Tibetan Buddhism Research Articles

Alteration of faecal microbiota balance related to long-term deep meditation

BackgroundAdvancements in research have confirmed that gut microbiota can influence health through the microbiota–gut–brain axis. Meditation, as an inner mental exercise, can positively impact the regulation of an individual’s physical...

Thang-ga’s Painting Techniques and Their Spiritual Significance

The primary way of passing down Thang-ga is to carry forward the painting techniques. This paper explores the spiritual significance of Thang-ga’s painting techniques based on the aesthetic culture and philosophical ideas that underlie the techniques: as the spiritual significance of Thang-ga determines the procedures of Thang-ga making, each painting step and brushstroke represents the philosophical ideas and the spirit of Tibetan Buddhism. But if techniques are unduly emphasized and Thang-ga’s spiritual significance is neglected, Thang-ga will become mere forms deprived of artistic values.

Yuan Dynasty Religious Art View

The Yuan Dynasty was a special period ruled by ethnic minorities. It was the tradition of the horseback people to give preference to martial arts over literature, and the feudal society developed until the Song Dynasty, when the ritual and music system was complete, and the Yuan Dynasty opened a new horizon for it. On an objective level, the cultural background and the abolition of the imperial examination system by the ruling class made the literati determined to return to seclusion, and on a subjective level, culture was not dominated by Confucian norms, the creative environment was freer, and the arts showed diversified development. The ruling class respected Tibetan Buddhism as the state religion, the literati were indifferent and reclusive, and the common people were happy with the secularism.

Buryatia: Is a Buddhist Vertical Possible?

In the 60s of 18th century, Russian government organized management structure of Buddhist religious life of the Buryats according to the traditional model for the empire — in the form of a vertical institution headed by Pandito Hambo Lama. In this form the Buddhist faith existed until 1917. Soviet government’s struggle with religion affected Buryat Buddhists to the same extent as other religions in the vast USSR. Before the Great Patriotic War, there was no legal Buddhism. In 1948 Buddhism in the USSR was legalized and existed officially only in Buryatia, where the Central Spiritual Administration of Buddhists (CDUB) was created and were registered two parishes. The revival of Buddhism in Buryatia began in 1990. In 1995, Khambo Lama Ayusheyev reformed the CDUB, changed its name to the Traditional Buddhist Sangha of Russia (TBSR) and adopted a new Charter. In accordance with which the Hambo Lama placed datsans under his administrative and financial control, which provided the top of the TBSR with power over the Buddhist clergy. TBSR began to act as a defender of traditional religiosity (within the framework of the local school of Gelug Tibetan Buddhism) and the national identity of the Buryat people. At the same time, several alternative Buddhist associations have emerged, causing a sharp rejection of the TBSR. The leader of the TBSR, Khambo Lama Ayusheev, is constantly in conflict with local secular authorities and alternative Buddhists for the primacy and choice of the path of development of the Buryat people.

Первоисточники учения о стадиальности Пути в индо-тибетской Махаяне

The Mahāyāna concept of gradual Dharma teaching, learning and staged realization of the Path of Enlightenment in Tibet was developed by Tsongkhapa and others as a practical guide to the stages of the Path (Lamrim). However, Lamrim is not a Tibetan teaching and expresses a more general concept of gradualness, which has an Indo-Buddhist origin. The article is to present the system of Indian primary sources of this concept. The novelty of the approach is due to the fact that the authors consider the “internal” position in the systematization and classification of the teachings of the Buddha, presented by the Madhyamikas, especially the reformer of Tibetan Buddhism, Je Tsongkhapa, to be a very significant factor in the reconstruction of the Mahāyāna concept of gradualness. The authors come to conclusions also containing novelty. First, the concept of the "Three Turns of the Wheel of the Teaching" formulated in the “Samdhinirmochana Sūtra” is the first hermeneutical scheme for ordering and classifying the many teachings of the Buddha. It was based on the principle of gradual assimilation of the ontology of emptiness by students. Within this gradualism conceptualization scheme, based on the philosophical (ontological) criteria for classifying the teachings of the Buddha, the Prajnaparamita Sūtras are the root source of the concept of gradualness. Secondly, the Mahāyāna concept of gradualness has both explicit and implicit aspects. The explicit aspect is represented by those Prajnaparamita Sūtras, in which the main subject is the doctrine of emptiness and contains the substantiation of the gradualness of the Path, depending on the depth of comprehension of emptiness and selflessness. This aspect of the Prajnaparamita is presented in Nāgārjuna's six treatises on the Madhyamaka. Chandrakirti revealed the connection of the deep view with the stages of the Path of the Bodhisattvas. Thirdly, along with the ontological scheme for substantiating gradualness, the Indian primary sources also present practical schemes for the gradual systematization of the Buddha's teachings: the concept of three chariots ("Lotus Sūtra"), as well as the doctrine of bhūmi ("Yogācārabhūmi" by Asanga) and six (ten ) paramitās ("Bodhicharyāvatāra" by Śantideva). This article is part of a larger study of the sources of the Mahāyāna concept of gradualness. Results of this analysis are significant for the correct source systematization of Buddhist doctrines and practices.

