F"Lamaism" and the disappearance of Tibet

Comparative Studies in Society and History

Volumn 38, Issue 1, 1996, Pages 3-24

  Lopez Jr , Donald S ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 5844358909     PISSN: 00104175     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/s0010417500020107     Document Type: Article

References (85)

1. Sherman E. Lee, "The Luohan Cūdapanthaka," in Jay A. Levenson, ed., Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration (Washington: National Gallery of Art and Yale University Press, 1991), 459.
2. Philip Zaleski, review of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rimpoche, New York Times Book Review (27 December 1992), 21.
3. See Jonathan Z. Smith, Imagining Religion: From Babylon to Jonestown (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982), 22.
4. For a recent reading of Müller, see Tomoko Masuzawa, In Search of Dreamtime: The Quest for the Origin of Religion (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993), 57-75.
5. For a discussion of this rite, see Ferdinand Lessing, "Calling the Soul: A Lamaist Ritual, Semitic and Oriental Studies, 11 (1951), 263-84 and, more recently, Robert R. Desjarlais, Body and Emotion: The Aesthetics of Illness and Healing in the Nepal Himalayas (Philadelphia; University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992), 198-222.
6. For a discussion of this rite, see Ferdinand Lessing, "Calling the Soul: A Lamaist Ritual, Semitic and Oriental Studies, 11 (1951), 263-84 and, more recently, Robert R. Desjarlais, Body and Emotion: The Aesthetics of Illness and Healing in the Nepal Himalayas (Philadelphia; University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992), 198-222.
7. For a general discussion of bla, see Réne de Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet (The Hague: Mouton and Company, 1956), 481-3; R. A. Stein, Tibetan Civilization (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972), 226-9; Giuseppe Tucci, The Religions of Tibet (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980), 190-3; Erik Haarh, The Yar-luṅ Dynasty (København: G. E. C. Gad's Forlag, 1969), 315 and 378; and, especially, Samten G. Karmay, "L'âme et la turquoise: un rituel Tibétain," L'Ethnographie, 83 (1987), 97-130. On the related notion of the sku lha during the dynastic period, see Ariane Macdonald, "Une lecture des P. T. 1286, 1287, 1038, 1047, et 1290. Essai sur la formation et l'emploi des mythes politiques dans la religion royale de Sroṅ-bcan sgam-po," in Études Tibétaines Dédiés à la Mémoire de Marcelle Lalou (Paris: Adrien Maisonneuve, 1971), 297-309.
8. For a general discussion of bla, see Réne de Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet (The Hague: Mouton and Company, 1956), 481-3; R. A. Stein, Tibetan Civilization (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972), 226-9; Giuseppe Tucci, The Religions of Tibet (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980), 190-3; Erik Haarh, The Yar-luṅ Dynasty (København: G. E. C. Gad's Forlag, 1969), 315 and 378; and, especially, Samten G. Karmay, "L'âme et la turquoise: un rituel Tibétain," L'Ethnographie, 83 (1987), 97-130. On the related notion of the sku lha during the dynastic period, see Ariane Macdonald, "Une lecture des P. T. 1286, 1287, 1038, 1047, et 1290. Essai sur la formation et l'emploi des mythes politiques dans la religion royale de Sroṅ-bcan sgam-po," in Études Tibétaines Dédiés à la Mémoire de Marcelle Lalou (Paris: Adrien Maisonneuve, 1971), 297-309.
9. For a general discussion of bla, see Réne de Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet (The Hague: Mouton and Company, 1956), 481-3; R. A. Stein, Tibetan Civilization (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972), 226-9; Giuseppe Tucci, The Religions of Tibet (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980), 190-3; Erik Haarh, The Yar-luṅ Dynasty (København: G. E. C. Gad's Forlag, 1969), 315 and 378; and, especially, Samten G. Karmay, "L'âme et la turquoise: un rituel Tibétain," L'Ethnographie, 83 (1987), 97-130. On the related notion of the sku lha during the dynastic period, see Ariane Macdonald, "Une lecture des P. T. 1286, 1287, 1038, 1047, et 1290. Essai sur la formation et l'emploi des mythes politiques dans la religion royale de Sroṅ-bcan sgam-po," in Études Tibétaines Dédiés à la Mémoire de Marcelle Lalou (Paris: Adrien Maisonneuve, 1971), 297-309.
10. For a general discussion of bla, see Réne de Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet (The Hague: Mouton and Company, 1956), 481-3; R. A. Stein, Tibetan Civilization (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972), 226-9; Giuseppe Tucci, The Religions of Tibet (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980), 190-3; Erik Haarh, The Yar-luṅ Dynasty (København: G. E. C. Gad's Forlag, 1969), 315 and 378; and, especially, Samten G. Karmay, "L'âme et la turquoise: un rituel Tibétain," L'Ethnographie, 83 (1987), 97-130. On the related notion of the sku lha during the dynastic period, see Ariane Macdonald, "Une lecture des P. T. 1286, 1287, 1038, 1047, et 1290. Essai sur la formation et l'emploi des mythes politiques dans la religion royale de Sroṅ-bcan sgam-po," in Études Tibétaines Dédiés à la Mémoire de Marcelle Lalou (Paris: Adrien Maisonneuve, 1971), 297-309.
11. For a general discussion of bla, see Réne de Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet (The Hague: Mouton and Company, 1956), 481-3; R. A. Stein, Tibetan Civilization (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972), 226-9; Giuseppe Tucci, The Religions of Tibet (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980), 190-3; Erik Haarh, The Yar-luṅ Dynasty (København: G. E. C. Gad's Forlag, 1969), 315 and 378; and, especially, Samten G. Karmay, "L'âme et la turquoise: un rituel Tibétain," L'Ethnographie, 83 (1987), 97-130. On the related notion of the sku lha during the dynastic period, see Ariane Macdonald, "Une lecture des P. T. 1286, 1287, 1038, 1047, et 1290. Essai sur la formation et l'emploi des mythes politiques dans la religion royale de Sroṅ-bcan sgam-po," in Études Tibétaines Dédiés à la Mémoire de Marcelle Lalou (Paris: Adrien Maisonneuve, 1971), 297-309.
12. For a general discussion of bla, see Réne de Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet (The Hague: Mouton and Company, 1956), 481-3; R. A. Stein, Tibetan Civilization (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972), 226-9; Giuseppe Tucci, The Religions of Tibet (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980), 190-3; Erik Haarh, The Yar-luṅ Dynasty (København: G. E. C. Gad's Forlag, 1969), 315 and 378; and, especially, Samten G. Karmay, "L'âme et la turquoise: un rituel Tibétain," L'Ethnographie, 83 (1987), 97-130. On the related notion of the sku lha during the dynastic period, see Ariane Macdonald, "Une lecture des P. T. 1286, 1287, 1038, 1047, et 1290. Essai sur la formation et l'emploi des mythes politiques dans la religion royale de Sroṅ-bcan sgam-po," in Études Tibétaines Dédiés à la Mémoire de Marcelle Lalou (Paris: Adrien Maisonneuve, 1971), 297-309.
13. The early standardization of bla ma as the rendering for guru is attested by the presence of the term in the eighth-century compendium of Buddhist terminology, the Mahāvyutpatti. The term bla itself was not used in the Buddhist vocabularies as a translation for any notion of a soul but to render the Sanskrit terms pati (lord) and ūrdhvam (elevated). For a citation of usages from the Mahāvyutpatti, see Lokesh Chandra, Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary, vol. 2 (Kyoto: Rinsen Book Company, 1976), 1680.
