| Have you heard of the best selling book The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche? Did you know that this man, famous in the Tibetan Buddhist world, has been abusing students for decades? It’s quite a story. Read my latest book to find out what happened when I discovered that my spiritual teacher was seriously abusing his closest students. Become aware of the dark underbelly of some Tibetan Buddhist groups. |
| ‘A compelling account of what can go wrong in religious groups.’ Barbara Scott Emmett, author. |
Description
| Fallout is the memoir of one woman’s journey from ignorance of the reports of physical, emotional and sexual abuse by Sogyal Rinpoche, spiritual teacher of the Rigpa Tibetan Buddhist community, to the realisation of the depth of the trauma suffered by survivors, and how certain beliefs and assumptions enables such abuse. It’s also a tribute to the healing power of the What Now? virtual support group, and the compassion, wisdom, and resilience of its members. |
| Tahlia shares some of the insights and knowledge she gained during her role as one of the facilitators of the group, the challenges she and others faced, and the realisations she came to in light of her discoveries. The book is a personal record of psychological processing, showing the consequences of spiritual abuse for an ordinary member of an abusive, high-demand religious group. Fallout is a cautionary tale for students and potential students of any guru-centred spiritual group. For Buddhist teachers, it not only exposes the destructive results of guru abuse but also provides valuable insight into areas of the teachings which can easily be misunderstood and misused and so need to be carefully taught and applied. |
Buy Now
Kindle: https://geni.us/ubUA4XC Amazon paperback: https://geni.us/x2fYP Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Fallout-Tahlia-Newland/9780648513049 |
What Readers are Saying
| ‘Written with spiritual insight, emotional literacy, and common sense, this down-to-earth, wise, and healing book should be read by anyone who is thinking of joining, is part of, or thinking of leaving a religious group, whether it is Buddhist or not.’ Geoffrey Beatson, psychotherapist. ‘Tahlia Newland’s report lays bare the harm and anguish left behind in the wake of appalling abuse and the subsequent efforts, by those who seek to maintain their power and control, to condone such conduct and meanwhile denigrate the victims. In this feudal outlook, both physical violence and sexual predatory behaviour towards dependents are viewed as acceptable. In certain cases this power-based attitude has sought to be imported into Western Dharma circles. This is a complete distortion of the impeccable Vajrayana path and creates much confusion, disenchantment and pain. So we are grateful to Ms Newland for bravely looking into this controversial issue with such compassion and insight.’ Jetsumna Tenzin Palmo. ‘Fallout is a book one can delve into again and again to understand how abusive charismatic gurus come to be and how to avoid their web of abuse. It should be in every school, college and public library and on the curriculum of religious study courses to warn everyone about the dangers lurking on the spiritual path. I couldn’t put the book down.’ Marion McKenna ‘Fallout has been to me an unexpected gift of clarity and compassion. As a survivor of spiritual abuse in Tibetan Buddhism myself, I want to deeply thank Tahlia Newland for making this work available to everyone. It’s based on the Rigpa experience but it applies to all Tibetan Buddhism. To me it’s more than a book, it’s a manual for recovering from this kind of trauma. … If you’ve been in a cult, or have been a victim of spiritual abuse and institutional betrayal, reading Fallout could literally be even better than going to a psychologist, because it will go straight to the point, it will take you step by step through a process of recognizing what you’ve been through, in order to deal with it. … Even though I’ve built a new life for myself, this book allowed me to look back without the feeling of being alone, blamed or misunderstood. Finally all this makes sense and I can put a name on all the past experiences and situations! I can now freely say without any regret, “This indeed happened, and it was not my fault, I was right to speak up, and it’s ok not to forgive”.’ Dr J Perez |
| Kindle: https://geni.us/ubUA4XC Amazon paperback: https://geni.us/x2fYP Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Fallout-Tahlia-Newland/9780648513049 |
