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Citation | Description | Abstract | University | Creation date"Creation date" is a predefined property that corresponds to the date of the first revision of a subject and is provided by <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://www.semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Special_properties">Semantic MediaWiki</a>. | |
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Chih-yi's Theory of Śamatha and Vipaśyanā: A Philosophical Inquiry into the Mo-ho chih-kuan | Chen, Kai-Yu. Chih-yi's Theory of Śamatha and Vipaśyanā: A Philosophical Inquiry into the Mo-ho chih-kuan. PhD diss., Temple University, 1997. | Temple University | 2 March 2011 21:55:39 | ||
Magical Movements ('phrul 'khor): Ancient Yogic Practices in the Bön Religion and Contemporary Medical Perspectives | Chaoul, Marco Alejandro. "Magical Movements ('phrul 'khor): Ancient Yogic Practices in the Bön Religion and Contemporary Medical Perspectives." PhD diss., Rice University, 2006. | Abstract Magical movement is a distinctive Tibetan practice of physical yoga in which breath and concentration of the mind are integrated as crucial components in conjunction with particular body movements. Present in all five spiritual traditions of Tibet---some more prevalent than others---it has been part of their spiritual training since at least the tenth century C.E. Focusing on the magical movement from the ancient Bon tradition's Oral Transmission of Zhang Zhung and its contemporary representatives and lineageholders, this dissertation will include textual translation and analysis as well as ethnographical research reporting how it is used in Bon lay settings and monastic curricula today. In particular I will use a commentary by the famous Bonpo scholar and meditator Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen, who allegedly attained the rainbow body in 1934 (a sign, in the tradition, of the highest contemplative state). He was also part of the non-sectarian ( ris med) Tibetan movement of his time. Although this aspect does not transpire in his Commentary, I feel that Shardza's example is present as an inspiration to the spirit in which I relate to the context of the practice and material contained in his text. Examining the use of the subtle body in magical movement and the understanding of "magic" in that context, I propose that here magic can have the external meaning of magic, the internal meaning of medicine and the most internal or secret meaning of mysticism. Thus, these magical movements provide the yogin or practitioner an opportunity to break through or go beyond the limitations of the body and to bring forth the mystical experiences together with the magical and healing aspects. Finally, tracing the migration of this practice to the West, both in dharma or Buddhist centers and the contemporary Western medical settings, I report some of the benefits of using these mind-body techniques as part of a CIM (Complementary and Integrative Medicine) treatment for people with cancer. This may allow magical movement to participate in a larger dialogue, one that extends the conversation to the fields medical humanity and integrative medicine, among others. (Source Accessed Nov 27, 2023) | Rice University | 2 March 2011 21:22:51 | |
A Study of the Relationship Between the Mongol Yuan Dynasty and the Tibetan Sa-Skya Sect | Chang, Jiunn Yih. A Study of the Relationship Between the Mongol Yuan Dynasty and the Tibetan Sa-Skya Sect. PhD diss., Indiana University, 1984. | Indiana University | 2 March 2011 21:06:46 | ||
Hunting the Guru: Lineage, Culture and Conflict in the Development of Tibetan Buddhism in America | Chandler, Jeannine M. Hunting the Guru: Lineage, Culture and Conflict in the Development of Tibetan Buddhism in America. PhD diss., State University of New York at Albany, 2009. | State University of New York at Albany | 2 March 2011 01:06:12 | ||
A Study of the Dharmadharmatāvibhāga: An Analysis of the Religious Philosophy of the Yogācāra, Together with an Annotated Translation of Vasabandhu's Commentary | Cha, John Younghan. A Study of the Dharmadharmatāvibhāga: An Analysis of the Religious Philosophy of the Yogācāra, Together with an Annotated Translation of Vasabandhu's Commentary. PhD diss., Northwestern University, 1996. | Northwestern University | 2 March 2011 00:50:43 | ||
