Customer Reviews

The Buddha from Brooklyn

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Over the past two years I have visited Jetsunma's temple in Poolesville MD many times. I have first-hand experience with it, and I have talked with some of the people who are described in the book. Based on my own experience I can say that Martha Sherrill's book is an accurate portrayal of Jetsunma, her temple, and her followers. Everything I have seen myself is consistent with Sherrill's book.

I first visited the temple because I was looking for expert instruction in Buddhist meditation practices and/or "lo jong" (mind training). I did not find it. I soon found that I was already more knowledgable about such things than even the "ordained" monks. The only meditation training I found was so superficial that you might as well just go buy Herb Benson's book "The Relaxation Response".

At the temple I almost immediately got a gut-level feeling that something was wrong here. Subsequent visits only made that feeling increase.

The people at the temple seemed to avoid me. I found them evasive and difficult to engage in conversation. No one could explain what the 24-hour prayer vigil was about, or even what "prayer" meant to a Buddhist.

I heard Jetsunma speak at one of her visits to Poolesville, and it was like a time-share sales pitch. It was a high-pressure pitch to become one of her students. It was both peculiar and disturbing.

On another occasion I heard an announcement from Jetsunma (delivered by proxy) that the lack of maintenance on the stupa garden had caused her to fall ill. Unpaid landscaping work however would remedy the situation. At that point I finally realized that Jetsunma's followers were crazy.

I thank Martha Sherrill for alerting the world to an organization that looks like a Buddhist temple, but which is really a dangerous cult.

This book was great fun to read, and the author has created a vivid portrait of a spiritual community, with all their strengths, weaknesses, virtues, and flaws layed bare. Most of the time she keeps to telling the story without unnecessary commentary and opinion, and when she does give an opinion, she is very open and honest about her own subjectivity in the matter. The picture formed of Jetsunma is not simplistic, and reveals someone by turns endearing, insightful, arrogant, frightened, funny, manipulative, compassionate and outrageous. The community of people that have gathered around her are also portrayed very directly, and for the most part come across very sympathetically. They seem earnest, caring, and well-meaning. There are disturbing incidents in the book when the community seems harsh and vindictive, but overall they seem like a group of spiritual seekers it would be a pleasure to know (if not necessarily join...) Whether or not they are a 'cult' is wisely left up to the reader to decide.

This leads to what I view as the main flaw of the book. If someone is well-versed in Buddhism, then they have a context in which to better understand this community and their leader, and how they are, and are not, typical of other Buddhist communities. We hear people in the book say how different this Dharma center is from others, but nothing more than that. A reader who has not had experiences in other Buddhist centers or communities would be left without a context to place this in. Near the end of the book, when the author does talk to others outside of this community for additional perspective, it is only to briefly quote a rather eclectic bunch, including Tammy Faye Baker(!), Deepak Chopra, and Dr. Laura Schlesinger(! ). (Where are those in other Buddhist traditions on that list! ) A little more explanation of Buddhism itself, and especially of the Vajrayana path would have been of great help to any readers less familiar with the Buddhist 'scene'. The Dharma is taking root in America in many ways, and it would have made this book more 'complete' if there were some more detailed information on how these other communities are both different and similar to those who have gathered around Jetsunma.

In the end, I do recommend this book. It's a well-written, enjoyable, and at times very moving portrait of one particular Buddhist community. For those readers familiar with Buddhism in America, this is a 'four-star' book. For those not so familiar, it's lack of background makes it a less effective, though no doubt still very entertaining read!

I struggled in composing this review because trying to sum up this book is so difficult. It tells the story of Jetsunma Akhon Ahmo, the highest-ranking female Tibetan Buddhist in America, and her followers. Their story is provacative, sad, and truly stranger than fiction.

Alyce Zeoli started as a New Age guru, giving private psychic readings and channeling spirits (she claimed to have been the ruler of a distant galaxy at one point). She eventually came into contact with a presitigious Tibetan Buddhist lama who declared her the reincarnation of a famous Tibetan Buddhist nun. Thus, Alyce from Brooklyn became Jetsunma, the guru of Poolesvilla, Maryland.

Jetsunma had acquired a coterie of followers prior to being told she was Buddhist, and they duly followed their leader's new direction; some of them even became Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns, though none of them (including Jetsunma) had any formal training in this spiritual discipline. Followers of Jetsunma were required to give their leader uncritical devotion and unconditional love, and were told that that questioning her commands was the result of a deep spiritual flaw that would land them in one of several Tibetan hells.

While Jetsunma's acolytes shaved their heads, donned robes and subsisted in meager jobs (tithing much of their income to the sangha), Jetsunma acquired a taste for expensive clothing and Ab Fab. She also was also partial to Lee Press-On Nails, which her students collected and kept in little boxes as talismans (they also saved her toilet seat).

