Una is hanging out in the basement at Dorje Dzong, the center, with a bunch of the other dharma kids. Tommy starts talking about hypocrites and Una wonders what he means. A few months later, Una's mother leaves town for seminary, a three-month program, with Trungpa Rinpoche.

While her mother is gone Una decides to become a formal Buddhist, to take refuge. The process involves getting a new name, which forces Una to reflect on her past.

BACKGROUND:

Una Morera was raised in the largest community of Buddhists in America, led by the enigmatic and outrageous Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, in Boulder, Colorado.

Escaping Tibet in 1959, Trungpa Rinpoche made his way to America to teach the dharma and surround himself with Western students.

Right after Una was born, her mother met Trungpa Rinpoche, and four years later, she would join his thriving community in Boulder, Colorado.

Responsible for introducing meditation to the West, Trungpa Rinpoche was also responsible for his own brand of self-proclaimed crazy wisdom, which included drinking to excess, having sex with his students, and pushing the limits of conventionality.

Growing up in this community, Una witnessed the birth of a secret society of dharma practitioners who, with Trungpa Rinpoche’s help, created a deadly environment of sexual predation, classism, and blind assent.

Una learned the teachings of the dharma and the actions of dharma students were two very different things.

This is a story about discovering who she really is after a lifetime of living and breathing a spiritual path based on ancient secrets and modern deceptions.

EPISODE CREDITS:

Our theme music is performed and produced by Ryder Cooley and the Dust Bowl Faeries. Buy their music at dustbowlfaeries.com

Written and produced by Una Morera

Very special thanks to Mike Schoonmaker

Sound effects from Soundstripe.com and Freesound.org

Logo Art Direction by Jaime Lamond

Dedicated to Mila King-Madden and Daniel Dalseth

Please share where podcasts are shared.