Podcast appearances and mentions of jacob dalton

On May 24th, over 260 students will graduate from Amherst County High School.  To honor their accomplishments, the Every Child, Every Day Podcast will talk to eight extraordinary graduates.  They will discuss future plans as well as the people and moments that shaped their Amherst County Public Schools experience.  This “Senior Series” will be a two-part podcast.  In Part I, Dr. Arnold interviews Anthony Powell, Charmila Meesala, Shaun McBride, and Chris Thomason.  In Part 2, he sits down with Indeya Paige, Jacob Dalton, Trevor Crews, and Devante Hudson-Sandidge. 

On May 24th, over 260 students will graduate from Amherst County High School. To honor their accomplishments, the Every Child, Every Day Podcast will talk to eight extraordinary graduates. They will discuss future plans as well as the people and moments that shaped their Amherst County Public Schools experience. This “Senior Series” will be a two-part podcast. In Part I, Dr. Arnold interviews Anthony Powell, Charmila Meesala, Shaun McBride, and Chris Thomason. In Part 2, he sits down with Indeya Paige, Devante Hudson-Sandidge, Jacob Dalton, and Trevor Crews.

Jacob Dalton‘s recent book, The Taming of the Demons: Violence and Liberation in Tibetan Buddhism (Yale University Press, 2011), examines violence (both symbolic and otherwise) in Tibetan Buddhism. Dalton focuses in particular on the age of fragmentation (here 842-986 CE), and draws on previously unexamined Dunhuang manuscripts to show that this period was one of great creativity and innovation, and a time when violent myths and rituals were instrumental in adapting Buddhism to local interests, thereby allowing Buddhism to firmly establish itself in Tibet. While much twentieth-century scholarship faithfully followed Tibetan historiography’s assertion that the age of fragmentation was a dark time during which the light of Buddhism faded completely, Dalton not only confirms that Buddhism continued throughout this period, but also looks to the Dunhuang materials to show that it was in fact the age-of-fragmentation narratives of demon taming that laid the groundwork for the emergence of a new, pan-Tibetan Buddhist identity beginning in the eleventh century. Central to Dalton’s project are a myth and a ritual. The myth is that of the subjugation of the demoness Rudra, in which a compassionate but wrathful Buddhist deity violently defeats the wild Rudra, using a means that Buddhism condemns (violence) and yet is used as a force for good in this case. This narrative encapsulates a theme that runs throughout the book: the Buddhist ambivalence towards violence, an ambivalence present in the tradition from its earliest days but which found its fullest expression in Tantric Buddhism. The ritual, on the other hand, is the so-called liberation ritual, in which a victim–usually an effigy is prescribed–is ritually murdered and then purified. Dalton focuses in particular on a Dunhaung ritual manual, which, incidentally, makes no mention of an effigy, thus leaving some doubt as whether or not the manual intends an actual human victim. This rite and the story of Rudra constitute a pair of sorts, and together served as a theoretical, historical, mythic, and practical model whereby the native, evil demons of Tibet could be tamed (i.e., ritually murdered and purified) and employed in the service of Buddhism. Dalton also demonstrates how the themes of violence and demon taming continued beyond the age of fragmentation. For example, a composite work called the Pillar Testament (late-eleventh to mid-twelfth c.) contains a legend in which the seventh-century king Songtsen Gampo had to subjugate the land of Tibet–envisioned as (and thus identified as none other than) a huge rāká¹£asÄ« demoness lying on her back–by pinning this demoness down with thirteen temples. In this way the legend carries the model of demon subjugation that was used at the local level during the age of fragmentation to a national level during the second imperial period. Later on, as Tibetans ceased to think of their own evil nature and autochthonous demons as the greatest threat to Buddhism and instead shifted their attention to peoples and powers at the periphery of their realm, the same model of demon subjugation was applied, with Tibet’s perceived enemies (particularly the Mongols) taking the role of sacrificial victim. The book’s content is wide ranging yet skillfully woven together through the dual themes of violence and liberation (i.e., demon subjugation).  