Tag Archives: buddhism

Illuminating the Truth: Mipam Rinpoche’s Butter Lamp Divination Instructions

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A single burning marmé མར་མེ or Tibetan butter lamp. Photo courtesy of Chris Fynn – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9427366.

I haven’t posted any translations or blah blahs on here for quite some time. The twenty-somethings in my life seem to view maintaining a blog with the same blend of emotions that I’d view someone who still owned and regularly fed a Tamagotchi. But since I’m not ready for shortform video formats and don’t see myself going for a Podcast-Patreon combo right now, here I am again, punching at my keyboard and making words on WordPress. Maybe some of you will read them. Maybe blogs will soon be cool again along with Tamagotchis and everything else from the late 90s and early 2000s. Who can say? At any rate, I have a bunch of half-finished posts to share, so I thought I’d try to build momentum again by ignoring all of those and sharing a translation I made of a Tibetan text on butter lamp divination I came across instead.

I’ve written about divination here before (see my post on Tibetan prayer-bead divination, knuckle bone divination, and this post on Somali geomancy, for example) and it’s honestly one of my favourite topics to talk and think about (I would say that divination is also one of my favourite things to do as well but that’s more complicated. I love the art of divination and I’ve been doing it for a long time, since before I hit puberty or started cooking my own meals. Divinatory procedures never cease to thrill and amaze me. Studying and practicing divination is a big passion. Even so, the divinatory process and encounter is still something I approach with trepidation, are things that remain strange and fraught to me. I try not to enter into divination lightly – as happy as I am when readings can help clients gain confidence, clarity, and navigate life better, I still approach them with a certain amount of trepidation. I am awed by how accurate and insightful divinatory processes can be but I am also troubled by the potential misuse of divination and am aware of the great responsibility involved in making use of it as a form of prediction and pastoral care. So, ‘enjoy’ is a bit misrepresentative. Maybe appreciate is better).

Anyway, with that preamble, let’s get into the butter lamp divination text which I’ve translated below. This text, which has no formal title, is one of several texts on interpreting signs and omens which appears in the sungbum གསུང་འབུམ or collected works of Ju Mipam Rinpoche, a.k.a. Jamyang Namgyel Gyatso (1846 – 1912).

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Foundations of Sowa Rigpa: Dr Nida’s New Book on the Root Tantra of Tibetan Medicine

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It’s been a very long time since I last posted, in part because I’ve been working for a good while on a Sky Press publication which is now finally available for purchase, so consider this an announcement! The book in question is called ‘Foundations of Sowa Rigpa’: A Guide to the Root Tantra of Tibetan Medicine’ and it offers a wonderful distillation of Dr Nida’s twenty-five odd years of teaching Tibetan medicine to students from all over the world. The book presents Dr Nida’s extensive commentary on the six chaptersof the first and most foundational ‘Tantra’ (volume or treatise) of the Tibetan medical textbook known as the Gyü Zhi (‘The Four Medical Tantras’). Compiled in the twelfth century CE, this four-volume manual still forms the better part of Sowa Rigpa curricula around the world today. ‘Foundations of Sowa Rigpa’ offers over 600 pages of original commentary, translations, charts and diagrams, and other resources for students. I served as editor and translator for the book, working closely with Dr Nida to condense together hours of oral transcripts and various translations into text that could serve as a companion volume to the Root Tantra and introduction to Sowa Rigpa more generally. In preparing the book, Dr Nida, my colleagues at Sky Press and I aimed to create something that would be useful and accessible to both casual readers and current or future students of Sowa Rigpa. Our goal was to produce a textbook that could support non-Tibetan students in their study of Sowa Rigpa and Tibetan language on the one hand, and provide resources and inspiration for Tibetan and Himalayan Sowa Rigpa students and practitioners who work in cross-cultural contexts and engage with English-speaking students, colleagues, and patients on the other. We hope that the book will help students to understand and internalize the core principles of Tibetan medicine, that it will help them to understand how the individual volumes and sections of the Gyü Zhi relate to one another and to Tibetan and global healing traditions more broadly, and that, above all, it will inspire in readers a profound appreciation and reverence for Sowa Rigpa, and help them to live healthier and happier lives and benefit others as well.

