Frances Garrett
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195380040
- eISBN:
- 9780199869077
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195380040.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, World Religions
This chapter examines different models of fetal growth in premodern religious and medical Tibetan embryological narratives, which describe causal forces such as karma, the natural elements, the ...
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This chapter examines different models of fetal growth in premodern religious and medical Tibetan embryological narratives, which describe causal forces such as karma, the natural elements, the energetic winds, and the wisdom of a Buddha. Embryology is presented as a means for Tibetan thinkers to define acceptable paradigms for change and growth and a theoretical model for addressing other issues of vital concern to Buddhists.Less
This chapter examines different models of fetal growth in premodern religious and medical Tibetan embryological narratives, which describe causal forces such as karma, the natural elements, the energetic winds, and the wisdom of a Buddha. Embryology is presented as a means for Tibetan thinkers to define acceptable paradigms for change and growth and a theoretical model for addressing other issues of vital concern to Buddhists.
Thomas F. Farr
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195179958
- eISBN:
- 9780199869749
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179958.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
China is the largest and, arguably, the most consequential nation for American interests. It has a huge conventional and nuclear military establishment, is a permanent member of the UN Security ...
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China is the largest and, arguably, the most consequential nation for American interests. It has a huge conventional and nuclear military establishment, is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, is a major economic power, and has enormous influence in the Far East, especially in North Korea. Its explosion of religious devotion has disoriented Chinese officials, leading to quixotic attempts at control and management of religious communities. Such efforts, in turn, routinely lead to persecution of Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims and Christians. This chapter, centered on the author's travels in China, describes the religious landscape and offers new ways to “think with the Chinese” about their religious “problem.” For American diplomacy, the solution lies in the economy, law, scholarship, education and civil society. The stakes are high: if China cannot come to see the growing percentages of religious adherents as resources rather than threats, the result could be catastrophic—for China, its religious citizens, and U.S. interests.Less
China is the largest and, arguably, the most consequential nation for American interests. It has a huge conventional and nuclear military establishment, is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, is a major economic power, and has enormous influence in the Far East, especially in North Korea. Its explosion of religious devotion has disoriented Chinese officials, leading to quixotic attempts at control and management of religious communities. Such efforts, in turn, routinely lead to persecution of Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims and Christians. This chapter, centered on the author's travels in China, describes the religious landscape and offers new ways to “think with the Chinese” about their religious “problem.” For American diplomacy, the solution lies in the economy, law, scholarship, education and civil society. The stakes are high: if China cannot come to see the growing percentages of religious adherents as resources rather than threats, the result could be catastrophic—for China, its religious citizens, and U.S. interests.
David L. McMahan
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195183276
- eISBN:
- 9780199870882
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195183276.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter charts a variegated continuum between traditionalist and modernist Buddhists by providing five composite profiles of Buddhists: a British “Buddhist sympathizer,” a traditional Thai ...
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This chapter charts a variegated continuum between traditionalist and modernist Buddhists by providing five composite profiles of Buddhists: a British “Buddhist sympathizer,” a traditional Thai laywoman, an American dharma teacher, a Tibetan monk, and an Asian modernizer. It then discusses three processes by which modernization has taken place in Buddhism: detraditionalization, whereby authority is internalized and shifted from institutions to individuals; demythologization, in which elements of traditional cosmology, such as the six realms of rebirth, are re-interpreted as mental states; and psychologization, in which unseen beings are translated into psychological phenomena and, more generally, Buddhism comes to be interpreted in terms of western psychology.Less
This chapter charts a variegated continuum between traditionalist and modernist Buddhists by providing five composite profiles of Buddhists: a British “Buddhist sympathizer,” a traditional Thai laywoman, an American dharma teacher, a Tibetan monk, and an Asian modernizer. It then discusses three processes by which modernization has taken place in Buddhism: detraditionalization, whereby authority is internalized and shifted from institutions to individuals; demythologization, in which elements of traditional cosmology, such as the six realms of rebirth, are re-interpreted as mental states; and psychologization, in which unseen beings are translated into psychological phenomena and, more generally, Buddhism comes to be interpreted in terms of western psychology.
