© Columbia University Press
When a Woman Becomes a Religious Dynasty: The Samding Dorje Phagmo of Tibet
November, 2007
Cloth, 416 pages, 64 illus.
ISBN: 978-0-231-14320-2
$49.50
/ £29.00
"Exhibits that rare combination of meticulous historical research and lively prose in recounting a tale that is sure to intrigue readers." — Holly Gayley, Buddhadharma
"A fascinating account of the women who constituted the most famous of all female incarnation lineages in Tibet, perhaps the most intriguing series of women in recent Tibetan history." — Robert Barnett, director, Modern Tibetan Studies Program, Columbia University, and author of Lhasa: Streets with Memories
"The recent surfacing of Dorje Phagmo's biography is a sensational discovery and the rarest of sources. Hildegard Diemberger unravels the philological niceties behind this unique manuscript and presents a magisterial and ambitious book that resonates with refreshing interdisciplinary discourses, fine insights, and mature discussions on gender in the wider Tibetan cultural world. It is a crucial, compulsory, and compelling read, not to mention a remarkable feat." — Per K. Sørensen, professor of Tibetology, University of Leipzig, and coauthor of Thundering Falcon and Rulers on the Celestial Plain
"A stunning contribution to our knowledge about women in Tibetan Buddhism. This book also has a great deal to tell us more generally about how to study the role of women in religious institutions, literature, and society. It contains a superb translation of a rare biography of Samding Dorje Phagmo, and also provides fascinating information about the legacy of her lineage in modern Tibet and China. Most of all, the book is outstanding for its thoughtful reflections upon issues of gender, writing, and power, and for its ability to relate medieval Tibetan matters to contemporary theoretical reflection in anthropology, history, and literature." — Janet Gyatso, Hershey Professor of Buddhist Studies, Harvard Divinity School, and author of Apparitions of the Self: The Secret Autobiographies of a Tibetan Visionary
"Hildegard Diemberger's book offers an engaging, in-depth study of a fifteenth-century Tibetan princess who represents one of the few known cases of Tibetan female full Buddhist ordination. In her skillful analysis of the life and significance of this figure, Diemberger pieces together evidence drawn from a wide range of sources and has produced a work that is a major contribution to our understanding of Tibet, especially the development of Tibetan culture and society. It will also be of considerable value to all scholars interested in issues of religion and gender." — Michael Palmer, professor of law and director of the Centre of East Asian Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London