DOCSLIB.ORG

DER WEG in DIE MODERNE Gebet Schon War Der Jesuit Johann

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
DER WEG in DIE MODERNE Gebet Schon War Der Jesuit Johann Gebet Schon 5775 war der Jesuit Johann Grueber als erster Europäer nach Lhasa gelangt. Der Stich aus Athanasius Kirchers Werk »China Illustrata« (5778) entstand nach seinen Zeichnungen, er zeigt zwei Gläubige, die sich vor Bodhisattva-Statuen verneigen. 112 KAPITEL — DER WEG IN DIE MODERNE Der italienische Jesuit Ippolito Desideri studierte in Tibet den Buddhismus. Er brachte im 18. Jahrhundert erstmals fundierte Informationen über die fremde Religion in den Westen. »Scheußlicher Glaube an die Seelenwanderung« Von Joachim Mohr ie Tibeter sind durchaus offen und wil - und ein tiefes Verständnis für die asiatische Reli - lens zuzuhören, sie möchten alles se - gion entwickeln. Seine Berichte über Tibet und D hen, abwägen und in allen Einzelheiten den Buddhismus würden, zusammen mit denen rational diskutieren, sie möchten über - der anderen frühen Missionare, das Bild der Eu - zeugt und nicht belehrt werden.« Ausgesprochen ropäer für rund zwei Jahrhunderte bestimmen: wohlwollend äußerte sich Ippolito Desideri über Außer ihren Schilderungen gelangten in dieser Zeit die ihm so fremde Kultur der Tibeter. Die Oberen keine anderen Informationen aus dieser so weit seines Ordens hatten ihn dorthin entsandt, eine entfernten Welt in den Westen. Missionsstation zu errichten und den katholischen Bei seinem klösterlichen Lehrmeister erhielt Glauben im Land zu verbreiten. Im Frühjahr 1716 Desideri rasch Einblicke in die fremde Sprache, er war der Jesuit, aus Rom kommend, in der Haupt - verfasste ein tibetisches Wörterbuch und eine stadt Lhasa eingetroffen. Grammatik. Bereits nach einem Dreivierteljahr Von den Herrschenden im Himalaja-Staat war konnte er bei einem erneuten Treffen mit dem der Mönch freundlich empfangen worden, und Herrscher Khan eine Darstellung des christlichen das, obwohl er einem hohen Beamten offen sein Glaubens in tibetischer Sprache präsentieren. Die missionarisches Ansinnen geschildert hatte. Schon Schrift trug den Titel »Morgenröte, das Anzeichen wenige Wochen nach seiner Ankunft lud ihn der der aufgehenden Sonne, welche die Dunkelheit tibetische Regent Lhabzang Khan zu einer Au - vertreibt«. dienz, in der Desideri die Grundlagen des katho - Machthaber Lhabzang Khan regte daraufhin lischen Glaubens vortragen sollte. Da sich Desideri ein Streitgespräch zwischen dem christlichen und Khan allerdings trotz der Hilfe eines indischen Mönch und buddhistischen Gelehrten an. Dafür Dolmetschers kaum verständigen konnten, wies allerdings sollte Desideri die buddhistischen Leh - der Herrscher dem Jesuiten einen buddhistischen ren noch besser kennenlernen; zu diesem Zweck Mönch als Tibetisch-Lehrer zu. durfte er zwei buddhistische Klöster besuchen und Für den in der Toskana geborenen Desideri, da - mehrere Monate lang in den dortigen Bibliotheken mals 32 Jahre alt, war das der Anfang einer jahre - studieren. langen Beschäftigung mit der tibetischen Kultur – Desideri wusste die Gelegenheit zu schätzen, und mit dem Buddhismus. Als erster Europäer er vertiefte sich in die fremde Gedankenwelt – war würde er über längere Zeit in Tibet leben, sich es doch der Lohn für eine lebensgefährliche Reise, ernsthaft mit dem Buddhismus auseinandersetzen eine fast unmenschliche Tortur: Dreieinhalb Jahre SPIEGEL GESCHICHTE / 113 