Swindles and Sacraments: A Story of Deception and Belief

The Buddha said, "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and common sense." Ignore that advice, and you might find that you're clouding your vision--that instead of seeing what's really in front of you, you're filtering everything so it fits in with your beliefs. An unwavering, unquestioned belief in anything--a philosophy, an institution, or a person--can lend us strength sometimes, but it can also make us vulnerable. And there are plenty of people out there just waiting to exploit that vulnerability. This story is about two of them, each with a very different MO, and the havoc they wreaked in the lives of the people around them.

Sources The German newspaper BZ (translated from German to English): Blackmail Sect: Now Former Members Speak Out by Romeo Regenass, Nov. 12, 2008 Documentary "Seduced and Blackmailed" by Aldo Gugolz and Romeo Regenass Time: https://time.com/archive/6945942/the-swiss-gigolo-and-the-german-billionaire/ NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna29594154 The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/mar/09/bmw-blackmailer-jailed Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/5051613/Religious-leader-denies-blackmailing-woman-in-Swiss-gigolo-case.html Forbes:https://www.forbes.com/2009/03/09/scarbi-klatten-bmw-markets-faces-celebrity-blackmail.html The Standard: https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/gigolo-who-seduced-bmw-heiress-boasted-he-read-women-like-a-map-6824827.html

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