An interdisciplinary investigation into the problem of violence in Tantric Buddhism in Tibet and China, exemplified in ‘wrathful action’
This interdisciplinary research project studies the role of violence in tantric Buddhism in Tibet and China between the 9th and 11th centuries. It aims to shed light on the symbolic and ritual aspects of violence through an examination of ‘wrathful action’. Wrathful action is undertaken in connection with the meditative invocation of wrathful divinities. It can be used by the experienced tantric practitioner to eliminate external and internal obstacles on the path to realisation, which under exceptional circumstances may involve the actual carrying out of violent acts.
Passages from two comparable, though not identical collections of texts are to be consulted: the 18 Māyājāla Tantras (in the Tibetan tradition) and the 18 Vajraśekhara Tantras (in the Chinese tradition). Important sources in both collections are the Guhyasamāja-tantra and the related canonical texts and Dunhuang manuscripts.
Selections from Tibetan and Chinese primary sources will be philologically examined and translated into English. These are to be classified into categories according to their adaptation for apotropaic or soteriological use. This classification will assist in identifying which aspects of violence, ritualized or symbolic, were included and/or expurgated in tantric transmissions to Tibet and China. Ultimately, these regions’ respective cultural assimilation strategies and ethical frames of reference will be examined.
- Research for this project is carried out by Carmen Meinert and is funded by the DFG.