Pilgrimage to Drakar Dreldzong
Pilgrimage to Drakar Dreldzong The Written Tradition and Contemporary Practices among Amdo Tibetans ,#-7--a};-1 Zhuoma ( |) Thesis Submitted for the Degree of M. Phil in Tibetan Studies Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages University of Oslo Spring 2008 1 Summary This thesis focuses on pilgrimage (gnas skor) to Drakar Dreldzong, a Buddhist holy mountain (gnas ri) in a remote area of Amdo, Tibet, in the present day Qinghai Province in the western part of China. The mountain had long been a solitude hermitage and still is a popular pilgrimage site for Tibetan lamas and nearby laymen. Pilgrimage to holy mountains was, and still is, significant for the religious, cultural and literary life of Tibet, and even for today’s economic climate in Tibet. This thesis presents the traditional perceptions of the site reflected both in written texts, namely pilgrimage guides (gnas bshad), and in the contemporary practices of pilgrimage to Drakar Dreldzong. It specifically talks about an early pilgrimage guide (Guide A) written by a tantric practitioner in the early 17th century, and newly developed guides (Guides B, C and D), based on the 17th century one, edited and composed by contemporary Tibetan lay intellectuals and monks from Dreldzong Monastery. This monastery, which follows the Gelukba tradition, was established in 1923 at the foot of the mountain. The section about the early guide mainly introduces the historical framework of pilgrimage guides and provides an impression of the situation of the mountain in from the 17th to the 21st century. In particular, it translates the text and gives comments and analysis on the content.
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