Around 2012, I started research on the modernization of Tibetan Buddhism. Eventually dropped the project (because, seriously, who cares?).
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Replying to @Meaningness
Summary: there have been three massive waves of modernization of Tibetan Buddhism. (Plus of course earlier, pre-modern reform waves.)
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Replying to @Meaningness
Tibetan Buddhist modernization #1 was late 1600s/early 1700s, driven by Chinese modernization under Kangxi and later Qing emperors.
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Replying to @Meaningness
A key innovation of the 1600s Tibetan Buddhist modernization was mass practice of tantric sadhana, which was previously elite-only.
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Replying to @Meaningness
Tibetan Buddhist reform wave #2 was 1800s Ri-mé resistance movement, which introduced a strikingly new and attractive metaphysics.
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Replying to @Meaningness
Tibet in the early 1800s was quite open to the modern world, notably British India. How much influence that had on Ri-mé, I’m not sure!
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Replying to @Meaningness
Tibetan Buddhist modernization wave #3 is the Nyingma Revival led by Jigme Phuntsok in the 1990s. Very encouraging; has not yet reached West
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Replying to @Meaningness
So, Tibetan Buddhism known in the West is a mixture of elements from the late 1600s and from the early 1800s. Older than Zen and Theravada!
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Replying to @Meaningness
Not that “older” implies “better” in any way, but it’s entertaining that this inverts the usual understanding of their historical positions.
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Replying to @Meaningness
Wait, who thinks Zen is older than Tibetan? My extremely casual perception was Zen newer than Tibetan newer than Theravada.
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The official story is that Zen goes back to the time of the “historical” Buddha. And there is invented history for every century since.
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Replying to @Meaningness @TristanSevers
I doubt anyone believes the whole thing, but lots of people would date Zen to maybe 3rd century and Vajrayana to 7th.
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Replying to @Meaningness @TristanSevers
And indeed there was something called “Zen” in the 3rd century, but it has very tenuous, if any, historical continuity with current thing.
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