The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a loosely defined list of sacred texts recognized by various sects of Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet, the Himalayan region (including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim), Mongolia, Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia (Russia), and northeastern China (Manchuria: Heilongjiang, Jilin). ...

In addition to earlier foundational Buddhist texts from early Buddhist schools, mostly the Sarvastivada, and mahayana texts, the Tibetan canon includes Tantric texts. A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Hinayana (Sanskrit: inferior vehicle; Chinese:小乘, Xiǎoshèng; Japanese: Shōjō) is a term coined by the Mahayana, which appeared publicly around the 1st century CE. There are differing views on the use and meaning of the term, both among scholars and within Buddhism. ... The Sarvastivada (roughly, Proclaiming that all exist) --a reference to one of the distinguishing doctrines of the school, the existence of dharmas in all of the three times (past, present, and future). ... Relief image of the bodhisattva Kuan Yin from Mt. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The Tibetan Canon underwent a final compilation in 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:

1. 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 languags.
2. 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, other sutras (75% Mahayana, 25% Nikayan or Hinayana), and tantras. When exactly the term Kangyur was first used is not known. Collections of canonical Buddhist texts existed already in the time of Trisong Detsen, the sixth king of Tubo. The Kangyur are a collection of Sanskrit classics that date back to the times of Buddha. ... The Wylie transliteration scheme is a method for transliterating the Tibetan script using the keys on a typical English language typewriter. ... The Tengyur (Wylie: Bstan-gyur is the Tibetan collection of commentaries to the Buddhist teachings, or Translated Treatises. The Bejing version covers 3626 texts in 224 volumes, but numbers vary depending on the version. ... The Wylie transliteration scheme is a method for transliterating the Tibetan script using the keys on a typical English language typewriter. ... The Vinaya (a word in Pali as well as in Sanskrit, with literal meaning discipline) is the textual framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha. ... Relief image of the bodhisattva Kuan Yin from Mt. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Early Buddhist schools. ... Hinayana (Sanskrit: inferior vehicle; Chinese:小乘, Xiǎoshèng; Japanese: Shōjō) is a term coined by the Mahayana, which appeared publicly around the 1st century CE. There are differing views on the use and meaning of the term, both among scholars and within Buddhism. ... Tantra (Sanskrit: weave), tantric yoga or tantrism is any of several esoteric traditions rooted in the religions of India. ... Trisong Detsän (Tibetan: ཁྲི་སྲོང་ལྡེ་བཙན་; Wylie: Khri-srong Lde-btsan; ZWPY: Chisong Dêzän) was the 38th King of Tibet, ruling from 755 until 797. ... This article is on Historic Tibet. ...

The exact number of texts in the Kangyir is not fixed, each editor takes responsibility for removing texts he considers spurious, and adding new translations. Currently there are about 12 available Kangyur. These include the Derge, Lhasa, Narthang, Cone, Peking, Ugra, Phudrak, and Stog Palace versions, each named after the physical location of its printing. In addition some canonical texts have been found in Tabo and Dunhuang which provide earlier exemplars to texts found in the Kangyur. All extant Kangyur appear to stem from the Old Narthang Kangyur. The stemma of the Kangyur have been well researched in particular by Helmut Eimer.

Exoteric or Sutra tradition

In the Tibetan tradition, some collections of teachings and practices are held in greater secrecy than others. The sutra tradition is comprised of 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. Tantra (Sanskrit: weave), tantric yoga or tantrism is any of several esoteric traditions rooted in the religions of India. ...

Important Indian scholars

Two Supremes

Two Indian Buddhist scholars are widely considered to be of paramount importance by Tibetan Buddhists. As such, they are referred to as the Two Supremes.

• Asanga founder of the Yogachara school
• Nagarjuna founder of the Madhyamika school

Asanga (also called Aryasanga), born around 300 C.E., was a great exponent of the Yogacara. ... Yogācāra (Sanskrit: yoga practice), also spelled yogāchāra, is an influential school of philosophy and psychology that developed in Indian Mahayana Buddhism starting sometime in the fourth to fifth centuries C.E., also commonly known as Consciousness-only (Sanskrit: Cittamātra). ... A statue depicting Nagarjuna at the Samye Ling Monastery, Dumfriesshire, Scotland Nāgārjuna (నాగార్జున in Telugu, 龍樹 in Chinese) (c. ... Madhyamaka is a Buddhist philosophical tradition that asserts that all phenomena are empty of self-nature or essence (Sanskrit: Svabhāva), that they have no intrinsic, independent reality apart from the causes and conditions from which they arise. ...