lang war der Mönch unterwegs gewesen vom gewesen sein – ein Wunder, dass er überhaupt an - V atikan nach Lhasa in Tibet. Schon auf der Fahrt genkommen war. Nun galt es, die Zeit in Tibet best - von Rom nach Lissabon war sein Segelschiff von möglich im Sinne seines göttlichen Auftrags zu türkischen Seeräubern angegriffen worden. nutzen, für seine Religion zu werben. Doch dazu Auf der monatelangen Seereise nach Indien – wollte er zunächst verstehen, welche Glaubens - von Portugal um Afrika herum nach Mosambik, vorstellungen in Tibet überhaupt verbreitet waren. von dort über den indischen Ozean nach Goa an Denn damals war in Europa kaum etwas über der indischen Westküste – hatten Hitze, Stürme, den Buddhismus bekannt. In Rom machten krude fauliges Wasser und verdorbenes Essen den Jesui - Deutungen die Runde: Einige Geistliche mutmaß - ten gequält, zwei mit ihm aufgebrochene Missio - ten, dass sich in der Region Tibet womöglich das nare starben auf dem Meer. Auf dem Landweg fern im Osten vermutete Paradies befinden könnte. nach Delhi war Desideri gekidnappt worden, weil In einer Jesuitenschrift wurde Tibet mit der bibli - Räuber ihn für einen reichen Kaufmann hielten schen Prophezeiung in Verbindung gebracht, wo - und Lösegeld erpressen wollten. nach das Volk, das die Apokalypse überlebe, auf Wieder in Freiheit kämpfte er sich zu Fuß über einem alles überragenden Berg wohnen werde. den Himalaja nach Kaschmir – weder Karten noch Da tieferes Wissen fehlte, sahen viele Geistliche Reiseberichte wiesen ihm den Weg. Er überquerte Parallelen zwischen christlichen und buddhisti - Pässe von mehr als 5000 Meter Höhe und über - schen Vorstellungen. Der Jesuit Johann Grueber, lebte nur knapp. Danach brauchte er von Kasch - der 1661 nach Lhasa gekommen war, hatte ge - mir noch einmal Monate bis nach Lhasa. Die Reise schrieben: »Entweder war diese asiatische Religion schien eine Prüfung Gottes oder gar des Teufels ein Versuch des Teufels, das Christentum nachzu - 114 KAPITEL — DER WEG IN DIE MODERNE »Ihr eigentliches Ziel ist es, die Vorstellung von Gott effektiv aufzuheben.« äffen, indem es dessen Rituale verwendete – oder immerwährenden Friedens. Bereits der Mönch de es lebten in vielen Ritualen (wie Rosenkranz, Seg - Andrade hatte geschrieben: »Unter der weltlichen nungen, Weihe) noch Relikte eines Vorstoßes des Bevölkerung hört man selten ein unbescheidenes Christentums weit nach Innerasien hinein durch oder gar zorniges Wort. Es scheint ein ganz fried - den Apostel Thomas, allerdings überwuchert vom liches Volk zu sein.« Auch Desideri unterstellte Geister- und Dämonenglauben!« den Tibetern, ausgesprochen friedliebend zu sein – Um die fremde Religion zu verstehen, stülpte schilderte aber gleichzeitig Kriege und grausame man ihr kurzerhand christliche Ideen über. So bürgerkriegsähnliche Kämpfe voller Mord und Tot - glaubte der Jesuitenpater António de Andrade, schlag. Huldigung der sich bereits 1624 und ein zweites Mal 1625 für Der Eindruck, sowohl die Menschen in Tibet Johann Grueber wenige Monate in westtibetischem Gebiet aufhielt, als auch ihr Glaube seien überaus sanftmütig, wur - begegnete im Palast in einer buddhistischen Gottheit mit Schwert den de wohl begünstigt durch die allgegenwärtige asia - von Lhasa auch Erzengel Gabriel zu erkennen. Er setzte auch die tische Höflichkeit, die Frömmigkeit wie auch die dem 6. Dalai-Lama Lobsang Gyatso buddhistische Dreiheit von Buddha (Verehrung), zeitweise