This book offers the first in-depth examination of the life and writings of Lama Zhang (1122-1193), key figure in the "Tibetan renaissance." Controversial, larger-than-life, already revered as a literary innovator and tantric meditation master, Zhang entered public life in mid-career and forged a new model of rulership and religious community that would set the standard for later religious rulers of Lhasa--most notably the Dalai Lamas. The focus of the model was the tantric hermit who comes down from the mountains and sustains a worldly community through his mastery of space, time, and...

In his early twenties, the Tibetan monk Sangye Gyaltsen (1452-1507) left his monastery to become a wandering tantric yogin. As he moved from place to place, seeking enlightenment beyond the bounds of monasticism, his behavior became increasingly erratic. While some were shocked or even angered by his actions, others were drawn to him. Tsangnyon's followers described his transgressive behaviors as enlightened action, rooted in authoritative Buddhist scripture. Using biographical sources, Stefan Larsson explores Sangye Gyaltsen's transformation into the charismatic 'Madman of Tsang, ' Tsangnyon...

Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia... This vast area has experienced significant changes following political and socio-cultural upheavals: the Chinese occupation of Tibet since the 1950s; the opening of Nepal to the world in 1951 and the influx of large numbers of Tibetan refugees into its territory; the end of the communist era and the transition to a market economy in Mongolia, and more generally the confrontation with modernity and globalisation. Revisiting Rituals in a Changing Tibetan World examines the changes rituals have undergone and offers the reader the result of recent research based...

Inscriptions are a rather neglected field within Tibetan Studies, because they are often located in places that are not easily accessible for both geographical and political reasons. It is thus especially welcome that two of the contributions to this volume deal with inscriptions documented on recent field trips to Tibet: Benjamin Wood discusses an inscription in Zha lu that relates an enigmatic conflict in the history of the monastery, and Kurt Tropper looks into an epigraphic cycle on the life of the Buddha in Tsaparang. Moreover, Nathan Hill provides a new interpretation of the beginning...

In recent years, the Sino-Tibetan frontier regions have attracted increasing scholarly interest. The region of Rebkong in Qinghai province is of particular significance because of its unique location on the Sino-Tibetan borderland, its multi-ethnic population and its complex religious history, which incorporates both large Geluk monasteries and significant Nyingma and Bonpo lay tantric communities. Covering the nineteenth century to the present, this volume brings together ten papers that explore the relationship between religion and culture in Rebkong. Using insights from anthropology,...

In Rewriting Shangri-La: Migrations and Everyday Literacies among Tibetan Youth in McLeod Ganj, India, Heidi Swank examines differing histories of migration and exile through the lens of everyday literacies. The youth on whom this ethnography focuses live in a community that has long been romanticized by Tibetans and non-Tibetans alike, positioning these youth to see themselves as keepers of a modern day Shangri-la. Through this ethnography - based on a decade of research - Heidi Swank suggests that through seemingly mundane writings (grocery lists, text messages, etc.) these youth are...

In Archaeology of Tibetan Books, Agnieszka Helman-Ważny explores the varieties of artistic expression, materials, and tools that have shaped Tibetan books over the millennia. Digging into the history of the bookmaking craft, the author approaches these ancient texts primarily through the lens of their artistry, while simultaneously showing them as physical objects embedded in pragmatic, economic, and social frameworks. She provides analyses of several significant Tibetan books--which usually carry Buddhist teachings--including a selection of manuscripts from Dunhuang from the 1st...

Art and Architecture in Ladakh shows how the region's cultural development has been influenced by its location across the great communications routes linking India with Tibet and Central Asia. Edited by Erberto Lo Bue and John Bray, the collection contains 17 research papers by experienced international art historians and architectural conservationists, as well as emerging scholars from Ladakh itself. Their topics range widely over time, from prehistoric rock art to mediaeval Buddhist stupas and wall paintings, as well as early modern castle architecture, the inter-regional trade in...

The papers in Tibetan Literary Genres, Texts, and Text Types deepen our knowledge of Tibetan literature. They not only examine particular Tibetan genres and texts (pre-modern and contemporary), but also genre classification, transformation, and reception. Despite previous contributions, the systematic analysis of Tibetan textual genres is still a relatively undeveloped field, especially when compared with the sophisticated examinations of other literary traditions. The book is divided into four parts: textual typologies, blurred genre boundaries, specific texts and text types, and...

In Tibetan Printing: Comparisons, Continuities and Change the editors publish the results of the workshop "Printing as an Agent of Change in Tibet and beyond" held at Pembroke College, Cambridge, in November 2013. This is the first study of the social and cultural history of Tibetan book technology that takes materials, living traditions and cross-cultural comparisons into consideration. Bringing together leading experts from different disciplines, it discusses the introduction of printing in Tibetan societies in the context of Asian book cultures with an eye to the questions raised by...