““Chöd is conventionally and misleadingly seen as analogous to, if not derived from, shamanic initiatory dismemberment visions, as well as dualistic anti-body ascetic practices. Two of the elements most commonly referenced by authors in their "identification" of Chöd and/as shamanism—the dismemberment/sacrifice of the body and "demonology"—are presented in an oversimplistic fashion. In the first instance, the numerous Buddhist precursors for the offering of the body provide ample testimony to the ethical and meritorious status such acts have in the Buddhist imagination. As for the "demonology" of Chöd, one must keep in mind the psychology and philosophy of mind that explicitly undergirds the discourse of Düd [Skt: mārā] in Chöd.””
![“...the Chöd teachings attributed to Machik Labdrön both rely and innovate on Buddhist representations of mental functionings of a human being, including the onto-epistemological trope of the Universal Base Consciousness [ ālaya-vijñāna ] and the psycho-ethical trope of Negative Forces as Düd […” quote by Michelle Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3e3/michelle-sorensen-60370_2013_the-ch-d-teachings-attributed-to-machik_1660515.jpg)
![“The extraction of discrete parts of Chöd teachings from their broader philosophical contexts is symptomatic of how Chöd has been incorporated into and transmitted through other Tibetan Buddhist lineages. For example [...] Chöd practices gradually merged with pre-existing models of deity yoga, such…” quote by Michelle Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b05/michelle-sorensen-60370_2013_the-extraction-of-discrete-parts-of-ch-d_4303.jpg)
