Guru Viking Podcast
Ep243: Scholar Practitioner - Charles Manson
In this episode I am joined by Charles Manson, author of ‘The Second Karmapa Karma Pakshi’ published by Shambhala, and librarian for the Tibetan Collections at the Bodleian Library (Oxford University) and the British Library.
Charles begins by discussing the remarkable life of Karma Pakshi, the second Karmapa, Tibet’s oldest continuous reincarnation lineage. Charles traces Karma Pakshi’s adventures as a yogic trainee, personal guru to Mongol Khans, figure of political intrigue, and reformer of monasteries.
Charles goes on to tell the story of his own life, from brutal treatment at elite British boarding schools to undergraduate studies at the renowned Columbia University. Charles recounts how arrest and deportation saw his academic prospects dashed. After a period of homelessness, he became a master woodcarver training under craftsmen in England and Germany.
Charles recalls his encounter with Buddhism, his contact with spiritual teachers such as the 16th Karmapa, his reckoning with the untimely death of his son’s mother, and details his experiences undertaking 8 years of closed retreat including challenging group dynamics, the painful complications of energetic yogas, and the mechanisms of spiritual transformation.
Charles also discusses his remarkable time with the terton Karma Rinpoche, receiving sacred chulen instructions and witnessing the mahasiddha miraculously press a footprint into rock; as well as Charles’ own return to academia, with postgraduate studies at Harvard and longstanding work at Oxford University and the British Library.
…
https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep243-scholar-practitioner-charles-manson
…
01:48 - Karma Pakshi, the 2nd Karmapa
07:57 - Summoned by the Khan
15:26 - Imprisoned by Kublai Khan
25:58 - The tulku tradition
33:18 - Interest in Karma Pakshi and the tulku tradition
39:02 - Childhood in Venezuela
45:28 - Suffering at boarding school
49:34 - Institutional cruelty and formation for empire
52:07 - Coping strategies and intellectual rebellion
54:33 - Attraction to Buddhism
56:18 - Love of reading and research
01:02:08 - Study at Columbia
01:04:42 - Changes in the UK private school system
01:07:30 - The social and political scene at Columbia
01:08:36 - Joining the Black Panthers
01:09:30 - Psychedelic experimentation
01:12:21 - Arrest and deportation
01:16:34 - Homelessness
01:20:32 - Resilience
01:22:30 - Searching accentuated
01:24:22 - Career as a woodcarver
01:28:07 - Unplanned pregnancy
01:28:41 - Finding Buddhism
01:31:07 - Seeking Chogyam Trungpa
01:36:17 - 16th Karmapa and ngondro
01:37:48 - Regrets about Sherab Palden
01:39:33 - Early days at Samye Ling and meeting Kalu Rinpoche
01:45:12 - The charisma of the 16th Karmapa
01:46:26 - What is charisma?
01:49:40 - How to develop spiritual power
01:53:21 - Private time with the 16th Karmapa
01:55:09 - Maggie’s cancer and a sacred pilgrimage
02:01:53 - Regrets
02:03:54 - Maggie’s death and the aftermath
02:07:44 - Entering into long-term retreat
02:13:20 - Were the 3-year retreats successful?
02:26:26 - Experience on extended retreat
02:26:57 - Spiritual obstacles
02:29:37 - Trulkhor heart attack
02:30:47 - Should 3-year retreatants call themselves ‘Lama’?
02:37:24 - Advice for those coming out of retreat
02:39:23 - Reintegrating into society
02:40:46 - Terton Karma Rinpoche
02:42:58 - What is chulen?
02:44:06 - Karma Rinpoche’s siddhi
02:50:50 - Journeys to Tibet
02:52:34 - Mountain yogis in Tibet
02:56:40 - Chulen retreats
03:00:34 - Harvard and return to academia
03:06:46 - British Library and the Bodleian
03:07:38 - PhD work at Oxford and Paris
03:08:33 - Writing a book about Karma Pakshi
03:09:05 - 1000 year old Tibetan documents at the British Library
03:11:16 - The Bodleian collection and the John Stapleton Driver project
03:16:19 - Charles’ teaching activities and other work
…
To find our more about Charles Manson, visit:
- https://www.shambhala.com/authors/the-second-karmapa-karma-pakshi.html
- Broadcast on:
- 01 Mar 2024
In this episode I am joined by Charles Manson, author of ‘The Second Karmapa Karma Pakshi’ published by Shambhala, and librarian for the Tibetan Collections at the Bodleian Library (Oxford University) and the British Library.
