The Renaissance of Tibetan Civilization

The Renaissance of Tibetan Civilization

Author: Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf

Publisher:

Published: 1990

Total Pages: 121

ISBN-13: 9780907791218

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The young ruler of Tibet donned the traditional garb of a Tibetan tribesman and fled on horesback to India to escape the Chinese occupation of his homeland. The 14th Dalai Lama arrived in Indiain the spring of 1959, the first and most illustrious refugee of the waves soon to pour out from the ancient 'Forbidden Kingdom'. "The Renaissance of Tibetan Civilization" is an inspiring story of the power of courage and hope - the story of refugees who arrived destitute at the frontiers of India and Nepal, yet a mere forty years later have managed to rebuild the essential patterns of Tibetan culture in exile as a legacy for the future. The book documents the struggle for survival and the emerging way of life of individual refugees and families, as well as there construction of religious and artistic traditions. Per Kvaerne appends an essay on the Bon religion which augments the background material necessary for understanding the ingredients of the diaspora. The forced exodus of Tibetan culture is one of the most remarkable stories of our time: how an enclosed and highly conservative community assumed global significance, in the realm of politics as well as in the realm of culture. The tragedy of Tibet has enriched the world by giving it access to the high intellectual and artistic values which gave Tibetans their sense of meaning.


Tibetan Renaissance

Tibetan Renaissance

Author: Ronald M. Davidson

Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publishe

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 620

ISBN-13: 9788120832787

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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.


The Tibetans

The Tibetans

Author: Matthew T. Kapstein

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2013-06-05

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13: 1118725379

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This book provides a clear and comprehensive introduction to Tibet, its culture and history. A clear and comprehensive overview of Tibet, its culture and history. Responds to current interest in Tibet due to continuing publicity about Chinese rule and growing interest in Tibetan Buddhism. Explains recent events within the context of Tibetan history. Situates Tibet in relation to other Asian civilizations through the ages. Draws on the most recent scholarly and archaeological research. Introduces Tibetan culture – particularly social institutions, religious and political traditions, the arts and medical lore. An epilogue considers the fragile position of Tibetan civilization in the modern world.


Sources of Tibetan Tradition

Sources of Tibetan Tradition

Author: Kurtis R. Schaeffer

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 854

ISBN-13: 0231135998

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The most comprehensive collection of classic Tibetan works in any Western language.


Inner Revolution

Inner Revolution

Author: Robert Thurman

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 1999-03-01

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 1573227196

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The New York Times calls him "America's number one Buddhist." He is the co-founder of Tibet House New York, was the first American Tibetan Buddhist monk, and has shared a thirty-five-year friendship with the Dalai Lama. Now, Robert Thurman presents his first completely original book, an introduction to Buddhism and "an inspiring guide to incorporating Buddhist wisdom into daily life" (USA Today). Written with insight, enthusiasm, and impeccable scholarship, Inner Revolution is not only a national bestseller and practical primer on one of the world's most fascinating traditions, but it is also a wide-ranging look at the course of our civilization--and how we can alter it for the better. "Part spiritual memoir, part philosophical treatise and part religious history, Thurman's book is a passionate declaration of the possibilities of renewing the world" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).


LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF TSONG KHAPA

LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF TSONG KHAPA

Author: Prof. Robert Thurman

Publisher: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives

Published: 2006-01-01

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 8186470441

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Je Tsong Khapa (1357-1419) is revered as one of the most significant Tibetan Buddhist teacher whose eclectic and analytic studies and meditations in all the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism resulted in the founding of the Gelugpa system of the Tibetan Buddhist heritage. The Life and Teachings of Tsong Khapa brings together for the first time a number of extremey important and useful works by and on Tsong Khapa touching transcendental aspects of Sutra, Tantra and Insight Meditation, including mystic conver sations with great Bodhisattvas and deeply spiritual songs in praises of Manjushri and Maitreya etc. The anthology concludes with a number of intensely moving songs in praise of Tsong Khapa and his immeasurable contribution to Tibetan Buddhism by such realised and remarkable Tibetan Buddhist personalities like the Seventh Dalai Lama, Eighth Karmapa, Dulnagpa Palden and Khaydrub Je etc. Ably translated by a number of Western Buddhist translators in association with Tibetan Buddhist scholars, The Life and Teachings of Tsong Khapa edited by Professor Robert Thurman, fulfils a long standing need of the contemporary Dharma community of both the East and the West.


The Ancient Tibetan Civilization

The Ancient Tibetan Civilization

Author: Tsewang Gyalpo Arya

Publisher: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives

Published: 2022-01-27

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9390752728

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How interesting it is to realize that the lifestyle we live, beliefs and faith we live by and the language we converse in, all has its own distinct history of origination and how it has evolved and progressed over time to become everything present today. The book is a marvellous attempt to understand one’s own civilization enlightening the path to startling revelation on ‘How did Tibetan civilization came about?’. The widely popularized Tibetan origin myth of ‘The Monkey and the Ogress’, is it really true? Did Tibet really had its first king descended from the sky? How is Tibetan scripts so similar to the Gupta Brahmi script? This book leaves no stone unturned to fill this grey area on the dawn of Tibetan civilization and intrigues the readers to deliberate over the subject. ‘The Ancient Tibetan Civilization’ explicitly debunks popular mythologies, misconceptions and misinformation surrounding the origination and evolution of Tibetan civilization. -Tenzin Wangmo


Tibetan Transitions

Tibetan Transitions

Author: Geoff Childs

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2008-07-31

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 9047443500

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Tibetan Transitions uses the dual lenses of anthropology and demography to analyze population regulating mechanisms in traditional Tibetan societies, and to document recent transitions from high to low fertility throughout the Tibetan world. Using the author’s case studies on historical Tibet, the Tibet Autonomous Region, the highlands of Nepal, and Tibetan exile communities in South Asia, this book provides a theoretical perspective on demographic processes by linking fertility transitions with family systems, economic strategies, gender equity, and family planning ideologies. Special attention is devoted to how institutions (governmental and religious) and the agency of individuals shape reproductive outcomes in both historical and contemporary Tibetan societies, and how demographic data has been interpreted and deployed in recent political debates.


Defining Buddhism(s)

Defining Buddhism(s)

Author: Karen Derris

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-08

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 1134937253

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'Defining Buddhism(s)' explores the multiple ways in which Buddhism has been defined and constructed by both Buddhists and scholars. In recent decades, scholars have become increasingly aware of their own role in the construction of how Buddhism is represented - a process in which multiple representations of Buddhism compete with and complement one another. The reader brings together key essays by leading scholars to examine the central methods and concerns of Buddhism. The essays aim to illuminate the challenges involved in defining historical, social, and political contexts and reveal how definitions of Buddhism have always been contested.