Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Transliteration vii
4. Acknowledgments and a Note on the Writing of This Book ix
5. Introduction 1
6. 1. Buddhist Life at Mergen 26
7. 2. Mergen Gegen and the Arts of Language 65
8. 3. Mergen Monastery and Its Landscape 115
9. 4. Duke Galdan, Perspectives on the Self in the Qing Era 162
10. 5. Sülde: The “Spirit of Invincibility,” Its Multiplicity and Its Secrets 185
11. 6. The Afterlife of the 8th Mergen Gegen 223
12. 7. Sengge: A Lama’s Knowledge and Its Vicissitudes 259
13. 8. The Chorji Lama: Inheriting from the Past in a New World 289
14. 9. Regroupings of Laity 316
15. 10. Tradition and Archivization 341 341
16. Epilogue: Dispersion and Creation 363
17. Bibliography 387
18. Index 413