Tibetan Graduate Studies Seminar

Robert Mayer's analysis of Guru Chowang's enduring connection between territorial deity cosmologies and the preservation of hidden teachings in Tibetan Buddhism Academic scholars are accustomed to understanding gter as sacred texts often associated with Padmasambhava, within a cult deriving historically from ancient imperial burials. Yet the great 13th-century Padmasambhava devotee Guru Chowang pr...

Kristin Scheible uncovers the hidden role of nāgas in defining Buddhist treasures and explores their surprising significance in safeguarding sacred relics through early texts Much of the literature on nāgas in Indian Buddhist monasticism has focused on their rain-making and monastery-protecting duties. However, early Buddhist texts are full of narratives about nāgas serving the Buddha, dharma, and...

In this talk, Dr. Dagmar Schwerk presents the work-in-progress of her current research project, an investigation into identity- and nation-building in eighteenth-century Bhutan In this talk, Dr. Dagmar Schwerk presents the work-in-progress of her current research project, an investigation into identity- and nation-building in eighteenth-century Bhutan. Focusing on the identity and agency of Bhutan...

This talk presents an outline of the Yungdrung Bön ’Treasure’ tradition The Tibetan Bön religion, often called Yungdrung (‘Eternal’) Bön by its adherents, arose in Central Tibet at the same time as the ‘Latter Propagation’ (phyi dar) of Buddhism, i.e. in the 10th-11th century CE. In fact, it shares many traits with the Latter Propagation, and may be viewed as part of a broader socio-religious move...

This presentation examines Śākta transformations of conceptions of revelation and the transmission of esoteric knowledge in Mantramārga Śaivism This presentation examines Śākta transformations of conceptions of revelation and the transmission of esoteric knowledge in Mantramārga Śaivism. In particular, the presentation focuses on representations of Yoginīs, both divine and human, as sources of pow...

In this talk, Jacob Fisher presents his research on a history of the Buddhist discussions surrounding perceptual relativism, in India and Tibet Indian and Tibetan epistemologists have spent millennia grappling with the central philosophical questions of relativism and intersubjectivity. This talk will present my ongoing DPhil research that attempts to map a philosophical history of the discussion,...

Nicola Bajetta takes us through Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo's commentary on the Nāmasaṅgīti, a hymn of praise dedicated to Mañjuśrī Among the circa thirty-two extant works by the seminal rNying-ma scholar Rong-zom Chos-kyi-bzang-po (11th–12th cent.), his Explanation in Three Points (rNam gsum bshad pa) is one of the earliest autochthonous Tibetan commentaries on the (Mañjuśrī)nāmasaṅgīti. Included withi...

Reinier Langelaar’s talk on early Tibetan treasure literature’s influences, inspirations, and narrative themes Early Tibetan treasure literature was pivotal in the development of a distinctly Buddhist vision of Tibetan history. In formulating such narratives, two influential early works, the Ma-ṇi-bka’-‘bum and the Bka’-chems-ka-khol-ma, appear to have relied quite heavily on inspiration from Budd...

Early teachings on the Four Phurpas in the light of the Eightfold Buddha Word, Embodying the Sugatas (bka' brgyad bde gshegs 'dus pa) revelation of Myang ral Nyi ma 'od zer (1124-1192), and the relationship between the Revelatory (gter ma) and Transmitted Myang ral's twelfth century revealed corpus of the Eightfold Buddha Word, Embodying the Sugatas (bka' brgyad bde gshegs 'dus pa) became a templa...

Chandra Ehm's investigation into the foundations of the Geluk monastic curriculum The commentarial corpus of the Abhisamayālaṃkāra, as we find it in the scholarship of the gelukpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, clearly outlines soteriological paths on how to achieve the religious goal of enlightenment. These scriptures are studied, debated, and contemplated for eight years in the context of the ge...

Nicholas Hobhouse on Developments in Contemporary Nyingma Monastic Education This presentation, which draws upon the speaker’s ongoing PhD research, will examine some of the key developments that have taken place in Nyingma monastic education, both in ‘exile’ and inside Eastern Tibet, since the ruptures brought about by the Maoist invasion of the 1950s. Although the terms ‘traditional’ and ‘modern...

Valeriya Gazizova's talk on several cases of ‘treasure’ concealment and discoveries in the Buddhist society of postsocialist Kalmykia I shall discuss several cases of ‘treasure’ concealment and discoveries that can be somewhat subsumed under the broader category of Tibetan gter ma in the Buddhist society of postsocialist Kalmykia. Whether scriptural revelations, discoveries of material images or c...

