Tibetan Renaissance (eBook)

Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture

Ronald M. Davidson (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2005
Columbia University Press (Verlag)
978-0-231-50889-6 (ISBN)

Infos

How did a society on the edge of collapse and dominated by wandering bands of armed men give way to a vibrant Buddhist culture, led by yogins and scholars? Ronald M. Davidson explores how the translation and spread of esoteric Buddhist texts dramatically shaped Tibetan society and led to its rise as the center of Buddhist culture throughout Asia, replacing India as the perceived source of religious ideology and tradition. During the Tibetan Renaissance (950-1200 C.E.), monks and yogins translated an enormous number of Indian Buddhist texts. They employed the evolving literature and practices of esoteric Buddhism as the basis to reconstruct Tibetan religious, cultural, and political institutions. Many translators achieved the de facto status of feudal lords and while not always loyal to their Buddhist vows, these figures helped solidify political power in the hands of religious authorities and began a process that led to the Dalai Lama's theocracy. Davidson's vivid portraits of the monks, priests, popular preachers, yogins, and aristocratic clans who changed Tibetan society and culture further enhance his perspectives on the tensions and transformations that characterized medieval Tibet.

Autor

Ronald M. Davidson is professor of religious studies at Fairfield University. He is the author of Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement (Columbia) and the coeditor (with Steven D. Goodman) of Tibetan Buddhism: Reason and Revelation.

Inhalt

PrefaceList of Maps, FiguresPronunciation GuideIntroductionChapter 1: Early Medieval India and the Esoteric RhapsodyChapter 2: The Demise of Dynasty and a Poorly Lit PathChapter 3: Renaissance and Reformation: The Eastern Vinaya MonksChapter 4: Translators as the New AristocracyChapter 5: Drokmi: The Doyen of Central Tibetan TranslatorsChapter 6: Treasure Text, the Imperial LegacyChapter 7: The Late Eleventh Century: From Esoteric Lineages to Clan TemplesChapter 8: The Early Twelfth Century: A Confident Tibetan BuddhismChapter 9: The Late Twelfth to Early Thirteenth Century: Ethical Crises, International Chapter 10: Conclusion and Epilogue: The Victory of the Clan Structure, Late Tantric BuddhismNotesGlossaryTibetan Orthographic EquivalentsAppendix 1: Eastern Vinaya Temples, Cave TemplesAppendix 2: Translation and Text of the Root Text of the *MargaphalaAppendix 3: A Concordance of Early Commentaries on the Root Text of the *MargaphalaNotes to AppendicesNotes to the EditionAbbreviationsBibliographyIndex

Produkt-Details

• Zusatzinfo: 7 maps, 6 photos, 15 figures
• Verlagsort: New York
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Freizeit / Hobby ► Sammeln / Sammlerkataloge
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Religionsgeschichte
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Buddhismus
• ISBN-10: 0-231-50889-1 / 0231508891
• ISBN-13: 978-0-231-50889-6 / 9780231508896