After leaving Rigpa, a community that enabled abuse by the teacher — and after untangling the subtle distortions in their understanding of the teachings that allowed such enabling — I found myself sitting with a difficult paradox. How could a system that had failed so profoundly in its ethical foundations still contain practices that were, for me, deeply transformative?
I explore the community dynamics and distortions in my book Fallout, but the question that lingered long after I left was more intimate: Why did the Vajrayana practices themselves work so powerfully, even when the container around them was compromised?
This is the topic of my recent video. Below are the written notes if you prefer to read. Let me know in the comments below if any of this resonates with you.
I realised the depth of their impact one day while sitting with a group discussing death and dissolution. As they spoke, I realised that none of them lived with the awareness of impermanence in the way I did. None of them had spent three months — literally — contemplating the inevitability of death every moment of the day and night, as I had during the Vajrayana outer preliminaries.
No matter what one thinks of the religion or its institutions, the practices work. At least, they did for me.
But after leaving, I wanted to understand why they worked — without relying on the religious language, metaphysics, or cultural framing of Tibetan Buddhism. I wanted to see the practices from the outside, through a different lens.
So I turned to Jungian psychology.
After all, those deities — are they not archetypes?
A Simple Vajrayana Practice, Seen from the Outside
Let’s take one of the simplest Vajrayana practices:
- The practitioner imagines a deity floating in a vast blue sky.
- As they recite a mantra, healing light flows down from the deity into them.
- They may imagine others around them receiving this same light.
- At the end, the practitioner flies up into the sky and merges with the deity.
- Finally, they dissolve from the outside in, disappearing into nothing.
This dissolution practice is one I still do every day. It has made me intimately familiar with the felt sense of dissolving — of letting go, of impermanence, of spaciousness.
From a Jungian perspective, this practice is rich with psychological meaning.
The Jungian Lens: Active Imagination With an Archetype
In Jungian terms, this practice takes place in the imagination — the realm of the unconscious mind. It is a kind of waking dream, similar to Jung’s method of active imagination, where symbolic images arise and the practitioner interacts with them consciously.
Let’s break down the elements.
1. The Deity as Archetype
In Jungian psychology, an archetype is a universal pattern of human experience — a symbolic form that expresses deep psychological truths. The deity in Vajrayana practice can be understood as an archetype of the fully integrated Self — the wholeness that lies beneath the fragmented ego.
The deity is not “other.” It is a symbolic representation of the practitioner’s own potential.
2. The Sky as the Unconscious
The vast blue sky is a classic symbol of the unconscious — spacious, open, beyond the limits of the ego. Placing the deity in the sky situates the archetype in the realm where transformation occurs.
3. The Light as Psychic Energy
The healing light flowing down is a symbolic transmission of psychic energy — vitality, clarity, compassion, integration. The mantra acts as a rhythmic bridge between conscious intention and unconscious response.
4. Merging With the Deity
Flying up and merging with the deity is a symbolic identification with the archetype — a temporary recognition that the qualities of the deity (wisdom, compassion, clarity) are already present within the practitioner.
5. Dissolution
Dissolving into nothingness is crucial. In Jungian terms, it prevents inflation — the ego mistaking itself for the archetype. Dissolution returns the practitioner to spaciousness, humility, and psychological balance.
This cycle — invocation, identification, dissolution — mirrors Jung’s understanding of how one safely engages with archetypal forces.
Why Does It Work? A Jungian Explanation
This is the part I’ve been contemplating for years.
Why does such a practice bring the practitioner closer to their fully integrated — or “enlightened” — self?
Here is the Jungian answer:
1. It Creates a Dialogue With the Unconscious
Active imagination opens a channel between conscious awareness and unconscious material. The deity becomes a symbolic mediator between the ego and the deeper Self.
2. It Allows Safe Contact With Archetypal Power
Archetypes are potent. Engaging them directly can overwhelm the ego. But Vajrayana practice provides structure, ritual, and containment — making the encounter safe.
3. It Strengthens the Ego–Self Axis
In Jungian terms, psychological health depends on a strong connection between the ego (our everyday identity) and the Self (our deeper wholeness). This practice strengthens that connection.
4. It Integrates Dissociated Qualities
The deity embodies qualities the practitioner may lack or repress — compassion, clarity, courage, spaciousness. By identifying with the deity, these qualities are integrated into consciousness.
5. It Trains the Mind in Symbolic Thinking
Symbolic thinking is essential for psychological growth. It allows us to understand ourselves in deeper, more nuanced ways.
6. It Regulates the Nervous System
The imagery, mantra, and dissolution all have calming, grounding effects. This creates the physiological conditions for psychological transformation.
The Shadow Problem: Where Vajrayana and Jung Diverge
Here we reach the tension.
