The Double Dorje: Modern Vajrayana Buddhism.
Episodes
Tarra for now!
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Goodbye to Series 2 - and what of the future?
Buddhism - A Starter Kit!
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You've been looking at Tibetan Buddhism? You want to start? But you still don't know how? This might help.
Actual Magic - And Dirt!
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Like it or not, magic is interwoven with Tibetan Buddhism. Is it symbolic? Or is it real?
Devotion - how and why?
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Devotion (mögü) - another Tibetan word that doesn't quite correspond to its English usage.
Empowerments again
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do empowerments actually work?
Mind Your Language!
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Should we read our texts in Tibetan? In English? Using phonetics? Does it make any sense to read phonetics without understanding the Tibetan? Question...
Buddhist confession
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Confession is a big thing in Buddhist practice. But there is no priest to forgive your sins on God's behalf. It is more nuanced than that.
Majnu Ka Tilla
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Shop like a Buddhist! Majnu Ka Tilla is the wellspring of Buddhist art for the Tibetan world.
Horror and Disgust
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Horror, violence and disgusting soup in Tibetan-style Buddhism. Why don't they get as much attention as sex? Why is it obvious that these things are n...
OM AH HUM - in detail!
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you do Vajrayana, you will say these syllables again and again. And again. What do they look like? What do they mean? Why does it matter?
The Wearing of the Zentra.
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dos, don'ts, and who cares (some do) about wearing the red-and-white striped "Ngagpa shawl".
The Ganges Upadesha - Mahamudra Instructions
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A crucial text for the mahamudra tradition of, in particular, the Kagyu traditions descended from Marpa the Translator
Double Dorje Series 2 is coming
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Season 2 is coming soon
Wayback in the 1960s
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Final episode of Season One! Groping towards the dharma in the midlands of England in the 1960s. Bookworm paradise: Birmingham Central Library as it w...
Paraphernalia - Bits and Bobs
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Note: the next episode, no 44, will be the last of Season 1. Season 2 is in the works! Buddhism is all about simplicity, isn’t it? Well, no, at leas...
Termas and Tertons - Treasures from Out There!
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Termas and tertons – spiritual treasures and their finders – are an inescapable feature of some branches of Tibetan Buddhism. Come along for the m...
Tulkus – what’s THAT about?
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most traditions of Buddhist practice have nothing that resembles the tulku tradition. In the Tibetan traditions, you can’t get away from them. What ...
Bitten by the Ghosts of the Stones
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Come with me over the plains of Amdo in a little blue and white bus 30 years ago. We have a couple of dozen pilgrims, two Chinese drivers and a supply...
Bread and Butter Verses
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Some verses you'll hear again and again. Not a definitive list – there ain’t no such thing. But if you know these by heart and can join the recita...
What is the Lama for? Actually?
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Q: Is the lama your boss? Big daddy? Friend? Mate? Therapist? A: Mostly not Then what? Words or phrases you might want to look up: Jamgon Kongtrul...
Empowerments
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Empowerments – what happens? You’ve been to a Buddhist ceremony. Perhaps you knew it was an empowerment. Whatever does that mean? Are you cooked? ...
Am I a vajrayana practitioner?
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Or are you a vajrayana practitioner? Is it a question of rites and rituals and pictures and mantras? Or is it something deeper? Empowerment card showi...
Namo Buddha - best of three?
08 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Namo Buddha - the smallest, but perhaps most beautiful, of the three stupas of the Kathmandu valley: Where the Buddha is said to have sacrificed hims...
Ultimate Practices? Mahamudra and Dzogchen
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mahamudra and dzogchen are often spoken of as the “highest” practices of Tibetan Buddhism. How very exciting! Are they really? What does “highes...
The Seven line prayer to Guru Rinpoche
25 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Beside the best-known mantras used in popular Tibetan-style Buddhism – the famous “Mani”, Tara and Guru Rinpoche for example – there are a num...
Emptiness. Or nothing?
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Emptiness (shunyata, or tongpa in Tibetan) is an utterly core theme in Buddhist teaching. When we first hear about it, we usually don’t have much id...
Ngondro: Do I really have to?
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When you start to get “serious” (whatever that is and however you try to define it) about your vajrayana practice you will face the question of th...
Pharping - Can I go back?
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A powerful Vajrayogini shrine, Guru Rinpoche caves, and much, much more. Pharping is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the Kathmandu valle...
Bardos: Are you dead yet?
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What does the “Tibetan Book of the Dead” tell us about being dead? Will we see the Peaceful and Wrathful deities? Bardo Tibetan Book of the Dead B...
Karma - it's not fate!
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The fruit of our actions – our karma – is said to be unavoidable. Sooner or later, every action comes back to us. But that does not mean that ever...
Sankhu and the Princess
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
She was a new bride, but for the help she gave I call her a princess! The pilgrimage trip to the Vajrayogini shrine at Sankhu could have been a LOT, L...
