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You can take this article as me cautioning the Buddhist community. Having been active in the Buddhist circle for 30 years, I’ve met some ‘Buddhist’ teachers who knowingly lead their followers into more suffering, while having them believe the opposite. |
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By showing good behaviour, they gain trust. Then, they tell stories of themselves to gain sympathy or admiration, or both. |
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Bit by bit, the victim changes: from believing “this is a good person” to “this is a great person”, whom he eventually feels very lucky to be associated with. He notices that followers of this teacher also seem to think the same, and that strengthens his belief. And so he joins their group. Unknowingly, he has become a member of a cult led by a psychopath. See 13 Clear Traits of a Psychopath: |
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Now, of course the “great person” you are following may not be a psychopath at all, but how can you be sure? There’s only one way: Fact-check their stories. |
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If they tell you fascinating stories of themselves related to their children, ask their children. If they tell you fascinating stories of themselves related to their teacher, ask their teacher. Fact-check their stories. |
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Another thing you can do is to observe their level of conceit. Psychopaths are necessarily conceited. Also notice if they have a very bad temper. |
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Bear in mind that they will expose such characteristics to you only after you have begun to worship them. At that point, you will explain away or make excuses for their bad behaviour. Before that, you would likely only see characteristics that are very much the opposite of all the above. |
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Another thing to look out for is in you: fear. You are certain to feel fear in the presence of a psychopathic teacher who has managed to trap you psychologically. |
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For well-established cults, you may also find that the close followers who are given leadership roles will imitate their teacher’s behaviour. They may also serve their teacher like a lord, even to the extent of abandoning their families. |
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Probably the best known ‘Buddhist’ psychopath is Devadatta, who tried to kill the Buddha, and wanted to be ‘the Buddha’. By his manipulative ways, he managed to convince a group of monks that, unlike himself, the Buddha had become spiritually lax, and they believed him and broke away from the Buddha. That’s what psychopaths are capable of. |
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You might think psychopaths are rare, and so you needn’t be bothered with this matter. Actually, they are more common than most people think. According to research, there are about one in 100. As psychopaths are good at manipulating their way into being regarded as great people, the ratio among religious teachers should be much higher. Perhaps one in 10. |
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Psychopaths of course needn’t end up as religious teachers. They may become doctors, or even spouses. But since religion necessarily involves an element of faith, the position of a religious teacher is very attractive to psychopaths. |
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Like it or not, such people exist, and it serves us well to be aware of this reality. Let me remind you again: Fact-check their stories and observe their behaviour. |
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(Note: A 'Buddhist' teacher may be a lay person or a monastic.)
Writer's profile: https://justpaste.it/kumara |