Six Scholarly Ornaments

These scholars's works are of secondary importance to the Tibetan Buddhist canon. As the ranking of their importance is not as universally recognized, there are occasionally substitutions made in this list.

• 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
• Gunaprabha foremost student of Vasubandhu, known for his work the Vinayasutra
• Sakyaprabha prominent expositor of the Vinaya
• Vasubandhu author of the Abhidharmakosha

Aryadeva (3rd Century CE), was a disciple of Nagarjuna and author of several important Mahayana Madhyamaka Buddhist texts. ... Madhyamaka is a Buddhist philosophical tradition that asserts that all phenomena are empty of self-nature or essence (Sanskrit: Svabhāva), that they have no intrinsic, independent reality apart from the causes and conditions from which they arise. ... Dharmakirti (circa 7th century), was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian philosophical logic. ... Shankara can refer to: Shiva, the Hindu god Adi Shankara, Hindu philosopher of around 800 CE Also written, Sankara This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Dignāga (5th century AD), was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian philosophical logic. ... The Vinaya (a word in Pali as well as in Sanskrit, with literal meaning discipline) is the textual framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha. ... Vasubandhu (Sanskrit. ... Abhidharma-koÅ›a (the compendium of Abhidharma) is a key text in verse written in Sanskrit by Vasubandhu. ...

Seventeen Great Panditas

References are sometimes made to the Seventeen Great Panditas. This formulation groups the eight listed above with the following nine scholars.

• Atiśa holder of the “mind training” (Tib. lojong) teachings
• Bhavaviveka early expositor of the Svatantrika Madhyamikha
• Buddhapalita early expositor of the Prasangika Madhyamikha
• Chandrakirti considered the greatest exponent of Prasangika Madhyamika
• Haribhadra commentator on Asanga's Ornament of Clear Realization
• Kamalashila 8th-century author of important texts on meditation
• Shantarakshita abbot of Nalanda, founder of the Yogachara-Madhyamika who helped Padmasambhava establish Buddhism in Tibet
• Shantideva (8th century Indian) author of the Bodhisattvacaryavatra
• Vimuktisena commentator on Asanga's Ornament of Clear Realization

AtiÅ›a Dipamkara Shrijnana (Bangla: অতীশ দীপঙ্কর শ্রীজ্ঞান) (982 - 1054 CE) was a Buddhist teacher who reintroduced Buddhism into Tibet after King Langdharma had nearly destroyed it. ... The Kadampa (Tibetan: བཀའ་གདམས་པ་; Wylie: Bka-gdams-pa) Tradition was a Tibetan Mahayana Buddhist school. ... Bhavaviveka was the founder of the Svatantrika tradition of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhism. ... Buddhapalita (470–550), was a commentator on the works of Nagarjuna and Aryadeva, his works were mildly criticised by his contemporary Bhavaviveka, and then he was vigorously defended by the later Candrakirti, whose terms differentiating the two scholars led to the rise of the Prasaá¹…gika and Svatantrika schools of... Candrakīrti (born approx. ... Haribhadra Suri was an 8th Century Jainist author. ... Shantarakshita was an Indian sage, abbot of Nalanda University, a great center of Buddhist scholarship. ... Remains at Nalanda Nalanda is a historical place in central Bihar, India, 90 km south-east of the state capital of Patna. ... Shentong view, found in Tibetan Buddhism, is the view that all phenomena are empty of other, and is compared with the Rangtong view, which holds that all phenomena are empty of self-nature. ... Guru Rinpoche - Padmasambhava statue - near Kulu Padmasambhava (also Padmakara or Padma Raja) (Ch: 蓮華生上師; Tib: Padma Jungne), in Sanskrit meaning lotus-born, founded the Tibetan or Tantric school of Buddhism in the 8th century. ... Shantideva (sometimes Santideva) was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar at Nalanda University and an adherent of the Madhyamika philosophy. ...

