I don't dictate particular styles of dress. I do teach classes in self discovery.
We have a spiritual community but everyone lives where they want to. I recommend certain areas to live because of their power.
People get together and go to the movies or on hikes, but everyone maintains their own independent domicile.
Some people harbor the idea or belief that all teachers should teach for free. Obviously these people have never been teachers, particularly in the twentieth century. Teaching meditation is a very expensive hobby.
I show people the techniques for gaining knowledge, and this inspires them in their search for truth, freedom and happiness. I also try to show people that truth exists as much in this world as it does in any other world.
Everything that I teach as an enlightened Buddhist teacher is towards directing an individual to happiness, a balanced wisdom and knowledge that is sometimes just bubbly and euphoric or just very still and profound.
There is no best teacher. Life itself is the teacher. There is no best method. All that matters is that it works.
Many people who help me encounter a lot of resistance from other people and from forces.
Certainly, I am aware that there have been a number of articles written about me and television shows in which I have been featured and referred to as a "cult leader."
I don't think there is anyone in public life today who can escape the inevitable onslaught of the media. It seeks to pry into and often grossly distort aspects of one's personal and professional life. I guess it just comes with the territory.
I find it ironic to read stories about myself which have never occurred and are simply so absurd that they are comical. At other times, it is very painful to be so misinterpreted and vilified.
All I can say is that these cult stories are totally untrue, are without any foundation, and trade on a deep bias against Westerners who dare to embrace an Eastern belief-system.
Unfortunately, in self-discovery, you get the culty types who want the father figure or mother figure to tell them everything to do. They don't want to do any work. They want to hang on your energy and try to drain it.
The source of their motivation ranges from what you might expect - from the seeking of money and publicity, to those who genuinely suffer from chronic personal problems and have fixated on me as the cause of their frustrations and failures.
Every new movement or group of people who seek to explore awareness is considered a cult. The United States was founded by several cults. They felt that Protestantism had become much too lax, so they came to America and set up a hard line religious cult.
It is inevitable that, in the process of teaching an Asian religion in a Western country, many of the teachings will seem strange or unusual - in the same way that Christianity and Judaism may seem strange and unusual to people from the Far East.
Obviously, following my convictions has come at a personal price, but they are important enough that I have been willing to endure the abuse.
Perhaps my own struggle against the negativity created by these so-called critics has enabled me to develop a more resilient, peaceful, inner strength which I, in turn, have attempted to communicate to others.
A critical part of Tantric Buddhism is a process of turning of the activities and experiences in your daily life into meditation.
In Tantric Buddhism, we believe that Samsara is Nirvana. That is to say that everything in the universe is part of us. And we also are part of everything in the universe.
For the person who wants to get to the mystical experience directly, Tantric Buddhism is the path.
Zen is Tantric Buddhism, Vajrayana is tantric Buddhism - these are various forms of it. Tantric Buddhism simply means cutting to the chase.
What we seek to do in Tantric Buddhism is to liquefy ourselves. Life will automatically bring us to the next stage. You don't really have to know where you're going - It's like breathing.
Be neither attracted nor repulsed is the message of Tantric Buddhism. Don't be drawn to something, don't run away from it. Just naturally accept whatever comes into life.
Tantric Buddhism is just a collection of things that work by doing them. And sometimes we add new things. We have electronic music; we did not have it in Tibet.