Jetsunma booted out her first husband and took a string of younger lovers whom she seduced and, in turn, kicked to the curb. She also required her followers to perform back-breaking manual labor, and then blamed them when there wasn't enough money to pay for the materials. She grew even more erratic as the years went on, ostracizing certain members, pressuring others for money, and physically abusing some.

The author's portrait of Jetsunma and the goings on of her sangha are sometimes in infuriating, but they frequently tip over into utter absurdity. The sangha was usually in debt and near foreclosure, but that didn't stop Jetsunma from compulsively mail ordering clothing from stores like Victoria's Secret. Her followers justified her purchases by saying that Jetsunma was actually practicing compassion by shopping, because the order and warehouse clerks would read her name on the packing slips, thus improving their karma.

Jetsuma also has a side business called Ladyworks, and she invented a rubber cap with conditioner in it that makes hair soft and shiny. Jetsunma wanted to star in the infomercial for it. She also started a Buddhist "rock band" called Skywalker, of which she was the lead singer. To quote the author re: Jetsunma, "I felt frustrated by her apparent lack of wisdom...if she was perfect, why did she have such lousy taste?"

I really can't do justice to this book; it's scary, sad, and completely entertaining. I can see why Jetsunma liked Ab Fab; this book reads like an extended Ab Fab episode with Buddhist overtones.

Totally engrossing! This is a must read for anyone interested in the inner workings of a cult -- and hopefully for anyone contemplating the experience of any irrational system of thought, particularly any that demand uncritical devotion to a charismatic leader.

Just imagine: The same old Tibetan lama who decided the action-movie "actor" Steven Seagal is a reincarnated exulted lama discovers this "big-haired, much-divorced Brooklyn-born Jewish-Italian woman" -- and she's one too! She was already a practicing psychic: working out of her basement, giving readings, channeling, claiming that in past lives she was, among other things, a ruler of galaxies -- and she already had the charisma necessary to inspire a cadre of middle-class New Age believers. But look out now! Suddenly, she's Jetsunma Ahlon Lhamo, with all the pedigree and credentials of a reincarnated perfectly compassionate whatever, come to help all sentient beings -- and Lord Acton's take on what power does to the powerful never seemed more apropos -- or more tacky.

Throughout the book, you keep asking incredulously: What WILL this woman do next? You never cease to be amazed -- and often disgusted -- as her shenanigans turn more and more lurid. From the way she's shown to walk all over her followers: seducing them, working them till some of them literally drop, taking their money, belittling them, even telling them they'll go to a Buddhist hell if they leave her sway (yet most of them love her and keep coming back for more, though some do manage to escape her dominance) to the really sick stuff, like when Jetsunma publicly browbeats -- and savagely beats -- an errant monk and nun, or the time she hosts a "Divorce Party," attended by her compassionate American-Buddhist followers, and an effigy of her ex-husband is stabbed, driven over with cars, and ultimately urinated on!

There's plenty of pathos and frustration in why her followers, some of whom come across as quite charming and sympathetic, put up with all this: how willingly they accept Jetsunma's version of "Correct View" (sound like 1984?), how they can believe their fantastic mental structures are any more real than the material world that everyone seems to experience (the so-called illusory samsara), how they constantly overlook their leader's incredibly blatant hypocrisy. That old saw about actions speaking louder than words never seems to surface around an enlightened being who can do no wrong, whatever she does -- though even the Dalai Lama himself counsels: "The problem with the practice of seeing everything the guru does as perfect is that it very easily turns to poison for both the guru and the disciple . . . . Should the guru manifest un-Dharmis qualities or give teachings contradicting Dharma, the instruction on seeing the spiritual master as perfect must give way to reason . . ."

Jetsunma seduces a number of her followers -- literally (she tells another lama she knows how to pick 'em) -- into becoming nuns and monks renouncing sex and most other worldly pleasures, even while, beside their other chores around the temple, they hold outside jobs to support her -- all as she keeps being waited on hand and foot and having affairs and shopping till she drips. After all, Jetsunma's lofty goal is to bring the Dharma to America -- and, in the process, Americanize Buddhism (in Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the lama provides for the material support of his monks and nuns -- not the other way around).

Speaking of her goals, there's also a lot of raucus humor, particularly in the way all of Jetsunma's frenzied forays into self-promotion, business, finance, and marriage seem to go awry -- considering all the supernatural insight and wisdom and good karma she's supposed to have. But guess who ends up paying for everything.

While the author seems sympathetic to the practice of Buddhism, even after reporting all the above and much, much more, there seems to this reader plenty here to indict Buddhist leadership -- particularly their practice of "recognizing" reincarnated tulkus (selecting new leaders). The obvious questions: How was this woman picked? Why in the world was she left in place after all that she did? beg for answers -- which, unfortunately, are not forthcoming.

