Ruth Gamble
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- August 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190690779
- eISBN:
- 9780190690809
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190690779.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions, Buddhism
Reincarnation in Tibetan Buddhism examines how the third Karmapa hierarch, Rangjung Dorjé (1284–1339) transformed Buddhist belief about reincarnation into a Tibetan institution based on lineage. It ...
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Reincarnation in Tibetan Buddhism examines how the third Karmapa hierarch, Rangjung Dorjé (1284–1339) transformed Buddhist belief about reincarnation into a Tibetan institution based on lineage. It surveys his life through the portal of his previously untranslated autobiographical stories and songs, which reveal the rudiments of the reincarnation tradition. They include Rangjung Dorjé’s synthesis of the first three Karmapas’ biographies and past-life stories (jātaka), upon which the later tradition was reliant. An analysis of these works shows how they used different strategies to authorize the Karmapas’ reincarnate status: they presented the Karmapa reincarnates as an extension of the Kagyü religious lineage, evoked well-known precedents of reincarnation, and highlighted the recognition they received from religious and secular hierarchs, including the Mongol emperor. This analysis also emphasizes the important role local communities played in maintaining the Karmapas’ institutions and explores how Rangjung Dorjé sought this support by living in the same sacred sites as his predecessors. Reincarnation in Tibetan Buddhism argues, furthermore, that all of these elements of the tradition worked together; the stories of the Karmapas’ lives enhanced Rangjung Dorjé’s authority, which helped to sanctify the sites in which he lived; this, in turn, elicited more support from local communities, who then continued to tell his multi-life narrative. At the beginning of Rangjung Dorjé’s life, no one had gone looking for a new Karmapa. But his skill in storytelling, together with the elite and community support that he cultivated during his life, meant that after he died, many expected his return.Less
Reincarnation in Tibetan Buddhism examines how the third Karmapa hierarch, Rangjung Dorjé (1284–1339) transformed Buddhist belief about reincarnation into a Tibetan institution based on lineage. It surveys his life through the portal of his previously untranslated autobiographical stories and songs, which reveal the rudiments of the reincarnation tradition. They include Rangjung Dorjé’s synthesis of the first three Karmapas’ biographies and past-life stories (jātaka), upon which the later tradition was reliant. An analysis of these works shows how they used different strategies to authorize the Karmapas’ reincarnate status: they presented the Karmapa reincarnates as an extension of the Kagyü religious lineage, evoked well-known precedents of reincarnation, and highlighted the recognition they received from religious and secular hierarchs, including the Mongol emperor. This analysis also emphasizes the important role local communities played in maintaining the Karmapas’ institutions and explores how Rangjung Dorjé sought this support by living in the same sacred sites as his predecessors. Reincarnation in Tibetan Buddhism argues, furthermore, that all of these elements of the tradition worked together; the stories of the Karmapas’ lives enhanced Rangjung Dorjé’s authority, which helped to sanctify the sites in which he lived; this, in turn, elicited more support from local communities, who then continued to tell his multi-life narrative. At the beginning of Rangjung Dorjé’s life, no one had gone looking for a new Karmapa. But his skill in storytelling, together with the elite and community support that he cultivated during his life, meant that after he died, many expected his return.
Jeff Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807835456
- eISBN:
- 9781469601816
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807869970_wilson.4
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
The Ekoji Buddhist Sangha of Richmond, the “Temple of the Gift of Light” located in Richmond's Museum District in Virginia, houses five distinct groups practicing in separate lineages of Buddhism: ...
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The Ekoji Buddhist Sangha of Richmond, the “Temple of the Gift of Light” located in Richmond's Museum District in Virginia, houses five distinct groups practicing in separate lineages of Buddhism: Pure Land, Soto Zen, Kagyu (Tibetan), and Vipassana, and the Meditative Inquiry group. This book discusses the exceptional degree of pluralism at Ekoji and the ways in which regionalism may manifest in relation to Buddhism in America. Using the Ekoji Buddhist Sangha of Richmond as the primary case study, the chapter shows how bodily practices serve as paths through the shared space of Ekoji and the streets of Richmond and reveals more about identity formation and expression.Less
The Ekoji Buddhist Sangha of Richmond, the “Temple of the Gift of Light” located in Richmond's Museum District in Virginia, houses five distinct groups practicing in separate lineages of Buddhism: Pure Land, Soto Zen, Kagyu (Tibetan), and Vipassana, and the Meditative Inquiry group. This book discusses the exceptional degree of pluralism at Ekoji and the ways in which regionalism may manifest in relation to Buddhism in America. Using the Ekoji Buddhist Sangha of Richmond as the primary case study, the chapter shows how bodily practices serve as paths through the shared space of Ekoji and the streets of Richmond and reveals more about identity formation and expression.
