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.
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Transcription and Transliteration Conventions
- Contributors
- Dates in Tibetan History and Key Events in Neighboring Lands
- PART I Political Expansion and the Beginnings of Tibetan Buddhist Culture (Seventh to Tenth Centuries)
- 1. Tibet in Medieval Chinese, Islamic, and Western Sources
- The Tang Annals on Tibet
- Origins and Customs of the Tibetans
- Songtsen Gampo and Princess Wencheng
- A Second Chinese Princess is Sent to Tibet
- The Tibetan Invasion of the Chinese Capital
- The Peace Treaty of 783
- The Peace Treaty of 821
- Early Islamic Sources on Tibet
- From the Zayn Al-Akhbar
- From the Hudud Al-Alam, the Regions of the World
- The First Western References to Tibet
- From the Travels of Benjamin Mi-Tudela
- From the Mission of Friar William of Rubruck
- From the Travels of Marco Polo
- 2. Imperial Records from Dunhuang
- The Old Tibetan Chronicles
- The Myth of the First King
- The Death of Drigum Tsenpo
- Warlords Versus True Kings
- The Conquests and Institutes of Songsten Gampo
- The Old Tibetan Annals
- Emperor Dusong and the Dowager Empress Tri Malo
- Tibet Conquers the Chinese Capital
- Tibetan Administrative Documents from Gansu
- A Contract for the Sale of a Male Bondservant
- A Contract for the Borrowing of Household Utensils
- A Receipt for the Repayment of Loaned Wheat
- A Contract for a Man Hiring Another to Do his Corvee Duty of Transporting the Annual Grain Tribute
- 3. Imperial Edicts from Central and Far Eastern Tibet
- The Stele of Takdra Lukhong
- The South Face of the Takdra Lukhong Stele in Lhasa Zhol
- The Adoption of Buddhism and the Foundation of Samye Monastery
- The Conversion Edict of Tri Songdetsen
- The Samye Pillar Inscription
- The Samye Bell Inscription
- Inscriptions and Edicts from the Reign of Tri Desongtsen
- Tri Desongsen's Edicts Rewarding the Monk Nyang Tingngedzin Zangpo
- Tri Desongtsen's Vow to Support Buddhism
- An Imperial Decree on Translation
- The Chinese-Tibetan Treaty of 821-822
- The "Uncle-Nephew" Pillar Inscription
- The Prayers of Dega Yutsel
- 4. Institutions and Knowledge Under the Tibetan Empire
- Tibetan Law
- Trial for Homicide
- Selections from the "Dice-Edicts"
- Law and State in Imperial Tibet
- Foreign Contacts
- Manicheanism and Christianity
- Confucius and the Marvelous Lad
- The Tibetan Ramayana from Dunhuang
- Lands and Peoples of the Far North
- Medical Traditions
- A Manual of Varied Treatments: Pelliot Tibetain 1057
- Methods of Moxibustion: Pelliot Tibetain 127 and 1044
- From a Dunhuang Veterinary Manual
- Causes and Signs
- From the Criteria of the Authentic Scriptures
- On Bird Divination
- 5. Early Religion and the Beginnings of Buddhism
- Early Non-Buddhist Texts
- The Narrative of the Fall of Mankind
- Myths and Rituals of Death
- The Testament of Ba: An Imperial Family Saga
- The Vermilion Pearl: A Tale of Conversion
- The Founding of Samye, Tibet's First Monastery
- Chinese and Indian Buddhists at Samye
- An Emperor's Funeral Debated
- The Introduction of Esoteric Buddhism
- Padmasambhava: Tibet's Imperial Exorcist
- An Early Great Perfection Treatise
- Teachings of an Indian Master in Early Postimperial Tibet
- PART II Tibet in Fragments: From Empire to Monastic Principalities (Eleventh to Twelfth Centuries)
- 6. Renewal and Rediscovery: The Later Diffusion of Buddhism and the Response of the "Ancients"
- Revival In West Tibet
- The Ordinance of Yeshe-O to Tantric Practitioners
- The Life of the Translator Rinchen Zangpo
- Atisa and the Kadampa Order
- Atisa Dipankarasrijnana and Dromton Gyelwe Jungne
- The Teaching in Parables
- Rongzompa's Defense of Nyingma Tantra
- 7. The Proliferation of New Lineages
- The Formation of the Skayapa Tradition
- Dromi Lotsawa and the Teaching of the Path and Fruit
