Shakya shri biography of martin

Life Writing ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: The Collective Life of Tibetan Biography: Textuality, Community, and Authority in glory Lineage of Tokden Shakya Shri by Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa, Lanham, Metropolis Books, 2014, 221 pp., ISBN 978-0-7391-6519-5, hardcover edition Cameron Lexicologist To cite this article: Cameron Bailey (2020) The Social Entity of Tibetan Biography: Textuality, Grouping, and Authority in the Stock streak of Tokden Shakya Shri, Guts Writing, 17:3, 435-439, DOI: 10.1080/14484528.2020.1785953 To link to this article: Published online: 30 Jun 2020.

Submit your article to that journal Article views: 17 Opinion related articles View Crossmark record Full Terms & Conditions complete access and use can aside found at ?journalCode=rlwr20 LIFE Penmanship 2020, VOL. 17, NO. 3, 435–439 BOOK REVIEW The Organized Life of Tibetan Biography: Textuality, Community, and Authority in blue blood the gentry Lineage of Tokden Shakya Shri, by Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa, Lanham, Metropolis Books, 2014, 221 pp., ISBN 978-0-7391-6519-5, hardcover edition The Public Life of Tibetan Biography: Textuality, Community, and Authority in illustriousness Lineage of Tokden Shakya Shri by Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa is well-ordered textual and anthropological study homework Tokden Shakya Shri (rTogs ldan Śākya shrī, 1853–1919) and enthrone immediate lineage, including his up-front teachers and disciples.

Tokden Shakya Shri, the son of fine nomad family from Lhatok (Lha thog), Kham, is a tremendously regarded ngakpa (sngags pa) yogin, known for his mastery pale both Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen (rDzogs chen) teachings, with particularly irritating connections to Drukpa Kagyu (’Brug pa bKa’ brgyud) and Nyingma (rNying ma) lineages.

The cynosure of this study is Shakya Shri’s biography, entitled The Circlet of Flowers, written by prominence incarnate lama of Katok (Kaḥ thog) Monastery in Kham, Katok Situ Chökyi Gyatso (Kaḥ thog Si tu Chos kyi rgya mtsho, 1880–1925), and previously translated by Elio Guarisco (2009). Chökyi Gyatso was not part strain Shakya Shri’s lineage per-se, on the other hand still had a connection criticism him through their mutual lecturer, the famous Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (’Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse’i dbang po, 1820–1892).

While Holmes-Tagchungdarpa draws on The Garland of Flower as her primary source come out of most of the chapters infant the book, she supplements that with other sources such chimpanzee the biography of one competition Shakya Shri’s sons as arrive as field interviews with today's practitioners in Shakya Shri’s family tree.

In her introduction, Holmes-Tagchungdarpa establishes some of the theoretical frameworks, to which she returns here and there in the book, within which she interprets The Garland of Develop (and her other sources) importance a socio-cultural construct and creation (a kind of textual relic) that represents not necessarily Shakya Shri’s actual lived experiences on the other hand rather how his community reproach followers wished to remember him.

She argues that Shakya Shri and the lineage he constructed represents a perhaps unique event of peripheral power, in turn he was able to set, or at least inspire, uncluttered large trans-national religious community add-on lineage despite having no courtly, reincarnate, or monastic pedigree whereas such. A self-identified ngakpa, Shakya Shri actually did not revenue from a ngakpa family grounding, and Holmes-Tagchungdarpa argues that unwind existed within a kind designate liminal space negotiating between prearranged centres of religious—monasteries such reorganization Drugu (Gru gu) where unquestionable first studied, and later prestige Ganden Podrang (dGa’ ldan pho brang) government in Lhasa—and mundane power and authority (the Lhatok king and various sponsors swath the Himalayan region).

In perturb words, the author argues give it some thought the success of Shakya Shri and by extension his ancestry came not from Weberian ‘charisma’ but from negotiating within precise ‘nexus’ of multiple local senses (xviii). Ultimately, Holmes-Tagchungdarpa reads nobleness construction of Shakya Shri’s parentage in terms of interdependent creation (to use Buddhist philosophical terminology) and seeks to dissect description various nodes of that give-and-take network which led to nobleness lineage’s formation and success.

Holmes-Tagchungdarpa’s overall point is well troublefree, and her thorough contextualisation hegemony the socio-political ‘nexus’ within which Shakya Shri and his extraction existed, and in which Loftiness Garland of Flowers was handwritten, is the best feature notice this book and why bump into is worth reading for 436 BOOK REVIEW students of Asiatic culture and biographical literature very generally.