David M. DiValerio
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199391202
- eISBN:
- 9780199391233
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199391202.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Drukpa Künlé, “the Madman of the Drukpa,” is by far the best known of Tibet’s “holy madmen,” in Tibet, Bhutan, and more recently the Western world. After summarizing the ways Drukpa Künlé has been ...
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Drukpa Künlé, “the Madman of the Drukpa,” is by far the best known of Tibet’s “holy madmen,” in Tibet, Bhutan, and more recently the Western world. After summarizing the ways Drukpa Künlé has been depicted in Tibetan oral tradition and biographies composed in recent decades, this chapter attempts to construct a picture of the man that is closer to historical fact, based on the four volumes of his Miscellaneous Writings. Although the historical Drukpa Künlé voiced criticisms of many aspects of the Buddhist culture of his day, there is no indication that he performed the sort of scatological behavior now thought to have been his forte. Rather, it seems that the wilder version of Drukpa Künlé is the result of a series of exaggerations that have taken place in the centuries since his death.Less
Drukpa Künlé, “the Madman of the Drukpa,” is by far the best known of Tibet’s “holy madmen,” in Tibet, Bhutan, and more recently the Western world. After summarizing the ways Drukpa Künlé has been depicted in Tibetan oral tradition and biographies composed in recent decades, this chapter attempts to construct a picture of the man that is closer to historical fact, based on the four volumes of his Miscellaneous Writings. Although the historical Drukpa Künlé voiced criticisms of many aspects of the Buddhist culture of his day, there is no indication that he performed the sort of scatological behavior now thought to have been his forte. Rather, it seems that the wilder version of Drukpa Künlé is the result of a series of exaggerations that have taken place in the centuries since his death.
Suzanne M. Bessenger
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190225278
- eISBN:
- 9780190225308
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190225278.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Chapter Three explores what we can surmise about the “religion” of Sönam Peldren and her supporters from a careful reading of her Life: the saint’s religious training and sectarian affiliation (or ...
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Chapter Three explores what we can surmise about the “religion” of Sönam Peldren and her supporters from a careful reading of her Life: the saint’s religious training and sectarian affiliation (or lack thereof), her religious and ritual practices, and her religious rhetoric as conveyed in the Life’s extensive quotations of what is presented as Sönam Peldren’s spontaneous verse. In exploring the text’s representation of Sönam Peldren’s religious training, practice, and rhetoric, this chapter suggests that she was most likely a popular religious figure operating in a Kagyü milieu, with both the saint and her biographers influenced by models of unconventional religious figures such as the non-monastic Indo-Tibetan Buddhist archetype of the great tantric adept and the specifically Tibetan incarnation of the archetype of the mad saint (Tib: smyon pa/ ma, or nyönpa/nyönma), as well as the distinctive religious practices such as Practice of the Observance, inner heat, songs of realization, and the tantric feast.Less
Chapter Three explores what we can surmise about the “religion” of Sönam Peldren and her supporters from a careful reading of her Life: the saint’s religious training and sectarian affiliation (or lack thereof), her religious and ritual practices, and her religious rhetoric as conveyed in the Life’s extensive quotations of what is presented as Sönam Peldren’s spontaneous verse. In exploring the text’s representation of Sönam Peldren’s religious training, practice, and rhetoric, this chapter suggests that she was most likely a popular religious figure operating in a Kagyü milieu, with both the saint and her biographers influenced by models of unconventional religious figures such as the non-monastic Indo-Tibetan Buddhist archetype of the great tantric adept and the specifically Tibetan incarnation of the archetype of the mad saint (Tib: smyon pa/ ma, or nyönpa/nyönma), as well as the distinctive religious practices such as Practice of the Observance, inner heat, songs of realization, and the tantric feast.
