The Methodology and Ethics of Writing Histories of Visionary Traditions: The Great Perfection in Tibet

The Seminal Heart (snying thig) tradition of the Great Perfection (rdzogs chen) begins with eleventh century Tibetan revelations, becomes dominant by the fourteenth, and has continued as such into the present. The difference in narrative, philosophy, and practice between these origins and contemporary realities is extraordinary, though the tradition stressed continuity throughout with the original scriptural sources. These striking transformations are not significantly acknowledged by Tibetan authors, apart from scattered references to discontinued practices, lost texts, and attenuated transmissions; there is even less attempt to explain or theorize these vast differences.  I will offer a history and theorization of these changes  to make sense of the drivers and significance of these patterns of profound continuity and discontinuity. In addition to detailing my methodology, I will reflect on the ethics and social conundrums of writing a history of a visionary tradition that is in deep tension with its own modern narratives.