London Buddhist Centre – a warning

I’ve decided I should write a blog to share my personal experiences of the London Buddhist Centre (part of the FWBO – Friends of the Western Buddhist Order). My aim is to inform readers of my experiences of the cult-like nature of the centre and to help those who are becoming involved at the LBC to see what is happening to them.

My view is that getting sucked into the LBC and becoming subject to its abusive culture happens slowly, in an insidious way. Those being drawn in often feel confused and disorientated and can’t see what is happening even although at some level they feel uncomfortable about the behaviour of people there and the insidious ideas which are being used by others and which they are being encouraged to adopt. Many of the “friends” and “ordained” members of the  LBC wouldn’t agree that the LBC has a great many cult-like aspects – of course they wouldn’t,  because they are the users and the abusers. And so, as the LBC serves their interests they are happy to go along with the abusiveness that goes on there. My view is that most of those at the LBC are in denial about their own behaviour. They have been sucked into the “cult” and now are too afraid to look at themselves and what they have become.

After several years at the LBC I finally left for good in 2006. I was only able to leave with the help of good friends who saw what was going on and helped me to see beyond the LBC and the cultish belief system I had somehow adopted. I now realise that what had happened to me is that I had lost my own viewpoint and saw everything from the FWBO way of seeing things – what some other websites trying to expose the  FWBO/LBC refer to as “brainwashing” although I don’t think this is the most helpful term myself as it gives a false impression of how people unwittingly come to lose their own good sense when involved with the LBC.

One final point – not everyone in the LBC / FWBO acts in a cult-like way. There are some people in the LBC and FWBO who try to fight the system, but sadly these people are normally on the fringes and not the “career Buddhists” who have the power and define the overall culture.

How it all started

Like many people, I became involved with the LBC after being attracted and impressed by the teachers, range of classes and the initial kindness of those I initially came in contact with.

At first all those I met were kind and welcoming, they could not do enough to encourage me to “get involved”. This is how it starts, with a great effort to present an attractive “front” to get you in the door and committed and to encourage you to start “helping out”, ie working in one of the centre’s businesses, doing admin work, mailshots, cleaning, selling the FWBOs literature, doing fund raising door-to-door or making tea at the meditation classes. As long as you are compliant, give your time, don’t ask any difficult questions and treat the “ordained” with great deference everything is OK.

Thankfully, this first phase soon gives way for many people.  They either start to get a sense of what lies beyond the elaborate and inviting “front”, get fed up giving their time for free or getting less than the minimum wage working full-time in one of the LBCs businesses or just get generally fed up being treated like a second-class citizen (while the “ordained” give the orders).

It is about this time that many people realise that there are a huge number of disaffected and angry people on the fringes of the LBC who are mostly sucked into the cult-like atmosphere, are addicted to the sense of belonging, yet angry at the way they have been treated and the hierarchical and abusive behaviour of those running the LBC. It is also about this time that people start searching the web and find the various websites which brand the LBC / FWBO a cult. eg…

http://www.fwbo-files.com/

Quote from this site: “it seems incredible to me that I was able to hear and see so many things wrong with the FWBO without realizing it is a cult – plain and simple”

http://www.ex-cult.org/fwbo/

Quote from this site: “Senior Buddhists (non-FWBO) have been worried about the FWBO for many years … they had feared … and believe that (the FWBO’s) interpretation of Buddhism can be used to licence sexual and psychological abuse.”

http://dialogueireland.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/analysisofcriticisms.pdf

Quote from this site: “The process of abuse in the FWBO was facilitated by familiarising adherents with a thought process, purportedly Buddhist, (though not locatable in any of the orthodox Buddhist traditions), which gradually leads adherents to break away from extant social mores and subsequently conform to behavioural patterns peculiar to the FWBO.”

http://www.westernchanfellowship.org/dangers-in-devotion.html

Quote from the above site: “many of us to see the FWBO more as a cult than as a Buddhist institution or school in accordance with tradition”

