This may be out of most people's arena but it is really a big deal. The founder of it all was accused by 7 women of sexual misconduct, the board of ATS took him off the board, does not allow him to teach under them, and as a result of losing money related to this are closing their doors. They have been around for at least 10 years I think, have centers, a robust web site with recorded talks, retreats, etc. Quite a big shift. Noah Levine also started refuge recovery which is a Buddhist based addiction recovery program. It is booming everywhere and so impactful for people. That may also be affected. However refuge is peer led and independent so I think they will be fine. I attend one of the groups at an in-patient treatment center, it is a good place for my bipolar brain to participate even without an addiction.
Our local group has been going over 10 years, we have been criticized for not having anyone who was officially trained by Noah to facilitate or teach. I pretty much don't care, I just tell people we are direct about being peer led and our qualifications. However the dharma punx name is welcoming for people who do not feel comfortable with other groups such as recovering addicts, gender spectrum, etc. So we can just keep going, possibly re-branding the name which I have been thinking about for awhile. I will be talking to the other facilitators tonight.
Meanwhile in the buddhist world, besides all the sexual misconduct, is a resurgence of saying you can find enlightenment with drugs, sigh. Pretty disappointing, the teachers I really like are clear and direct against it. I am also against using recreational drugs for for spiritual advancement, kinda BS. In general the buddhists have our sh** too.
Here is the article
https://www.lionsroar.com/against-th...-to-shut-down/