Religions of Tibet in Practice

by Donald S. Lopez Jr.

Religions of Tibet in Practice is a landmark work, the first major anthology on the topic ever produced. It presents a stunning array of works (hagiographies, pilgrimage guides, prayers, accounts of visits to hell, epics, consecration manuals, sermons, and exorcism texts) that together offer an unparalleled view of the realities of those who have inhabited the Tibetan cultural domain over the centuries. The volume provides a wealth of voices that together lead to a new and more nuanced understanding of the religions of Tibet.


The thirty-six chapters are testimony to the vast scope of religious practice in the Tibetan world, past and present, offering works heretofore unknown. The chapters are organized thematically under five Accounts of Time and Place, Remarkable Lives, Rites and Techniques, Prayers and Sermons, and Dealing with Death and Other Demons. They juxtapose materials from different sects, historical periods, and geographical regions in an attempt to broaden the range of what we understand the religious practices of Tibet to encompass. Each chapter contains a translation and a substantial yet accessible introduction by a leading scholar of Tibetan religions. Religions of Tibet in Practice represents the largest sourcebook on Tibetan religions ever assembled, a work of great value to scholars, students, and general readers.

Genres: Buddhism, Asia

576 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1997

About the author

Donald Sewell Lopez, Jr. (born 1952) is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan, in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures.

Son of the deputy director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Donald S. Lopez.

Reviews

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of primary sources. Heavy on commentary. Includes epics and lives, instructions for pilgrimages including notes on what offers would secure what (flowers, a human birth; incense, pure moral disipline; the three sweets of honey, sugar, and molasses, the food of the gods); consecration rituals, and ones for non-attachment at meals, and also for fasting; an account of a visit to hell; rites against hail and against a malicious gossip spirit; and more

[Tony Gualtieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the title implies, this is an presentation of the rites and rituals of Tibetan religion rather than a collection of philosophical texts. Each chapter begins with an exegesis of a text along with an explanation of its context and concludes with a translation of the text. Like most rituals, the texts can be tedious, but the additive effect is compelling and it immerses one in the Tibetan world.