Michael Hutt
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195670608
- eISBN:
- 9780199081806
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195670608.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Migration Studies (including Refugee Studies)
This chapter discusses the history of Bhutan and the history of Nepali migration to Bhutan. The author describes how the refugees use the terms umbho (‘above’) and undho (‘below’) to distinguish ...
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This chapter discusses the history of Bhutan and the history of Nepali migration to Bhutan. The author describes how the refugees use the terms umbho (‘above’) and undho (‘below’) to distinguish between the northern, higher-altitude, politically dominant, culturally Drukpa region, and the southern, lower-altitude, politically subordinate, culturally Nepali region. The author describes the history of Bhutan as beginning with the advent of Buddhism, and particularly of the Drukpa sub-order of the Kagyü School which came to prevail in Bhutan’s western valleys in the twelfth century. The author cites the seventh century as the beginning of Nepali migration to Nepal, and how this early date is cited by refugees to claim legitimacy in Bhutan. The author also describes the relationship between the kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan over the centuries. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how the presence of Lhotshampa in Bhutan became politically problematic even though they have always believed that they migrated in a ‘civilizing role’ to Bhutan.Less
This chapter discusses the history of Bhutan and the history of Nepali migration to Bhutan. The author describes how the refugees use the terms umbho (‘above’) and undho (‘below’) to distinguish between the northern, higher-altitude, politically dominant, culturally Drukpa region, and the southern, lower-altitude, politically subordinate, culturally Nepali region. The author describes the history of Bhutan as beginning with the advent of Buddhism, and particularly of the Drukpa sub-order of the Kagyü School which came to prevail in Bhutan’s western valleys in the twelfth century. The author cites the seventh century as the beginning of Nepali migration to Nepal, and how this early date is cited by refugees to claim legitimacy in Bhutan. The author also describes the relationship between the kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan over the centuries. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how the presence of Lhotshampa in Bhutan became politically problematic even though they have always believed that they migrated in a ‘civilizing role’ to Bhutan.
Andrew Quintman
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231164153
- eISBN:
- 9780231535533
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231164153.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter considers a form of life writing known as “proto-Life/Songs,” signifying the basic literary structure that influenced the writing of Jetsun Milarepa's life story for centuries to come. ...
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This chapter considers a form of life writing known as “proto-Life/Songs,” signifying the basic literary structure that influenced the writing of Jetsun Milarepa's life story for centuries to come. Milarepa's earliest biography, established by the yogin's own disciples, had achieved a life of its own within a single generation as students of his direct pupils began to adapt, expand, and promulgate accounts of his religious career. The spread of the yogin's teachings in the century or so following his death created a need for new forms of literature to authorize those transmissions within specific communities and institutions. Among these are the so-called “golden rosary collections” to which many of the proto-texts belong. This chapter discusses six proto-Life/Songs narratives that span several centuries and are drawn from various sources: The Kagyu Rosary, Bank of Blessings, Lama Zhang's Life of Lama Milarepa, Dönmo Ripa's Life of Jetsün Milarepa, Sangyé Bum's Life of Milarepa, and Gyaltangpa's King of Jetsüns.Less
This chapter considers a form of life writing known as “proto-Life/Songs,” signifying the basic literary structure that influenced the writing of Jetsun Milarepa's life story for centuries to come. Milarepa's earliest biography, established by the yogin's own disciples, had achieved a life of its own within a single generation as students of his direct pupils began to adapt, expand, and promulgate accounts of his religious career. The spread of the yogin's teachings in the century or so following his death created a need for new forms of literature to authorize those transmissions within specific communities and institutions. Among these are the so-called “golden rosary collections” to which many of the proto-texts belong. This chapter discusses six proto-Life/Songs narratives that span several centuries and are drawn from various sources: The Kagyu Rosary, Bank of Blessings, Lama Zhang's Life of Lama Milarepa, Dönmo Ripa's Life of Jetsün Milarepa, Sangyé Bum's Life of Milarepa, and Gyaltangpa's King of Jetsüns.
