Cathy Cantwell and Robert Mayer co-author much of our written output. The Academia.edu system does not allow a single page in two names, so this serves as our joint page.
Territorial deities-intended as semi-human, superhuman, and nonhuman beings like yakṣas, tree spi... more Territorial deities-intended as semi-human, superhuman, and nonhuman beings like yakṣas, tree spirits, aquatic deities, serpentine beings, stones and features of the land, etc.-populated both elite (typically textual) and vernacular (often oral) religious and ritual traditions over much of Asia, and in particular the large belt of territory called 'Monsoon Asia', extending from the Himalayan arch through South Asia to Southeast and East Asia. ese entities were-and, in many places, still areperceived as the owners of the land. ey were associated with fertility, water, rain, wealth, and kingship. Inhabiting complex and often hierarchical cosmologies, they were both beneficial and dangerous, and they presupposed shared ideas and practices around chthonic power, sacred space, supernatural efficacy, ancestry, and sovereignty. Integrated in the religious systems that we call Indic (like Śaivism, Buddhism, etc.), Sinitic (like Daoism or Confucianism), or simply 'animistic' or 'local', they formed part of an interconnected network of cosmological beliefs and worldly rituals set in a geographical theatre broadly dominated by monsoonal environments and often sharing climatic features, crops, fauna, agricultural practices and their calendrical events, etc. Although Nāgas and their kin have received some academic scrutiny, there is a dearth of research on their manifestations in the scriptural traditions and ritual/mantric technologies of the Tantric movements that shaped the religious landscape of 'medieval' Asia (roughly between the 6th and 14th centuries CE). Further, more often than not, studies published since the second half of the 20th century have discussed localized instances of such beings and cults, for instance framing the former as 'Nāgas' in South and Southeast Asia and 'dragons' in East Asia, without attempting a comparative approach, or elaborating a methodological framework that could take into account an extended geography and diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Finally, from a historical point of view, the dominant paradigm has been that of 'appropriation' of these entities from pre-Indic cosmologies that were incorporated into their later institutionalized counterparts from the late second millennium BC, all the way to the Guptas and post-Gupta periods. However, this perspective has often failed to consider the similarity of these entities, cults, and practices across geographies and cultures, simply assuming that they were exported from India to the rest of Asia. is raises questions about their genealogy, i.e. whether they are the result of cultural diffusion, independent origins, or convergence, or even belong to a hypothetical 'cultic substratum'.
Some years ago, Cantwell discovered that a substantial Dunhuang text, IOL Tib J 331.III, was repr... more Some years ago, Cantwell discovered that a substantial Dunhuang text, IOL Tib J 331.III, was reproduced verbatim within Nyang-rel Nyima Özer's (1124–1192) famous Treasure Text, Eightfold Buddha Word, Embodying the Sugatas (bKa’ brgyad bDe gshegs ’dus pa). This paper presents the main findings of an in-depth textual study of the core sections of the “’phrin las phur pa [Action Phurpa]” part of Nyang-rel Nyima Özer’s (Tib. Myang ral Nyi ma ’od zer) revealed corpus of the bKa’ brgyad bDe gshegs ’dus pa [The Eightfold Buddha Word, Embodying the Sugatas]. This suggests that at least this part of the Eightfold Buddha Word revelation represents the survival of an archaic form of practice on the tantric deity, Vajrakīlaya. Its six sections constitute a coherent whole covering complementary aspects of the tantric rituals, while the second section parallels in its entirety a text from the archaeological recovered manuscripts from a Library Cave in Dunhuang (IOL Tib J 331.III), which dates back over a century before Nyang-rel’s time. Here, a critical edition of that second section of Nyang-rel’s Action Phurpa is presented, taking account of all current extant versions, and supported by consideration of the accompanying materials found in the five other sections.
