The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a loosely defined list of sacred texts recognized by various sects of Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...

. In addition to sutrayana

Sutrayana

Sūtrayāna, in the Indo-Tibetan three-fold classification of yanas, is the yana that leads to the realization of emptiness. It consists of Hinayana and Mahayana. The other two yanas, according to this classification, are Tantrayana and Dzogchen, which together constitute Vajrayana....

 texts from Early Buddhist

Early Buddhism

The term Early Buddhism can refer to:* Pre-sectarian Buddhism, which refers to the Teachings and monastic organization and structure, founded by Gautama Buddha....

 (mostly Sarvastivada

Sarvastivada

The Sarvāstivāda were an early school of Buddhism that held to 'the existence of all dharmas in the past, present and future, the 'three times'. Vasubandhu's states:-Name:...

) and Mahayana

Mahayana

Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...

 sources, the Tibetan canon includes tantric

Vajrayana

Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...

 texts. The Tibetan Canon underwent a final compilation in the 14th century by Buton Rinchen Drub (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:

Kangyur

Kangyur

The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a loosely defined list of sacred texts recognized by various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, made up of the Kangyur or Kanjur and the Tengyur or Tanjur .-The Tibetan Buddhist Canon:In addition to earlier foundational Buddhist texts from early Buddhist schools, mostly...

  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 languages.

Tengyur

Tengyur

The Tengyur or Tanjur is the Tibetan collection of commentaries to the Buddhist teachings, or "Translated Treatises"...

  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.

Kangyur

The Kangyur is divided into sections on Vinaya

Vinaya

The Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...

, Perfection of Wisdom Sutras, Avatamsaka, Ratnakuta and other sutras (75% Mahayana, 25% Nikaya

Nikaya

Nikāya is a word of meaning "collection", "assemblage", "class" or "group" in both Pāḷi and Sanskrit. It is most commonly used in reference to the Buddhist texts of the Sutta Piṭaka, but can also refer to the monastic divisions of Theravāda Buddhism...

 / Agama or Hinayana

Hinayana

Hīnayāna is a Sanskrit and Pāli term literally meaning: the "Inferior Vehicle", "Deficient Vehicle", the "Abandoned Vehicle", or the "Defective Vehicle". The term appeared around the 1st or 2nd century....

), and tantra

Tantra

Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....

s. When exactly the term Kangyur was first used is not known. Collections of canonical Buddhist texts already existed in the time of Trisong Detsen

Trisong Detsen

Trisong Detsän or Trisong Detsen ཁྲི་སྲོང་ལྡེ་བཙན , was the son of Me Agtsom and one of the emperors of Tibet and ruled...

, the sixth king of Tibet

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

.

The exact number of texts in the Kangyur is not fixed. Each editor takes responsibility for removing texts he considers spurious or adding new translations. Currently there are about 12 available Kangyurs. These include the Derge, Lhasa, Narthang, Cone, Peking, Urga, Phudrak and Stog Palace versions, each named after the physical location of its printing (or copying in the case of manuscripts editions). In addition, some canonical texts have been found in Tabo and Dunhuang which provide earlier exemplars to texts found in the Kangyur. The majority of extant Kangyur editions appear to stem from the so-called Old Narthang Kangyur, though the Phukdrak and Tawang editions are thought to lie outside of that textual lineage. The stemma of the Kangyur have been well researched in particular by Helmut Eimer and Paul Harrison.

Origin

From the seventh century onward, existing literature were compiled and catalogued from time to time which later extended, upgraded, classified, reorganized and put in different sets of different collections. A separate set of translation works was re-grouped into two major collections popularly known as bka’-’gyur and bstan-’gyur, translation of Buddha’s discourses and translation of commentarial works respectively. The very first Tibetan catalogue was introduced during the period of the 39th Tibetan King khri-lde srong-btsen, also known as sad-na legs-mjing-gyon (776-815), who issued decrees “requiring all translation works that were extant in Tibetan from their Indian original to be catalogued and subjected to be recurrently reviewed and to set guidelines of terminology in order to standardize all translation works”. A team of Indian and Tibetan scholars was assigned for the purpose.

