Introduction to the Kangyur

Introduction to the Kangyur

by Lowell Cook

Together with the Tengyur, the Kangyur forms the bipartite canon of Tibetan Buddhism. As such, it is the preeminent body of Buddhist literature in Tibet and is understood by tradition as the very embodiment of the Buddha’s awakened speech. The Kangyur’s name derives from the fact that it contains the entirety of the Buddha’s teachings (bka') in Tibetan translation ('gyur), primarily from Sanskrit but also from Chinese and other languages such as Pali, Khotanese, and Burushaski. Unlike the single-volume canons of the Abrahamic religions, the Kangyur contains over 100 volumes in most recensions and is not necessarily closed to the addition of new texts.

The formation of the Kangyur began with what can be thought of as “proto-canons.” The earliest of these proto-canons are the three imperial catalogs—the Denkarma, Pangtangma, and the no-longer-extant Chimpuma—which indexed the translations of Indic texts produced under the royal patronage of the Tibetan emperors during the imperial period (629–841 ᴄᴇ). These catalogs were inventories of extant texts rather than physical collections and did not make the rigid distinction between Buddha’s Word (buddhavacana) and commentary (śāstra) that would later demarcate the Kangyur and Tengyur. Roughly ninety percent of the Kangyur’s sūtras were translated during this period. Although tantric works were also translated, they were officially sealed to secrecy and therefore largely omitted from the imperial catalogs. Most of the tantric material in the Kangyur was translated during the subsequent spread of Buddhism to Tibet that is generally said to have started with the renowned translator Rinchen Zangpo (958–1055).

Given the sheer breadth and depth of the material that was translated and later compiled into the Kangyur, this is certainly one of the most monumental exchanges of literary culture in human history, comparable to, though less well known than, the Graeco-Arabic translation movement with which it was concurrent. The Kangyur is thus not only spiritually significant but also of great historical importance as it preserves much of India’s Buddhist literary heritage that was lost during the demise of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent.

In 1268, a survey of Tibetan translations of Buddhist texts was conducted by Chomden Rigpé Raldri (1227–1305) and cataloged at the monastery of Narthang. In the decades that followed, his student Üpa Losal Sangyé Bum and others created another catalog specific to Buddhist treatises in translation, resulting in the separation between buddhavacana and śāstra that would lead to the Kangyur-Tengyur divide. These efforts culminated in the creation of what became known as the Old Narthang Kangyur, the first fully formed Kangyur. This then served as the basis for another Kangyur produced by Butön Rinchen Drup (1290–1364) at Zhalu monastery. While historical records focus on Butön’s work on the Tengyur, he is also remembered for excluding the Old Tantras from his canonical collection, claiming to be agnostic as to whether or not they derived from authentic sources.

Following these developments, the Kangyur split into two main lines of textual recension: the Tsalpa Kangyur which was produced at the monastery of Tsal Gungtang between 1347 and 1351 and the later Tempangma Kangyur produced at Gyantsé in 1431. These have been referred to, albeit somewhat simplistically, as the Eastern and Western Kangyur lines, respectively. The textual transmission of Kangyurs is complex—the online database Resources for Kanjur & Tanjur Studies (rKTs) contains over one hundred different Kangyur recensions—and has given rise to a burgeoning field of Kangyur studies which has largely mapped the recensional history of various Kangyurs.

Though their arrangement varies according to recension, most Kangyurs are divided into vinaya, sūtra, tantra, and dhāraṇī sections, which in turn contain their own internal divisions. The subdivisions of the sūtras consist of the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajñāpāramitā), Multitudes of Buddhas (Buddhāvataṃsaka), Heap of Jewels (Ratnakūṭa), and the general sūtra section (mdo mang, mdo sde). The tantras are arranged around the four classes of New Tantras—the Unexcelled Yoga tantra, Yoga tantra, Conduct tantra, and Action tantra—in addition to a limited selection of the Old Tantras (rnying rgyud) and the Kālacakra Commentary Stainless Light (Vimalaprabhā). There are additional miscellaneous prayers of dedication and aspiration found throughout the Kangyur. There also exists a Bön Kangyur whose contents await comprehensive academic study.

The use of woodblock or xylograph technology in Tibet began in earnest during the early 15th century, allowing for the mass production of sacred texts. While the reproduction of Buddhist scripture had always been a primary means for making merit in India and Tibet, there was an explosion of Kangyur production in the 17th and 18th centuries, in part because Kangyur production was as a means of enhancing the status of the rulers of kingdoms in Eastern Tibet and was therefore undertaken (at significant cost) as part of their state-building projects. In recent times, a comparative edition Kangyur has been produced by China Tibetology Research Center which uses the Dergé Kangyur as its copy text and records variant readings from eight major xylograph Kangyurs.[1]

The Kangyur itself has likewise been subject to subsequent translation efforts. A translation into Mongolian began in the 16th century, finally completed in 1628–9, and later printed in 1718–20. There is currently a sustained effort to translate the entirety of the Kangyur into English by 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha which aims to be completed by 2035 and made freely accessible online.

The Words of the Buddha section on Lotsawa House features translations of works from the Kangyur as well as extra-canonical works of buddhavacana and Tibetan authors’ writings about the Kangyur. Lotsawa House translations of Kangyur material often include supplemental material such as the “extras” for the Heart Sūtra and a colophon by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo to the Vajrakīla Root Tantra, reflective of how the texts have been used in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

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Bibliography & Further Reading

84000. “Facts and figures about the Kangyur and Tengyur.” Aug 20, 2024.

84000. “The Kangyur.” Aug 9, 2024.

84000. “What are the Kangyur and Tengyur?” Aug 23, 2024.

Almogi, Orna. Authenticity and Authentication: Glimpses behind the Scenes of the Formation of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon. Indian and Tibetan Studies 9. Hamburg: Department of Indian and Tibetan Studies, Universität Hamburg, 2020.

Berzin, Alexander. “Traditional Guidelines for Translating Buddhist Texts.”

Canti, John. 2024. “Eighty-Four Thousand Reasons to Translate the Canon.” Journal of Tibetan Literature 3 (1): 139-65.

Hackett, Paul G. A Catalogue of the Comparative Kangyur (bka’ ’gyur dpe bsdur ma). American Institute of Buddhist Studies, 2012.

Harrison, Paul. “A Brief History of the Tibetan bKa’ ’gyur.” In Cabezón and Jackson (eds.), Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, Snow Lion, 1996.

Schaeffer, Kurtis R., and Leonard W. J. van der Kuijp. An Early Tibetan Survey of Buddhist Literature: The “Bstan pa rgyas pa rgyan gyi nyi ’od” of Bcom ldan ral gri. Harvard Oriental Series 64. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009.

Schaeffer, Kurtis R. The Culture of the Book in Tibet. New York: Columbia University Press. 2010.

Skilling, Peter. “From bKa’ bstan bcos to bKa’ ’gyur and bsTan ’gyur.” In Transmission of the Tibetan Canon, edited by Helmut Eimer, 87–111. Vienna: The Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 1997.

Tauscher, Helmut. “Kanjur.” In J. A. Silk, R. Bowring and V. Eltschinger (eds.), Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Leiden: Brill, 2020, pp. 103–111.

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