Also, Hansard claims that the Dalai Lama recommends him as one of the top ten Tibetan Medicine practitioners in the world so you might want to make some inquiries in that direction and see if there is anything to that.

Hi Gondolf,
Everyone and his/her dog claims that HHDL recommends them! There's so much newage sloshing around His Holiness I think he's long since given up trying to correct misrepresentations. He would never endorse someone as Tib medical practitioner without knowing them extremely well and I'm sure this is not the case with CH.
Yes I am a Dzogchen practitioner.
Cheers
Pema

Can I ask you some questions about dzogchen?

Hi Gondolf,
You can certainly ask me Qs about Dzogchen but I must warn that I do not approach it from an intellectual base line. For me it is 90% practice and 10% study. There are huge holes in my knowledge of its origins and philosophical perspective. There are huge holes in my practice as well -- but that's a common phenomenon! Send me a private message please.
Cheers
Pema

i have studied with CH, although i actually have spent more time with him out of the classroom than in, and have had several occassions to be quite intimate with him, sharing fine wine and cigars (which i would say is his favorite hobby)

there is no doubt the CH is a challenging person - he is extremely sharp and perceptive, highly intelligent and very witty, and i know first hand that he has at least a few "siddhis" (spiritual powers) - at his height, in any social situation, he is by far the most charasmatic person i have met (and i have met a few...)

CH has provoked within myself some of the most profound and disturbing states of consciousness i have yet experienced - it was after i met him that i had one of my most powerful visions of my place in this world, and realized that he and i aren't really so different - how can explain?

YES - there is something very BLACK about him and his tradition - it is wild and untamed and provoking and disturbing - i cannot describe it entirely, and i know that many have experienced it and some have been on the receiving end of this - his methods and techniques are provocative i know and have seen him push people far beyond their boundaries, but when looking for a guru, do you really want someone that utters platitudes that validates your delusions, or someone to pop your illusory ego bubbles?

his tradition is the wild drunken shaman - it goes far beyond the niceties of social convention, and i can see how he would rub many the wrong way - this doesn't excuse his actions, it just contextualizes them - people have this idea of the tibetan tradition being all holy, happy and smiling, but his tradition is the ecstatic tantric drunken orgy - somewhat like the aghoris of india (yes, they wouldn't fit in either...)

part of him is part showman - he plays for effect, but there is definite substance there; his workshops are very provoking, very entertaining and sometimes useful - i guess it depends on why you are there

and yet CH is human, even tho his tradition states that he is actually an incarnation of La Khu, or 'thunder-being", and i have seen him depressed, angry and wrathful - he doesn't pretend to be holy - he is what he is, and like everyone, makes mistakes and is not free of suffering - his essential teaching however, is not different from other bon teachings except the lineage (which i can't prove either way)

his knowledge of bon history and culture are deep - he told me of their cultural traditions and the hisotry of the zhang zhung long before there was anything substantial published about the subject

i have also seen him practice medicine, and can attest to his skills and knowledge - being a practitioner of natural healing myself

i am not scared of christopher
i have faced off with him a few times, and was burned in the process - but what was burnt wasn't real anyway

i am not among his flock
and yet, i say there is value here

i would say meet the fellow
before you pass judgment

~

I know a reporter who tried to check out Hansards New Zealand story but couldn't find anyone to verify it.

I also know a researcher into Bon that could also find no evidence of the Northern Treasure School.

***

huh? mention of a northern treasure school is an easy google search:

[www.yungdrung-bon.net]

[www.berzinarchives.com]

Quote
gondolf
Also, Hansard claims that the Dalai Lama recommends him as one of the top ten Tibetan Medicine practitioners in the world so you might want to make some inquiries in that direction and see if there is anything to that.

i saw this as an editorial review on amazon.com
i never heard CH claim this personally

I see by this link that there is some information about the northern treasure school - skimpy as it is. I think the point this researcher was making was that there is no researchable evidence.

As for the Dalai Lama the reference was also on one of Hansard's numerous web-sites. And by the way, allowing others to use deception to promote you does not forgive you.

Could you please explain this remark: " i know first hand that he has at least a few "siddhis" (spiritual powers). "

And has he used these so called spiritual powers inappropriately, in your opinion?

Quote
vaidya
his methods and techniques are provocative i know and have seen him push people far beyond their boundaries, but when looking for a guru, do you really want someone that utters platitudes that validates your delusions, or someone to pop your illusory ego bubbles?

If I was going to look for a 'guru' at all, I'd prefer one that was respectful of others and their boundaries. It's possible to teach with kindness and respect.

I hope so anyway (I'm an optimist :) ) though most 'gurus' seem just to enjoy the power, control and ego trip of it.