Ep109: Choose Your Yidam - Lama Glenn Mullin
In this interview I am once again joined by Tibetologist, author, and Tantric Buddhist Lama Glenn Mullin.
Glenn takes a deep dive into the use of yidam, or meditation deities, in Buddhist tantra including the role of personal preference, karmic coincidence, and divination in choosing the right yidam for you.
Glenn reveals his own primary yidam practice and details the unusual experiences around his initiation as well the effects of the yidam practice over his lifetime.
Glenn also explains the use of ritual instruments, mudra, and choreographed hand gestures in Tantric practice, and discusses what it means to become an accomplished practitioner of these disciplines.
Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
Topics Include:
00:00 – Intro
00:47 – How to choose a practice deity
11:54 – How to determine your karmic dispositions and tales of empowerments
18:13 – Divination and karmic coincidence
24:57 – Effects of Yamantaka tantric practice on Glenn
44:42 – What is a yidam really?
54:10 – What does it mean accomplish a practice?
01:02:23 – Tantric use of ritual instruments, mudra, and choreographed hand gestures
01:26:04 – Founding ‘The Mystical Arts of Tibet’ touring group
Previous Glenn Mullin episodes:
Buy ‘The Dalai Lamas on Tantra’:
To find our more about Glenn, visit:
Published books by Glenn Mullin:
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James