Samten Gyeltsen Karmay () (1936-) is a writer and researcher in the field of Tibetan Studies. His work is focused on the study of Tibetan myths, beliefs, the

Bon Bon or Bön (), also known as Yungdrung Bon (, ), is the indigenous Tibetan religion which shares many similarities and influences with Tibetan Buddhism.Samuel 2012, pp. 220–221. It initially developed in the tenth and eleventh centuries but ...

religion and religious history.

Life and work

Samten Gyeltsen was born in 1936 in Amdo Sharkhog, eastern Tibet. He received religious training in

Dzogchen Dzogchen ( 'Great Completion' or 'Great Perfection'), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Bön aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. The goal ...

meditation from his uncle. He completed his studies in the Bon monastery in 1955, obtaining the degree of

geshe Geshe (, short for ''dge-ba'i bshes-gnyen'', "virtuous friend"; translation of Skt. ''kalyāņamitra'') or geshema is a Tibetan Buddhist academic degree for monks and nuns. The degree is emphasized primarily by the Gelug lineage, but is also awar ...

, and left with a group of friends to

Drepung Monastery Drepung Monastery (, "Rice Heap Monastery"), located at the foot of Mount Gephel, is one of the "great three" Gelug monasteries of Tibet founded by Je Tsongkhapa. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Sera Monastery. Drepung is the largest of ...

, a

Gelug file:DalaiLama0054 tiny.jpg, 240px, 14th Dalai Lama, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya, Bodhgaya (India) The Gelug (, also Geluk; 'virtuous' ...

gompa near

Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...

. The monastery was known for its high philosophical training. After leaving Drepung due to the difficult political situation, Samten moved to Nepal and later to India. After working for some time in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, he was invited to England by David Snellgrove under a Rockefeller fellowship. Upon moving to Europe, he assumed the surname Karmay. He studied under two mentors, Snellgrove and Rolf Stein, who both recognized Samten's knowledge of Tibetan texts. He earned an M. Phil degree at the

SOAS, University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, ...

. In 1980 he moved to France, where he entered the

Centre national de la recherche scientifique The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...

(National Centre for Scientific Research). During his time there, he was awarded with the

CNRS Silver Medal The CNRS Silver Medal is a scientific award given every year to about fifteen researchers by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). It is awarded to a researcher for "the originality, quality and importance of their work, re ...

for his contribution to Human Sciences. A number of Revue d'Études Tibétaines was dedicated to him in November 2008. He also held the post of the President of the International Association of Tibetan Studies between 1995 and 2000, being the first Tibetan to be elected to the post. In 2005 he was a visiting professor at the

International Institute for Asian Studies Introduction The International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) is a global research institute and knowledge exchange platform, based in Leiden, the Netherlands. The Institute initiates and promotes multidisciplinary as well as inter- and tran ...

, under the sponsorship of Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (""Society for the Promotion of Buddhism"").

Books and articles

* *Karmay, Samten G. (1972). ''The Treasury of Good Sayings: The Tibetan History of Bon''. London, OUP 1972 ondon Oriental Series, volume 26 (Reprint by Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 2001) *Karmay, Samten G. (1977). ''A Catalogue of Bonpo Publications'', Tokyo: Toyo Bunko 1977. *Karmay, Samten G. ''The Arrow and the Spindle: Studies in History, Myths, Rituals and Beliefs in Tibet''. Kathmandu: Mandala Book 1998 **Vol 1, Part VI, Chapter 29
The Fifth Dalai Lama and his Reunification of Tibet
pp. 503-517. *Karmay, Samten G. Vairocana and the rGyud-bzhi. Tibetan Medicine, a Publication for the Study of Tibetan Medicine, Library of Tibetan Works and Archives: Dharamsala 1989 *Karmay, Samten G. ''New Horizons in Bon Studies'', co-authored with Yasuhiko Nagano, National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka 2000 *Karmay, Samten G. ''A Survey of Bonpo Monasteries and Temples in Tibet and the Himalaya'', co-authored with Yasuhiko Nagano, National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, 2003 * *Karmay, Samten G. ''Little Luminous Boy: The Oral Tradition from the Land of Zhang Zhung'', White Orchid Press, 1988 *Karmay, Samten G. ''The Great Perfection (rDzogs chen in Tibetan),A Philosophical and Meditative Teaching of Tibetan Buddhism'', Brill, 2007 *Karmay, Samten G. ''Secret Visions of the Fifth Dalai Lama: The Gold Manuscript in the Fournier Collection Musée Guimet'', Paris, Serindia Publications, 1991 *Karmay, Samten G. Religion and Politics: commentary, Where Tibetans Write, September 2008, https://web.archive.org/web/20160305233421/http://www.tibetwrites.org/?religion-and-politics-commentary *Karmay, Samten G. (1998

980 Year 980 ( CMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Peace is concluded between Emperor Otto II (the Red) and King Lothair III (or Lothair IV) at Margut, ending the Franco-Germa ...

. “The Ordinance of lHa Bla-ma Ye-shes-’od.” In The Arrow and the Spindle. Kathmandu: Mandala. 3–16. *Karmay, Samten G. (1998

983 Year 983 ( CMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Diet of Verona: Emperor Otto II (the Red) declares war against the Byzantine Empire and the Emirate of Sicily ...

. “Early Evidence for the Existence of Bon as a Religion in the Royal Period.” In The Arrow and the Spindle. Kathmandu: Mandala. 157–166. *Karmay, Samten G. (2009). “A new discovery of Ancient Bon Manuscripts from a Buddhist stūpa in Southern Tibet.” East and West 59.1-4: 55-86.

References

*Holding the Name High, Preface by Francois Pommaret, Thimpu 2008 Asian Commitment: Travels and Studies in the Indian Subcontinent and South Asia, David l. Snellgrove, Orchid Press 2008 *How Samten Gyeltsen came to Europe, by David L. Snellgrove, Revue d'Etudes Tibetaines, Indologica himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ Digital Himalaya: Revue d'Études Tibétaines Number 15, Novembre 2008 - Tibetan Studies in Honour of Samten Karmay, Part II, November 2008 *http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ret/pdf/ret_14_01.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Karmay, Samten 1936 births Living people Tibetologists French National Centre for Scientific Research scientists Tibetan emigrants Alumni of SOAS University of London Tibetan emigrants to India