The culminating philosophy and practice for Buddhist traditions in Tibet is what is found in tantra, or Vajrayāna. Yet Tibet is unique in the Buddhist world in that it is a place where not only the traditions of tantra are practiced, but where the epistemological traditions of valid cognition and what came to be known as Prāsangika-Madhyamaka also took root. This chapter briefly surveys a range of ways in which Madhyamaka is represented in Tibet. Madhyamaka takes the place of the highest philosophical view among Tibetan Buddhist sects, and seeing how different traditions formulate the view of Madhyamaka is an important part of understanding how these traditions relate to tantra and negotiate the relationship between Madhyamaka and Vajrayāna. Vajrayāna in Tibet is pantheist to the core, for, in its most profound expressions all dualities between the divine and the world are radically undone.

The culminating philosophy and practice for Buddhist traditions in Tibet is what is found in tantra, or Vajrayāna. Yet Tibet is unique in the Buddhist world in that it is a place where not only the traditions of tantra are practiced, but where the epistemological traditions of valid cognition and what came to be known as Prāsangika-Madhyamaka also took root. This chapter briefly surveys a range of ways in which Madhyamaka is represented in Tibet. Madhyamaka takes the place of the highest philosophical view among Tibetan Buddhist sects, and seeing how different traditions formulate the view of Madhyamaka is an important part of understanding how these traditions relate to tantra and negotiate the relationship between Madhyamaka and Vajrayāna. Vajrayāna in Tibet is pantheist to the core, for, in its most profound expressions all dualities between the divine and the world are radically undone.

Submitted by Geandra Rodrigues (geandrar@gmail.com) on 2018-07-19T15:07:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 felipeandradearruda.pdf: 9353132 bytes, checksum: 18913723b69f5d34465a964de5778399 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2018-07-23T15:29:00Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 felipeandradearruda.pdf: 9353132 bytes, checksum: 18913723b69f5d34465a964de5778399 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-23T15:29:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 felipeandradearruda.pdf: 9353132 bytes, checksum: 18913723b69f5d34465a964de5778399 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-08 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O presente projeto tem como objetivo traduzir e analisar a hagiografia de Guru Padmasambhava (este tido como o introdutor dos ensinamentos budistas no Tibete no século VIII) intitulada O Lótus Branco Imaculado: Vida e Liberação de Oḍḍiyāna (Wyl. o rgyan rnam thar dri med padma dkar po), de autoria da mestra e “reveladora de tesouros” (Wyl. gter ston) tibetana Sera Khandro (Wyl. se ra mkha’ ‘gro, 1892-1940), utilizando metodologias de análise particulares à tradição dos tesouros Terma (Wyl. gter ma), iniciada por Padmasambhava, tendo como referência o estilo e a abordagem da própria Sera Khandro e o tratado O Lótus Branco (Wyl. padma dkar po), de Jamgön Mipham Gyatso (Wyl. ‘jam mgon mi pham rgya mtsho, 1846-1912). / The present work aims to translate and analize the hagiography of Guru Padmasambhava (known as the introducer of the Buddhist teachings in Tibet during the eighth century) entitled The Immaculate White Lotus: Life and Liberation of Oḍḍiyāna (Wyl. o rgyan rnam thar dri med padma dkar po), written by the Tibetan female master and “treasure revealer” (Wyl. gter ston) Sera Khandro (Wyl. se ra mkha’ ‘gro, 1892-1940), using analytical methodologies particular to the Terma (Wyl. gter ma) treasure tradition, initiated by Padmasambhava, having as reference Sera Khandro’s own style and approach and Jamgön Mipham Gyatso’s (Wyl. ‘jam mgon mi pham rgya mtsho, 1846-1912) treatise The White Lotus (Wyl. padma dkar po).

This study's primary ambition is to present an overview of the key texts from a genre of Tibetan craniological manuals (Tib. thod brtags) as well as some of their translations, thus illustrating the diversity of this tradition. Based on the reviewed material, a comparison with secondary literature will be made and a few re-evaluations of known facts suggested. Because the only available comprehensive translation of any craniological text was published in 1888 (!) and all the subsequent works have relied on it without necessary critical approach, I decided to translate that original text once again and reveal any possible misinterpretations. As a result, I hope this thesis will contribute to the already present academic (mainly ethnographical oriented) discussion about the use of skulls in Tibet, as its philological support, hence filling up this blank methodological spot. Keywords Tibetan studies, Tibetology, Philology, Tibet, Buddhism, vajrayāna, tantra, ritual object, ritual vessel, human skull, calvaria, cranium, skull cup, craniology, manual, Kapālika gal gnad ming tshig bod, chos, bon, kapāla, ka li, thod pa, thod phor, thod bum, thod zhal, thod rus, bha+ndha, bhandha, ban+dha, bhan ja, dung chen, thod brtag, thod brtags, thod rabs, thod bshad, thod pa'i mtshan, snod, sgrub rdzas, thod sgrub,...