Envisioning a Tibetan Luminary

The Life of a Modern Bönpo Saint

William M. Gorvine (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

328 Seiten

2019
Oxford University Press Inc (Verlag)
978-0-19-936235-6 (ISBN)

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Envisioning a Tibetan Luminary examines the religious biography of Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen (1859-1934), the most significant modern figure representing the Tibetan Bön religion-a vital minority tradition that is underrepresented in Tibetan studies. The work is based on fieldwork conducted in eastern Tibet and in the Bön exile community in India, where traditional Tibetan scholars collaborated closely on the project. Utilizing close readings of two versions of Shardza's life-story, along with oral history collected in Bön communities, this book presents and interprets the biographical image of this major figure, culminating with an English translation of his life story.

William M. Gorvine argues that the disciple-biographer's literary portrait not only enacts and shapes religious ideals to foster faith among its readership, but also attempts to quell tensions that had developed among his original audience. Among the Bön community today, Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen has come to be unequivocally revered for an impressive textual legacy and a saintly death. During his lifetime, however, he faced prominent critics within his own lineage who went so far as to issue polemical attacks against him. As Gorvine shows, the biographical texts that inform us about Shardza's life are best understood when read on multiple registers, with attention given to the ways in which the religious ideals on display reflect the broader literary, cultural, and historical contexts within which they were envisioned and articulated.

William M. Gorvine is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Hendrix College. His research explores religious biography, conceptions of saintliness, and the Tibetan Bön religion, while his teaching and professional work support interdisciplinary approaches to Asian studies, contemplative pedagogy, andreligious literacy.

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Technical Note
Introduction

Part I. Approaching the Life
1. Situating Bön and the Life of Shardza
2. Birth, Discipleship and the Precepts
3. Teachers, Practice, and Travel
4. Teaching, Writing, Travel, and Dialogue
5. Measures, Miracles, and Representations

Part II. Reading the Life
1. Preface: A Brief History of the Author
2. The Pleasure Garden of Wish-Fulfilling Trees: The Life of Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen

Tibetan Spellings
Glossary
Bibliography

Erscheinungsdatum	23.11.2018
Verlagsort	New York
Sprache	englisch
Maße	231 x 155 mm
Gewicht	454 g
Themenwelt	Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
	Literatur ► Briefe / Tagebücher
	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Geschichte / Politik
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Buddhismus
ISBN-10	0-19-936235-1 / 0199362351
ISBN-13	978-0-19-936235-6 / 9780199362356
Zustand	Neuware