1995/1996

An Unexplored Collection of Sacred Texts

An Analysis of the Canonical Scriptures of the Bon Religion of Tibet and their Significance for World Litterature

Social Sciences

Principal investigators

Per Kværne

Professor
University of Oslo (UiO)
Year at CAS

Abstract

At CAS, the work the group has done has been to create a detailed catalogue of the content of the 190 Kanjur scripts of the Tibetan Bon religion, which constitutes the collection of the University of Oslo Library. The collection has not previously been examined by researchers outside of Tibet. During our stay at CAS, a complete catalogue has been created that includes a description of each script, index of all texts, and transliteration of all colophons and historic notes about the authors and so on. The catalogue lays the basis for a historic representation of how the different edition of the collection have been created (two of the editions of the scripts are available today, and another two editions existed in Tibet until the cultural revolution in the 1960s).

During the stay at CAS, the group produced about 670 pages of the catalogue. The work continued in the following years, and resulted in the publication: Martin, D., Kværne, P., Nagano, Y. (eds.), 2003: A Catalogue of the Bon Kanjur. Bon Studies 8. Senri Ethnological Reports no. 40, National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, 800 pp. ISBN: 4-901906-12-7

Along with funding from CAS, the project have received additional funding from The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Network for University Cooperation Norway-Tibet and NORAD.

Fellows

profile image illustration

Tseyang Changngopa

Professor
Lhasa University
Year at CAS
profile image illustration

Namgyal Nyima Dagkar

Geshe
Tibetan Bon Monastic Centre
Year at CAS
profile image illustration

Samten D. Karmay

Professor
University of Paris
Year at CAS
profile image illustration

Dondrup Lhagyal

Assistant Professor
Tibetan Academy of Social Science
Year at CAS

Daniel Preston Martin

Dr.
Hebrew University
Year at CAS
profile image illustration

Donatella Rossi

Dr.
Marylhurst University
Year at CAS
profile image illustration

Tsering Thar

Professor
China Institute of Tibetology
Year at CAS