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New Age Orientalism is a modern Western perception of Tibet and of other Asian-majority countries. Tibetologist Donald S. Lopez Jr. (1952- ), who specializes in Western discourse on Tibet, popularised the term. [1] [2]
Lopez studied the depiction of Tibet in Western academic writing. He found that before the New Age movement, depictions of Tibet were often cynical and derogatory. Orientalism's patronizing characterized portrayals of Tibet before the emergence of New Age Orientalism. [1] [ third-party source needed ]
Manifest destiny and the broader ideologies of racism and white supremacy were used to justify imperialism and colonialism. [1] [3] Western powers never fully succeeded in gaining imperial control of Tibet, however, despite British and Russian military efforts. In Western eyes Tibet never modernized, refusing to adopt European educational systems or norms. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Tibet remained inaccessible to Western powers and was portrayed as isolated, closed, and uncivilized. [1] [ third-party source needed ]
Embedded in the New Age movement,[ citation needed ] New Age Orientalism describes a positive Western perception of old Tibet (before the 1950 Chinese invasion and the 1959 diaspora). [1] It is seen as a Western fantasy, rather than a depiction of reality. [4] [5]
New Age Orientalism is an orientalist perception of Tibet in which Tibet is not depreciated, but romanticized. It is based on Romantic Orientalism, "in which the 'West' perceives some lack within itself and fantasizes that the answer, through a process of projection, is to be found somewhere in the 'East'". [1] In this manner, the four characteristics of Orientalism[ clarification needed ] persist with slight variations; the logic of opposites[ clarification needed ] now relates to old Tibet and China. Tibet is no longer perceived as an antiquated "oriental despotism," but as a Shangri-La: positive, holy, and pristine. It is seen as incorrupt, since it was never dominated by the West. The Chinese constitute its opposite as the evil, subhuman force invading a land of peaceful, devoted inhabitants. Old Tibetan culture seems removed from time and history. [1] [3] This allows the West to aggrandize itself as rescuers of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism, whereas, depicting Tibetans as helpless and voiceless; the West again finds itself in a patronizing position, representing another culture. [3]
A romanticized picture of Tibet has been partially constructed and reflected by popular culture. Hollywood films such as Seven Years in Tibet , Kundun , and Little Buddha were found to paint a romanticized picture of Tibet and uphold the Western rescue paradigm in line with the play of opposites between China and Tibet. [3] Publications surrounding the Free Tibet movement have been viewed as New Age Orientalism. [4] The constructed fantasy of a Shangri-La Tibet reflects on the Western struggle within its national identities [3] and the pitfalls of globalization. [4]
The concept of New Age Orientalism, originally relating to Tibet, has been expanded and applied to other cultures and religions (such as Hinduism) in academic literature. [5] The discourse on and perception of Ayurveda, for example, has been categorized as New Age Orientalism. [5]
Lopez's view of New Age Orientalism has been criticized for placing undue weight on the impact and power of Orientalism and viewing Tibet as a closed totality removed from history. Alternatives to Orientalism are not considered. [6] The concept has also been criticized for neglecting the Tibetan struggle under Chinese occupation and negative Oriental views of Old Tibet as feudal and antiquated. [7]
Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh, as well as in Nepal. Smaller groups of practitioners can be found in Central Asia, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and some regions of Russia, such as Tuva, Buryatia, and Kalmykia.
In art history, literature and cultural studies, orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle East, was one of the many specialties of 19th-century academic art, and Western literature was influenced by a similar interest in Oriental themes.
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Buddhism in the West broadly encompasses the knowledge and practice of Buddhism outside of Asia in the Western world. Occasional intersections between Western civilization and the Buddhist world have been occurring for thousands of years. The first Westerners to become Buddhists were Greeks who settled in Bactria and India during the Hellenistic period. They became influential figures during the reigns of the Indo-Greek kings, whose patronage of Buddhism led to the emergence of Greco-Buddhism and Greco-Buddhist art. There was little contact between the Western and Buddhist cultures during most of the Middle Ages but the early modern rise of global trade and mercantilism, improved navigation technology and the European colonization of Asian Buddhist countries led to increased knowledge of Buddhism among Westerners. This increased contact led to various responses from Buddhists and Westerners throughout the modern era. These include religious proselytism, religious polemics and debates, Buddhist modernism, Western convert Buddhists and the rise of Buddhist studies in Western academia. During the 20th century, there was a growth in Western Buddhism due to various factors such as immigration, globalization, the decline of Christianity and increased interest among Westerners. The various schools of Buddhism are now established in all major Western countries making up a small minority in the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Lobsang Rampa was the pen name of Cyril Henry Hoskin, an author who wrote books with paranormal and occult themes. His best known work is The Third Eye, published in Britain in 1956.
