Steps toward a Tibetan Understanding of Purity: A Semantic and Textual Analysis

Introduction

Tibetan Buddhists, and indeed Buddhists at large, have long proved resistant to the gospel.¹ Despite various efforts, relatively few Tibetans are followers of Jesus. There are multiple reasons for this. For example, geographical isolation, limited missionary access, demonic opposition, cultural pride, Christianity being perceived as a foreign religion or just the same as Buddhism, are to mention just a few.² An additional factor may be that gospel presentations have been speaking to a misinformed set of needs, speaking superficially or just not speaking at all. Contextualizing the gospel for a Tibetan context remains a needed area of development. Fresh approaches are still required and hence the need to probe further into Tibetan culture and worldview. One area that needs to be explored is how Tibetans understand purity.

I have had the privilege of living and working with Tibetans for more than three decades. My interest in the purity concerns of Tibetans was first sparked back in 2002 when I was grappling with various key terms and looking for a suitable term for baptism for our New Testament translation project. In the process of researching this term, I discovered a water purification ritual (byabs khrus) which seemed to indicate the issue of purity and impurity was of significant concern for Tibetans. In exploring the lexical range of purity terms, I learned that there were many terms for purity and defilement and their lexical weighting within the vernacular register was more than initially imagined. I further discovered that the byabs khrus water cleansing ritual, performed daily in the byams khang temple, in the heart of Lhasa, was a popular one that attracted hundreds of people, often with long waiting lines.

Though anthropologists have documented the purity and pollution systems of an array of people groups over many years, little has been written about these systems from a missiological perspective. Currently, much of the discussion regarding contextualizing the gospel has been formed around the cultural paradigms of honor/shame, guilt/innocence, and fear/power. While these cultural lenses have been used as tools for analyzing culture and formulating approaches to contextualization, the paradigm of purity/pollution may have been overlooked.

According to anthropologist and Bible translator Eugene Nida, there are three basic human responses to religious transgressions—guilt, fear, and shame.³ In recent years, this tripartite division has been a foundation for cultural analysis and formulations of contextualized gospel presentations.⁴ There may be something missing from Nida’s statement. Is there not also a fourth possible basic response to transgression; a sense of defilement, pollution, uncleanness or simply being dirty?

While much has been written about the purity system as revealed in the Biblical record, little has been written from a missional viewpoint.⁵ To be sure, the purity code of Hinduism has been well documented, and a small band of reflective practitioners in Islamic contexts have studied purity from a missiological perspective.⁶ In contrast, little, if anything, has been written about purity from a missiological perspective in a Buddhist setting. In order to address this apparent gap in the literature, and to provide another window into Tibetan culture and worldview, and to perhaps move forward the discussion of contextualizing the gospel in a Tibetan context, an in-depth study of a Tibetan understanding of purity may reveal certain insights.

Rationale and Need

Given the fact there are gaps in our understanding of the Tibetan purity system, and how an understanding of it might be illuminating from a missiological perspective, there is value in making an initial attempt to fill this void. A study of this kind may help to provide further insights into Tibetan culture and worldview, which could then be beneficial to cross-cultural practitioners ministering to Tibetans. Indeed, in the first instance, those who may directly benefit from this research are people working with Tibetans in whatever context they may find them—in either Tibetan native homelands or scattered throughout the diaspora in Nepal, India, or the West. Those living and working in a Tibetan context, however, may find this study especially pertinent. Practitioners working in the broader Buddhist World may also find this research relevant.

To the larger community of missiologists and reflective practitioners this study may contribute to the ongoing conversation about contextualization. Any who are interested in the cultural frameworks of honor/shame, fear/power, and guilt/innocence may find this research beneficial. This same group is typically in dialogue about the various atonement theories and motifs which are considered more appropriate to particular people groups in initial presentations of the gospel. This study could hold some further interest in that regard. Bible translators in Buddhist contexts may also find this study relevant as they consider how to approach the purity passages in Scripture and in the development of contextually relevant scripture engagement resources.

Analyzing the purity system of Tibetans could perhaps be propaedeutic in stimulating further research and prompt others to consider how doing such a study may be relevant in their contexts. In that vein, this research could be used as a foundation to build upon or as a source of reference.

