This dissertation looks at an attempt in Buddhist history to theorize the role and status of the body as the prime focus of soteriological discourse. It studies a text titled Explanation of the Hidden Vajra Body (Rdo rje lus kyi sbas bshad), composed by Yang dgon pa Rgyal mtshan dpal (1213-1258). This work, drawing on a wide range of canonical tantric Buddhist scriptures and Indic and Tibetan commentaries, lays out in detail a Buddhist theory of embodiment that brings together the worldly realities of the body with their enlightened transformation. This dissertation analyzes the ways Yang dgon pa theorizes the body as the essential ground of the salvific path, and endeavors to provide a thematic guide to his rich and complex discussion of what the body is and does, from a tantric perspective. The thesis parses a key term, dngos po'i gnas lugs, that Yang dgon pa uses as an organizing principle in Explanation of the Hidden. If taken literally, the term means something like "the nature of things" or "the nature of material substance," but Yang dgon pa deployed the term specifically to refer to the nature of the human psychophysical organism, in its ordinary state. By way of this term, Yang dgon pa argues that the body itself makes enlightenment possible. In the course of this thesis, I consider the prior history of this category as it was gradually developed by a series of Bka' brgyud writers until it reached Yang dgon pa. Then, in light of this category, I explore Yang dgon pa's own vision of embodiment. This vision, I argue, reflects an attempt to refocus soteriological attention on the power of the body, over and above the mind, as the salient basis for non-dual knowing. Finally, I reflect upon the lasting contributions of Yang dgon pa's conception of the body to the ongoing exploration of such topics in the history of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist soteriology, as well as upon why some of the more radical elements of his thinking seem to have been eliminated in subsequent generations of his lineage.

Maintaining a balanced approach to music is a shared challenge in all religions. Depending on the context in which music is used in religious activities, it is either praised as a powerful medium to please the divine or condemned as a sensual allurement that hinders spiritual advancement. This study discusses the treatment of vocal and instrumental music as well as the allied category of dance in Buddhism. Specifically, it analyzes the regulations of different forms of musical activities in Buddhist canon law and their subsequent interpretation in Tibet and China.

This thesis is a reflection upon objects of power and their roles in the lives of people through the lens of a single case example: power objects as they appear throughout the narrative, philosophical, and ritual writings of the Tibetan Buddhist ritual specialist Sog bzlog pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan (1552-1624) and his milieu. This study explores their discourse on power objects specifically for what it reveals about how human interactions with certain kinds of objects encourage the flow of power and charisma between them, and what the implications of these person-object transitions were for issues of identity, agency, and authority on the personal, institutional, and state registers in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Tibet.

Tārā is arguably the most popular goddess of the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon. She is well known in her Green, White, and Twenty-one forms. However, the numerous red aspects of the divinity have long been overlooked in both popular and academic literature on the goddess. This thesis aims to redress this balance. This thesis presents the various manifestations of Red Tārā in the form of a survey of the literary and practice lineages of this goddess throughout Tibetan Buddhist history. The intention of the thesis is to examine individual forms of Red Tārā, excluding Kurukullā (who has received previous scholarly attention), in order to prove the hypothesis that not all Red Tārās are Kurukullā. The research has identified a preliminary historical order of Red Tārā lineages from the eleventh century works on Pītheśvarī and the Sa-skya-pa Red Tārās, through to the nineteenth and twentieth century forms of the goddess authored by the dGe-lugs-pas and A-paṃ gter-ston in the A-mdo region of Tibet. The red forms of Tārā are more 'worldly' than her Green or White incarnations, and the soteriological component of her worship is not always clear. Accordingly this allows a glimpse into the subjugating/ magnetising ritual process. The thesis comprises three sections. Section One provides a general introduction to Tārā and Kurukullā, followed by a survey of the literature pertaining to Red Tārā identified in the course of this research. Section Two takes four lineages of Red Tārā literature as its focus. Each chapter refers to an individual lineage: Pītheśvarī, Sa-skya-pa, the Twenty-one Tārās, and A-paṃ gter-ton's gter-ma cycle. Section Three deals with modern-day practice of the goddess in the Chagdud Gonpa Foundation and the Flaming Jewel Sangha. The thesis relies on translation of primary sources from the Tibetan language, participant observation, and New Religious Studies methodology, and covers a wide range of areas including subjugation rituals, iconography, body-maṇḍala rituals, the adoption of Buddhism in the West, and New Religious Movements. It adds to current knowledge in a variety of fields including ritual, goddess studies, the Tibetan pantheon and its iconography, and Buddhism in the West.

