Borobudur at sunrise · Justine Hong · CC BY 2.0

Buddhism

Tradition·Founded c. 480 BCE·est. ~500 million worldwide

Vedic Religion → Buddhism → 3 branches

Branch
Scripture of Buddhism

The Kangyur and the Tengyur.

Tibet's canon in two halves: what the Buddha said, and what everyone since has said about it. Over three hundred volumes, printed from hand-carved blocks, and heavy enough that carrying a set is itself a practice.

LanguageTibetan, translated from Sanskrit
Composedtranslated 8th–14th centuries, standardised c. 1300
What it holdsThe Kangyur — the Buddha's word; the Tengyur — the commentaries. Over 300 volumes together
How it is usedPrinted from hand-carved woodblocks, carried in sets, circumambulated as an object
Understanding it — context, not catechism: how this passage is held

Tibet's canon is unusual in dividing translated scripture from commentary as a matter of structure. The Kangyur holds what is attributed to the Buddha; the Tengyur holds the Indian treatises and commentaries — over two hundred volumes of it. The translation project that produced them ran for six centuries, with state-funded translation teams and a standardised Sanskrit-Tibetan glossary imposed in the ninth century to keep terminology consistent, which is why Tibetan translations are literal enough that lost Sanskrit originals can sometimes be reconstructed from them. Printed sets are also objects of devotion: carried in procession, circumambulated, and placed above head height.

The same ground, other faiths

claims that share this one's ideas
The Shatkhandagama, and the lost canon. Jainism Open the book →
Study, daily, as an obligation. Judaism · rite Go deeper →
The hafiz. Islam Open the book →
The Guru now lives in the book and the body. Sikhism · core tenet Go deeper →
Z Zhu Xi. Confucianism · figure Meet them →
Motoori Norinaga's commentary. Shinto Open the book →

The conversation

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