First Exposure to Tibetan Buddhism

I forgot that Doctor Who sort of introduced me to Tibetan Buddhism.

My first encounter with Tibet, in this lifetime, was when I was about eleven years old. I knew absolutely nothing about Tibet, about Buddhism, or even about meditation. At that age, I saw a Doctor Who episode in which giant spiders jumped on people’s backs and controlled them. The same episode included at least one scene in which a bunch of white guys (this was filmed in England in the 70s) sat cross-legged in a basement and chanted, “Om mani padme hum.” “Om mani padme hum” means the Jewel in the Lotus; the Jewel is the mind, and the Lotus is the heart, and the combination of the two refers to compassion and loving-kindness. Apparently, the chanting controlled the spiders, though what the jewel in the lotus has to do with hypnotizing giant spiders to attack people, I don’t know; it certainly doesn’t sound especially compassionate.

That night, I had a vivid dream. It was set in a dimly lit room with a long dark wooden cabinet against a wall. Above the cabinet, a man sat cross-legged, and he was dressed in bright yellow robes and wore a strange bright yellow pointed hat. He had a round face with a blissful little smile. He floated a few inches above the cabinet.

I woke up thinking that was a peculiar dream, and that the funny man in yellow was either a genie or an elf…