Tibetan nun dared to teach yoga (Chöd)

Machig Labdrön (Tibetan མ་གཅིག་ལབ་སྒྲོན་, sometimes referred to as ཨ་སྒྲོན་ཆོས་སྒྲོན or Ahdrön Chödron་) [1], the "Singular Mother Torch from Lab" (1055–1149) [2].

She was a Tibetan Buddhist nun (ani) believed to be a reincarnation of Yeshe Tsogyal.

Machig Labdrön was the renowned 11th-century Tibetan tantric Buddhist master and yogini who originated several Tibetan lineages of the Vajrayana practice of Chöd (Tibetan གཅོད་).

Buddhist leader Chökyi Drönma

Nyingma scholar Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche states that the Chöd tradition developed by Machig Labdrön is "a radical synthesis of the Prajnaparamita tradition and tantra guru yoga that 'cuts' through the ego" [3].

 

Historical texts portray Machig Labdrön as the originator of the Chöd lineage, which she developed in Tibet.

This was confirmed in her own lifetime by Indian Brahmin priests and others, and Machig Labdron's creation of the Chöd lineage is not doubted by its modern practitioners [4].

• The highest female incarnation in Tibet, the first Samding Dorje Phagmo, Princess Chökyi Drönma (1422–1455), a female tulku (incarnation) lineage of Vajravārāhī, was understood to be an emanation of Machig Labdrön (King of the Empty Plain, Stearns, 2007).

Violent denunciation by Maoists: Samding Dorje Phagmo, parents during Cultural Revolution

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Vajravarahi mandala

The influences of other practices on Chöd are debated. Some posit Machig Labdron may have come from a Yungdrung Bön [black magic shaman] family, a position that contradicts historical records [5].

According to Namkhai Norbu, Chöd might be interpreted through combining native Tibetan shamanism with the Dzogchen teachings.

Other Buddhist teachers and scholars offer differing interpretations of the origins of Chöd. Not all of them agree that Chöd has Bön shamanistic roots [6]. More

The Tibetan Yoga of Dreaming

Tibetan tantric dream yoga (milam) In the yoga of dreaming (rmi lam), the yogi and yogini learn to remain aware (lucid dream) during the states of dreaming and use this skill to practice yoga in the dream... The Yoga of the Dream State is a suite of advanced tantric daily practices (sadhana) of the entwined Mantrayana (Vajrayana) lineages of Dzogchen (Nyingmapa, Ngagpa, Mahasiddha, Kagyu, and Bönpo). It consists of tantric processes and techniques in the trance bardos [liminal spaces] of dream and sleep or the Six Dharmas of Naropa, the "dream body" and the "bardo body" being identified with the "vision body" (yid lus)...

• Tantric sex (sexual yoga)
• Sex, love, and abuse with Guru "Baba"
• Tibetan tantric practice
• Buddha's Wisdom, July 29, 2026; CC Liu, Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

The Most Peaceful Place on Earth

Namo Buddha: The Most Peaceful Place on Earth (documentary)

(Isha lifestyle) Dec. 12, 2025: This documentary is a dedicated tribute to the Buddhist monks of Namo Buddha Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery in Nepal.

Where is peace? [Home?] How do we find it?

High in the Himalayas, this sacred place is not just a destination—it is a spiritual home where ancient [Vajrayana] traditions are kept alive.

I created this film to honor their way of life and share the profound peace of this holy site.

🙏 SUPPORT THE MONASTERY AND SPONSOR A BUDDHIST MONK/NUN: This video was made to support the community at Namo Buddha. If this journey touched you, please consider supporting them either by visiting the monastery or directly right now. Sponsorship helps provide food, education, and healthcare for kids, monks, and nuns.

• 👉 Sponsor a monastic by donating here: himalayanchildren.org/how-to-help/make-a-donation-2
• 👉 Official website: namobuddha.org
• 👉 Book a stay via email or call through their website
• 👉 It is also possible to stay at Hotel Sonam. Call for booking.

The Legend of Namo Buddha

I'm so hungry that I can't feed my cubs.

Located in the Kathmandu Valley, Namo Buddha is one of the holiest pilgrimage sites in Nepal. It is the place where, according to legend, the historical Buddha [as the Bodhisattva] in a previous life sacrificed [parts of] his body to feed a starving tigress and her cubs [Mankiala]. This [unlikely but legendary] act of supreme compassion (karuṇā) echoes through the monastery to this day.

