Center for South Asia Noon Lecture Series

This talk explores the phenomenon of “holy madmen” in Tibetan Buddhism by focusing on the life and times of one of its foremost exemplars, Sangyé Gyeltsen, who after giving up his monkhood rose to fame by doing shocking things in the public spaces of central Tibet. This talk explores how Sangyé Gyeltsen's eccentric behavior positioned him in the competitive religious marketplace of his day, enabling a historically grounded interpretation of his identity as a "madman.”