Kalapa Council

Dear Community –

You may have seen the recent media coverage in The Guardian and Newsweek about the Kalapa Council’s February 12 letter to the community regarding harm and abuse.

The Kalapa Council was aware that these articles would be published, and would like to provide our community members with additional information to address some questions that have arisen.

• Why did the Kalapa Council write its letter to the community?  The letter that was written by the Kalapa Council on February 12 was intended to address concerns from the past, many of them from decades ago, some of which are now being voiced as a part of the current #MeToo movement. The Kalapa Council takes responsibility for supporting our current community, and for investigating all claims of past abuse that are brought to our attention.
• Are there any active Care and Conduct cases involving abuse by teachers or leaders in Shambhala?  No current Shastri, Acharya or senior leader has an active case with the International Care and Conduct Panel. There are also currently no active cases of child abuse with the International Care and Conduct Panel. The Kalapa Council will ensure that all claims of abuse are investigated and that victims are communicated with and supported. If you have a case to report, instructions for submitting can be found in the Care and Conduct Policy document.
• How is Project Sunshine related to these efforts? Project Sunshine was an independent effort by an individual. This was not a report commissioned by Shambhala. The Kalapa Council’s letter to the community was published directly in response to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, prior to the release of Project Sunshine. As part of our response to these movements, and in an effort to provide further transparency, the Kalapa Council will begin a deeper investigation into these issues under the guidance of a third-party individual or organization (please see below for further information) in order to have an accurate accounting of the facts and provide public recommendations on how to move forward. We feel that this is crucial for the health and strength of our community to determine how well we are responding to instances of sexual harm and other abuse.
• What steps have already been taken to address abuse? Shambhala’s International Care and Conduct Panel was established in 2002. The original Care and Conduct Policy was enacted in 2004 and in 2015 was updated to provide additional structure around reporting issues of harm within the community. The Kalapa Council is committed to further developing these structures, as well as providing additional measures and oversight needed to ensure that anyone who feels they have been harmed or abused at a Shambhala event or by a Shambhala representative has the resources and support they need to take appropriate actions.

We would like to remind the community that the Care and Conduct policy exists as a way for members to formally address claims of misconduct in the Shambhala community.  For more information, please visit the Societal Health and Wellbeing webpage.

Next Steps

As promised in our February 12 letter, in the coming weeks the Kalapa Council will release our next steps for moving this discussion forward. We will make this announcement to our community on March 19.

Among other initiatives to be addressed in the March 19 announcement, we are:

• Actively investigating allegations of past abuse and mishandling;
• Creating safe spaces online and in-person for community members to discuss their concerns, suggestions and experiences with leadership and each other; and
• Engaging a training process for our leaders and teachers facilitated by a third-party individual or organization with expertise in areas of power, abuse and harm.

We also acknowledge that there are many people who have not experienced harm in our community, and who have felt inspired and supported by the Shambhala teachings. We are committed to creating room for all voices and experiences in this discussion.

We do not condone harm or discrimination of any kind and we see it as part of our mission to address and prevent it.  We are committed to working through these challenges together to build a stronger and more caring community.  We invite anyone interested in this work to contribute to creating a process where individuals continue to feel safe submitting complaints and sharing their experiences. Members of our community have already helped us begin this process. Please see this article for more information.

Lastly, you can always reach the Kalapa Council at  kalapacouncil@shambhala.org with any additional feedback, comments, concerns or thoughts.

Yours in the Vision,

The Kalapa Council

Josh Silberstein, Chair
Jane Arthur
David Brown
Wendy Friedman
Jesse Grimes
Mitchell Levy
Adam Lobel
Robert Reichner
Christoph Schönherr

Dear Shambhalians,

Today we write to you with full and broken hearts. The world is in turmoil, with growing awareness of aggression, injustice, and cruelty unfolding before our eyes every day.  The #metoo movement is shining a light on sexual harassment, abuse, and gender harm worldwide, and we in Shambhala are going through our own collective wake-up call.