Well, that was an interesting read! Martha Sherrill is a skillful writer, and has produced a fascinating book; perhaps it is even more interesting to me because I lived in a similar situation for many years, before coming to my senses.

It is a book about how a legitimate spiritual tradition can be co-opted to serve the ego of what appears to be a truly disturbed person. It is a primer on how otherwise intelligent, searching and sincere people lose all discretion in their efforts to find an exotic spiritual truth. It is NOT about Buddhism per se, but about how one culture's nourishment can be another's poison. Within the culture of Tibet, the tulku system may be just fine, but when imported to the Western world without a deep understanding and broad context, it can be a disaster. It describes how a student's mind can rationalize ANYTHING, even outright cruelty and exploitation. Make no mistake, this book describes a process of mind control and spiritual bullying that all seeking individuals should take to heart. One thing I find very interesting is: one of buddhism's primary tenets is that of "emptiness" or "no-self," yet Catherine (I really can't address her by her honorific title) and her followers are obsessed with attaching some kind of cosmic importance to her "identity," and to her and their past lives. It really makes no difference who you WERE, but what are you DOING, how are you BEING right NOW? I also find it interesting that the author, despite her insightful observations of abuse and deceit,is still somehow drawn into the circle and seeks to find some personal meaning for herself, even knowing the history of this teacher. I would say the book is great, I found it spellbinding, but if you're looking for spiritual answers or more information on legitmate spiritual practice within a buddhist framework, look elsewhere! (Anything by H.H The Dalai Lama would be a good place to start...)

This is a terrific book. Many of the reviewers here have commented on the virtues and flaws of the spiritual leader of this group, Catharine Burroughs, known to her community as Jetsunma.

I was interested in the other side of the equation that Martha Sherrill explored: the behavior of the folks who became her devoted students. Some people joined this group when they were very young, and it is not surprising that some of these young converts later concluded that they had made the wrong decision in choosing this person as their teacher. But many of the people who joined came to KPC as mature adults - intelligent, often well educated. Many had all the indications of a good life - they held responsible jobs, were married to someone they loved, were good parents to their kids. And yet they made the decision to abandon their own autonomy and hand over decision-making about personal matters in their lives to their teacher. They were prepared to follow her directions not only with respect to spiritual matters, like whether they were World Prayer Center members or actually Tibetan Buddhists, but also with respect to the decisions in their personal lives, like whether they should separate from a spouse and how they should raise their children.

And yes, they were prepared to work fingers to the bone so that they could contribute as much money as possible to KPC, even though they knew that much of the money was going to support their teacher's extravagent lifestyle. They could believe themselves to be compassionate because their teacher told them that prayer for the world made them so, and yet- apparently without reservation - join the mob mentality in attacking anyone she condemned.

Every human, including individuals like Catharine Burroughs and Steven Seagal, both of whom have been identified by Penor Rinpoche as Tibetan lamas in a previous life, has a dark side as well as a light side. The people who chose Catharine Burroughs as their teacher endorsed her opinion that she was a divine being, perfect in all ways - someone without a dark side. And we all know what happens to us flawed humans when we fail to recognize our own dark side: we end up projecting it. It doesn't disappear, it just re-emerges in other ways. Is it so surprising then that this teacher, who was herself sexually active, would turn with such venom on a young nun who had engaged in a much more innocuous relationship?

In one of his book - Path with a Heart, as I recall - Jack Kornfeld discussed the reasons why spiritual teachers in the Buddhist tradition (and others for that matter) can end up going astray, and having problems with alcohol, sexual involvements with their students, money. Students have a role to play in discouraging inappropriate behavior by teachers. People who seek the spiritual path should not blindly follow a teacher. They should use their own talents - wisdom, intelligence, discernment, common sense - when there is a dissonance between what the teacher teaches and what she does.

It seems to me that becoming a Buddhist shouldn't mean retreating into immaturity and allowing, or expecting, your teacher to tell you whether to become ordained or not, whether to separate or stay married, what colors to wear, whether to eat white bread or whole-wheat.

I recommend this book. Martha Sherrill's description of the relationship between teacher and students is informative. The people who consented to let this teacher dominate their lives are not the only people in America who have surrendered their own autonomy to another person. It is useful to consider what leads people to make this choice, and what leads them away from it.

