Tibetan Studies

Lepchas, the Indigenous inhabitants of Kalimpong, Darjeeling, and Sikkim, reassert their fundamental identities through their customary Law (Rong Di Hyrim). The rights, obligations, and responsibilities regarding the essential aspects of their lives and customs are rooted in their customary laws. This is also evident when one studies the Customary Laws (Rong Di Hyrim) of the Lepchas, which deal with the vast framework of rules, rituals, customs, and practices. Therefore, the customary laws are integral to their identity and have also given some basic concepts and understanding of the gender dimension defining men's and women's roles. However, the Customary Laws of the Lepchas also enlightened the rituals and the customs, showing the significant participation of the women. In light of this, this study seeks to explore the narrative of the Customary Laws (Rong Di Hyrim) of the Lepcha in understanding its view on the role of women and unravel how their status and rights were regulated by the Customary Law.

Part of a Buddhist monastery dating to A.D. 200-1500 was excavated between 1996 and 1998 on the island of Kaashidhoo in the Maldives, uncovering extensive ruins and human graves. This book compares the ndings with those from monasteries elsewhere in Asia, investigating the spread of cowrie shells, Chinese stoneware and South Asian earthenware. It documents all known Buddhist sites, sculptures and artefacts in the Maldives, presenting new evidence of Buddhist life, religious behaviour, funerary practice, faunal history and trading networks. The book o fers a fresh interpretation of the conversion from Buddhism to Islam in the Maldives.

Alexander Csoma Di Koros (1784-1842) was a Hungarian scholar who went in search of his roots and ended up living in India and becoming the founder of Tibetology, or Tibetan Studies. He set out from Transylvania for Central Asia, where he believed the Hungarian people and their language originated. He then went eastward, passing through Europe and the Middle East and landing in the Indian subcontinent in 1822. He lived in monasteries in Ladakh, a centre of Tibetan culture, learnt the Tibetan language and researched and translated Tibetan manuscripts. He wrote the first-ever Tibetan-English dictionary and other scholarly works.
Csoma never made it to Central Asia, but he left a mark in history as the founder of Tibetology, opening up a new discipline for academicians and scholars to study. In 1933, Alexander Csoma was canonised as a Bodhisattva (an individual on the path to enlightenment) by the Taisho Buddhist University in Tokyo. He died and was buried in Darjeeling in 1842, from where he was to make one last attempt to reach Central Asia.

A digitalização e submissão deste trabalho monográfico ao DUCERE: Repositório Institucional da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia foi realizada no âmbito do Projeto Historiografia e pesquisa discente: as monografias dos graduandos em História da UFU, referente ao EDITAL Nº 001/2016 PROGRAD/DIREN/UFU (). O projeto visa à digitalização, catalogação e disponibilização online das monografias dos discentes do Curso de História da UFU que fazem parte do acervo do

As climate change is now a global imperative that interlocks with socio-economic shifts related to the environment, ecocriticism plays an important role in children’s literature. China has been reconfigured by unprecedented social and economic transformation in the past decades, yet at the cost of various environmental justice issues that largely impact underrepresented children in rural regions and ethnic minority communities. Many minority communities in China have born disproportionate consequences of climate change and have endured the loss of indigenous culture due to the uneven impacts of development. This paper analyses a range of narratives about minority youth and children in China — in particular, Gerelchimeg Blackcrane’s The Ewenki Moose (2015) and Li Ruijun’s River Road (2014) — to draw attention to the entanglement of environmental justice and affective ecocriticism in children’s literature. Both texts portray how ecological affect unfolds in children’s interactions with natural environments and with authentic, fading traditions of cultural values in rural minority communities. Focusing on the ecological nostalgia and solastalgia manifested in the aforementioned literary works, this analysis foregrounds said affect as a catalyst for an ecological agency that helps construct the reader’s awareness of ontological, epistemological, and political dimensions of life in an era that has been transformed by environmental catastrophes. Reading the decline of primitive nature and traditional cultures as a consequence of the encroachment of capitalist industrialisation, this paper also aims to shed light on the theoretical potential of affect theory in reading children’s literature.

Schwerk, Dagmar. "49 Bhutanese Legal Code from 1729". Volume III Buddhist Asia, edited by Christoph Kleine, Karénina Kollmar-Paulenz and Hubert Seiwert, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2025, pp. 348-360. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111254081-050

Schwerk, Dagmar. "48 Zhapdrung Ngawang Namgyel: Sixteen I’s (ca. first half 17th Century)". Volume III Buddhist Asia, edited by Christoph Kleine, Karénina Kollmar-Paulenz and Hubert Seiwert, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2025, pp. 343-347. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111254081-049

The article presents an analysis of Buddhist normative discourses on animal protection and environmentalism. Following a general introduction to Buddhism and its main normative strands, it examines the treatment of animals and nature in traditional sources and compares it with the environmentalism developed by various traditional and modern scholars. The example of Bhutan is then analyzed as a virtuous case of a regime that integrates Buddhism at a constitutional level. Finally, the article explores the variety, dynamism, and complexity of Buddhist discourses on animals, nature, and environmentalism. L'articolo presenta un'analisi dei discorsi normativi buddhisti inerenti alla protezione degli animali e all'ambientalismo. Dopo un'introduzione generale al buddhismo e ai suoi principali filoni normativi, si approfondisce il discorso del trattamento degli animali e della natura nelle fonti tradizionali e lo si confronta con quello dell'ambientalismo sviluppato da vari studiosi tradizionali e moderni. Si analizza poi l'esempio del Bhutan, quale esempio virtuoso di regime che integra il buddhismo a livello costituzionale e, in ultimo, si indaga sulla varietà, dinamicità e complessità dei discorsi buddhisti sugli animali, sulla natura e sull'ambientalismo.

