Tibetan Buddhism practice of inner fire meditation as recorded in Tangut fragments with Tibetan phonetic glosses
Chung-Pui Tai
Journal of Chinese Writing Systems September 1, 2018 DOI: 10.1177/2513850218781514 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Tangut manuscript fragments Fr. 3(8), Fr. 9(14), and Fr. 1(6) from инв. 8363, Archives of Orientalists, Institute of Oriental Manuscript, Russian Academy of Sciences |
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Keywords | Linguistics |
| Key points | Argues that the Tangut text in the joined fragments is an instruction for vase breathing and inner fire meditation, known as "tummo," and that it relates to the Six Yogas of Nāropa, mainly practiced by the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism during the Tangut era. The author suggests this content can help identify the text's origin and date the fragments, which would aid study of the Tibetan phonetic glosses of Tangut characters. |
Abstract
This paper examines the content of the Tangut text in one of the largest joinable pieces of Tangut fragments with Tibetan phonetic glosses, Fr. 3(8), Fr. 9(14), and Fr. 1(6) from инв. 8363 of the Archives of Orientalists of the Institute of Oriental Manuscript, Russian Academy of Sciences. A detailed sentence-based translation of the Tangut text is provided. The interpretation of these fragments suggests that the Tangut text is an instruction for vase breathing and inner fire meditation, which is also known as “tummo.” This text should relate to the Six Yogas of Nāropa, which was mainly practiced by the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism during the Tangut era. The content of the text should help further study on the identification of the origin of the text, and on the examination of the date of the fragments, which would be critical in the study of the Tibetan phonetic glosses of the Tangut characters.
Comparable studies
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| Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |