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When in the late sixteenth century the third Dalai Lama travelled to the Mongolian regions, he was accompanied by Buddhist monks of different Tibetan schools, Gelugpa, Sakyapa, Kagyüpa and others. Many of them built monasteries and temples in Mongolia, funded by Mongolian nobles. Although Gelugpa Buddhism quickly became dominant in Mongolia, the other schools remained present and active in the country until today. From the start, however, most Mongolian historians described the spread and development of Buddhism in the Mongolian lands as the endeavor of just one school, the 'glorious Gelugpa', ignoring the plurality of the Tibetan-Buddhist schools in the Mongolian religious field. This paper aims to analyze how and to what aims Mongolian historians created a uniform Gelugpa Buddhism, which taxonomies they used and which narratives they employed to present Gelugpa Buddhism as the religion of the Mongolian peoples. Moreover, the paper explores which impact Mongolian historiography had (and has) on modern scholarship and its narrative of Mongolian religious history. I argue that modern scholarship helps to perpetuate the 'master narrative' of Mongolian Buddhist historiography, presenting Mongolian Buddhism as a 'pure', exclusive Gelugpa Buddhism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In attending to a religion and a region often overlooked in critical geopolitics, this paper examines the intersections between issues of legitimacy, agency and authority, and the case of Tibetan Buddhism. Buddhist values and political policies are deeply intertwined in the Tibetan case, to the extent that the political philosophy of Tibet - both prior to 1959 and in exile - is chos srid gnyis ldan, or 'religion and politics combined'. Central to this conflation has been the figure of the Dalai Lama who, since 1642, has been the spiritual and political leader of Tibet. However, in March 2011, the current and 14th Dalai Lama declared his retirement from political life and devolution of political power to the directly elected exile Prime Minister ( Kalon Tripa). Six months later, His Holiness issued a statement on the future of his own successor, declaring that he has the 'sole legitimate authority' over the reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama. Within days the Chinese Government responded by declaring that 'the title of Dalai Lama is conferred by the central government and is illegal otherwise'. In historically contextualising and critically analysing these recent events, this paper challenges conventional transpositional mappings of secular modernity and religious traditionalism onto the Chinese and Tibetan leadership respectively. It concludes by making the case for a more sustained critical geopolitical engagement with Buddhist communities, leaders and politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this paper are threefold: to provide some historical background on ethnic separatism in the PRC; to identify the causes of ethnic separatism; and to provide an assessment of the current separatist challenges to the PRC and their implications for China's domestic politics and foreign relations. The paper demonstrates that the nature and scale of the challenge posed by any one ethnic minority to the PRC is largely a function of three major factors: the historical relationship between the ethnic group and the Chinese state; the geographic concentration of the ethnic minority; and the degree of acculturation to the dominant Han society. In this regard the paper identifies Xinjiang and Tibet as the ethnic minority regions that pose the most enduring separatist challenge to Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes up the study of Tibet in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Tibet studies are defined through scholars working in universities in the specified countries/regions who have published works in which the Tibetans and the Tibetan areas of China are focal. The methodology is to analyse selected published works on Tibet as well as to interview selected scholars. The paper attempts to draw some characteristics of Tibet studies in the regions or countries specified, defined according to factors such as discipline, priority of language, area of interest, approach or political stand. It reaches no grand conclusions, but finds that the spectrum of Tibet studies in the places considered is fairly wide and, though not comparable with several other countries, the value is quite high in terms of quantity and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses opinions of political self-sacrifice amongst Tibetan refugees, and explores their meaning for wider debates on the evolving relationship between religion and politics in the Tibetan national struggle. This is a particularly pertinent question at present, given the recent prevalence of self-immolation in Tibet and connected debates about whether such protests are religious or political issues. Does the increase of self-sacrificial political methodology indicate a secularisation process of the Tibetan movement, as some have suggested, or is it simply reflective of the natural fluidity of religion's political influence? This paper supports the latter position and seeks to explore the nature of this dynamic relationship, including the positioning within it of the Dalai Lama. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the position of Buddhism in contemporary Russia, with a focus on the three national republics where Buddhism is historically practised: Kalmykia, Buryatia and Tuva. I provide a brief overview of the history of Buddhism in each of the three regions. Turning to the current situation, I then review religion–state and intrafaith relations within Russia’s Buddhist republics. Of particular interest are the politics surrounding the pastoral visits of the 14th Dalai Lama to Russia. Since his last visit in 2004, the Russian government has consistently denied solicitations for visas for the Dalai Lama. I draw on interviews and focus groups conducted in Kalmykia and surveys from both Kalmykia and Buryatia to underscore the importance of such a visit both to Buddhists in these republics and to the larger Buddhist community in the Russian Federation. The paper concludes by reiterating the Dalai Lama’s opinion that Russia and Russia’s Buddhists will play a pivotal role in the development and preservation of Buddhism as a religious tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rationale behind this paper is to stimulate