The Upper Stagra Tibetan is an endangered Tibetan dialect spoken in Stagra Township, Thebo County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province. It forms an independent dialect group within the Thebo local dialects and shares many similarities with the Chorsje Tibetan in Sichuan. Compared with other Tibetan dialects in Thebo, it is more archaic. Its phonological system has rich diachronic layers, retaining pre-nasal consonants with the same place of articulation as the main consonants. The evolution of finals is complex, resulting in new vowels and changes in vowel length due to the influence of coda consonants. In terms of the case system, there are eight cases with rich markings. Nouns are marked for case through suffixation, while pronouns use internal inflection or suffixation. The marking methods and functions of cases such as the ergative and genitive cases are unique. For example, there is a person-sensitive omission rule in the ergative case. These characteristics reflect the unique language structure of the Upper Stagra Tibetan, which is of great significance for the study of Tibetan dialects and the protection of endangered languages.

KEY WORDS  Upper Stagra, Tibetan dialect, Synchronic phonology, Diachronic Phonology, Noun Case
 

“秋鸿”琴谱册是一套图像与琴谱合装成册页的特殊古琴谱。从图、谱、曲的时代风格分析，它应该是由明代宫廷制作，制作年代在1425—1546年之间。细读琴谱册中的《秋鸿图》与《秋鸿》谱，可以观察到画家是如何将琴曲绘制成图像，琴曲又是如何影响图像的表现。《秋鸿图》有别于一般的“芦雁图”，它作为琴谱册的一部分，与《秋鸿》谱相互配合，具有教授指法、图解琴曲、传达情绪的作用。从与鼓琴活动有关的实物资料来看，乐器、演奏空间与琴谱中出现的纹样、图像等视觉元素，都说明图像与音乐一
直紧密相连，“秋鸿”琴谱册仅是具体实例之一。
关键词：“秋鸿”琴谱册；秋鸿曲；芦雁图；图曲关系

Scripts not only describe reality, but also reflect the social stratification, identity, and even power distribution among those who use them. These are often embedded in the creation myths told about writing systems. Concerning the famous pictographic script of the Naxi people, there are two distinct accounts of its invention. One is a myth spread orally in Baidi, the sacred land of the Naxi people, which tells that the script was created by a Tibetan-trained Naxi who became an ancestor of the Dongba, the Naxi religious specialists who use the script. The other is a record in the Genealogical Chronicles of the Mu Family, written in Chinese, which states that it was invented by an ancestor of the Naxi ruling chiefs in Lijiang named Maicong. These two sources thus clearly give very different accounts of the geographic origin of the script. In addition, the oral myth and the written genealogies attribute the creation of the script to persons with very different social backgrounds. This raises the question: how did these two sources' completely different accounts of the same script come about? And how can we understand these two narratives? By examining these sources from anthropological and historical perspectives, this study analyzes the social conditions under which the two narratives were created, and discusses the roles played by creation myths of the Naxi script in social stratification, identity, and power distribution in Naxi society.

Tutti i diritti riservati. Nessuna parte di questo libro può essere riprodotta o trasmessa in qualsiasi forma o con qualsiasi mezzo elettronico, meccanico o altro, senza l'autorizzazione scritta dei proprietari dei diritti e dell'Editore. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

