Sex abuse allegations surround Buddhist teacher

[peky]

At 19, Shari Young was in search of enlightenment. She thought she had found it at the Cimarron Zen Center (now known as Rinzai-ji) in Jefferson Park and in a Buddhist teacher, a man named Joshu Sasaki Roshi.

But she said Roshi, as his followers call him, began using their one-on-one meetings to fondle her breasts and grope her body. She consented in confusion but left after nearly a year.
That was in the early '60s, she said. A recent investigation by an independent council of Buddhist leaders has suggested that Roshi, a leading figure in Zen Buddhism in the United States, may have abused hundreds of others for decades. According to the group's report, that abuse included allegations of molestation and rape, and some of the incidents had been reported to the Rinzai-ji board, which had taken no effective action.

"We see how, knowingly and unknowingly, the community was drawn into an open secret," the council wrote, adding: "We have reports that those who chose to speak out were silenced, exiled, ridiculed or otherwise punished."




http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/12/local/la-me-zen-master-20130213

[Anatta]

At 19, Shari Young was in search of enlightenment. She thought she had found it at the Cimarron Zen Center (now known as Rinzai-ji) in Jefferson Park and in a Buddhist teacher, a man named Joshu Sasaki Roshi.

But she said Roshi, as his followers call him, began using their one-on-one meetings to fondle her breasts and grope her body. She consented in confusion but left after nearly a year.
That was in the early '60s, she said. A recent investigation by an independent council of Buddhist leaders has suggested that Roshi, a leading figure in Zen Buddhism in the United States, may have abused hundreds of others for decades. According to the group's report, that abuse included allegations of molestation and rape, and some of the incidents had been reported to the Rinzai-ji board, which had taken no effective action.

"We see how, knowingly and unknowingly, the community was drawn into an open secret," the council wrote, adding: "We have reports that those who chose to speak out were silenced, exiled, ridiculed or otherwise punished."




http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/12/local/la-me-zen-master-20130213

Kia Ora Peky,

So what's new ? Buddhism is Buddhism and those who call themselves Buddhists are not immune to sexual scandals, if you like I can give you some links on a number of sexual abuse cases involving  'religious/spiritual leaders who flaunt their authority -Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Moslem...

But all the same, thank you for bring this to the attention of others who might have otherwise thought that 'all' those who 'presumably' follow the Buddha's teachings were flawless and not prone to slip off track every now and again.

BTW an interesting read all the same Peky, keep up the good research work...

Metta Zenda