praktizierte religiöse Toleranz; schließ - (M.), den er neben Dharma (buddhistische Lehre) und Sangha lich durften die christlichen Missionare für ihren einer Büste eines (buddhistische Gemeinschaft aus Mönchen, Non - Glauben werben, was für Buddhisten in Rom so mongolischen nen und Laien) mit der Dreifaltigkeit des Chris - nie möglich gewesen wäre. Hinzu kam wohl auch Khans abbildete. Die mongolischen tentums aus Vater, Sohn und Heiligem Geist gleich. das Wunschdenken der Menschen im Westen, es Herrscher förderten Ippolito Desideri erkannte hingegen die grund - möge am anderen Ende des Globus doch eine bes - und schützten die sätzlichen Unterschiede zwischen Buddhismus sere Welt geben. Dalai-Lama (siehe und Christentum. Er hielt nichts von der These, Während seiner Studienzeit in den Klöstern Ti - S. 87). Als Ippolito Desideri nach Tibet der Buddhismus sei eine Abart des christlichen bets las und studierte Desideri alles, was er über reiste, übten sie die Glaubens. Der Mönch entwickelte ein tieferes Ver - den Buddhismus finden konnte. Doch zu der ver - weltliche Herrschaft ständnis der östlichen Lehre, der »falschen Reli - einbarten religiösen Disputation vor den Augen im Land aus, der gion«, wie er sie nannte. So übersetzte er etwa des Herrschers kam es nicht. Ende des Jahres fielen Dalai-Lama spielte in dieser Zeit keine den zentralen buddhistischen Begriff der Leerheit, Mongolen in Lhasa ein, die den Regenten und sei - bedeutende Rolle. wie er ihn in einem Merkvers fand, durchaus zu - ne Familie töteten und die Stadt plünderten. Desi - treffend: »Nichts existiert eigenständig aufgrund deri musste in den kleinen Ort Dhagpo südöstlich eines in ihm selbst liegenden Seins und wesenhaft von Lhasa fliehen, wo er seine restlichen vier Jahre für sich selbst. Es gibt nichts, das unzusammen - in Tibet verbrachte. hängend, unverbunden oder ohne wechselseitige Das offizielle Ende seiner Tibetmission kam Beziehungen besteht.« 1718: Die Kongregation zur Verbreitung des Glau - In insgesamt vier Schriften auf Tibetisch warb bens entzog den Jesuiten die Mission und übergab Desideri nicht nur für den christlichen Glauben, sie dem Kapuzinerorden. Der Brief, der Desideri sondern versuchte auch, zentrale buddhistische darüber in Kenntnis setzte, brauchte jedoch zwei Ansichten zu widerlegen, etwa den »scheußlichen Jahre, bis er Tibet erreichte. Im April 1721 verließ Glauben an die Seelenwanderung«. Über die Gläu - Desideri Tibet. Nach einigen Jahren in Indien er - bigen schrieb er: »Ihr eigentliches Ziel ist es, die reichte er 1727 wieder italienischen Boden, 15 Jah - Existenz eines ungeschaffenen und unabhängigen re nach seiner Abreise. Wesens auszuschließen und absolut zu leugnen Sein Ziel, die Tibeter zu seinem eigenen Glau - und damit die Vorstellung von Gott effektiv auf - ben zu bekehren, erreichte Desideri nicht. Nur we - zuheben.« nige Dutzend Tibeter
Load more

Recommended publications
  • O Tibete Entre Impérios: Formação E Sobrevivência De Uma Identidade Cultural
