The embodiment of fierce radical presence through dharma practice, turns every moment into rich fertile soil through developing a fearless open heart.
Lama Justin von Bujdoss is an American Buddhist teacher and chaplain.
He is the Founder and Spiritual Director of Yangti Yoga Retreat Center, a retreat center located in Buckland, Massachusetts dedicated to dark retreat (yangti yoga) along with Dr. Nida Chenagtsang.
Justin was ordained as a repa in the Karma Kamstang tradition of Tibetan Buddhism by His Eminence Goshir Gyaltsab Rinpoche in 2011 and given the name Repa Dorje Odzer. Justin is passionate about the preservation of the heart-essence of the tantric Buddhist tradition in a way that meets the needs of, and simultaneously challenges, the modern western way of life. He was ordained as a ngakpa in the Yuthok Nyingthik tradition in 2023.
From 2012 until 2017 Justin served as the resident-lama and executive director of New York Tsurphu Goshir Dharma Center, an urban dharma organization which functioned as an affiliate of Palchen Chosling Monastic Institute, Ralang, Sikkim, India.
From 2016 until 2022 Justin served as the first dedicated Staff Chaplain for the New York City Department of Correction where he provided spiritual support for the over 10,000 employees, both uniformed and non-uniformed, who work through out the New York City Corrections system. Part of his work includes developing and implementing meditation programs for officers throughout the NYC jail system in addition to the typical work of ministering DOC staff. In March 2018 Justin was appointed Executive Director of the Division of Chaplaincy and Staff Wellness for New York City Department of Correction and led all wellness initiatives for the agency.
Lama Justin also served as the chaplain for Hart Island, New York City’s public cemetery (Potter’s Field) from 2018 to 2024. In this role he blessed the bodies of those interred at Hart Island, including through the COVID-19 Pandemic.
He has also worked as a full-time home hospice chaplain and is trained both in CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) as well as Buddhist end-of-life practices and spiritual care. Justin has taught on Buddhist end-of-life care and teaches dharma in a variety of settings from monasteries, retreat centers and dharma centers, to hospital didactics, CPE groups and at conferences and museums.
Some of my work
Tricycle Magazine
August 24th 2024
The Love & Liberation Podcast
Lama Justin von Bujdoss: The Beginnings of a Dark Retreat Center and Finding Your Heart Practice
AUGUST 9TH 2024
Lion’s Roar
Looking Into the Future of Vajrayana Buddhism In the West
SPRING 2024
Tricycle Magazine
Iron Sharpens Iron: Polishing the Mirror Through Mahamudra
An American Buddhist teacher on gaining deep insights by staying present within hostile environments
DECEMBER 19TH 2023
Guru Viking Podcast
NOVEMBER 17TH 2023
Tricycle Magazine
FALL 2023
Tricycle Magazine
Dark Meditation: Exploring Inner Space with Lama Justin von Bujdoss
AUGUST 10TH 2023
Guru Viking Podcast
JUNE 9TH 2023
Guru Viking Podcast
APRIL 7TH 2023
Lion’s Roar Magazine
October 3rd 2022
The Love & Liberation Podcast
Lama Justin von Bujdoss: Resting into the Mind Beyond Time & Being Consumed by Dharma
June 21st 2022
Tricycle Magazine
Interview: After Rikers
March 24th 2022
The Love & Liberation Podcast
Lama Justin von Bujdoss: Ati Yoga, Indigenous Western Tantra & the Ministry of Death
September 15TH 2021
The Reluctant Phoenix Podcast
Episode 11: Justin von Bujdoss
June 15th 2021
Time Magazine
Inside New York City’s Mass Graveyard on Hart Island
November 18th 2020
Buddhadharma
Our Traditions Can - and must - change
Winter 2020
Chaplaincy Innovation Lab: Corrections Chaplaincy: Caring for the Whole Facility
MaY 6th 2020
My NEW book: Modern Tantric Buddhism:Embodiment and Authenticity in Dharma Practice
October 29th 2019
Tricycle Magazine
October 29th 2019
Tricycle Magazine
Ask a Teacher: What can we do if we can’t afford to go away to a meditation retreat?
Fall 2019
Chapter: “Excoriating the Demon of Whiteness from Within: Disrupting Whiteness though the Tantric Buddhist Practice of Chod and exploring Whiteness from Within the Tradition” in Buddhism and Whiteness: Critical Reflections.
June 2019
Tricycle Magazine
Summer 2019
Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly
Lineage Is About More Than Just Preservation
SPRING 2018
On The Buddha's Path: Compassion in Action
Finding Liberation in Trauma (Trailer)
Tzu Chi USA
Spring 2018
Tricycle Magazine
Spring 2018
Tricycle.com
Everyday Buddhahood: Caregiving as Dharma Practice
Lionsroar.com
Lion's Roar Magazine
Disrupting Suffering at Rikers Island
January 2018
Wall Street Journal
A Cure for one of America's Most Difficult Work Places: Meditation
Front Page April 25th 2017
10% Happier Podcast
Justin von Bujdoss: Buddhist Chaplain at Rikers Island
September 6th 2017
Lion's Roar
A Buddhist Chaplain at Rikers Island
April 23rd 2017
Lion's Roar
Ask the Teachers: Should I meditate if I can’t stop thinking about porn?
May 23rd 2017
The Lion Lotsawa
March 23RD 2017
Ethics Statement
Central to both Buddhist practice and dharma teaching as well as chaplaincy is ethics. As a dharma teacher and a chaplain adhering to an ethics code is important to me as a form of practice as well as an activity model for others.
To this end I am committed to an ethics that includes disrupting patterns of abuse and harm that arise both outside of, but especially within, spiritual communities. In this regard I am committed to the application of the dharma towards liberation from unexamined habitual behavior that causes harm. Such cycles of harm include, but are not limited to, the exclusion of underrepresented groups in dharma communities, misuse of power, poor boundaries and lack of understanding around sexual ethics. I vow to do whatever I can to break these cycles of harm.
Especially central to my work is the support of lay tantric practitioners and upholding the repa tradition. Included here is the presentation and propagation of the dharma in a way that is not only applicable to the times in which we live, but is also rooted in the foundation, and spirit, demonstrated by Tilo, Naro, Marpa, Milarepa and others. I vow to do whatever I can to keep this tradition alive and bright.
In this way, it might not be uncommon for me to avoid teaching at dharma institutions in which the lay sangha is not regarded as equal, or where the lay sangha is not empowered, or where there is a history of patterns of abuse or an unclear stance with regard to issues of abuse of power. This being said, I also make myself available to help sanghas and dharma institutions develop an ethics statement that best serves their communities. Maintaining a sense of discernment about where I teach is rooted in the desire to promote growth and to challenge communities and institutions to be better, and to help support authentic dharma practitioners who are sincere and dedicated, not about punishment or derision.
At the end of the day, I am committed to responsible leadership, being accountable to those I serve, and maintaining the commitment that I have made to my teachers to serve others. Hopefully at the time of death, I will be able to say that I effectively aided in the relief of the suffering of others more than I contributed to their suffering.
