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An Examination of the Relationship Between the Religious Heritage and the Natural Environment of the Tibetan Buddhist Hidden Land Called Pemakö

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An Examination of the Relationship Between the Religious Heritage and the Natural Environment of the Tibetan Buddhist Hidden Land Called Pemakö An Examination of the Relationship between the Religious Heritage and the Natural Environment of the Tibetan Buddhist Hidden Land called Pemakö Layne Mayard Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Leeds School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science May 2018 Declaration The candidate confirms that the submitted work is her own and that she has given appropriate credit where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. ©2018 – The University of Leeds and Layne Mayard. The right of Layne Mayard to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988. ii Acknowledgements My sincere gratitude extends to His Holiness the Seventeenth Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje for his thoughtful insights concerning this project, and especially for his show of enthusiasm. Heartfelt thanks go to Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, who was as generous with his observations as he was with his encouragement. I am very grateful for the patience and tenacity of my supervisors during this project, Professor Emma Tomalin and Dr. Mikel Burley. I must also acknowledge Ruth Sonam, Venerable Lhundrup Chödrön and Geshe Kelsang Wangmo for their suggestions pertaining to some of the more difficult points in Buddhist philosophy. My colleagues at Rangjung Yeshe Institute in Boudhanath, Nepal provided invaluable insights and advice. Special thanks go to Dr. Geoff Barstow. I owe much appreciation to Tibetan Buddhist language experts who supported me with translation of the Treasure text: Mingyur Dorjé and Venerable Lozang Zopa. Venerable Pakchok Rinpoche and Lama Oser also graciously offered suggestions. Julia Wilson’s insights as an experienced translator of Tibetan Buddhism were very helpful. I also thank my dear friends and Tibetan language teachers Pünkyi Drolma and Chungkyi Tsering. This thesis is dedicated to my Dad. iii Abstract Environmentalists often turn to the world’s religions for guidance in conservation theory. Buddhism is frequently viewed as a religious tradition that embraces attitudes conducive to the preservation of nature. In contribution to scholarly dialogue, my doctoral thesis explores Tibetan Buddhist perspectives on the treatment of the natural environment. My research focusses on the Tibetan Buddhist religious culture of the sacred geography known as Pemakö. My thesis is guided by two principal research questions: the first asks about the nature of the relationship between Pemakö’s religious narrative and its environment. In response, I initially explore how practitioners have related historically to the region’s landscape with an analysis of the Treasure text Self-Liberation upon Hearing and other relevant scripture. Through ethnographic research I then study the narratives of recent pilgrims to the region. The second research question enquires about the implications of this relationship for Pemakö’s environment, and whether the Tibetan Buddhist theory that supports the religious tradition could have any influence on conservation of Pemakö’s ecosystems. My research reveals that planned construction of hydro-electric dams and existing trans-boundary tensions in Pemakö could conceivably cause widespread damage to the environment. The most immediate threat to Pemakö’s ecosystems, however, stems from local Tibetan Buddhist communities’ farming, hunting and poaching practices. Unlike contemporary Tibetan Buddhist environmentalist discourse that accentuates compassion in environmental activism, my study demonstrates that practitioner faith in the mythology surrounding Pemakö defines the spiritual relationship to the landscape. I show that this belief serves soteriological aims rather than instilling any inherent reverence for nature. I turn to two conservation projects from China and India that focus on the endangered snow leopard to demonstrate that a civic environmentalist approach to local conservation could incorporate Pemakö’s religious narrative to inform the region’s continued existence as a sacred geography. iv Table of Contents Declaration . ii Acknowledgements . iii Abstract . iv Table of Contents . v Note to the use of Tibetan, Sanskrit and Pāli Language . xi List of figures . xii Introduction Background to this Thesis and Guiding Research Questions . 1 Setting the Context for a Study of Pemakö: The Scope and Concepts of this Study . 5 Conclusion . 18 Chapter One: Research Methodology and Methods for my Study of Pemakö Introduction . 20 Phenomenology of Religion: Consensus, Contentions and my Study of Pemakö. 21 Emic-Etic Debates in Religious Studies . 27 Methods . 31 Translation and Analysis of Self-Liberation upon Hearing . 31 Conducting and Analysing Interviews with Pemakö Pilgrims . 34 Conclusion . 37 v Chapter Two: Pemakö’s Natural Environment and Prevailing Environmental Threats Introduction . 38 The Data Collection Process for this Synthesis . 39 Pemakö’s Natural Environment . 40 Geography . 40 Topography . 42 Climate . 44 Flora . 45 Fauna . 46 Environmental Threats in Pemakö . 47 Hydro-electric Dam Construction on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Pemakö . 47 Trans-boundary Disputes . 50 More Recent Developments . 51 Infrastructure Expansion . 52 The Effects of Dams and Disputes on Pemakö’s Environment . 53 The Human Factor as a Significant Environmental Threat in Pemakö . 55 Conclusion . 57 Chapter Three: Setting the Context for an Analysis of Self-Liberation upon Hearing: A Guidebook to the Joyful Land of Pemakö Introduction . 59 The Tibetan Landscape and Territory . 59 Tibet’s Pre-Buddhist Population . 61 Territorial, Political and Religious Developments in Tibet from the Eighth to the Seventeenth Centuries CE . 62 vi The Life and Times of Rig ˈdzin Bdud ˈdul rdo rje, Revealer of Self-Liberation upon Hearing . 66 The Tibetan Buddhist Gter ma Tradition: Theory and Practice of Treasure Revelation . 69 History of the Treasure Tradition . 69 The Transmission Process and Classification of Treasure Texts . 71 The Role of the Treasure Revealer . 72 The Mythology and Politics of Hidden Lands . 76 Hidden Lands in the Bon and Tibetan Buddhist Traditions . 76 Spiritual Significance of the Tibetan Buddhist Hidden Land Narrative . 77 Hidden Lands as Political Haven and Missionary Objective . 79 Treasure Revelation and the Hidden Land of Pemakö: The Historical and Literary Context . 80 Innovations in the Conception of Pemakö as a Hidden Land . 80 Treasure Revealers and Treasure Texts Affiliated with Pemakö . 82 Conclusion . 88 Chapter Four: An Analysis of Self-Liberation upon Hearing: A Guidebook to the Joyful Land of Pemakö Introduction . 89 Primary Sources that Support this Analysis . 90 The Role of Prophecy in Self-Liberation upon Hearing . 91 The Text-Immanent Setting: Padmasambhava and his Audience in Self-Liberation upon Hearing . 98 The Role of Rig ˈdzin Bdud ˈdul rdo rjein Self-Liberation upon Hearing . 101 Descriptions of Pemakö at the Levels of Ordinary Perception in Self-Liberation upon Hearing . 105 Geography and Sacred Sites . 105 Topography . 109 vii Flora and Fauna . 114 Self-Liberation upon Hearing and the Perception of Pemakö through Dag Snang, or Pure Vision . 117 The Message of Pemakö in Self-Liberation upon Hearing . 126 Conclusion . 127 Chapter Five: Guidebooks, Sacred Geography and Pilgrimage Ritual in Contemporary Pemakö Introduction . 128 The Importance of Tibetan Pilgrimage Literature in Modern Practice . 128 The Contemporary Role of Hidden Lands in Tibetan Buddhist Culture and in Pemakö . 132 Pilgrimage Sites in Pemakö: Then and Now . 134.
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