Shouldering His Guru’s Legacy: Khenpo Tsultrim Lodro’s Discourse in Relation to thos-bsam-sgom after the Death of Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok

This article contributes to the growing discussion of the ways that Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok’s legacy has been carried forward by his spiritual successors at the Larung Five Sciences Buddhist Academy (or Larung Gar), in contemporary Eastern Tibet, by focusing on the contribution of the Larung vice principal and leading second-generation luminary, Khenpo Tsultrim Lodro (1962–). Drawing on a range of Khenpo Tsultrim Lodro’s spoken teachings and writings over a twenty-year period, this article undertakes a contextualised analysis of how he has shouldered his guru’s legacy in the areas of Tibetan Buddhist monastic education, monastic governance, and monastic–lay relations. It explores how the threefold framework of thos-bsam-sgom (listening, reflecting, meditating), whether in its parts or its entirety, lies at the centre of his reformist discourse in these matters, articulated in relation to a wide range of Buddhist and secular concepts, as well as to concrete institutions and organisational structures. It is argued that, while Khenpo Tsultrim Lodro expounds the entire framework of thos-bsam-sgom throughout the years in question, in ‘the earlier period’ (c.2000–2012), from shortly before his guru’s death until approximately a decade afterwards, he subtly privileges the intellectual attributes associated with thos-bsam, while in ‘the later period’ (c.2013–2021) he reweights his exposition to give a balanced emphasis to the practice of sgom.

Monastic Education in Late Antiquity: New Concepts, New Approaches

В статье представлена рецензия на сборник Monastic Education in Late Antiquity: The Transformation of Classical 'Paideia' (под ред. Л. Ларсен и С. Рубенсона). Отмечается как методологическая новизна подхода авторов, включенных в сборник статей, так и противоречивость некоторых суждений и выводов. The article presents a review of the collective volume Monastic Education in Late Antiquity: The Transformation of Classical 'Paideia,' edited by L. Larsen and S. Rubenson. It emphasizes both the methodological novelty of the approaches of the authors and the controversial nature of some of their judgments and conclusions.

How Tibetan Nuns Become Khenmos: The History and Evolution of the Khenmo Degree for Tibetan Nuns

Tibetan Buddhist nuns are making history in numerous ways. They now meet in classrooms instead of tents, earn the title “Khenmo” after many years of dedicated study, and take exams that are standardized, frequent, and both written and oral. Additionally, the new educational system encourages Tibetan Jomos to take on more responsibility, increase their scholarship and practice, and obtain superior monastery/nunnery status. This article chronicles over two and a half decades of extensive fieldwork, covering the advances in monastic education and the rising standing of women in Larung Gar and contemporary China. These advances are in stark contrast to the limited opportunities for women in the past.

Gerontocracy of the Buddhist monastic administration in Thailand

This paper examines the monastic administration in Thai Buddhism, which is ruled by the senior monks and supported by the government. It aims to answer two questions; (1) why the Sangha’s administration has been designed to serve the bureaucratic system that monks abandon social and political justices, and (2) how the monastic education curriculum are designed to support such a conservative system. Ethnographic methodology was conducted and collected data were analyzed through the concept of gerontocracy. It found that (1) Thai Buddhism gains supports from the government much more than other religions. Parallel with the state’s bureaucratic system, the hierarchical conservative council contains the elderly monks. Those committee members choose to respond to the government policy in order to maintain supports rather than to raise social issues; (2) gerontocracy is also facilitated by the idea of Theravada itself. In both theory and practice, the charismatic leader should be the old one, implying the condition of being less sexual feeling, hatred, and ignorance. Based on this criterion, the moral leader is more desirable than the intelligent. The concept of “merits from previous lives” is reinterpreted and reproduced to pave the way for the non-democratic system.