    Ler história | N.º 69 | 2016 | pp. 125-137 O TIBETE ENTRE IMPÉRIOS: FORMAÇÃO E SOBREVIVÊNCIA DE UMA IDENTIDADE CULTURAL. ENSAIO BIBLIOGRÁFICO 125 José Raimundo Noras | Centro de História (FLUL) e Centro de Investigação Joaquim Veríssimo Serrão (CIJVS) No presente ensaio pretendemos analisar a principal produção acadé- mica relativa à formação da identidade cultural do Tibete e de que modo, mais recentemente, esta se tem assumido como reivindicação nacional. Consideramos, à partida, que tal afirmação de identidade cultural tibetana deve ser compreendida em relação ao desenvolvimento dos impérios chi- nês e mongol, entre outros intervenientes, mais esporádicos, na evolução política e cultural das sociedades da Ásia Central. Em termos cronológicos, não propomos balizas estanques, abordamos a «questão do Tibete» – para utilizar a expressão de Tom Grunfeld1 – na perspetiva da longa duração, isto é da formação do Império tibetano nos séculos VII e VIII à recente incorporação do território na República Popular da China, no século XX. Não adotamos qualquer posição dogmática no debate historiográfico acerca das relações históricas entre o Tibete e a China, nas suas mais variadas for- mulações enquanto entidades políticas. Aliás, pretendemos dar conta desse debate, apresentando as duas perspetivas em confronto. No decurso deste ensaio propomos assim, em primeiro lugar, uma análise à historiografia produzida sobre o Tibete, analisando as «histórias do Tibete» mais recentes, bem como trabalhos «clássicos» neste âmbito. Esco- lhemos obras que apresentam uma análise da «questão tibetana» na lógica da longa duração e que, de alguma forma, abordem a relação do Tibete com os diversos impérios da região. No segundo momento, concentramos a nossa análise em textos historiográficos com maior especificidade, como por exemplo os que se concentram na evolução das elites tibetanas no século XVIII; nas relações culturais entre o Tibete, a Mongólia e a China; ou no período «moderno», isto é, contemporâneo da história Tibetana.
    [Show full text]
  • JESUIT TRAVELLERS in CENTRAL ASIA 1603-1721 Statue of Bento De Goes at Villa Franca Do Campo-Azores
    EARLY JESUIT TRAVELLERS IN CENTRAL ASIA 1603-1721 Statue of Bento de Goes at Villa Franca do Campo-Azores. EARLY JESUIT TRAVELLERS IN CENTRAL ASIA 1603-1721 C. WESSELS WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS ASIAN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES NEW DELHI * MADRAS * 1992 ASIAN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES. • C-2/15, S.DA NEW DELHI-110016 • 5 SRIPURAM FIRST STREET, MADRAS-600014. Price: Rs. 295 N.C. Rs. 36S(Speclal Price for Nepal) FlrstPubllshed:.1924 AES Reprint: 1992 ISBN: 81-206-0741-4 Published by J ..Jetley for 1\SJN.J EDUCATIONAL SERVICES C-2/IS,SOANewOelhl-110016 Processed by APEX PUBLICATION SERVICES NewOelhl-110016 Printed at C":oaytrf Offset Press. A-06, S.No. 2 Nolda, Dlstt. Ghazlabad (U.P.) EARLY JESUIT TRAVELLERS IN CENTRAL ASIA 1603-1721 BY C. WESSELS, S. j. WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V. 1924 ISBN 978-94-017-6736-1 ISBN 978-94-017-6836-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-6836-8 PREFACE "If, as is undoubtedly the case, there are still vast regions unknown and unsurveyed for future travellers to explore, there is quite as large an undiscovered region, in the buried archives of the past, for the historical explorer to unearth and make known to us." SIR CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM 1). To many generations of geographers Central Asia, especially Tihet, was the land of mystery and darkness, isolated by nature and by man, in whose midst lay the sacred city of Lhasa, even more mysterious and unapproachable than Mecca or Kerbela; and it is only for some decades past that it has counted among the great fields of operation of modern geography.