The Buddhist Stūpa: Its History, Dimensions and Symbolism According to Tibetan Sources | Cayton, Lori J. The Buddhist Stūpa: Its History, Dimensions and Symbolism According to Tibetan Sources. PhD diss., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1996. | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 2 March 2011 00:26:47 | ||
Redeeming the Particular: Maximos the Confessor's Critique of Origenism and the Tibetan Debates on Practice | Cattoi, Thomas. Redeeming the Particular: Maximos the Confessor's Critique of Origenism and the Tibetan Debates on Practice. PhD diss., Boston College, 2006. | Boston College | 1 March 2011 23:35:31 | ||
Yogâcâra in autochthoner tibetischer Doxographie unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Thugs rje sems dpa'i theg pa der Bon-Tradition | Carstens, Carola S. Yogâcâra in autochthoner tibetischer Doxographie unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Thugs rje sems dpa'i theg pa der Bon-Tradition. PhD diss., Universität Hamburg, 2006. | Universität Hamburg | 1 March 2011 23:22:20 | ||
Why Do Americans Practice Tibetan Buddhism? | Capper, Daniel Stuart, Jr. Why Do Americans Practice Tibetan Buddhism?. PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2000. | University of Chicago | 1 March 2011 23:01:42 | ||
Knowing Body, Moving Mind: Ritualizing and Learning in Two Buddhist Centres in Toronto | Campbell, Patricia Q. Knowing Body, Moving Mind: Ritualizing and Learning in Two Buddhist Centres in Toronto. PhD diss., Wilfrid Laurier University, 2009. | Wilfrid Laurier University | 1 March 2011 22:46:08 | ||
The Development of a Buddhist Philosophy of Language and Its Culmination in Tibetan Mādhyamika Thought | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 1 March 2011 22:26:33 | |||
Embodying Morality: A Pluralistic Approach to the Cultivation of Moral Perception and Action Through the Body | Butnor, Ashby. Embodying Morality: A Pluralistic Approach to the Cultivation of Moral Perception and Action Through the Body. PhD diss., University of Hawai'i, 2009. | University of Hawai'i | 1 March 2011 20:24:29 | ||
Shelled: Evocations of a Ghostly Ethics | Burgos, Adam. Shelled: Evocations of a Ghostly Ethics. PhD diss., American University, 2009. | American University | 1 March 2011 19:58:28 | ||
Tarthang Tulku and the Quest for an American Buddhism | Browning, James Clyde. Tarthang Tulku and the Quest for an American Buddhism. PhD diss., Baylor University, 1985. | Baylor University | 1 March 2011 19:51:48 | ||
Handprints and Footprints in Tibetan Painting | Brown, Kathryn H. Selig. Handprints and Footprints in Tibetan Painting. PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2000. | University of Michigan | 1 March 2011 19:46:54 | ||
Mahāmudrā Meditation-Stages and Contemporary Cognitive Psychology: A Study in Comparative Psychological Hermeneutics | Brown, Daniel P. Mahāmudrā Meditation-Stages and Contemporary Cognitive Psychology: A Study in Comparative Psychological Hermeneutics. PhD diss., University of Chicago, 1981. | University of Chicago | 1 March 2011 19:34:06 | ||
Possession, Immersion, and the Intoxicated Madnesses of Devotion in Hindu Traditions | Braverman, Marcy Alison. Possession, Immersion, and the Intoxicated Madnesses of Devotion in Hindu Traditions. PhD diss., University of California at Santa Barbara, 2003. | University of California at Santa Barbara | 1 March 2011 19:30:11 | ||
Saraha's Adamantine Songs: Texts, Contexts, Translations and Traditions of the Great Seal | Braitstein, Lara E. Saraha's Adamantine Songs: Texts, Contexts, Translations and Traditions of the Great Seal. PhD diss., McGill University, 2004. | McGill University | 1 March 2011 19:24:51 | ||
A Study of the Five Aggregates in Theravāda Buddhism: Their Order and Their Relation to the Doctrine of the paṭiccasamuppāda | Boisvert, Mathieu. A Study of the Five Aggregates in Theravāda Buddhism: Their Order and Their Relation to the Doctrine of the paṭiccasamuppāda. PhD diss., McGill University, 1992. | McGill University | 1 March 2011 19:07:46 | ||
The Life of Yol mo Bstan 'dzin nor bu: A Critical Edition, Translation, and Study of the Memoirs of a Seventeenth-Century Tibetan Buddhist Lama | Bogin, Benjamin E.. The Life of Yol mo Bstan 'dzin nor bu: A Critical Edition, Translation, and Study of the Memoirs of a Seventeenth-Century Tibetan Buddhist Lama. PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2005. | University of Michigan | 1 March 2011 18:51:01 | ||
Interpreting Mahāyāna Syncretism: A Comparative Study of Śāntarakṣita's The Ornament for the Middle Way in Indian and Tibetan Contexts | Blumenthal, James A. Interpreting Mahāyāna Syncretism: A Comparative Study of Śāntarakṣita's The Ornament for the Middle Way in Indian and Tibetan Contexts. PhD diss., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1999. | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 1 March 2011 18:37:51 | ||
Mystical Experience: Interpretation and Comparison | Blum, Jason N. Mystical Experience: Interpretation and Comparison. PhD diss., University of Pennsylvania, 2009. | University of Pennsylvania | 1 March 2011 01:16:06 | ||
The Mirrorwork of Tibetan Religious Historians: A Comparison of Buddhist and Bon Historiography | Bjerken, Zeff. The Mirrorwork of Tibetan Religious Historians: A Comparison of Buddhist and Bon Historiography. PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2001. | University of Michigan | 1 March 2011 00:54:52 | ||
Taboo and Orthodoxy: Making Tantra Respectable in 11th Century Kashmir | Biernacki, Loriliai. Taboo and Orthodoxy: Making Tantra Respectable in 11th Century Kashmir. PhD diss., University of Pennsylvania, 1999. | University of Pennsylvania | 1 March 2011 00:50:36 | ||
Religious Bodies Politic: Rituals of Sovereignty in Buryat Buddhism | Bernstein, Anya. Religious Bodies Politic: Rituals of Sovereignty in Buryat Buddhism. PhD diss., New York University, 2010. | New York University | 1 March 2011 00:36:13 | ||
The Mythic Journey and Its Symbolism: A Study of the Development of Buddhist Guidebooks to Śambhala in Relation to Their Antecedents in Hindu Mythology | Bernbaum, Edwin Marshall. The Mythic Journey and Its Symbolism: A Study of the Development of Buddhist Guidebooks to Śambhala in Relation to Their Antecedents in Hindu Mythology. PhD diss., University of California at Berkeley, 1985. | University of California at Berkeley | 1 March 2011 00:22:13 | ||
Guru Love: On the Tropes of Eroticism in the Spiritual Relationship Between Master and Disciple | Beritela, Gerard F. Guru Love: On the Tropes of Eroticism in the Spiritual Relationship Between Master and Disciple. PhD diss., Syracuse University, 2009. | Syracuse University | 1 March 2011 00:00:32 | ||
Logic, Lives, and Lineage: Jetsun Chökyi Gyaltsen's Ascension and the Secret Biography of Khedrup Geleg Pelzang | Ary, Elijah S.. Logic, Lives, and Lineage: Jetsun Chökyi Gyaltsen's Ascension and the Secret Biography of Khedrup Geleg Pelzang. PhD diss., Harvard University, 2007. | Harvard University | 28 February 2011 23:36:56 | ||
Kālacakra: Textual and Ritual Perspectives | Andresen, Jensine. Kālacakra Textual and Ritual Perspectives. PhD Diss., Harvard University, 1997. | Harvard University | 28 February 2011 23:25:52 | ||
Vasubandhu's Commentary to the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra: A Study of its History and Significance | Abbott, Terry Rae. Vasubandhu's Commentary to the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra: A Study of its History and Significance. PhD diss., University of California at Berkeley, 1985. | University of California at Berkeley | 28 February 2011 23:07:50 | ||
Theosis Re-considered. The Dynamic Nature of Salvation | Abadjieva, Ilina. Theosis Re-considered. PhD diss., Boston College, 2006. | Boston College | 28 February 2011 22:41:53 | ||
The Weaving of a Buddhist Empire—Mandalas and Manjusri in the Reign of Qianlong | Wright, Darren J.. The Weaving of a Buddhist Empire—Mandalas and Manjusri in the Reign of Qianlong. MA Thesis, University of Colorado, 2007. | University of Colorado | 28 February 2011 21:43:40 | ||
Venerable Fazun and His Influence on Life and Education at the Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Institute | Sullivan, Brenton. Venerable Fazun and His Influence on Life and Education at the Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Institute. MA Theses, University of Kansas, 2007. | University of Kansas | 28 February 2011 20:42:11 | ||
Three Studies in Non-Tantric Buddhist Cult Forms | Schopen, Gregory. "Three Studies in Non-Tantric Buddhist Cult Forms." MA thesis, McMaster University, 1975. | Abstract This thesis attempts to present three separate but related bodies of material which might contribute towards the eventual establishment of a new basic descriptive category in the field of Buddhist Studies: non-tantric pūjā. The first part deals with a previously unacknowledged form of the relic-cult; the second, with an equally unacknowledged cult of the book; the third with the image-cult. A fourth part indicates a few problematic factors involved in future research in the area. | McMaster University | 28 February 2011 20:18:50 | |
