Le 16 novembre 2016, Sogyal, le gourou
tibétain de Rigpa, était au
RAI Amsterdam (ou RAI complexe de halls d'exposition destiné à
accueillir de grandes manifestations événementielles à Amsterdam
aux Pays-Bas), pour y enseigner.
Le public fut
accueilli par une protestation silencieuse dénonçant les « abus
sexuels et psychologiques » commis par le gourou.
Le journaliste d'enquête
néerlandais Dirk Mostert de Brandpunt (KRO-NCRV) a enquêté sur les
abus sexuels commis par des enseignants bouddhistes, avec un accent
particulier sur Sogyal Lakar (alias Sogyal Rinpoché) et son
organisation internationale Rigpa.
Sogyal
and Rigpa on Dutch TV (Brandpunt 13-06-2017)
The
English manuscript of the documentary.
Sacha
de Boer00:00:00.00
And
now: abuse within the Buddhist community. A peaceful, cuddly
religion. Incense, meditation, monks that are fond of laughing, and,
above all, very ‘zen’: that is our idea of Buddhism. But it has a
very different side as well, which is hardly ever discussed. A world
of abuse of power, sexual abuse, and violence. How is it possible
that a religion that is thought to be so peaceful, enables monks and
gurus with wrong ideas?
Rob
Hogendoorn00:00:28.17
People
assume that any person from Asia wearing yellow ochre robes is
respectable. And that is just not true.
Oane
Bijlsma00:00:28.60
He
said: “Look! Look!”, as he showed an image of a Tibetan deity
with an enormous erection, a fat, veined erection, forcing me to
watch.
Rob
Hogendoorn00:00:41.00
This
is Sogyal. Sogyal abuses a number of young female members in his
entourage.
Olivier
Raurich00:00:51.56
The
system is such that the bad Lama can do anything: he can ask money,
sex, he can ask anything.
Ron
Sinnige00:00:55.40
Over
here, it’s very easy to pose as a teacher. Nobody knows what you
did in Tibet or Japan: perhaps you were a butcher on the next corner.
Rob
Hogendoorn00:01:09.60
There’s
a lot of dead wood.
Oane
Bijlsma00:01:10.39
Indeed,
a gross abuse of power.
Voice-over00:01:13.28
At
thirty, Oane Bijlsma is not quite sure what to do with the rest of
her life. A friend suggests that she might join a meditation course.
Oane
Bijlsma00:01:22.04
At
first, it did not mean much. But I was looking for something, and the
idea of learning more about meditation and practicing meditation
appealed to me. I thought the first night was really good.
Voice-over00:01:42.88
Very
quickly, Oane immerses herself completely in the practice of
meditation. She starts here, at the Buddhist organization Rigpa in
Amsterdam. Because she wants to intensify her meditation practice,
she spends time at Lerab Ling, Rigpa’s headquarters in the South of
France. There, she meets Rigpa’s great spiritual leader: Sogyal
Rinpoche.
Oane
Bijlsma00:02:02.20
He
is a Tibetan Lama with a portly build, who has certain mannerisms and
a quaint accent, which suggest that he is somehow different.
Dirk
Mostert00:02:21.68
And
that is thought of as inspiring?
Oane
Bijlsma00:02:23.40
Yes.
At first, you might believe him to be wise because of the one-liners
and stock phrases he uses. His stories suggest much of what is
thought of in the West as being Buddhist wisdom.
Voice-over00:02:44.63
In
France, Oane is inspired by her spiritual leader. She is not alone.
Sogyal has thousands of followers worldwide, some of whom come from
the Netherlands. At the end of May, they gather in this venue near
Amsterdam. Sogyal is leading the yearly Amsterdam City Retreat.
Dirk
Mostert00:02:55.98
Good
morning madam, can I ask you a question?
Passer-by
100:02:56.96
That
depends.
Dirk
Mostert00:03:01.41
Why
are you here?
Passer-by
100:03:05.64
Sogyal
Rinpoche, the retreat.
Dirk
Mostert00:03:07.91
What
does he mean to you?
Passer-by
100:03:08.36
Very
much. Good advice, and wisdom.
Passer-by
200:03:13.96
To
me he is a spiritual teacher who is very great help in day to day
life.
Passer-by
300:03:22.60
He
is a very inspiring man.
Passer-by
400:03:24.32
It
makes me glad and happy, and he has a great part in that.