In 2016, I wrote a brief overview of some of the ways Tibetans understand pollution and purity.⁷ In that paper, I was making the case that pollution and purity were of significant concern to Tibetans and worthy of further exploration. While an introduction to Tibetan purity and pollution has previously been attempted, there are questions that remain for a fuller and deeper understanding. For example, how do Tibetans understand purity according to their sacred texts, according to their folk literature, their rituals, symbols, and everyday practices? How might this understanding be formational in gaining a deeper understanding of a Tibetan worldview? What are some missiological implications and how might this be relevant for contextualizing the gospel? If part of the process of contextualization is to discover what questions a given people group might be asking about reality, then researching the purity concerns of Tibetans would seem to be a valid and important topic of investigation.

The purity system of Tibetans has not been extensively studied, neither as an anthropological study or as a bibliographic and text-based study. Broadly speaking there are two gaps in our understanding: firstly, of a thorough understanding of Tibetan purity and secondly, of analyzing purity concerns in a Tibetan context through a missiological lens. It is the intention of this study to begin to address this lacuna.

In short, Tibetans have remained resistant to the gospel and attempts at culturally relevant gospel presentations are still needed. The purpose of this study, then, is to help in gaining a deeper insight into Tibetan culture by exploring their understanding of purity with the missional intention of reflecting upon how this may be informative in reaching Tibetans for Christ.

Research Problem

In this dissertation, my aim is to research how Tibetans understand purity, and to reflect on some possible missiological implications. In order to facilitate a structured approach to this research, further sub-questions are needed. These are as follows:

•What do the terms purity and impurity mean in a Tibetan context?

•What do indigenous texts in the Tibetan language reveal about purity?

•What purity rituals do Tibetans observe and what symbols represent purity?

•What does this understanding of purity teach us about the Tibetan worldview?

•What are some missiological implications that arise from an understanding of Tibetan purity?

Limitations

While the concept of impurity will be included in this study, the primary focus is on exploring a Tibetan understanding of purity. To be more specific, this research is not intended as a detailed anatomy of how Tibetans regard filth, disgust, defilement, pollution, or impurity.⁸ Rather, this is a study of how Tibetans understand and conceptualize purity. The question of what Tibetans consider impure, or defiling will be addressed, but that question will be researched in order to bring further illumination to an understanding of Tibetan purity.

The primary data source for this research will be Tibetan texts and related secondary sources. As such, this study will be textual and bibliographic. The research will not be pursuing a diachronic, historical approach tracing the development of impurity and purity concerns among Tibetans over a given time period. Rather, the approach will be more synchronic—to explore indigenous Tibetan texts, across a variety of genres, and assess what this data may reveal about a Tibetan understanding of purity. The purview of this study, then, will not involve standard anthropological methods such as interviews, participant observation, or focus groups. Even if such an approach were possible, not only would this be a significant security risk, as interviewing people, particularly those in the religious establishment, can be a delicate activity, there is the question as to whether this would represent a meaningful and valid way of collecting data. Written texts, revered by Tibetans, on the other hand, provide an objective and valid data source.

The focus of this research is with primary source texts that have influenced Tibetans living in Tibet and Tibetan areas. Though the teachings of the current Dalai Lama, and other contemporary lamas, some of whom now reside in the West, will be studied and analyzed where relevant, the primary data sources will not be drawn from Western Tibetan Buddhism, a form of Buddhism which can be at variance to that practiced in Tibet itself.⁹ Though purification rituals do form part of the self-realization meditation retreats offered by Tibetan dharma centers scattered throughout the major cities of the Western world, this research will not be focusing attention there. Further, while Pure Land Buddhism will be addressed in this study, and related texts discussed, tracing the development of Pure Land Buddhism in Tibet will not be attempted.¹⁰

Were one to study every instance of purification rites within the panoply of Tibetan ritual, that would also exceed the scope of this study. While acknowledging purification rites typically form part of all rituals, not all rituals can or will be studied in depth. Therefore, it will be necessary to selectively focus on those rituals perspicacious to purity and which provide a clear data set for analysis. In terms of other limitations, it will not be possible to research all the written texts that deal with purity or purification. The ocean of Tibetan literature is simply too vast.¹¹ Therefore, it will be necessary to selectively look at the salient texts which deal with purity.

