A crucial quote from ‘The Holy Madmen of Tibet’:
‘The process that has led to this application of the idea of “holy madness” is as follows: from at least the tenth century to the present there has been a small subset of religious practitioners in Tibet who through their eccentric behavior, writings, and self-proclamations, have come to be called “madmen” within their own culture. Some of these gurues emulated the famous eccentric siddhas of India who came before them. Modern-day scholars have so xated upon their “madness” that “holy madness” has become a commonly referred to category in our work. It has become so ubiquitous that scholars now apply the idea of holy madness back onto other Indian and Tibetan ascetics who traditionally were not referred to in that way. **The idea of holy madness has quite literally taken on a life of its own**, among scholars and popular commentators alike.’ [my **] https://