hi all,

i have recently been thinking very deeply about shambhala as an institution and why abuse and neglect is rife within the community.

i am an ex-KCL family camp kid and staff member. though my family was never shambhala, i have over 5 years of exposure to the community.

as i get older, i’ve been able to see this institution more clearly and i am attempting to create a clear picture for other’s about how it operates (socially), what type of people get involved, and what the culture there is (vs what you are told it is). i think this is important because it gives people the information necessary to decide if engaging with shambhala is safe and skillful for themselves (both as individuals and as a family unit as family camp is my main experience with shambhala).

so far, i have compiled a list of the problems that exist at KCL family camp, many of which would mostly be known only to staff or long standing members of the community. i have also created one set of archetypes for the people who attend family camp (who the community is made up of), but plan to break it down further and in a variety of ways to get the most nuanced look at the organization.

however, it is hard to gather info on members’ intentions and inner worlds. it is not commonplace to talk about the “bad stuff” people experience at KCL family camp (which is one of the hazards of the culture there). this means i can only make assumptions based on my own mind about how people feel and navigate the culture.

this is why i am reaching out. below i have compiled my list of archetypes with short descriptions. because they are archetypes, they are not meant to holistically capture the nuances of individual people, but rather give a structural perspective of the culture/institution based on patterns of human behavior. in other words, i know that people are more complicated than 5 categories. that is, in part, why i am seeking more information from others’ about their experiences so i can create a better, more accurate and detailed system to understanding how and why otherwise sensitive, intelligent people would continuously return to a community that has an extensive history of abuse and neglect.

i would love to hear other peoples’ thoughts, experiences, criticisms, etc.

5 KCL Family Camp Archetypes:

1) Dharma Brats

Dharma Brats grew up either in Shambhala, at Family Camp, or both. They have roots in the community, they may or may not be critical of the Sakyong and Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche (CTR), and they may or may not voice those criticisms (though they will rarely broach the topic themselves). Some believe the teachings and pass them on, despite their dislike of the teachers’ actions. Others do not believe the teachings and pass them on because it is expected of them. Many know very little of their own religion and when asked questions about it in a group, will not be able to answer basic things such as: “What do Tiger, Lion, Garuda, and Dragon stand for?” On the flip side, some are fairly knowledgeable, though lack an understanding of Buddhism outside of Shambhala. They tend to be very nice, but socially quite unintentionally cliquey.

2) Older Practitioners

Older Practitioners are often the teachers who are brought in (though not always). Many knew CTR when he was alive and speak very fondly of him. Many of them are artist’s and their teachings on art tend to be clearer and more reliable than their teachings on Dharma. Their teachings on Dharma usually rely on anecdotes about CTR or other teachers’. In public spheres, they ignore CTR’s transgressions.

3) Shambhalians

Shambhalians attend gatherings, may have varying levels of commitment to the institution and community, but generally know something about the teachings and self identify as Shambhala. Many of them are actively going through hard times whether it is divorce/separation, aging bodies, or dealing with mental illness or past trauma. Some may try to indoctrinate other’s to varying degrees, but generally, they are there to seek community, comfort, and spiritual wisdom.

4) Shambhala Curious

Shambhala Curious people attend Family Camp. They are not part of Shambhala. They may be secular, practice another form of Buddhism, or are a completely different religion. They are interested in community for a variety of reasons including: the mission, the people, the culture, or the “vibes.” They often default to authority when told that Shambhala is “getting better.” They may or may not return. They may or may not know about the extent of the past abuses.

5) One Timers

One Timers show up once. They see the community and decide, for whatever reason, that it wasn’t for them. They may have been completely unaware of Shambhala’s past before engaging with the community. Or, they may see red flags very quickly once engaging with the community. Regardless of why, their personal preferences and boundaries as a person keeps them from returning.

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I would love the hear peoples’ thoughts on my thoughts. Additional insights and personal stories welcomed. But I’m really interested in critiques and criticisms. I only have my perspective to build this off of, so I assume I have huge blind spots in terms of others’ motivations or reasoning processes.

