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Longevity Practices and Concepts in Tibet

Outputs from AHRC Project

Publications: Books

• Cantwell, Cathy and Samuel, Geoffrey, with assistance from Robert Mayer and P. Ogyan Tanzin. Forthcoming. The Seed of Immortal Life: Contexts and Meanings of a Tibetan Longevity Practice. Vajra Books, Kathmandu.
• A second book by Samuel is planned, to explore Tibetan longevity practices in relation to the anthropology of healing and the anthropology of the body.

Publications: Edited Special Journal Issue

• Lo, Vivienne and Samuel, Geoffrey (editors). Forthcoming, 2012. 'Self-cultivation in East Asian and Tibetan Traditions.' Edited Special Journal Issue of Asian Medicine: Tradition and Modernity.

Publications: Book Chapters and Refereed Journal Articles

• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2008. 'Autism and Meditation: Some reflections.' Journal of Religion, Disability and Health, vol. 13, pp.85-93 (special issue edited by John Swinton and Christine Trevett).
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2010. 'Possession and Self-Possession: Towards an Integrated Mind-Body Perspective.' In Spirit Possession and Trance: New Interdisciplinary Perspectives, edited by Bettina E. Schmidt and Lucy Huskinson, pp.35-52. Continuum (Continuum Advances in Religious Studies series).
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2010. 'Inner Work and the Connection between Anthropological and Psychological Analysis.' In "The Varieties of Ritual Experience", ed. By Jan Weinhold and Geoffrey Samuel, section of Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual. Volume II - Body, Performance, Agency and Experience, ed. Axel Michaels et al., pp.301-316. Wiesbaden, Germany: Harrassowitz.
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2010. 'Healing, Efficacy and the Spirits.' Journal of Ritual Studies vol.24 no.2, pp.7-20. (The Efficacy of Rituals Part II, Special Issue edited by William S. Sax and Johannes Quack.)
• Cantwell, Cathy and Mayer, Robert. 2010. "The creation and transmission of a textual corpus in the twentieth century: the 'Chi med srog thig", in Chayet, Anne (et al., eds), Edition, Žditions. lÕŽcrit au Tibet, Žvolution et devenir. Indus Verlag, MŸnchen.
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2011. 'A Short History Of Indo-Tibetan Alchemy.' In Studies of Medical Pluralism in Tibetan History and Society, edited by Sienna Craig, Mingji Cuomu, Frances Garrett and Mona Schrempf, pp.221-233. (PIATS 2006: Proceedings of the Eleventh Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies. Kšnigswinter 2006.). Andiast, Switzerland: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies GmbH.
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2012. 'Amitayus and the Development of Tantric Practices for Longevity and Health in Tibet.' Transformations and Transfer of Tantra in Asia and Beyond (ed.István Keul), pp.263-286. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter.
• Samuel, Geoffrey. Forthcoming. 'Tibetan Longevity Meditation: Technique and Structure in the 'Chi-med Srog-thig (Immortal Life-Essence) Practice.' To appear in Dimensions of Meditation (ed. Halvor Eifring).