    [Show full text]
  • Based Miuionaries. the Fint Western
    32 " the aim of opening new channels of commu­ and the Jesuits remained inactive in the regi­ nication between Cb.ina-bued and India­ on for almost three decades. Fr. Cacclla's Early Christian missions iD the Himalayas: baSed miuionaries. The fint western memoirs contain interesting historical and including a note OD the location of missionary archives in Italy missionary to cross the Himalayan passes ethnographic accounts of the area. around and visit the Tibetan plateau was a Portu­ Shigatse (cf. C. Wessels 1924: 1~3) •. At this time another Ponuguese. JeSUit, Dipak Raj Pant guese Jesuit, Father AnlOnio de ~e (15SO-1634).In 1624 he reached Tibet from Fr. Manoel Dias. wu sent to the eastern India. via Gubwal. andone year laterestab­ Himalayas by the Jesuit authorities at tished a residence and chapel at Tsaparang Cochin. Very little is known about his Christian missionaries were one of the in stimulating the Renaissance is well­ (orrTsa-bran) insoutb-westem Tibet. A fur­ ttaveis. Fr. Dias is supposed to have died in the Morang (rem) of Nepal on his way to most imponant channels through which the known. Petech(1952-56: 1.18) stresse.show ther visit to India enabled him 10 return to European world received historical and the story attributed to Muslim traders of Tsaparang with additional resources and Tibet. ethnographic informalion abool the Orient. .. ... remote. forgonen and degenerated manpowe r. Father Antonio de Ancnde Two Jesuit fathers. Jobann Grueber The eXACtitude, impartiality and tnllhfuJ­ Messiah-following communities" some­ wrote two reports on his tra... eis and and Albeit d'Orville, are said to have ness of their observations - and indeed their where inside the highJands and valleys of the missionary operations.
    [Show full text]
  • In the Shadow of Cathay: a Survey of European Encounters in Discerning, Mapping, and Exploring Tibet During the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
    Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu vol. lxxxvii, fasc. 174 (2018-II) In the Shadow of Cathay: A Survey of European Encounters in Discerning, Mapping, and Exploring Tibet during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries Ana Carolina Hosne* CONICET, Argentina This article aims to review the European literature and other extant sources of information pertaining to Tibet in the early modern period. Tibet was not only somewhat unknown to Europeans, but it was also usually associated with Cathay, both believed to be home to Christian communities. This survey explores the process by which, for some Europeans in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Tibet gradually started to emerge as a distinct land, from their hazy geographical knowledge and cartographic representations of central Asia, and out of the shadow of Cathay. The study is organized into three major themes concerning the European experience of Tibet: discerning, mapping, and exploring the region. Its chronological scope encompasses the arrival of the Jesuits at the Mughal court in 1580 until the late seventeenth century. The first part of the survey sets the analysis into context by examining the ambiguous relationship in the European mind between Tibet and Cathay, amidst vague geographical references and a varied nomenclature for Tibet. The focus of this first part of the essay then shifts to the undertaking of an expedition beyond the Himalayas from the Mughal court, followed by the establishment and closure of a mission in Tibet by António de Andrade SJ1 in the third decade of the seventeenth century, when this mission was still motivated by the belief in the existence of Christian communities.
    [Show full text]
  • Could David Hume Have Known About Buddhism? Charles Francois Dolu, the Royal College of La Flèche, and the Global Jesuit Intellectual Network
    Hume Studies Volume 35, Number 1&2, 2009, pp. 5–28 Could David Hume Have Known about Buddhism? Charles Francois Dolu, the Royal College of La Flèche, and the Global Jesuit Intellectual Network Alison Gopnik Abstract: Philosophers and Buddhist scholars have noted the affinities between David Hume’s empiricism and the Buddhist philosophical tradition. I show that it was possible for Hume to have had contact with Buddhist philosophical views. The link to Buddhism comes through the Jesuit scholars at the Royal College of La Flèche. Charles Francois Dolu was a Jesuit missionary who lived at the Royal College from 1723–1740, overlapping with Hume’s stay. He had extensive knowledge both of other religions and cultures and of scientific ideas. Dolu had had first-hand experience with Theravada Buddhism as part of the second French embassy to Siam in 1687–1688. In 1727, Dolu also had talked with Ippolito Desideri, a Jesuit missionary who visited Tibet and made an extensive study of Tibetan Buddhism from 1716–1721. It is at least possible that Hume heard about Buddhist ideas through Dolu. 1. introduction Both philosophers and Buddhist scholars have long noted the affinities between David Hume’s empiricism and the Buddhist philosophical tradition.1 The con- ventional wisdom, however, has been that these affinities must either be the Alison Gopnik is Professor of Psychology and affiliate Professor of Philosophy, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720. E–mail [email protected]. 6 Alison Gopnick result of an independent convergence or of a general “oriental” influence on eighteenth-century philosophy and letters.
