Buyer Beware: Issues to Bring Up with Order Members (OMs) Prior to Getting Deeply Involved in Triratna
(Warning: asking these questions may delay your ordination process)
Academic critique FWBO's antagonistic stance toward Christianity
. . . part of the appeal of FWBO therapeutic blasphemy was the sheer delight of expressing negativity and reveling in being right.
Our Bog is Dood
Reflections on the dangers of charismatic authority in the FWBO sparked by the publication of Subhuti's book Women, Men & Angels, written by a former order member in the...
Sangharakshita and Buddhist Romanticism
This is a focused summary of Thanissaro Bhikkhu's book "Buddhist Romanticism" that argues Buddhism as interpreted by some teachers in the West, such as Sangharakshita, is really Romanticism which uses the vocabulary of the Dharma, but is actually very different from the Dharma taught by the Buddha.
"Dangers in Devotion" by John Crook
An article by a prominent Western Buddhist, investigating the unusual emphasis placed by Triratna on Sangharakshita, with its attendant dangers.
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What's behind the blowback you'll get when you engage cult members
Article by Matthew Remski explaining how and why all cult members are abuse victims to varying degrees
Attachment theory and post-cult recovery. Alexandra Stein
Attachment theory provides a key to understanding the emotional damage from growing up in a cult, explain Alexandra Stein and Mary Russell
There are various definitions of cults. We use one grounded in the work of psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton3 and Hannah Arendt:4 ‘A cultic system is formed and controlled by a charismatic authoritarian leader or leadership body. It is a rigidly bounded, steeply hierarchical, isolating social system, supported and represented by a total, exclusive ideology. The leader sets in motion processes of coercive persuasion (also known as “brainwashing”), designed to isolate and control followers.
What is Charismatic Authority and Why Is it a Problem?
In all religious organisations there is a tension between what we might call spiritual hierarchy and institutional or ecclesiastical hierarchy. It is not always the case, and...
Is Triratna a New Religious Movement?
The term New Religious Movement (NRM) is commonly used in academic circles to describe religious groups that have arisen since the late nineteenth century and whose teachings...
Reflections on Triratna by psychologist Dr Michelle Haslam
After leaving the New Kamdampa Tradition, psychologist Dr Michelle Haslam was involved with Triratna – the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. She shares insights into her time with both of these groups.