The Sound of Two Hands Clapping: The Education of a Tibetan Buddhist Monk

by Georges Dreyfus

Overview

A unique insider's account of day-to-day life inside a Tibetan monastery, The Sound of Two Hands Clapping reveals to Western audiences the fascinating details of monastic education. Georges B. J. Dreyfus, the first Westerner to complete the famous Ge-luk curriculum and achieve the distinguished title of geshe, weaves together eloquent and moving autobiographical reflections with a historical overview of Tibetan Buddhism and insights into its teachings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520232600
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	01/28/2003
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	460
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	1340L (what's this?)

About the Author

Georges B. J. Dreyfus is Professor of Religion at Williams College. He is author of The Svatantrika-Prasangika Distinction: What Difference Does a Difference Make? (coedited with Sara McClintock, 2002), Recognizing Reality: Dharmakirti's Philosophy and Its Tibetan Interpretations (1997), and A Recent Rediscovery: rGyal tshap's Rigs gter rnam bshad (in collaboration with S. Onoda, 1994).

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Note on Translation and Transliteration
Acknowledgments
Introduction

Part I. The Context
1. Tibetan Buddhism: A Brief Historical Overview
2. Tibetan Monasticism
3. Becoming a Monk: Teacher and Discipline

Part II. Tibetan Scholastic Practices
4. Literacy and Memorization
5. The General Structure of the Tibetan Curriculum
6. Two Curricular Models
7. Scholasticism and Orality: Myth and Reality
8. Commentary and Meditation
9. The Supplement: Hermeneutical or Deconstructive?
10. Debate as Practice
11. Debate in the Curriculum
12. Is Debate a Mode of Inquiry?

Part III. Reflections
13. Rationality and Spirit Cult
14. The Limits of the Inquiry

Conclusion: Past and Future Uncertainties
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index