all'epoca della monarchia -Il più antico edificio tibetano conosciuto è il castello di Yumbu Lhakhang (Yum.bu.lha.khang). Tale castello, situato nella valle dello Yarlung (Yar.lung; Tibet centro-meridionale), è da considerarsi, verosimilmente, il palazzo dei primi re del Tibet. Nella valle dello Yarlung, infatti, sulla montagna sacra di Yarla Shampo (Yar.la.sham.po), secondo quanto tramandato dalla leggenda, discese dalle sfere paradisiache il primo re tibetano, Nyatri Tsenpo (gNya'.khri bTsan.po). Seppur restaurato più volte nel corso dei secoli, lo Yumbu Lhakhang nella sua struttura portante può essere ascritto ai secoli VII-VIII; il suo carattere imponente di palazzo fortificato costruito in pietra e arroccato su un'altura contiene in nuce le caratteristiche principali dell'architettura tibetana: l'andamento rastremato della massiccia muratura, la libera e asimmetrica composizione di solidi blocchi imbiancati da uno spesso strato d'argilla e, infine, le facciate scandite da finestrature i cui contorni sono evidenziati da mostre lignee aggettanti. L'insieme architettonico sembra così prolungare le linee delle formazioni rocciose dalle quali emergono le strutture, integrate con il paesaggio ed essenzialmente eco-compatibili. Seguendo l'andamento irregolare del terreno, il castello offre visioni prospettiche mutevoli da ogni lato, ma convergenti in una somma di spinte verticali enfatizzate dalla torre a pianta quadrata nella quale esso culmina. Una peculiarità della prima architettura tibetana sono i pilastri in pietra, doring (rdo.ring), eretti anche presso le tombe. I doring devono principalmente la loro importanza alle iscrizioni sul fusto, tramandando così le prime forme letterarie della lingua tibetana (Pilastro di Shol, Zhol rdo.ring, 767 d.C.). Monoliti a sezione rettangolare che si assottigliano leggermente verso l'alto, emergenti da piedistalli a volte nella forma del fiore di loto, abbelliti dal repertorio ornamentale dei simboli buddhistici (śaṅkha, svastika, vajra), sormontati da coperture a quattro spioventi dagli angoli ricurvi, i pilastri costituiscono una preziosa fonte di informazioni sulla storia e la società del Tibet monarchico. La prima diffusione del buddhismo in Tibet, conosciuta come Tenpa Ngardar (bsTan.pa sNgar.dar), risale all'epoca del re Songtsen Gampo (Srong.btsan.sgam.po, 609-650 d.C.), e il più antico centro spirituale del Tibet, ancora oggi meta di pellegrinaggi, è il Jokhang (Jo.khang), un tempio dinastico situato nel cuore di Lhasa, fondato, secondo la tradizione, dallo stesso re nel VII secolo. Il Jokhang appare oggi come un complesso di edifici frutto di ingrandimenti e abbellimenti che si sono succeduti nei secoli ad opera prima dei re e poi del clero, circondato dal Barkhor (bar.'khor), il percorso circumdeambulatorio. Al centro di questa vera e propria galleria della storia religiosa del Tibet si trova il Jowo Lhakhang ( Jo.bo lha.khang), la "dimora del Buddha". L'insieme architettonico è conosciuto come Tsuglag Khang (gTsug.lag.khang) e, secondo quella che diverrà una consuetudine, le fonti tibetane indicano un modello architettonico indiano, in questo caso di periodo Gupta (IV-VI sec. d.C.), confermando così l'ipotesi di datazione all'inizio dell'epoca monarchica. Il Jokhang si eleva per tre piani, sormontato da una copertura piana sulla quale si ergono elaborate tettoie dorate, quest'ultime aggiunte posteriori, in corrispondenza delle cappelle principali. Lungo i quattro lati del tempio, attorno ad una corte pilastrata parzialmente scoperta, si sviluppa una fila continua di cappelle dedicate ciascuna a una divinità o a un personaggio della storia del Tibet. La pianta è scandita da cinque cappelle maggiori, di cui due si aprono rispettivamente nel mezzo dei lati settentrionale e meridionale e tre sul lato orientale. La sequenza delle celle è interrotta a metà del lato occidentale, dove si apre l'ingresso principale: un portale ligneo scolpito che immette in un vestibolo con due nicchie laterali dipinte, varcato il quale si accede nella corte. Sebbene una parte delle sculture sia stata distrutta e alcune delle opere siano rifacimenti moderni, restano ancora alcune porzioni originali nel Jokhang, tra cui la più sacra, il Lhakhang del Jowo Shakyamuni. In asse con l'ingresso, il tempietto si apre al centro del lato orientale e ospita al suo interno la statua del Buddha. La planimetria del Jokhang è chiaramente riconducibile ai vihāra scavati nella roccia del Deccan occidentale (India) dove, similmente, le cappelle e le celle per i monaci sono allineate lungo i lati di sale ipostile e il santuario si apre sul fondo della grotta in asse con l'ingresso. Subito a destra del tempio del Jowo, si apre il portale ligneo del Champa Lhakhang (Byams.pa lha.khang), la cappella dedicata a Maitreya, incorniciato da una serie di mostre concentriche fittamente scolpite con motivi fitomorfi e animali. Sempre di epoca monarchica è il Ramoche (Ra.mo.che), a Lhasa, fondato tra il 641 e il 649; il tempio è andato in gran parte distrutto e l'attuale costruzione a tre piani è frutto di un restauro su larga scala iniziato nel 1985. L'ultimo, non certo per importanza, dei principali siti di epoca monarchica è il monastero di Samye (bSam.yas), dove vennero ordinati i primi monaci buddhisti tibetani. Situato nell'Ü (dBus), in pieno Tibet centrale, lungo la riva settentrionale dello Tsangpo, Samye è stato fondato nel 779 dal re Trisong Detsen (Khri.srong.lde.btsan, 742-797 d.C.) e la letteratura tibetana indica nel mahāvihāra di Odantapuri (Bihar, India) il prototipo architettonico di questo edificio. L'architettura religiosa tibetana sembra evolversi quasi parallelamente a quella dell'India buddhista: mentre il Jokhang

This paper reviews scriptural revelation in Indian, Nepali, and Tibetan Buddhism from a historical perspective. A further focus is on the widespread appropriation and localisation of Buddhist jātaka and Mahāyāna sūtric mythic themes in the Buddhist tradition-building and associated revelation of sacred text that characterised the Tibetan phyi dar period. Drawing on earlier work by Ulrike Roesler, Matthew Kapstein,  and others, I discuss the creation of the rNying ma gter ma system as a prominent (but by no means unique) example of this process.

This paper explores Indic commentaries on one of the most
important Mahāyāna aspirations, the Bhadracaryāpraṇidhāna
(Bzang spyod smon lam), i.e., Aspiration for Good Conduct. Its aim
is to demonstrate that four out of the five Indic commentaries on the
Bhadracaryāpraṇidhāna in the Tibetan Bstan 'gyur canonical collections
are subject to a synoptic problem, i.e., they come down to the same
(currently unavailable) Sanskrit archetype that reached Tibet in
multiple hyparchetypes. The currently known attributions of these
hyparchetypes are to *Bhadrapaṇa (?), Buddhakīrti (?), Dignāga
(c. 480–540), Guṇaprabha (c. 6th century), Nāgārjuna (c. 2nd–3rd century),
and Vasubandhu (4th century), and potentially there could be
other hyparchetypes circulating in India and reaching Tibet in the
9th–11th century. Why did compilers of the Bstan 'gyurs include four
commentaries on the Bhadracaryāpraṇidhāna that were so similar? It is
likely thanks to the tremendous importance of this aspiration within
the Tibetan tradition, as well as to the prominence of the attributed
authors. In other words, it is not likely that texts attributed to
Nāgārjuna, Vasubandhu, or Dignāga could be excluded from the Bstan
'gyur. In the following study, I will look at the genre of these
hyparchetypes, their dates, and witnesses, as well as subject them to
synoptic and stemmatic analyses.

