The Rigpa centre on London's Caledonian Road contains all the traditional hallmarks one might expect with Tibetan Buddhism, a religion that over the past 30 years has exploded in popularity in the West.

Occupying centre stage is a golden Buddha statue, flanked on either side by ancient Tibetan scriptures. To many western minds, these are the symbols of the most peaceful of religions, a source of spiritual awakening and appealing counterpoint to modern life – and one that has largely escaped the scandal that has dogged other institutions.

Yet on Wednesday evening the London students of Rigpa, an international network with some 100 different centres across 40 countries, gathered here to watch the announcement of a damning new report detailing “serious physical, emotional and sexual abuse” by its founder and former spiritual leader, the famous Tibetan lama Sogyal Rinpoche.