One of the most striking and unique features of this book and Dr Nida’s teaching is the strong emphasis he places on making Sowa Rigpa relevant to individual patients’ and healers’ lives. I’m delighted that we can finally share the book with the world and I am certain it will be of interest and benefit to a wide range of readers. You can see the front and back covers, read the contents list, view a few sample pages, read the Introduction, and read a little about Dr Nida here, on the Sky Press website.

Both the physical and e-book versions of the text will be available for purchase from Monday, February 12th 2024 (Orders made between now and Monday will receive a pre-order discount as well!). Purchase of the e-book includes access to an online mini-course hosted through the Sowa Rigpa Institute as well, which includes printable versions of key diagrams in the book as well as several extra audio-visual resources.

Steve James of the Guru Viking podcast just did a great interview with Dr Nida about the book as well, which is a great listen:


Losar Tashi Delek and much love to you all, and please watch this space for more regular posts in the new Wood Dragon year! I have a bunch of unfinished blog post drafts to share with you on all kinds of topics and I remain deeply grateful for your continued interest and support.


Upcoming Course on the Ngöndro or Preliminary Practices of the Yuthok Nyingthig

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Hi, friends! A small announcement to let you know that from this coming Tuesday (May 11th 2021), I will be guiding a ten-week long word-by-word study group relating to the ngöndro or preliminary practices of the Yuthok Nyingthig tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the unique set of Highest Yoga Tantra teachings from Tibet especially connected with Tibetan medicine and the Medicine Buddha. In each class, we will investigate the rich meanings, wider contexts, and nuances of each word of the various prayers involved in these practices, to enrich our understanding and practice of these beautiful and transformative meditative, devotional procedures.

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Guru Viking Interview on Sexual Yoga, Dakinis, and Queer Tantra

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yeshe tsogyal

The great Khandro, Dakini or Yogini of Tibet, the princess who became a Buddha Yeshe Tsogyal

(This particular image of Yeshe Tsogyal is from a specific practice involving the Khandro that was revealed by the 17th century Tibetan treasure-revealer Tagsham Nuden Dorje who is said to have been a reincarnation of Yeshe Tsogyal’s sexual yoga partner Atsara Salé. The lineage for this practice is held by Namkha Drimed Rinpoche, see here for more information. See here as well for more on this blog regarding Yeshe Tsogyal’s life and exploits)

Hi, friends!

Here’s the information regarding a further podcast I recently did with Steve James of the Guru Viking podcast, as part of a series of interviews connected with my PhD dissertation on Tibetan tantric Buddhist non-monastic, non-celibate yogis and yoginis. In this interview, Steve quizzed me a little about some issues connected with gender and sexuality in Tibetan tantric Buddhism. I am hardly an expert in (or the best person to be mouthing off about!) the experiences of women in Vajrayana, but I hope that some of what we discussed here will be of use and interest.

Here’s Steve’s list of the topics we talked about along with the relevant links:

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Second Guru Viking Interview on Ngakpa: Definitions, Vows, and Tantric ‘Magic’

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File:Guru padmasambhava statue.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

(A photo from the building of the statue of Guru Rinpoche, the ‘original ngakpa’, on Samdruptse hill in Namchi, Sikkim. The statue is 135 feet tall and is said to be the largest statue of Guru Rinpoche currently in existence. More here)

Just a quick post to let everyone know that my second interview with Steve James of the ‘Guru Viking’ podcast is now up. In this one I talked (as usual, a lot), about definitions of ngakpa (sngags pa, སྔགས་པ), or Tibetan Buddhist tantric yogi householders, and their social roles. We also skimmed the surface of the broad lake of the topic of samaya or tantric vows, ngakpas’ hair, clothing and comportment, and the siddhi, or the spiritual acommplishments or powers that are thought to come from their dedicated practice of tantric yogic disciplines.