Jones James W
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195335972
- eISBN:
- 9780199868957
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195335972.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
“Aum Shinrikyo: Violence and Religion in Japanese Buddhism.” This chapter traces the movement of Aum Shinrikyo from a yoga and meditation center, indistinguishable from countless other New Age ...
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“Aum Shinrikyo: Violence and Religion in Japanese Buddhism.” This chapter traces the movement of Aum Shinrikyo from a yoga and meditation center, indistinguishable from countless other New Age centers in Japan and North America, to a cult that released deadly nerve gas in a Tokyo subway. Various avenues of explanation for this transition are explored, and Aum is compared with other religiously motivated terrorist groups. Aum’s roots in Japanese religion, especially Buddhism, are discussed, and the idea of Buddhism as a purely nonviolent religion is critiqued.Less
“Aum Shinrikyo: Violence and Religion in Japanese Buddhism.” This chapter traces the movement of Aum Shinrikyo from a yoga and meditation center, indistinguishable from countless other New Age centers in Japan and North America, to a cult that released deadly nerve gas in a Tokyo subway. Various avenues of explanation for this transition are explored, and Aum is compared with other religiously motivated terrorist groups. Aum’s roots in Japanese religion, especially Buddhism, are discussed, and the idea of Buddhism as a purely nonviolent religion is critiqued.
Anne Carolyn Klein and Tenzin Wangyal
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195178494
- eISBN:
- 9780199784790
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195178491.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This book provides a study and translation of the Authenticity of Open Awareness, a foundational text of the Bon Dzogchen tradition. This is the first time a Bon philosophical text of this scope has ...
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This book provides a study and translation of the Authenticity of Open Awareness, a foundational text of the Bon Dzogchen tradition. This is the first time a Bon philosophical text of this scope has been translated into any Western language, and as such, it is an addition to the study of Tibetan religion and Eastern thought. The book provides introductory, explanatory, and historical material that situates the text in the context of Tibetan thought and culture.Less
This book provides a study and translation of the Authenticity of Open Awareness, a foundational text of the Bon Dzogchen tradition. This is the first time a Bon philosophical text of this scope has been translated into any Western language, and as such, it is an addition to the study of Tibetan religion and Eastern thought. The book provides introductory, explanatory, and historical material that situates the text in the context of Tibetan thought and culture.
Jacob P. Dalton
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780231176002
- eISBN:
- 9780231541176
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231176002.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
The Gathering of Intentions reads a single Tibetan Buddhist ritual system through the movements of Tibetan history, revealing the social and material dimensions of an ostensibly timeless tradition. ...
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The Gathering of Intentions reads a single Tibetan Buddhist ritual system through the movements of Tibetan history, revealing the social and material dimensions of an ostensibly timeless tradition. By subjecting tantric practice to historical analysis, the book offers new insight into the origins of Tibetan Buddhism, the formation of its canons, the emergence of new lineages and ceremonies, and modern efforts to revitalize the religion by returning to its mythic origins. The ritual system explored in this volume is based on the Gathering of Intentions Sutra, the fundamental “root tantra” of the Anuyoga class of teachings belonging to the Nyingma (“Ancient”) school of Tibetan Buddhism. Proceeding chronologically from the ninth century to the present, each chapter features a Tibetan author negotiating a perceived gap between the original root text—the Gathering of Intentions—and the lived religious or political concerns of his day. These ongoing tensions underscore the significance of Tibet’s elaborate esoteric ritual systems, which have persisted for centuries, evolving in response to historical conditions. Rather than overlook practice in favor of philosophical concerns, this volume prioritizes Tibetan Buddhism’s ritual systems for a richer portrait of the tradition.Less
The Gathering of Intentions reads a single Tibetan Buddhist ritual system through the movements of Tibetan history, revealing the social and material dimensions of an ostensibly timeless tradition. By subjecting tantric practice to historical analysis, the book offers new insight into the origins of Tibetan Buddhism, the formation of its canons, the emergence of new lineages and ceremonies, and modern efforts to revitalize the religion by returning to its mythic origins. The ritual system explored in this volume is based on the Gathering of Intentions Sutra, the fundamental “root tantra” of the Anuyoga class of teachings belonging to the Nyingma (“Ancient”) school of Tibetan Buddhism. Proceeding chronologically from the ninth century to the present, each chapter features a Tibetan author negotiating a perceived gap between the original root text—the Gathering of Intentions—and the lived religious or political concerns of his day. These ongoing tensions underscore the significance of Tibet’s elaborate esoteric ritual systems, which have persisted for centuries, evolving in response to historical conditions. Rather than overlook practice in favor of philosophical concerns, this volume prioritizes Tibetan Buddhism’s ritual systems for a richer portrait of the tradition.
