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Enthralled: The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism
What do the Dalai Lama, the Green New Deal, CCP China and the Great Reset have in common?
Everything.
Author, Christine A Chandler, M.A., C.A.G.S., had been working as LICSW social worker and licensed psychologist, specializing in the area of physical and sexual abuse in families, when so many members of her 'soft science' professions were attracted to Tibetan 'Buddhism'. The year was 1984 at a Boston Shambhala Center. She had no idea that the same dynamics of generational abuse were present in her new 'religion.' This experience, of living and studying inside the Lamas' network, for nearly 30 years, gave Chandler both an intimate and a bird's eye view as to how these various Lamaist sects work together, world-wide, and with an enabling western inner circle, the Leftist media, Hollywood, and most of academia, to coercively control their thousands of western and asian devotees and the public, to make sure their secrets are kept.
Once Chandler entered the Lamas' Headquarters in Crestone Colorado, also HQ's of the CPC Chinese 17th Karmapa, slated to take Dalai Lama's place? She saw the 'backstage' of their theatre for naive, liberal Progressives, who still believe the Tibetan Lamas and the Dalai Lama are victims,
When Chandler realized she had been made a pawn on a geopolitical chessboard to undermine her own western country's social, economic and political fabric, using this occult 'religion,' she broke free.
Determined to warn others about what lies beneath the smiles and peaceful façade of the Lamas and their Mindfulness Movement, and the billionaire creators of the 'Climate Change "religion" to scare people into the Great Reset.
532 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 4, 2020
12 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 1, 2019
I found this book after reading through a web form discussing the current scandal within Shambhala Buddhism which I am a member of. Like many religious groups we are having a #metoo moment and horrific abuses are coming to light. This book largely deals with the author’s experiences with Shambhala Buddhism in the 90’s when the sangha was also falling apart due to abuse by the Vajra regent and the senior students.
I have not been personally harmed nor do I know anyone that was harmed but I have a real feeling of urgency to understand what happened, how it happened, that the victims are cared for, empowered and safe. That the community changes to make this sort of abuse less likely.
The book was an anguish to read. There are a few autobiographical chapters throughout the book that were the most readable and grounded in the book. Chandler raises important points about abuses of power, secrecy, sexual abuse and governance in Buddhist communities. Her chapter on caregiving for ’T’, an autistic child of Chögyam Trungpa, really struck home some of the problems of recognizing Tulkus and putting such large expectations on children. I was also struck by her descriptions of the kindness of her neighbors shortly after leaving Shambhala when her house caught fire and they formed a bucket brigade to put it out. It’s interesting what communicates. These are important topics and need more discussion and action.
Chandler is angry and should be.
But the precision of her arguments suffers from it and quickly veers off into conspiracy theory and overgeneralization.
Some examples:
- Claiming that Gregory Baetson’s invented systems theory to ruin the American psyche, undermine personal responsibility, and pave the way for the Lamas to take over the world
-Citing a youtube video by Sharon Salzberg (who is not a Tibetan Buddhist or part of Sogyal Rinpoche’s Rigpa community but a teacher with the Insight Meditation Society) that was published in 2016 as evidence of an international Tibetan scheme to cover up the scandal with Sogyal Rinpoche that was discovered in 2017. Or stating that the Dali Lama never denounced Sogyal Rinpoche (even though he did - shortly after becoming aware of the news).
-Claiming that China, the UN, and Tibetan Lamas (who love China) are exploiting the millennial belief in global warming to drive people into sexual slavery
-That giving buddhist centers and mosques the status of a church undermines the tax code
Here is a direct quote from the book about Pema Chodron: “It is not just the sexually abusive men that are causing a worldwide crisis. It is women like these, who are teaching others ‘not to judge’ and to ‘just let it fall apart;’ and to be more upset about a sexist remark, thus trivializing real rape and real sexual abuse, that is increasing all around them, while wearing ‘pussy hats’ and screaming historically, to protest being seen as sexual objects tied to their emotions.”
