Dreaming the Great Brahmin Tibetan Traditions of the Buddhist Poet-Saint Saraha

by Schaeffer, Kurtis R.

• ISBN13: 9780195173734
• ISBN10: 0195173732
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-06-02
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Dreaming the Great Brahmin explores the creation and recreation of Buddhist saints through narratives, poetry, art, ritual, and even dream visions. The first comprehensive cultural and literary history of the well-known Indian Buddhist poet saint Saraha, known as the Great Brahmin, this bookargues that we should view Saraha not as the founder of a tradition, but rather as its product. Kurtis Schaeffer shows how images, tales, and teachings of Saraha were transmitted, transformed, and created by members of diverse Buddhist traditions in Tibet, India, Nepal, and Mongolia. The result isthat there is not one Great Brahmin, but many. More broadly, Schaeffer argues that the immense importance of saints for Buddhism is best understood by looking at the creative adaptations of such figures that perpetuated their fame, for it is there that these saints come to life.

Author Biography

Kurtis R. Schaeffer is Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama. He is the author of Himalayan Hermitess: The Life of a Tibetan Buddhist Nun (OUP, 2003).

Table of Contents

Abbreviations	xi
Introduction: Stories and Songs of the Great Brahmin Saraha	3	(10)
PART I. Traditions of Saraha in Tibet
Tales of the Great Brahmin	13	(22)
Meeting the Great Brahmin in Rituals, Paintings, and Dreams	35	(14)
Contesting the Great Brahmin: Saraha as Abbot and Adept	49	(10)
PART II. Traditions of Saraha's Songs in Tibet
Bringing the Treasury of Doha Verses to Tibet	59	(12)
Commentary and Controversy on the Treasury of Doha Verses in Tibet	71	(8)
Creating the Treasury of Doha Verses	79	(22)
Recreating the Treasury of Doha Verses	101	(74)
PART III. The Treasury of Doha Verses and Ornamental Flower for the Dohas
Introduction to the Commentary	123	(6)
Ornamental Flower for the Dohas	129	(46)
Epilogue: In Praise of the Great Brahmin	175	(4)
Appendix 1. Compositional Features in the Anthologies of Phadampa Sangye	179	(4)
Appendix 2. Adepts in the Anthologies of Phadampa Sangye	183	(4)
Appendix 3. Outline of Ling Repa's Commentary on the Treasury of Doha Verses	187	(4)
Notes	191	(18)
Bibliography	209	(16)
Index	225