Spiritual Equality
At his lecture last month at the Latse Library in New York City, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Director of the Ngak-Mang Institute (NMI) in Tibet, clearly enjoyed telling listeners that "Tibetan women are recognized as one the largest contributors to the Ngakpa tradition. . . Highest spiritual realization can be achieved by both men and women." Nida referred to this as "equal realization," and examined a host of other liberal beliefs and practices that typify the unique Buddhist tradition known as "Ngakpa."
With both lay and ordained representation in all five Tibetan Buddhist traditions, Nida presented Ngakpa as a non-sectarian tantric form of Buddhism with roots to Padmasambhava and the Siddha tradition of India. Touching on a bit of its history, philosophy, and practice, Nida conveyed a religious tradition that is at once both innovative and yet desperately in need of preservation.
Founded in eastern Tibet in 1999, the NMI is an international non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the Ngakpa tradition in Tibet. With associated branches all over the world, their activities include re-publishing important texts, collecting oral teachings, and passing on Ngakpa ideas to a younger generation of Tibetans. Students of the Ngak-Mang School in Amdo study science and math alongside traditional Ngakpa studies.
Dr. Nida is visiting the United States from his home in Italy. You can download a free podcast of his lecture Latse below.
As far as I can see, all pupils at NMI are boys. Why no girls? You make promotion about your project using (abusing??) the story and image of Yeshe Tshogyal.....
Posted by: Julia | Sunday, July 08, 2007 at 10:08 AM