Ep258: Demonology of Tibet - Dr Ben Joffe Guru Viking Podcast

In this interview I am once again joined by Dr Ben Joffe, anthropologist and scholar practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism.

Dr Joffe begins an interview series on demonology with a discussion about the spirit ontology of Tibet and the Himalayas. Dr Joffe explores the pre-Buddhist frameworks of relating to spirits and considers the degrees to which the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet erased, modified, or even incorporated those frameworks.

Dr Joffe explains the unique methods of spirit domination, missionary geomancy, and other magickal techniques found in Buddhist Tantra and how these means were used to establish Buddhism in Tibet.

Dr Joffe also discusses the inevitability of spirit contact for Tantric practitioners, what to do about predatory demons, the misunderstandings of Buddhist converts about the paranormal, and recalls his own stressful experiences with the spirit world.

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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep258-demonology-of-tibet-dr-ben-joffe

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics Include:

00:00 - Intro
01:06 - 3 part demonology
03:31 - Interaction with imported Indian cosmology
04:32 - A scholarly caveat
05:47 - Pre-Buddhist Tibetan entity and spirit frameworks
10:16 - Land spirits
12:23 - Drawbacks of secularisation and psychologising of Buddhism
14:34 - Right relationship with entities
18:16 - Origins of dedicating the merit
18:16 - The arrival of tantra in Tibet and Padmasambhava’s spirit domination
22:30 - The essence of Buddhism
24:12 - Did Buddhism weaken Tibet?
26:11 - Tantric missionary technology of spirit domination
32:32 - Degrees of Buddhist integration with Tibetan practices and rituals
40:00 - Dr Robert Mayer’s work to reevaluate the terma tradition
43:30 - Beyul and opening sacred sites
47:10 - Offering practices and Chod
50:47 - Spirit mediumship and offending spirits
54:13 - Geomancy
56:41 - Staking the demoness of the land
01:01:03 - Dark tantra and the ethics of subjugation
01:05:59 - What is a demon?
01:06:57 - Facist tantra and Western occultists
01:09:12 - The role of compassion
01:10:07 - Tantra as institutional shamanism?
01:13:11 - Interviewing protector deities
01:15:15 - Perceiving spirits
01:18:07 - Misunderstandings of Western Buddhist converts
0:24:54 - Buddhism and the cultural substrate
01:25:47 - IFS and shamanism
01:27:55 - Completion stage practice and the logic of yoga
01:30:49 - Are spirits just your own mind?
01:35:09 - Dudjom Lingpa’s demon encounter in a dream
01:39:09 - Brahma, Buddha, and various levels of beings
01:40:44 - Are yidams just archetypes?
01:42:19 - Paradoxes of protection from spirits
01:45:35 - Predatory demons
01:48:29 - Many faces of Buddhism
01:50:05 - Outer, inner, secret
01:52:08 - Dream yoga and visionary sex
01:57:35 - Inevitability of spirit contact
01:58:09 - Ben’s stressful experiences with the spirit world
02:06:10 - Alien abduction experiences
02:11:42 - Night terrors
02:13:30 - Cognitive dissonance of tantric practitioners
02:15:30 - Priestly class mindset
02:18:09 - Real tantric training
02:22:05 - Logistical challenges of creating tantric adepts
02:23:57 - Ben’s magickal training


Previous episodes with Dr Ben Joffe:
- https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=joffe

To find out more about Dr Ben Joffe, visit:
- https://perfumedskull.com/
- http://www.skypressbooks.com/

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For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- https://www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James