Jay L. Garfield and Sonam Thakchöe
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199751426
- eISBN:
- 9780199827190
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199751426.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Tibetan Mādhyamikas devote considerable attention to debates concerning the object of negation (Tib. dgag bya) in deconstructive Madhyamaka analysis. This chapter argues that this attention is ...
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Tibetan Mādhyamikas devote considerable attention to debates concerning the object of negation (Tib. dgag bya) in deconstructive Madhyamaka analysis. This chapter argues that this attention is warranted because any account of conventional truth depends upon an account of the object of negation. The chapter focuses on the debate between Tsongkhapa and Gorampa regarding whether the object of negation is intrinsic nature or existence.Less
Tibetan Mādhyamikas devote considerable attention to debates concerning the object of negation (Tib. dgag bya) in deconstructive Madhyamaka analysis. This chapter argues that this attention is warranted because any account of conventional truth depends upon an account of the object of negation. The chapter focuses on the debate between Tsongkhapa and Gorampa regarding whether the object of negation is intrinsic nature or existence.
Georges Dreyfus
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199751426
- eISBN:
- 9780199827190
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199751426.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter compares the twelfth-century Tibetan thinker Patsab’s interpretation of Madhyamaka with certain readings of ancient skepticism, focusing on the central question that skeptical accounts ...
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This chapter compares the twelfth-century Tibetan thinker Patsab’s interpretation of Madhyamaka with certain readings of ancient skepticism, focusing on the central question that skeptical accounts face: Can the skeptic advance a thesis, or is it merely therapeutic? This chapter argues that Patsab’s approach is similar to that of Sextus in that it offers a radical answer to this question, and the chapter then asks whether his approach is compatible with constructive philosophy.Less
This chapter compares the twelfth-century Tibetan thinker Patsab’s interpretation of Madhyamaka with certain readings of ancient skepticism, focusing on the central question that skeptical accounts face: Can the skeptic advance a thesis, or is it merely therapeutic? This chapter argues that Patsab’s approach is similar to that of Sextus in that it offers a radical answer to this question, and the chapter then asks whether his approach is compatible with constructive philosophy.
Richard J. Davidson and Anne Harrington (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195130430
- eISBN:
- 9780199847327
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195130430.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This book examines how Western behavioral science — which has generally focused on negative aspects of human nature — holds up to cross-cultural scrutiny, in particular the Tibetan Buddhist ...
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This book examines how Western behavioral science — which has generally focused on negative aspects of human nature — holds up to cross-cultural scrutiny, in particular the Tibetan Buddhist celebration of the human potential for altruism, empathy, and compassion. Resulting from a meeting between the Dalai Lama, leading Western scholars, and a group of Tibetan monks, this volume includes excerpts from these dialogues as well as engaging chapters exploring points of difference and overlap between the two perspectives.Less
This book examines how Western behavioral science — which has generally focused on negative aspects of human nature — holds up to cross-cultural scrutiny, in particular the Tibetan Buddhist celebration of the human potential for altruism, empathy, and compassion. Resulting from a meeting between the Dalai Lama, leading Western scholars, and a group of Tibetan monks, this volume includes excerpts from these dialogues as well as engaging chapters exploring points of difference and overlap between the two perspectives.
