Samding Dorje Phagmo
48-693: The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a defined collection of sacred texts recognized by various schools of Tibetan Buddhism , comprising the Kangyur and the Tengyur . The Kangyur or Kanjur is Buddha's recorded teachings (or the 'Translation of the Word'), and the Tengyur or Tanjur is the commentaries by great masters on Buddha's teachings (or the 'Translation of Treatises'). Samding Dorje Phagmo In addition to earlier foundational Buddhist texts from early Buddhist schools, mostly
96-517: A Kanjur; however, it is not known which one. "The Kangyur usually takes up a hundred or a hundred and eight volumes, the Tengyur two hundred and twenty-five, and the two together contain 4,569 works." The Kangyur is divided into sections on Vinaya , Perfection of Wisdom sutras, other sutras (75% Mahayana, 25% Hinayana ), and tantras . It includes texts on the Vinaya , monastic discipline, metaphysics, and
144-439: A category of 27 subject headings. An interesting unique feature of Tibetan catalogue is that, alongside information about the source material of translation and the bibliographical details, it gives in physical descriptions, such as the nos. of words, verses, canto (bampo) and folios-pages in each of textual contents. Thus today we have a record of 73 million words contained in the bka’-’gyur & bstan-’gyur collection. According to
192-577: A compilation of the Buddhist sacred texts recognized by various schools of Tibetan Buddhism . The Canon includes the Kangyur , which is the Buddha's recorded teachings, and the Tengyur , which is commentaries by great masters on the Buddha's recorded teachings. The first translation into Tibetan of these manuscripts occurred in the 8th century and is referred to as the Ancient Translation School of
240-466: A compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and laws , ethical conduct, spiritual aspirations, and admonitions for fostering a religious community. Within each religion, these sacred texts are revered as authoritative sources of guidance, wisdom, and divine revelation . They are often regarded as sacred or holy, representing the core teachings and principles that their followers strive to uphold. According to Peter Beal,
288-399: A corpus of religious texts from the "canonical" literature. At its root, this differentiation reflects the sects and conflicts that developed and branched off over time, the competitive "acceptance" of a common minimum over time and the "rejection" of interpretations, beliefs, rules or practices by one group of another related socio-religious group. The earliest reference to the term "canon" in
336-505: A definitive canon". While the term scripture is derived from the Latin scriptura , meaning "writing", most sacred scriptures of the world's major religions were originally a part of their oral tradition , and were "passed down through memorization from generation to generation until they were finally committed to writing", according to Encyclopaedia Britannica . In Islam , the Sunnah are
384-500: A literary form about the time Buddhism entered Tibet. The Bön Kangyur contains the revelations of Tonpa Shenrab (Wylie: gShen rab ), the traditional founder of Bön. A version was published in 1993-1997. The Bon traditions of the Tibetan part of the Chinese tripitaka Zhonghua da zang jing (中華大藏經) has also been published in 2022. Tibetan Buddhist canon The Tibetan Buddhist canon is
432-466: A religious community. The terms sacred text and religious text are not necessarily interchangeable in that some religious texts are believed to be sacred because of the belief in some theistic religions such as the Abrahamic religions that the text is divinely or supernaturally revealed or divinely inspired , or in non-theistic religions such as some Indian religions they are considered to be
480-467: A religious text, has origins as early as 2150 BCE, and stands as one of the earliest literary works that includes various mythological figures and themes of interaction with the divine. The Rigveda , a scripture of Hinduism , is dated 1500 BCE. It is one of the oldest known complete religious texts that has survived into the modern age. There are many possible dates given to the first writings which can be connected to Talmudic and Biblical traditions,
