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Pure Perception and Pure Suffering 

A Reflective Testimony on Devotion, Coercion, and Recovery

This text was originally written for publication in a Routledge volume on Health and Healing, but was withdrawn due to legal concerns about institutional defamation.

 

It is a personal, critical, and trauma-informed account of my experience within a Tibetan Buddhist organisation. It reflects on the bodily and spiritual impact of coercion, silence, and the complex entanglements of devotion and power.

 

I share this as part of a larger inquiry into truth-telling, rupture, and reclamation within contemplative and artistic practice.

 

Please read with care. This work contains references to spiritual abuse and psychological trauma.

 

If you wish to receive password access to this text, then please use the form below to reach out.

Request Access

Thank you for requesting access to Pure Perception and Pure Suffering.

This is a sensitive, reflective text that forms part of a broader inquiry into rupture, devotion, and healing.

I will read your request and respond personally as soon as I’m able.

Kind Regards,
Damchö

I live, love and work on unceded Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Boon Wurrung lands of the Eastern Kulin Nation.

My practice is shaped in relation to this place, and with deep respect for the cultural knowledge that continues to hold it. This always was, and always will be, Aboriginal land.

© 2025 by Damchö - Michelle Tonkin. All rights reserved. 

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