reflection, open a debate and provide its readers with some much overlooked perspectives, perceptions and approaches from China, India and the Tibetan émigrés in India as regards the Tibet issue. These are formulated on the basis of author's interviews and enquiries with the representatives of the Dalai Lama's Tibetan Government in Exile, the leaders of Tibetan Youth Congress, the representatives of Students for a Free Tibet, as well as the Tibetan émigré in India and ordinary Indians. Besides, the paper also throws light on major differences and contradiction between India and China over Tibet issue; the future course of the Tibetan movement; and explores the possibilities of establishing a mechanism between India and China on Tibet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores some of the work of Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo (hereafter Rongzom) and attempts to situate his pedagogical influence within the "Old School" or Nyingma (rnying ma) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. A survey of Rongzom's extant writings indicates that he was a seminal exegete and a particularly important philosopher and interpreter of Buddhism in Tibet. He was an influential intellectual flourishing in a period of cultural rebirth, when there was immense skepticism about Tibetan compositions. His work is thereby a source of insight into the indigenous Tibetan response to the transformations of a renaissance-era in which Indian provenance became the sine qua none of religious authority. Rongzom's "charter" (bca' yig), the primary focus of the essay, is an important document for our understanding of Old School communities of learning. While we know very little of the social realities of Old School communities in Rongzom's time, we do know that they were a source of concern for the emerging political and religious authorities in Western Tibet. As such, the review below argues that the production of the charter should be seen, inter alia, as an effort at maintaining autonomy in the face of a rising political power. The analysis also provides insights into the nature of the social obligations operant within Rongzom's community--constituted as it was by a combination of ritually embodied and discursive philosophical modes of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to construct and critique the Dalai Lama's conception and practices related to dialogue. I shall attempt to construct his 'theory' by simultaneously looking at both his practice and his writings. I will then offer a critique of his views. I hope to be able to show that His Holiness offers a profound understanding of dialogue-which, if put into practice, offers a number of fruitful consequences. The central thesis of this paper is that one of the best ways to understand and make sense of the Dalai Lama's approach to dialogue is to see his beliefs and practices as particular instantiations of broader Buddhist teachings. In other words, one way of thinking about the Dalai Lama's approach to dialogue is to see his practices as instances of some basic Buddhist beliefs. Without going into an exhaustive account of these various beliefs, I want to suggest that four of them, in particular, are useful for understanding His Holiness's approach to dialogue. The four are: meditative practice, interdependent arising, compassion, and expedient or skillful means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the life and activities of Rgyal sras Blo bzang bstan pa'i sgron me and his contribution to the development of Tibetan Buddhism in Monyul region, a geographic zone encompassing the Tawang and West Kameng districts in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India. The paper also observes the activities of the Lama in the cross-border contacts. The study is based on textual sources and the fieldwork results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years what has been witnessed is that Indians have been encouraged to study contemporary China not only due to the cultural richness of that civilization, but also because of China's already significant influence on world events. In fact, with the incorporation of Tibet into the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1950 and the Government of India's oft-repeated official acknowledgement of Tibet as an autonomous region of China, the PRC ceased to be a ‘distant neighbour’ and became as proximate to India as the states of the Indian subcontinent itself. Obviously, for Indian scholars whose prime focus is South Asia, there is an imperative to study China as well. Tibet, which has been one of the key areas of China studies, needs to be researched comprehensively so as to gauge the extent of its influence on China studies in India in general and India-China relations in particular. It is in this context that this paper seeks to examine how academics, journalists, policy makers, politicians and China studies experts in India have viewed Tibet so far as its influence on India-China relations in the broader context is concerned. It also highlights the viewpoints of Chinese scholars on such issue, besides examining whether Tibet would continue to be an important factor impacting China Studies in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper goes into go the reasons why ‘Tibet studies’ are an important contemporary field of research, the topics which need urgent attention, and the state of Tibet studies in India. An interesting aspect of Tibet studies is the diversity of the fields to be researched. It covers topics as disparate as geography, environmental sciences, climatology, geology, archeology, paleontology, biology, religion, sociology, and, of course, strategic studies and historical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the experience of a silent meditation retreat from the perspective of a novice practitioner. The 7-day Scientist Meditation Retreat was held at the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California. It was intended to provide meditation researchers an intensive silent retreat experience. The author shares his reflections throughout the retreat and concludes with some of the personal insights he gained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dalai Lama is apolitical and spiritual leader who, like Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr before him, has voiced strong opposition to violence and oppression while also calling for resistance to injustice. Unlike Gandhi and King, the Dalai Lama has not been on site with his people to protest