528-517: A similar curriculum, using the same Indian root texts and commentaries. The further Tibetan commentaries they use differ by school, although since the 19th-century appearance of the Rimé movement scholars Jamgon Kongtrul , Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso and Khenpo Shenga, Kagyupas and Nyingmapas use many of the same Tibetan commentaries as well. Different schools, however, place emphasis and concentrate attention on different areas. The exoteric study of Buddhism
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#1732855773259576-549: A text "having [religious] authority and often collected into an accepted canon". In modern times, this equation of the written word with religious texts is particular to the English language , and is not retained in most other languages, which usually add an adjective like " sacred " to denote religious texts. Some religious texts are categorized as canonical, some non-canonical, and others extracanonical, semi-canonical, deutero-canonical, pre-canonical or post-canonical. The term "canon"
624-550: Is derived from the Greek word " κανών ", "a cane used as a measuring instrument". It connotes the sense of "measure, standard, norm, rule". In the modern usage, a religious canon refers to a "catalogue of sacred scriptures" that is broadly accepted to "contain and agree with the rule or canon of a particular faith", states Juan Widow. The related terms such as "non-canonical", "extracanonical", "deuterocanonical" and others presume and are derived from "canon". These derived terms differentiate
672-463: Is derived from the ratification, enforcement , and its use across generations. Some religious texts are accepted or categorized as canonical , some non-canonical, and others extracanonical, semi-canonical, deutero-canonical, pre-canonical or post-canonical. "Scripture" (or "scriptures") is a subset of religious texts considered to be "especially authoritative", revered and "holy writ", "sacred, canonical", or of "supreme authority, special status" to
720-466: Is generally organized into "Five Topics," listed as follows with the primary Indian source texts for each: Also of great importance are the "Five Treatises of Maitreya." These texts are said to have been taught to Asanga by Maitreya (according to the Buddhist tradition, he is the future Buddha who currently resides in Tushita-Heaven; some scholars, for example, Frauwallner and Tucci believe Maitreya
768-460: Is reactivated. Since the beginning of 11th century onward Tibetan translators together with Indian panditas once again resumed their literary activity to bring about a new chapter to be known as "the era of new translation" and also "revival or later promulgation of Buddhism in Tibet". In addition to the previous works Tibet has produced a huge literary wealth both in terms of volume and range of coverage by
816-674: The Sarvastivada and Mahayana texts, the Tibetan canon includes Tantric texts. The last category is not always sharply distinguished from the others: the Tantra division sometimes includes material usually not thought of as Tantric in other traditions, such as the Heart Sutra and even versions of material found in the Pali Canon . The Tibetans did not have a formally arranged Mahayana canon, and so devised their own scheme with two broad categories:
864-526: The tantras . Some describe the prajñāpāramitā philosophy, others extol the virtues of the various bodhisattvas , while others expound the Trikāya and the Ālaya-Vijñāna doctrines. When the term Kangyur was first used is unknown. Collections of canonical Buddhist texts existed already in the time of Trisong Detsen , the sixth king of Tibet , who ruled from 755 until 797 CE, in Spiti . The exact number of texts in
912-569: The "Words of the Buddha" and later the commentaries; the Kangyur and Tengyur respectively. The Tengyur underwent a final compilation in the 14th century by Bu-ston (1290–1364). There is no proof that Bu-ston also took part in the collection and edition of the Tsal pa Kangyur, although he consecrated a copy of this Kangyur 1351 when he visited Tshal Gung-thang [ de ] (Eimer 1992:178). According to sakya mchog ldan (1428-1507), Bu-soon edited
960-574: The 13th century and this growth imposed to carry a fresh comprehensive bibliographical record and control existing literature. In the mid-13th century a student of bcom-ldan rigs-ral (1200?), ’Jam-gag pak-shi, also known as mchims ’jam-dpal dbyangs (?–1267), who was the state priest of the Mongol emperor Ching Tsung, had managed to collect some amount of writing material and sent to his master with request for organizing and preparing catalogue of literature that were scattered all over Tibet. bcom-ldan rigs-ral with
1008-593: The Kangyur is not fixed. Each editor takes responsibility for removing texts he considers spurious or adding new translations. Currently there are about 12 available Kangyurs. These include the Derge, Lhasa, Narthang, Cone, Peking, Urga, Phudrak and Stog Palace versions, each named after the physical location of its printing (or copying in the case of manuscripts editions). In addition, some canonical texts have been found in Tabo and Dunhuang which provide earlier exemplars to texts found in
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#17328557732591056-600: The Kangyur is not fixed. Each editor takes responsibility for removing texts they consider spurious, and adding new translations. Currently there are about 12 available versions of the Kangyur. These include the Derge , Lhasa , Narthang , Cone , Peking , Urga , Phudrak, and Stog Palace versions, each named for the physical location where it was printed. In addition, some canonical texts have been found in Tabo Monastery and Dunhuang which provide earlier exemplars of texts found in
1104-520: The Kangyur. All extant Kangyur appear to stem from the Old Narthang Monastery Kangyur. The stemma of the Kangyur have been well researched, by Helmut Eimer in particular. The Tibetan Bön religion also has its canon literature divided into two sections called the Kangyur and Tengyur, said to have been translated from foreign languages, but the number and contents of the collection are not yet fully known. Apparently, Bön began to take on
1152-600: The Kangyur. The majority of extant Kangyur editions appear to stem from the so-called Old Narthang Kangyur, though the Phukdrak and Tawang editions are thought to lie outside of that textual lineage. The stemma of the Kangyur have been well researched in particular by Helmut Eimer and Paul Harrison. From the seventh century onward, existing literature were compiled and catalogued from time to time which later extended, upgraded, classified, reorganized and put in different sets of different collections. A separate set of translation works
1200-593: The Nyingmas. The Tibetan Canon underwent another compilation in the 14th century by Buton Rinchen Drub (1290–1364). Again, the Tibetans divided the Buddhist texts into two broad categories: The Canon includes all of the Buddha's teachings and the commentaries on all three Buddhist vehicles (yanas): Hinayana (Theravada), Mahayana (Sutra), and Vajrayana (Tantra). In addition to sutrayana texts from Early Buddhist schools (mostly Sarvastivada ) and Mahayana sources,
1248-606: The Tenjur) contains a number of commentaries composed by Indian authors. Below are the authors the tradition holds to be of paramount importance. References are sometimes made to the Seventeen Great Panditas. This formulation groups the eight listed above with the following nine scholars. Study of the Tibetan Buddhist canon is a focal point of the monastic curriculum. All four schools of Tibetan Buddhism generally follow
1296-437: The Tibetan canon includes tantric texts. The Kangyur is divided into sections on Vinaya , Perfection of Wisdom Sutras, Avatamsaka, Ratnakuta and other sutras (75% Mahayana, 25% Nikaya / Agama or Hinayana ), and tantras . When exactly the term Kangyur was first used is not known. Collections of canonical Buddhist texts already existed in the time of Trisong Detsen , the sixth king of Tibet . The exact number of texts in
1344-432: The Tibetan tradition, some collections of teachings and practices are held in greater secrecy than others. The sutra tradition comprises works said to be derived from the public teachings of the Buddha, and is taught widely and publicly. The esoteric tradition of tantra (below) is generally only shared in more intimate settings with those students who the teacher feels have the capacity to utilize it well. The collection of
1392-461: The central tenets of their eternal Dharma . In contrast to sacred texts, many religious texts are simply narratives or discussions pertaining to the general themes, interpretations, practices, or important figures of the specific religion. In some religions (e.g. Christianity ), the canonical texts include a particular text ( Bible ) but is "an unsettled question", according to Eugene Nida . In others ( Hinduism , Buddhism ), there "has never been
