Tracking the Tulpa
Nova Religio August 1, 2015 Natasha L. Mikles, Joseph P. Laycock
The concept of the tulpa, a being that starts in imagination but becomes real and sentient, is commonly attributed to Tibetan Buddhism but actually owes more to Theosophy. The article traces the idea's murky origins to a dialogue between East and West, where Theosophical metaphysics merged with terms borrowed from Tibetan Buddhism, beginning with Alexandra David-Néel's 1929 book.