Ipswich Buddhist Centre - Triratna Buddhist Controversy ( Amoghavajra Chairman) review: failings in abuse reporting process, lack of apologies, cult behaviour from members of the ipswich chapter, questionable ethics and integrity

I want to exercise my right to make a complaint about how a past complaint of abuse at the Ipswich Buddhist Centre was handled.

This is because the leader of the movement Sangharak[censored]a has formally apologized for past abuses.

These past abuse matters have been documented in the press and on TV.

The movement is known as the Triratna Buddhist Community and have centres around the Uk, including Ipswich. The movement is mired in scandal. Just Google Triratna Controversy.

Some time ago, I reported what a Senior Order member and preceptor/kalyana mitra should very well know as abuse, namely being badly treated, shunned and degraded for pursuing a romantic relationship which led me to leave the Centre and live elsewhere for a year or so.

I complained to an Order member named Amoghavajra who was the chairman of the centre. He was also a kalyana mitra (someone who oversaw the ordination process).

When I reported the concerns, Amoghavajra's response, at the time and later, was a mix of these things:-

1. He discouraged counselling outside of the movement and instead said that the matter should be talked about with the Order. This is not so good, as it could lead someone not to get a healthy outside perspective and is a way for the cult to deepen the control.

2. He said on many occasions that I had problems with my life and that was the cause of my upset at the time, but that is false, it was because I was not happy with the abuse.

3. He lent complicit support to Buddhasiha who was also involved in the discrimination and then failed to produce many documents asked for in an SAR (Subject Access Request) as he claimed they had been deleted.

4. He did not see it for what it was, and instead denied the problem.

5. Amoghavajra was asked about Mark Dunlop (another whistleblower). It was suggested that maybe he could talk to him to resolve the problem, but he did not want to talk about it or think about it. He became irritated and defensive, as if he knew something more about the abuse and said nothing. He claimed that Mark Dunlop was making things up.

6. It should be noted that Amoghavajra released 4 good references about the person who complained about the abuse in response to a SAR under the provisions of the Data Protection Act.

7. However, any attempt to secure an apology was ignored by the chair for some time. In my opinion, his default position is to work to cover up abuse in his center by belittling complaints and making out that those who complain have things wrong in their lives.

8. The default answer (at least back then, was to become more FWBO), but of course, the danger with that is that people lose independent perspectives and awarenesses that would spot abuse. Thus the reason why the Centre want people to be more FWBO is so that they can be controlled.

It should be noted that the complainant withdrew his ordination request from what was then the FWBO, meaning he no longer wanted to be part of the Order, citing problems with abuse.

It should be noted the Chairman stepped down recently, with the cause unknown. It would be honest opinion to say that abuse can happen when one person has the Chair for a long time in an organization.

The Ipswich Buddhist Centre and/or its Chapter (the group of Ordained members) have refused to apologize for bad mouthing, as evidenced in the screenshots.

The Ipswich Buddhist Centre is part of the Triratna Buddhist Community, currently in a state of controversy and scandal with regard to various abuses that it is starting to apologize for.

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