Kalsang Norbu Gurung | Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (original) (raw)

Papers by Kalsang Norbu Gurung

BRILL eBooks, Jan 13, 2023

5 I shall refer to the excellent study by Paljor Tsarong (Tsarong 1998a) for those who are intere... more 5 I shall refer to the excellent study by Paljor Tsarong (Tsarong 1998a) for those who are interested to know further details regarding the administration and economic responsibilities of this office. 6 See Paljor Tsarong (1998a) for more details about this office.

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2011

10 Dawa Norbu 1988. For the influence and endurance of this definition see Chinese state document... more 10 Dawa Norbu 1988. For the influence and endurance of this definition see Chinese state documents such as the one published by Rgyal khab mi rigs las don Au yon lhan khang gi srid jus shib 'jug khang gis rtsom sgrig byas pa (1979) and Bawa Phuntsok Wangyal's (2009) reflection On Marxist Theory of Nationality, mar khe si ring lugs kyi mi rigs lta ba'i skor at http://www.sangdhor.com/pics_ c.asp? id =618,

This volume of essays, Contemporary Visions in Tibetan Studies, reflects in many ways a critical ... more This volume of essays, Contemporary Visions in Tibetan Studies, reflects in many ways a critical phase in the discipline of Tibetan studies. The contributions, from promising young scholars, both Tibetan and non-Tibetan from across the globe, are divided evenly between essays that engage with the various modernities of Tibet, China and the diaspora on the one hand, and more classically oriented studies of history, culture and religion on the other. Here Tibetan tradition is scrutinized from without and within, sometimes upheld and sometimes revised. Reflecting the growth of the field and its movement away from assertions of Tibetan exceptionalism and towards cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural projects, many of the essays are problem-oriented, and their enquiries take them outside of the confines of the Tibetan cultural area and towards engagement with the wider world.

As stories go, in the good old days of Bon, larger or smaller parts of what we now call Tibet out... more As stories go, in the good old days of Bon, larger or smaller parts of what we now call Tibet outshone the Yar lung dynasty. In the ancient, Western Tibetan kingdom of Zhang zhung, long-lived masters and scholars transmitted Bon lore in their own Zhang zhung languages. These were not only colloquial, but also literary languages, written in their native Zang zhung scripts, such as Smar chung and Smar chen. Documents supposedly were also extant in other varieties of scripts, called Spungs so chung ba and Spungs so che ba, which are said to derive—it is not clear how

In this dissertation, I have focused on the construction of the life account of the founder of Bo... more In this dissertation, I have focused on the construction of the life account of the founder of Bon Religion, Shenrab Miwo. I try to answer some key questions such as, who was Shenrab Miwo and why is he considered to have been the founder of Bon? How did the hagiography of Shenrab Miwo emerge and how did this contribute toward the development of Bon? Shenrab Miwo was designated as the founder of Bon probably during the second spread of Buddhism in Tibet, starting the 10th–11th century AD. In order to compete with the Buddhist claim that their religion was founded by the Buddha Śākyamuni, Bonpos began to claim that their religion was founded by Shenrab Miwo, and that it was much older than Buddhism. The Bonpos began to formalize their religion by appropriating Buddhist literature and adjusting it for their own purposes. The choice of Shenrab Miwo as the founder of Bon was first canonized with the creation of the mDo ’dus. Its basic narrative patterns are based on proto-narratives, suc...

his paper is a part of my doctoral dissertation in which I study the life account of the founder ... more his paper is a part of my doctoral dissertation in which I study the life account of the founder of Bon, Shenrab Miwo (Gshen rab mi bo), which was written by Bonpos in the beginning of the last millennium. In the process of writing the life account of Shenrab Miwo in the Mdo ’dus, the Bonpos have incorporated a number of stories from various Tibetan sources. In order to make these stories complete, they have also adopted many personal names in the stories, which I will discuss in this paper. There are an abundance of names in the Mdo ’dus. Many of these belong to members of Shenrab Miwo’s family, including his ancestors. The author(s) seems to have considered these family names to be of equal importance as the other material contained in the Mdo ’dus. One might wonder where the author(s) got these names from. I will try to answer this question by tracing the possible origins of these names. I have elsewhere discussed some of Shenrab Miwo’s family members, including his wives and chi...

