Buddhist

Japanese new religious movement founded by Chizuo Matsumoto (Shoko Asahara) in 1984. Combined Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian apocalyptic elements with paramilitary training. Perpetrated the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack; Asahara and 12 others executed in 2018.

Sokushinbutsu (即身仏 — 'Buddha in this very body') refers to the historical Japanese Esoteric Shingon mountain-ascetic practice of self-mummification through a multi-year extreme-dietary regimen culminating in living entombment, practised between roughly 1000 and 1879 CE primarily at Mount Yudono and adjacent Dewa Sanzan temple complex in Yamagata Prefecture. Approximately 24 confirmed sokushinbutsu mummies survive in Japanese temple display. The Meiji government formally outlawed the practice in 1879. The entry is a historical reference for extreme-religious-asceticism BITE-pattern analysis; the practice is no longer performed.

Buddhist movement founded by Kelsang Gyatso (1991) breaking from the Tibetan Gelug tradition. Centred on Manjushri Centre in Cumbria, England. Notable for the Dorje Shugden controversy and documented patterns of member control and shunning of those who leave.

Direct successor organisation to Aum Shinrikyo. Renamed Aleph in 2000. Under continuous Japanese Public Security Intelligence Agency surveillance. Continues to retain ≈1,500 members despite legal restrictions.

International Tibetan Buddhist organisation founded in 1979 by Sogyal Rinpoche (born Sonam Gyaltsen, 1947–2019). Sogyal's *The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying* (1992) sold over 3 million copies and made him one of the West's best-known Tibetan teachers. The August 2017 open letter from eight long-term senior students publicly alleged decades of sexual, physical, and psychological abuse; the Dalai Lama validated the complaints; the September 2018 Lewis Silkin LLP independent investigation report confirmed the pattern. Sogyal stepped down in August 2017 and died in August 2019; Rigpa continues under reformed governance with substantially reduced membership.

Aum Shinrikyo splinter group founded by Fumihiro Joyu in May 2007 after he led a faction breakaway from Aleph (the renamed parent organisation). Joyu — Aum's media spokesperson during the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack period and Asahara's designated successor in the late 1990s — explicitly renounced Asahara veneration in 2007 and reframed Aum's doctrine in deliberately moderated terms. Approximately 200 members across Japan as of 2024; remains under ongoing Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA) monitoring under Japan's 1999 Group Regulation Law along with Aleph and Aleph successor 'Circle of Rainbow Light'.

Burmese Theravada-Buddhist nationalist movement built around the 969 Movement (2001+) and the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion (Ma Ba Tha, founded 2013) and identified primarily with the monk U Wirathu (b. 1968). UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (2018) documented Wirathu's rhetoric as a material contributor to the environment that produced the 2017 genocide of the Rohingya Muslim population. Distinct from mainstream Burmese Theravada and Sri Lankan Theravada traditions, with which it shares no doctrinal authority.

British-founded Buddhist community (originally FWBO, 1967) led by Dennis Lingwood / Sangharakshita until his 2018 death. The Adhisthana centre and the Triratna Order have publicly acknowledged Sangharakshita's history of sexual abuse of male members.

Western Tibetan Buddhist organisation founded by Chögyam Trungpa (1973). Sakyong Mipham (Trungpa's son) stepped back in 2018 after Project Sunshine reports documenting sexual misconduct.

Umbrella entry for the various individual Western Vajrayana teacher circles whose ex-students have documented high-control patterns (samaya weaponisation, sexual misconduct, financial extraction).

Taiwanese-American Vajrayana-derived Buddhist movement founded by Lu Sheng-yen (1982). Lu claims to be 'the Living Buddha Lian-sheng' and a 25th-degree initiate. Heavily disputed by mainstream Tibetan Buddhists.

Bodu Bala Sena ('Buddhist Power Force', BBS) is a Sri Lankan Buddhist-nationalist political-religious movement founded May 2012 in Colombo by Buddhist monks Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera and Kirama Wimalajothi Thera. Distinct from mainstream Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhism (the Mahanikaya, Amarapura, and Ramanna nikayas), which is generally low-control. Substantial documented role in the June 2014 Aluthgama anti-Muslim riots (~3 killed, 80 injured), the post-2018 Sinhalese-Buddhist mobilisation that contributed to the political climate around the April 2019 Easter Sunday bombings (~270 killed by ISIS-linked National Thowheeth Jama'ath), and ongoing 2020–2024 anti-Muslim and anti-Christian political organising. Mahanayaka Theras of the three main Sri Lankan nikayas have publicly criticised BBS's deviation from mainstream Theravada teaching.

