Case No. 31/2017: Ken Wilber
ETHICAL JUDGMENT
Dear Prosecutor, Public Defender, Ambassador and Jury Members of the International Buddhist Ethics Committee (IBEC) and Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights (BTHR), regarding the Case 31-2017 against “Ken Wilber”, on September 19, 2017, it is hereby recorded that the trial of the Ethics Committee has been concluded to analyze the violation of Buddhist Ethics and Human Rights perpetrated by the accused. This Case has been carried out based on the legal implications of the Universal Declaration on Buddhism as Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
After the analysis of the presentation of the Case and the validation of an enormous amount of evidence, it has proceeded with the voting of 8 members of the Jury, who have judged “Ken Wilber” as Responsible for the serious crimes of Academic Dishonesty, Spiritual Scam and False Buddhism, Violation of Buddhist Law, Crime against Buddhist Cultural Heritage and Violation of Human Rights.
In the first part of the Evidence of the Case, it has been analyzed the fact that Wilber illegitimately presents himself as the creator of Purna (Integral) Buddhism, or at least he generates the illusion of being it, which is a fraudulent act that may be considered as theft (adinnadana) by the Buddhist Legal Code (Vinaya), cheating those who buy his books by presenting a false spiritual vision that manipulates the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Buddhism and violating the Buddhist Law and the collective rights of the Spiritual Commune (Sangha), which constitutes a violation of International Human Rights Law. Plagiarism would be demonstrated by the misappropriation of Purna (Integral) Buddhism, publishing this idea as if it were the creation of his own original work. This practice of academic dishonesty is considered a very serious immoral offense, even deserving the penalty of expulsion in certain fields, such as associations, companies and educational institutions. Even though plagiarism in itself is not penalized by Criminal and Civil Law, certainly the use of ideas from others in order to gain economic revenue may constitute the definition of fraud. While within academic circles plagiarism involves academic fraud, in the same way, in Buddhist fields plagiarism involves spiritual fraud, both fields sharing the creation of internal disciplinary committees where the act of expulsion is often considered as an adequate punishment in addressing this immoral behavior that makes the responsible person loses all credibility and integrity.
In the Vinaya Pitaka, theft (adinnadana) is considered one of the most serious crimes of the Buddhist Legal Code along with murder (manussaviggaha) and self-adjudication of paranormal powers (uttarimanussadhamma). In addition, the Sutta Pitaka prohibits not only the act of theft (adinnadana), but also other acts committed by the accused, such as lying (musavada), intemperance (surameraya), slanderous speech (pisunavaca), discourteous discourse (pharusavaca) and false heretical visions (Micchaditthi) such as those of the eternalism (sassatavada). Buddhist Spirituality also condemns the fact to consider misunderstandings and erroneous practices as Truth, which is something that Ken Wilber constantly makes, according to the evidences.
Accordingly, as developed by the International Buddhist Ethics Committee in the second part of the Case, even if Wilber was the legitimate creator of the Purna (Integral) Buddhist model before than the Maitriyana, even faced with this remote possibility, all Charges for which he is accused can be adequately demonstrated by examining his thinking, word and conduct, allowing to evaluate whether Wilber has academic, ethical, and spiritual legitimacy to pose a new pathway of Buddhism. In this sense, the International Buddhist Ethics Committee has objectively demonstrated that throughout his life Wilber has violated the Buddhist precepts, conveying a wrong vision of Buddhism and an erroneous vision of Meditation. It has been shown that throughout his entire life Wilber has trained with and provided spiritual support to various spiritual teachers who showed abusive, psychopathological, discriminatory and criminal behavior. It has been shown that throughout his life Wilber has transmitted an inadequate or incorrect kind of Spirituality, simultaneously developing a system of dishonest academic thought with traits of pseudo-religion, pseudo-science and pseudo-philosophy. It has been demonstrated that throughout his entire life Wilber has not only maintained right-wing political ideology, but he also had defended ethnocentric ideas, the latter being a clear violation of human rights. In addition, it has been correctly proved that the motive or the root cause of this misbehavior on the part of Wilber is a narcissistic personality that is prone to sectarianism, perfectly explaining his need to manipulate Buddhist Spirituality for his own selfish purposes.
