Upvote:0
Allegations of ethical misconduct by members of the monastic order, may be proven or unproven.
In any case, orthodox Buddhists, on hearing such allegations, would be reminded of the Buddha's warning on the five future dangers.
Monks, these five future dangers, unarisen at present, will arise in the future. Be alert to them and, being alert, work to get rid of them. Which five?
“There will be, in the course of the future, monks desirous of fine robes. They, desirous of fine robes, will neglect the practice of wearing cast-off cloth; will neglect isolated forest and wilderness dwellings; will move to towns, cities, and royal capitals, taking up residence there. For the sake of a robe they will do many kinds of unseemly, inappropriate things.
“This, monks, is the first future danger, unarisen at present, that will arise in the future. Be alert to it and, being alert, work to get rid of it.
“Furthermore, in the course of the future there will be monks desirous of fine food. They, desirous of fine food, will neglect the practice of going for alms; will neglect isolated forest and wilderness dwellings; will move to towns, cities, and royal capitals, taking up residence there and searching out the tip-top tastes with the tip of the tongue. For the sake of food they will do many kinds of unseemly, inappropriate things.
“This, monks, is the second future danger, unarisen at present, that will arise in the future. Be alert to it and, being alert, work to get rid of it.
“Furthermore, in the course of the future there will be monks desirous of fine lodgings. They, desirous of fine lodgings, will neglect the practice of living in the wilds; will neglect isolated forest and wilderness dwellings; will move to towns, cities, and royal capitals, taking up residence there. For the sake of lodgings they will do many kinds of unseemly, inappropriate things.
“This, monks, is the third future danger, unarisen at present, that will arise in the future. Be alert to it and, being alert, work to get rid of it.
“Furthermore, in the course of the future there will be monks who will live in close association with nuns, female probationers, and female novices. As they interact with nuns, female probationers, and female novices, they can be expected either to lead the holy life dissatisfied or to fall into one of the grosser offenses, leaving the training, returning to a lower way of life.
“This, monks, is the fourth future danger, unarisen at present, that will arise in the future. Be alert to it and, being alert, work to get rid of it.
“Furthermore, in the course of the future there will be monks who will live in close association with monastery attendants and novices. As they interact with monastery attendants and novices, they can be expected to live intent on storing up all kinds of possessions and to stake out crops and fields.
“This, monks, is the fifth future danger, unarisen at present, that will arise in the future. Be alert to it and, being alert, work to get rid of it.
“These, monks, are the five future dangers, unarisen at present, that will arise in the future. Be alert to them and, being alert, work to get rid of them.”
Upvote:2
The Guardian Article mentions a problematic past early in the Triratna movement.
That story will be read by other Buddhists who also understand that:
SN42.8:9.1: ‘In many ways the Buddha criticizes and denounces sexual misconduct …
The Triratna history may cause some concern among other Buddhists. But those other Buddhists will also reflect on their own past mistakes. For example:
SN42.8:10.3: That’s not right, it’s not good, and I feel remorseful because of it. But I can’t undo what I have done.’
SN42.8:10.4: Reflecting like this, they give up lying, and in future they refrain from lying.
SN42.8:10.5: That’s how to give up this bad deed and get past it.
Personally, I would have no issue at all with going to a Triratna center and practicing there as long as that center did indeed take refuge in the Buddha, the Teachings and the Sangha, since those are, after all, the Triratna
Upvote:5
I've been part of the Triratna Community for maybe 15 years. I do know that people can find it controversial but that's more from a secular perspective - some ethical stuff that was going on early on in the movement wasn't great.
Regarding how other schools regard it - I would point you to this book
The thought of Sangharakshita. A critical evaluation
There's a lot in this but the basic theme is that Sangharakshita (founder of Triratna) is revered within the movement and basically unknown outside of it. The author says there should be a middle way with this and a he deserves to be more widely know. He has ideas that the author feels have wider merit. Conversely people within the movement could do with a more critical analysis of his work. It also really digs into his ethical lapses if that's of interest.