Andrew Quintman
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231164153
- eISBN:
- 9780231535533
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231164153.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter examines a comprehensive form of life writing: the biographical compendia, which takes on the finely grained, lifelike quality that would later appear in the standard version by ...
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This chapter examines a comprehensive form of life writing: the biographical compendia, which takes on the finely grained, lifelike quality that would later appear in the standard version by Tsangnyön Heruka. The compendia stand as the mature versions of the proto-works on Jetsun Milarepa's life story mentioned in the previous chapter; they combine structured and well-crafted biographical narratives from the early life with extensive song collections, and conclude with elaborate descriptions of the yogin's death. The chapter begins with a discussion of the text known as The Twelve Great Disciples before turning to the mysterious tradition of extended biographical works known as The Black Treasury. These materials flowed directly from The Twelve Great Disciples and were closely connected to the influential Karma Kagyu hierarchs known as the Karmapas.Less
This chapter examines a comprehensive form of life writing: the biographical compendia, which takes on the finely grained, lifelike quality that would later appear in the standard version by Tsangnyön Heruka. The compendia stand as the mature versions of the proto-works on Jetsun Milarepa's life story mentioned in the previous chapter; they combine structured and well-crafted biographical narratives from the early life with extensive song collections, and conclude with elaborate descriptions of the yogin's death. The chapter begins with a discussion of the text known as The Twelve Great Disciples before turning to the mysterious tradition of extended biographical works known as The Black Treasury. These materials flowed directly from The Twelve Great Disciples and were closely connected to the influential Karma Kagyu hierarchs known as the Karmapas.
David M. DiValerio
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199391202
- eISBN:
- 9780199391233
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199391202.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Over the course of the last millennium in Tibet, tantric yogins have been taking on norm-overturning modes of behavior and dress, including provoking others to violence, publicly consuming filth, ...
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Over the course of the last millennium in Tibet, tantric yogins have been taking on norm-overturning modes of behavior and dress, including provoking others to violence, publicly consuming filth, having sex, and draping themselves in human remains. Because of this they have been called “madmen” (smyon pa), but have also achieved a degree of saintliness. This book is the first comprehensive study of these “holy madmen,” who have captured the imaginations of Tibetans and Westerners alike. Through a close examination of the madmen’s biographies, writings, and other sources, this study explores what can be known about the historical individuals behind these colorful personas. Much of the book focuses on the lives and works of the three most famous “holy madmen,” who were all born in the 1450s, during a period of civil war and great change in the religious culture of Tibet: the Madman of Tsang (author of The Life of Milarepa), the Madman of Ü, and Drukpa Künlé, the “Madman of the Drukpa Kagyü.” These three individuals had complex relationships with their public, with the political leaders of the day, and with each other. This book is in large part a study of the production of representations through biographical literature, and the roles those representations play in the formation of sectarian identities. By considering the processes through which the Kagyü sect formulated its own historical mythology, and the roles played by the madmen in this process, significant facets of the sect’s history are brought to light. The “holy madmen” emerge as self-aware and purposeful individuals who were anything but crazy.Less
Over the course of the last millennium in Tibet, tantric yogins have been taking on norm-overturning modes of behavior and dress, including provoking others to violence, publicly consuming filth, having sex, and draping themselves in human remains. Because of this they have been called “madmen” (smyon pa), but have also achieved a degree of saintliness. This book is the first comprehensive study of these “holy madmen,” who have captured the imaginations of Tibetans and Westerners alike. Through a close examination of the madmen’s biographies, writings, and other sources, this study explores what can be known about the historical individuals behind these colorful personas. Much of the book focuses on the lives and works of the three most famous “holy madmen,” who were all born in the 1450s, during a period of civil war and great change in the religious culture of Tibet: the Madman of Tsang (author of The Life of Milarepa), the Madman of Ü, and Drukpa Künlé, the “Madman of the Drukpa Kagyü.” These three individuals had complex relationships with their public, with the political leaders of the day, and with each other. This book is in large part a study of the production of representations through biographical literature, and the roles those representations play in the formation of sectarian identities. By considering the processes through which the Kagyü sect formulated its own historical mythology, and the roles played by the madmen in this process, significant facets of the sect’s history are brought to light. The “holy madmen” emerge as self-aware and purposeful individuals who were anything but crazy.
