard about the Catholic priest and nuns back in those days... so we may not hear that often in Buddhism but it does not mean it does not happened behind close doors. However, we should remain neutral and not start judging and spin another stereotypical mindset that generalise that all is bad.... though this news will surely not bring good light to Buddhism. Hence all the more reasons the "good ones" need to practice even harder, be more sincere, more patient and humble then the rest.

As for some one like Kalu Rinpoche, I believe He is a Bodhisattva that choose to reborn in such a condition, experiencing all the samsara we experienced and even more... so that they can relate better with their students.

[Vajraprotector]

What Big Uncle and Dsiluvu said is true. It is degenerate times and this is samsara. Of course, monks and nuns are supposed to adhere to strict moral discipline but it is again up to the individual.

Pahalagama Somaratana Thera is one of the few Sri Lankan Buddhist monks to have been found guilty of child abuse inside or outside the country. Many of these cases were barely reported by the Sri Lankan media and seldom resulted in convictions. One rarely hears of this because issue of child abuse by Buddhist monks is regarded as taboo in Sri Lanka, an overwhelmingly Buddhist country.

Most Sri Lankan Buddhist temples have a constant stream of boys and adult male helpers who live there for short periods. It is not at all unusual for temples to seek help from youths in nearby villages to prepare for religious ceremonies and in the general day-to-day running of the buildings. Hence, the situation provides an ideal climate for abusers to take sexual advantage of vulnerable and impressionable boys mostly under 16 years old.

It is not only Buddhist monks who stand accused, about 20 Roman Catholic and Protestant priests have been arrested or investigated for sexual abuse of minors over the last 10 years in Sri Lanka. There are no accurate records on how many of them have been convicted, but officials say that at least one accused Catholic priest is still absconding since being given bail.

It is not shocking to me because priest or monks, they are still human and are bound by their desire. What is important to note is that to not let these news discourage one from spiritual practise as rotten eggs are everywhere but they are a small minority.

[Aurore]

My personal opinion is that news like this should not affect the reputation of Buddhism much. The positive of the teachings of the Buddha is far greater than a handful of bad eggs.

It is nothing new that Christianity has a history of blood spill and war in the name of God. Yet Christianity is one of the leading religion in the world. Many has put faith and trust in God and Christ till now. Same with Buddhism. The impact of Buddhism to the world has brought relief and refuge to many people. The results are tangible.

Hence, it is upmost important to spread the goodness of all religion which is to instil compassion and good qualities in us far and wide. When the good news overrides the bad news, what it does is it will drown the bad news. Example, if one person says something is bad but 10 people say it's good, it's obviously good. Just because there is some bad natured monks, practitioners and students in the monastery or dharma centre doesn't make the monastery or centre bad. The same concept goes with Dorje Shugden. Making DS famous and his benefits known to the world will drown all the negative news about DS. Then more and more people will see the good side and not bad.

[Dorje Pakmo]

In my point of view, in every religion, because it involves human, are bound to have such "surprises"  every now and then. It is not so much about which religion is better or which is inferior. I think, all religions are good, was taught down by holy teachers and it aims to teach and instil goodness to it's practitioner.

It don't matter if it's Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, etcetera. It is the individuals that have tarnished the good name of the religions they chose to be in and use as a mask to carry out their evil actions. And in Buddhism, we believe that this are the negative imprints brought down from countless previous reincarnations.

Instead of using this precious human life to transform and change the course of their Karma, they further reinforce their negative Karma by doing more harmful actions. When the Karma seeds ripen, it will be heavy and unforgiving for these people, especially when they harm the very people who they are suppose to protect, believes and trust in them.