Recently someone sent me a post on Facebook from a “Support Group” set up for Survivors of Samye Ling regarding the recent suicide of a British woman, from Dorset, UK (this FB group is private only and not public). The post says “her family are looking for statements that could help trigger an investigation into her death” because it happened after she attended a Rokpa Samye Ling retreat for four months led by Drupon Khen Karma Lhabu (see details about him below). The retreat was in Holy Isle, Scotland and says that she was “in pain and told to push through” and took her life after leaving the retreat as “she could not bear the pain”.
Although it is not clear her suicide was directly connected to his bullying, the post says that in emails the woman had complained about his bullying of others which she found hard to accept, and it seems she may have had to sign an agreement not to speak about what happened before/after the retreat. This is not the first time Karma Lhabu has been accused by women of bullying and inappropriate conduct on his retreats (see below for details about Holy Isle).
Please do provide information you have on these cases. After all, bullying, exclusion, invasive “sexual energy” non-consensual conduct and suicides of women after being on meditation retreats is not the norm, and not something that Buddha himself taught about or recommended either, and should be investigated properly. May exposing some of these reports, encourage others to come forward and share information that will help the family and friends of the woman, and other women effected, find some resolution and peace in their hearts and minds and not be put off the Buddha Dharma or Vajrayana for life.
UPDATE: I was sent by a reader this newspaper report of October 6 2025 stating that an inquest into the woman’s “death” has been opened, which will take place on March 31 2026. It states the “provisonal cause” of death was drowning and that there does not seem to have been any “suspicious” causes, such as third party involvement.
Holy Isle Retreat prior complaints/legal actions by women for bullying and subtle body “rapes”/forced unions
Sadly, this is not the first time Holy Isle and Samye Ling have come under police investigation for sexual abuse, molestation and drug abuse (see note [1] below). In addition, recent trips to Africa for some kind of “Buddhist missionary work” is seen by some as controversial.
Also, the bullying and ‘inappropriate conduct” by Drupon Karma Lhabu was brought to my attention a couple of years back, by several reliable sources who were prior residents or volunteers associated with Samye Ling. I was informed that complaints/legal actions had been brought by several women against him (and Khaten Lama of Samye Ling) for coercion, bullying, false imprisonment, sexual assault, not helping a person in need and abusive conduct during the long three year retreat on the Holy Isle, Scotland. Allegations included the use of “subtle body rape/sexual energy invasion” which for me are nothing new or strange.
I was also told by a reliable source from Samye Ling (although I have not been able to confirm it) that the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, told Drupon Karma Lhabu not to continue giving Vajrayana empowerments a few years back too. Reasons not given, but one can imagine it must have been serious to take that action (if true).
I deliberately chose not to report on those Samye Ling Scotland legal cases before, because the real and named women involved (one of whom had contacted me) disappeared and became uncontactable. However, with this latest alleged suicide case of a British woman, it seems the same person and conduct is being questioned again. Women (and the general public) need warning about these cases, because they might find themselves in similar closed retreat situations, where they also have to sign a confidentiality agreement of silence etc. to enter, or face exclusion, bullying, and hostility if they raise any legitimate grievances.
So why and how were the legal actions/cases against him and (it seems Samye Ling) hushed up? Were the several women paid “hush money” to be silent? If so, is that then not dangerous for other women who might attend classes and retreats with those same teachers? The answer is a resounding yes, as this latest alleged suicide case seems to be pointing. How many more women need to be harmed and then attacked/killed deliberately with tantric rituals etc. by men who cannot and will not see anything wrong or harmful in how they are treating women and misusing the Buddha Dharma and tantric rituals?
Drupon Khen Karma Lhabu: Marpa Translations and Nepal retreats that actively discriminate against any “survivors” or “those who have samaya issues with teachers”
For a bio of Drupon Khen Karma Lhabu see here. As it mentions in the bio, this teacher also started a Dharma translators group called Marpa Translations in 2015 (an admirable activity no doubt). However, considering how long it has been established, and how many translators there are, it seems to have hardly produced much content at all.
