My point is that Tibetan Buddhism is not in the same position as the Hopi spiritual community. For one thing, there are millions of native Vajrayana believers in the world. For another, a spiritual teacher of Buddhism is a professional teacher. This is the only way they earn their living and most teachers also have to support an entire monastery. In the case of H.H. Dalai Lama, he has also at various points in his career been responsible for significant portions of the budget of the exile community in India. There are many ways to be a professional religious practitioner in Tibetan Buddhism. Some people become monks or nuns, some people become hermits, some people take up more official, managerial capacities and some people become teachers. It is absolutely essential for a teacher to find students, and many teachers in recent years look to non-Tibetans for potential students. This is the way the religion works and has worked. It is not exploitative or immoral. Tibetan Buddhism is an institution. In some places in the world, even within China, it has some resemblance to a government institution. It is also much more immune to the escapades of people like Ruff than, say, Bon practices. It is wrong to call either of these Rinpoches appropriators or messengers of a false Buddhism. As I said earlier, both men have close personal ties to H.H. Dalai Lama and at least one of them is well-known to Tibetans in Tibet and outside and is praised by everyone I have mentioned his name to as not just a good teacher and Buddhist but as a vessel of endangered Tibetan wisdom. He has spent decades of his life receiving traditional teachings, including those that can only be passed down orally, and engaging in essential practices. Much of his wisdom can only be passed to an appropriate student, as such his most important role is perhaps that of a vessel of knowledge. This makes him especially valuable in today's world, since historical events have cut the line of transmission for much of this knowledge. His activities in the west provide income and support for his personal monastery back home, but also other monasteries, and other projects, such as schools and what not. Beyond that, his work as a teacher brings benefit to his students.
I'm not defending Ruff. I think this forum has done a pretty thorough job of showing that she has unhealthy attitudes toward NDN religion, NDN communities and NDN people and that she is exploiting NDN spirituality for personal profit and publicity. I have nothing to add to that conversation. I did, however, have concerns that she was also falsely using the names of Buddhist teachers and their organization and I thought I'd try to do something about it. Since I haven't heard back from the people I was worried she was victimizing, but I have heard back from her and she gave me reason to suspect that, after all, maybe these people do know that she's claiming a connection with them and don't care or, as she suggests, are actually encouraging of it, then that's what I have to report.
I'm somewhat disappointed by this outcome. I assume that the organization just doesn't realize the negative impact of Ruff's behavior. The organization is run by primarily Tibetan people, I believe, people who were born outside of this country and who do not know its history or the history of Native people here. I doubt that they have had much experience of NDN traditions except through people like Ruff. Ruff has sent me several emails (I finally blocked her from my account) since I first engaged her. All of them read as friendly and enthusiastic and also pretty desperate to win me over. I'm sure she comes off that way in person and no doubt elicits sympathy and concern from people who have been trained from childhood to comfort others. It is possible that these two men are being very kind and supportive to her and have no idea whatsoever of the nature of her activities. I assume this is the case. It is also possible that they themselves believe some of what she says (I doubt this, because if it were true, I'd expect it would show up on their websites and it doesn't.). It is a shame that they end up being associated with Nuage foolishness and, worse, lend legitimacy to Ruff by the use of their name.
I have looked into trying to find other members of the center to see if I can find anything out that way, but I expect that she is pretty peripheral to the actual activities of the organization itself and my investigations will turn up nothing. This is a very large sangha and both Rinpoches almost certainly see thousands of students every year. Some of those people are going to be coming from backgrounds of cultural and spiritual confusion and alienation, such as I imagine is the case with Ruff. Some of these people are like Ruff, either believers of nonsense or else cynical promoters of nonsense for their own profit. But at this late date, no one in the US has any excuse to think that someone like Ruff in any represents Tibetan people, Tibetan culture or Tibetan religion. So, I must believe that people who believe her nonsense about Buddhism CHOOSE to. I don't think this is the case with her lies about Hopi and Zuni traditions.
I that she will stop with the Hopi and Zuni nonsense. I feel like she contributes to misperceptions of these communities, but also EVERY NDN community, especially since she uses claims of Cherokee "ethnicity" (a term she picked strategically since she isn't and never will be enrolled) to validate her claims on the religious traditions of totally unrelated people. Non-NDNs who are ignorant of such matters learn un-truths from her. They learn: all NDN cultures are the same. Cherokee, Zuni, Hopi--who cares! It's all interchangeable. They also learn total gibberish that they are told is NDN culture. And they learn that all brown people are mystically connected. White people are left out because, yet again, we're special. Brown people exist to further our needs. If they're not cooperating, it is because they are not "authentic" or they are "selfish". Thankfully, there are some white people who are secretly brown (but, no worries, totally white!) who will bridge the gap for us. Whew! Brown people who criticize these white brown people are jealous or racist or brainwashed.
I get all that, I'm just saying that it's possible that Ruff is not making up her connection to certain Tibetan Buddhist communities and individuals. I hope that these individuals have a positive influence in her life. I hope that Buddhism relieves some of the desperation she feels. I hope that she gets the kind of validation she seeks from trying to be a prophet from her work as a student of Buddhism in a loving and supportive environment and that she stops activities that are NOT beneficial to all beings, that bring sadness and suffering to the people whose cultures she is impersonating and bring ignorance and blindness to the world.