oppression. In a unique move necessitated by exile from Tibet, he has taken to the world stage to expose the suffering of the Tibetan people while advocating justice, for preservation of Tibetan culture, and for a peaceful solution to the Tibet-China conflict. This paper analyzes the Dalai Lama's understanding of violence as grounded in afflictive emotions that create suffering both in the spiritual as well as in the political realm. The Dalai Lama `s analysis of "anger-hatred" as a destructive afflictive emotion requiring spiritual attention underwrites his moral argument for nonviolent resistance. This paper argues that the Dalai Lama not merely examines violence as a problem of spiritual affliction but that he addresses peace and nonviolence as an ethic. Rather than seeking public validation in terms of religious particulars, the Dalai Lama presents an ethic that can be universalized, that is benevolent and other-regarding, and that employs the language of normative action guides and rational principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a visit by Thubten Gyatso, the thirteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet, to Peking, China from September 30 to December 1908. Why the Dalai Lama visited Peking; Reference to relations between Tibet and Britain; Refusal by the Chinese to ratify a 1904 treaty between the British and the Tibetan government.

Copyright of Central Asiatic Journal: International Periodical for the Languages, Literatures, History & Archaeology of Central Asia is the property of Otto Harrassowitz Verlag and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Tibet represents one of the unresolved issues of the world. It represents an area which the nature intended to be peaceful but man had ensured that peace has eluded this area for last sixty years. On the one hand are the Tibetans led by the Dalai Lame who claim that Tibet was an independent nation which was annexed by a stronger neighbour i.e. China. They also claim that their efforts of finding a solution through peaceful negotiations am not being reciprocated by China. They fear that China is pursuing the policy of total assimilation of Tibetan people and their culture, ruthelessly suppressing opposition and waiting for the demise of the Dalai Lama. They also diem that Autonomous Tibetan Region (ATR) in China does not enjoy real autonomy. The Chinese on the other hand claim that Tibet has always been an integral part of China, TAR enjoys real autonomy and the Tibetan people have been benefiting from education and economic development since 1950. Any resistance to Chinese authority by Tibetans is termed by China as a revolt by traditional religious forces. The strategy of Tibetans led by the Dalai Lama so far has been to pressurise the Chinese government through international community to respect human rights of Tibetans and to negotiate with the Dalai Lame on granting meaningful autonomy to TAR. This strategy has so far failed to bring peace in Tibet. The paper makes a case for adoption of Gandhian method for achieving lasting peace in Tibet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious pluralism characterized Tibetan Buddhism by the eleventh or twelfth century, allowing for the development of many schools and sects with little differentiation in religious products. The early Ming dynasty (1368-1424) saw a significant shift in policy on Tibetan affairs compared to the Mongolian Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). Relative disengagement from Tibet translated into a liberalization of local politics, resulting in a shift from secular politics and clan wealth to ecclesiastical monastic institutions. The Geluk sect formed during this period, introducing superior technology in its organizational characteristics—celibacy, ordained abbots, casuistical adherence, scholastic training, and doctrinal orthodoxy—that distinguished it from other schools and sects. With the loss of its major Tibetan patron, the Gelukpa faced a serious challenge from its fiercest competitor, the Karmapa, and raised the stakes by introducing the incarnate position of the Dalai Lama and his labrang (financial estate). This allowed the Gelukpa to directly compete with the Karmapa for wealthy patrons. By forming an alliance with the Mongols, the Gelukpa were willing to counter violence with violence to become the monopoly religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Foro Internacional is the property of El Colegio de Mexico AC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article looks at the internal and external dimensions of the on-going Tibetan conflict and argues that these two facets of the conflict are intertwined and should not be viewed separately or independent of one another. Internally, the factors which have contributed to the conflict include repressive Chinese state policies such as Han migration from China proper to Tibet, economic development in Tibet as defined by the Chinese state, and the Patriotic Education Campaigns (PEC) to mention just a few. Externally, foreign powers like India and the US have been involved. India, for instance, has provided Tibetan monks and the Dalai Lama with refuge after the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950s. Extensive field trips were undertaken to both India and China from 2015-2019 to carry out the research for this article. In addition to using a range of secondary source material, this article makes use of participant observation as a key research method to further its arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2009, over one hundred and fifty Tibetans have self-immolated. While most scholarly discussions of these tragedies have revolved around non-violent, bodhisattva ethics, we challenge and supplement those interpretations through an analysis of the long lineage of defensive violence in Tibetan Buddhism. Comparing the discourses of the V Dalai Lama during the sectarian battles of the seventeenth century to those of the XIV Dalai Lama regarding Tibet’s situation with China, we highlight their similar means of legitimating deaths aimed at preserving the Dharma from extinction. We conclude by surveying the last words of self-immolators to show how they have appropriated this discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does the international human rights community affect the likelihood of democratization? Scholarship on Chinese citizens' preferences about their political system has not explored the importance of the external environment, perhaps surprising given the extensive