The view of Yu.N. Roerich on the Bon religion in Tibet

The theme of the Bon religion in Russian Oriental studies still remains insufficiently studied. This is due both to the complexity of the Bon doctrine itself, and to the peculiarities of the development of Russian Tibetology, which was persecuted in the Soviet era. The scientific heritage of Yu.N. Roerich (1902-1960), the Tibetologist and historian of the East, has been little studied. His study of the Tibetan Bon religion is an indisputable contribution to the development of scientific studies of the Ancient Tibet. In Tibetology, the study of Bon is mainly concentrated on reformed Bon, which, in historical interaction with Buddhism, largely adopted its terminology and cult practice. There are relatively few works devoted to the original form of Bon, and the problem is often simplified in them, reducing Bon to shamanism. Roerich considered the Bon as a primordial Tibetan religion, based upon a deep philosophical doctrine of its own. This allowed Bon not only to survive thousand years, but also to adapt to Buddhism that came to Tibet, transforming eventually into one of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He proved the connection of the Bon religion with the Geser Epic, as well as with the megalithic culture of Tibet. He described and analyzed the discovery of megaliths, similar to European ones, found in Tibet by the Central Asian expedition of his father N.K. Roerich. An undoubted breakthrough in the study of the Bon religion was Roerich's pioneering description of the Sharugon Bon monastery, as well as the study of its library.

In the footsteps of the pioneers (on the first archaeological discoveries in Semirechye in the 19th - early 20th centuries)

The article describes the history of the discovery and study of two monumental sites of Tibetan Buddhism of the 17th –18th centuries, the study of which began in the 19th century, but continues today. The “Tekeli stele” (Kelinshektas stone) with images and inscriptions engraved on it dates back to the end of the 17th century is one of the earliest cult monuments that appeared in the Semirechye during the existence of the Dzungar state. “Kegensky Arasan” is a healing mineral spring, which originally also served as a place of worship for Oirats-Buddhists in the late 17th – mid-19th centuries, later acquired the significance of a sacred place in the culture of the Kazakhs. The beginning of the scientific study of both sites is associated with the name of the famous orientalist and amateur archaeologist N.N. Pantusov (1847–1909).

Study on the Spatial Organization Mechanism and Simulated Evolution of Tibetan Buddhist Monastic Settlements on the Western Sichuan Platea

The western plateau of Sichuan Province is dotted with many Tibetan Buddhist monastic settlements, present extremely unique spatial characteristics of settlement and are an important part and unique type of human settlement system. Taking the Lharong Wuming Buddhist Institute in Seda County, Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province as an object, we reveal the organizational evolution mechanism of monastic settlement space from the perspective of microscopic subjects, and accordingly establish the Tibetan Buddhist monastic settlement cellularular automata (TBTS-CA) model to simulate and predict the development trend of monastic settlement space form.

