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

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’

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 Karmamudra and Sexuality and Desire in Buddhism on Imperfect Buddha Podcast

yuthok yabyum

Thought I’d make a quick post to let readers know that an interview I did recently with Matthew O’Connell at the Imperfect Buddha podcast where I discussed my work on Dr Nida Chenagtsang’s new book on Tibetan Buddhist traditions of ‘tantric sex’, and shared some comments on desire and sexuality in Buddhism more generally, among many other topics, is now available online.

I hope that this will prove interesting and informative for some of you. This is an incredibly broad topic, and Matthew and I only just scratched the surface here. It can be difficult to talk about the details of a book that people might not have read, or speak on the technicalities of a topic without necessarily knowing how familiar listeners might be with the specifics of Tibetan esoteric Buddhism. I had also just come out of the other side of a major car crash, so all in all I hope that what I’ve said here makes sense! I can never bring myself to listen to myself being interviewed, so I do hope that some of you will listen to this interview for me and let me know what you think.

My thanks to Matthew for having me on the show (click here).

Enjoy!

Interview with Scott Gosnell on Bottle Rocket Science

(Yuthok Yönten Gönpo the Younger, the King of Doctors. While he is typically remembered as one of the founding figures of Sowa Rigpa or Tibetan traditional medicine, he was also a great and accomplished non-celibate tantric yogi and ngakpa. Exquisite painting by Anna Artemyeva)

An interview I did two weeks ago with Giordiano Bruno translator Scott Gosnell for his Start-up Geometry podcast is now up for listening on Scott’s podcast website Bottle Rocket Science.

I feel deeply flattered and overrated considering that my interview follows that of far more accomplished scholar Alan Wallace, but I am nonetheless happy to be in good virtual company (do yourself a favour and listen to Alan as well!). In my interview I talked a bit about my research with Tibetan Buddhist non-celibate tantric specialists or ngakpa, and also delved a little into issues surrounding the globalization of Tibetan esotericism as well as the links between Tibetan tantra and Tibetan traditional medicine. I hope you find it interesting or useful and that the things I said weren’t too boring or stupid. As always I’m probably not going to listen to this edited version, so please do tell me your thoughts! དགེའོ།

http://bottlerocketscience.blogspot.com/2017/04/ep-030-ben-joffe.html?m=1

Tibetan ‘Yogi-Doctors’ Today: Professor Gojo Wangdu’s Preface to Dr Nida’s new book on Mantra Healing

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The following is a translation of Professor Gojo Wangdu’s preface to Dr Nida Chenagtsang’s new Tibetan-language volume on the ‘Interdependent/Auspicious Science of Mantra Healing’. In his preface, the Professor supplies a brief overview of Dr Nida’s upbringing, education, and achievements. He describes the important contributions that Dr Nida has made to re-invigorating Tibetan traditional medicine, like his efforts to preserve and revive lapsed oral lineage practices such as the ‘stick-therapy’ methods that were taught by Padampa Sangye and others centuries ago. The Professor makes a strong case for why Tibetan doctors today should practice as the founding lineage masters of Tibetan traditional medicine did, as ‘yogi or ngakpa doctors’, that is, as practitioners who seamlessly integrate mantra healing rituals, yogic practice, and medicine. He also responds to questions readers might have about the issue of secrecy, and of the pre-requisites – the transmissions and training – required to put mantra healing into practice to benefit beings. While the Professor follows the traditional Tibetan style of modestly talking-down his own achievements, he is a highly respected and learned scholar, and his endorsement of Dr Nida’s book speaks to its value.

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Angry White Buddhists and the Dalai Lama: Appropriation and Politics in the Globalization of Tibetan Buddhism

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Since I’m just now launching this blog, I thought I would re-post links to my earlier Savage Minds blog essays for readers, with some additional comments.

This is the first piece I put out on the Savage Minds blog, and deals with the controversial Western Buddhist organization, the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT). This was a modest piece on my part. Continue reading