2016 Khyentse Lecture

Donald S. Lopez, University of Michigan will deliver the 2016 Khyentse Lecture at UC Berkeley in the Faculty Club, Heyns Room, Thursday, February 11, 2016, at 5 pm.

Gendun Chopel (1903-1951) was the most important Tibetan writer of the twentieth century. Born in Amdo, the son of a Nyingma lama, he was educated at Labrang and Drepung as a Geluk monk. In 1934, he traveled to India, not returning to Lhasa until 1945. During his years in South Asia, he wrote his most important works, including translations from Sanskrit and Pali. The India that he visited, however, was quite different from that of the great Tibetan lotsawas (translators) of ages past. This lecture will explore Gendun Chopel’s nuanced views of India, the Land of the Noble (and, to Gendun Chopel, not so noble) Ones.

Donald Lopez is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan, where he serves as chair of the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures and chair of the Michigan Society of Fellows.