The Daily Mail recently reported that the Dalai Lama took an astounding $1 million as fee for endorsing a controversial organisation in the United States. The organisation, as alleged by the Daily Mail, is notorious for brainwashing and branding women.
The Daily Mail, in its report, sternly states that it has confirmed reports on the Tibetan leader making a “secret deal” with a billionaire. However, in a bid to highlight the Dalai Lama’s direct involvement with the organisation, the Daily Mail makes the erroneous assumption that the Dalai Lama is wary about the kind of people he is addressing, especially one that secretly operates as a cult.
In a clarification issued by the Office of the Dalai Lama, it states that “The Daily Mail article by Ryan Parry regarding an appearance by His Holiness the Dalai Lama at an event held in Albany, New York in 2009 contains incorrect statements and untrue allegations.”
The article claimed that the million-dollar “deal” was set up by Lama Tenzin Dhonden, Dalai Lama’s personal emissary to the US who was dismissed last month as the Secretary of the Dalai Lama Trust after reports emerged that he was charged with corruption by a philanthropist.
The Office of the Dalai Lama further stated that the Dalai Lama never takes fee of any sort for public appearances nor does he demand payments for charities in regards to making personal appearances.
The organisation, NXIVM, is headed by Keith Raniere which brands women on their public region with his initials and asks them to submit nude photos of themselves which he later uses in case the victim decides to reveal the secrets of the NXIVM.
The NXVIM followers proclaimed the Dalai Lama’s appearance as the public endorsement of the organisation, a false assumption which was readily accepted by the Daily Mail to sensationalise what would’ve just been another teaching for non-Buddhists by the Dalai Lama.
In a letter by the Dalai Lama’s translator, Thupten Jinpa, he had said that The Dalai Lama Trust was “slowly getting caught in unnecessary distractions”. Here is an excerpt from the letter:
“For someone who have [sic] had the honor and good fortune to serve His Holiness for over three decades, it had been painful to see how His Holiness’ name and legacy was slowly getting caught in unnecessary distractions (Albany-based NXIVM) and discordant messages (of rich and celebrity orientation). Especially, for the Trust, which is effectively His Holiness’ principal charitable foundation for the outside world, the last two years’ record has been, to put it mildly, quite embarrassing. The Trust has alienated most of its inter-organizational relationships, almost destroyed its infrastructure of the Tibetan graduate scholarship program with a majority of the independent reviewers resigning, and failed to support those international organizations that were actively inspired by His Holiness’ vision for the world and were undertaking high profile initiatives furthering His Holiness’ vision. Most sadly, the Trust has unfortunately acquired a reputation of being authoritarian, confrontational, petty, and uncaring, characteristics so far removed from His Holiness’ personal ethics. In particular, for those organizations and individuals who had been the recipients of grants from the Trust, frankly, the behavior of the Trust can be best characterized as that of bullying. If ever, some of the email communications from the Trust during this period were to come to light within the public domain, it would be a source of embarrassment for everyone connected with the Trust.”
The Dalai Lama’s office had also called for investigations and the eventual of any wrong doings by the organisation.
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