Anatomy of a Ḍākinī: Female Consort Discourse in a Case of Fourteenth-Century Tibetan Buddhist Literature

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kali Cape
Keyword(s):  
Fourteenth Century ◽  
Tibetan Buddhist ◽  
Buddhist Literature

scholarly journals History and Myth: Mahāmudrā Lineage Accounts in the 12th-Century Xixia Buddhist Literature

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 187
Author(s):  
Linghui Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Transmission Lines ◽  
Religious Authority ◽  
Tibetan Buddhist ◽  
Direct Experience ◽  
Buddhist Literature ◽  
The Third ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
12Th Century ◽  
Spiritual Legacy ◽  
History And Myth

Mahāmudrā—an Indo-Tibetan phenomenon of Buddhist spirituality—constitutes in its systematic presentation a path that maps out the mystical quest for direct experience of ultimate reality. Despite the post-15th century bKa’-brgyud attempts at a codified Mahāmudrā genealogy, the early Tibetan sources speak little with regards to how the different Indian Mahāmudrā threads made their way over the Himalayas. To fill this gap, the article investigates, via philological and historical approaches, the lineage accounts in the 12th-century Xixia Mahāmudrā materials against the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist landscape. Three transmission lines are detected. Among them, two lines are attested by later Tibetan historiographical accounts about Mahāmudrā, and thus belong to an Indo-Tibetan continuum of the constructed Buddhist yogic past based upon historical realities—at least as understood by Tibetans of the time. The third one is more of a collage patching together different claims to spiritual legacy and religious authority—be they historically based or introspectively projected. Not only does the Mahāmudrā topography, jointly fueled by these three transmissions, reveal the Xixia recognition and imagination of the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist legacies, it also captures the complexities of the multi-faceted picture of Mahāmudrā on its way over the Himalayas during the 11th/12th century.

scholarly journals Section «Lam-rim» of tibetan literature collection "Choira". Oriental manuscripts and xylographs center IMBTS SB RAS

Bibliosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 71-77
Author(s):  
A. A. Bazarov
Keyword(s):  
Northwest China ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Tibetan Buddhist ◽  
Philosophical Literature ◽  
Buddhist Literature ◽  
Inner Asia ◽  
Border Regions ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Historical Fact ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

The article discusses the “additional” course of Buddhist education lam-rim, which was taught in the monasteries of Northwest China, Mongolia and Transbaikalia (19th – early 20th centuries). The databases of the Buddhist scholastic collection “Choira” of the Center of Oriental manuscripts and xylographs in the Institute of Mongolian Studies, Buddhology and Tibetology of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IMSBT SO RAN), as well as traditional bibliographic handbooks – “garchaks”, make it possible to understand that the texts of lam-rims are an integral part of the Buddhist book culture of this region. Our analysis has demonstrated that the study of this scholastic subject in the monasteries of Northwest China, Mongolia and Transbaikalia (19th – beginning 20th centuries) was based on a variedTibetan Buddhist literature from fundamental works of Indian classics to popular works of local scholastics. It is also necessary to emphasize that if to compare this section (lam-rim) of Tibetan scholastic literature “Choira” (in IMBT SB RAS) with the other sections (Pramana, Prajna-Paramita, Madhyamika Vinaya, Abhidharma) we find that the largest number of works of local authors are found in lam-rim. An important result of the research is the historical fact that the books of the Buryat monastic printing houses (Aga, Tsugol, Egita, Ana datsans of Trans-Baikal region) make it possible to understand the level of development of lam-rims literature in this region (19th – beginning 20th centuries) in the field of writing and publishing scholastic works in Northwest China, Mongolia and Transbaikalia. The study of authorship of lamrim texts stored in the IMBT SB RAS can confirm that, thanks to the works of representatives of these cross-border regions, a kind of Renaissance of Tibetan scholasticism took place in the Buddhist culture of the entire Inner Asia. A special role in this process was played by the Amdo, Mongolian and Buryat monasteries. It may be assumed that representatives of the historical Amdo region (the territory where Tibetans and Mongols lived together), Mongolia and Transbaikalia in these centuries created a culture of mass writing of Buddhist educational and philosophical literature.