Georgios T. Halkias
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824835903
- eISBN:
- 9780824871314
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824835903.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Pure Land Buddhism as a whole has received comparatively little attention in Western studies on Buddhism despite the importance of “buddha-fields” (pure lands) for the growth and expression of ...
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Pure Land Buddhism as a whole has received comparatively little attention in Western studies on Buddhism despite the importance of “buddha-fields” (pure lands) for the growth and expression of Mahāyāna Buddhism. This first religious history of Tibetan Pure Land literature highlights important aspects of this neglected pan-Asian Buddhist tradition. The book clarifies many of the misconceptions concerning the interpretation of “other-world” soteriology in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and provides translations of original Tibetan sources from the ninth century to the present. Divided into three sections, the book shows that Tibetan Pure Land literature exemplifies a synthesis of Mahāyāna sutra-based conceptions with a Vajrayana world-view that fits progressive approaches to the realization of Pure Land teachings. Part I covers the origins and development of Pure Land in India and the historical circumstances of its adaptation in Tibet and Central Asia. Part II offers an English translation of the short Sukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra (imported from India during the Tibetan Empire) and contains a survey of original Tibetan Pure Land scriptures and meditative techniques from the dGe-lugs-pa, bKa'-brgyud, rNying-ma, and Sa-skya schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Part III introduces some of the most innovative and popular mortuary cycles and practices related to the Tantric cult of Buddha Amitābha and his Pure Land from the Treasure traditions in the bKa'-brgyud and rNying-ma schools. The book locates Pure Land Buddhism at the core of Tibet's religious heritage and demonstrates how this tradition constitutes an integral part of both Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism.Less
Pure Land Buddhism as a whole has received comparatively little attention in Western studies on Buddhism despite the importance of “buddha-fields” (pure lands) for the growth and expression of Mahāyāna Buddhism. This first religious history of Tibetan Pure Land literature highlights important aspects of this neglected pan-Asian Buddhist tradition. The book clarifies many of the misconceptions concerning the interpretation of “other-world” soteriology in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and provides translations of original Tibetan sources from the ninth century to the present. Divided into three sections, the book shows that Tibetan Pure Land literature exemplifies a synthesis of Mahāyāna sutra-based conceptions with a Vajrayana world-view that fits progressive approaches to the realization of Pure Land teachings. Part I covers the origins and development of Pure Land in India and the historical circumstances of its adaptation in Tibet and Central Asia. Part II offers an English translation of the short Sukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra (imported from India during the Tibetan Empire) and contains a survey of original Tibetan Pure Land scriptures and meditative techniques from the dGe-lugs-pa, bKa'-brgyud, rNying-ma, and Sa-skya schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Part III introduces some of the most innovative and popular mortuary cycles and practices related to the Tantric cult of Buddha Amitābha and his Pure Land from the Treasure traditions in the bKa'-brgyud and rNying-ma schools. The book locates Pure Land Buddhism at the core of Tibet's religious heritage and demonstrates how this tradition constitutes an integral part of both Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism.
Rong Ma
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622092020
- eISBN:
- 9789882207288
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622092020.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
This survey documents Tibetan society over five decades, including population structure in rural and urban areas, marriage and migration patterns, the maintenance of language and traditional culture, ...
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This survey documents Tibetan society over five decades, including population structure in rural and urban areas, marriage and migration patterns, the maintenance of language and traditional culture, economic transitions relating to income and consumption habits, educational development, and the growth of civil society and social organizations. In addition to household surveys completed over twenty years, the book provides a systematic analysis of all available social and census data released by the Chinese government, and a review of Western and Chinese literature on the topic. It covers several sensitive issues in Tibetan studies, including population changes, Han migration into Tibetan areas, intermarriage patterns, and ethnic relations.Less
This survey documents Tibetan society over five decades, including population structure in rural and urban areas, marriage and migration patterns, the maintenance of language and traditional culture, economic transitions relating to income and consumption habits, educational development, and the growth of civil society and social organizations. In addition to household surveys completed over twenty years, the book provides a systematic analysis of all available social and census data released by the Chinese government, and a review of Western and Chinese literature on the topic. It covers several sensitive issues in Tibetan studies, including population changes, Han migration into Tibetan areas, intermarriage patterns, and ethnic relations.