• Isha lifestyle, YouTube, Dec. 12, 2025; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Mt. Everest: Storm traps 1,000 rich climbers

Hundreds trapped by out-of-season blizzard conditions on Mount Everest

COST: Price of completing the world’s most iconic mountain climbs (outforia.com)

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(NBC News) Oct. 5, 2025: Rescue efforts were underway on Sunday on Tibet’s eastern slope of Mount Everest, where nearly 1,000 [rich] people [spending at least $84,000 in 1922 prices for the attempt to summit and gain bragging rights] were trapped by a blizzard, according to Chinese state media reports. NBC News’ Camila Bernal has the latest. For more context and news coverage of the most important stories of the day, click: nbcnews.com. #nbcnews #currentevents

(BBC News) Rescuers bringing down rich, trapped, Everest climbers

(DW News) Heavy snowfall has trapped hikers on slopes of Mt. Everest

Heavy snowfall, wind, rain has trapped hikers on the slopes of Mount Everest

(DW News) Oct. 6, 2025: DW (Deutsche World) is a German public broadcast service. One trekker has died. Rescuers have guided hundreds of other trekkers trapped on Everest to safety. Unusually heavy snowfall and rainfall have battered the Himalayas. According to Chinese state media, the hikers have reached the small township of Qudang, Tingri County, and rescuers have made contact with the remaining 200 trekkers. Kenton Cool, a British mountaineer, talks about the situation and rescue efforts.

Lake's 'Buddhist Nuns of Lotus Abbey'

More sacred than Lake Titicaca in the Americas is the biggest lake in all of Tibet and China

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(TRACKS - Travel Documentaries) Explore the mysterious island at the heart of Tibet/China’s largest lake (Qinghai Lake), where very few outsiders have ever been before. Here (at the Holy Mountain at the Heart of the Lake Island, home of Jetsun Tara_(Buddhism), "Mother of all the Buddhas"), the Buddhist nuns of the convent Lotus Abbey reside, devoting their life to meditation -- far from the outside world. Taken from the series "Lakes on the Roof of the World."

• Lake Rakshastal: Yeti (Ogre) Salt Lake
• TRACKS, Jan. 10, 2018; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Driving in India's Himalayas (video)

India, the Himalayas Acrobats | Deadliest Journeys

(Best Documentary) Premiered Nov. 17, 2022. The truck drivers of India (Inde) who supply the lost cities of the Himalayas play the tightrope walkers on passes at altitudes of 4,000 meters. They graze parishes and precipices flat out on roads barely wider than their engines. Directed by Frédéric Elhorga and Antonin Marcel.

Yeti: Bear Man of Buddhist Lore (PBS)

The Crazed Hunt for the Himalayan Yeti

(Monstrum, 3/11/20) The yeti is one of the world’s most notorious cryptids, one searched for in earnest and with great enthusiasm.

The huge, hairy bear-man monster is said to roam the valleys of the Himalayas, and some people out there are convinced the “abominable snowman” (actually man bear snow man) is real.

Does this snow monster really exist? Is it a type of bear or Bigfoot? An unidentified humanoid species (Almas, Gigantopithecus)? Himalayan Buddhist lore? Complete fiction?

Let’s find out in this episode of Monstrum. Host Dr. Emily Zarka examines the yeti’s origins, from the ancient Tibetan Buddhist folklore to the modern Westernized "abominable snowman" version.

These ogres are filthy, stink and live in the snow

She explains how Buddhist beliefs, a series of intrepid 20th-century explorers, and a creatively translated word make the yeti the creature we recognize today — and how it led to some pretty incredible scientific discoveries.

• Written and hosted by Dr. Emily Zarka. Director: David Schulte. Executive Producer: Amanda Fox. Producer: Stephanie Noone. Illustrator: Samuel Allen. Editor: Derek Borsheim. Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.

Follow Monstrum on Instagram: instagram.com/monstrumpbs

#yeti #abominablesnowman #MonstrumPBS #bigfoot

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gigantopithecus looks just like a yeti that goes on all fours (Concavenator/wiki)

• Bellezza, John Vincent. Spirit-mediums, Sacred Mountains and Related Bon Textual Traditions in Upper Tibet: Calling Down the Gods. BRILL, 2005.
• Capper, D. S. (2012). The Friendly Yeti. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture, 6(1), 71-87. Available at: aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/14855.
• Choi, Charles Q. “‘Yeti Hair? Nothing so Abominable, Scientists Find.” Live Science, Nov. 29, 2017. livescience.com/61048-yeti....
• Hodgson, B. H. "Summary Description of Four New Species of Otter. By B. H. Hodgson, Esq., Resident at Catmandu, Nepal." Annals of Natural History, vol. 5, no. 28, 1840, p. 27+
• Hodgson, B. H. “On the Mammalia of Nepal.” Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. 1 (1832): pp. 335-349.
• Howard-Bury, Lieut.-Col. C.K and Other Members of the Mount Everest Expedition. Mount Everest: The Reconnaissance, 1921. Longmans, Green and Co., 1922.
• Kets de Vries, Manfred F. R. "Abominable Snowman or Bigfoot: A Psychoanalytic Search for the Origin of Yeti and Sasquatch Tales" Fabula, 23.1 (2009): 246-261.
• Lan, Tianying, et. al. “Evolutionary history of enigmatic bears in the Tibetan Plateau‑Himalaya region and the identity of the yeti.” Proceedings Royal Society, 284: 20171804.
• Loxton, Daniel, and Donald R. Prothero. Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids. Columbia University Press, 2013.
• Regal, Brian. Searching for Sasquatch: Crackpots, Eggheads, and Cryptozoology, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
• Ward, Michael. “Everest 1951: the footprints attributed to the Yeti—myth and reality.” Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, 8 (1997): pp. 29–32.
• Waddell, Laurence Austine. Among the Himalayas. 2nd edition. Westminster: Archibald Constable and Co., 1900. "Yeti." Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained, edited by Una McGovern, Chambers Harrap, 1st edition, 2007.

