In the process of interpretation of religious texts，Rhetoric without context can easily become a source of misunderstanding，Resulting in "the speaker has no intention，The story of "The listener is interested" continues to unfold。This article attempts to start from the conceptual biases caused by modern subject classification to scholars，Analysis of "myth" and "political" rhetoric that originally came from the same source，Why did bet365 champions league become two completely different historical materials after being separated from the context，In order to provide a perspective on the discussion of research methods in the history of religion。

　　Disdain and enthusiasm for "bet365 champions league"

Famous Italian scholar Tucci (G. Tucci) published a groundbreaking research result in 1940，Using the Tibetan material "The Biography of Wu Jianba", bet365 champions league was found that the Holy Land of Wu Jianba (Wuzhanna) of Tantric Buddhism at that time was the Swat Valley in today's Pakistan。For such a rare document newly discovered at hand，Tucci commented: "("The Biography of Wu Jianba") deserves attention，Because bet365 champions league has less literary pretension...bet365 champions league contains ethnographic and historical information worth exploring。” Tucci told his readers sympathetically，Although Wu Jianpa "seemed to regard all the women he met as dakinis"，But compared to other Tibetan works，There are very few “fantasy elements” in this book。

Admittedly，Tibet Story，The master saw the sky full of gods and Buddhas and communicated with them in meditation，These records seem out of place in the modern secular context。From the perspective of the development history of religious studies，This kind of so-called myth、bet365 champions league’s not surprising to imagine that the elements are sniffy。The famous research report "Open the Social Sciences" outlines such a history of Western disciplines: the 19th century，Influenced by the value tendency of general law research (nomothetic)，Not only history became a "science"，And political science was born、The three new disciplines of economics and sociology，Responsible for the study of the three major fields of modern Western society；And for the "backward" East，The other two disciplines are responsible，Orientalism and Anthropology。

The implicit assumption behind bet365 champions league division of disciplines is，Western society has completed the process of secularization (i.e. "secularized")，Politics、Economy、The three parts of society are independent from the authority of religion，And Eastern society is still penetrated by religion。The "backward" East "does not deserve" political science、Economics and Sociology，Should be studied through Orientalism (mainly using comparative religion as a method) and anthropology。bet365 champions league single discourse hegemony based on the process of secularization，Already severely criticized by Tomoko Masuzawa in his 2005 monograph "The Invention of World Religions"。Now we are indeed wary of bet365 champions league type of modern disciplinary discourse，Historians are also paying more and more attention to "mythical" materials，Establishing a new interpretive framework。

But on the other hand，This scornful attitude is still active in another, more subtle way。When we read records in traditional literature that meet the characteristics of "economic", "political" or "social"，Collected them as "high-quality materials" for studying historical reality。A typical example is，Many researchers are reading Tibetan materials about the “donation relationship”，bet365 champions league easy to interpret this kind of statement as reality，Think in the context of Tibetan religion，The relationship between the emperors of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties and their Buddhist masters was that of "Tan Yue and Futian"，And use this as the true history of religion、Making a fuss about intellectual history and even political history。This attitude of accepting everything，In fact, the attitude of scorn and disdain are two sides of the same coin: they are both under the blessing of the modern subject system，Believe that the information of a certain literary or historical work can be interpreted by the cook，For use by different disciplines。When these religious discourses are classified as "politics" or "political theology/theology"，It seems that they are in line with modern secular concepts and the classification of modern disciplines，bet365 champions league no longer the "backward" category studied by early Orientalism and early anthropology。However，Whether bet365 champions league the early biographies of eminent monks or the creations of Gelugpa authors in the Qing Dynasty，They are all speech acts as a whole，What they want to talk to is not modernity，But their own traditions。In other words，Constrain them，is the traditional cultural grammar。Want to distinguish between "literary dissimulation" and "reliable information" in documents，Rely on modern people’s perspective to find “data” with a modern flavor，bet365 champions league easy to quote it out of context。

　　The unity of "bet365 champions league" and "politics"

This kind of quote out of context，The broken "chapter" is the symbolic structure of a certain culture。Let’s take the various “visiting the deity” and “Bodhisattva Dharma King” discourses that are very common in Tibetan literature as examples。Visiting Rong Duoerji in the third generation of Kalimapa (the third generation of Karmapa，1284-1339) in the biography written by the second generation Gelimaba (1204-1283)，Mentioned that he was invited to Tshong ’dus Mgur mo (Tshong ’dus Mgur mo) near Xialu，Referred to as "Song Dusi" in "The Classic of Classics") during the consecration ceremony，Said he "saw the meeting of Padmasambhava and Guanyin of Great Compassion，Full of sky，The light shines everywhere”。This content sounds very fantasy，Seems to be a stylized "myth" expression，We, who often claim to be researchers of religious history, read and discard as we go，What we are more interested in，bet365 champions league’s about reading him and Meng Ge、The story between Kublai Khan。

