Dhamma Setu: India's Kangyur bridge to global outreach

New Delhi [India], October 1 (ANI): Tibet has played a central role in the preservation and sustenance of the Teachings of the Buddha through 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').

The Mongolian Kangyur, a revered collection of texts believed to contain the direct teachings of the Buddha, was translated from Tibetan into classical Mongolian. The translation began in the 14th century and was completed in the 17th century under the rule of Ligdan Khan (1588-1634), the khagan of the Northern Yuan dynasty. This version became the basis for a 108-volume edition produced from printed woodblocks between 1717 and 1720.

At the Third International Buddhist Forum held in Elista from September 25-28, India underscored its role as a bridge-maker in transnational Buddhist culture by formally presenting the full 108 volume set of the Mongolian Kangyur to ten leading monasteries and institutions across Russia. These Kangyurs, which were handed over by the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) on September 28, by IBC representative Chandan Kumar to each of these institutions and monasteries, were prepared and readied by the Gyan Bharatam mission, Ministry of Culture, India.

Some parts of the Kangyurs were transported in large trunks, which were shipped to Kalmykia recently. The remaining portions are yet to be transported along with the holy relic when they travel to Kalmykia. This gesture would enable a large number of practising Buddhists in Russia to delve into Buddha's teachings in a more engaged manner.

Buddhist institutions across Russia have been desperately trying to obtain the Kangyurs for some time now with representatives from these institutions visiting India with the request. Through sustained efforts over a period of time, the Ministry of Culture's Gyan Bharatan mission has been able to produce this classic work in quantities sufficient enough to cater to the immediate demands of these institutions.

The institutions and monasteries which were handed over these Kangyurs are spread across Russia in cities such as Moscow, Kalmykia, Buryatia, Khabarovsk, Irkutsk, St Petersburg, and Altai, among others. Representatives from these institutions expressed deep gratitude through letters, emphasising how the freshly printed volumes will help in liturgies, study, chanting, and reflecting the Buddha Dharma in daily monastic and lay life.

India's efforts to preserve and promote the Mongolian Kangyur trace back to the 1950s, when monasteries in Mongolia lost many sacred volumes and xylographs during the socialist era. Between 1956-58, the Indian scholar Raghu Vira secured microfilm copies of rare Kangyur manuscripts from Mongolia, bringing them to India to rescue them from irretrievable loss. In 1973, the full 108-volume Mongolian Kangyur edition was republished and distributed to libraries worldwide, with several copies gifted to Buddhist communities in Russia, including those in Buryatia, Kalmykia, and Zabaikalye.

This foundational effort preserved a textual lineage and laid the basis for later revival work.

Decades later, the Ministry of Culture, India, established a project under the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM), launched in 2003, to ensure that the entire 108 volumes would again be reprinted. Under this initiative, the first set of five reprinted 108 volumes was ceremonially presented to President Ram Nath Kovind on Guru Purnima (Dhamma Chakra Day) on 4 July 2020. On the same occasion, a set was handed over to the Ambassador of Mongolia to India. The IBC's handing over of the 108-volume Mongolian Kangyur is one more addition to a long succession of devoted efforts to preserve, share, and strengthen the Buddha Dhamma through sacred texts.

Earlier, in September 2021, IBC was part of an official Indian delegation that presented the Mongolian Kangyur, published by India's Ministry of Culture, in different parts of Russia. The delegation traveled to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Chita, Buryatia, Kalmykia, and Tuva, offering the first copy of the sacred canon to Lama Jampa Donyed at Datsan Gunzechoinei in St. Petersburg.

In Kalmykia, they visited the Golden Abode of Shakyamuni Buddha. They presented the first volume of the Kanjur along with consecrated water from the Ganges River and a statue of Green Tara to the then Shadjin Lama of Kalmykia. The delegation included representatives from the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, the International Centre for Cultural Studies, and the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace.

Disclaimer: Shalini Chauhan is a Research Consultant in IBC. The views expressed in this article are her own. (ANI)

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