Remembering the Beggar Lama: Rethinking Cultural Survival on the Sino-Tibetan Borderlands
Date: Tuesday, 11 March 2025
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Venue: Room 3081, Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin
This informal talk reflects on the life of Tsanlha Ngawang (1930–2025), the “Beggar Lama,” a Tibetan Buddhist polymath whose journey offers profound insights into the resilience and evolution of Tibetan culture amidst political and ideological upheaval. Born in Gyalrong, a contested Tibetan culture sphere in north-western Sichuan, Ngawang’s life unfolded at the crossroads of tradition and modernity, intellectual independence and social critique. His intellectual rigor, combined with his critique of Tibetan religious and political institutions, illuminates the intricate relationship between cultural preservation, adaptation, and self-reflection in times of crisis.
Ngawang’s marginal status within Tibetan communities and the broader field of Tibetan Studies only deepens the significance of his legacy. Eschewing the role of a conventional establishment figure, he positioned himself at the cultural margins—spaces where the survival and transformation of Tibetan culture are most fiercely contested. While he engaged with external political forces that shaped Tibet’s trajectory, Ngawang also called for an honest reckoning within Tibetan society. He urged his fellow Tibetans to confront internal divisions and complicity in the erosion of their cultural heritage. His vision of cultural survival was not founded on nostalgia, but on an active, ongoing process of critique, adaptation, and renewal.
This talk will explore how Ngawang’s intellectual and spiritual contributions shed light on the persistence of Tibetan identity in the face of profound challenges. His life compels us to reconsider cultural preservation as a living, evolving practice—one that goes beyond static traditions and embraces transformation. Ngawang’s legacy challenges us to confront not only what has been lost but also what must be preserved, reimagined, and revitalized for the future.
Speaker Bio
Tenzin Jinba is an associate professor of sociology and anthropology at the National University of Singapore. His research spans critical border studies, oral history, and social theory, with a focus on the Sino-Tibetan borderlands and Inner Asia. He is the author of In the Land of the Eastern Queendom: The Politics of Gender and Ethnicity on the Sino-Tibetan Border (University of Washington Press, 2013) and The Beggar Lama: The Life of the Gyalrong Kuzhap (Columbia University Press, 2023). In addition, he has co-edited multiple volumes on Gyalrong history and culture. Tenzin also serves on the editorial boards of American Ethnologist, American Behavioral Scientist, and European Bulletin of Himalayan Research.