This is the official blog accompanying the New Kadampa Truth website.
For over 10 years Kadampa Buddhism in the West in the form of the New Kadampa Tradition ~ International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU) has been subject to a great number of false allegations. The purpose of this blog is to encourage a new dialog based on facts and the truth rather than smears and innuendos in order to restore neutrality into the discussion.
We understand that every respectable organization in this world has both supporters and detractors. For example, in the USA, Republicans and Democrats go at it on the blogs continuously; but at the end of the day both the Republican and Democratic parties are traditional institutions that form the foundation of American society. All great religions and historical figures also have supporters and detractors, so we do not expect, nor would it be healthy, for the NKT-IKBU only to have supporters. That’s dictatorship.
As a new non-profit organization first introduced in the West just 25 years ago, we definitely make mistakes. As many people have said, we all make mistakes — the question is do we learn from them? If this blog shines a light on genuine mistakes that we are making, then this can only be good news for our tradition because it will help us to improve. Similarly, when outrageous and blatantly false allegations are made, this blog will provide a forum for quickly disproving these rumors circulated by our detractors. For a general list of the main or repeated false smears made about NKT-IKBU, and their refutations, please visit www.NewKadampaTruth.org
As individuals and as an organization, with the help of the Internal Rules, we are trying honestly to learn from our mistakes, and it seems that we are having some success. For example, as a former detractor said recently:
“Actually in practice a lot has happened. People have been reading what we wrote. So now those of us who left a few years ago are in danger of criticising an organization that essentially no longer exists. The people we talk about are no longer around, and they no longer influence people. Some of their students are around, but they are being actively encouraged to change. … The teachers who left showed, in quite dramatic ways, that their Dharma strategy didn’t work, and not many people are likely to follow a failed strategy. There are many very intelligent people in the NKT who were well aware of those failures, able to analyse and come to conclusions, and able to influence the psychological environment of the organisation. Issues have been recognised, acknowledged, and changes have/are been made. I’m optimistic, because we haven’t been ignored.”
Meanwhile, we encourage you to participate fully in our new blog. Please make comments or ask questions. If you wish for our correspondence to be private, we will of course respect that (write to: report@newkadampatruth.org). It is only if smears appear publicly that we will address them on this website.
New Kadampa Truth Blog 
Thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much for creating this facility. I can’t say how grateful I am for this – VERY.
This is exactly what we need – the willingness to at least do our best to meet people half way. I would love to be a participant in this endeavour, in some capacity. I have requested this factility and I am very grateful that it has come about.
lots and lots of love and best wishes for the success of this blessed and precious new development.
Here here! Thank you very much and please keep it up.
I first uncovered the whole Dorje Shugden thing by accident, surfing the web. I was shocked and appalled and thought, OMG I am in a cult! But I kept pushing, for the better part of two days, to find out the “truth” — and came to the conclusion that the truth was not on the web. I talked with my teacher. I made my own choice, which was: I don’t completely understand it, but I can see that what has been put on the web is nothing more than poor reporting, and the repeating, over and over, of same, enhanced by the smear-mongers (do they realize what bad Karma they are creating for themselves?). I decided that I would stick with this tradition. One decision factor for me was a simple question: do these teachings still have meaning for me? As long as the answer to that question is Yes, I pay little attention to what is being said about the NKT. I was so happy to see this web site, however, because I know it will be useful to those who “uncover” the scandal on the web, start wondering as I did, and may leave without talking to anyone. It should save a great deal of time and stress.
We received this email to post from a Spanish student:
“In Madrid Centre, one of the new students while we were in Paris came across a Buddhist group that has a shop in Madrid and spoke to a Guehse. The Gueshe talk him negative things about the NKT, we were a sect, prohibited by the DL, etc…. the student did not know anything about it and decided to find out more into the web…and find the new kadampa truth…what a blessing :-). Afterwards he was positive about the NKT and giving his support. Thank you so much.”
Many thanks for this blog and for the kadampa truth website, it is so refreshing to get things out in the open and redress the imbalance of information around in cyber world.
may all beings be happy, whoever they are
Just wanted to congratulate you on an excellent site.
I was aware of this stuff for years, after having lived in a centre for some time in the 90’s. I remember being incredulous of the nonsense media and attitudes I found in other schools that were the direct opposite of the truth and evidenced the most fundamental misunderstanding of the Dharma itself. Unfortunate and reprehensible. Even Thurman, like other similar high profile supporters, all those naive, well-meaning actors and kickboxers, seems to have sold out his initial inspiration to his little academic life.
