Introduction

As literary theorists know well, any definition of life writing – as a practice, theory, and genre – is tentative at best, as the term eludes clear taxonomic classification, encompassing a wide range of textual products about lives or part of lives. Indian typologies, developed in the context of Buddhist doctrine, were in fact adopted – and adapted – by indigenous scholars in their efforts to translate and organise the dharma; throughout the centuries, other native forms of categorisation emerged, addressing literature as a whole, beyond the confines of Buddhist tenets and scholarship. By merely glancing at their vast literary corpus, Tibetans appear to have been positively obsessed with life stories. The miscellaneous and multi-layered nature of namthar betrays the fundamental complexity of Tibetan biographical and hagiographical writings. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.