Jeweled dialogues: The role of 'The Book' in the formation of the Kadam tradition within Tibet

This dissertation considers the relationship between literature and sectarian identity formation by examining The Book of the Kadam [ Tradition] (bKa' gdams rin po che'i glegs bam). Regarded as the primary scriptural source belonging to the Esoteric Precept (man ngag) strand of the Kadam sect, The Book is a collection of religious instructions, dialogues, stories, rituals, songs, and prophecies attributed to the renowned Indian master, Atisa, and his main Tibetan spiritual heir, Dromtonpa Gyalwai Jungne. Both were crucial figures during the explosive renaissance of Buddhist culture that took place during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the cauldron in which its basic forms and sects took shape. Reading this literary collection as an anthology reflecting purposeful integration by its later compilers, this study is concerned with the ways in which these individual texts collaborate in imagining the Kadam as a distinct tradition.; Chapter one discusses the dialogic character of The Book's doctrinal commentary as well as the way it portrays the Kadam's esoteric dimension. Chapter two considers the Sixteen Spheres ritual materials, showing how their instructive language constructs a vision of Tibet as part of Avalokitesvara's divine body and Atisa and Drom as buddhas, complete with their own iconic forms. Chapter three examines the way in which the narratives shift the terrain of Buddhism such that Tibet and the Kadam tradition occupy its center. Chapter four turns to integrative themes that stitch The Book's doctrinal, ritual, and narrative texts into an emergent vision of the Kadam community as the exclusive inheritor of authentic Buddhism from India, including tantra.; The Book's dialogic format, its witty, down-to-earth flavor, and its creative adaptations of Indian literary genres are continuous with early Renaissance Kadam literature. However, its actual compilation took place in the later Classical Period in which the organization of literary canons and sectarian identity went hand in hand. Finally, though billed as the tradition's most esoteric collection, an analysis of its content and literary style reveals a resolute voice for exoteric Mahayana within a Tibetan religious landscape dominated by esoteric Buddhism.