14. Turrell V. Wylie, "Etymology of Tibetan: Bla ma," Central Asiatic Journal, 21 (1977), 148. Wylie seems to derive this etymology from an unnamed informant for Sarat Chandra Das in the compilation of his dictionary. See Sarat Chandra Das, A Tibetan-English Dictionary with Sanskrit Synonyms (Calcutta: Bengal Secretariat Book Depot, 1902), s.v. bla ma. That such a reading does not appear in traditional etymologies of the term could, alternately, suggest that the term bla was intentionally not rendered as "soul" by the early Buddhist translators so as to discourage the Tibetan belief in such a soul, something that Buddhism is known to reject. The modern Tibetan scholar, Samten Karmay, has recently argued that Buddhism was never able to suppress the concept of a soul in Tibet and that over the course of centuries, the concept was gradually reintegrated into popular rites, despite being at odds with the Buddhist doctrine of no-self (see Karmay, "L âme et la turquoise," 99). This would suggest that at some point in Tibetan history, the philosophical doctrine of no-self exercised a marked influence over popular religious practice, something that has yet to be demonstrated in any Buddhist culture. It may be significant that the other standard Tibetan-English dictionary, that of Jäschke, also cites an "oral explanation" in offering "strength, power, vitality" as one of the definitions of bla. See H. Jäschke, A Tibetan-English Dictionary (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1992); reprint of 1881 London edition, s.v. bla). The recently published three-volume Tibetan, Tibetan and Chinese dictionary defines bla as "that which is above" (steng) or "that which is fitting" (rung) but also mentions that bla is "the support of life explained in astrology" (dkar rtsis las bshad pa'i srog rten). See Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo (Mi rigs dbe skrun khang, 1984), vol. 2, s.v. bla.
15. Turrell V. Wylie, "Etymology of Tibetan: Bla ma," Central Asiatic Journal, 21 (1977), 148. Wylie seems to derive this etymology from an unnamed informant for Sarat Chandra Das in the compilation of his dictionary. See Sarat Chandra Das, A Tibetan-English Dictionary with Sanskrit Synonyms (Calcutta: Bengal Secretariat Book Depot, 1902), s.v. bla ma. That such a reading does not appear in traditional etymologies of the term could, alternately, suggest that the term bla was intentionally not rendered as "soul" by the early Buddhist translators so as to discourage the Tibetan belief in such a soul, something that Buddhism is known to reject. The modern Tibetan scholar, Samten Karmay, has recently argued that Buddhism was never able to suppress the concept of a soul in Tibet and that over the course of centuries, the concept was gradually reintegrated into popular rites, despite being at odds with the Buddhist doctrine of no-self (see Karmay, "L âme et la turquoise," 99). This would suggest that at some point in Tibetan history, the philosophical doctrine of no-self exercised a marked influence over popular religious practice, something that has yet to be demonstrated in any Buddhist culture. It may be significant that the other standard Tibetan-English dictionary, that of Jäschke, also cites an "oral explanation" in offering "strength, power, vitality" as one of the definitions of bla. See H. Jäschke, A Tibetan-English Dictionary (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1992); reprint of 1881 London edition, s.v. bla). The recently published three-volume Tibetan, Tibetan and Chinese dictionary defines bla as "that which is above" (steng) or "that which is fitting" (rung) but also mentions that bla is "the support of life explained in astrology" (dkar rtsis las bshad pa'i srog rten). See Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo (Mi rigs dbe skrun khang, 1984), vol. 2, s.v. bla.
16. Turrell V. Wylie, "Etymology of Tibetan: Bla ma," Central Asiatic Journal, 21 (1977), 148. Wylie seems to derive this etymology from an unnamed informant for Sarat Chandra Das in the compilation of his dictionary. See Sarat Chandra Das, A Tibetan-English Dictionary with Sanskrit Synonyms (Calcutta: Bengal Secretariat Book Depot, 1902), s.v. bla ma. That such a reading does not appear in traditional etymologies of the term could, alternately, suggest that the term bla was intentionally not rendered as "soul" by the early Buddhist translators so as to discourage the Tibetan belief in such a soul, something that Buddhism is known to reject. The modern Tibetan scholar, Samten Karmay, has recently argued that Buddhism was never able to suppress the concept of a soul in Tibet and that over the course of centuries, the concept was gradually reintegrated into popular rites, despite being at odds with the Buddhist doctrine of no-self (see Karmay, "L âme et la turquoise," 99). This would suggest that at some point in Tibetan history, the philosophical doctrine of no-self exercised a marked influence over popular religious practice, something that has yet to be demonstrated in any Buddhist culture. It may be significant that the other standard Tibetan-English dictionary, that of Jäschke, also cites an "oral explanation" in offering "strength, power, vitality" as one of the definitions of bla. See H. Jäschke, A Tibetan-English Dictionary (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1992); reprint of 1881 London edition, s.v. bla). The recently published three-volume Tibetan, Tibetan and Chinese dictionary defines bla as "that which is above" (steng) or "that which is fitting" (rung) but also mentions that bla is "the support of life explained in astrology" (dkar rtsis las bshad pa'i srog rten). See Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo (Mi rigs dbe skrun khang, 1984), vol. 2, s.v. bla.
17. Turrell V. Wylie, "Etymology of Tibetan: Bla ma," Central Asiatic Journal, 21 (1977), 148. Wylie seems to derive this etymology from an unnamed informant for Sarat Chandra Das in the compilation of his dictionary. See Sarat Chandra Das, A Tibetan-English Dictionary with Sanskrit Synonyms (Calcutta: Bengal Secretariat Book Depot, 1902), s.v. bla ma. That such a reading does not appear in traditional etymologies of the term could, alternately, suggest that the term bla was intentionally not rendered as "soul" by the early Buddhist translators so as to discourage the Tibetan belief in such a soul, something that Buddhism is known to reject. The modern Tibetan scholar, Samten Karmay, has recently argued that Buddhism was never able to suppress the concept of a soul in Tibet and that over the course of centuries, the concept was gradually reintegrated into popular rites, despite being at odds with the Buddhist doctrine of no-self (see Karmay, "L âme et la turquoise," 99). This would suggest that at some point in Tibetan history, the philosophical doctrine of no-self exercised a marked influence over popular religious practice, something that has yet to be demonstrated in any Buddhist culture. It may be significant that the other standard Tibetan-English dictionary, that of Jäschke, also cites an "oral explanation" in offering "strength, power, vitality" as one of the definitions of bla. See H. Jäschke, A Tibetan-English Dictionary (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1992); reprint of 1881 London edition, s.v. bla). The recently published three-volume Tibetan, Tibetan and Chinese dictionary defines bla as "that which is above" (steng) or "that which is fitting" (rung) but also mentions that bla is "the support of life explained in astrology" (dkar rtsis las bshad pa'i srog rten). See Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo (Mi rigs dbe skrun khang, 1984), vol. 2, s.v. bla.
18. In this reading, ma would be taken as a substantive marker (as, for example, in tshad ma and srung ma).
19. The Book of Ser Marco Polo the Venetian Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East, 2 vols., Sir Henry Yule, trans. and ed. 3rd ed., revised by Henri Cordier (New York: AMS, 1986; rpt., London edition, 1926, vol. 1, 301-3. For a discussion of the term bakshi, see Yule's note 10, page 314, and, especially, Berthold Laufer's "Loan-Words in Tibetan" included in his Sino-Tibetan Studies, 2 vols., collected by Harmut Walravens (New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan, 1987), vol. 2, 565-7, in which Laufer identifies bakshi as being of Uighur origin and dismisses the connection, reported by Yule, between bakshi and the Sanskrit bhiksu (monk).
20. The Book of Ser Marco Polo the Venetian Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East, 2 vols., Sir Henry Yule, trans. and ed. 3rd ed., revised by Henri Cordier (New York: AMS, 1986; rpt., London edition, 1926, vol. 1, 301-3. For a discussion of the term bakshi, see Yule's note 10, page 314, and, especially, Berthold Laufer's "Loan-Words in Tibetan" included in his Sino-Tibetan Studies, 2 vols., collected by Harmut Walravens (New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan, 1987), vol. 2, 565-7, in which Laufer identifies bakshi as being of Uighur origin and dismisses the connection, reported by Yule, between bakshi and the Sanskrit bhiksu (monk).
