In 1996, journalist Madeleine Bunting wrote for The Guardian UK: “Most of the 130,000 Buddhists in this country are in the caring professions, or are academics, or are part of an ex-hippy culture; they are trusting, idealistic and naive. They thought Buddhism was immune to the fanaticism and hypocrisy which riddles all religions. The controversy surrounding the NKT is shattering illusions that Buddhism was the one fail-safe religion.”   Twenty years later, clinical psychologist Dr Michelle Haslam joined the NKT under that very same illusion – one that she now feels obliged to help truly shatter herself.   Full research sources listed on each episode page at www.ltaspod.com. You can support the creation of this independent podcast at www.patreon.com/ltaspod.   With thanks to Audio-Technica, presenting partner for season 3 of Let's Talk About Sects.   If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com).   Credits: Written, researched and hosted by Sarah Steel Music by Joe Gould   Links: - Geshe Kelsang Gyatso — biography by Tenzin Peljor and Carol McQuire, Tibetan Buddhism in the West blog, 2015 - Interviews in Cambridge, Meeting Children in London — His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, 19 September 2015 - To the Tibetan Buddhists around the world and fellow Tibetan compatriots - within and outside Tibet — undated open letter with 15 Tibetan official signatories - Separate document regarding Geshe Kelsang's personal situation — Kelsang Gyatso statement on NKT letterhead, June 2008 - Recovery from The New Kadampa Tradition – A Resource Centre — website by Dr Michelle Haslam and former NKT members - Potential harm to mental and physical health through exposure to The New Kadampa Tradition (NKT-IKBU), Version 4 — by Dr Michelle Haslam, 17 January 2020 - Dr Michelle Haslam: Plagiarization & Misrepresentation of Research — website attributed to “Dr Robert Harrison”, archived as at 23 January 2020 - An Unholy Row — BBC documentary, 1998 - Tibetan Buddhism — BBC profile of the religion, last updated 14 January 2014 at the time of access (January 2020) - Understanding the Mind — by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Tharpa Publications, 2002 - settings - Silencing and Oblivion of Psychological Trauma, Its Unconscious Aspects, and Their Impact on the Inflation of Vajrayāna. An Analysis of Cross-Group Dynamics and Recent Developments in Buddhist Groups Based on Qualitative Data — by Anne Iris Miriam Anders, Religions Journal, 10 November 2019 - Modern Kadampa Buddhism — New Kadampa Tradition official website, accessed January 2020 - The New Kadampa Tradition and the Continuity of Tibetan Buddhism in Transition — by David N. Kay, Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 12, No. 3, 1997 - Tibetan Buddhism in the West: Problems of Adoption & Cross-Cultural Confusion — website with various resources collated by Tenzin Pelijor - The Monk Who Had No Confidence: ‘Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche’ — by Carol McQuire, New Kadampa Survivors, 31 October 2014 - It Slowly Dawned On Me That I Had Actually Been Sucked Into A Cult – A New Kadampa Survivor Testimony — by Linda Ciardiello, Medium, 5 December 2017 - Declaration of Expulsion of Kelsang Gyatso from Sera Je Monastery — statement translated by Sera Je Geshe Gendun Gyatso and David Patt, 23 August 1996 - Joyful Path of Good Fortune: The Complete Buddhist Path to Enlightenment — by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Motilal Banarsidass Publications, 1990 - Special Report: Shadow boxing on the path to Nirvana — by Madeleine Bunting, The