Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism

by Powers, John

• ISBN13: 9781559392822
• ISBN10: 1559392827
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-11-09
• Publisher: PENGUIN
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

This is the most comprehensive and authoritative introduction to Tibetan Buddhism available to date, covering a wide range of topics including history, doctrines, meditation practices, schools, religious festivals, and major figures. The revised edition contains expanded discussions of recent Tibetan history and tantra, and incorporates important new publications in the field. Beginning with a summary of the Indian origins of Tibetan Buddhism and how it was eventually brought to Tibet, it explores Tibetan Mahayana philosophy and tantric methods for personal transformation. The four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism as well as Bon are exploded in depth from a nonsectarian point of view. This new and expanded edition is a systematic and wonderfully clear presentation of Tibetan Buddhist views and practices. Book jacket.

Author Biography

John Powers teaches at the Center for Asian Societies and Histories at the Australian National University

Table of Contents

Preface	p. 11
Technical Note	p. 17
Introduction	p. 21
The Indian Background
Buddhism in India	p. 31
The Buddha	p. 31
The Buddha's Life and Lives	p. 34
Epilogue	p. 56
Some Important Buddhist Doctrines	p. 63
Cyclic Existence	p. 63
Appearance and Reality	p. 71
Meditation	p. 81
The Role of Meditation in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism	p. 81
Stabilizing and Analytical Meditation	p. 85
The Five Buddhist Paths	p. 91
Mahayana	p. 101
Origins	p. 101
Mahayana Doctrines	p. 105
The Bodhisattva Path	p. 113
Tibetan History and Culture
Tibetan Religious History	p. 137
Tibet: Geography and Environment	p. 137
The Early History of Tibet	p. 139
The Period of the Religious Kings	p. 144
The Second Dissemination of Buddhism	p. 155
Mongol Influence and Sakya Supremacy	p. 159
The Gelukpa Ascent to Power	p. 163
The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries	p. 169
The Twentieth Century	p. 181
Foreign Conflicts	p. 181
The Fourteenth Dalai Lama	p. 187
The Interregnum Period	p. 195
The Fourteenth Dalai Lama Assumes Power	p. 197
The Chinese Occupation of Tibet	p. 205
Religious Festivals and Holy Days	p. 219
Monlam	p. 219
The Butter-Sculpture Festival of Kumbum	p. 222
Sacred Dance	p. 226
Other Religious Festivals	p. 228
Common Elements in Tibetan Religious Ceremonies	p. 229
Geography and Architecture	p. 233
The Religious Environment	p. 233
Construction of Religious Structures	p. 236
Stupas	p. 242
Tibetan Buddhist Doctrines and Practices
Tantra	p. 249
The Place of the Tantras in Buddhist Literature	p. 249
Tantra as a Branch of Mahayana	p. 257
Tantric Symbols	p. 262
Entering Tantric Practice	p. 267
The Four Classes of Tantra	p. 279
The Preliminary Practices	p. 294
The Fourteen Root Downfalls	p. 315
Death and Dying in Tibetan Buddhism	p. 325
Introduction	p. 325
Death Meditation: Exoteric and Esoteric Traditions	p. 330
The Bardo Process	p. 341
Tibetan Rituals of Death and Dying	p. 348
The Orders of Tibetan Buddhism
The Four Orders	p. 355
The Nonsectarian Movement	p. 359
Nyingma	p. 367
History and Doctrines	p. 367
The Nine Vehicles	p. 375
Terma: Hidden Treasures	p. 378
Distinctive Practices: Dzogchen	p. 383
Kagyu	p. 399
History and Doctrines	p. 399
Meditation Practices	p. 405
Sakya	p. 433
Origins of the Sakya Tradition	p. 433
The Development and Dissemination of Sakya Doctrines and Practices	p. 437
Sakya Becomes a Political Force	p. 442
The Sakya Monastic Order	p. 445
Distinctive Practices: "Path and Result"	p. 447
Geluk	p. 467
History of the Lineage	p. 467
The Gelukpa Monastic System	p. 477
Distinctive Practices: The Stages of the Path	p. 481
Bon: A Heterodox System	p. 497
Introduction	p. 497
Bon Teachings and Practices	p. 500
Chronology of Indian and Tibetan Buddhism	p. 515
Lexicon of Buddhist Terms	p. 521
English-Tibetan-Sanskrit Glossary	p. 529
Select Bibliography	p. 561
Indexes
Technical Terms	p. 577
Proper Names	p. 584
Titles of Works Mentioned	p. 589
Locations	p. 590
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