"Pema I must admit to sense of disappointment by your willingness to engage in the chorus of negativity which has been directed, not towards the contents of my postings, but to my person. I am surprised too that someone who claims to be practising the Nyingma path of Tibetan Buddhism should indulge, and encourage, such behaviour." Bad Pema. Naughty, naughty. What shall be your penanc
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Moderator, It will be the day of miracles when any medical journal acknowledges the contribution of complimentary or alternative medicine to the overcoming of cancer. It is all put down to "spontaneous remission."
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

What is the real reason you hate Hansard so much Jeff? This has gone way beyond standing up for "authentic" Tibetan culture. Other than through his lies and false advertising, have you ever even met the guy? And in respect to his plagiarism, could you give some specific references? Just to add, do you really care at all about the people that were hurt by him, or is this just a witchhunt
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I don't think so. And the allegations directed towards Mohan are way beyond the scope of the allegations against Hansard.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Jeff, You're mixing up apples and oranges again. I don't for one minute - okay maybe just for one minute - believe Hansard's fantastic tale. But that is not my point. Regardless of where he got it, he was on to something. He can sing songs and recite rituals in a language that is clearly not Tibetan but also has a clear syntax and grammer. He knows something of a language he cal
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Actually Jeff, most Bon practitioners rejected the shamanic side of their history quite a long time ago, in favour of zhang zhung. Therefore it might be that Hansard uncovered something of that which Bonpos knowing nothing about. Only a clear, unbiased deconstruction of what he has taught could reveal the truth or lie of that. In view of Tibets history of warfare, secrecy, and patriarchy I find i
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

What is actually known, or been clearly stated, about sexual abuse by Mr. Hansard? 1. Actual sexual assault? 2. Actual sexual interference? 3. Inappropriate touching? 4. Inappropriate verbal comments? 5. Unethical invitations? So the guy was sleeping around, and was sleeping with his assistant/apprentice or whatever she was. He may be a cad but this fact is somewhat irrelevent, other th
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Dorje, I would be willing to set up a yahoo site and moderate it as I previously indicated but only if a few more people express interest also. The rules would be this: 1. Only allowed to post if you have personal experience and a relevent story to tell. 2. Anonymous. 3. After a certain length of time members can decide if they want to have their name put to their story, wish to have
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

It is highly probable that the now banned Jim Morrison's Ghost was Hansard. His comment, "I'm going to kill you," kind of gave it away. Interesting that he chose Jim Morrison as his handle. Morrison dabbled in shamanism a lot. But then Hansard also claimed to hate hippies, because his teacher did, so go figure, as they say across the water. Maybe Hansard is living in Paris now
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Perhaps a moderated yahoo site could be started with the intention of everyone who feels they have been abused by Mr. Hansard, or have evidence of some kind, can tell their story. No one else would be allowed to post. Then everything can be collected and when it is all there each individual can be contacted and asked if they are willing to sign their name to the testimonial. At that time it can b
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Fraudulent advertising (misrepresentation) perhaps, but fraud suggests an intentional scheme to rook money out of people. To make that stick you would have to prove he is in fact not selling a legitimate product or service at all.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

As I explained, professional associations cannot police individuals outside of their organisation and to do so leaves them open to litigation. Commenting on individuals who have applied for membership but been rejected is a breach of privacy. As a result, the only recourse is to pursue what the legal requirements are for an individual who practices outside of a regulatory framework. The only g
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi Jeff, It is not the job of professional associations to police, or even comment upon the qualifications of individuals they have rejected. Associations have specific criteria for membership and individuals either meet those criteria or not. Comment beyond that would be considered outside the purvue of the associations legal mandate. As a result, if you want to inquire further the best avenu
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Jeff: The only way to get justice is to ask the people who feel they have been wronged what they want and facilitate them achieving that, without predetermining what that is, or suggesting it to them. Your issue with him is about false representation and I think you should focus on that in such a way that the truth is served. He is no longer in business.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