1440-589: The context of "a collection of sacred Scripture" is traceable to the 4th-century CE. The early references, such as the Synod of Laodicea , mention both the terms "canonical" and "non-canonical" in the context of religious texts. One of the oldest known religious texts is the Kesh Temple Hymn of ancient Sumer , a set of inscribed clay tablets which scholars typically date around 2600 BCE. The Epic of Gilgamesh from Sumer , although only considered by some scholars as
1488-453: The earlier scheme of classification, the "class ... "Yoga Tantras," ... includes tantras such as the Guhyasamāja ", later "classified as "Father Tantras" ( pha rgyud ) ... placed in the ultimate class ... "Unexcelled Yoga tanras" ( rnal 'byor bla med kyi rgyud )" ( CST , p. 5). In addition to texts attributed to Shakyamuni Buddha and other Buddhas, the Tibetan Buddhist canon (specifically
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1536-548: The earliest of which is found in scribal documentation of the 8th century BCE, followed by administrative documentation from temples of the 5th and 6th centuries BCE, with another common date being the 2nd century BCE. High rates of mass production and distribution of religious texts did not begin until the invention of the printing press in 1440, before which all religious texts were hand written copies, of which there were relatively limited quantities in circulation. The relative authority of religious texts develops over time and
1584-411: The famous translator Bande sKa-ba dpal-brtsegs with help from his colleagues, Bande chos-kyi snying-po, Lo-tsa-wa Bande debendhara, Bande lhun-po and Bande klu’-dbang-po etc. The earliest catalogue compilation was recorded from the manuscript of the royal collection housed in the palace- pho-brang ‘phang-thang ka-med kyi gtsug-lag-kang in the Tibetan dog year (818 CE). This cataloguing work became famous by
1632-407: The help of his pupils dbu-pa blo-gsal byang-chub ye-shes, lo tsa-wa bsod-nams ’od-zer and rgyang-ro byang-chub ’bum, surveyed various parts mostly covering central and western Tibet. Authenticating and rectifying, they carefully scrutinize all the manuscripts of old and new translations and arranged them in order, compiling a comprehensive catalogue of a proto-bka’-‘gyur & bstan-’gyur. The catalogue
1680-490: The history of evolution of catalogue. Bande sKa-ba dpal-brtsegs is thus, honored as the pioneer of the Tibetan system. All the later compilers of the Tibetan Canon based their works extensively on sKa-ba dpal-brtsegs creation. After the period of suppression during the reign of King glang-dar-ma’s (803–842) which brought the first chapter of the history of Tibetan literature to an abrupt end, the second phase in its development
1728-403: The latest edition of Dharma Publication, the bKa’-‘gyur contains 1,115 texts, spread over 65,420 Tibetan folios amounting to 450,000 lines or 25 million words. Likewise, the bsTan-'gyur contains 3,387 texts using 127,000 folios amounting to 850,000 lines and 48 million words. The sum total of both these collections is 4,502 texts in 73 million words. By fixing bampo to verses and to words of each of
1776-452: The name of the palace and known as dkar-chag phang-thang-ma . Soon afterwards two further catalogues of collections available in two other royal libraries- pho-brang bsam-yas mchims-phu-ma and pho-brang stong-thang ldan-dkar were compiled and came to be known as dkar-chag mchims-phu-ma and dkar-chag ldan-dkar-ma respectively. dkar-chag ldan-dkar-ma was compiled in the dragon year (824 CE). Among these three catalogues, ldan-dkar-ma, included in
1824-407: The requesting to re-inscribe all manuscripts and set in separate volumes. dbu-pa blo-gsal byang-chub ye-shes, who was the disciple of both bcom-ldan rigs-ral and ’jam-gag pak-shi, was entrusted for this new task. He with colleagues, dutifully accomplished the work and published for the first time a complete and new set of volumes of - bka’-’gyur & bstan-’gyur and placed at atemple, ‘jam-lha-khang of
1872-522: The snar thang monastery which later became famous as snar thang edition. Unfortunately, both the catalogues and volumes of this hand-written oldest edition of the bka’-’gyur & bstan-’gyur are no longer available. The Tibetan part of the Chinese tripitaka Zhonghua da zang jing (中華大藏經) was published in 2008. These are all woodcut editions: These are all manuscript editions: The following sigla are regularly used in scholarly editions of Kanjur texts. A number of catalogues have been published. In
