Shambhala Acharyas

Dear Students and Warriors of Shambhala,

Over a year ago, the acharyas wrote a letter requesting that Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche step back from teaching. This occurred at a time when we perceived the Shambhala community to be in a precipitous downward spiral. Our intention was to help bring stability to the Shambhala community while the Sakyong was in Nepal and in retreat. If we caused any obstacles through our letter, we apologize.

Before and after the Sakyong left for Nepal, he wrote a number of letters to the community in which he expressed accountability, sorrow and regret for the pain his actions had caused. He also expressed his commitment to a path of personal reflection and growth. Over the past two years, he has engaged this path through contemplation and retreat. We are aware that many students did not connect with these letters or hoped to hear more from the Sakyong.

During this time, we and many of our fellow teachers have done our best to support the needs of all students, and we remain committed to doing so. Although there is a diversity of views and feelings among Shambhala community members, many students feel a deep connection to the Sakyong and his teachings. This includes students who have unresolved questions and those who long to continue their study and practice with the Sakyong now. Many of these students are requesting the Sakyong to teach, and he is responding to these supplications. We support these students in their aspiration to move forward with their teacher.

As grateful and deeply appreciative students of the Sakyong and long-time community members, we are dedicated to supporting the Sakyong lineage and the community. We wholeheartedly support finding ways to move forward together that encourage healing and sustain the deep connections we all have with the Shambhala lineage. We know this will take time, and we are confident that healing can occur if we remain steadfast in our commitment to our practice path and lineage.

As acharyas, we are committed to serving students on the path of dharma, supporting healing in our communities, preserving our precious Shambhala lineage, and working toward the vast Shambhala vision of a sane and healthy society. We supplicate the Sakyong to continue to teach and offer the transmissions and blessings of the lineage for all those who are inspired to receive them, and we offer our service and full support for this to happen.

In the vision of the Sakyong Lineage and the Great Eastern Sun,

Shambhala Acharyas
Daniele Bollini
Marianne Bots
Han de Wit
Suzann Duquette
Michael Greenleaf
Moh Hardin
Dan Hessey
Richard John
Samten Kobelt
Fleet Maull
William McKeever
Mathias Pongracz
Eric Spiegel
Alfonso Taboada

Note from shambhala.report: See the letter the acharyas wrote from 20 February 2019 when they asked the Sakyong to step back from his teaching for the foreseeable future.

To the Noble Sangha,

By now every member of Shambhala should have received the email from the Interim Board that links to the Wickwire Holm report as well as a recent letter from the Sakyong. Most of you have also seen the open letter from six long-serving kusung.

Reading these reports of harm has been devastating for all of us. We feel deep appreciation for the bravery it took for those who have been harmed to speak these truths, which have revealed destructive and tragic behaviors, including serious abuse of alcohol and sexual misconduct, in the very heart of our community. It is imperative that we examine our blind spots and confront the aspects of culture and hierarchy that have led us to where we are.

Our community was born in the 1970s during a time when there were radical movements of liberation and positive social change. In this regard, Shambhala was part of a larger cultural and historical reality. This was also a rich time when Shambhala principles and forms were introduced that were fundamental in shaping our vision, culture, and practices. The dharma was flourishing with a kind of brilliance rarely seen in the world. People were meditating, studying hard, and the teachings were taking root.

Nonetheless seeds of harmful and destructive behaviors became part of our Shambhala culture. Women in Shambhala experienced blatant sexism. Sadly, sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse, and abuse of power became all too prevalent. Over the years, we failed to address these issues directly as leaders and as a community, and therefore these seeds continued to ripen and produce further harm. As we are seeing in Shambhala, and in the larger social and political context, those things that have been habitually and collectively ignored are now coming to light.

We are doing our best to fearlessly examine—and own—our parts in the ignorance and denial that have allowed harmful behaviors to continue. We are committed to a Shambhala that embodies Hinayana and Mahayana values for each and every member.

We wish to apologize to those who have experienced harm through sexism, racism, gender bias, abuse of power, and all the ways that people’s dignity has not been acknowledged. More personally, we offer a sincere apology for any harm anyone of us has caused over the years. We are deeply saddened by the pain that so many of you have experienced and will work hard to protect against its causes.

We are not interested in “business as usual.” We realize that a new model for rooting the Dharma in the West is needed, and that this will take time to develop. We have an obligation to learn how to better hear and support those who have been abused, ignored, or mistreated. We cannot condone the Sakyong’s abusive behavior.

In order to demonstrate the urgency of this cry and respond to the breakdown in trust that so many of us are experiencing, we are requesting the Sakyong to step back from his teaching for the foreseeable future. We are shifting our emphasis from our role as representatives of the Sakyong to fully supporting the journey of the sangha. We will continue to teach and offer vows and transmissions for the benefit of the sangha and to help preserve the lineage.

While we recognize that we are living in the uncertainty of how to move forward in this moment, we acknowledge the importance of lineage. We do not believe that severing the ties to our ancient Kagyü, Nyingma, and Shambhala lineages is a viable path forward.

No one knows what this path forward will look like. However, we are committed to asking the hard questions and working with all of you, the Process Team, and the Interim Board to the best of our ability. We aspire to create a future where we can all feel safe and proud as Shambhalians.

We wish to thank all of you who have been supporting human dignity and goodness in our communities over these last months. Many continue to practice together and share diverse points of view—to listen, and to be heard. Thank you for working steadily to keep the magic that is Shambhala alive and for holding both confusion and wisdom.

It is a time of turmoil and a time of opportunity. May we work together to heal and bring our precious teachings forward.

With deep sadness and unconditional confidence in our future together,

The Shambhala Acharyas

Dale Asrael
Daniele Bollini
Marianne Bots
Emily Bower
Christie Cashman
Orhun Cercel
Susan Chapman
Pema Chödrön
Han de Wit
Suzann Duquette
Gaylon Ferguson
Holly Gayley
Michael Greenleaf
Moh Hardin
Arawana Hayashi
Dan Hessey
Lodrö Dorje Holm
David Hope
Marty Janowitz
Richard John
Beate Kirchhof-Schlage
Samten Kobelt
Charlene Leung
Mitchell Levy
Adam Lobel
Barbara Märtens
Fleet Maull
William McKeever
Noel McLellan
Magali Meneses
Melissa Moore
Mathias Pongracz
Arnd Riester
John Rockwell
Sabine Rolf
Eve Rosenthal
David Schneider
Alan Schwartz
Judith Simmer-Brown
Susan Skjei
Eric Spiegel
Alfonso Taboada