Dirk
Mostert00:03:28.54
Enjoy
yourself, bye.
Voice-over00:03:28.64
Back
to Oane: She enjoys life in Lerab Ling a lot. She starts to
volunteer. Moreover, she has a relationship with one of Sogyal’s
confidants. This gives her direct access to the spiritual leader, so
that she can observe him behind the scenes.
Dirk
Mostert00:03:48.02
How
does he behave?
Oane
Bijlsma00:03:48.12
He
is a real tyrant. He behaves as if he has a natural right to demand
anything, anytime—no matter if it is in the middle of the night, or
from the other side of the world. His will alone is the law.
Voice-over00:04:09.80
Who
is this Sogyal Rinpoche? Why does he behave like a tyrant? The answer
comes from researcher and publicist Rob Hogendoorn. He is a
practicing Buddhist, and he has been researching Buddhism and
spiritual leaders for years. Sogyal Rinpoche is one of them.
Rob
Hogendoorn00:04:28.08
Sometimes
Sogyal takes some food in his mouth, chews on it, and hands that bite
to a follower who is expected to chew on it some more. It has been
documented that Sogyal gathers members of his entourage around him
while he is taking a crap.
Voice-over00:04:50.13
Sogyal
has been active in Europe since the 1970s. Dozens of lectures are
available on the internet.
Sogyal00:04:55.44
Then
the trouble with us, is that we have so many stories. Stories,
stories, stories.
Rob
Hogendoorn00:04:56.80
There
are two Sogyals. According to Sogyal himself, he is a highly realized
Tibetan master, who has been spoonfed on enlightenment, so to speak,
which is supposedly why he behaves as enlightened as he does. The
Sogyal of the facts on the ground, however, is a son of a family of
traders. After
his flight from Tibet, this Sogyal was first trained by French
friars, and later by English Anglicans. He does not know the Tibetan
tradition from the inside out at all.
Voice-over00:05:40.98
According
to Hogendoorn, Sogyal is nothing but a merchant’s son from Tibet
who has set himself up as a spiritual leader with a YouTube channel
and meditation centers in 40 countries.
Rob
Hogendoorn00:05:45.52
Apparently,
some day he found that he could launch himself as a Lama, and he did
just that.
Sogyal00:05:52.64
It
is there when you are happy. It is there when you are sad. It is
there when you are lonely.
Rob
Hogendoorn00:06:06.86
He
is not a monk, but he is wearing a garb that hints at a monk’s
robe. This appeals to the perception and appreciation of all things
Asian and exotic. Because this film offfers no journalistic
perspective, viewers would never surmise that something is wrong.
Voice-over00:06:23.00
But
there is definitely something wrong. Clearly, Sogyal likes to
surround himself with attractive young women. They are called
‘dakini’s’ and form an inner circle. Here, they appear during a
ceremony in Lerab Ling.
Rob
Hogendoorn00:06:44.11
Sogyal
surrounds himself with an entourage of followers and he abuses young
women that belong to that entourage.
Oane
Bijlsma00:06:52.56
At
the time, several people told me that Sogyal enters into a ‘contract’
with members of the inner circle. Whoever asks him ‘work with me’,
allows him to demonstrate unacceptable behaviour towards him or her.
From then on, Sogyal has ‘permission’, so to speak, to beat you,
have sex with you.
Dirk
Mostert00:07:27.00
Whenever
and however he likes?
Oane
Bijlsma00:07:27.10
Exactly.
Rob
Hogendoorn00:07:27.24
Supposedly,
his sexual relations with these young women fall within the scope of
‘tantra’. Another excuse would be ‘guru devotion’, a
submission to the teacher that is supposed to accept anything he
does, without protest. And his behaviour is also legitimized with the
notion of ‘crazy wisdom’. This would be a form of wisdom that is
beyond the ken of ordinary mortals, looks crazy, and is supposed to
assist Sogyals followers on their spiritual path. This then would
turn beating a student from being downright crazy into wise.
Voice-over00:08:06.91
During
our investigation, we receive rather risqué photographs from an
anonymous source. These photographs, that were never shown in public
before, show ‘dakini’s’ in provocative clothing and partly
nude. They also show Sogyal in a way that is unfamiliar to most
people. We showed the photographs to Oane.
Oane
Bijlsma00:08:29.12
I
know both of these girls. They belonged to the inner circle at the
time when I met them first in 2011, and still do. To be frank, these
photographs confirm the image of Sogyal having a harem and actually
living this way.