Conference Papers

• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2007. 'Power and Autonomy in Tibetan Tantric Health Practices.' Paper given at Conference of the Alternative and Complementary Health Research Network, University of Nottingham, June 2007.
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2007. 'Possession and Self-Possession: Spirit Healing, Tantric Meditation and Avesa.' Paper given at the British Association for the Study of Religions conference, Edinburgh, 3rd-6th September 2007.
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2008. 'Tibetan Longevity Practices: The Body in Buddhist Tantric Ritual.' Seminar paper for Mongolia and Inner Asian Studies Unit, University of Cambridge, 22 April 2008 (also given to Swansea Medical Humanities MA Seminar, Apr. 15; School Seminar, Religious & Theol. Studies, Cardiff, May 14)
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2008. 'Possession and Self-Possession: Spirit Healing, Tantric Meditation and Avesa.' Paper for New Interpretations of Spirit Possession workshop at Bangor, May 16-17, 2008
• Cantwell, Cathy and Mayer, Robert. 2008. The creation and transmission of the 'Chi med srog thig textual corpus in the twentieth century. Paper for CNRS Conference, Publishing and editing: the evolution and future of writing in Tibet, Paris, May 2008.
• Samuel, Geoffrey. and Mayer, Robert. 2008. Panel, 'Theory and Practice of Healing, Medicine and Longevity in Buddhism,' XVth Conference of the International Association of Buddhist Studies (IABS), Atlanta, Georgia, Jun. 23-28, 2008.
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2008. 'Tibetan Longevity Practices: The Body in the 'Chi med srog thig Tradition.' Paper for IABS panel (see preceding item)
• Cantwell, Cathy and Mayer, Robert. 2008. Imagery for creating longevity: artwork used for the 'Chi med srog thig. Paper for IABS panel (see preceding items) .
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2008. 'Inner Work and the Connections between Anthropological and Psychological Analysis.' Paper for panel, 'Varieties of Ritual Experience' convened by Jan Weinhold, Geoffrey Samuel and Henrik Jungaberle at the Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual Conference, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Sept 29- Oct 2, 2008.
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2008. 'Tibetan Longevity Practices.' Paper at BAHAR workshop, 'Body, Health and Religion: Towards a Research Agenda,' at YHA Telscombe, Sussex, Oct. 24-26, 2008
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2008. 'Tibetan Ethnicity and Global Identity: Lamas and the International Buddhist Community.' Paper for Ethnicity and Identity Seminar Series, University of Oxford, Nov. 21 2008
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2008. 'The Development of Tantric Practices for Longevity and Health in Tibet.' Paper for International Conference, 'Transformations and Transfer of Tantra in Asia and Beyond,' Freie Universität, Berlin, Dec. 1-3, 2008
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2009. 'Longevity Practices as Mind-Body Retraining in Tibetan Buddhism.' Poster presentation for Imag(in)ing the Buddhist Brain. 1st symposium of the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, March 20, 2009, Leiden University, Netherlands.
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2009. 'Tibetan Longevity Practices: The Body in the 'Chi med srog thig Tradition.' Revised version for Themed lecture Series, Medicine Across Asia, March 22, 2009. Wellcome Trust centre for the History of Medicine.
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2009. 'Tibetan Longevity Practice and the Ecology of Mind.' Paper for the Society for the Anthropology of Religion/Society for Psychological Anthropology Joint Spring Meeting (Moments Of Crisis: Decision, Transformation, Catharsis, Critique), March 27-29, 2009, Asilomar, California.
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2009. Co-organiser with Vivienne Lo of panel, 'Cultivating Perfection and Longevity' for ICTAM VII (Seventh International Congress on Traditional Asian Medicine), Sep. 7-11, 2008. Institute for Traditional Medicine Services, Thimphu, Bhutan
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2009. 'Tibetan Longevity Practices: Body and Environment in Buddhist Tantric Ritual.' Paper for ICTAM VII conference (See preceding entry).
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2009. 'Precious Pills in the Bon Medical tradition.' Joint paper (with Colin Millard) for ICTAM VII conference (see preceding entries).
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2010. Paper, 'Tibetan Longevity Meditation: Technique and Structure in the 'Chi-med Srog-thig (Immortal Life-Essence) Practice.,' at conference, Cultural Histories of Meditation: Practice and Interpretation in a Global Context, Halvorsbole, Jevnaker, Norway, May 12-16, 2010
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2010. 'Building Health and Security in an Uncertain World: Tibetan Longevity Practice.' Australian Association of Buddhist Counsellors and Psychotherapists Continuing Education Meeting, Sept 1, 2010.
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2010. Buddhism and a Sustainable World: Some Reflections.' Lecture in the Sydney Ideas Lecture series, Sept 20, 2010. Revised version presented as a SOAS/Shangshung Institute lecture, London, Oct 7, 2011.
• Samuel, Geoffrey. 2010., 'Panentheism and the Longevity Practices of Tibetan Buddhism' for The Idea of the Divine: The Panentheist Model: The Divine as both Immanent and Transcendent. Conference organized by Loriliai Biernacki and Philip Clayton, Esalen Center for Theory and Research, Esalen Institute, Nov 28-30, 2010.