On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we look at a little known cult that started in the 1980s called The Buddhafield. The Buddhafield was a group of people initially from Southern California who found a new type of family with each other, under the guidance of “The Teacher.” The Teacher, also known as Michel, Andreas, or Jaime Gonzalez, led them into some LSD type hypno therapy god hunting body trips.

They loved each other; they loved him; they found peace. Until they didn’t, and Michel started to have sex with male members of the group (often against their will) and do your typical cult control over all of them.

The story is mostly known thanks to a man named Will Allen who made a documentary called Holy Hell. He is an ex-member of this group, and due to his background in film, he was considered the unofficial documentarian of the group. He filmed The Teacher, the students, the spiritual retreats, and the daily lives of the Buddhafield family. In fact, he was one of Michel’s closest allies in the group (and among other tasks, he was on call 24 hours a day to give him massages).

Michel held sessions with the group, such as The Shakti Retreat, in which he gave them parts of his own spiritual power. The biggie, though, was called The Knowing. It was a multiple day ceremony which was capped with him letting his followers fully, truly know god. The funny thing is, they actually believed all this stuff was true. So much so, that even when the abuse and cult weirdness started, many of them stayed because they didn’t want to have to quit the strange spiritual highs that Michel—and only Michel—was able to take them on.

The Buddhafield group started as a reinvented family of people who just wanted to find meaning in life, and it turned, inevitably, to a cult. Michel started to charge them for therapy sessions, many of which ended in forced sex. He threatened that they’d die if they left and even asked members of the group to ruin the lives of defectors by getting the IRS to attack them. He forced abortions on the women if they wanted to stay, and he had many of the members living as his servants.

Yet somehow, they all still loved the Buddhafield family enough to endure it. Finally, there was a breaking point, and a great defection of members, but it still exists, and the Teacher is still out there teaching. If you dig cults, this is the episode for you!

 

 

 

Visit Our Sources:

Holy Hell Documentary: https://www.netflix.com/watch/80097438?source=35

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhafield_(cult)

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/interviews/a45261/holy-hell-buddhafield-documentary-will-allen-interview/

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/holy-hell-cult-documentary_n_5744c96ae4b055bb11708e51

https://psmag.com/news/how-to-escape-from-a-cult-in-the-21st-century

https://www.npr.org/2016/05/26/479635824/cult-survivor-documents-2-decades-inside-holy-hell