As 50-year anniversary nears, students grapple with Naropa's past

Feb. 24—Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the man who founded Naropa University in Boulder in 1974, was accused of physical and sexual violence against women and having sex with students.

Today, some students at Naropa feel the university has ignored that part of its past. Some say this creates an atmosphere on campus where abuse would be more likely to happen and less likely to be condemned.

"The lack of acknowledgement and the dismissal of Trungpa's actions that faculty and professors have done, causes harm to the students at Naropa and those who have been silenced in the face of neglect and sexual abuse," junior Tara Toepke said.

Naropa President Charles Lief said the university is aware of the allegations against Trungpa.

"Because the allegations did not involve conduct that fell under the purview of the university, and there were no official law enforcement investigations, we have no basis to determine whether the allegations are true or false," Lief said in a statement. "Nonetheless we believe all such allegations should be taken seriously, and we're committed to ensuring that any concerns that arise today are met swiftly with compassion and addressed through the appropriate channels."

Trungpa was accused of physically beating and sexually assaulting women and girls, having sex with his students and abusing substances including alcohol, tobacco and cocaine.

Trungpa married one of his students, Diana Mukpo, when she was 16 and he was 30. She wrote in her book, "Dragon Thunder: My Life with Chgyam Trungpa" that "when we were first married, Rinpoche told me that it was normal for Tibetan men to beat their wives."

He died of cardiac arrest and respiratory failure at 47 years old in a hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1987, according to his obituary in the New York Times.

In 2018, Buddhist Project Sunshine, written by a former Shambhala member, was published and consisted of three reports containing allegations of sexual assault committed by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, the leader of Shambhala and Trungpa's son. Shambhala International is a Tibetan Buddhist organization and community that was founded in Boulder by Trungpa in the early 1970s to disseminate Buddhist teachings. Mipham left Shambhala permanently in 2022.

"I still think this community is reeling from that. For sure," junior Luna Rosal said. "What that makes me think that is these aren't just stories that happened 50 years ago ... We have to talk about this stuff because it's still happening."

Lief said Naropa University does not have a legal or other formal partnership with Shambhala or its predecessor organizations and has not had any such relationship since 1987.

"Naropa University's founder, Chögyam Trungpa, has a complex, nuanced legacy. His vision and teachings established the foundation of the university. Naropa continues to address all the aspects of his existence," Lief said. "Through our heart-centered approach, we facilitate transparent, structured dialogues for students, faculty, alumnx and community members year round and will continue to do so."

Naropa is gearing up to celebrate 50 years since Trungpa founded the university, and pictures of him are being set up around campus. For Toepke, seeing his face celebrated everywhere on campus is upsetting.

"I feel very sad and angry and hurt and confused," Toepke said. "It's not what we stand for, people like this. It's hard to witness injustice happening right in front of you but not many people are saying things or doing something about it."

Trungpa was a Tibetan Buddhist meditation master who came to the United States and founded Naropa University, a Buddhist-inspired university that focuses on contemplative education, or learning through a lens of self-exploration, self-reflection and mindfulness.

'What am I giving my money to?'

Senior Elijah Delaney said there are cycles of students who enroll at Naropa each semester unaware of the allegations. Eventually, Delaney said, they learn more about Trungpa through other students or online and feel upset, lied to and betrayed by the university.

Delaney was no different. After enrolling at Naropa, Delaney came across information online about a Halloween party at Snowmass Colorado Seminary in 1975 that included allegations of drinking and violence.

Rosal said there's no statement from the university about online controversy surrounding Trungpa. Because of this, conversations happen every year where students find out and feel like Naropa was hiding something.

"It can be really discombobulating, especially if you have a history of trauma, to know that this person's portrait is up in our gallery, and his seat is in our meditation hall," Rosal said. "There's a lot of feelings to move through. and there's not a lot of support or resources."

Trungpa as founder still plays an important role in a student's experience at Naropa. His readings and teachings are incorporated into classes, and many professors are former students of Trungpa.

"I was a little saddened to have to discover some of the problematic behaviors through either word of mouth or doing a deep dive on the internet," Gula said. "I wish there was more openness."

Some students have organized to take action. The Chögyam Trungpa Taskforce advocates for Naropa to publicly acknowledge what happened in the past with Trungpa, and Naropians Heal was created as a space for students by students to share stories of pain and survival with one another to promote healing. It also advocates for mandatory training on consent, appropriate classroom facilitation and right use of power.

Delaney created an art display called "What's behind the curtain at Naropa" at its Nalanda campus after learning more about Trungpa and feeling upset that so few teachers and administrators were talking about it. The display features a timeline of Trungpa's life, broken bits of pottery and places for visitors to write on the walls.

