The Dawn of Tibetan Buddhist Scholasticism (11th-13th c.)

Project Information

TibSchol

Grant agreement ID: 101001002

DOI

10.3030/101001002

EC signature date 27 February 2021

Start date 1 July 2021

End date 30 June 2026

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 1 994 161,00

EU contribution

€ 1 994 161,00

Coordinated by

OESTERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN
Austria

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - TibSchol (The Dawn of Tibetan Buddhist Scholasticism (11th-13th c.))

Reporting period: 2024-07-01 to 2025-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

TibSchol is the first wide-ranging exploration of the formative phase of Tibetan Buddhist scholasticism. The aim of the project is to provide an integrative picture of this tradition by exploring both the early Tibetan scholastic landscape and the Tibetan scholastic method.
From the 10th century onward, Tibet witnessed a revival of Buddhist culture and a new flowering of religious and intellectual traditions. A massive number of Indian Buddhist teachings were introduced, sparking a huge amount of literary activity. This configuration spurred the development of formal tools of reasoned analysis and hermeneutical devices that were applied to the investigation of the Buddhist scriptures and used in religio-philosophical discussions. The methods and tools that Tibetan scholasticism developed at this time went on to shape an enduring tradition of methodical and systematic learning closely tied to the religious context. Understanding this tradition is essential not only for a more complete appreciation of Tibet’s intellectual history, but also for a more comprehensive global history of philosophy. Studying the vectors of development of this tradition and its associated textual corpus will make an important contribution to the broader socio-religious landscape of the Later Spread of Buddhism in Tibet.
TibSchol takes advantage of the resurfacing of a large body of early scholastic writings in manuscript form, which enables the exploration of Tibetan scholasticism at a depth never before possible. Mapping the personal and intellectual networks of Tibetan scholastics active during the period in question and surveying the early scholastic corpus will pave the way for research on how texts were circulated at that time, as well as how knowledge was propagated. By examining theoretical excursus on the most significant conceptual tools and their application in exegeses of Indian Buddhist soteriological and philosophical literature, the project is clarifying the basic vocabulary of scholastic discussions. This will make the works more accessible, even to researchers in other fields, and promote comparative studies with other scholastic cultures worldwide.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

TibSchol was launched on 1 July 2021. In the 54 months since the start of the project, the team has completed the survey of the initial textual corpus consisting of more than 530 works, accessible as reproductions of handwritten manuscripts. Colophons were studied, and further biographical research was conducted to place scholastic authors on the map, reconstructing their personal network, and assessing their place(s) of activity. Texts have also been mined for intertextual references, benefiting from our Handwritten Text Recognition models for Tibetan cursive script trained on the platform Transkribus. The collection of references to other texts written by 11th-13th century scholastics is expanding our understanding of the range of individuals’ specialized learning and the thematic focus of scholarly compositions in that period.
Data on over 1200 scholars and more than 1000 works and their manuscripts has been integrated in a prosopographical database, which is linked to a bibliographical library on Zotero and a library of textual fragments in TEI format. The dataset is public and is still being curated. Data visualization in graph format is currently in development.
Thematic inquiries into scholastic tools have addressed discussions on the theory of definition and the differentiations at play in the Madhyamaka two-truth framework. Explorations related to hermeneutics have addressed the Tibetan classifications of Indian tenet systems and the question of scholarly authority and of Tibetan compositions claimed to be translations of Indian works. The development of a rules-based method of public argumentation has been investigated. Works that provide evidence of a growing gulf in Tibet between scholastics and scholars who rejected this approach have also been examined. Interdisciplinary dialogue was fostered with scholars of medieval studies, in particular specialists of Latin scholasticism.
The TibSchol team has organized and co-organized four workshops and two symposia, most recently the international symposium “In and around early Tibetan scholasticism” (Vienna, 4-6 June 2025) that hosted 15 high-ranking speakers. TibSchol members have organized panels at major conferences in the field – notably the 16th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (Prague, 3–9 July 2022) and the XXth Congress of the International Association of Buddhist Studies (Leipzig, 10–15 August 2025) – as well as at the Leeds International Medieval Congress (Leeds, 7–10 July 2025), where the PI also had the honor of delivering a keynote lecture. In addition, research results were presented in 55 presentations (including 7 invited lectures) and nine articles have appeared.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

TibSchol has advanced the field significantly with its survey of the early scholastic corpus. Team members are exploring topics previously unaddressed or barely touched upon in modern scholarship, presenting their findings at conferences and publications that have appeared in print and are forthcoming. These represent an extremely valuable advance in the field. TibSchol has developed the first public Handwritten Text Recognition models for Tibetan cursive script and actively fosters FAIR access to the extensive dataset resulting from its exploration of scholastic and historical works.
By the end of the project, we expect to be able to shed new light on the following questions:
- Who were the individuals involved in scholastic activities in Tibet during the 11th to 13th centuries, how were they connected, and with which enclaves of learning were they affiliated?
- Which textual traditions and topics did Tibetan scholastics in the 11th to 13th c. favor, and which Indian and Tibetan treatises did they teach, study, and refer to in their own works?
- What is the contextual and theoretical background of discussions on tools and methods, and what degree of abstraction do they display?
- What were the dominant problems and debates in Tibetan Buddhist scholarship of the 11th to 13th century, and how were scholastic tools used to frame and solve philosophical and exegetical problems?
Answering these questions will bring research on early Tibetan scholasticism to an entirely new level. TibSchol further embraces questions shared by the fields of religious studies and philosophy. It aims to understand the phenomena associated with Tibetan scholasticism as a significant part of world intellectual history and philosophy.
The results of TibSchol’s research, along with interdisciplinary exchange fostered with scholars of Buddhist studies and specialists of the Latin tradition, will allow for better informed comparisons with other forms of scholasticism worldwide, and will contribute, in methodological terms, to a more nuanced conceptualization of scholasticism as a cross-cultural comparative category.
The technical tools being developed and the data being collected will also remain available as a long-term output of the project.

TibSchol project logo

Statues of the Eight Great Lions in Sangpu monastery (Photo: J. Yi)