Ep228: Dzogchen & Dark Retreat - Dr Nida Chenagtsang & Justin Von Bujdoss
Dr Nida Chenagtsang is Buddhist teacher and doctor of Tibetan Medicine; Justin Von Budjdoss is an author and Buddhist teacher.
Available on Youtube, iTunes, SoundCloud & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
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.
Topics include:
00:00 - Intro
01:01 - Geomantic energy of Bhutan
03:55 - The Dzogchen practice of trekchö
05:02 - Cutting through hardness
07:53 - The importance of using Sanskrit and Tibetan words
08:18 - The hardness of conceptual thinking
08:47 - Translating trekchö
09:45 - Dr Nida’s new approach to translation
11:54 - Dharma as medicine
12:27 - Freeing difficult emotions
14:24 - Palestine and political polarisation
17:29 - The pressure to take sides
21:10 - Meditation as medicine
21:33 - Bringing dharma experience to politics
25:09 - The value of softness and passivity
26:10 - Nationalism and fixation
28:09 - The price of enlightened politics
30:27 - Ashoka’s dharma reign
32:47 - Dr Nida’s new book about Yuthok’s Mahāmudrā
35:00 - Varieties of Dzogchen tögal practice
37:42 - The history of dark retreat
45:01 - Nyingma vs Kālachakra dark retreat versions
47:35 - Transforming energy and perception
49:57 - Yuthok and other dark retreat yogis
52:40 - 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 mind
01:09:18 - The signs of success in practice
01:09:42 - The mystical story of Dr Nida and Justin’s karmic connection
01:17:21 - Mahasiddha way vs the educational path
01:20:19 - Side-effects of meditation and dark retreat
01:28:04 - 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 support
01:36:43 - When to break your retreat
01:38:07 - Looking for experiences
01:42:43 - Dr Nida’s recent lucid dream
01:44:23 - 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 retreat
01:55:34 - Dark retreat progression
02:03:54 - 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 Tibetan
02:19:07 - Questions for the practitioner
02:21:42 - Bad spiritual pedagogy
Previous episodes with Dr Nida Chenagtsang:
Previous episode with Justin Von Bujdoss:
To find our more about Justin Von Bujdoss, visit:
To find out more about Dr Nida Chenagtsang, visit:
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James