The holy mountain and meditation caves at Lapchi, located on the Tibet-Nepal border, form one of the principal sites associated with the life of Tibet’s most famous Buddhist saint, Mila Repa (1040-1123). The present contribution is a description and critical edition of the main Tibetan textual source concerning the history, geography, and ritual traditions of Lapchi, the so-called Guidebook to Lapchi (lapchi neyik). It is intended that this critical edition be read together with my previously published annotated English translation of the Guidebook to Lapchi and field studies of the area. Since relatively few examples of genuine native Tibetan literature – as opposed to Indian or Indic-inspired Buddhist sources and their commentaries – have appeared in the form of a critical edition, the present contribution will hopefully be of interest to students of Tibetan language and culture. It should highlight at least two important but often underestimated methodological issues in the study of descriptions of place, such as pilgrimage or historical sites: the difficulty of establishing a workable Tibetan text for research purposes; and the desirability of undertaking field research at sites being described in textual sources in conjunction with any philological work.
目次
Introduction The Author of the Guidebook to Lapchi and His Sources Methodology Critical Edition Glossary Bibliography Notes