In our complex history there have been instances of sexual harm and inappropriate relations between members and between teachers and students. We are still emerging from a time in which such cases were not always addressed with care and skill. In particular, inappropriate or even abhorrent sexual behavior by some men in the community has caused some women to feel unsafe. Members have at times not felt heard or have been treated as though they are a problem when they tried to bring complaints forward. We are heartbroken that such pain and injustice still occurs. The Kalapa Council takes responsibility for creating spaces to recognize and heal wounds from the past, and we are feeling how full attention to such healing is in great need.

We want to be clear that we, as a leadership body, stand firmly against all forms of abuse and discrimination and any efforts to suppress reports of wrongdoing or shame victims. Yet our ignorance or uncertainty as to how to address the systemic nature of these harms has made us a part of the problem. We must do better.

As we struggle with these issues in Shambhala we are also part of a charged cultural reckoning in contemporary society. We feel and hear the questioning, doubt, and anger. We are also witnessing allegations and rumours. At the same time, there are many in our community who are just entering this conversation. The pain of this issue can lead to splintering, and we invite everyone to stay connected with their hearts, and with each other. We are all seeking a responsiveness that attends to the urgency, but that is well informed and that leads to lasting, rather than surface level change. Traditionally this time of year, known as Dön season, is when heightened energy can take hold. We invite a profound and soft openness so that we can see the way forward together.

We also feel gratitude for the people who have been demanding change and for those who have been working for decades to establish strong care and conduct responses and policies (members can log in and see our International Shambhala Care and Conduct Policy here). This is a formal process that investigates all complaints. You can also read more in this article on work within the community that addresses sexual harm. We appreciate the steps that have been taken and how this has led to significant changes in our culture. Yet we have much to learn.

The Kalapa Council is in a process of listening and feeling. As we hear and learn more, we have committed collectively and individually to undertake training to help us better understand power dynamics and gender harm. Through this work, we will move toward a comprehensive plan to address abuse and discrimination within our Shambhala culture, including the guidance of others. We cannot do this in isolation. We commit to communicating clear next steps within a month.

The changes in Shambhala must include learning from marginalized people, cultures and communities. The conversation around harm towards women is part of our growing awareness of systemic power and privilege that results in social exclusion in our greater society and within our sangha. It is not possible to shine light on only one social issue without also seeing the interrelated injustices around race, gender, class, whiteness, transphobia, homophobia, nationality, age, ethnicity, language and other differences. We also recognize that many others in our sangha face multiple forms of marginalization and exclusion that are not solely sexual. These groups can often feel overwhelmed by the intersection of racism, queer- and transphobia, and misogyny in the wider world and within Shambhala. We are committed to eradicating sexual harm through training and transparent processes, as well as facilitating leadership opportunities for marginalized groups.

Our path to understanding and care starts here, with deep listening and acknowledging our blind spots. We supplicate you all to be in this with us together. It is time to address the deepest and most systemic roots of suffering and we are confident that through this process we will become a more kind and powerful community. Our way forward is still emerging, and it will surely be imperfect, but with love, kindness and tenderness in our hearts, we aspire to build a more enlightened society together.

As we approach Shambhala Day, it feels like an appropriate time for introspection and to reflect on pain or damage we may have caused individually or collectively. It is also a time to contemplate our love and our fearless resolution to manifest societal goodness. In the coming period, we commit to offering ways to speak and listen, to ask for the help our community needs, to further train our leaders, to establish robust and effective structures for accountability, and to create safe spaces for nourishing trust and care.

Yours in the vision of the Great Eastern Sun,

The Kalapa Council

Resources:

• Contact Us: The Kalapa Council welcomes your feedback, thoughts and concerns. To contact us, please e-mail kalapacouncil@shambhala.org.

• Care and Conduct Policy: Shambhala Members can access the International Care and Conduct Policy at this link. Please note that you must be logged in as a member to access this page.

The Kalapa Council would like to share an important message with the worldwide Shambhala community. The following message is being e-mailed to all members today.

We welcome your feedback, thoughts and concerns. To contact the council, please write to us at kalapacouncil@shambhala.org. Please contact us via this e-mail address as we are unable to address individual comments on social media at this time.

