The volume brings together nine contributions presenting cutting-edge research on ris med. The relatively high degree of political autonomy in the A mdo and Khams regions paved the way for the Rnying ma, Sa skya, Bkaâ brgyud, Jo nang, and Bon traditions to closely collaborate with each other in a spirit of mutual respect and non-partiality (ris med), while enjoying protection and support from local rulers. The contributors examine degrees of tolerance ranging from hierarchical inclusivism to genuine pluralism, inter-tradition relations and collaborations, religio-political entanglements, and the positions, writings and actions of the key figures of ris med. Thus, they bring to light that ris med cannot be reduced to its historical, political, religious or sociological facet, but is always a conglomerate of all of them.
Klaus-Dieter Mathes, Ph.D. (1994), Marburg University, is University Professor and Head of the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna. His key publications include A Direct Path to the Buddha Within (Wisdom, 2008) and A Fine Blend of MahÄmudrÄ and Madhyamaka (Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 2015).
Gabriele Coura, M.A. (2014, University of Vienna), is a Lecturer at the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna. Her MA thesis is entitled " The Life and Works of the Thirteenth Karma-pa bDud-'dul-rdo-rje (1733-1797)". She is currently working on her PhD, doing comparative research about Tibetan Buddhist and Cistercian monasteries as places of education.
List of Figures Notes on Contributors
Introduction
âKlaus-Dieter Mathes
At the End of an Era: The Forgotten Story of 'Jam dbyangs Mkhyen brtse Chos kyi dbang phyug
âGiacomella Orofino
The Dge mang Movement: Rnying ma and Dge lugs Hybridity in 19th-Century Khams
âDouglas Duckworth
Uniting Dge lugs and Rnying ma Views: The Ris med Philosophy of Blo bzang mdo sngags Chos kyi rgya mtsho (1903â1957)
âAdam S. Pearcey
âNeither Rnying ma nor Dge lugsâ: The Ris med Thought of Zhabs dkar tshogs drug rang grol (1781â1851)
âRachel H. Pang
The Jo nang pas and the Others: Intersectarian Relations in Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century A mdo and Khams
âFilippo Brambilla
Blo bzang mchog grub rgya mtsho, the Dge shes of Dza 'go (Amdo): A Jo nang Scholar Trained in the Dge lugs Tradition
âKlaus-Dieter Mathes
Kong sprul Blo gros mtha' yas and the Bon Tradition: A Preliminary Report
âGabriele Coura
Ris med and Tibetan Alternative Modernity: Evidence from Karma Bkra shis chos 'phelâs Catalogue (dkar chag) to the Dpal spungs Printing of the 7th Karma paâs Collection of Indian MahÄmudrÄ Works (Phyag rgya chen po'i rgya gzhung)
âAdam C. Krug
Index
Scholars involved in later Tibetan religious and political history, historical anthropology, (Tibetan) Buddhist philosophy and practice; scholars of Comparative Religion; Buddhist practitioners with an interest in history.