Hi,
I'm a previous student of PY but I have to say I feel very sad that you have had a
bad experience as I never did and would like to stand up for him in case other people miss the opportunity to meet him because of this forum.
I met Rinpoche, when he went by the name Sifu about 15 years ago. By the sounds of it he has stayed true to his personality, which is kind of like a drill sergeant.
I believe there are many different types of teachers out there to suit the personalities of the students.
All I can do is give my account with him, which is this (I will refer to him as Rinpoche as a sign of respect):
I came to him, very broken, from a life of abuse and I was only making it worse for myself. I remember crying to him when I first met him saying I was scared of where I would end up when I died as I had done so many bad things. True to his word he told me to stick with him and he would help me. And he did. He taught me about energy, he taught me about buddhism. He showed me kindness and compassion which is what buddhism is about. I eventually moved out of the country and whenever I have needed him, I have emailed pathgate, always got an answer and always got advice. Of course Rinpoche tried to encourage me to stick around and become a nun as that would have fast tracked my spiritual journey but that is not what I wanted, I mean I did want to fast track but I wanted a family some day. But he didn't stop contact with me afterwards and was always there, even when I was only attending 1 teaching a year for example. I messaged pathgate last week actually asking for advice, and got excellent advice back within 2 days which has helped a lot.
I have been alone with Rinpoche before, and he was lovely and caring and actually professional as his position as a teacher. '
Now - Has he shouted? Yes, many times, that's his thing I think, but it's not abusive as far as I remember. I've had him shouting down the phone at me before where I was shaking with adrenaline, shitting myself, but when I saw him after he was lovely to me. I saw it as when a parent see's their child heading for danger, what do they do? They get that childs attention. He never hit me, hurt me, stole from me, he did nothing but help me.
I am not saying that the experience you had with him was not real, it was your own but I just want to say that it was not my experience. The tools he gave me all those years ago helped me to the point that I now live in a beautiful part of the world, I feel very much at peace, obv not all the time but it's a work in progress and I have a very comfortable life most of the time.
Yes Rinpoche started taking donations, maybe now he charges, I don't know but you go to eckhart tolle, or tony robinson or any of the spiritual workshops and you will pay money. OF course it sucks to pay money when it comes to spiritualism BUT he's teaching all the time so he can't do it for free. As for how much he charges, I never experienced this, so I can't comment.
As for violent against kids, that is shocking, can you back that up? Were you there? Did you see him lay a hand on a child? I find that difficult to imagine as i've seen him around kids and he is very playful! That's not to say it didn't happen but again, I have never seen him do this.
Again, all I can write about is my experience. Is pathgate a cult? I don't know, maybe it is, but no more than any other organised religion. You can leave, you can come and go, that was my experience.
I really think that you either understand what his aim is or just don't go to his teachings, no one is forcing you. I've had times when I didn't want to go so I didn't, I just waited until I was ready again, and then went, I was never turned away.
If someone is reading this who is unsure if they want to go, I would say, go and if you don't like it, then just don't go back lol.
I don't understand all this talk of enlightened and power hungry etc, I went to him for Buddhist teachings, and that's what I got, and those teachings helped for the last 15 years. If you go to him, it's for a personal journey, not to get caught up in what you think he is or is not, just go there for the answers you are looking for, if you don't find them, then keep looking in your life. Simple as.
I honestly found the whole Newcastle experience totally mind blowing, full on and life changing. It's not for everyone, don't expect to go there and feel great about yourself straight after LOL, that's not what he's for. I left Newcastle feeling like a totally shit person, but I was! I was a horrible person to everyone around me. But it was because Rinpoche was so good to me that I never forgot what he was trying to teach me and as a result turned my life around. There are some people who learn by being cuddled and told how wonderful they are but I was not one of those, I met people who tried to do that with me and I walked all over them, I needed someone like Rinpoche to not take any of my shit and just say "hey, you're being an asshole to people, here's how you can stop" xD
You want to say i'm brainwashed then that's your choice, but i'll tell you, i'm a single mum, with a good relationship to my sons dad, i'm living abroad and I feel very strong and I owe a lot of that to Rinpoche.
