Videos by Martin A Mills
Climate change is occurring faster on the Tibetan Plateau than nearly anywhere else on Earth. Wha... more Climate change is occurring faster on the Tibetan Plateau than nearly anywhere else on Earth. What does the science say and what does this mean for Asia as a whole?
Summary of findings of the Scottish Centre for Himalayan Research/Scottish Parliament's Cross-Party Group on Tibet, presented by Dr Martin Mills at the Royal Geographical Society, 25th June 2021. Event arranged by Office of Tibet, London. 171 views
Climate Change on the Tibetan Plateau by Martin A Mills
Climate Change on the Third Pole – Causes, Processes and Consequences
A summary and analysis of ... more Climate Change on the Third Pole – Causes, Processes and Consequences
A summary and analysis of recent scientific findings to the Scottish Parliament's Cross-Party Group on Tibet, by the Scottish Centre for Himalayan Research, January 2021.
AsiaDialogue, 2017
The Tibetan Plateau within the overall development strategy of the PRC.
Tibetan Buddhism by Martin A Mills
A pre-publication draft of the Identity, Ritual and State in Tibetan Buddhism, subsequently publi... more A pre-publication draft of the Identity, Ritual and State in Tibetan Buddhism, subsequently published by RoutledgeCurzon in 2003.
This is an in-depth ethnographic analysis of the ritual life of Lingshed Kumbum Monastery in Ladakh, a Tibetan Buddhist institution of the Geluk School, based on fieldwork carried out between 1993-5. The monograph examines the institutional form of monasticism in relation to surrounding lay and household life, the structure of ritual practice throughout the calendar year, and the structure of religious authority within Geluk monasticism as practiced in Ladakh. Particular analytical attention is paid to the formation of truth in Buddhist ritual, the institution of the incarnate lama (tulku) and the emplacement of Buddhist monasticism within a chthonic framework of local area gods and spirits.
It is a long-standing wish of mine to update and augment this book for a second, revised edition, to include in particular far more detail on those surrounding monasteries that are part of Ngari Rinpoche's estate in Ladakh and Zanskar, and to augment the ethnographic material with a more systematic approach to the textual traditions associated with the area. Any suggestions that people have (literature to look at, texts to include, things I've got wrong or which have subsequently been challenged) would be very gratefully received and acknowledged.
This article challenges two connected notions in the study of Tibetan Buddhism: that Buddhist mon... more This article challenges two connected notions in the study of Tibetan Buddhism: that Buddhist monasticism is characterized by a pronounced move towards individualism, systematically detaching monks from relational social life; and that Tibetan Buddhist doctrines of karma represent an alternative mode of identity to those constructed within household life. By comparing the ritual practices and inheritance patterns associated with household groups in Ladakh with tantric ritual forms in local Buddhist (Gelukpa) monasteries, it is argued that they demonstrate pronounced structural similarities, centred on the shared symbolic construct of the household/temple as the source of socialized agency. An analysis of the meditative disciplines of Gelukpa monasticism is used to show how such
training serves not to renounce kinship and household values, but to transform them into modes of religious authority, essential to the social position of monks (trapa) and incarnate
lamas (tulku) in Tibetan Buddhism.
The figure of the Tibetan monk is often presented as the unique exemplar of homeless renunciation... more The figure of the Tibetan monk is often presented as the unique exemplar of homeless renunciation. However, ethnographic studies of monastic life in Tibetan communities in Ladakh demonstrate that Tibetan Buddhist monastic institutions are not simply the centre of much community life, but also the fulcrum of complex economic flows that make monastic existence distinctly Janus-faced: the first face being their existence as members of the Sangha in the sense of the the monastic assembly; and the second, which constitutes their quotidian support relations which embed them in household economies.
Originally published in Wilson, R.A. & Mitchell, J.P. (eds. 2003) Human Rights in Global Perspect... more Originally published in Wilson, R.A. & Mitchell, J.P. (eds. 2003) Human Rights in Global Perspective. London: Routledge. pp. 54-70.
Mountains, Monasteries and Mosques: Recent Research on Ladakh and the Western Himalaya. Supplemento No. 2, Alla Rivista Degli Studi Orientali, 2009
An ethnographic examination of the tensions and dynamics of the Dalai Lama's 1996 interdiction on... more An ethnographic examination of the tensions and dynamics of the Dalai Lama's 1996 interdiction on the worship of the Tibetan protector deity Dorje Shugden, as it progressed over more than a decade in the Western Himalayan regions of Ladakg and Zanskar. The article examines the dynamics between laity and monastic communities, the changes in ritual practices, and the ultimate political impact of the interdiction up to 2007.
What does it mean when Tibetans say that Songtsen Gampo, first Buddhist emperor of Tibet, was div... more What does it mean when Tibetans say that Songtsen Gampo, first Buddhist emperor of Tibet, was divine - that he was Chenresik, patron deity of the Snowy Lands? This article examines the earliest versions of this claim, found in the post-dynastic texts, as exemplified in the story of the Khotanese monks, and argues that between the early 11th and 12th centuries, the story undergoes a profound shift, from treating Songtsen Gampo as a tantric initiator into the cult of Chenresik, to treating him as a manifestation of the deity - a shift which changes both the symbolism and narrative drive of the tale.
That our representation of time might be socially constructed has long been asserted by anthropol... more That our representation of time might be socially constructed has long been asserted by anthropologists. But what does it mean to live within time, and more particularly, outside it? Using ethnography from the Buddhist communities of Ladakh, North-West, this article examines the role of ritual in placing people within religiously organised time, and the place of ritual pollution in "dislocating" sufferers from social time. The work critiques Mary Douglas' theory of purity and pollution, which lacks an emergent temporal dimension.
Contemporary Tibet by Martin A Mills
Examines the historical, textual and political development of the notion of "Greater Tibet" as an... more Examines the historical, textual and political development of the notion of "Greater Tibet" as an object of belonging in the Ganden Podrang government of the Dalai Lamas. Published in Gerard Toffin & Joanna Pfaff-Czarnecka (eds. 2014) Facing Globalization in the Himalayas: Belonging and the Politics of the Self. London: Sage, pp. 397-419.
2013 briefing paper update on the Tibetan self-mmolations, presented to the Cross-Party Group on ... more 2013 briefing paper update on the Tibetan self-mmolations, presented to the Cross-Party Group on Tibet of the Scottish Parliament.
A briefing paper on the Tibetan self-immolations, prepared for the Cross Party Group on Tibet of ... more A briefing paper on the Tibetan self-immolations, prepared for the Cross Party Group on Tibet of the Scottish Parliament in June 2012.
Briefing paper presented to the Cross-Party Group on Tibet of the Scottish Parliament.
Briefing Paper for the Cross-Party Group on Tibet of the Scottish Parliament.
Preliminary Briefing Paper presented to the Cross-Party Group on Tibet of the Scottish Parliament.
Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 1999
Anthropology of Religion by Martin A Mills
Times Higher Education magazine, 2010
The New Atheism proudly trumpets the non-existence of God to the scientific mind, but the logic o... more The New Atheism proudly trumpets the non-existence of God to the scientific mind, but the logic of these arguments can equally be applied to our everyday belief in the existence of persons. The idea of the person is quite simply an irrational belief in natural science terms. But if we get rid of the idea of the person and all the fields of knowledge that depend on it - biography, literature, history, politics, to name but a few - then the vast majority of functioning human knowledge disappears, along with most of our everyday social awareness. This means we need to approach this problem in new ways.
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Videos by Martin A Mills
Summary of findings of the Scottish Centre for Himalayan Research/Scottish Parliament's Cross-Party Group on Tibet, presented by Dr Martin Mills at the Royal Geographical Society, 25th June 2021. Event arranged by Office of Tibet, London.
Climate Change on the Tibetan Plateau by Martin A Mills
A summary and analysis of recent scientific findings to the Scottish Parliament's Cross-Party Group on Tibet, by the Scottish Centre for Himalayan Research, January 2021.
Tibetan Buddhism by Martin A Mills
This is an in-depth ethnographic analysis of the ritual life of Lingshed Kumbum Monastery in Ladakh, a Tibetan Buddhist institution of the Geluk School, based on fieldwork carried out between 1993-5. The monograph examines the institutional form of monasticism in relation to surrounding lay and household life, the structure of ritual practice throughout the calendar year, and the structure of religious authority within Geluk monasticism as practiced in Ladakh. Particular analytical attention is paid to the formation of truth in Buddhist ritual, the institution of the incarnate lama (tulku) and the emplacement of Buddhist monasticism within a chthonic framework of local area gods and spirits.
It is a long-standing wish of mine to update and augment this book for a second, revised edition, to include in particular far more detail on those surrounding monasteries that are part of Ngari Rinpoche's estate in Ladakh and Zanskar, and to augment the ethnographic material with a more systematic approach to the textual traditions associated with the area. Any suggestions that people have (literature to look at, texts to include, things I've got wrong or which have subsequently been challenged) would be very gratefully received and acknowledged.
training serves not to renounce kinship and household values, but to transform them into modes of religious authority, essential to the social position of monks (trapa) and incarnate
lamas (tulku) in Tibetan Buddhism.
Contemporary Tibet by Martin A Mills
Anthropology of Religion by Martin A Mills
Summary of findings of the Scottish Centre for Himalayan Research/Scottish Parliament's Cross-Party Group on Tibet, presented by Dr Martin Mills at the Royal Geographical Society, 25th June 2021. Event arranged by Office of Tibet, London.
A summary and analysis of recent scientific findings to the Scottish Parliament's Cross-Party Group on Tibet, by the Scottish Centre for Himalayan Research, January 2021.
This is an in-depth ethnographic analysis of the ritual life of Lingshed Kumbum Monastery in Ladakh, a Tibetan Buddhist institution of the Geluk School, based on fieldwork carried out between 1993-5. The monograph examines the institutional form of monasticism in relation to surrounding lay and household life, the structure of ritual practice throughout the calendar year, and the structure of religious authority within Geluk monasticism as practiced in Ladakh. Particular analytical attention is paid to the formation of truth in Buddhist ritual, the institution of the incarnate lama (tulku) and the emplacement of Buddhist monasticism within a chthonic framework of local area gods and spirits.
It is a long-standing wish of mine to update and augment this book for a second, revised edition, to include in particular far more detail on those surrounding monasteries that are part of Ngari Rinpoche's estate in Ladakh and Zanskar, and to augment the ethnographic material with a more systematic approach to the textual traditions associated with the area. Any suggestions that people have (literature to look at, texts to include, things I've got wrong or which have subsequently been challenged) would be very gratefully received and acknowledged.
training serves not to renounce kinship and household values, but to transform them into modes of religious authority, essential to the social position of monks (trapa) and incarnate
lamas (tulku) in Tibetan Buddhism.