1 Abstract The thesis deals primarily with the Tibetan text of The Genealogy of Ya-ngal Family of Dolpo, which is an important document concerning the history of Western Tibet. The text itself has never been fully translated and there are also different manuscript versions of it, which contain partially different reading. The various manuscript versions have been compared and the critical edition of the text has been established. This formed the basis for translation of the entire text into English. This core of the dissertation is preceded by necessary background information on the region of Dolpo, its history and a significance of the role the Ya-ngal family played in it. Second chapter contains the translation of the Genealogy with detailed comments in the footnotes. The entire text has been divided into chapters, whose titles are given in the square brackets indicating thus that they are missing in the original text. The third chapter focuses mainly on the specific abbreviations of written words used across the entire text of the Genealogy, since there is hardly any literature in western languages dealing with this topic. This part is introduced by brief linguistic description of the Dolpo dialect of Tibetan. It is followed by general introduction of the abbreviating styles in Tibetan scriptures. The...

The Tibetan practice of bcud len, or 'extracting the essence', has been for long a neglected aspect of Tibetan medical and spiritual knowledge with scattered evidence and little certainty regarding its origins or the extent of its effective presence, either in the past or at currently. In this study, seventy-three texts have been identified and tabulated. Of these, sixty-seven have been summarised and commented on, and five of these, each representative of one type of the practice, have been translated in full. All but a handful of these texts have not been translated previously. The research findings suggest that, whatever its influences from Indian, Chinese or other medical cultures, bcud len soon evolved into a distinctively Tibetan method of life enhancement, with teachings that emphasise both spiritual and medical aims and the use of indigenous Tibetan remedies, accompanied in some cases by particular rituals. The content of the texts indicates that the term bcud len can be applied legitimately to practices involving ritually empowered pills and elixirs which are ingested, respiratory and yogic exercises, dietary restrictions and rituals involving mantra recitation, visualisation and yab yum union with a consort, in that all these are considered to be means of obtaining 'the essence'. The teachings offer extensive material for those interested in the evolution and contemporary practice of Tibetan medicine, especially its botanical aspects, and for historians of ritual. In particular, the texts provide ample evidence of the lineage tradition in Tibetan religious culture, citing examples of transmissions through gter ma, whereby teachings are preserved in secret to be recovered at a future date by a gter ton or treasure revealer. The final section contains conversations with Tibetan doctors, lamas and contemporary practitioners of bcud len in Asia and the West that complement recent ethnographic studies in the field testifying to the continuing vitality of the tradition.

Woo Ka-yan. / "September 2003." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

published_or_final_version / Earth Sciences / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

(ENGLISH) Proposed dissertation examines a so-far less discussed topic of modern Tibetan literature, which is for the purpose of this study defined ethnically, not as based on language of literary creation. Because of specific socio-historical and cultural conditions, modern literature in the Western sense has not emerged in Tibet until the second half of the 20th century. The emergence of modern Tibetan literature was, as in case of genesis of other Asian modern-style literatures, initiated by an encounter with another culture (i.e. 'Western', 'rational', 'scientific' worldview, which was in case of Tibet introduced through the communist China). In the beginning of the 1980s, this process was de facto enforced by the need (of Chinese as well as Tibetan elites) to establish this literature as an authentic Tibetan voice, affirming their will to modernization through Tibet's belonging to the PRC. At the same time, modern Tibetan literature emerged in a period of certain liberalization after the Cultural Revolution, which in Tibet manifested as a kind of 'national revival', oriented specifically on restoration of religion and related cultural heritage. During that period this literature thus served two seemingly contradictory interests. In Tibetan society it played mainly enlightening and didactic...

published_or_final_version / Earth Sciences / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

藏族唐卡或稱藏族掛軸畫，乃藏族藝術作品中一項特殊的表現形式。就內 容觀察，唐卡顯示著濃厚的宗教性質；由型式發展來看，這種繪畫形式受 到漢地及印度、尼泊爾等地的影響，經過長時期發展與融合後，唐卡目前 已是藏族一項獨特的藝術作品。由於唐卡具有題材包羅廣泛、主題內容各 具意義、製作技巧及理論並非一般人能掌握、色彩及顏料等材料具特性等 等性質存在，同時唐卡畫像中隱涵著藏族宗教觀、思想價值觀、審美原則 等抽象意義因此，本論文由文獻整理及實地調查兩種方法著手，希望對唐 卡本身的發展、存在的背景、代表意義、運用功能等方面研討，期以說明 唐卡在藏族社會文化中扮演的角色與在藝術上的特殊的意義。本研究採取 文獻整理及實地訪問方式完成，目的除了對藏族唐卡的特殊性做解說外， 並對藏族的社會文化做瞭解．且對藏族文化內涵做更深一層的體認，以作 為認識藏族文化的另一個基礎。

