Bstan-’gyur

Buddhist literature

Also known as: “Bstan-ḥgyur”, “Tangyur”, “Tanjur”, “Ten-gyur”, “Tenjur”

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Tibetan:: “Translation of Teachings”,

Also spelled:: Bstan-ḥgyur, Tanjur, Tangyur, Ten-gyur, or Tenjur

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Bstan-’gyur, the second great collection of Buddhist sacred writings in Tibet, comprising more than 3,600 texts filling some 225 volumes and supplementary to the canonical Bka’-’gyur (“Translation of the Buddha-Word”).

This collection is made up of translations of works by individual Indian authors. It is divided into two major sections. About one-sixth of the texts (but nearly two-thirds in terms of volume) are based on canonical works antedating the development of Tantrism, primarily the vast and varied corpus of Mahāyāna sutras. Most of the rest of the texts are oriented toward the Tantras, the ritual and meditative texts of the Vajrayāna form of Buddhism. Along with commentaries and treatises on the canonical texts themselves, there are works on such diverse topics as grammar, logic, medicine, astrology, and the lives of saints.