Prof. Dr. Jörg Heimbel

Main Research and Teaching Interests

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• History of Tibetan Buddhist traditions
• History of the Sakya tradition with a focus on its Ngor branch
• Book and manuscript culture
• Biographical and historiographical literature
• History of Buddhist art and its epigraphic tradition
• Colloquial Tibetan

Curriculum Vitae

Jörg Heimbel holds a PhD in Tibetology from the University of Hamburg, Germany, earned in 2014. His doctoral dissertation focused on the life and times of Ngorchen Künga Zangpo (Ngor chen Kun dga’ bzang po, 1382–1456), a seminal master of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and the founder of Ngor monastery.
During his doctoral studies, he enhanced his expertise in Tibetan language and culture by participating in the “Tibetan Language Programme” at Tibet University in Lhasa, China, for three semesters. He also undertook part of his doctoral research as a research fellow at the Lumbini International Research Institute (LIRI) in Nepal.

From 2014 to 2024, Heimbel served as lecturer in Tibetan at the University of Hamburg. Concurrently, he also remained actively engaged with the LIRI as a research fellow, cataloguing and analysing an important collection of rare manuscripts originating from Ngor monastery.

Heimbel's research focuses on the history of Tibetan Buddhist traditions—with particular emphasis on the Sakya tradition and its influential Ngor branch—and their associated textual culture and heritage. He also studies the history of Buddhist sacred art as expressed in scroll paintings (thangkas), murals, and statues, as well as aspects of Tibetan book culture, codicology, epigraphy and palaeography.

His research is grounded in text-critical analysis using historical-philological methods. Heimbel draws from a wide range of primary sources in Tibetan, including biographies, historiographical accounts, legal documents, inscriptions, and religious artworks such as thangka paintings. His research is enriched by collaborative work with scholars in China, Europe, Japan, and North America, including native scholars from both the academic and monastic worlds, fostering a dynamic and fruitful exchange of emic and etic perspectives.

Heimbel has published extensively on topics such as the history of the Ngor branch of the Sakya tradition, ascetic traditions, book culture, sacred art, and vegetarianism. His recent books include Vajradhara in Human Form: The Life and Times of Ngor chen Kun dga’ bzang po (2017) and The Ngor Branch Monastery of Go mig (sTeng rgyud) in Spiti (2019). In addition, he is the founder of “Ngor’s Textual Treasures” (NTT), an interactive web application that presents a collection of manuscripts from Ngor monastery, showcasing the results of his ongoing research into cataloguing this invaluable textual heritage.

Current and Previous Position

• Since 10.2024 Professor (W2) for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, Department for Asian Studies, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich.
• 10.2014 – 09.2024 Lecturer in Tibetan, Asia Africa Institute, Department of Indian and Tibetan Studies, University of Hamburg.

Academic Qualifications

• 05.2014 PhD in Tibetology (summa cum laude), University of Hamburg.
• 06.2007 Magister Artium in Tibetology and Ethnology, University of Hamburg.

Projects, Research Fellowship, Awards

• 10.2020 – 09.2022 Research Fellow at the Lumbini International Research Institute (LIRI), Nepal; Project: “Ngor’s Texttual Treasures: A Catalogue and Research Database.”
• 04.2014 – 03.2016 Research Fellow at the Lumbini International Research Institute (LIRI), Nepal; Project: “Ngor’s Tantric Treasures: An Investigation of an Old Manuscript Find.”
• 06.2015 Khyentse Foundation Award for Excellence in Buddhist Studies, Khyentse Center for Tibetan Buddhist Textual Scholarship (KC-TBTS), University of Hamburg.
• 03.2012 – 08.2013 Doctoral Research Fellow at the Lumbini International Research Institute (LIRI), Nepal.
• 12.2010 Dr. Peter Lindegger research award, Department of Mongolian and Tibetan Studies, Institute of Oriental and Asian Studies, Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelms University of Bonn.
• 04.2008 – 03.2010 PhD scholarship, Asia Africa Institute, University of Hamburg.

Publications