Voice-over00:08:55.48
As
far as we can see, what is shown in these photographs is not illegal.
But according to Oane, all of this is miles way from Buddhism as she
understands it.
Oane
Bijlsma00:09:02.52
I
have always considered it to be perverse. It does not feel healthy.
It does not look healthy. He might as well be a wealthy little
business man with a prediliction for certain women and cigars. He is
not alone in that, but if that is the case do not call yourself a
Buddhist organization.
Voice-over00:09:24.44
Shortly
after the photographs were taken, one of the ‘dakini’s’ accuses
Sogyal openly of sexual abuse. She has left Rigpa and tells her story
in a Canadese documentary.
Mimi00:09:32.96
So
there was this moment when I was alone in his room with him, and then
he said: ‘undress’. And having been for only two months working
as an attendant for him, I just considered it to be another test of
devotion.
Voice-over00:09:56.84
Before
that, Sogyal had already been discredited. In the 90s, a woman files
a complaint for damages caused by sexual harassment. By reaching a
settlement , Sogyal does not have to appear in court.
Dirk
Mostert00:10:09.40
Did
his organization or Sogyal argue against the charges being made?
Rob
Hogendoorn00:10:11.05
No,
and that is typical: Sogyal and his organization do not deny that he
does these things, they merely deny that he brings harm to others.
Voice-over00:10:24.62
Meanwhile,
in Lerab Ling, things become clearer to Oane: this is not right.
During breakfast, she herself is confronted with the perverse
behaviour of her spiritual leader.
Oane
Bijlsma00:10:43.98
At
that time, he asked me: ‘Did you have a good fuck?’
Dirk
Mostert00:10:49.32
This
is what he asked, this Tibetan Buddhist teacher?
Oane
Bijlsma00:10:50.71
Yes,
in front of everybody. He asked this during breakfast in the morning,
with everyone present. People giggled and laughed, finding it
hilarious, waiting to see how I would respond.
Dirk
Mostert00:11:04.14
Did
you find it degrading?
Oane
Bijlsma00:11:04.24
Yes.
It is shocking and gripping, to say the least, because it hurts
people’s integrity.
Dirk
Mostert00:11:10.48
Yours
as well?
Oane
Bijlsma00:11:14.40
Yes,
mine as well.
Voice-over00:11:14.40
By
this time, we would like to hear what Sogyal and Rigpa have to say
about this. We ask the spiritual leader for an interview. The retreat
in Amsterdam seems to be a good occasion to speak with him, and we
await his response to our request. Within the Netherlands there are
more than 50.000 practicing Buddhists and some 350 persons who call
themselves Buddhist teacher. One of them is Ron Sinnige.
Dirk
Mostert00:11:27.38
Where
could I check if you are any good?
Ron
Sinnige00:11:46.44
Nowhere.
I cannot tell you that.
Dirk
Mostert00:11:53.26
There
is no register, for instance?
Ron
Sinnige00:11:53.36
No.
Dirk
Mostert00:12:02.05
Sinnige,
who works for the trades union FNV, gives guidance to a small group
of Zen Buddhists in Utrecht. He regularly witnesses charlatans and
fake-guru’s popping up around him.
Ron
Sinnige00:12:10.60
Over
here, it is very easy to pose as a teacher. Nobody knows what you did
in Tibet or Japan: perhaps you were a butcher on the next corner. And
people will in fact join you. When you say things that seems deep or
wise, people will find it wonderful.
Dirk
Mostert
00:12:32.12
Before
you know it, you have a class of your own?
Ron
Sinnige
00:12:32.12
Before
you know it you will have a class of your own, yes.
Dirk
Mostert
00:12:36.96
While
drivelling on a bit?
Ron
Sinnige
00:12:36.96
Yes,
I do know a few of those.
Dirk
Mostert
00:12:38.36
Does
this worry you?
Ron
Sinnige00:12:44.52
Well,
it is not good PR, of course. In fact, it is very bad. I think people
still believe that Buddhism is a fairy tale, an island of uniqueness
and quiet, and of immaculacy and purity: these kind of things, these
kind of things! It is not like that! We are all human! We are all
human! And those who pronounce most loudly that they are a ‘teacher’
or a ‘master’: well, look again. I would look again, if I were
you.
