Relevant Links
The Tibetan Graduates Studies Seminar (TGSS) is a weekly series of colloquia and guest lectures at the Oriental Institute.
The intended purpose of the TGSS is to give MPhil and DPhil candidates a platform to present their work-in-progress and receive feedback from staff and affiliated scholars of the field.
Additionally, the weekly time slot will also allow visiting scholars to present their current research.
They are provided with the opportunity to engage in similar ways with both students and fellows of the Tibetan Studies department.
| # | Episode Title | Description | People | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | Asian Territorial Deity Cosmologies as Vehicles for the Transmission of Buddhadharma (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | Robert Mayer's analysis of Guru Chowang's enduring connection between territorial deity cosmologies and the preservation of hidden teachings in Tibetan Buddhism | Robert Mayer | 05 Jul 2024 | |
| 54 | Nāgas and relic treasures in the Mahāvaṃsa (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | Kristin Scheible uncovers the hidden role of nāgas in defining Buddhist treasures and explores their surprising significance in safeguarding sacred relics through early texts | Kristin Scheible | 05 Jul 2024 | |
| 53 | The Successive Avatars of the Heart Essence of the Ḍākinī: Termas as Continuous Revelation (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | Team presentation on the project "For a Critical History of the Northern Treasures" (FCHNT) | For a Critical History of the Northern Treasures (FCHNT) | 13 Jun 2024 | |
| 52 | Concealed Prosperity: Why People and Territorial Deities Need Treasures (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | This talk explores the intricate cosmology of territorial deities in Tibet and related concepts of land, prosperity, and fecundity, as well as sociality and socio-political organisation | Anna Sehnalova | 13 Jun 2024 | |
| 51 | Unseen Beings and Tibetan Eco-Daemonology | Erik Jampa Andersson's presentation delves into the intricate world of Tibetan eco-daemonology and advocates for a deeper understanding of Traditional Ecological Knowledge | Erik Jampa Andersson | 24 Nov 2023 | |
| 50 | Creative Commons | Recalibrating the Perspective on Tibetan and Himalayan History: Identity- and Nation-Building in Bhutan | In this talk, Dr. Dagmar Schwerk presents the work-in-progress of her current research project, an investigation into identity- and nation-building in eighteenth-century Bhutan | Dagmar Schwerk | 13 Nov 2023 |
| 49 | ‘Treasures’ (gter ma) and treasure-finders in Yungdrung Bön: a Tibetan tradition spanning a thousand years (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | This talk presents an outline of the Yungdrung Bön ’Treasure’ tradition | Per Kværne | 09 Aug 2023 | |
| 48 | Creative Commons | Yoginīs, Revelation, and Hidden Knowledge in Tantric Śaivism (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | This presentation examines Śākta transformations of conceptions of revelation and the transmission of esoteric knowledge in Mantramārga Śaivism | Shaman Hatley | 12 Jul 2023 |
| 47 | Creative Commons | Nectar, Water, or Blood? A Buddhist History of Perceptual Relativism | In this talk, Jacob Fisher presents his research on a history of the Buddhist discussions surrounding perceptual relativism, in India and Tibet | Jacob Fisher | 12 Jul 2023 |
| 46 | Creative Commons | A Chorus of Voices Chanting the Names of Mañjuśrī Rong-zom Chos-kyi-bzang-po’s Commentary on the Nāmasaṅgīti, and Its Indian Sources | Nicola Bajetta takes us through Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo's commentary on the Nāmasaṅgīti, a hymn of praise dedicated to Mañjuśrī | Nicola Bajetta | 12 Jul 2023 |
| 45 | Creative Commons | Sūtra in Early Buddhist Treasure Texts (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | Reinier Langelaar’s talk on early Tibetan treasure literature’s influences, inspirations, and narrative themes | Reinier Langelaar | 15 May 2023 |
