Reginald Ray : "The Path of Desire: Tantric Saints in Indian Buddhism"

Abstract:

In many ways the spirituality of Tantric Buddhism provides important contrast with the teachings and practices of more mainstream Buddhism of the 18 schools and the classical Mahayana. Through looking at the image of the siddha, or tantric saint, this talk explores some of the most important points of difference between the more conventional approaches and those of the Vajrayana.

Reginald Ray received his doctorate in 1973 from the University of Chicago and has taught at Naropa University since 1974. In addition to his academic work, he is president and spiritual director of the Dharma Ocean Foundation, in Crestone, Colorado, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to the practice, study and preservation of the teachings of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his lineage.

Dr. Ray is the author of numerous works on Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, including Buddhist Saints in India: A Study in Buddhist Values and Orientations (1994; winner of AAR award); Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism (2002); and Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet (2002). His most recent work is Touching Enlightenment: Finding Realization in the Body (2008).