A limitation that may seem apparent then, is that a key text dealing with purity could be overlooked. This is certainly possible, but to help mitigate against this, Tibetan friends and colleagues will assist in providing guidance to those texts which speak of purity most prominently.¹² Though texts will be placed in their historical, religious, and literary context, discussions about textual variants or issues of authenticity will not be entered into. Texts that have been widely accepted will be the primary data source.

Defining of Terms

Various technical terms will be used throughout this dissertation but only some of the major ones will be outlined below. The terms for purity and impurity will be discussed in detail in a subsequent chapter and therefore have not been included here. Except for certain Buddhist terms which appear to have an established form of lexicalization in English, for example, nirvana, samsara, karma, Mahayana and so forth (though these terms have been derived from Sanskrit and not Tibetan), I will use an established system of transliteration for Tibetan terms rather than Tibetan orthography. This transliteration system, first developed by Turrell Wylie,¹³ is not phonetic but instead corresponds to Tibetan spelling and readily transfers into Tibetan orthography. The Wylie schema is the most accurate way to transliterate Tibetan and those who wish to can then easily search for the Tibetan terms used in this dissertation in standard Tibetan lexicons and Tibetan texts.¹⁴ Note that while many sacred texts and Buddhist terms have been translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan, the focus here will be on Tibetan terminology. Where appropriate, Tibetan transliterations will be provided in italics within parenthesis.

Key terms surrounding the study of Tibetans and Tibetan Buddhism are not without controversy. Tibetologists, both Tibetan and otherwise, have, for example, engaged in rigorous debates about what constitutes Tibet,¹⁵ what does it mean to be Tibetan,¹⁶ and what is Tibetan Buddhism.¹⁷ However, below are modest attempts at standard definitions.

Tibet (bod): contemporary Tibet suggests the Tibetan Autonomous Regions (TAR) which became a province of China in 1959 after the annexation of Tibet during the reign of Mao Zedong and today remains under Chinese jurisdiction.¹⁸ Greater Tibet (bod chen po) is the traditional area that incorporates all Tibetan areas in other provinces of China, predominantly Qinghai and Sichuan.¹⁹

Tibetans (bod rigs) may be categorized as those who self-identify as Tibetan, who follow Tibetan Buddhism and speak Tibetan or a Tibetic language. Many scholars have claimed that the link between being a Tibetan and a Tibetan Buddhist is an inseparable part of ethnic identity.²⁰ Robert Ekvall, who lived among Tibetans for many years, found that the highest value Tibetans placed on their identity was their religion.²¹ The focus of this study is Tibetans in the region of Greater Tibet and others in the Himalayas who may self-identify as Tibetan.²²

Tibetan Buddhism (nang pa’i chos lugs) is understood as belonging to the wider branch of Mahayana (theg chen) Buddhism but more narrowly restricted to Tantric or Vajrayana (rdo rje theg pa) Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is further predicated upon an eclectic mix of shamanism and animistic Bön practices derived from the ancient Bön religion.²³ Tibetan Buddhism has various schools or sects that are carefully preserved through the lineages of incarnate lamas.

Bön (bon) is the indigenous religion of Tibet widely established before Tibetans embraced Buddhism in the seventh century. Bön resembles a shamanistic and animistic religion of the worship and appeasement of mountain, sky, river, and lake deities. In recent years, Bön has absorbed Tibetan Buddhist practices and there exist a number of Bön monasteries throughout the Tibetan Buddhist World.²⁴

Bodhisattva (byang chub sems dpa’) is one who has vowed to become a Buddha in order to liberate all beings from the suffering of samsara or who has delayed enlightenment for the sake of others.²⁵ The system of Bodhisattvas is unique to Mahayana Buddhism.

