contemporaries is completely outdated. His work parallels
that of the founders of Buddhist studies in Europe, who
worked from Indian sources. His Notices on the Life of
Shakya, Extracted from the Tibetan Authorities (1838) is an
early work in the field, as is F. Anton von Schiefner’s “Eine
tibetische Lebensbeschreibung Cakyamuni’s, des Begründers
des Buddhatums” (Mémoires de l’academie impériale des sci-
ences de Saint Pétersbourg 6, 1851).
The best of the early monographs is Emil Schlagint-
weit’s Buddhism in Tibet, Illustrated by Literary Documents
and Objects of Religious Worship (1863), which deals compre-
hensively with the Buddhist world in Tibet from its basis in
Indian Maha ̄ya ̄na theory to local customs. Equally rich in
data is L. Austine Waddell’s The Buddhism of Tibet, or Lama-
ism, with its Mystic Cults, Symbolism, and Mythology, and in
its Relation to Indian Buddhism (1895). Giuseppe Tucci’s Die
Religionen Tibets (1970; translated as Religions of Tibet,
[1980]) is enhanced by Tucci’s abundant use of Tibetan
sources and his high level of knowledge about the philosoph-
ical and historical background of Tibetan religions. One of
the most important newer books in the field is Indo-Tibetan
Buddhism: Indian Buddhists and their Tibetan Successors by
David L. Snellgrove (1987). The publication of Gene E.
Smith’s previously scattered articles and introductions—
Among Tibetan Texts: History and Literature of the Himalayan
Plateau (2001)—has also reinforced the study of Buddhist
transmissions in Tibet.
Tibetan scholars have written many works on the intro-
duction and spread of Buddhism in their country and on its
origins in India. Studies by European scholars of three such
works are particularly important: Schiefner’s Târanâthas
Geschichte des Buddhismus in Indien (1869), a translation of
Ta ̄rana ̄tha’s 1608 Tibetan-Language History of Buddhism in
India, has sufficient interpretations and explanations by the
translator to make it useful for the student of Tibetan Bud-
dhism; and Eugene Obermiller’s History of Buddhism (1931–
1932), a translation of Bu ston’s Chos ’byung, contains infor-
mation on Tibet, but Indian subjects predominate. The great
achievement in scholarship in this area is George N. Roe-
rich’s The Blue Annals (1949–1953), a translation of ’Gos
Lo tsa ba Gzon nu dpal’s Deb ther snon po; this classic text
describes major developments in Tibet up to the 1470s. Roe-
rich’s diligence as a scholar, combined with the various in-
dexes to the text, have made this translation an invaluable
reference work.
Another important work is The Nyingma School of Ti-
betan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History (1991, 2d ed.,
2002), a translation of Dudjom Rinpoche by Matthew Kap-
stein and Gyurme Dorje. Enriched with maps and several in-
dexes, this work is an excellent resource for the history of
Buddhism in Tibet, and more particularly for the Rnying ma
(Nyingma) school. Austrian, German, and Japanese scholars
still lead the field in philological works on the Indian Bud-
dhist texts used by Tibetans, as well as on the Tibetan
canons.
A number of works attempting synthetic interpretations
of major events or trends in Tibetan religious history ap-
peared in the twentieth century. In particular, Charles Bell’s
The Religion of Tibet (1931) analyzes the history of Bud-
dhism until the early twentieth century, including Tibet’s in-
fluence on Mongolian Buddhism and the political dimen-
sions of the rule of the Dalai Lamas. In the guise of a
description of a series of Tibetan paintings, Tucci’s Tibetan
Painted Scrolls (1949) contains much (well-indexed) material
on topics ranging from mythology to iconography that
concerns the history of Tibetan religions and sectarian devel-
opments.Eva Dargyay’s The Rise of Esoteric Buddhism in Tibet (2d
ed., 1979) provides data on the Rnying ma pa religious tradi-
tion; this work discusses Rnying ma pa’s “discovered Trea-
sure” literature and its history. The study of the “discovered”
religious writings is now a subfield by itself as a result of ac-
cess to Tibetan masters and a better knowledge of the trans-
mission lineages. One of the pioneers was Anne-Marie
Blondeau, who wrote several articles. Janet Gyatso also pub-
lished a series of articles on the Treasure movement. Also
noteworthy is the Life and Revelations of Pema Lingpa (2003)
by Sarah Harding and Ganteng Tulku.
The basis of all Buddhist practice is yoga and medita-
tion, and studies of Tibetan versions of such practices with
commentaries by learned lamas are appearing in great num-
bers. Among older established studies that are still frequently
consulted, the following are notable either for their lucidity
of presentation or their accompanying commentary. Herbert
Guenther’s translation of Sgam po pa’s twelfth-century ac-
count of Tibetan religious practice, The Jewel Ornament of
Liberation (1971), and Guenther’s The Life and Teaching of
Na ̄ropa (1963) on an eleventh-century yogin, are character-
ized by a sophisticated analysis of the psychology of Buddhist
practice. A clear exposition is made by Tenzin Gyatso (Bstan
’dzin rgya mtsho, the fourteenth Dalai Lama) in The Opening
of the Wisdom Eye and the History of the Advancement of Budd-
hadharma in Tibet (1966). An analysis of philosophical posi-
tions, meditation, and ritual is found in Ferdinand D. Les-
sing and Alex Wayman’s Mkhas grub rje’s Fundamentals of
the Buddhist Tantras (1968), a translation of a fifteenth-
century work. Rdzogs chen, a meditative and philosophical
teaching common to both the Rnying ma pa and Bon tradi-
tions, is explained by Samten Karmay in The Great Perfec-
tion: A Philosophical and Meditative Teaching in Tibetan Bud-
dhism (1988).
Traditional Buddhist biographies (rnam thar) are being
used more and more as sources to put meat on the bones of
doctrinal studies, but they are also translated into English to
cater to an interested audience. Perhaps the best of the earlier
efforts is Jacques Bacot’s La vie de Marpa le “traducteur”
(1937). Also worthy of recommendation is Rolf A. Stein’s
Vie et chants de ’Brug-pa Kun-legs le yogin (1972), and of
course the different translations of the great saint and poet
Mi la ras pa’s biography and mystic songs. A more recentTIBETAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY 9189