Darbe analizuojamas Tibeto tarptautinis teisinis statusas iki lemiamo 1949 m. konflikto su Kinija bei situacija po konflikto. Autorius trumpai apžvelgia Tibeto valstybingumo istoriją bei Tibeto tarptautinio teisinio statuso kaitą ir su tuos susijusius tarptautinius dokumentus, pagrindžia padarytas prielaidas ir hipotezes tarptautinės teisės doktrina. Taip pat nagrinėjamas Tibeto suvereniteto klausimas, sąlygos ir reali situacija. Darbe taip pat atskleidžiama, kada ir kaip valstybė praranda ar įgyja nepriklausomybę, taip pat nepriklausomybės reikšmė valstybės egzistavimui, konkrečiu Tibeto atveju. Taip pat teorinės ir konkrečiai Tibeto valstybės tęstinumo ir identiteto nustatymo problemos. Autorius taip pat vadovaujasi pagrindiniais tarptautinės teisės dokumentais, siekdamas pagrįsti dvi versijas apie Tibeto tarptautinį teisinį statusą bei tarptautinės bendruomenės poziciją ir veiksmų stoką šiuo konkrečiu bei panašiais atvejais. Autorius bando atsakyti ir į pačias svarbiausias problemas, nustatant Tibeto tarptautinį teisinį statusą. Jos yra politinės ir teisinės. Tibeto teisinio statuso dvilypumas yra aktuali problema iki šios dienos. Taigi situacijos sudėtingumas, nevienareikšmiškumas, tarptautinės bendruomenės nevieningumas ir konkrečios pozicijos nebuvimas sąlygoja, kad Tibeto tarptautinis teisinis statusas išlieka dvilypis ir realus statusas neatitinka to, kuris turėtų būti vadovaujantis tarptautinės teisės normomis. Autorius padaro išvadą, kad šios situacijos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This study analyses the most important international legal status questions concerning Tibet and the Peoples Republic of China prior to 1949 m. invasion and the aftermath. The author takes a brief look at the international legal status of Tibet prior to the formentioned invasion and a diligent study of the most important periods of the historical development of Tibet and its international status, through analysing the most important international treaties, legal doctrine and other documents. Also the author acknowledges the current struggle of Tibet and it‘s people to regain independance or at least a workable, suitable for tibetans and legitimate autonomous status. The author also tries to take in account the actions and passiveness of international community and United Nations organization concering this issue. In this study it is shown, that the international community doesn‘t acknowledge the invasion of Tibet as opposing to the international laws and principles, however no real action is taken, therefore leaving the status of Tibet a very delicate matter where all possibilities have to be considered. Author is aiming to define the current situation in the world policy on the matter of Tibet, also the legal and current issues of Tibetan sovereignity, proving that the nation of Tibet is still in full sovereignity and is being occupied only in territorial conflict. Some of the most valid current problems of the legal status of Tobet are also discussed by the... [to full text]

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

The Tibetan Buddhist approach to healing, health and death is rooted in the sacred. Its teachings and techniques create a road map guiding the practitioner through the process of purification called sacred healing. It encompasses foundational Buddhist teachings, sacred Buddhist medicine, and the esoteric healing pathways found in tantra and yoga, which together constitute a detailed and technical guide to healing. The mind is central to all aspects of Tibetan Buddhism. The ability to focus the mind through meditation during life enables the practitioner to prepare for death by experiencing the subtle aspects of the body and mind through the chakras. Both Tibetan spiritual teachers and doctors practise healing and help practitioners learn to focus their minds in preparation for death. The moment of death presents the greatest opportunity for attaining sacred health, but healing can also occur after death. The objective of this thesis is to present the Tibetan Buddhist understanding of sacred healing in relation to life, death, the bardos and suicide through its texts, teachings and techniques.

The Indo-Australian Plate is actively deforming at its margins and within its interior. In south-central Australia, more than 3000 km from the closest active plate boundary, a geomorphically rugged and apparently youthful mountain range has developed, rising up to 1.1km above the adjacent flat-lying outback plains. These ‘Flinders’ and ‘Barrier’ Ranges are seismically active and bound by major reverse fault scarps with clear evidence for Plio-Quaternary displacements, implying that young and active intraplate tectonism has played a fundamental role in their development. Palaeoseismic investigations and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronology indicate faulting occurred in response to a series of large magnitude (~M6.6 to M7.3) palaeo-earthquakes with recurrence intervals of ~1:20,000 to~1:80,000 yrs and long-term fault slip rates of ~50 m Myr-1. Geomorphic observations and 10Becosmogenic nuclide dating indicate surprisingly high and spatially variable rates of bedrock erosion from fault-affected catchments in the Flinders Ranges. Slowly eroding bedrock summit surfaces have been uplifted up to 12 m in the last 60,000-100,000 years relative to more rapidly eroding valley floors and bounding piedmonts, indicating Late Quaternary increases in elevation and relief in response to intraplate tectonism and erosion. However, both facies changes and sediment aggradation-dissection cycles in alluvial fan sequences are out-of-synch within dividual tectonic events, indicating that an aspect of climate (aridification, changing flood frequency-magnitude distributions) has governed the spatial-temporal distribution of range front sedimentation.

Thèse (M.A.) -- Université Laval, 2007. / Bibliogr.: f. 103-106. Publié aussi en version électronique dans la Collection Mémoires et thèses électroniques.

Heidelberg, Univ., Diss., 2006. / Online publiziert: 2007.