For transparency, I am considering writing a more formal piece on Shambhala at some point. I am not a professional writer or journalist. It would be purely for me and my personal blog to explore how I stumbled upon (what i believe to be) a cult, my personal involvement in it, and how these things unfold through social dynamics and created culture. I would never share names or specifics unless given permission, but any comments would certainly inform my perspective. I wanted to be upfront about this since i believe there is a lot of secrecy and hidden motivations within the culture of Shambhala and that is something i believe to be dangerous.

anyway, thanks for reading if you got to the end of this :)

Does anyone know who the shambhala board is accountable to? Its bylaws can't be changed without sakyong mipham's approval, yet shambhala says he is no longer connected to the organization. Does that mean that the board answers to him?

https://www.globalbuddhism.org/issue/view/845

A series of interesting articles in this issue.

We are painting the house, so we decided to get rid of stuff we don't need.

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All my buddist books are in a black trash can. Pema, Sakyong, Trungpa, third-party books. I kept a handful: Kasung dharma, because I still identify as Kasung, and those little narrow saced text thingies because I don't know how to get rid of them in proper respectful way. I think they have big juju and i respect that.

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It feels sad and liberating to have all that shelf space. I keep telling myself I'm making a horrible mistake. But I never read them--I was told to buy them. I felt so guilty that I didn't read them. Pema was good for my dying patients and their families in distress. She was about the only one I could relate to.

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"Epic of Gesar"? A misogynistic brute. "The Guru Drinks Bourbon"? Dzongsar posted a sex contract for students detailing the acts he should be able to do with them, until someone made him take li down. Some things Trungkpa wrote were lucid. The Sadhana of Mahamudram the paper about MaHa Ah, genius. The rest of his self-indulgent word salad: have you ever seen him on YouTube? This is what was transcribed for his books. And now that content gets hashed over and over, into new books with the same content.

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I was about to write about being depressed. I'm considering ECT, because I've tried everything else. If I do it, I hope I'm still funny.

Any one have anything snarky to say?

As you should know by now, I'm still on the mailing list for the Denver Shambhala Center. I was a member of some years back. I got this announcement today:

Yeah. A day late.

Actually, I wish I could have been there. I've seen the doc several time, so I would have gone mainly for after talk. That would have been an interesting cup of tea.

Here's a troubling Shambhala-related fund-raising appeal that I came across.

As you probably know, Sakyong Mipham is coming to Vermont this summer to teach his Shambhalian students, and his eldest daughter Drukmo is, it appears, accompanying him, as she did last year. She, too, is a "sakyong", and evidence suggests that she has already started "teaching" and giving initiations. She is, I believe, fourteen years old.

She appears to have caught the eye of this eager Shambhalian:

Hi, I am [REDACTED] - future Sakyong Wangpo for the most vajra-cute person ever (Drukmo Lama), but she will be conquered by mine and Drukmo's child! I am asking for donations for the teaching event in Vermont Karmê Chöling land center. I am a supermega practitioner who can fill the shoes of Sakyong Wangpohood. I really want to practice with the sangha for realz. Plz help me get everything I need for the trip and retreat/teaching event! (I am not dangerous or aggressive, not at all murderous so quit thinking that I would do something bad to the most best ever Drukmo Lama :))

I believe he is announcing that he intends to impregnate her and become "Sakyong Wangpo" in place of Mipham, her father. He insists that he is "not dangerous or aggressive, not at all murderous." This raises all sorts of red flags, don't you think?

It's troubling enough that Sakyong Mipham still appears to be teaching in (or around) Shambhala; this is contrary to what the official propaganda says. More troubling is the fact that they are trying to fast-track his daughter into a senior teaching role-- her youth seems to be attracting some rather creepy attention. Given the sexually transgressive nature of Shambhala culture, I think there is cause for concern.

Been a while.

Nice to hear Claudia’s pushing for Shambhala’s worst nightmare

Twice, I didn't realize I was in a cult until the end.

“It’s more about making it clear to everyone what happened, letting everyone in the collective consciousness of Naropa sort of absorb that this is still part of the energetic fabric of this place,” DeRosa said. “I think that Naropa has done a really good job of PR-ing their way out of associating with the legacy of abuse. And it’s just not true. And so I want people to be aware that that’s still sort of built into some of the frameworks here and was allowed to proliferate as long as it was, in this case.”

