Renegade Child Lama Denounces Buddhist Order
June 1, 2009
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4 Responses to “Renegade Child Lama Denounces Buddhist Order”
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I am currently in Spain and have read the original report in “El Mundo”.
The article directly above states that Mr Torres “has completely renounced his former association with the Foundation..”, but that is not the impression I got from the “El Mundo” original. Mr Torres seems to have promised to his lama (Zopa) to one day return to the Buddhist fold.
I am not certain on this point because my Spanish is not good, but since I have a keen interest in this subject I hope a complete English translation will be made available, or at least that people with more insight will comment here.
We need more news like this. Westerners, disillusioned with “their own” religious institutions, often turn to Buddhism, thinking that it is purer and that its institutions are not corrupt. But Tibetan Buddhism has its own skeletons in the closet, past and present, and ironically, quite similar to the monstrosities committed by the Christian church(es).
The main reason most Westerners have no clue is because the mainstream media deliberately hush up anti-Dalai news. But search beyond the Dalai Lama–Richard Gere glitz and you are likely to very soon discover absolutely appalling facts about Tibetan Buddhism.
I believe mike’s comment above is out of line. The Tibetan Buddhist traditions each have their own complex histories, but although I’ve studied them for decades, I haven’t come across any real “monstrosities” or “appalling facts”. Such stories are usually disinformation put out either by the PRC (who keep trying to discredit the Dalai Lama in order to suppress the concept of Tibetan culture and liberation) or by the “New Kadampa” folks, who have their own ax to grind. Neither could be considered a fair or disinterested party.
By the way, Osel actually grew up with his Dad and brother Kunkyen (also a reincarnated tulku) around him. He was also allowed to visit his mother/siblings in Spain.
Buddhists don’t worship “gods”… they merely revere “teachers” – those who have experience/success seeking Nirvana.
The whole Osel story has been over-sensationalised by media without any understanding of Buddhism. Granted, some Tibetan Buddhist sects are secretive and whatnot, but they are essentially/fundamentally liberal and honour the wishes of individuals.
From what I know of the issue, Lama Osel is simply wanting to experience “real life” before returning to his Buddhism studies, which, if you know anything about Lama Yeshe before him, you would recognise as something very-Lama-Yeshe.
Please note that Osel’s original interview was posted in “Babylon” a student magazine based in Madrid: http://www.magazinebabylon.com/BabylonMagazine5.pdf
See page 56 for the interview, in both Spanish and English.
El Mundo, a Catholic newspaper, then published a distorted version to please its own readership, as you might expect. To get the correct presentation of how Osel wished his interview to be published, see page 56 in Babylon.
There is a hopefully balanced account of Osel’s background and the latest news in my study group’s blogspot on this subject “Latest News of Osel Hita Torres” here: http://jamyangstudygroup.blogspot.com/.