The Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism

This book explores the Buddhist role in the formation of Tibetan religious thought and identity. In three major sections, the author examines Tibet's eighth-century conversion, sources of dispute within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and the continuing revelation of the teaching in both doctrine and myth.

Matthew T. Kapstein is Associate Professor in the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations and in the Divinity School of the University of Chicago.

A Note on Pronunciation

xv

A Brief Chronology of Tibetan Buddhism

xvii

Introduction: Death, Literacy, and Tibet's Buddhist Elite

3

(20)

The Uncertain Fate of the Dead

5

(5)

Literacy and Learning in a Dark Age

10

(7)

Elite Buddhism and the Expression of Authority

17

(6)

PART I: CONVERSION AND NARRATIVE

The Chinese Mother of Tibet's Dharma-King: The Testament of Ba and the Beginnings of Tibetan Buddhist Historiography

23

(15)

History's Mirrorwork

23

(3)

China's Nephew

26

(2)

Tibet's Son

28

(2)

Solomon on the Silk Road

30

(2)

The Religious Transformation of History

32

(4)

History and Identity

36

(2)

The Mark of Vermilion: Rebirth and Resurrection in an Early Medieval Tale

38

(13)

The Mark of Vermilion

38

(4)

Cosmology, Karma, and Conversion

42

(4)

From Rebirth to Resurrection

46

(5)

Plague, Power, and Reason: The Royal Conversion to Buddhism Reconsidered

51

(18)

The Puzzle of the Tibetan Conversion

51

(2)

The Power of Plague

53

(1)

The Charisma of Reason

54

(2)

Buddhism and Legislation

56

(2)

Imperial Cosmopolitanism

58

(7)

Converting the Conversion

65

(4)

PART II: SOURCES OF CONTESTATION

From Korea to Tibet: Action at a Distance in the Early Medieval World System

69

(16)

An Island in the Eastern Sea

70

(1)

The Tamer of Tigers

71

(4)

Chan Traces in Later Traditions

75

(3)

The Vicissitudes of the Great Chinese Commentary

78

(4)

Korea, Tibet, and the Early Medieval World System

82

(3)

What is ``Tibetan Scholasticism''? Three Ways of Thought

85

(36)

Sakya Pandita's Reasons

89

(8)

Karma Pakshi's Doubts

97

(9)

Dolpopa on the Age of Perfection

106

(13)

Contestation and Self-representation

119

(2)

The Purificatory Gem and Its Cleansing: A Late Polemical Discussion of Apocryphal Texts

121

(20)

Our Notions of Buddhist Canon and Apocrypha

121

(2)

Realism, Idealism, and Scriptural Authenticity

123

(3)

The Purificatory Gem and Its Cleansing: Historical Background

126

(2)

The Texts and Why They Were Written

128

(3)

The Question of Spiritual Treasures

131

(10)

PART III: MYTH, MEMORY, REVELATION

The Imaginal Persistence of the Empire

141

(22)

The Truth of Myth

141

(3)

The Most Compassionate King

144

(11)

The Advent of the Lotus Guru

155

(5)

Hierarchy and Universality

160

(3)

Samantabhadra and Rudra: Myths of Innate Enlightenment and Radical Evil

163

(15)

Fragments from a Myth of Tibet

163

(4)

The Myth of Samantabhadra

167

(3)

The Matricide Rudra

170

(6)

Must the Message Be Mythic?

176

(2)

The Amnesic Monarch and the Five Mnemic Men: ``Memory'' in the Great Perfection Tradition

178

(19)

Preliminary Orientations

178

(2)

Mnemic Engagement in the Wide-Open Tantra of Universal Liberation

180

(7)

An Allegorical Re-presentation

187

(6)

Mnemic Engagement in the Practice of Prayer

193

(1)

By Way of Conclusion

194

(3)

Appendix: The Prayer of Great Power

197

(6)

Notes

203

(70)

Chinese Glossary

273

(2)

Bibliography

275

(30)

Tibetan References

275

(8)

Sanskrit References

283

(1)

Chinese References

283

(1)

Western Language References

284

(21)

Index

305

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The Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism Conversion, Contestation, and Memory

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials