Download or read book Divine Knowledge written by Brian Gregory Baumann and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2008 with total page 911 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an original and compelling examination of traditional mathematics, this comprehensive study of the anonymous "Manual of Mongolian Astrology and Divination" (published by A. Mostaert in 1969) takes on the fundamental problem of the post-enlightenment categorization of knowledge, in particular the inherently problematic realms of religion and science, as well as their subsets, medicine, ritual, and magic. In the process of elucidating the rhetoric and logic shaping this manual the author reveals not only the intertwined intellectual history of Eurasia from Greece to China but also dismantles many of the discourses that have shaped its modern interpretations.

Download or read book Divining with Achi and T r written by Jan-Ulrich Sobisch and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2019-09-02 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Divining with Achi and Tārā is a book on Tibetan methods of prognostics with dice and prayer beads (mālā). Jan-Ulrich Sobisch offers a thorough discussion of Chinese, Indian, Turkic, and Tibetan traditions of divination, its techniques, rituals, tools, and poetic language. Interviews with Tibetan masters of divination introduce the main part with a translation of a dice divination manual of the deity Achi that is still part of a living tradition. Solvej Nielsen contributes further interviews, a mālā divination of Tārā and its oral tradition, and very useful glossaries of the terminology of Tibetan divination and fortune telling. Appendices provide lists of deities and spirits and of numerous identified ritual remedies and supports that are an essential element of a still vibrant Tibetan culture.

Download or read book The Tibetans written by Matthew T. Kapstein and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-06-05 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Divination in Exile written by Alexander Kingsbury Smith and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-09-25 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Divination in Exile, Alexander K. Smith offers the first comprehensive scholarly introduction to the performance of divination in Tibetan speaking communities, both past and present. While Smith surveys a variety of ritual practices, the volume focuses on divination and its associated rites in the contemporary Tibetan Bon tradition. Drawing from multi-site ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Himachal Pradesh and the translation of previously unpublished Tibetan language materials, Divination in Exile offers a valuable, social scientific contribution to our understanding of the perception and usage of ritual manuscripts in contemporary Tibetan cultural milieus.

Download or read book The I Ching written by Richard J. Smith and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2012-03-25 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How the I Ching became one of the most widely read and influential books in the world The I Ching originated in China as a divination manual more than three thousand years ago. In 136 BCE the emperor declared it a Confucian classic, and in the centuries that followed, this work had a profound influence on the philosophy, religion, art, literature, politics, science, technology, and medicine of various cultures throughout East Asia. Jesuit missionaries brought knowledge of the I Ching to Europe in the seventeenth century, and the American counterculture embraced it in the 1960s. Here Richard Smith tells the extraordinary story of how this cryptic and once obscure book became one of the most widely read and extensively analyzed texts in all of world literature. In this concise history, Smith traces the evolution of the I Ching in China and throughout the world, explaining its complex structure, its manifold uses in different cultures, and its enduring appeal. He shows how the indigenous beliefs and customs of Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Tibet "domesticated" the text, and he reflects on whether this Chinese classic can be compared to religious books such as the Bible or the Qur'an. Smith also looks at how the I Ching came to be published in dozens of languages, providing insight and inspiration to millions worldwide—including ardent admirers in the West such as Leibniz, Carl Jung, Philip K. Dick, Allen Ginsberg, Hermann Hesse, Bob Dylan, Jorge Luis Borges, and I. M. Pei. Smith offers an unparalleled biography of the most revered book in China's entire cultural tradition, and he shows us how this enigmatic ancient classic has become a truly global phenomenon.

Download or read book The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism written by Dudjom and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-07-23 with total page 1346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by a great modern Nyingma master, Dudjom Rinpoche's The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism covers in detail and depth both the fundamental teachings and the history of Tibetan Buddhism's oldest school. This, the first English translation of His Holiness' masterwork, constitutes the most complete work of its type in the West. An absolute treasure for students of the tradition, it is also an indispensable reference for anyone with an interest in Buddhism. The book includes chronologies and glossaries that elucidate Buddhist doctrine, and it provides fascinating insights into the Buddhist history of Tibet. Two treatises form the present volume, namely the Fundamentals of the Nyingma School and the History of the Nyingma School. Among the most widely read of all His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche's works, these treatises were composed during the years immediately following his arrival in India as a refugee. His intention in writing them was to preserve the precise structure of the Nyingma philosophical view within its own historical and cultural context. This is the first time this text has been available in a trade edition. Beautifully presented, this single-volume edition represents a truly wonderful gift, and features illustrations in black and white and in color, plus maps, bibliographic information, and useful annotations.

