1,721,058 research outputs found
The afterlives of Tibetan Buddhist material objects
No full textHow does the wear of materials affect the status, life trajectories and post-consumption destinies of Buddhist material objects? Based upon ethnographies of waste in India, Nepal and China, this chapter investigates the consumption of Buddhist material objects and their post-consumption afterlives. Its main argument is that the wear (the gradual physical deterioration of materials due to repeated use, time and environmental impact) that accompanies the consumption of religious objects is not only destructive, corroding their materials and utility value, but can also be productive. Taking the Tibetan prayer wheel and its component parts as an example, I show that the end of consumption is not always waste. The sacred does not necessarily expire with consumption. Wear can even give apparently mundane components, such as a worn-out washer, a new life, status and potency after their ‘death’ by transforming them into sacred objects or apotropaic and auspicious tools.How does the wear of materials affect the status, life trajectories and post-consumption destinies of Buddhist material objects? Based upon ethnographies of waste in India, Nepal and China, this chapter investigates the consumption of Buddhist material objects and their post-consumption afterlives. Its main argument is that the wear (the gradual physical deterioration of materials due to repeated use, time and environmental impact) that accompanies the consumption of religious objects is not only destructive, corroding their materials and utility value, but can also be productive. Taking the Tibetan prayer wheel and its component parts as an example, I show that the end of consumption is not always waste. The sacred does not necessarily expire with consumption. Wear can even give apparently mundane components, such as a worn-out washer, a new life, status and potency after their ‘death’ by transforming them into sacred objects or apotropaic and auspicious tools
Critical Tibetan Studies:A Turn to Materiality
No full textThis series of notes highlights a number of critical questions for the Tibetan studies community. It draws these from Tsering Yangzom Lama’s meditation on Tibetan lives and objects in the preface to this volume, the story of how Among Tibetan Materialities came into being, and our reflections as editors on the limits of what we have achieved
Introduction:Materials, Materiality, and Material Culture
No full textThis introduction advocates for the expansion of Tibetan studies by embracing new sources, methodologies and frameworks to better understand the material culture of Tibet and the Himalayas. We start by reviewing the current state of the discipline’s engagement with material culture. While recognizing the positive trend over the past decade of moving beyond the largely descriptive nature of earlier literature on Tibetan material culture, the chapter emphasizes the need for greater interaction with other academic fields to make our work relevant beyond Tibetan studies. We also address the limits and boundaries of how Tibet is understood as a political and geographical entity, stressing the importance of highlighting the localized experiences of regions like Sikkim, Ladakh, Bhutan and Nepal in scholarship. Additionally, we explore key terminology related to materiality, materials, labour and material culture, welcoming diverse perspectives in materially-led research rather than settling on a single approach. Along the way, we discuss how each chapter bridges other disciplines and is an example to follow. We conclude with a brief overview of the volume’s structure, arguing that its chapters—both individually and taken together—promote the significance of knowledge produced when among Tibetan materialities.Keywords material culture studies, methodologies, state of the field, sources, Tibetan studie
Introduction:Materials, Materiality, and Material Culture
No full textThis introduction advocates for the expansion of Tibetan studies by embracing new sources, methodologies and frameworks to better understand the material culture of Tibet and the Himalayas. We start by reviewing the current state of the discipline’s engagement with material culture. While recognizing the positive trend over the past decade of moving beyond the largely descriptive nature of earlier literature on Tibetan material culture, the chapter emphasizes the need for greater interaction with other academic fields to make our work relevant beyond Tibetan studies. We also address the limits and boundaries of how Tibet is understood as a political and geographical entity, stressing the importance of highlighting the localized experiences of regions like Sikkim, Ladakh, Bhutan and Nepal in scholarship. Additionally, we explore key terminology related to materiality, materials, labour and material culture, welcoming diverse perspectives in materially-led research rather than settling on a single approach. Along the way, we discuss how each chapter bridges other disciplines and is an example to follow. We conclude with a brief overview of the volume’s structure, arguing that its chapters—both individually and taken together—promote the significance of knowledge produced when among Tibetan materialities.Keywords material culture studies, methodologies, state of the field, sources, Tibetan studie
Introduction:Materials, Materiality, and Material Culture
No full textThis introduction advocates for the expansion of Tibetan studies by embracing new sources, methodologies and frameworks to better understand the material culture of Tibet and the Himalayas. We start by reviewing the current state of the discipline’s engagement with material culture. While recognizing the positive trend over the past decade of moving beyond the largely descriptive nature of earlier literature on Tibetan material culture, the chapter emphasizes the need for greater interaction with other academic fields to make our work relevant beyond Tibetan studies. We also address the limits and boundaries of how Tibet is understood as a political and geographical entity, stressing the importance of highlighting the localized experiences of regions like Sikkim, Ladakh, Bhutan and Nepal in scholarship. Additionally, we explore key terminology related to materiality, materials, labour and material culture, welcoming diverse perspectives in materially-led research rather than settling on a single approach. Along the way, we discuss how each chapter bridges other disciplines and is an example to follow. We conclude with a brief overview of the volume’s structure, arguing that its chapters—both individually and taken together—promote the significance of knowledge produced when among Tibetan materialities.Keywords material culture studies, methodologies, state of the field, sources, Tibetan studie
Introduction:Materials, materiality and material culture
No full textThis introduction advocates for the expansion of Tibetan studies by embracing new sources, methodologies and frameworks to better understand the material culture of Tibet and the Himalayas. We start by reviewing the current state of the discipline’s engagement with material culture. While recognizing the positive trend over the past decade of moving beyond the largely descriptive nature of earlier lit¬erature on Tibetan material culture, the chapter emphasizes the need for greater interaction with other academic fields to make our work relevant beyond Tibetan studies. We also address the limits and bound¬aries of how Tibet is understood as a political and geographical entity, stressing the importance of highlighting the localized experiences of regions like Sikkim, Ladakh, Bhutan and Nepal in scholarship. Addi¬tionally, we explore key terminology related to materiality, materials, labour and material culture, welcoming diverse perspectives in mate¬rially-led research rather than settling on a single approach. Along the way, we discuss how each chapter bridges other disciplines and is an example to follow. We conclude with a brief overview of the volume’s structure, arguing that its chapters—both individually and taken to¬gether—promote the significance of knowledge produced when among Tibetan materialities
Introduction: Buddhist Encounters with Global Market Economy and Consumer Society
No full textThe introduction is based upon three considerations: Firstly, it provides a version 2.0 of our article “Buddhism, Business and Economics” published in Michael Jerryson’s The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism (2017). Secondly, with the intent to give an overview of the research field of Buddhist economy, it discusses contemporary issues that both trouble and enthuse protagonists in the various Buddhist fields. Thirdly, the chapter aims to encourage other scholars to take up the field by pointing out new avenues for cross-disciplinary research into the complex relationship between Buddhism and economics
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