« S’asseoir avec Sogyal Rinpoché ». Lʼapprentissage de la dévotion dans le bouddhisme moderne
« S’asseoir avec Sogyal Rinpoché ». Lʼapprentissage de la dévotion dans le bouddhisme moderne

Summary/Abstract: In Western-Tibetan Buddhist centres, disciples experience devotion towards their master long before they actually meet him. Whereas sociological studies based on the analysis of conversion narratives assert that the relationship to the lama spontaneously arises from a personal and transformative encounter with a “charismatic” master, ethnographical descriptions of the learning pathway offered by the international Buddhist organization Rigpa show that it is inculcated by the group mostly in the lamaʼs absence. Experienced students teach novices how to relate correctly to the master, using a special language and invisible rituals, first in front of an animated icon which allows the master to become present, then during live theatrical performances by the lama on stage, which give rise to extensive exegesis on the part of the group. The ethnography of practices thus overturns the main thesis put forward by most observers about “Tibetan Buddhism in the West”: the relationship to the master is certainly central, but it takes the form of a compulsory expression of feelings rather than an actual, personal relationship. The submission of Westerners to Tibetan lamas doesnʼt result from an individual choice but rather from an institutional constraint.

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