As a major step in this remarkable attempt at literary standardization, the bi-lingual glossary known as the Mahavyutpatti (sgra-sbyor bam-po gnyis-pa) was successfully accomplished in the Tibetan horse year. (814 CE) Another great achievement was the cataloguing of the collections then available in royal libraries of the three famous Tibetan palaces under the supervision of the famous translator Bande sKa-ba dpal-brtsegs with help from his colleagues, Bande chos-kyi snying-po, Lo-tsa-wa Bande debendhara, Bande lhun-po and Bande klu’-dbang-po etc. The earliest catalogue compilation was recorded from the manuscript of the royal collection housed in the palace- pho-brang ‘phang-thang ka-med kyi gtsug-lag-kang in the Tibetan dog year. (818 CE) This cataloguing work became famous by the name of the palace and known as dkar-chag phang-thang-ma. Soon afterwards two further catalogues of collections available in two other royal libraries- pho-brang bsam-yas mchims-phu-ma and pho-brang stong-thang ldan-dkar were compiled and came to be known as dkar-chag mchims-phu-ma and dkar-chag ldan-dkar-ma respectively. dkar-chag ldan-dkar-ma was compiled in the dragon year. (824 CE)

Among these three catalogues, ldan-dkar-ma, included in the volume Jo of sna-tsogs in sde-ge bka’-bstan, is generally believed to be the only surviving so far. But recently a manuscript of dkar-chag phang-thang-ma is discovered and published from Tibet. It contains 961 titles listed under 34 subject headings with additional information of numbers of verses (soloka and bampo ) that contains in each text. The ldan-dkar-ma catalogue comprises 735 titles and listed under a category of 27 subject headings. An interesting unique feature of Tibetan catalogue is that, alongside information about the source material of translation and the bibliographical details, it gives in physical descriptions, such as the nos. of words, verses, canto (bampo) and folios-pages in each of textual contents. Thus today we have a record of 73 million words contained in the bka’-’gyur & bstan-’gyur collection. According to the latest edition of Dharma Publication, the bKa’-‘gyur contains 1,115 texts, spread over 65,420 Tibetan folios amounting to 450,000 lines or 25 million words. Likewise, the bsTan-'gyur contains 3,387 texts using 127,000 folios amounting to 850,000 lines and 48 millions words. The sum total of both these collections is 4,502 texts in 73 millions words. By fixing bampo to verses and to words of each of the textual contents, the individual works are interpolation and alteration. This further strengthened the authenticity of Tibetan Buddhist literature.
These are the first Tibetan catalogues in three versions that were compiled and published in the beginning of the ninth century by the great sgra-sgyur gyi lo-tsa-wa Bande sKa-ba dpal-brtsegs and his team. Tibet, thus, becomes the earliest to accomplish catalogue as inventory in the history of evolution of catalogue. Bande sKa-ba dpal-brtsegs is thus, honored as the pioneer of the Tibetan system. All the later compilers of the Tibetan Canon based their works extensively on sKa-ba dpal-brtsegs creation.

After the period of suppression during the reign of King glang-dar-ma’s (803-842) which brought the first chapter of the history of Tibetan literature to an abrupt end, the second phase in its development is reactivated. Since the beginning of 11th century onward Tibetan translators together with Indian panditas once again resumed their literary activity to bring about a new chapter to be known as "the era of new translation" and also "revival or later promulgation of Buddhism in Tibet". In addition to the previous works Tibet has produced a huge literary wealth both in terms of volume and range of coverage by the 13th century and this growth imposed to carry a fresh comprehensive bibliographical record and control existing literature.

