EUR  â¬135.60EUR  â¬113.00 excl. VAT
Divination in Exile
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Ritual Prognostication in the Tibetan Bon Tradition
Series: - Brill's Tibetan Studies Library, Volume: 47
Author:
In Divination in Exile, Alexander K. Smith offers the first comprehensive scholarly introduction to the performance of divination in Tibetan speaking communities, both past and present. While Smith surveys a variety of ritual practices, the volume focuses on divination and its associated rites in the contemporary Tibetan Bon tradition. Drawing from multi-site ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Himachal Pradesh and the translation of previously unpublished Tibetan language materials, Divination in Exile offers a valuable, social scientific contribution to our understanding of the perception and usage of ritual manuscripts in contemporary Tibetan cultural milieus.
Alexander K. Smith holds a doctorate in the anthropology of Tibet and the Himalayas from the Ãcole pratique des hautes études (2016). Until recently, he was a deputy professor of social anthropology at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg.
Acknowledgements
List of Figures and Tables
Introduction: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
1 The Study of Tibetan Divination
â1âIntroduction
â2âThe Study of Tibetan Divination in the West
â3âDivination in European and American Scholarship
â4âDivination Eliminates Anxiety and Facilitates Decision Making
â5âDivination, Dialogue, and Rationality
2 Tibetan Divination and the Bon Tradition
â1âA Brief Introduction to Tibetan Divination
â2âRemarks on Tibetan Buddhist Historiography and the Origins of Divination
â3âGeneral Remarks on the Bon Religion
â4âBonpos in the Contemporary Diaspora Community
â5âTwo Classifications of Bon Religious Teachings: the sGo bzhi mdzod lnga and Theg pa rim pa dgu
â6âThe Classification of Divination and Its Origins in the Bon Tradition: Excerpts from the gZi brjid
â7âDivination Manuscripts in the Bon Canon
3 lDeâu âphrul Divination
â1âIntroduction
â2âlDeâu âphrul Divination
â3âlDeâu âphrul Origin Narratives
â4âLocation
â5âOutline of the ldeâu âphrul Rite
â6âlDeâu âphrul Prognostics: Major and Minor Results
â7âThe Interpretation of Prognostics
4 The Divination of sMra baâi seng ge
â1âIntroduction to the sMra seng rdel mo gsal baâi me long
â2âTransliteration Guidelines
â3âTranslation of MS
Conclusion: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Tibetan Divination?
Appendix 1: The Divination Gods: Excerpts from the MSAP
Appendix 2: Facsimiles of sMra sing rdel mo gsal baâi me long bzhugs so
Bibliography
Index
List of Figures and Tables
Introduction: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
1 The Study of Tibetan Divination
â1âIntroduction
â2âThe Study of Tibetan Divination in the West
â3âDivination in European and American Scholarship
â4âDivination Eliminates Anxiety and Facilitates Decision Making
â5âDivination, Dialogue, and Rationality
2 Tibetan Divination and the Bon Tradition
â1âA Brief Introduction to Tibetan Divination
â2âRemarks on Tibetan Buddhist Historiography and the Origins of Divination
â3âGeneral Remarks on the Bon Religion
â4âBonpos in the Contemporary Diaspora Community
â5âTwo Classifications of Bon Religious Teachings: the sGo bzhi mdzod lnga and Theg pa rim pa dgu
â6âThe Classification of Divination and Its Origins in the Bon Tradition: Excerpts from the gZi brjid
â7âDivination Manuscripts in the Bon Canon
3 lDeâu âphrul Divination
â1âIntroduction
â2âlDeâu âphrul Divination
â3âlDeâu âphrul Origin Narratives
â4âLocation
â5âOutline of the ldeâu âphrul Rite
â6âlDeâu âphrul Prognostics: Major and Minor Results
â7âThe Interpretation of Prognostics
4 The Divination of sMra baâi seng ge
â1âIntroduction to the sMra seng rdel mo gsal baâi me long
â2âTransliteration Guidelines
â3âTranslation of MS
Conclusion: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Tibetan Divination?
Appendix 1: The Divination Gods: Excerpts from the MSAP
Appendix 2: Facsimiles of sMra sing rdel mo gsal baâi me long bzhugs so
Bibliography
Index
All interested in general Tibetan studies, Tibetan ritual, and the history of the Bon tradition, as well as anyone interested in social scientific approaches to the study of divination.