The Enlightened Heart of Buddhahood | Schaeffer, Kurtis R. "The Enlightened Heart of Buddhahood: A Study and Translation of The Third Karma pa Rang byung rdo rje's Work on Tathāgatagarbha, The De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po gtan la dbab pa." MA thesis, University of Washington, 1995. | This thesis includes a translation of The Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje's work on Tathāgatagarbha, the Pronouncement on the Enlightened Heart of Buddhahood (De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po gtan la dbab pa) along with notes from the Fifth Shamar, Kongchog Yenlag (1525-1583). Kurtis Schaeffer analyzes the thought and language of the text and presents the key points cogently. Also included is a diplomatic edition of the Tibetan text in Wylie along with seven appendixes, including Jamgon Kongtrul's outline of Rangjung Dorje's text, a song on buddha-nature, and information from the Zab mo nang don related to the heart of Buddhahood. | University of Washington | 28 February 2011 19:46:57 | |
Culture and Subculture - A Study of the Mahāmudrā Teachings of Sgam po pa | Kragh, Ulrich. Culture and Subculture: A Study of the Mahāmudrā Teachings of Sgam po pa. MA Thesis, University of Copenhagen, 1998. | University of Copenhagen | 28 February 2011 19:23:18 | ||
A Critical Study of the Guhyasamāja Tantra | Fremantle, Francesca. "A Critical Study of the Guhyasamāja Tantra". PhD Diss., University of London, 1971. | The main part of this work is an English translation, for the first time in its entirety, of the Guhyasamāja Tantra, and a new critical edition of its Sanskrit text. The Guhyasamāja is one of the oldest and most important of Buddhist Tantras, a class of literature which deals with the practice of yoga, ritual and meditation; containing large numbers of mantras and detailed descriptions for the construction of maṇḍalas and the visualisation of deities. It takes the form of an exposition by Vajradhara, the supreme personification of the state of enlightenment, to a great assembly of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who have emanated from him: he speaks of the nature of phenomenal existence and of enlightenment in terms of the doctrine of the Void, and presents the method of release peculiar to the Tantras, also introducing new and unorthodox concepts and practices expressed in symbolic language. This edition of the Sanskrit text is based on a previous published edition and original manuscripts, with the help of the only surviving Sanskrit Commentary, and by a comparison with the Tibetan translation, which exists in two versions: one of these versions is presented in full alongside the Sanskrit, and notes on the other are given in an Appendix. The English translation is preceded by an introduction in which the nature of the text is discussed, and accompanied by notes elucidating it on the basis of the Commentary. | University of London | 14 January 2011 20:02:50 | |
The Gzhan stong Chen mo | Sheehy, Michael. "The Gzhan stong Chen mo: A Study of Emptiness according to the Modern Tibetan Buddhist Jo nang Scholar 'Dzam thang Mkhan po Ngag dbang Blo gros Grags pa (1920-75)." PhD diss., California Institute of Integral Studies, 2007. | Abstract Among the magnificently diverse syntheses of Indian Buddhist thought elaborated in Tibet, the understanding of gzhan stong (zhentong) or “extrinsic emptiness” as articulated through authors of the Jo nang tradition has come to inhabit a distinctive place within Tibetan Buddhist philosophical discourse. Exploring the history and literary heritage of gzhan stong philosophical thinking within the Jo nang tradition, we trace the sequential lineage (rings lugs) of the Jo nang pa, examining the distinctive gzhan stong view through a study and translation of the gzhi (ground) section of 'Dzam thang Mkhan po Ngag dbang Blo gros grags pa's (1920-75) seminal text titled, the “Gzhan stong Chen mo” or the “Great
Exposition on Extrinsic Emptiness.” | California Institute of Integral Studies | 13 January 2011 21:34:14 | |