The vast majority of surviving Tibetan art created before the mid-20th century is religious, with the main forms being thangka, paintings on cloth, mostly in a technique described as gouache or distemper, Tibetan Buddhist wall paintings, and small statues in bronze, or large ones in clay, stucco or wood. They were commissioned by religious establishments or by pious individuals for use within the practice of Tibetan Buddhism and were manufactured in large workshops by monks and lay artists, who are mostly unknown. Various types of religious objects, such as the phurba or ritual dagger, are finely made and lavishly decorated. Secular objects, in particular jewellery and textiles, were also made, with Chinese influences strong in the latter.
Mañjuśrī is a bodhisattva who represents prajñā of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. His name means "Gentle Glory" in Sanskrit. Mañjuśrī is also known by the fuller name of Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta (मञ्जुश्रीकुमारभूत), literally "Mañjuśrī, Still a Youth" or, less literally, "Prince Mañjuśrī". Another name of Mañjuśrī is Mañjughoṣa.
Zhangzhung or Shangshung was an ancient kingdom in western and northwestern Tibet, pre-dating Tibetan Buddhism. Zhangzhung culture is associated with the Bon religion, which has influenced the philosophies and practices of Tibetan Buddhism. Zhangzhung people are mentioned frequently in ancient Tibetan texts as the original rulers of today's western Tibet. Only in the last two decades have archaeologists been given access to do field work in the areas once ruled by the Zhangzhung.
Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ is the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. It first appeared in the Mahayana Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra, where it is also referred to as the sadaksara and the paramahrdaya, or “innermost heart” of Avalokiteshvara. In this text, the mantra is seen as the condensed form of all Buddhist teachings.
In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala is a spiritual kingdom. Shambhala is mentioned in the Kalachakra Tantra. The Bon scriptures speak of a closely related land called Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring.
Anagarika Govinda was the founder of the order of the Arya Maitreya Mandala and an expositor of Tibetan Buddhism, Abhidharma, and Buddhist meditation as well as other aspects of Buddhism. He was also a painter and poet.
The Third Eye is a book published by Secker & Warburg in November 1956. It was originally claimed that the book was written by a Tibetan monk named Lobsang Rampa. On investigation the author was found to be one Cyril Henry Hoskin (1910–1981), the son of a British plumber, who claimed that his body was occupied by the spirit of a Tibetan monk named Tuesday Lobsang Rampa. The book is considered a hoax.
Lieutenant Colonel Laurence Austine Waddell, CB, CIE, F.L.S., L.L.D, M.Ch., I.M.S. RAI, F.R.A.S was a Scottish explorer, Professor of Tibetan, Professor of Chemistry and Pathology, Indian Army surgeon, collector in Tibet, and amateur archaeologist. Waddell also studied Sumerian and Sanskrit; he made various translations of seals and other inscriptions. His reputation as an Assyriologist gained little to no academic recognition and his books on the history of civilization have caused controversy. Some of his book publications however were popular with the public, and he is regarded by some today to have been a real-life precursor of the fictional character Indiana Jones.
Donald Sewell Lopez Jr. is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished university professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan, in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures.
Tibetan mythology refers to the traditional as well as the religious stories that have been passed down by the Tibetan people. Tibetan mythology consists mainly of national mythology stemming from the Tibetan culture as well as religious mythology from both Tibetan Buddhism and Bön Religion. These myths are often passed down orally, through rituals or through traditional art like sculptures or cave paintings. They also feature a variety of different creatures ranging from gods to spirits to monsters play a significant role in Tibetan mythology with some of these myths have broken into mainstream Western media, with the most notable one being the Abominable Snowman – the Yeti.
Walter Yeeling Evans-Wentz was an American anthropologist and writer who was a pioneer in the study of Tibetan Buddhism, and in transmission of Tibetan Buddhism to the Western world, most known for publishing an early English translation of The Tibetan Book of the Dead in 1927. He had three other texts translated from the Tibetan: Tibet's Great Yogi Milarepa (1928), Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines (1935), and The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation (1954), and wrote the preface to Paramahansa Yogananda's famous spiritual book, Autobiography of a Yogi (1946).
The Ganden Sumtsenling Monastery, also known as Sungtseling and Guihuasi, is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery situated 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the city of Zhongdian at elevation 3,380 metres (11,090 ft) in Yunnan province, China. Built in 1679, the monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan province and is sometimes referred to as the Little Potala Palace. Located in the capital of Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, it is also the most important monastery in southwest China.
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