Love Letters from Golok

A Tantric Couple in Modern Tibet

Nonfiction, History, Asian, China, Religion & Spirituality, Eastern Religions, Buddhism, Fiction & Literature, Essays & Letters
Cover of the book Love Letters from Golok by Holly Gayley, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Holly Gayley ISBN: 9780231542753
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: December 6, 2016
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Holly Gayley
ISBN: 9780231542753
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: December 6, 2016
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

Love Letters from Golok chronicles the courtship between two Buddhist tantric masters, Tāre Lhamo (1938–2002) and Namtrul Rinpoche (1944–2011), and their passion for reinvigorating Buddhism in eastern Tibet during the post-Mao era. In fifty-six letters exchanged from 1978 to 1980, Tāre Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche envisioned a shared destiny to "heal the damage" done to Buddhism during the years leading up to and including the Cultural Revolution. Holly Gayley retrieves the personal and prophetic dimensions of their courtship and its consummation in a twenty-year religious career that informs issues of gender and agency in Buddhism, cultural preservation among Tibetan communities, and alternative histories for minorities in China.

The correspondence between Tare Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche is the first collection of "love letters" to come to light in Tibetan literature. Blending tantric imagery with poetic and folk song styles, their letters have a fresh vernacular tone comparable to the love songs of the Sixth Dalai Lama, but with an eastern Tibetan flavor. Gayley reads these letters against hagiographic writings about the couple, supplemented by field research, to illuminate representational strategies that serve to narrate cultural trauma in a redemptive key, quite unlike Chinese scar literature or the testimonials of exile Tibetans. With special attention to Tare Lhamo's role as a tantric heroine and her hagiographic fusion with Namtrul Rinpoche, Gayley vividly shows how Buddhist masters have adapted Tibetan literary genres to share private intimacies and address contemporary social concerns.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Love Letters from Golok chronicles the courtship between two Buddhist tantric masters, Tāre Lhamo (1938–2002) and Namtrul Rinpoche (1944–2011), and their passion for reinvigorating Buddhism in eastern Tibet during the post-Mao era. In fifty-six letters exchanged from 1978 to 1980, Tāre Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche envisioned a shared destiny to "heal the damage" done to Buddhism during the years leading up to and including the Cultural Revolution. Holly Gayley retrieves the personal and prophetic dimensions of their courtship and its consummation in a twenty-year religious career that informs issues of gender and agency in Buddhism, cultural preservation among Tibetan communities, and alternative histories for minorities in China.

The correspondence between Tare Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche is the first collection of "love letters" to come to light in Tibetan literature. Blending tantric imagery with poetic and folk song styles, their letters have a fresh vernacular tone comparable to the love songs of the Sixth Dalai Lama, but with an eastern Tibetan flavor. Gayley reads these letters against hagiographic writings about the couple, supplemented by field research, to illuminate representational strategies that serve to narrate cultural trauma in a redemptive key, quite unlike Chinese scar literature or the testimonials of exile Tibetans. With special attention to Tare Lhamo's role as a tantric heroine and her hagiographic fusion with Namtrul Rinpoche, Gayley vividly shows how Buddhist masters have adapted Tibetan literary genres to share private intimacies and address contemporary social concerns.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book Breathing Spaces by Holly Gayley
Cover of the book Molecular Gastronomy by Holly Gayley
Cover of the book Stranger Than Paradise by Holly Gayley
Cover of the book Genuine Pretending by Holly Gayley
Cover of the book Holocaust Cinema in the Twenty-First Century by Holly Gayley
Cover of the book Plagiarama! by Holly Gayley
Cover of the book Race and the Genetic Revolution by Holly Gayley
Cover of the book At the End of the Street in the Shadow by Holly Gayley
Cover of the book Parallel Lines by Holly Gayley
Cover of the book The Columbia Guide to Irish American History by Holly Gayley
Cover of the book Acute Melancholia and Other Essays by Holly Gayley
Cover of the book The Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation by Holly Gayley
Cover of the book A History of Pain by Holly Gayley
Cover of the book A Room Where The Star-Spangled Banner Cannot Be Heard by Holly Gayley
Cover of the book The Best American Magazine Writing 2018 by Holly Gayley
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy