Monasteries have been the locus classicus of the academic investigation of Tibetan religions. This volume seeks to balance this emphasis with an exploration of the diverse religious specialists who operate outside of the monastery in Tibet and along the Himalayan belt. The articles collected here depict Tantric professionals, visionaries, village lamas, spirit mediums, and female religious leaders whose loyalties reside in the noncelibate sphere but whose activities have had a significant impact on Tibetan religion. Using methodologies drawn from anthropological and textual scholarship, these seven essays bolster our understanding of religious practices and their performers beyond the monasteries of Central and Eastern Tibet, Bhutan, and India from historical times to the present day.

Buddhism Beyond the Monastery: Tantric Practices and Their Performers in Tibet and the Himalayas, Sarah Jacoby and Antonio Terrone (Editors), Brill, Hardcover, 199 Pages, $166.00

Sarah Jacoby, Ph.D. (2007) in Religion, University of Virginia, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Religion at Northwestern University. Interested in Tibetan biography, revelation, and gender studies, she is researching the life and works of the Tibetan visionary Sera Khandro.

Antonio Terrone, Doctoral Candidate at Leiden University, is Visiting Assistant Professor at Northwestern University. Interested in the history and religious practices of the Nyingma School, he is investigating the phenomena of Treasure revealers in Tibetan areas of contemporary China.