Mindfulness practice is about connecting to what is happening, gently. If you are freaking out or zoning out you notice that. If you are seeing clearly you notice that. As things change - you notice the changes. It’s not about destroying your decrement or critical awareness but noticing when they are functioning well and when there is confusion or whatever in between . The practice is about getting familiar with that whole mess and tenderness - so you can act from it more skillfully.
This book has a lot of mess and tenderness but not a lot of logic. Black and white is simple but not realistic. Tibetan Buddhism is not and will never be only one thing to everyone. Grand conspiracy theory might be more comforting then the idea that no one is really controlling it all. I think with a lot of therapy, editing, and fact checking it could say something badly needed. In its current form it’s mostly a rant.
I have not been personally harmed nor do I know anyone that was harmed but I have a real feeling of urgency to understand what happened, how it happened, that the victims are cared for, empowered and safe. That the community changes to make this sort of abuse less likely.
The book was an anguish to read. There are a few autobiographical chapters throughout the book that were the most readable and grounded in the book. Chandler raises important points about abuses of power, secrecy, sexual abuse and governance in Buddhist communities. Her chapter on caregiving for ’T’, an autistic child of Chögyam Trungpa, really struck home some of the problems of recognizing Tulkus and putting such large expectations on children. I was also struck by her descriptions of the kindness of her neighbors shortly after leaving Shambhala when her house caught fire and they formed a bucket brigade to put it out. It’s interesting what communicates. These are important topics and need more discussion and action.
Chandler is angry and should be.
But the precision of her arguments suffers from it and quickly veers off into conspiracy theory and overgeneralization.
Some examples:
- Claiming that Gregory Baetson’s invented systems theory to ruin the American psyche, undermine personal responsibility, and pave the way for the Lamas to take over the world
-Citing a youtube video by Sharon Salzberg (who is not a Tibetan Buddhist or part of Sogyal Rinpoche’s Rigpa community but a teacher with the Insight Meditation Society) that was published in 2016 as evidence of an international Tibetan scheme to cover up the scandal with Sogyal Rinpoche that was discovered in 2017. Or stating that the Dali Lama never denounced Sogyal Rinpoche (even though he did - shortly after becoming aware of the news).
-Claiming that China, the UN, and Tibetan Lamas (who love China) are exploiting the millennial belief in global warming to drive people into sexual slavery
-That giving buddhist centers and mosques the status of a church undermines the tax code
Here is a direct quote from the book about Pema Chodron: “It is not just the sexually abusive men that are causing a worldwide crisis. It is women like these, who are teaching others ‘not to judge’ and to ‘just let it fall apart;’ and to be more upset about a sexist remark, thus trivializing real rape and real sexual abuse, that is increasing all around them, while wearing ‘pussy hats’ and screaming historically, to protest being seen as sexual objects tied to their emotions.”
Mindfulness practice is about connecting to what is happening, gently. If you are freaking out or zoning out you notice that. If you are seeing clearly you notice that. As things change - you notice the changes. It’s not about destroying your decrement or critical awareness but noticing when they are functioning well and when there is confusion or whatever in between . The practice is about getting familiar with that whole mess and tenderness - so you can act from it more skillfully.
This book has a lot of mess and tenderness but not a lot of logic. Black and white is simple but not realistic. Tibetan Buddhism is not and will never be only one thing to everyone. Grand conspiracy theory might be more comforting then the idea that no one is really controlling it all. I think with a lot of therapy, editing, and fact checking it could say something badly needed. In its current form it’s mostly a rant.
July 27, 2018
Must read book on the mind-control cult of Tibetan Buddhism. Don't be fooled by what is presented to the public by 'compassionate, wise, good' men and women in crimson robes. Tibetan Buddhism is in reality an archaic, sacerdotal cult rooted in Hindu Tantra. Christine Chandler rips the veil off their decades-long deception, with eloquence and devastating facts.