21. See Elliot Sperling, "The 5th Karma-pa and Some Aspects of the Relationship Between Tibet and the Early Ming," in Michael Aris and Aung San Suu Kyi, Tibetan Studies in Honour of Hugh Richardson (Warminster, England.: Aris and Phillips, Ltd, 1980), 283.
22. In the Records of the Qing (Qing shilu) of June 24, 1775, one finds a command given by the Qianlong emperor to generals during the Jinchuan War wherein appears the phrase, "Jinchuan and Chosijiabu have hitherto fully supported and spread your Lamaism [lama jiao]. See Gu Zucheng, et al., Qing shilu Zangzu shiliao (Lhasa: 1982), 2586. I am indebted to Elliot Sperling for discovering and translating this reference and for providing me with the other information contained in this paragraph.
23. In the Records of the Qing (Qing shilu) of June 24, 1775, one finds a command given by the Qianlong emperor to generals during the Jinchuan War wherein appears the phrase, "Jinchuan and Chosijiabu have hitherto fully supported and spread your Lamaism [lama jiao]. See Gu Zucheng, et al., Qing shilu Zangzu shiliao (Lhasa: 1982), 2586. I am indebted to Elliot Sperling for discovering and translating this reference and for providing me with the other information contained in this paragraph.
24. See Ferdinand Diederich Lessing, Yung-ho-kung: An Iconography of the Lamist Cathedral in Peking with Notes on Lamaist Mythology and Cult, vol. 1., Reports from the Scientific Expedition to the North-Western Provinces of China Under the Leadership of Dr. Sven Hedin, Publication 18 (Stockholm, 1942), 59. This reading is drawn from Lessing's comments and his translation, based on the Chinese and the Manchu. The parenthetical remarks are added by Lessing.
25. Ibid., 58. In the Lama Shou,"lama" is rendered in phonetically equivalent Chinese characters, rather than translated, a convention that had been in use since the Ming dynasty. I have adapted Lessing's translation here. His last sentence reads, without justification, "Lama(ism) also stands for Yellow Religion."
26. See Joseph Marie Amiot, Mémoires concernant L'Histoire, Les Sciences, Les Moeurs, Les Usages, &c. des Chinois: Par les Missionaires de Pékin, Tome 2 (Paris: 1777), 395.
27. See Jean Pierre Abel Rémusat, Mélanges Asiatiques ou Choix de Morceaux Critiques et de Mémoires, Tome 1 (Paris: Librairie Orientale de Dondey-Dupré Père et Fils, 1825), 134, note 1. He says in this article (p. 139) that the word lama means "priest" (prêtre) in Tibetan. Sven Hedin interpolates the term Lamaism into Abel Rémusat's text. He translates, "The first missionaries who came into contact with Lamaism . . . , whereas the Abel Rémusat's French text (p. 131) reads, "Les premiers missionaries qui en ont eu connaissance," with the referent being simply "cette religion." See Sven Hedin. Trans-Himalaya: Discoveries and Adventures in Tibet, vol. 3 (London: Macmillan and Company, 1913), 325. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary gives the date 1817 (without reference) to the first appearance of lamaism in English. L. A. Waddell, then, is mistaken when he writes in 1915 that the term appears to have been used first in Köppen's 1859 Lamische Hierarchíe und Kirche, in the same article, Waddell, in sharp contrast to his 1895 The Buddhism of Tibet, or Lamaism (discussed below), says that the term Lamaism is "in many ways misleading, inappropriate, and undesirable" and "is rightly dropping out of use." See L. A. Waddell, "Lāmaism," Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, James Hastings, ed. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1915), vol. 7:784.
28. See Jean Pierre Abel Rémusat, Mélanges Asiatiques ou Choix de Morceaux Critiques et de Mémoires, Tome 1 (Paris: Librairie Orientale de Dondey-Dupré Père et Fils, 1825), 134, note 1. He says in this article (p. 139) that the word lama means "priest" (prêtre) in Tibetan. Sven Hedin interpolates the term Lamaism into Abel Rémusat's text. He translates, "The first missionaries who came into contact with Lamaism . . . , whereas the Abel Rémusat's French text (p. 131) reads, "Les premiers missionaries qui en ont eu connaissance," with the referent being simply "cette religion." See Sven Hedin. Trans-Himalaya: Discoveries and Adventures in Tibet, vol. 3 (London: Macmillan and Company, 1913), 325. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary gives the date 1817 (without reference) to the first appearance of lamaism in English. L. A. Waddell, then, is mistaken when he writes in 1915 that the term appears to have been used first in Köppen's 1859 Lamische Hierarchíe und Kirche, in the same article, Waddell, in sharp contrast to his 1895 The Buddhism of Tibet, or Lamaism (discussed below), says that the term Lamaism is "in many ways misleading, inappropriate, and undesirable" and "is rightly dropping out of use." See L. A. Waddell, "Lāmaism," Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, James Hastings, ed. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1915), vol. 7:784.
29. See Jean Pierre Abel Rémusat, Mélanges Asiatiques ou Choix de Morceaux Critiques et de Mémoires, Tome 1 (Paris: Librairie Orientale de Dondey-Dupré Père et Fils, 1825), 134, note 1. He says in this article (p. 139) that the word lama means "priest" (prêtre) in Tibetan. Sven Hedin interpolates the term Lamaism into Abel Rémusat's text. He translates, "The first missionaries who came into contact with Lamaism . . . , whereas the Abel Rémusat's French text (p. 131) reads, "Les premiers missionaries qui en ont eu connaissance," with the referent being simply "cette religion." See Sven Hedin. Trans-Himalaya: Discoveries and Adventures in Tibet, vol. 3 (London: Macmillan and Company, 1913), 325. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary gives the date 1817 (without reference) to the first appearance of lamaism in English. L. A. Waddell, then, is mistaken when he writes in 1915 that the term appears to have been used first in Köppen's 1859 Lamische Hierarchíe und Kirche, in the same article, Waddell, in sharp contrast to his 1895 The Buddhism of Tibet, or Lamaism (discussed below), says that the term Lamaism is "in many ways misleading, inappropriate, and undesirable" and "is rightly dropping out of use." See L. A. Waddell, "Lāmaism," Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, James Hastings, ed. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1915), vol. 7:784.
30. See Jean Pierre Abel Rémusat, Mélanges Asiatiques ou Choix de Morceaux Critiques et de Mémoires, Tome 1 (Paris: Librairie Orientale de Dondey-Dupré Père et Fils, 1825), 134, note 1. He says in this article (p. 139) that the word lama means "priest" (prêtre) in Tibetan. Sven Hedin interpolates the term Lamaism into Abel Rémusat's text. He translates, "The first missionaries who came into contact with Lamaism . . . , whereas the Abel Rémusat's French text (p. 131) reads, "Les premiers missionaries qui en ont eu connaissance," with the referent being simply "cette religion." See Sven Hedin. Trans-Himalaya: Discoveries and Adventures in Tibet, vol. 3 (London: Macmillan and Company, 1913), 325. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary gives the date 1817 (without reference) to the first appearance of lamaism in English. L. A. Waddell, then, is mistaken when he writes in 1915 that the term appears to have been used first in Köppen's 1859 Lamische Hierarchíe und Kirche, in the same article, Waddell, in sharp contrast to his 1895 The Buddhism of Tibet, or Lamaism (discussed below), says that the term Lamaism is "in many ways misleading, inappropriate, and undesirable" and "is rightly dropping out of use." See L. A. Waddell, "Lāmaism," Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, James Hastings, ed. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1915), vol. 7:784.
