Madi Nolan: The Dalai Lama's Office says They Have No Knowledge of You
Submitted by Charlene Jones on Tue, 2007-10-30 02:40.
This is our sixth article on Madi Nolan.
On Oct. 24,2007 we contacted the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama about the authenticity of Lama Rigzden Chodon Rinpoche aka Madi Nolan. We also referred his office to her website so they could fully examine all of her numerous claims.
On Oct. 25 2007 we received the following reply to our request.
From : Desang Tsering
Sent : October 25, 2007 8:38:43 AM
To : "Harold and Charlene"
Subject : Authenticity of Lama Rigzden Chodon Rinpoche
Dear Harold and Charlene,
We have received your letter of 24 October 2007 regarding the authenticity of so called Lama Rigzden Chodon Rinpoche, I also saw her website and we have no knowldege of this lady. Generally, we never say Lama for ordained female, instead we call Ani in Tibetan for nun. In your letter you have mentioned that her current master is Yu at the Drepung Monastery in Tibet which is no easy to verify from India. She has not stated from where she studied Tibetan medicine. Therefore, I am sorry for not able to help you in this matter.
Thank you very much for your pray for His Holiness' long life.
With best wishes,
Desang Tsering
Office of H.H. the Dalai Lama
Thekchen Choeling
McLeod Ganj - 176 219
Dharamsala, H.P.
INDIA
Ph.: +91 1892 221343, 221879, 221210
Fax: +91 1892 221813
Email: sorry-no-spam-please@dalailama.com
Dear Madi; Could you please tell the readers why the spiritual and secular leader of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has never heard of either Madi Nolan or Lama Rigzden Chodon Rinpoche.
Madi Nolan
Hi,
I was reading all of your questions and concerns regarding Madi Nolan and really felt compelled to express some comments.
Let me start by saying that I have had some personal experience with Madi Nolan. Someone I know is a very close personal friend of hers and I've had the opportunity to spend time around her both causually and in her workshop settings.
Just so we're clear about this I want you to know that I don't consider myself a student of Madi. I'm on a different spiritual path so never got involved in what she is teaching. So I don't believe I have any bias in favor of Madi or anything like that. I've just been around her a lot and heard her talk in private. And I am certainly open to the possibility of the deceptions your are claiming.
However, as I read through your questions and accusations, none of it truly reveals anything. Simply stated, you haven't made a solid case against Madi at all. You are simply speculating, stretching the truth greatly and reading into every detail in the most negative ways possible. Let me give you an example of what I mean:
You contacted the office of the Dalai Lama and they told you they have no knowledge of Madi Nolan.
So what? I've never heard Madi say she studied under the Dalai Lama. So why should they know who she is????
Also, the office of the Dalai Lama told you they had no way to verify that her current Master is Yu at the Drepung Monastery and are not able to help you in this matter. Need I say more? All this tells me absolutely nothing and neither did your inquiry with the office of the Dalai Lama.
Next, in your other posts, you say that there are numerous law suits against Madi Nolan. Yet you do not explain what the nature of those lawsuits are. I would be willing to bet that many of them have to do with very personal matters such as divorces, property etc. How is this relevant to her spiritual work? Those issues are Madi's private life and quite frankly, none of your business.
Then, you say that Madi was "too tired" to answer questions about all this. Did it ever occur to you that she really was too exhausted to deal with your negative probing? The last I heard from Madi she WAS in fact having a lot of health problems, some maybe very serious. So if she is not feeling well why should she entertain a draining attack in that moment? Where is your Buddhist compassion here?
Finally, you cite all these different names Madi has gone by. So what? Who cares if she was married several times and changed her name. Quite frankly, I don't understand why you are complaining about that. It has nothing to do with you or anyone else.
Regarding timelines and such..... I think you need a deeper investigation into what, exactly, you are investigating. How do I know that the Madeline Fitzgerald who's graduation documentation you have from some high school is the same Madi Nolan? AND, maybe she did come back and take a G.E.D. or some equivalent in order to go on to college in the U.S.A. And I do know that she talks extensively about her schooling in the U.S.A. That is no secret to anyone.