Five traditional topics of study

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 and Ju Mipham, Kagyupas and Nyingmapas use many of the same Tibetan commentaries as well. Different schools, however, place emphasis and concentrate attention on different areas. Jamgon Kongtrul is a Tibetan Buddhist lama and tulku. ... Jamgön Ju Mipham, Mipham Jamyang Namgyal Gyamtso (“Mipham the Great”), was born to an aristocratic family in 1846 in Kham, a province of eastern Tibet. ...

The exoteric study of Buddhism is generally organized into "Five Topics," listed as follows with the primary Indian source texts for each:

1. Abhidharma (Higher Knowledge, Tib. wylie: mdzod)
   • Compendium of Higher Knowledge (Abhidharma Samuccaya) by Asanga
   • Treasury of Higher Knowledge (Abhidharma Kosha) by Vasubandhu
2. Prajna Paramita (Perfection of Wisdom, Tib. wylie: par-phyin)
   • Ornament of Clear Realization (Abhisamaya Alankara) by Maitreya as related to Asanga
   • The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara) by Shantideva
3. Madhyamika (Middle Way, Tib. wylie: dbuma)
   • Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way (Mulamadhyamakakarika) by Nagarjuna
   • Four Hundred Verses on the Yogic Deeds of Bodhisattvas (Catuhsataka) by Aryadeva
   • Introduction to the Middle Way (Madhyamakavatara) by Chandrakirti
   • Ornament of the Middle Way (Madhyamakalamkara) by Shantarakshita
   • The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara) by Shantideva
4. Pramana (Logic, Means of Knowing, Tib. wylie: tshadma)
   • Treatise on Valid Cognition (Pramanavarttika) by Dharmakirti
   • Pramanasamuccaya by Dignaga
5. Vinaya (Vowed Morality, Tib. wylie: 'dul-ba)
   • The Root of the Vinaya (Dülwa Do Tsawa) by the Pandita Yonten

The abhidhamma is the name of one of the three pitakas, or baskets of tradition, into which the Tipitaka (Pali; Sanskrit: Tripitaka), the canon of early Buddhism, is divided. ... Asanga (also called Aryasanga), born around 300 C.E., was a great exponent of the Yogacara. ... Vasubandhu (Sanskrit. ... Perfection of Wisdom is a translation of the Sanskrit term prajñā pāramitā (Devanagari: प्रज्ञा पारमिता, Chinese: 般若波羅蜜多/般若波罗蜜多, Pinyin: bānruò-bōluómìduō, Japanese: hannya-haramita), which is one of the aspects of a bodhisattvas personality called the paramitas. ... Maitreya Bodhisattva (Sanskrit), Metteyya Bodhisatta (Pāli), or Miroku Bosatsu (Japanese, kanji 弥勒) is the future Buddha in Buddhist eschatology. ... Shantideva (sometimes Santideva) was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar at Nalanda University and an adherent of the Madhyamika philosophy. ... Madhyamaka is a Buddhist philosophical tradition that asserts that all phenomena are empty of self-nature or essence (Sanskrit: Svabhāva), that they have no intrinsic, independent reality apart from the causes and conditions from which they arise. ... A statue depicting Nagarjuna at the Samye Ling Monastery, Dumfriesshire, Scotland Nāgārjuna (నాగార్జున in Telugu, 龍樹 in Chinese) (c. ... Aryadeva (3rd Century CE), was a disciple of Nagarjuna and author of several important Mahayana Madhyamaka Buddhist texts. ... Candrakīrti (born approx. ... Shantarakshita was an Indian sage, abbot of Nalanda University, a great center of Buddhist scholarship. ... Pramana (IAST ) (sources of knowledge, Sanskrit) is an epitemological term in Hindu philosophy. ... Dharmakirti (circa 7th century), was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian philosophical logic. ... Dignāga (5th century AD), was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian philosophical logic. ... The Vinaya (a word in Pali as well as in Sanskrit, with literal meaning discipline) is the textual framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha. ...

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 Yogachara (or Cittamatra, Mind-Only) school of philosophy in which all Tibetan Buddhists are well-versed. They are as follows: Asanga (also called Aryasanga), born around 300 C.E., was a great exponent of the Yogacara. ... Maitreya Bodhisattva (Sanskrit), Metteyya Bodhisatta (Pāli), or Miroku Bosatsu (Japanese, kanji 弥勒) is the future Buddha in Buddhist eschatology. ... Yogācāra (Sanskrit: yoga practice), also spelled yogāchāra, is an influential school of philosophy and psychology that developed in Indian Mahayana Buddhism starting sometime in the fourth to fifth centuries C.E., also commonly known as Consciousness-only (Sanskrit: Chittamatra). ...

