New Interview with Lama David Curtis - LSD, 6 Yogas, etc...

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Steve James, modified 3 Years ago at 3/5/21 8:24 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 3/5/21 8:24 AM

New Interview with Lama David Curtis - LSD, 6 Yogas, etc...

Posts: 104 Join Date: 2/15/19 Recent Posts
In this episode, I am joined by David Curtis, a Lama in the Shangpa-Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and founder of the Tibetan Language Institute.

David reveals how a radically transformative experience of LSD led to his leaving a career in military intelligence to dedicate himself to spiritual exploration

We discuss David’s love for classical languages, the Western canon, and why conversion to Buddhism often includes a rejection of Western civilisation.

David tells of hitchhiking across Europe, entering a 3-year retreat under the direction of famous meditation master Kalu Rinpoche, and recounts his powerful experiences there practicing the 6 Yogas of Naropa.



​​​​​​​https://www.guruviking.com/ep84-lama-david-curtis-hitchhiking-in-samsara/
Audio version of this podcast also available on iTunes and Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.



0:00 - Intro
0:46 - Studying philosophy and meeting the Dalai Lama
8:55 - Vietnam, military intelligence, and a transformative experience with LSD
14:44 - David’s extensive LSD explorations
20:09 - What would David’s life have been like without LSD?
21:47 - Falling in love with the Greek Classics
25:02 - Why many American Buddhist converts rejected Western civilisation
30:39 - Beat Zen, Square Zen and religious conversion
39:09 - David’s advice for reading the Western canon
42:00 - ‘Hitchhiking in Samsara’, David’s way of life
58:00 - Stories from David’s 3-year retreat
1:11:49 - Love, wisdom, and power
1:16:10 - Archetypes and reification
1:28:27 - David’s significant intuitive and dream experiences
1:38:51 - Powerful experiences with the 6 Yogas of Naropa
1:44:50 - Out of body experiences with illusory body yoga
1:47:46 - The value of experiences on the spiritual path
1:55:12 - Final anecdote about entering the 3-year retreat
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Noah D, modified 3 Years ago at 3/5/21 4:56 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 3/5/21 4:56 PM

RE: New Interview with Lama David Curtis - LSD, 6 Yogas, etc...

Posts: 1211 Join Date: 9/1/16 Recent Posts
Really cool.  I had not seen or read Lama David anywhere before.  He has a nice, midwestern way about him.  I was struck by the seeming contrast between his humility/beginnger's mind & his inspiring accounts of phowa & jyulus on retreat.  In particular, the illusory body account was wonderful, as I had not heard a similar one previously & am fascinated by that practice.  It's also interesting to see the differences between what various teachers are willing to share.  For instance, in your interview with Lama Palden, she was very willing to share a "far out" dream/vision about Kalu Rinpoche but not willing to share any practice details.  Lama David was willing to share about practice (for instance, fairly readily sharing phowa) but was more shy about the details of his Dzgochen dream/vision.  Both from the same lineage!
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Steve James, modified 3 Years ago at 3/6/21 5:31 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 3/6/21 5:31 PM

RE: New Interview with Lama David Curtis - LSD, 6 Yogas, etc...

Posts: 104 Join Date: 2/15/19 Recent Posts
Thanks for checking it out, Noah!

Yeh, the degree to which practitioners share their experiences and practices is also very interesting to me (and relevant to the ethos of this board).  

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