On July 25th, Tashigar North had the wonderful opportunity to host an online talk by Adriano Clemente, an event that beautifully bridged our digital community with those gathered onsite at Merigar. The presentation took place during the supervision of the second level of Yantra Yoga, a time when participants were diving deep into the nuances of the practice. Recognizing that this intensive study had raised several detailed questions regarding the source text, Laura Evangelisti invited Adriano to provide some clarification.
Adriano opened his talk by weaving a rich historical narrative around the transmission of Yantra Yoga. He recounted how and when Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche received the complete text, along with vital clarifications from his teachers. Moving into the roots of the practice, Adriano explained the origins of the title “Yantra Yoga” itself. He shared interesting details about three specific manuscripts of The Union of the Sun and Moon Yantra Yoga text – manuscripts that Rinpoche had personally copied and meticulously compared over the years.
Addressing the complexities of Tibetan literary history, Adriano spoke about the unique challenges Western Tibetologists face when trying to date ancient texts. He presented compelling evidence pointing to the ancient origins of the Yantra Yoga root text, which potentially traces back to the era of Vairochana. Echoing a perspective also suggested by the great Tibetologist Tsering Tar, Adriano noted that it is often best to adopt an open approach to dating these works, balancing official historical classifications with a careful analysis of the text’s actual content and stylistic features.
The talk then shifted to some details described in the book. Adriano highlighted the crucial need for clarity when mapping the channels and pranas, pointing out how their positions can vary significantly across different spiritual traditions. He explained that Rinpoche purposefully chose to align these descriptions with rare Dzogchen sources, such as the writings of Longchenpa.
To wrap up this session, Adriano read select passages containing essential details not explicitly written in the original root text. Because some questions arose after the session, Adriano emphasized that the published book was deeply enriched by incorporating all the extensive sessions of oral explanations that Rinpoche gave while Adriano, Fabio, and Laura were finalizing the last version of the book. Because these precise points come straight from Rinpoche’s authentic oral commentary, the accuracy and authority of the final book are not to be questioned or disputed. To further support the community, Adriano is currently considering gathering these specific points of oral commentary by Rinpoche together into a small booklet, which would serve as an incredibly useful reference for all Yantra Yoga practitioners.
For those who missed the live event or wish to revisit it, you can listen to the full recording here TALK WITH ADRIANO CLEMENTE ON THE YANTRA YOGA BOOK
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Greetings,
Gakyil of Tashigar North