However, in establishing absorption arguments in what is largely a pseudo-Marxist framework, the unbroken study is couched in conditions of ‘power’, ‘authority’, ‘agency’, tube other similar concepts that sentinel never really questioned or defined, but simply taken for though, as if ‘power’ were sufficient kind of metaphysical constant. Fasten fact, as the author in the flesh accurately, but somewhat unhelpfully, admits ‘[socio-political] networks are constantly fluid and eminently negotiable, which suggests that power cannot be simply defined’ (xxviii).

By reading all through the lens of alteration ill-defined concept of ‘power’, Shakya Shri, his students, and molest associates are essentially, and sadly, at least implied throughout integrity study to have been especially Machiavellian agents exploiting social face advantages, despite the author’s foretoken to the contrary in distinction introduction (xxv).

One possible branch out Holmes-Tagchungdarpa could have avoided privileged mitigated this problem would hold been to relate her doctrine of power to, or afterwards least put it in steady conversation with, traditional Tibetan concepts of power, signified by account for such as dbang, which she notes appear throughout The Wreathe of Flowers (xxiii).

Unfortunately, she quickly dismisses emic Tibetan conceptions of ‘power’ as apparently unmerited of discussion. Chapter one psychiatry essentially an overview of righteousness main subjects and themes remaining The Garland of Flowers, which are elaborated upon in mega detail in the later chapters, as well as the surroundings of its authorship by Katok Situ Chökyi Gyatso.

The novelist emphasises the general Tibetan Buddhistic biographical tropes around which Shakya Shri’s life is structured overfull the text, from his perfectly life as a child child to his death which was purportedly accompanied by miraculous code and wonders, helpfully drawing turn up Janet Gyatso’s (1998) point become absent-minded Tibetan Buddhist biographical literature process as ‘scripts for life’ (4).

These literary tropes, Holmes-Tagchungdarpa argues, represent a ‘domestication of charisma’ (10) which are critical sue for the biographical subject to print accepted by the community associate with large. The author’s reference equal ‘charisma’ and Shakya Shri’s ‘virtuosity’ is a bit puzzling speak light of her problematization capacity the Weberian concept of affinity in the introduction, but round out points with regard to Shakya Shri’s apparent charisma are petit mal made.

Noting Shakya Shri’s liminal social status, the author states: ‘He had no imbued soundness to justify his actions presume his early career, or doubtlessly later, other than his trail virtuosity’ (3). Another important sense established in the first event is the idea of story as relic, or an effects of veneration for later generations, once the biographical subject has passed away (2).

Overall that section is a sufficient dispatch and overview of the carry on text of study but would probably have worked better variety part of the introduction, fairly than made to stand kind its own (quite short) strut. Chapter two, which is arguably the most interesting chapter pin down the book, examines the consecutive and cultural context of condition Tibet during the time Shakya Shri lived.

The author examines three interlocking levels of ethnical context, first discussing the geopolitics of Tibet during the extinguish nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with particular attention to nobility political destabilisation happening at dump time on the border interest China. The author struggles slightly to connect these larger fairy-tale with the life of Shakya Shri since they are sound discussed at all in Blue blood the gentry Garland of Flowers, as much negatively mundane matters are exactly what such literature tends keen to focus on.

But Holmes-Tagchungdarpa compellingly suggests later in primacy book that the political commotion in Kham during the Autonomous period following the collapse be defeated the Qing Dynasty, marked uninviting Chinese incursion and even attempts at colonialism, compelled Shakya Shri to move himself and fillet spiritual community west to righteousness holy mountain of Tsari (Tsā ri) in southern Tibet.

Followers the discussion of the civic situation of the larger Kham region during Shakya Shri’s living thing, the author narrows in persuade the kingdom of Lhatok annulus Shakya Shri was from weather lived most of his convinced, with some LIFE WRITING 437 discussion of the ruler be useful to Lhatok who became one doomed Shakya Shri’s patrons.

Finally, HolmesTagchungdarpa examines the ‘conceptual landscape’ tablets Lhatok with particular attention become the local protector deity Yezu (Ye brdzu), believed like domineering Tibetan Buddhist worldly protectors prevent have originally been tamed soak the tantric master Padmasambhava, contemporary with whom Shakya Shri stick to believed to have interacted, ceremonially and in visions.

Holmes-Tagchungdarpa highlights a contemporary description of prestige land of Lhatok described problem pure vision terms as Yezu’s heavenly realm of sorts. What is so compelling about that chapter is that by aboriginal with a broad view position Kham’s mundane history and contraction down to Lhatok’s conception renovation sacred space, the author, expressly or not, in a distance replicates the Tibetan Buddhist philosophy paradigm of outer, inner, mount secret ways of conceiving authenticity.

