The Chinese invasion of Tibet and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s subsequent escape to exile in India in 1959 helped launch the Tibetan Buddhist tradition into an unprecedented encounter with the modern world. As Tibetan Buddhism engages modern science, society, and other religious traditions, Tibetan Buddhists are pressed to consider at least three key issues: (1) how such encounters might transform the tradition; (2) how the tradition might adapt and persevere in light of these changes; and (3) what the tradition itself might offer the modern world.
The International Conference on Tibetan Buddhism (ICTB) at Emory University was the first major international conference to address these issues, following discussions started at the Congress of Tibetan Buddhist Dharma Centers of the Americas, held at New York’s Garrison Institute in 2003. The ICTB conference drew over 350 scholars, leaders, teachers, translators, administrators, and Dharma center representatives from traditional and non-traditional Buddhist regions—including the US, Canada, Mexico, France, Denmark, UK, India, Nepal, Mongolia, and elsewhere—to engage in substantive discussion about the current state of Tibetan Buddhism in the modern world. Key leaders, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the temporal and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people; His Eminence the Ganden Tripa Rinpoche, the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism; Samdhong Rinpoche, Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile; and Choje Khamba Lama, abbot of Gandan Tegchenling Monastery in Mongolia, discussed the challenges facing the Tibetan Buddhist community and how to safeguard the tradition’s future direction.
His Holiness opened the conference by highlighting potential factors that might contribute to the degeneration of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in the modern world. Invoking the metaphor of a well-rooted tree, he encouraged attendees to focus not on the Tibetan Buddhist tradition’s individual branches but instead on the shared roots of the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, in a bid to discourage sectarianism and promote the study of shared, fundamental Buddhist texts. He also noted that although the modern, pluralistic context affords practitioners opportunities to selectively study and practice teachings from various traditions, it is important that one remain deeply rooted in a particular tradition in order to preserve that tradition’s authenticity. The issue of authenticity, with which all modernizing traditions must contend, was a central theme of several conference panels. (To view His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s keynote address as well as other panel sessions, click here.)
As traditions encounter one another, they must not only adapt and accommodate but also find ways of engaging in dialogue. The translation of scriptures and teachings remains a key challenge for the dissemination and preservation of Tibetan Buddhism in the modern world. Dr. Jeffrey Hopkins and Geshe Thupten Jinpa, two leaders in the translation of important Tibetan texts, discussed some of these challenges during their panel, “Translating the Dharma.” Translators, they asserted, are bridges between cultures, charged with the task of remaining faithful to one tradition while making it accessible to another. The key to successful translation, Geshe Jinpa argued, is responding and adapting to the context into which one is translating. Striking a balance between more literal and more liberal, context-dependent translations has implications for the transmission and preservation of a tradition. Meanwhile, the reception of translated texts, materials, and practices can also have significant effects. Geshe Jinpa recounted that the translation of the Dharma from Sanskrit into Tibetan had far-reaching effects on Tibetan culture. He noted that most major cultural transformations throughout history have coincided with major translation projects and suggested that the translation of the Tibetan canon and other important texts, practices, and traditions into new cultural contexts marks the beginning of a long-lasting global cultural transformation, one that could have a “humanizing influence” on world affairs.
Dr. Anne Klein, a keynote speaker on the “Tibetan Buddhism and the Modern Academy” panel, called for more attention to be devoted to historical Tibetan studies—including philology, translation, recording oral commentary, and digital cataloguing of Tibetan resources—to support the preservation of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Graduate training in Tibetan Buddhist Studies is offered at roughly 20 universities in the US in departments such as Religion, Philosophy, and Anthropology, yet Dr. Klein noted that Tibetan Studies is often approached from two distinct vantage points: historical and modern. She asserted that because the modern conversation is so exciting, especially in areas related to science, it threatens to overshadow the historical focus. Further, she warned, the encounter with modernity and its dominant narratives, including science, threatens to render aspects of the tradition invisible because they do not map neatly onto our cultural categories or assumptions and are therefore too easily discarded or overlooked. Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi, Director of the Emory-Tibet Partnership and a key organizer of the conference, delivered the second keynote on this panel. He explained that the encounter of Tibetan Buddhism with modernity is neither unilateral nor to be understood as the reception of an unadulterated tradition into the modern world. Instead, he argued, the dialogue between Buddhism and science reveals that the exchange is taking place on more equal footing.
These issues of adaptation, transmission, and preservation were echoed in two other conference panels, “Tibetan Buddhism in Modern Western Culture” and “Tibetan Buddhism’s Encounter with Modern Science.” Speakers, including Dr. Robert Thurman and Sogyal Rinpoche, seemed to dismiss the notion of a distinctively “Modern” or “Western” Tibetan Buddhism, acknowledging that although the tradition must adapt to some degree in modernity, the key teachings remain unchanged and, moreover, are still extremely relevant today.
The charge that Buddhism dispenses too easily with aspects that do not fit the dominant scientific framework is one that has been raised by a number of scholars. Speakers on the Modern Science panel, chaired by Dr. John Dunne, included Dr. Richard Davidson and Matthieu Ricard, who instead focused on the practical benefits of the growing collaboration between scientists and Tibetan Buddhist scholars and practitioners. Panelists also addressed the various issues involved in the dialogue between Buddhism and science, including the translation of key Buddhist and scientific terms and the importance of understanding the variety and theoretical approaches of different Buddhist contemplative practices. Participants also stressed that dialogue between these two traditions should maintain a programmatic approach focused on the relief of suffering and the promotion of flourishing.
The “Tibetan Buddhism and Social Engagement” panel, chaired by Dr. John Makransky with keynotes from Dr. Dan Willis and Lama Pema Wangdak, offered insight into the ways Tibetan Buddhism might be changing in its encounter with modernity. Though several speakers argued that Buddhism has always been engaged, “engaged Buddhism” in the West has been led primarily by other Buddhist traditions, most notably Zen. As Dr. David Germano added, notions of responsibility concerning social action also have been disputed among monastic institutions in Tibet. Tibetan Buddhism’s encounter with modernity, however, has heightened awareness of the global challenges humanity faces, and it has made clear that action must be taken in ethics, economics, ecology, education, healthcare, and interreligious dialogue to effect change. The Tibetan Buddhist tradition is poised to contribute to many of these areas through ongoing collaboration and new initiatives.
Though much of the conference’s attention was dedicated to Tibetan Buddhism in the West, an entire panel was devoted to “Surviving Modernity in Traditionally Tibetan Buddhist Regions.” Speakers, including Telo Tulku Rinpoche and Dr. Vesna Wallace, discussed the future of Tibetan Buddhism in traditionally Tibetan Buddhist regions of Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, and the Indian Himalayas. Rinpoche argued that in the early 21st century, Buddhism seems to be flourishing more in North America and Europe than in traditionally Tibetan areas. He added that Buddhism in traditional Tibetan Buddhist areas is still struggling to recover from the cultural destruction of the 20th century, perpetrated in large part by the Soviets. Dr. Wallace added that in Mongolia a growing number of people have been turning to Buddhism to escape the ills of modern Mongolian society. To sustain this interest and the preservation of the tradition, many panelists stressed the need for leaders in these areas to train new teachers and students to carry on the tradition, and to reconstruct destroyed temples and institutions.
Emory was uniquely poised to host this event, which coincided with the three-day visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the university. The continued transmission and preservation of Tibetan Buddhism relies on the commitment of engaged teachers, scholars, and practitioners. The International Conference on Tibetan Buddhism facilitated conversation on these issues among many leaders. Such conversations will likely lead to ongoing collaboration.
