Tibetan and Himalayan Library - THL

Description: Creator's Description: This paper examines the reception, development, and classification of the Abhisamayālaṃkāra and its related commentaries from the ninth to fourteenth centuries in Tibet as a case study in how sections of the Tibetan Bstan ’gyur collections were formed and formulated. The first section of the paper analyzes the classification of Abhisamayālaṃkāra commentaries in early Tibetan registers such as the Lhan kar ma and ’Phang thang ma. Next, two influential Tibetan scholar-librarians, Bcom ldan rig pa’i ral gri (1227-1305) and Bu ston rin chen grub (1290-1364), are compared with regard to their organization and classification of treatises such as the Abhisamayālaṃkāra. The third section provides a narrative account of how Abhisamayālaṃkāra literature developed in Tibet based on the analysis of colophons and historical anecdotes. The paper concludes with a summary of the cultural forces that influenced the development and classification of Abhisamayālaṃkāra literature in Tibet.

Means of availability: Online