The cultural background of the second generation Gelimaba’s personal visit to the deity is actually not difficult to explore，Because the Tibetan texts on the Buddha’s practice have already provided us with a lot of information。Rgyal ba rgya mtsho’i mngon rtogs (Rgyal ba rgya mtsho’i mngon rtogs) written by the third generation Gelimaba，It records how to imagine a world of Bodhisattvas and masters with Guanyin as the center during meditation。The protagonist，bet365 champions league Padmasambhava and Guanyin of Great Compassion。Original，Recorded in the biography of the second generation Gelimaba，bet365 champions league this unique Guanyin practice of Gelima tradition，bet365 champions league the “purity” (dag snang) produced in this kind of practice。

The so-called "pure phase"，bet365 champions league to regard the real world as a pure land，A "divine perspective" that regards all phenomena as manifestations of legal nature。Traditional practitioners’ long-term deity practice，bet365 champions league precisely to cultivate the ability to observe the nature of the world，It even requires practitioners to directly imagine that all living beings are Buddhas。This is somewhat similar to what Mencius said: "Everyone can be like Yao and Shun"。Through this yoga and sadhana，Yogis can also gain the ability to communicate internally and externally through the mandala，Control the external real world by controlling your own body。

What’s more important is，This concept of deity practice and pure appearance was the common cultural grammar across languages ​​among all ethnic groups at that time。In Kara(G. Kara）、Zimo (P. Zieme）、Shen Weirong、With the efforts of An Haiyan and other scholars，A batch of Tantric practice texts from the Yuan and Ming Dynasties were identified。These religious traditions of Tibetan origin are preserved to this day in the form of Uighur and Chinese translations，Let us have a glimpse of the popularity of the deity practice at that time。Today we can even do without relying on Tibetan documents，Only by reading Chinese or Uighur，You can know the cultural and conceptual background of the second generation Kelimaba’s “meeting with Padmasambhava and the Great Compassion Guanyin Sea Meeting”。The preface to the Chinese translation of "The Great Compassion Overcomes the Sea and Seeks the Ease of Cultivation" explains this concept in elegant words: "All dharmas will naturally become pure without beginning，bet365 champions league the Dharmakaya that is all sentient beings。”

It can be said，Tibetan language in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties、Xixia、Uighur、In the Mongolian and Chinese-speaking world，Through numerous similar concepts and practices of meditation practice，A common Buddhist "pure phase" world is produced，The formation of a cross-language cultural grammar。And this concept of "pure appearance"，bet365 champions league also closely related to the discourse of "political theology" that is of great interest to historical scholars such as the "Bodhisattva King" mentioned above。In the "pure phase" (that is, the world closer to the essence)，Individuals are connected by theological logic；The essence of interpersonal relationship is "divine relationship"，bet365 champions league the relationship at the "dharma nature" level behind the phenomenon。When Buddhists evaluate the emperor as a Bodhisattva or a benefactor，Inseparable from these two questions: "What is the divine relationship behind human relationships？How to identify and confirm the latter, more essential relationship？”Tantrik culture believes that with the help of rituals and yoga，Only practitioners can achieve the state of "purity"，Communicating the two worlds of humans and gods，See the nature of the real world clearly。This is why Tantric tradition believes，Only those who are proficient in meditation can identify "reincarnation" with the help of rituals。

Viewed from this，The "Myth" of the Sea of ​​Gods and Buddhas，Not necessarily more hypocritical and exaggerated，And the "politics" of Bodhisattva Dharmaraja，Not necessarily more authentic and reliable - they are in the same symbolic structure，The basis for their ability to refer and express is the same。If "myth" and "politics" are viewed separately，Regarding the gathering of gods and Buddhas and visiting the deity in person as “backward” religious superstition，And turn Bodhisattva Dharma King and others into "advanced" political theory，bet365 champions league preferring one to the other。This prejudice，Although it can be blamed on modern disciplinary filters，But it does not essentially meet the requirements of modern disciplines，Because these symbols before they became "religious" or "political"，First of all, it comes from the literature，Therefore, it needs to be tested by philology and semiotics first，Restore their rhetorical contexts one by one。

　　bet365 champions league that is both true and false

Reduction of rhetorical context，Can prevent over-interpretation of words。The sea of ​​gods, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are symbols of signifiers，bet365 champions league adaptable to different contexts under human use，Neither is completely true，Not completely hypocritical。Of course rhetoric has effects，And interfere with people’s practices，But the daily life of local people，Not overly disturbed by these rhetoric。There is a story in "The Biography of Wu Jianba" that can illustrate this point。When Wu Jianba met with the second generation Geli Maba in Gupu Temple，Professed to be practicing "All Dharmas One Mind"，Gelimaba joked: "Then did you stick your head into the latrine?？”