Also, if he is so keen to support translators, why would he not support, share and promote my translations and transcripts in relation to Karma Kagyu and Karmapa (one of the most prolific and thorough) resources in the world today? We all know the answer to that. Obviously, a laywoman excelling and doing more than a whole team of mostly male monastics and laypeople, does not make them look good, but more importantly, as a survivor of lama misconduct, I am not very welcome either.
New rules for interested participants and retreatants at Thrangu Sekhar retreat centre, Nepal
I noticed on social media a few months ago that the Thrangu Sekhar retreat centre (see here), Nepal where Drupon Karma Lhabu is now based training translators and leading retreats now has a rule where those who have “prior samaya issues” with other teachers cannot join his/their classes or retreats. Well at least they are being honest about their blatant discrimination, sexism and lack of love, compassion and equanimity for all sentient beings in that respect. Several male lamas are also resident and teaching in the retreat centre, including some Gelugpas: Drupon Lama Dawa Phurba, Drupon Khenpo Wangchuk, Lama Samten from Ganden monastery, and Geshe Sonam Drakpa who was invited from Drepung.
Whatever the case, Drupon Khen Karma Lhabu seems to also have rather a high opinion of himself. For example, I remember reading on his FB page last year, he spoke about how amazing he was and diligent and dedicated simply for giving teachings in the evenings after the Rinchen Terdzo empowerments he was sitting through most of the day led by Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche. Maybe it is amazing for monastics not really used to doing much compared to the average working layperson, I do not know. However, I think many devoted Vajrayana Buddhists would love to have the “privilege” of sitting in a car going back and forth to such empowerments for three months, and then teach people for an hour in the early evening, right?
Other centres, as I heartbreakingly discovered this year in Europe, will look for all sorts of ways to bully a lone female survivor who is still a devoted Buddhist and not been taken off the Dharma path by their bullying, defamation, intimidation and impersonation. [2] Perhaps not such a “holy isle” after all.
And what would Marpa Lotsawa make of such “monastic conduct” and signing “hush agreements”, in the name/practice of Vajrayana? Marpa may have been seen as “bad-tempered” by some, but he was married and never pretended to be a monk, kept the samaya with one of his most “challenging students” Milarepa (a former vengeful mass murderer) and bravely risked his own life and limbs on several occasions to travel on the road to India from Tibet to receive, translate and spread the precious Vajrayana teachings from Indian mahasiddhas.
The view of “pure perception” and who decides what is samaya breaking, other samaya-breakers?
The fact that the Thrangu Sekhar retreat centre (under the guidance of Drupon Karma Lhabu) is now actively excluding people from retreats who have “prior samaya issues” and teachers, raises the interesting question as to who is a “samaya-breaker” or not? Who decides that and on what basis? Surely lies, deception, bullying and discriminating and forcibly raping a woman’s body (even if done on the subtle energy level) if unwanted, would be cases of samaya-breaking too. Can other samaya-breakers decide someone is a samaya breaker?
Again what this one-sided perspective points to is a male-dominated ideology of samaya as about the male teacher only, and not about the actual root Vajrayana downfalls, or about love and compassion for all beings. Nor about having “pure perception”, which means seeing all appearance and beings as “pure” not just the teacher and his favoured students etc. So that pure perception would include seeing women who complain about them as pure in essence too. Not excluded from that perception!
One thing wisdom experience tells us, is that when abusive men lacking the essential qualities of wisdom, love and compassion bully and force women into subtle body unions they do not want, and the women object and complain about it, those men definitely team up with other monastic men (teachers) who do the same to justify and normalise it.
So, although it is not clear (yet) what has been happening to laywomen (and nuns) on Holy Isle closed retreats, if there is anything we might conclude from the words and actions of Drupon Khen Karma Lhabu and the entrance requirements of the Thrangu Sekhar retreat centre, is he seems to also be teacher, who enables (or ignores) such abuse by other male teachers.
Control and patriarchal power are the name of the game in this kind of world, not helping support genuine Buddhist women who have merit, devotion, creativity, independent thinking, wisdom, ethics and talent or diligence. I can say that from my own first hand experience!