| 44 | Early Teachings on the Four Phurpas and the Relationship between the Revelatory and Transmitted Textual Tradition (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | Early teachings on the Four Phurpas in the light of the Eightfold Buddha Word, Embodying the Sugatas (bka' brgyad bde gshegs 'dus pa) revelation of Myang ral Nyi ma 'od zer (1124-1192), and the relationship between the Revelatory (gter ma) and Transmitted | Cathy Cantwell | 21 Apr 2023 | |
| 43 | Creative Commons | Exploring relationships between theory of practice and practice by looking at the Abhisamayālaṃkāra in Gelukpa scholasticism | Chandra Ehm's investigation into the foundations of the Geluk monastic curriculum | Chandra Ehm | 17 Mar 2023 |
| 42 | Creative Commons | The Transformation of Nyingma Identity: Some Key Developments in Contemporary Nyingma Monastic Education | Nicholas Hobhouse on Developments in Contemporary Nyingma Monastic Education | Nicholas Hobhouse | 17 Mar 2023 |
| 41 | Creative Commons | Forms of Buddhist treasures (re)discovered in Kalmykia (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | Valeriya Gazizova's talk on several cases of ‘treasure’ concealment and discoveries in the Buddhist society of postsocialist Kalmykia | Valeriya Gazizova | 01 Mar 2023 |
| 40 | Exploring Rendawa’s Madhyamaka Legacy | Drukgyel Tsering's talk on Rendawa Shonu Lodro (1349–1412), the famed teacher of Lama Tsongkhapa and important progenitor of Madhyamaka philosophy in Tibet | Drukgyal Tsering | 28 Feb 2023 | |
| 39 | Creative Commons | The Rgyud sde spyi rnam ascribed to Rin chen bzang po (958–1055) and its authoritative sources | Sonam Choden discusses Lo tsā ba Rin chen bzang po's composition of his "General Presentation of the Tantric Systems" and its authoritative sources | Sonam Choden | 28 Feb 2023 |
| 38 | Creative Commons | How Tibetans Received and Perceived the Yuan Edicts: Some Preliminary Observations | This lecture highlights Tibetan responses to the Mongol imperial bureaucratic practices during the 14th century | Penghao Sun, Trawang | 15 Feb 2023 |
| 37 | Theorizing Buddhist Revelation in the Great Lamp of the Dharma Dhāraṇī Scripture (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | The Great Lamp of the Dharma Dhāraṇī Scripture and its theory on scriptual revelation in the Mahāyāna tradition. | Ryan Overbey | 14 Feb 2023 | |
| 36 | Creative Commons | A typology of modes of revelations in Chinese religious history (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | Vincent Goossaert's talk on the ritual production of revelation in Chinese religious history | Vincent Goossaert | 14 Feb 2023 |
| 35 | Towards a textual discourse analysis of Longchenpa’s writings on Buddha nature | Gregory Forgues presents his research on Longchenpa's writings on Buddha nature | Gregory Forgues | 10 Feb 2023 | |
| 34 | Creative Commons | Variants of the Rudra Subjugation Myth: Contrasting Themes in the Legends of Mahākāla and Vajrabhairava | Cameron Bailey's talk on wrathful deities and their myths | Cameron Bailey | 11 Jan 2023 |
| 33 | The Rise of Guru Yoga in Twelfth-Century Tibet | Zim Pickens looks at the origins of guru or lama worship in Tibet, introducing us to the Indian antecedents and the Tibetan emphasis on the role and status of the lama. | Zim Pickens | 09 Nov 2022 | |
| 32 | Treasure Hunting in the Philippine Islands (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | Where to Look for the Missing Plunder of Pirates, Ghosts, Rebels, Fairies, Colonisers, and Dictators | Piers Kelly | 03 Nov 2022 | |
| 31 | Treasure Traditions in Greece (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | Charles Stewart's surveys the diversity of treasure traditions in Greece | Charles Stewart | 03 Nov 2022 | |
| 30 | Displacement: Tibetan Buddhist Contributions to the International Humanitarian Field | Dr Kilby's talk explores Tibetan Buddhist perspectives on displacement that can inform the international humanitarian response to the displacement crisis | Christina Kilby | 20 Oct 2022 | |
