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Canons in Context: a History of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon in the Eighteenth Century

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Canons in Context: a History of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon in the Eighteenth Century Canons in Context: A History of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon in the Eighteenth Century Benjamin James Nourse Charlottesville, Virginia M.A., University of Virginia, 2009 B.A., University of Wisconsin, 2002 A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Virginia in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Religious Studies University of Virginia August, 2014 i Abstract In the eighteenth century, emperors, local rulers, and religious leaders funded and supervised massive efforts to print the Tibetan Buddhist Canon (the Bka’ ’gyur and Bstan ’gyur) using engraved wood-blocks. My dissertation examines the historical and cultural contexts of these publishing projects in order to understand Tibetan collections of scripture not merely in terms of their content but as objects which are given meaning and value within specific historical circumstances, social relationships, and religious ideas. The eighteenth-century watershed in canonical publications inspired contemporary monastic scholars to compose numerous new treatises on the Canon. These works, in particular the large catalogues (dkar chags) that were written to supplement each new edition, make the eighteenth century a particularly fruitful time period for studying the Tibetan Buddhist Canon and they form the basis of the dissertation. The eighteenth-century catalogues, far from being mere lists of texts, contain some of the most sustained and detailed discussions of the Kangyur and Tengyur to be found in Tibetan. They also contain rich historical sections detailing the history of Buddhism and Buddhist texts as well as the local histories of the places where the new editions were published. This dissertation is an analysis of these catalogues, the conceptions of the Kangyur and Tengyur that they provide us, and the historical circumstances in which they were written. A close study of these catalogues gives us the opportunity to explore Tibetan scholastic interpretations of the history and content of the Kangyur and Tengyur, the organization and funding involved in printing them, and the religious ideas and political circumstances of the eighteenth century that made the production of wood block editions both possible and desirable. ii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................v Introduction .............................................................................................................................1 Previous Scholarship ...........................................................................................................8 Source Materials and Outline of Chapters .......................................................................... 15 Chapter 1: Cataloguers and their Catalogues .......................................................................... 18 Cataloguing and the Formation of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon ......................................... 18 Editions and Catalogues of the Kangyur and Tengyur ........................................................ 34 Catalogues (dkar chags) .................................................................................................... 37 Eighteenth-Century Cataloguers and their Catalogues........................................................ 39 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 53 Chapter 2: Defining the Canon .............................................................................................. 56 The Importance of the Buddha, the Source of the Word ..................................................... 57 Definitions and Divisions .................................................................................................. 58 The Place of Physical Texts within Doctrine and History ................................................... 71 History of Buddhist Teachings in India, Tibet, and Other Lands ........................................ 73 The Canon and Community Identity and Lineage .............................................................. 79 Chapter 3: The Production of a Canon ................................................................................... 82 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 82 Beijing .............................................................................................................................. 87 Printing in Tibetan Areas ................................................................................................. 102 Choné .............................................................................................................................. 102 Degé ................................................................................................................................ 127 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 153 Chapter 4: The Purposes of a Canon .................................................................................... 154 Centrality: Making a Canon ............................................................................................. 154 Spectacle: Performing a Canon ........................................................................................ 165 Authority: Giving a Canon .............................................................................................. 178 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 195 Chapter 5: Printing and Canons in the Eighteenth Century................................................... 197 Institutionalization and Standardization in the Eighteenth Century................................... 197 Kangyur and Tengyur Printing ........................................................................................ 211 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................... 218 iii Tibetan Sources ............................................................................................................... 218 Chinese Sources .............................................................................................................. 224 Other Sources .................................................................................................................. 225 iv To my parents Jean & Jim and Ann for their unending love and support v Acknowledgements I began my journey down this road with the study of Tibetan language, first with Tsetan Chonjore during a beautiful summer in Madison, WI, and then with Tsetan and his colleague Tinley Dhundup (aka Tenzin Tinley Lama) during an incredible year in Kathmandu, Nepal. The best teachers inspire you in ways well beyond the immediate subject matter at hand. My first Tibetan teachers were and continue to be inspirations, and I am grateful that we have remained good friends over the years. I am ever indebted to my advisor, professor Kurtis Schaeffer. I was extremely lucky that he came to the University of Virginia at the same time as me and that I was able to study under his generous guidance. He is a model scholar and an all around good guy. If it were not for professor David Germano, I would not have come to Virginia. He took a chance on a lawn care technician, hiring me to work for the Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library (now just the Tibetan and Himalayan Library) and thereby allowing me to enter into the world of Tibetan Studies. He has continued to allow me to dabble in a few of his many, many projects from which experience I have learned an incredible amount. I am also grateful to the other members of my dissertation committee, professors John Shepherd and Paul Groner. Professor Groner in particular very kindly agreed to join my committee late in the process. Throughout coursework and early in the dissertation process, professor Clarke Hudson provided generous feedback on my written work. Also during my coursework, I was fortunate to be able to take two classes in the English department from professor David Vander Meulen. Professor Vander Meulen opened my eyes to the world of books as material objects and provided a structure in which I was able to actually begin conducting original research. He is ever encouraging and his enthusiasm is contagious. vi Research for this dissertation was carried through the support of a Fulbright-Hays Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship, which allowed me spend a research year in China. During my Fulbright year I was graciously hosted by Tsering Thar and the Tibetan Studies department of Minzu University of China (Zhongyang Minzu Daxue). I am grateful to all of the faculty, staff, and students who made my time at Minzu University so productive and enjoyable. In particular, I want to thank Professor Tupten Püntsok (at the time a professor at Minzu University, but now of Southwest Nationalities University in Chengdu) who was extremely generous with both his time and his extensive knowledge of Tibetan history, religious life, and many other subjects. In addition to his erudition, I very much enjoyed his constant good cheer and laughter. In Beijing,
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