Endnotes
[1] The Samye Ling monastery also came under police investigation previously according to The Independent newspaper in 2000, following accusations first made in April 2000 by an 18-year-old who claims he was sexually abused by one of the centre’s most senior monks. He has also alleged that some of those in charge turned a blind eye to drug use, sexual affairs, theft and deception.
In addition, the Independent newspaper reported that Samye Ling “in 1991 it bought Holy Island, off the Isle of Arran, for £350,000. That purchase prompted an intense opposition campaign, with letters to the local newspaper claiming “their presence on the island would attract all kinds, from religious cultists to spivs … our precious Scottish Christian and cultural heritage is not to be bargained with”.
The newspaper report also highlighted “the conviction in June of another monk from the centre for indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Tenzin Chonjoe was a guest at Samye Ling at the time but was travelling back to London to visit his wife. He claimed he was forced to stay overnight in Carlisle after being mugged on a stop-off. The girl was molested and Chonjoe, who was drunk at the time and suffers an alcohol problem, was sentenced to three months’ jail and placed on the sex offenders register.”
[2]I also intuitively suspect that the Rinpoche has some kind of plan to emulate the type of transcript and translations work I have been diligently and freely doing for the past five years or more for the teachings of the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa and Karma Kagyu, without payment, support or acknowledgement from Karma Kagyu. Let’s see if my feminine wisdom/intuition proves correct or not on that!
terrible. this is DHARMA ENDING AGE. shame and misery for them
It is certainly a total misuse of tantric rituals and women’s energy and bodies….but the fact a few people are speaking up and exposing it is a cause for optimism and hope. The Dharma protectors and dakinis and Buddha energy and Dharma are still finding ways and people to shine through in these depressing cases of male privilege, misogyny and patriarchy.
The only way to affect needed and lasting change is to continue to loudly call these nefarious and harmful actions out, keep diligently doing our practice, and cultivate strong relative Bodhicitta for inner, outer, and secret enemies. Let’s BELIEVE in this power of a loving mind to pervade into the reaches of space and into the hearts and minds of all beings. I love this quote by Meher Baba…. “Light can penetrate any amount of darkness but no amount of darkness can penetrate the light.”
Indeed. Well said. Genuine peace is not possible where there is misuse of Vajrayana to denigrate and bully and even force women into unions. Or where women are not visble and heard. Or where women are seen as rhe dolly bird eye candy for men. Or mothers who look after their children. Or where male violence against men and women is continually overlooked or glibly diminished. There can be no real peace in samsara when such worldly and misogynist attitudes and ways are prevalent in the Buddhist sangha and communities.
Seriously, what is the Sangha for but to actually help our fellow brothers and sisters on the path to stay on the path. This should implicitly mean calling out the harm doers no matter what their supposed tulku status or accomplishments are! Violence, coercion, manipulation, etc should NEVER be tolerated. Have these supposed khenpos, tulkus, lamas etc forgotten they are working for the benefit of beings, not their own egoistic desires, WTF!? Apparently, they have. Hypocrites and charlatans, the lot of them. No wonder spiritually is on the decline. There are trustworthy teachers, but with all the suppression of information how are people supposed to know? Like you said, that is a huge issue.
Exactly. That’s the tragedy. Protecting self interest and abuse of women and not protecting the authentic Buddha Dharma and all beings.