“The FWBO has created an institution which .. has proven to be creative in spawning businesses and charitable enterprises of several kinds … with its increasing authoritarianism and social biases  …. it therefore also has the form of a ‘cult’ independent from other forms of traditional Buddhism … charismatic gurus become the focus of a personal cult of devotional practice … but not all gurus are free from the many forms of ethical corruption. How do such ‘cults’ arise? The psychology of such processes has become clear in recent years. Individual identity requires the formation of key values for which social approval is given and without which an individual experiences painful alienation. Once a ‘way’ is chosen it becomes an area of profound psychological investment so that anything that threatens it also threatens the self. On accepting an institutionalised value system personal identity is largely replaced by social identity – that is the individual identifies with the social norms of the group … anything that threatens their credibility thus comes also to threaten the person. When the fount of wisdom is a particular individual, an unthinking devotion may develop which in worst-case scenarios leads to the establishment of an accepted tyranny. When an individual finally rumbles what is happening and attempts to break away into independence  … the reaction of other believers is apt to be intense.”

Deluded Fanatics

When I look back at my experiences at the LBC it now seems incredible to me that a situation like the LBC could arise and that normal, intelligent people could get sucked into it. I keep asking myself – how can this have happened? How do the LBC continue to get away with what they are doing and how do relatively ordinary people repeatedly submit themselves to the will of the group?

It seems incredible until you realise that anyone can easily slip into crowd or group behaviour eg when at a football match people will act in ways which they never would if on their own. I’ve come to the conclusion that this is the key. One writer on this subject has put it this way: “instinctive conformity — is  the perennial failing of mankind”.  A concept used to describe this human failing is “groupthink” which is described as:

1. Illusions of invulnerability creating excessive optimism and encouraging risk taking.
2. Rationalising warnings that might challenge the group’s assumptions.
3. Unquestioned belief in the morality of the group, causing members to ignore the consequences of their actions.
4. Stereotyping those who are opposed to the group as weak, evil, impotent, or stupid.
5. Direct pressure to conform placed on any member who questions the group, couched in terms of “disloyalty”.
6. Self censorship of ideas that deviate from the apparent group consensus.
7. Illusions of unanimity among group members, silence is viewed as agreement.
8. Mindguards — self-appointed members who shield the group from dissenting information.

See here for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheeple

My conclusion is that the LBC is run and maintained by deluded fanatics who have fallen prey to “Groupthink”. In a way they are to be pitied because they believe they are doing good, they sincerely believe they are practicing Buddhism, and at some level are sincere in what they are doing. In fact as long as you go along with the (bizarre) actions and thoughts of the group and don’t question them, you will be treated with a lot of kindness and care and so feel very included, special and important (this is what keeps people addicted) but when you see through what is going on and dare to think for yourself or voice your view, then hatred, scapegoating and vindictiveness are piled on the transgressor – you will have become “evil” and dared to go against the group (see points 4 & 5 above).

Useful Links

Here is a useful link, which although it is not about the LBC, FWBO or Buddhism, still gives useful insights and perspectives on the types of abusive and cultish behaviours which predominate at the LBC.

 http://voiceofreform.blogspot.com/2006/01/how-abusive-ministries-defend.html

A quote from the above site: “Many people will have a difficulty with understanding how leaders who are otherwise often nice people can use such manipulation and thus not want to believe it. One must understand that in abusive families, the father is usually outwardly a nice person, but sometimes something triggers his abusiveness, for example alcohol. The dynamic is similar in abusive ministries. In this case, the trigger is a threat to power. Abusive leaders are driven by a love of power. Any attempt to take it away will elicit a violent reaction. To those who don’t threaten their power, they will be nice people. Abusiveness on various levels can become part of a culture of a ministry.”

In the LBC the simple act of following your own judgement about something (rather than following the view of the “ordained”) is seen by the leaders there  as a challenge to thier power and dominance.

