Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture
How did a society on the edge of collapse and dominated by wandering bands of armed men give way to a vibrant Buddhist culture, led by yogins and scholars? Ronald M. Davidson explores how the translation and spread of esoteric Buddhist texts dramatically shaped Tibetan society and led to its rise as the center of Buddhist culture throughout Asia, replacing India as the perceived source of religious ideology and tradition. Durgaing the Tibetan Renaissance (950-1200 C.E.), monks and yogins translated an enormous number of Indian Buddhist texts. They employed the evolving literature and practices of esoteric Buddhism as the basis to reconstruct Tibetan religious, cultural, and political institutions. Many translators achieved the de facto status of feudal lords and while not always loyal to their Buddhist vows, these figures helped solidify political power in the hands of religious authorities and began a process that led to the Dalai Lama's theocracy. Davidson's vivid portraits of the monks, priests, popular preachers, yogins, and aristocratic clans who changed Tibetan society and culture further enhance his perspectives on the tensions and transformations that characterized medieval Tibet.
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Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture
How did a society on the edge of collapse and dominated by wandering bands of armed men give way to a vibrant Buddhist culture, led by yogins and scholars? Ronald M. Davidson explores how the translation and spread of esoteric Buddhist texts dramatically shaped Tibetan society and led to its rise as the center of Buddhist culture throughout Asia, replacing India as the perceived source of religious ideology and tradition. Durgaing the Tibetan Renaissance (950-1200 C.E.), monks and yogins translated an enormous number of Indian Buddhist texts. They employed the evolving literature and practices of esoteric Buddhism as the basis to reconstruct Tibetan religious, cultural, and political institutions. Many translators achieved the de facto status of feudal lords and while not always loyal to their Buddhist vows, these figures helped solidify political power in the hands of religious authorities and began a process that led to the Dalai Lama's theocracy. Davidson's vivid portraits of the monks, priests, popular preachers, yogins, and aristocratic clans who changed Tibetan society and culture further enhance his perspectives on the tensions and transformations that characterized medieval Tibet.
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Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture

Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture

by Ronald Davidson
Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture
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Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture

Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture

by Ronald Davidson

Overview

How did a society on the edge of collapse and dominated by wandering bands of armed men give way to a vibrant Buddhist culture, led by yogins and scholars? Ronald M. Davidson explores how the translation and spread of esoteric Buddhist texts dramatically shaped Tibetan society and led to its rise as the center of Buddhist culture throughout Asia, replacing India as the perceived source of religious ideology and tradition. Durgaing the Tibetan Renaissance (950-1200 C.E.), monks and yogins translated an enormous number of Indian Buddhist texts. They employed the evolving literature and practices of esoteric Buddhism as the basis to reconstruct Tibetan religious, cultural, and political institutions. Many translators achieved the de facto status of feudal lords and while not always loyal to their Buddhist vows, these figures helped solidify political power in the hands of religious authorities and began a process that led to the Dalai Lama's theocracy. Davidson's vivid portraits of the monks, priests, popular preachers, yogins, and aristocratic clans who changed Tibetan society and culture further enhance his perspectives on the tensions and transformations that characterized medieval Tibet.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780231134712
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication date: 09/21/2005
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 616
Product dimensions: 6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Ronald M. Davidson is professor of religious studies at Fairfield University. He is the author of Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement (Columbia) and the coeditor (with Steven D. Goodman) of Tibetan Buddhism: Reason and Revelation.

Table of Contents

Preface
List of Maps, Figures
Pronunciation Guide
Introduction
Chapter 1: Early Medieval India and the Esoteric Rhapsody
Chapter 2: The Demise of Dynasty and a Poorly Lit Path
Chapter 3: Renaissance and Reformation: The Eastern Vinaya Monks
Chapter 4: Translators as the New Aristocracy
Chapter 5: Drokmi: The Doyen of Central Tibetan Translators
Chapter 6: Treasure Text, the Imperial Legacy
Chapter 7: The Late Eleventh Century: From Esoteric Lineages to Clan Temples
Chapter 8: The Early Twelfth Century: A Confident Tibetan Buddhism
Chapter 9: The Late Twelfth to Early Thirteenth Century: Ethical Crises, International
Chapter 10: Conclusion and Epilogue: The Victory of the Clan Structure, Late Tantric Buddhism
Notes
Glossary
Tibetan Orthographic Equivalents
Appendix 1: Eastern Vinaya Temples, Cave Temples
Appendix 2: Translation and Text of the Root Text of the *Margaphala
Appendix 3: A Concordance of Early Commentaries on the Root Text of the *Margaphala
Notes to Appendices
Notes to the Edition
Abbreviations
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

Matthew T. Kapstein

Ronald Davidson's Tibetan Renaissance marks a real rebirth for the study of Tibetan cultural history. Drawing on an extraordinary range of original sources, most of them previously unstudied, Davidson traces, in convincing detail, the peculiar blend of conservative monasticism, transgressive esotericism, and political and economic interest that characterized the formation of Tibetan Buddhist lineages and institutions during the early second millennium. With Indian Esoteric Buddhism, Davidson's previous book, Tibetan Renaissance completes a duet that substantially transforms our understanding of Buddhism during its last phase in India and its continuation in Tibet, an exemplary contribution to the history of religions.

David F. Germano

Davidson has illuminated the period of the Tibetan Renaissance for a modern audiencewith a brilliant scholarly study of rare clarity, originality and wisdom. He deals with doctrine, ritual, institutions, and life narratives with equal insight and flair to build an intimate yet broad portrayal of one of the most fascinating periods of religious innovation and collective transformation in the history of the world. This work sets a new standard for the integrated historical study of Tibet Buddhism.

— David F. Germano, associate professor anddirector of the Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library, University of Virginia

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