A Concise Religious History of Bhutan

A Concise Religious History of Bhutan

  • $45.00
    Precio unitario por 
Impuesto incluido. Los gastos de envío se calculan en la pantalla de pagos.


Book Specification

Item Code: NAM639
Author: Dr. C. T. Dorji
Publisher: Prominent Publishers
Language: English
Edition: 2008
ISBN: 9788186239254
Pages: 336 (7 B/W and 78 Color Illustrations)
Cover: Hardcover
Other Details 10.0 inch X 6.5 inch
Weight 710 gm

Book Description

Preface

Professor Per Kvaerne, Department of Cultural Studies, University of Oslo, Norway reviewed my first book, revised version of PhD Thesis, titled "History of Bhutan based on Buddhism" published in 1994 and he published the book review report in ACTA ORIENT ALIA Volume 57 (November 1996). He said "While much of the information presented in the first five chapters may also be found in Michael Aris' fundamental study Bhutan, The Early History of a Himalayan Kingdom (Warminster, 1979), which covers Bhutanese history up to and including the life of the Shabdrung and his immediate successors, the following two chapters present much information which is not readily available elsewhere. Chapter, 6 dealt with the succession of the 54 Druk Desi ('Brug sdesrid), the hierarchs who, from the passing away of the Zhabdrung in 1651 and up to 1906, were the heads of the Bhutanese state. A short biographical sketch of each Desi is provided; likewise Chapter, 7 provides biographical sketches of the 66 Je Khenpo (rje mkhan po) who, from 1651 to the present day, have been the heads of the Drukpa Kagyu Tradition and thus are still the supreme spiritual authority in Bhutan. (The last three Je Khenpo are listed but not provided with biographical accounts as they are all alive)." And "The study of Bhutanese history is still a subject where much work remains to be done. The best results will be obtained if Bhutanese and Western scholars can complement each other's work. The present volume will serve not only as an introduction for those who are new to the field, but also as a useful point of departure for scholars."

The remarks made by Professor Per Kvaerne are very valuable for Bhutanese scholars. It is true that the study of Bhutanese history is still a subject where much work remains to be done. There was no classification of periods in the history of Bhutan and it is essential to have historical periods. Therefore, I made an attempt to classify into 6 periods i.e. Pre-historic period, Dawn .and Early period, Ancient period, Medieval period, Modern period and Post-modern period in my book titled "Sources of Bhutanese History" published by Prominent Publishers, New Delhi in 2004.

In this book, I made an attempt to write a concise history of Bhutan bifurcating horizontally and vertically into cultural history, religious history and political history and six periods respectively as mentioned above. As a student of Bhutanese history, I place this publication for review by the authorities on the subject. I hope, this publication will be useful and helpful to the students and teachers of Bhutanese history as a guidebook.

As a student of Bhutanese history, I have undertaken this modest work as a menas to broaden my own understanding and any flaws or inconsistencies it may contain are a reflection of my own ignorance. I must avail this opportunity to emphasize that the views expressed in the book are strictly and entirely my own and do not represent the views of any of the persons whose names have been mentioned. Therefore, I am wholly responsible for the views expressed in the book.

I have become increasingly aware of the unlimited scope of revising and improving this book. Therefore, comments, suggessions, advice and sympathetic cooperation of all students and teachers of Bhutanese history and others working in this subject will be of tremendous help to me and I sincerely welcome them.

Contents

LPSC Endorsement V
Preamble VII
Foreword IX
Acknowledgements XI
Preface XIII
Chapter I: Country - Bhutan
I Situation 1
II Origin 1
III Land 1
IV Dzongkhag (Districts) 3
V Mountains 4
VI Rivers 4
VII Race 5
VIII Different Names of the Country 7
IX Derivation of Name "Bhutan" 8
X Different Forms of Government 9
XI Economy 9
Chapter II: Sources of Bhutanese History 11
I Buddhist Texts 12
11 Religious and Devotional Literature 12
III Historical Literature 13
IV Biographical Literature 15
V Epics and Legends 17
VI Guidebooks 17
VII Ethnological Evidence 19
VIII Archaeological Evidence 19
IX Foreign Literature 20
X State Papers and Official Records 22
XI Newsletters 22
Chapter III: Religious History 23
I Pre-Historic Period 25
1 Life and Deeds of Lord Buddha 25
II Dawn and Early Period
1 Zamling Gyandug Chhognyi 39
2 Mahayana Buddhism and Development of Its Major Schools 62
III Ancient Period
1 Establishment of the earliest Temples 65
2 Advent of Guru Padmasambhava 65
3 Chief Kagyu Masters 68
4 Singye Tshen-gu and Ri-sum Namtul 77
5 Sub-Schools of Kagyu Tradition 82
IV Medieval Period
1 Lam-Kha-Nga (Five Groups of Lamas) 83
2 Introduction of Drukpa Kagyu Tradition
by Lama Phajo Drugom Zhigpo 88
3 Visit of Drukpa Kagyu Hierarchs 93
V Modern Period
1 Reincarnations of Zhabdrung Rinpochhe 107
2 Reincarnations of Dungsay Gyalsay Jampel Dorji 108
3 Reincarnations of Gyalsay Tenzin Rubgye 108
4 63 Successive le Khenpos 112
VI Post-Modem Period
1 7 Successive Je Khenpos 139
2 Other Buddhist Masters and Scholars (Monk and Laymen) 145
3 Bhutanese Buddhism 151
4 Present Status 161
Appendices 163
Glossary 211
Chronology 223
Bibliography 243
Photo Plates 247
Sample Pages
















También recomendamos