Tilopa

The figure of Tilopd is familiar in Tibetan Buddhism. What is less popular is that his words and teachings, before reaching the Tibetan plateau, were uttered in India and had to pass through Nepal: a fact which would deserve more attention than before. This book is a sort of portrait of that Bengali siddha of the tenth century. In the first chapter, a geographical and historical background is painted: a landscape of waters, kings, polities, and cities, based on epigraphical, numismatic, and archaeological material; on written travelogues of Chinese, Arab, and Italian travellers; on Tibetan accounts and compilations. In the second chapter, the relevant Indo- Tibetan hagiographic sources are described, discussed, and outlined in the context of their tradition. With a view to characterising such a tradition and its Tibetan sprouts, mostly among the Kagyu lineages, the following main entries are introduced: Tantric Buddhism, Yoginitantras, Cakasarmvara, Manobhanga, Cittavisrama, Uddiyana, dakini, siddha, guru, and smasana. In the third chapter, an attempt is made at a biographical picture of Tilopd, assessing the who, the when, and the where. In the last chapter, a preliminary description is given on the bibliographic details and context of the Indic and the Tibetan sources which have transmitted Tilopa's word.