The Life of the Sixteenth Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje : Transmitting the Dharma in Exile (Studies in Modern Tibetan Culture)

Wang, Meng

Lexington Books（2025/02発売）

• 製本 Paperback:紙装版/ペーパーバック版／ページ数 312 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9781666913477

Full Description

The Sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, was the first Tibetan Buddhist leader to make extensive teaching tours to the West. His three tours to Europe and North America from 1974 to 1980 led to the global expansion of Tibetan Buddhist schools. This book presents the most in-depth analysis of the Karmapa's contribution to the preservation and transmission of Tibetan Buddhism in exile. It is the first study to combine Tibetan life-writing and biographical materials in English with a thorough examination of the transformation of Tibetan Buddhism in the modern era of globalization. Drawing on a wide range of data from written accounts, collections of photographs, recordings of interviews, and documentaries, the author discusses the life and activity of the Karmapa through the lens of cross-cultural interaction between Buddhism and the West with a particular focus on Asian agency. The study shows that the Karmapa's transmission strategies emphasized continuity with tradition with some openness for adaptation. His traditionalist approach and his success on the global scale challenge the popular assumption that the transmission of Buddhism is primarily a matter of Westernization, which, in turn, calls for a broader view that recognizes its complex and dynamic nature.

Contents

Acknowledgments
Part I: A Cross-Cultural Approach
Chapter 1: The Tibetan Perspective
Chapter 2: Western Context
Part II: Reception: Perceiving the Karmapa
Chapter 3: Faithful Translation
Chapter 4: The Emergence of New Narratives
Part III: Transmission (I): Preservation
Chapter 5: Politics and Patronage
Chapter 6: Preservation Initiative
Part IV: Transmission (II): Expansion
Chapter 7: Preparing the Ground
Chapter 8: Strategies on Tour
Conclusion
Appendix A: Rangjung Rigpe Dorje's rangnam: A Brief Autobiography
Appendix B: Rangjung Rigpe Dorje's namthar Composed by Thrangu Rinpoche: The Life Story of the Victorious One, the Great Sixteenth [Karmapa]
Bibliography
About the Author