31. See Jean Pierre Abel Rémusat, Mélanges Asiatiques ou Choix de Morceaux Critiques et de Mémoires, Tome 1 (Paris: Librairie Orientale de Dondey-Dupré Père et Fils, 1825), 134, note 1. He says in this article (p. 139) that the word lama means "priest" (prêtre) in Tibetan. Sven Hedin interpolates the term Lamaism into Abel Rémusat's text. He translates, "The first missionaries who came into contact with Lamaism . . . , whereas the Abel Rémusat's French text (p. 131) reads, "Les premiers missionaries qui en ont eu connaissance," with the referent being simply "cette religion." See Sven Hedin. Trans-Himalaya: Discoveries and Adventures in Tibet, vol. 3 (London: Macmillan and Company, 1913), 325. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary gives the date 1817 (without reference) to the first appearance of lamaism in English. L. A. Waddell, then, is mistaken when he writes in 1915 that the term appears to have been used first in Köppen's 1859 Lamische Hierarchíe und Kirche, in the same article, Waddell, in sharp contrast to his 1895 The Buddhism of Tibet, or Lamaism (discussed below), says that the term Lamaism is "in many ways misleading, inappropriate, and undesirable" and "is rightly dropping out of use." See L. A. Waddell, "Lāmaism," Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, James Hastings, ed. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1915), vol. 7:784.
32. See Jean Pierre Abel Rémusat, Mélanges Asiatiques ou Choix de Morceaux Critiques et de Mémoires, Tome 1 (Paris: Librairie Orientale de Dondey-Dupré Père et Fils, 1825), 134, note 1. He says in this article (p. 139) that the word lama means "priest" (prêtre) in Tibetan. Sven Hedin interpolates the term Lamaism into Abel Rémusat's text. He translates, "The first missionaries who came into contact with Lamaism . . . , whereas the Abel Rémusat's French text (p. 131) reads, "Les premiers missionaries qui en ont eu connaissance," with the referent being simply "cette religion." See Sven Hedin. Trans-Himalaya: Discoveries and Adventures in Tibet, vol. 3 (London: Macmillan and Company, 1913), 325. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary gives the date 1817 (without reference) to the first appearance of lamaism in English. L. A. Waddell, then, is mistaken when he writes in 1915 that the term appears to have been used first in Köppen's 1859 Lamische Hierarchíe und Kirche, in the same article, Waddell, in sharp contrast to his 1895 The Buddhism of Tibet, or Lamaism (discussed below), says that the term Lamaism is "in many ways misleading, inappropriate, and undesirable" and "is rightly dropping out of use." See L. A. Waddell, "Lāmaism," Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, James Hastings, ed. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1915), vol. 7:784.
33. William Moorcroft and George Trebeck, Travels in the Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Panjab; in Ladakh and Kashmir: in Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz, and Bokhara, vol. 1 (London: John Murray, 1841), 346. Moorcroft died of fever in Turkestan in 1825, his papers eventually becoming the property of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta. They were only published in 1841 after being compiled and edited by the Oxford Sanskritist, Horace Hayman Wilson. There are indications that the term Lamaism may not have been used by Moorcroft but, rather, was introduced by Wilson. Of his task, Wilson writes, "I have, in fact, been obliged to re-write almost the whole, and must therefore be held responsible for the greater part of its composition" (Travels, liii). Furthermore, Moorcroft reports that all of his information on the religion of Ladakh was received from Alexander Csoma de Körös (Travels, 339) In his extensive writings on Tibetan literature and religion, Csoma speaks only of Buddhism and does not use the term Lamaism. Perhaps the first European to attempt to consider the etymology of the word lama was the Jesuit. Emanoel Freyre, who accompanied Ippolito Desideri on his arduous trip to Lhasa, arriving on March 18, 1716, only to return alone to India after only one month because he could not bear the climate. In his report on his journey, he wrote that "having spoken here and there of 'lamas', before proceeding, I will say something about the etymology of their name, their clothing, the temples, their recitations, of prayers, and their Superiors, "Lamo" in Botian [Tibetan] means "way"; whence comes "Lama" - "he who shows the way." Freyre here mistakenly attempts to derive lama from the Tibetan lam, meaning path. See Filippo de Filippi, ed., An Account of Tibet: The Travels of Ippolito Desideri of Pistoia, S. J., 1712-1727, rev. ed. (London: George Routledge and Sons, 1937), 356.
34. William Moorcroft and George Trebeck, Travels in the Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Panjab; in Ladakh and Kashmir: in Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz, and Bokhara, vol. 1 (London: John Murray, 1841), 346. Moorcroft died of fever in Turkestan in 1825, his papers eventually becoming the property of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta. They were only published in 1841 after being compiled and edited by the Oxford Sanskritist, Horace Hayman Wilson. There are indications that the term Lamaism may not have been used by Moorcroft but, rather, was introduced by Wilson. Of his task, Wilson writes, "I have, in fact, been obliged to re-write almost the whole, and must therefore be held responsible for the greater part of its composition" (Travels, liii). Furthermore, Moorcroft reports that all of his information on the religion of Ladakh was received from Alexander Csoma de Körös (Travels, 339) In his extensive writings on Tibetan literature and religion, Csoma speaks only of Buddhism and does not use the term Lamaism. Perhaps the first European to attempt to consider the etymology of the word lama was the Jesuit. Emanoel Freyre, who accompanied Ippolito Desideri on his arduous trip to Lhasa, arriving on March 18, 1716, only to return alone to India after only one month because he could not bear the climate. In his report on his journey, he wrote that "having spoken here and there of 'lamas', before proceeding, I will say something about the etymology of their name, their clothing, the temples, their recitations, of prayers, and their Superiors, "Lamo" in Botian [Tibetan] means "way"; whence comes "Lama" - "he who shows the way." Freyre here mistakenly attempts to derive lama from the Tibetan lam, meaning path. See Filippo de Filippi, ed., An Account of Tibet: The Travels of Ippolito Desideri of Pistoia, S. J., 1712-1727, rev. ed. (London: George Routledge and Sons, 1937), 356.
35. William Moorcroft and George Trebeck, Travels in the Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Panjab; in Ladakh and Kashmir: in Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz, and Bokhara, vol. 1 (London: John Murray, 1841), 346. Moorcroft died of fever in Turkestan in 1825, his papers eventually becoming the property of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta. They were only published in 1841 after being compiled and edited by the Oxford Sanskritist, Horace Hayman Wilson. There are indications that the term Lamaism may not have been used by Moorcroft but, rather, was introduced by Wilson. Of his task, Wilson writes, "I have, in fact, been obliged to re-write almost the whole, and must therefore be held responsible for the greater part of its composition" (Travels, liii). Furthermore, Moorcroft reports that all of his information on the religion of Ladakh was received from Alexander Csoma de Körös (Travels, 339) In his extensive writings on Tibetan literature and religion, Csoma speaks only of Buddhism and does not use the term Lamaism. Perhaps the first European to attempt to consider the etymology of the word lama was the Jesuit. Emanoel Freyre, who accompanied Ippolito Desideri on his arduous trip to Lhasa, arriving on March 18, 1716, only to return alone to India after only one month because he could not bear the climate. In his report on his journey, he wrote that "having spoken here and there of 'lamas', before proceeding, I will say something about the etymology of their name, their clothing, the temples, their recitations, of prayers, and their Superiors, "Lamo" in Botian [Tibetan] means "way"; whence comes "Lama" - "he who shows the way." Freyre here mistakenly attempts to derive lama from the Tibetan lam, meaning path. See Filippo de Filippi, ed., An Account of Tibet: The Travels of Ippolito Desideri of Pistoia, S. J., 1712-1727, rev. ed. (London: George Routledge and Sons, 1937), 356.