Later period

In the mid 13th century a student of bcom-ldan rigs-ral (1200?), ’Jam-gag pak-shi, also known as mchims ’jam-dpal dbyangs (?-1267), who was the state priest of the Mongol emperor Ching Tsung, had managed to collect some amount of writing material and sent to his master with request for organizing and preparing catalogue of literature that were scattered all over Tibet. bcom-ldan rigs-ral with the help of his pupils dbu-pa blo-gsal byang-chub ye-shes, lo tsa-wa bsod-nams ’od-zer and rgyang-ro byang-chub ’bum, surveyed various parts mostly covering central and western Tibet. Authenticating and rectifying, they carefully scrutinize all the manuscripts of old and new translations and arranged them in order, compiling a comprehensive catalogue of a proto-bka’-‘gyur & bstan-’gyur. The catalogue was prepared into two sets of collections, entitled the dkar-chag bstan-pa rgyas-pa and dka-’gyur gyi dkar-chag nyi-ma’i ’od-zer respectively. Classification of Tibetan Buddhist canon or translation works into two main classes as bka’-’gyur & bstan-’gyur is basically derived from this catalogue.

’Jam-gag pak-shi was once again able to gather some good amount of writing materials and sent to Tibet with the requesting to re-inscribe all manuscripts and set in separate volumes. dbu-pa blo-gsal byang-chub ye-shes, who was the disciple of both bcom-ldan rigs-ral and ’jam-gag pak-shi, was entrusted for this new task. He with colleagues, dutifully accomplished the work and published for the first time a complete and new set of volumes of - bka’-’gyur & bstan-’gyur and placed at atemple, ‘jam-lha-khang of the snar thang monastery which later became famous as snar thang edition. Unfortunately, both the catalogues and volumes of this hand-written oldest edition of the bka’-’gyur & bstan-’gyur are no longer available.

Catalogues of Buddhist collections in Royal Palaces

• lhan dkar ma/ldan dkar ma (found in later Kanjurs)
• 'phang thang ma (recently rediscovered)
• mchims bu ma (lost)

Later catalogues

• Grags pa rgyal mtshan (1147–1216)
• Bcom ldan rig dral (13th century)
• 'Phags pa blo gros rgyal mtshan (1235–1280)

The Tibetan part of the Chinese tripitaka Zhonghua da zang jing (中華大藏經) was published in 2008.

Kangyur Versions

• Old Narthang Kangyur (thought to have been a ms collection with multiple copies of texts) Not surviving. The versions Yongle (永乐版), Wangli (万历版), Lithang (理塘版/丽江版), Kangxi (康熙版/北京版), Zhuoli (卓尼版), Derge (德格版), Narthang (那塘版), Urga (拉加版), Kulun (库仑版), Lhasa (拉萨版), Wala (瓦拉版) and Qamdo (昌都版) are in printed forms.

Tshal-pa Lineage

These are all xylographic editions:

• Yunglo Kanjur (1410) (largely lost)
• Wanli Kanjur (1606) (largely lost, but available via 1680 Berlin ms copy)
• Lithang Kanjur (1608–21)
• Kangxi Kanjur (1684–92) (with several corrected reprints)
• Cone Kanjur (1721–31)
• Narthang (1730–32) (with contamination from Them-spangs-ma line)
• Derge Kanjur (1733) (with contamination from Them-spangs-ma line)
• Qianlong Kanjur (1737)
• Urga Kanjur (with multiple contaminations)
• Lhasa Kanjur (with multiple contaminations)

Them-spangs-ma Lineage

These are all manuscript editions:

• Shel-dkar (available via London ms copy 1712)
• Tokyo Ms Kanjur (1858–78)
• sTog Palace Kanjur manuscript (c1700-50)
• Ulan Batur Ms Kanjur

Local Kangyurs

• Bathang Kangyur ms
• Mustang Kangyur ms
• Phug-drak Kangyur ms (1696–1706)
• Tabo Ms Fragments (individual texts, not apparently a complete Kanjur)
• Tawang Kangyurs (two copies extant)

Publications/Issues of the Tibetan Buddhist canon

A number of catalogues have been published.

• Tohaku University (Ed.)(1934). A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons, Sde-dge Edition, Tohaku University

Non-collected works

• Tibetan manuscripts from Dunhuang
  Dunhuang
  Dunhuang is a city in northwestern Gansu province, Western China. It was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. It was also known at times as Shāzhōu , or 'City of Sands', a name still used today...
  