Also, you keep referring to Madi's background as "mysterious" and such. I've never heard her cite being in some mysterious places in India and Nepal. She has always named EXACTLY where whe was and who she studied with.
Also, there must be some kind of confusion about women not being referred to as Lamas. I don't know much about Tibetan or Buddhist tradition. However, I have seen flyers around my home town for SEVERAL different "female" Lamas who were providing teachings. And they were members of a well known Buddhist organization in the area.
One more thing I need to point out: Madi's training, as I understand it, has little to do with the more mainstream Tibetan Buddhist stuff. She was trained in the earlier, obscure practices of Bonpo Magic. Thus, all her magic and manifestation teachings. It's more like wizardry. She doesn't teach meditation. She teaches ancient magical arts. In fact, her Tibetan name means: "No more meditation." You are trying to fit her in the box of traditional practices. And as you are finding... she does not fit. So you are scandalizing her based on your limited paradigm of understanding.
I've seen the Dalai Lama in a televised interview talking about the "Tibetan Yogis" who were doing secret meditation practices in caves. It was well documented that these yogis were doing practices that even the Dalai Lama had not been trained in. So why should his office know all about the ancient Bonpo stuff and who is trained in it?
All in all, you sound like a very gossipy, jealous person who is eager to slander Madi Nolan. And you make a very weak case of it. Are you a Buddhist? If so, I can hardly believe it.
Marie Parsons
Marie: A Response
Dear Marie:
A little information about me. My name is Harold Musetescu and I am a former Police Officer and Federal Intelligence Agent for the Government of Canada. I have twenty-three years experience investigating and prosecuting people.
The high school diploma was given to me by one of Madi's ex-husbands.
On March 27th 1996 in Bellevue Washington Madi Nolan stated under oath she entered Washington State University in 1960. Her high school diploma shows she graduated high school on June 8th 1960. She graduated from William Winlock Miller High School in Olympia Washington. No GED was referred to under oath. She went from high school into university in 1960.
I needed to know all of Madi's surnames to run background checks under all surnames. I needed to know Madi's maiden name. Again, under oath, Madi stated that her maiden name was Fitzgerald. Also I needed to know that one of her married names was
Imkamp because she was also civilly sued on numerous ocassions under that name and also under the name of Nolan. I also needed to know these names to check with the Washington State Department of Revenue (licensing) and the Washington State Department of Health (licensing).
We will shortly be scanning these documents onto this website. We are awaiting numerous court and government documents. Once we have them, then I will report on them.
The Dalai Lama is not only the spiritual head of Tibet but he is also the head of state like the President of the United States. His office was responding "officially" to questions I had posed seeking authenticity of the claims of Madi Nolan aka Lama Rigzden Chodon Rinpoche. I asked if they would review her website and respond to my requests. I only asked if they knew of her and her claims and should people take teachings from her.
In their official capacity as the Government of Tibet in Exile, they responded, "regarding the authenticity of so-called Lama Rigzden Chodon Rinpoche, I also saw her website and we have no knowledge of this lady."
Madi Nolan claims that her present lama resides at Drepung Monastery.
Drepung Monastery is a Gelugpa Sect Monastery. The head of the Gelugpa Sect is His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Therefore the Dalai Lama is her teacher's spiritual leader, his boss.
How could the Dalai Lama and the Government of Tibet not have heard of the "First" white person to enter a Tibetan monastery? How could they not have heard of the "First" white person to have been ordained as a Tibetan Lama? How could they not have heard of the "First" white person to become a Doctor of Tibetan Medicine?
If Madi's story is true, she would be a "Living Legend" among the Tibetan people, her name a household word. Ask your local Tibetan Lama if they have heard of Madi Nolan aka Lama Rigzden Chodon Rinpoche and her incredible story and see what they tell you.
The Dalai Lama as the Head of the Tibetan Government in Exile was in fact the one who first officially recognized the Bonpo sect and they are now one of the five official sects of Tibetan Buddhism.
