PHOWA

All of the Tibetan buddhist lineages have tantrik levels of practice; in fact, the Tibetans claim to have the full buddhist transmission of all the varied streams of teaching, as opposed to other cultures which only have certain sections, which claim naturally each person can assess as they see fit.

Dzogchen is indeed more like daoism than the other Tibetan teaching streams it seems.

In general Tibetan buddhism is more uptight and secretive about sex than daoism, but there is a wild lay yogi side to particularly the Kadgyu and Nyingma lineages.

Well, actually I do think there is such a thing as a ‘pure transmission’ and that there is importance in the idea of maintaining the purity of of a teaching, which ALSO can evolve (then you maintain the purity of this new improved version).

I was thinking more along the lines of practioners varying, wanting to emphasize the perhaps obvious but nevertheless often forgotten or misunderstood factor that spiritual teachings are bodies of potential, living knowledge, which only come alive if individual practicioners truly make them their own. But that’s just my own aversion to ‘clubishness’. I never accept at face value when someone claims they are a buddhist or a daoist, etcetera; we are what we are able to do, and also of course what we are able to refrain from doing.

Simon