Wol Euler recovered this session from the autologging database.
Pema Pera: Hi Gen!
Pema Pera: sorry to drop in so late
Pema Pera: but glad you're still here!
genesis Zhangsun: yeah I was doing some hair shopping
genesis Zhangsun: needed a new look
Pema Pera: :-)
Pema Pera: Being here in Tokyo, I'm spending quite a bit of time on subways, and I have been using that to read in Diana Mukpo's book, her autobiographical story about her life with Trungpa, her husband
genesis Zhangsun: wonderful well as you know I have also been reading her book
Pema Pera: I've been enjoying it very much; I know you've been reading it too, right?
Pema Pera: yes
Pema Pera: it gives such a human view of the man
Pema Pera: and at the same time also highlights how special he was
Pema Pera: hi Yak!
Yakuzza Lethecus: hey there
genesis Zhangsun: HI Yak
Yakuzza Lethecus: don't get interrupted
Pema Pera: we were just talking about Trungpa, and the book his wife wrote about her life with him
Pema Pera: a rare chance to get a sense of a great teacher's off-stage life
Yakuzza Lethecus: hey fox
Fox Monacular: Hello everyone
Pema Pera: the way she writes is both enormously respectful and also very honest, as far as I can judge
Pema Pera: Hi Fox!
genesis Zhangsun: Hi Fox
--BELL--
Yakuzza Lethecus: oh trungpa is a just a title ?
Pema Pera: Both a name and a title
genesis Zhangsun: Yes I am also struck by the combination of respect and honesty
Pema Pera: strictly speaking a title, like "Dalai Lama" is a title -- but people use it to refer to the particular person that he was
Yakuzza Lethecus: yeah, i just read 11th trungpa tulku
genesis Zhangsun: what an incredibly unique experience, to have married a tibetan lama and not just any tibetan lama but a crazy wisdom teacher like Trungpa
genesis Zhangsun: and married at the age of 16!
genesis Zhangsun: and becoming a mother at 17
Fox Monacular: tibetan lamas can marry?
genesis Zhangsun: yes Fox they can though not all do
genesis Zhangsun: from what I understand within some lineages it is expected
Fox Monacular: wow, that's totally new for me
genesis Zhangsun: my impression is that after a certain point in their spiritual training, marriage isn't something which would threaten progress or stability in the path
genesis Zhangsun: what is your understanding Pema
Fox Monacular: Ill log out and log back in, sl is incredibly slow for me righr now
Pema Pera: yes, it depends on the school of Tibetan Buddhism
Pema Pera: Gelukpas, like the Dalai Lama, don't marry
Pema Pera: Nyingmapas often do
Pema Pera: Japanese zen teachers often, but not always, marry -- there are many different customs in Buddhism
Fox Monacular: sorry about that
Pema Pera: np Fox :)
Pema Pera: in any case, the book is both awe-inspiring and hilarious in many places
genesis Zhangsun: (by the way very cool av Fox I recognized it immediately, one of my favorite films)
Fox Monacular: :)
Fox Monacular: nice to finally meet you genesis
genesis Zhangsun: likewise
genesis Zhangsun: yes Pema I am amazed by how Diana stayed so grounded through it all
Fox Monacular: what is the book you are talking about?
Pema Pera: I sent you an IM, Fox
Pema Pera: did you not see it?
Pema Pera: Draong Thunder is the title
genesis Zhangsun: which seemed to suggest in a way that she wasn't the one "grounding" herself but rather the entire situation contained groundedness
Pema Pera: by Diana Mukpo
Fox Monacular: no :( sorry my sl is bugging...
Fox Monacular: actually I saw you sent me an IM, and as I tried to open it it just disappeared....
Yakuzza Lethecus: hmm, i never thought that buddists are also infected by heavy drinking
Pema Pera: yes, Trungpa and she seemed to ground each other quite well, and mutually acknowledged that too
Yakuzza Lethecus: i thought they are very healty
Yakuzza Lethecus: or live very heathy
genesis Zhangsun: not only that Pema but the situation, their destiny to bring buddhism to the west grounded the situation
Pema Pera: there are many different types, Yak . . .
Pema Pera: oh yes, it is all part of a much larger context, for sure
Yakuzza Lethecus: i don't know much about buddism, i only know my prejudices and like to listen about the different subtypes like i do right now
Pema Pera: Actually, Diana addressed the heavy drinking of Trungpa too in her book
Pema Pera: she really gives the impression of not hiding anything
Pema Pera: and if anything, reading the book leaves you with an impression that it is impossible to judge people like Trungpa
--BELL--
Pema Pera: we can certainly appreciate what he has brought and shared with others; and beyond that, I certainly don't want to judge -- nor do I want to automatically claim that all he did was okay either. He was a very complex person, that much is clear.
genesis Zhangsun: excuse me but I have to get going!
Yakuzza Lethecus: bye genesis
Pema Pera: bye Gen!
Yakuzza Lethecus: did you met him pema ?
Pema Pera: no, I didn't
genesis Zhangsun: bye!
genesis Zhangsun: nice meeting you again Fox
Yakuzza Lethecus: i just look through his wikipedia entry
Pema Pera: But I've been quite inspired by some of his books
Yakuzza Lethecus: he seems to be very controversial
Fox Monacular: I just realized I read one of his books
Fox Monacular: Shambhala the path of the warrior
Pema Pera: ah yes, that was an approach he took to convey the core ideas of Buddhism without the usual religious/cultural packaging
Pema Pera: or at least some of the core ideas
Fox Monacular: yes, and it was also based on pre-buddhist philosophy
Pema Pera: yes
Pema Pera: as for him being controversial, he certainly was, given his totally nonconventional approach
Fox Monacular: SL is incredibly slolw for me today, I guess I'll just have to go too...
Pema Pera: bye Fox!
Yakuzza Lethecus: bye fox
Fox Monacular: thanks for the conversation, I will now go read more of his books
Pema Pera: In fact, I should go too -- it is past midnight here in Japan
Pema Pera: bye Yakuzza!
Yakuzza Lethecus: ok, have a healty sleep
Pema Pera: thank you!
Yakuzza Lethecus: sry for interrupting the conversation
Pema Pera: oh not at all !
Pema Pera: we all contributed, you too :)
Yakuzza Lethecus: it's interesting for me to hear about buddism but i really read alot in the wikipedia
Yakuzza Lethecus: since i don't understand so many terms right away
Yakuzza Lethecus: good night
Yakuzza Lethecus: like wu wei...
Pema Pera: wikipedia is a good way to get a quick start -- but then it's good to go beyond that too, of course.
Pema Pera: bye for now!
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