By carefully analyzing the public works of the accused, the International Buddhist Ethics Committee has found that Wilber totally lacks knowledge of Buddhist Spirituality, to which he mistakenly considers as a religion and cult. During his Spiritual Path, Wilber has violated the five essential ethical precepts of Buddhism, resorting to physical and verbal violence, he has consumed alcohol, has stolen and commercialized concepts, has maintained inappropriate sexual behaviors, has lied about his spiritual status, and also about the sources of his philosophical visions. The wrong understanding about Buddhism of the accused is of immense proportions, since he has come to claim that, in comparison with a modern sage, Siddhartha Gautama was half enlightened, even claiming that Gautama did not fully realize the non-duality of Nagarjuna, which demonstrates a level of disrespect and deep ignorance about Buddhist Philosophy. In introducing his alleged new vision, Wilber not only ignores that Buddhism has already had its own systems of justice and medicine for thousands of years, but he also manipulates Gautama’s spiritual tradition by stating that Buddhism should be linked to the world of business and money in industrialized society, because according to Wilber, in case of maintaining an attitude of detachment toward money, then Buddhism would be hypocritical, pathetic, retarded, regressive, low-cost and obscene. This antispiritual aberration is nothing more than a capitalist manipulation against the Buddhist Spirituality, trying to pervert it by means of immoral and superficial ideas. Wilber not only perverts Buddhism by introducing a totally anti-Buddhist concept, which is the project of the soul in union with God, but he also says that the Spirit existed before the Big Bang, appealing to the most vulgar, pseudo-scientific and deceitful kind of metaphysics that exists, for as the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso has stated, Buddhism criticizes all kinds of vision about an eternal transcendent being, soul or fundamental substrate of reality. Wilber not only violates Buddhist Spirituality by introducing eternalist, substantialist, and theistic traits, but also disqualifies the best thinkers of the world – within whom Gautama is found – who do not postulate such transcendent Spirit. Wilber not only insults Zen when considering it as a weak and incomplete system, but he also states that meditation can worsen a psychopathology and that therapy would be much better, which demonstrates the profound ignorance he has on Buddhist Psychology, even going so far as to say in a completely delusional way that those who meditate and simultaneously lift weights progress more than those who only meditate, stating that the contemporary technologies of the brain allow the subject to be able to enter deep meditative states in just minutes. Wilber not only creates maps of Buddhist spiritual traditions that he did not study properly, but he also states that Buddhist meditation does not allow to see the patterns of his model, so according to the accused, Buddhism is full of invisible pathologies that promote narcissism, which is a statement that demonstrates that Wilber creates a distorted and commercial vision, developing a corrupt and dishonest Pseudo-Spirituality that conveys deceit and ignorance instead of Truth and Liberation. Wilber not only manifests that Buddhist meditation is incomplete and that his method of meditation is the only integrative form of contemplation, but also says that meditation causes the human being to grow in God, which demonstrates that his methods are closer to commercial self-help than to Buddhism. Wilber not only lies by saying that Buddhists have performed terrorist acts with sarin gas in Japan, but also in his presentation of Purna (Integral) Buddhism, Wilber states that Adi Da was an example of a postmodern master, even though this false spiritual master has been charged with terrible criminal activities such as repeated sexual assault, brainwashing, scamming, torture, drug addiction, kidnapping, violence, theft, psychic abuse and psychosis. Wilber has come to claim that the criminal Adi Da knows more about Buddhism than the very Gautama, characterizing such criminal as a religious hero and a supreme enlightened spiritual master, which shows Wilber‘s participation in this damaging cult as a disciple of this false spiritual teacher. Wilber has not only criticized Adi Da for his isolation, but has also explicitly and publicly endorsed the extreme violent methods of Andrew Cohen, who is another false spiritual teacher with authoritarian