“I Am But Lowly”: Humility in the Hagiographies of Yeshé Tsogyal and Mechthild of Magdeburg

abstract: Fifteen years ago, theologian Michelle Voss provided us with a detailed framework for understanding humility in the life and writings of the thirteenth-century German beguine, Mechthild of Magdeburg. This framework identified nine functions of the virtue, which Voss then organized into three triads: rhetorical, authorizing, and divinizing functions. She argued that this framework allowed new possibilities for seeing beyond the self-limiting impact of humility so often highlighted by feminist Christian theologians. This article responds to Voss’ invitation to apply the framework to other theological voices by exploring the model’s potential to identify how humility is employed in the life and writings of eighth-century Tibetan Buddhist visionary Yeshé Tsogyal. It will then introduce the theological potential of a queered humility (one that disrupts the potential for self-denial that traditional concepts of humility often imply or require) and how its presence in the life of Yeshé Tsogyal can be a powerful source of strength and vulnerability as one progresses along the spiritual path.