Donald S. Lopez Jr.
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226493169
- eISBN:
- 9780226493220
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226493220.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Gendun Chopel is considered the most important Tibetan intellectual of the twentieth century. His life spanned the two defining moments in modern Tibetan history: the entry into Lhasa by British ...
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Gendun Chopel is considered the most important Tibetan intellectual of the twentieth century. His life spanned the two defining moments in modern Tibetan history: the entry into Lhasa by British troops in 1904 and by Chinese troops in 1951. Recognized as an incarnate lama while he was a child, Gendun Chopel excelled in the traditional monastic curriculum and went on to become expert in fields as diverse as philosophy, history, linguistics, geography, and tantric Buddhism. Near the end of his life, before he was persecuted and imprisoned by the government of the young Dalai Lama, he would dictate the Adornment for Nagarjuna's Thought, a work on Madhyamaka, or “Middle Way,” philosophy. It sparked controversy immediately upon its publication and continues to do so today. This book presents the first English translation of this major Tibetan Buddhist work, accompanied by a chapter on Gendun Chopel's life liberally interspersed with passages from his writings. The book also provides a commentary that sheds light on the doctrinal context of the Adornment and summarizes its key arguments. Ultimately, it examines the long-standing debate over whether Gendun Chopel in fact is the author of the Adornment; the heated critical response to the work by Tibetan monks of the Dalai Lama's sect; and what the Adornment tells us about Tibetan Buddhism's encounter with modernity.Less
Gendun Chopel is considered the most important Tibetan intellectual of the twentieth century. His life spanned the two defining moments in modern Tibetan history: the entry into Lhasa by British troops in 1904 and by Chinese troops in 1951. Recognized as an incarnate lama while he was a child, Gendun Chopel excelled in the traditional monastic curriculum and went on to become expert in fields as diverse as philosophy, history, linguistics, geography, and tantric Buddhism. Near the end of his life, before he was persecuted and imprisoned by the government of the young Dalai Lama, he would dictate the Adornment for Nagarjuna's Thought, a work on Madhyamaka, or “Middle Way,” philosophy. It sparked controversy immediately upon its publication and continues to do so today. This book presents the first English translation of this major Tibetan Buddhist work, accompanied by a chapter on Gendun Chopel's life liberally interspersed with passages from his writings. The book also provides a commentary that sheds light on the doctrinal context of the Adornment and summarizes its key arguments. Ultimately, it examines the long-standing debate over whether Gendun Chopel in fact is the author of the Adornment; the heated critical response to the work by Tibetan monks of the Dalai Lama's sect; and what the Adornment tells us about Tibetan Buddhism's encounter with modernity.
Keila Diehl
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520230439
- eISBN:
- 9780520936003
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520230439.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
This book uses music to understand the experiences of Tibetans living in Dharamsala, a town in the Indian Himalayas that for more than forty years has been home to Tibet's government-in-exile. The ...