and sectarian tendencies that fosters a cult of personality. Wilber not only censors or insults most of the critics of his works and borrows ideas from other authors without recognizing them the credit, but also has created a cult group to his personality where rational autonomy and critical thinking are set aside, following the same sectarian behavior than Adi Da and Andrew Cohen. Wilber not only manifests that Aurobindo and Nityananda were enlightened sages, although they had clearly psychotic behaviors, but also he presents a totally delirious and childish scheme that classifies reality into a hierarchy of colors, proving that his theories are neither scientific nor philosophical. Wilber not only separates Spirituality from ethical development, which gives rise to debauchery and abuses, but also his own model of Spirituality confuses the maps of reality with the territories or experiences of the Real. Wilber not only says that God is behind everything that happens in the Cosmos, even behind the results of democratic elections, but he also develops dogmatic, deceitful, elitist, reductionist and intolerant ideas. Wilber not only teaches an egocentric and narcissistic pseudo-philosophy, but also constantly transmits errors, lies, deceptions, inaccuracies, manipulations, circular logics and irrational arguments, violently reacting to corrections and intellectual debate. Wilber not only discredits and misinterprets theories through academic dishonesty, criticizing disciplines without being appropriately studied them, in addition to taking advantage of the naivety and ignorance of his followers by creating false eclectic syntheses, but he also constantly falsifies or fabricates scientific data that were never made, which is considered one of the worst acts of academic dishonesty. Wilber catalogs his critics as inferior, although they have already refuted almost all his theories, thus violating the procedures of scientific method and philosophical debate. Wilber not only supports negationism of global warming, which states that climate change is a conspiracy of scientists, but he also produces a total abandonment of science by supporting a creationist vision in which the evolution of Universe is driven by a Spirit or God, ignoring the fact that the contemporary theory of Multiverse has destroyed any kind of creationist argument. Wilber not only does not convey a superior reason, but is also part of a movement of metaphysical and pseudoscientific irrationality with less knowledge than a high school child, proving that the motivations behind his books are commercial, dishonest and lacking in integrity. Wilber not only considers in an Eurocentric way that Western technological societies are superior to agrarian societies, but also has a fascist vision with respect to native tribal peoples, to whom he denies access to the highest levels of reason and Spirituality, being an idea that violates the International Law for being used frequently in the exterminations and ethnic cleansings that occurred in history. Wilber has a right-wing political vision and very close to the North American imperialist capitalism, supporting leaders such as Tony Blair even though they participated in genocides and war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.
All this bad behavior and manipulation of the Buddhist Spirituality that Wilber makes intentionally distorts and partially destroys the integrity of the Buddhist Peoples’ cultural tradition, which constitutes a violation of cultural human rights, as it is expressed in International Law conventions. As has been developed in the jurisprudence of the Case Yoga Beer, the attitude of cultural colonialism against indigenous peoples that destroys their values, knowledge and traditions constitutes a violation of human dignity or Buddha-nature. Since conservation, promotion, protection and development of the tangible or intangible cultural heritage is one of the supreme human rights, Wilber‘s actions are totally condemnable in the light of the juridical systems of Buddhism and also to the International Law.
Following the Buddhist Legal Code (Vinaya), the International Buddhist Ethics Committee makes an act of disapproval (Tajjaniyakamma) against Ken Wilber for creating unnecessary disputes and conflicts, for having immoral habits and not practicing good habits, for not having righteous visions and despising the Buddha-Dharma-Sangha, so it is sanctioned that the accused should refrain from teaching or giving spiritual guidance to others indefinitely, much less giving commandments to others or establishing himself as spiritual authority.