Jung famously said:
“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
This raises an important question:
If Vajrayana emphasises “watering the seeds of joy” — focusing on the positive and ignoring the darkness — does it fall short in Jungian terms?
I believe the answer is yes.
This is how we end up with gurus who can guide students in transformative practices while remaining unaware of their own shadow — unaware to the point of abusing students and seeing nothing wrong with it.
Vajrayana practices can be profoundly transformative, but without shadow work, they can also become spiritually bypassing.
Jung would say: You cannot become whole by ignoring the darkness.
A New Integration: Vajrayana + Jungian Active Imagination
This leads to my final reflection.
I believe it is possible — and deeply valuable — to integrate Jungian active imagination with Vajrayana practice, once the Tibetan religious baggage is removed.
Not to diminish either tradition. Not to blend them into something new. But to allow them to stand side by side, informing each other.
Vajrayana provides:
- powerful symbolic practices
- ritual structure
- transformative imagery
- deep familiarity with impermanence
Jungian psychology provides:
- shadow work
- archetypal understanding
- safeguards against inflation
- a secular framework
- a language for integration
Together, they form a functioning whole.
A way of engaging the imagination that is both spiritually profound and psychologically safe.
This is the path I am exploring — a contemplative, symbolic, psychologically grounded way of meeting the Self through imagination, ritual, and honest shadow work.
A way of revealing the mystic within without losing sight of the human who walks the path.
Glossary (for readers new to Jung)
Archetype Universal patterns of human experience that express themselves through symbols, myths, and dreams.
Self (capital S) The totality of the psyche — the deeper wholeness beneath the ego.
Ego The conscious sense of identity; the “I” we normally experience.
Unconscious The part of the psyche outside conscious awareness; includes both personal and collective layers.
Active Imagination Jung’s method of consciously engaging with images, symbols, and figures from the unconscious.
Inflation When the ego identifies with an archetype and becomes grandiose or ungrounded.
Shadow The parts of ourselves we reject, repress, or deny.
wish that one could continue with meditation, & not have to leave. the practices are excellent, until lately. just missing a few things, like more strict precepts, tangible ethics, right & wrong is missing in tib buddhism plus immortality . too much death killing & diseases in Vajrayana & hierarchy.when you carry on without a lama – how to know the mantras are fr a safe source ? & how to heal .am astounded that – of all the countless centers, lamas, gurus – teachers- can not find 1 perfect teacher . am not sure Jungianism is open enough – to rejuvenation . it is too concerning the lack of freedom in the meditation worldwide – .
Try Tenzin Palmo. I recommend her. She speaks out against abuse, but she also says we should not let it turn us away from the dharma, and that we can take the dharma as our teacher, that the dharma itself is pure. She is a good source of that dharma, and all these videos are free. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpYt9R6ZxSw6xmzpiO54xNQ
She speaks on the abuse issue here, about 16 minutes in. https://www.facebook.com/jetsunmatenzinpalmo/videos/3154789571478840
And she also says that that the lama we go to refuge with is the nature of our mind, not the person. A very import thing to understand. The person is just to show us the way.
As for mantras, if you can’t do traditional ones anymore, but would like to have one you can use, then Om Maha Vajra Hung is a good one. Maha Vajra means Great Awareness, so the mantra is calling up your own great awareness.
There’s some nice chants with it here: https://tahlianewland.bandcamp.com/album/maha-vajra-chants-meditations
Thank-you very much – so many you tubes on the link. wrote to Jetsunma years ago, she recommended a psychologist- but do not like that route . did not realise she had so much material on topic. often think of her.
I think she was right, Suzanne. I have found working with a psychologist very helpful. If she has a recommendation for one, I’d definitely try them. Other than that I’d go for a Jungian therapist.
Thank-you. have had bad experiences with all psychologists. because they do not remove the abuse abuser . they will eventually recommend medication to deaden one’s brain so the abusers do not get stimulated by one’s active mind. so this is not ok. the law of most countries allows abuse & for men to bully , have their outlet. one has to go to pastoral intercession, equine therapy, ask the police or military or pray for the specific abusers to stop . Jungian similar. free Lifeline phone counselling have been using for 40 yrs & is highly effective. all my other therapists were extremely cruel harmful waste of time. but maybe there are better ones overseas. but there are no nice psychologists were i live. i use many other channels like writing to govts, churches, asking for prayers.writing to buddhists etc. what if the psychologists disagrees with you & says is imagination or wants to put you away as insane? typical psychologists here are bullies themselves. but if there was anyone better i would maybe go as you say.
Ah. Yes, no psychologist is better than a bad one for sure. You don’t want to be working with a bully or someone who is cruel. Gosh, that’s not how a therapist is supposed to be!
