In and Around Tibetan Buddhist TextsA Historical-Philological-Empirical Study of Tibetan Buddhist Paratextology

2 November 2024

Photo: KC-TBTS

The project “In and Around Tibetan Buddhist Texts: A Historical-Philological-Empirical Study of Tibetan Buddhist Paratextology” is a subproject in the collaborative project “Paratexts Seeking Understanding” based at the University of Glasgow. The project, funded by the Templeton Religion Trust (2023–2025), uses paratexts to test how religious manuscripts create knowledge and understanding through philological research and empirical study, involving manuscripts from the Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and Buddhist traditions.

The Tibetological sub-project “In and Around Tibetan Buddhist Texts” investigates the phenomenon of Tibetan Buddhist paratexts from historical, philological, and empirical perspectives, focusing on the Tibetan texts in the Chester Beatty collection. Some of the key research questions are what the nature and function of paratexts in the Tibetan Buddhist textual tradition are; how the phenomenon of paratexts evolved and developed in the Tibetan Buddhist cultural sphere; and whether some of the functions ascribed to Tibetan Buddhist paratexts can be corroborated empirically.

Projects members: Prof. Dorji Wangchuk (PI), Yeshi Lhamu Bhutia, MA (researcher), Dr. Nicola Bajetta (collaborator), Dr. Orna Almogi (advisor).