• 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. Abhisamaya-alamkāra (The Ornament of Direct Realization) is a Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophical text attributed to India and Tibet, the text seems to have been unknown in China before the modern period. ... Mahāyāna-sūtrālamkāra-kārikā (The Adornment of Mahāyāna Sūtras) is a major work of Buddhist philosophy attributed to Maitreya-nātha. ... Ratna-gotra-vibhāga, The Analysis of the Source of the [Three] Jewels is an important Buddhist philosophical text associated with tathāgata-garbha thought. ... Dharma-dharmatā-vibhāga is a short Yogācāra work, attributed to Maitreya-nātha, which discusses the distinction and correlation (vibhāga) between phenomena (dharma) and reality (dharmatā); the work exists in both a prose and a verse version and survives... Madhyānta-vibhāga-kārikā is a key work in Yogācāra Buddhist philosophy, which was written by Maitreya-nātha. ... Haribhadra Suri was an 8th Century Jainist author. ...

Esoteric or Tantra tradition

Organisation of Tantric texts

The Sarma or New Translation schools of Tibetan Buddhism (Gelug, Sakya, and Kagyu) divide the Tantras into four hierarchical categories, namely, Sarma is a common surname used by people in India, particulary from the North-Eastern States in the country and also in the southern states. ... The Geluk (dge lugs) School was founded by Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), Tibets best known religious reformer and arguably its greatest philosopher. ... Sakya is one of four major schools (Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu and Gelug) in Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana). ... The Kagyu (Tibetan: བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་; Wylie: Bka-brgyud) school, also known as the Oral Lineage and the Spotless Practice Lineage school, is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the other three being Nyingma (Rnying-ma), Sakya (Sa-skya), and Gelug (Dge-lugs). ...

• Kriyayoga
• Charyayoga
• Yogatantra
• Anuttarayogatantra
  • further divided into "mother", "father" and "non-dual" tantras.

A different division is used by the Nyingma or Ancient school: Highest Yoga Tantra or Anuttara Yoga Tantra is the highest of four or six levels (depending on school) of Buddhist tantra, characterized by the symbolic use of sexual and wrathful energy to effect transformation and attain enlightenment. ... The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism (the other three being the Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug). ...

• Three Outer Tantras:
  • Kriyayoga
  • Charyayoga
  • Yogatantra
• Three Inner Tantras, which correspond to the Anuttarayogatantra:
  • Mahayoga
  • Anuyoga
  • Atiyoga (Tib. Dzogchen)
    • The practice of Atiyoga is further divided into three classes: Mental SemDe, Spatial LongDe, and Esoteric Instructional MenNgagDe.

Mahayoga (Skt. ... Anuyoga (Skt. ... This article refers to the primordial state as considered in Tibetan Buddhism and Bon. ... This article refers to the primordial state as considered in Tibetan Buddhism and Bon. ... Semde is the name of one of three scriptural divisions within Atiyoga, also known as Dzogchen or the Great Perfrection which is itself the pinnacle of the ninefold division of practice according to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. ... Longde is the name of one of three scriptural divisions within Atiyoga, also known as Dzogchen or the Great Perfrection which is itself the pinnacle of the ninefold division of practice according to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. ...

See also

• Chinese Buddhist canon
• List of sutras
• Tripitaka

The Chinese Buddhist Canon is called in Chinese 大藏經 or Dazangjing (literally Scriptures of the Great Store). The modern standardized Japanese edition of this work is known as the Taisho Shinshu Daizokyo, published in Tokyo between 1924 and 1929. ... Below is a list of sutras organized alphabetically under the broad categories of Hinduism and Buddhism. ... The Tripitaka (Sanskrit, lit. ...

External links

• Tibetan Canon
• The Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center
• Lotsawa House Translations of Tibetan Buddhist texts
• Overview of typical Kagyu shedra curriculum
• Review of The Sound of Two Hands Clapping: The Education of a Tibetan Buddhist Monk This title provides a first hand account of the monastic college experience, with much information about the practice of scholarship. Focused on but not limited to the Gelug tradition.