In this episode I am joined by Adele Tomlin, Buddhist practitioner, writer, poet, independent scholar-translator of Tibetan Buddhist texts, and founder of the Dakini Translations website.

Adele recalls her upbringing in England, training as a barrister, and work as a strategist in the city of London, before a chance meeting with the 17th Karmapa changed her life forever.

Adele traces her beginnings in becoming a Buddhist, her studies of the Tibetan language in Nepal, and thriving in the academic rigour of Tibetology at the University of Hamburg.

Adele discusses her published works, shares her research and translation process, and explores the implications of the shentong vs rangtong doctrines of emptiness.

Adele also expresses her frustration with gate-keeping in academia, reveals the reasons behind her founding of DakiniTranslations.com, and shares her research into the forgotten female mystics of India and Tibet.

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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep175-dakini-translations-adele-tomlin

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

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro

01:05 - Endorsed by scholars

02:53 - Miranda Shaw

03:48 - Adele’s upbringing

04:35 - Training as a barrister and entering the city of London

07:39 - Dissatisfaction with life and training in yoga and philosophy

08:53 - Life changing meeting with the 17th Karmapa

14:47 - Reaction of friends and family

15:33 - Learning Tibetan to be closer to the guru

17:33 - Studying Tibetan in India and Nepal

20:28 - Discovering a talent for the Tibetan language

21:46 - The power of past life connections

28:22 - Studying Tibetology at the University of Hamburg

30:08 - Adele adjusts to the academic rigour at Hamburg

32:29 - The importance of practice experience when translating Vajrayana texts

34:54 - Publishes her first critical edition translation

36:30 - Philological and philosophical challenges of translating Taranatha's commentary on the Heart Sutra 

41:04 - Rangtong vs Shentong

48:13 - The implications of the shentong view for practice

54:11 - Taranatha’s shentong reading of the Heart Sutra

55:08 - Frustration with gatekeeping in academia and founding dakinitranslations dot com

01:00:25 - Making Buddhist translation and research accessible and relatable

01:03:16 - Ethics of profiting from dharma

01:04:23 - The secret of Adele’s prolific output

01:06:33 - How Adele chooses which texts to translate

01:11:14 - Research into forgotten female mystics and masters

01:15:39 - Humour in Vajrayana and pointing out all male panels

01:18:36 - Male dominated lineage trees

01:20:08 - ‘Dakini Translations’ and British humour

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To find out more about Adele Tomlin, visit:

- https://dakinitranslations.com/

- www.facebook.com/dakinitranslations

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

- www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James