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This book uses music to understand the experiences of Tibetans living in Dharamsala, a town in the Indian Himalayas that for more than forty years has been home to Tibet's government-in-exile. The Dalai Lama's presence lends Dharamsala's Tibetans a feeling of being “in place”, but at the same time they have physically and psychologically constructed Dharamsala as “not Tibet”, as a temporary resting place to which many are unable or unwilling to become attached. Not surprisingly, this community struggles with notions of home, displacement, ethnic identity, and assimilation. This ethnography explores the contradictory realities of cultural homogenization, hybridity, and concern about ethnic purity as they are negotiated in the everyday lives of individuals. In this way, the book complicates explanations of culture change provided by the popular idea of “global flow”. This narrative argues that the exiles' focus on cultural preservation, while crucial, has contributed to the development of essentialist ideas of what is truly “Tibetan”. As a result, “foreign” or “modern” practices that have gained deep relevance for Tibetan refugees have been devalued. The book scrutinizes this tension in the discussion of the refugees' enthusiasm for songs from blockbuster Hindi films, the popularity of Western rock and roll among Tibetan youth, and the emergence of a new genre of modern Tibetan music. The insights presented here into the soundscape of Dharamsala is enriched by personal experiences as the keyboard player for a Tibetan refugee rock group called the Yak Band.Less
This book uses music to understand the experiences of Tibetans living in Dharamsala, a town in the Indian Himalayas that for more than forty years has been home to Tibet's government-in-exile. The Dalai Lama's presence lends Dharamsala's Tibetans a feeling of being “in place”, but at the same time they have physically and psychologically constructed Dharamsala as “not Tibet”, as a temporary resting place to which many are unable or unwilling to become attached. Not surprisingly, this community struggles with notions of home, displacement, ethnic identity, and assimilation. This ethnography explores the contradictory realities of cultural homogenization, hybridity, and concern about ethnic purity as they are negotiated in the everyday lives of individuals. In this way, the book complicates explanations of culture change provided by the popular idea of “global flow”. This narrative argues that the exiles' focus on cultural preservation, while crucial, has contributed to the development of essentialist ideas of what is truly “Tibetan”. As a result, “foreign” or “modern” practices that have gained deep relevance for Tibetan refugees have been devalued. The book scrutinizes this tension in the discussion of the refugees' enthusiasm for songs from blockbuster Hindi films, the popularity of Western rock and roll among Tibetan youth, and the emergence of a new genre of modern Tibetan music. The insights presented here into the soundscape of Dharamsala is enriched by personal experiences as the keyboard player for a Tibetan refugee rock group called the Yak Band.
Trent Pomplun
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195377866
- eISBN:
- 9780199869466
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195377866.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This introduction summarizes the history of research on Ippolito Desideri and situates it within larger trends in Tibetan Studies and the historiography of the Society of Jesus. It argues that recent ...
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This introduction summarizes the history of research on Ippolito Desideri and situates it within larger trends in Tibetan Studies and the historiography of the Society of Jesus. It argues that recent works in Tibetan Studies that make Desideri an emblem of an alleged Western fantasy about Tibet often participate in rather common fantasies about Jesuits and the Society of Jesus. It also exposes one of the salient rhetorical strategies in recent works on the Jesuit missions (namely, that they are finally, just now, escaping the confines of hagiography) to be a longstanding feature of Jesuit historiography that has its own political agenda.Less
This introduction summarizes the history of research on Ippolito Desideri and situates it within larger trends in Tibetan Studies and the historiography of the Society of Jesus. It argues that recent works in Tibetan Studies that make Desideri an emblem of an alleged Western fantasy about Tibet often participate in rather common fantasies about Jesuits and the Society of Jesus. It also exposes one of the salient rhetorical strategies in recent works on the Jesuit missions (namely, that they are finally, just now, escaping the confines of hagiography) to be a longstanding feature of Jesuit historiography that has its own political agenda.
Fernanda Pirie
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199580910
- eISBN:
- 9780191723025
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199580910.003.0006
- Subject:
- Law, Comparative Law
This chapter analyzes a legal code found among nomadic pastoralists in eastern Tibet. This code consists of directions and prescriptions relating to different areas of tribal life and specifies ...
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This chapter analyzes a legal code found among nomadic pastoralists in eastern Tibet. This code consists of directions and prescriptions relating to different areas of tribal life and specifies compensation payments to be made after a death or injury. Its provisions diverge significantly, however, from the practices of mediation that actually take place among these tribes. It is argued that the expressive nature of its content is more significant than its instrumental value. Its provisions represent a type of civilization to which the Tibetan tribes and their leaders aspired. The legal form is, for them, a means of linking social norms and practices to a supervening moral order and, as such, the code can be regarded as significant, quite apart from any impact it has upon legal practices.Less
This chapter analyzes a legal code found among nomadic pastoralists in eastern Tibet. This code consists of directions and prescriptions relating to different areas of tribal life and specifies compensation payments to be made after a death or injury. Its provisions diverge significantly, however, from the practices of mediation that actually take place among these tribes. It is argued that the expressive nature of its content is more significant than its instrumental value. Its provisions represent a type of civilization to which the Tibetan tribes and their leaders aspired. The legal form is, for them, a means of linking social norms and practices to a supervening moral order and, as such, the code can be regarded as significant, quite apart from any impact it has upon legal practices.
