Tibetan Buddhist Monastic Performance: Ritual Practice and Cultural Preservation in the Tibetan Diaspora

Abstract

This chapter examines the adaptation of Tibetan Buddhist ritual in its diasporic contexts. It focuses on Tibetan Buddhist monks who tour North America performing the religious and cultural arts of Tibet. Much has been written separately about Tibetan Buddhist monastic dance and the Tibetan diaspora, but little attention has been paid to how Tibetan Buddhist ritual has been impacted by the diaspora. The chapter provides an overview of the ‘chams and the North American monastic road shows. This is followed by a consideration of the process of ritual adaptation that occurs in the Tibetan diaspora. There are distinctions between ritual performances in the exile communities of North America and those performed in India and Tibet. The chapter investigates these distinctions under the notion that they exist as a result of diasporic process, interaction with the west, and the need to preserve Tibetan culture. Keywords: ‘chams ; Dalai Lama; diasporic process; India; North America; Tibetan Buddhism; Tibetan culture