'Hurtful and confusing'

Delaney said there needs to be more support and responsibility from Naropa, especially around student-teacher relationships.

"If anything were to happen with a teacher, I'm not sure there would be any way they would be held accountable," Delaney said, adding, "Because of our lineage, I feel like it's somehow seen as more acceptable."

Rosal said the potential for inappropriate student-teacher relationships is a concern. Students are taught to respect their teachers to a point where if a teacher behaves inappropriately, there's a fear of speaking up because they'll be told they're wrong or not devoted enough.

"It's really easy to see a situation that was harmful or a wrong use of power and say 'Oh, I'm just not spiritually with it enough to understand,'" Rosal said.

Lief said Naropa takes claims of sexual assault seriously and considers discrimination, sexual misconduct and relationship violence to be serious offenses and not to be tolerated.

"Naropa is committed to providing an educational and professional setting that promotes and delivers an environment free of sexual discrimination, including sexual misconduct and relationship violence," Lief said. "Such acts violate an individual's fundamental rights and personal dignity and have a damaging, long-term effect on victims."

Toepke said something she calls "spiritual bypassing" is a common practice at Naropa. "Spiritual bypassing" is the use of spiritual ideas and practices to avoid facing problems and avoid accountability. Rather than working through difficult emotions or issues, people use spiritual explanations to dismiss it.

Toepke said there are many professors, including Trungpa's direct students, that don't want to talk about the allegations because it's uncomfortable.

"I know myself and some other students feel hurt by the betrayal that they felt from some Naropa professors who still teach and praise him without acknowledging the whole picture of him." Toepke said.

Lief said Naropa welcomes and facilitates ongoing dialogue about Trungpa.

"The university recognizes Trungpa's role in founding the Naropa Institute in 1974 and the work he did to spread the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism in English to a Western audience, and to spark the evolution of the modern mindfulness movement," Lief said. "We also acknowledge that our origin is tied to a controversial person who made significant contributions to the academy and larger society but also faced significant allegations. Naropa is committed to creating a safe space for academic inquiry, which requires us to sit with the discomfort of these complexities and face these issues head on."

retreat at Snowmass.

"Her response was 'I knew him and he was really kind. He was a really kind person, and I don't think he would do anything like that.'" Delaney said. "On the one hand, I want to honor that was this teacher's experience with him, and on the other hand, there were many witnesses who described the same thing happening on that retreat in 1975."

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Regina Smith, Naropa's chief of staff and vice president of mission, culture and inclusive community, said the university welcomes conversations about Trungpa.

"We welcome dialogue between students, teachers, faculty and alumnx no matter how challenging those conversations might be to navigate," Smith said in a statement. "My office has a structured group dedicated to leading ongoing dialogue with students around these difficult yet important conversations. Naropa's core value of building a culture of belonging should be reflected in all aspects of the University and our commitment to the safety and well-being of our community is unwavering."

'Making Naropa a better, safer place'

Delaney wants to see a commitment to transparency from Naropa to make sure new students know about Naropa's "checkered past."

"I love being here at Naropa, I love the idea of Naropa and I love the contemplative education and how it's allowed me to learn and explore my interests and passions," Delaney said, adding, "I want Naropa to be here for a long time, for many future students. I think this work is part of making Naropa work better and making Naropa a better, safer place. If Naropa is a good place, I believe it will be able to stick around. If it's lying and kind of hiding and not really embodying where we came from and what we are, that's going to be what will cause it to not do well."

Naropa is also in the midst of a search for a new president, since Lief has announced his retirement.

"This is the first time it's possible that the president won't be a direct student of Trungpa's," Rosal said. "That actually gives me a lot of hope. We really need to reckon with this thing, and then we need to move on as a community."

Rosal said Naropa shouldn't do away with Trungpa entirely because his teachings are beneficial. Instead, it should be an ongoing conversation.

"I hope that it's a continual reckoning," Rosal said. "I hope that process is alive and we host circles twice a semester or every semester because it's really important to understand his story and understand the complexity."

There should be a statement on Naropa's website, Rosal said, on why Naropa should continue to honor Trungpa as Naropa's founder despite the controversies. Rosal said Naropa should have a shelf in the library dedicated to works that relate to Trungpa's controversies, provide education on the guru relationship and hold a consent workshop once a semester.

Toepke said if professors are going to use Trungpa's teachings or have students read his material, there should be some sort of discussion beforehand. There should be information for incoming students about the allegations, she said, and his pictures around campus should be removed.

"I love our community so much," Gula said. "I've met such incredible people, I've had such amazing professors whom I deeply love, and so it's really conflicting to be in a beloved community that is so compassionate and loving and at the same time holds this shadow side of abuse of power and these cycles that continue."