———-

Shambhala Community Letter Addressing Harm

Dear Shambhalians,

Today we write to you with full and broken hearts. The world is in turmoil, with growing awareness of aggression, injustice, and cruelty unfolding before our eyes every day. The #metoo movement is shining a light on sexual harassment, abuse, and gender harm worldwide, and we in Shambhala are going through our own collective wake-up call.

In our complex history there have been instances of sexual harm and inappropriate relations between members and between teachers and students. We are still emerging from a time in which such cases were not always addressed with care and skill. In particular, inappropriate or even abhorrent sexual behavior by some men in the community has caused some women to feel unsafe. Members have at times not felt heard or have been treated as though they are a problem when they tried to bring complaints forward. We are heartbroken that such pain and injustice still occurs. The Kalapa Council takes responsibility for creating spaces to recognize and heal wounds from the past, and we are feeling how full attention to such healing is in great need.

We want to be clear that we, as a leadership body, stand firmly against all forms of abuse and discrimination and any efforts to suppress reports of wrongdoing or shame victims. Yet our ignorance or uncertainty as to how to address the systemic nature of these harms has made us a part of the problem. We must do better.

As we struggle with these issues in Shambhala we are also part of a charged cultural reckoning in contemporary society. We feel and hear the questioning, doubt, and anger. We are also witnessing allegations and rumours. At the same time, there are many in our community who are just entering this conversation. The pain of this issue can lead to splintering, and we invite everyone to stay connected with their hearts, and with each other. We are all seeking a responsiveness that attends to the urgency, but that is well informed and that leads to lasting, rather than surface level change. Traditionally this time of year, known as Dön season, is when heightened energy can take hold. We invite a profound and soft openness so that we can see the way forward together.

We also feel gratitude for the people who have been demanding change and for those who have been working for decades to establish strong care and conduct responses and policies (members can log in and see our International Shambhala Care and Conduct Policy here). This is a formal process that investigates all complaints. You can also read more in this article on work within the community that addresses sexual harm. We appreciate the steps that have been taken and how this has led to significant changes in our culture. Yet we have much to learn.

The Kalapa Council is in a process of listening and feeling. As we hear and learn more, we have committed collectively and individually to undertake training to help us better understand power dynamics and gender harm. Through this work, we will move toward a comprehensive plan to address abuse and discrimination within our Shambhala culture, including the guidance of others. We cannot do this in isolation. We commit to communicating clear next steps within a month.

The changes in Shambhala must include learning from marginalized people, cultures and communities. The conversation around harm towards women is part of our growing awareness of systemic power and privilege that results in social exclusion in our greater society and within our sangha. It is not possible to shine light on only one social issue without also seeing the interrelated injustices around race, gender, class, whiteness, transphobia, homophobia, nationality, age, ethnicity, language and other differences. We also recognize that many others in our sangha face multiple forms of marginalization and exclusion that are not solely sexual. These groups can often feel overwhelmed by the intersection of racism, queer- and transphobia, and misogyny in the wider world and within Shambhala. We are committed to eradicating sexual harm through training and transparent processes, as well as facilitating leadership opportunities for marginalized groups.

Our path to understanding and care starts here, with deep listening and acknowledging our blind spots. We supplicate you all to be in this with us together. It is time to address the deepest and most systemic roots of suffering and we are confident that through this process we will become a more kind and powerful community. Our way forward is still emerging, and it will surely be imperfect, but with love, kindness and tenderness in our hearts, we aspire to build a more enlightened society together.

As we approach Shambhala Day, it feels like an appropriate time for introspection and to reflect on pain or damage we may have caused individually or collectively. It is also a time to contemplate our love and our fearless resolution to manifest societal goodness. In the coming period, we commit to offering ways to speak and listen, to ask for the help our community needs, to further train our leaders, to establish robust and effective structures for accountability, and to create safe spaces for nourishing trust and care.

Yours in the vision of the Great Eastern Sun,
The Kalapa Council

Resources:

Contact Us: The Kalapa Council welcomes your feedback, thoughts and concerns. To contact us, please e-mail kalapacouncil@shambhala.org.

Care and Conduct Policy: Shambhala Members can access the International Care and Conduct Policy via the link below. Please note that you must be logged in as a member to access this page:

https://shambhala.org/members/societal-health-well/