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