Along the way we hear about the differences between Chinese and Tibetan receptions of Buddhist scriptural attitudes toward violence, Padmasambhava as a demon tamer, the Indian Kālikā Purāṇa, King Yeshe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacob Dalton‘s recent book, The Taming of the Demons: Violence and Liberation in Tibetan Buddhism (Yale University Press, 2011), examines violence (both symbolic and otherwise) in Tibetan Buddhism. Dalton focuses in particular on the age of fragmentation (here 842-986 CE), and draws on previously unexamined Dunhuang manuscripts to show that this period was one of great creativity and innovation, and a time when violent myths and rituals were instrumental in adapting Buddhism to local interests, thereby allowing Buddhism to firmly establish itself in Tibet. While much twentieth-century scholarship faithfully followed Tibetan historiography’s assertion that the age of fragmentation was a dark time during which the light of Buddhism faded completely, Dalton not only confirms that Buddhism continued throughout this period, but also looks to the Dunhuang materials to show that it was in fact the age-of-fragmentation narratives of demon taming that laid the groundwork for the emergence of a new, pan-Tibetan Buddhist identity beginning in the eleventh century. Central to Dalton’s project are a myth and a ritual. The myth is that of the subjugation of the demoness Rudra, in which a compassionate but wrathful Buddhist deity violently defeats the wild Rudra, using a means that Buddhism condemns (violence) and yet is used as a force for good in this case. This narrative encapsulates a theme that runs throughout the book: the Buddhist ambivalence towards violence, an ambivalence present in the tradition from its earliest days but which found its fullest expression in Tantric Buddhism. The ritual, on the other hand, is the so-called liberation ritual, in which a victim–usually an effigy is prescribed–is ritually murdered and then purified. Dalton focuses in particular on a Dunhaung ritual manual, which, incidentally, makes no mention of an effigy, thus leaving some doubt as whether or not the manual intends an actual human victim. This rite and the story of Rudra constitute a pair of sorts, and together served as a theoretical, historical, mythic, and practical model whereby the native, evil demons of Tibet could be tamed (i.e., ritually murdered and purified) and employed in the service of Buddhism. Dalton also demonstrates how the themes of violence and demon taming continued beyond the age of fragmentation. For example, a composite work called the Pillar Testament (late-eleventh to mid-twelfth c.) contains a legend in which the seventh-century king Songtsen Gampo had to subjugate the land of Tibet–envisioned as (and thus identified as none other than) a huge rāká¹£asÄ« demoness lying on her back–by pinning this demoness down with thirteen temples. In this way the legend carries the model of demon subjugation that was used at the local level during the age of fragmentation to a national level during the second imperial period. Later on, as Tibetans ceased to think of their own evil nature and autochthonous demons as the greatest threat to Buddhism and instead shifted their attention to peoples and powers at the periphery of their realm, the same model of demon subjugation was applied, with Tibet’s perceived enemies (particularly the Mongols) taking the role of sacrificial victim. The book’s content is wide ranging yet skillfully woven together through the dual themes of violence and liberation (i.e., demon subjugation).  Along the way we hear about the differences between Chinese and Tibetan receptions of Buddhist scriptural attitudes toward violence, Padmasambhava as a demon tamer, the Indian Kālikā Purāṇa, King Yeshe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacob Dalton‘s recent book, The Taming of the Demons: Violence and Liberation in Tibetan Buddhism (Yale University Press, 2011), examines violence (both symbolic and otherwise) in Tibetan Buddhism. Dalton focuses in particular on the age of fragmentation (here 842-986 CE), and draws on previously unexamined Dunhuang manuscripts to show that this period was one of great creativity and innovation, and a time when violent myths and rituals were instrumental in adapting Buddhism to local interests, thereby allowing Buddhism to firmly establish itself in Tibet. While much twentieth-century scholarship faithfully followed Tibetan historiography’s assertion that the age of fragmentation was a dark time during which the light of Buddhism faded completely, Dalton not only confirms that Buddhism continued throughout this period, but also looks to the Dunhuang materials to show that it was in fact the age-of-fragmentation narratives of demon taming that laid the groundwork for the emergence of a new, pan-Tibetan Buddhist identity beginning in the eleventh century. Central to Dalton’s project are a myth and a ritual. The myth is that of the subjugation of the demoness Rudra, in which a compassionate