There are several high level female teachers that are available in the West these days. In light of the patriarchal hierarchy that rules Tibetan Buddhism I would encourage women to seek out those teachers, receive teaching and empowerments from them, and work with them to uplift other women. There are very good male teachers as well but unfortunately for women the path is more dangerous and due diligence is very necessary when walking in the jungle. This is very sad because the entire Tantric path seems to originate with women but has been co-opted by men. Much of this type of bad behavior has also been covered up by high lamas as well and this kind of protectionism is not helpful for the flourishing of the Dharma in the West or the East. A bright light needs to be shined on this these types of negative actions so that the oath breakers are exposed to the light of day. This type of negative activity against women turns women and men away from the Dharma or at least away from the Tibetan Buddhist style of Dharma and that is especially negative. This kills the hope of many would be followers of the Buddhadharma. Where are the leaders of the Tibetan Buddhist community of teachers while this is happening? Why are they so silent? I can hardly imagine what vermin have been hiding under the rocks and in the shadows of the Dharma teachers in Tibet that led to Guru Rinpoche’s teaching being scattered from Tibet and to the West. When the Chinese invaded Tibet we in the West had the good fortune to discover teachings and teachers that were hidden from us but at the same time those dark forces that caused the Diaspora also were scattered as well. They disguised themselves cleverly and are now infecting the unsuspecting Dharma seekers that have no understanding of how dangerous the Vajrayana path can be. Be cautious ladies when walking on the path, listen to your sisters, get references, be aware that there are wolves in sheep’s clothing lurking, study thoroughly the Tibetan cultural bias towards women. Stay safe.
Exactly and thank you for your supporting comments here. Yes, as Guru Padmasambhava predicted himself in termas, the “rot” in Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhism Vajrayana started three hundred years before the Chinese communist invasion, awith the Mongolian military invasion in the 17th Century that created the Dalai Lama institution as absolute ruler politically and religiously. That dictatorial and violent dictatorship also destroyed (or forcibly converted) scores of other lineage monasteries, persecuted and suppressed the activities and teachings of those other lineages, stole and gave away the other lineages sacred objects and insisted that all lineage monasteries revere, have photos of and say long-life prayers for the Mongolian instituted Dalai Lama tulku. We can see from the Drepung monastery stash of thousands of stolen texts of other lineages, that there was also mass censorship and suppression of texts and intellectual study and debate of other philosophical views and practices. In addition the Gelugpas stole and hijacked other lineage practices for their own political and social purposes.
where are the ok women teachers ? they can not help to still prefer no students who are too lowly.
https://mh-v5.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/25529414.inquest-opens-woman-found-unresponsive-river/
Thank you for this information. It is good to know there will be an inquest about it. It says “provisional” cause of death drowning in a river but as we all know, that is not normal for a woman that age, unless there was flooding etc. So the police said “not suspicious” meaning no-one else/third party seems to have been directly/physically involved in her death/drowning. Yet it seems her family are seeking an investigation, as they seem to think she took her own life and wrote about bullying on a retreat etc., correct?
terrible – was hoping to do retreats at Shekar Ling. am desperate for places to meditate & retreat & live. Samye Ling is deadly deadly -especially cape town centre. & their members go to all the other local groups as well, so can never find one to join.i am still suffering from harm & when the centre members do abuse -the highest lamas far away know & allow & encourage. so now after decades of mantras -in their name – it is disproved. you feel your tongue & throat die. can one meditate at Namo buddha monastery ? what will the next Thrangu Rin be like? I admired him so much – only met him once. there are other lamas whom tell them to exclude students with previous samaya. this is absolutely frightening like in the war.they do kill. they do nothing when you die . they stop you from meditating all the time. your body gets deformed
Yes it is terrible and many people feel disheartened and heartbroken about it, including myself. That is why it is in the public interest to expose it. Not exposing it allows these cases to continue, and people turning away from Dharma for life, or committing suicide. Many of us are looking for suitable and qualified teachers to do meditate and retreat with. You are not alone in that.
I am sorry to hear about your situation. You are not alone, many independent and right-thinking Buddhists who want to study and practice are also not sure where to go and who to see as their teacher and looking for a safe, healthy, ethical, honest, inclusive, fair and Buddhist vows aligned community. But which is worse, not knowing about any of this and then joining a class/retreat and finding out the hard way, or at least being forewarned and protected about it in advance, by truthful reports of people who have experienced it?
