@olliamh--
What a mess! It sounds like the Tibetan gurus, the well-known ones, at least, feel that prestige is to be gained from building a large following, building centers, and commanding ever-larger groups. DKR has squarely placed himself in that world, that value-system. He's revealing TB for what it is: a guru cult. And he's blaming the victims of that cult, of gurus run amok, without any qualms.
This has nothing to do with the Dharma, except that it's become a shameless exploitation of the Dharma by unscrupulous gurus chasing after prestige, wealth, power, sex, and influence. They have stood the Dharma on its head, making a mockery of everything the Buddha stood for.
DKR has written much in the past about "destroying the ego". It sounds like he needs to take some of his own medicine. He and many other of his ilk.
By the way, I remember that in one of his rants on his website years ago, he told followers to forget about the internet; to ignore anything they read on the internet about TB. It sounds like he's had an unhappy encounter with Western freedom of speech and expectations that spiritual leaders walk their talk and obey the law.
He seems to have forgotten that Buddhism is all about compassion. This continues to floor me; so many of them have forgotten what it's all about.
The only one on the Tibetan side to really get it, is the late Shamar Rinpoche. He finally realized that most spiritual seekers who come to Buddhism aren't interested in a sexual path to Enlightenment. They want to learn basic Buddhism, and receive guidance in how to be a better person. That's all. So he created his Bodhi Path centers, to teach the Bodhisattva way, without any Vajrayana, except perhaps some Avalokitisvara visualization practices. He acknowledged that this is what most people want, and this is the best way to go. I don't know if his centers are still operating, now that he's passed away.
What a mess! It sounds like the Tibetan gurus, the well-known ones, at least, feel that prestige is to be gained from building a large following, building centers, and commanding ever-larger groups. DKR has squarely placed himself in that world, that value-system. He's revealing TB for what it is: a guru cult. And he's blaming the victims of that cult, of gurus run amok, without any qualms.
This has nothing to do with the Dharma, except that it's become a shameless exploitation of the Dharma by unscrupulous gurus chasing after prestige, wealth, power, sex, and influence. They have stood the Dharma on its head, making a mockery of everything the Buddha stood for.
DKR has written much in the past about "destroying the ego". It sounds like he needs to take some of his own medicine. He and many other of his ilk.
By the way, I remember that in one of his rants on his website years ago, he told followers to forget about the internet; to ignore anything they read on the internet about TB. It sounds like he's had an unhappy encounter with Western freedom of speech and expectations that spiritual leaders walk their talk and obey the law.
He seems to have forgotten that Buddhism is all about compassion. This continues to floor me; so many of them have forgotten what it's all about.
The only one on the Tibetan side to really get it, is the late Shamar Rinpoche. He finally realized that most spiritual seekers who come to Buddhism aren't interested in a sexual path to Enlightenment. They want to learn basic Buddhism, and receive guidance in how to be a better person. That's all. So he created his Bodhi Path centers, to teach the Bodhisattva way, without any Vajrayana, except perhaps some Avalokitisvara visualization practices. He acknowledged that this is what most people want, and this is the best way to go. I don't know if his centers are still operating, now that he's passed away.