The Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism: Conversion, Contestation, and Memory

CONTENTS......Page 12
A Note on Pronunciation......Page 16
A Brief Chronology of Tibetan Buddhism......Page 18
1 INTRODUCTION: DEATH, LITERACY, AND TIBET\'S BUDDHIST ELITE......Page 24
The Uncertain Fate of the Dead......Page 26
Literacy and Learning in a Dark Age......Page 31
Elite Buddhism and the Expression of Authority......Page 38
PART I: CONVERSION AND NARRATIVE......Page 42
History\'s Mirrorwork......Page 44
China\'s Nephew......Page 47
Tibet\'s Son......Page 49
Solomon on the Silk Road......Page 51
The Religious Transformation of History......Page 53
History and Identity......Page 57
The Mark of Vermilion......Page 59
Cosmology, Karma, and Conversion......Page 63
From Rebirth to Resurrection......Page 67
The Puzzle of the Tibetan Conversion......Page 72
The Power of Plague......Page 74
The Charisma of Reason......Page 75
Buddhism and Legislation......Page 77
Imperial Cosmopolitanism......Page 79
Converting the Conversion......Page 86
PART II: SOURCES OF CONTESTATION......Page 88
5 FROM KOREA TO TIBET: ACTION AT A DISTANCE IN THE EARLY MEDIEVAL WORLD SYSTEM......Page 90
An Island in the Eastern Sea......Page 91
The Tamer of Tigers......Page 92
Chan Traces in Later Traditions......Page 96
The Vicissitudes of the Great Chinese Commentary......Page 99
Korea, Tibet, and the Early Medieval World System......Page 103
6 WHAT IS \"TIBETAN SCHOLASTICISM\"? THREE WAYS OF THOUGHT......Page 106
Sakya Pandita\'s Reasons......Page 110
Karma Pakshi\'s Doubts......Page 118
Dölpopa on the Age of Perfection......Page 127
Contestation and Self-representation......Page 140
Our Notions of Buddhist Canon and Apocrypha......Page 142
Realism, Idealism, and Scriptural Authenticity......Page 144
The Purificatory Gem and Its Cleansing: Historical Background......Page 147
The Texts and Why They Were Written......Page 149
The Question of Spiritual Treasures......Page 152
PART III: MYTH, MEMORY, REVELATION......Page 160
The Truth of Myth......Page 162
The Most Compassionate King......Page 165
The Advent of the Lotus Guru......Page 176
Hierarchy and Universality......Page 181
Fragments from a Myth of Tibet......Page 184
The Myth of Samantabhadra......Page 188
The Matricide Rudra......Page 191
Must the Message Be Mythic?......Page 197
Preliminary Orientations......Page 199
Mnemic Engagement in the Wide-Open Tantra of Universal Liberation......Page 201
An Allegorical Re-presentation......Page 208
Mnemic Engagement in the Practice of Prayer......Page 214
By Way of Conclusion......Page 215
APPENDIX: THE PRAYER OF GREAT POWER......Page 218
NOTES......Page 224
CHINESE GLOSSARY......Page 294
Tibetan References......Page 296
Chinese References......Page 304
Western Language References......Page 305
A......Page 326
C......Page 327
D......Page 328
G......Page 329
K......Page 330
M......Page 331
N......Page 332
P......Page 333
S......Page 334
T......Page 335
Z......Page 337