The trouble with all of this is that we can’t actually stop these abusers unless we can take them to court. And that’s not a guaranteed outcome, nor is it easy. You need proof, preferably a witness, and one who’s prepared to testify in court – hard to find in TB. And it needs to be the kind of abuse that is covered by the law in whatever country you’re in. It’s also incredibly stressful and not something one can do without support. So in the end, we have to accept that this is just how it is and find some kind of peace within ourself. It’s horrible when it continues despite our efforts to stop it, but sometimes there really is nothing we can do except get ourself out of there and do what we can to heal and move on with our lives.
important to find trustworthy support, depending on where one lives. i have never gone to court, especially emotional bullying can never prove. but many yrs ago, one could just go to chat to the police or army or their church, they just hold your hand & take note of the bully. that did ease the problem until a new govt took over. the most helpful was phoning local Lifeline cape town almost daily or weekly, for decades. that saved my life often & is free. pastoral interfaith. & for a while i wrote to Peace Corps . & countless churches. by then everyone knows you & does create support. Buddhism should establish a helpline to phone or email. nowadays even the women’s support centers say get legal advice, but in the old days the counsellor listened & made the bullying stop or reduce.
Listening is very therapeutic. So often we just have to tell our story and have someone listen without judgement or trying to fix anything.
Thanks Tahlia this is interesting, I’m sure you have come across this author/teacher, he is a Jungian psychotherapist who combines Tibetan Buddhism and Jungian teachings, he has written quite few books, this is one of them …
https://www.amazon.ie/Psychology-Buddhist-Tantra-Rob-Preece/dp/1559392630
https://www.mudra.co.uk/spiritual-pathology
I think you will find this interesting too, this is a blog from Rob Preece about how the shadow pathology can effect how individuals and institutions practice – and distort – Buddhism.
I’m about a third of a way through this book, and I’m finding it really good. This is more the level I was hoping for. He talks about how those practicing vajrayana will at some point meet their shadow, but so far, not about how vajrayana actually deals with that in any specific way. Certainly Sogyal’s practice never addressed his shadow side and many people suffered for it.
But I read on.
I was just listening to him on a podcast and he talked about his evolution through the books he has written, the Pyschology of Buddhist Tantra was his first book, but he said his approach has changed a bit since then.
These books he directly addresses how to work with feelings, difficult emotions and shadow, as well as addressing how seeing emotions as delusion or defilements can lead to repression and more shadow material.
https://www.mudra.co.uk/introduction-to-feeling-wisdom
https://www.mudra.co.uk/introduction-to-the-wisdom-of-imperfecti
These podcasts were really good and give his more recent viewpoint, where he talks about how he has evolved over the years.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6YHM1kgwcWKgcLgjZxqse7?si=bfc11241bda3447b
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6AsG8ck8xNvdxpVwRwEcJt?si=1138ff4449ec4831
In this one a questioner talks about working with a teacher to dismantle the ego, and how they might have the siddhi of clairvoyance and push buttons that can help the student move further down the past, and how this can feel traumatising but eventually be beneficial. I loved Rob’s reply, he was very clear of the danger of making assumptions about teachers and giving them too much power, and the need to trust our inner teacher of what is right for us and what feels true and healthy, rather than assuming that the outer teacher knows better than us what we need to do even when it is feeling harmful.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1BcqVMPm1U5N5IVvmZf1Tm?si=8ea6cf46a68b4963
Here he explicitly names the dangers of the student/teacher relationship with Tibetan Buddhism coming to the West
https://www.mudra.co.uk/teacher-student-relationship-part-1
https://www.mudra.co.uk/teacher-student-relationship-part-2
I’m just reading the psychology of Buddhist tantra myself. I discovered him when I brought the ‘Feeling Wisdom’ book, which was really helpful.
He writes further about this later on with his books The Wisdom of Imperfection and Feeling Wisdom. The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra was his foundational text and was published in 2000, he says he has evolved in his practice and understanding since then.
https://www.mudra.co.uk/introduction-to-the-wisdom-of-imperfecti
this is the intro to The Wisdom of Imperfection, it sounds closer to what you are looking for?
Yes, I have come across him. I read his book on mandala but found it rather lacking in depth, so I never looked further. But I’ve just bought the one you linked to anyway. Thanks for the recommendation.
I think the book on the Mandala came from a series ‘The Essence of Tantra’ which was based on a meditation course he ran where he was trying to simplify complex teachings and get to their essence for Westerners who are not so familiar with Tibetan Buddhism.
I’m interested in the one of Vajrapani as he says he explores the aspect of power in Tibetan Buddhism and its shadow elements.
Yes, it was part of a series, but I didn’t read any of the others. And I was looking at something that delved deep, so …