Jacob P. Dalton, "The Taming of the Demons: Violence and Liberation in Tibetan Buddhism," (Yale University Press, 2011)

The Taming of the Demons examines mythic and ritual themes of violence, demon taming, and blood sacrifice in Tibetan Buddhism. Taking as its starting point Tibet’s so-called age of fragmentation (842 to 986 C.E.), the book draws on previously unstudied manuscripts discovered in the “library cave” near Dunhuang, on the old Silk Road. These ancient documents, it argues, demonstrate how this purportedly inactive period in Tibetan history was in fact crucial to the Tibetan assimilation of Buddhism, and particularly to the spread of violent themes from tantric Buddhism into Tibet at the local and the popular levels. Having shed light on this “dark age” of Tibetan history, the second half of the book turns to how, from the late tenth century onward, the period came to play a vital symbolic role in Tibet, as a violent historical “other” against which the Tibetan Buddhist tradition defined itself. The Taming of the Demons by Tibetan Buddhism Demon Taming and Blood Sacrifice in Tibetan Rituals Age of Fragmentation in Tibetan History Tantric Buddhism’s Influence on Tibetan Culture Dunhuang Manuscripts and Tibetan Mythology Violence in Tibetan Buddhist Traditions Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism (842-986 C.E.) Rituals of Demon Taming in Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan “Library Cave” Discoveries on the Silk Road Symbolic Role of Tibetan Dark Age in Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism’s Historical and Mythic Themes Influence of Tantric Rituals on Tibetan Society Tibetan Buddhist Response to Historical Violence Tibetan Buddhism’s Definition Against Violent Past Integration of Tantric Themes in Tibetan Religion East Asian Studies Podcast Tibetan Studies Podcast Tibetan Buddhism Religious History Podcast Inner Asian Studies