Tibetan Buddhist Autobiography 18th Century To Present

Date of Award

2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Vesperi, Maria

Keywords

Tibet, Buddhism, Autobiography

Area of Concentration

Anthropology

Abstract

The tremendous literary heritage of Tibetan Buddhist culture contains a number of autobiographical works known as rangnam, or liberation stories, written as early as the eleventh century. In a style unique to Tibet, accomplished Buddhist masters would give accounts of their outer, inner, and secret lives on the path to enlightenment, negotiating Buddhist ideals with the lived realities of Tibetan society via the written medium. This thesis will explore the genre of rangnam, examining selected works of Tibetan Buddhists from the 18th through 20th centuries. Looking at how historically situated individuals lived and wrote in a traditional framework that also served as a conduit for change gives valuable insight into the richness and complexity of Tibetan culture as it existed prior to the Chinese invasion in the 1950s. It also provides a starting point for understanding the diversity of autobiographical material to come out of Tibet after the tremendous cultural upheaval experienced over the last six decades.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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