Body, speech and mind

This is a short interview with Dharma Bodhi (Kol Martens), a spiritual teacher from the United States, currently based in Costa Rica. His group is called Trika Mahasiddha Yoga (TMY). 

Dharma Bodhi says that he started practicing yoga, including kriya yoga, already as a kid at the age of seven. Later, he went into martial arts and "health sciences". At one point, he actually wanted to become a Catholic priest! In Australia, Bodhi was initiated *through the mail* by a Tantric guru living in India. During an 18 month retreat, he got "psychic transmission" (telepathic messages?) from the guru in absentia. The teachings in question were a previously hidden oral-practice tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, different from the written version that has been unearthed by Western scholars lately. The guru (whose name is never mentioned) was non-sectarian and told Bodhi to also study with Tibetans and Theravadins. Bodhi also practiced Hatha Yoga, Daoism and a Bönpo version of Dzogchen. 

In the interview, Bodhi opposes the "postmodern" tendency in spiritual circles to reject gurus in favor of self-initiation. He believes that this is impossible. There are three kinds of kundalini in the system he learned from the Shaiva guru: sva-kundalini, kula-kundalini and loka-kundalini. Of these, only the first can be achieved through your own efforts. Over "stage 5" (there seems to be 12 stages of realization in TMY), you need "grace" and a guru. Bodhi also discusses the concept of a "light body", and says it exists in Kashmiri Shaivism, not just in Tibetan Vajrayana. According to legend, Abhinavagupta and 100 disciples attained the light body. It´s not entirely clear to me whether the light body discussed by Dharma Bodhi is the same as the "rainbow body" known from Tibetan sources.

Next follows a somewhat technical discussion on "body, speech and mind", three terms that mean something else in this particular system than in everyday speech. "Mind" means "essence". The "body" signifies emotions and thinking. The body has to be cultivated, otherwise the essence can´t manifest. This means that emotions shouldn´t be suppressed, as they are in traditional Advaita Vedanta or Theravada. At the highest level, this means the attainment of a "light body". Bodhi believes that our thinking directly produces our physical body "through the epigenome", whatever that means exactly. There is also a "time lag due to karma".

Interestingly, given the emphasis on emotions (there are 64 such in this system), Bodhi criticizes Indian Tantra and its Western import versions. There is a difference between base individual emotions, such as BAU sexuality, and spontaneously arising virtues. Within Hindu Tantra, these are often misidentified with one another. Tibetan Tantra is better at this point, due to "view teachings". Bodhi or Martens ends with emphasizing the need for physical training and fitness before starting out on a "real" spiritual path. 

Interesting, and surprisingly advanced for a teaser trailer!