Guru devotion in Tibetan Buddhism

Abstract

The thesis aims to demonstrate that devotion to the guru is a central feature of Tibetan Buddhism. The thesis consists of three chapters: the first two a re expository and the third presents a translation of a Tibetan text of guru devotion. Chapter one provides a background for the discussion of guru devotion in Tibet by examining the exalted position which the guru held in Hinduism and Indian Buddhism. Chapter two, through a survey of the views of various Tibetan authorities of all the major schools and by means of examples drawn from the hagiographical traditions of these schools shows that devotion to the guru was considered by each school a central feature of religious life. Chapter three contains the first complete translation of a ritual of guru devotion by Gling-ras-pa Pad-ma-rdo-rje (1128-1188), of the 'Brug-pa bka'-brgyud-pa: Bia-ma mchod-pa cho-ga yon-tan kun-'byung.