Tibetan Culture 
On this page: Art, Music, Education, Environment, Medicine, Astrology, Religion
Tibetan Culture
On this page: Art, Music, Education, Environment, Medicine, Astrology, Religion
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Buddhism
in Contemporary Tibet: Religious Revival and Cultural Identity by Melvyn Goldstein, Matthew Kapstein, Orville Schell Paperback (1998) Hardcover (1998) Hardcover (1998) |
Dr. Goldstein is neither pro-communist China nor pro-political Tibet in his stance, but rather gives an educated and informed look at a political situation that, through a lack of reasonable compromise, has escalted to the point that the Dalai Lama will be forced to make some difficult choices in the next few years. This book outlines both the political and the ethnic situation in Tibet and explains how buddhism has played a major role in both. I feel if you want an informed and balanced view of the situation, than any of Goldstein's books would provide you with the necessary information to form an intelligent argument. A reader from Pennsylvania , February 14, 1999
Altar
of the Earth: The Life, Land, and Spirit of Tibet
by Peter Gold
Paperback (1988)
A beautifully illustrated coffee table book that should go well beyond the coffee table. Beginning with a foreword written by the Dalai Lama, the volume provides an intimate presentation of the Tibetan people through photographs and words. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
Isshi Yamada Northwestern University
There is hardly any book equal to Ways of Thinking of Eastern Peoples in terms of its
thorough and systematic presentation of the intricate thought patterns of Asian peoples.
The Golden Yoke:
The Legal Cosmology of Buddhist Tibet
by Rebecca Redwood French
Hardcover (1995)
French provides the first detailed examination of the Tibetan legal systyem based on
research carried out in India (Dharamsala) where she worked closely with a former Tibetan
official. Based on his own personal accounts of life as an official in central Tibet prior
to the occupation by China and law codes issued by the Ganden Phodrang government of the
Dalai Lamas and earlier works she provides an interesting, indeed fascinating insight into
the operation of law and legal processes in a Buddhist state. Using ancedotal evidence and
the law codes she divides the book in to two sections. The first outines legal and
Buddhist concepts which permeate the second part whcih uses a wide range of
"ethnographic" ancedotes to show how religious ideals and legal practices were
interlinked.
The writing is lucid and although an excellent work for those interested in Tibet
academically, it is an accessible work which contains many fascinating details. Perhaps it
is unfortunate that it appears to present Tibet as a homogenous society under the hegemoci
rule of the Lhasa government( which it was not), nor does she really consider law and
legal processes among non-Buddhist in Tibet, notably she is silent on Moslems and the
Bon-po and perhaps this reflects not only the desire to present the Buddhist aspect of law
in Tibet but the prejudices of her own principal informant. Her presentation of Buddhism
also perhaps gives the reader the impression of it being a monolithic and uniform religion
and in particular seems to emphasis the Gelugpa tradition within Tibetan Buddhism. What of
the other traditions and in particular non-Buddhist practices? On a more academic note it
would be more useful to scholars to have proper references to the sections of the law
codes cited that to her own note books! Of course Dr French is producing transaltions of
these works which will hopeful deal with this minor, but important comment.
Overall, an important first step towards developing our understanding and appreciation for
the interconnection between religious doctrine and law in Tibet. A real labor of love by
the author and one for which she must be highly commended.
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The
Buddha Scroll
by Thomas Cleary, Kuan-P'eng Ting
Hardcover (1999)
An exquisite 36-foot-long full-color Buddhist scroll. This is a one-of-a-kind art
reproduction. The Buddha Scroll contains a 36-foot-long, full-color reproduction of an
exquisite Qing dynasty (eighteenth century) Chinese Buddhist scroll. It includes more than
600 portraits-of buddhas, bodhisattvas, arhats, devas, and historical figures; as well as
over 2,000 images of other kinds-animals, flowers, Buddhist symbols, buildings, and
landscapes of the important to Zen, Hua-yen, Tian-tai, Pure Land, and Tantric schools of
Buddhism. A foldout key identifies each element of this extraordinary work of Buddhist
art.
The publisher, Shambhala , December 16, 1999
The
Tibetan Art of Healing
by Ian Baker, Romio Shrestha
Paperback (1997) Hardcover
(1997) Hardcover
(1997)
Tibetan medicine is becoming better known in the Western hemisphere, and this lavishly illustrated volume makes a great contribution to the dissemination of Tibet's medical knowledge. This work features the luminous recreations of traditional medical thanka paintings by the contemporary Nepalese master painter Romi Shrestha. The accompanying text by Ian Baker, who has studies with Hilalayan healers, yogins, and lamas, for fifteen years, unlocks the symbolism of these images for us. Yoga World
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