Tibetan Buddhist Texts : Craft, Communication,

PreservationSandra Cowan

University of LethbridgeMarch 31, 2012

• Tibetan Buddhist Texts: Craft, Communication, Preservation• Speaker Sandra Cowan• Tibetan Buddhist texts have traditionally been handmade by skilled crafts people. The text is

printed from hand-carved wood blocks on handmade paper, and the unbound pages are housed between sometimes decorative wooden covers and wrapped in cloth. These te xts contain the Buddhist teachings, or dharma, and as such are considered to be religious objects. The books themselves are sacred objects, and there is meaning in them as objects: “it is apparent that they are much venerated, and imbued with a deeply spiritual energy” (Canary p. 160). There are many preservation projects that have been undertaken to digitize these sacred texts, in order to preserve the writings and to make them more widely available. One such initiative is the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center, established in 1999 by Tibetologist Gene Smith. My research is about the history of these sacred Tibetan books, and the qualitative difference in meaning between the texts as sacred objects and the digitized versions. Do the digitized texts communicate the same meaning as the books themselves? Or, like a work of art, is the digital or other facsimile qualitatively and communicatively different than the original object?

• James R. Canary (2007): From Pothi to Pixels and Back Again, Collection Management, 31:1-2, 155-167.

TimelinePothi

Pecha

Digital Codex

Carving woodblock Kanjur, Nyemo from James R. Canary (2007): “From Pothito Pixels and Back Again” Collection Management, 31(1-2), 155-167.

Printing woodblocks from James R. Canary (2007): “From Pothi to Pixels and Back Again” Collection Management, 31(1-2), 155-167.

The Treasury of Tibetan Culture & ArtsDege Sutra-Printing House (Tib. Dege Parkhang), also called Dege Auspicious and Wisdom-Gathering House, whose full Multi-Auspicious Gate of the Great Dharma Stack-Room of Dege Sutra-Printing House of Tibetan Cultural Treasures, is located in Gengqing Temple in Dege County on the east bank of the Jinshajiang River northwest of the Ganze Tibetan Nationality Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, built in the 7th year of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty by Chokyi Tenpa Tsering(1687-1738), the 12th headman and 6th dharma-raja of Dege. In the house are kept more than 200000 blocks of religious, historical, literature and art, medical, astronomical and calender-arithmetical book edititons in Tibetan, of which the Degeblock edition of The Great Scriptures cut in the Qing Dynasty is expectably well-known. The Printing house is the largest of the three big Sutra-printing houses in the Tibetan regiongs of China (Lhasa Sutra-printing House in Tibet, Lhapuleng House in Gansu and Dege Parkhang in Sichuan). It was designated as a major unit of cultural relics under provincial protection in 1980 and as a major unit under state protection in 1996.

http://www.degeparkhang.org/

Dege Parkhang printing house http://www.degeparkhang.org/

Dege Parkhang printing house http://www.degeparkhang.org/

Dege Parkhang printing house http://www.degeparkhang.org/

Dege Parkhang printing house http://www.degeparkhang.org/

Dege Parkhang printing house http://www.degeparkhang.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Woodblock_printing,_Sera,_Tibet.JPG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Woodblock_printing,_Sera,_1993.JPG

TBRC Facebook

TBRC Facebook

How to wrap a pecha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKvySIZAGec

“How to wrap a pecha" by Lama Drimed of DechenRang Dharma Center in San Jose, California.

The pecha is wrapped for its protection and out of respect.

This Gauchung (small amulet), contains the entire Derge Kangyur and Tengyur(Katen) as a searchable scanned image burned onto a tiny memory card using the latest technology.Within, there are 316 volumes, 4,464 texts, and 97,562 folios.The Kangyur is a collection of the historic teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha translated into Tibetan. The Tengyur comprises commentaries on the Buddha’s words by the great Indian Mahasiddhas and Panditas, translated into Tibetan.http://blog.tbrc.org/?p=2474

It has been said in the Sutras and Tantras that the merit accumulated, by holding, carrying, reading, and writing the sacred Buddha’s teachings is immeasurable. Where there exists one volume or one page of the teachings there is auspicious, abundant perfection.According to the Amrtavarna-namamahayanasutra: “Where whomever holds this sutra, teaches, or writes it, there the sicknesses, troubles, epidemics, injuries, and war will be dispelled and pacified.”So, for whomever wears Katen Gauchungaround their neck, or close to their body, the discordant and disharmonious elements are purified, and result in victory over, and protection from harmful influences, and virtue, goodness, happiness and well-being will persist. The blessings accrued will benefit countless sentient beings, for these sacred texts are like indispensable lamps on a dark road. http://blog.tbrc.org/?p=2474

Pulahari Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal is rebuilding the library of Jamgon Kongtrulfrom digital texts.

Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche and Bardor Tulku Rinpoche leading a Vajrayana meditation by chanting a text and doing mudras.

From Linda Patrik (2007). Encoding for Endangered Tibetan Texts. Digital Humanities Quarterly 1(1)

Library at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Monastery Woodstock, NY

Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche reading from her iPad(Facebook)

Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, Indiahttp://www.ltwa.net/library/index.php?option=com_multicategories&view=categories&cid=18:tibetanlib&Itemid=15

Pechas at Riwoche Tibetan Buddhist Temple, Toronto, ON

Pechas at Riwoche Tibetan Buddhist Temple, Toronto, ON

Pechas at Riwoche Tibetan Buddhist Temple, Toronto, ON

Pechas at Riwoche Tibetan Buddhist Temple, Toronto, ON

TBRC Digital text http://blog.tbrc.org/?p=1193

Hard drive with 4,000 volumes of classical Tibetan text donated by TBRC in ceremony at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery