An independent investigation commissioned by Rigpa's board of directors following a July 2017 letter from eight current and former students detailing allegations of physical, sexual and emotional abuse by Rigpa's founder and spiritual director, Sogyal Lakar (Sogyal Rinpoche), who resigned his role the following month. The London law firm Lewis Silkin LLP conducted the investigation and published its report on 22 August 2018. On the balance of probabilities, the report found that some students within Sogyal Lakar's inner circle had been subjected to serious physical, sexual and emotional abuse by him, and that senior figures within Rigpa were aware of at least some of these issues and failed to address them, leaving others at risk. The report made twelve recommendations, including that Sogyal Lakar have no further contact with Rigpa or its students.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Tier 1: an independent law firm's commissioned investigation, published by the commissioning body itself. Its findings and 22 August 2018 publication date are corroborated by Buddhistdoor Global's and howdidithappen.org's independent contemporaneous reporting, which quote the report's own finding language identically, and independently corroborated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales' own later statutory inquiry, which reached the same substantive finding through its own separate process. NotesSogyal Lakar died in Thailand in August 2019, two years after resigning and without ever facing criminal charges. The finding against him is corroborated by a second, separate process, the Charity Commission's own statutory inquiry, rather than resting on one investigation alone.
Citation
AuthorLewis Silkin LLP
PublisherRigpa (commissioning the investigation from Lewis Silkin LLP)
Publication Year2018
URLhttps://www.rigpa.org/press
Source TypeReport
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
London, Cities This source names London directly: "The London law firm Lewis Silkin LLP conducted the investigation and published its report on 22 August 2018."
Claims Backed By This Source (46 claims)
This source backs 46 claims across the atlas. As facts: 35 well-attested. As cited relationships: 4 holds, 2 connected. Plus 5 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Articles, 17 claims: 12 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 connected, 3 general references.
- Abuse Inquiries and Response Policies, 10 claims: 9 well-attested, 1 general references.
- Organizations, 10 claims: 6 well-attested, 2 holds, 1 connected, 1 general references.
- Sources, 9 claims: 8 well-attested, 1 holds.
Well-attested
35Abuse Inquiries and Response Policies
General References
5Abuse Inquiries and Response Policies
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