foreign pressure on China's authoritarian system over the last 30 years. I use a quasi-natural experiment around the meeting between President Obama and the Dalai Lama in 2011 to examine the impact of foreign pressure on citizens' perceptions of democracy in China in real time. I show that the meeting significantly increased the Chinese public's belief that their country is democratic, with those of above average patriotism over 11 percentage points more likely to believe China is democratic in the five days following the meeting than before. The findings suggest that some kinds of external pressure may help to increase satisfaction with authoritarian rule, ultimately boosting autocrats' ability to hold on to power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the details of the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting in the U.S. Citation on the relationship between mediation and physiological changes in the brain; Invitation of spiritual leader Dalai Lama as keynote speaker; Participation of neurologists and scientist in the event.

This introduction to the special issue on Buddhism and law lays out an agenda for the socio-legal study of contemporary Buddhism. We identify lacunae in the current literature and call for further work on four themes: the relations between monastic legal practice and state law; the formations of Buddhist constitutionalism; Buddhist legal activism and Buddhist-interest litigation; and Buddhist moral critiques of law. We argue that this agenda is important for advancing Buddhist studies and for the comparative study of law and legal institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During his exiles from Lhasa in the 1910s, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama visited the holy places of Wutai Shan in China and Bodh Gaya in India. After his return, he commissioned paintings of these two places in cosmological mural programs of his palaces. While conforming to earlier iconographic traditions, these paintings employed empirical modes of representation unprecedented in Tibetan Buddhist paintings, revealing a close connection to the Dalai Lama's prior travels. This essay traces how these “modernized” renditions were incorporated into an existing pictorial template, and examines the deft rearticulation of a Buddhist cosmology in light of the Dalai Lama's own encounter with the shifting geopolitical terrains of the early twentieth century. I show that painting served as a powerful medium through which the Dalai Lama asserted his spiritual sovereignty and temporal authority over modernity's work of boundary making. The study elucidates a sphere of agency and creativity in the court of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama that has evaded historical inquiries to date. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While Germany's ‘Chinapolitik’ under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was driven by economic interests, Angela Merkel promised a normative turn in foreign policy toward China. This apparent turn became most visible in 2007 when she met with the Dalai Lama, which caused strong diplomatic protest from Beijing. This article asks whether Germany's foreign policy toward China did in fact shift under the leadership of Angela Merkel. Based on cognitive approaches, especially image theory, the perception(s) of China held by Chancellor Merkel and their impact on German foreign policy toward China are analysed. The findings suggest that the dominant image of China is that of a key trade partner on whom Germany's economy is increasingly dependent with little emphasis given to the political or normative discrepancies between the two countries. The article argues that Sino-German relations under Merkel appear to be more one-dimensional than the fall-out over the Dalai Lama issue suggests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many forms of contemporary morality treat the individual as the fundamental unit of moral importance. Perhaps the most striking example of this moral vision of the individual is the contemporary global human rights regime, which treats the individual as, for all intents and purposes, sacrosanct. This essay attempts to explore one feature of this contemporary understanding of the moral status of the individual, namely the moral significance of a subject's actual affective states, and in particular her cares and commitments. I argue that in virtue of the moral significance of actual individuals, we should take actual cares and values very seriously-even if those cares and values are not expressions of the person's autonomy-as partially constituting that individual as a concrete subject who is the proper object of our moral attention. In particular, I argue that a person's actual cares and values have non-derivative moral significance. Simply because someone cares about something, that care is morally significant. In virtue of this non-derivative moral significance of cares, we ought to adopt of a commitment to accommodate others' cares and a commitment not to frustrate their cares. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to Chinese claims that Tibet has been liberated from feudal power structures and is undergoing a process of modernization, members of Tibet's Government-in-Exile are developing a discourse of Tibetan modernity to counter China's version. For the Dalai Lama, Director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives Geshe Lhakdor, and Prime Minister of Tibet's Government-in-Exile Samdhong Rinpoche, 'modernity' is not just a triumph of innovation over tradition. As the government of Tibet's Government-in-Exile cannot exert itself within the Chinese borders that now contain Tibet, the discourse is intimately linked to the diasporic migration of Tibetans into countries such as India, Nepal and Bhutan. This modernization is part of a broad cultural survival strategy in which the main actors must alter tradition in order to preserve it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on the political and social issues surrounding the pacifist Dalai Lama and Tibet. It discusses how the world's perception of the Dalai Lama as a man of peace affects his country and people on issues such as war and violence. An overview of his relationships with other countries' political and social dilemmas is also provided. His persona as a major leader as well as how the Western media portrays him in is described along with the events that led to Tibet's involvement in political issues especially with the wars of the U.S.

