Rethinking Buddhist Scholastic Communities Through a Socio-Historical Lens

Abstract

My early work on scholasticism initially focused on the Tibetan tradition, and later on scholasticism as a comparative category. This scholarship was based almost exclusively on the doctrinal writings of scholastics. While valuable in starting a conversation, in the intervening years I have realized that a more diachronic perspective that emphasizes the social and institutional aspects of scholastic communities is needed. This paper considers three moments in the history of Indian (and to a lesser extent Tibetan) monastic communities of learning: when they first came into being, when they were flourishing, and when they started to die out. Stability, writing, and a commitment to confronting rivals, I argue, are conditions without which Buddhist scholastic communities would not have emerged in India. Although much could be said about the character of these communities during their halcyon days, I focus on three practices that are important to scholastic identity in India and Tibet: debate, commentary, and prayer. Finally, I consider some of the internal challenges and external threats that these communities faced in their twilight.