Rare Tibetan Buddhist canons restored

[TARA]

Experts in northwest China's Gansu Province announced Wednesday that they have restored more than 3,000 pages of some rare Tibetan Buddhist canons, which were severely damaged by floods in the 1970s.

The canons have more than 100,000 pages in total and were held by several Buddhist temples located in Wuwei City, or Liangzhou in ancient times, which is a vital town along the ancient Silk Road. Floods in the 1970s caused severe damage to the artifacts.

The restoration project commenced in 2013 and was carried out by the Museum of Wuwei City and Northwest Minzu University. Experts said about 98 percent of the canons were scriptures, which trace back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2017-10/12/content_41719557.htm

More than 60,000 pages have been separated to date, and 3,069 pages have been restored.

Liang Jihong, deputy curator of the museum, said some of the scriptures contained bright and colorful paintings. Materials for writing included ground gold, silver, pearl, sea snails and cinnabar powder. Liang also mentioned that paper was of very high quality with insect and corrosion prevention materials, which would be very helpful for the research of Tibetan's paper making technology.

The restoration will be also very important for Tibetology studies and the history of ethnic groups relations in northwestern China, Liang added.

[Ringo Starr]

This is really nice to know. We cannot tar China today with the same brush as we did during the Communist Revolution days. Societies change. One type of society will give birth to another type of society, this is always true. We should celebrate this budding Buddhist renaissance in China. I rejoice this new development. So happy.

[vajrastorm]

I agree that this restoration work points to a strong revival of interest in Tibetan Buddhism. In actual fact, by enthroning the 11th Panchen Lama and establishing him now as an indisputable leader of Buddhism in China as he reaches maturity, China is showing in no uncertain terms that it takes religion and Tibetan Buddhism very seriously.

Indeed, there is much patient and tireless effort put into the restoration of these Tibetan Buddhist canons, which have  been severely damaged in the 1970s. Altogether there is a total of more than 100,000 pages. To date, over 3000 pages have been restored.

These canons are invaluable particularly to Tibetology studies.

[Drolma]

Chinese culture has more than 5000 years of history, it is a very rich culture. Buddhism on the other hand, arrived in China as early as 1st century and it has become part of the Chinese culture. Many expressions used in Chinese language carry Buddhism values. Since China is always very proud of its culture and heritage, I am not surprised they are putting in so much money and effort to restore precious Buddhist scriptures.

[Alex]

Chinese culture has more than 5000 years of history, it is a very rich culture. Buddhism on the other hand, arrived in China as early as 1st century and it has become part of the Chinese culture. Many expressions used in Chinese language carry Buddhism values. Since China is always very proud of its culture and heritage, I am not surprised they are putting in so much money and effort to restore precious Buddhist scriptures.

It is certainly surprising that the Chinese are actually carrying out actions to preserve the Dharma. This is something that CTA will never do even if they have the resources to do it. China having an atheist government certainly surprises everyone with their sponsorship of monasteries and protection of Buddhist heritage sites. Thanks to them, the Dharma in Tibet are being preserved and it is definitely a good sign. I guess this is how skillful the Dalai Lama is to accomplish what he wanted using his divine methods.

[Tracy]

China really treasures Buddhist culture and heritage. They have spent so much money to preserve and restore ancient Buddhist artifacts and monasteries. They have very well trained experts who can do the job well.

Buddhism, in general, is an important heritage for China. They don't just preserve and restore the monasteries or Buddhist artifacts in China mainland, they do the same in Tibet too. You might think the Chinese government will be reluctant to spend money on the Potala Palace because it is closely related to the Dalai Lama. But no, the Chinese government has invested a lot to restore and preserve the Potala Palace in the last couple of years.

The CTA likes to say the Chinese government suppresses religion and doesn't give the Tibetans the right to practice their religion. This is not true at all, the Tibetans are still Buddhists, they still go to the temples to pray, they are still able to receive teachings from the lamas. The only thing the Chinese government worries is when people use religion to create problems and disharmony in society. 

[Drolma]

The CTA claims preservation of Buddhism tradition is one of their missions. But how much have they done to preserve Buddhism? What they have done over the years are very damaging to Buddhism.

The Dorje Shugden ban they have imposed makes people walk away from Gelug lineage because most people don't like the political element in the lineage. Some walk away from Vajayana Buddhism completely. Then the CTA meddled in the Karma Kagyu affair by recognising the 'real' Karmapa, making the whole situation in Kagyu lineage even more complicated than it already is.

On the other hands, the Chinese government has invested so much in preserving Buddhist culture in China and Tibet. They don't show favouritism to a particula lineage. Compared to the CTA, the Chinese government has done so much while the CTA is only damaging and creating more problems int the Buddhist community.

[Matibhadra]

The Dorje Shugden ban they have imposed makes people walk away from Gelug lineage because most people don't like the political element in the lineage.

And many of them run to the very source of the political poison they wanted to run away from, the Nyingma lineage. Bingo!

[icy]

The Dorje Shugden ban they have imposed makes people walk away from Gelug lineage because most people don't like the political element in the lineage.

And many of them run to the very source of the political poison they wanted to run away from, the Nyingma lineage. Bingo!

What makes this opinion of yours?

[Matibhadra]

What makes this opinion of yours?

A clear understanding of the political and scamming nature of the Nyingma sect.