    [Show full text]
  • Pacific Rim Report No.36
    Copyright 1988 -2005 USF Center for the Pacific Rim The Occasional Paper Series of the USF Center for the Pacific Rim :: www.pacificrim.usfca.edu Pacific Rim Report No. 36, December 2004 When Christianity and Lamaism Met: The Changing Fortunes of Early Western Missionaries in Tibet by Hsiao-ting Lin Hsiao-ting Lin, a native of Taiwan, received his doctoral degree from the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, where he also held an appointment as tutor in modern Chinese history. In 2003-04 he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Chinese Studies, University of California at Berkeley. In 2004 he was a Kiriyama Fellow at the University of San Francisco Center for the Pacific Rim. He is currently a stipendiary Visiting Scholar at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, where he undertakes research based on the newly declassified T. V. Soong Papers and Kuomintang Archives there. Lin's academic interests include ethnopolitics and minority issues in Greater China, history of modern China's Central Asian peripheries, and the PRC's border security and strategy. He received the 2002 Royal Asiatic Society's Barwis-Holliday Award for his article, "The 1934 Chinese Mission to Tibet: A Re-examination." His articles have appeared in many international journals in the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, and Taiwan. Lin is completing a book-length project, tentatively entitled Power Struggles, State Building, and Imagined Sovereignty: Tibet in Nationalist China's Ethnopolitics and Frontier Intrigues, 1928-1949. We gratefully acknowledge The Kiriyama Chair for Pacific Rim Studies at the USF Center for the Pacific Rim that has made possible the publication of this issue of Pacific Rim Report.
    [Show full text]
  • Lopez, Jr., DS & Thupten Jinpa. Dispelling the Darkness
    Journal of International and Global Studies Volume 9 Number 1 Article 15 12-1-2017 Lopez, Jr., D.S. & Thupten Jinpa. Dispelling the Darkness: A Jesuit’s Quest for the Soul of Tibet. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2017. Enrico Beltramini Ph.D. Notre Dame de Namur University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/jigs Part of the Anthropology Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, and the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Beltramini, Enrico Ph.D. (2017) "Lopez, Jr., D.S. & Thupten Jinpa. Dispelling the Darkness: A Jesuit’s Quest for the Soul of Tibet. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2017.," Journal of International and Global Studies: Vol. 9 : No. 1 , Article 15. Available at: https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/jigs/vol9/iss1/15 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Digital Commons@Lindenwood University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of International and Global Studies by an authorized editor of Digital Commons@Lindenwood University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Lopez, Jr., D.S. & Thupten Jinpa. Dispelling the Darkness: A Jesuit’s Quest for the Soul of Tibet. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2017. The Italian Jesuit Ippolito Desideri reached Lhasa on March 18, 1716. He was welcomed and summoned to the court. Soon, he began to write a text in the Tibetan language that would become an exposition of Christian faith, called Dawn, Signaling the Rising of the Sun That Dispels the Darkness. He presented his exposition to the ruling Mongol king, Lhazang Khan, who apparently remained unimpressed.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of François Marie De Tours in the Capuchin Mission in India and Tibet1
    ORIENTALIA SUECANA 2020. Vol. 69: 29–41. UPPSALA UNIVERSITY Research article Rudolf Kaschewsky* The Role of François Marie de Tours in the Capuchin Mission in India and Tibet1 https://doi.org/10.""06"/di#a-40%6&9 Abstract: This paper describes the activities of the French missionary François Marie de Tours who in the beginning of the 18th century laid the foundation of the Capuchin mission to Tibet, which was at that time a rather risky venture! "n the one hand he was well prepared by his missionary wor in #orthern $ndia, where he had started linguistic research by writing a thesaurus of what he called Lin- gua mogallana %a predecessor of &industani'! "n the other hand, he had no e(perience of the land of the lamas. What had motivated him, was the ancient rumour that there might have been Christian communities in Tibet which had only to be *revitali+ed,! François Marie presented his &industani thesaurus to the -atican authorities in order to suggest them to agree to his Tibet