Abstract
The eighteenth century witnessed the continuity of Geluk growth in Amdo from the preceding century. Geluk inspiration and legacy from Central Tibet and the accompanying political patronage emanating from the Manchus, Mongols, and local Tibetans figured prominently as the engine behind the Geluk influence that swept Amdo. The Geluk rise in the region resulted from contributions made by native Geluk Buddhists. Amdo native monks are, however, rarely treated with as much attention as they deserve for cultivating extensive networks of intellectual transmission, reorienting and shaping the school’s future. I therefore propose that we approach Geluk hegemony and their broad initiatives in the region with respect to the school’s intellectual and cultural order and native Amdo Buddhist monks’ role in shaping Geluk history in Amdo and beyond in Tibet. Such a focus highlights their impact in shaping the trajectory of Geluk history in Tibet and Amdo in particular. The historical and biographical literature dealing with the life of Jikmed Wangpo affords us a rare window into the pivotal time when every effort was made to cultivate a vast network of institutions and masters across Tibet. This further spurred an institutional growth of Buddhist transmission, constructing authenticity and authority thereof, as they were closely tied to reincarnation lineage, intellectual traditions, and monastic institutions. In doing so, we also have a good grasp of the creation processes of Geluk luminaries such as Jikmed Wangpo, an exemplar scholar and visionary who faced great opposition from issues with his lineage legitimation at Labrang and among the larger Geluk community.
Highlights
Modern scholarship already addresses Geluk developments in Amdo in the eighteenth century, emphasizing the significant political patronage and Central Tibetan influence and the agency of Amdo Geluk Buddhists.1 Still, an understanding of this era remains limited given that it is impossible to know exactly how Amdo’s mega-monasteries, such as Labrang, fostered Buddhist intellectual and cultural heritage and growth and interacted or competed with fellow Geluk institutions and communities in the region and beyond
Within the context of discussing the religious career of Jikmed Wangpo initiating a pivotal moment of Geluk history in Tibet, I argue for the close interaction between religious transmission, discourse, reincarnation legitimacy, scholarly tradition, and ritual institution
The sources examined in this study offer limited information; they allowed us to get a very narrow yet intimate look into the dynamics of some major factors involved in shaping Geluk transmission across the Tibetan Plateau in the eighteenth century
Summary
Modern scholarship already addresses Geluk developments in Amdo in the eighteenth century, emphasizing the significant political patronage and Central Tibetan influence and the agency of Amdo Geluk Buddhists. Still, an understanding of this era remains limited given that it is impossible to know exactly how Amdo’s mega-monasteries, such as Labrang, fostered Buddhist intellectual and cultural heritage and growth and interacted or competed with fellow Geluk institutions and communities in the region and beyond. This study aims to reconstruct the central role that Jikmed Wangpo played in the intellectual and institutional developments of the Geluk School in general, and more precisely, the Labrang Monastery, and deal with such matters in concrete social terms, giving appropriate attention to inspiration and constraints of larger political and religious trends in Tibet. Within the context of discussing the religious career of Jikmed Wangpo initiating a pivotal moment of Geluk history in Tibet, I argue for the close interaction between religious transmission, discourse, reincarnation legitimacy, scholarly tradition, and ritual institution. I offer a brief discussion of textual and ritual tradition and a program of non-Buddhist arts initiated by Jikmed Wangpo, further consolidating his lineage and Labrang as “the source of dharma” in Konchok Tenpa Rabgye and Gungthang Tenpe Dronme’s term, and the learning center of non-Buddhist cultural traditions.
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