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Sacred Spaces and Places in the Tibetan Buddhist World (Part 2 in the “Sacred Spaces” offering)

From James Hilton’s 1933 novel Lost Horizon to Lobsang Rampa’s Third Eye, Tibet and the Himalayan region have long been objects of the Western fantasy of Shangri-la, a paradise on earth. Yet Tibet has, for centuries, cherished its own sacred geography, forming a topography more complex and extraordinary than anything Hilton imagined. In this seminar we will explore the many ways in which Tibet has been pictured as a sacred space, from descriptions in traditional Tibetan literature and Buddhist practice to the multi-media representations of popular Western culture.

Beginning with the story of the historical Buddha's life, which helped establish the first sacred Buddhist sites in India, we will then turn to the spread of Buddhism to Tibet and the rise of Lhasa, its holy capital, constructed according to specific geomantic considerations. We will consider sacred sites in the natural environment such as Mt. Kailash, venerated by Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, and the pre-Buddhist tradition of Bon. We will also examine the unique Tibetan tradition of “hidden lands” that form a sacred geography spanning much of the Himalayan region. Finally we will look at modern and contemporary representations of Tibet as a land beyond ordinary space and time.

Instructor: Prof. Andy Quintman