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| Lamaism | |
|---|---|
| Name | Lamaism |
| Type | Vajrayana-influenced Tibetan Buddhist traditions (term historically used by Western and some Asian observers) |
| Main locations | Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan |
| Scriptures | Kangyur, Tengyur |
| Languages | Tibetan, Sanskrit, Classical Mongolian, Chinese |
Lamaism is an historical term used principally in Western and some Asian sources to describe Tibetan and related Himalayan Buddhist traditions characterized by tantric practices, monastic hierarchies, and pronounced ritualism. The label has been applied to a constellation of practices and institutions centered in Tibet, Lhasa, the Gelug and Kagyu monastic orders, and to communities in Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia, and parts of China such as Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan. Use of the term has declined among scholars and practitioners in favor of categories like Tibetan Buddhism, Vajrayana, and specific schools such as Nyingma, Sakya, and Gelug.
The word entered European languages via 19th-century accounts by travelers, missionaries, and colonial officials such as Marco Polo-era narratives, 19th-century diplomats like Lord Lytton, and scholars associated with institutions like the Royal Geographical Society and Asiatic Society of Bengal. Early philologists and Orientalists including Max Müller, Eugène Burnouf, and Sylvain Lévi used the label in comparative studies alongside terms like Theravada and Mahayana when cataloging texts from collections such as the Kangyur and Tengyur. The term was also common in the writings of missionaries like Johann Grueber and administrators of the British Raj who reported on figures such as the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. Academic criticism of the term began with 20th-century scholars associated with universities like Oxford, Harvard, Columbia University, and the School of Oriental and African Studies.
Accounts of tantric transmission link early Indian masters such as Padmasambhava, Vajrabhara, and Tilopa with the Himalayan reception that produced lineages later institutionalized by figures like Atisha, Marpa Lotsawa, and Je Tsongkhapa. Political patrons included the royal houses of Yarlung, the Tibetan Emperor Trisong Detsen, the Pala Empire, and later Mongol rulers like Kublai Khan and the Yuan dynasty court, whose contacts with clerics such as Sakya Pandita shaped religious authority. Monastic consolidation occurred under leaders from the Sakyapa and Gelugpa traditions, while regional polities—Kingdom of Bhutan, Ganden Phodrang, and the Khoshut Khanate—affected institutional forms. Encounters with empires including the Ming dynasty, Qing dynasty, and the modern People's Republic of China have further altered institutional arrangements and transmission networks. Exile communities formed around figures such as the 14th Dalai Lama following the 1959 uprising and established diasporic centers in Dharamshala, Kalimpong, Kathmandu, Bodhgaya, Lumbini, and Western universities including University of British Columbia and University of California, Berkeley.
Traditional tantric systems associated with the label incorporate textual corpora like the Hevajra Tantra, Guhyasamāja Tantra, and cycles such as the Kagyü Mahamudra and Nyingma Dzogchen transmissions. Practices emphasized include deity yoga with figures like Avalokiteśvara, Green Tara, Vajrasattva, and Chenrezig representations; ritual arts such as mandala construction, sand mandalas by artists trained in Sera and Drepung monasteries; and rituals employing music and instruments associated with lineages like Drukpa Kagyü and Tibetan opera traditions. Philosophical influences derive from Indian sources including Nagarjuna, Asanga, Vasubandhu, Shantarakshita, and commentarial traditions preserved in the Tengyur. Ethical and soteriological frameworks reflect interactions with Mahayana concepts like bodhicitta and śūnyatā, and with tantric doctrines classified within the Tibetan schema of the four yānas as articulated by figures such as Drokmi Lotsawa.
Institutions historically labeled under the term feature monastic hierarchies exemplified by seats such as Ganden and Tashilhunpo, administrative bodies like the Ganden Phodrang and the Kashag, and lineages headed by incarnate lamas or tulkus including the Dalai Lama, Panchen Lama, Karmapa, Sakya Trizin, and Je Khenpo in Bhutan. Monasteries such as Drepung, Sera, Tashilhunpo, Samye, Tawang, and Rumtek functioned as educational centers with curricula involving debate, ritual training, and tantric empowerments administered by masters from orders including Gelug, Kagyu, Sakya, and Nyingma. Lay institutions, feudal patrons like the Phagmodrupa dynasty, and modern NGOs including the Tibet Bureau and international bodies such as UNESCO have influenced clerical roles and monastic finances.
Contacts with Indian traditions such as Pala-era monastic networks, exchanges with Kashmir Shaivism, and dialogues with Theravada communities in Sri Lanka and Myanmar contributed to doctrinal synthesis. Encounters with East Asian schools like Chan and Zen, mediated through pilgrim routes and figures that visited Mount Kailash and Bodh Gaya, fostered comparative study at centers like Nalanda and modern institutions such as The Tibetan Centre in Rangoon and research collaborations at SOAS. In the modern period, interactions with Western academics and committees at universities such as Princeton, Harvard Divinity School, and organizations like the Tibetan Institute of Higher Studies have shaped translations and textual scholarship on tantric materials.
Regional forms incorporate Bhutanese state religion under the Wangchuck dynasty, Tibetan plateau practices around Lhasa and the Yarlung Valley, Himalayan syncretism in Nepal with Newar ritual culture, and Mongolian adaptations during the Bogd Khanate and the Qing patronage of Tibetan clerics. Artistic traditions manifest in thangka painting schools in Ladakh, metalwork in Tibetan Plateau workshops, and performance genres like Tibetan opera (Lhamo) at festivals such as Losar and Monlam—often sponsored by nobles like the Tsangpa rulers. Literary production includes commentaries by Tsongkhapa, liturgical compilations preserved at libraries such as Potala Palace and collections held in archives like the Tibetan Autonomous Region Library.
Critiques historically targeted perceived clerical privilege, politico-religious power exercised by figures like the Dalai Lama within the Ganden Phodrang, and debates over reincarnation politics exemplified by disputes involving the Panchen Lama and succession claims to the Karmapa throne. Orientalist portrayals by writers like Rudyard Kipling and administrators of the British Empire have been challenged by scholars from institutions such as Cambridge and Columbia University for oversimplification and bias. Contemporary controversies involve cultural heritage issues tied to the People's Republic of China, repatriation debates at institutions like the British Museum, and scholarly disputes over translation practices and the provenance of manuscripts from collections in Dunhuang, Tibet, and Lhasa.