Jessica Marie Falcone
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781501723469
- eISBN:
- 9781501723476
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501723469.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
This ethnography explores the controversial plans and practices of the Maitreya Project, as they worked to build the “world's tallest statue” as a multi-million dollar “gift” to India. This effort ...
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This ethnography explores the controversial plans and practices of the Maitreya Project, as they worked to build the “world's tallest statue” as a multi-million dollar “gift” to India. This effort entailed a plan to forcibly acquire hundreds of acres of occupied land for the statue park in the Kushinagar area of Uttar Pradesh. The Buddhist statue planners ran into obstacle after obstacle, including a full-scale grassroots resistance movement of Indian farmers working to “Save the Land.” In telling the “life story” of the proposed statue, the book sheds light on the aspirations, values and practices of both the Buddhists who worked to construct the statue, as well as the Indian farmer-activists who tirelessly protested against it. Since the majority of the supporters of the Maitreya Project statue are “non-heritage” practitioners to Tibetan Buddhism, the book narrates the spectacular collision of cultural values between small agriculturalists in rural India and transnational Buddhists from around the world. The book endeavors to show the cultural logics at work on both sides of the controversy. Thus, this ethnography of a future statue of the Maitreya Buddha—himself the “future Buddha”—is a story about divergent, competing visions of Kushinagar’s potential futures.Less
This ethnography explores the controversial plans and practices of the Maitreya Project, as they worked to build the “world's tallest statue” as a multi-million dollar “gift” to India. This effort entailed a plan to forcibly acquire hundreds of acres of occupied land for the statue park in the Kushinagar area of Uttar Pradesh. The Buddhist statue planners ran into obstacle after obstacle, including a full-scale grassroots resistance movement of Indian farmers working to “Save the Land.” In telling the “life story” of the proposed statue, the book sheds light on the aspirations, values and practices of both the Buddhists who worked to construct the statue, as well as the Indian farmer-activists who tirelessly protested against it. Since the majority of the supporters of the Maitreya Project statue are “non-heritage” practitioners to Tibetan Buddhism, the book narrates the spectacular collision of cultural values between small agriculturalists in rural India and transnational Buddhists from around the world. The book endeavors to show the cultural logics at work on both sides of the controversy. Thus, this ethnography of a future statue of the Maitreya Buddha—himself the “future Buddha”—is a story about divergent, competing visions of Kushinagar’s potential futures.
Sulmaan Khan
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781469621104
- eISBN:
- 9781469623252
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469621104.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled Lhasa, leaving the People's Republic of China with a crisis on its Tibetan frontier. This book tells the story of the PRC's response to that crisis and, in doing so, ...
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In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled Lhasa, leaving the People's Republic of China with a crisis on its Tibetan frontier. This book tells the story of the PRC's response to that crisis and, in doing so, brings to life an extraordinary cast of characters: Chinese diplomats appalled by sky burials, Guomindang spies working with Tibetans in Nepal, traders carrying salt across the Himalayas, and Tibetan Muslims rioting in Lhasa. Moving from capital cities to far-flung mountain villages, from top diplomats to nomads crossing disputed boundaries in search of pasture, this book shows Cold War China as it has never been seen before and reveals the deep influence of the Tibetan crisis on the political fabric of present-day China.Less
In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled Lhasa, leaving the People's Republic of China with a crisis on its Tibetan frontier. This book tells the story of the PRC's response to that crisis and, in doing so, brings to life an extraordinary cast of characters: Chinese diplomats appalled by sky burials, Guomindang spies working with Tibetans in Nepal, traders carrying salt across the Himalayas, and Tibetan Muslims rioting in Lhasa. Moving from capital cities to far-flung mountain villages, from top diplomats to nomads crossing disputed boundaries in search of pasture, this book shows Cold War China as it has never been seen before and reveals the deep influence of the Tibetan crisis on the political fabric of present-day China.