Download or read book Historical Dictionary of Tibet written by John Powers and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-10-22 with total page 881 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Historical Dictionary of Tibet, Second Edition is a comprehensive resource for Tibetan history, politics, religion, major figures, prehistory and paleontology, with a primary emphasis on the modern period. It also covers the surrounding areas influenced by Tibetan religion and culture, including India, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Central Asia, and Russia. It contains a chronology, a glossary, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on important personalities as well as aspects of the country’s politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Tibet.

Download or read book Sources of Tibetan Tradition written by Kurtis R. Schaeffer and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2013-03-26 with total page 853 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most comprehensive collection of Tibetan works in a Western language, this volume illuminates the complex historical, intellectual, and social development of Tibetan civilization from its earliest beginnings to the modern period. Including more than 180 representative writings, Sources of Tibetan Tradition spans Tibet's vast geography and long history, presenting for the first time a diversity of works by religious and political leaders; scholastic philosophers and contemplative hermits; monks and nuns; poets and artists; and aristocrats and commoners. The selected readings reflect the profound role of Buddhist sources in shaping Tibetan culture while illustrating other major areas of knowledge. Thematically varied, they address history and historiography; political and social theory; law; medicine; divination; rhetoric; aesthetic theory; narrative; travel and geography; folksong; and philosophical and religious learning, all in relation to the unique trajectories of Tibetan civil and scholarly discourse. The editors begin each chapter with a survey of broader social and cultural contexts and introduce each translated text with a concise explanation. Concluding with writings that extend into the early twentieth century, this volume offers an expansive encounter with Tibet's exceptional intellectual heritage.

Download or read book Unearthing Himalayan Treasures written by Volker Caumanns and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2019-04-08 with total page 518 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Festschrift celebrates Franz-Karl Ehrhard, Professor of Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich from 2003 to 2019. Offered on the occasion of his 65th birthday, it comprises 26 papers by friends and colleagues to honour his outstanding and far-reaching contributions to the field of Tibetan Studies. Mirroring Franz-Karl Ehrhard's research interests, the papers centre on the religious and literary traditions of Tibet and the Himalayas, including sacred geography, religious history, philosophy, and studies in textual production and transmission.

Download or read book The Treasury of Knowledge Book Six Parts One and Two written by Jamgon Kongtru Lodro Taye and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2013-01-08 with total page 994 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jamgön Kongtrul’s encyclopedic Treasury of Knowledge presents a complete account of the major lines of thought and practice that comprise Tibetan Buddhism. Among the ten books that make up this tour de force, Book Six is by far the longest—concisely summarizing the theoretical fields of knowledge to be studied prior to the cultivation of reflection and discriminative awareness. The first two parts of Book Six, contained in this volume, respectively concern Indo-Tibetan classical learning and Buddhist phenomenology. The former analyzes the traditional subjects of phonology and Sanskrit grammar, logic, fine art, and medicine, along with astrology, poetics, prosody, synonymics, and dramaturgy. The principal non-Buddhist philosophical systems of ancient India are then summarized and contrasted with the hierarchical meditative concentrations and formless absorptions through which the “summit of cyclic existence” can genuinely be attained. Part Two examines the phenomenological structures of Abhidharma—the shared inheritance of all Buddhist traditions—from three distinct perspectives, corresponding to the three successive turnings of the doctrinal wheel.