1920-606: The tantras of the Nyingma is known as the Nyingma Gyubum . The division used by the Nyingma or Ancient school: The Sarma or New Translation schools of Tibetan Buddhism ( Gelug , Sakya , and Kagyu ) divide the Tantras into four hierarchical categories, namely, "The Yoginī Tantra s correspond to what later Tibetan commentators termed the "Mother Tantras" ( ma rgyud )" ( CST , p. 5). In
1968-627: The term scripture – derived from " scriptura " (Latin) – meant "writings [manuscripts] in general" prior to the medieval era, then became "reserved to denote the texts of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible". Beyond Christianity, according to the Oxford World Encyclopedia , the term "scripture" has referred to a text accepted to contain the "sacred writings of a religion", while The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions states it refers to
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2016-432: The textual contents, the individual works are interpolation and alteration. This further strengthened the authenticity of Tibetan Buddhist literature. These are the first Tibetan catalogues in three versions that were compiled and published in the beginning of the ninth century by the great sgra-sgyur gyi lo-tsa-wa Bande sKa-ba dpal-brtsegs and his team. Tibet, thus, becomes the earliest to accomplish catalogue as inventory in
2064-557: The traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time evidently saw and followed and passed on to the next generations. According to classical Islamic theories, the sunnah are documented by hadith (the verbally transmitted record of the teachings, deeds and sayings, silent permissions or disapprovals attributed to Muhammad ), and alongside
2112-415: The volume Jo of sna-tsogs in sde-ge bka’-bstan, is generally believed to be the only surviving so far. But recently a manuscript of dkar-chag phang-thang-ma is discovered and published from Tibet. It contains 961 titles listed under 34 subject headings with additional information of numbers of verses (soloka and bampo ) that contains in each text. The ldan-dkar-ma catalogue comprises 735 titles and listed under
2160-804: Was a historical person who had to be Asangas teacher ), and comprise the heart of the Shentong-Madhyamaka, as well as Yogacara school of philosophical thought in which all Tibetan Buddhist scholars are well-versed. They are as follows: A commentary on the Ornament for Clear Realization called Clarifying the Meaning by the Indian scholar Haribhadra is often used, as is one by Vimuktisena. Sacred text Religious texts , including scripture , are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature
2208-465: Was assigned for the purpose. As a major step in this remarkable attempt at literary standardization, the bi-lingual glossary known as the Mahavyutpatti (sgra-sbyor bam-po gnyis-pa) was successfully accomplished in the Tibetan horse year (814 CE). Another great achievement was the cataloguing of the collections then available in royal libraries of the three famous Tibetan palaces under the supervision of
2256-410: Was prepared into two sets of collections, entitled the dkar-chag bstan-pa rgyas-pa and dka-’gyur gyi dkar-chag nyi-ma’i ’od-zer respectively. Classification of Tibetan Buddhist canon or translation works into two main classes as bka’-’gyur & bstan-’gyur is basically derived from this catalogue. ’Jam-gag pak-shi was once again able to gather some good amount of writing materials and sent to Tibet with
2304-628: Was re-grouped into two major collections popularly known as bka’-’gyur and bstan-’gyur , translation of Buddha’s discourses and translation of commentarial works respectively. The very first Tibetan catalogue was introduced during the period of the 39th Tibetan King khri-lde srong-btsen, also known as sad-na legs-mjing-gyon (776–815), who issued decrees “requiring all translation works that were extant in Tibetan from their Indian original to be catalogued and subjected to be recurrently reviewed and to set guidelines of terminology in order to standardize all translation works”. A team of Indian and Tibetan scholars
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