The Doxographical Genius of Kun mkhyen kLong chen rab 'byams pa | Butters, Albion Moonlight. The Doxographical Genius of Kun mkhyen kLong chen rab ’byams pa. PhD diss, Columbia University, 2005. | Abstract This thesis explores the largely unrecognized scholastic contributions of one of Tibet’s greatest thinkers, kLong chen rab ’byams pa (1308-1363), as synthesized in his extremely detailed doxographic overview of Buddhist tenet-systems (the Precious Treasury of Spiritual Systems, or Grub mtha’ mdzod). The bulk of previous work done on this scholar has focused almost exclusively on his writings on the tantric modality of Atiyoga (or rDzogs chen). This study addresses kLong chen pa’s endeavors to integrate this school of thought with the other Buddhist vehicles (Sūtrayāna and Mantrayāna) by means of parallel techniques and a polysemic hermeneutic. In the process, it also questions a number of critiques brought against rDzogs chen. Furthermore, by locating kLong chen pa biographically and textually in relation to the other seminal figures of 14th century central Tibet (e.g., Bu ston, O rgyan gling pa, Dol po pa), this essay shows the precise nature of his wide-ranging contributions to canonical construction within the rNying ma school and the particularities involved with his interpretation of Buddhism’s two-reality theory (relative and ultimate) in relation to the Svātantrika and Prāsaṅgika schools of Madhyamaka philosophy. Taken together, all of these various disciplines paint a much more nuanced picture of kLong chen pa than the mere epithets of yogi or scholar so often used to describe him. The annotated translation of the Grub mtha’ mdzod included with this study both introduces and is contextualized in terms of the eclectic Indo-Tibetan literary genre of doxography (siddhānta/grub mtha’). Also included is a translation of the dialectical section of kLong chen pa’s Wish-fulfilling Treasury (Yid bzhin mdzod) and a detailed enumeration of the tantras included by kLong chen pa in the various traditions of Mantrayāna. | Columbia University | 13 January 2011 00:00:03 | |
RNgog Blo-ldan-shes-rab's Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga | Kano, Kazuo. "rNgog Blo-ldan-shes-rab's Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha-Nature Doctrine." PhD diss., University of Hamburg, 2006. | The purpose of the present thesis is to study the origin of the RGV's tradition in Tibet, studying the earliest Tibetan commentary, Theg chen rgyud bla ma'i don bsdus pa by rNgog-lo, and to clarify the historical and doctrinal background of the transmission of the RGV from India to Tibet as well as rNgog-lo's impact upon the later doctrinal development with regard to the RGV. To avoid the kind of prejudices that sometimes appeared in the course of the later doctrinal development, we remain mindful of the gap between the original purport of the RGV, which clarified the Buddha nature teaching in line with a group of the “Buddha nature sūtras” (critical successors of the Prajñāpāramitāsūtras), and that of later Indian and Tibetan traditions, which sometimes integrated the Buddha nature teaching into their Madhyamaka or Yogācāra while losing sight of the RGV's original purport. One of the tasks in the present thesis is to clarify how such a gap had arisen and come to be accepted by a certain tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Part I, the historical and doctrinal background, consists of six chapters: Chapter 1 describes the authorship and the history of the transmission of the RGV in India, using Indian and Tibetan materials. Chapter 2 studies six different Tibetan translations of the RGV, clarifying how the RGV was transmitted from India to Tibet. Chapter 3 outlines rNgog's life and writings. Chapter 4 presents rNgog's philosophical positions taught in his RGV commentary. Chapters 5 and 6 discuss the impact of his interpretations on the later Tibetan doctrinal developments, and reactions to them. Part II is a critical edition of rNgog-lo's RGV commentary, Theg chen rgyud bla ma'i don bsdus pa (1a-46a5 and 65a5-66a4), preceded by an explanation of textual materials and an outline of the whole text. Part III presents an annotated translation of that commentary. Appendix A presents a diplomatic edition of rNgog-lo's “topical outline” of the RGV, his other work related to the RGV (discovered at Kharakhoto and preserved in the British Library). Appendix B presents a critical edition of a versified summary of the RGV in Sanskrit, the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstropadeśa composed by the Kashmiri Paṇḍita Sajjana, a teacher of rNgog-lo. Appendix C provides another Sanskrit commentary on the RGV, Vairocanarakṣita's Mahāyanottaratantraṭippaṇī, while appendix D presents translations of relevant passages from the Sākārasiddhi and Sākarasaṃgraha of Jñānaśrīmitra. Appendix E presents rNgog-lo's identification of the passages of the RGVV that refer to the Nidānaparivarta (“introductory chapter”) of the Dhāraṇīśvararājasūtra, as well as a topical outline of this chapter of the sūtra. Appendix F investigates the dating of Blo-gros-mtshungs-med, who among later Tibetans criticized rNgog-lo's position most severely. Appendix G presents a list of commentaries on the RGV. Appendix H lists records of the RGV's transmission lineage from gsan yigs. (Kano, introduction, 12-13) | Universität Hamburg | 11 January 2011 22:07:02 | |