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Four dead on Mt. Everest, Nepal (photos)

Phurba Sherpa, Sugam Pokharel (CNN, 5-23-16); Dhr. Seven, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly

Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and British Sir Edmund Hillary were first to summit in 1953.

• A Nepalese  mountain Sherpa, a Dutch man, an Australian woman, and an Indian man are among the deaths
• Two Indian climbers are missing, expedition organizers said

Avalanches killed 35 climbers on Mount Everest in the past two years -- including 16 in one devastating day in 2014. At least one person has died climbing the mountain in Nepal every year since 1900.

 

And now the 2016 climbing season has claimed its first victims.

Since last Thursday four people have died on the 29,035-foot peak, including a Sherpa. Rescue efforts are ongoing for two other missing climbers.

Is K2 higher? (Robbie Ryan/IFC Films/NPR)

"Everest is a mountain of extremes," said Jon Kedrowski, a geographer and climber who summited Mount Everest in 2012, when 10 climbers died. "At altitude, the body deteriorates on a certain level.

The recent deaths -- coming so quickly on the heels of one another -- have rattled climbers who are beginning their descent as the Everest climbing season nears its end. April and May are the most common months to attempt a climb because there tends to be less wind. Regardless, the climate on the mountain is brutal. Temperatures range from -31 to -4 Fahrenheit.

April was the first month of climbing since all ascent was halted after the catastrophic earthquake that struck Nepal in 2015 and a deadly avalanche that killed 16 Sherpas in one day in 2014. More than 200 climbers have died since Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary made the first official ascent in 1953.

And yet the hopefuls keep coming. More than 400 people have attempted the Everest climb this season, including 288 foreigners and more than 100 Sherpas and guides, said Sudarshan Dhakal, director of the Nepal Tourism Department. That's more than the average for previous seasons, he said.

Here's a closer look at the recent fatalities. More + VIDEO

• Everest summit reached for first time after two years

Sherpas to climb Mt. Everest after avalanches

Danielle Preiss (Weekend Edition Saturday, npr.org, 5-14-16); Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly
David Sharp was at the center of the most controversial climbing season in Everest history.

Everest: view from Camp III at 24,000 feet on the mountain's Lhotse Face (Alan Arnette/AP)

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This week, nine Sherpas became the first to climb Mt. Everest [possibly the  highest peak in the world unless it's K2] since a deadly avalanche in 2014 and a massive earthquake last year. For economic reasons, the guides hope more climbers will return to the slopes.

• AUDIO: LISTEN - download

The real tallest mountain is?
(BBC Earth Unplugged) Maddie Moate investigates: Is Mt. Everest really the tallest? Many other mountains like K2 have been living in the shadow of Everest and deserve recognition.

• How can anyone think K2 is higher than Everest?

High on Everest, climbers clash with Sherpas

(April 29, 2013) An argument between three climbers and Sherpa guides on Mt. Everest devolved into a fistfight on the mountain, close to Camp III, at 24,500 feet. The Nepali Times calls it "the highest brawl in world history" as well as evidence of a culture clash.

Mount Everest is constantly shrouded by clouds and beset by storms (/npr.org)

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Government will try to persuade Sherpas to stay on Mt. Everest  Some guides have reportedly packed up to leave. Shaken by the deaths in 2014 of 16 Sherpas, many do not want to climb this year. Negotiators are headed to Mt. Everest's base camp. More

 

On Mt. Everest, Sherpa guides bear brunt of danger

Sherpa with Buddhist prayer wand (npr.org)

Sherpa guides are 10 times more likely to die than commercial fishermen, the most dangerous, nonmilitary occupation in the U.S. But they're offered little financial protection by companies who charge Western climbers thousands of dollars for a single trip up the mountain. More

• Fear for Sherpas' future grows with each climbing tragedy Sherpas have a great reputation as the world's best climbers, so when something goes wrong up there, it affects the small Buddhist ethnic group and its communities around the world.
• Female Sherpa makes record climbs Few can say they've reached the summit of Mt. Everest. Even fewer can say they've done it twice. Only one woman can say she's done it twice in one month.

Revisiting doomed on quest for "The Summit"

NPR, October 6, 2013

Harder than Everest (Robbie Ryan/IFC Films)

The documentary tells the story of the August 2008 disaster on K2, the Earth's second-highest mountain, in which 11 climbers died. NPR's Rachel Martin spoke with the film's director, Nick Ryan, and Pemba Gyalje Sherpa, one of the climbers who made it off the mountain alive. More

Mt. Everest was originally measured at 29,000 feet (8,839m), but is now 29,029 (8,848m), whereas Denali (Alaska), which was previously known as Mt. McKinley, is 19,357 feet (5,900m), and Mauna Kea (Hawaii) is 6.3 miles (10,130m)...What about K2?