Here’s Steve’s breakdown of the episode, along with the YouTube video, and a link to the various places the interview can be found:
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Interview on the Guru Viking Podcast

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Guru Viking interview image

Hi there –

Just a quick post to let readers know that an interview I recently did for Steve James’ ‘Guru Viking’ Podcast has now gone live. This is the first of a series of interviews that Steve is hoping to put out where he quizzes me about my life, interests, and research, so it offers a broader overview of how I became an anthropologist focused on the study of Tibet and esotericism. Have a listen, if you feel so moved!

Here’s Steve’s introductory blurb for the interview, along with his time-stamped summary of the contents of what turned out to be a great chat. Would never have thought I’d see ‘Childhood Vision of Jesus’ indexed next to my face, but this world and every mind is indeed full of wonders that never cease.
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White Robes, Matted Hair: My PhD Thesis on Tibetan Tantric Householders Now Available for Download

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A detail from the medical thangka paintings commissioned by the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Regent, tantric yogi-doctor Desi Sangye Gyatso (1653 – 1705), as accompanying illustrations for the teachings in the Gyushi (rgyud bzhi) or ‘Four Medical Tantras’, the core textbook of exoteric Tibetan medicine. The detail depicts representative examples of the “two communities of Buddhist renouncers and virtuous spiritual guides who are [valid] objects for offerings/reverence”, that is, the community of ‘shaved-headed, saffron robed monastic renouncers’ and the ‘community of long-haired, white robe-wearing tantric yogi/nis or householder renouncers’ known as ngakpa/ma.

Great news, friends!

My full PhD dissertation in cultural anthropology, titled ‘White Robes, Matted Hair: Tibetan Tantric Householders, Moral Sexuality, and the Ambiguities of Esoteric Buddhist Expertise in Exile’ is now available open-access to download via ProQuest. It’s over 500 double-spaced pages and has more typos than I’d like, but it earned me a doctorate.

Here’s the thesis abstract and link for those who’d like to download and read it. I hope that whatever small insight and merit might be in its pages may spread and bring benefit!

 

“White Robes, Matted Hair: Tibetan Tantric Householders, Moral Sexuality, and the Ambiguities of Esoteric Buddhist Expertise in Exile

by Joffe, Ben Philip, Ph.D., University of Colorado at Boulder, 2019, 542; 27663085

Abstract (Summary)

This dissertation offers an ethnographic study of ngakpa/ma (sngags pa/ma, m.f.)–Tibetan Buddhist non-monastic, non-celibate tantric yogis and yoginis–living in the Tibetan diaspora. Like monks and nuns, ngakpa/ma are professionally religious, yet unlike their monastic counterparts they can marry, have families, and pursue worldly work. Living in ‘the village’ like ordinary laypeople but also spending much of their time in retreat or working as ritual specialists for hire, ngakpa/ma occupy a shifting, third space between monastic renunciation and worldly attachments. Based on roughly five years of fieldwork research conducted in Tibetan and Tibetan Buddhist communities in India, Nepal, Northeastern Tibet, and the United States, this thesis explores how ngakpa/mas’ historically decentralized, morally ambiguous esoteric expertise has become implicated in various projects of cultural preservation and reform for exile Tibetans, even as it has come to circulate and have meaning well beyond the purview of ethnic Tibetan communities and interests. Chapters One to Five offer an overview of how ngakpa/ma and ngakpa/ma orientations have been pinned down (or have failed to be pinned down) in exile, via language; gendered divisions of labor; in physical space and permanent institutions; through hair, clothing, and embodied comportment; and as part of new family and career trajectories. Chapters Six to Nine examine how contentious esoteric tantric yogic practices, associated with sexuality and Tibetan medicine in particular, are being popularized and reframed in exile in new ways and for new audiences as part of increasingly transnational networks of exchange. In these chapters, I underscore the polysemous quality of tantric practices, and reflect on my own collaborations with a Tibetan ngakpa-doctor to translate and share information on Tibetan tantric yogic practices more widely. In conclusion, I assess trends and quandaries that have dominated the academic study of secrecy and esoteric religions and highlight the implications and value of an ethnographic approach to researching tantric traditions.”

https://pqdtopen.proquest.com/doc/2335180529.html?FMT=ABS

Mirroring the Master: Making Magic in a Nineteenth Century Tibetan Book of Spells

