The Buddhism of Tibet or Lamaism with its mystic cults symbolism and mythology and in its relation to Indian Buddhism L A 18541938 Waddell Books
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The Buddhism of Tibet or Lamaism with its mystic cults symbolism and mythology and in its relation to Indian Buddhism L A 18541938 Waddell Books
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The Buddhism of Tibet or Lamaism with its mystic cults symbolism and mythology and in its relation to Indian Buddhism L A 18541938 Waddell Books Reviews
It seems to my that the author either never went to Tibet. If he did he never bothered to learn the language and the translations he got were so misinterpreted that he wrote fantasy instead of fact. I believe that Mr. Waddell wrote the book from his armchair and used fantasy and other books. The original was written @ 1900, so the books that he had to rely on were sparse and were not very insightful into the real Tibet of the time, or were plain fantasy. It is amazing that he wrote such a long book (I guess that he had nothing else to do for a while.) Though there are a very few facts about Tibet in the author's book, most of it is wrong and very misleading. I suggest that you pass this one up or read it as you would a fairy story.
Originally published as "The Buddhism of Tibet, or Lamaism" in 1885 (W.H. Allen & Co., Ltd., London), this classic, and somewhat controversial, book has gone through several title changes, including the very accurate "Tibetan Buddhism With Its Mystic Cults, Symbolism and Mythology," when reprinted by Dover Publications in 1972 (currently in print, and, as a handsomely produced volume at a very reasonable price, my personal choice.) The Kessinger edition, reviewed here, follows one of the reprintings under the original title.
It was in its time a landmark in English-language writings on Tibet, and it still retains some value for its rich visual documentation, in the form of photographs and line drawings. (Unfortunately, Kessinger editions are not well-known for such contents; and reports suggest that individual copies of their editions differ in quality.) There are some remarkably clear descriptions of shrines and temples, costumes and ritual practices, objects and images. Given the massive destruction of Tibetan religious sites in China as well as Tibet, much of what he recorded will never be seen again.
Unfortunately, the author all too frequently confides in the reader his distaste for the religion he is describing, and his contempt for its functionaries. I gave up on the book for this reason when I first tried to read it. Some reviewers (responding to other editions) seem to think that Waddell must have known what he was talking about, and accept his characterizations at face value, which is a pity.
In part this attitude may be self-defense. It seems that Waddell got access to some of his information by becoming the owner/patron of a Tibetan Buddhist temple in Peking, and probably felt that he had to make clear to his pious readers back home in England that he was not really a wicked idolater. Some of his expressions of disdain seem to reflect real misunderstandings having failed to grasp that the word "lama" means "teacher of religion," not "monk," he is scandalized to discover the occasional married lama. (This response probably relates to intra-Christian issues as well -- see below.)
Then, too, there is the idealized image of Theraveda Buddhism from Ceylon, which had introduced itself to Europeans as the true, pure, original, non-superstitious Buddhism, not to be confused with those self-styled Buddhisms found elsewhere. With that vision as the standard of purity, the versions found in northern Asia would automatically seem defective, and Waddell takes it for granted. (It should be remembered that the Mahayana, or "Great Vehicle," versions of Buddhism, like that of Tibet, tend to refer to the Theraveda teachings as the Hinayana, or "Lesser Vehicle.")
Finally, Waddell, apparently writing for a solidly "anti-Papist" readership, sometimes seems unable to distinguish the images and rituals of Mahayana Buddhism, in its various forms, from parallel practices in Catholicism, and is glad to condemn both.
Worth reading today? Well, the book is still cited, with diffidence, by scholars far more sympathetic to the subject, and far better informed about it, for its extraordinary amount of factual documentation. For a novice in Tibetan studies, I would suggest starting with a solid introduction, like Snellgrove and Richardson's "Cultural History of Tibet," and those looking for further information might continue with a responsible modern study, such as Giuseppe Tucci's "The Religions of Tibet." You could probably turn to Waddell for details after reading either one.
For those interested in a "sampler," I point out that Waddell published in 1894 a similar, but much, much shorter, volume (under 200 pages) on Sikkim, as "Lamaism in Sikhim" (his spelling). This has long been out of print, but an Adobe Reader pdf of the book has been made available as a set of free downloads, with due warning of Waddell's biases, as part of the bibliography section for "Himalayan Art Resources" at himalayanart.org. It might be helpful to check out "Waddell Lite" before deciding on the bigger book. And the whole bibliography there may be helpful, too.
The reprint is terrible. A lot of pages are missing and ink spread all over the page.
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