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Two Tibetan works on Chan from the Tenth-century

By Buddhism Now on 31 October 2014 • ( 0 )

Cat 227: Chan text

This is a tenth-century collection of two Tibetan works on Chan (Zen) Buddhism. According to the later Tibetan tradition, Chan was expelled from Tibet following the great debate that was held in central Tibet around 797. The debate is said to have been sponsored by the Tibetan king Trisong Detsen to decide which Buddhist tradition Tibetans would follow, that of China or India. Later Tibetan accounts agree that the Chinese side lost, leading to expulsion of Chan Buddhism from Tibet. However, evidence from Dunhuang, such as this manuscript, suggests that Chan’s influence in Tibet continued well into the tenth-century.

Ink on paper The British Library, IOL Tib J 710

From The International Dunhuang Project: The Silk Road Online.