A former practitioner at the Nottingham Buddhist Centre, part of the UK-based Triratna Buddhist Order and Community, has issued a public warning about the group’s continued denial of abuse and the presence of what he describes as ‘textbook cult dynamics’ within its teachings, leadership, and culture.

An anonymous practitioner, who practised with the Triratna community for several years, contacted the Nottingham Centre to raise concerns about the ongoing veneration of the group’s founder, Sangharakshita, despite longstanding and well-documented allegations of sexual coercion and abuse. ‘Their refusal to use the words ‘abuse, coercion and manipulation’, despite testimony from victims, independent safeguarding reviews, and Triratna’s own historical record, is chilling’, he said.

It shows where their loyalty really lies: not with the people harmed, but with maintaining an idealised image of Sangharakshita and the Order he created.

He also revealed two personal experiences of financial coercion during his time at the Nottingham Buddhist Centre — instances where he was pressured to give money beyond his means, framed as a form of spiritual commitment. He says this reflects a broader pattern of manipulation and blurred ethical boundaries within the movement.

‘In Triratna, harm is often cloaked in spiritual language’, he continued. ‘You're told to transcend ego, give generously, and submit to your teacher’s guidance, but in practice, this creates fertile ground for exploitation. What I experienced and witnessed, from silence around abuse to pressure to donate, deeply resembles cult behaviour’. Despite past safeguarding investigations and numerous survivor accounts, Triratna is currently organising a large celebration for what would have been Sangharakshita’s 100th birthday. This initiative is reportedly being led by an older Order member who himself has been implicated in past misconduct, further evidence, the anonymous practitioner argues, of the movement’s continued centring of abusers and refusal to reckon honestly with its legacy.

The Triratna movement (formerly Friends of the Western Buddhist Order) has been subject to growing public scrutiny since multiple survivors came forward with allegations of sexual exploitation by Sangharakshita and other senior Order members. Despite various safeguarding initiatives, critics argue that the movement continues to shield its founder and fail in its duty of disclosure, especially to newcomers. ‘New people coming into the Nottingham Buddhist Centre, often vulnerable, searching for meaning or healing, are not told the full extent of the truth’, he said. ‘The movement’s harmful history is deliberately obscured. That’s unethical, and it's dangerous’. He says he no longer expects dialogue or resolution from the movement, but is speaking out in solidarity with other survivors and disillusioned practitioners. ‘This isn’t just personal’,  he said. ‘It’s about safeguarding. It’s about integrity. And it’s about making sure others aren’t pulled into a system that refuses to be accountable’.

This story has been reported in the Nottingham Post: https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/nottingham-buddhist-...