Visual Transmission in Tibetan Ritual Polemics

Tibetan Buddhist debates about funerary practices feature no shortage of hairsplitting. In their writings on funerary rituals in the tradition of the Sarvadurgatipariśodhana Tantra, the prolific Bo dong Paṇ chen Phyogs las rnam rgyal (1375/76–1451) and the Sa skya pa savant Go rams pa Bsod nams seng ge (1429–89) quarrel over what might appear to be very minor issues. This article looks at one such exchange, specifically, how these exegetes understand the details of “visual transmission” and how successive iterations of observation and imitation between master and disciple constitute an authoritative lineage. The article reveals that the specifics of each author’s position on visual transmission was the product of polemical pressures for each one to articulate the specifics of their viewpoint. Understanding a disagreement like this requires contextualization. When Go rams pa was writing his response to Bo dong Paṇ chen, he was receiving support from a local ruler who had been a disciple of the late Bo dong Paṇ chen. Looking to secure further patronage for himself and the Sa skya tradition more broadly, Go rams pa certainly had reason to defend the Sa skya patriarch Rje btsun Grags pa rgyal mtshan (1147–1216) against Bo dong Paṇ chen’s critiques. However, limiting this debate to issues of patronage would be reductive at best. Although this point of disagreement may seem minor, it reveals a sophisticated analysis on how textual and empirical evidence cohere in order to determine correct tantric practice. In this sense, elements of tantric Buddhist traditions are deeply indebted to empirical knowledge.

:Lineages of the Literary: Tibetan Buddhist Polymaths of Socialist China

Previous articleNext article No AccessReviewsLineages of the Literary: Tibetan Buddhist Polymaths of Socialist China, by Nicole Willock. New York: Columbia University Press, 2021. xv+320 pp. US$140.00 (cloth), US$35.00 (paper), US$34.99 (e-book).John PowersJohn PowersUniversity of Melbourne Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The China Journal Volume 89January 2023 Published on behalf of the Australian Centre on China in the World at the Australian National University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/722892 Views: 1Total views on this site For permission to reuse, please contact [email protected]PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Pathways to Belonging: An Examination of Christian Identity in Tibetan Buddhist Contexts

This article examines the missiological challenge of group identity within Tibetan Buddhist contexts from both theological and sociocultural perspectives. It asserts that Paul’s comments in 1 Corinthians 8–10 represent a paradigmatic theological boundary for issues of identity in missiological practice, and it briefly examines recent discussions of group identity in missiological literature. As a resource for missionaries and mission organizations, this article explores potential pathways by which they might address the question of group identity and belonging within Tibetan Buddhist contexts. It also advocates for greater missiological reflection among scholar-practitioners working within the wider Buddhist world.

Tantric Theology: Demiurgic and Anti-Cosmic Themes in the Myths of Mahākāla and Vajrabhairava

While the Rudra/Maheśvara subjugation myth is well known in Tantric Studies there exist a great number of variant retellings of it in the Tibetan literary record which have largely been overlooked by scholarship. This paper examines two cycles of lesser-known versions of this centrally important tantric charter myth, one from the Rnying ma (Old School) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, centering on a form of Mahākāla and the other from the Gsar ma (New School) tradition, focused on Vajrabhairava. The Mahākāla cycle, while not significantly different from the versions that have been studied before, adds several interesting details. The Vajrabhairava version of the myth, however, is of special interest. While it is superficially like the better-known Rnying ma versions, it appears to be a notable transvaluation of, even a deliberate response, to the latter. I argue that these two versions of the myth in fact present very different, even radically opposing, theological worldviews, one of which upholds and apotheosizes cosmic order, and another which is radically anti-cosmic.

Research on the Influence of the Expansion of Traditional Film Aesthetics on Alleviating the Psychological Anxiety of the Audience in the Era of Digital Technology

In recent years, due to the spread of COVID-19, various problems caused by college students’ anxiety are common, which has attracted the attention of many researchers. Research shows that the anxiety level of social groups is getting higher and higher, and the mental health status is also decreasing year by year. It can be seen that anxiety has become one of the important obstacles to people’s mental health. At present, the intervention research on anxiety focuses on medical psychological nursing, and the intervention research specifically aimed at film audiences is relatively few. Tibetan Buddhist teacher Jongsa Chiang Yangkhin Chol Rinpoche said: film is the modern thangka. It is like a smart clown, opened the bathrobe of civilization, mouth hanging a strange smile, it is like an elegant wise man, insight into the secret of life, eyes full of compassion. Touching films are like realistic psychological cases, which are the analysis, disclosure and treatment of human nature, but also the guidance, inspiration and encouragement of the soul. Movies show us the rich and unique personality and complex and subtle emotions in three dimensions. Through movies, we examine the changes in our hearts and find the scale for self-revelation. Through movies, we travel in our own spiritual world and thus obtain the observation of our mind. This is the secret of movie healing.The development of high-tech film, especially the application of digital technology in film production, is the new trend of film technology development and the result of the concept change of the combination of science and art under the condition of post industrial revolution. In the digital technology era, the expansion of traditional film aesthetics can become a new means of psychological counseling and treatment, which has its unique advantages.