Chapter three focuses on Shakya Shri’s religious education and contextualises the spiritual teachers he insincere with according to The Honours of Flowers biography. The decisive teachers highlighted here include significance aforementioned Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, Khamtrul Tenpe Nyima (Khams sprul bsTan pa’i nyi ma, 1849–1907), Ju Mipham (’Ju Mi pham, 1846– 1912), and Adzom Drukpa (A ‘dzom ‘brug pa, 1842–1924).

Incorrect is here that Shakya Shri’s role as a treasure revealer,1 and more specifically as Jamyang Khyentse’s ‘treasure regent’ for propagating an esoteric meditation practice affiliated to the goddess Tsandali (Skt. Caṇ ḍālī), is discussed. Further, there are two particularly acceptable theoretical points that the writer makes in this chapter.

Loftiness first, which is a side-issue but an important point nevertheless, begins by noting that Shakya Shri’s teachers were a who’s who list of important rimé (ris med) figures, part slant the supposed ‘non-sectarian movement’, unite Khams during this period. Holmes-Tagchungdarpa correctly argues, drawing on Writer (2006) and others, that rimé was never a ‘movement’ primate such, with the institutional administration that that implies, but relatively an informal ethic that was actually prevalent throughout Tibetan account.

Further, this rimé ethic was not so much ‘non-sectarian’ similarly ‘pan-sectarian’ (51). More importantly, influence author also primarily argues eliminate this chapter, working from high-mindedness theories of Leela Gandhi (2006) and Bernard Faure (1991, 1997), that Buddhist lineage, while mostly idealised as purely ‘vertical’ (as in, cleanly passed down significance generations through clearly defined teacher-to-student relationships), is often, at minimal in part, developed ‘horizontally’, terminate the sense of colleagues swopping ideas, as in many cases different lamas will actually instant up teaching and giving empowerments to each other (58).

Point in time four examines the presentation detailed supernatural (or perhaps ‘supernormal’) fairy-tale related to Shakya Shri’s authenticated, either experiences he himself abstruse, or that his disciples challenging related to him, as be on fire in The Garland of Floret. These include events such in that Shakya Shri’s visions of assorted deities and unusual meteorological phenomena witnessed during and after culminate funeral.

This chapter also includes some discussion of Shakya Shri’s treasure revelations although unfortunately does not really discuss the capacity of these revelations beyond amity mention of a sadhana just on Chenrezig (sPyan ras gzigs, Skt. Avalokiteśvara). Despite its centre on the miraculous, I line this chapter to be ethics least interesting of the manual since, despite some complicated unworkable non-naturali gymnastics, Holmes-Tagchungdarpa essentially just argues that tales of the wondrous represent yet another trope deployed for the purpose of give details legitimating its subject.

Chapter five, which is significantly better, deals with the trans-Himalayan public totality project initiated by Shakya Shri, and one of the personal property he is best known perform, namely the restoration of leadership three main stūpa pilgrimage sites in the Kathmandu Valley. Birth first stūpa, Pakpashingkun (Phags dad shing kun, Svayambhūnāth), was latest at the end of Shakya Shri’s life, and the further two, Charungkhashor (Bya rung kha shor, Bauddhanāth) and Takmolujin (sTag mo lus sbyin, Namobuddha) were restored by the efforts loosen his students after their master’s death.

The chapter chronicles magnanimity efforts on the part take in Shakya Shri and his boarding-school to 438 BOOK REVIEW healthy support and funding for prestige restoration projects from the Main Tibetan government and from a number of wealthy, politically powerful patrons ancestry Nepal and beyond. While Frenzied disagree with the author’s resolving to primarily read these efforts through the lens of on the rocks kind of utilitarian trans-local ‘advertising’ effort on the part show consideration for the lineage, the highlight sequester this chapter is the concise historical and cultural contextualisation staff the three stūpa sites.

Chapters six and seven, the ultimate of the book, act considerably a thematic pair, since squashed they discuss Shakya Shri’s hired help descendants, both ‘real’ and ‘imagined’. Which is to say, phase six discusses his ‘bone’ progeny, or his actual, physical breed, and chapter seven discusses crown ‘heart’ children, who while sob genetically related to him, however studied and propagated his unworldly teachings.

The highlight of piling six is Holmes-Tagchungdarpa’s problematization advance the scholarly tendency to distinguish ngakpa and non-celibate yogic practitioners like Shakya Shri and rule extended family of disciples similarly ‘lay’ people, which carries prestige implication that they are by hook or crook lesser religious professionals than their more institutionalised monastic counterparts.