Is the FWBO a Cult? (draft1 – a work in progress)

Here is my 1st attempt at a detached analysis of what goes on at the FWBO/LBC. It is part of my ongoing attempts to understand how I managed to get sucked into the LBC “cult” – it now seems incredible that I could have fallen for it all. That is why I am now trying to make sense of the damaging experiences I had there.

 

Introduction

There are a number of websites which claim that the FWBO is a cult, but what they mean by this is not clear. Examining the accusations made against the FWBO seems to indicate that the publishers of these websites believe the FWBO tends to consistently exhibit a mixture of some or all of the following behaviours: authoritarianism, secretiveness, abusiveness, patronising attitudes, indoctrination, manipulativeness, and oppression by those holding positions of power and authority.

I would like to try to give my opinion based on several years experience of attending FWBO events and experience of having spent some time living in an FWBO community.

Clarification

Firstly I don’t think it makes sense to try to make generalisations about the FWBO as a whole. Clearly as in any spiritual organisation there will be those who are mature, self-aware and developed practitioners. There will also be others who fall into other behaviours and actions which might be oppressive of others and regarded as “cultish”.

The question then becomes: ‘are there people within the FWBO who habitually act out “cultish” behaviours?’ Supplementary questions are: ‘Are these behaviours common (frequently encountered)?’ ‘Is there any uniformity in them across the FWBO?’ and ‘What is it about the FWBO that causes these inappropriate behaviours and/or what if anything is in place to suppress or correct them?’

Taking an example…..

The FWBO has many aspects which could be used for good or ill. For example the FWBO has an internal hierarchy of “Friend” / “Mitra” / “Ordination seeker” / “Order Member”.

This hierarchy could be used benevolently (“through the use of the power mode in the service of the the love mode” to use the FWBO jargon). Alternatively it could be used by others to bolster their own egos by haughtiness, feeling superior, creating an us-them divide, to push ideas or ways of thinking onto others or just to get inappropriate power over others. Clearly the former would be appropriate and the latter could be considered “cultish”. The LBC presents a good example of this “cultish” culture as people there consistently act in the latter way. 

So on to the questions:

Are there people within the FWBO who habitually act out “cultish” behaviours?

The FWBO as a whole should not be called a “cult” as there are many people practicing loving kindness and ensuring as far as possible that they do not abuse the systems and structures of the FWBO by using them to abuse others. There are a large number of others using these same systems and structures (to a greater or lesser degree) as a way of getting their own needs met at the expense of exploiting and abusing people. So yes – the FWBO is “habitually cultish”.

Are these behaviours common (frequently encountered)? and is there any uniformity in them across the FWBO?

To both question the answer is undoubtedly yes. The same patterns of abusive behaviour can be witnessed to a lesser or greater degree in all the FWBO’s Buddhist centres and retreat centres.

What is it about the FWBO that acts to create inappropriate behaviours and/or what if anything is in place to suppress or correct them?

This is the biggest problem and it seems that nothing is being done about it. The FWBO’s lack of awareness (or wilful denial?) of this phenomenon at its centres, its continuing support of the elements which directly lend themselves to abusiveness and their seeming unwillingness or inability to take any action to curb this inappropriate behaviour (despite the previous scandals) should be a major concern for anyone involved with the FWBO.

 
When questioned about the matter of the FWBO being a cult, ”Gunaketu” of the Western Buddhist Order in Manchester accepted that there was, “some substance to the allegations,” but he insisted that the FWBO was now cleaning up its act. However, there’s no sign of any “clean up” at the LBC.

A chance to give your thoughts in our poll

 

Psychological Basis of the LBC’s Abusive Culture

 

The LBC operates in accordance with the FWBO’s principle of “spiritual hierarchy”. In this hierarchy the “ordained” come to believe  that they are superior (more “spiritually developed”) than others. This leads to a them-us divide which parties on both sides become conditioned to believe.

The result of this type of divide and hierarchy is well known to Psychologists – there is a tendency for an abusive regime to become established, just like that at the LBC.

See the following links for the findings of experiments by research psychologists which help to explain this phenomenon:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

LBC – A Culture of Denial and Covert Self Interest?

