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

[Charles DiSimone]

I also attach the poster for the visually inclined.

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


On Fri, Nov 14, 2025 at 12:40 PM Charles DiSimone <
disimone at alumni.stanford.edu> wrote:

> 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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