William Blake, poet, painter and visionary, displayed the most extraordinary affinity with Buddhist thought. He was an artistic genius who naturally embodied Dharma in his life and work, from his belief in the illusory nature of existence and his deep compassion for all living beings to his conviction that our senses and our emotions are not obstructions but gateways to transcendence.

Francesca Fremantle

Born January 3rd, 1941, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Francesca received a BA in Sanskrit at SOAS, University of London, her studies including a period of several months at the Sanskrit College in Kolkata, followed by a PhD for a study of the Guhyasamaja Tantra, which necessitated learning classical Tibetan. During this time, she also trained in the Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam and took part in performances throughout the UK. In 1969 she met Chögyam Trungpa and immediately recognised him as her guru. After he moved to N. America she spent several years living in Boulder, Colorado, studying with him. They collaborated on a new translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which was published in 1975. Her second book, Luminous Emptiness, was published in 2001. She contributed a chapter to Recalling Chögyam Trungpa, by Fabrice Midal, and a Foreword to Rigdzin Shikpo’s book, Never Turn Away. Numerous translations, poems, articles and book reviews have appeared in publications such as Buddhism Now, The Middle Way, Tricycle, Buddhadharma and Shambhala Sun. During the 1990’s she joined the Longchen Foundation, which was founded by Rigdzin Shikpo at the request of Trungpa Rinpoche and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Following Rigdzin Shikpo’s death in 2023 she is now engaged, together with his other senior students, in continuing his teachings.