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').
In addition to earlier foundational Buddhist texts from early Buddhist schools, mostly 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[1] and even versions of material found in the Pali Canon.[2]
The Tibetans did not have a formally arranged Mahayana canon, and so devised their own scheme with two broad categories: 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).[3]
According to sakya mchog ldan (1428-1507), Bu-soon edited 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."[4]
Kangyur or "Translated Words" consists of works in about 108 volumes supposed to have been spoken by the Buddha himself. All texts presumably once had a Sanskrit original, although in many cases the Tibetan text was translated from Chinese or some other language.
Tengyur or "Translated Treatises" contains commentaries, treatises and abhidharma works (both Mahayana and non-Mahayana), in all, around 3,626 texts in 224 volumes.
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 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 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.
Contents of the Kangyur
While each canon has a different organisation, the first compelte catalogue of a Tibetan canon was the Tōhoku Catalogue based on the Derge Kangyur and Derge Tengyur, published in 1934.[7] This is currently used as a standard for cataloguing and organising various print and digital editions of the Kangyur and takes the following structure:
The Thirteen Late-translated sūtras (Tōḥ. 31–43) These are Tibetan translations of Pāḷi suttas, translated at Tharpaling the 14th century in collaboration between a Tibetan and Sinhala monk. They are the last sūtras to enter into the Kangyur, and so are called the "Late-translated" sūtras. One of these texts, the Vimuttimagga, which is not actually sūtra, is included for unknown reasons in the General Sūtra section (Tōh. 306). The longest text of this collection is the Jātakanidāna (Tōh. 32), which is also not considered a sutta in the Pāḷi tradition. The ĀṭānāṭiyaSūtra (Tōh. 33) and MahāsamayaSūtra (Tōh. 34) are equivalent to two Sanskrit sūtras translated into Tibetan for the Tantra section as "Mahāsūtras" for protection (Tōh. 656 & 653).[9]
The Buddhāvataṃsaka (Tōh. 44). Contains the Tibetan recension of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra in 45 chapters translated from Chinese.[10]
The Ratnakūṭa collection (Tōh. 45–93). Contains the Tibetan recensions of the various sūtras considered to be part of the Mahāratnakūṭa collection, which also circulated as stand-alone sūtras.[11] Major sūtras in this collection include:
Śrāvakayāna Sūtras (Tōh. 287–359) This includes various longer sūtras considered to not belong to the Mahāyāna, though these attributions are often disputed. Famous texts include:
Tantra Collection (rgyud'bum) Translations of tantras from the "later spread" as practised by the New Schools (Sarma).
Anuttarayoga / Yoganiruttaratantra (Tōh. 360–478) These are the highest class of tantras, considered "inner tantras," often divided into "non-dual," "mother," and "father" tantras, with the latter two divided into six families of principal deities. Their goal is to realise the absolute non-duality of the meditator and the deity, allowing one to realise their innate wisdom. Historically, these were the last tantras to have developed starting from the 8th century.
Yoga Tantra (Tōh. 479–493) The highest of the "outer tantras." These meditational tantras emphasise skilful means and wisdom, but still have "external" practices based on maṇḍalas with all five Buddha families present, presided over by Mahāvairocana. They involve visualisation of oneself as the deity, with the goal of realising one's inseparability from the deity. These tantras date mostly to the 7th century, and were more openly transmitted than the higher tantras.
Vajra Family (Tōh. 496–501) – Six short Vajrapāṇi tantras
Kriyā Tantra (Tōh. 502–808) These 308 "action" tantras emphasise outer ritual for the attainment of siddhi or powers, the subduing of obstacles, and attainment of fortune. One worships the deity out of subservience in these practices. They have seven groups (three supramundane families, three mundane familes, and one miscellaneous section).
Tathāgata Family (Tōh. 502–673)
Texts featuring the principal deity of the family including:
20 Texts on Male and Female Messenger Goddesses (Tōh. 614–633) – focuses on overcoming epidemics and diseases. Includes the Vaiśālipraveśa Mahāsūtra (Tōh. 628)
19 Texts on Bodhisattvas in the Tathāgata Family (Tōh. 634–652) – includes texs enumerating their names as well as on using their qualities to develop on the path.
21 Texs on the Devas of Pure Places (Tōh. 653–673) – includes texts on various wealth and protector deities, as well as some Mahāsūtras.