Download or read book A Concise Introduction To Tibetan Astrology Men Tsee Khang written by and published by Mentseekhang Documentation & Publication. This book was released on 2013-03-23 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Preface It was certainly the combination of a gigantic landmass, a small population and primarily the nomadic pastoral lifestyle which made the ancient Tibetan’s special awareness of their environment. From time immemorial, our ancestors have closely observed the movements of the Sun, Moon, planets and constellations, and have calculated time based on day, month and seasons. They forcasted the weather based on the nature of the wind, clouds, rainbows, appearance of the flora, behaviour of the fauna and being conscious of microscopic changes in other natural phenomena. These fine observations of nature formed the rich foundation on which Tibetan Astrology was later built upon. Founded on primeval wisdom, by the second century B.C., this had developed into a systematic science — known as one of the 12 Fields of Knowledge of Bön Tradition — alongside medicine and an array of divinatory practices. Over the centuries this fertile base was greatly expanded by the arrival of Buddhist philosophy and Chinese astrology in the seventh century A.D. With the advent of Buddhism, from India came access to the Kālacakra Tantra — a teaching explaining the formation of the universe and living beings — first preached by the Shakyamuni Buddha in 881 B.C. By the 11th century A.D. this complex tantric yoga was fully practiced in Tibet and was soon incorporated by scholars into astrological texts. The history of Tibetan Astrology is a complex, multi-facetted and culturally unique just like the long history of the Tibetan empire. Through the decades of exile in India this tradition has been carefully taught, conserved and practiced by Men-Tsee-Khang — the Tibetan Medical and Astro. Institute — alongside its complementary and more widely-known science, Tibetan Medicine. ‘Tibetan Astronomy and Astrology — A Brief Introduction’, first published in 1995 by this institute has reached its eighth edition. With world interest in all facets of Tibet’s religion, history, arts and culture spiraling, it was decided that a more ambitious and comprehensive illustrated book should be produced outlining all fundamental aspects of Tibetan Astrology. We were assigned this project in late 2009 and as our research began to bear fruit, we decided to include in the book the fundamental understanding of the indigenous Ancient Tibetan Astrology, and its interface with the importation of Nag-rTsis (Elemental Astrology) from China and dKar-rTsis (the astrology of Kālacakra and Arising Vowels) from India. This led to the two major indigenous astrology lineages — the Tsurlug and the Phuglug, the latter of which is practiced by Men-Tsee-Khang. Having the origin and authenticity of this, we proceeded by explaining for the beginners the role of astrology in relation with the nine other traditional fields of science — grammar, medicine, logic, arts and crafts, Buddhist philosophy, poetry, synonyms, metrical science and theatrical performance. Tibetan Astrology is an important feature of the Science of Healing and inseparable from the practice of Tibetan Medicine. Since the objective of engaging in the study and practice of Tibetan Astrology is to ensure good fortune and happiness to others, and often to advise remedial measures and protections when obstacles are identified, the final part of the text focuses on explaining the wide range of horoscopes and amulets which are routinely prepared by TMAI’s Astrology Department. The primary motivation of exiles gathered in Dharamshala has been the preservation of Tibet’s religion and culture while we watch our beliefs, practices and way of life being suppressed, sinified, and even erased under China’s occupation of the Tibetan Plateau. Tibetan Medicine and Astrology are key components in ensuring this cultural preservation. With their roots stemming from the understanding and practice of Buddha Dharma, and their ethical focus on the well-being of all sentient life, these ancient sciences can be seen as a precious offering of wisdom and healing to today’s uncertain world. Tenzin Sherab (Astrologer) Tenzin Tsewang Jamling (Astrologer) Men-Tsee-Khang December, 2011

Download or read book The Tibetan Book of the Dead written by Karma Lingpa and published by Sanzani Edizioni. This book was released on 2023-12-12 with total page 913 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the greatest works created by any culture and overwhelmingly the most significant of all Tibetan Buddhist texts in the West, The Tibetan Book of the Dead has had a number of distinguished translations, but none encompassed the work in its entirety. Now, in one of the year's most important publishing events, the entire text has not only been made available in English but in a translation of quite remarkable clarity and beauty. With an introductory commentary by His Holiness The Dalai Lama, who calls this translation "an extraordinary accomplishment undertaken with great care over many years" this complete edition faithfully presents the insights and intentions of the original work. It includes one of the most detailed and compelling descriptions of the after-death state in world literature, exquisitely written practices that can transform our experience of daily life, guidance on helping those who are dying, and an inspirational perspective on coping with bereavement. Translated with the close support of leading contemporary masters, including HH Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and learned scholars such as Khamtrul Rinpoche and Zenkar Rinpoche.

Download or read book The Tibetan Book of the Dead written by Graham Coleman and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2008-11-06 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The acclaimed English translation of this masterpiece of world literature - prepared with the participation of the Dalai Lama One of the greatest works created by any culture and one of the most influential of all Tibetan Buddhist texts in the West, The Tibetan Book of the Dead has had a number of distinguished translations, but strangely all of these have been partial abridgements. Now the entire text has not only been made available in English but in a translation of quite remarkable clarity and beauty. A comprehensive guide to living and dying, The Tibetan Book of the Dead contains exquisitely written guidance and practices related to transforming our experience in daily life, on the processes of dying and the after-death state, and on how to help those who are dying. As originally intended this is as much a work for the living, as it is for those who wish to think beyond a mere conventional lifetime to a vastly greater and grander cycle. 'Extraordinary ... this work will be a source of inspiration and support to many' His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Download or read book Handbook of Tibetan Iconometry written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2012-06-22 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Handbook of Iconometry (Tibetan title: Cha tshad kyi dpe ris Dpyod ldan yid gsos) constitutes a lavishly illustrated treatise laying down the iconometic principles and measurements at the heart of the 17th-century art of Tibet. The book was produced in ca. 1687 at the instigation of the famous scholar and statesman sde srid Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho (1653–1705). Today, the original is kept in the Tibet Autonomous Region Archives (Lhasa). The Handbook includes more than 150 meticulously prepared drawings of buddhas, bodhisattvas and divinities, 70 script types and 14 stupa models all extrapolated from the rich heritage of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist art. These are accompanied by an introduction charting the production of the Handbook in the 17th century and the scholarly profile of its principal author Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho. In the appendix, it reproduces passages from the Vaiḍurya g.Ya' sel that provide valuable additional information about the illustrations.