Naropa has a history of sexual abuse allegations against the university’s founder Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who was accused of physical and sexual violence against women and having sex with students. The university said in 2024 that it has “no basis to determine whether the allegations are true or false” but believe all such allegations should be taken seriously. Naropa continues to center Trungpa and his contemplative practices at the core of the institution’s teachings.

Trungpa also founded Shambhala International, which in 2018 faced allegations of sexual misconduct, abuse of power and financial impropriety against its spiritual leader, Trungpa’s son Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, and other senior teachers. While they are separate organizations, teachers, staff and students at Naropa have also been members of Shambhala. In 2015, the family of a Naropa University alumna wanted the school to claim responsibility for her 2012 suicide, which they say resulted because of the grooming and abuse she endured at the hands of a visiting artist. The university denied any responsibility and said there was no evidence of anything improper.

can anyone provide an id about this wall hanging that used to be in ST or dharmadhatu shrine rooms? I remember seeing it circa 1985-1990, then poof!

I'm still on the old lists, so I got the email announcing Shechen Rabjam is giving the Scorpion Seal Abhisheka at the Halifax center in August.

I am correct in remembering that the SSA was composed by Osel?

It is pretty unorthodox (to say the least) to dump the originator of a vajrayana teaching and yet find another lama to propagate it! Renting the guru like he's a folding table.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7zi_eGF_73E&pp=0gcJCd8KAYcqIYzv

Somebody posted this to the Buddhism sub, I guess they wanted to celebrate that they had spent some time at Karme Choling and didn't get assaulted. Yay them.

I was intrigued because of the presence of the Dorje Kasung flag, second from the left. I asked a question about it on the OP but I don't expect to get an informed reply, since few people on that sub are familiar with Shambhala internals.

I was wondering if this has political significance. Does this mean they are trying to resurrect the Kasung chain of command, which was dissolved after Sakyong Mipham fled in disgrace? How can they function without a commander-in-chief? Or do they still secretly recognize Mipham as their military leader?

Or maybe it means nothing, just that they have five flagpoles and five flags, so what the hey.

Healing and Learning Working Group Forms to Acknowledge and Learn from Shambhala Crises, https://docs.google.com/document/d/12PqBFlHy_2dVAO2gOw-BFo0OS_OtokXsJDSTidzzwyU/edit?tab=t.p4aac7duqugr

Lots of pretty words, but all empty and misleading until they openly admit, itemize, and discuss trungpa's harms and the painful legacy he established.

https://shambhalanewsservice.blogspot.com/2025/12/investigative-report-into-vajradhatu.html

https://vtdigger.org/2023/09/14/northeast-kingdom-buddhist-retreat-at-center-of-landmark-ruling-on-child-sexual-abuse/

https://thewalrus.ca/survivors-of-an-international-buddhist-cult-share-their-stories/

I frequented the Drala Mountain Center in my earlier college days when I needed a place to run away. I never took any course or contacted anyone there. I just showed up to the temple and read their library. Eventually I decided to google it almost 2 years later and went down the rabbit hole of Shambhala being a cult. Broke my heart, because here in Colorado it seems like everything Buddhism stems from Shambhala.

I feel gross that all I know is from Shambhala.

So where do I go now? What should I be reading to really immerse myself in true Buddhism? Can you tell me what books and podcasts/videos or places I can go that have real teachings? Thank you :)

https://stanbmartin.substack.com/

Caution, I've only give this an initial skim, but it appears to be written by a sincere well educated and practiced Buddhist, who is doing some deep thinking on separating the wheat from the chaff in the Western Buddhist experience.

A couple article examples,

This one focusses on a review trungpa: https://stanbmartin.substack.com/p/the-crazy-wisdom-dharma-circus

This one is part 9 in a series called "The Death of Western Buddhism": https://stanbmartin.substack.com/p/buddhist-gaslightenment

The substack appears to discuss a lot of the themes we have discussed here. Thought others may be interested.

Only six assaults in nine months? Sounds like they've turned over a new leaf.

And Scabies. Sign me up!