In July 2017, serious complaints were raised regarding the relationship of Rigpa’s Founder, Sogyal Rinpoche, with some of his students. At the time, Sogyal Rinpoche stepped down as Spiritual Director of the Rigpa organisation and retired. Following a serious illness, he passed away in August 2019.

In response to the complaints, Rigpa undertook a number of reforms. Alongside taking practical measures, we have examined ourselves and reflected on how we contributed to this situation as a community.

We have come to terms with the fact that, as a community, we should have supported people much more in their relationship with Sogyal Rinpoche. The student-teacher relationship in Vajrayana and Dzogchen is very specific and not one that we are familiar with in the West. Misunderstandings both on the part of the teacher and of the student led to people being hurt.

While we do not speak for Sogyal Rinpoche or comment on his actions, as he has himself apologised on many occasions, we can look at ourselves.

Through ongoing processes of reflection and discussion, within the Rigpa community as well as with other Buddhist groups, we continue to learn from the last few years on deeply personal and cultural levels.

We are learning to:

• Remind ourselves that devotion is something very personal and it is not appropriate for others to judge or qualify one’s devotion.
• Adjust our culture to be more open to the diversity of points of view and concerns, and be mindful and aware of the misunderstandings that can arise in a tradition based on devotion.
• Continue a deep reflection on the cultural misunderstandings that arose when Vajrayana Buddhism was introduced into Western society and culture, with the support, for example, of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s talks to Rigpa, which were subsequently published in his book Poison is Medicine.
• Have clear explanations about the relationship between Vajrayana students and teachers and its boundaries, an explicit code of conduct for present-day and future Rigpa teachers, and precise guidelines on the process for becoming a Vajrayana student. This includes clarifying the meaning of the Vajrayana commitments or samaya according to the tradition, dispelling the Western misunderstandings.
• Hold open dialogues about the feminine in Vajrayana Buddhism, about which there is much to understand. This vast topic was discussed in depth in June 2021 at an inter-sangha symposium initiated by Rigpa entitled Treasuring the Feminine in Vajrayana Buddhism. Read the Symposium report here
• Engage in a restorative process, allowing those who were hurt in their relationship with Sogyal Rinpoche to be heard and ask for restorative actions or reconciliation.
• Continue to ensure that all Vision Board members, main teachers and Rigpa boards, management teams and volunteers, engage in an extended personal reflection on what we need to learn from the hurt experienced by some people in their relationship with Sogyal Rinpoche, and renew our deepest apologies to those who were hurt.
• Change the way Rigpa functions as a group of charities – with new boards; open collaboration; a code of ethics and conduct; a commitment to the safety and wellbeing of all who come into contact with Rigpa; grievance councils examining concerns and complaints; and a commitment to transparency, including the publication of the independent investigation report (2018).

Each individual who has had a connection with Rigpa or Sogyal Rinpoche has been dealing with these developments in a different way, and many have experienced shock or grief. We are deeply sorry about this. Through all our individual and collective experiences, we continue to grow and share our learnings with the wider Buddhist community in the West with the wish that these situations do not happen again.

Rigpa, as established by Sogyal Rinpoche with the advice of so many great masters over forty years, is an incredible treasure, and we cherish it. Its goal is to offer a complete spiritual path under the guidance of many great teachers, especially from the “Ancient” Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and to offer the Buddhist teachings of meditation, compassion and wisdom to the modern world.

• Full details about Rigpa’s reforms in response to the complaints can be found here. https://www.rigpa.org/moving-forward

• If you, or someone you are in contact with, needs support, please read more here about the different support that is available to you. https://www.rigpa.org/rigpa-grievance-procedure