Glenn H. Mullin (born Jun 22, 1949 in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
) is a
Tibetologist
Tibetology () refers to the study of things related to Tibet, including its history, religion, language, culture, politics and the collection of Tibetan articles of historical, cultural and religious significance. The last may mean a collection of ...
, Buddhist writer, translator of classical Tibetan literature and teacher of Tantric Buddhist meditation.
Mullin has written over twenty-five books on
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
. Many of these focus on the lives and works of the early Dalai Lamas. Some of his other titles include ''
Tsongkhapa
Tsongkhapa ('','' meaning: "the man from Tsongkha" or "the Man from Onion Valley", c. 1357–1419) was an influential Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher and tantric yogi, whose activities led to the formation of the Gelug school of Tibetan Budd ...
's Six Yogas of
Naropa
Nāropā ( Prakrit; sa, Nāropāda, Naḍapāda or Abhayakirti) or Abhayakirti was an Indian Buddhist Mahasiddha. He was the disciple of Tilopa and brother, or some sources say partner and pupil, of Niguma. As an Indian Mahasiddha, Naropa ...
'' and ''The Practice of
Kalachakra
''Kālacakra'' () is a polysemic term in Vajrayana Buddhism that means " wheel of time" or "time cycles". "''Kālacakra''" is also the name of a series of Buddhist texts and a major practice lineage in Indian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. The ...
'' (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.
Biography
Glenn Mullin lived in the Indian Himalayas between 1972 and 1984, where he studied philosophy, literature,
meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...
,
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
, and the
enlightenment culture under thirty-five living masters from the four schools of
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
. His two principal tantric gurus were the masters
Ling Rinpoche
Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche is a Tibetan tulku. The best-known incarnation is the sixth incarnation, Thupten Lungtok Namgyal Thinley (1903 - 1983), a Tibetan buddhist scholar and teacher.
Thupten Lungtok Namgyal Thinley, the 6th Yongzin Ling Ri ...
(1903–1983) and
Trijang Rinpoche (1901–1981), who were best known as the senior and junior tutors of the present (14th)
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...
. Mullin's other teachers and initiation masters include the Dalai Lama,
the 41st Sakya Trizin Rinpoche,
Kalu Rinpoche, Ngakpa
Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche,
Tai Situ
Tai Situpa (; from ) is one of the oldest lineages of tulkus (reincarnated lamas) in the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism In Tibetan Buddhism tradition, Kenting Tai Situpa is considered as emanation of Bodhisattva Maitreya and Guru Padmasambhava (G ...
Rinpoche, Khenchen Konchok Gyaltsen, Geshe Ngawang Dargyey, Geshey Rabten, and Gongsar Tulku.
After returning to North America in 1984, Mullin 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
A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...
sand painting
Sandpainting is the art of pouring coloured sands, and powdered pigments from minerals or crystals, or pigments from other natural or synthetic sources onto a surface to make a fixed or unfixed sand painting. Unfixed sand paintings have a long es ...
s. The association had the objectives to "contribute mystically to world peace and planetary healing
ndraise awareness of the Tibet situation" at that time. Moreover, the association generated funds for the
Tibetan refugees in India
Since its independence in 1947, India has accepted various groups of refugees from neighbouring countries, including partition refugees from former British Indian territories that now constitute Pakistan and Bangladesh, Tibetan refugees that ...
and later dedicated its mission to the activities of
Drepung Loseling, the largest of Tibet's monastic universities.
Awards
In 2002 his book ''The Fourteen Dalai Lamas'' was nominated for the NAPRA ("New Alternatives for Publishers, Retailers and Artists") award for best book, and in 2004 his book ''The Female Buddhas'' won a Best Book Award from ''Foreword Magazine''.
Tibetan art exhibits
Mullin used his international connections to organize and/or curate Tibetan art shows, including:
*''The Flying Mystics of Tibetan Buddhism'',
Oglethorpe University
Oglethorpe University is a private college in Brookhaven, Georgia. It was chartered in 1835 and named in honor of General James Edward Oglethorpe, founder of the Colony of Georgia.
History
Oglethorpe University was chartered in 1834 in Mid ...
, 2004
*''Female Buddhas: Women of Enlightenment in Tibetan Mysticism'',
Bruce Museum of Arts and Science
The Bruce Museum is a museum in downtown Greenwich, Connecticut with both art and natural history exhibition space. The Bruce's main building sits on a hill in a downtown park, and its tower (not open to the public) can be easily seen by drivers pa ...
, 2005
*''Portals to Shangri-La: Masterpieces from Buddhist Mongolia'', Oglethorpe University, 2006.
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Translations
*
*
*
*
*
*
References
External links
*
The Mystical Arts of Tibet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullin, Glenn H.
Tibetologists
1949 births
Living people
Canadian Buddhists
Spiritual teachers
Tibetan Buddhism writers
Tibetan Buddhists from Canada