Social Regulation: Case Studies from Tibetan History, 2000

,” With co-author Tharphen Lingtsang). In IIAS Newsletter No. 34, p. 25, July 2004., Jul 2004

. Since their arrival in the Netherlands in 1936 and 1943, they have mainly benefited local schol... more . Since their arrival in the Netherlands in 1936 and 1943, they have mainly benefited local scholars. This collection will soon be available for public reference.

Academic Papers and Book chapters by Kalsang Norbu Gurung

In Contemporary Visions in Tibetan Studies. Proceedings of the First International Seminar of Young Tibetologists, London, 9–13 August 2007. Chicago: Serindia Publications, 2009, pp. 257–79., 2009

In Marc-Henri Deroche, J. Schapiro, Seiji Kumagai and Kalsang Norbu Gurung (eds). Revisiting Tibetan Religion and Philosophy. Proceedings of the Second International Seminar of Young Tibetologists, Paris 2009. , Nov 2011

In Henk Blezer (ed), Emerging Bon: The Formation of Bon Traditions in Tibet at the Turn of the First Millennium AD, Proceedings of the eleventh Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Königswinter 2006. , 2011

In Henk Blezer (ed), Emerging Bon: The Formation of Bon Traditions in Tibet at the Turn of the First Millennium AD, Proceedings of the Eleventh Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Königswinter 2006. , 2011

Vajra Books, Kathmandu. , 2013

Zhang zhung-related Scripts 'Zhang zhung' Royal Seal of Lig myi rhya Bon sgo, Vol.8 (1995), p.55 ... more Zhang zhung-related Scripts 'Zhang zhung' Royal Seal of Lig myi rhya Bon sgo, Vol.8 (1995), p.55 (discussed below) As stories go, in the good old days of Bon, larger or smaller parts of what we now call Tibet outshone the Yar lung dynasty. In the ancient, Western Tibetan kingdom of Zhang zhung, long-lived masters and scholars transmitted Bon lore in their own Zhang zhung languages. These were not only colloquial, but also literary languages, written in their native Zang zhung scripts, such as Smar chung and Smar chen. Documents supposedly were also extant in other varieties of scripts, called Spungs so chung ba and Spungs so che ba, which are said to derive-it is not clear how 1 In this paper we present some preliminary results and hypotheses based on a pilot study on Zhang zhung-related

In Tsuguhito Takeuchi, Kazushi Iwao, Ai Nishida, Seiji Kumagai, Meishi Yamamoto (eds), Current Issues and Progress in Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Third International Seminar of Young Tibetologists. Kobe: Research Institute of Foreign Studies, Kobe City University of Foreign Studies., 2014

From the Summary "In the ancient, Western Tibetan kingdom of Zhang zhung, long-lived masters and ... more From the Summary
"In the ancient, Western Tibetan kingdom of Zhang zhung, long-lived masters and scholars transmitted Bon lore in their own Zhang zhung languages. These were not only colloquial, but also literary languages, written in their native Zang zhung scripts, such as Smar chung and Smar extant in other varieties of scripts, called Spungs so chung ba and Spungs so che ba, which are said to derive—it is not clear how exactly—from a region called Ta zig, an area which generally is located somewhere in the far west, beyond the borders even of Western Tibet.
Where did these scripts come from and when did they first evolve? Can we tell at all, or is this one of those many bonpo enigmas that we simply cannot yet solve with sufficient certainty, another incentive, no doubt, to devote more research to those fascinating Bon religious historical narratives?
This article is mainly devoted to a preliminary examination of extant samples of the scripts. Most of these are surprisingly recent. Space does not allow us to present and discuss the various, interesting, traditional narratives on the matter (except when they are directly relevant to issues of dating)—these will have to await a separate publication."

Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines, 2021

BRILL eBooks, Jan 13, 2023

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2011

Social Regulation: Case Studies from Tibetan History, 2000

,” With co-author Tharphen Lingtsang). In IIAS Newsletter No. 34, p. 25, July 2004., Jul 2004

Vajra Books, Kathmandu. , 2013

Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines, 2021

In Lucia Galli and Kalsang Norbu Gurung (eds). The Power of Wealth: Economy and Social Status in Pre-Modern Tibetan Communities. Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines (January). pp. 193-215., 2021

In Jeannine Bischoff, Petra Maurer and Charles Ramble (eds). Festschrift. On A Day of a Month of the Fire Bird Year: Festschrift for Peter Schwieger on the occasion of his 65th Birthday. Lumbini: Lumbini International Research Institute, pp. 291-314., 2020

Traditional Tibetan societies very often used ritual as a means of setting things right in case o... more Traditional Tibetan societies very often used ritual as a means of setting things right in case of problems such as physical and mental illness, as well as misfortune caused by past negative karma, malevolent spirits, psychic pollution, or black magic and curses. 2 The causes of the misfortune are generally identified in consultation with a diviner (mo ma) or astrologer (rtsis pa), 3 who also prescribes the necessary rituals for their treatment, and the rituals are performed with the help of an expert, a powerful priest or lama. These rituals include: gdon sgrol and bdud bzlog (exorcism of malignant or demonic spirits), byad 'grol (liberation from a curse), byad bzlog and dmod bzlog (byad kha and dmod pa bzlog pa, rites to avert curses), and bgegs bskrad (a ritual to exorcise obstructive forces). Traditionally, rituals of this sort are performed on various occasions in order to defend against any obstacle such as curses or other attacks by enemies, rivals, and non-human spirits. Thus, they are performed not only to cure, but also to ensure the security of an individual or a community, mostly by means of liberating from or overturning the curses. Even today, the practice of such rituals is very widespread in Tibet in both Tibetan Buddhism and in the Bon tradition. This paper will deal mainly with a specific type of ritual known as byad 'grol. Generally classified as an exorcistic ritual, it is represented by many texts found in collections of Tibetan liturgies. For example, one of the earliest texts in the Bonpo collections, to the best of my knowledge, is Byad bkrol gdon bkrol. This is believed 1 This paper is a revised version of the paper presented in July 2014 at the conference: Ritual + Narrative + Kingship ÷ Tibet + Surrounding Cultural Area, LMU München under the title "A restricted and secret ritual of Tibet and its connection with the Great Fifth." 2 Cabezón 2010: 20-21. 3 These traditional activities of mo ma and rtsis pa are also attached to specific professions that are likely soon to disappear from Tibetan society. This is because they are now mainly performed by learned and experienced lamas. Since divination and astrology have been included in the monastic curriculum, ordinary monks can now perform the tasks that were traditionally the province of diviners and astrologers.

In Alice Travers and Jeannine Bischoff (eds). Commerce and Communities: Social Status and the Exchange of Goods in Tibetan Societies (the mid-17th – the mid-20th Centuries). Berlin: Bonner Asienstudien, EB-Verlag, pp. 223-270., 2018

In Saul Mullard and Jeannine Bischoff (eds). Social Regulation: Case Studies from Tibetan History. Leiden: Brill, pp. 209-230., 2017

Single file version; see also (Gurung and Rath). Selected proceedings of Bon, Shangshung, and Ear... more Single file version; see also (Gurung and Rath).
Selected proceedings of Bon, Shangshung, and Early Tibet, proceedings of the international conference on Bon, Shangshung, and early Tibet, SOAS, London, Sept. 9th–10th, 2011

https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/17677, May 2011