Difference between revisions of "Defining Mahāyoga"
(Created page with " Some years ago I was chatting to someone at a conference about the work I had been doing on Mahāyoga texts in the Dunhuang collections. “But what,” he asked, “is...") |
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| − | Some years ago I was chatting to someone at a conference about the work I had been doing on Mahāyoga texts in the Dunhuang collections. “But what,” he asked, “is Mahāyoga anyway?” Though the later Nyingma tradition has perfectly good answers to this question, I couldn’t give him a satisfactory answer about what it meant in early (pre-11th century) Tibet. It would be good to know, because references to Mahāyoga often crop up in the Dunhuang manuscripts. Moreover, if the Testament of Ba is to be believed, when the Tibetan emperor Tri Song Detsen set up a massive Buddhist translation project in Tibet in the 9th century, he specifically banned Mahāyoga texts from being translated. | + | Some years ago I was chatting to someone at a conference about the work I had been doing on [[Mahāyoga]] texts in the [[Dunhuang]] collections. “But what,” he asked, “is [[Mahāyoga]] anyway?” Though the later [[Nyingma tradition]] has perfectly good answers to this question, I couldn’t give him a satisfactory answer about what it meant in early (pre-11th century) [[Tibet]]. It would be good to know, because references to [[Mahāyoga]] often crop up in the [[Dunhuang manuscripts]]. Moreover, if the [[Testament of Ba]] is to be believed, when the [[Tibetan emperor]] [[Tri Song Detsen]] set up a massive [[Buddhist]] translation project [[in Tibet]] in the 9th century, he specifically banned [[Mahāyoga]] texts from being translated. |
| − | In fact it turns out that the Tibetans, during their first exposure to tantric Buddhism, had also asked themselves what Mahāyoga stands for. I found the answer in a tatty manuscript containing a text called A Summary of the View of Mahāyoga According to Scripture. So I translated that text and wrote an article all about Mahāyoga in early Tibet, which was published in 2008. I’ve finally scanned the article : | + | In fact it turns out that the [[Tibetans]], during their first exposure to [[tantric Buddhism]], had also asked themselves what [[Mahāyoga]] stands for. I found the answer in a tatty {{Wiki|manuscript}} containing a text called A Summary of the View of [[Mahāyoga]] According to [[Scripture]]. So I translated that text and wrote an article all about [[Mahāyoga]] in early [[Tibet]], which was published in 2008. I’ve finally scanned the article : |
Latest revision as of 14:58, 18 April 2023
Some years ago I was chatting to someone at a conference about the work I had been doing on Mahāyoga texts in the Dunhuang collections. “But what,” he asked, “is Mahāyoga anyway?” Though the later Nyingma tradition has perfectly good answers to this question, I couldn’t give him a satisfactory answer about what it meant in early (pre-11th century) Tibet. It would be good to know, because references to Mahāyoga often crop up in the Dunhuang manuscripts. Moreover, if the Testament of Ba is to be believed, when the Tibetan emperor Tri Song Detsen set up a massive Buddhist translation project in Tibet in the 9th century, he specifically banned Mahāyoga texts from being translated.
In fact it turns out that the Tibetans, during their first exposure to tantric Buddhism, had also asked themselves what Mahāyoga stands for. I found the answer in a tatty manuscript containing a text called A Summary of the View of Mahāyoga According to Scripture. So I translated that text and wrote an article all about Mahāyoga in early Tibet, which was published in 2008. I’ve finally scanned the article :
