S01:E16
Material objects occupy a particular place in contemplative systems. In this episode, I speak with James Gentry about meditation-infused pills and their role in Tibetan Buddhist practice.
We discuss how these pills are made and distributed during rituals called drupchen, and what it means to unite mind and matter in this way. These practices were designed to be relevant for different kinds of people, from accomplished meditators to illiterate common folk, and we discuss the commentaries that describe their making and significance.
We also look at the importance of Avalokiteśvara practices in this context, particularly the manuals authored by Karma Chakmé in the seventeenth century.
A conversation about the material dimensions of meditation and how contemplative traditions have worked with the relationship between substances and spiritual practice.