Delog: Journey to Realms beyond Death. Composed by Delog Dawa Drolma and Translated by Richard Barron (2002 [1995]). Summary by Gaskin Karlton Abstract In Delog: Journey to Realms Beyond Death, Dawa Drolma provides her account of her journey through the various realms that exist after death. Born in the early 20th century, Dawa Drolma lived most of her life in … [Read more...]
The Life and Visions of Yeshé Tsogyal
Nick Vaughan Abstract The Life and Visions of Yeshé Tsogyal: Autobiography of the Great Wisdom Queen is the secret autobiography of Yeshé Tsogyal, originally authored in the 8th century by one of Padmasambhava’s main disciples, Bendé Sangyé Yeshé, and subsequently concealed by Yeshé Tsogyal as an earth Treasure. This treasure text was revealed by Drimé Kunga in 1357 and … [Read more...]
Lobsang Gyatso, Ngawang & Karmay, Samten Gyaltsen (trans). The Illusive Play: The Autobiography of the Fifth Dalai Lama. Chicago: Serindia Publications, 2014.
Mollie Miller Abstract The Illusive Play: The Autobiography of the Fifth Dalai Lama tells the story of Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho), the fifth Dalai Lama, also known as the “Great Fifth.” As an autobiographical account, The Illusive Play tells Lobsang Gyatso’s life story, having been designated from a young age as an incarnate of the Dalai … [Read more...]
Dorjee, Lama Dudjom. Falling Off the Roof of the World: The Autobiography of the Venerable Lama Dudjom Dorjee. PA: Infinity Publishing, 2006.
Dudjom Dorjee was born to a nomadic family in eastern Tibet in the middle 20th century. He was born near a mountain called Pajiri. He is the second child in his family. The first boy, however, died at age one or two. His father’s name was Karma Tsultrim, who was a monk when he was young, and later gave up his vows and got married. His mother’s name was Chodun Dorjee, who was … [Read more...]
Xue yu qiu fa ji (Seeking the Dharma in the Snow Land)
Review of Xue yu qiu fa ji by Xing Suzhi. Yiqiang Gong Abstract: Xue yu qiu fa ji (Seeking the Dharma in the Snow Land) is an autobiography based on the oral history of Xing Suzhi, whose Tibetan name is Blo bzang brtson 'grus. The book, only published in Chinese, mainly records Xing’s journey to and experience in Tibet from the 1930s to 1949. Xing was a Han Chinese born in … [Read more...]
The Magical Play of Illusion
Review of The Magical Play of Illusion Brittany Remark ABSTRACT: Trijang Rinpoche’s book The Magical Play of Illusion: The Autobiography of Trijang Rinpoche (skyabs rje khri byang rdo rje 'chang chen po'i gsung rnam 'khrul snang sgyu ma'i zlos gar) describes his life and his work as junior tutor to the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. It covers the time from his birth in 1901 to 1975, … [Read more...]
My Youth In Tibet
Abstract and Review of My Youth In Tibet: Recollections of a Tibetan Woman Sevahn Vorperian Abstract My Youth in Tibet is a two-part narrative written by Tseyang Sadutshang, the niece of the 5th Reting Rinpoche (Thupten Jampel Yishey Gyantsen; Tupten Jampel Yeshe Gyentsen) during the first half of the 20th century. Part 1 is Tseyang’s autobiography of her childhood in … [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...]
Precious Essence
John P. DeSerio Precious Essence: The Inner Autobiography of Terchen Barway Dorje In Precious Essence: The Inner Autobiography of Terchen Barway Dorje, Kagyu Tashi, a disciple of Terchen Barway Dorje (Gter chen Bar ba’i rdo rje, c.1837-1920), records Terchen Barway Dorje’s autobiography. There are two autobiographies of Barway Dorje’s life: an inner and outer … [Read more...]
The Autobiography of Jamgon Kongtrul
Pete Faggen Jamgön Kongtrul: A Rimé Treasure Digger in Dergé Born in 1813 in Rongyap, Longtri, Kham, Tibet, Jamgön Kongtrul, of the Karma Kagyü Tibetan Buddhist sect, was a prolific author, well-known religious master, founder of a retreat/meditation center (at Pelpung Monastery), terma revealer, and even a historian according to Jamgön Kongtrul’s biographer, Nesar Karma … [Read more...]
The Life of Shabkar
Becky Best The Life of Shabkar: The Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin Abstract The Life of Shabkar is the autobiography of Shabkar Tsodruk Rangdrol (1781-1851). Tracing his spiritual development and activities from birth through age 56, the autobiography is noteworthy for its songs which convey a rich mixture of sorrow, exuberance and sly wit. The story of Shabkar’s life … [Read more...]
Rdo-ring Bandi-ta’i rnam thar
Review by Zhang Huasha Rdo ring Pandita’i rnam thar [Doring Pandita’s Biograpy] Abstract: Rdo ring Pandita’i rnam thar is the autobiography of Rdo ring Bstan ‘dzin dpal ‘byor (Doring Tendzin Peljor), the third generation of the Tibetan aristocratic Doring (Rdo ring) family family. This autobiography records the origin of the Rdo ring family, the experiences of the head of … [Read more...]
Galun Zhuan
Ulan Galun zhuan (Autobiography of Dokharwa Tsering Wanggyel (1697-1763)) Abstract: Dokharwa Tsering Wanggyel was a pivotal figure in the Lhasa political arena in the first half of the eighteenth century. He served several regimes during that tumultuous era and managed to stabilize his power. Aside from his official career, he was also a gifted scholar who wrote several … [Read more...]
Sky Dancer
Christina Stoltz Sky Dancer: The Secret Songs and Autobiography of the Lady Yeshe Tsogyel Abstract: Sky Dancer: The Secret Songs and Autobiography of the Lady Yeshe Tsogyel is a treasure text from the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It recounts the life and teachings of Yeshe Tsogyal, the famous consort of Padmasambhava. Although it was “discovered” and written in … [Read more...]
Panchen Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen
Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen, First Panchen Lama. "Chos Smra ba’i dge slong blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan gyi spyod tshul gsal bar ston pa nor bu’i phreng ba (=nor bu’i phreng ba)", Blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan gyi gsung ’bum (Collected Works of the First Panchen Lama Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen). Tashi Lhunpo Edition. Vol.1, ff.1r-225v. Also see TBRC W23430 (5 vols.) Panchen … [Read more...]
The Life of Yol mo dzin nor bu
Tenzin Doma Lama The Life of Yol mo Bstan 'dzin nor bu: A critical edition, translation, and study of the memoirs of a seventeenth-century Tibetan Buddhist lama Abstract: “The Life of Yol mo Bstan 'dzin nor bu: A critical edition, translation, and study of the memoirs of a seventeenth-century Tibetan Buddhist lama” by Bogin, Benjamine E is already a critical edition, which … [Read more...]
Like an Illusion
Abstract: Nicole Riggs’s Like An Illusion: Lives of the Shangpa Kagyu Masters is a collection of translations of the autobiographies of key figures of Shangpa Kagyu, an important lineage of Tibetan Buddhism dating from early 11th century to recent. It traces the origin, development, key concepts and practices of Shangpa Kagyu as well as gives us quintessential examples of … [Read more...]