Dirk
Mostert
00:13:22.38
Those,
you would have to mistrust them?
Ron
Sinnige
00:13:22.48
I
would be careful, to be sure.
Voice-over
00:13:25.62
According
to researcher Hogendoorn, many people in the Netherlands have no clue
as to what might be expected of a Buddhist teacher—and what not.
Rob
Hogendoorn
00:13:32.60
Once,
I got a telephone call by a man whose wife had visited a small
Buddhist temple in some town. During the first visit, she was asked
to undress. She did, upon which the teacher undressed himself and
began stroking and touching her, ever more intimately. This man
called me, feeling completely insecure, and asked: ‘Is this normal?
Does this go with it?’
Dirk
Mostert
00:14:10.30
Apparently,
he thought it did.
Rob
Hogendoorn
00:14:14.20
So,
it was left to me to say: ‘What you are telling me is not normal,
and it does not go with Buddhism.’
Rob
Trip
00:14:19.27
Good
night. Abuse cases: usually, this makes us think of the Catholic
Church. But now victims of sexual abuse within Buddhist circles step
forward. The past months, the NOS spoke to several victims. At least
eight Buddhist teachers are said to have been responsible for dozens
of sexual abuse cases. This is the first time that victims speak out
openly.
Voice-over
00:14:41.56
In
2015, research by Hogendoorn brings to light a large abuse case
within the Buddhist community of Waalwijk. It was reported first by
the NOS Eight O’Clock News.
Anonymous
00:14:52.00
At
some moment, he reaches over and pulls your pants down, telling you:
‘I am doing this for you. Do not think of girls. Try to just feel
it.’
Rob
Hogendoorn
00:15:04.38
There
was publicity in 2015, but at that time the exact nature and scale of
the abuse was not brought out fully into the open. One of the reasons
I know this, is because after that I have been approached by new
sources, new victims, and new bystanders.
Voice-over
00:15:19.64
According
to Hogendoorn, he is working on 17 files on Buddhist teachers who are
or were active in the Netherlands and went too far, for example in
Middelburg.
Rob
Hogendoorn
00:15:23.94
This
is footage shot by Omroep Zeeland of the community of ‘Lama Kelsang
Chöpel’, who had previously been known as the Austrian
Gerhard Mattioli. He used to be a skipper writing books on pleasure
cruising.
Dirk
Mostert
00:15:48.04
And
he abused people?
Rob
Hogendoorn
00:15:48.40
Yes.
He has abused several women in his community. The wounds are very
deep. It has cost people their marriage. It has cost children the
marriage of their parents.
Dirk
Mostert
00:16:06.33
Did
the police or judicature intervene?
Rob
Hogendoorn
00:16:06.39
Some
of the victims in Middelburg have talked to the police, but so far
they did not report a crime.
Dirk
Mostert
00:16:09.08
Why
did they not do that?
Rob
Hogendoorn
00:16:13.20
They
were very afraid of this Lama. He had them believe that he was
capable of performing ‘black magic’, so that he could harm them
from a distance with certain ailments, etcetera.
Dirk
Mostert
00:16:28.48
Did
they really believe that he could?
Rob
Hogendoorn
00:16:28.48
Some
did. I have spoken to people who still believe that this man posesses
such powers, even though they have known for some time now that he
was a charlatan.
Voice-over
00:16:39.76
After
he was accused, Mattioly flees the Netherlands. Reportedly, he is
working in Germany now. Shortly after the first incident, Oane, once
again, is confronted with Sogyal’s unacceptable behaviour. She was
working in Sogyal’s appartment at the time.
Oane
Bijlsma
00:16:52.68
He
grabbed my head from behind, and pushed me towards an image he held
in his hand, saying: ‘Look! Look!’. It was a drawing of a deity
with a very huge, fat, veined, larger than life erection in his
hands. And I thought: ‘OK?’
Voice-over
00:16:54.33
Right
before the retreat, Rigpa let us know that there would be no
interview with Sogyal. Supposedly, he did not have the time. In an
attempt to get some response, we visit the retreat.
Dirk
Mostert
00:16:56.52
We
cannot film here?
Daan
Meerburg
00:17:39.12
This
is a private retreat. You have not been invited and you have to
leave.
Dirk
Mostert
00:17:44.68
And
you are not willing to answer my questions?
Daan
Meerburg
00:17:45.20
We
are busy doing other things. We are busy with a retreat, not with a
television programme. So, once again, I request you to leave.
