I just ran across this recent quote by His Holiness The Dalai Lama which hints that meditation is considered a core activity and skill for Tibetan monks, rather than McMahan's "the province of a small number of specialist monks in Himalayan hermitages" . (Emphasis added.)

http://www.ozy.com/c-notes/the-dalai-lama-on-china-the-future-of-tibet/34231.article?utm_source=A1&utm_medium=pp&utm_campaign=pp

Dalai Lama:

We have trained some monks here in India who have returned to Tibet. But this is rare. The danger is that religion becomes a mere ritual. It’s not sufficient to ring a bell, you know. Monks have to master the doctrine and the meditation. They need to be good in both. This requires thorough training.

BTW, this is a fascinating interview for other reasons, most notably...

OZY:

So the Tibetans do not need a Dalai Lama anymore?

Dalai Lama:

No, I don’t think so. Twenty-six hundred years of Buddhist tradition cannot be maintained by one person. And sometimes I make a tough joke: We had a Dalai Lama for almost five centuries. The 14th Dalai Lama now is very popular. Let us then finish with a popular Dalai Lama. If a weak Dalai Lama comes along, then it will just disgrace the Dalai Lama. (The Dalai Lama laughs.)

I just ran across this recent quote by His Holiness The Dalai Lama which hints that meditation is considered a core activity and skill for Tibetan monks, rather than McMahan's "the province of a small number of specialist monks in Himalayan hermitages" . (Emphasis added.)

http://www.ozy.com/c-notes/the-dalai-lama-on-china-the-future-of-tibet/34231.article?utm_source=A1&utm_medium=pp&utm_campaign=pp

Dalai Lama:

We have trained some monks here in India who have returned to Tibet. But this is rare. The danger is that religion becomes a mere ritual. It’s not sufficient to ring a bell, you know. Monks have to master the doctrine and the meditation. They need to be good in both. This requires thorough training.

Of course, this may be interpreted as a critique of "old Tibet" as too reliant on "mere ritual", with the emphasis on meditation a post-diaspora reform. I am still inclined to believe that many if not most monks in Tibet did meditate seriously, that is, the culture of enlightenment remained vigorous in Tibet in a way that it was apparently lost in Theravada societies prior to its modern reinvigoration.

BTW, this is a fascinating interview for other reasons, most notably...

OZY:

So the Tibetans do not need a Dalai Lama anymore?

Dalai Lama:

No, I don’t think so. Twenty-six hundred years of Buddhist tradition cannot be maintained by one person. And sometimes I make a tough joke: We had a Dalai Lama for almost five centuries. The 14th Dalai Lama now is very popular. Let us then finish with a popular Dalai Lama. If a weak Dalai Lama comes along, then it will just disgrace the Dalai Lama. (The Dalai Lama laughs.)

I just ran across this recent quote by His Holiness The Dalai Lama which hints that meditation is considered a core activity and skill for Tibetan monks, rather than McMahan's "the province of a small number of specialist monks in Himalayan hermitages".

http://www.ozy.com/c-notes/the-dalai-lama-on-china-the-future-of-tibet/34231.article?utm_source=A1&utm_medium=pp&utm_campaign=pp

Dalai Lama:

We have trained some monks here in India who have returned to Tibet. But this is rare. The danger is that religion becomes a mere ritual. It’s not sufficient to ring a bell, you know. Monks have to master the doctrine and the meditation. They need to be good in both. This requires thorough training.

BTW, this is a fascinating interview for other reasons, most notably...

OZY:

So the Tibetans do not need a Dalai Lama anymore?

Dalai Lama:

No, I don’t think so. Twenty-six hundred years of Buddhist tradition cannot be maintained by one person. And sometimes I make a tough joke: We had a Dalai Lama for almost five centuries. The 14th Dalai Lama now is very popular. Let us then finish with a popular Dalai Lama. If a weak Dalai Lama comes along, then it will just disgrace the Dalai Lama. (The Dalai Lama laughs.)

I just ran across this recent quote by His Holiness The Dalai Lama which hints that meditation is considered a core activity and skill for Tibetan monks, rather than McMahan's "the province of a small number of specialist monks in Himalayan hermitages"  . (Emphasis added.)

http://www.ozy.com/c-notes/the-dalai-lama-on-china-the-future-of-tibet/34231.article?utm_source=A1&utm_medium=pp&utm_campaign=pp

Dalai Lama:

We have trained some monks here in India who have returned to Tibet. But this is rare. The danger is that religion becomes a mere ritual. It’s not sufficient to ring a bell, you know. Monks have to master the doctrine and the meditation. They need to be good in both. This requires thorough training.

BTW, this is a fascinating interview for other reasons, most notably...

OZY:

So the Tibetans do not need a Dalai Lama anymore?

Dalai Lama:

No, I don’t think so. Twenty-six hundred years of Buddhist tradition cannot be maintained by one person. And sometimes I make a tough joke: We had a Dalai Lama for almost five centuries. The 14th Dalai Lama now is very popular. Let us then finish with a popular Dalai Lama. If a weak Dalai Lama comes along, then it will just disgrace the Dalai Lama. (The Dalai Lama laughs.)