Bringing Light to the ‘Dark Borderlands’: Theorizing and Tracing Tibetan Buddhist Missionization in Gyalrong

This paper explores the concept of Thakhob (mtha' 'khob) as a rhetorical tool that legitimized religio-political expansion in early modern Tibet. It examines how both Tibetan Buddhists and Bonpos invoked Thakhob—a designation for borderlands inhabited by “uncivilized” peoples and untouched by the rays of Dharma—to justify their civilizing missions. Through various methods, including the interpretation of dreams and prophecies or “discovery” of hidden lands and texts, they sought to propagate their respective religious traditions. Specifically, this paper traces how, beginning in the 15th century, early Geluk monks and scholars initiated efforts to proselytize the eastern Tibetan borderlands, particularly the Bon strongholds of Gyalrong. These missionary activities intensified in the 18th and 19th centuries under the Qing-Geluk alliance, with prominent Tibetan and Mongour Geluk lamas playing key roles. By examining Thakhob as a conceptual and discursive device, this paper highlights its role in framing expansionist projects as a civilizing endeavor.