I'm a previous student of PY but I have to say I feel very sad that you have had a
bad experience as I never did and would like to stand up for him in case other people miss the opportunity to meet him because of this forum.
I met Rinpoche, when he went by the name Sifu about 15 years ago. By the sounds of it he has stayed true to his personality, which is kind of like a drill sergeant.
I believe there are many different types of teachers out there to suit the personalities of the students.
All I can do is give my account with him, which is this (I will refer to him as Rinpoche as a sign of respect):
I came to him, very broken, from a life of abuse and I was only making it worse for myself. I remember crying to him when I first met him saying I was scared of where I would end up when I died as I had done so many bad things. True to his word he told me to stick with him and he would help me. And he did. He taught me about energy, he taught me about buddhism. He showed me kindness and compassion which is what buddhism is about. I eventually moved out of the country and whenever I have needed him, I have emailed pathgate, always got an answer and always got advice. Of course Rinpoche tried to encourage me to stick around and become a nun as that would have fast tracked my spiritual journey but that is not what I wanted, I mean I did want to fast track but I wanted a family some day. But he didn't stop contact with me afterwards and was always there, even when I was only attending 1 teaching a year for example. I messaged pathgate last week actually asking for advice, and got excellent advice back within 2 days which has helped a lot.
I have been alone with Rinpoche before, and he was lovely and caring and actually professional as his position as a teacher. '
Now - Has he shouted? Yes, many times, that's his thing I think, but it's not abusive as far as I remember. I've had him shouting down the phone at me before where I was shaking with adrenaline, shitting myself, but when I saw him after he was lovely to me. I saw it as when a parent see's their child heading for danger, what do they do? They get that childs attention. He never hit me, hurt me, stole from me, he did nothing but help me.
I am not saying that the experience you had with him was not real, it was your own but I just want to say that it was not my experience. The tools he gave me all those years ago helped me to the point that I now live in a beautiful part of the world, I feel very much at peace, obv not all the time but it's a work in progress and I have a very comfortable life most of the time.
Yes Rinpoche started taking donations, maybe now he charges, I don't know but you go to eckhart tolle, or tony robinson or any of the spiritual workshops and you will pay money. OF course it sucks to pay money when it comes to spiritualism BUT he's teaching all the time so he can't do it for free. As for how much he charges, I never experienced this, so I can't comment.
As for violent against kids, that is shocking, can you back that up? Were you there? Did you see him lay a hand on a child? I find that difficult to imagine as i've seen him around kids and he is very playful! That's not to say it didn't happen but again, I have never seen him do this.
Again, all I can write about is my experience. Is pathgate a cult? I don't know, maybe it is, but no more than any other organised religion. You can leave, you can come and go, that was my experience.
I really think that you either understand what his aim is or just don't go to his teachings, no one is forcing you. I've had times when I didn't want to go so I didn't, I just waited until I was ready again, and then went, I was never turned away.
If someone is reading this who is unsure if they want to go, I would say, go and if you don't like it, then just don't go back lol.
I don't understand all this talk of enlightened and power hungry etc, I went to him for Buddhist teachings, and that's what I got, and those teachings helped for the last 15 years. If you go to him, it's for a personal journey, not to get caught up in what you think he is or is not, just go there for the answers you are looking for, if you don't find them, then keep looking in your life. Simple as.
I honestly found the whole Newcastle experience totally mind blowing, full on and life changing. It's not for everyone, don't expect to go there and feel great about yourself straight after LOL, that's not what he's for. I left Newcastle feeling like a totally shit person, but I was! I was a horrible person to everyone around me. But it was because Rinpoche was so good to me that I never forgot what he was trying to teach me and as a result turned my life around. There are some people who learn by being cuddled and told how wonderful they are but I was not one of those, I met people who tried to do that with me and I walked all over them, I needed someone like Rinpoche to not take any of my shit and just say "hey, you're being an asshole to people, here's how you can stop" xD
You want to say i'm brainwashed then that's your choice, but i'll tell you, i'm a single mum, with a good relationship to my sons dad, i'm living abroad and I feel very strong and I owe a lot of that to Rinpoche.