but wrathful Buddhist deity violently defeats the wild Rudra, using a means that Buddhism condemns (violence) and yet is used as a force for good in this case. This narrative encapsulates a theme that runs throughout the book: the Buddhist ambivalence towards violence, an ambivalence present in the tradition from its earliest days but which found its fullest expression in Tantric Buddhism. The ritual, on the other hand, is the so-called liberation ritual, in which a victim–usually an effigy is prescribed–is ritually murdered and then purified. Dalton focuses in particular on a Dunhaung ritual manual, which, incidentally, makes no mention of an effigy, thus leaving some doubt as whether or not the manual intends an actual human victim. This rite and the story of Rudra constitute a pair of sorts, and together served as a theoretical, historical, mythic, and practical model whereby the native, evil demons of Tibet could be tamed (i.e., ritually murdered and purified) and employed in the service of Buddhism. Dalton also demonstrates how the themes of violence and demon taming continued beyond the age of fragmentation. For example, a composite work called the Pillar Testament (late-eleventh to mid-twelfth c.) contains a legend in which the seventh-century king Songtsen Gampo had to subjugate the land of Tibet–envisioned as (and thus identified as none other than) a huge rāká¹£asÄ« demoness lying on her back–by pinning this demoness down with thirteen temples. In this way the legend carries the model of demon subjugation that was used at the local level during the age of fragmentation to a national level during the second imperial period. Later on, as Tibetans ceased to think of their own evil nature and autochthonous demons as the greatest threat to Buddhism and instead shifted their attention to peoples and powers at the periphery of their realm, the same model of demon subjugation was applied, with Tibet’s perceived enemies (particularly the Mongols) taking the role of sacrificial victim. The book’s content is wide ranging yet skillfully woven together through the dual themes of violence and liberation (i.e., demon subjugation).  Along the way we hear about the differences between Chinese and Tibetan receptions of Buddhist scriptural attitudes toward violence, Padmasambhava as a demon tamer, the Indian Kālikā Purāṇa, King Yeshe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacob Dalton‘s recent book, The Taming of the Demons: Violence and Liberation in Tibetan Buddhism (Yale University Press, 2011), examines violence (both symbolic and otherwise) in Tibetan Buddhism. Dalton focuses in particular on the age of fragmentation (here 842-986 CE), and draws on previously unexamined Dunhuang manuscripts to show that this period was one of great creativity and innovation, and a time when violent myths and rituals were instrumental in adapting Buddhism to local interests, thereby allowing Buddhism to firmly establish itself in Tibet. While much twentieth-century scholarship faithfully followed Tibetan historiography’s assertion that the age of fragmentation was a dark time during which the light of Buddhism faded completely, Dalton not only confirms that Buddhism continued throughout this period, but also looks to the Dunhuang materials to show that it was in fact the age-of-fragmentation narratives of demon taming that laid the groundwork for the emergence of a new, pan-Tibetan Buddhist identity beginning in the eleventh century. Central to Dalton’s project are a myth and a ritual. The myth is that of the subjugation of the demoness Rudra, in which a compassionate but wrathful Buddhist deity violently defeats the wild Rudra, using a means that Buddhism condemns (violence) and yet is used as a force for good in this case. This narrative encapsulates a theme that runs throughout the book: the Buddhist ambivalence towards violence, an ambivalence present in the tradition from its earliest days but which found its fullest expression in Tantric Buddhism. The ritual, on the other hand, is the so-called liberation ritual, in which a victim–usually an effigy is prescribed–is ritually murdered and then purified. Dalton focuses in particular on a Dunhaung ritual manual, which, incidentally, makes no mention of an effigy, thus leaving some doubt as whether or not the manual intends an actual human victim. This rite and the story of Rudra constitute a pair of sorts, and together served as a theoretical, historical, mythic, and practical model whereby the native, evil demons of Tibet could be tamed (i.e., ritually murdered and purified) and employed in the service of Buddhism. Dalton also demonstrates how the themes of violence and demon taming continued beyond the age of fragmentation. For example, a composite work called the Pillar Testament (late-eleventh to mid-twelfth c.) contains a legend in which the seventh-century king Songtsen Gampo had to subjugate the land of Tibet–envisioned as (and thus identified as none other than) a huge rāká¹£asÄ« demoness lying on her back–by pinning this demoness down with thirteen temples. In this way the legend carries the model of demon subjugation that was used at the local level during the age of fragmentation to a national level during the second imperial period. Later on, as Tibetans ceased to think of their own evil nature and autochthonous demons as the greatest threat to Buddhism and instead shifted their attention to peoples and powers at the periphery of their realm, the same model of demon subjugation was applied, with Tibet’s perceived enemies (particularly the Mongols) taking the role of sacrificial victim. The book’s content is wide ranging yet skillfully woven together through the dual themes of violence and liberation (i.e., demon subjugation).  Along the way we hear about the differences between Chinese and Tibetan receptions of Buddhist scriptural attitudes toward violence, Padmasambhava as a demon tamer, the Indian Kālikā Purāṇa, King Yeshe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2010 Spring Numata Lecture was delivered by Jacob Dalton on April 30, 2010. The following episode is the audio-only version of Prof. Dalton's talk. The Tibetan manuscripts from Dunhuang include a large number of copied dhāraṇīs, both sÅ«tras and stand-alone spells. In this talk I will examine the content, the colophons, and the formats of these manuscripts and attempt to draw some broader conclusions about how dhāraṇīs were used by early Tibetan Buddhists living around Dunhuang. I will then turn to the dhāraṇī collections (dhāraṇī-saṃgraha). The contents of these collections could vary according to the interests of the manuscripts’ owners, yet certain shared patterns may be discerned. The significance of these formal patterns becomes clear when we see how the same template was used by later Tibetans to structure the dhāraṇī (gzungs ‘dus) section of their Tibetan canon (bka’ ‘gyur). Finally, I will step back to consider the historical development of dhāraṇī ritual practice and textual codification in light of the emergence of the tantras around the seventh century. Originally recorded April 30, 2010 at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in the Jodo Shinshu Center, Berkeley, Ca. Copyright © 2010 Jacob Dalton

The 2010 Spring Numata Lecture was delivered by Jacob Dalton on April 30, 2010. The following episode is the full video version of Prof. Dalton's talk. The Tibetan manuscripts from Dunhuang include a large number of copied dhāraṇīs, both sÅ«tras and stand-alone spells. In this talk I will examine the content, the colophons, and the formats of these manuscripts and attempt to draw some broader conclusions about how dhāraṇīs were used by early Tibetan Buddhists living around Dunhuang. I will then turn to the dhāraṇī collections (dhāraṇī-saṃgraha). The contents of these collections could vary according to the interests of the manuscripts’ owners, yet certain shared patterns may be discerned. The significance of these formal patterns becomes clear when we see how the same template was used by later Tibetans to structure the dhāraṇī (gzungs ‘dus) section of their Tibetan canon (bka’ ‘gyur). Finally, I will step back to consider the historical development of dhāraṇī ritual practice and textual codification in light of the emergence of the tantras around the seventh century. Originally recorded April 30, 2010 at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in the Jodo Shinshu Center, Berkeley, Ca. Copyright © 2010 Jacob Dalton

Inaugural Khyentse Foundation Lecture in Tibetan Buddhism "Rethinking Tibet's Dark Age: Demons, Tantras, and the Formation of Tibetan Buddhism" Jacob Dalton, Assistant Professor, UC Berkeley With the collapse of the Yarlung empire around 842 C.E., Tibet descended into its so-called "dark age." As for Europe's own dark ages, few documents survived the period, and what little we do know is usually filtered through traditional historical narratives that portray the age as one of religious corruption and decay. In this talk, Dalton suggests that such traditional accounts have obscured the more positive aspects of the period. Freed from the watchful eyes of the imperial court and the monastic orthodoxy, Tibetans of the late ninth and tenth centuries were able to make Buddhism their own. The themes, the imagery, and the strategies they developed during these inchoate years formed the cultural foundations upon which Tibetan Buddhism would be built. Only by excavating these foundations and shedding some light on this "dark age" can we gain a clear appreciation of the Tibetan adaptation of Buddhism.