Shambhala Mountain Center Apologizes For Reported Sex Misconduct

Shambhala Mountain Center leaders have issued a formal apology in response to reports of abuse and sexual misconduct. The Denver Post, The Daily Camera and the Longmont Times-Call published recent reports of abuse at the center between the late 1990s and 2008.

The center, at Red Feather Lakes in west Fort Collins, is helmed by executive director Michael Gayner and a governing council.

"That these incidents occurred in past decades does not absolve current SMC leadership of our moral responsibility," the leaders' open letter read. "We commit to learning from our past shortcomings and improving our ability to create a safe place for all of our guests and staff."

The leaders apologized for the center's failure to address the reports of abuse and sexual misconduct appropriately.

"In one, a former SMC staff member recalled being treated as the problem when she alerted SMC leaders in the late 1990s to what she and others believed to be a sexual relationship between a middle-aged staff member and an underage girl," the leaders wrote in the letter. "In the other, a former staff member reported that in 2008 SMC leadership failed to intervene and instead blamed her when she sought help freeing herself from an abusive relationship with another SMC community member."

The center said the Shambhala has outlined the following commitments:

1. To not minimize or rationalize the harmful behaviors of the Sakyong or any other teacher or leader of Shambhala.
2. To stand with the women who had come forward.
3. To do what is right, even if it jeopardizes SMC’s existing power structures or financial position.
4. To offering transparency then and in the future.

Gayner and the center's governing council said they "pledge to have policies and procedures in place to ensure that reports of harm are appropriately addressed, and that those who have experienced or reported harm are not blamed, diminished, or left unheard."

The group has developed a revised Code of Ethics and grievance procedure for all staff, teachers and guests, the center said. The efforts include ongoing training sessions led by the Sexual Assault Victim Advocacy Center in Fort Collins.

The center is assisting the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office with its investigation into the abuse reports, and is encouraging anyone with information about illegal activity at the center to call the sheriff's office at (970) 498-5100.

Read the full Denver Post article here.