Charles begins by discussing the remarkable life of Karma Pakshi, the second Karmapa, Tibet’s oldest continuous reincarnation lineage. Charles traces Karma Pakshi’s adventures as a yogic trainee, personal guru to Mongol Khans, figure of political intrigue, and reformer of monasteries.
Charles goes on to tell the story of his own life, from brutal treatment at elite British boarding schools to undergraduate studies at the renowned Columbia University. Charles recounts how arrest and deportation saw his academic prospects dashed. After a period of homelessness, he became a master woodcarver training under craftsmen in England and Germany.
Charles recalls his encounter with Buddhism, his contact with spiritual teachers such as the 16th Karmapa, his reckoning with the untimely death of his son’s mother, and details his experiences undertaking 8 years of closed retreat including challenging group dynamics, the painful complications of energetic yogas, and the mechanisms of spiritual transformation.
Charles also discusses his remarkable time with the terton Karma Rinpoche, receiving sacred chulen instructions and witnessing the mahasiddha miraculously press a footprint into rock; as well as Charles’ own return to academia, with postgraduate studies at Harvard and longstanding work at Oxford University and the British Library.
…
https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep243-scholar-practitioner-charles-manson
…
01:48 - Karma Pakshi, the 2nd Karmapa
07:57 - Summoned by the Khan
15:26 - Imprisoned by Kublai Khan
25:58 - The tulku tradition
33:18 - Interest in Karma Pakshi and the tulku tradition
39:02 - Childhood in Venezuela
45:28 - Suffering at boarding school
49:34 - Institutional cruelty and formation for empire
52:07 - Coping strategies and intellectual rebellion
54:33 - Attraction to Buddhism
56:18 - Love of reading and research
01:02:08 - Study at Columbia
01:04:42 - Changes in the UK private school system
01:07:30 - The social and political scene at Columbia
01:08:36 - Joining the Black Panthers
01:09:30 - Psychedelic experimentation
01:12:21 - Arrest and deportation
01:16:34 - Homelessness
01:20:32 - Resilience
01:22:30 - Searching accentuated
01:24:22 - Career as a woodcarver
01:28:07 - Unplanned pregnancy
01:28:41 - Finding Buddhism
01:31:07 - Seeking Chogyam Trungpa
01:36:17 - 16th Karmapa and ngondro
01:37:48 - Regrets about Sherab Palden
01:39:33 - Early days at Samye Ling and meeting Kalu Rinpoche
01:45:12 - The charisma of the 16th Karmapa
01:46:26 - What is charisma?
01:49:40 - How to develop spiritual power
01:53:21 - Private time with the 16th Karmapa
01:55:09 - Maggie’s cancer and a sacred pilgrimage
02:01:53 - Regrets
02:03:54 - Maggie’s death and the aftermath
02:07:44 - Entering into long-term retreat
02:13:20 - Were the 3-year retreats successful?
02:26:26 - Experience on extended retreat
02:26:57 - Spiritual obstacles
02:29:37 - Trulkhor heart attack
02:30:47 - Should 3-year retreatants call themselves ‘Lama’?
02:37:24 - Advice for those coming out of retreat
02:39:23 - Reintegrating into society
02:40:46 - Terton Karma Rinpoche
02:42:58 - What is chulen?
02:44:06 - Karma Rinpoche’s siddhi
02:50:50 - Journeys to Tibet
02:52:34 - Mountain yogis in Tibet
02:56:40 - Chulen retreats
03:00:34 - Harvard and return to academia
03:06:46 - British Library and the Bodleian
03:07:38 - PhD work at Oxford and Paris
03:08:33 - Writing a book about Karma Pakshi
03:09:05 - 1000 year old Tibetan documents at the British Library
03:11:16 - The Bodleian collection and the John Stapleton Driver project
03:16:19 - Charles’ teaching activities and other work
…
To find our more about Charles Manson, visit:
- https://www.shambhala.com/authors/the-second-karmapa-karma-pakshi.html