The modern nonsectarian movement and
monastic intransigence in the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries
The nineteenth century saw the rise of a nonsectarian
movement in Eastern Tibet (Khams), where the Sa skya
and the Rnying ma orders were especially supported.
This movement tried to move Tibetans from a narrow
view of lineage toward an ecumenical vision of Bud-
dhist study and practice and specialized in the collec-
tion and publication of compendia of religious practice
and ideas. ’Jam dbyang Mkhyen brtse’i dbang po
(1820–1892) received training in both Sa skya and
Rnying ma schools, and he promoted the study of their
esoteric systems. Kong sprul Blo gros mtha’ yas
(1813–1899) developed a synthetic vision of treasure,
one that integrated Rnying ma, Bon po, and Bka’
brgyud systems all together in his great Rin chen gter
mdzod(Treasury of Gems). In the Sa skya order, ’Jam
dbyang Blo gter dbang po (1847–ca. 1914) brought to-
gether two great compendia of new translation prac-
tices, as well as editing and publishing the Sa skya
esoteric system of the Lam ’bras in the face of criticism
about the loss of secrecy. Two Rnying ma scholars es-
tablished specifically Rnying ma scholastic syllabi: ‘Ju
Mi pham (1846–1912) and Mkhan po Gzhan dga’
(1871–1927), the former studied by Rnying ma stu-
dents, while Gzhan dga’ was also favored by the Ngor
pa subsect of the Sa skya.
By the turn of the twentieth century, Tibetans were
becoming exposed to the wider world, especially
through the Younghusband expedition (1904). With a
British trade agent forcibly placed in Tibet, the Chi-
nese responded, and the thirteenth Dalai Lama alter-
natively took refuge with the Chinese and the British,
with Tibetans becoming aware that the world was un-
expectedly changing. Sometimes this awareness had
unforeseen consequences, and the scholar Dge ’dun
chos ’phel (1901–1951) was especially provocative, as
a monk with an interest in journalism, erotic litera-
ture, and intellectual criticism.Communism and the Tibetan diaspora
The Communist Chinese military success of 1949 and
subsequent invasion of Tibet in 1950 succeeded in sub-
duing Tibet, where centuries of prior Chinese efforts
had failed. For Buddhist traditions, the initial destruc-
tion of temples and monasteries in Eastern Tibet was
still relatively modest, and many believed that Tibet
could negotiate with Mao Zedong. The Great Prole-
tarian Cultural Revolution of 1966 to 1976 changed
everything, with the resultant massive destruction ofTIBETTibetan Buddhists prostrate themselves before the Jo khang Temple in Lhasa, Tibet. © Paula Bronstein/Getty Images. Reproduced by
permission.