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 Bhutanese Buddhist masters as important intermediaries in Bhutan’s entangled and turbulent history with Tibet, her research is centred around the joint Bhutanese-Tibetan travels of the Ninth rJe-mKhan-po of ..read more

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 movement in Tibet at the time. An important element, shared by both these religions, is the appearance of ’Treasures’, texts (and to some extent objects) considered by their respective adherents to have b ..read more

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 power or hidden knowledge, as guardians of esoteric teachings, and as agents of revelation ..read more

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, by focussing on a specific Buddhist example that problematises perceptual relativism. This classic Buddhist example is the perception across world spheres of a river, which depending on the realm one ..read more

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 within the author’s Collected Writings, the commentary is also transmitted, anonymously, in all editions of the bsTan ’gyur, with the title Lamp that Clarifies the Three Methods (Tshul gsum gsal bar byed p ..read more

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 Buddhist scriptures, as they refer to, and sometimes explicitly cite from, a raft of sūtra, dhāraṇī, and tantra. These sources include a somewhat enigmatic set of 21 scriptures that were taught to the bod ..read more

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 template for Rnying ma practice focusing on the tradition's eight central tantric deities. In a previous article (2020a), I have suggested that the entire Action Phurpa ('phrin las phur pa) section of the E ..read more

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 geshe studies by the monastic scholar. Based on two texts, authored by Gyaltsab Dharma Rinchen and Longdol Lama, as well as the preliminary findings of my anthropological research, this talk will explor ..read more

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’ must themselves be chronologically defined and carefully nuanced, the elements seen in contemporary Nyingma monastic education might provisionally be grouped into these two categories. ‘Traditional ..read more

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 concealment of powerful deceased bodies and body relics, the emergent forms of ‘treasures’ appear to be largely centred on the worship of ancestral and local protective deities and entail (re)opening o ..read more