RE-INTRODUCING VAJRAYANA

Supreme Meditative Technologies

Karunika Dan Hirshberg, PhD

3-part Public Series: Thursdays, February 2, 9, 16 at 6pm MT

In-Person at SŌTERIC Boulder & Live-Streamed on Zoom

Recordings available to all ticket holders until March 1

How is ritual in general and Vajrayana in particular still relevant and effective for modern meditators? This 3-part series introduces the history and diversity of Vajrayana technologies in India and Tibet, defining what ritual is, exploring what ritual does, why it is practiced, and how it accomplishes its objectives––even today.

The Tibetan term for Vajrayana is tek-chok (theg mchog), the “supreme vehicle,” which is defined in large part by the special meditative techniques that catalyze and accelerate realization. Since Vajrayana features highly refined and powerful methods, rituals, and liturgies that result in buddhahood, it can be understood as a soteric technology––one which strives towards transcendence.

1. What Vajrayana? (February 2)
Historical introduction to the diversity of Vajrayana practices in India and Tibet.

2. Why Vajrayana? (February 9)
Investigation of the efficacy of Vajrayana’s special ritual technologies according to traditional presentations, critical discourse on the function of ritual in religion, and neuroscientific research on Vajrayana visualization practices.

3. How Vajrayana? (February 16)
Exploration of guru yoga as a structural, devotional, and creative foundation for the evolution of individual practice and progress on the path.

Photo: Amitabha Buddha within the western shrine of the Swayambhu Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal (DH 1996)

In-person seating at SŌTERIC is limited; live tickets are not interchangeable with streaming tickets

Recordings will be available to all ticket holders until March 1

Series $49 (Boulder, In-Person)

1 Talk $18 (In-Person)

Series $49 (Online)

1 Talk $18 (Online)

DAN HIRSHBERG, PHD

Karunika Dan Hirshberg, PhD completed his doctorate in Tibetan Studies at Harvard University. Formerly a tenured professor of Asian religions, he has also held year-long fellowships at UC Santa Barbara, LMU Munich, and UVA's Contemplative Sciences Center. Specializing in the history and iconography of the renowned Vajrayana adept Padmasambhava (8th ce. CE), Dan is currently Visiting Faculty at CU Boulder and Naropa University, as well as Executive Director of SŌTERIC Contemplative Training, which he founded at the direction of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche in 2021.