You should ask him directly here or through private message at the username mentioned by optimistically_eyed, man-to-man, instead of asking others about his background literally in front of him. Personally, I find your passive-aggressive approach tasteless and socially tone-deaf, but that’s just me. Lama Dawai Gocha has been on Reddit longer than I have, and if I remember the story correctly, he actually helped set up either this Buddhism subreddit or the Dzogchen one, or both.
This is an interview with Lama Dawai Gocha. He is a Nyingma Dzogchen Yogi of Tibetan Buddhism. He first took refuge with His Holiness Penor Rinpoche when he was a boy and has continued to practice Buddhism for over 20 years.
He has received teachings from H.H. Dalai Lama, H.H. Penor Rinpoche, Mingyur Rinpoche, Dodrupchen and many others; receiving empowerments and instructions on the full range of Buddhist practices, from Śrāvakayāna to Atiyoga.
He is a monk with long hair?
He is not a monk, no.
So he disrobed. Was he excommunicated or defrocked, or did he turn his back on monasticism?
I don’t know much at all about Lama Dawai, but what makes you think he used to be a monastic?
He’s a lay yogi and teacher, which is very common in his tradition.
He claims to be a monastic ordained in 2016. What happened?
/u/mesamutt can speak for himself if he cares to. I’m not sure how active he is on Reddit these days though.
Ideally, we can also get a third-party report, not just self-reported narratives.
For sure, it’s important to know whether our potential teachers are qualified.
So he disrobed. Was he excommunicated or defrocked, or did he turn his back on monasticism?
Is a teacher's appearance more important to you than the teaching itself? 🤔
In Buddhism, the legitimacy of a teacher matters. For example, it is a serious issue when a non monastic claims to be a monastic.
Understood 👍.
You should ask him directly here or through private message at the username mentioned by optimistically_eyed, man-to-man, instead of asking others about his background literally in front of him. Personally, I find your passive-aggressive approach tasteless and socially tone-deaf, but that’s just me. Lama Dawai Gocha has been on Reddit longer than I have, and if I remember the story correctly, he actually helped set up either this Buddhism subreddit or the Dzogchen one, or both.
Third party verification and report are necessary when assessing a "teacher". Going "man-to-man" is not a valid Buddhist criteria on anything.
Disturbing.
This is an interview with Lama Dawai Gocha. He is a Nyingma Dzogchen Yogi of Tibetan Buddhism. He first took refuge with His Holiness Penor Rinpoche when he was a boy and has continued to practice Buddhism for over 20 years.
He has received teachings from H.H. Dalai Lama, H.H. Penor Rinpoche, Mingyur Rinpoche, Dodrupchen and many others; receiving empowerments and instructions on the full range of Buddhist practices, from Śrāvakayāna to Atiyoga.