The Double Dorje: Modern Vajrayana Buddhism.

The colours of the mantra go round and round...

Another look at the mani (OM MANI PEME HUNG). The six syllables, their six colours, and the six worlds.
Plus a description for anyone who might be confused about clockwise, anticlockwise, facing in, facing out...
Approximate script with possible errors at this blog post
Words and names you might like to search for:
six worlds
lung
yidam
seed syllable
Karmapa
Kakhyab Dorje
six worlds
guru yoga
In the early weeks of this podcast I included an approximate script, not particularly well edited, on a blog page. For the episode dropped on 4 September entitled “Bad gurus, tosh gurus and good gurus” and for episodes due to be dropped from 18 September onwards, starting with “Jyekundo / Yushu: travelling in East Tibet” there is a transcript file which is much closer to the actual words used.
Note that other distribution platforms do not necessarily pass this on, and if you want to read it you may need to listen on podbean. YouTube has been making its own transcript, which was an unholy mess.  I think I have now deleted all of these "auto-generated" scripts, but it will not be possible to retrospectively add properly edited transcripts to episodes prior to September 2024.

How is a sadhana built?

What is the structure of a typical sadhana practice? What parts must it have, what can it have, and how do they fit together?
Approximate script with possible variations and errors, is at the Blue Sky, White Clouds blog.
Some words you might like to look up:
Sadhana
Torma
Mahayana
Vajrayana
Bodhicitta
Vajrayana
Vajrasattva
Ngondro (preliminaries)
Mandala
Mount Meru
Samayasattva / damtsigpa
Jnanasattva / yeshepa
In the early weeks of this podcast I included an approximate script, not particularly well edited, on a blog page. For the episode dropped on 4 September entitled “Bad gurus, tosh gurus and good gurus” and for episodes due to be dropped from 18 September onwards, starting with “Jyekundo / Yushu: travelling in East Tibet” there is a transcript file which is much closer to the actual words used.
Note that other distribution platforms do not necessarily pass this on, and if you want to read it you may need to listen on podbean. YouTube has been making its own transcript, which was an unholy mess.  I think I have now deleted all of these "auto-generated" scripts, but it will not be possible to retrospectively add properly edited transcripts to episodes prior to September 2024.

Spooky beings - is anybody there?

Tibetan Buddhist practice refers a lot to beings on "the other side" who might help or hinder. Do we have to believe in them in order to practice?
Gyalpo Losar
Approximate script can be found at this blog
Words you might like to look up:
Machik Labdron
Machik Labdron’s Complete Explanation (book)
Chöd
Milarepa
Mount Kailas
Sadhana
Stupa
Terton
Kāśyapa
Torma
Gugulu
Samadhi
Tendrel
Cittamatra
In the early weeks of this podcast I included an approximate script, not particularly well edited, on a blog page. For the episode dropped on 4 September entitled “Bad gurus, tosh gurus and good gurus” and for episodes due to be dropped from 18 September onwards, starting with “Jyekundo / Yushu: travelling in East Tibet” there is a transcript file which is much closer to the actual words used.
Note that other distribution platforms do not necessarily pass this on, and if you want to read it you may need to listen on podbean. YouTube has been making its own transcript, which was an unholy mess.  I think I have now deleted all of these "auto-generated" scripts, but it will not be possible to retrospectively add properly edited transcripts to episodes prior to September 2024.

True Nature of the Mind - a conundrum!

What is "Direct Introduction" to the true nature of the mind, also known as "pointing out instructions" And why are the things said about it sometimes, well, puzzling?
The syllable "A"
you might like to look up:
Namkhai Norbu
Dzogchen
Mahamudra
Read Blake's Auguries of Innocence at:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43650/auguries-of-innocence
Approximate text at this blog
In the early weeks of this podcast I included an approximate script, not particularly well edited, on a blog page. For the episode dropped on 4 September entitled “Bad gurus, tosh gurus and good gurus” and for episodes due to be dropped from 18 September onwards, starting with “Jyekundo / Yushu: travelling in East Tibet” there is a transcript file which is much closer to the actual words used.
Note that other distribution platforms do not necessarily pass this on, and if you want to read it you may need to listen on podbean. YouTube has been making its own transcript, which was an unholy mess.  I think I have now deleted all of these "auto-generated" scripts, but it will not be possible to retrospectively add properly edited transcripts to episodes prior to September 2024.

Manis and manis and...

About THE MOST FAMOUS of Tibetan Buddhist mantras - what it is, reciting it and singing it - with tunes!
Mani walls near Everest
 
There is an approximate script with errors and variations at https://lunidharma.blogspot.com/2024/06/manis-and-manis-and_01125899265.html
Words you might want to look up:
Vajrayana
Guru Rinpoche
Tara
Chenrezi
Avalokiteshvara
Mahamudra
Dzogchen
Heart Sutra
Mahayana
Kagyu
Boudha
In the early weeks of this podcast I included an approximate script, not particularly well edited, on a blog page. For the episode dropped on 4 September entitled “Bad gurus, tosh gurus and good gurus” and for episodes due to be dropped from 18 September onwards, starting with “Jyekundo / Yushu: travelling in East Tibet” there is a transcript file which is much closer to the actual words used.
Note that other distribution platforms do not necessarily pass this on, and if you want to read it you may need to listen on podbean. YouTube has been making its own transcript, which was an unholy mess.  I think I have now deleted all of these "auto-generated" scripts, but it will not be possible to retrospectively add properly edited transcripts to episodes prior to September 2024.

Ato Rinpoche - you will be missed. And what about your two eyes?