It sounds like things are getting a little out of hand here. What would be the point of legal action? Revenge? Better that people's injuries be redressed through mediation or alternative justice where there is actual healing. Hansard has a psychological/behavioural condition - that much is clear. He is currently out of business and if he gets therapy and recovers shouldn't he be allo
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

This sounds a lot like how Hansard comes off in his workshops: Another problem is that the Tibetan term bon, probably deriving from the old verb form 'bond-pa, meaning "to invoke the gods," [3] has two different cultural referants. In the first usage, Bon does indeed refer to the indiginous pre-Buddhist shamanistic and animistic culture of Tibet, a culture that possessed many ch
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

This reviewer whose name I don't know says it clearly: "Bön Medicine Parts are Good, But....., August 21, 2004 I first would reiterate that the sections on Bön Medicine (and Tibetan Medicine in general) are sound indeed. There is much of value for the Western reader, and the book can indeed imbue balance and better health to the beginning or intermediate reader. That said, I am
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I recently came across this advertisement: The South London Natural Health Centre TIBETAN DUR BON ACUPUNCTURE Tibetan Dur Bon Acupuncture is an ancinet system of healing predating Buddhism and influenced by ancient cultures and spiritual traditions. Tibetan acupuncture works by inserting fine needles into specific points just below the skin’s surface. Anybody know who this is and if
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

If "gone real name" is Hansard he has stated he is "not suited to practice." Is that his way of saying his credentials were all BS to begin with, I wonder.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

"It is to me a great joy and happiness to know that Pemas Buddhist endeavours have enabled her to stare at pretty pictures hours on end, mumble mantras and of course contort herself into all manners of positions." Whatever are you talking about? "Christopher has made the fundamental mistake of allowing himself to be set up as a guru and as with all gurus the pedestal he has
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Inquiries appear to indicate that Eden has closed, and Mr. Hansard has not resurfaced as of yet. Do you know something further about these allegations?
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

If anyone is interested here is a little research on the meaning of thunder being: "Native American tradition honors the existence of Thunder Beings. These Thunder Beings are understood by Native Americans to be messengers from the powers on high, the Star People (extraterrestrial visitors). The Thunder Beings are a force for both dissolution and re-creation. In the Plains Indian traditio
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

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
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

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,
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hello, Dorreen Virtue and "Angel Therapy" is all the rage in my town right now. I presumed that what she is doing is trying to get people to contact angels for guidance. You seem to be saying here that she is teaching people to use angels to get what they want, not necessarily for guidance on what is right, spiritually speaking. Is that what you are saying? I was really kind of ho
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hello Jeff and others, What do you make of this statement, "that Hansard clearly read, and took as authentically Bon teaching, Namkhai Norbu's book Drung Deu Bon. He's following a 'scholarly reconstruction' of what ancient Bon ought to have looked like, instead of what Bonpos today are actually saying." (from the yahoo zhang zhung group). Has anyone read this
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Wick: "He has great abilities but perhaps he also needs some support at times." How would you suggest this support be given? You are perceiving criticism here as an attack. I can not speak for others but I am not attacking anyone. What you and others don't seem to be getting is that it is his extra-ordinary claims of training, and reports of client abuse, that are under q
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

It is not clear whether Hansard is pulling stuff from the wider cultural sources to which he has access and organising it himself, or the similarity to what he teaches and writes about is because the information that he claims come from his bon source is also information that naturally disseminated itself through the culture. This leaves three possibilities: 1. Hansard is clever but lying abou
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

A meme is a unit of thought energy passed from one person to another, from the culture to the individual, from parent to individual, etc., like genes: "As defined by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene (1976): "a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation." "Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building ar
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Shamanically speaking, for those that are interested, dur bon (deviating bon) was primarily focused on funeral rites, which was the second phase of development in bon. The first phase was call jol bon and had to do with various methods for overcoming hostile forces in the world. Thus, various medical practices and survival techniques and methods of fighting would have developed then. Also, during
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"