36. William Moorcroft and George Trebeck, Travels in the Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Panjab; in Ladakh and Kashmir: in Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz, and Bokhara, vol. 1 (London: John Murray, 1841), 346. Moorcroft died of fever in Turkestan in 1825, his papers eventually becoming the property of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta. They were only published in 1841 after being compiled and edited by the Oxford Sanskritist, Horace Hayman Wilson. There are indications that the term Lamaism may not have been used by Moorcroft but, rather, was introduced by Wilson. Of his task, Wilson writes, "I have, in fact, been obliged to re-write almost the whole, and must therefore be held responsible for the greater part of its composition" (Travels, liii). Furthermore, Moorcroft reports that all of his information on the religion of Ladakh was received from Alexander Csoma de Körös (Travels, 339) In his extensive writings on Tibetan literature and religion, Csoma speaks only of Buddhism and does not use the term Lamaism. Perhaps the first European to attempt to consider the etymology of the word lama was the Jesuit. Emanoel Freyre, who accompanied Ippolito Desideri on his arduous trip to Lhasa, arriving on March 18, 1716, only to return alone to India after only one month because he could not bear the climate. In his report on his journey, he wrote that "having spoken here and there of 'lamas', before proceeding, I will say something about the etymology of their name, their clothing, the temples, their recitations, of prayers, and their Superiors, "Lamo" in Botian [Tibetan] means "way"; whence comes "Lama" - "he who shows the way." Freyre here mistakenly attempts to derive lama from the Tibetan lam, meaning path. See Filippo de Filippi, ed., An Account of Tibet: The Travels of Ippolito Desideri of Pistoia, S. J., 1712-1727, rev. ed. (London: George Routledge and Sons, 1937), 356.
37. G. W. F. Hegel, The Philosophy of History, J. Sibree, Irans. (New York: Dover Publications, 1956), 170.
38. Translation of the passage cited in Henri de Lubac, La Recontre du Bouddhisme et de L'Occident (Paris: Aubier, 1952), 45, For an even earlier observation of similarity, see the comments of the Flemish Franciscan friar, William of Rubruck, who visited the court of Möngke between 1253-55: All their priests shave the head and beard completely, dress in saffron colour, and observe chastity from the time they shave their heads, living together in communities of a hundred and even two hundred. . . . Wherever they go, they also have constantly in their hands a string of a hundred or two hundred beads, like the rosaries we carry, and keep repeating On mani battam, which mean "God, you know." See Willem van Ruysbroek, The Mission of Friar William of Rubruck, Peter Jackson, trans. (London: The Hakluyt Society, 1990), 153-4. In addition to being the first Westerner to note the existence of the mantra, ommani padme hum, William may also have been the first to encounter an incarnate lama, "a boy was brought from Cataia, who to judge by his physical size was not three years old, yet was fully capable of rational thought: he said of himself that he was in his third incarnation, and he knew how to read and write" (p. 232).
39. Translation of the passage cited in Henri de Lubac, La Recontre du Bouddhisme et de L'Occident (Paris: Aubier, 1952), 45, For an even earlier observation of similarity, see the comments of the Flemish Franciscan friar, William of Rubruck, who visited the court of Möngke between 1253-55: All their priests shave the head and beard completely, dress in saffron colour, and observe chastity from the time they shave their heads, living together in communities of a hundred and even two hundred. . . . Wherever they go, they also have constantly in their hands a string of a hundred or two hundred beads, like the rosaries we carry, and keep repeating On mani battam, which mean "God, you know." See Willem van Ruysbroek, The Mission of Friar William of Rubruck, Peter Jackson, trans. (London: The Hakluyt Society, 1990), 153-4. In addition to being the first Westerner to note the existence of the mantra, ommani padme hum, William may also have been the first to encounter an incarnate lama, "a boy was brought from Cataia, who to judge by his physical size was not three years old, yet was fully capable of rational thought: he said of himself that he was in his third incarnation, and he knew how to read and write" (p. 232).
40. Evariste-Régis Hue and Joseph Gabet, Travels in Tartary, Thibet, and China !844-1846, William Hazlitt, trans., 2 vols, bound as one (New York: Dover Publications, 1987). Max Müller notes that "the late Abbé Huc pointed out the similarities between the Buddhist and Roman Catholic ceremonials with such naïveté, that, to his surpirise, he found his delightful Travels in Thibet placed on the 'Index.'" See Muller's Chips from a German Workshop, vol. I of Essays on the Science of Religion (Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1985; rpt., Charles Scribner and Company, 1869), 187.
41. Evariste-Régis Hue and Joseph Gabet, Travels in Tartary, Thibet, and China !844-1846, William Hazlitt, trans., 2 vols, bound as one (New York: Dover Publications, 1987). Max Müller notes that "the late Abbé Huc pointed out the similarities between the Buddhist and Roman Catholic ceremonials with such naïveté, that, to his surpirise, he found his delightful Travels in Thibet placed on the 'Index.'" See Muller's Chips from a German Workshop, vol. I of Essays on the Science of Religion (Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1985; rpt., Charles Scribner and Company, 1869), 187.
42. It is perhaps noteworthy that he of the prominent proboscis appears in none of the standard Tibetan biographies of Tsong kha pa. In addition, Desideri, the first Catholic missionary to live for an extended period of time in Tibet, duly noted the resemblances in the ceremonies, institutions, ecclesiastical hierarchy, maxims, moral principles, and hagiographies but makes no attempt to account for it. He commented that, in his reading of Tibetan history, he had found no "hint that our Holy Faith has at any time been known, or that any Apostle or evangelical preacher has ever lived here" (see de Filippi, An Account of Tibet, 302). See also C. J. Wessel's informative note to this passage. In Hue and Gabet's explanation of the presence in Tibet of practices deserving their approbation, another element is also at play here: The persistent European assumption that those whose whereabouts cannot be accounted for, whether it be Jesus himself during the "lost years," Prester John, or Sherlock Holmes, must have been in Tibet, and that otherwise inexplicable "parallels" may be explained by their presence. For a document purportedly discovered in Ladakh purporting to describe Jesus' travels in Tibet, see L. Huxley, The Life and Letters of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, 2 vols. (London: John Murray, 1918), 2:334-5. See also Nicolas Notovitch, The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1894) for the "translation" of a manuscript discovered by the author in Ladakh, "The Life of Saint Issa," which describes Jesus' activities in India and Nepal. In "The Adventure of the Empty House," the great detective accounts for his whereabouts during the years following his apparent death after plunging with Professor Moriarty over Reichenbach Falls, telling Watson, "I travelled for two years in Tibet, therefore, and amused myself by visiting Lhassa, and spending some days with the head lama. You may have read of the remarkable explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson, but I am sure that it never occurred to you that you were receiving news of your friend." The presence of an international brotherhood of enlightened masters in Tibet, congregated from around the world, is an important element of Theosophical doctrine: From time immemorial there had been a certain secret region in Tibet, which to this day is quite unknown to and unapproachable by any but initiated persons, and inaccessible to the ordinary people of the country as to any others, in which adepts have always congregated. But the country generally was not in the Buddha's time, as it has since become, the chosen habitation of the great brotherhood. Much more than they are at present were the Mahatmas in former times distributed about the world. The progress of civilization, engendering the magnetism they find so trying, had, however, by the date with which we are now dealing - the fourteenth century - already given rise to a general movement towards Tibet on the part of the previously dissociated occultist. Far more widely than was held to be consistent with the safety of mankind was occult knowledge and power then found to be disseminated. To the task of putting it under the control of a rigid system of rule and law did Tsong-ka-pa address himself. See Alfred Percy Sinnett, Esoteric Buddhism (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, and Company, 1895), 227-8. Sinnett's fantasy, a probable inspiration for James Hilton's Lost Horizon, is yet another effect of Tibet never coming under European colonial domination.
