Here is what happened in my larger sangha

[Zoe Girl]

(sangha is a group of Buddhists generally). Rather devastating. For me punk culture was often about breaking down those gender issues more and not accepting this to happen. The same roots I have of questioning and going against the larger influences gave rise to both my interest in punk culture and the beginning of my Buddhist journey at 19. The largest group (against the stream, dharma punx) closed at the end of September. I am announcing our group closing today.

https://jezebel.com/leaked-internal-report-famous-buddhist-leader-noah-lev-1829873134?utm_medium=sharefromsite&utm_source=jezebel_facebook&utm_campaign=sharebar&fbclid=IwAR0PRqro0dCz1l1t7dSA4sWKE6N7PZ-5_T99u5ERIGhd3uZZ0mO1wF8zxsQ

[rosarugosa]

That's really a shame, Zoe Girl.

[Teacher Terry]

That’s too bad.

[lhamo]

I'm really sorry, ZG. TBH, one of the reasons I have not delved deeper into Buddhism despite my interest in Tibetan culture is because there is so much of this kind of undertone. I think the abuse survivor in me sensed it/knew it might be a risky space for me.

[iris lily]

Oh how the mighty falleth.

Seriously, just because the dude is a cad and probably worse doesnt mean he didnt lay down some decent programs. I am sure many people were helped by his Recovery programs.

Will your buddhist members form around a new center?

[Yppej]

I used to attend a Buddhist temple run by nuns. Anything like that in your area? They are the nicest people.

[Zoe Girl]

I am fine overall, just pissed off of course. I have 2 female teachers, one is a nun and one is a former nun. I have a male teacher in Boulder. Then there is an Insight group in Denver where I know people. I am struggling a little because the group is different demographically, although super nice, just not the same of course. Our local group has been very low attendance for a long time but this made it worse. It is actually a good thing to let it go for the 2 facilitators to move on. I facilitate 3 times a month now and it is tiring when people do not attend. I also combined all the facebook groups, we had 2 with 20 moderators each. I archived those awhile ago and formed one new one.

I think our sangha has done a great job overall with this. The investigation started in March, it was announced in late August that they found the allegations credible, and the larger organization closed at the end of September. We sat with not knowing for months, and without passing judgment on anyone until then. It really helps to separate the actor from the action, that means paying attention to the actor by realizing every being wants to be free from suffering. The action however can be opposed with all your resources. It actually works better to oppose an action without getting caught up in the person too much. It also means that some great teachers are also very flawed human beings and can create harm.