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Recently, a Facebook friend of mine shared an article from the popular anthropology blog Sapiens in the Folk Necromancy Facebook group that I co-moderate. This article, true to its title, sought to argue that AI (Artificial Intelligence) was similar to ‘magic’, at least in certain respects, and as understood by anthropologists at any rate. I approved my friend’s post to share with the group despite finding the article quite irritating. Being irritated about what people generally consider to be the minor or obscure details of things is arguably the bread-and-butter of academia, but I submit that I had a solid reason to be annoyed. Many of my disciplinary peers positively DELIGHT in writing ‘X thing is actually like Magic’ type hot-takes. I get why, of course. Our discipline has grappled more with the comparative study of what people often call ‘magic’, ‘science’, and ‘religion’ as ways of acting, knowing, and being in the world than probably any other. Considering how foundational witchcraft and magic are to the history and identity of our field, I guess every anthropologist is supposed to be able to at least trot out something about these topics. It’s our wheelhouse! The thing is – and here’s what bugs me – the anthropologists I typically see forwarding ‘X is really magic!’ arguments are almost never actually researchers of magical practices or of ritual specialists. They are almost always ethnographers who study ‘X’, whatever X may be. Continue reading →

Dr Nida Chenagtsang’s Research into Reviving Yookchö or Tibetan Stick Therapy

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After more than a year’s hiatus (hello, PhD dissertation), I thought I would revive my posting here with a translation of an essay by Tibetan physican and tantric yogi Dr Nida Chenagtsang about a different kind of revival.

The following essay, published in a 1999 edited collection of some of Dr Nida’s articles on Tibetan medicine, describes Dr Nida’s efforts to resuscitate and promote a traditional Tibetan healing practice known as Yookchö/Yukcho(e) (dbyug bcos), or ‘Stick Therapy’. Stick Therapy, also sometimes called ‘vajra-stick/rod’ (rdo rje dbyug) practice, involves tapping repeatedly and in a steady rhythm on particular treatment points on a patient’s or one’s own body with a specially prepared pliable stick with a  bundle or knob on one end in order to treat specific ailments. Stick Therapy is one of several traditional Tibetan healing practices which were originally (or simultaneously) developed by tantric Buddhist yogi/nis for use on their own bodies for the purposes of self-healing in the context of meditation retreat, which were then apparently taken up and developed as more exoteric medical therapies for use on the bodies of uninitiated patients.

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How to Mind Your Tantric Business: Padmasambhava’s Parting Words of Advice to Tibetan Ngakpa

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188 Padmasambhava

(The One Born From A Lotus, the Precious tantric Buddhist Guru, Padmasambhava)

One of my favourite genres of Tibetan Buddhist literature is so-called ‘words or songs of advice’ texts, known as gtam or zhal gdams in Tibetan. These sorts of texts are great for a number of reasons. For one, they tend to be both pithy and poetic, which makes them a pleasure to read. They often have quite a colloquial flavour, which makes them interesting in terms of style and register. And they are also uniquely practical. While their ethical orientation means that they are focused on ideals and best case-scenarios, the fact that they are intended to be useful as guides means that they are forced to point out faults realistically, to take stock of where their target audience may actually be in their lives or religious practice. After all, the only thing worse than unsolicited advice is advice that has no bearing on the realities of one’s life.

I previously translated and shared a ‘words of advice’ text aimed at ngakpa or non-celibate, tantric vow-holder yogi-householders on this blog. You can read that text by famous 20th century ngakpa Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and some stray thoughts on it here. Today I was taking a read of the much older text of advice for ngakpa on which Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche based his later commentary: the ‘final words’ or parting testament (zhal chems) of the legendary ON (‘Original Ngakpa’) Padmasambhava (‘The Lotus Born one’) a.k.a. Guru Rinpoche, the ‘Precious Guru’, as found in a biography of this Great Tantric Master who secured the spread of Buddhism in Tibet which was revealed by the tantric visionary saint Nyangral Nyima Ozer in the 12th century. Dilgo Khyentse’s words of advice for ngakpa in the early twentieth century are directly inspired by the testament of the eighth century Padmasambhava as reported in Nyangral Nyima Ozer’s twelfth century revelation, Continue reading →