Some memories of Ato Rinpoche who "rested his intent" recently, and what he spoke of as his "two eyes".
Ato Rinpoche
Approximate script with errors at https://lunidharma.blogspot.com/2024/05/ato-rinpoche-will-be-missed-plus-his.html 
Things you might want to search for:
tulku
Jeykundo
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Karmapa
Akong Rinpoche
Samye Ling
Chime Rinpoche
Sechen Rabjam Rinpoche
Milarepa
Kagyu
Nyingma Patrul Rinpoche
In the early weeks of this podcast I included an approximate script, not particularly well edited, on a blog page. For the episode dropped on 4 September entitled “Bad gurus, tosh gurus and good gurus” and for episodes due to be dropped from 18 September onwards, starting with “Jyekundo / Yushu: travelling in East Tibet” there is a transcript file which is much closer to the actual words used.
Note that other distribution platforms do not necessarily pass this on, and if you want to read it you may need to listen on podbean. YouTube has been making its own transcript, which was an unholy mess.  I think I have now deleted all of these "auto-generated" scripts, but it will not be possible to retrospectively add properly edited transcripts to episodes prior to September 2024.

The Double Dorje - itself!

What is a double dorje when it is a ritual instrument - a "diamond sceptre". And what is the Double Dorje when it is (or rather was) a restaurant in Kathmandu close to the Great Stupa.
Terms you might like to search for:
dorje or vajra
Indra
Amoghasiddhi
Approximate script with errors at https://lunidharma.blogspot.com/2024/06/the-double-dorje-itself.html
In the early weeks of this podcast I included an approximate script, not particularly well edited, on a blog page. For the episode dropped on 4 September entitled “Bad gurus, tosh gurus and good gurus” and for episodes due to be dropped from 18 September onwards, starting with “Jyekundo / Yushu: travelling in East Tibet” there is a transcript file which is much closer to the actual words used.
Note that other distribution platforms do not necessarily pass this on, and if you want to read it you may need to listen on podbean. YouTube has been making its own transcript, which was an unholy mess.  I think I have now deleted all of these "auto-generated" scripts, but it will not be possible to retrospectively add properly edited transcripts to episodes prior to September 2024.

The Lama! What?

In Tibetan Buddhism, "the Lama" is a many-sided word. It means much more than just a person, even a person sitting on a high throne. This episode looks at some sides of what "Lama" means.
Figurine of Guru Rinpoche
Words you might like to search for:
Vajrasattva
Lamaism
Dalai Lama
Kham
Refuge tree
Nyingma
Sakya
Kagyu
Gelug
Guru Rinpoche
Padma Sambhava
Tsong Khapa
Dorje Chang (Vajradhara)
Tsultrim Gyatso Rinpoche
Naropa
Marpa
Milarepa
Chenrezi
Sadhana
Amitabha
Vajrayogini
Approximate script with errors at https://lunidharma.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-lama-what.html
In the early weeks of this podcast I included an approximate script, not particularly well edited, on a blog page. For the episode dropped on 4 September entitled “Bad gurus, tosh gurus and good gurus” and for episodes due to be dropped from 18 September onwards, starting with “Jyekundo / Yushu: travelling in East Tibet” there is a transcript file which is much closer to the actual words used.
Note that other distribution platforms do not necessarily pass this on, and if you want to read it you may need to listen on podbean. YouTube has been making its own transcript, which was an unholy mess.  I think I have now deleted all of these "auto-generated" scripts, but it will not be possible to retrospectively add properly edited transcripts to episodes prior to September 2024.

Who is a Ngagpa?

A ngagpa is a heavy-duty kind of non-monastic practitioner of the path of mantra in Tibetan Buddhism. This tradition is also entering modern, "western", societies. What does this entail?
My teacher, Ngagpa Karma Lhundup Rinpoche and friend
Approximate script at https://lunidharma.blogspot.com/2024/05/ngagpas-who-are-they.html.
The following terms are used and can be searched for:
ngagpa
mantra
tantra
vajrayana
shiné
ngöndro
mahamudra
dzogchen
Guru Rinpoche
dakinis
yidam
Nyingma
Throma Nagmo
rigdzin / vidyadhara
bodhicitta
In the early weeks of this podcast I included an approximate script, not particularly well edited, on a blog page. For the episode dropped on 4 September entitled “Bad gurus, tosh gurus and good gurus” and for episodes due to be dropped from 18 September onwards, starting with “Jyekundo / Yushu: travelling in East Tibet” there is a transcript file which is much closer to the actual words used.
Note that other distribution platforms do not necessarily pass this on, and if you want to read it you may need to listen on podbean. YouTube has been making its own transcript, which was an unholy mess.  I think I have now deleted all of these "auto-generated" scripts, but it will not be possible to retrospectively add properly edited transcripts to episodes prior to September 2024.

Tips for total beginners

If you have sensed the magic around Tibetan Buddhism but don't know where to start, these tips might help.
A total beginner
Terms you might want to search the net for:
Three jewels / three refuges / refuge vows
Bodhicitta / the Bodhisattva vow / two kinds of bodhicitta
Four noble truths
Five heaps
Five Buddha families
Five wisdoms
Six Perfections
Eightfold path
Shakyamuni
Tara
Chenrezi
Mala
In the early weeks of this podcast I included an approximate script, not particularly well edited, on a blog page. For the episode dropped on 4 September entitled “Bad gurus, tosh gurus and good gurus” and for episodes due to be dropped from 18 September onwards, starting with “Jyekundo / Yushu: travelling in East Tibet” there is a transcript file which is much closer to the actual words used.
Note that other distribution platforms do not necessarily pass this on, and if you want to read it you may need to listen on podbean. YouTube has been making its own transcript, which was an unholy mess.  I think I have now deleted all of these "auto-generated" scripts, but it will not be possible to retrospectively add properly edited transcripts to episodes prior to September 2024.