Does anyone know of any teachers who have fairly regular refuge ceremonies, preferably in the Nyingma tradition? I signed up for one with Lama Lena but it’s been around two years and haven’t heard anything from them. I take refuge a few times a day before I meditate, but really want to make it formal.
I have some background in western occult, particularly related to ethereal beings, and was wondering if there were any publications that explore the Buddhist perspective on this subject. It would be nice if there were something covering the whole gamut of earth bound spirits, but I’m open to sources on single types of entities such as bhuma devas, yakshas, pretas, garudas, nagas, dakinis, etc. as well.
Thanks in advance.
I’ve been reading a lot of Dzogchen texts lately, and I’ve seen warnings against “spilling semen,” even going as far as giving methods to prevent it from happening accidentally. Is this generally considered important? Does it apply only to tantric practitioners, or would it be advisable for non tantric paths as well?
Reading that Sogyal Rinpoche is supposedly an emanation or reincarnation of Terton Sogyal, it seems like this system is not accurate to say the least. If someone like TS can fall to the level of SR, or Chungdrag Dorje can become Steven Seagal, what’s the point of practice? If someone who turns out like Chogyam Trungpa can be recognized as someone who is born as an advanced practitioner, maybe the system is too inaccurate and too corrupted, and should be left as a relic of the past. I think it plays a big roll in people not taking Tibetan Buddhism seriously. Which of course is a big shame because everything else is on point. Anyone feel that it is accurate or not corrupted?