A 2011 article by Burkhard Scherer (a student of Nydahl) called, "Macho Buddhism: Gender and Sexualities in the Diamond Way"
[
canterbury.academia.edu]
where he describes Nydahl's use of gender stereotypes, limited understanding, and his movement from overt homophobia to what he now calls a mild homophobia. As you would expect, he uses the "hermeneutics of recovery" to attempt some form of explanation, however I think his descriptions seem fairly accurate, despite the positive spin he attempts to provide.
- "...Nydahl's propogation of a counter-feminist, extremely conservative gender stereotype can be interpreted as consistent with hetero-normative elements of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition" p.92
- "Nydahl's rather limited capability to comprehend the diversity of human sexualities and gender identities leads one to question if he is thereby limiting insight into the fluidity of reality, which includes gender and sexualities and is crucial for Buddhist thought and can provide many liberating social impulses. In line with Buddhist fluid interpretation of human identities, Nydahl expresses the view that sexual preference can change, but uses this only to reinforce his hetero-normative stance."
p.100
- "While there is evidence for the interpretation of Nydahl's current views on non-heterosexualities as reluctantly neutral or only mildly homophobic, the hetero-machismo attitude among a large part of his studentship especially in Central and Eastern Europe is still creating a difficult and occasionally openly homo-/transphobic atmosphere in the Diamond Way." p.101
Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2012 04:52AM by suenam.