Glenn H. Mullin

Glenn H. Mullin (Born in 1949, Quebec, Canada) is a Tibetologist who 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

On Art:

• When reasoning for 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."

On Femininity:

• "The goddesses of the Buddhist tradition embody the Buddha's highest teachings of love, compassion, and wisdom."
• "As a collective, these Buddhist goddesses symbolize not just the ideals that we hope to achieve, but the qualities that already intrinsically exist within us."
• "For, as the wheel of karma turns, we have most likely all been men and women through many lifetimes."

On Karma:

• "In Buddhism we say that all things are interdependent, and all experiences are born from causes of a similar nature."
• "I had the good fortune that my positive karma from past lives ripened and I was carried into the surging waters of the enlightenment tradition."

On Tibet:

• "The Olympics in China offers the Tibetans another golden opportunity and an open door. Perhaps they will be wise and open enough to take it."

On War:

• "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 ..."

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

Dalai Lamas on Tantra

A compilation of selections from his translations is : Glen H. Mullin (tr.) : The Dalai Lamas on Tantra. Snow Lion Publ, Ithaca, 2006. The chapters of this book are entitled :

• chap.- Dalai- title
• 1st--- 13th-- "Brief Guide to the Buddhist Tantras"
• 2nd--- 7th--- "Stages in Practice of the Herukacakraśamvara Tantra"
• 3rd--- 2nd--- "Treatise on the Six Yoga-s of Niguma"
• 4th--- 3rd--- "Tantric Yogas of the Bodhisattva of Compassion"
• 5th--- 14th-- "Concerning Kālacakra Initiation"
• 6th--- 1st--- "Notes on the Two Yogic Stages of Glorious Kālacakra"
• 7th--- 5th--- "Hayagrīva Sealed-in-Secrecy Methods for Healing"
• 8th--- 2nd--- "The Two Yogic Stages of the Vajrabhairava Tantra"
• 9th--- 2nd--- "Living on the Essence of Flowers"

Tibetan Art Exhibits

• The Art of Compassion for Tibet House in New Delhi

Established by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, The Tibet House preserves the unique cultural heritage of Tibet

• The Mystical Arts of Tibet

Personal objects from the Dalai Lama, along with Ancient and modern Tibetan sacred art and ritual objects

• The Female Buddha: Women of Enlightenment in Tibetan Mysticism

An exploration of complex symbolism and the ever-rejuvenating vitality of feminine imagery in Tibetan religious art

• Portals to Shangri-La: Masterpieces from Buddhist Mongolia

Exhibition introduced the art of Mongolia as being a portal to the mystical land of Shambala

• The Flying Mystics of Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan art exhibition, inspired by historical anecdotes in Tibetan tradition that speak of mystics with powers of levitation and flight

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Source: (Bruce Museum) (Central Tibetan Administration) (Cullum, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) (Oglethorpe University)

Publication details

Major books

• Essence of Refined Gold by Third Dalai Lama. (1978). Tushita Books.
• Path of the Bodhisattva Warrior: The Life and Teachings of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. (1987). Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 978-0937938553.
• A Long Look Homeward, An Interview with the Dalai Lama of Tibet. (1978). Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 978-0937938584.
• Death and Dying (Arkana). (1988). Penguin (Non-Classics). ISBN 978-0140190137.
• The Practice of Kalachakra. (1991). Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 978-0937938959.
• Tsongkhapa's Six Yogas of Naropa. (1996). Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 978-1559390583. Kindle Digital Edition, 2005.
• Gems of Wisdom from the Seventh Dalai Lama (Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy). (1999). Glenn H. Mullin. ISBN 978-1559391320.
• The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation. (2001) Clear Light Publishers, Santa Fe, New Mexico. ISBN 1-57416-092-3.
• Mystical Verses of a Dalai Lama. (2003). Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi. ISBN 978-8178221175.
• The Second Dalai Lama: His Life and Teachings. (2005). Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 978-1559392334.
• The Practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa. (2006). Snow Lion Publications; 2nd edition. First edition 1977. ISBN 978-1559392563.
• The Flying Mystics of Tibetan Buddhism. (2006). Serindia Publications. ISBN 978-1932476187.
• The Dalai Lamas on Tantra (2006). Snow Lion Publications.
• Buddha in Paradise: A Celebration in Himalayan Art. (2007). Rubin Museum of Art. ISBN 978-0977213115.
• Living in the Face of Death: The Tibetan Tradition. (1998). Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 978-1559393102. Also available in digital Kindle Edition.

Articles

• Celebration of the Feminine
• The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation
• The Secret Life of Power Places
• War and Peace in Tibetan Buddhism

Sources

• Arkana/Viking Penguin, Penguin Group (Canada) - HOME - March 2007. Penguin Group (Canada). 14 Mar 2007 <http://www.penguin.ca>.
• "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>.
• Foreword Magazine, "ForeWord Magazine: Reviews of Good Books, Independently Published." 14 Mar 2007 <http://www.forewordmagazine.com/>.
• 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>.