  
• Dongcang canon (东仓五百部)
• Nyingma Gyubum
  Nyingma Gyubum
  'Nyingma Gyubum' is the 'Collected Tantras of the Ancients', that is the Mahayoga, Anuyoga and Atiyoga Tantras of the Nyingma.-Canonization:The Nyingma Gyubum of the Nyingma was a dependent arising resulting from the 'normalization' of the Kangyur and Tengyur by the Sarma traditions which for the...
  
  
• the Treasury of Precious Termas (rin chen gter mdzod) or Rinchen Terdzö (舊譯十萬續部集) is a collection of secret Nyingma buddhism texts gathered under Rime movement
  Rime movement
  Rimé is a Tibetan word which means "no sides", "non-partisan" or "non-sectarian". In a religious context, the word ri-mé is usually used to refer to the "Eclectic Movement" between the Buddhist Nyingma, Sakya, and Kagyu traditions, along with the non-Buddhist Bön religion, wherein practitioners...
  
   published in 63 volumes by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, New Delhi, India, with the addition of several more volumes of termas and commentaries.
• Dudjom Tersar (not included into Rinchen Terdzö)
• Bon Kangyur

Exoteric or Sutra tradition

In the Tibetan tradition, some collections of teachings and practices are held in greater secrecy than others. The sutra tradition comprises works said to be derived from the public teachings of the Buddha, and is taught widely and publicly. The esoteric tradition of tantra

Tantra

Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....

 (below) is generally only shared in more intimate settings with those students who the teacher feels have the capacity to utilize it well.

Tantra categorization by the Ancient Translation School

The collection of the tantras of the Nyingma is known as the Nyingma Gyubum

Nyingma Gyubum

'Nyingma Gyubum' is the 'Collected Tantras of the Ancients', that is the Mahayoga, Anuyoga and Atiyoga Tantras of the Nyingma.-Canonization:The Nyingma Gyubum of the Nyingma was a dependent arising resulting from the 'normalization' of the Kangyur and Tengyur by the Sarma traditions which for the...

. The division used by the Nyingma

Nyingma

The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...

 or Ancient school:

• Three Outer Tantras:
  • Kriyayoga
  • Charyayoga
  • Yogatantra
• Three Inner Tantras, which correspond to the Anuttarayogatantra:
  • Mahayoga
    Mahayoga
    Mahayoga is the designation of the first of the three Inner Tantras according to the ninefold division of practice used by the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism....
    
    
  • Anuyoga
    Anuyoga
    Anuyoga is the designation of the second of the three Inner Tantras according to the ninefold division of practice used by the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism...
    
    
  • Atiyoga (Tib. Dzogchen
    Dzogchen
    According to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind, and a body of teachings and meditation practices aimed at realizing that condition. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school also practiced by...
    
    ), further divided into three classes:
    • Mental SemDe
      Semde
      Semde translated as "mind division", "mind class" or "mind series" is the name of one of three scriptural and lineage divisions within Atiyoga, Dzogchen or the Great Perfection which is itself the pinnacle of the ninefold division of practice according to the Nyingma school of Tibetan...
      
      
    • Spatial LongDe
    • Esoteric Instructional MenNgagDe.

Tantra categorization by the New Translation School

The Sarma

Sarma (Tibetan Buddhism)

Sarma In Tibetan Buddhism, the Sarma schools include the three newest of the four main schools, comprising:*Kagyu*Sakya*Kadam/Gelukand their sub-branches.The Nyingma school is the sole Ngagyur or "old translation," school....

 or New Translation schools of Tibetan Buddhism (Gelug

Gelug

The Gelug or Gelug-pa , also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Je Tsongkhapa , a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader...

, Sakya

Sakya

The Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug...

, and Kagyu

Kagyu

The Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Bon and Gelug...

) divide the Tantras into four hierarchical categories, namely,

• Kriyayoga
• Charyayoga
• Yogatantra
  Yogatantra
  The 'Yogatantra' 'conveyance' is the most sublime of the three Outer Tantras. It includes a class of Buddhist tantric literature as well as 'praxis' associated with this class...
  
