by tenpelNovember 4, 201111:12 am

Cartoon NKT Survivor Experiences & New Discussions

There is a series of cartoons from a former NKT nun which are well made and shed light on life within the New Kadampa Tradition / Kadampa Buddhism.

It makes me very sad to watch them.

I can highly recommend these clips. Here is a brief selection:

Update

Some new discussions or links:

NKT, Succession and ‘The Rules’ by Vishvapani
the meaning of the term “purity” on Maitreya Buddhist Centre’s Blog
- see also News*, Archives, and
- When a non-virtuous action is legal…

* The new generation of NKT practitioners stick now to the Internal Rules of NKT and have brought their case to the British Charity Commission. Both, the charity trustees and NKT, have agreed to accept the Charity Commission’s guidance to settle their dispute. This is quite of an amazing development because so far NKT leadership decided everything and disobedient members were just expelled or pushed to go.

Last edited by tenpel on January 16, 2014 at 12:58 am

14Comments

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1

comityoferrors on November 4, 2011 at 2:21 pm
Reply

Quite a damning indictment of the NKT by someone who obviously had firsthand knowledge of how it operates. They’re all very effective. The one titled Purification is exceptional in showing how an understanding of the Dharma can be used by those in power as a weapon against students who have literally put themselves in their hands. Monstrous and shameful.
- 2
  
  lifegoeson on November 24, 2011 at 6:42 pm
  Reply
  
  Recently someone who was in my FP class six years or so ago died of a very agressive cancer. I had already decided not to go to her funeral as I didn’t know her all that well. Then I found out that there was to be a large NKT presence there including my second RT. My reaction had all the hallmarks of post traumatic stress, even though I didn’t actually attend! An ex-NKT friend who did attend had an even bigger stress reaction afterwards.
  
  These videos show very well things that happen day to day in NKT centres, especially to the ordained. And also how it feels to have made the commitment of getting ordained and then to disrobe when it becomes clear what NKT is really about. And you can’t really talk about it to anyone, as there is no common ground on which to base discussion and comparison.
  
  Being a cult survivor is a lonely business, and I am greatful I have several ex-NKT friends around, though no one who acually took ordination.
  
  It’s also difficult to make ex-NKT friendships healthy ones, and that can be hard to understand and work with too – no point ranting about the cult, but a real need to support, validate and explore each other’s experiences and processes. I don’t think we ever “get over it”, not when we’ve made that heartfelt commitment to the cult and then been so severely let down. You lose trust in both organisations and yourself.
  
  I hope the person who made these videos is finding support and friendship back in the general morass of samsara! And let’s hope all ex-NKT find healthy ways that suit us individually, to find our way out of the morass.
  
  Perhaps the hardest thing for me now is I know the unsatisfactoryness of samsara, but I don’t know what to do about it, who can be trusted and how to practice on my own if I can’t trust.
  - 3
    
    Fleadle on January 27, 2013 at 2:57 pm
    Reply
    
    Dear Lifegoeson, It is not easy to learn to trust again, I spent 10 years in the NKT, but I realise what I first needed to do was to trust myself more, I lost myself and any self esteem I may have had in the NKT, I need to get that back and trust my own judgement. I am looking into Zen right now and have a small daily practise but I enjoy it. I don’t think I’ll ever commit to a group like I did with the NKT but that is not a bad thing, but I do go to weekly classes and they haven’t once yet tried to get me more involved they are very kind and not at all pushy. We must learn from our NKT experience then it becomes meaningful. Their are good teachers out there but our best teacher is our own heart. Good luck my friend.
4

