The Life of the Sixteenth Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje by Meng Wang

The Life of the Sixteenth Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje by Meng Wang

The Sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, was the first Tibetan Buddhist leader to make extensive teaching tours to the West. His three tours to Europe and North America from 1974 to 1980 led to the global expansion of Tibetan Buddhist schools. This book presents the most in-depth analysis of the Karmapa's contribution to the preservation and transmission of Tibetan Buddhism in exile. It is the first study to combine Tibetan life-writing and biographical materials in English with a thorough examination of the transformation of Tibetan Buddhism in the modern era of globalization. Drawing on a wide range of data from written accounts, collections of photographs, recordings of interviews, and documentaries, the author discusses the life and activity of the Karmapa through the lens of cross-cultural interaction between Buddhism and the West with a particular focus on Asian agency. The study shows that the Karmapa's transmission strategies emphasized continuity with tradition with some openness for adaptation. His traditionalist approach and his success on the global scale challenge the popular assumption that the transmission of Buddhism is primarily a matter of Westernization, which, in turn, calls for a broader view that recognizes its complex and dynamic nature.

Meng Wang is a postdoctoral research associate at the Centre of Buddhist Studies at SOAS, University of London.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781666913453
ISBN 10	1666913456
Title	The Life of the Sixteenth Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje
Author	Meng Wang
Series	Studies In Modern Tibetan Culture
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Year published	2022-11-16
Number of pages	312
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.