Drukgyel Tsering's talk on Rendawa Shonu Lodro (1349–1412), the famed teacher of Lama Tsongkhapa and important progenitor of Madhyamaka philosophy in Tibet Red mda' ba gzhon nu blo gros (1349–1412) was one of the most exceptional scholars in 13th and early 14th century Tibet. He played a critical role in bringing Madhyamaka philosophy back to the attention of Tibetan scholasticism after its relati...

Sonam Choden discusses Lo tsā ba Rin chen bzang po's composition of his "General Presentation of the Tantric Systems" and its authoritative sources While numerous Indian works translated by Lo-chen Rin-chen-bzang-po (958–1055) have been transmitted through the Tibetan Buddhist Canon and are thus easily available, works composed (or believed to have been composed) by him have been rarely accessible...

This lecture highlights Tibetan responses to the Mongol imperial bureaucratic practices during the 14th century The value of government documents for studying the 13–14th-century Tibetan history has long been recognized. But we do not know much about the procedures of drafting, issuing, translating, announcing, and receiving these documents. With the sporadic information gathered from biographies...

The Great Lamp of the Dharma Dhāraṇī Scripture and its theory on scriptual revelation in the Mahāyāna tradition. The Great Lamp of the Dharma Dhāraṇī Scripture (Da faju tuoluoni jing 大法炬陀羅尼經), extant only in a late sixth-century Chinese translation, purports to transform the wielder of its dhāraṇī into a perfect Buddhist preacher (fashi 法師, *dharmabhāṇaka). According to this text, becomin...

Vincent Goossaert's talk on the ritual production of revelation in Chinese religious history This talk will provide an overview of the modes of producing revelations in Chinese religious history, based on my recently published book Making the Gods Speak (Cambridge, Harvard University Asia Center, 2022). It will focus on a five-fold typology of modes of revelation, based on narratives about the rev...

Gregory Forgues presents his research on Longchenpa's writings on Buddha nature This presentation offers a new perspective on the discourse of Longchenpa (Klong chen rab ’byams pa dri med ’od zer 1308–1363) regarding the central doctrinal concept of bde gshegs snying po (*sugatagarbha), a synonym for de gshegs snying po (tathāgatagarbha). Longchenpa lived in a time period during which leading figu...

Cameron Bailey's talk on wrathful deities and their myths 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 presentation will discuss two cycles of less-well known versions of this centrally important tantric charter myth, one from...

Zim Pickens looks at the origins of guru or lama worship in Tibet, introducing us to the Indian antecedents and the Tibetan emphasis on the role and status of the lama. In the twelfth century, Indian and Tibetan Buddhist authors drew from doctrinal and scriptural sources to promote new rites for worshipping the guru in the manner of a buddha. First, we will examine how Anupamavajra and Sa skya Paṇ...

Where to Look for the Missing Plunder of Pirates, Ghosts, Rebels, Fairies, Colonisers, and Dictators Lost treasure is a recurrent motif in Philippine folklore. Treasure-seeking heroes are ordinary individuals who seek access to riches that have fallen under the jurisdiction of supernatural entities. Yet success is by no means guaranteed. Claimants may be undone by their own moral failings or by th...

Charles Stewart's surveys the diversity of treasure traditions in Greece In this talk I will survey the diversity of treasure traditions in Greece. Treasures may take many forms beyond objects buried with the intention of later recovery by their owners. In general, treasures are valuables currently hidden and thus mainly objects of the imagination, the location of which may be revealed in mystical...

Paulina Koniuch introduces us to the latest Tibetan art trends in social media and how Tibetan identities are negotiated Expressing one’s identity while living in exile is no easy task, but young Tibetans around the world are finding new ways to communicate their views and needs, one of which is through art. The rise of the popularity of social media, especially during the Covid pandemic, made it...

Dr Kilby's talk explores Tibetan Buddhist perspectives on displacement that can inform the international humanitarian response to the displacement crisis The world’s displaced population breaks new records each year and has now climbed to more than 100 million people. What insights can Buddhist traditions—and Tibetan traditions in particular—offer for addressing this humanitarian challenge? Dr Kil...

This lecture offers a new look at the origins of Gter ma literature in an intertextual framework. Academic authors on the origins of gter ma have generally agreed that the evolution of the gter ma traditions in Tibet must be seen as a confluence of both Indian and Tibetan influences. Yet surprisingly little effort has so far gone into researching the Indian influences. Drawing inter alia on Paul H...