Dakinis - what the **** are they?
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In dreams, in the wild, dark woods where reality starts to break apart and become entangled in vision, where fear and ecstasy dance and sing, you may ...
Big cycles, little cycles
30 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From monster practice cycles that need a whole Dharma Centre to work through in a year to the handful of practices an individual carries out daily. Wh...
When dear ones die
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The two certain things in life are, famously, death and taxes. If you are rich enough, you may be able to mitigate your tax liability, but death canno...
What the tsok? What to expect.
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tsok pujas are a big feature of Tibetan-style Buddhism as it is actually practiced, but newcomers often don't have a blind clue what's going on - expl...
Secret Teachings in Tibetan Buddhism
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When secret teachings are spoken of in Tibetan Buddhism, the word "secret" is much closer in meaning to "sacred" or "holy" than it is to the meaning o...
Pilgrimage. And did those feet...
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How does pilgrimage fit into the Buddhist way of doing things? Plus the Guru Rinpoche mantra sung to a tune you might not have expected. Words or phr...
Cut and chop, cut and chop! Yes, it's Chöd.
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Chöd - a vast stream of Buddhist practice! Here is a taste. Chöd Chödpa - (images of) Jamgön Kongtrül Treasury of Knowledge Rimé Sakya Kadam...
Jyekundo / Yushu: travelling in East Tibet
18 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A traveller's tale from eastern Tibet three decades ago! The great prayer wheel at Mani Dunkhor. Some words you might like to look up: Sakya Mala Vaj...
Lost and lonely in samsara
11 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Refuge, the Three Jewels and the Bodhisattva vow... Words or phrases you might want to look up: Refuge (Buddhist) Dharma Sangha Three Jewels Bodhisa...
Bad gurus, tosh gurus and good gurus
04 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A heavy criticism of the whole "Shambhala" cult, describing the behaviour of Chogyam Trungpa and his chief defender, Pema Chodron, recently went viral...
The Four Revolting Thoughts
28 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
More often called the "Four Thoughts to Turn the Mind": precious human birth, impermanence, karma and suffering. Something to think about Approximate...
The Mantra of Guru Rinpoche - with tunes!
21 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Guru Rinpoche (or "Vajra Guru") mantra. Includes four tunes for singing! Approximate script at my blog #Buddhism #Vajrayana #Tibet #DoubleDorje #...
Tantra - is it all about sex?
14 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
To what degree does sex have anything to do with Buddhist tantra? Terms you might want to look up: Tantra Guru Rinpoche Milarepa Niguma Vajrayogini L...
Going to "take teachings". Eh?
07 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What do Buddhist practitioners and students mean when they go to "take teachings"? What to expect, how to feel comfortable. Picture irrelevant - but ...
The colours of the mantra go round and round...
31 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Another look at the mani (OM MANI PEME HUNG). The six syllables, their six colours, and the six worlds. Plus a description for anyone who might be con...
How is a sadhana built?
24 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is the structure of a typical sadhana practice? What parts must it have, what can it have, and how do they fit together? Approximate script with...
Spooky beings - is anybody there?
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tibetan Buddhist practice refers a lot to beings on "the other side" who might help or hinder. Do we have to believe in them in order to practice? Gya...
True Nature of the Mind - a conundrum!
10 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is "Direct Introduction" to the true nature of the mind, also known as "pointing out instructions" And why are the things said about it sometimes...
Manis and manis and...
03 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
About THE MOST FAMOUS of Tibetan Buddhist mantras - what it is, reciting it and singing it - with tunes! Mani walls near Everest There is an approx...
Ato Rinpoche - you will be missed. And what about your two eyes?
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Some memories of Ato Rinpoche who "rested his intent" recently, and what he spoke of as his "two eyes". Ato Rinpoche Approximate script with errors at...
The Double Dorje - itself!
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is a double dorje when it is a ritual instrument - a "diamond sceptre". And what is the Double Dorje when it is (or rather was) a restaurant in K...
The Lama! What?
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Tibetan Buddhism, "the Lama" is a many-sided word. It means much more than just a person, even a person sitting on a high throne. This episode look...
Who is a Ngagpa?
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A ngagpa is a heavy-duty kind of non-monastic practitioner of the path of mantra in Tibetan Buddhism. This tradition is also entering modern, "western...
Tips for total beginners
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you have sensed the magic around Tibetan Buddhism but don't know where to start, these tips might help. A total beginner Terms you might want to s...
Remembering Thrangu Rinpoche
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Recalling the life and achievements of Thrangu Rinpoche one year since he passed on. Thrangu Rinpoche Refers to these links: Namo Buddha Short bio (1...
Trailer
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Yes, it's a trailer for the Double Dorje In the early weeks of this podcast I included an approximate script, not particularly well edited, on a blog ...