About Tengyur
The term "Tengyur" means "translations of treatises" or "translations of explanations" and contains texts that are attributed to scholars and realized teachers of Buddhism.
Tengyur Structure
All editions of the Tengyur are divided into categories that relate to doctrinal statements or literature of a certain kind. These diagrams are important for understanding how the distinction between different texts is traditionally understood. Below is a table showing the titles of the Tengyur editions and the number of texts in each of the sections (according to the various articles related to this collection). Keep in mind that all the data in this table will still be rechecked when working with text collections themselves (visual verification and subtraction).
|
Beijing |
Chone |
Dege |
Urga |
Narthang |
Lhasa |
Combined |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hymns of Praise (bstod tshogs) |
63 |
64 |
71 |
In progress |
64 |
In progress |
73 |
|
Prajna-paramita (sher phyin) |
40 |
38 |
38 |
In progress |
40 |
In progress |
41 |
|
Madhyamaka (dbu ma) |
257 |
158 |
158 |
In progress |
257 |
In progress |
264 |
|
Sutra (mdo sde) |
40 |
40 |
40 |
In progress |
40 |
In progress |
40 |
|
Chittamatra (sems tsam) |
66 |
66 |
66 |
In progress |
66 |
In progress |
66 |
|
Abhidharma (mngon pa) |
18 |
18 |
18 |
In progress |
18 |
In progress |
18 |
|
Vinaya ('dul ba) |
45 |
46 |
46 |
In progress |
45 |
In progress |
47 |
|
Jataki (skyes rab) |
8 |
8 |
8 |
In progress |
8 |
In progress |
8 |
|
Letters (spring yig) |
42 |
45 |
45 |
In progress |
42 |
In progress |
45 |
|
Correct Cognition (tshad ma) |
69 |
66 |
66 |
In progress |
69 |
In progress |
69 |
|
Sutras on Grammar (sgra mdo) |
28 |
36 |
36 |
In progress |
28 |
In progress |
37 |
|
The Science of Healing (gso ba rig pa) |
7 |
7 |
7 |
In progress |
7 |
In progress |
7 |
|
Crafts (bzo rig pa) |
17 |
15 |
15 |
In progress |
17 |
In progress |
21 |
|
Treatises of Traditions (lugs kyi bstan bcos) |
12 |
18 |
18 |
In progress |
21 |
In progress |
24 |
|
Various Treatises (sna tshogs) |
132 |
77 |
122 |
In progress |
131 |
In progress |
142 |
|
Tantra (rgyud) |
3136 |
2623 |
2623 |
In progress |
3129 |
In progress |
3191 |
Currently, there are five versions of Tengyur, which can be divided into two groups: (1) Beijing, Golden, Narthang. And (2) Dege and Chone. There is also a version compiled on the basis of comparisons of different versions of Tengyur and including texts that could be distinguished as separate or individual texts.
Brief descriptions of the Tengyur versions
Beijing Edition
The Beijing edition was prepared in 1724 under the supervision of Emperor Kangxi and contains 225 volumes.
Golden
The Golden Manuscripts or Tengyur Gaden (dga' ldan) was compiled in Central Tibet in 1731-1741.
Narthang
This edition of the Tengyur was compiled starting from 1741-1742. contains 223 volumes and one additional one added after 1763.
Dege
Tengyur Dege was formed in the period 1737-1744 and contains 213 volumes. One of its editions is the unfinished version of Tengyur Urga, which is based on the edition of Dege. Tengyur Dege also served as the basis for the publication of Vara, which began to form in 1937 and was not completed.
Chone
The Chone edition dates from 1753-1773 and contains 209 volumes.