FPMT concludes Dagri Rinpoche committed sexual misconduct, spiritual abuse following findings from Faith Trust Institute
DHARAMSALA, 20 Nov: The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) has concluded that Dagri Rinpoche has committed sexual misconduct and spiritual abuse and announced its decision to permanently suspend the Tibetan spiritual teacher from the list of its registered teachers.
“We accept that according to the standard applied by Faith Trust Institute, Dagri Rinpoche committed sexual misconduct, which also qualifies as spiritual abuse given his position as a spiritual teacher,” read a statement from FPMT which is an update outlining its findings concerning allegations of sexual misconduct after it hired FaithTrust Institute.
“We have unanimously determined that the temporary suspension of Dagri Rinpoche from the list of registered FPMT teachers (from which FPMT centres can choose to invite to provide Dharma teachings) is now permanent,” it read.
“That suspension, and now permanent removal from the list, means that FPMT centres, projects, and services, cannot invite Dagri Rinpoche to give Dharma teachings at the centre.”
The statement further noted that “despite multiple requests, Dagri Rinpoche did not meaningfully engage with FaithTrust Institute’s investigation. However, when he received a detailed summary of multiple-victim statements from FaithTrust Institute, he emailed a written response asking for forgiveness.”
It further noted that FaithTrust Institute reached the conclusion after accessing “witness interviews, statements and corroborating evidence that Dagri Rinpoche did engage in a pattern of intentional and inappropriate sexual behaviour that persisted over many years towards women who were in his company due to his position as a trusted incarnate lama and teacher.”
Molestation allegations against Dagri Rinpoche surfaced after a 30-year-old woman from Kinnaur accused Rinpoche of molesting her on a morning flight from Delhi to Gagal (Dharamsala) on an Air India Flight on 3rd May 2019.
After the women lodged an FIR against at the Gagal Police station against the 65-year old Rinpoche was reportedly detained by the police for enquiry after which he was released on bail.
Days later, on 10 May, a Spanish woman has alleged that she was molested by the senior Tibetan Buddhist teacher ten years ago when she was a nun.
Dagri Rinpoche, as one of the touring lamas(title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism) of the FPMT, conducts extensive teachings across Europe and Asia before the allegations surfaced which lead to the
Dagri Rinpoche is the reincarnation of Pari (Dagri) Dorje Chang, a great Buddhist scholar from Lhasa. He was born in Tibet in 1958 and grew up during the Cultural Revolution of 1966 – 1976. After his escape from Tibet in 1982, he studied Buddhist philosophy for 17 years and received the Geshe Lharampa degree.
On 13 May, Dagri Rinpoche issued a statement asserting that the allegations of molestation charges against him were baseless and that he has done nothing to be ashamed of while declaring no resentment towards those who have wrongly accused him and further expressed his hopes that they will accumulate no sins of desire or aversion for that.
