My mother was a spiritualist. We had weekly séances at our house with a neighbor who was a medium and various friends, and so I was brought up with the idea that there are many realms of being all around us. So that prepared me for Buddhism, and especially Tibetan Buddhism with all its talk of different realms and dimensions of being.

There are other ways of benefiting than by being a recognized tulku and sitting on a throne.

I think many monks hesitate to change things.

We have to know what is Buddhadharma and what is not Buddhadharma. It needn't go on forever. You don't have to spend 18 years at it. But still, a basic and uncompromised understanding of Buddhist principles is important. Very basic: the three signs of being, the four noble rruths, karma, and so on.

Different people are different.

Because we're trying, because we want, it's very hard to get.

Wherever we are and whatever we're doing, we're either conscious, or we're not.