In 2024, Prof. Anna Tsendina and Prof. Vladimir Uspensky, two
leading scholars of Tibetan and Mongolian history and written
sources, highly respected by their colleagues in Russia and
abroad, celebrated their 70th birthdays. Both graduated from the renowned Faculty of Oriental Studies at the Leningrad State University.
Although Tsendina moved to Moscow and Uspensky remained in
Leningrad/Saint Petersburg, they have always maintained close academic
and friendly ties. For the authors of this contribution, they represent
an admirable link to the great Saint Petersburg tradition of Tibetan
and Mongolian studies, which dates back to the 18th century. It
is also a great comfort to know that we can always rely on their immense
knowledge and scholarly advice. We are delighted to take this
opportunity to express our heartfelt congratulations on their significant
Jubilees and to wish them robust health and many more accomplishments in research and teaching.

本研究は，サンプ・ネウトク僧院の第六代座主チャパ・チューキセンゲ（Phywa pa chos kyi seng ge: 1109--1169）の『中観真実真髄論』（\textit{Dbu ma de kho na nyid kyi snying po}）に基づき，チベット仏教で発達したmed dgagとma yin dgagの概念を考察し，その特色を明らかにするものである．チャパはmed dgagとma yin dgagの両者を「否定されるべき対象（dgag bya）を否定することによって認識される対象」とみなし，前者を「全ての肯定的属性を切り捨てることによって認識される否定的属性」，後者を「肯定的属性と共に認識される否定的属性」として理解している．従来，これらは一般的に「非定立的否定」（non-implicative negation，Skt. prasajyaprati\d{s}edha）および「定立的否定」（implicative negation，Skt. paryud\={a}sa）として理解されてきたが，本論文ではmed dgagを「存在否定態」（no-thing-ness，あるいは「不在」）と訳し，ma yin dgagを「述定否定態」（not-that-ness，あるいは「準不在」）と訳し，その上でチャパによるmed dgagおよびma yin dgagの解釈と，彼に先行するチベット人の解釈への批判を検討し，最後に『中観真実真髄論』（125.122.22）の訳註を提示する．

以下，その考察内容をやや詳しく述べる．チャパの否定理論において重要なのは，彼が存在否定態と述定否定態を，否定辞の意味論とは関連づけずに，認識論的な概念として理解している点である．彼によれば，存在否定態とは否定のみによって知られる対象の属性であり，それが知られる際，いかなる肯定的要素も意識の中に残らない．一方，述定否定態は否定と肯定の両方によって知られる対象の属性であり，それが知られる際には，肯定的要素が完全に切り捨てられること（sgrub chos dor ba）ことはなく意識の中に残存する．述定否定態の範疇の中には，否定的属性と肯定的属性の組み合わせ（dgag sgrub tshogs pa）の他に，純粋な肯定的属性（sgrub pa 'ba' zhig pa）も含まれる．実に全ての属性（\textit{x}）は，概念的に知られる時には，必ずそれでないもの（非\textit{x}）の否定という形で知られるので「否定的」である．チャパが純粋な肯定的属性（例：所作性など）を述定否定態の中に含めたのはそのような理由からである．

チャパはこうした観点から，彼以前のチベット人が与える両概念の定義------存在否定態とは否定対象の否定に伴って他要素を投影（chos gzhan 'phen pa）しないものであり，述定否定態とは否定対象の否定に伴って他要素を投影するものである------を退ける．チャパがそのような定義を誤りとみなす理由は，存在否定態も他要素を投影することがあり得るからであり，またma yin dgagが述定否定態が他要素を投影しないこともあり得るからである．ただし，チャパの議論は，完全に彼自身の理論に立脚した批判なのではなく，言葉遊びや詭弁の要素を多分に含んだ論駁である点に注意するべきである．これは後のゲルク派僧院で発展するタクセル（rtags gsal）の問答に類似するものである．

チャパの否定の理論は，彼の直弟子のツァンナクパ・ツォンドゥ・センゲ（Gtsang nag pa brtson 'grus seng ge: 12世紀）などに継承されたが，サキャ派のサキャ・パンディタ・クンガ・ギェルツェン（Sa skya pa\d{n}\d{d}ita kun dga' rgyal mtshan: 1182--1251）によって批判され，後のゲルク派（新カダム派）でもそのままの形で受容されることはなかった．

いずれにせよ，チャパが示した認識論的な存在否定態と述定否定態の概念はチベット仏教思想史の中で極めて大きな意味を持つ．後のトルポパ・シェーラプ・ギェルツェン（Dol po pa shes rab rgyal mtshan: 1292--1361）の他空説や，ツォンカパ・ロサンタクパ（Tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa: 1357--1419）の中観哲学の理論的基盤を与えたと言える．

Radreng (Rwa sgreng) and Sangpu (Gsang phu) emerged as the two most important monasteries founded in eleventh century Tibet by direct disciples of Atiśa (Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna, 982–1054). While portrayals of Rwa sgreng give the impression of a monastery defined by religious practices, Gsang phu is invariably described in terms of its intellectual traditions. The growing trend is to describe both monasteries as Bka’ gdams institutions, implying that they belonged to a single historical tradition. But since previous studies have strangely overlooked the issue of historical relations between the two monasteries, the question of how what is projected as a single tradition might have accommodated such differing approaches has never been directly addressed. Relying primarily on recently resurfaced manuscripts (particularly those in the Bka’ gdams gsung ’bum’) dateable to the twelfth century this article reveals evidence of contacts, discourses, and indeed tensions between the two monasteries. Adding yet another dimension to the theme of the divide between “faith” and “reason”, this examination also provides a new perspective on the formation of the Rwa sgreng, Gsang phu, and Bka’ gdams traditions.