The so-called "all methods are the same"，In fact, bet365 champions league also a "pure phase"，bet365 champions league an advanced yoga state that understands the essence of all phenomena。In this state，Not only the duality of fragrance, smell, beauty and ugliness in the secular sense，Even life and death in Buddhist concepts、The duality of reincarnation and nirvana，Also regarded as equal。Gelimaba’s humor，Not only embodies the tantric mad saint’s no-taboos and “rebellious” style，And the ultimate pursuit of "non-discrimination"，It also points out to us the relativity and ambiguity of symbols such as "all methods are one and the same" as rhetoric。All dharma are of course the truth shared by the Kagyu Sect，But bet365 champions league not absolute，In the conversation between Gelimaba and Wu Jianba，Its relativity is the basis of that joke。

From this perspective，The disdain for miracles comes from seeing only the hypocrisy of rhetoric and its glorification of life，The attitude of accepting everything from the donor comes from paying special attention to the truth of rhetoric and its descriptive aspect of life。But，The paranoid side will ignore the ambiguous ability of rhetoric，Turn the originally vivid language into rigid symbols。Precisely because this joke is a joke，bet365 champions league neither denies the authenticity of “all methods are one and the same”，There is no affirmation of the hypocrisy of “all methods are the same”。Throw aside the context，bet365 champions league becomes a judgment of true and false values；Return to context，bet365 champions league restores the true nature of rhetoric，Won’t intrude too much on life。Similarly，bet365 champions league doesn’t matter if the emperor is a Bodhisattva，bet365 champions league doesn’t matter if bet365 champions league’s a donor，These statements do not intrude too much into people’s daily practice。The emperor can certainly play the role of benefactor from time to time，But eminent monks will not truly regard the emperor as just a sponsor，But we will continue to practice the usual audience ceremony and perform duties。

　　bet365 champions league returning to context

Even in Tibetan narratives where the rhetoric of offerings is rampant，The function and status of "donor" are not static。In the story of Padmasambhava, the most legendary and famous Buddhist master in the history of Tibetan religion，His relationship with Trisong Detsen, the Tibetan Zanpu of the 8th century，bet365 champions league not a donation relationship: Padmasambhava not only refused Zampu’s gift，He also showed the financial strength that he could give to Zamp。Even in the historical era，The relationships expressed in the text are also complex and diverse。The famous book "The Biography of the Seventh Dalai Lama" by Master Zhangjia (1717-1786)，From a rhetorical point of view, it seems to be a rehash of the old tune about the relationship between “supply and giving”，But if you look closely at the context, you will find，The author takes into account the perceptions of the emperor and local elites，Strive to convey the message that the emperor is the leading force behind matters related to local religious authority in Tibet。As a Buddhist talent cultivated by the court，A set of rhetoric from Master Zhang Jia，Written this period of history skillfully，Satisfies both those with a "pure" perspective and those with a "vulgar" perspective。It can be seen from these two examples，The role and effect of the rhetoric of "donor" in traditional Tibetan religious texts are inherently adaptable，Must analyze in specific context。

Intellectual historian Skinner (Q. Skinner) once gave a piece of advice to scholars of intellectual history，Also suitable for historians of religions and even historians in general: one must try to see which debate the author thinks he is participating in。In other words，Strive to see clearly what question the author of the text thinks he is answering。Looking at this goal，Famous texts in history such as Qianlong's "Lama Shuo" etc.，We still need to continue to investigate its context。If regardless of context，Just read the literal，From Qianlong’s "Lama Shuo" we can conclude that Tibetan Buddhism is a tool for governance，From the Qing Dynasty multilingual materials collected by Ishihama Yumiko, we can also draw the view that Tibetan Buddhism has risen to the status of national ideology in the Qing Dynasty。Whether bet365 champions league "instrumental theory" or "ideological theory"，In fact, the grammatical rules of the text itself have not been examined，Simplified the context of the text。If examined carefully in context，Power and Myth、Central and local，I’m afraid there will be a different look。

　(bet365 champions league’s affiliation: Department of Inner Asian and Altai Studies, Harvard University)