I had also even considered meditating or studying at Namo Buddha Thrangu retreat centre and monastery guest house. I had visited there before a couple of times, years ago, as I had met and taken empowerment with Thrangu Rinpoche, after I had taken my first refuge vows with the 17th Karmapa. This was before 2010 though. However, after the experiences I had, and the way I was treated as a woman and survivor, and then reading about how Karma Lhabu had openly stated publicly in writing that students with any “prior samaya issues” with other lamas were not able to join the retreat, and hearing from women at Samye Ling about the complaints and legal actions they had made against Karma Lhabu and another lama there for bullying, deception, false imprisonment, sexual assault, not helping someone in need etc. I realised even then, that all was not OK with Samye Ling and Samye Dzong teachers, and there was a clear lack of compassion and love and qualified teachers. So many communities are also not living within and practising basic Buddhist ethics and vows (including monastics), and also eating slaughtered animals, which the Buddha strictly forbade, even for monastics unless begging for alms or starving.
it is cruel that when one meditates , some do start to rejuvenate a lot. & they do not allow this. whole thing is suspicious .
Somebody asked, “where are the ok women teachers ? They can not help to still prefer no students who are too lowly?”. The fact that someone had to ask these questions astounds me especially since there are so many really good women teachers who are well established on the Vajrayana path. And if I had more time today I could go much deeper when we look outside of the West. This makes me so sad that women are so underrepresented on this path today. We definitely are in the middle of the Kali Yuga. No human was born without a mother and no human comes into this world without the energetic imprint of the mothers body, speech, and mind. It is not men who guide children in the beginning, it is women, and women provide the love, nurturing, guidance of what and what not to do so the the child can stay safe and grow strong. We could learn a lot from the Native American culture and their respect for women.
Exactly, find women who speak truth, integrity, ethics, compassion, love, who practice what they preach (or at least try to!). If people find my articles and reels etc. helpful and an aid to learning then choose that as a “teacher”. Just because someone has the title lama, khenpo, geshe, teacher etc. it does not necessarily mean they are a qualified teacher either! However, I have to disagree with you that there are SO many great female teachers in Vajrayana, apart from a handful, some of whom you listed I personally would not follow for a variety of reasons, there are many scholars, translators and practitioners who just are not getting promoted, opportunities and bein g recognised as tulkus etc. other than nepotistic ones, or for political reasons, and not really based on great qualities or realisations.
So I disagree with you, there is a dearth of female teachers and that is why women (and men) end up having to follow male teachers who leave a lot to be desired! We have to examine teachers for the essential qualities of love, compassion, wisdom, and these are listed in the Tantra instruction texts. As Je Taranatha, and other great masters have taught, if they lack genuine love and compassion for even ONE sentient being, or denigrate, bully and diminish women individually (or as a group) they are not qualified! See also: https://dakinitranslations.com/kalacakra-2/necessary-qualities-of-a-vajrayana-master-by-jetsun-taranatha-in-a-hundred-blazing-lights/
For those affected by this article who are also survivors of abuse or find it traumatic to hear there has been abuse and it’s many cover ups, you are not alone and there is support.
Project Truth- for Healing and Justice for survivors of abuse within the Samye-Ling organisation has an email of support and resources.
The isolation, confusion and trauma about these abuses has affected many people.
There is much support and you are not alone.
Please email projectthj@yahoo.com for a list of support and resources.
Please also be in touch if you would like to support the campaign and to take action.
Dharma means Truth. Buddhism is a religion of Compassion and wisdom- the abuse needs to stop.
Thank you. I will promote and publicise this in a separate article when your petition is up and running.
Anonymous comments made by publicly unidentifiable people defending abusive conduct and/or enabling it with spurious, self appointed private investigations that jump to false and wrong conclusions, based on their “online research” only are not allowed and will be deleted and blocked. Also anyone claiming to be someone publicly known will be asked to verify their identity verbally and in writing.
There is too much anonymity and cowardice online by people defending and enabling such cases, and impersonation too. If people really want to defend it, or seek the truth, they should also reveal their identities clearly, especially if they want to use this website to promote their faulty ideas and assumptions.
Funny he is called Lhabu. Lhabu means “Devaputra” which is also the name of the Rudra that causes megalomania. Anyway this story just goes to show that the roots, branches and fruits (i.e., “nuts”) of Tibetan Buddhism are 95% rotten or worse now.
I am particularly sorry for…
1. The good men who are teachers
2. The unfortunate men who are victims.
Because both groups are implied non-existent here despite the good work of the former and the suffering of the latter.