plan. .esides that, the paper throws some light on François Marie/s theological attitude %perceptible in his discussion of certain missionary methods)! Keywords: Capuchin mission, $ndia, Tibet, missionary methods Introduction Two activities of the Capuchin Friar François Marie de Tours %1 1234' stand out as particularly im5 portant! "ne is his famous %but still unpublished' dictionary and grammar of what he called Lingua Mogalana, a predecessor of Modern &industani!6 The other is his wor to establish a Catholic Mission in Tibet! The Capuchin Order $n order to understand the personal +eal and missionary attitude of François Marie de Tours it seems helpful to have a look at the origin and development of his monastic order! The Capuchins are a prod5 uct of internal reforms within the Franciscan "rder,7 which was split into the Conventuals and the stricter "bservants, with the Capuchins being descendant of the latter, following more closely St Francis of 9ssisi/s ideal of living a poor and simple life! They originated in the $talian region of the Marches.
    [Show full text]
  • A Christian Catechism in Tibetan
    A Christian Catechism in Tibetan An English translation and study of Ippolito Desideri’s Tibetan manuscript The Essence of the Christian Faith Elaine M Robson A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements for award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts March 2014 Word count: 74,368. Abstract This thesis is a translation and study of the Italian Jesuit, Ippolito Desideri’s Tibetan manuscript The Essence of the Christian Faith which he wrote towards the end of his five year stay in Tibet (1716-1721). It is the first of his Tibetan works to be translated into English. Desideri’s intention in writing was twofold: Firstly, to explain to Tibetan Buddhist readers why their denial of an intrinsically existent God (rang grub dkon mchog) leads to nihilism. Secondly, he wrote to express in the Tibetan language (in the form of a catechism) something of the nature and character of the triune God, and why belief in him does not destroy the Buddhist understanding of ‘emptiness’, but in fact enhances it. In Desideri’s introduction he explains why he considers the Tibetan Buddhist dGe lugs presentation of ‘emptiness’ to be flawed. He disagrees with their assertion that all things are beginningless and are mere mentally fabricated constructs which are dependent on their ‘basis of designation’. Desideri considers that the existence of the Independent, who is external to the inter-dependent, explains the existence of the inter-dependent; whereas the denial of the Independent leads to the denial of everything. Desideri describes God as the all pervading and compassionate One who sent his Son to liberate people from that which causes them to be shackled and which only perpetuates their ‘ignorance’.
    [Show full text]
  • Catholic Missionaries in Early Modern Asia
    in Early Religious Cultures in the Early Modern World Catholic Missionaries Modern Asia Patterns of Localization Amsler, Andreea Badea, The Renaissance Ethics of Music Edited by Nadine Singing, Contemplation and Musica Humana Heyberger, and Hyun-Ah Kim Bernard Christian Windler Calvinism, Reform and the Absolutist State in Elizabethan Ireland Mark A. Hutchinson Indulgences after Luther Pa�dons in Counter-Reformation France, 1520-1720 Elizabeth C Tingle Conversion to Catholicism in Early Modern Italy Peter A. Mazur Missionary Strategies in the New World, 1610-1690 An Intellectual History Catherine Balleriaux F?�d and Religious Identities in Spain, 1400-1600 J1ll1an Williams John �wen and the Civil War Apocalypse Preachmg, Prophecy and Politics Martyn Calvin Cowan Medicine and Religion in the Life of an Ottoman Sheikh Al-Damanhuri's "Clear Statement" on Anatomy Ahmed Ragab Catholic Missionaries in Early Modern Asia Patterns of Localization Nadine Amsler, Andreea Badea, Bernard Heyberger and Christian Windler ,� !?io�!!!�f{!up For ore informat on about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/ _ � � LONDON AND NEW YORK Rehg10us-Cultures-m-the-Early-Moderri-World/book-series/RCEMW 0 r First published 2020 Contents by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OXl 4 4 RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2020 selection and editorial matter, Nadine Amsler, Andreea Badea, Bern�rd Heyberger and Christian Windler; individual chapters, the contnbutors The right of Nadine Am ler, A dreea Badea, Bernard Heyberger and _ _ � r: Chnstian Wmdler to be 1dent1fied as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been _ asserted m accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, _ viii Designs and Patents Act 1988.