| 29 | Dharmabhāṇakas, Siddhas, Avatārakasiddhas, and gTer stons (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | This lecture offers a new look at the origins of Gter ma literature in an intertextual framework. | Robert Mayer | 08 Jun 2022 | |
| 28 | Early Explanations for the Appearance of Mahāyāna sūtras (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | A presentation looking at how early Mahayana sutras explain where they came from. | David Drewes | 08 Jun 2022 | |
| 27 | Revelation and Rediscovery: Early Medieval Indian Origin Myths of the Tantras (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | David Gray talks about revelatory or "treasure" texts from Indian and Tibetan perspectives in a comparative framework. | David Gray | 06 May 2022 | |
| 26 | Perfected Beings in Human Form: The Siddha Tradition in Śaiva Tantra (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | John Nemec's talk on the origin of siddha and its polysemic application in Sanskrit textual sources. | John Nemec | 06 May 2022 | |
| 25 | Creative Commons | The Dharmabhāṇaka’s Body and the Ontologization of Authority (Oxford Treasure Seminar Series) | This talk by Natalie Gummer explores the role of Dharmabhāṇaka – those who recite the Dharma – in Mahāyāna Sutras | Natalie Gummer | 15 Mar 2022 |
| 24 | Medicine Mountains along the Himalayas: Healing, Trade, and Ecology | The Greater Himalayas extend through many different kinds of community. This lecture considers several ‘medicine mountains’, particular mountains that fold society and ecology together, and explores them as a comparative category | Will Tuladhar-Douglas | 25 May 2021 | |
| 23 | Why Go on Pilgrimage? Geomancy and the Transformational Powers of Sacred Places in Tibetan Buddhism and Bon | This presentation considers the association between pilgrimage and healing in Tibet through an exploration of the process whereby natural sites are imbued with meaning | Charles Ramble | 25 May 2021 | |
| 22 | Reading khrims Between the Lines: The Rise of Legality in 13th Century Central Tibet | Daniel introduces us to the term khrims and looks at the “rise of legality” in 13th century Central Tibet. | Daniel Wojahn | 25 May 2021 | |
| 21 | Virūpa is Virūpākṣa: Towards an Indo-Tibetan Siddha Corpus | Westin Harris opens the dialogue between Tibetan, Nāth and Yoga studies centred around the figure of Virūpa | Westin Lee Harris | 12 May 2021 | |
| 20 | Buddhism and Gender Perspectives in Sikkim: Historical and Contemporary Approaches | The talk explores the historical and contemporary influence of women in Sikkim from a Buddhist perspective | Marlene Erschbamer | 10 May 2021 | |
| 19 | Connections in the Making and Meaning of the Art of Bhutan and Tibet in the 17 th and 18 th Centuries: A Study of the Wall Paintings at Tango Monastery | Pu Lan discusses her PhD project, which explores the 17th-century Monastery of Tango and how it illustrates the development of wall painting technology in Bhutan | Pu Lan | 31 Mar 2021 | |
| 18 | The Geluk Domestication of Tantra | Brenton Sullivan presents his new book "Building a Religious Empire: Tibetan Buddhism, Bureaucracy, and the Rise of the Gelukpa" and discuss the third chapter, "Institutionalizing Tantra", in more detail | Brenton Sullivan | 31 Mar 2021 | |
| 17 | The Mongolian Kanjur - Should Tibetologists Care? | Kirill Alekseev presents his latest research on the Mongolian Kanjur and its ramifications in Tibetan Studies | Kirill Alekseev | 16 Mar 2021 | |
| 16 | Layers of Protection: Everyday Life with Empowered Objects | In her talk, Inger Vasstveit discusses “empowered objects” - small Buddhist objects that people wear on their person - in relation to the broader socio-political and cosmological environment in India | Inger Vasstveit | 02 Mar 2021 | |
| 15 | Death by Poisoning: Cautionary Narratives and Inter-Ethnic Accusations in Contemporary Sikkim | Kikee Bhutia talks about the contemporary discourses around ‘othering’ in Sikkim and analyse the region’s inter-ethnic challenges | Kikee Bhutia | 04 Feb 2021 | |
