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Feeding Asceticism: Himalayan Buddhist Renunciation,
Devotion & Embodied Intimate Care 

6pm on Thursday, February 22nd
Humanities 250

In Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhist biographies, devotion frames stories of the intimate, emotionally intense connections between gurus and disciples. By contrast, Tibetan Buddhist accounts of renunciation often highlight separation, departure, and absence, themes that appear in tension with the intimacy of the devotional ideal. This talk focuses on accounts of the life of the reclusive twentieth century Himalayan Buddhist meditator and poet, Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen (1895-1977), highlighting the impact of his renunciation on his closest disciples, especially women. Khunu Lama’s female students, in particular the renunciant meditator Drikung Khandroma Sherab Tharchin (1927-1979), attempted to practice embodied forms of devotional care for him, while grappling with the separations his renunciation required. Stories about disciples’ devotional care for Khunu Lama highlight the role of longing as a bridge between renunciation and devotional practice.

Annabella Pitkin is associate professor of Buddhism and East Asian religions at Lehigh University. Her research focuses on Tibetan Buddhist theories of modernity, Buddhist ideals of renunciation, miracle narratives, and Buddhist life-story writing. She is the author of Renunciation and Longing: The Life of a Twentieth-Century Himalayan Buddhist Saint (2022), which explores themes of renunciation, memory, and teacher-student relationship in the life of Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen.

Co-sponsored by Religious Studies, the Tibet Himalaya Initiative, and the Center for Asian Studies.