Padma Family (Tōh. 674–742)
6 texts featuring the principle deity of the family (Tōh. 674–680)
The Dhāraṇīsaṅgraha Collection (Tōh. 846–1108) A collection of 250 dhāraṇīs.[14]
Praṇidhāna (Tōh. 1094–1108) A collection of aspiration and dedication prayers like the famous Bhadracaryāpraṇidhāna (Tōh. 1095). Most of these are found elsewhere in the Kangyur as duplicates.
Kangyur Catalog (Tōh. 4568) The descriptive catalogue of the Derge Kangyur, together with an explanation of the collection's history and translation, composed by the Situ Panchen Chokyi Jungne.
Bön Kangyur
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.[by whom?][clarification needed] Apparently, Bön began to take on 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.[15][16] A version was published in 1993-1997.[17] 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.[18]
↑Peter Skilling, Mahasutras, volume I, 1994, Pali Text Society, Lancaster, page xxiv
↑Eimer, Helmut. Ein Jahrzehnt Studien Zur Überlieferung Des Tibetischen Kanjur. Wien: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, Universität Wien, 1992.
↑Stein, R. A. Tibetan Civilization. (1962). First English edition - translated by J. E. Stapleton Driver (1972). Reprint (1972): Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. ISBN0-8047-0806-1 (cloth); ISBN0-8047-0901-7 (paper)
↑Tucci, Giuseppe. The Religions of Tibet. (1970). First English edition, translated by Geoffrey Samuel (1980). Reprint: (1988), University of California Press, p. 259, n. 10. ISBN0-520-03856-8 (cloth); ISBN0-520-06348-1 (pbk).
↑Humphries, Christmas. A Popular Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 104. (1962) Arco Publications, London.
↑Uji, Hakuju; Suzuki, Munetada; Kanakura, Yenshō; Tada, Tōkan (1934). A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons (Bkaḥ-ḥgyur and Bstan-ḥgyur). Sendai: Tōhoku Imperial University.
↑Skilling, Peter (1993). "Theravādin Literature in Tibetan Translation". Journal of the Pāli Text Society. 19: 66–201.
↑van der Kuijp, Leonard W. J. “Some Observations on the Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra in Tibet.” In Holly Gayley and Andrew Quintman (eds.), Living Treasure: Buddhist and Tibetan Studies in Honor of Janet Gyatso (Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism). Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2023.
↑Silk, Jonathan. “The Origins and Early History of the Mahāratnakūta Tradition: Traditions of Mahāyāna Buddhism with a Study of the Ratnarāśisūtra and related Materials” PhD diss., University of Michigan, 1994.
↑Astley-Kristensen, Ian. The Rishukyō: The Sino-Japanese Tantric Prajñāpāramitā in 150 Verses (Amoghavajra’s Version). Buddhica Britannica, Series Continua III. Tring: Institute of Buddhist Studies, 1991.
↑Schaeffer, Kurtis R., and Leonard W.J. van der Kuijp. An Early Tibetan Survey of Buddhist Literature: the Bstan pa rgyas pa rgya gyi nyi ’od of Bcom ldan ral gri. Harvard Oriental Series. Cambridge (MA) and London: Harvard University Press, 2009.
↑Hidas, Gergely. Powers of Protection: The Buddhist Tradition of Spells in the Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha Collections (vol. 9 of Beyond Boundaries: Religion, Region, Language, and the State). Berlin and Boston: de Gruyter, 2021.
↑Tucci, Giuseppe. The Religions of Tibet. (1970). First English edition, translated by Geoffrey Samuel (1980). Reprint: (1988), University of California Press, p. 213. ISBN0-520-03856-8 (cloth); ISBN0-520-06348-1 (pbk).
↑Stein, R. A. Tibetan Civilization. (1962). First English edition - translated by J. E. Stapleton Driver (1972). Reprint (1972): Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, pp. 241, 251. ISBN0-8047-0806-1 (cloth); ISBN0-8047-0901-7 (paper)
Eimer, Helmut; Germano, David, eds. (2002). The Many Canons of Tibetan Buddhism: Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000. International Association for Tibetan Studies. Tibetan Studies Series. Vol.2/10. Leiden: Brill. ISBN978-90-04-12595-7.
Harrison, Paul (1994), "In Search of the Source of the Tibetan bKa' 'gyur: A Reconnaissance Report", in Kværne, Per (ed.), Tibetan Studies. Proceedings of the 6th Seminar of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, Fagernes 1992, vol.1, Oslo: The Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture, pp.295–317
Csoma, Analysis of the Dulva, part of the Kangyur, Asiatic Researches, Calcutta, 1836, vol. 20-1, pp.41–93 (en ligneArchived 2020-01-09 at the Wayback Machine ).
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