Mahāyāna Buddhist Religious Practice and The Perfection of Wisdom | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 10 January 2011 23:10:20 | |||
A Preliminary Study of Kharoṣṭhī Manuscript Paleography | University of Washington | 11 August 2010 01:58:18 | |||
The Yogachara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka School of Buddhism and Its Influence on rnying-ma Doctrine with Special Reference to Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalamkara | University of Bristol | 26 April 2009 11:48:03 | |||
The klong chen snying thig: An Eighteenth Century Tibetan Revelation | Goodman, Steven D. The klong chen snying thig: An Eighteenth Century Tibetan Revelation. PhD Thesis, University of Saskatchewan, 1983. | University of Saskatchewan | 5 February 2009 19:08:06 | ||
The Development of Prajñā in Buddhism | Qing, Fa. The Development of Prajñā in Buddhism From Early Buddhism to the Prajñāpāramitā System: With Special Reference to the Sarvāstivāda Tradition. PhD diss., University of Calgary, 2001. | University of Calgary | 22 January 2009 18:43:41 | ||
Knowing that one knows | Boston University | 20 January 2009 02:04:13 | |||
A Study of Mahāyānasaṁgraha III | University of Calgary | 16 January 2009 20:13:08 | |||
Bhāvaviveka's Prajñāpradīpa | Ames, William L. . "Bhāvaviveka's Prajñāpradīpa: Six Chapters." PhD diss., University of Washington, 1986. | University of Washington | 13 January 2009 03:33:11 | ||
The Significance of Yoga Tantra and the Compendium of Principles (Tattvasaṃgraha Tantra) | University of Virginia | 30 December 2008 19:08:06 | |||
A Philosophic Investigation of the Ch'eng Wei—shih Lun | Lusthaus, Dan. A Philosophic Investigation of The Ch'eng Wei—shih Lun: Vasubandhu, Hsüan Tsang and the Transmission of Vijñapti-mātra (Yogācāra) From India to China. PhD diss., Temple University, 1989. | Temple University | 22 December 2008 21:28:05 | ||
'Jig rten mgon po and the Single Intention | Liu, Kuo-wei. "'Jig rten mgon po and the 'Single Intention' (Dgongs gcig): His View on Bodhisattva Vow and Its Influence on Medieval Tibetan Buddhism." PhD diss., Harvard University, 2002. | Abstract This study hopes to contribute to the field of Tibetan intellectual history and to the understanding of Buddhist vows through the investigation of the Bodhisattva vow as seen from the perspective of Tibetan scholars, using 'Jig rten mgon po as an example. | Harvard University | 17 December 2008 23:20:13 | |
Controversy Over Dharmakāya in Indo—Tibetan Buddhism | Makransky, John J. Controversy Over Dharmakāya in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism: An Historical-Critical Analysis of Abhisamayālaṃkāra Chapter 8 and its Commentaries in Relation to the Large Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra and the Yogācāra Tradition. PhD diss., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1999. | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 16 December 2008 22:33:56 | ||
The Sinicization of Buddhism | Harvard University | 12 December 2008 22:30:13 | |||
Unique Tenets of the Middle Way Consequence School Dissertation | Cozort, Daniel. "Unique Tenets of the Middle Way Consequence School: the Systematization of the Philosophy of the Indian Buddhist Prāsaṅgika-Mādhyamika School by the Tibetan Ge-luk-ba Scholastic Tradition." PhD diss., University of Virginia, 1989. | University of Virginia | 12 December 2008 18:44:57 | ||