Vajrayana (rdo rje theg pa) is a form of Buddhism that focus on esoteric teachings or tantras (rgyud), the recitation of mantras (sngags), secret yogic practices (rnal ‘byor) and the use of mandalas (dkyil ‘khor) for meditation and guidance through the spirit world. Though Vajrayana is believed to be efficacious in leading to enlightenment, it is typically regarded as potentially dangerous (because of the focus on the occult) and requires specialized training.

Mahayana (theg chen) in contrast to Hinayana (theg chung) or Theravada Buddhism, maintains a system of Bodhisattvas and posits that enlightenment is possible in one lifetime.

Kangyur (bka’ ‘gyur) is the Buddhist canon containing both the sutras (mdo) and the tantras (rgyud) which are considered to be the words of Buddha. The Tibetan canon is typically either 104 or 108 volumes.²⁶

Tengyur (bstang ‘gyur) are commentaries on the words of Buddha recorded in the Tibetan canon (bka’ ‘gyur). These commentaries are translations from the Indian Buddhist masters who explained and elaborated upon the words of Buddha. This set of more than 220 volumes is also referred to as the canonical treatises.

Mantra (sngags) are formulaic spell-like phrases pervasive in the tantras and believed to contain special powers. With such an emphasis on mantras, Tantric Vajrayana Buddhism is often called Mantrayana—the mantra vehicle.

Samsara (‘khor ba) is the perpetual cyclic existence of birth, death, and rebirth predicated upon the unrelenting law of karma. The end goal of Buddhist practice is to be released from the affliction of samsara.

Literature Review

Edgar Elliston suggests that a critical aspect to the integrity of one’s research is in conducting an honest, fair, and thorough review of the precedent literature.²⁷ What follows is an attempt to do justice to the studies that have gone before—studies which have been undertaken in the fields of social anthropology and Tibetan Buddhist religious studies. While the intended focus of this literature review is research conducted among Tibetans in Tibet, of necessity, this has been expanded to Tibetan Buddhist people groups outside of Tibet. Though there are obviously differences between these groups, there is also enough commonality to warrant doing so. The literature review is divided into two sections. The first section deals with studies undertaken in the broader Tibetan Buddhist world and the second with studies undertaken in Tibet. Keeping to a tight focus, I have not drawn on the immense corpus of literature from the wider area of anthropological and religious purity/pollution studies.

Studies from the Tibetan Buddhist World

Moving on from a structuralist-functionalist approach, which posits purity as being framed primarily upon caste lines, anthropologist Sherry Ortner, in her study of Sherpa purity, provides an alternative approach. She contends that purity is symbolic of a larger embedded system that needs to be viewed within that context. In her article, Sherpa Purity, Ortner outlines the various causes of pollution among the Tibetan Buddhist Sherpa of the Solu-Khumbu in northeastern Nepal and the solutions they have developed to deal with it.²⁸

Ortner suggests the Sherpa have a three-pronged approach to dealing with pollution. A monk deals with pollution by striving for perfect purity/spirituality, and to excise and eliminate the forces which pollute him and hinder his quest for salvation.²⁹ For the lay person, strategies are embodied in two rituals. The first is a water ritual (tu) which deals with the physical aspect of ritual pollution most prominently performed during the rituals surrounding birth and death.³⁰ The second ritual is burning incense (sang) to appease the multiplicity of demons, perceived to be the source of much pollution: The struggle against antireligious demons in fact covers every aspect of purity/pollution action.³¹

In her subsequent book, Sherpas Through Their Rituals,³² Ortner adds a fourth way of dealing with the pollution caused by demonic activity: that of ritual exorcism. Though she provides little detail about demon possession or exorcism itself, she maintains that, Culturally, exorcisms are considered to be rites of purification, ‘to clean all the dirty things out of the village,’ ‘to clean all the bad smells out of the village.’³³ The results of purification for the Sherpa, according to Ortner, are better pragmatic functioning in the world, and to the pursuit of salvation.³⁴ Her most comprehensive work, High Religion: A Cultural and Political History of Sherpa Buddhism,³⁵ provides further insightful reflections about pollution concerns.