The International Buddhist Ethics Committee considers that the root of all this bad behavior is that Wilber not only reveals pathological traits of narcissism, hysteria, sarcasm, arrogance, fear, anger, egocentrism, defensiveness, vulgarity, immaturity, paranoia and authoritarianism, but in addition he promotes a corrupt and commercial vision of Buddhist Spirituality, believing to be enlightened when in fact he evidences traits of an advanced narcissistic disorder. In the present case, it has been perceived that Ken Wilber has the psychic characteristics corresponding to narcissism disorders, which by their intensity, frequency and reiteration cannot be considered merely as errors, but as patterns that are a product of an extreme individualism that go against the traditions of the Spiritual Commune (Sangha). The fact that a thinker is obsessed with staying young and strong is already something of a frivolous and superficial mind attached to the culture of image. However, the real problem of narcissistic omnipotence is that it achieves imaginary satisfactions, which produces the real effect of failing to adequately respond to the stimuli of life in terms of stages or evolutionary needs of the human being, since every object and subject that does not match with that satisfaction or imaginary completeness is considered as an enemy by the narcissistic subject. From the International Buddhist Ethics Committee‘s perspective, Wilber‘s narcissistic disorder is due to a fixation or attachment to a phase of child development that was not adequately overcome, which corresponds to a structural pathology in which the child internalizes objects that fail to fulfill the adequate function of Self. This narcissistic disorder is characterized by inhibition of empathy, disinhibition of anger and pathological lying, activating a glorious, omnipotent and childlike image of self in order to unconsciously attempt to construct the missing aspects of a healthy psychic structure. The International Buddhist Ethics Committee states that Wilber suffers from pathological narcissism for being excessively self-centered, which distorts both external relations with others, by responding defensively to them, as well as distorts inner ambitions by making them disproportionate and grandiose, having an exaggerated dependence on the admiration and homage coming from others. Another characteristic feature of this pathological disorder suffered by the accused is the inability to learn along with the chronic experience of loneliness not shared with others, which is expressed through the illusory feeling of being alone on top of the world. Using the most basic knowledge on clinical psychopathology, the International Buddhist Ethics Committee reveals that Ken Wilber‘s narcissistic personality disorder is clearly evident in the fact that he experiences a huge sense of self-importance, exaggerating his achievements and abilities by waiting to be recognized as a higher being; Narcissism makes Wilber to feel like a being with a unique and special status that can only be understood by an elite of people, being attached to fantasies of success and unlimited power where he is recognized by his brilliance; Narcissism causes Wilber to demand excessive attention or admiration, being pretentious and lacking empathy; Narcissism causes Wilber to envy others, and also that he believes that others envy him, showing arrogant behavior and proud attitudes, in addition to react to criticism with rage or humiliation. This means that the psychic disorder suffered by the accused not only drives him to exaggerate his achievements, but also to the underestimation of the achievements of others, possessing a self-esteem so vulnerable and involuted that makes him feel that criticisms are an outrage. For this reason, the narcissism disorder often leads to social withdrawal, making the accused to feel his vanity and self-admiration are a self-sufficient way of existing, although this individualistic and selfish bubble lacks enriching bonds with others, which are often eluded by fear frustration or anguish they may provoke, which would make that Wilber questions the omnipotence he feels. Narcissistic personality disorder is evidenced in Wilber by a pattern of illusory grandiosity in thought, word, and behavior, having a level of need for admiration and attention that is not in line with adult life. When he believes himself to be superior to others, the accused demands special treatment and attacks others when he does not receive it, especially seeking to discredit the persons who overshadow him, since narcissistic disorder implies a strong self-esteem that simultaneously hides true deficient self-esteem. Although the narcissistic personality disorder causes the accused to be very intelligent and usually manipulating people so that they believe he is right, this disorder also drives him to feel that he always has answers and expert knowledge in all subjects, although he does not really know the discipline in question, which is obviously a weakness that leave him vulnerable in the face of critical knowledge of genuine scholars. Thus, Wilber often defends himself from critics by means of a very simple narcissistic defensive mechanism, by arguing that the others are one or several steps below him, which is a huge lack of empathy showing an underdevelopment of mirror neurons, which are those in charge of putting in the place of the others. Suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder is not only regrettable but also contrary to Buddhist Spirituality, because it is a constant yearning for fantasies of fame and brilliance that will never materialize. Because the accused suffers from narcissistic disorder, he probably does not attend any kind of therapeutic practice, because this disorder makes the individual feel as if he has not flaw or void at all, perceiving that the world and not he himself is the one who is wrong. In this way, the narcissistic personality disorder is one of the most challenging or almost intractable pathologies of psychology, maintaining a structural inability to depend on therapeutic help, as this type of disorder makes the individual feel that seeking help is an unbearable humiliation. There is, however, the possibility that in the future Wilber may experience improvement and even Cure, which depends on decreasing envy and contempt for others, developing altruism and mature capacities of wisdom and compassion. From the perspective of the International Buddhist Ethics Committee, the psychic structure of the accused corresponds to an archaic and primitive Ego because the development of an adequate psychic structure was hampered in childhood possibly due to the lack of empathic care of the caretakers, which led to a deficit in the formation of healthy and mature relationships. In this sense, Ken Wilber‘s love relationships are dominated by childish tendencies and narcissistic attitudes related to an immature structure of the Ego as a possible consequence of the lack of empathy on the part of parental figures. The International Buddhist Ethics Committee makes available to the accused all the help he needs in order to be able to heal himself, since Buddhist Spirituality has the capability of guiding Ken Wilber toward the growth of a mature and altruistic psychic structure. Thus, the Ethical Judgment offered is centered on showing that the great pathological Ego of the accused must be urgently replaced by the mature development of the Self capable of establishing healthy and adequate relationships with others. Therefore, it is recorded that the International Buddhist Ethics Committee does not consider Wilber to be ill or lacking in skills, but simply as someone with disorganized resources, as he has not been appropriately guided (neither by his parental figures nor by his masters) to be able to reconstruct the material he already has. This psychological evaluation by the International Buddhist Ethics Committee, based on the accused’s backgrounds and the seriousness of symptoms, does not have the Purpose (Dharma) to humiliate him but rather to help him find the Path of Righteousness and Cure (Nirvana) by means of a diagnosis of the causes of his suffering, since the presence of egocentrism and the absence of empathy are leading Wilber through a psychopathological pathway, which is the same pathway followed by those he admired, such as Adi Da, Cohen and other false gurus. Undoubtedly, metapsychological practices, such as Buddhist Psychology and Psychoanalysis, can help the accused to relate to others in a wiser and more compassionate way. Instead of practicing Hindu meditation, which certainly strengthens narcissism, it is recommended that the accused practice Buddhist Meditation and Psychoanalysis.
Thus, the International Buddhist Ethics Committee urges Wilber to initiate a therapeutic process under the guidance of a qualified professional, while simultaneously training properly in Spirituality – not simply reading books – in order to attempt to eradicate the causes of his immoral behavior. Even the great philosopher Aristotle understood that virtue is not acquired by reading books or by being in solitude, but it is acquired through the practice of virtues, deliberating with others about the nature of good. Therefore, Ken Wilber is offered the present Ethical Judgment as a way of Buddhist teaching on Righteous and Adequate Spirituality, which is a practice that the Maitriyana incorporates into the Noble Path of Buddhism. If Wilber is trained under the guidance of a genuine Buddhist master then he will surely have a true understanding of meditation, wisdom, and the ethic of Spirituality. In short, Ken Wilber has much to learn about the implications of Purna (Integral) Buddhism of Maitriyana.
The attitude of Buddhism toward other spiritualities or religions has always been critical tolerance and empathic adaptability, recognizing the supreme human right to freedom of thought and expression. However, being empty of dogmatism does not imply the debauchery of allowing false ideas to be propagated about Buddhist Spirituality, reason by which the spiritual commune (sangha) has corrective and restorative procedures to purify itself from false visions. Even Gautama has repeatedly stated that his teachings must be accepted after a critical examination and never accepted only out of respect for him. This means that Buddhist Spirituality can accept or reject certain types of visions after analyzing them rationally and experimentally. In this sense, in implementing the practice of the adequate understanding or philosophy (samma-ditthi) it is clearly distinguished that Ken Wilber‘s thought is an unfounded faith (amulika saddha) rather than a rational faith (akaravati saddha). Although Buddhism rejects materialism, undoubtedly its pursuit of Truth is closer to the scientific method and farther from the metaphysical method of Wilber.
