Stay connected. Sign up for the Rubin Museum’s monthly newsletter to receive updates about upcoming exhibitions, programs, digital features, and more.
SubscribeTibetan Buddhist Canon
Tibetan Buddhist Canon
The Sanskrit Buddhist Canon was translated into Tibetan from the seventh century onward during the first and second diffusions. The Sakya-tradition scholar Buton Rinchen Drub (1290–1364) gave this mass of translations its final, codified form. The Tibetan canon is divided into two parts, which together usually take up hundreds of volumes:
- The Kangyur, “Translation of [the Buddha’s] Words,” contains texts believed to have been taught by the Buddha himself, including Sutras, Tantras, and the Vinaya.
- The Tengyur, “Translation of Teachings,” contains commentaries, scholastic works, philosophical studies, and other topics.
- The original Sanskrit canon was mostly lost with the decline of Buddhism in India, making the Tibetan and Chinese translations the only two surviving Mahayana canons.
