Samten G. Karmay

Samten G. Karmay (* 1936 in Amdo ) is a Tibetan author, Tibetologist and emeritus Director of Research of the Center national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS). He is particularly interested in Tibetan myths , Bon and the history of religion .

Life

Samten G. Karmay spent between the ages of eight and fourteen in a Bon monastery in Amdo. He then made a three-year Dzogchen - Retreat . At the age of twenty he obtained a Geshe degree and went to Drepung Monastery to continue his studies . In 1959 he and his family fled from Tibet to India , where he worked for a time in Delhi before he was invited to England by David Snellgrove on a Rockefeller Fellowship . From 1961 to 1964 Samten G. Karmay attended the School of Oriental and African Studiesin London and obtained a Master of Philosophy degree . With his work on the history of the Bon religion and the origins and development of Dzogchen in Tibetan Buddhism , he achieved a doctorate . In 1980 Samten G. Karmay moved to France and became a member of the CNRS. From 1996 to 2000 he was President of the International Association of Tibetan Studies (IATS), and in 2005 he was Numata Visiting Professor at the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS).

Works

• as editor with Jeff Watt : Bon, the Magic Word. The Indigenous Religion of Tibet. RMA, Rubin Museum of Art et al., New York NY et al. 2007, ISBN 978-0-85667-649-9 .
• as editor: New Horizons in Bon Studies (= Senri Ethnological Reports 15, ISSN  1340-6787 = Bon Studies 2). National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka 2000.
• The arrow and the spindle. Studies in history, myths, rituals and beliefs in Tibet. 2 volumes. 1998-2005;
  • Volume 1: Mandala Book Point, Kantipath Kathmandu 1998;
  • Volume 2: Mandala Publishing, Kantipath Kathmandu 2005, ISBN 99946-5501-9 .
• The Little Luminous Boy. The Oral Tradition from the Land of Zhangzhung Depicted on Two Tibetan Paintings. Orchid Press, Bangkok 1998, ISBN 974-8299-07-4 .
• The Great Perfection (rDzogs chen). A Philosophical and Meditative Teaching in Tibetan Buddhism. Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden et al. 1988, ISBN 90-04-08792-3 .
• Secret Visions of the Fifth Dalai Lama. The "Gold Manuscript" in the Fournier Collection. Serindia Publications, London 1988, ISBN 0-906026-42-3 .

Web links

• tibetwrites.org: Samten G Karmay
• phayul.com: Tibetan Religion and Politics by Samten G. Karmay