August 7, 2018
I was very glad to have read this book. The word "mindfulness" is becoming so common these days. This book exposes the truth behind the movement and its true intentions. I appreciated how the author shared many footnotes to verify her observations. It was a long read for me and there are typos in the book which I found distracting but learning more about the Dalai Lama, gurus, Buddhism was worthwhile. Read this book with an open mind and become more observant of the mindfulness movement so you can protect yourself against its false and destructive intentions.
January 6, 2020
This seemed like a compelling topic with all the news in recent years about various scandals affecting this community, but this book is rambling and poorly written in addition to seeming poorly reasoned and deeply marinated in a conspiracy theory mentality. It's hard to take seriously. I would love someone to make a credible book on the subject. I feel bad for saying this, but reading this book it seems really hard to believe that its author has three masters degrees. I found it meandering, unbalanced, unhinged.
um-not-these-authors
January 18, 2019Oh, joy.
Currently reading
May 9, 2022This book helped me in discovering the truth about Tibetan buddhism, Lama’s.
I probably once was that naive westerner. Still thinking that Tibetan buddhism was as legitimate a buddhist path as any other, also for women. Last year I visited a Vajrayana temple for a few months for meditation lessons. Once a month the Lama would visit the temple to give instruction/ a lecture. Standing up when the Lama entered the room and him sitting on a throne didn’t come across as unusual to me. I just brushed it off as showing respect, something in the west we kind of forgotten. I did leave, feeling quite disillusioned when I found out about one of his new projects. Supporting the green new deal in Europe. Recruiting young talent, for changing people’s minds about the benefits of the package of measures. To become a climate neutral continent. It wasn’t something I could stand behind. Knowing that the ideas of climate change, sustainability are being used to eventually tax people for more things. I found it hypocritical after hearing him say that he wasn’t interested, or involved in politics. At the time I didn’t fully understand why Lama’s were so eager to help move these agendas forward.
Reading this book and other sites, it became more clear to me.
The temple I went to was mostly run by older students. The prices for the more in depth studies with the Lama, which you could also follow online, were pretty high. The older students had only good things to say about the teacher. Showing a bit too much interest in who you were, encouraging you to join the more expensive studies, or donate to his projects.
One of those projects was the acquisition of land for retreats in Europe. And the way the old student talked about it made me feel a bit uncomfortable. It was just a sales pitch given to all the new people who were present. Making it sound better than it was, and being kind of dishonest. Saying that she wanted to live there permanently in the future. And that the Lama would also supernaturally, support their students in their dreams etc.
After that I did a “Zen” course, from an organization which had its own issues.
Still not truly knowledgeable about Tibetan history/buddhism. I thought I might study it on my own alongside other books, general buddhism. With the help of some online organizations. I even bought the Dakini power book. Was contemplating trying out the prostrations. And I was interested in joining a Shambhala beginner’s weekend.
But after both my experience with the temple and the zen organization I was kind of reluctant to join groups in real life again.
Coming across the Trimondi website and then this book, it pretty much opened my eyes to what this path is about. I don’t think It’s really healthy for women in the end. I will keep my distance from it and will have to find other sources for practice, education.
Things aren’t as they present them to be. I can’t stand dishonesty, deception, hypocrisy. And this all has been a lesson to me, how easily I can be fooled as well. Even though I like to read, know things about cults. I probably also had my blind spots, when it comes to a religion I’m really interested in.
One of the things that stood out to me was when she talked about a high lama visiting. The name sounded familiar and it turned out to be one of the teachers of the Lama, of the temple I visited. Small world I suppose.
All in all an interesting book. She does have some strange ideas about mindfulness, which to me didn’t seem that reasonable. You get the impression while reading the book that she believes that Tibetan Buddhism/lama’s were behind the popularisation, spread of mindfulness and that they’re using it to make people fall asleep, easier to manipulate etc. The history of how, who introduced mindfulness in the west seem to tell a different story. I do believe as well that too much meditation can have a negative effect. And the non-judgmental ideas, taken too far, as an attitude towards life, people can be dangerous.