Ortner’s research relates to this dissertation in that she has documented and provided commentary on the pollution system of a Tibetan Buddhist people group. Her approach of moving on from the structuralist tendency to explain pollution as merely a social construct is affirming as I plan to explore purity within the larger context of Tibetan Buddhism. Ortner’s research focused on the Sherpa of Nepal. While there is some commonality, there are also differences from Tibetans living in Tibet. Ortner’s anthropological work dealt with pollution and defilement, but less on purity and purification, and she did not access any written texts.³⁶ In contrast, this study aims to examine Tibetan purity texts that have influenced Tibetans in Tibet.

In her detailed ethnography of the Khumbo (neighbors to the Sherpa) in northeastern Nepal,³⁷ anthropologist Hildegard Diemberger outlines how the main opposition to prosperity in the highland village of Sepa was considered to be defilement caused by dip—pollution.³⁸ For the Khumbo, they can be inflicted with pollution by any association with birth, death, inter-personal conflicts, ethical transgressions, and contact with anyone who is polluted.³⁹ Diemberger observes that pollution derived from childbirth is eliminated by a name giving ceremony in which the child is both purified from the stain of birth and is socially born into society. In this process, a lama purifies the birth with water and bestows a name on the child as a rite of passage.⁴⁰ Diemberger further relates that the process of birth means that women are more prone to defilement and have less access to the sacred forces of religious life than men.⁴¹ The Khumbo have various myths related to pollution where it is perceived as casting a dark shadow upon individuals and the community as a whole. Though not necessarily permanent, dip for the Khumbo can be profoundly disruptive of human relations and needs to be avoided at all costs.⁴²

Though she does not detail all pollution concerns, nor delve deeply into purification, or access written texts, Diemberger’s study relates to this current research in providing an understanding the Tibetan Buddhist Khumbo have of the profound sense of societal damage pollution can wreak. The moral element to pollution, though obviously to be interpreted through a Buddhist lens, provides a certain foundation for further exploration with reference to missiological application, something which Diemberger had no cause to investigate.

Anthropologist Christian Schicklgruber, a contemporary of Diemberger, provides another layer of understanding to the concept of dip pollution among the Khumbo of northeastern Nepal.⁴³ By examining an oral myth that tells of the pollution that arises from incest, Schicklgruber traces the strict marriage rules of the clan system, which ensure there is no communal defilement through marriage. He also outlines how birth and death are defiling events and how the breaching of socially prescribed norms can lead any individual into pollution. This defilement can then infect a whole family, clan, or wider community with potentially disastrous effects such as sickness, epidemics among livestock, or hail, which can destroy crops.⁴⁴

Schicklgruber’s main discussion is concerned with shamanist rituals for neutralizing the impurity that arises from childbirth and death. He concludes that pollution is unavoidable in the life of the Khumbo as are the rituals dealing with the elimination of it.⁴⁵ His analysis of pollution adds to our understanding of the social ramifications of communal defilement. Schicklgruber does not, however, deal directly with purity or purification. While he does engage with oral narratives, which are certainly valid data points, he provides no examination of written texts. This contrasts with the study at hand.

In her dissertation, Embodying Spirits: Village Oracles and Possession Ritual in Ladakh, North India, Sophie Day examines how village oracles in an area of Tibetan Buddhist Ladakh provide certain ritualized services when they are in a trance or possessed by a spirit.⁴⁶ While primarily concerned with the role of the oracle, she does document a purification rite intended for the conquest of demons and demonic forces. Day details the sang incense burning ritual and its significance for ritual cleansing and purification. She relates that in Ladakhi Tibetan Buddhist cosmology, there exist certain household gods (phas lha) who require daily purification in order for their anger towards humans to be placated. These gods can be polluted by the activities of humans, such as cultivating the land, building a house, burning fuel, or cooking.⁴⁷ The burning of incense (sang) is believed to remove the pollution from the gods and clean an entire area.⁴⁸ Failure to do so would cause problems such as illness, crop failure, and dead livestock. Day concludes that, "rites of such as sang have to be performed regularly."⁴⁹

Day has focused on one area of pollution and ritual purification and provided insights into the cosmology of Tibetan Buddhists in Ladakh. Her identification of the relationship between pollution and wrathful numina is reflective of beliefs held in many Tibetan Buddhist areas. In contrast to this current research, her study focused on certain villages in Ladakh and not in Tibet itself, nor did she interact with textual sources.