David M. DiValerio
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199391202
- eISBN:
- 9780199391233
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199391202.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
The introduction discusses the ways Tibetans have tended to think and speak about the “holy madmen,” with close attention to the categories and words traditionally employed. It also gives brief ...
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The introduction discusses the ways Tibetans have tended to think and speak about the “holy madmen,” with close attention to the categories and words traditionally employed. It also gives brief introductions to tantra and the history of the Kagyü sect. It then lays out some of the assumptions that underlie the arguments made to be made in the book, including the ways ideas about the supernatural are produced out of human discourse and the necessity of viewing saints as public figures. This is followed by summaries of the contents of each chapter.Less
The introduction discusses the ways Tibetans have tended to think and speak about the “holy madmen,” with close attention to the categories and words traditionally employed. It also gives brief introductions to tantra and the history of the Kagyü sect. It then lays out some of the assumptions that underlie the arguments made to be made in the book, including the ways ideas about the supernatural are produced out of human discourse and the necessity of viewing saints as public figures. This is followed by summaries of the contents of each chapter.
David M. DiValerio
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199391202
- eISBN:
- 9780199391233
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199391202.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter considers the various projects taken up by the Madmen of Ü and Tsang in their later years. The Madman of Ü established a monastery, which to some of his followers seemed in contradiction ...
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This chapter considers the various projects taken up by the Madmen of Ü and Tsang in their later years. The Madman of Ü established a monastery, which to some of his followers seemed in contradiction with the ascetic lifestyle he had long pursued. Like the tantric literalist asceticism for which he became renowned, the Madman of Tsang’s various biographical and printing projects—including his composing and publishing the Life and Collected Songs of the eleventh-century saint Milarepa—were attempts to redefine the Kagyü sect, and thereby shore it up against certain threats posed by broader changes to Tibetan religious culture then taking place. The Madman of Tsang’s 1504 renovation of the Swayambhūnāth stūpa in Nepal serves as an important indication of the standing in the Buddhist world he had achieved.Less
This chapter considers the various projects taken up by the Madmen of Ü and Tsang in their later years. The Madman of Ü established a monastery, which to some of his followers seemed in contradiction with the ascetic lifestyle he had long pursued. Like the tantric literalist asceticism for which he became renowned, the Madman of Tsang’s various biographical and printing projects—including his composing and publishing the Life and Collected Songs of the eleventh-century saint Milarepa—were attempts to redefine the Kagyü sect, and thereby shore it up against certain threats posed by broader changes to Tibetan religious culture then taking place. The Madman of Tsang’s 1504 renovation of the Swayambhūnāth stūpa in Nepal serves as an important indication of the standing in the Buddhist world he had achieved.
David M. DiValerio
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199391202
- eISBN:
- 9780199391233
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199391202.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter surveys the lives of other “holy madmen” and “madwomen” throughout Tibetan history, from the twelfth century to the present, including Tangtong Gyelpo, “the Madman of the Empty Plain.” ...
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This chapter surveys the lives of other “holy madmen” and “madwomen” throughout Tibetan history, from the twelfth century to the present, including Tangtong Gyelpo, “the Madman of the Empty Plain.” This chapter also explores some of the other ways a rhetoric of madness has been employed in Tibetan religious culture, including the use of “madman” as a pen name. Examples of the “madmen’s” influencing one another are shown, as are examples of specific representations of “holy madmen” influencing the biographical representations of later ones. The book closes by arguing that many of the conceptions of “holy madness” operative today bear the influence of Chögyam Trungpa, who employed the rhetoric of “crazy wisdom” to his own specific ends.Less
This chapter surveys the lives of other “holy madmen” and “madwomen” throughout Tibetan history, from the twelfth century to the present, including Tangtong Gyelpo, “the Madman of the Empty Plain.” This chapter also explores some of the other ways a rhetoric of madness has been employed in Tibetan religious culture, including the use of “madman” as a pen name. Examples of the “madmen’s” influencing one another are shown, as are examples of specific representations of “holy madmen” influencing the biographical representations of later ones. The book closes by arguing that many of the conceptions of “holy madness” operative today bear the influence of Chögyam Trungpa, who employed the rhetoric of “crazy wisdom” to his own specific ends.