Erma Pounds was an interesting influence in Franklin Wolff’s life. In the early 1960s, Erma organized a small spiritual group in Arizona whose practice commingled elements of Buddhism, Theosophy, American Indian traditions, as well as other esoteric philosophies In 1974, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, the sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, along with Bardor Tulku Rinpoche, visited Erma and her students. Since Erma’s death in 2011, the group has reorganized with the support of Bardor Tulku Rinpoche as a center for the study and practice of Tibetan Buddhist meditation; it is now known as the Kunzang Choling of Phoenix, the first affiliate center of Kunzang Palchen Ling.
According to Wolff’s step-granddaughter, who first introduced Erma to Wolff, Erma claimed to be the reincarnation of Madame Blavatsky; and, in several letters found here, Erma represents herself as a channel for the Theosophical Brothers Master T (Lama Tharchin) and Master Marpa. Given that Wolff considered himself a Theosophist and that his first wife (Sherifa) claimed to have channeling abilities, Wolff felt a natural attraction to Erma. Moreover, in a number of tape-recorded discussions with Erma, Wolff seems to accept her statements about unseen forces in nature as well her channeling ability and gift of prophecy. There is also evidence, however, that Wolff took many of her claims with a grain of salt—and yet, this still did not deter his attraction to her.
The biggest effect of Wolff’s association with Erma was a reinvigoration of his desire to communicate the philosophy that he had built upon his Realizations of 1936. In particular, he began to compose lectures that were recorded on reel-to-reel tapes, all of which can be found on this website.
The correspondence here contains several holiday cards, a poem with an esoteric message, and three letters that deal with a proposed visit to the Pounds residence at which time there would be a communication with the Theosophical brothers “Master T and Master Marpa.” There is evidence of many more letters from Erma Pounds in the Wolff Archive.
