Please do not assume that those of us who genuinely feel distress as a result of the way that they have been inappropriately treated by CH enjoy complaining or attacking him.

It is good if some people benefit from his treatment but some of us continue to suffer from him.

He may well have helped many but I know that by his behaviours and 'treatments' he has contributed to the disintegration of at least one marriage. A professional practitioner would behave more responsibly. This is where I have the most problem with him. He may be able to work wonders on physical illnesses but he is NOT sufficiently skilled in human relationships and conduct with fellow beings.

Hi Jeff,
I have been a student of Cheogyal Namkhai Norbu since 1979. I must make it clear that he is extremely well informed about the Bon tradition in all its manifestations and is profoundly gifted in Bon practice and transmission. He is not strictly a Nyingma lama. His main Buddhist lineage is Sakya, but he also holds Kagyu lineages with Nyingma cross-overs. As a student of Tibetan culture and spirituality I am sure you are aware that many senior Rinpoches like ChNN hold several different lineages. ChNN's Bon connection his through his root guru Changchub Dorje. with whom he lived, studied and practised for many years as a hermit yogi. Many new agers studied with ChNN for a while and/or read his books -- and then re-invented themselves as teachers, healers etc: It seems entirely plausible that Hansard cherry picked from ChNN and other sources. The diference between people who genuinely take on a comittment to Dzogchen or otherwise can be summed up in two words:
*transmission
*practice
Intellectual awareness alone is useless.
Tashi delegs,
Mary

Hi..Mary I was sort of aware of your 'connection' with Namkhai Norbu and was therefore not entirely surprised to note your comments. I agree that Mr.Hansard may well have 'borrowed' from Norbu's understanding of the Bonpo traditions and practices, it may be no accident that Norbu's book has featured on a number of Hansard's sites as a form of endorsement.

As I mentioned previously the authentic Bon tradition does have so-called the Northern Treasure [u:1b1373bd80]which was not a school though[/u:1b1373bd80]. It is a name given to a certain number of texts believed to have been unearthed in Zangzang in the northern Tibet in the 13th century, hence the word changter, 'treasure from the north'. Hansard's so-called 'Northern Treasure School' was I understand also proposed in Norbu's book. Mary can you confirm this? If so I am puzzled why he would assert the existence of such a 'school' when practicing Bonpos and Bonpo scholars have assured me no such lineage existed, or forms part of the Bon tradition.

Have you approached Namkhai Norbu on this matter? Is he aware of the fact that Hansard has fashioned a cynical and exploitative fantasy based upon, in part, his understanding of Bon? Would a statement of clarification from Namkhai Norbu not assist in this regard? Regards,

Jeffrey,

All this knowledge is one thing...but practise leads to compassion.

Hansard's reputation is in ruins; he has been publicly humiliated. This diatribe does seem like continuing to drive nails into the coffin.

You don't see the man in this impersonal setting. For all you know he could be a blithering idiot by now, curled in a corner somewhere. Some will say he deserves it. But now that the exposure has happened, I say, leave the man to his karma- it will be severe enough.

"The quality of mercy is not strained. It falleth as the gentle rain from heaven..."

Dear 'Mariah',

Thank you for your comments. As to the current condition of Mr.Hansard do you have any firm evidence to support your assertion that his self-serving empire of fantasy now lies smouldering around him? If so I would be most interested to hear more from you.

Compassion (unless you believe in the passive 'Christian' variety) does not in itself excuse, tolerate or sympathize with injustice, greed, or the callous exploitation of another culture. It is aware, active, and has a capacity to make ethical choices, a practice which seems singularly absent from Hansard. If you are, as your comments imply, a practitioner of compassion why not save it for a more worthy cause, for example the oppressed and violated people of Tibet, whose culture Mr.Hansard has abused and misrepresented for his own material purposes.

Meanwhile, the effort to expose Mr.Hansard's 'activities' continues....

Mariah, while your words and sentiments are to be admired there is a far more important issue at stake here than the public humiliation of Christopher Hansard. There may be hundreds, if not thousands of people who have in some way suffered because of his sickness.

I am sure that most people have by now realised that Christopher’s story is entirely an invention, which grew like a childish lie over the fifteen years of its telling. For the factual challenge to this invention we must be grateful to Jeffrey Bowes and his thorough research and challenges.

However, at the moment anybody who searches for Christopher Hansard on the internet will inevitably find his fraudulent websites and the opportunity to purchase his fairy tales. I believe that this forum and links to Jeffrey Bowes’ blog should be kept alive and active for the ongoing benefit of Christopher’s many victims.

For those who are rallying around Christopher, spare a thought for his victims before getting too involved in his ‘poor little boy’ posturing.

I do appreciate both Jeffrey's efforts and scholarship and should have made that clear. Thanks for pointing that out, Dorje. And thank you Jeffrey for your courageous efforts.

Sometimes, when points are "hammered home" however, the cascade begins to take away from power of the original. Restraining "bloodlust" is a desirable thing.

Personally, I know nothing of "little boy posturing" on CH's part as I have not seen the man in a few years. Rather, I am witnessing a man being thoroughly discredited publically, definitely a necessary step for his victims.

My point is only this: when is enough, enough? I'm not saying I am right - but restraint can also be powerful.

Mariah, In describing the efforts of those who would expose further the odious activities of Mr.Hansard, as pursuing a form of 'blood lust', you grossly misrepresent the reasonable and objective efforts of those who would expose further his odious activities. Meanwhile, are you now able to furnish any material which supports your previous assertion that Hansard's 'condition' is now reduced? Or was this simply a baseless opinion? By the way the 'karma' you refer to may already be happening to Mr.Hansard now, and we may very well be part of that process.

Pema,

Interesting comment about transmission and practice.

Dzogchen and Advaita are very popular right now amongst individuals who seem to think it is just an intellectual process and thus claim to be awake and abiding in truth by token of having some kind of singular insight.

There is a good reason why all Tibetan schools utilize some form of ngondro to properly prepare the individual, otherwise it is just another dish at a smorgasborg, if you know what I mean.

Jeff and Mariah,

While I agree it is wrong to pick at a corpse, I doubt very much that Mr. Hansard has been the least bit affected by the chatter on this site to date. He has written three books, made numerous public appearances, and operates a clinic on the King's Road. The general public will take the criticism here as simple naysaying, similar to that experienced by many public figures. It is up to his peers (no pun intended) to demand he clean up his act.