This thesis is a scholarly account of my personal journey as a single mother to find my place in the world both spiritually and professionally. Deep personal and universalizable issues are covered including the transition from childhood to adulthood, parenting, birth, death, significant life changing events and the dramatic effect that changing spiritual, gender and religious views have on facing life challenges. Special emphasis is centered on the importance of my feminine spirituality and the pursuit of religious/spiritual experiences within traditional and non-traditional educational opportunities up to and including the present day and my hopeful vision for the future. My writing is heavily laced with spirituality, personal insights, stories as illustration for key points and a few surprising revelations. Surprises included the nature of growing up in Generation X with a healthy understanding and disrespect for organizations of all types, especially religious, and the effect this had on nurturing my atheist Millennial children; the actual impact of my travels in Tibet and China versus what I had expected from going; and how everything I have learned up to this point makes me more convinced than ever that pursuing further studies in Women’s Spirituality is absolutely the route for me at this time and my way of making life a little bit better for those who come after me. My hope for this thesis is to further the understanding of the general interested public of the challenges facing single mothers and their children, to show the helpful effects of a spiritual connection or search in getting through life’s difficult moments, the power of writing as a means of spiritual and personal connection and to reinforce the notion that there is a still a long way to go in making our society a just place to be a woman in.

Das Tibetplateau (TP) ist das höchste Gebirgsplateau der Erde und bildete sich im Verlauf der letzten 50 Millionen Jahre. Durch seine Ausmaße veränderte das TP nicht nur das Klima im heutigen Asien, sondern bewirkte Veränderungen weltweit. Heute stellt das TP einen Hotspot des Klimawandels dar und ist als Quellgebiet vieler großer Flüsse in Asien für die Wasserversorgung von Milliarden von Menschen von zentraler Bedeutung. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist es wichtig, die Prozesse, die das Klima in der Region steuern, besser zu verstehen und die Variabilität des Klimas auf unterschiedlichen Zeitskalen abschätzen zu können. Grundlegendes Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, räumlich hochaufgelöste quantitative Informationen über die Veränderung der klimatischen Verhältnisse in Asien während der Bildungsphase des TP und unter warm- und kaltzeitlichen Randbedingungen zur Verfügung zu stellen und dadurch eine Verbindung zwischen den verschiedenen Zeitskalen herzustellen. Hierfür werden das heutige Klima und das Paläoklima der Region mit Hilfe von Klimamodellen simuliert. Da frühere Studien zeigen konnten, dass die Ergebnisse von hochaufgelösten Modellen besser mit Paläoklimarekonstruktionen übereinstimmen, als die von vergleichsweise niedrig aufgelösten Globalmodellen, erfolgt ein dynamisches Downscaling des globalen Klimamodells ECHAM5 mit dem regionalen Klimamodell REMO. Die Heraushebung des TP wird durch eine Serie von fünf Simulationen (Topogra- phieexperimente) approximiert, in denen die Höhe des TP in 25%-Schritten von 0% bis 100% der heutigen Höhe verändert wird. Die Schwankungen des Klimas im spä- ten Quartär sind durch Simulationen für das mittlere Holozän und den Hochstand der letzten Vereisung, das Last-Glacial-Maximum, repräsentiert (Quartärexperi- mente). In den Quartärexperimenten wurden die Treibhausgaskonzentrationen, Orbitalparameter, Landbedeckung und verschiedene Vegetationsparameter an die Bedingungen der jeweiligen Zeitscheibe angepasst. Die Auswertung der Simulati- onsergebnisse konzentriert sich auf jährliche und jahreszeitliche Veränderungen der bodennahen Temperatur und des Niederschlags. Außerdem werden die sich erge- benden Änderungen in der Intensität des indischen Monsuns anhand verschiedener Monsunindizes analysiert. Für das TP und die sich unmittelbar anschließenden Ge- biete wird zusätzlich eine Clusteranalyse durchgeführt, um die dort vorkommenden regionalen Klimatypen identifizieren und charakterisieren zu können. In den Topographieexperimenten zeigt sich, dass die 2m-Temperatur im Bereich des TP im Jahresmittel mit abnehmender Höhe des Plateaus um bis zu 30◦C zunimmt, während es in den übrigen Teilen des Modellgebiets nahezu überall kälter wird. Die Jahressumme des Niederschlags nimmt mit