  
• Anuttarayogatantra
  Highest Yoga Tantra
  Anuttarayoga Tantra , often translated as Unexcelled Yoga Tantra or Highest Yoga Tantra, is a term used in Tibetan Buddhism in the categorization of esoteric tantric Indian Buddhist texts that constitute part of the Kangyur, or the 'translated words of the Buddha' in the Tibetan Buddhist canon...
  
  
  • further divided into "mother", "father" and "non-dual" tantras.

Mother Tantra

"The Yoginī Tantras correspond to what later Tibetan commentators termed the "Mother Tantras" (ma rgyud)" (CST, p. 5).

Father Tantra

In the earlier scheme of classification, the "class ... "Yoga Tantras," ... includes tantras such as the Guhyasamāja", later "classified as "Father Tantras" (pha rgyud) ... placed in the ultimate class ... "Unexcelled Yoga tanras" (rnal 'byor bla med kyi rgyud)." (CST, p. 5)

Nondual Tantra or Advaya Class

• Manjushri-nama-samgiti
  Manjushri-nama-samgiti
  The Mañjuśrī-Nāma-Saṃgīti. is considered amongst the most advanced teachings given by the Shakyamuni Buddha...
  
  
• Kalachakra Laghutantra

Authors of the Canon

In addition to texts attributed to Shakyamuni Buddha and other Buddhas, the Tibetan Buddhist canon (specifically the Tenjur) contains a number of commentaries composed by Indian authors. Below are the authors the tradition holds to be of paramount importance.

Two Supremes

• Asanga
  Asanga
  Asaṅga was a major exponent of the Yogācāra tradition in India, also called Vijñānavāda. Traditionally, he and his half-brother Vasubandhu are regarded as the founders of this school...
  
   founder of the Yogachara school
  Yogacara
  Yogācāra is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing phenomenology and ontology through the interior lens of meditative and yogic practices. It developed within Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism in about the 4th century CE...
  
  
• Nagarjuna
  Nagarjuna
  Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...
  
   founder of the Madhyamaka school

Six Scholarly Ornaments

• Aryadeva
  Aryadeva
  Aryadeva , was a disciple of Nagarjuna and author of several important Mahayana Madhyamaka Buddhist texts. He is also known as Kanadeva the 15th patriarch in the Zen tradition and Bodhisattva Deva in Sri Lanka where he was born as the son of a king. Some Chinese sources however, suggest he was...
  
   foremost disciple of Nagarjuna, continued the philosophical school of Madhyamika
• Dharmakirti
  Dharmakirti
  Dharmakīrti , was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian philosophical logic. He was one of the primary theorists of Buddhist atomism, according to which the only items considered to exist are momentary states of consciousness.-History:Born around the turn of the 7th century,...
  
   famed logician, author of the Seven Treatises; student of Dignana's student Ishvarasena; said to have debated famed Hindu scholar Shankara
  Adi Shankara
  Adi Shankara Adi Shankara Adi Shankara (IAST: pronounced , (Sanskrit: , ) (788 CE - 820 CE), also known as ' and ' was an Indian philosopher from Kalady of present day Kerala who consolidated the doctrine of advaita vedānta...
  
  
• Dignaga
  Dignaga
  Dignāga was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian logic.He was born into a Brahmin family in Simhavakta near Kanchi Kanchipuram), and very little is known of his early years, except that he took as his spiritual preceptor Nagadatta of the Vatsiputriya school, before being...
  
   famed logician
• Vasubandhu
  Vasubandhu
  Vasubandhu was an Indian Buddhist monk, and along with his half-brother Asanga, one of the main founders of the Indian Yogācāra school. However, some scholars consider Vasubandhu to be two distinct people. Vasubandhu is one of the most influential figures in the entire history of Buddhism...
  
  , Asanga's brother
• Gunaprabha foremost student of Vasubandhu, known for his work the Vinayasutra
• Sakyaprabha prominent exponent of the Vinaya
  Vinaya
  The Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
  
  

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
  Atisha
  Atiśa Dipankara Shrijnana was a Buddhist teacher from the Pala Empire who, along with Konchog Gyalpo and Marpa, was one of the major figures in the establishment of the Sarma lineages in Tibet after the repression of Buddhism by King Langdarma .- Birth :Atisha is most commonly said to have been...
  
   holder of the “mind training
  Lojong
  Lojong is a mind training practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition based on a set of aphorisms formulated in Tibet in the 12th century by Geshe Chekhawa...
  
  ” (Tib. lojong) teachings
• Bhavaviveka
  Bhavaviveka
  Bhavyaviveka was the founder of the Svatantrika tradition of the Mādhyamaka school of Buddhism. Ames , holds that Bhavyaviveka is one of the first Buddhist logicians to employ the 'formal syllogism' of Indian Logic in expounding the Mādhyamaka which he employed to considerable effect...
  
   early expositor of the Svatantrika Madhyamika
  Svatantrika
  In the philosophy of Mahayana Buddhism, specifically in the Madhyamaka view, Svātantrika is a category of Madhyamaka viewpoints attributed primarily to the 6th century Indian scholar Bhavaviveka...
  
  
• Buddhapalita
  Buddhapalita
  Buddhapālita was a commentator on the works of Nāgārjuna and Aryadeva. His works were mildly criticised by his contemporary Bhavyaviveka, and then he was vigorously defended by the later Candrakīrti, whose terms differentiating the two scholars led to the rise of the Prasaṅgika and Svatantrika...
  
   early expositor of the Prasangika Madhyamika
• Chandrakirti considered the greatest exponent of Prasangika Madhyamika
• Haribhadra
  Haribhadra
  Haribhadra Suri was a Svetambara mendicant Jain leader and author.-History:There are multiple contradictory dates assigned to his birth. These include 459, 478, and 529. However, given his familiarity with Dharmakirti, a more likely choice would be sometime after 650...
  
   commentator on Asanga's Ornament of Clear Realization
• Kamalashila 8th-century author of important texts on meditation
• Shantarakshita
  Shantarakshita
  ' was a renowned 8th century Indian Buddhist Brahmin and abbot of Nalanda University. Śāntarakṣita founded the philosophical school known as Yogacara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka, which united the Madhyamaka tradition of Nagarjuna, the Yogacara tradition of Asanga and the logical and epistemological...
  
   abbot of Nalanda
  Nalanda
  Nālandā is the name of an ancient center of higher learning in Bihar, India.The site of Nalanda is located in the Indian state of Bihar, about 55 miles south east of Patna, and was a Buddhist center of learning from the fifth or sixth century CE to 1197 CE. It has been called "one of the...
  
  , founder of the Yogachara-Madhyamika who helped Padmasambhava
  Padmasambhava
  Padmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...
  
   establish Buddhism in Tibet
• Shantideva
  Shantideva
  Shantideva was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar at Nalanda University and an adherent of the Madhyamaka philosophy of Nagarjuna....
  
   (8th century India
  India
  India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
  
  n) author of the Bodhicaryavatara
• Vimuktisena commentator on Asanga's Ornament of Clear Realization

Five traditional topics of study

Study of the Tibetan Buddhist canon is a focal point of the monastic curriculum. 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

Jamgon Kongtrul

Jamgön Kongtrül is a name of a prominent line of Tibetan Buddhist teachers , primarily identified with the first Jamgon Kongtrul, but also the name shared by members of a lineage held by tradition to be his subsequent reincarnations , to date....

, Ju Mipham and Khenpo Shenga, Kagyupas and Nyingmapas use many of the same Tibetan commentaries as well. Different schools, however, place emphasis and concentrate attention on different areas.

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

1. Abhidharma
   Abhidharma
   Abhidharma or Abhidhamma are ancient Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic and scientific reworkings of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist Sutras, according to schematic classifications...
   
   (Higher Knowledge, Tib. wylie: chos mngon)
   • Compendium of Higher Knowledge (Abhidharma Samuccaya) by Asanga
     Asanga
     Asaṅga was a major exponent of the Yogācāra tradition in India, also called Vijñānavāda. Traditionally, he and his half-brother Vasubandhu are regarded as the founders of this school...
     
