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Tibetan understandings of nyoné — ‘madness’— encompass a broad range of concepts. Perspectives on the causation and treatment of madness as an illness are informed by Tantric and medical understandings of mind-body structure and (dys)functioning, as well as people’s relationships with non-human entities. In addition, ‘madness’ may be seen as a sign of enlightenment in the case of some Tantric practitioners. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in the Tibetan region of Amdo in northwest China, as well as examination of Tibetan medical and religious texts, Illness and Enlightenment explores the multi-faceted concept of nyoné through key Tibetan concepts of wind, heart, and mind, as well as human-spirit relationships.
“The book takes up an interesting, important, complicated and somewhat understudied aspect of Tibetan cultural and religious life.” • David DiValerio, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Susannah Deane completed her PhD at Cardiff University. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on mental health and illness within Tibetan communities in China and in exile. Her publications include Tibetan Medicine, Buddhism and Psychiatry: Mental Health and Healing in a Tibetan Exile Community (Carolina Academic Press, 2018).
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
A Note on Terminology, Transliterations, and Translations
Part I
Chapter 1. Heart, Wind and Mind: Discussions on Nyonéin Contemporary Amdo
Chapter 2. Heart, Mind or Wind? Tibetan Medical Conceptions of Mind, Mental Health and Nyoné
Chapter 3. Wind, Mind and Nyonéin Tibetan Tantra
Part II
Chapter 4. Madness-Causing Spirits, Tantric Deities and ‘Impurities’ in Contemporary Amdo
Chapter 5. Uninvited: Spirits, Deities and ‘Pollution’ in Everyday Life and Illness
Chapter 6. Invoking the Gods: Spirits and Deities in Tantric Practice
Conclusion
Glossary
References
Index