Pilgrimage in Tibet

Front Cover
Alex McKay
Psychology Press, 1998 - History - 228 pages

The Western image of Tibet as a sacred land is in many ways a mythical construction. But the Tibetans themselves have traditionally mapped out their land in terms of areas of sacred space, and pilgrimage, ensuring a high degree of mobility within all classes of Tibetan society. Pilgrims travelled to local, regional, and national centres throughout recorded Tibetan history. In recent years, pilgrimage has resumed in areas where it had been forbidden by the Chinese authorities, and has now become one of the most prominent religious expressions of Tibetan national identity.

In this major new work, leading scholars of Asian pilgrimage traditions discuss historical and contemporary aspects of pilgrimage within the Tibetan cultural world. Myths and legends, material conditions, textual sources, a modern pilgrim's impressions, political and economic influences, biographies and contemporary developments - all these and many other issues are examined here. The result is an informative and often entertaining work which contributes greatly to our knowledge of the history and culture of Tibet as well as the wider issues of religious power and practice.

 

Contents

On the Geographical and Material Contextuality
35
Hindu Trading Pilgrims
52
On the Way to Kailash
108
The Opening of the sBas Yul Bras moi gshongs according
117
On the Sacredness of Mount Kailasa in the Indian
143
KailasManasarovar in Classical Hindu and Colonial
165
Bibliography
202
Notes on Contributors
220
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases