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Tibet Before and After Buddhism

Jeffrey L. Richey, Ph.D.

REL 231

Religions of India and Tibet

Berea College

Fall 2003

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TIBETAN RELIGION BEFORE THE 7TH CENTURY CE

• Cult of divine king:1. Descendant of celestial beings

who reach earth via “sky rope”2. Perennially reborn essence of

royal ancestors3. Giver of law ( = cosmic order)• Priestly class (also regarded as

incarnations of predecessors):1. Bon (“reciters”) – preside over

coronations, funerals, sacrifices2. Shen – shamans who

communicate with spirit world• Since 1000 CE, Bönpo tradition

has claimed continuity with pre-Buddhist Tibetan religion

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THE ADVENT OF BUDDHISM IN TIBET

• By 600s CE, Tibet is major unified power in Asia, rivaling both Chinese Tang Empire (618-907) and Hindu kingdoms in India

• During reign of King Songtsen Gampo (c. 627-650), Chinese- and Nepalese-born Buddhist wives allegedly bring Buddhist traditions to the Tibetan court

• With Buddhist traditions come Sanskrit and development of Sanskrit-based written script for Tibetan language

• By 700s, Indian (Tantric) Buddhist missionaries active in Tibet, and indigenous religion suppressed by royal decree

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THE VAJRAYĀNA (TANTRIC) TRADITION

• Rooted in tantra (Sanskrit: “warp” of loom, “strands” of braid) – Indian esoteric tradition in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism

• Outgrowth of Mahāyāna speculation about “Buddha-nature” and “sudden” enlightenment, as well as interaction with Hindu bhākti

• Devotees regard the universe (macrocosm) as concrete manifestation of enlightened consciousness that creates and maintains it

• Using the body and other microcosms of universe, devotees utilize power of enlightened consciousness for liberation

• Devotees visualize and identify with Buddhas and bodhisattvas within in order to achieve enlightenment, using ritual elements as catalysts for transforming consciousness:

1. kāma (desire, especially sexual)2. mantra (sacred words)3. mandala (cosmic diagrams)4. mudrā (ritual gestures) • Strong emphasis on authority of guru

(Tibetan: lama), who may be an incarnate Buddha or bodhisattva

• “Right-handed” tantra tends toward internalization and spiritualization of practice (“knowing”-oriented)

• “Left-handed” tantra tends toward externalization and concretization of practice (“doing”-oriented)

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THE FALL AND RISE OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM

• Padmasambhava, an Indian Tantric master later regarded as a Buddha by Tibetans, establishes the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery (c. 779)

• Last of Tibetan kings, Lang Darma (r. 836-842), persecutes Buddhism, destroying monasteries and texts

• His subsequent assassination leads to 200-year period of disunity in which Buddhist and Bönpo partisans struggle for supremacy

• By 1000, Buddhism reintroduced and ties with Indian Buddhism renewed at a time of increasing peril for Buddhism in India

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TIBETAN BUDDHISM AND THE TIBETAN STATE

• Mongol annexation of Tibet (c. 1200) leads to establishment of Sakya Pandita (d. 1251), monk of Sakyapa sect, as viceroy of Tibet

• During Mongol (Yuan) reign over China (1280-1368), rule of Tibet by Sakyapa leaders continues (extending Tibetan Buddhist influence to China)

• As Mongol rule wanes, Tibetan Buddhism takes on nationalistic, xenophobic flavor, marked by “discovery” of gTer-ma (“treasure texts”) from India – supposedly long hidden and karmically timed to be revealed at opportune moments

• By 1400, Tibetan Buddhism increasingly independent of both Chinese-Mongol political control and Indian religious influence

• The Mādhyamika scholar Tsong Kha-pa (1357-1419) leads reform of Buddhist sects, revival of intellectual rigor, and promotion of monastic discipline in Tibet

• Leaders of his Gelugpa (“system of virtue”) sect, called Dalai Lama (Mongolian: “Ocean Guru”), regarded as tulku (incarnations) of Avalokiteśvara

• In 1642, fifth Dalai Lama becomes spiritual-political ruler of Tibet and asserts himself as equal to Chinese and Mongol heads of state

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THE MANDALA IN TIBETAN BUDDHISM

• Mandala is Tantric tool for accessing and utilizing the enlightened consciousness both without (in Buddhas) and within (in Buddha-nature) that creates and sustains universe

• Mandala is grid or template for tracking flow of power in universe, with source at center and all else radiating outward, becoming instrument for manipulating one’s consciousness

• Thus, mandala = mesocosm that bridges microcosm (human body) and macrocosm (universe)

• Mandalas constructed of painted sand often destroyed to symbolize truth of impermanence

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INVASION AND EXILE (1904-PRESENT)

• 1904: British invade Tibet to force acceptance of trade treaty

• 1907: Manchurian rulers of China invade Tibet to assert Chinese claim of political supremacy

• 1912: Manchurian (Qing) dynasty falls, temporarily ending threat

• 1959: 14th Dalai Lama escapes to India to avoid assassination by Chinese following 1950 invasion

• 1959-1979: 95% of Tibetan monasteries destroyed and Tibetan population displaced by massive Chinese immigration

• 1989: 14th Dalai Lama awarded Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to negotiate settlement with China

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