Item Details

The Contemporary Tibetan Buddhist Rimé Response to Religious Diversity

Issue: Vol 4 No. 1 (2020) Buddhist Responses to Religious Diversity (Special Issue)

Journal: Interreligious Studies and Intercultural Theology

Subject Areas:

DOI: 10.1558/isit.40148

Abstract:

In a world where communities across the globe are becoming increasingly interconnected, encounters with diverse cultures and faiths are inevitable. How can diverse communities approach these encounters in a way that fosters dialogue rather than conflict, peace rather than war? Specifically, in the context of Buddhism, how should Buddhists relate to religious diversity in a way that simultaneously remains faithful to their own spiritual traditions while being openminded and respectful towards the beliefs and practices of others? One of the most well-known Buddhist responses to religious diversity was the rimé movement in nineteenth-century eastern Tibet. While the term “rimé” (meaning “impartial” or “non-sectarian” in Tibetan) has become a catchphrase in contemporary Tibetan Buddhist contexts, there has been little sustained engagement with this topic by Buddhists and Buddhist studies scholars. This essay documents and contextualizes the contemporary uses of the term rimé (non-sectarianism) in Tibetan Buddhist communities and situates it within Tibetan Buddhist literature and history. I argue that it is essential for both Buddhists and Buddhist-studies scholars to devote significant attention to the concept of rimé and to engage in interfaith dialogue. For Buddhists, the very survival of their religion depends on it. For Buddhist-studies scholars, it contributes to the development of an accurate understanding of one of the most significant intellectual moments in modern Tibetan history. For humankind, it contributes to interfaith understanding, harmony, and peace.

Author: Rachel Pang

View Original Web Page

References :

Abe, Masao. 1995. Buddhism and Interfaith Dialogue. Edited by Steven Heine. London: Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-13454-0

Dalai Lama XIV, His Holiness. 1993. “Advice to Buddhists in the West.” http://hhdl.dharmakara.net/hhdlquotes111.html

———. 2010. Toward a True Kinship of Faiths: How the World’s Religions Can Come Together. New York: Doubleday Religion.

Deshung Rinpoche. 1983. “Buddhism Without Sectarianism.” Translated by Jared Rhoton. Los Angeles, CA: Quiet Mountain. http://www.quietmountain.org/links/teachings/nonsect.htm

Gardner, Alexander. 2006. “The Twenty-five Great Sites of Khams: Religious Geography, Revelation, and Nonsectarianism in Nineteeth-Century Eastern Tibet.” PhD dissertation. Asian Languages and Cultures. University of Michigan.

Gayley, Holly and Joshua Schapiro. 2017. “Introduction.” A Gathering of Brilliant Moons: Practice Advice from the Rimé Masters of Tibet, edited by Holly Gayley and Joshua Schapiro. Somerville: Wisdom Publications.

Great Middle Way. n.d. “Nying Je Ling.” https://greatmiddleway.wordpress.com/about/

Gross, Rita. 2014. Religious Diversity What’s the Problem?: Buddhist Advice for Flourishing with Religious Diversity. Eugene: Cascade.

Jamgon Kongtrul Labrang. 2012. “The 4th Jamgon Kongtrul Rinopche.” Office of H.E. Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche. http://www.jamgonkongtrul.org/section.php?s1=2&s2=3

Kiblinger, Kristin. 2005. Buddhist Inclusivism: Attitudes Toward Religious Others. Farnham: Ashgate.

Knitter, Paul F. 1995. One Earth Many Religions: Multifaith Dialogue and Global Responsibility. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis.

———. 1996. Jesus and the Other Names: Christian Mission and Global Responsibility. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis.

———. 2002. Theologies of Religions. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis.

———. 2009. Without Buddha I Could Not Be a Christian. London: Oneworld.

Kongtrul, Jamgön. 2003. The Autobiography of Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé. Trans. Richard Barron. Ithaca: Snow Lion.

Komarovski, Yaroslav. 2001. Visions of Unity: The Golden Pandita Shakya Chokden’s New Interpretation of Yogacara and Madhyamaka. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Oldmeadow, Peter. 2012. Rimé, Buddhism without Prejudice: the Nineteenth Century Non-Sectarian Movement and its Tibetan Context. Carlton North: Shogam.

Pang, Rachel. H. 2014. “The Rimé Activities of Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol (1781–1851).” Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines 30(October): 5–30.

———. 2015. “Rimé Revisited: Shabkar’s Response to Religious Difference.” Journal of Buddhist Ethics 22: 449–473.

Rimay: Communauté Shangpa Rimay International. 2019. “Denys Rinpoché.” https://www.rimay.net/denys-rinpoche/

Rimay Monlam. 2017. http://www.rimaymonlam.org/en/about-rimay-monlam/

Rime Buddhist Center: Achieving Peace through Compassion. n.d. “Rime Center Founders.” https://www.rimecenter.org/rime-center-founders/

RimeShedra.NYC. n.d. “Shedra Curriculum and History.” https://www.rimeshedra.nyc/curriculum

Samuel, Geoffrey. 1993. Civilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.

Schmidt-Leukel, Perry, ed. 2008. Buddhist Attitudes to Other Religions. Germany: St. Ottilien.

Smith, E. Gene. 2001a. “Jam mgon Kong sprul and the Nonsectarian Movement.” In Among Tibetan Texts: History and Literature of the Himalayan Plateau, ed. Kurtis R. Schaeffer, 235–272. Boston: Wisdom.

———. 2001b. “Mi pham and the Philosophical Controversies of the Nineteenth Century.” In Among Tibetan Texts: History and Literature of the Himalayan Plateau, edited by Kurtis R. Schaeffer, 227–234. Boston: Wisdom.

Stearns, Cyrus. 2007. King of the Empty Plain: The Tibetan Iron-Bridge Builder Tangtong Gyalpo. Ithaca: Snow Lion.

Tibetan Buddhist Rimé Institute: Holder of Jonang Kalachakra. 2017. “Rimé Philosophy.” rimebuddhism.com/about/rime-philosophy/3/

Tulku, Ringu. 2006. The Ri-Me Philosophy of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great: A Study of Buddhist Lineages of Tibet. Boston, MA: Shambhala.

Vélez de Cea, J. Abraham. 2013. The Buddha and Religious Diversity. Abingdon: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203072639

Welcome to the Official Website: His Holiness Rimay Gyalten Sogdzin Rinpoche and Rimay Dzam Ling Zhi Dei Chö Khor Ling. 2020. “Rimay.” rinpoche.ca/index.php/en/about-us/rimay

Zhabs dkar [Shabkar]. 2003a. chos bshad gzhan phan nor bu. Vol. 11 in Zhabs dkar tshogs drug rang grol kyi bka’ ‘bum. New Delhi: Shechen.

———. 2003b. o rgyan sprul pla’i glegs bam. Zhabs dkar tshogs drug rang grol kyi bka’ ‘bum. Volume 9. New Delhi: Shechen