Holly Gayley
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231180528
- eISBN:
- 9780231542753
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231180528.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Love Letters from Golok chronicles the courtship between two Buddhist tantric masters, Tare Lhamo (1938–2002) and Namtrul Rinpoche (1944–2011), and their passion for reinvigorating Buddhism in ...
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Love Letters from Golok chronicles the courtship between two Buddhist tantric masters, Tare Lhamo (1938–2002) and Namtrul Rinpoche (1944–2011), and their passion for reinvigorating Buddhism in eastern Tibet during the post-Mao era. In fifty-six letters exchanged from 1978 to 1980, Tare Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche envisioned a shared destiny to "heal the damage" done to Buddhism during the years leading up to and including the Cultural Revolution. Holly Gayley retrieves the personal and prophetic dimensions of their courtship and its consummation in a twenty-year religious career that informs issues of gender and agency in Buddhism, cultural preservation among Tibetan communities, and alternative histories for minorities in China. The correspondence between Tare Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche is the first collection of "love letters" to come to light in Tibetan literature. Blending tantric imagery with poetic and folk song styles, their letters have a fresh vernacular tone comparable to the love songs of the Sixth Dalai Lama, but with an eastern Tibetan flavor. Gayley reads these letters against hagiographic writings about the couple, supplemented by field research, to illuminate representational strategies that serve to narrate cultural trauma in a redemptive key, quite unlike Chinese scar literature or the testimonials of exile Tibetans. With special attention to Tare Lhamo's role as a tantric heroine and her hagiographic fusion with Namtrul Rinpoche, Gayley vividly shows how Buddhist masters have adapted Tibetan literary genres to share private intimacies and address contemporary social concerns.Less
Love Letters from Golok chronicles the courtship between two Buddhist tantric masters, Tare Lhamo (1938–2002) and Namtrul Rinpoche (1944–2011), and their passion for reinvigorating Buddhism in eastern Tibet during the post-Mao era. In fifty-six letters exchanged from 1978 to 1980, Tare Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche envisioned a shared destiny to "heal the damage" done to Buddhism during the years leading up to and including the Cultural Revolution. Holly Gayley retrieves the personal and prophetic dimensions of their courtship and its consummation in a twenty-year religious career that informs issues of gender and agency in Buddhism, cultural preservation among Tibetan communities, and alternative histories for minorities in China. The correspondence between Tare Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche is the first collection of "love letters" to come to light in Tibetan literature. Blending tantric imagery with poetic and folk song styles, their letters have a fresh vernacular tone comparable to the love songs of the Sixth Dalai Lama, but with an eastern Tibetan flavor. Gayley reads these letters against hagiographic writings about the couple, supplemented by field research, to illuminate representational strategies that serve to narrate cultural trauma in a redemptive key, quite unlike Chinese scar literature or the testimonials of exile Tibetans. With special attention to Tare Lhamo's role as a tantric heroine and her hagiographic fusion with Namtrul Rinpoche, Gayley vividly shows how Buddhist masters have adapted Tibetan literary genres to share private intimacies and address contemporary social concerns.
Sallie B. King
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190499778
- eISBN:
- 9780190499792
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190499778.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, General
This essay examines the role of karma in Engaged Buddhist thought and action. It discusses (1) ways in which Engaged Buddhists make use of karma; (2) ways in which karma is a problem for Engaged ...
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This essay examines the role of karma in Engaged Buddhist thought and action. It discusses (1) ways in which Engaged Buddhists make use of karma; (2) ways in which karma is a problem for Engaged Buddhism; and (3) ways in which Engaged Buddhists have attempted to overcome the difficulties associated with traditional ideas about karma. Issues surrounding karma addressed by Engaged Buddhists include the stigmatization of dalits, women, and the disabled; the promotion of fatalism and passivity; individual and social responsibility; karma and justice; karma and social change; karma and compassion. Engaged Buddhist leaders discussed include B. R. Ambedkar, Aung San Suu Kyi, Sulak Sivaraksa, and Thich Nhat Hanh. The paper concludes that there are many successful ways that Engaged Buddhists have addressed difficulties associated with karma and specifies other ways that could be considered in addition.Less
This essay examines the role of karma in Engaged Buddhist thought and action. It discusses (1) ways in which Engaged Buddhists make use of karma; (2) ways in which karma is a problem for Engaged Buddhism; and (3) ways in which Engaged Buddhists have attempted to overcome the difficulties associated with traditional ideas about karma. Issues surrounding karma addressed by Engaged Buddhists include the stigmatization of dalits, women, and the disabled; the promotion of fatalism and passivity; individual and social responsibility; karma and justice; karma and social change; karma and compassion. Engaged Buddhist leaders discussed include B. R. Ambedkar, Aung San Suu Kyi, Sulak Sivaraksa, and Thich Nhat Hanh. The paper concludes that there are many successful ways that Engaged Buddhists have addressed difficulties associated with karma and specifies other ways that could be considered in addition.
