From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a loosely defined
list of sacred texts recognized by various sects of
Tibetan
Buddhism.
In addition to sutrayana texts from Early Buddhist (mostly Sarvastivada) and Mahayana sources, the Tibetan
canon includes tantric
texts.[1]
The Tibetan Canon underwent a final compilation in the 14th
century by Bu-ston (1290–1364). The Tibetans did not have a
formally arranged Mahayana canon and so devised their own scheme
which divided texts into two broad categories:
- Kangyur (Wylie: bka'-'gyur) or
"Translated Words", consists of works supposed to have been said by
the Buddha himself. All texts presumably have a Sanskrit original,
although in many cases the Tibetan text was translated from Chinese
or other languages.
- Tengyur (Wylie: bstan-'gyur) or
"Translated Treatises" is the section to which were assigned
commentaries, treatises and abhidharma works (both Mahayana and
non-Mahayana). The Tengyur contains 3626 texts in 224 Volumes.
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.
Development of the Canon
The exact number of texts in 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 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.
- The Tibetan Buddhist canon is collection of
translation work of Buddhist texts from its Indian origin.
since 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 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 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 i.e. 814 A.D. Another great achievement was the
cataloguing of the collections then available in royal libraries of
the three famous Tibetan palaces under the supervision of 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 i.e. 818 A.D . This
cataloguing work became famous by 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-brng
bsam-yas mchims-phu-ma and pho-brng stong-thang ldan-dkar were
compiled and came to be known as dkar-chag mchims-phu-ma and
dkar-chag Idan-dkar-ma respectively. dkar-chag Idan-dkar-ma was
compiled in the dragon year i.e. 824 A.D.
- Among these three catalogues, ldan-dkar-ma, included in 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 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 millions
words contained in the bka’-’gyur & bstan-’gyur collection.
According to 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 millions words. The sum total of both these
collections is 4,502 texts in 73 millions words. By fixing bampo to
verses and to words of each of 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.
- For further detail, refer to <Ngawang Tsepag
(ntsepag@gmail.com. Traditional Cataloguing and Classification of
Tibetan Literature" (English) Dharamsala: LTWA Tibetan Journal,
XXX- no- 2, Summer 2005. 50-60pp.></ref>
Catalogues of Buddhist collections in Royal
Palaces
- lhan dkar ma/ldan dkar ma (found in later Kanjurs)
- 'phang thang ma (recently
rediscovered)
- mchims bu ma (lost)
Later catalogues
- Grags pa rgyal mtshan (1147-1216)
- Bcom ldan rig dral (13th century)
- 'Phags pa blo gros rgyal mtshan (1235-1280)
Kanjur
Editions
- Old Narthang Kanjur (thought to have been a ms collection with
multiple copies of texts) Not surviving.
Tshal-pa Lineage These are all xylographic
editions:
- Yunglo Kanjur (1410) (largely lost)
- Wanli Kanjur (1606) (largely lost, but available via 1680
Berlin ms copy)
- Lithang Kanjur (1608-21)
- Kangxi Kanjur (1684-92) (with several corrected reprints)
- Cone Kanjur (1721-31)
- Narthang (1730-32) (with contamination from Them-spangs-ma
line)
- Derge Kanjur (1733) (with contamination from Them-spangs-ma
line)
- Qianlong Kanjur (1737)
- Urga Kanjur (with multiple contaminations)
- Lhasa Kanjur (with multiple contaminations)
Them-spangs-ma Lineage These are all manuscript
editions:
- Shel-dkar (available via London ms copy 1712)
- Tokyo Ms Kanjur (1858-78)
- sTog Palace Kanjur manuscript (c1700-50)
- Ulan Batur Ms Kanjur
Local Kanjurs (independent of Old Narthang
Kanjur lineage)
- Bathang Kanjur ms
- Mustang Kanjur ms
- Phug-drak Kanjur ms (1696-1706)
- Tabo Ms Fragments (individual texts, not apparently a complete
Kanjur)
- Tawang Kanjurs (two copies extant)
Tanjurs
- Derge
- Cone
- Narthang
- Peking
- Golden
Publications/Issues
of the Tibetan Buddhist canon
- Tohaku University (Ed.)(1934). A Complete Catalogue of the
Tibetan Buddhist Canons, Sde-dge Edition, Tohaku
University
Generic classifcation
of Canonical texts
Exoteric or Sutra
tradition
In 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.
Esoteric or Tantra
tradition
Tantra
categorization by the Ancient Translation School
The division used by the Nyingma or Ancient school:
- Three Outer Tantras:
- Kriyayoga
- Charyayoga
- Yogatantra
- Three Inner Tantras, which correspond to the
Anuttarayogatantra:
Tantra
categorization by the New Translation School
The Sarma or New Translation
schools of Tibetan Buddhism (Gelug, Sakya,
and Kagyu) divide the Tantras
into four hierarchical categories, namely,
Mother
Tantra
"The Yoginī Tantras correspond to what later Tibetan
commentators termed the "Mother Tantras" (ma rgyud)"
(CST, p. 5).
