[INDOLOGY] Lecture by Reinier Langelaar, Nov 25, Gandhāra Corpora Lecture Series (In-person and Online)

[Charles DiSimone]

Dear Friends,

I would like to invite you to the next talk in the Gandhāra Corpora Lecture
Series:

Title:

*The Last Words of a God-King: A Corpus of Tibetan Buddhist Narrative
Histories*

Speaker:

Dr. Reinier Langelaar (Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History
of Asia (IKGA) at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (AAS))


Timing:

Nov 25, 2025 @ 17.00 CET



Location: Faculteitszaal, Blandijn

faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte

Blandijnberg 2

9000 Gent



Abstract:

This lecture will present a highly influential corpus of Buddhist
historiographies, composed and expanded upon from perhaps the 12th c. CE
onward. These works are attributed, as so-called ‘treasure texts,’ to the
7th-c. emperor Songtsen ‘the Profound’ (Tib. srong-btsan sgam-po), himself
claimed to be an emanation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. This corpus
constitutes a literary meeting ground for a series of pivotal developments
in the realm of Tibetan Buddhist religion, political philosophy, and
perceptions of Tibet and its people at large. Weaving compelling tales of
Tibetan society’s history, it played a central role in formulating and
propagating understandings of Tibet as a Buddhist realm under
Avalokiteśvara’s special protection. Though eminently focused on Tibet,
these works are also embedded in interregional webs of cultural exchange,
potentially drawing inspiration from Indian sūtra literature, Newari
Buddhism, Chinese and Khotanese notions of bodhisattva kingship, and more.
This talk will introduce this body of works, discuss the particular
text-historical and methodological challenges it presents, and show what we
may hope to gain from its study.



Bio:

Reinier Langelaar is a researcher at the Institute for the Cultural and
Intellectual History of Asia (IKGA) at the Austrian Academy of Sciences
(AAS). His research interests include religious history, pre-modern ethnic
identity, religious history, as well as kinship and genealogy. His work has
employed historical, text-critical, ethnographic and comparative methods,
and has appeared in journals such as Inner Asia, The Medieval History
Journal, the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, and the Bulletin of the
School of Oriental and African Studies. At present, he is key researcher in
the FWF-funded Cluster of Excellence ‘EurAsian Transformations.’ In 2025,
he was awarded an ERC starting grant for the project FOUNT: ‘The Narrative
Foundations of Tibetan Buddhism,’ to be hosted at the AAS (2026-31).


Further details here
<https://www.cbs.ugent.be/guestlecture/guest-lecture-the-last-words-of-a-god-king-a-corpus-of-tibetan-buddhist-narrative-histories-by-dr-reinier-langelaar-november-25-2025/>
.


All are welcome. The Gandhāra Corpora Lecture Series is in-person and
hybrid online. Please register for the series through this Google Form:
https://forms.gle/TwffQCPuVipUpMvk6
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforms.gle%2FTwffQCPuVipUpMvk6&data=05%7C02%7CCharles.DiSimone%40UGent.be%7C1ad896880ae8404cd57108de22915821%7Cd7811cdeecef496c8f91a1786241b99c%7C1%7C0%7C638986204803767994%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=yzUENaVAByH2%2FKTPUayNZTQ9eVGFJXZ9hQ6cvTxTo0c%3D&reserved=0>



Also, a quick reminder of Jessie Pons' talk next week (Nov 20) which has
already been announced. Details may be found here
<https://www.cbs.ugent.be/guestlecture/guest-lecture-sustaining-digital-heritage-beyond-funding-building-on-the-diga-project-by-jessie-pons-november-20-2025/>
.


Friendly Greetings,

Charles


Prof. Dr. Charles DiSimone
Associate Professor of Buddhist Studies & Indology
Department of Languages and Cultures
Ghent University
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