I found the writing to be quite repetitive, all over the place. Reading her blog seems to be worse. But there is some good information there. Though if you haven’t read the Trimondi site/book, it might be hard to understand where she’s coming from. I suggest reading their free book first.
I probably once was that naive westerner. Still thinking that Tibetan buddhism was as legitimate a buddhist path as any other, also for women. Last year I visited a Vajrayana temple for a few months for meditation lessons. Once a month the Lama would visit the temple to give instruction/ a lecture. Standing up when the Lama entered the room and him sitting on a throne didn’t come across as unusual to me. I just brushed it off as showing respect, something in the west we kind of forgotten. I did leave, feeling quite disillusioned when I found out about one of his new projects. Supporting the green new deal in Europe. Recruiting young talent, for changing people’s minds about the benefits of the package of measures. To become a climate neutral continent. It wasn’t something I could stand behind. Knowing that the ideas of climate change, sustainability are being used to eventually tax people for more things. I found it hypocritical after hearing him say that he wasn’t interested, or involved in politics. At the time I didn’t fully understand why Lama’s were so eager to help move these agendas forward.
Reading this book and other sites, it became more clear to me.
The temple I went to was mostly run by older students. The prices for the more in depth studies with the Lama, which you could also follow online, were pretty high. The older students had only good things to say about the teacher. Showing a bit too much interest in who you were, encouraging you to join the more expensive studies, or donate to his projects.
One of those projects was the acquisition of land for retreats in Europe. And the way the old student talked about it made me feel a bit uncomfortable. It was just a sales pitch given to all the new people who were present. Making it sound better than it was, and being kind of dishonest. Saying that she wanted to live there permanently in the future. And that the Lama would also supernaturally, support their students in their dreams etc.
After that I did a “Zen” course, from an organization which had its own issues.
Still not truly knowledgeable about Tibetan history/buddhism. I thought I might study it on my own alongside other books, general buddhism. With the help of some online organizations. I even bought the Dakini power book. Was contemplating trying out the prostrations. And I was interested in joining a Shambhala beginner’s weekend.
But after both my experience with the temple and the zen organization I was kind of reluctant to join groups in real life again.
Coming across the Trimondi website and then this book, it pretty much opened my eyes to what this path is about. I don’t think It’s really healthy for women in the end. I will keep my distance from it and will have to find other sources for practice, education.
Things aren’t as they present them to be. I can’t stand dishonesty, deception, hypocrisy. And this all has been a lesson to me, how easily I can be fooled as well. Even though I like to read, know things about cults. I probably also had my blind spots, when it comes to a religion I’m really interested in.
One of the things that stood out to me was when she talked about a high lama visiting. The name sounded familiar and it turned out to be one of the teachers of the Lama, of the temple I visited. Small world I suppose.
All in all an interesting book. She does have some strange ideas about mindfulness, which to me didn’t seem that reasonable. You get the impression while reading the book that she believes that Tibetan Buddhism/lama’s were behind the popularisation, spread of mindfulness and that they’re using it to make people fall asleep, easier to manipulate etc. The history of how, who introduced mindfulness in the west seem to tell a different story. I do believe as well that too much meditation can have a negative effect. And the non-judgmental ideas, taken too far, as an attitude towards life, people can be dangerous.
I found the writing to be quite repetitive, all over the place. Reading her blog seems to be worse. But there is some good information there. Though if you haven’t read the Trimondi site/book, it might be hard to understand where she’s coming from. I suggest reading their free book first.
