‘A transformative addition’: U of T receives collection of rare Tibetan manuscripts

Feb 5, 2025

Lobsang Lhalungpa seated at an ornate wood table — *Lobsang Lhalungpa examining a manuscript from his collection. Photo courtesy of Samphe Lhalungpa.*

The University of Toronto Libraries has procured a collection of traditional Tibetan manuscripts, assembled by the late scholar and former monk-official Lobsang Lhalungpa, that provides rare insights into Tibet’s cultural and political heritage.

Comprising some 800 items amassed over 60 years, the collection includes several oblong-shaped texts (“pechas”) containing singular materials on history and religion, along with Lhalungpa’s handwritten notes. The documents, some of which date back to as early as the 15th century, are being housed at the Cheng Yu Tung Asian Library.

“He had something like 15 wooden trunks specially constructed so he could bring his collection to Canada,” Samphe recalled. “It was a huge enterprise – my mother had to order these trunks, and in various sizes. They didn’t bring any household goods when they emigrated – but they brought the pechas.”

Lhalungpa was a towering figure who shaped our understanding of Tibet in the twentieth century.

“The Lhalungpa Collection provides deep insights into Indigenous Tibetan scholarship and perspectives,” said the library’s director Hana Kim. “It represents a transformative addition to our holdings, further enhancing the largest Tibetan collection in Canada.”

The collection was donated to U of T by Lhalungpa’s sons Samphe and Tenzin.

Growing up in New Delhi, India, Samphe says he knew his father maintained a significant library, but didn’t realize the scale of it until the Lhalungpa family moved to Canada in 1971. “He had something like 15 wooden trunks specially constructed so he could bring his collection to Canada… they didn’t bring any household goods when they emigrated, but they brought the pechas,” Samphe said.

Born in Lhasa, Tibet in 1926, Lhalungpa became an ordained monk at age eight and pursued studies in Buddhism and Tibetan history.

After serving as a monk-official with the 14th Dalai Lama for seven years, he moved to New Delhi, where he spearheaded Tibetan language broadcasts from India’s public radio station, helping connect Tibetans in south Asia and the rest of the world. Later in his life, he taught Buddhist philosophy at the University of British Columbia and even had a brief foray in Hollywood, acting as a technical advisor for Martin Scorsese’s 1996 biopic of the 14th Dalai Lama, Kundun.

Like many Tibetan refugees, Lhalungpa’s life was marked by political upheaval and a long period of separation from his family. He continued to collect pechas and other rare texts as part of a living library that informed his teaching, translation work and scholarship right up until his death in 2008.

Lhalungpa was a towering figure who shaped our understanding of Tibet in the twentieth century.

*A selection of wrapped pechas from the Lobsang P. Lhalungpa collection. Photo by Kristina Dy-Liacco.*

Rory Lindsay, an assistant professor in the department for the study of religion in the Faculty of Arts & Science, described Lhalungpa as a “towering figure who shaped our understanding of Tibet in the 20th century” and helped bridge Tibetan and Western scholarship through his translations of seminal Tibetan works.

“His carefully assembled library reflects this unique position, housing precious texts on religion, history and other fields, some of which exist nowhere else today,” Lindsay said. “Having direct access to these materials is extraordinary, as they will fundamentally advance our grasp of Tibet’s rich intellectual and political heritage.”

Frances Garrett, an associate professor of religion, noted Lhalungpa’s work with eminent Buddhist scholars and with the Dalai Lama’s government in Tibet – and later in exile – enabled him to compile a collection of unprecedented depth and breadth. “It’s hard to overstate the impact that this collection will have on our continuing development of knowledge about the Tibetan intellectual and political world,” Garrett said.

Most of the pechas have already been delivered to the East Asian Library following a careful transportation process from Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Lhalungpa spent his final years. The remaining manuscripts are being moved to the library over several months, with plans underway to explore digitizing some of the materials to further expand their reach.

Tibet was always in his heart

Samphe says he’s pleased the collection, which he described as his father’s “life’s work,” will be accessible to new generations of scholars at U of T. “Some people collect books and never read them, but these were not just books to be collected – they were texts to be read, learned from and interacted with,” Samphe said.

He said the legacy of scholarly value and cultural significance was one that Lhalungpa held dear throughout his life, no matter how far away he lived from his roots.

“Tibet was always in his heart.”

Stacks of Tibetan papers on an orange cloth

*One notable item is an exceptionally rare manuscript on the history of Tibetan medicine, which includes a dedication composed by the Fifth Dalai Lama* (*1617–1682*)*. Photo credit by Kristina Dy-Liacco.*

*A sample traditional Tibetan text (known as a pecha) from the Lobsang P. Lhalungpa Collection at the Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library. Photo by Kristina Dy-Liacco.*

By Alison Lang