История монастыря Ганден

Introduction. The article summarizes the history of one of the three largest monasteries of the Tibetan Geluk school — Ganden Monastery. The latter tradition of Tibetan Buddhism occupies an exceptional place in the history of Mongolic spiritual cultures. Therefore, the interest in Ganden monastery is determined not only by that it had been founded by Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), the patriarch of the Geluk and a greatest Buddhist figure in Tibet, but also by the enormous religious, cultural and political impacts this sect has had on the development and dissemination of Buddhism among Mongolian-speaking peoples. Goals. The article seeks to investigate the history of Ganden Monastery in the context of its basic organizational structure, material culture (relics, shrines), paradigm of scholastic training (texts, educational process), and specific Buddhist rituals. Materials and methods. The work examines original Tibetan texts, analyzes historical sources and special scientific literature. Results. The article shows that the central principles of scholastic training and regulations laid down by Lama Tsongkhapa, as well as the organizational structure of the monastery, have remained virtually unchanged since its foundation in 1409. The phenomenon of Tibetan monasteries is multifaceted, and in order to better understand and appreciate the role they have played over centuries in spiritual life of many peoples it is necessary to achieve a complete understanding — in their own terms — of history, educational system, and organizational structure of the monastery.

The historical and architectural origins of palace buildings in the Kumbum Monastery from a multicultural perspective

ABSTRACT The Kumbum Monastery is a typical example of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in China. This study focuses on 12 palace buildings within the Kumbum Monastery and aims to clarify the historical origins of their architecture, the regional architectural characteristics, and the influence of multiple cultures on the monastery. The study uses typological approaches and quantitative methods to analyze the architecture’s characteristics and origins (spatial layout, architectural forms, construction technology, and decorative elements). This paper attempts to provide a typological approach for the study of the history of the architextures in the Kumbum Monastery as well as a comprehensive understanding of the architecture through a culturally pluralistic perspective. The analysis shows that 1) the palace buildings are a complex mixture of traditional Tibetan architecture, Han-style architecture from the Central Plains during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and arched buildings from Central Asia and Inner Mongolia; 2) the palace buildings localized different cultures and reshaped their spatial modeling and spatial meaning through the means of “hybridity” and “adjustment”; 3) the complex multicultural nature of the palace buildings is due to the comprehensive influence of political changes, religious dissemination, trade and transportation, and ethnic migration from the Ming Dynasty to the Republic of China.

The Wanla group of monuments: 14th-century Tibetan Buddhist murals in Ladakh

The Wanla group of monuments: 14th-century Tibetan Buddhist murals in Ladakh

Buddyjscy lamowie w nieoficjalnym życiu społeczności lokalnych Zabajkala – perspektywa antropologiczna

After Joseph Stalin’s death only about 600 repressed Buryat lamas was able to return to their family villages. Some of them secretly continued their ritual and medical activities. They were called various names: starik, diedushka, akhay. According to the holistic perception of reality in Tibetan Buddhism, it is im-possible to separate the sphere of belief, cosmology, from prosperity, health, norms and values, social structure, hierarchy, power, and identity, etc. In this case, the identity would be created by a specific system of practices and procedures of behaviour consistent with the symbolic and social order, embedded the cosmogonic order that originally related to it. The unofficial role of the lamas was to maintain the traditional foundations of the social order and its relationship with the wider cosmogonic foundations.

Arrangement Plan of Inner Mongolia Buddhist Temple

Since BC, the construction of cities has been started in the Mongolian Plateau with the establishment of dynasties, but many were turned into ruins. However, the Tibetan Buddhist temples built after the 16th century, which are an indispensable element in the process of settling the Mongolians from nomadic life, have been relatively well preserved in Inner Mongolia. These temples have been thought to be the epitome of the Mongolian economy, culture, art, and construction technology. Therefore, it has a great significance to research them systematically. Interestingly, these temples in Mongolia were originated from Inner Mongolia, which is located on the south side of Mongolia. The architectural design of these temples has been primarily influenced by Chinese and Tibetan temple architecture, suggesting that the temples appear to be considered a vital sample for studying temple architecture in Mongolia or East Asia. So far, there is still no study systematically on temple architecture in Inner Mongolia. Therefore, this research aims to study the arrangement plan of Inner Mongolian Tibetan Buddhist temples, which is the most important factor to consider in the first stage of temple construction.