The Dalai Lama would obviously have researched the Bonpo before officially recognizing them. He and his people would know theirpractices, their lamas, their tulkus, their doctors of medicine.
If you go to www.bonfoundation.org you will see photos of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It speaks of his 3 day offical visit in April 2007 to His Holiness Menri Trizin the head of the Bonpo sect and his bonpo monastery at Dolanji India. On the same website is an offical letter from the Dalia Lama stating his respects to all Bonpos.
I have emailed the head of the Bonpo sect also asking the same questions I asked of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
I have also emailed His Holiness Dagchen Sakya, one of the highest members of the Sakya sect. He has resided in Seattle for decades.
Surely he would know or have heard of Madi Nolan.
His office has informed me that he is presently in Nepal and will be returning in Mid-November and they will submit my email for his consideration and reply.
Please explain to me,Marie,how an enlightened being and spiritual teacher such as Madi Nolan could have been civilly sued so many times. The most recent civil suit was in 2007, by a former student who sued her successfully for repayment of thousands of dollars. This is public record for the viewing.
You may not think it important but I believe one should look at all aspects of a person's background before submitting any part of themselves to a spiritual teacher.
Teachers hold great power over their students especially those who claim "magical" powers and "secret" teachings.
There's an old saying: buyer beware.
Madi Nolan claims to be an ordained doctor of Tibetan Medicine. All I have asked, all other news reporters have asked for the last two weeks is for documentation. Yet Madi refuses to return our phone calls and emails. Does this sound like an enlightened being, a Tulku?
What would you think of a doctor who would not provide proof of their claims of being a doctor?
Have you seen Madi Nolan's doctor of Tibetan Medicine degree? Has anyone seen this?
We certainly haven't. Why not?
You claim I have made a weak case. But I have shown you many of the things I have done to investigate this case.
Madi Nolan has shown nothing and her silence speaks volumns.
One last thing: what happened to Madi Nolan's official website?
Marie Parsons Response
Dear Marie:
I am very pleased you took the time to respond to what you saw on the website. It is important that dialogue toward clear understanding, and truth takes place.
I have a few responses to your statement the website
articles are "speculating, stretching the truth."
First, as you have seen from Harold's response to you, nothing which he has uncovered is undocumented.
Period. No stretching or speculating at all.
Second, the "draining attack" which you imagine took place did not. Harold was courteous and direct at all times. He simply did not back down when Madi kept saying "I am too tired." I was present in the room during the one conversatin when Madi Nolan agreed to speak with Harold.
No one is happy or celebrates that she, or anyone else may be in bad health. If Madi Nolan needed to rest and sleep through that day and night and the next and the next, very good.
But she has not returned any calls and has made no attempt in the two plus weeks since Harold contacted her, to fax us, send us by snail mail, or email or phone any information which might make us change our minds. Surely, as Harold says in his response to you, any doctor you go to who would not show his/her credentials especially upon being requested, is not a doctor you would continue to see.
As for women teachers being called Lamas or not, I suggest respectfully you contact the office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, since that is the origination of our understanding women teachers are called
"Ani" not Lama. Perhaps they can help you.
Finally, in response to your claim Madi Nolan is teaching Wizardy or Magic: if she is indeed practicing and teaching Wizardry and Magic, why not call it directly what it is?
To dupe people into spending their money on the basis she is an authentic Tibetan Buddhist Teacher is simply wrong. To state she is furthermore a Doctor of Tibetan Medicine is cruel: some people in the rooms may have been suffering real health problems for which they were honestly searching for help. Often health problems drain peoples' finances. To take money from others under such conditions indicates Madi, who has not proven she is a doctor of Tibetan medicine, is without regard for others.
That is not the mark of an enlightened teacher!
And, if Madi Nolan is a wizard or magician as you indicate her training would lead her to be, she must have slipped up somewhere to have people asking her for the truth. Surely a good Wizard or Magician, one worth their salt and your money, would have seen this coming, and ducked!
Thanks again Marie for the opportunity your response afforded for further clarity. I hope you respond again.