On Interactions with Spirits in Tibetan Buddhism: New Interview on the Guru Viking Podcast

A 19th century Tibetan tangka or religious painting depicting Nyenchen Tanglha, an important Tibetan territorial protector deity associated with the sacred mountain range of the same name

A quick note to say I have a new interview up on the Guru Viking Podcast, hosted by Steve James. This one is supposed to be the first of three chats focusing on human-spirit interactions and relationships in different esoteric or magical traditions. Here’s some links, and a list of topics we touched on, as prepared by Steve for the time stamps. Let me know what you think!

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Signs of Sinicization: Katia Buffetrille on Road Signs and Cultural Erasure in Tibet

buffetrille.jpg

The following is a quick translation into English from French that I made of what seems like an excerpt of a longer interview that Le Point.fr did with anthropologist and Tibetologist Katia Buffetrille. Although it is short, it covers important ground, so I thought non-readers of French might appreciate a version in English. The focus of the interview is the topic of Han Chinese Sincization of Tibet and Tibetans. In a very nice and concise way Katia, describes the little everyday ways – particularly in relation to naming – that Tibetan cultural and lived, embodied realities are erased and suppressed to make way for the steam-rolling priorities of Chinese settler-occupiers. Continue reading