Project Sunshine Report - Different Sections

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Coming off the heels of a public apology for what might be perceived as harmful “relationships” earlier this week, a new report is claiming that Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche sexually assaulted multiple women in the Buddhist order that he leads and that members of Shambhala International actively covered up his tracks.

The report was written by Andrea Winn, a leadership coach and second-generation Shambhalian who says she was forced out of her Toronto sangha in 2000 after speaking up about the childhood sexual abuse she experienced from multiple members of the community. The latest findings are the second phase of Project Sunshine, which Winn started a little over a year ago as a way to give survivors a support network.

Winn said she did not hear about any allegations against the Sakyong until women started reaching out to her after the first Project Sunshine report was published in February.

This “phase two” report, released on Thursday morning, includes two accounts from anonymous women who closely served the Sakyong. Both women, whose names were not included, alleged that the encounters took place at or after alcohol-fueled private parties that were thrown for the Sakyong.

“When I first began to be invited to these parties, I was elated. I felt as though my devotion was being recognized and acknowledged and that I now genuinely ‘belonged,’” wrote a woman in one of two impact statements in the report.

For the rest of this story in Tricycle magazine, go here:

[tricycle.org]