43. It is perhaps noteworthy that he of the prominent proboscis appears in none of the standard Tibetan biographies of Tsong kha pa. In addition, Desideri, the first Catholic missionary to live for an extended period of time in Tibet, duly noted the resemblances in the ceremonies, institutions, ecclesiastical hierarchy, maxims, moral principles, and hagiographies but makes no attempt to account for it. He commented that, in his reading of Tibetan history, he had found no "hint that our Holy Faith has at any time been known, or that any Apostle or evangelical preacher has ever lived here" (see de Filippi, An Account of Tibet, 302). See also C. J. Wessel's informative note to this passage. In Hue and Gabet's explanation of the presence in Tibet of practices deserving their approbation, another element is also at play here: The persistent European assumption that those whose whereabouts cannot be accounted for, whether it be Jesus himself during the "lost years," Prester John, or Sherlock Holmes, must have been in Tibet, and that otherwise inexplicable "parallels" may be explained by their presence. For a document purportedly discovered in Ladakh purporting to describe Jesus' travels in Tibet, see L. Huxley, The Life and Letters of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, 2 vols. (London: John Murray, 1918), 2:334-5. See also Nicolas Notovitch, The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1894) for the "translation" of a manuscript discovered by the author in Ladakh, "The Life of Saint Issa," which describes Jesus' activities in India and Nepal. In "The Adventure of the Empty House," the great detective accounts for his whereabouts during the years following his apparent death after plunging with Professor Moriarty over Reichenbach Falls, telling Watson, "I travelled for two years in Tibet, therefore, and amused myself by visiting Lhassa, and spending some days with the head lama. You may have read of the remarkable explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson, but I am sure that it never occurred to you that you were receiving news of your friend." The presence of an international brotherhood of enlightened masters in Tibet, congregated from around the world, is an important element of Theosophical doctrine: From time immemorial there had been a certain secret region in Tibet, which to this day is quite unknown to and unapproachable by any but initiated persons, and inaccessible to the ordinary people of the country as to any others, in which adepts have always congregated. But the country generally was not in the Buddha's time, as it has since become, the chosen habitation of the great brotherhood. Much more than they are at present were the Mahatmas in former times distributed about the world. The progress of civilization, engendering the magnetism they find so trying, had, however, by the date with which we are now dealing - the fourteenth century - already given rise to a general movement towards Tibet on the part of the previously dissociated occultist. Far more widely than was held to be consistent with the safety of mankind was occult knowledge and power then found to be disseminated. To the task of putting it under the control of a rigid system of rule and law did Tsong-ka-pa address himself. See Alfred Percy Sinnett, Esoteric Buddhism (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, and Company, 1895), 227-8. Sinnett's fantasy, a probable inspiration for James Hilton's Lost Horizon, is yet another effect of Tibet never coming under European colonial domination.
44. It is perhaps noteworthy that he of the prominent proboscis appears in none of the standard Tibetan biographies of Tsong kha pa. In addition, Desideri, the first Catholic missionary to live for an extended period of time in Tibet, duly noted the resemblances in the ceremonies, institutions, ecclesiastical hierarchy, maxims, moral principles, and hagiographies but makes no attempt to account for it. He commented that, in his reading of Tibetan history, he had found no "hint that our Holy Faith has at any time been known, or that any Apostle or evangelical preacher has ever lived here" (see de Filippi, An Account of Tibet, 302). See also C. J. Wessel's informative note to this passage. In Hue and Gabet's explanation of the presence in Tibet of practices deserving their approbation, another element is also at play here: The persistent European assumption that those whose whereabouts cannot be accounted for, whether it be Jesus himself during the "lost years," Prester John, or Sherlock Holmes, must have been in Tibet, and that otherwise inexplicable "parallels" may be explained by their presence. For a document purportedly discovered in Ladakh purporting to describe Jesus' travels in Tibet, see L. Huxley, The Life and Letters of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, 2 vols. (London: John Murray, 1918), 2:334-5. See also Nicolas Notovitch, The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1894) for the "translation" of a manuscript discovered by the author in Ladakh, "The Life of Saint Issa," which describes Jesus' activities in India and Nepal. In "The Adventure of the Empty House," the great detective accounts for his whereabouts during the years following his apparent death after plunging with Professor Moriarty over Reichenbach Falls, telling Watson, "I travelled for two years in Tibet, therefore, and amused myself by visiting Lhassa, and spending some days with the head lama. You may have read of the remarkable explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson, but I am sure that it never occurred to you that you were receiving news of your friend." The presence of an international brotherhood of enlightened masters in Tibet, congregated from around the world, is an important element of Theosophical doctrine: From time immemorial there had been a certain secret region in Tibet, which to this day is quite unknown to and unapproachable by any but initiated persons, and inaccessible to the ordinary people of the country as to any others, in which adepts have always congregated. But the country generally was not in the Buddha's time, as it has since become, the chosen habitation of the great brotherhood. Much more than they are at present were the Mahatmas in former times distributed about the world. The progress of civilization, engendering the magnetism they find so trying, had, however, by the date with which we are now dealing - the fourteenth century - already given rise to a general movement towards Tibet on the part of the previously dissociated occultist. Far more widely than was held to be consistent with the safety of mankind was occult knowledge and power then found to be disseminated. To the task of putting it under the control of a rigid system of rule and law did Tsong-ka-pa address himself. See Alfred Percy Sinnett, Esoteric Buddhism (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, and Company, 1895), 227-8. Sinnett's fantasy, a probable inspiration for James Hilton's Lost Horizon, is yet another effect of Tibet never coming under European colonial domination.
45. It is perhaps noteworthy that he of the prominent proboscis appears in none of the standard Tibetan biographies of Tsong kha pa. In addition, Desideri, the first Catholic missionary to live for an extended period of time in Tibet, duly noted the resemblances in the ceremonies, institutions, ecclesiastical hierarchy, maxims, moral principles, and hagiographies but makes no attempt to account for it. He commented that, in his reading of Tibetan history, he had found no "hint that our Holy Faith has at any time been known, or that any Apostle or evangelical preacher has ever lived here" (see de Filippi, An Account of Tibet, 302). See also C. J. Wessel's informative note to this passage. In Hue and Gabet's explanation of the presence in Tibet of practices deserving their approbation, another element is also at play here: The persistent European assumption that those whose whereabouts cannot be accounted for, whether it be Jesus himself during the "lost years," Prester John, or Sherlock Holmes, must have been in Tibet, and that otherwise inexplicable "parallels" may be explained by their presence. For a document purportedly discovered in Ladakh purporting to describe Jesus' travels in Tibet, see L. Huxley, The Life and Letters of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, 2 vols. (London: John Murray, 1918), 2:334-5. See also Nicolas Notovitch, The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1894) for the "translation" of a manuscript discovered by the author in Ladakh, "The Life of Saint Issa," which describes Jesus' activities in India and Nepal. In "The Adventure of the Empty House," the great detective accounts for his whereabouts during the years following his apparent death after plunging with Professor Moriarty over Reichenbach Falls, telling Watson, "I travelled for two years in Tibet, therefore, and amused myself by visiting Lhassa, and spending some days with the head lama. You may have read of the remarkable explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson, but I am sure that it never occurred to you that you were receiving news of your friend." The presence of an international brotherhood of enlightened masters in Tibet, congregated from around the world, is an important element of Theosophical doctrine: From time immemorial there had been a certain secret region in Tibet, which to this day is quite unknown to and unapproachable by any but initiated persons, and inaccessible to the ordinary people of the country as to any others, in which adepts have always congregated. But the country generally was not in the Buddha's time, as it has since become, the chosen habitation of the great brotherhood. Much more than they are at present were the Mahatmas in former times distributed about the world. The progress of civilization, engendering the magnetism they find so trying, had, however, by the date with which we are now dealing - the fourteenth century - already given rise to a general movement towards Tibet on the part of the previously dissociated occultist. Far more widely than was held to be consistent with the safety of mankind was occult knowledge and power then found to be disseminated. To the task of putting it under the control of a rigid system of rule and law did Tsong-ka-pa address himself. See Alfred Percy Sinnett, Esoteric Buddhism (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, and Company, 1895), 227-8. Sinnett's fantasy, a probable inspiration for James Hilton's Lost Horizon, is yet another effect of Tibet never coming under European colonial domination.
