This is a major anthropological study of contemporary Tibetan Buddhist monasticism and tantric ritual in the Ladakh region of North-West India and of the role of tantric ritual in the formation and maintenance of traditional forms of state structure and political consciousness in Tibet. Containing detailed descriptions and analyses of monastic ritual, the work builds up a picture of Tibetan tantric traditions as they interact with more localized understandings of bodily identity and territorial cosmology, to produce a substantial re-interpretation of the place of monks as ritual performers and peripheral householders in Ladakh. The work also examines the central and indispensable role of incarnate lamas, such as the Dalai Lama, in the religious life of Tibetan Buddhists.

List of Plates

viii

List of Figures

ix

Acknowledgements

x

Preface

xii

A Note on the Transliteration of Ladakhi, Tibetan and Sanskrit Terms

xxi

PART ONE: THE FACE OF MONASTICISM

1

(82)

History and Authority

5

(22)

The View from Above

5

(3)

The Origins of Tibetan Buddhism

8

(4)

Tantra and State in Tibetan History

12

(12)

Conclusion

24

(3)

The Face of Monasticism

27

(26)

Kumbum Gompa -- A Local Monastery

29

(1)

Layout of the Monastery

30

(9)

Monastic Lives

39

(6)

The Structure of Offices in Kumbum

45

(3)

The Body and Sacred Space in Kumbum

48

(5)

Reassessing Monasticism

53

(30)

The Buddhist Monk as Ascetic Individual

54

(7)

Monasticism and Exchange in Lingshed

61

(2)

Solving the Contradiction: Gompas, Monasteries and Monks

63

(3)

Households and Monastic Quarters

66

(3)

Redefining Renunciation in the Tibetan Buddhist Context

69

(10)

Conclusion

79

(4)

PART TWO: TRUTH AND HIERARCHY IN TANTRIC RITUAL

83

(62)

Iconography, Authority and Truth in Buddhist Tantra

85

(36)

Introduction

85

(2)

Conceptualising Reality in Tibetan Buddhism

87

(4)

Tantra in Tibetan Buddhism

91

(13)

Western Approaches to Tantra

104

(3)

Truth and Authority in Tantric Ritual

107

(13)

Conclusion

120

(1)

Tantric Practice at Kumbum

121

(24)

Sand Mandala Empowerments

121

(8)

Hierarchy and Authority in Tantra

129

(2)

Hierarchy and Exclusion in Tantric Ritual

131

(10)

Conclusion

141

(4)

PART THREE: LOCAL RITES

145

(88)

Care and Cosmology in Lingshed

147

(29)

Devotional Architecture and Apotropaic Power

149

(15)

Household Care in Lingshed

164

(3)

Calling in Help: the Health Care System in Lingshed

167

(6)

Conclusion: Monastic Authority in the Lingshed Health Care System

173

(3)

Relations with the Dharma

176

(30)

Reading, Blessing and Hierarchy

177

(8)

Dharma Protectors

185

(4)

Skangsol Rites

189

(9)

Skangsol and the Buddhist Practitioner

198

(5)

Assessing Ritual Exegesis

203

(3)

Pollution Concerns in Lingshed

206

(27)

Pollution and Karma

206

(8)

Severance

214

(4)

Pollution Practices and the Passage of Time

218

(3)

Purification Strategies in Lingshed

221

(10)

Conclusion

231

(2)

PART FOUR: AUTHORITY AND THE PERSON IN GELUKPA MONASTICISM

233

(94)

The Incarnate, the Scholar and the Oracle -- Moments of Authority in Gelukpa Monasticism

235

(8)

The Geshe System -- Clerical Authority within the Gelukpa

237

(3)

The Balance of Power in Gelukpa Decision-Making

240

(3)

Local Gods and the Embodied Person in Lingshed

243

(20)

Monastic Relations with Local Gods

249

(4)

Sangsol and the Monastic Hierarchy

253

(1)

Local Persons and the Buddhist `No-Self'

254

(9)

Characterising Incarnates

263

(32)

The Rise of the Incarnate in Tibetan History

269

(11)

Becoming an Incarnate

280

(4)

Signs, Portents and Persons: The Presence of the Teacher

284

(11)

Hierarchy and Precedent in Gelukpa Monasticism

295

(32)

Lha rGyal sGan

296

(2)

Great Traditions and Little Traditions in Tibetan Buddhism

298

(5)

Recap

303

(3)

The Limits of Clerical Authority

306

(5)

Trapa and Tulku: Hierarchy, Ordination and Precedent

311

(3)

Incarnates and the Constitution of Monastic Discipline

314

(3)

Transmission and Imitation in Gelukpa Ritual

317

(2)

Authority and History in Tibetan Buddhist Societies

319

(5)

Conclusion

324

(3)

PART FIVE: IDEOLOGY, RITUAL AND STATE

327

(21)

Ideology, Ritual and State in Tibetan Buddhism

329

(19)

Rule by Incarnation

331

(4)

Feudalism and the Pre-Modern State in Marxist Thought

335

(5)

Religion and Ideological Hegemony in Marxist Thought

340

(4)

Ideology Upside Down

344

(2)

Conclusion

346

(2)

Appendix A: The Ritual Calendar of Lingshed

348

(5)

Monthly Rites

348

(1)

Annual Rites

349

(4)

Appendix B: Ladakhi and Tibetan Spellings

353

(6)

Notes

359

(12)

Bibliography

371

(15)

Tibetan Texts Used at Kumbum and Lingshed

371

(1)

Sources in English

372

(14)

Index

386

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