- Bill Karelis continued to teach in Eastern Europe and Britain – October of 2009.
Shambhala’s Continued Connections with Bill Karelis despite their propagation of the usual lies that he was disciplined and connections were severed:
Shambhala International statement:
“William Karelis was a member of the Shambhala community from its early days. In response to inquiries from the Boulder Police Department, Shambhala confirmed that Mr. Karelis was the subject of two Care and Conduct complaint procedures in 2002 and 2008. These were initiated by women who alleged that he had behaved inappropriately towards them. Due to his failure to comply with Shambhala’s Care and Conduct procedure, Mr. Karelis’s teaching and meditation instructor credentials were suspended in 2004 and later permanently revoked in 2008. Owing to procedural disputes between Mr. Karelis and Shambhala’s Care and Conduct officers in both cases, neither resulted in an agreed resolution. Mr. Karelis resigned from the organization in 2009. None of the complaints received by Shambhala involved minors or reports of criminal behavior. Shambhala has always and will continue to comply with mandated reporting concerning minors. We also have and will continue to cooperate with and fully support the ongoing BPD investigation.
But, this is a post that was put on the Radio Free Shambhala and Shambhala Times in late October 2009. ( If you click on the link for the Shambhala Times official Newspeak Website) below you can see that Shambhala International was still promoting Bill Karelis as late as October 2009.
Shambhala has been protecting pedophiles in their group for decades, as long as they kept spreading Trungpa’s Shambhala Vajrayana Tantra disguised as ‘Buddhism.’ One cult member, with high status in the group, had a case settled for sleeping with a 10-year old girl in New York State. He was still allowed to teach classes in Shambhala International and became one of their ‘directors’ for a satellite center near Karme Choling. Not a word was said against him nor was anyone warned about his proclivities. Two pedophiles were sent on their merry ways during their time living at Karme Choling. No police reports were filed it seems, or follow- up to warn others about these two pederasts. Why should they? When senior teachers, like Karelis, were allowed to be mentors to 10-year old children at Shambhala Sun Camp?
Despite their professed concerns about Bill Karelis , as reported above, Shambhala International did not stop promoting Bill Karelis, nor warn all these students in 2009, in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Romania that Bill Karelis was ‘inappropriate’ in his encounters with young women. Not at all.
SI would certainly have continued to enable Karelis had this young woman in Boulder not bravely gone to the police.
If people do not report their abuses that took place in this group and go to the police? Shambhala International will continue to protect the sexual abusers, and pedophiles still in their organization, as they have always done.
Here are the articles in Radio Free Shambhala and Shambhala International Main NEWS “Shambhala Times: in late October 2009:
Dharma in Europe
October 23, 2009, by Bill Karelis Print This Post
Report by Bill Karelis – Propagating the Dharma in Europe, September – October 2009
I am grateful to the Radio Free Shambhala website for publishing this introduction to the photo essay which is to be found on the Shambhala Times site. The photo essay includes a few remarks on the various cultures in Europe I have savored.
By way of summary, I have toured Europe for Dharma purposes about thirty times in the last fifteen years, including for 4 ½ weeks this September – October 2009. This time, I visited the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Romania, offering a total of sixteen public talks or intensive programs in twelve locations. I am happy to report that the Dharma practice of some of the people I have met over the years is taking root, and small groups are forming, based on the teachings of the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his predecessors.
Romanian Sangha at Complete Teachings of Mahayana ( sic Tantra’s disguise) program
I have been asked my intentions for this work by many senior students. I feel I am, in the words of the Vidyadhara, “just propagating the Dharma”–as I have been doing more or less without cease since 1994. There is no change in direction on my side at all, although there is a change in sponsorship and venue. My feeling is that the teachings of the Vidyadhara are for all humankind and that they could and should be disseminated much more widely. I do not feel that I am doing something special, nor that I am special by doing this.
“It is traditional to propagate in the world at a certain point in one’s Dharma trajectory. I have been informing my teachers of my direction, and so far there is no objection. In fact, I have received encouragement to continue on. I see no contradiction to the Dharma work of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and Shambhala International. It is just more Dharma. I am in no sense leaving the Vajradhatu sangha, or the Shambhala community–in fact, it is turning out to be quite the opposite. There is directness and honesty now which has been liberating to some communications, and the heartfelt bond remains as before.”
“In my travels, I have encountered a great number of the Vidyadhara’s senior students, who feel shy for some reason to contribute their Dharma understanding and practice experience to others. In the spirit of inclusivity, I would like to invite anyone interested to advise me, discuss with me, and possibly join with me in this work, according to their own inspiration and training. The invitation also includes newer students. ” Bill Karelis
https://radiofreeshambhala.org/2009/10/dharma-in-europe/
Promotional Article for Bill Karelis’ Tour of Europe on the Main Newspeak of Shambhala International, Shambhala Times:
Dharma Tour of Europe
Bill Karelis recently returned from a five-week journey through the UK, the Czech Republic, Holland, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, and Romania. He shares with the Shambhala Times a photo essay alongside his impressions of these cities and their emerging dharma scene. Read more here at Shambhala Times:
https://shambhalatimes.org/2009/10/23/dharma-tour-of-europe/
