Glenn H. Mullin

Tibetologist, Glenn H. Mullin, Born in 1949, Quebec, Canada and lived in the Indian Himalayas between 1972 and 1984, where he studied philosophy, literature, meditation, yoga, and the enlightenment culture under thirty-five of the great living masters from the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. His two principal tantric gurus were the late masters Kyabje Ling Dorjechang and Kyabje Trijang Dorjechang, who were best known as Yongdzin Che Chung, the two main gurus of the present Dalai Lama. The list of Glenn’s other teachers and initiation masters includes the Dalai Lama, Sakya Trizin Rinpoche, Kalu Rinpoche, Ngakpa Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, Tai Situ Rinpoche, Khenchen Konchok Gyaltsen, Geshe Ngawang Dargyey, Geshey Rabten, and Gongsar Tulku. (An Interview with Glenn H. Mullin, Tibetologist)

After returning to North America in 1984, Glenn founded The Mystical Arts of Tibet. This association, under his direction, facilitated music and dance tours of Tibetan monks in North America. The first such tours to reach the west, they also included demonstrations of mandala sand paintings. In accordance with their primary purpose, these cultural exchanges contributed… “mystically to world peace and planetary healing” and they raised “an awareness of the Tibet situation," at that time. Moreover the association generated funds for India’s refugee community and later dedicated its mission to the activities of Drepung Loseling, the largest of Tibet's monastic universities. (Faces and Lives of Glenn H. Mullin)

Glenn is the author of over twenty-five books on Tibetan Buddhism. Many of these focus on the lives and works of the early Dalai Lamas. Some of his other titles include Tsongkhapa's Six Yogas of Naropa and The Practice of Kalachakra (Snow Lion); Death and Dying: The Tibetan Tradition (Arkana/Viking Penguin); Mystical Verses of a Mad Dalai Lama (Quest Books); The Mystical Arts of Tibet (Longstreet Press); and The Fourteen Dalai Lamas, as well as The Female Buddhas (Clear Light Books). He has also worked as a field specialist on three Tibet-related films and five television documentaries, and has co-produced five audio recordings of Tibetan sacred music. In 2002 his book The Fourteen Dalai Lamas was nominated for the prestigious NAPRA award for best book, and in 2004 his book The Female Buddhas won a Best Book Award from Foreword Magazine.

Notable Quotes

• "Contrary to popular opinion, the world's oldest profession most probably is not prostitution. It is war."
• "All world religions speak of world peace as an ideal, and sometimes even as an achievable quality in certain periods of human history. However, like most spiritual traditions emanating from India, Buddhism does not think that the present era qualifies for that luxury."
• "The problem is that, when an individual lacks the foundations of inner peace, the presence of outer peace merely leads to boredom; then in turn the bored and idle mind naturally becomes frustrated and irritable, and ends up creating conflict with others as a form of distraction ..."
• When referring to the frequently reproduced image of the mystic Ghantapada and his female sexual consort, Mullin remarked, "perhaps as an ode to the magic of love . . . and of course the celebration of the human ability to fly."

Books

Ten Books On the Lives & Works Of Early Dalai Lamas

• Selected Works of the Dalai Lama I
• Selected Works of the Dalai Lama II
• Selected Works of the Dalai Lama III
• Selected Works of the Dalai Lama VII
• Selected Works of the Dalai Lama XIII
• Training the Mind in the Great Way
• Mystical Verses of a Mad Dalai Lama
• The Fourteen Dalai Lamas
• Gems of Wisdom from the Seventh Dalai Lama
• A Drumbeat Resounding Total Victory'

Ten Books On Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy

• Tsongkhapa's Six Yogas of Naropa
• Readings of the Six Yogas of Naropa
• The Practice of Kalachakra
• Living and Dying: The Tibetan Tradition
• Six Texts on Arya Tara
• Meditations on the lower Tantras
• The Crystal Wishing Gem
• Advice from Buddha Shakyamuni
• The Trainings of a Novice Monk
• Four Songs to Jey Rinpoche

Four Books On Tibetan Buddhist Art

• The Art of Compassion
• The Mystical Arts of Tibet
• The Female Buddhas
• The Flying Mystics of Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Art Exhibits

• The Art of Compassion for Tibet House in New Delhi
• The Mystical Arts of Tibet
• The Female Buddha: Women of Enlightenment in Tibetan Mysticism
• Portals to Shangri-La: Masterpieces from Buddhist Mongolia
• The Flying Mystics of Tibetan Buddhism

Articles

• The Secret Life of Power Places
• War and Peace in Tibetan Buddhism

Sources

• Tibetan Museum Society, "An Interview with Glenn H. Mullin." Asian Art from the greater Himalayan region. 07/22/05. Tibetan Museum Society. May 2006 <http://www.tibetan-museum-society.org/java/arts-culture-interview-Mullin.jsp>.
• Dharma Avenue, "Faces and Lives of Glenn H. Mullin." Dharma Avenue. 07/22/05. Dharma Avenue Buddhist Learning Center. 13 Mar 2007 <http://www.dharmaavenue.com/faces-lives/glenn-h-mullin.htm>.