The Dalai Lama was effectively responsible for stretching my faith to the limit for dubious and rather obvious reasons with a mysterious and unverifiable cloak, using his infallible image as head of the fairy kingdom against the people he should be standing behind first, the best and purest out there. Hardly the actions of a Bodhisattva, but hey, isn’t he supposed to be Avalokiteshvara himself!? Tibetan Buddhism needs groups like the NKT to stop it misusing itself and fossilizing into a self-serving political organization like religions generally do. And then there were none…
Couldn’t stand a little upstart writing much better books and reaching more people than he and his whole team could manage, I suppose. Political necessity, I suspect he thought, to keep the focus on him.
Only my first hand experience of an NKT centre as an infinitely more pure and happy environment with much clearer teachings than any orientalist FPMT one I visited, with all that naive Dalai Lama cultism filling in the spaces from lack of pure practice, helped me stay the course. That and the fact that NKT has been one of the most positive and pivotal experiences of my life.
Glad someone finally got round to setting things straight. Well done!
Being very new to Buddhism and NKT, I was clueless about the Dorje Shudgen controversy, having heard about it for the first time last year. I was concerned to hear that Buddhists were rallying against fellow Buddhists (which did not seem very Buddhist…) and did some investigation on the web. After several days of research and analysis, I decided for myself that the Dalai Lama is causing needless suffering for a large number of his religion’s followers due to a seemingly political underlying motivation. I would have so much more respect for him, if he were to acknowledge differences within the tradition/Religion and use his power and position to bring all Buddhists together in unity. Creating and accentuating rifts within his precarious government in-exile, does not seem smart nor does it seem like the act of a divinely enlightened being. It is my prayer that he awake some day to realize that he can best serve all his fellow Tibetans and Buddhists, by taking the high road and abandon the rhetoric of personal harm he insists the devout are causing him though their observance of DS. It breaks my heart to see him cause so much suffering to so many old people who love him.
As far as the detractors against NKT, you have to wonder about their motivation. In America, it is a common strategy in business and politics, to try to scare the masses in attempts to gain power, money or usually both. That is the human nature dynamic at work and enough people continue to fall for it to make it a still-relevant tactic. Using Fear as a tool to manipulate public perception is as old as civilization itself, so it is good that objective opinions are available to those trying to find enough facts to make their own informed decisions.
As an aside, I recently learned that the Spiritual Guide, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, does not keep a cent off all the books he has written and sold. I even heard that he gave away a Mercedes given to him, in order to benefit starving people. Compared to American politics where mostly everyone in power is in someway using their positions and influence for their own personal gain, how can this tiny little man with so much opportunity to enrich himself deservedly, give it all to others? If he were doing this in any other religion, he’d be considered a Saint!
One person on a chat group recently summed up the need for this blog (and the New Kadampa Truth website) quite succinctly:
“The view from within the NKT is that they have been kicked in the crutch for years by the internet malcontents and Dalai Lama bully boys – and finally they have decided to defend themselves.”
🙂
I appreciate someone pointing me in the direction of the ‘truth blog’. It’s just what like!… enough information to be informed (accurately), but without gossip or opinions. I didn’t know there was an active Blog, to keep up with NKT news, so this is great… but that’s just my opinion 😉
My name is Clinton and I am a new member of the Vajrapani Kadampa Buddhist centre in Randburg South Africa, which is an NKT centre. I have read numerous negative articles on the NKT as well as several reports by people accusing it of being a cult organization. Before joining the NKT centre in my hometown here in SA I did quite a lot of self-study on Buddhism as well as the various schools therein. I am an intelligent adult with a good education and I can assure anyone with doubts that the NKT is NOT a cult and none of the negative allegations directed towards it are true. I am proud to say that I am becoming a member. What I have learned at the centre has truly enriched my life and is helping me be the person I am meant to be as well as realizing
how to attain my goals and get my mind focused. I have experienced NOTHING that differs from traditional Mahayana Buddhism, except that the way it is approached is set out in a very logical and
understandable manner, which helps tremendously with new comers to clearly understand the Dharma. I have found ALL the books written by Ven. Kelsang Gyatso to be highly informative and again not differing
in the Mahayana tradition at all. The meditation classes that are held are extremely relaxing and truly aids in a better understanding of how
to handle the fast paced world we live in. I have been welcomed very warmly by the resident monks, nuns and teachers at the centre and I have not experienced any form of coercion or brain washing at all,
which is one of the identifying characteristics of a cult. When you cannot attend a class or meeting then you simply phone and say I’m not coming tonight and that’s that, it is a personal choice and we are all
responsible for our own actions and this is something which is taught at the centre as it forms part of ALL Buddhist teachings. The New Kadampa Tradition is a legitimate Mahayana School and is helping countless people live their lives to the full and to help others to the same. Ensuring the wisdom of the Buddha is passed on from one learner to the next.