Ritual is one of the most pervasive religious phenomena in the Tibetan cultural world. Despite its ubiquity and importance to Tibetan cultural life, however, only in recent years has Tibetan ritual been given the attention it deserves. This is the first scholarly collection to focus on this important subject. Unique in its historical, geographical, and disciplinary breadth, this book brings together eleven essays by an international cast of scholars working on ritual texts, institutions, and practices in the greater Tibetan cultural world - Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and Mongolia. While most of the chapters focus on Buddhism, two deal with ritual in Tibet's indigenous Bon religion. All of the essays are original to this volume. An extensive introduction by the editor provides a broad overview of Tibetan ritual and contextualizes the chapters within the field of Buddhist and Tibetan studies. The book should find use in advanced undergraduate courses and graduate seminars on Tibetan religion. It will also be of interest to students and scholars of ritual generally.

Contributors. vii
José Ignacio Cabezón: Introduction. 1
1. Nicolas Sihle: Written Texts at the Juncture of the Local and the Global: Some Anthropological Considerations on a Local Corpus of Tantric Ritual Manuals (Lower Mustang, Nepal). 35
2. Samten Karmay: Tibetan Indigenous Myths and Rituals with Reference to the Ancient Bon Text: The Nyenbum (Gnyan 'bum). 53
3. Robert Mayer and Cathy Cantwell: Continuity and Change in Tibetan Mahāyoga Ritual: Some Evidence from the Tabzhag (Thabs zhags) Manuscript and other Dunhuang Texts. 69
4. Yael Bentor: The Convergence of Theoretical and Practical Concerns in a Single Verse of the Guhyasamāja Tantra. 89
5. Irmgard Mengele: Chilu ('Chi bslu): Rituals for "Deceiving Death". 103
6. James Gentry: Representations of Efficacy: the Ritual Expulsion of Mongol Armies in the Consolidation and Expansion of the Tsang (Gtsang) Dynasty. 131
7. Bryan J. Cuevas: The "Calf's Nipple" (Be'u bum) of Ju Mipam ('Ju Mi pham): A Handbook of Tibetan Ritual Magic. 165
8. Marc des Jardins: Tamdrin (Rta mgrin) Rituals in the Bon Tradition: Transforming Poison and Eliminating Noxious Spirits with Burning Stones. 187
9. Vesna Wallace: Texts as Deities: Mongols' Rituals of Worshipping Sūtras and Rituals of Accomplishing Various Goals by Means of Sūtras. 207
10. Jared Lindahl: The Ritual Veneration of Mongolia's Mountains. 225
11. Francoise Pommaret: Encounter With a Dream: Bhutanese Pilgrims in Tibet. Performing a Ritual? 249
Bibliography. 263
Index. 291.