46. It is perhaps noteworthy that he of the prominent proboscis appears in none of the standard Tibetan biographies of Tsong kha pa. In addition, Desideri, the first Catholic missionary to live for an extended period of time in Tibet, duly noted the resemblances in the ceremonies, institutions, ecclesiastical hierarchy, maxims, moral principles, and hagiographies but makes no attempt to account for it. He commented that, in his reading of Tibetan history, he had found no "hint that our Holy Faith has at any time been known, or that any Apostle or evangelical preacher has ever lived here" (see de Filippi, An Account of Tibet, 302). See also C. J. Wessel's informative note to this passage. In Hue and Gabet's explanation of the presence in Tibet of practices deserving their approbation, another element is also at play here: The persistent European assumption that those whose whereabouts cannot be accounted for, whether it be Jesus himself during the "lost years," Prester John, or Sherlock Holmes, must have been in Tibet, and that otherwise inexplicable "parallels" may be explained by their presence. For a document purportedly discovered in Ladakh purporting to describe Jesus' travels in Tibet, see L. Huxley, The Life and Letters of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, 2 vols. (London: John Murray, 1918), 2:334-5. See also Nicolas Notovitch, The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1894) for the "translation" of a manuscript discovered by the author in Ladakh, "The Life of Saint Issa," which describes Jesus' activities in India and Nepal. In "The Adventure of the Empty House," the great detective accounts for his whereabouts during the years following his apparent death after plunging with Professor Moriarty over Reichenbach Falls, telling Watson, "I travelled for two years in Tibet, therefore, and amused myself by visiting Lhassa, and spending some days with the head lama. You may have read of the remarkable explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson, but I am sure that it never occurred to you that you were receiving news of your friend." The presence of an international brotherhood of enlightened masters in Tibet, congregated from around the world, is an important element of Theosophical doctrine: From time immemorial there had been a certain secret region in Tibet, which to this day is quite unknown to and unapproachable by any but initiated persons, and inaccessible to the ordinary people of the country as to any others, in which adepts have always congregated. But the country generally was not in the Buddha's time, as it has since become, the chosen habitation of the great brotherhood. Much more than they are at present were the Mahatmas in former times distributed about the world. The progress of civilization, engendering the magnetism they find so trying, had, however, by the date with which we are now dealing - the fourteenth century - already given rise to a general movement towards Tibet on the part of the previously dissociated occultist. Far more widely than was held to be consistent with the safety of mankind was occult knowledge and power then found to be disseminated. To the task of putting it under the control of a rigid system of rule and law did Tsong-ka-pa address himself. See Alfred Percy Sinnett, Esoteric Buddhism (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, and Company, 1895), 227-8. Sinnett's fantasy, a probable inspiration for James Hilton's Lost Horizon, is yet another effect of Tibet never coming under European colonial domination.
47. Cited by Sven Hedin in Trans-Himalaya, 318. For numerous cases of the comparison of elements of Tibetan Buddhism to Roman Catholicism, see pages 310-29. For Kircher's full account of Tibetan religion, see the appendix to Jan Nieuhof, An Embassy from the East India Company of the United Provinces to the Grand Tartar Cham, Emperor of China, John Ogilby, trans., reprint ed. (Menston: Scholars Press, 1972), 40-43.
48. Cited by Sven Hedin in Trans-Himalaya, 318. For numerous cases of the comparison of elements of Tibetan Buddhism to Roman Catholicism, see pages 310-29. For Kircher's full account of Tibetan religion, see the appendix to Jan Nieuhof, An Embassy from the East India Company of the United Provinces to the Grand Tartar Cham, Emperor of China, John Ogilby, trans., reprint ed. (Menston: Scholars Press, 1972), 40-43.
49. See, for example, Justin Martyr, I Apology, LIV, 7-8; LXII, 1-2; LXVI. 1-4. I am grateful to Elizabeth Clark for providing these references. It is significant to note that not all the Catholic priests who encountered Buddhist monks believed that they looked exactly like themselves. The Flemish friar, William of Rubruck, thought they looked like French: "So on entering the idol temple to which I have referred, I found the priests sitting at the outer gate. When I saw them, I look them for Franks, being clean-shaven, but the mitres they were wearing on their heads were of paper." See Ruysbroek, The Mission of Friar William of Rubruck, 154.
50. See, for example, Justin Martyr, I Apology, LIV, 7-8; LXII, 1-2; LXVI. 1-4. I am grateful to Elizabeth Clark for providing these references. It is significant to note that not all the Catholic priests who encountered Buddhist monks believed that they looked exactly like themselves. The Flemish friar, William of Rubruck, thought they looked like French: "So on entering the idol temple to which I have referred, I found the priests sitting at the outer gate. When I saw them, I look them for Franks, being clean-shaven, but the mitres they were wearing on their heads were of paper." See Ruysbroek, The Mission of Friar William of Rubruck, 154.
51. See, for example, Justin Martyr, I Apology, LIV, 7-8; LXII, 1-2; LXVI. 1-4. I am grateful to Elizabeth Clark for providing these references. It is
52. See, for example, Justin Martyr, I Apology, LIV, 7-8; LXII, 1-2; LXVI. 1-4. I am grateful to Elizabeth Clark for providing these references. It is significant to note that not all the Catholic priests who encountered Buddhist monks believed that they looked exactly like themselves. The Flemish friar, William of Rubruck, thought they looked like French: "So on entering the idol temple to which I have referred, I found the priests sitting at the outer gate. When I saw them, I look them for Franks, being clean-shaven, but the mitres they were wearing on their heads were of paper." See Ruysbroek, The Mission of Friar William of Rubruck, 154.
53. Jacques Lacan, Écrits: A Selection, Alan Sheridan, trans. (New York: W. W. Norton, 1977), 2.
54. Jacques Lacan, Écrits, 3.
55. Jane Gallop, Reading Lacan (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1985), 85.
56. Cited in Philip Almond, The British Discovery of Buddhism (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 124.
57. Thomas W. Rhys Davids, Buddhism: Being a Sketch of the Life and Teachings of Gautama, the Buddha, rev. ed. (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1903), 199.
58. Sir Monier Monier-Williams, Buddhism, In Its Connexion with Brāhmanism and Hindūism, and In Its Contrast with Christianity (Varanasi: Cowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1964), 261.
59. T. W. Rhys Davids, Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by Some Points in the History of Indian Buddhism (The Hibbert Lectures, 1881) (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1882), 192-3.
60. Ibid., 194.
61. Thomas W. Rhys Davids, Buddhism: Its History and Literature 5th ed. (Calcutta: Susil Gupta Private Ltd., 1962), 4.
62. Cited from the 1972 Dover reprint issued under the new title. Tibetan Buddhism: With Its Mystic Cults, Symbolism and Mythology (New York: Dover Publications, 1972), 4. In later life, Waddell would turn his research more explicitly to his Aryan ancestors, claiming an Aryan origin for Sumerian and Egyptian civilization in such works as his 1929 The Makers of Civilization in Race and History (reprint. Delhi: S. Chand, 1968).
63. Cited from the 1972 Dover reprint issued under the new title. Tibetan Buddhism: With Its Mystic Cults, Symbolism and Mythology (New York: Dover Publications, 1972), 4. In later life, Waddell would turn his research more explicitly to his Aryan ancestors, claiming an Aryan origin for Sumerian and Egyptian civilization in such works as his 1929 The Makers of Civilization in Race and History (reprint. Delhi: S. Chand, 1968).
64. Elizabeth A. Reed, Primitive Buddhism: Its Origin and Teachings (Chicago. Scott, Foresman, and Co., 1896), 16.
65. Sir Monier Monier-Williams, Buddhism, In Its Connexion with Brāhmanism and Hindūism, and In Its Contrast with Christianity (Varanasi: Cowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1964), 253.
66. Thomas W. Rhys Davids, The History and Literature of Buddhism, 139.
67. "Tantra," a notoriously vague term used generally to designate a movement in Indian religion that made use of traditionally proscribed activites in the religious path (most notably sexual intercourse), was regarded by nineteenth-century Orientalists as the most depraved of abominations.