| 14 | Fervent admiration and devotion: Exploring devotional literature in the collected works of the 3rd Dodrupchen | Renée Ford's introduction to the devotional literature in the collected works of the 3rd Dodrupchen composed in admiration of his late teacher Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. | Renée Ford | 02 Feb 2021 | |
| 13 | The Role of Prophecies in the Construction of the Geluk Tradition | In this talk, Michael Ium explores the role of prophecies in the legitimation and construction of the Geluk tradition. | Michael Ium | 03 Dec 2020 | |
| 12 | Liu pin fo lou (Building of Six Classes of Sutra and Tantra), the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon in the Forbidden City | Ziyi Shao takes us to the reign of the Qianlong Emperor and will show us around the Fan hua lou (Hall of Buddhist Efflorescence), one of the most complex and prominent Buddhist monuments in the Forbidden city | Ziyi Shao | 26 Nov 2020 | |
| 11 | Culture of Emotions: Uses and Interpretations of Musical Heritage in the Tibetan Refugee Community of Dharamsala | Chloé Lukasiewicz talk on the significance of music in the Tibetan refugee community in Dharamsala, India | Chloé Lukasiewicz | 19 Nov 2020 | |
| 10 | Buddhism and the Rise of ‘the Tibetans’ (bod pa): Religion, Myth and the Promotion of Ethnicity in the Pre-modern Period | Apropos 'the Tibetans': Reinier Langelaar's talk focuses on the mythical origins and the promotion of ethnicity in historical Tibet | Reinier Langelaar | 05 Nov 2020 | |
| 9 | Human Remains in Tibetan Material Religion: An object centered approach | Ayesha Fuentes shares a unique and interdisciplinary insight into art conservation of human remains in Tibetan material religion | Ayesha Fuentes | 29 Oct 2020 | |
| 8 | Sacred Trash, Trash Talks, And Personhood | Bo Wang discussing the practice of depositing garments as offerings to sacred mountains in Eastern Tibet | Bo Wang | 29 Oct 2020 | |
| 7 | The First Tibetan Block Print: The Khara-Khoto Collection of Precious Dhāraṇīs with the Emperor's Postscript | Alla Sizova discusses the role of translation activities in the spread of Buddhism in the 12th century and outlines the extent of Tibetan influence on the Tangut culture. | Alla A. Sizova | 15 Oct 2020 | |
| 6 | Fictional Facts or Factual Fiction? The Social Reality behind Kha stag ʼDzam yag’s "Diary" and Lhag pa Don grub’s "Life of a mule driver" | Fictional Facts or Factual Fiction? Lucia Galli's talk on self-representation and the social reality behind two Tibetan memoirs | Lucia Galli | 04 Jun 2020 | |
| 5 | The Nechung Oracle and the Construction of Identity in the Tibetan Diaspora | The Oracle in Exile: Pema Choedon's talk on the Nechung Oracle and identity construction in the Tibetan Diaspora | Pema Choedon | 28 May 2020 | |
| 4 | The Mortality of the Dalai Lama and its Scriptural Sources: A Study in Tibetan Buddhist Political Theology | I am currently focusing on the problem of the Dalai Lama’s mortality that is, the question of how to come to terms with his suffering and death, in light of the association between Tibetan kingship and the deity Avalokiteśvara. | Ian MacCormack | 21 May 2020 | |
| 3 | Preliminary Practices: Bloody Knees, Calloused Palms and the Transformative Nature of Women’s Labor | The Preliminary Practices not only initiate practitioners into a specific tradition, but also more fundamentally, into Vajrayana Buddhism as it is practiced in contemporary Tibet. | Kati Fitzgerald | 14 May 2020 | |
| 2 | Creative Commons | Writing about the Nechung Oracle | Christopher Bell's talk about oracles, protector deities, and other mysteries | Christopher Bell | 07 May 2020 |
| 1 | Creative Commons | The sku bla of the Tibetan emperors and its metamorphosis in Yungdrung Bön | In the late 12th century Yungdrung Bön text Grags pa gling grags a deity that has a special relationship to the Tibetan ruler plays a prominent part in the narrative of the Tibetan kings. | Per Kværne | 30 Apr 2020 |