What kind of culture would you expect in a Buddhist centre? A “culture of awakening”, of openness and compassion, where it is possible to examine, admit and realise the damage we do to ourselves and others through our own self-interested nature? A culture where the stealth and ruthlessness of our own egos can be brought into awareness? That is what I would expect.

In my experience, the culture of the London Buddhist Centre is a bizarre mockery of that. It seems like a twisted charade, where compassion and selflessness are professed but used to obscure and justify the cynical and egotistical needs of the “ordained”. I have seen Order members at the LBC consistently act with untempered self-regard, while  using the mantra of giving, selflessness and renunciation to shame others into submission and doing as the order members want. They spout the Dharma, while at the same they cynically and dishonestly manipulate it purely for their own vanity, conceited self image and material advantage.

This is plainly not Buddhism. It is a shameful pantomime of manipulation and egotism that mocks Buddhism.

Order Members running the LBC have pressed even the very Dharma into the service of their egos. Shouldn’t they be ashamed of themselves? If you seek the Dharma, I suggest you avoid the LBC and instead find teachers who are honest, decent and above all Buddhist.

The Actions of Those Who Truly Seek Freedom

Siddhartha Gautama is reported to have said “As the wise test gold by burning, cutting and rubbing it (on a piece of touchstone), so are you to accept my words after examining them and not merely out of regard for me” .

In contrast, I look back on my time in the FWBO system of “mitra study” and remember a system of indoctrination, where attempts to critique, compare or challenge FWBO interpretations were constantly undermined. 

Noam Chomsky can be usefully quoted here: “For those who stubbornly seek freedom, there can be no more urgent task than to come to understand the mechanisms and practices of indoctrination. These are easy to perceive in the totalitarian societies, much less so in the system of ‘brainwashing under freedom’ to which we are subjected and which all too often we serve as willing or unwitting instruments.” (“Propaganda, American Style”.  http://www.zpub.com/un/chomsky.html).

During my time in the FWBO, if I or others questioned too often or too persuasively we were told we were ”resisting”, “being willful”, “refusing to hear the wise” or that our “egos” were getting in the way of understanding the Buddhas teachings. Sadly many people gave up and just accepted the FWBO ideology as they couldn’t stand up against the way they were made to feel each time they tried to question or to assert themselves. 

That is not Buddhism. Yet it is the present-day reality of many within the FWBO. 

 

 

“Breathing Space”: a New Way of Recruiting to FWBO Ranks?

The London Buddhist Centre “Breathing Space” initiative is now offering mindfulness based courses for a whole myriad of conditions: alcoholism, depression, drug use etc. In a way there couldn’t be a more sinister and dangerous turn of events at the LBC.

Sadly, these new courses deliver a stream of vulnerable people straight into the hands of the predatory elements of the LBC and the worrying thing is, that the LBC even gets government approval and money for doing thier evil work.

Looking a bit closer it is clear that this latest venture just puts a new twist on what the FWBO has always done: offer something that appeals to lonely, needy and vulnerable people,  then wait for them to start getting their needs met by the cult – at that point you’ve got them. When they are dependent on and invested in the cult its time to move from the “bait” to the “switch” and so the cult gets its pound of flesh.

In the past the FWBO recruited any desperate individuals who fell into its snare: the lonely and isolated, out of control (often sex-addict) gay men, the depressed or those with anxiety disorders, transgender, transvestites, lesbians, etc, etc. The only difference now is that the LBC attracts people into its abusive clutches with government backing and money. I’m told that Breathing Space is even advertised in GP surgeries and that GP’s sometimes unwittingly refer their patients straight into the arms of the cult. 

In a strange way you’ve got to marvel at how the FWBO constantly adapts, innovates and appropriates trends to find new ways to ensnare and abuse its victims. This is an organisation which will stop at nothing to fuel its growth and survival. In a way it reminds me of the alien in the Sigourney Weaver films.

Lets hope that, like the monster in the film, the monstrous elements of the FWBO will eventually get their just deserts.