bKa´brgyud History and Xylography in South-Western Tibet: The Legacy of Yang dgon pa rGyal mtshan dpal bzang po (1213-1258)

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The present project aims at contributing to the assessment of the local bKa' brgyud history in South- Western Tibet from the 13th to 16th cent., with the aid of previously unstudied or little-known sources. This case study will focus on the neglected figure of Yang dgon pa rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po (1213- 58), an influential bKa' brgyud master of the so-called Stod 'Brug bKa' brgyud (Western, or Upper 'Brug pa, to distinguish them from other main offsprings of the 'Brug pa bKa' brgyud pas). The main sources of inquiry will be histories, life stories, collected songs, sayings and teachings of the master, compiled by later holders of the lineage in the regions of La stod lHo and Mang yul Gung thang, and for the most part printed in the 16th cent. in these regions, employing the newly introduced technology of xylography. Textual studies and archive research will be combined with fieldwork in the region. This study will address topics which are at the core of contemporary Tibetological research on the bKa' brgyud pas: the history of local lineages, the uncovering of life-stories and specific teachings of early masters, and their different early formulations of key-teachings. Moreover, the compilation processes of their Collected Works, the production and circulation of texts, and the role of scriptural legacy, and of biographical and historical writing in the construction of lineage self-representation, will also be investigated.