“Non-seeing” (adarśana) is a key concept in Mahāyāna Buddhism. In the Dharmasaṅgītisūtra and many other sūtras, it is taught that not to see anything is to see reality. It is also said in several Madhyamaka treatises that an Ārya, or a Buddha, perceives ultimate reality “in the manner of not seeing” (ma gzigs pa'i tshul gyis, *adarśananyāyena). According to early Yogācāra doctrine, the final stage that an Arya attains is the cessation of mind (acitta). While an Ārya who has reached the path of seeing (darśanamārga) perceives the truth, he is, in fact, not perceiving an object as we commonly understand it. One may say that the Ārya perceives something described as “no-thing-ness.”

This article addresses various aspects of mystical experiences as discussed in Mahāyāna Buddhist texts from India to Tibet. It explores whether wisdom during an Ārya's meditative equipoise involves the
appearance of an object, and if such an appearance exists, whether the object is some form of existence or pure absence. To investigate these issues, relevant discussions from Indian and Tibetan Madhyamaka and Prajñāpāramitā texts are examined. Furthermore, in relation to the theory that an Ārya’s wisdom during meditative equipoise has the appearance of an object (snang bcas), this article highlights the significance of two concepts developed in Tibet: med dgag and ma yin dgag, translated here as “no-thing-ness” and “not-that-ness.” These terms may derive partly from Kamalaśīla's interpretation of adarśana as “limitational negation” (paryudāsa) and, in part, from Phywa pa’s analysis of Madhyamaka argumentation theory, drawing on Kamalaśīla's Madhyamakāloka.

According to Tsong kha pa’s analysis presented in his early work on the Prajñāpāramitā doctrine, Legs bshad gser phreng, both Āryavimuktisena (ca. 6th c.) and Haribhadra (ca. 730–95) hold that an Ārya perceives not-that-ness (ma yin dgag) during meditative equipoise. Although Tsong kha pa, at the time of composing the Legs bshad gser phreng, tentatively accepts this perspective, he later abandons it, developing instead the idea that what an Ārya perceives is mere emptiness, characterized as no-thing-ness (med dgag).

The analysis provided here traces the historical development of Indian and Tibetan Buddhist theory of praxis, including Tsong kha pa’s theoretical evolution over his lifetime, and clarify how the Tibetan concepts of med dgag and ma yin dgag represent distinct perspectives on the yogic perception of emptiness, as conceived by Indian and Tibetan scholars.

This article demonstrates that the Central Stau language (Horpa < Gyalrongic < Sino-Tibetan/Trans-Himalayan) possesses a binary egophoricity contrast in its copular system in affirmative clauses not described and analysed in detail before. It examines the functions of the egophoric copula ŋu and its non-egophoric counterpart ŋə. Of these, the former signals the relevant speech act participant's personal involvement, epistemic authority or a portrayed stance of a close bond in the proposition. Despite the differences in their functions and differing prototypical domains of use, reflecting patterns of "canonical" egophoricity, the choice between the copulas shows great flexibility and frequently reflects how the speakers wish to encode their epistemic stance. In brief, situationdependent discourse pragmatics, rather than grammatical person encoded by the copular subject, determines copular use in Stau. The article thus concurs with other recent research on egophoricity that highlights the versatility of this epistemic category.

EL DHĀRAṆĪ QUE ALABA LAS CUALIDADES DEL INMENSURABLE - Aparimita­guṇānuśāṁsa­dhāraṇī
འཕགས་པ་ཡོ ན་ཏན་བསགས་པ་་པག་་་ུ་ ་་པ་པ་ ས་ས་བའ་ ་གི་སཟ
'phags pa yon tan bsngags pa dpag tu med pa zhes bya ba'i gzungs
Noble Dhāraṇī que Alaba las Cualidades del Inmensurable.

In order to answer the question, "How does Europe defend itself properly?", we need to answer the following eight key questions: 1. Has Europe learnt anything from its two world wars? Is las/ng peace possible in Europe? 2. What does defending today's Europe mean? 3. Where and who could be today's and tomorrow's threats to Europe? 4. What would be Europe's defence strategy? 5. Where could NATO fit in Europe's new defence strategy? 6. What would be the proper cost of Europe's defence? 7. What can be done to reduce the threat to Europe? What are the alternatives to war? 8. Is there a case against a full scale rearmament of Europe?