This book is truly an excellent balance of objective reporting and subjective response to a very complicated religious center and spiritual teacher. Because I knew Alyce/Catharine/Jetsunma during the years she trained as a spiritual leader with Jim Goure in North Carolina, and I have closely followed here career since then, I was worried that Martha Sherrill would either be gullible about A/C/J's spiritual teachings and techniques, or that she would do a hatchet job that did not understand the sincerity with which so many practice Tibetan Buddhism. I am greatly relieved to have this story told with fairness and compassion, in all its glory and ugliness. My greatest feeling about the KPC story is that we Americans do not have great spiritual sophistication. Just because someone is a reincarnated something, or has psychic ability, or has the charisma to hold a group together, we mistakenly believe they are also spiritually advanced and trustworthy. As I see it, the proof is in the pudding. The negative behavior of religious leaders of all sorts who are addicted to their own followers troubles me greatly. I don't care who you WERE, I care who you are now. Do you live a life of kindness and compassion? Is your purpose to serve others and not your own ego? Do you give more than you get? Do you judge not lest ye be judged? These are the building blocks of good karma, and no "spiritual teacher" should tell you otherwise. We all have a Buddha-nature, we are all relations, we are all children of God. That's the way it is.

I grew up in Utah, where the Mormon cult, as I consider it, controlled virtually everything in the state. So I am not surprised when religious organizations seem to behave just like secular ones, with the same problems of dealing with power, greed, and control. Why should Buddhist organizations be any different? And yet, we Westerners too often expect Eastern religious organizations to be different, to be somehow more pure and more holy than our mundane Western monotheistic belief systems. Surely their spiritual leaders are nearly perfect--aren't they?

Sherrill's book is an attempt to provide an "insider's view" of the KPC temple of Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. But Sherrill is not exactly an insider, and sometimes her account sounds as gossipy as the temple members it describes. Nevertheless, it is an interesting look at how a religious organization can have real-world problems that sound not much different from infighting at the local PTA. Any starry-eyed view one might have of exotic lamas and untainted spiritual practice will likely be brought back to earth with a thump. Sherrill wrote the book she thought she should write--and it is probably not the book that KPC and Jetsunma expected. Readers should keep in mind that this book doesn't present the whole truth and nothing but the truth, although it does raise questions that everyone should be asking about any organization.

I heard a talk by Jetsunma at KPC in late 1998, and regardless of the picture this book paints of Jetsunma's flaws and the organization's problems, I found her teaching to be truthful, inspiring, and easy to comprehend. Hearing her talk was a turning point for me in terms of my spiritual direction, and I am grateful to her for her teaching.

Another excellent book along these lines is THE DOUBLE MIRROR by the late Stephen T. Butterfield. It is an account of the organization of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, another controversial teacher, as seen from an insider's perspective.

The Life-Story of a Predator

This is a beautifully written, hard-to-put-down biography of Alyce Zeoli, a woman who was once near the pinnacle of Tibetan Buddhism's hierarchy in the Western world, adored by her acolytes and students and recognized as a Tulku, an incarnate spiritual teacher, by one of the most revered leaders of Tibetan Buddhism (the same leader, incidentally, who recognized Hollywood slash 'n gash star Steven Seagal as an incarnate spiritual teacher).

Zeoli's is a sad and scary story. Sad, because this transparently self-promoting narcissist was - and still is in some quarters - accepted as a teacher of profound subtlety and wisdom. Scary, because in spite of her odious and copiously documented abusiveness, self-absorption and immersion in materialism, she nonetheless has her defenders. Some people - and there are superlatively intelligent, sincere and devoted seekers among them - will accept everything and anything, particularly if it comes clad in saffron robes, no matter how repulsive, predatory and devoid of virtue her conduct.

Her treatment of her (ex) partners, her business associates and her followers tells all. If "beauty is as beauty does" then this baleful counterfeit of a spiritual teacher is truly gruesome to behold.

Martha Sherrill's prose is elegant: like the best of writers, she "shows" and doesn't "tell." Non-judgmental to the end, Sherrill leaves it to her readers to make their own assessment of "Jetsunma's" numbing hunger for power, wealth and - most elusive of all - respectability.

I emphatically recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject of what has come to be called "spiritual abuse" as well as in Buddhism, particularly Buddhist monasticism and particularly its Tibetan expression.

i notice ,reading the numerous thoughtful and well written reviews of this book,that several highly critical ones appear.All but one are from a readers either in maryland/washington DC,or arizona/southwest-and as this is where the Burroughs woman is located!!So,i suspect these may be written by some of her cult followers.It seems more honest in those instances where the reviewer identifies their actual relationship,positive or negative,with burroughs and her group,and so their comments read with that in mind as a backround.For the record,I am a long time Tibetan Buddhist,i have met cathrine burroughs,and can say she is in my opinion,a stain on the tradition.I wonder mostly how to extract ,even protect,the legitimate aspects of the Vajrayana system from the numerous distortions such as those burroughs cultivates and seeks to spread.I give the book 3 stars because it doesn't make the final conclusion with sufficent emphasis,ie that this lady is bad news ,and is not acting in accord with the traditions of Vajrayana Buddhism.Also,the difficult subject of how the hierarchy has been unwilling,or unable to discipline her,or failing that,enact some censure,has not been addressed.