Three of the universal polluting activities in cultures for whom purity/pollution concerns are prevalent appear to be birth, death, and bodily discharges—typically menstruation.⁵⁰ In their article, Tibetan and Indian Ideas of Birth Pollution: Similarities and Contrasts, Santi Rozario and Geoffrey Samuel provide insights into Tibetan conceptions of birth pollution (skye drip).⁵¹ In 1997, Rozario and Samuel conducted fieldwork in a Tibetan refuge community in Himal Pradesh, north India, studying Tibetan attitudes towards childbirth and comparing these with the wider Indian context.⁵² In researching why childbirth was considered to be polluting, one of their Tibetan informants stated that "birth and its associated substances were ‘dirty’ (Tibetan tsokpa) and that they cause sickness, including conjunctivitis and drip.⁵³ Other Tibetans reported that those who help during the birth process are routinely subjected to drip, experience burning or irritation of eyes, tiredness and general body ache," and sometimes it was believed to lead to blindness.⁵⁴ Rozario and Samuel outline the perceived solution: to observe the purification rituals of incense burning and washing with consecrated water.⁵⁵

Rozario and Samuel have highlighted the seriousness with which Tibetan refugees living in exile in north India take childbirth pollution.⁵⁶ Their research is helpful in providing another window into the pervasiveness of pollution in the daily lives of Tibetans. A consideration, however, is that their research took place outside of Tibet and was not focused on textual concerns.

Lawrence Epstein conducted a sociological study of Tibetan refuges in Mysore, southern India, which included seventeen months of fieldwork during 1969–1970. His dissertation Causation in Tibetan Religion: Duality and Its Transformations,⁵⁷ though primarily dealing with the outworking of the Buddhist notion of cause and effect in secular and religious life, does delve into the concept of pollution. Epstein identifies six distinct types of pollution and details its contaminating nature.⁵⁸ He further suggests that pollution may initiate or invite demonic attack which can lead to illness, outbursts of anger or even insanity.⁵⁹ The theory behind this, according to Epstein, is that various protective deities have been impacted by human pollution and thus have their protective powers reduced resulting in sickness and trouble. The solution to pollution is incense offerings and water purification rituals.⁶⁰

Epstein’s work has provided helpful insights into the larger schematic of the Tibetan worldview and how the various tensions of mitigating demonic attacks, accumulating merit, and being subject to spiritual opposition relate to the all-encompassing doctrine of karma. His delineation between bar chad (demonic opposition) and drip (pollution) is insightful as are his observations about Tibetan worldview. His research, however, was conducted in southern India among Tibetan refugees and needs to be viewed within that context. This current research, on the other hand, has its focus on Tibetans within Tibet.

Martin Mills, in his comprehensive book, Identity, Ritual and State in Tibetan Buddhism: The Foundations of Authority in Gelukpa Monasticism,⁶¹ presents the results of his fieldwork conducted in a village area in southern Ladakh during 1993–1995. Mills’ primary area of study was a Gelukpa (dge lugs pa) monastery situated in a village area in southern Ladakh.⁶² Though Mills was researching the nature of religious authority in Tibetan Buddhist monasticism,⁶³ he also provides insights into purity/pollution and associated ritual practices. Consistent with previous studies, Mills highlights the ubiquitous nature of pollution (dip), which is attributed to be the direct result of the perceived chthonic order. He also documents the process of removing pollution through rituals conducted by monks, villagers, or local oracles.⁶⁴ Mills does add another level of understanding in the area of commensality. Mills relates that pollution concerns had a profound impact on the social structure of hospitality where polluted classes could only mix if particular protocols were observed. He outlines the necessary hierarchical arrangement of guests at a communal meal and found that what was important was the maintenance of the correct order, lest it generated dangerous pollution.⁶⁵ He also outlined how food could be purified and how the leftovers of high lamas were considered pure and a source of blessing to others.⁶⁶