Crafting Non-western Ways of Writing

While writing my PhD thesis on Tibetan Buddhism and feminism, and working particularly on the decolonialization of knowledge, I found a plethora of literature on challenging the colonial perspective at a conceptual level. Obviously, those enriched conceptual understandings were useful. But I was looking for more than that. Decolonial theorist Walter Mignolo (2011) said, “decoloniality focuses on changing the terms of the conversation and not only its content” (p. 133). In meaning-making and the style of argument, a deliberate epistemic disobedience should be used to challenge conventional Eurocentric hegemonies (Mignolo, 2009). To me, decoloniality was about conceptual liberation from both western hegemonic knowledge and praxis. My PhD thesis was an autoethnography on my experience exploring an organic relationship between Tibetan Buddhism and feminism. Edward Said tells us that it is “a fallacy to assume that the swarming, unpredictable, and problematic mess in which the lives of human beings are lived can be understood on the basis of what book-text-say” (Said, 1979, p. 93). I became aware of that fallacy when the distance between my experience and a traditional method of academic writing to capture those experiences became profound. As a feminist, Bangladeshi, and spiritual woman, I realized that to bring out the non-western voice and view, I had to craft non-western ways of writing. This non-western way is crafted through alternative epistemology, subjectivity, and style of narratives.

Earthquake-induced risk assessment of cultural heritage based on InSAR and seismic intensity: A case study of Zhalang temple affected by the 2021 Mw 7.4 Maduo (China) earthquake

Earthquakes have been acknowledged as threats to heritages for a long time in the past decades. Many scientific publications and international guidelines have addressed this issue. However, the related reports are still lacking particularly for the 2021 Mw 7.4 Maduo earthquake and its surrounding heritage sites, even though this event was the largest earthquake in China after 2008 with 13 National Key Protected Cultural Relic Units (NKPCRUs) of China located in the surrounding areas within 200 km from the epicenter. On May 21, 2021, an Mw 7.4 earthquake struck Maduo County in Qinghai Province, China. The earthquake was large in magnitude and caused ∼150 km of surface rupture. The integrity and authenticity of cultural heritages near the epicenter are under severe threat, making it critically important to quantify the potential damages and vulnerability of these sites affected by the Mw 7.4 earthquake. Nevertheless, many geological and geophysical studies related to this earthquake have been conducted, but none of them consider the seismic damage to the heritage sites. To fulfill this gap, the Zhalang temple (also known as “Golok Peaceful Liberation Memorial”) which was a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located ∼140 km away from the Mw 7.4 epicenter of the 2021 Maduo earthquake was taken as an example to investigate whether and how the strong earthquake could affect a cultural heritage in such a distance. Collaborative monitoring based on InSAR and seismic intensity was conducted to measure the earthquake-induced deformation and characterize the risks and damages to cultural heritages by earthquakes. First, fast responses within 30 min based on the seismic method were performed. The PGV-vS30 intensity, that was the peak ground velocities (PGV) further site-corrected by the site conditions of the time-averaged shear-wave velocity to 30 m depth (vS30) seismic intensity map was obtained, which provided a general and fast guidance to preliminary determinations of the severe disaster area and the scope of the disaster area. Initial decisions could be made about whether or where a certain location should be taken into further on-site inspection. Then, the Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) processing of Sentinel-1 images was performed to define two-dimensional (2D) East-West (E-W) and vertical co-seismic deformation maps near the Zhalang temple. Finally, the measurements obtained by seismic and InSAR methods were validated by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery and field surveying. The results showed that: the maximum E-W striking deformation was ∼2.54 cm toward the east and the vertical subsidence was ∼0.01 cm centered on the Zhalang temple, suggesting that the E-W striking deformation significantly affected the surrounding region. Moreover, the spatial heterogeneity indicator of the InSAR deformation maps revealed the locations of underground faults with surface expressions. Further field survey detected surface fractures at Zhalang temple due to secondary effects of the Mw 7.4 earthquake. The genetic process of faulting and fracturing is crucial in terms of hazard assessment and mitigation strategies. In countries with strong environmental and seismic risks, the presented work contributes to the disaster risk reduction (DRR) of heritages in natural-hazard-prone areas and also takes on a social value because it provided supplements for the protection of a heritage that represents the very identity nationwide.