Дх.2539 与P.3348《妙慧童女会》是抄写自同一祖本的前后两段写本。该祖本不同于后世通行的汉文大藏经 本，而存在诸多近于藏文大藏经中的《妙慧童女会》的因素，反映出汉藏结合特征。这一汉藏结合现象表明：一、敦煌汉文佛 教写经群中保留着一些与通行汉文大藏经不同系谱的文本；二、敦煌汉文佛教写经群中存在一些与藏文大藏经相近的文 本；三、无论是与汉文还是与藏文校勘，敦煌汉文佛教写经的校勘价值巨大。Дх.2539 与P.3348《妙慧童女会》充分体现了敦 煌地区佛教典籍多语言、跨文化的特殊性。
The Dunhuang manuscripts Дх.2539 and P.3348 each contains a different paragraph of the “Miaohui Tongnü Hui” that were both copied from the same source text of the Buddhist Tripitaka. The version of the text differs greatly from the text generally found in the Chinese Tripitaka and actually resembles that of the Tibetan Tripitaka in many aspects, thus reflecting the characteristics of both Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist scripture. Study of this combined text has reached the following conclusions: (1) the Chinese manuscripts among the Dunhuang Buddhist documents contain some texts that list different lineages from those found in extant copies of the Chinese Tripitaka; (2) several of the Chinese manuscripts share a close affinity with the Tibetan Tripitakas; (3) the Chinese manuscripts from Dunhuang are of significant value for the collation of both Chinese and Buddhist documents. Both manuscripts, Дх.2539 and P.3348, fully reflect the multilingual and cross-cultural features of the Buddhist scriptures written in the Dunhuang area over the course of history.

Along the timeline of the seven-year journey to completing this thesis, I have lost father and then mother to cancer, lived spread across two continents, bought two properties and given birth to a child. Throughout this voyage I could not have asked for a more adept and supportive supervisor than the one I found in Professor Geoffrey Samuel. I wish to thank him for his superb guidance in all things academic, and he and his wonderful wife Dr Santi Rozario for their friendship and support -from the depths of my heart. I am deeply grateful for the guidance provided by my examiners, Dr Mona Schrempf and Dr Hildegard Diemberger, in the rich insights they gave me to help bring this work to fruition. The project would not have been possible without the generous funding and support of the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Frederick Williamson Memorial Foundation. I wish to express my deep gratitude to other friends from academic worlds who have given invaluable feedback on elements of this thesis, in particular, Dr Gerald Roche and Dr Nicolas Shilé who accompanied me on my first attempts at ethnography, providing guidance and generously sharing their insights. I wish to thank the artists Jo Fong, Cassius Matthias, Abdul Hakim Onitolo, Jorge Crecis, Alex Zapak and the dancers and musicians of Zil'oKA. Working with them enriched the hearts of my thesis processes at various stages along its way and their friendships nourished me in that. I wish to thank my dear sisters Claire Brown and Gail Collins-Webb. They took charge of most all the practicalities attendant on the aftermaths of our parents' passing. During my write up period, Claire was my life coach and touchstone and Gail gave invaluable advice and emotional support regarding parenting whilst writing. I also owe an immense debt of gratitude to all those who cared for my daughter for substantial periods of time so that I could write and without whom it would simply not have been possible to complete this thesis… to Sofie Ahmed, Sǐan Peterson, Sam Bezzina and all the staff of The Whitehouse Day Nursery; to Lee Boggess, Fiona Duff, Denise Flower, Sally Fox and, sweetly, the Hermione Wiltshire, Pierre, Mei and Lola Alozie clan: Thank you. Last, but certainly not least, I wish to thank all those numerous friends and colleagues on the Tibetan Plateau without whom there would be nothing for me to say here. I thank them for sharing their lives and times with me, for guiding me with language learning, as interpreters and cultural translators, and for their friendship. Due to the sensitivities in the regions concerned, I do not wish to risk compromising them by mentioning them by name, but they know who they are and that I will always hold them in my heart. Finally, I wish to dedicate this work to my late parents, Canon Frederick Spencer Collins and Mrs Yvonne Elizabeth Collins. They instilled in me a love of learning and came in the end to support me in pursuit of my dreams, however strange to them these may at first have seemed. My father said of my endeavours towards this thesis that he thought them important because there were cultural treasures which could come to the attention of the world through them. I hope he would feel these ramblings do in some measure offer that. Lastly, I wish to thank my dear daughter Tara, who has had no small part to play in the understandings I have brought to all things in this thesis and whose presence did much to inspire bringing it to completion. This thesis intends to add to the field a sense of how deities pervade ordinary life in Tibetan cultural regions and what this means for those who live there. The study thus aims to develop understandings of the types of ritual healing which take place in this environment, one wherein landscapes are inhabited and experienced as embodiments of spirited agencies. In the thesis I suggest that, for my fieldwork regions of the Rebgong valley at least, ritual healing can best be understood a process by which beings are brought into right relations, both mutually and in connection with other beings, human and deity. I suggest here that all practices, whether ritual or medical, pertaining to health and well-being in Rebgong are predicated upon this type of epistemology; a cultural matrix of healing. This matrix is one in which healing is by definition is about humans and deities maintaining right relationship. I explore what this sensibility means for those who live in the Rebgong valleys primarily through ethnographic accounts of three particular ritual practices in Rebgong villages: the renewal of the labtsé tributes to the mountain gods, the Leru harvest ritual, and the performance of a tantric ritual cham dance. Forms of ritual healing I discuss in the thesis include circumambulation, medical and tantric practices, those of the trance or spirit mediums, dance and divination. I argue that all these rites and practices connected to health and well-being in a broad sense can be understood under one cultural matrix of healing in which spirited agency is focal. I argue that inherent to understanding this matrix is a focus on how deities, as embodied landscapes, appear within it, and how they are understood to exist and interact with human affairs, particularly those relating to health and well-being. In this regard, themes that I explore throughout the thesis are those of luck, purification, empowerment, embodiment and blessing. The study is intended, in a Bakhtinian sense, as a body of words which do not bring closure but rather seek to engage in a dialogical conversation that simultaneously responds to past scholarship and anticipates response.

