The Gathering of Intentions: A History of a Tibetan Tantra

The Gathering of Intentions reads a single Tibetan Buddhist ritual system through the movements of Tibetan history, revealing the social and material dimensions of an ostensibly timeless tradition. By subjecting tantric practice to historical analysis, the book offers new insight into the origins of Tibetan Buddhism, the formation of its canons, the emergence of new lineages and ceremonies, and modern efforts to revitalize the religion by returning to its mythic origins.

The ritual system explored in this volume is based on the Gathering of Intentions Sutra, the fundamental "root tantra" of the Anuyoga class of teachings belonging to the Nyingma ("Ancient") school of Tibetan Buddhism. Proceeding chronologically from the ninth century to the present, each chapter features a Tibetan author negotiating a perceived gap between the original root text-the Gathering of Intentions-and the lived religious or political concerns of his day. These ongoing tensions underscore the significance of Tibet's elaborate esoteric ritual systems, which have persisted for centuries, evolving in response to historical conditions. Rather than overlook practice in favor of philosophical concerns, this volume prioritizes Tibetan Buddhism's ritual systems for a richer portrait of the tradition.

Table of Contents:
Preface
Introduction
1. Origins: Myth and History
2. The Gathering of Intentions in Early Tibetan Tantra
3. The Spoken Teachings
4. The Rise of the Sutra Initiation
5. Dorjé Drak and the Formation of a New Lineage
6. The Mindröling Tradition
7. Returns to the Origin
Appendix: The Four Root Tantras of Anuyoga
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

About the Author :
Jacob P. Dalton is Khyentse Foundation Distinguished Professor in Tibetan Buddhism at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of The Taming of the Demons: Violence and Liberation in Tibetan Buddhism (2011) and Conjuring the Buddha: Ritual Manuals in Early Tantric Buddhism (Columbia, 2023).

Review :
The Gathering of Intentions makes a valuable contribution to the field of Tibetan and Buddhist studies and will attract nonacademic readers who are interested in learning about the practice of Tibetan Buddhism. The organization of the book is thoughtfully crafted, the content coverage thorough and wide-ranging, the scholarship superb, and the arguments clear and persuasive. The Gathering of Intentions is an essential contribution to the study of Tibetan Buddhism. This learned and lucid book is an important, insightful, and groundbreaking study of a worthy subject that takes a valuable historical approach to interpreting the development of a Tibetan Buddhist tradition over an extended period of time. In so doing, it provides critical perspectives on both the distinctive moments it explores and the long-term impact of a quietly influential scriptural tradition. The Gathering of Intentions takes a single tantra and shows how it has been at the center of the religious life of practitioners of the Nyingma tradition of Tibet, from the wandering yogins of the tenth century to the Fifth Dalai Lama in the seventeenth and the Tibetan exile communities of the present day. One of the best things about this fascinating book is how Dalton brings together the earliest sources for understanding Tibetan Buddhism with the living, breathing tradition as it exists today in Tibet and across the world. An extremely engaging, perspicacious, and elegantly written book on the history of the production and development of a Tibetan text . . . Dalton’s book provides a fundamental road map and guidance for scholars interested in Anuyoga and the development of the Bka’ ma lineages in Tibet. The Gathering of Intentions is required reading for scholars of Tibetan religious history, particularly those interested in the Nyingma School’s distinctive tantric system. [This book] makes a serious contribution to our understanding of Tibetan religious history by demonstrating the relevance of what was until recently a poorly understood textual tradition and showing the surprising ways it impacted Tibetan history. A valuable, information-packed resource for the study of canon, institution, and ritualism in Tibet. Dalton illuminates an important and understudied Buddhist tradition.... A useful case study for those interestd in the history of religions in general as well as a valuable resource for students and scholars of Tibetan religion and history. Highly recommended. Dalton deserves great praise for his scholarship, historical research and crisp writing. This volume prioritizes Tibetan Buddhism's ritual systems for a richer portrait of the tradition. This book [is] a very valuable contribution to the study of Tibetan Buddhism. Without a doubt this is a highly recommended book and a very successful exploration of the life and vicissitudes of a single tantra.