In this interview I am joined by Buddhist teacher and doctor of Tibetan Medicine Dr Nida Chenagtsang and author and Buddhist teacher Justin Von Bujdoss.

Dr Nida and Justin discuss the esoteric Dzogchen practices of trekchö and tögal, and comment on their application to inner emotional disturbance and to times of external conflict and war.

Dr Nida and Justin extensively discuss the mysterious practice of dark retreat, in which the retreatant seals himself in complete darkness for days or weeks at a time, triggering powerful hallucinations which can be worked with using special techniques for spiritual advancement.

Dr Nida and Justin discuss the history of dark retreat, compares the differences in the various schools of its practice, warns of its dangers in terms of psychosis, and considers the potential it offers for attaining Buddhist enlightenment.

Dr Nida and Justin also explore themes of fixation, nationalism, translation, and spiritual trauma.

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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep228-dzogchen-dark-retreat-dr-nida-chenagtsang-and-justin-von-bujdoss

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

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro01:01 - Geomantic energy of Bhutan03:55 - The Dzogchen practice of trekchö05:02 - Cutting through hardness 07:53 - The importance of using Sanskrit and Tibetan words08:18 - The hardness of conceptual thinking08:47 - Translating trekchö09:45 - Dr Nida’s new approach to translation11:54 - Dharma as medicine 12:27 - Freeing difficult emotions14:24 - Palestine and political polarisation 17:29 - The pressure to take sides 21:10 - Meditation as medicine21:33 - Bringing dharma experience to politics25:09 - The value of softness and passivity 26:10 - Nationalism and fixation28:09 - The price of enlightened politics 30:27 - Ashoka’s dharma reign32:47 - Dr Nida’s new book about Yuthok’s Mahāmudrā35:00 - Varieties of Dzogchen tögal practice37:42 - The history of dark retreat 45:01 - Nyingma vs Kālachakra dark retreat versions47:35 - Transforming energy and perception49:57 - Yuthok and other dark retreat yogis52:40 - Special characteristics of dark retreat 53:51 - The actual practice 55:07 - Dr Nida’s remarkable dark retreat teacher 01:00:29 - How Dr Nida’s teacher introduced him to the nature of mind01:09:18 - The signs of success in practice 01:09:42 - The mystical story of Dr Nida and Justin’s karmic connection01:17:21 - Mahasiddha way vs the educational path 01:20:19 - Side-effects of meditation and dark retreat01:28:04 - Fun vs beneficial 01:29:48 - Requirements for a dark retreat location 01:30:47 - Dark retreat psychosis 01:35:01 - The need for financial support01:36:43 - When to break your retreat 01:38:07 - Looking for experiences 01:42:43 - Dr Nida’s recent lucid dream01:44:23 - Hallucinations and visions 01:47:59 - How to get involved 01:49:51 - Multi-cultural enlightenment 01:52:51 - How did Dr Nida assess Justin’s readiness for dark retreat01:55:34 - Dark retreat progression02:03:54 - The power of ngondro 02:04:34 - ‘Spiritual not religious’ 02:13:48 - Spiritual trauma 02:16:14 - Why Dr Nida wrote his book in Tibetan02:19:07 - Questions for the practitioner 02:21:42 - Bad spiritual pedagogy

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Previous episodes with Dr Nida Chenagtsang: - https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=nida

Previous episode with Justin Von Bujdoss:- https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=justin

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To find our more about Justin Von Bujdoss, visit:- https://justinvonbujdoss.com/- https://www.yangtiyoga.com/

To find out more about Dr Nida Chenagtsang, visit:- https://www.facebook.com/DoctorNida/- http://www.skypressbooks.com/

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

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James