     
   • Treasury of Higher Knowledge (Abhidharma Kosha) by Vasubandhu
     Vasubandhu
     Vasubandhu was an Indian Buddhist monk, and along with his half-brother Asanga, one of the main founders of the Indian Yogācāra school. However, some scholars consider Vasubandhu to be two distinct people. Vasubandhu is one of the most influential figures in the entire history of Buddhism...
     
     
2. Prajna Paramita (Perfection of Wisdom, Tib. wylie: shes rab phar phyin)
   • Ornament of Clear Realization (Abhisamaya Alankara) by Maitreya
     Maitreya
     Maitreya , Metteyya , or Jampa , is foretold as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he or she is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva.Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on...
     
      as related to Asanga
   • The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara, Tib. wylie: sPyod-‘jug) by Shantideva
     Shantideva
     Shantideva was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar at Nalanda University and an adherent of the Madhyamaka philosophy of Nagarjuna....
     
     
3. Madhyamaka
   Madhyamaka
   Madhyamaka refers primarily to a Mahāyāna Buddhist school of Buddhist philosophy systematized by Nāgārjuna. Nāgārjuna may have arrived at his positions from a desire to achieve a consistent exegesis of the Buddha's doctrine as recorded in the āgamas...
   
   (Middle Way, Tib. wylie: dbu-ma)
   • Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way (Mulamadhyamakakarika, Tib. wylie: rTsa dbu-ma) by Nagarjuna
     Nagarjuna
     Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...
     
     
   • Four Hundred Verses on the Yogic Deeds of Bodhisattvas (Catuhsataka) by Aryadeva
     Aryadeva
     Aryadeva , was a disciple of Nagarjuna and author of several important Mahayana Madhyamaka Buddhist texts. He is also known as Kanadeva the 15th patriarch in the Zen tradition and Bodhisattva Deva in Sri Lanka where he was born as the son of a king. Some Chinese sources however, suggest he was...
     
     
   • Introduction to the Middle Way (Madhyamakavatara,’’ Tib. wylie: ‘’dBu-ma-la ‘Jug-pa) by Chandrakirti
   • Ornament of the Middle Way (Madhyamakalamkara) by Shantarakshita
     Shantarakshita
     ' was a renowned 8th century Indian Buddhist Brahmin and abbot of Nalanda University. Śāntarakṣita founded the philosophical school known as Yogacara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka, which united the Madhyamaka tradition of Nagarjuna, the Yogacara tradition of Asanga and the logical and epistemological...
     
     
   • The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara, Tib. wylie: sPyod-‘jug) by Shantideva
4. Pramana
   Pramana
   Pramana is an epistemological term in Hindu and Buddhist dialectic, debate and discourse.Pramāṇavāda and Hetuvidya can be glossed in English as Indian and Buddhist Epistemology and Logic, respectively.-In Hinduism:...
   
   (Logic, Means of Knowing, Tib. wylie: tshad-ma)
   • Treatise on Valid Cognition (Pramanavarttika) by Dharmakirti
     Dharmakirti
     Dharmakīrti , was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian philosophical logic. He was one of the primary theorists of Buddhist atomism, according to which the only items considered to exist are momentary states of consciousness.-History:Born around the turn of the 7th century,...
     
     
   • Compendium on Valid Cognition (Pramanasamuccaya) by Dignaga
     Dignaga
     Dignāga was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian logic.He was born into a Brahmin family in Simhavakta near Kanchi Kanchipuram), and very little is known of his early years, except that he took as his spiritual preceptor Nagadatta of the Vatsiputriya school, before being...
     
     
5. Vinaya
   Vinaya
   The Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
   
   (Monastic discipline, Tib. wylie: 'dul-ba)
   • The Root of the Vinaya (Vinaya Mula Sutra, Dülwa Do Tsawa, 'dul-ba mdo rtsa-ba) by Gunaprabha

Five treatises of Maitreya

Also of great importance are the "Five Treatises of Maitreya." These texts are said to have been related to Asanga

Asanga

Asaṅga was a major exponent of the Yogācāra tradition in India, also called Vijñānavāda. Traditionally, he and his half-brother Vasubandhu are regarded as the founders of this school...

 by the Buddha Maitreya

Maitreya

Maitreya , Metteyya , or Jampa , is foretold as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he or she is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva.Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on...

