The Radiance of Light: Comparing the Medieval Tibetan and Medieval Latin Biographies of Longchen Rabjam and Bernard of Clairvaux.

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dc.contributor.advisorFanger, Claire L.
dc.contributor.advisorKlein, Anne C.
dc.creatorParker, Anne Olivia
dc.date.accessioned2021-05-03T21:10:11Z
dc.date.available2023-05-01T05:01:09Z
dc.date.created2021-05
dc.date.issued2021-04-28
dc.date.submittedMay 2021
dc.date.updated2021-05-03T21:10:11Z
dc.description.abstractThe title of this study is: “The Radiance of Light: Comparing the Medieval Tibetan and Medieval Latin Biographies of Longchen Rabjam and Bernard of Clairvaux.” This dissertation is a comparative study of two medieval texts, Chodrak Zangpo’s Tibetan rnam thar, or biography of the Nyingmapa and Dzogchen visionary and writer Longchenpa (1308-1364), Meaningful to Behold, and Geoffrey of Auxerre’s, William of St.Thierry’s, and Arnold of Bonneval’s co-authored Latin vita, or biography of Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), the Cistercian mystic and writer, The First Life. Each part of this work is composed of close readings of selections from these two works. In these close readings, I use Weberian theories of charismatic authority to structure my reflections on some of the similarities and differences between these medieval authors’ respective presentations of legitimate spiritual authority in narrative form. My primary argument, developed in different aspects in each part of this dissertation, is that while Weber’s theories are useful for understanding these accounts from a sociological perspective (though in many cases even this usefulness must be qualified) they are inadequate for understanding these accounts from a contemplative perspective. In speaking of this contemplative perspective, I include not only their first medieval audiences, but us, today and now, in so far as we are also contemplative readers. Each part focuses upon a different dimension of experience—in Part 1: “Charisma and the Practice of Virtue,” the ethical, in Part 2: “Charisma and the Dreaming Self,” the visionary or the dreaming, and lastly, in Part 3: “The Poetics of Charisma,” the aesthetic.
dc.embargo.terms2023-05-01
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationParker, Anne Olivia. "The Radiance of Light: Comparing the Medieval Tibetan and Medieval Latin Biographies of Longchen Rabjam and Bernard of Clairvaux.." (2021) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/110412">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/110412</a>.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/110412
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.
dc.subjectcharisma
dc.subjectWeber
dc.subjectBernard of Clairvaux
dc.subjectLongchenpa
dc.subjectContemplative Studies
dc.subjectbiography
dc.subjectmedieval
dc.subjectTibetan
dc.subjectLatin
dc.titleThe Radiance of Light: Comparing the Medieval Tibetan and Medieval Latin Biographies of Longchen Rabjam and Bernard of Clairvaux.
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialText
thesis.degree.departmentReligious Studies
thesis.degree.disciplineHumanities
thesis.degree.grantorRice University
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy
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