Buddha-Nature and a Dialectic of Presence and Absence in the Works of Mi-pham | Duckworth, Douglas S. "Buddha-Nature and a Dialectic of Presence and Absence in the Works of Mi-Pham (mi pham rgya mtsho)." PhD Diss, University of Virginia, 2005. | Abstract This dissertation addresses the relationship between metaphysical presence and absence (emptiness) in Buddhism through a focus on the Nying-ma tradition as articulated in the works of Mi-pham ( 'ju mi pham rgya mtsho, 1846-1912), a great synthesizer of Buddhist doctrine and Nying-ma philosophy. I draw widely from his writings on Yogācāra, Madhyamaka, and tantra to discuss the significance of an ontological "ground" (gzhi), or Buddha-nature, as the central theme in his overall interpretative scheme. Mi-pham was a prolific writer on a variety of topics, and had a remarkable ability to synthesize diverse strands of thought. The tradition of the Nying-ma is a complex one, and there are many divergent and competing voices that lay claim to the tradition. I will try to present important facets of this central theme in Mi-pham’s philosophy of Nying-ma, and show how he uses a dialectic of presence and absence around which he discusses a unified ground. Mi-pham was a prominent figure in the Tibetan non-sectarian (ris med) movement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He most notably brought esoteric Nying-ma doctrines into conversation with the exoteric scholastic discourses of his day. Mi-pham formulates the Nying-ma tradition of his predecessors Long-chen-pa (klong chen rab 'byam, 1308-1364) and Rong-zom (rong zom chos kyi bzang po, ca. 11th c.) in response to traditions of "other-emptiness," through which he distinguishes his Nying-ma tradition. Buddha-nature is a theme in Mi-pham's work that has a strong association with tantra in the Nying-ma tradition. His affirmation of the presence of Buddha-nature as intrinsic within the ground of existence shares predominant characteristics of the discourses of tantra in the Nying-ma tradition and, in particular, the Great Perfection (rdzogs chen). The Great Perfection is an antischolastic textual and meditative tradition that consistently evades systematic analysis, and in a fundamental way is antithetical to abstract conceptual determination. Mi-pham creatively formulates the esoteric discourses that have defined the Nying-ma tradition—the Great Perfection and the tantric tradition of the Guhyagarbha—in terms of central exoteric discourses of Buddhism: Buddha-nature, the Middle Way, and Buddhist epistemological systems. This dissertation explores a range of topics within Mi-pham's thought to underscore Buddha-nature and a dialectic of presence and absence as a central thread that runs through his interpretative system. | University of Virginia | 12 December 2008 16:02:07 | |
The Birth of Prāsaṅgika | University of Virginia | 11 December 2008 15:42:51 | |||
Echoes of Empty Luminosity | Komarovski, Yaroslav. "Echoes of Empty Luminosity: Reevaluation and Unique Interpretation of Yogācāra and Niḥsvabhāvavāda Madhyamaka by the Fifteenth Century Tibetan Thinker Śākya mchog ldan." PhD diss., University of Virginia, 2007. | Abstract One of the most complicated areas of Buddhist thought explored by Śākya mchog ldan in minute detail is the nature and relationship of the Mahāyāna doctrinal systems. In Tibet, Yogācāra and Madhyamaka are nearly universally viewed as the two most important Buddhist philosophical traditions, with a clear orthodoxy in place by the 15th century that subordinated the former to the latter. Śākya mchog ldan’s innovative approach to the categories of Buddhist systems can be summarized in terms of his explanation of Yogācāra as involving a Satyākāra (rnam bden pa, “True Aspectarians”) subdivision which he identifies with Cittamātra (sems tsam, “Mind Only”) and an Alīkākāra (rnam rdzun pa, “False Aspectarians”) subdivision which he identifies as a subdivision of Madhyamaka on an equal footing with Niḥsvabhāvavāda (ngo bo nyid med par smra ba, “Proponents of Entitylessness”). While seemingly simple, this basic formula in fact consists of an intricate web of ideas—the structure and meaning of the Mahāyāna tenets, continuities and discontinuities between tantric and non-tantric forms of Madhyamaka, reality of self-cognition, transition from conceptual to non-conceptual understanding of emptiness, and disparate approaches to abandoning obscurations, to mention just a few. In this study, I argue that by placing the Alīkākāra system on the level of Madhyamaka, and showing its important differences, compatibility, and interdependence with Niḥsvabhāvavāda, Śākya mchog ldan attempts nothing less than a thorough reconsideration and reconfiguration of the fundamental Buddhist doctrinal categories. The key innovation, within the context of the general Tibetan philosophical orthodoxy according Madhyamaka the sole spot at the pinnacle of doxographical hierarchies, is to elevate Yogācāra thinkers and their works to a comparable, and often superior, position. | University of Virginia | 3 November 2008 12:07:20 |