Western Karma Kagyu Tibetan Buddhist organisation founded by Danish lama Ole Nydahl (1972). Aligned with the Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje. Documented patterns of cult-of-personality around Nydahl, sexual relationships with students, and political controversies.

Tracks ongoing 2024–2026 Triratna Buddhist Community reform process post-Sangharakshita reckoning. See primary Triratna entry.

Lay Buddhist organisation derived from Nichiren Shoshu. Globally promoted via Daisaku Ikeda's leadership (d. 2023). Excommunicated by Nichiren Shoshu in 1991. Affiliated with Japan's Komeito political party. Historical patterns of aggressive recruitment ('shakubuku').

Western Soto Zen lineage founded by Jiyu-Kennett (Shasta Abbey, 1970). Distinctive monastic-style residential training. Some ex-monastic accounts of moderate-control patterns.

Major global Vipassana retreat network in the S.N. Goenka tradition (founded 1969). Distinctive 10-day silent retreats with strict structure. Mostly low-control, some documented retreat-distress cases.

Japanese Nichiren Buddhist sect that excommunicated Soka Gakkai International in 1991. Distinctive devotion to the Dai-Gohonzon at Taiseki-ji.

Vietnamese Buddhist new religion founded by Huỳnh Phú Sổ (1939) emphasising lay practice, simplicity, and millenarian elements. Severely persecuted by Vietnamese state and historical political conflicts.

Japanese lay Buddhist new religion (1925, Kakutaro Kubo). Parent organisation of Rissho Kosei-kai (1938 split) and other Nichiren-derived offshoots.

Major Japanese Nichiren-derived lay Buddhist organisation (1938 split from Reiyukai). Distinctive 'hoza' counselling-style group meetings.

Mainstream Tibetan Buddhism (Gelug, Kagyu, Sakya, Nyingma) is a moderate-low CLCI tradition. The guru-devotion (samaya) emphasis has produced documented teacher-abuse cases (notably Sogyal Rinpoche, Sakyong Mipham); the Dalai Lama's 2017 statement and post-2018 reforms have shifted norms.

Major Taiwanese Buddhist humanitarian organisation founded by Master Cheng Yen (1966). Substantial global disaster-relief operations. Mostly low-control with strong volunteer-commitment culture.

Mainstream Theravada Buddhism — the dominant tradition of Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos — is a low-CLCI reference point with voluntary lay practice and a self-disciplined monastic Sangha.

Mainstream Zen Buddhism (Japanese Soto, Rinzai, Korean Seon, Vietnamese Thien, Chinese Chan) is a low-CLCI reference point with voluntary practice and recently strengthened safeguarding in Western centres after 1990s–2010s teacher misconduct revelations.

Taiwanese-origin Humanistic Buddhist organisation founded by Hsing Yun (1967). Substantial global temple network and Buddha's Light International Association. Mainstream low-control.

Korean reformist Buddhist tradition founded by Sotaesan Park Chungbin (1916). Distinctive 'Il-Won-Sang' (One Circle) symbol. Mainstream low-control.

Engaged Buddhist tradition founded by the late Thich Nhat Hanh (1926–2022). Plum Village (France) and global affiliated centres. Mainstream low-control reference point.

Mainstream Mahayana Buddhism — the dominant tradition of China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam — is a low-CLCI reference point. Encompasses Pure Land, Chan/Zen, Tiantai/Tendai, Nichiren and other schools.

Mainstream Western Vipassana Buddhist organisations including Insight Meditation Society (Barre, MA) and Spirit Rock (Marin County, CA). Voluntary residential retreat practice with no shunning, exit cost, or doctrinal coercion. Included as a low-CLCI Buddhist reference point.

Largest Mahayana sub-tradition globally. Devotion to Amitabha Buddha and recitation of the nembutsu / Buddha-name. Mainstream low-control reference point.

Goenka-tradition Vipassana prison programmes operating in multiple countries. Documented rehabilitative effects in academic studies. Mainstream voluntary participation.

Umbrella for other mainstream Buddhist traditions beyond named entries (Korean Seon, Vietnamese Thien, Mongolian Buddhism, etc.).