Donghui He
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622090866
- eISBN:
- 9789882206724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622090866.003.0015
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter discusses recent documentary-style film representations of Tibetan ecology by experimental-mainstream Chinese director Tian Zhuangzhuang and Tibetan director Wanma Caidan, focusing on ...
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This chapter discusses recent documentary-style film representations of Tibetan ecology by experimental-mainstream Chinese director Tian Zhuangzhuang and Tibetan director Wanma Caidan, focusing on the ways they shape perceptions of the Tibetan religion and relate it to ecological connectedness in the everyday setting. It begins with an overview of the changed environmental discourse in mainstream Chinese documentary-style film, starting in the late 1980s before massive industrialization programs were launched in China. It proceeds to Tian Zhuangzhuang's subtitled documentary Delamu (2004), used as an example of the evolving mainstream aesthetic background against which Wanma presents his work. It then analyzes Wanma Caidan's two Tibetan-language documentary-style fiction films, The Grassland (2003) and The Silent Holy Stone (2005), in correspondence to his two-phase redefinition of Tibetan culture.Less
This chapter discusses recent documentary-style film representations of Tibetan ecology by experimental-mainstream Chinese director Tian Zhuangzhuang and Tibetan director Wanma Caidan, focusing on the ways they shape perceptions of the Tibetan religion and relate it to ecological connectedness in the everyday setting. It begins with an overview of the changed environmental discourse in mainstream Chinese documentary-style film, starting in the late 1980s before massive industrialization programs were launched in China. It proceeds to Tian Zhuangzhuang's subtitled documentary Delamu (2004), used as an example of the evolving mainstream aesthetic background against which Wanma presents his work. It then analyzes Wanma Caidan's two Tibetan-language documentary-style fiction films, The Grassland (2003) and The Silent Holy Stone (2005), in correspondence to his two-phase redefinition of Tibetan culture.
Patricia Q. Campbell
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199793822
- eISBN:
- 9780199914531
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199793822.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This introduction describes the histories of the centers, some of the background of the main teachers and a description of the meditation classes and other events each offers. Descriptive detail of ...
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This introduction describes the histories of the centers, some of the background of the main teachers and a description of the meditation classes and other events each offers. Descriptive detail of the shrine rooms of each center sets the scene for later descriptions of the classes and events. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the means of outreach each center engages in as it tries to attract new members and participants.Less
This introduction describes the histories of the centers, some of the background of the main teachers and a description of the meditation classes and other events each offers. Descriptive detail of the shrine rooms of each center sets the scene for later descriptions of the classes and events. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the means of outreach each center engages in as it tries to attract new members and participants.
Patricia Q. Campbell
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199793822
- eISBN:
- 9780199914531
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199793822.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter presents an overview of the two centers involved in this study: Friends of the Heart and Chandrakirti Centre. It describes the histories of the centers, some of the background of the ...
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This chapter presents an overview of the two centers involved in this study: Friends of the Heart and Chandrakirti Centre. It describes the histories of the centers, some of the background of the main teachers and a description of the meditation classes and other events each offers. Descriptive detail of the shrine rooms of each center sets the scene for later descriptions of the classes and events. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the means of outreach each center engages in as it tries to attract new members and participants.Less
This chapter presents an overview of the two centers involved in this study: Friends of the Heart and Chandrakirti Centre. It describes the histories of the centers, some of the background of the main teachers and a description of the meditation classes and other events each offers. Descriptive detail of the shrine rooms of each center sets the scene for later descriptions of the classes and events. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the means of outreach each center engages in as it tries to attract new members and participants.