Dirk
Mostert
00:17:54.38
And
if I remain here?
Daan
Meerburg
00:17:56.64
Than
I will in fact have you removed.
Voice-over
00:18:09.48
Rigpa
and Sogyal refuse to answer direct questions about the abuse. We get
in touch with Olivier Raurich, former director of Rigpa France. He
tell us that this has been a deliberate strategy for years.
Olivier
Raurich
00:18:10.04
Rigpa
paid quite a lot of money to train some of the main people, including
myself, because I was really one of his main spokesmen in France, to
learn how to answer questions like: ‘Your guru is accused of sexual
abuse, what is your answer?’ So, I began to be trained in that.
They told me not to answer at all, and instead to say things like
‘The Dalai Lama is supporting Sogyal Rinpoche one hundred pecent’,
and repeat that, only that, without answering ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
And at that time, I began to understand that there really was
something fishy about this, so I decided to quit.
Voice-over
00:19:03.52
Raurich
leaves, as does Oane. By that time, she has spent almost a year
within Rigpa. She visits Rigpa’s headquarters in Amsterdam to talk
about the abuse.
Oane
Bijlsma
00:19:12.36
I
got no answers.
Dirk
Mostert
00:19:14.54
Answers
that go to the question why and how?
Oane
Bijlsma
00:19:14.64
I
got answers like: ‘This is beyond your ken. It is tantra. People
ask for it. They want to be worked with,’ these types of answers.
Like: ‘Nobody is unhappy. Nobody considers this abuse.’
Voice-over
00:19:31.92
In
the end, Rigpa sends us a statement. The organization writes that any
form of abuse is thought to be ‘unacceptable’, and that
complaints are taken ‘seriously’. Supposedly, Oane had every
opportunity to share her story. Rigpa writes: ‘We are not familiar
with the facts that Oane reported, so we can not respond to them.’
The full statement is on our website. In 2015, Oane also reports to
the complaints office for sexual abuse in Buddhist circles, which had
just been founded.
Oane
Bijlsma
00:19:58.76
I
reported to the complaints office.
Dirk
Mostert
00:20:05.00
What
did that get you?
Oane
Bijlsma
00:20:05.74
So
far, it got me nothing, because they do nothing beyond registring
stories.
Dirk
Mostert
00:20:11.40
What
use does that have to us?
Oane
Bijlsma
00:20:14.80
No
use at all: that is why I share my story with you.
Voice-over
00:20:17.96
Last
Saturday: Oane meets former Rigpa members who have turned their back
on the organization because of the continuing reports on sexual
abuse.
Eremita
Zekaite
00:20:29.96
Hey
hello, I’m Eremita!
Oane
Bijlsma
00:20:32.08
I
did not know it was you!
Odette
Groenheide
00:20:38.00
A
teacher having sex with someone who is his student, is unacceptable
to me. It involves so much power. You cannot say: ‘Well, it is up
to them. It is their own responsibility.’
Voice-over
00:20:53.32
What
do these two ex-members make of the photographs?
Eremita
Zekaite00:20:53.78
Are
these connected to Sogyal?
Odette
Groenheide00:20:59.12
These
were probably taken during one of his yearly visits to Australia.
Apparently, anything goes while he is there. This is not normal.
Eremita
Zekaite00:21:08.60
This
is horrible. It is very confronting that this is possible.
Odette
Groenheide00:21:09.03
This
blond woman looks very unhappy.
Eremita
Zekaite00:21:23.95
Rigpa
must stop! Such a club should not exist. But they are very powerful.
Rob
Hogendoorn00:21:30.76
In
the West, Buddhist teachers are often soloists, with no oversight.
There is no central organization or hierarchy. When a Catholic priest
abuses a child or an adult parishioner, everyone knows that that is
not right. Within Buddhism, powerful voices say about sexual
relations between teacher and student : ‘That depends.’
Oane
Bijlsma00:21:53.87
This
is the mysterious, unique and wise Buddhism from Shangri-la, which is
so very beautiful. The idea that there is no abuse of power or sexual
abuse because it is Buddhism, is naive.
Rob
Hogendoorn00:22:17.91
I
support the unambiguous standard: sexual relations between teacher
and student are taboo, full stop.
Source :
Letter
to Sogyal Rinpoche by senior Rigpa members (14 July 2017):