The article presents an analysis on the impact of Tibetan unrest in March 2008 and the response of India to such unrest. It says that the Tibetan unrest emphasized the need for China to engage the Dalai Lama in looking for a peaceful and negotiated solution of the said problem. It mentions that India responded to China's sensitivites with restraint and caution during and after the unrest, even though there has been no change in India's Tibet policy in the aftermath of the Tibetan tangle.

On February 12, 1910, a Chinese expeditionary army marched into Lhasa and fired on unarmed civilians, overturned the Tibetan government, and forced the thirteenth Dalai Lama to flee to India. Many have condemned the invasion as a breaking point in Sino-Tibetan relations, but its origins remain murky. If it was not the handiwork of"Butcher" Zhao Erfeng, as many have supposed, then what happened on that fateful winter day, and why? This article examines late-Qing forward policy in Tibet through four key officials: Zhang Yintang, the diplomat who called for reforms and a Tibetan standing army; Zhao Erfeng, the ruthless frontier commissioner in Kham; Lianyu, the last amban of Tibet; and Zhong Ying, the neophyte who led the 1910 Lhasa expedition. Their stories reveal not a monolithic Qing policy but a contest of policy and personality that exploded into bloody strife, with aftershocks that are felt to this day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the rhetoric that the Fifth Dalai Lama Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho (1617-1682) employs to describe various forms of violence. In particular, I explore the justifications he offers or implies for various types of violence to which he seems to grant his approval. I focus on his 1643 Song of the Queen of Spring, written immediately after a broadranging war that culminated in his own ascent to political rule over Tibet. Concentrating on his assessment of Gushri Khan, the Mongolian strongman responsible for installing the Dalai Lama in power, I conclude that the Dalai Lama attempts to legitimize Gushri Khan's violence by representing the khan as a transcendent agent of benefit, a bodhisattva whose own goodness permits him to perform actions that would be condemned if performed by a less exalted actor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A situation of asymmetric stalemate exists when neither side can force a unilateral resolution of a conflict even though one side is significantly stronger than the other. Although a standoff can persist indefinitely, the only path to resolution of conflict is negotiation. Even though the conflict between China and the Dalai Lama regarding Tibetan autonomy is not one between sovereign states, it fits the pattern of asymmetric stalemate. Current discussions between China and the Dalai Lama illustrate the importance of recognition of autonomy on the part of the stronger side and of deference on the part of the weaker side in resolving asymmetric stalemate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A plethora of criss-crossing complexities confronts over 100,000 Tibetan refugees in India and their central administration, headed by the Dalai Lama. The endeavour of the Tibetans to protect their cultural and religious identity has so far faced minimal opposition from their Indian hosts, barring a few minor incidents. However, as the number of Tibetan refugees swells, the administration faces the growing challenges of not only looking after the settlement of these refugees, but also preserving their religious identity from the onslaught of the forces of modernity in India. These challenges pose a serious problem for the Tibetans. In the days and years to come, such challenges are poised to enter a more critical phase. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the relationship of equanimity with spirituality. Equanimity is one of the personal qualities that a spiritual person will show. It is also important for the spiritual development of a student or a person. It is the capability of a person to think or feel positive even during difficult times. Examples of people who exemplify equanimity are Dalai Lama and Aung Saan Suu Kyi. Equanimity can be looked at the framework of external behaviors. On the other hand, looking at the internal psychological process of equanimity is also important.

Focuses on the Dalai Lama's active encouragement of people to celebrate their own faith rather than convert to Buddhism. Belief in ultimate liberation as practice of Buddhist teachings; Notions of emptiness, skillful means, karma and rebirth.