Transformations in Buddhism in Tibet

IN THE REALM of Buddhist thought, the Tibetans have preserved faithfully the Madhyamika system of Nagarjuna and his followers. For instance, the methods and subjects of debate among the Tibetan monks in their disputations are based largely on the literature and practices of this school. We may say that no basic transformation has been wrought in this important aspect of Tibetan Buddhism. However, our subject calls for a discussion of the transformations that have taken place, and to illustrate such transformations let us consider two figures, one in flesh in the person of the Dalai Lama, and the other in iconographic form, the yab-yum or fathermother image. Early Theravada Buddhism made a careful distinction between spiritual and temporal authority. When an individual entered the monastic order, he automatically became subject to the rules of the religious society and was no longer amenable to the laws of the state. Moreover, the Buddha considered himself, by virtue of his having left the household life, to be on a different plane than that occupied by civil rulers, and felt no need to reverence them.l Yet, in Tibet, the Dalai Lama combines in his person not only spiritual but also temporal authority. did this change take place? In the Pali scriptures, the Buddha discouraged relationships with women. He permitted women to join the order only after repeated entreaties by his favorite disciple, In the Mahaparinibbanasutta there is the memorable passage dealing with the Buddha's attitude toward womet : Ananda asked the Buddha, How are we to conduct ourselves, O Lord, with regard to women? As not seeing them, Ananda. But if we do see them, what are we to do? Do not speak to them. But if they do speak to us, then what are we to do? Keep wide awake, Ananda.2

Buddhism · Theology · Chinese history and philosophy · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Philosophy