This article presents a comparative iconographic analysis of a healing figure in the Voynich Manuscript (Folio 78v) and a Buddha figure embedded in a crown worn by Guan Yin in a statue originating from the Kingdom of Dali (Yunnan, China). Contrary to fixed Buddhist canonical rules, this figure in the manuscript reflects the flexible, syncretic healing iconography of the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition localized through the Bai-Dali cultural lens.

随着《佛顶尊胜陀罗尼经》在唐代的译出和流行，也出现了多种相关的灵验记，《加句灵验佛顶尊胜陀罗尼记》就是这些灵验故事的一部汇编。目前公布的日本石山寺本，显示出它在9世纪经由渤海国传入日本，并因此得以保存。此书虽然在中国古代大藏经中已经亡佚，但在唐、宋、辽代的多种经幢、塔铭上，还保留有其中部分篇章。此外，北宋之后，此书又被改编成《劝善书》得以流传，并被南宋中期的《玉皇本行集经》改造出了道教的版本。《加句灵验佛顶尊胜陀罗尼记》的传播不仅是跨载体的，也是跨地域的，同时还是跨宗教的，展示了8世纪以降《佛顶尊胜陀罗尼经》在东亚世界多元多样的流布和演生。
With the translation and popularization of Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī in the Tang dynasty, a variety of related spiritual narratives appeared, and The Records of the Enlarged and Proved Version of Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī edited by Huilin, is a compendium of these narratives. Recently published Japanese manuscripts show that it was introduced to Japan from the Bohai Kingdom in the 9th century, and was thus preserved. Although this work has been lost in China, some of its chapters have been preserved on various inscriptions after the Tang dynasty. In the Song dynasty, it was adapted into a Taoist version. The dissemination of this work not only cross-carrier, but also cross-regional and cross-religious, demonstrating the diverse circulation and evolution of the Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī since the 8th century.

Introduced to me by an American friend named Muhammad Garyson from Delaware, USA, the book opened my eyes to a side of American history often hidden in mainstream narratives. Published in 1970, it quickly became a bestseller and has since been translated into 17 languages, demonstrating its global impact. The Washington Post described it as "shattering," while The New York Times called it "heartbreaking." It sold one million hardcover copies and four million paperbacks-a testament to its emotional and historical depth.

Hoary Tibetan moorland differs with its strange and mysterious expressions. This ethnic diversity is noticeable in socio-cultural sectors, especially in politics. This research deals with a case study on political ideology programmed by Tibetan monastic clergy on Tibetans with special reference to the Dalai Lamas. In order to make insight to the topic, the researcher forwards some key issues like theocracy, Lamaism, political ideologies of Buddhism and Lamaism and the Dalai Lama lineage. The researcher resolves the queries quarrelled by several Tibetologists and exponents of the area in defining the politics appropriately. Subsequent to the study, the researcher had comprised special descriptions like thematic and comparative analysis of the types of theocracy; Buddhist political philosophy; Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaist political ideology with special reference to the present and future of the politics. Eventually, the researcher arrives at a conclusion by introducing a suite term to define the Lama politics; “Lamocracy” and opines the politics of the lineage as “Theocratic Lamocracy”. By this study, the researcher expects to abridge the remoteness to the realities of mysterious Tibet. Hence, he had tried his best to approach the topic impartially and independently.

Hoary Tibetan moorland differs with its strange and mysterious expressions. This ethnic diversity is noticeable in socio-cultural sectors, especially in politics. This research deals with a case study on political ideology programmed by Tibetan monastic clergy on Tibetans with special reference to the Dalai Lamas. In order to make insight to the topic, the researcher forwards some key issues like theocracy, Lamaism, political ideologies of Buddhism and Lamaism and the Dalai Lama lineage. The researcher resolves the queries quarrelled by several Tibetologists and exponents of the area in defining the politics appropriately. Subsequent to the study, the researcher had comprised special descriptions like thematic and comparative analysis of the types of theocracy; Buddhist political philosophy; Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaist political ideology with special reference to the present and future of the politics. Eventually, the researcher arrives at a conclusion by introducing a suite term to define the Lama politics; “lamocracy” and opines the politics of the lineage as “theocratic lamocracy”. By this study, the researcher expects to abridge the remoteness to the realities of mysterious Tibet. Hence, he had tried his best to approach the topic impartially and independently.

An account of the remarkable rediscovery of an early 9th-century Tibetan Imperial Era military law code that surfaced in Lhasa in 2014.  Although it was posted in the comments section, I should add here that a fine discussion and summary of the same military law code may be found in Brandon Dotson’s “Introducing Early Tibetan Law: Codes & Cases.” contained in: Dieter Schuh, ed., *Secular Law & Order in the Tibetan Highland,* International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, 2015, pp. 267-314, at pp. 278-279.

The Chosŏn envoys to Beijing (朝鮮赴京使行) were diplomatic envoys dispatched by the Chosŏn Dynasty to Ming-Qing China. Beyond their official diplomatic duties, these missions also smuggled significant quantities of goods prohibited by the Qing government. This paper examines the strategies and channels employed by Chosŏn envoys to Beijing to import these banned goods, as well as the negotiations and interactions between the Chosŏn envoys and officials at various levels within the Qing government during the process.

Among the items prohibited for purchase by foreigners in the Qing Dynasty were historical texts. Previous research on the transmission of Chinese texts to Korea has highlighted the crucial roles played by intermediary agents, such as the Xuban (序班) and Tongguan (通官) from the Huitongguan (會同館) during the Qing dynasty, as well as the interpreters accompanying the Chosŏn missions. However, most studies have focused on the outcome—that Chosŏn envoys successfully acquired books—while the intricate processes that enabled these acquisitions remain understudied.