In the Sandaka Sutta the Buddhist Spirituality establishes the existence of four false pseudo-religions (abrahmacariya-vasa) and also four non-consolatory religions (anassasikam). By stating the need for spirituality to have moral values, freedom, responsibility and non-inevitability of Salvation, it is argued that the four pseudo-religions are materialism, amoral religious philosophy, religious philosophy that denies free will, and metaphysics of deterministic evolution that affirms the inevitability of the Liberation of all beings. In this way, according to Buddhist Spirituality, Ken Wilber‘s model is a pseudorreligion because it supports religious philosophies without any moral, at the same time that it raises the existence of a Spirit that determines the evolution of beings. On the other hand, the four non-consolatory religions, according to Buddhism, are religious philosophy with an omniscient founder, religious philosophy based on revelation, religious philosophy founded on metaphysical speculation, and pragmatic-agnostic religious philosophy. In this way, according to Buddhist Spirituality, the model of Ken Wilber is also a non-consolatory religion because it has speculative arguments and metaphysical foundations, failing to transmit the good life through the Noble Path. Indeed, the fundamental requirement for a Spirituality to have Free and Enlightened Beings (Arhats-Bodhisattvas) is that Spirituality has its basis on the Noble Eightfold Path, as taught by Gautama to the wandering ascetic Subhadda. Ken Wilber not only fails to follow the Noble Eightfold Path, but also fails to Buddhist Spirituality for being an individual who has not abandoned the preconceptions about soul as an aspect of personality. Wilber fails Buddhist Spirituality for being convinced that there is a permanent or firm spirit within the Cosmos. Wilber fails Buddhist Spirituality for not having study and a clear understanding of the Buddha-Dharma-Sangha. Wilber fails Buddhist Spirituality by not following a pure ethical life. Wilber fails Buddhist Spirituality for having behaviors of greed (lobha), hatred (dosa) and ignorance (moha), instead of practicing charity and compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajña). Obviously, greed is not only sensual gratification but also attachment to egocentric goals, such as greed for power, fame and recognition. Wilber fails the Buddhist Spirituality by maintaining eternalist metaphysical ideas that have already been surpassed and transcended by the Middle Way of Gautama two thousand six hundred years ago. Thus, in the Majjhima Nikāya, Gautama taught a Middle Way that abandons the opposite poles of eternalism (sassatavada) and nihilism (ucchedavada), considering that both systems are not faithful to the Truth and do not free people from suffering, but are tied to greed, aversion and unconsciousness. Although Buddhism assumes the integrative and tolerant perspective of inclusivist pluralism, never considering that Truth is achieved through a single tradition, it certainly considers that Spirituality should never have selfish and substantialist tendencies, because otherwise it would lead to narcissism and to prejudice instead of leading to Liberation and Awakening.
Buddhism offers a model of alternative civilization based on pluralism and integration, teaching the power of understanding and cooperation among all nations and religions of the world. In this way, the Maitriyana promotes interspiritual harmony through overcoming the superficial divisions between doctrines and traditions. This means an inclusive, dialectical and reconciling attitude that works for the harmony of all sentient beings, embodying the voice of peace, justice, education and health in society. While Baumann rightly considers that the Globalized and Postmodern Buddhism is the Integrative Buddhism, he is undoubtedly confused when thinking that this integral vision is expressed by the interdenominational Western Buddhism of Govinda and Sangharakshita, or Goldstein’s, who actually propose an eclectic or syncretic Buddhism. This means that modern Buddhism, which eclectically takes elements from different traditions, is not really the Purna (Integral) Buddhism proposed by the Maitriyana, since it should never be confused synthesis with a mere mixture of diverse elements. In addition, the Maitriyana proves to be the broader pathway that exists not only because of its Purna (Integral) Buddhism which performs an intra-spiritual unity among multiple Buddhist schools, but also because it has a model of Super-Integral (Maha-Purna) Buddhism that performs an inter-spiritual unity among multiple spiritual traditions around the world.
