FAQ On Leadership Change

On Sept. 23, 2024, Robert contacted the board with information that he had a sexual relationship with a long time student, KB Mercer. He also disclosed at that time that KB had died by suicide on Sept. 21, 2024. Robert was asked to resign immediately because the PIMC ethics code for teachers prohibits such relationships between teachers and students.

The obituary that was written by KB’s family confirmed that the cause of death was suicide. We do not have any special knowledge about the context of this tragic turn of events.

No. The PIMC board has severed all ties with Robert, and he will not be returning as a member or a teacher. We have also requested that Robert refrain from contact with community members.

During the current period, the PIMC board and designated volunteers from the community are stepping in to manage the center. Mel Sheets, our operations & communications manager, has taken on additional responsibilities and is handling day-to-day operations in close consultation with the board. You can contact Mel at office@portlandinsight.org.

Dharma teaching is being provided by longtime PIMC teachers Doug Pullin and Jim Dalton, with help from guest teachers who are helping to bring fresh voices and perspectives to the Sangha. We will also continue to support peer-led groups within the community.

The needs of the PIMC Sangha remain the board’s top priority, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that PIMC remains a community resource for practice in the Insight Meditation tradition. See our Weekly Groups and Classes and Retreats for a complete picture of the current Dharma offerings. For those of you who would like to explore a broader set of offerings, we recommend looking through the Northwest Dharma Association’s group directory.

When other Dharma centers have faced similar challenges, independent investigations have been very helpful. One of the purposes of an investigation is to allow other victims/survivors to come forward if they wish. It also helps determine the scope and pattern of the misconduct.

In the wake of the September 2024 tragedy, Jan Chozen Bays and two other women teachers at Zen Community of Oregon (ZCO) stepped forward to assist the PIMC board in helping the Sangha process the events that occurred and start to move toward healing. Chozen, one of the most respected elders in the Portland Buddhist community, has over 40 years of experience helping Sanghas nationwide move through challenges connected to teacher misconduct.

At the end of 2024, after two Council Circle healing gatherings were held at the center, the PIMC Board authorized Chozen and her colleagues to begin a process of interviewing individuals within the PIMC community so they could better understand the experiences Sangha members had with the former PIMC guiding teacher and PIMC leadership overall.

The ZCO representatives interviewed more than 20 past and current PIMC participants over the first half of 2025, and in July 2025, they submitted their final report to the PIMC board. The board reviewed the document and issued a summary in September 2025. If community members would like to read the full report (in-person at PIMC in Portland), they can email office@portlandinsight.org to make a reading appointment.

At that time, both Robert and his former student and therapy client said that they viewed the relationship as one being between colleagues, not as one between a student and teacher. However, the board still considered the action to be an ethical violation of precepts because Robert was in a committed monogamous relationship at the time of the relationship.

Moreover, Robert lost his social work license after a state licensing board investigation found that he didn’t wait the three-year period that is required under Oregon rules for a licensed psychotherapy relationship to end before a sexual relationship is considered ethical.

That earlier relationship was discussed by the board and community at the time through open, direct communication in several community meetings. An Ethics and Reconciliation Committee was formed. A PIMC ethics code for teachers was created and adopted.

Since that time, whenever concerns about Robert’s history emerged in the community, PIMC teachers and board members addressed it openly and honestly with the individuals concerned. In 2009, Robert wrote a letter to senior Dharma teachers across the country in the Insight Meditation community disclosing his ethical breach, apologizing, and asking for forgiveness. This letter was also shared frequently when such questions arose within the community. Additionally, Robert routinely informed new board members and teachers about this history. Disclosure was typically made during new board member vetting, especially in the first 10 years after the initial event.

Robert was not and did not need to be a licensed counselor or social worker to perform his job as guiding teacher at PIMC. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit religious organization, PIMC qualifies as a "church" under Oregon law, and Robert was considered clergy as a lineage holder in the Ruth Denison Insight Meditation tradition. There is special provision for clergy under the Oregon statutes regulating counseling and psychotherapy. That provision notes that clergy members can provide counseling services without a license as long as they are acting within their "ministerial capacity" and do not use titles like "psychologist" or "therapist" to advertise their services.

PIMC did not advertise or promote Robert as someone providing therapy or psychotherapy.

Because PIMC is a Buddhist-affiliated organization, it was expected that Robert would utilize Buddhist psychology in his teaching and in his individual sessions with members of the community. That said, the boundaries between Buddhist religious counseling and secular mindfulness-based counseling and psychotherapy have grown more and more blurry over the past couple of decades. So the distinction between spiritual counseling or guidance and secular counseling can be difficult to make.

No. Robert no longer receives any compensation from PIMC. All donations to PIMC exclusively support operations at our center. There is currently one part-time salaried staff person who oversees day-to-day operations at the center, and no other salaries are being paid by PIMC at this time.