Biographies of Eminent Tibetans – Introduction to Tibetan Civilization through Lives of Individuals 09-BET

The course is designed as an introduction to Tibetan Civilization seen from the perspectives of individuals whose biographies illustrate Tibetan history and culture. Each class will concentrate on one person whose biography or writings will be presented in fragments (translated from original Tibetan into English) or will be conducted on the basis of an article about him/her. Personalities selected for the course belong to different periods of Tibetan history, different social strata, or they represent specific professions. Each class will conclude with discussion about peculiarities and similarities of Tibetan civilization versus other cultures.

Week 1 Basic information about Tibet, its environment, history and culture with special emphasis on religions: Tibetan Buddhism and Bon and their influence on people’s lives. Specific character of Tibetan hagiographies rnam-thar.
Week 2 Toenpa Shenrab – the teacher of Bon religion. More information about Bon religion and its impact on Tibetan culture.
Week 3 Songtsen Gampo (605?-617-649) – king who was a warrior and a statesman. Information on the heroic period of Tibetan history: military campaigns and building of Tibetan empire; introduction of literacy and Buddhism.
Week 4 Yeshe Tsogyal (757-817) – consort of a tantric master Padmasambhava and master on her own. Explanation on tantric Buddhism and the concept of dakini.
Week 5 Milarepa (c. 1052—c. 1135) – the ideal of a yogi and the most famous Tibetan poet. Tibetan spirituality and its literary representation.
Week 6 Sakya Pandita (1182–1251) – master of logic and aphorisms and politician by necessity. Basic information on Buddhist logic and on transformation of Indian wisdom into Tibetan Buddhist sayings. Information on historical background – Mongolian invasion and its consequences for Tibet.
Week 7 The 5th Dalai Lama (1617–1682) – hierocratic ruler, Buddhist scholar, historian and patron of arts. Explanation on rivalry between Buddhist schools. Unification of Tibetan state under the Gelugpa rule with Mongolian backing. New administration. Development of artistic expression.
Week 8 The 6th Dalai Lama (1683-1706) – reincarnated lama who decided to lead a lay life of a poet and lover. Fate of an individual shown on the background of complicated political situation.
Week 9 Situ Panchen (1700-1744) – religious leader and great innovative painter. Explanation on Tibetan thangka painting.
Week 10 Jetsun Lochen Rinpoche (1865-1951) – female lama. Information on Buddhist practices, including pilgrimage, mani prayer singing and gcod ritual.
Week 11 Gendun Choepel (1903-1951) – controversial Buddhist scholar, brilliant intellectual, traveller and sensualist, painter and writer. Man ahead of his times: monastic intellectual entering lay life of the 20th century. Study of modern India and of the West, Western sciences and ideologies, including communism.
Week 12 Tashi Dondrup (b. 1929) – farm-hand, the Tibetan living in Nepal. Information about Tibetan society and traditional ways of living.
Week 13 Ngawang Sangdrol (b. 1977) – a political prisoner who survived, though she was singing in prison. Basic information on Tibeto-Chinese conflict and how the Tibetans express their national identity.
Week 14 The 14th Dalai Lama (b. 1935) – Nobel Peace Prize winner, spiritual leader of the Tibetans. Information about current situation of Tibet and the Tibetans. The role of Tibetan Buddhism in Asia and in the West.
Week 15 Concluding discussion