In a subsequent article on pollution in Buddhist Ladakh,⁶⁷ Mills analyzes pollution practices through the time portal of the Tibetan Buddhist astrological calendar. He found that those who had become ritually polluted, through, for example, involvement with birth or death, were unable to participate in the auspicious activities within the Tibetan calendar, dislocating them from the ordinary astrological tempos that organize social life within village communities.⁶⁸ He further examines the times within the astrological calendar when it is more efficacious to perform purification rituals.⁶⁹

Both of Mills’ studies relate to this dissertation in that he has brought another layer of understanding to the various elements of pollution and its out-working in monastic and village life. Further, his work was undertaken in areas under the influence of the Gelukpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism, which is the largest and most influential sect within Tibet. Of note, however, is that these studies were undertaken in Ladakh and there was no specific engagement with purity textual sources.

Christine Daniels’ study, Defilement and Purification: Tibetan Buddhist Pilgrims at Bodhnath, Nepal, traces Tibetan refugees who travelled as pilgrims from Tibet to the sacred site of Bodhnath in Kathmandu, Nepal.⁷⁰ Daniels reveals a certain ontological perception of pilgrims regarding themselves as defiled and pilgrimage as the path to purification. In exploring why these pilgrims considered themselves defiled, Daniels notes there were six main reasons: wrongdoing, pollution, supernaturally caused harm, inauspiciousness, ignorance and the condition of being a woman.⁷¹ It was not, Daniels observes, only the end result of visiting the sacred site of Bodhnath that was seen as purifying, but the whole pilgrimage from Tibet and the interaction with sacred sites along the way that had a combined purificatory effect.⁷²

Daniels’ research provides an understanding of purity/pollution concerns among Tibetan pilgrims who journeyed to Nepal.⁷³ Her dissertation is helpful in highlighting the perception that the process of pilgrimage is believed to remove the stain of defilement and the belief that the harder the pilgrimage, the more effective it is. Daniels’ primary data points were interviews and interactions with Tibetan pilgrims residing in Nepal over a number of years and was not focused on textual analysis. Daniels also had no need of a missiological analysis, which stands in contrast to this present study.

In her dissertation Purity, Embodiment and the Immaterial Body,⁷⁴ Gemma Clay explores the notion of purity in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in southern India, among a Tibetan refugee community. One of her main concerns is to understand how attitudes towards purity and the embodiment of purity perpetuates the social hierarchy of the monastery.⁷⁵ Clay explores the doctrinal teaching of the Dzogchen (rdzogs chen) monastic order which maintains that all human beings are innately pure.⁷⁶ She further traces how the lama at this monastery, Dzogchen Rinpoche, was considered to be the embodiment of purity and how his purity could be transferred to others. The transferal, Clay observes, was performed through a consecration ritual (rab gnas) which culminated in the lama’s purity being bestowed upon others through contact with a ritually pure white scarf.⁷⁷ Prostrations and circumambulating the monastery and other sacred sites were also believed to be efficacious in the process of moving towards embodied purity.⁷⁸

Clay’s research relates to this dissertation in that she has focused on purity rather than pollution, and rightly identified the Dzogchen school as one of the major proponents of purity teachings. She has identified purification rituals which are not necessarily for the elimination of pollution but rather for the pursuit of a purified state. Her study though, does need to be balanced against certain considerations. Her research was conducted in southern India at a monastery where many foreigners were in residence, the monastic teachings were all in English, her interviews were conducted in English and the official language of the monastery is English.⁷⁹ She also did not consult any texts in the Tibetan language. In contrast, this current study is focused on indigenous Tibetan texts which have exerted influence among Tibetans in Tibet. In addition, the delineation between the doctrine of purity, with its multiple layering, and ritualized purity praxis will be further explored in this dissertation.