jay hindley on August 1, 2012 at 2:35 pm
Reply

I have recently left the nkt , my own experiences are similar to many i have read, the differnce being i was always dubious of big organisations i have tried to jusitfy all my doubts. I have now realised you can not become enlightened while entrenched in dogma and polotics. the very fact that the overall purpose of the nkt overides the needs of the people trying to help the cause,begs the question how pure is the actual goal if the means of getting there, go against the very teachings we recieve. If the goal is to cherish all living beings maybe we should start there instead of expanding outwardly should we not be growing inwardly. that is the point of all spirituality not just Buddhism. Some very valuable lessons are learnt within the nkt , but they are buddhas teachings no one elses so i feel that those including myself should not dwell in the negativity to long and get back to thye business of shaping our souls and minds. after all thats why we are here. peace love and freedom of expression. x
- 5
  
  tenpel on August 1, 2012 at 9:02 pm
  Reply
  
  Thank you very much. Well said.
- 6
  
  Fleadle on January 27, 2013 at 2:59 pm
  Reply
  
  Very well said. Everything is healed with love and lets hope one day the NKT realise they need to start with cherishing their members.
7

an old friend on August 1, 2012 at 7:01 pm
Reply

Very true Jay
All too often in the West people decide to become Buddhist but wind up becoming members of organizations-from there, its only a short step to make to commence thinking and acting in a sectarian way. Everybody, repeat after me :’I am not a member of an organization, I am a member of the worldwide community of Buddhists’ (rpt at least x108;)
8

Sheila on August 1, 2012 at 11:18 pm
Reply

That’s why I am not in favor of “ethics boards” or “codes of conduct” as a solution. What are ethics boards, if not a super-organization meant to oversee a large number of individual sanghas?

Beyond that, it just puts the power in yet another person’s (or group of person’s) hands. What’s a board that sits in judgement, if not a power imbalance between people?

The power must be with ourselves. Very few people who check out a teacher thoroughly will end up betrayed, because 1) people can and do smell garbage a mile away and 2) almost no teacher of any subject is out to betray anyone.

That’s why I really appreciate that Buddhism does not have any overarching authority, any equivalent of the pole or holy see or archbishop of canterbury; sometimes we wish there were such a judge or policeman, but in the end it would not be worth it.

Buddhism is very organic; the problems in NKT, or any other branch, are not the problems of all specifically because of this individuality, this lack of organization. We have the freedom to make mistakes, true, but those mistakes do not automatically hurt all sanghas, because we have not surrendered power to one and only one authority. The ultimate authority is ourselves.
9

Sheila on August 1, 2012 at 11:19 pm
Reply

Sorry, “any equivalent of the pope,” not “pole.”
10

Drolma on August 2, 2012 at 11:18 am
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And if we’ve learned anything at all from the nkt, it is that wrongdoing must be exposed, discussed and aired. This is how students are empowered to make informed choices.
- 11
  
  tenpel on August 2, 2012 at 12:27 pm
  Reply
  
  Yes.
  I would like to add: if possible with a good motivation and without hostility …
  - 12
    
    lifegoeson on August 2, 2012 at 12:57 pm
    Reply
    
    For me it’s about giving people the right information. Once you have good information you have a chance of making good choices. If you only have the one sided information – and the gaps in it – that cults give, then it is impossible to make informed choices. And that’s the way they like it.
13

an old friend on August 2, 2012 at 1:10 pm
Reply

Yes, enulating the great Yamantaka lineage master Ra Lotsawa, with a good motivation and without hostility …KILL, KILL, KILL (PS All germans, be aware, im joking)
14

tenpel on December 26, 2013 at 9:20 pm
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Note: The videos are currently only available under a YouTube chanel:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyioONrBQPXSf832XN6iiUw?feature=watch

In the past the videos were available under another domain/host. The links in the post were updated.

	tenpel on Who is demonstrating against t…
	Tenpel on Heartwood Hosts Its First Gath…
	Exposing the New Kad… on Who is demonstrating against t…
	tenpel on Who is demonstrating against t…
	Peartree Layne on Who is demonstrating against t…
	astrologerdevanand on Hurts within the Karma Kagyu s…
	mikepazda on Western Shugden Society / New…
	tenpel on Who is demonstrating against t…

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