July 6, 2022
This seemed like a compelling topic with all the news in recent years about various scandals affecting this community, but this book is rambling and poorly written in addition to seeming poorly reasoned and deeply marinated in a conspiracy theory mentality. It's hard to take seriously. I would love someone to make a credible book on the subject. I feel bad for saying this, but reading this book it seems really hard to believe that its author has three masters degrees. I found it meandering, unbalanced, unhinged. It's like this endless stream of emotional reasoning, nonsensical generalities, and overgeneralization. You have repeated instances where she will say that something has happened one time in on situation and then be like, OMG THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR A THOUSAND YEARS AND THESE SO-CALLED LIBERALS/FEMINISTS/WHATEVER LOOK THE OTHER WAY! When she talks about the history of psychotherapy, in my opinion, she comes across as someone with a skewed perspective and a lot of axes to grind who thinks that everything is part of some grand new world order conspiracy. To be honest a lot of it is hard to follow because it's disjointed rambling. It's like it was written by a text generator or something because the author doesn't seem to be able to coherently tell a story, provide facts, or make an intelligible argument. It's baffling to me that this is the 2nd edition. I would have hoped that some semblance of sense or basic editing would have been brought to this version. I get that this is a self-published ebook so what do I expect, I guess I'm just frustrated because I would honestly love to read a seriously written, considered, and researched version of this book that isn't just a collection of conspiracy theories, unrelated rants, and citations from dubious websites. I really hope that nobody reads this book and thinks that anything she says about psychology is reliable because it's absolutely not.
Every once in a while though, the author becomes intelligible and tells a story from her own experience. It would be great if the book were a lot more of that and a lot less rambling about conspiracy theories in over the top language. I guess one weakness in her narrative though is she presents herself as a hapless victim without agency. Clearly she got something out of participating in this organization for so long or why did she jump into all of this so much? If I were going to turn this into a better book, I would somehow tell the story from the beginning. How did she get involved in this organization? Why? I would also include a clear discussion of the history of Tibetan Buddhism and its migration to the west without cloaking it all in shrill language that sounds like a deranged facebook post. I keep thinking there's a way to tell this story but reading this book feels like having a conversation with someone experiencing a psychotic break while also being intoxicated. I keep feeling bad for writing this because this person is obviously troubled and I should maybe delete this.
I guess just to give an example of what I'm talking about, the author reports that following the death of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, some other high ranking Tibetan Buddhist leader gave (I think) 2 week blocks of teaching in three different locations in the US and Canada, which seems on the face to be innocent enough and she doesn't really explain what about these teachings were dangerous or even what the teachings were about, but here's what she says next:
"It was a heavy-duty campaign to keep all Trungpa's students enthralled in the Tibetan Lamaist cabal and part of their Tantric jihad continuing, after Trungpa died, by recruiting that many more of us into helping them expand their Adi-Buddha world." I'm sorry, what? How can anybody be expected to take seriously a book that talks about Tantric jihad and throws around poorly defined terms like Adi-Buddha as though we've all been reading the same tinfoil hat websites? Even the repeated use of Lamaist seems a little weird. Like why this word? Why haven't I heard it used by people who don't sound crazy?
OMG or this section from chapter 11:
"In the Tibetan Lamaist Tantric cult, they are patiently waiting for Christians, Jews, and Muslims to destroy each other; as their Tibetan Kalachakra predicts. In the aftermath of the destruction, the Tibetan Lamastocracy will replace Western civilization like a phoenix rising from the ashes, with their vast infrastructure built out across the world, to usher in their totalist solution. These are the secret teachings of their apocalyptic Tantra--the Kalachakra Wheel of Destruction--that the Dalai Lama pretends is all symbolic and only about bringing peace to the world.
There are many other new religious groups, and, thanks to the URI that embraces cults like Tantra and Satanists, guru worshippers and Wiccans, African spiritualism, and voodoo, in one big syncretic religious hug, they all have become part of the "spiritualized" globalist arm of the United Nations.
