TIBETAN CULTURE

Featured student projects from Columbia University

Featured Projects from Tibetan Civilization Coursework at Columbia University

Samye and its Replicas

An Analysis of the Monastery's Changing Architecture and Symbolism from the Tibetan Plateau to Hebei and the West Ben Guggenheim | December 22, 2020 | PDF Tibetan Buddhism is a rich tradition that has continually contributed to the religious, cultural, and political landscape of Inner and East Asia since its being institutionalized more than 1,200 years ago. In recent … [Read more...]

Geographies of Tibetan Sacred Space

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Reading Buddhist Monasteries Against Their Landscapes Rose Kuo | December 20, 2020 | Website: ArcGIS StoryMaps Sacred Space This project is inspired by the study of environmental perception advanced by scholars such as Belden C. Lane and Tim Ingold, cited by Federica Venturi in her work on sacred spaces and the Monastery of Sakya (Lane 2001, Ingold 1993, Venturi 2013). … [Read more...]

Modern Tibetan Autobiographies

20th -21st Century Tibetan Autobiographies, etc. This list was compiled to illustrate the richness of Tibetan autobiographical writing in Tibet. Over the years, students in Gray Tuttle's "20th Century Tibetan History" course have read most of these works and provided an abstract and summary. If you find that there are auto-biographical works in English that have not been … [Read more...]

Tibetan Biographies in Translation

Biographies under review:Note: The list is in chronological order based on when the biography was written.  14th Century Rinchen Namgyal, Dratshadpa. A Handful of Flowers: A brief biography of Buton Rinchen Drub. (1290-1364, written 1366). Hans van der Bogaert (trans.). Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1996. 15th Century Heruka, Tsangnyon … [Read more...]

Gendered Change: The Rise in Status of Female Monastics in the 1980s & 1990s

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The sharp increase in opportunities in female monastics to earn higher Buddhist degrees after the Cultural Revolution reveals the reframing of Tibetan modernity through Buddhist morals: Larung Gar, Kala Rongo, Yarchen Gar, and Jangchub Choeling monasteries provide female monastics with the means to obtain Khenmo degrees, signaling a shift in Tibetan Buddhists. Elena Salzmann … [Read more...]

TIBET 101

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A Brief Introduction to the Historic Region of Tibet and Tibet's Rich Culture Rachel Bleau A website introducing Tibet to those interested with no prior knowledge, through the tool of a quiz. For those more advanced, an advanced quiz is available too! … [Read more...]

Mapping Women in Tibetan Buddhism

An online map resource by Julia Zeh. Excerpt: In addition to the Maps link which has posts related to the spaces occupied by Tibetan Buddhist women, this page is intended to give a little bit more information about the specific role women have played in Tibetan Buddhism. I found it very difficult to study women in Tibet, primarily because Tibetan written history often does … [Read more...]

The Great Melody of Illusion, the False Account of a Dream

Representations of Shambhala as Sacred Space, a project by Wan Yii Lee The name of this website (“The Great Melody of Illusion, the False Account of a Dream”, or rMi lam rdzun bshad sgyu ma’i sgra dbyangs chen mo) was the name of the document that contained the earliest datable Tibetan itinerary to Shambhala by Man lung Guru (b. 1239). This itinerary, although written in … [Read more...]

Sacred Space

Online essay by Alex Whitman, Sacred Space. Tibet’s srin mo legend has been invoked at key moments of political flux, offering actors new modes of relating to–and benefiting from–a common imperial past. The fight against the demoness is continuously played out in sacred spaces, where institutional duty and virtue are intimately tied to the fulfillment of the imperial … [Read more...]

Tibetan Butter Tea Dance

A website exploring the Tibetan Butter Tea Dance, an intersection of social and cultural traditions by Ana Kioko and Kennedy Thomas. Visit website here.   … [Read more...]

Tibetan Cuisine in NYC

A website meant to help guide New Yorkers and tourists alike who are interested in learning about Tibetan cuisine. It serves as a resource to learn more about popular foods, as well as the restaurants that serve them. This site was created as a final project for Columbia University's Introduction to East Asian Civilization: Tibet. Visit website here. by Genevieve Barbara … [Read more...]

Interplay between Cinema and Tibet

We explored how Tibetans interact and are portrayed in the cinematic world, speaking to some of their own efforts in the field. By Aakanxit Khullar and Adil Hussain. Visit website here.   … [Read more...]

Instagram Meditation Journal

Disrupting the sentiment that meditation is reserved for a certain "type," we could all use come calibration! A guide to meditation for me and you in NYC. Instagram account here by Jiyooon Lee … [Read more...]

Fly, a music video by Anu

Welcome to my project! I am Tristan Orlofski, and I am (at the time of writing) a Junior at Columbia taking Introduction to East Asian Cultures: Tibet. This is my final project, in which I focus on a particular Tibetan song and music video, Fly, by Anu, and attempt to break down the cultural influences surrounding it, and relate it to what we have studied. Enjoy! To move on … [Read more...]

Tibetan Medicine

A blog by Michael Argenziano, Tibetan Medicine: Past, Present, Future An excerpt: Ancient Tibetan Medicine: From Bön to Buddhism Medicine has been believed to be an integral part of Tibetan culture as early as the inception of the Bön tradition, centuries before the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet. According to several Bön texts, the founder of the Bön religion, … [Read more...]

Tibetan Clothing

By Nicha Sophonpanich and Angela Zhang, a website on Tibetan clothing. Includes visits to Do Kham, The Mandala Store, and online research. Visit the website here: http://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/amz2132/77-2/       … [Read more...]

Machik Weekend

A Prezi-format presentation on Machik Weekend, a Tibetan Ideas Festival in New York City, by Constantine Lignos. [Prezi here]       … [Read more...]

Vajrabhairava Silk Thang-ka

Object biography on Vajrabhairava Tapestry by Edward Ward Excerpt: Vajrabhairava is a wrathful emanation of Manjusri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, and is utilized as a meditational deity.  The name is derived from a Sanskrit word which translates to "Indestructibly Frightening."1  Manjusri is seen to emanate as multiple wrathful deities, most commonly Yamantaka, all surrounded … [Read more...]