This paper first examines the events surrounding the Chosŏn missions’ efforts to obtain the Ming Shi (明史) during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns, tracing the book-seeking activities of the Chosŏn envoys during their stays in Beijing. Through an analysis of Kim Chae-ro’s Ponmallok (本末錄), this study reveals the preparations made by the Chosŏn court to acquire the Ming Shi before the envoys’ departure, and the steps taken by the delegations in Beijing. The paper also delves into the strategies and networks employed by the Chosŏn missions, particularly their reliance on Korean-Manchus to cultivate relationships with Qing officials and Manchu nobility. These connections facilitated the illicit transfer of forbidden books, such as the Ming Shi from the Forbidden City into the possession of Chosŏn envoys. Finally, this paper analyzes the Qing dynasty’s checkpoint at Fenghuangcheng (鳳凰城), explaining how the Chosŏn missions successfully smuggled prohibited texts through the border. It also explores instances in which contraband was discovered at the checkpoint, shedding light on the risks and challenges faced by these diplomatic missions in circumventing Qing restrictions.

Although the problem of self-cognition has a long history in Buddhist literature, the concept of reflexive awareness (svasaṃvedana, svasaṃvitti, Tib. rang rig) is often treated primarily in terms of its place in Dharmakīrti's epistemology. However, later Buddhist philosophers understood reflexive awareness to be crucial for both epistemological theory and contemplative practice. This paper aims to explain the relationship between reflexive awareness and the stages of yogic meditative practice as found in the epistemological works of Ratnākaraśānti (ca. 1000 CE).

This study provides a first detailed metrical, text-linguistic, and lexical analysis of a Tibetan text: IOL Tib J 370/6. The work, popularly but incorrectly entitled Dharma that Came Down from Heaven, turns out to be not only one of the oldest preserved native Tibetan compositions, but also a unique piece of evidence how written artefacts were used in court rhetoric to legitimise the ruling dynasty by recourse to Buddhist universalistic ideology. The comprehensive investigation of the text has revealed layers of linguistic expressions that must predate the codification of Buddhist language in Tibet in the late 8th and early 9th c.

This study examines the largely overlooked history of gold prospecting in Ladakh. Despite scattered colonial accounts and enduring oral traditions concerning gold-bearing rivers, no comprehensive historical analysis of gold extraction in the region exists. Addressing this gap, the research draws primarily on original ethnographic data gathered through extensive fieldwork at remote and often forgotten sites across Ladakh. This primary material is supplemented by open-source secondary data to contextualize Ladakh's historical associations with gold within broader cultural and textual frameworks. To situate these associations, the study engages with diverse narrative traditions-including ancient accounts of gold-digging ants in North India, the mythic geography of Suvarṇabhūmi ("Land of Gold"), the expansion of the Kushan Empire, and possible references to the Trans-Himalayan region in classical Indian texts such as the Mahābhārata and the Bṛhat Saṁhitā. At the local level, these interpretations are further anchored in indigenous chronicles such as the Ladakh Gyalrabs and regional records from the last two centuries. While traces of gold have been identified in the rivers and plains of Ladakh, the study concludes that these do not indicate the existence of significant or commercially viable deposits.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed unique challenges for Tibetan refugees in India, exacerbating socio-economic vulnerabilities while disrupting religious and communal life. However, Tibetan Buddhism played a central role in shaping the community’s response, offering both psychological resilience and practical coping mechanisms. This blog will explore how Buddhist teachings, digital religious mediation, and community-led humanitarian initiatives facilitated both immediate crisis response and long-term adaptation. Drawing from qualitative fieldwork conducted in Tibetan settlements in Dharamshala and Delhi during the second wave of the pandemic, it examines how Tibetan Buddhist institutions, monks, and lay practitioners navigated the pandemic and its aftermath.

Buddhist teachings on impermanence, compassion, and mindfulness were integral to how Tibetan refugees made sense of the crisis. His Holiness the Dalai Lama and senior monastic figures, including Ratna Vajra Rinpoche and Ven. Geshe Dorji Damdul provided spiritual guidance, framing the pandemic as an opportunity for introspection and compassionate action. As restrictions limited in-person religious gatherings, Tibetan Buddhist institutions rapidly transitioned to digital platforms, ensuring continued access to teachings and rituals. This shift towards "digital Buddhism" has persisted beyond the pandemic, expanding access to religious discourse and strengthening transnational Tibetan Buddhist networks.

The pandemic also underscored the principle of interdependence, a core tenet of Mahayana Buddhism. Tibetan settlement offices, monasteries, and grassroots organizations mobilized resources for both Tibetans and local Indian communities, providing food relief, medical aid, and financial assistance. Tibetan nurses and healthcare workers actively contributed to India’s pandemic response, reinforcing their role as active participants in the host society. Additionally, traditional Tibetan medicine (Sowa Rigpa) gained renewed importance as a complementary health intervention, though tensions arose regarding its recognition within modern public health frameworks. Now, in 2025, Tibetan refugees continue to face post-pandemic challenges. Many small businesses, particularly seasonal sweater-selling enterprises, have struggled to recover, leading to a shift towards alternative livelihoods. However, the pandemic has also catalyzed enduring changes, particularly in religious engagement. The increased reliance on digital platforms has reshaped how Tibetan Buddhism is practised and transmitted, ensuring continuity despite geographic displacement.

By documenting these shifts, this blog will contribute to broader discussions on the intersection of religion, migration, and crisis adaptation. The Tibetan experience offers valuable insights into how religious communities not only endure adversity but actively reshape their spiritual and social landscapes in response to global disruptions.