Findings & Footnotes

The current issue of the Journal of Global Buddhism (27:1) features a symposium on Buddhism and sexual abuse, suggesting that this topic has assumed critical and global proportions in Buddhist circles. The published symposium is based on a conference that took place at Northwestern University in 2024, the first ever gathering of academics, lawyers, instructors, survivors, and advocates on that issue. The international focus and makeup of the conference reflected the global nature of the abuse crisis in Buddhism. Especially instrumental in organizing the conference and the whole movement addressing this issue has been the support group, Connecting Survivors of Guru and Teacher Abuse, founded in 2021 and the only support organization for survivors of abuse coming out Buddhist communities. The talks published in this issue look at abuse within specific traditions, such as Vajrayana Buddhism, and how their practices and teachings may lend themselves toward abuse even as practitioners turn to the tradition itself to address such abuses. For instance, the Vajrayana emphasis on “pure perception” may silence critics, and its hierarchy might allow stark power imbalances that force disciples to comply with even unreasonable demands from gurus. In response, survivors and advocates in such places as Bhutan and Malaysia cite the Buddhist principle of non-harm and respect for all beings, as they fight such abuse. Other published talks include discussions of sexual abuse in monasteries, especially the vulnerability of novices from low-income, rural families, and the legal dimensions of addressing abuse. For more information on this issue