A report filed with the Vermont Superior Court in December 2025 alleges that the Shambhala Buddhist organization fostered a decades-long culture in which the sexual abuse of children and minors was ignored, normalized, or actively concealed. The filing forms part of a civil lawsuit brought by a former Halifax resident against Shambhala USA and a former Shambhala employee, John Weber.

The lawsuit, first filed in May 2020, alleges that in 1983, when the plaintiff was 15 years old, he was sexually abused by Weber at Karmê Chöling, a Shambhala-owned meditation retreat center in Barnet, Vermont. According to the complaint, the plaintiff arrived early for a retreat during spring break and was told that accommodation was not yet available. The suit alleges that Weber invited the minor to stay overnight in his loft, which had only one bed, and that sexual abuse occurred there.

The original complaint included three counts: responsibility for sexual abuse of a minor; gross negligence in supervision; and the claim that Shambhala constituted a public and private nuisance. In July 2020, Shambhala USA filed a motion to dismiss the case. On 21 March 2021, Superior Court Judge Mary Miles Teachout ruled that the counts related to sexual abuse and gross negligence could proceed, while dismissing the nuisance claim. None of the allegations have yet been tested in court.

A key legal issue in the case concerned Vermont’s statute of limitations. In 2019, the state eliminated time limits for civil claims involving childhood sexual abuse.* Defendants argued that the change was unconstitutional. However, in a 2023 decision cited by VTDigger, Vermont’s Supreme Court upheld the law, with Chief Justice Paul Reiber writing: “The Legislature created the time limit on the remedy in the first place and can remove that limit without violating” the state constitution. (Halifax Examiner)

On 4 December 2025, the plaintiff’s legal team filed an additional document with the court: Investigative Report into Vajradhatu Culture 1975–1995. Vajradhatu was the former name of Shambhala. The report was commissioned by the law firm Bauer Gravel Farnham and led by investigator Carol Merchasin, formerly of McAllister Olivarius. Merchasin has previously conducted investigations into allegations of misconduct within Shambhala leadership, including those involving Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.

The report documents 19 cases it deems credible involving children and minors who were sexually abused or exploited between 1975 and 1995. According to the report, “Most of them were born in the 1960s and 70s to parents who were dedicated members of Vajradhatu. All of them were sexually assaulted as children or sexually exploited as minors, by community leaders, community members, or members of Trungpa’s inner circle.” (Halifax Examiner)

Drawing on interviews and archival material, the report describes patterns consistent with what it terms “high demand groups,” including authoritarian leadership, suppression of dissent, and lack of accountability. While the report does not explicitly label Shambhala a cult, it argues that these structural features contributed to an environment in which abuse could occur openly without intervention.

In its conclusion, the report states: “We . . . conclude that Vajradhatu exhibited a disdain for moral or ethical standards which enabled the normalization of deviant behavior, such as the excessive use of alcohol and permissive sexual relationships between teenagers and much older adults.” It further notes that abuse often occurred “in the plain view of adults who did not intervene, call the police, or notify anyone in authority within the organization.” (Halifax Examiner)

The report also argues that allegations of sexual misconduct continued well beyond the period it investigated, suggesting a systemic problem rather than isolated incidents tied to particular leaders. “This points to an organization where misconduct is not just an anomaly tied to one individual but rather a systemic issue of Vajradhatu’s structure and norms, and a culture that enables and overlooks abuse and protects the abusers,” Merchasin writes.

Shambhala, founded by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa in the 1970s, has faced sustained scrutiny in recent years following multiple investigations and survivor testimonies. The Vermont case represents one of several legal efforts seeking accountability for alleged historical abuses within the organization.

* Shambhala USA at Heart of Vermont Supreme Court Case Extending Abuse Survivor Rights (BDG)

See more

Report filed with Vermont Superior Court alleges decades-long culture of abuse within Shambhala (Halifax Examiner)
Karmê Chöling

Related news reports from BDG

Symposium at Northwestern University Addresses Sexual Violence in Buddhism
Diana Mukpo, Widow of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Has Died, Aged 72
Colorado’s Drala Mountain Center (Formerly Shambhala Mountain Center) Files for Bankruptcy
Canadian Yoga Teacher Accuses Shambhala of Seeking to Evict Him for Speaking Out Against its Leader
Former Shambhala Member Expected to Enter Plea Agreement After Sexual Assault Charge
Former Shambhala Teacher Arrested in Colorado; Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche Implicated in Sexual Misconduct