    [Show full text]
  • Statuary Metals in Tibet and the Himalayas: History, Tradition and Modern Use
    STATUARY METALS IN TIBET AND THE HIMALAYAS: HISTORY, TRADITION AND MODERN USE E Lo Bue One fact which has emerged from six field-trips (1972-1978) which I devoted to the study of traditional Tibetan and Him§layan metal statuary (Lo Bue, 1978 and 1981) as carried out today in the workshops of patan. in the Nepal Valley, was that Newar sculptors use copper and brass for casting their images by the lost-wax process, almost to the exclusion of bronze. This observation prompted me to establish whether the term "bronze", as frequently used by Western art historians to describe Tibetan and Himalayan metal statues, is correct, and, if so, to ascertain the extent to which true bronze images were produced in the past. not only in Tibet and the Him§layas, but also in northern India. In November 1978 Jim Black kindly analysed for me a 20 cm. high Tibetan image of ~a9ak~arI (Christie's.sale catalogue of July 2nd, 1980, p.16, No.67 and Sotheby's sale catalogue of June 29th, 1981, p.l0. no.13), attributed by von Schroeder to the 13th century, and this was found to be made of brass. Since then Uhlig (1979) has published a number of analyses of Tibetan and Him~layan images made by Josef Riederer' and this volume contains 121 new analyses by 'Pau1 Craddock of images and other ritual objects from the British Museum collection and elsewftere. The following discussion serves.as an introduction to the study of the various statuary metals' in the context of the economic history of Tibet and Nepal (for a fuller treatment see Lo Bue, 1981, Ph.D.
    [Show full text]
  • Religions and the Common Good
    Vol. 35, No. 4 October 2011 Religions and the Common Good uston Smith, whose books long formed a staple in voluntarily; others are like lobster traps, rigged to permit move- Hundergraduate courses on religion, was probably the ment only one way—entry permitted, but exit prohibited. most widely read advocate of the grand view that devotees of con- A root difficulty lies in the fact that each religion lays propri- tending faiths are like climbers ascending the same mountain etary claim to certain specific revelations or myths as its genesis, from different sides, who eventually will arrive at the same sum- which it defends against all challengers. Then by peaceful or mit. From a distance, religions do appear to be remarkably similar. Continued next page But such a view—comparable to observing our jewel-like planet from outer space—belies the contradictory and deeply polarizing complexities of religious On Page beliefs and practices on the ground. 187 Interreligious Dialogue: Conversations That More worryingly, Enable Christian Witness the single-mountain Terry C. Muck metaphor seemingly 194 Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: demeans the views Recommendations for Conduct of religious devotees World Council of Churches themselves. A more Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue apt analogy might World Evangelical Alliance envision numerous 197 Introduction to the Accra Charter of Religious mountain ranges Freedom and Citizenship with innumerable Lamin Sanneh peaks, each offering climbers a vista not quite 198 Accra Charter of Religious Freedom and like that of any other. In his Citizenship provocatively titled God Is Not 202 Ferment at the Margins: Philippine Ecclesiology One: The Eight Rival Religions That Under Stress Run the World—and Why Their Differences Matter (HarperOne, Paul D.
    [Show full text]