Power Objects In Tibetan Buddhism

In Power Objects in Tibetan Buddhism: The Life, Writings, and Legacy of Sokdokpa Lodrö Gyeltsen, James Duncan Gentry explores how objects of power figure in Tibetan Buddhist societies through a study of the life of Sokdokpa Lodrö Gyeltsen (1552–1624).

The topic of materiality has been the subject of a number of recent works in Religious Studies, including East Asian Buddhist Studies. This book analyses objects of power and their roles in people's lives through the lens of a single compelling case example: power objects as they appear throughout the narrative, philosophical, and ritual writings of the Tibetan Buddhist ritual specialist Sokdokpa Lodrö Gyaltsen and his milieu. The author focuses on the role that these objects play in the life and work of the Master, thereby presenting a unique methodological approach: The study traces the theme of power objects across a wide spectrum of genres to present how Tibetan Buddhists themselves have theorized about objects of power and implemented them in practice. It thus provides a lens into how power objects serve as points of convergence for elite doctrinal discourses, socio-political dynamics, and popular religious practices in Tibetan Buddhist societies. Making an important and innovative contribution to the field, this is the first book to discuss materiality in the context of Tibetan Buddhism. It will be essential reading for scholars working on Tibetan Buddhism, and of great interest to those studying Tibetan ritual, Tibetan history and Buddhism and material culture.

It should be of use to seekers everywhere. Written by Andrew Harvey, author of "A Journey in Ladakh" and "Hidden Journey", "Blessing Power of the Buddhas" could be considered a travel guide to the magical in Himalayan Buddhist culture. Full of descriptions and interesting stories, it is obvious that the author is intimate with the land and people of the Himalayan region. Her description of sacred iconography, miracles, relics and holy places provide a wealth of meanings to consider. 'Sherap Pelbar, Shambhalla Sun, Boulder, Colorado Nuggets of no fools gold riddle the lucid semi-luminous prose of this book, written - with the healthily sceptical awe of a true disciple' - Tsultrim Allione, "The Dzogchen Community Newsletter". 'This is an interesting book combining the thrill of physical travel with an inner spiritual journey. A sense of wonder and mystery pervades the whole book and there is freshness as well as experience. Her research - seems thorough. It explores the relationship between physical manifestations of the sacred with inner realisations. There are few books covering this subject in such detail and it will appeal to those interested in iconography as well as the esoteric aspect of Tibetan Buddhism' - Gill Farer-Halls, "Buddhism Now".

This is the most comprehensive and authoritative introduction to Tibetan Buddhism available to date, covering a wide range of topics, including history, doctrines, meditation, practices, schools, religious festivals, and major figures. The revised edition contains expanded discussions of recent Tibetan history and tantra and incorporates important new publications in the field. Beginning with a summary of the Indian origins of Tibetan Buddhism and how it eventually was brought to Tibet, it explores Tibetan Mahayana philosophy and tantric methods for personal transformation. The four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as Bön, are explored in depth from a nonsectarian point of view. This new and expanded edition is a systematic and wonderfully clear presentation of Tibetan Buddhist views and practices.

First published in 1970, The Way of Power is an exploration of the school of Mahayana Buddhism prevalent in Tibet and Mongolia, known as the Vajrayana. Divided into two parts, the book provides an introduction to the background and theory behind the Vajrayana before progressing to a study of Vajrayana in practice. In doing so, it provides an overview of the history, development, and contemporary status of the Vajrayana, and takes a look at the different schools and sects. The book’s primary focus is the use of Tantric mystical techniques. The Way of Power will appeal to those with an interest in Buddhism, religious psychology, and religious history.

The vast majority of monasteries in Tibet and nearly all of the monasteries in Mongolia belong to the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism, best known through its symbolic head, the Dalai Lama. Historically, these monasteries were some of the largest in the world, and even today some Geluk monasteries house thousands of monks, both in Tibet and in exile in India. In Building a Religious Empire, Brenton Sullivan examines the school's expansion and consolidation of power along the frontier with China and Mongolia from the mid-seventeenth through the mid-eighteenth centuries to chart how its rise to dominance took shape. In contrast to the practice in other schools of Tibetan Buddhism, Geluk lamas devoted an extraordinary amount of effort to establishing the institutional frameworks within which everyday aspects of monastic life, such as philosophizing, meditating, or conducting rituals, took place. In doing so, the lamas drew on administrative techniques usually associated with state-making—standardization, record-keeping, the conscription of young males, and the concentration of manpower in central cores, among others—thereby earning the moniker "lama official," or "Buddhist bureaucrat." The deployment of these bureaucratic techniques to extend the Geluk "liberating umbrella" over increasing numbers of lands and peoples leads Sullivan to describe the result of this Geluk project as a "religious empire." The Geluk lamas' privileging of the monastic institution, Sullivan argues, fostered a common religious identity that insulated it from factionalism and provided legitimacy to the Geluk project of conversion, conquest, and expansion. Ultimately, this system succeeded in establishing a relatively uniform and resilient network of thousands of monasteries stretching from Nepal to Lake Baikal, from Beijing to the Caspian Sea.

The three-volume project 'Concepts and Methods for the Study of Chinese Religions' is a timely review of the history of the study of Chinese religions, reconsiders the present state of analytical and methodological theories, and initiates a new chapter in the methodology of the field itself. The three volumes raise interdisciplinary and cross-tradition debates, and engage methodologies for the study of East Asian religions with Western voices in an active and constructive manner. Within the overall project, this volume addresses the intellectual history and formation of critical concepts that are foundational to the Chinese religious landscape. These concepts include lineage, scripture, education, discipline, religion, science and scientism, sustainability, law and rites, and the religious sphere. With these topics and approaches, this volume serves as a reference for graduate students and scholars interested in Chinese religions, the modern cultural and intellectual history of China (including mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Chinese communities overseas), intellectual and material history, and the global academic discourse of critical concepts in the study of religions.

Senior scholars and former students celebrate the life and work of Janet Gyatso, professor of Buddhist studies at Harvard Divinity School. Inspired by her contributions to life writing, Tibetan medicine, gender studies, and more, these offerings make a rich feast for readers interested in Tibetan and Buddhist studies. Janet Gyatso has made substantial, influential, and incredibly valuable contributions to the fields of Buddhist and Tibetan studies. Her paradigm-shifting approach is to take a topic, an idea, a text, a term—often one that had long been taken for granted or overlooked—and turn it inside out, to radically reimagine the kinds of questions that might be asked and what the answers might reveal. The twenty-nine essays in this volume, authored by colleagues and former students—many of whom are now also colleagues—represent the breadth of her interests and influence and the care that she has taken in training the current generation of scholars of Tibet and Buddhism. They are organized into five sections: Women, Gender, and Sexuality; Biography and Autobiography; the Nyingma Imaginaire; Literature, Art, and Poetry; and Early Modernity: Human and Nonhuman Worlds. Contributions include José Cabezón on the incorporation of a Buddhist rock carving in Central Asian culture; Matthew Kapstein on the memoirs of an ambivalent reincarnated lama; Willa Baker on Jikmé Lingpa’s theory of absence; Andrew Quintman on a found poem expressing worldly sadness on the forced closure of a monastery; and Padma ’tsho on Tibetan women’s advocacy for full female ordination. These and the many other chapters, each fascinating reads in their own right, together offer a glowing tribute to a scholar who indelibly changed the way we think about Buddhism, its history, and its literature.