abnehmender Höhe des TP westlich und nördlich davon zu. Im Bereich des TP sowie südlich und östlich davon gehen die Niederschläge zurück. Die starke Niederschlagszunahme nördlich des TP kann durch die Ausbildung eines Höhentrogs statt eines Höhenrückens in diesem Bereich erklärt werden. Das grundsätzliche räumliche Muster der Veränderungen besteht dabei bereits bei einer Plateauhöhe von 75% des Ausgangswertes und ändert sich bei weiterer Verringerung der Höhe nicht wesentlich. Lediglich der Betrag der Veränderungen nimmt zu. Dies gilt für die 2m-Temperatur und den Niederschlag und sowohl im Jahresmittel als auch für die einzelnen Jahreszeiten. Bezüglich der Intensität des indischen Sommermonsuns zeigt sich, dass zwischen 25% und 75% der heutigen Höhe des TP die stärkste Intensivierung stattfindet. Eine mit heute vergleichbare Monsunintensität tritt erst auf, wenn das TP die Hälfte seiner jetzigen Höhe erreicht hat. Im mittleren Holozän ist es im Jahresmittel in den meisten Teilen des Modellge- biets kälter und feuchter als heute. Die Unterschiede sind jedoch größtenteils gering und nicht signifikant. Hinsichtlich der Temperatur zeigen die Modelldaten nur vereinzelt eine gute Übereinstimmung mit den rekonstruierten Werten. Allerdings weisen die Rekonstruktionen eine hohe räumliche Variabilität auf, wodurch die in diesem Datensatz vorhandenen Unsicherheiten widergespiegelt werden. Hinsicht- lich des Niederschlags ist die Übereinstimmung besser. Hier deuten sowohl die simulierten als auch die rekonstruierten Daten auf feuchtere Bedingungen hin. In der Simulation für das Last-Glacial-Maximum liegen die Temperaturen überall im Modellgebiet im Jahresmittel und in allen Jahreszeiten um bis zu 8◦C unter den heutigen Werten. Es besteht eine gute Übereinstimmung mit den rekonstruierten Temperaturwerten für diese Zeitscheibe. Zu einer signifikanten Abnahme der jährlichen Niederschlagsmenge kommt es westlich und nordwestlich des TP, in Indien, Südostasien und entlang der Ostküste Chinas. Für die Bereiche, für die Niederschlagsrekonstruktionen verfügbar sind, stimmen die Modellergebnisse gut mit diesen überein. Zu einer signifikanten Niederschlagszunahme kommt es nur zwischen der Nordküste des Golfs von Bengalen und dem Himalaya, wobei dies möglicherweise ein Modellartefakt darstellt. Hinsichtlich der Monsunintensität bestehen große Unterschiede zwischen den Indizes. Während der Extended Indian Monsoon Rainfall Index eine starke Ab- schwächung des indischen Sommermonsuns anzeigt, ist der Wert des Webster and Yang Monsoon Index verglichen mit heute nahezu unverändert. Ein Vergleich der Monsunintensität in den Topographie- und den Quartärexperimenten macht deut- lich, dass der indische Monsun durch den Wechsel von warm- und kaltzeitlichen Randbedingungen mindestens so stark beeinflusst wird wie durch die Hebung des TP. / The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is the world’s most elevated highland which was built over the past 50 million years. With its extent, the TP did not only influence the climate in Asia, but also caused global changes. Today, the TP represents a climate change hot spot and is, as the source region of many large rivers in Asia, crucial for the water supply of billions of people. Considering this background, it is important to obtain a better understanding of the processes that control the climate in the region and to estimate the climate variability on different time scales. The basic goal of this study is to provide spatial highly resolved quantitative information about the changes in the climatic conditions in Asia during the uplift of the TP and during periods with warmer and colder boundary conditions and thus to put these different timescales in relation. Therefore, the modern climate and the paleoclimate of the region are being simulated with climate models. The global climate model ECHAM5 is dynamically downscaled with the regional climate model REMO, because previous studies have shown, that the results of models with higher resolution are more consistent with paleoclimate reconstructions than the results of models with lower resolution. The uplift of the TP is approximated by a series of five simulations (topography experiments) in which the elevation of the TP is varied in steps of 25% from 0% to 100% of its present day height. The late Quaternary climate variations are represented by two simulations with boundary conditions for the Mid-Holocene and the Last-Glacial-Maximum (Quaternary experiments). For the Quaternary experiments, the greenhouse gas concentration, orbital parameters, land cover and some vegetation parameters have been