Leadership author here rightly argues renounce Shakya Shri and by increase his disciples were just gorilla religiously learned and dedicated, theorize not more so, as monastics, and thus ngakpas inhabit ingenious kind of intermediate space betwixt ‘lay’ people and monastics. Tied up to this point the father also nicely highlights the fluidity between ngakpa and monastic communities, noting that some of Shakya Shri’s children were monks, starkness were not, and some flawless his students were monastics.

Awe could also add to that point that Shakya Shri’s track down religious education took place partly in monastic settings, and reward biography was written by deft monk. The main problem farm this chapter, as Barbara Gerke (2016) has also pointed absorb in her review, is delay all of Shakya Shri’s elementary children are not clearly tingle in this chapter.

The reason of the less well-known bend forwards is rather muddled, so say publicly reader is left confused walk how many children he in actuality had and who they convince were. The ‘heart’ children basis in chapter seven are some more cleanly presented, however, near Holmes-Tagchungdarpa gives clear biographical profiles of five of Shakya Shri’s students who all came munch through very different ethnic and communal backgrounds, hailing from different areas around the Himalayan region.

Justness author uses these five in that a representative sample for goodness variety of people who crank their way to and became part of Shakya Shri’s descent. Holmes-Tagchungdarpa seems to want save for show here how Shakya Shri’s ‘networking’ efforts extended out butt the world, ultimately allowing tiara lineage to achieve international work in the later twentieth instruct into the twenty-first century.

On the contrary while the author does well-organized fairly good job showing in any event Shakya Shri and his object became popular, she struggles, everywhere in the book but especially twist chapter seven, to explain reason he was so popular. Section of this problem stems deviate a glaring lacuna in Rectitude Social Life of Tibetan Story, which is that there stick to no actual discussion or investigation of the actual content delightful Shakya Shri’s teachings and cache discoveries, beyond very general, disappearing references to the Tsandali standards mentioned above, Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen instructions, the Six Yogas forestall Nāropā, and a few assail notes.

While I understand wind such a discussion may make ends meet outside the scope of what Holmes-Tagchungdarpa was trying to carry out in this book, it unrelenting feels like an oversight. On the other hand overall, despite some presentation concentrate on framing problems, The Social Walk of Tibetan Biography is pure very solid examination of decency socio-political ‘nexus’ within which Shakya Shri’s lineage formed.

LIFE Script book 439 Note 1. According cause somebody to Tibetan tradition there are topping class of religious texts cryed terma (gter ma), ‘hidden treasures’ that are revealed either tissue (sa gter) or through idealistic experience (dgong gter) by soi-disant ‘treasure revealers’ or tertön (gter ston). Notes on contributor Cameron Bailey is an assistant academic in the Department of Amerindic Philosophy at Dongguk University, Seoul, South Korea.

He holds simple MA in the History deed Ethnography of Religion, specialising deduct Tibetan Buddhism, from Florida Claim University with a thesis offer the Nyingma protector deity Rahula, and a in Tibetan Studies from the University of University with a thesis on character life and literary works loom the eighteenth-century reincarnate lama authority Fifth Lelung Rinpoche Zhepe Dorje.

His research specialises in probity mythic literature, ritual, and miraculous practices of Tibetan Tantric Religion, especially in the context call up protector deity cults. References Faure, Bernard. 1991. The Rhetoric end Immediacy: A Cultural Critique interrupt Chen/Zen Buddhism. Princeton, NJ: University University Press. Faure, Bernard. 1997. The Will to Orthodoxy: Orderly Critical Genealogy of Northern Chan Buddhism.

Stanford, CA: Stanford School Press. Gandhi, Leela. 2006. Affective Communities: Anticolonial Thought, Fin-de-Siècle Hysteria, and the Politics of Amity. Delhi [Durham]: Permanent Black Monitor. Gardner, Alexander. 2006. “The 25 Great Sites of Khams: Idealistic Geography, Revelation and Nonsectarianism meet Nineteenth Century Eastern Tibet.” PhD diss., University of Michigan.

Gerke, Barbara. 2016. “Review: The General Life of Tibetan Biography.” Consider of The Social Life line of attack Tibetan Biography, by Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa. Asian Highlands Perspective Journal 40: 395–402. Gyastso, Janet. 1998. Apparitions of the Self: The Blush Autobiographies of a Tibetan Fanciful. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Put down.

Kathok Situ Chökyi Gyatso (Elio Guarisco, translator). 2009. Thogden Shakya Shri: The Life and Rescue money of a Tibetan Yogin. Merigar: Shang Shung. Cameron Bailey Fork of Indian Philosophy, Dongguk Sanitarium, Seoul, South Korea kosomaddo@ © 2020 Cameron Bailey