Studies undertaken within Tibet

In her book, Commoners and Nobles in Tibet,⁸⁰ social anthropologist Heidi Fjeld’s ethnographic study documents the traditional stratification of Tibetan society and the extent to which these traditional categories are still evident in contemporary Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. In her research, she found that the lower classes, such as blacksmiths and butchers, were classified in terms of impurity, while the upper stratum were not defined in terms of purity.⁸¹ Building on these initial findings, Fjeld later carried out a more detailed study, the findings of which she published in a paper entitled, Pollution and Social Networks in Contemporary Rural Tibet.⁸²

In her study of ritual pollution in rural Tibet, Fjeld traces the lives of Tibetans in a certain village who had been deemed to be of an unclean type or kind (rigs gtsog pa)—literally dirty kinds.⁸³ Her aim was to document those who were considered unclean, in what ways they were considered unclean, how their social networks functioned within the larger societal framework and the extent to which this prejudicial demarcation was still evident. Fjeld identified the most unclean peoples as being corpse cutters and corpse handlers,⁸⁴ blacksmiths,⁸⁵ butchers,⁸⁶ and beggars.⁸⁷ These four groups were collectively known as smad rigs—inferior kinds.⁸⁸ Those born into these families were marked as being unclean with no room for social advancement. They were further considered to be polluting agents who could ritually pollute others in three ways. Firstly, through the sharing of bowls, secondly, through contact with clothes and, thirdly, through sexual intercourse.⁸⁹ Fjeld found that in observing some basic taboo practices, such as never sharing bowls or making physical contact, unclean individuals could interact with those who were considered clean. However, this only allowed for interactions between clean and unclean individuals and did not include interactions on a collective basis between clean and unclean households.

Fjeld’s research relates to this current study in that she has identified certain aspects of social pollution in highly prescribed social networks in a rural area of Tibet. She rightly distinguishes between ritual and moral pollution and exposes the ongoing prejudice towards those who are born into certain unclean family lines.⁹⁰ Though making a valuable contribution to our understanding, Fjeld does not discuss purity or purification rites in her research, nor does she explore any written texts that deal with purity/pollution. Her primary data sources were the informants she used during her fieldwork. This dissertation, however, seeks to discover what Tibetan textual sources reveal about purity.

In his book, The Cult of Pure Crystal Mountain: Popular Pilgrimage and Visionary Landscape in Southeast Tibet,⁹¹ anthropologist Toni Huber provides a comprehensive study of Tibetan pilgrim practices. His work reveals a high level of preoccupation with purity/pollution concerns among pilgrims who visit sacred sites, particularly holy mountains.⁹² Huber, in his study of the pilgrimage to the holy mountain Tsari (tsa ri) in southeast Tibet, found that pilgrims considered themselves to be polluted both with ritual pollution (drip) and sin (sdig pa) and were seeking purification through pilgrimage to, and circumambulation of, a sacred, holy mountain. He maintains that pilgrims saw pilgrimage as the fundamental method of removing and purifying the stain of pollution and sin.⁹³ Huber further suggests that Tibetans believe pollution and sin are removed through the physical act of pilgrimage and coming into direct contact with a holy and sacred site.⁹⁴ His study with Tsepak Rigzin, of the pilgrim sites of Mount Kailas and Lake Manasarovar, revealed similar findings.⁹⁵ Likewise, Katia Buffetrille, in her study of the pilgrim guide of sacred sites in northern Tibet, found that circumambulating them multiple times was believed to result in an individual being purified from defilements.⁹⁶

In a similar way to Daniels, Huber, Rigzin and Buffetrille provide another layer of understanding of purity/pollution, both ontologically, how Tibetans perceive themselves as polluted, and soteriologically—pilgrimage as part of the perceived salvific solution. Huber is careful to note that pilgrimage has other functions in the Tibetan mindset, such as the accumulation of merit. Huber has provided insights into one aspect of the purity/pollution landscape among Tibetans and his definition of sin needs to be understood through a Tibetan Buddhist filter. This present study seeks to provide a broader understanding of purity through an examination of texts from a variety of Tibetan literary genres. Huber, Rigzin and Buffetrille, like previous authors, have no concern for missiological reflections, which marks a contrast to the study at hand.

Indigenous Tibetan scholar Sa mtsho Skyid and anthropologist Gerald Roche conducted a study of the purity concerns of a small village in a Tibetan area on the northwestern edge of Greater Tibet.⁹⁷ By studying the daily, monthly, and annual life cycle