Here is the seventh episode of the Dakini Conversations podcast, an in-depth discussion with the leading Indian Kālacakra scholar and translator, Niraj Kumar, who was also recently promoted to Joint Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Culture (after being the Director for a couple of years).   Niraj is a commentator on Shakta and Buddhist Tantras, and has been active with various facets of Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhism for more than a decade. His ongoing work is five volume pentalogy on Kalacakra Tantra, the first comprehensive English translation and new commentary of the Sanskrit ..read more

On Tara Day (20th December 2023) it was a delight and honour to welcome a woman who really needs no introduction within the world of Tibetan Buddhism, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, who is now an unbelievable eighty years old. Jetsunma’s activities are hard to describe in a few words, as she is like an emanation of Noble Tara or Vajrayogini in human form, yet I will try. One of the first western fully ordained Buddhist nuns in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Jetsunma has pioneered by action and example the empowerment and recognition of the great capacities and potential of female practitioners and nu ..read more

In Episode 4 of the Dakini Conversations podcast, Adele Tomlin speaks with Dr. Geoffrey Barstow, one of the leading scholars and writers in the world today on the topic of vegetarianism and eating animals in Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism.  Dr. Barstow spent significant time studying Tibetan language and Buddhist Philosophy in Nepal and his PhD from the University of Virginia (2013) entitled 'Food of Sinful Demons: Meat, Vegetarianism, and the Limits of Buddhism in Tibet' was later published as a book. He is currently an Associate Professor at Oregon State University. Barstow's work looks to ..read more

For the third episode of Dakini Conversations, Adele Tomlin speaks with British journalist and writer, Mick Brown about his important book 'Dance of 17 Lives: The Incredible True Story of Tibet's 17th Karmapa' (originally published in 2004). As Adele mentioned recently in an interview , it was reading this book on a plane to India for the first time in 2005, that led her to meet the Tibetan Buddhist master and lineage head, 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje for the first time. This meeting led to her completely changing her life as a qualified lawyer and strategist in the City of London to tak ..read more