The Social Life of Tibetan
Biography: Textuality, Community, and Authority in the Lineage of Tokden Shakya
Shri
By Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa
Lanham: Lexington Books
978-0-7391-6519-5 Hardback
July 2014 $90.00 (£57.95)
978-0-7391-6521-8 eBook
July 2014 $89.99 (£57.95)
Pages: 252
Series: Studies in Modern Tibetan Culture
The Social Life of Tibetan Biography explores the creation of Tibetan religious
authority in Tibetan cultural areas throughout East, Inner, and South Asia
through engaging with the relationship between textual biography and social
community in the case of the Eastern Tibetan yogi Tokden Shakya Shri
(1853–1919). It explores the different mechanisms used by Shakya Shri’s
community in the creation of his biographical portrait to develop his lineage,
including the use of biographical tropes, details of interpersonal connections,
educational and patronage networks, and representations of sacred site creation
and maintenance. In doing so, this study decenters Tibetan and Himalayan
religious history through recognizing that peripheries could act as alternative
centers of authority for diverse Tibetan Buddhist communities.
Introduction
Chapter 1: Textual Networks: The Biography
Chapter 2: Contextual Networks: Temporal, Spatial, and Conceptual Landscapes in
the Life of Shakya Shri
Chapter 3: Interpersonal Networks: The Politics of Friendship and Alternative
Institutions in the Religious Education of Shakya Shri
Chapter 4: Visionary Networks: Representing Visionary Power and the Miraculous
in The Garland of Flowers
Chapter 5: Networks of Advertising: Shakya Shri’s Renovations of the Stūpas of
Kathmandu Valley
Chapter 6: Networks of Bone Sons: The Family Lineage of Tokden Shakya Shri
Chapter 7: Networks of Heart Sons: The Students of Tokden Shakya Shri
Conclusion
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