Inside their so-called profits, NGOs, and churches, they are engaged in realpolitik, all the time, defying the separation of church of state with their geopolitical and global social activists, who are well-funded, well organized and protected by equally delusional Utopian millionaires and billionaires. Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama is still fooling the world that he is just a simple monk, 'no longer political.' Yet, since this declaration, he has engaged in constant Machiavellian maneuverings, using his 'peaceful' mask and demeanor, his humble monk persona, to help in tyring to abolish the national sovereignty of nations to create a world socialist citizenry."
Like, wow. I'm fascinated by cults, but I think whoever this author is has replaced one cult-like fever for another in the form of an insane internet brew of paranoid, xenophobic conspiracy theories. I'm starting to get really worried about her clients that she had as a social worker or professional therapist. Never mind that she seems to have gone lock, stock, and barrel off the deep end, I just don't see how the author can be such a bad writer when she has three graduate degrees from seemingly reputable schools. I guess the UN was using her as a George Soros puppet so she never needed to learn how to write a coherent argument.
ETA: I should have waited to write this review until after I finished the book, but I didn't think I would keep reading it since the whole thing is repetitive nonsense almost to the point of being gibberish, but it's so ridiculous, I can't really help it, and every now and again you get some intelligible information about what it was like to be in this group, despite these descriptions being steeped in mumbo jumbo and nonsense about the new world order or something. I love that a paragraph in the end notes (#302) in chapter 11 invokes George Soros, Mark Zuckerberg, Hollywood, Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington, and Millennials. It's like I just won crazy conspiracy theory lady bingo.
Okay, here I am in chapter 12 where she sets out to prove that it's a cult. This is a perfect example of why this book is so bad. As an example, she repeats over and over using different words that critical thinking is basically forbidden in Tibetan buddhism. It would be great if she illustrated this argument with a story from her life. Like, "One time I said such and such thing was unethical or whatever and these were the consequences." But she never does this in this book. She paints herself as a quietly resentful presence seeing the specter of some grand conspiracy hiding everywhere in plain sight. Also, up until this point I wasn't really sure if she was necessarily coming across as homophobic because it's all so much, but in chapter 12 it becomes very clear as she continues to very clearly use the words "gay" and "homosexual" with the tone of epithets. For example having sex with your guru seems to be viewed by the author as worse when it's specifically "gay sex" and the guru in question is referred to as a "promiscuous, gay cult leader." It's also funny how often she vaguely refers to "harems of women" without really explaining what that means. Also, omg with the way she keeps using the term "double bind" in a nonsensical manner.
Every once in a while though, the author becomes intelligible and tells a story from her own experience. It would be great if the book were a lot more of that and a lot less rambling about conspiracy theories in over the top language. I guess one weakness in her narrative though is she presents herself as a hapless victim without agency. Clearly she got something out of participating in this organization for so long or why did she jump into all of this so much? If I were going to turn this into a better book, I would somehow tell the story from the beginning. How did she get involved in this organization? Why? I would also include a clear discussion of the history of Tibetan Buddhism and its migration to the west without cloaking it all in shrill language that sounds like a deranged facebook post. I keep thinking there's a way to tell this story but reading this book feels like having a conversation with someone experiencing a psychotic break while also being intoxicated. I keep feeling bad for writing this because this person is obviously troubled and I should maybe delete this.
I guess just to give an example of what I'm talking about, the author reports that following the death of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, some other high ranking Tibetan Buddhist leader gave (I think) 2 week blocks of teaching in three different locations in the US and Canada, which seems on the face to be innocent enough and she doesn't really explain what about these teachings were dangerous or even what the teachings were about, but here's what she says next:
"It was a heavy-duty campaign to keep all Trungpa's students enthralled in the Tibetan Lamaist cabal and part of their Tantric jihad continuing, after Trungpa died, by recruiting that many more of us into helping them expand their Adi-Buddha world." I'm sorry, what? How can anybody be expected to take seriously a book that talks about Tantric jihad and throws around poorly defined terms like Adi-Buddha as though we've all been reading the same tinfoil hat websites? Even the repeated use of Lamaist seems a little weird. Like why this word? Why haven't I heard it used by people who don't sound crazy?
