The Life Of The Madman Of U

The Life of the Madman of Ü tells the story of Künga Zangpo (1458-1532), a famous Tibetan Buddhist ascetic of the Kagyü sect. Having grown weary of the trials of human existence, Künga Zangpo renounced the world during his teenage years, committing himself to learning and practicing the holy Dharma as a monk. Some years later he would give up his monkhood to take on a unique tantric asceticism that entailed dressing in human remains, wandering from place to place, and provoking others to attack him physically, among other norm-overturning behaviors. It was because of this asceticism that Künga Zangpo came to be known as the Madman of Ü. David M. Divalerio translates this biography, originally written in two parts in 1494 and 1537, making accessible to a modern audience a rich depiction of religious life in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Tibet. The book also details Künga Zangpo's many miracles, a testament to the spiritual perfection he attained. His final thirty years were spent at his monastery of Tsimar Pel, where he dispensed teachings to his numerous disciples and followers. The Life of this remarkable and controversial figure, now available in English for the first time, provides new means for understanding the tradition of the "holy madman" (smyon pa) in Tibetan Buddhism.

A collection of anecdotes and songs by, and concerning, the Tibetan Saint, Buddha Drukpa Kunley.

Tibetan biographers began writing Jetsun Milarepa's (1052–1135) life story shortly after his death, initiating a literary tradition that turned the poet and saint into a model of virtuosic Buddhist practice throughout the Himalayan world. Andrew Quintman traces this history and its innovations in narrative and aesthetic representation across four centuries, culminating in a detailed analysis of the genre's most famous example, composed in 1488 by Tsangnyön Heruka, or the "Madman of Western Tibet." Quintman imagines these works as a kind of physical body supplanting the yogin's corporeal relics.

Machine generated contents note:Introduction -- Chapter 1: The Lives and Lives of the Madmen of U and Tsang -- Hagiography and History -- The Life of the Madman of U (1458-1532) -- The Life of the Madman of Tsang (1452-1507) -- Chapter 2: Of Scripture and Bone: The Tantric Discipline of the Madmen of U and Tsang -- The Practice of the Observance -- The Secret Practice, the Insane Observance -- "You, the Hero, Glorious Heruka Himself ..."--Tantric Literalism -- Conclusion -- Chapter 3: Sainthood in the Making: The Madmen of U and Tsang in Public -- The Drum Sound of Their Fame -- The Repertoire of Siddha Behavior -- Performing Enlightenment -- "To Spread and Increase the Teachings of the Kagyu" -- Tantric Literalism in Context: Competing Models of Buddhist Holiness -- Conclusion -- Intermezzo: The Relationship between the Madmen of U and Tsang -- Chapter 4: Civil War, Strategic Alliances: The Madmen of U and Tsang in Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-Century Tibet -- The Pakmodru-Geluk Partnership -- The Rinpungpa Revolt -- Priestly Alliances and Sectarian Aggression under the Rinpungpas -- Sakya, Kagyu and Rinpungpa Affairs -- "A Mutual Understanding": The Patrons of the Madmen of U and Tsang -- Conclusion -- Chapter 5: Making History: The Later Projects of the Madmen of U and Tsang -- The Projects of the Madman of U and His Disciples -- The Literary School of the Madman of Tsang -- Writing and Printing the Life of Milarepa -- Milarepa the Madman, the Madman as Milarepa -- Putting the Aural Transmission to Paper -- Renovating the Swayambhunath Stupa -- Conclusion -- Chapter 6: Who Was Drukpa Kunle? -- Popular Depictions of Drukpa Kunle -- Drukpa Kunle's Miscellaneous Writings -- The Trajectory of Drukpa Kunle's Life -- Drukpa Kunle's Position in Politics -- Drukpa Kunle the Critic -- Drukpa Kunle and the Holy Madmen -- The Transformation of Drukpa Kunle -- Chapter 7: The Enduring Trope of Holy Madness -- Other Madmen and Ma.

Over the course of the last millennium in Tibet, tantric yogins have been taking on norm-overturning modes of behaviour and dress, including provoking others to violence, publicly consuming filth, having sex, and draping themselves in human remains. Because of this they have been called 'madmen' (smyon pa), but have also achieved a degree of saintliness. This book is the first comprehensive study of these 'holy madmen', who have captured the imaginations of Tibetans and Westerners alike.

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. The Madman’s Middle Way presents the first English translation of this major Tibetan Buddhist work, accompanied by an essay on Gendun Chopel’s life liberally interspersed with passages from his writings. Donald S. Lopez Jr. also provides a commentary that sheds light on the doctrinal context of the Adornment and summarizes its key arguments. Ultimately, Lopez 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. The result is an insightful glimpse into a provocative and enigmatic workthatwill be of great interest to anyone seriously interested in Buddhism or Asian religions.

Tibetan biographers began writing Jetsun Milarepa’s (1052–1135) life story shortly after his death, initiating a literary tradition that turned the poet and saint into a model of virtuosic Buddhist practice throughout the Himalayan world. Andrew Quintman traces this history and its innovations in narrative and aesthetic representation across four centuries, culminating in a detailed analysis of the genre’s most famous example, composed in 1488 by Tsangnyön Heruka, or the “Madman of Western Tibet.” Quintman imagines these works as a kind of physical body supplanting the yogin’s corporeal relics.

The secret biography of one of the Tibet's foremost saints, The Buddha Drukpa Kunley who is recognised as an incarnation of the great Mahasiddha, Saraha