adopted for the particular time slice. The evaluation of the simulations’ results focusses on annual and seasonal changes of the near surface temperature and precipitation. Variations in the strength of the Indian monsoon are analyzed by means of different monsoon indices. In order to identify and characterize the regional climate types there, a cluster analysis is conducted for the TP and adjacent regions. The topography experiments show that the annual mean 2m-temperature drops by up to 30◦C in the region of the TP when the height of the plateau is reduced while it becomes colder nearly everywhere else in the model domain. The annual precipitation amount is reduced in the west and north of the TP when its height is reduced. The immense precipitation increase to the north of the TP can be explained by the formation of a trough instead of a ridge in the mid-troposphere of this region. The general spatial pattern of the changes already persists when the height of the TP is reduced to 75% of the present day value and it does not change fundamentally when the height is reduced further. This pertains for the 2m-temperature, the precipitation and for the annual as well as the seasonal means. The analysis of the intensity of the Indian Summer Monsoon shows that the strongest intensification appears between 25% to 75% of the TP’s present day elevation. Half of the current elevation is necessary to get a monsoon intensity comparable to the one of today. In the Mid-Holocene, it is on average colder and more humid in most parts of the model domain compared to present day. But the differences are mostly small and not significant. Concerning the temperature, the model data coincides only sporadically with reconstructed values. However, the reconstructions show great spatial variability, which reflects the uncertainties that are present in this data set. Regarding precipitation, the simulated data matches the reconstructions better. Both the simulated and the reconstructed data point towards wetter conditions. Compared to present day values, the simulation of the Last-Glacial-Maximum shows up to 8◦C lower annual and seasonal mean temperatures everywhere in the model domain compared to present day values. The results are in good conformity with reconstructed temperature values for this time slice. A significant reduction of the annual precipitation amount appears in the west and north of the TP, in India, Southeast Asia and along the east coast of China. Where precipitation reconstructions are available, the model results show good accordance with these values. A significant increase in precipitation appears only between the northern coast of the Bay of Bengal and the Himalayas, but this potentially represents a model artifact. There are big differences between the indices in terms of the monsoon intensity. The Extended Indian Monsoon Rainfall Index shows a strong reduction of the Indian Summer Monsoon,whereas the value of the Webster and Yang Monsoon Index remains nearly unchanged compared to the present day value. A comparison of the monsoon intensity in the topography and the quaternary experiments reveals that the change in boundary conditions between warm and cold intervals affects the Indian monsoon at least as much as the uplift of the TP.

This dissertation is an in-depth study of the nineteenth-century Shalu Abbatial History, a collection of biographies of abbots and other important religious masters, or lamas, from the Tibetan monastery of Shalu, located in the Tibetan region of Tsang. Examining the History in conjunction with the autobiography of its author, Losel Tengyong (b. 1804), and vis-à-vis other texts from Shalu, reveals, I argue, that the Shalu Abbatial History is a guidebook of conduct that prescribes to the Shalu monk, its intended reader, a discrete pattern of exemplarity that constitutes the author's own particular vision of what a noble lama should be within the Shalu tradition. The constitution of this pattern of exemplarity is examined within four themes of virtuous conduct: the dedication to resolving congregational conflicts, the literalist observance of the Buddhist disciplinary code contained within the Vinaya, the devotion to the preservation of books, and the power to successfully exploit violent rituals to protect the monastic tradition. The prescriptive vision, moreover, constituted by these four virtuous themes, lies not only within the History itself, but also more broadly in the intertextual connections that clarify this prescription and infuse it with meaning from the Shalu tradition—the world that has generated, and is reflected within, the text.