From the point of view of Critical Buddhism (Higan Bukkyo), which belongs to Modern Buddhism, it would not hesitate to sentence Ken Wilber‘s pseudo-religious vision as a False Buddhism that returns to the Anti-Buddhist notions of Atman or substantial foundation, which contradicts the notion of the interdependent co-arising defended by Buddhist Spirituality. In addition, the ideas defending the metaphysical substrate of existence tend to be at the service of the authorities in power, rather than trying to liberate people from oppression. In tune with Master Dogen’s critique of Senika’s heresy, denouncing the idea of a Spirit that survives death, the perspective of Critical Buddhism serves to reveal the heretical nature of Wilber‘s substantialist ideas that violate the normative principle of Anatman developed by Gautama. Far from being an evolution of Buddhism, Wilber‘s deceitful ideas attempt to carry out an involution of Buddhism, making it to return to the traditional Hindu source. Hence, postmodernism and Critical Buddhism oppose to Wilber‘s ideas for being anthropocentric and centered on the metaphysics of identity. From Gautama to Maitriyana, all genuine Buddhist masters have rejected the idea of Spirit or eternal supreme substrate that Wilber illegally presents as part of Purna (Integral) Buddhism. In addition, Wilber has ideas that are very close to North American capitalist imperialism, which is ethically inadequate, being opposed to the orientation of social reform proposed by Purna (Integral) Buddhism. Undoubtedly, through Maitriyana, the Purna (Integral) Buddhism works to eradicate war, social injustice, ignorance and pollution, instead of defending metaphysical ideas that are functional to the status quo. Purna (Integral) Buddhism defends the purity of the ideas of Freedom, Equality and Fraternity, recognizing the human and non-human rights, since it is the highest incarnation of fundamental freedoms. Precisely, through commitment to Truth and without any resentment, Purna (Integral) Buddhism criticizes Ken Wilber‘s ideas by declaring them false and full of greed, aversion, and unconsciousness. In contrast, Purna (Integral) Buddhism advocated by Maitriyana is based on non-selfishness and compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajña), being a critical and counter-cultural force in the face of the establishment. Therefore, Purna (Integral) Buddhism declares the absolute illegitimacy of Wilber‘s thought.
In conclusion, the International Buddhist Ethics Committee has the Purpose (Dharma) to create an international community purified and guided by Adequate Liberation and Knowledge, which implies criticizing alleged spiritual thinkers and philosophers who fail to develop a Righteous and Adequate Spirituality. Therefore, it is established that Ken Wilber is violating the Buddhist Law and Ethics, especially by breaking the Cultural Heritage of Buddhist Peoples by teaching a manipulated vision of spiritual practices and traditions. In this sense, it is not only recommended that the accused initiates a therapeutic training and training with an appropriate spiritual master, making a self-criticism and publicly apologizing to all those he has attacked during his life, but also he is asked to donate any income he has earned through the distorted dissemination of the cultural heritage of Buddhist Spirituality to charitable organizations. Undoubtedly, those academics who write about Spirituality need to be ethically supervised by spiritual masters in order to avoid manipulations and distortions of ancient traditions, especially when writers often distort sacred knowledge for economic and commercial purposes, for in the capitalist civilization all vulgarization of Spirituality is something that is more successful than the deep knowledge of the traditions of the past. Without an ethical Purpose, writers and scholars who disseminate spiritual knowledge simply become mere superficial self-help experts. Only by practicing the Path of Adequate Spirituality, as prescribed by Buddhist Law, Ken Wilber will be able to effectively teach a genuine knowledge that is capable of assisting the Liberation of all humankind, instead of transmitting distortions and maps of reality which should be discarded like any mandala. In this way, this Case constitutes a great teaching both for the accused and for every thinker who transmits Buddhist spiritual knowledge, proving perfectly that without Meditation, Wisdom and Ethics all knowledge leads to a distorted vision of Spirituality.
Following the Path of Master Gautama, who sowed the foundations of the Adequate Integral Spirituality through the Noble Path, the International Buddhist Ethics Committee supervises that writers and masters of Spirituality are righteous and ethical, never distorting or manipulating the Cultural Heritage of the Buddhist Peoples, so that Ken Wilber has been sentenced as Responsible for Academic Dishonesty, Spiritual Scam and False Buddhism, Violation of Buddhist Law, Crime against Buddhist Cultural Heritage and Violation of Human Rights.
In pursuit of reconciliation (maitri),
Master Maitreya Samyaksambuddha
President and Spiritual Judge of the International Buddhist Ethics Committee (IBEC) and Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights (BTHR)
Maitriyana Buddhist Community 