Thuken Chökyi Nyima’s The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems is the widest-ranging account of religious philosophies ever written in premodern Tibet. After covering the major schools of India, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist, Thuken discusses in detail the entire range of Tibetan traditions, with separate chapters on the Nyingma, Kadam, Kagyü, Shijé, Sakya, Jonang, Geluk, and Bön schools. He then describes the major traditions of China — Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist — as well as those of Mongolia, Khotan, and Shambhala. Not content with simply describing and analyzing doctrines, Thuken traces the historical development of the various traditions. While he favors his own Geluk school, Thuken treats the views of other traditions with sympathy and respect, sometimes even defending them against criticisms from his own tradition. Eloquent, erudite, and informative, The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems is evidence that serious and balanced study of the history of religions has not been a monopoly of Western scholarship.
