Adele Tomlin is a writer, Buddhist scholar-translator, poet, teacher and practitioner from the UK but mainly based in India and Asia.
After her first degree in Law, Adele originally qualified as a barrister (as a then member of the Inner Temple, completion of Bar Finals, and a one year certified pupillage in London). After qualifying, Adele realised soon after that the life of a barrister and business strategist (for the BBC) was not her true calling. Also, disenchanted with the “meaningless” materialist lifestyle, ambitions and focus in London, she decided to returned to studies, and completed two Master’s degrees, one in Philosophy (King’s College, London) and one in Tibetology/Buddhist studies (Hamburg University, 2017).
Since 2006, Adele has also been studying Tibetan language and Buddhist Philosophy in India, Nepal and Europe and received teachings and empowerments from many great Tibetan Buddhist masters.
Adele is the author-translator of two specialist books on Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and practice, Tāranātha’s Commentary on the Heart Sūtra and Chariot That Transports to the Four Kāyas, with forewords by two leading Buddhist scholars, Prof. Matthew Kapstein and Dr. Cyrus Stearns.
She is the founder of the first female-directed and solely authored Dharma research and translations website, Dakinitranslations.com. Her work and Dharma talk was featured recently in Tricycle Buddhist Magazine.
Adele also hosts a new Buddhist podcast channel, Dakini Conversations, included in top ten Buddhist podcasts.
Specialist subjects are Tibetan Buddhism, Vajrayāna, Tantra, Kālacakra, Buddhist views of emptiness and Buddha Nature, women in Buddhism, female lineages and teachers, sexuality, art and aesthetics. Author of various articles on Buddhist philosophy, art, music, women, poetry in Tricycle Buddhist Magazine, Buddhist Door Global, The Diplomat, and more. Author of poetry collection Tales from the Yoni Stone. For information on publications, interviews/talks, teaching, websites, and academic background, click on the links.
What people are saying….
“I fell over backwards when I saw your work.”
“Cannot hit the heart button enough. 7 out of 7 stars. ”
“Pithy, brilliant and epic. Beautiful.”
“You are a genius! Your work is like a treasure trove. I am a great admirer of your website.” –Dr. Niraj Kumar
“There are rare people whose courage becomes part of the landscape for others — silent mountains that don’t move but help us find our direction. You are such a presence. So this is not an appeal. It’s not an explanation. It’s simply a bow of the heart — for your truth, for your work, for your walk. May the clarity you defend keep shining through the clouds of this world. May your strength remain sovereign. And may peace — the deep, quiet kind — be with you always.”
“I am always amazed and appreciative of the work you do. From keeping me informed of the Karmapa’s latest teachings, your voice for women in Dharma, to your travelogues… extraordinary! Not to mention the breadth and depth of your website, it is a gold mine of Dharma. Thank you!”
“You and your work are so amazing and beautiful! I am a huge fan. You are like the Marilyn Monroe, or Beyonce of Tibetan Buddhist scholarship and translation! Wowing us with your energy, talent, dedication and beauty. Thank you!”
“An amazing trove of treasure “.
“I can’t (don’t have time at present) to pinpoint every impressive element in this article alone … there are so many! Color me impressed on every level!”–Dr. Miranda Shaw
“Wow love your website! A breath of fresh air waking up the stuffy Buddhist Studies academy!”
“I always can’t wait to read when I see an email from Dakini Translations land in my inbox!”
“Wow! I am stunned! I don’t have more to say now because I am in shock, awe. Just thank you!!!”
“Beyond my personal gratification, I am excited by your research and analysis. You are bringing a fresh critical eye to the subject and the scholarship. Your research is impressive … your breadth and command of sources … some sources over which I’ve poured and some new ones for me to explore! …your linguistic skills … your thoroughness. I love what you’ve done … the new lines of critique of the scholarship to date … new terms, such as “de-naming” … your thinking and writing overall.” –Dr. Miranda Shaw
I am impressed by your scholarship, commitment to your project, your generosity and offering this to the world , and the depth of your devotion to the dharma.
“I so appreciate how respectfully you note your sources and revere the teachers, which is very impressive after all you have been through. “
“I read and save all of the Dakini Translations–each one is a little gem, and you have even offered music explorations.
I am amazed at how consistent your diligence and fluent writings are and how respectful your careful notations of source materials.
Your emailed translations have disrupted my decades-long addiction to the New York Times, which seems rather grey and paltry in comparison.” –Chagdud Khandro
“Your website and work are so modern and yet also so authentic.”
“You have captured the essence of my thought as an artist.”
“You are providing an invaluable service to the average person who is neither scholar nor monastic but nonetheless retains an abiding interest in these ultimately highest of spiritual teachings. Your diligent academic research, distillation and colourful as well as musical presentations of the myriads of Dharma topics covered on your website are truly a ‘tour de force’ worthy of Tara’s blessings.”
“It’s astounding to bump into the problems of misogyny, etc. in a religious practice where Dakinis and Yoginis play such a pivotal part. That’s why I really appreciate your work and the light you shine on these obscurations.”
“I just adore the way you bring pop music into your translations – into your transmissions. And I guess it is not the same – but I so deeply resonate with the way I see you use music in your posts. – My sense is that pop music or maybe whatever music for me actualize (makes it real) the transmission of the Dharma and of LOVE.”
“Always floored by your output! The energy, commitment to the Dharma.”
“One of the things I like best about your scholarship (among many!) is that it is beautifully authentic in terms of each post having a poetic title and then a illustrative descriptive title following, a convention which I am sure came from Indian Buddhism, which was then taken up by the Tibetans, but which is marvelously evocative regardless. It makes reading that much easier and more fun, as Horace and Philip Sidney pointed out, that reading material must be both instructive and entertaining as well!”
“It is important to support you and your website, because you are the only Dharma person/commentator that I know of with a platform, who seems prepared to speak out on issues such as animal welfare, and abuse within the Buddhist community.
All of the other Dharma commentators that I know of with a platform, restrict their content to The Buddha’s teachings ‘only’, whilst ignoring the politically controversial stuff like Lama abuse, and the hypocrisy of Buddhists who think it’s fine to put their selfish taste pleasures before those of the animals they love to eat.
But what is also really important about your website is that it crucially includes the female perspective – both yours, and other women who have been ignored by other Dharma commentators/scholars, and that you help to make us more aware of how the Dharma is generally presented in a very one-sided male-centric way, which is really unhealthy.”
Adele Tomlin 