Father
Tantra
In 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)
Nondual Tantra or Advaya
Class
Authors of
the Canon
In addition to texts attributed to Shakyamuni Buddha and other
Buddhas, the Tibetan Buddhist canon (specifically the Tenjur)
contains a number of commentaries composed by Indian authors. Below
are the authors the tradition holds to be of paramount
importance.
Important Indian
scholars
Two
Supremes
Six
Scholarly Ornaments
- Aryadeva foremost
disciple of Nagarjuna, continued the philosophical school of Madhyamika
- Dharmakirti
famed logician, author of the Seven Treatises; student of
Dignana's student Ishvarasena; said to have debated famed Hindu
scholar Shankara
- Dignaga famed logician
- Vasubandhu,
Asanga's brother[2][3][4]
- Gunaprabha foremost student of Vasubandhu, known for his work
the Vinayasutra
- Sakyaprabha prominent exponent of the Vinaya
Seventeen Great Panditas
References are sometimes made to the Seventeen Great
Panditas. This formulation groups the eight listed above with
the following nine scholars.
Five traditional topics of
study
Study of the Tibetan Buddhist canon is a focal point of the
monastic curriculum. All four schools of Tibetan Buddhism generally
follow 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 widely
renowned scholars Jamgon Kongtrul. Ju Mipham 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 is generally organized into "Five
Topics," listed as follows with the primary Indian source texts for
each:
- Abhidharma (Higher Knowledge, Tib.
wylie: chos mngon)
- Compendium of Higher Knowledge (Abhidharma Samuccaya)
by Asanga
- Treasury of Higher Knowledge (Abhidharma Kosha) by Vasubandhu
- Prajna
Paramita (Perfection of Wisdom, Tib. wylie:
phar-phyin)
- Ornament of Clear Realization (Abhisamaya Alankara) by
Maitreya as related to
Asanga
- The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara, Tib.
wylie: sPyod-‘jug) by Shantideva
- Madhyamaka (Middle Way, Tib. wylie:
dbu-ma)
- Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way
(Mulamadhyamakakarika, Tib. wylie: rTsa dbu-ma) by Nagarjuna
- Four Hundred Verses on the Yogic Deeds of Bodhisattvas
(Catuhsataka) by Aryadeva
- Introduction to the Middle Way (Madhyamakavatara,’’ Tib.
wylie: ‘’dBu-ma-la ‘Jug-pa) by Chandrakirti
- Ornament of the Middle Way (Madhyamakalamkara) by Shantarakshita
- The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara, Tib.
wylie: sPyod-‘jug) by Shantideva
- Pramana
(Logic, Means of Knowing, Tib. wylie: tshad-ma)
- Treatise on Valid Cognition (Pramanavarttika) by Dharmakirti
- Compendium on Valid Cognition
(Pramanasamuccaya) by Dignaga
- Vinaya
(Monastic discipline, Tib. wylie: 'dul-ba)
- The Root of the Vinaya (Dülwa Do Tsawa, 'dul-ba mdo
rtsa-ba) by Gunaprabha
Five
treatises of Maitreya
Also of great importance are the "Five Treatises of Maitreya."
These texts are said to have been related to Asanga by the Buddha Maitreya, and comprise the heart of the Yogacara (or
Cittamatra, "Mind-Only") school of philosophy in which all
Tibetan Buddhist scholars are well-versed. They are as follows:
- Ornament for Clear Realization (Abhisamayalankara, Tib. mngon-par
rtogs-pa'i rgyan)
- Ornament for the Mahayana Sutras (Mahayanasutralankara,
Tib. theg-pa chen-po'i mdo-sde'i rgyan)
- Sublime Continuum of the Mahayana
(Mahayanottaratantrashastra, Ratnagotravibhaga, Tib. theg-pa
chen-po rgyud-bla-ma'i bstan)
- Distinguishing Phenomena and Pure Being (Dharmadharmatavibhanga,
Tib. chos-dang chos-nyid rnam-par 'byed-pa)
- Distinguishing the Middle and the Extremes (Madhyantavibhanga, Tib.
dbus-dang mtha' rnam-par 'byed-pa)
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.
The
Translations
History of translation in
Tibet
Translation methodology
Standardisation of
terminology
See also
External
links
Notes
- ^
Tibetan: rgyud. The distinction between sutra and tantra
is not rigid. For example, in some editions the tantra section
includes the Heart
Sutra (Cf. Conze, The Prajnaparamita Literature,
Mouton, the Hague, 1960, page 72.) and even versions of texts in
the Pali Canon (Mahasutras, Peter
Skilling, Pali Text Society, volume I, page xxiv. The abbreviation
DN there is given in the author's list, page xv, as Digha Nikaya, which
is part of the Pali Canon.)
- ^
http://www.sakya.org/News%20Letters/Sakya%20Newsletter%20Summer%202007.pdf
- ^
Kalu Rinpoche, Luminous Mind: The Way of the Buddha.
Wisdom Publications,1997. p. 285 http://books.google.com/books?id=eWVgoVByVhcC&pg=PA285&lpg=PA285&dq=%22two+supremes%22+nagarjuna&source=web&ots=g3PMaucUAA&sig=a97JqzX4462vDLLm8gI6nrNvwKA
- ^
Tashi Deleg! The Padma Samye
Ling Bulletin, Enlightened Masters: Arya Asanga
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