- Freedom from Preoccupations
- The Kagyupa Lineages
- Marpa's Dream Vision of Saraha
- From Gampopa's Jewel Rosary of the Supreme Path
- The Life of a Kagyu School Founder: Pakmodrupa
- Lama Zhang, Leader of the Lhasa Region
- "Twelve and a Half Crippled Verses" and Other Poems from Lama Zhang
- Tibetan Seekers in India
- Naktso Lotsawa's Meeting with Naropa
- Journey to the Seat of the Buddha
- The Lineages of the Shangpa Kagyo and Pacification
- The Origins of the Shangpa Kagyu Tradition
- The Advice of an Indian Yogin
- Machik Lapdron on Severance and Devotion
- 8. The Bon Tradition
- The Bon Master Shenrap and the Redemption of Tobu Dode
- The Life of Shenchen Luga, Treasure Revealer of the Bon Tradition
- The Nine Ways of Bon
- The Teachings of Lord Shenrap
- Anti-Bon Polemics
- A Debate Text in the Bonpo Great Perfection Tradition
- 9. The Development of the Medical Tradition
- The Preaching of the Four Medical Tantras
- On Physicians
- Yutok and the Foreign Doctors
- PART III The Age of Monastic and Aristocratic Hegemonies: The Florescence of Tibetan Culture (Thirteenth to Sixteenth Centuries)
- 10. Elaborating the Narratives of Tebetan Antiquity
- Avalokitesvara's Mission
- The Clear Mirror's Account of Sontsen Gampo
- In Praise of Translators
- The Epic of King Gesar
- From Nyangrel's Life of Padmasambhava
- Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyel
- 11. Historians and Historical Documents of the Thirteenth to Sixteenth Centuries
- Mongol Domination and the Yuan Dynasty
- Lama Pakpa's Elucidation of the Knowable
- A History of the Yuan Emperors: The Red Book
- The Zhalu Edict of the Mongol Prince Qayishan
- A Letter to Tibetan Officials
- The Pakmodrupa Hegemony
- The Biography of a Ruler: Tai Situ Jangchup Gyeltsen
- Buton's Request to the Master Jangchup Gyeltsen
- Battles Over Central Tibet
- Regional Regimes
- The Kings of Tsang
- The Kings of Mustang
- The Kings of Western Tibet
- Taranatha's History of Buddhism in India
- 12. Explorations of Buddhist Doctrine
- The Development of Tibetan's Scholasticism
- Shakya Chokden's History of Madhyamaka Thought in Tibet
- The Life of Ngok Loden Sherap, The Translator
- A Life of Learning: Sakya Pandita
- The Life of the Scholar of Sakya
- Sakya Pandita's Gateway to Learning
- The Skepticism of Karma Pakshi
- Buton Rinchendrup and the Formation of the Canyon
- Buton's Jewelry of Scripture
- A Buddhist Canon for the Lord of Zhalu
- Three Approaches to the Absolute
- The Fourth Coundil of Dolpopa
- Longchen Rapjampa: How Samsara is Fabricated from the Ground of Being
- Karmapa Rangjung Dorje's Prayer to the Great Seal
- 13. Literary Developments
- The Epic of Rama in Thirteenth-Century Tibet
- Song to Quarreling Leaders
- Words of Joy in a Frest Grove
- A Story of Forest Darkness
- The Life and Songs of Milarepa
- The Creation of the Life
- Selections from the Life of Milarepa
- 14. Writings on Death and Dying
- The Art of Dying
- The Dissolution of the Human Body and Mind
- A Prayer for Protection from Fear in the Bardo After Death
- Narratives of Death
- Maudgalyayana's Salvation of His Mother from Hell
- The Judgment in Hell of a Snooty Young Princess
- The Death Biography of Sanggye Tonpa
- Mortuary Rites for the Saintly Dead
- Forging the Relics of Saints
- Tibetan Embalming Practices
- 15. The Growth of the Arts and Sciences
- On the Importance of the Five Arts
- Music and Lyrical Song
- Sakya Pandita on Music
- A Drinking Song
- A Weaving Song
- Advice to Physicians
- Aspects of Art and Engineering
- Building Iron Bridges: Tangtong Gyelpo
- Pema Karpo on Sculptural Style
- The Codification of the Laws
- The Legal Codes of Central Tibet
- A Bhutanese Legal Code
- PART IV The Age of Centralization: The Rise of the Ganden Government and Its Bid for Cultural Hegemony (Seventeenth to Twentieth Century)
- 16. The Beginnings of the Gandenpa School
- The Life and Teachings of Tsongkhapa
- A Life of Good Counsel and a Summary of the Stages of the Buddhist Path
- Tsongkhapa's Three Essentials of the Path
- The Founding of the Great Prayer Festival of Lhasa
- The Rise of the Gelupka Order
- The Founding of Trashilhunpo Monastery
- The Meeting Between Altan Khan and Sonam Gyatso
- 17. The Fifth Dalai Lama and the Ganden Government
- Acts of the Fifth Dalai Lama
- The Fifth Dalai Lama's History of Tibet
- The Fifth Dalai Lama's Visit to Beijing
- Monastic Rivalry in Lhasa
- The Fifth Dalai Lama Appoints a Governor and Later Edicts
- A Letter from the Fifth Dalai Lama
- The Official History of the Gandenpa: Sanggye Gyatso's Yellow Beryl
- 18. Aristocrats, Monks, and Hermits
- Amorous Writings
- Love Songs of the Sixth Dalai Lama
- A Song of Longing from the King of Tibet, Polhane Sonam Topgye
- Public and Political Affairs
- Dokharwa Tsering Wanggyel's Autobiography: A Life of Government Service
- A Tibetan Aristocrat at the Manchu Court
- A Tibetan Diplomat Reflecting on the Status of Tibet After War with Nepal
- Reflections of Pious Critics
- Critiques of Central Tibet
- The Suffering of a Himalayan Nun
- 19. Religious and Political Developments in Eastern Tibet
- The Growth of the Gelukpa Order in the East
- Kelden Gyatso's Religious History of Amdo
- The Donors of Gonlung Monastery in Amdo
- Sumpa Khenpo's Annals of Kokonor
- Makzor Gonpo and the Chone Kangyur
- Labrang Monastery's Jamyang Zhepa Lama Invoikes Protective Deities
- The Religious History of Muli
- Figures from the Kingdom of Derce
- The Deeds of the Derge King
- In Praise of a Life of Learning
- Culture and Rulership Under the Kings of Derge
- 20. Encountering Other Cultures
- Impressions of Nepal and India
- A Journey to Kathmandu Before the Rise of the Shah Dynasty
- A Trip to the Broken Heartland of Buddhism
- Jikme Lingpa's Indian Discourses
- Intersections with Mongolia and China
- The Renewal of Mongol-Tibetan Relations: Dharmatala's History of Buddhism in Mongolia
- A Description of China
- From a Guidebook to the Five-Peaked Mountain
- Dreaming of Cross-Cultural Encounters at the Qing Court
- A Tibetan View of Chinese Religions
- Intimations of the West
- Sumpa Khenpo on the Far North and Middle East
- Selections from the Great Geography
- 21. Religious Writers in Amdo and Kham
- Religious Poets from Northeast Tibet
- Spiritual Songs of Kelden Gyatso
- An Amdo Boyhood: Zhapkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol
- Songs in Praise of the Natural World
- Religious Leaders in Kham
- Dza Peltrul Rinpoche: On Compassion
- The Autobiography of Jamgon Kongtrul
- The Development of Artistic Style
- Mipam Rinpoche: Some Surprises Due to a Conversation with Friends
- Early Twentieth-Century Successors
- The Death of a Modern Bonpo Master: Shardza Trashi Gyeltsen
- A Female Treasure Revealer: Sera Khandro
- PART V Expanding Horizons in the Early Twentieth Century
- 22. Early Twentieth-Century Tibetan Encounters with the West
- Adrup Gonpo's Impressions of France
- Gurong Tsang's Travels in China
- The Lama and the General
- Gendun Chopel, Itinerant Scholar and Poet
- 23. Tibetan's Addressing Modern Political Issues
- The Age of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama
- A Tibetan Buddhist Diplomat to Russia: Dorjiev on Europe and Christianity
- Letters from Tibet's Ruling Lamas to Foreign Leaders and Scholars
- The Mirror: A Tibetan Newspaper from West Bengal
- The Thirteenth Dalai Lama's Last Testament
- Tibetan Buddhists in China
- The Ninth Panchen Lama in Exile in China
- Tibetan issionaries in China: The Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Academy, Chongqing (Sichuan)
- Gendun Chopel on British Imperialism
- Credits
- For Further Reading
- Index
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