Download or read book Travels in the Netherworld written by Bryan J. Cuevas and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008-04-02 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Travels in the Netherworld, Bryan J. Cuevas examines a fascinating but little-known genre of Tibetan narrative literature about the délok, ordinary men and women who claim to have died, traveled through hell, and then returned from the afterlife. These narratives enjoy audiences ranging from the most sophisticated monastic scholars to pious townsfolk, villagers, and nomads. Their accounts emphasize the universal Buddhist principles of impermanence and worldly suffering, the fluctuations of karma, and the feasibility of obtaining a favorable rebirth through virtue and merit. Providing a clear, detailed analysis of four vivid return-from-death tales, including the stories of a Tibetan housewife, a lama, a young noble woman, and a Buddhist monk, Cuevas argues that these narratives express ideas about death and the afterlife that held wide currency among all classes of faithful Buddhists in Tibet. Relying on a diversity of traditional Tibetan sources, Buddhist canonical scriptures, scholastic textbooks, ritual and meditation manuals, and medical treatises, in addition to the délok works themselves, Cuevas surveys a broad range of popular Tibetan Buddhist ideas about death and dying. He explores beliefs about the vulnerability of the soul and its journey beyond death, karmic retribution and the terrors of hell, the nature of demons and demonic possession, ghosts, and reanimated corpses. Cuevas argues that these extraordinary accounts exhibit flexibility between social and religious categories that are conventionally polarized and concludes that, contrary to the accepted wisdom, such rigid divisions as elite and folk, monastic and lay religion are not sufficiently representative of traditional Tibetan Buddhism on the ground. This study offers innovative perspectives on popular religion in Tibet and fills a gap in an important field of Tibetan literature.

Download or read book The Treasury of Knowledge Book Six Parts One and Two written by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2013-01-08 with total page 994 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jamgön Kongtrul’s encyclopedic Treasury of Knowledge presents a complete account of the major lines of thought and practice that comprise Tibetan Buddhism. Among the ten books that make up this tour de force, Book Six is by far the longest—concisely summarizing the theoretical fields of knowledge to be studied prior to the cultivation of reflection and discriminative awareness. The first two parts of Book Six, contained in this volume, respectively concern Indo-Tibetan classical learning and Buddhist phenomenology. The former analyzes the traditional subjects of phonology and Sanskrit grammar, logic, fine art, and medicine, along with astrology, poetics, prosody, synonymics, and dramaturgy. The principal non-Buddhist philosophical systems of ancient India are then summarized and contrasted with the hierarchical meditative concentrations and formless absorptions through which the "summit of cyclic existence" can genuinely be attained. Part Two examines the phenomenological structures of Abhidharma—the shared inheritance of all Buddhist traditions—from three distinct perspectives, corresponding to the three successive turnings of the doctrinal wheel.

Download or read book The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra Book 13 written by Choying Tobden Dorje and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2017-11-21 with total page 674 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chöying Tobden Dorje's magnum opus presented in English for the first time, in an authoritative translation prepared under the auspices of well-known and highly respected Tibetan teachers and translators. In 1838, Choying Tobden Dorje, a yogin and scholar of northeastern Tibet, completed a multivolume masterwork that traces the entire path of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism from beginning to end. Written by a mantra practitioner for the benefit of mantra practitioners living among the lay community, it was intended to be informative, inspirational, and above all, practical. Its twenty-five books, or topical divisions, offer a comprehensive and detailed view of the Buddhist path according to the early translation school of Tibetan Buddhism, spanning the vast range of Buddhist teachings from the initial steps to the highest esoteric teachings of great perfection. Choying Tobden Dorje’s magnum opus appears in English here for the first time. Book 13 presents the philosophical systems of India and Tibet, according to the writings of Longchen Rabjam and the revelations of Orgyan Lingpa. First, it discusses the views attributed to classical Hinduism, Jainism, materialism, and nihilism. Second, it describes the standpoints of the Vaibhashika and Sautrantika exponents of the lesser vehicle, exemplified by pious attendants and hermit buddhas, and the Cittamatra (“mind only”) and Madhyamaka (“middle way”) commentators of the great vehicle, exemplified by great bodhisattva beings. Third, it analyzes the inner and outer vehicles of the Buddhist tantras, with an emphasis on the three classes of the great perfection. Fourth, it documents the lines of philosophical transmission within Tibet, including Bon, Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, Kadampa, and Geluk. It concludes with an extract from a well-known treatise of the Fifth Dalai Lama, applying the techniques of consequential reasoning to the first chapter of Vasubandhu’s Treasury of Phenomenology.