Chakhar-Gebshi ‘s Concept of a Pious Monk

Buddhism occupies an important place in the history of culture of the Mongolian peoples, in particular from the 16th century, which corresponds to the third stage of the spread of the Buddhist religion among the Mongols. Although Buddhist teachings have wide influence on everyday life, the philosophy of Buddhism was understandable to a very small circle of adherents. For the majority of the population, ethical and didactic literature and the authority of teachers were much more important. In this regard, the image of the clergy was to be the standard of Buddhist behavior. There are amounts of non-canonical literature on the rules and instructions for righteous behavior, addressed to both laity and clergy. The article analyzes the ideal image of a monk, according to the requirements of Chakhar-gebshi Lubsantsultim on the basis of two works: “Biography of Chakhar-gebshi”, compiled by his disciple Luvsansamduvnima in 1818, and the work of Chakhar-gebshi entitled as a “Blue Book, History of Erdeni Dushi Monastery”. The biographical method used for characterizing Chakhar-gebshi allowed to show his life and him as a strict monk as a model to be followed. The methods of source study and comparative analysis were used for constructing and estimating of a model of religious behavior. The materials from “The Blue Book” ‒ a work of a monastic charter ‒ are general for monastic education and monastic environment in Mongolian Buddhism. The importance of keeping the teachings and religion of Buddha in purity and maintaining the moral image of his followers as an authority for the laity has been emphasized many times in the works of various authors. In this regard, the definitions of a pious monk written down by Chakhar-gebshi represent a complete system that combines basic Buddhist precepts. Keywords: Chakhar-gebshi, moral prescription, biography, Mongolian Buddhism, monks, charter

Humanizing the Enlightened Childhood: Epistolography as Human Formation in Tibetan Buddhism

This article contributes a Buddhist studies perspective to the question of what it means to be human. By analyzing a collection of letters written to a young Tibetan Buddhist lama, I trace the contours of a humanizing project that grounds the youth within the lived experience of the human life course that his elder has traversed. I also analyze epistolography as a medium for humanistic formation within Tibetan Buddhist monastic education. This textual study, though rooted in the context of a single epistolary relationship in early modern Tibet, illuminates the search for human wisdom that is fundamental to Buddhist childhoods across historical and cultural contexts.

Monastic Education in Contemporary Asia

Education is a central component of Buddhism and has been since the start of the religion. The forms of Buddhist education are diverse, including the education and training of monastics and laypeople, men, women, and children from early ages through university and continuing and adult education. The training of monastics is simply one, albeit, important subset of wider systems and practices of Buddhist education. Monastic education exists in multiple forms, including those associated with apprentice or situated forms of learning, and curricular forms in schools, primarily secondary and postsecondary institutions. Contemporary forms of monastic education are entangled with and shaped by discourses and practices of modernization, dynamics of gender in Buddhist societies, and debates about the role of religion within given societies across Asia. These debates become visible in attending to the goals of education, the multiple motivations of monastics for their education, as well as those of other educational stakeholders. Although it may be tempting to see monastic education as a distinct phenomenon, it should be viewed within a wider pedagogical ecosystem within the nation-states of Asia.

Mipam

Mipam (or “Mipham”; ’Ju mi pham rgya mtsho, 1846–1912) was one of the most influential figures in the Tibetan Buddhist world in the last 500 years. In his writings, he integrates aspects of the Buddhist epistemological tradition with a view of tantra and associates the view of the Great Perfection (rdzogs chen) with Prāsaṅgika-Madhyamaka. The Great Perfection is for the Nyingma (rnying ma) tradition its highest esoteric teachings, and Prāsaṅgika-Madhyamaka is the philosophy commonly accepted in Tibet as the highest exoteric view. Buddhist epistemology, as a system that delineates the means of reliable knowledge, in particular plays an important role in both esoteric (e.g., sutra) and exoteric (e.g., tantra) domains by outlining the authentic means of knowing reality. By integrating the esoteric teachings of Nyingma tantra with Buddhist epistemology and Prāsaṅgika-Madhyamaka, Mipam affirms the Nyingma not only as a tradition of tantric exegesis and ritual practice, but also as grounded within the rigorous intellectual traditions of Buddhist exoteric philosophy. Mipam systematized the Nyingma tradition’s view of the Great Perfection within his writings on the Buddhist literature that had become the predominant topic of study in the curriculum of monastic education. Central to Mipam’s writing is the prominent place of reasoned inquiry as a means to arrive at the view of the Great Perfection. This is a feature that distinguishes the character of his works and is a significant contribution to Nyingma philosophy. Indeed, the interplay of reason and the transcendence of reason is a central theme in his writings. His skill in engaging the Great Perfection within a rational, dialectical exchange underscores that the Great Perfection is not naive anti-intellectualism, but involves a subtly profound view that, at least in Mipam’s presentation, incorporates reason and transcends it. In his writings on Madhyamaka and other works, Mipam developed a platform for Nyingma monastic education by formulating a systematic presentation drawn from an interpretative framework based on the Great Perfection. This was his unique contribution to the Nyingma, but not all in the Nyingma tradition were ready or willing to adopt his interpretation. It did not take long, however, for this interpretative framework, forged for the Nyingma monastic colleges, to dominate the curriculum in these colleges in Tibet, India, and Nepal. His works continue to be widely studied in such institutions up to the present day.