Geshe Lobsang Monlam will discuss the crucial role technology plays in preserving Tibetan language, and will present new developments in his Tibetan programs, applications, and fonts. Geshe Monlam was born in Amdo Ngawa, Tibet. In 1993 he began 17 years of study at Sera Mey College in Karnataka, India. Currently he is the director of Tibetan IT Research […]

A Fine Blend of Mahāmudrā and Madhyamaka: Maitrīpa's Collection of Works on Non-conceptual Realization The Tibet Center is pleased to welcome as our first speaker of 2017 Professor Klaus-Dieter Mathes, head of the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna. Professor Mathes will present findings from his recent research on the […]

Other People’s Philology: Uses of Sanskrit in Tibet and China, 15th-18th c. Join us for a talk by Matthew Kapstein, Director of Tibetan Studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris, and Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies, University of Chicago. Lecture Abstract: The long Tibetan preoccupation with the translation of the Buddhist literature of […]

Himalayan Syncretism and the Emergence of Padmasambhava as Rdo rje gro lod Padmasambhava, the renowned eighth-century tantrika credited with establishing Buddhism in Tibet, is scarcely noted among imperial-era sources, and yet he becomes the protagonist of a vibrant biographical tradition several centuries thereafter. One mode of defining him and his activities was through the introduction […]

Lineages of the Literary: Religious Repertoires & the Cultural Revolution In the aftermath of 20 years of socio-political repression, “the Three Great Scholars after the Cultural Revolution”—Tséten Zhapdrung (1910-1985), Dungkar Lozang Trinlé (1927-1997), and Mugé Samten (1914-1993)—emerged as university professors and Buddhist leaders to ensure the survival and continuation of Tibetan literary culture in China. […]

Bundles of scrolls from the Stein Collection, courtesy Brandon Dotson. A Strange Gift & Its Stranger Beneficiaries: 1,650 Sutras Copied for the Tibetan Emperor Conserved in the Stein Collection of the British Library   In 826 over one hundred mostly Chinese scribes and editors in Dunhuang’s temple scriptoria were ordered to produce thousands of copies […]

Research on Tibetan linguistic diversity in the West dates back to at least the mid-nineteenth century. However, a surge in descriptive and documentary linguistics in the twenty-first century has radically altered our understanding of the rich and complex linguistic ecology in Tibetan areas. This presentation will provide an overview of this emerging picture of the region […]

Gonkar Gyatso will share insight on his installation “Buddha’s Picnic,” which is currently on view at Washington andLee’s Staniar Gallery. In his words, the work is “a material and experiential journey into the modern practice of constructing temporary shrines, reflecting the infusion of pop and material culture from China and the West into countryside shrines throughout […]

This conversation between Ven. Dong Yonden Gyatso and Professor David Germano will explore how Dong YondenGyatso adopts Buddhist teachings and Tibetan traditional knowledge for the secular schooling of younger generations of Tibetans. Their discussion will focus on the Tibetan experience of creating culturally relevant education that can cultivate confidence and competencies among rural minority school […]

Secular and Political Mural Art from Himalayan Lands: Sikkim, Nepal, and Bhutan Students of Himalayan cultures will be familiar with the many forms of Buddhist and Hindu art, whose primary focus is the portrayal of saints, deities and meditative objects such as the mandala.  In recent decades, influenced by modernity and globalizing culture, there have arisen […]