Mongolian Dharma Poetry: Simon Wickhamsmith

Mongolian Dharma Poetry: Simon Wickhamsmith

From Sounds of SAND by Science and Nonduality

April 16, 2026 · 56 min

About this episode

Simon Wickhamsmith discusses his spiritual journey and the poetry of Mongolian literature.

Simon Wickhamsmith is a Buddhist monk turned scholar, computer musician, and one of the only translators of Mongolian literature into English. He teaches in the Writing Program at Rutgers University and has been traveling back and forth to Mongolia since 2006. In this conversation he traces his spiritual path from Catholicism through Tibetan Buddhism and back to medieval Christian mysticism, introduces the Mongolian poet Mend-Ooyo, and takes us deep into the life and poetry of the 19th century Buddhist polymath Danzanravjaa — a figure Simon considers his primary teacher — including a live reading of the poem Twos , a stunning meditation on nonduality from the Mongolian steppe. Topics 00:00 — Introduction 00:02 — Simon's spiritual path: Catholicism, Opus Dei, the Desert Fathers, and Zen 00:04 — Discovering Tibetan Buddhism, Samye Ling monastery in Scotland, and ordaining as a monk 00:06 — The three-year retreat, his mother's illness, and returning to the world 00:07 — Returning to medieval Christian mysticism: Julian of Norwich, Meister Eckhart, The Cloud of Unknowing 00:10 — How SAND connected with Mend-Ooyo in Mongolia — and how Simon met him 00:12 — Teaching himself Mongolian…

People in this episode

Guest: Simon Wickhamsmith

Topics covered

  • Buddhism
  • Mongolian literature
  • spiritual journey
  • poetry
  • medieval mysticism
  • translation

Keywords

  • Buddhist monk
  • Mongolian poetry
  • Danzanravjaa
  • translation
  • spiritual path
  • nonduality

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Rutgers University, SAND

Books & works: Twos

Places: Mongolia, Scotland

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