68. Monier-Williams, Buddhism, 147.
69. Ibid., 151. Others saw Lamaism more simply as the natural development of Indian Buddhism. In his address to the Ninth International Congress of Orientalists, James Legge declared: Buddhism has been in China but a disturbing influence, ministering to the element of superstition which plays so large a part in the world. I am far from saying the doctrine of the literati is perfect, nevertheless, it has kept the people of China together in a national union, passing through many revolution, but still enduring, after at least four or five millenniums of its existence, and still not without measure of heart and hope. Europe and America can give it something better than India did, in sending it Buddhism in our first century, and I hope they will do so. You must not look to the civilization of China and Japan for the fruits of Buddhism. Go to Tibet and Mongolia, and in the bigotry and apathy of the population, in their prayer wheels and cylinders you will find the achievement of the doctrine of the Buddha. Cited in Elizabeth Reed, Primitive Buddhism, 30. A study of the stereotypical Orientalist fascination and revulsion concerning the mechanism of the Tibetan Buddhist prayer wheel remains to be written. See William Simpson's The Buddhist-Praying Wheel (London: Macmillan and Co., 1896). Monier-Williams (Buddhism, 378) remarks, "It is to be hoped that when European inventions find their way across the Himalayas, steam-power may not be pressed into the service of these gross superstitions."
70. Ibid., 151. Others saw Lamaism more simply as the natural development of Indian Buddhism. In his address to the Ninth International Congress of Orientalists, James Legge declared: Buddhism has been in China but a disturbing influence, ministering to the element of superstition which plays so large a part in the world. I am far from saying the doctrine of the literati is perfect, nevertheless, it has kept the people of China together in a national union, passing through many revolution, but still enduring, after at least four or five millenniums of its existence, and still not without measure of heart and hope. Europe and America can give it something better than India did, in sending it Buddhism in our first century, and I hope they will do so. You must not look to the civilization of China and Japan for the fruits of Buddhism. Go to Tibet and Mongolia, and in the bigotry and apathy of the population, in their prayer wheels and cylinders you will find the achievement of the doctrine of the Buddha. Cited in Elizabeth Reed, Primitive Buddhism, 30. A study of the stereotypical Orientalist fascination and revulsion concerning the mechanism of the Tibetan Buddhist prayer wheel remains to be written. See William Simpson's The Buddhist-Praying Wheel (London: Macmillan and Co., 1896). Monier-Williams (Buddhism, 378) remarks, "It is to be hoped that when European inventions find their way across the Himalayas, steam-power may not be pressed into the service of these gross superstitions."
71. Ibid., 151. Others saw Lamaism more simply as the natural development of Indian Buddhism. In his address to the Ninth International Congress of Orientalists, James Legge declared: Buddhism has been in China but a disturbing influence, ministering to the element of superstition which plays so large a part in the world. I am far from saying the doctrine of the literati is perfect, nevertheless, it has kept the people of China together in a national union, passing through many revolution, but still enduring, after at least four or five millenniums of its existence, and still not without measure of heart and hope. Europe and America can give it something better than India did, in sending it Buddhism in our first century, and I hope they will do so. You must not look to the civilization of China and Japan for the fruits of Buddhism. Go to Tibet and Mongolia, and in the bigotry and apathy of the population, in their prayer wheels and cylinders you will find the achievement of the doctrine of the Buddha. Cited in Elizabeth Reed, Primitive Buddhism, 30. A study of the stereotypical Orientalist fascination and revulsion concerning the mechanism of the Tibetan Buddhist prayer wheel remains to be written. See William Simpson's The Buddhist-Praying Wheel (London: Macmillan and Co., 1896). Monier-Williams (Buddhism, 378) remarks, "It is to be hoped that when European inventions find their way across the Himalayas, steam-power may not be pressed into the service of these gross superstitions."
72. Ibid., 151. Others saw Lamaism more simply as the natural development of Indian Buddhism. In his address to the Ninth International Congress of Orientalists, James Legge declared: Buddhism has been in China but a disturbing influence, ministering to the element of superstition which plays so large a part in the world. I am far from saying the doctrine of the literati is perfect, nevertheless, it has kept the people of China together in a national union, passing through many revolution, but still enduring, after at least four or five millenniums of its existence, and still not without measure of heart and hope. Europe and America can give it something better than India did, in sending it Buddhism in our first century, and I hope they will do so. You must not look to the civilization of China and Japan for the fruits of Buddhism. Go to Tibet and Mongolia, and in the bigotry and apathy of the population, in their prayer wheels and cylinders you will find the achievement of the doctrine of the Buddha. Cited in Elizabeth Reed, Primitive Buddhism, 30. A study of the stereotypical Orientalist fascination and revulsion concerning the mechanism of the Tibetan Buddhist prayer wheel remains to be written. See William Simpson's The Buddhist-Praying Wheel (London: Macmillan and Co., 1896). Monier-Williams (Buddhism, 378) remarks, "It is to be hoped that when European inventions find their way across the Himalayas, steam-power may not be pressed into the service of these gross superstitions."
73. See Jonathan Z. Smith, Drudgery Divine: On the Comparison of Early Christianities and the Religions of Later Antiquity (Jordan Lectures in Comparative Religions, XIV) (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1990).
74. Waddell, Tibetan Buddhism, 573.
75. Waddell, Lhasa and Its Mysteries (New York: Dover Publication, 1905), 447-8.
76. Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Opening the Eye of New Awareness, Donald S. Lopez, Jr., trans. (London: Wisdom Publications, 1985), 117-8. The use of the term lamaism is also condemned in an article published in Tibetan in 1982 at the behest of the Chinese Peoples' Political Consultative Committee and published in an inadequate English translation in 1986. See Tseten Zhabdrung, "Research on the Nomenclature of the Buddhist Schools in Tibet," Tibet Journal, 11:3 (Autumn 1986), 43-44.
77. Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Opening the Eye of New Awareness, Donald S. Lopez, Jr., trans. (London: Wisdom Publications, 1985), 117-8. The use of the term lamaism is also condemned in an article published in Tibetan in 1982 at the behest of the Chinese Peoples' Political Consultative Committee and published in an inadequate English translation in 1986. See Tseten Zhabdrung, "Research on the Nomenclature of the Buddhist Schools in Tibet," Tibet Journal, 11:3 (Autumn 1986), 43-44.
78. Wangyal had come to the United States to serve a community of Kalmyk Mongols, refugees from Stalin who had left their homeland in Russia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Although Wangyal, like other Kalmyk Buddhist monks, had been trained in Tibet, he was not a Tibetan nor was his community; but they were ethnically Mongols and nationally Russians. He had no interest therefore, in calling his monastery, "Tibetan Buddhist." However, he wanted to evoke in the name of his institution the tradition of Buddhism to which he and his community adhered, a tradition that historically had spread as far west as the Black Sea, as far north as Siberia, as far east as Sichuan, and as far south as Nepal. The only alternative adjective, apparently, was Lamaist.
79. On British representations of Tibet as an archive state in a variety of literatures of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, see Thomas Richards, "Archive and Utopia," Representations, 37 (1992), 104-33.
80. For an analysis of Tibetan Buddhist studies during this period, see my essay, "Foreigner at the Lama's Feet," in Donald S. Lopez, Jr., ed., Curators of the Buddha: Orientalism and the Study of the Buddhism (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995).
81. Levenson, Circa 1492, 472.
82. Ibid., 472.
83. Jay A. Levenson, Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration (Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1991), 13.
84. Stuart and Roma Gelder's The Timely Rain: Travels in New Tibet (London: Hutchinson of London, 1964), 129. The characterizations of Tibetan Buddhism by British officers such as Landon and Waddell are quoted as authoritative by the Gelders as well as by another Chinese apologist who wrote for Western consumption, Han Suyin. See her Lhasa: The Open City (London: Jonathan Cape, 1977).
85. Stuart and Roma Gelder's The Timely Rain: Travels in New Tibet (London: Hutchinson of London, 1964), 129. The characterizations of Tibetan Buddhism by British officers such as Landon and Waddell are quoted as authoritative by the Gelders as well as by another Chinese apologist who wrote for Western consumption, Han Suyin. See her Lhasa: The Open City (London: Jonathan Cape, 1977).