Donald S. Lopez Jr. is a scholar of Buddhist studies, and this University of Chicago Press book is his academic critique of how Tibetan Buddhism has been imagined and misrepresented in the West, including its close philological treatment of the mantra om mani padme hum and the history of its popular but incorrect translation as the jewel in the lotus. Its strength is Lopez's own command of the Tibetan and Sanskrit textual record, which lets him correct a widely repeated error at its philological root rather than merely noting that popular writing gets it wrong. Its limit is that the book is organized as a set of critical essays on specific Western misreadings rather than a general introduction to Tibetan Buddhism itself, so a reader wanting a straightforward account of the tradition's doctrine and practice needs a different, more expository source alongside this one.
Facts
Citation
AuthorDonald S. Lopez Jr.
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
Publication Year1998
URLhttps://archive.org/details/prisonersofshang0000lope
Source Typeacademic monograph
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Donald Lopez's University of Chicago Press study of Tibetan Buddhism's reception in the West, including the detailed grammatical history of the mantra om mani padme hum and its long mistranslation as the jewel in the lotus. NotesContains the detailed treatment of om mani padme hum, its grammar, and the history of its mistranslation as the jewel in the lotus.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Chicago directly: "is a scholar of Buddhist studies, and this University of Chicago Press book is his academic critique of how Tibetan Buddhism has been imagined and misrepresented in the West, including its close..."
This source names Mani the Prophet directly: "treatment of the mantra om mani padme hum and the history of its popular but incorrect translation as the jewel in the lotus."
Claims Backed By This Source (47 claims)
This source backs 47 claims across the atlas. As facts: 36 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate. As cited relationships: 3 holds. Plus 7 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Realms, 15 claims: 12 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate, 1 holds, 1 general references.
- Esoteric Texts, 12 claims: 11 well-attested, 1 general references.
- Sources, 10 claims: 8 well-attested, 2 holds.
- Articles, 4 claims: 4 well-attested.
- Denominations, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
- Disciplines, 1 claims: 1 general references.
- Holidays & Festivals, 1 claims: 1 general references.
- Mantras, 1 claims: 1 general references.
- Sacred Sites, 1 claims: 1 general references.
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