OMG or this section from chapter 11:
"In the Tibetan Lamaist Tantric cult, they are patiently waiting for Christians, Jews, and Muslims to destroy each other; as their Tibetan Kalachakra predicts. In the aftermath of the destruction, the Tibetan Lamastocracy will replace Western civilization like a phoenix rising from the ashes, with their vast infrastructure built out across the world, to usher in their totalist solution. These are the secret teachings of their apocalyptic Tantra--the Kalachakra Wheel of Destruction--that the Dalai Lama pretends is all symbolic and only about bringing peace to the world.
There are many other new religious groups, and, thanks to the URI that embraces cults like Tantra and Satanists, guru worshippers and Wiccans, African spiritualism, and voodoo, in one big syncretic religious hug, they all have become part of the "spiritualized" globalist arm of the United Nations.
Inside their so-called profits, NGOs, and churches, they are engaged in realpolitik, all the time, defying the separation of church of state with their geopolitical and global social activists, who are well-funded, well organized and protected by equally delusional Utopian millionaires and billionaires. Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama is still fooling the world that he is just a simple monk, 'no longer political.' Yet, since this declaration, he has engaged in constant Machiavellian maneuverings, using his 'peaceful' mask and demeanor, his humble monk persona, to help in tyring to abolish the national sovereignty of nations to create a world socialist citizenry."
Like, wow. I'm fascinated by cults, but I think whoever this author is has replaced one cult-like fever for another in the form of an insane internet brew of paranoid, xenophobic conspiracy theories. I'm starting to get really worried about her clients that she had as a social worker or professional therapist. Never mind that she seems to have gone lock, stock, and barrel off the deep end, I just don't see how the author can be such a bad writer when she has three graduate degrees from seemingly reputable schools. I guess the UN was using her as a George Soros puppet so she never needed to learn how to write a coherent argument.
ETA: I should have waited to write this review until after I finished the book, but I didn't think I would keep reading it since the whole thing is repetitive nonsense almost to the point of being gibberish, but it's so ridiculous, I can't really help it, and every now and again you get some intelligible information about what it was like to be in this group, despite these descriptions being steeped in mumbo jumbo and nonsense about the new world order or something. I love that a paragraph in the end notes (#302) in chapter 11 invokes George Soros, Mark Zuckerberg, Hollywood, Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington, and Millennials. It's like I just won crazy conspiracy theory lady bingo.
Okay, here I am in chapter 12 where she sets out to prove that it's a cult. This is a perfect example of why this book is so bad. As an example, she repeats over and over using different words that critical thinking is basically forbidden in Tibetan buddhism. It would be great if she illustrated this argument with a story from her life. Like, "One time I said such and such thing was unethical or whatever and these were the consequences." But she never does this in this book. She paints herself as a quietly resentful presence seeing the specter of some grand conspiracy hiding everywhere in plain sight. Also, up until this point I wasn't really sure if she was necessarily coming across as homophobic because it's all so much, but in chapter 12 it becomes very clear as she continues to very clearly use the words "gay" and "homosexual" with the tone of epithets. For example having sex with your guru seems to be viewed by the author as worse when it's specifically "gay sex" and the guru in question is referred to as a "promiscuous, gay cult leader." It's also funny how often she vaguely refers to "harems of women" without really explaining what that means. Also, omg with the way she keeps using the term "double bind" in a nonsensical manner.
September 20, 2024
There are power abuses in all spiritual movements, and followers are willing to comply with the abuser's story to continue to reap the benefits of their association. But there are far more teachers and organizations unwilling to tolerate such conduct and students who recognize manipulative cult-building techniques. Regrettably, poor writing and the author's bias sensationalized the topic with conspiracy theories. Abuses by Tibetan Buddhists and other spiritual leaders deserve a well-researched investigative book, but this is not it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews