In the mountain valleys of Nepal, Tibetan communities have long been established through migrations from the North. Because of these migrations over the last few centuries, Tibetan lamaism, as one of the world's great ritual traditions, can be studied in the Himalayas as a process that emerges through dialogue with the more ancient shamanic tradition which it confronts and criticizes. Here for the first time is a thorough anthropological study of Tibetan lamaism combining textual analysis with richly contextualized ethnographic data. The rites studied are of the Nyingma Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In contrast to the textual analyses that have viewed the culture as a finished entity, here we see an unbounded ritual process with unfinished interpretations. Mumford's focus is on the "dialogue" taking place between the lamaist and the shamanic regimes, as a historic development occurring between different cultural layers. The study powerfully demonstrates that interrelationships between subsystems within a given cultural matrix over time are critical to an understanding of religion as a cultural process.

"Excellent ... packed with information and interesting anecdotes."--The Washington Post A groundbreaking new look at Himalaya and how climate change is re-casting one of the world's most unique geophysical, historical, environmental, and social regions. More rugged and elevated than any other zone on earth, Himalaya embraces all of Tibet, plus six of the world's eight major mountain ranges and nearly all its highest peaks. It contains around 50,000 glaciers and the most extensive permafrost outside the polar region. 35% of the global population depends on Himalaya's freshwater for crop-irrigation, protein, and, increasingly, hydro-power. Over an area nearly as big as Europe, the population is scattered, often nomadic and always sparse. Many languages are spoken, some are written, and few are related. Religious allegiances are equally diverse. The region is also politically fragmented, its borders belonging to multiple nations with no unity in how to address the risks posed by Himalaya's environment, including a volatile, near-tropical latitude in which temperatures climb from sub-zero at night to 80°F by day. Himalaya has drawn an illustrious succession of admirers, from explorers, surveyors, and sportsmen, to botanists and zoologists, ethnologists and geologists, missionaries and mountaineers. It now sits seismically unstable, as tectonic plates continue to shift and the region remains gridlocked in a global debate surrounding climate change. Himalaya is historian John Keay's striking case for this spectacular but endangered corner of the planet as one if its most essential wonders. Without an other-worldly ethos and respect for its confounding, utterly fascinating features, John argues, Himalaya will soon cease to exist.

This Book Is A Comprehensive Study Of The Rise And Development Of Buddhism In A Broader Spatio-Temporal Context Of The Western Trans-Himalayan Rergion Since Its Nascent Days In India.

This book examines the unique characteristics of the Himalaya that mark them as a special region among other orographic regions of the world. The Himalayan range is an important global asset for ecological, climatic, cultural, spiritual, and economic reasons. Its diversity of landscapes, climates, and biotic systems makes the Himalaya an extremely attractive region for tourism. The book examines tourism and development in the Himalaya region, exploring its sociocultural, environmental, and economic dimensions. The contributors address Himalayan issues from a holistic perspective, emphasizing the uniqueness of the region, together with concerns it shares with other montane, developing parts of the world. With a framework of sustainable development, this book elucidates interdisciplinary perspectives on nature, society, economic development, poverty, justice, health, social and environmental vulnerability, faith and culture, Indigenous rights, women, conflict, heritage and living culture, and many other concepts that broaden our understanding of tourism and development in mountain areas. Many contributors are from the Himalaya region, or have worked there extensively, lending strength through native and insider perspectives. This work will be useful for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, research and teaching scholars, policy makers, practitioners, and anyone interested in the Himalaya and their distinctive tourism and development-related potential and challenges.

This unprecedented account of one of the earliest Tibetan treasure revealers also seeks to understand the role social or familial interests and sectarian polemic have played in perpetuating and transforming the textual narratives about him.

In Lahul And Spiti And Kinnaur Districts Of Himachal Pradesh Buddhism Has Been A Living Religion Of The Major Bulk Of The Population. In This Book For The First Time An Integrated Socio-Political And Religious History Of This Region Has Been Attempted.