The Bön Tradition of Dzogchen

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Luc Achard
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Buddhism ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Light Sources ◽  
The Sun ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Tibetan Buddhist ◽  
Buddhist Literature ◽  
Vast Amount ◽  
The Core ◽  
Dark Room

Dzogchen (“Great Perfection”) is a philosophical and yogic tradition largely developed within the Bönpo tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Its first datable sources surface on the religious scene of Tibet sometime around the late 10th to the early 11th century with the discoveries of Treasure text (gter ma) that are supposed to have been hidden during the 8th century and earlier, as well as with the seminal composition of texts and commentaries that are based on these Treasures. Some of its teachings are also presented as having been transmitted orally from archaic, undatable times through an uninterrupted lineage of masters. Groups of lay Bönpo practitioners, later followed by monastics of the same tradition, started to gather around the discoverers and authors of these works, thus creating the first postdynastic religious communities of Bön dispersed throughout Tibet. Deeply enriched by the integration of a vast amount of traditional Buddhist literature, the Bön tradition absorbed teachings from all other Tibetan Buddhist lineages. The core of these teachings is made up of profoundly secret instructions said to enable practitioners to reach the state of total Buddhahood in a single lifetime. The quintessence of these teachings focuses upon yogic techniques centered on the contemplation of light sources, such as the sun, the moon, or a butter lamp. Particular methods are also applied in a completely dark room in which special visualizations are combined with yogic devices that lead to visionary experiences which are unique throughout Buddhist teachings. These practices based on colored visions produce various signs manifesting at the end of the practitioner’s life such as the famed Rainbow Body (‘ja’ lus).

scholarly journals Rangjung dorje's variegations of mind: ordinary awareness and pristine awareness in tibetan buddhist literature

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Sheehy
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Buddhist ◽  
Buddhist Literature ◽  
The Third

Examination of Tibetan Buddhist contemplative and psychological understandings of the operations of ordinary awareness (rnam shes) in comparison with pristine awareness (ye shes), based on a seminal text by the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje (1284-1339).

Thoughts on Originality, Reuse, and Intertextuality in Buddhist Literature Derived from the Contributions to the Volume

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 233-239
Author(s):  
Vesna A. Wallace
Keyword(s):  
South Asian ◽  
Tibetan Buddhist ◽  
The South ◽  
Buddhist Literature ◽  
Cultural Productions ◽  
Textual Authority

Studies in originality, authorship, and intertextuality in the contexts of the South Asian and Tibetan Buddhist literature are indispensible for uncovering the direct and indirect referential connections and the diverse modes of their production in an extensive mosaic of Buddhist texts. They also highlight the multifarious functions of textual reuses and re-workings in cultural productions and religious and literary reinvigorations. Moreover, a reintegration of explicit and silent citations and creative paraphrases and a recirculation of narrative adaptations, which have been often sidelined in the study of Buddhist literature, have been shown to be integral to the formation of a textual authority and to the restructuring of cultural and doctrinal meanings.

Contemporary Tibetan Buddhist Rimé Response to Religious Diversity

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-34
Author(s):  
Rachel Pang
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Religious Diversity ◽  
Tibetan Buddhist ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Buddhist Studies ◽  
Buddhist Literature ◽  
Eastern Tibet ◽  
Diverse Communities ◽  
Diverse Cultures ◽  
Significant Attention

In a world where communities across the globe are becoming increasingly interconnected, encounters with diverse cultures and faiths are inevitable. How can diverse communities approach these encounters in a way that fosters dialogue rather than conflict, peace rather than war? Specifically, in the context of Buddhism, how should Buddhists relate to religious diversity in a way that simultaneously remains faithful to their own spiritual traditions while being openminded and respectful towards the beliefs and practices of others? One of the most well-known Buddhist responses to religious diversity was the rimé movement in nineteenth-century eastern Tibet. While the term “rimé” (meaning “impartial” or “non-sectarian” in Tibetan) has become a catchphrase in contemporary Tibetan Buddhist contexts, there has been little sustained engagement with this topic by Buddhists and Buddhist studies scholars. This essay documents and contextualizes the contemporary uses of the term rimé (non-sectarianism) in Tibetan Buddhist communities and situates it within Tibetan Buddhist literature and history. I argue that it is essential for both Buddhists and Buddhist-studies scholars to devote significant attention to the concept of rimé and to engage in interfaith dialogue. For Buddhists, the very survival of their religion depends on it. For Buddhist-studies scholars, it contributes to the development of an accurate understanding of one of the most significant intellectual moments in modern Tibetan history. For humankind, it contributes to interfaith understanding, harmony, and peace.

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