, and comprise the heart of the Yogacara

Yogacara

Yogācāra is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing phenomenology and ontology through the interior lens of meditative and yogic practices. It developed within Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism in about the 4th century CE...

 (or Cittamatra, "Mind-Only") school of philosophy in which all Tibetan Buddhist scholars are well-versed. They are as follows:

• Ornament for Clear Realization (Abhisamayalankara, Tib. mngon-par rtogs-pa'i rgyan)
• Ornament for the Mahayana Sutras (Mahayanasutralankara
  Mahayana-sutra-alamkara-karika
  Mahāyāna-sūtrālamkāra-kārikā is a major work of Buddhist philosophy attributed to Maitreya-nātha as dictated to Asanga. The text, written in verse, presents the Mahāyāna path from the Yogācāra perspective...
  
  , Tib. theg-pa chen-po'i mdo-sde'i rgyan)
• Sublime Continuum of the Mahayana (Mahayanottaratantrashastra, Ratnagotravibhaga
  Ratna-gotra-vibhaga
  Ratnagotravibhāga and its vyākhyā commentary are important Buddhist texts of the tathāgatagarbha literature which expound the Buddhist philosophy doctrine known as Buddha-nature which is generally understood as belonging to the Third Turning of the Dharmacakra...
  
  , Tib. theg-pa chen-po rgyud-bla-ma'i bstan)
• Distinguishing Phenomena and Pure Being (Dharmadharmatavibhanga
  Dharma-dharmata-vibhaga
  Dharma-dharmatā-vibhāga is a short Yogācāra work, attributed to Maitreya-nātha, which discusses the distinction and correlation between phenomena and reality ; the work exists in both a prose and a verse version and survives only in Tibetan translation...
  
  , Tib. chos-dang chos-nyid rnam-par 'byed-pa)
• Distinguishing the Middle and the Extremes (Madhyantavibhanga
  Madhyanta-vibhaga-karika
  Madhyānta-vibhāga-kārikā is a key work in Yogācāra Buddhist philosophy, which was written by Maitreya-nātha...
  
  , 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

Haribhadra

Haribhadra Suri was a Svetambara mendicant Jain leader and author.-History:There are multiple contradictory dates assigned to his birth. These include 459, 478, and 529. However, given his familiarity with Dharmakirti, a more likely choice would be sometime after 650...

 is often used, as is one by Vimuktisena.

See also

• Chinese Buddhist canon
  Chinese Buddhist canon
  The Chinese Buddhist Canon refers to the total body of Buddhist literature deemed canonical in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese Buddhism...
  
  
• Karchag Phangthangma
  Karchag Phangthangma
  The Karchag Phangthangma is one of three known Tibetan imperial catalogues listing translations mainly of Sanskrit Buddhist texts to Tibetan. The title, in Tibetan dkar-chag 'phang-thang-ma, simply means the catalogue from Phangthang .The Karchag Phang-tangma was sponsored by the Tibetan emperors...
  
  , imperial catalogue
• List of sutras
• Pali Canon
  Pāli Canon
  The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
  
  
• Tripitaka Koreana
  Tripitaka Koreana
  The Tripitaka Koreana or Palman Daejanggyeong is a Korean collection of the Tripitaka , carved onto 81,258 wooden printing blocks in the 13th century...
  
  
• Tripitaka
  Tripiṭaka
  ' is a traditional term used by various Buddhist sects to describe their various canons of scriptures. As the name suggests, a traditionally contains three "baskets" of teachings: a , a and an .-The three categories:Tripitaka is the three main categories of texts that make up the...
  
  

External links

• Tibetan Canon
• Asian Classics Input Project(Romanized Tibetan Kangyur, Tengyur & Sungbum)
• The Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center Digital Library(Tibetan buddhist texts)
• 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.