PDF screen-grab in 1,539 pages of the detailed catalogue of The Rig 'dzin Tshe dbang nor bu Editi... more PDF screen-grab in 1,539 pages of the detailed catalogue of The Rig 'dzin Tshe dbang nor bu Edition of the rNying ma'i rgyud 'bum (2002-2003, Cathy Cantwell with Rob Mayer and Michael Fischer). The original website had live links and a great deal of further analysis not available to this screen grab, including codicology, artwork, etc, and was hosted at CSAC (University of Kent) in association with The British Library. Thanks to Matthew Kapstein and Jeff Wallman, the full website might reappear at TBRC. In the meantime, here is a screen-grab pdf of the catalogue, taken by Bruno Laine from our original website, which at least shows every title, chapter heading, and colophon, for every text.
Cantwell, C. and R. Mayer 2007 The Kīlaya Nirvāṇa Tantra and the Vajra Wrath Tantra: two texts from the Ancient Tantra Collection, Vienna, The Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. vi, 289 pages, plus editions of texts on cd (529 pages).
Cantwell, C. and R. Mayer 2008. Early Tibetan Documents on Phur pa from Dunhuang, Vienna, The Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. ix, 228 (A4 sized) pages, plus photographs of manuscripts on cd.
This paper argues that ongoing scriptural revelation was not merely incidental, but can be seen a... more This paper argues that ongoing scriptural revelation was not merely incidental, but can be seen as the very essence of Indian Mahāyāna and tantric Buddhisms alike. A further focus is on the widespread appropriation and localisation of Indian Buddhist mythic themes relating to revelation in the Buddhist tradition-building and associated revelation of sacred text that characterised the Tibetan phyi dar period. Drawing on earlier work by Ulrike Roesler, Matthew Kapstein, and others, I discuss the creation of the rNying ma gter ma system as a prominent (but by no means unique) example of this process.
This short informal blog piece reviews the available evidence for Chinese influences on the Tibet... more This short informal blog piece reviews the available evidence for Chinese influences on the Tibetan gter ma traditions.
Tibetan Studies Volume II, Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften., 1997
Analysis, assessment, and discussion of the textual evidence for Tibetan compilation found within... more Analysis, assessment, and discussion of the textual evidence for Tibetan compilation found within a rNying-ma tantric scripture, the Phur pa bcu gnyis..
In: Proceedings of the 7th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Graz 1995. General Editor: Ernst Steinkellner. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
བོད་རིག་པའི་དུས་དེབ་།་Journal of Tibetology 26, 2022
Cathy Cantwell: Myang ral's twelfth century revealed corpus of the Eightfold Buddha Word, Embodyi... more Cathy Cantwell: Myang ral's twelfth century revealed corpus of the Eightfold Buddha Word, Embodying the Sugatas (bka' brgyad bde gshegs 'dus pa) became a template for Rnying ma practice focusing on the tradition's eight central tantric deities. In a previous article (2020a), I have suggested that the entire Action Phurpa (‘phrin las phur pa) section of the Eightfold Buddha Word is likely to pre-date Myang ral, and seems to preserve an archaic practice tradition. Here, I explore further Phurpa materials in the corpus which relate to the teachings on the Four Phurpas, or the Four Phurpa Materials (phur pa'i rgyu bzhi), alongside related teachings in the corpus of transmitted texts (bka’ ma) which were also part of Myang ral's heritage. The centrality of the Four Phurpa teachings in these texts may have influenced the later Vajrakilaya traditions, which generally put considerable emphasis on these teachings. I assess how the specific teachings on the Four Phurpas passed on by Myang ral in the revealed (gter ma) and transmitted texts (bka’ ma) relate to each other, and to other early sources on the Four Phurpas. It seems not only that some of the transmitted Eightfold Buddha Word texts of The Fortress and Precipice (rdzong 'phrang) cycle were very early, but one short instruction on the Four Phurpas is quite likely to derive from the historical Padmasambhava. Moreover, it draws upon an authoritative source which seems also to have made its way into texts within Myang ral's Embodying the Sugatas revelation dealing with the same topic. Finally, in considering the framing of Myang ral's Embodying the Sugatas as revelation, one effect of the new presentation is that King Khri srong Ide'u btsan,? who was supposed to have been the main original recipient of The Fortress and Precipice transmissions, but did not remain in the lineage, was brought back into centre stage in the transmission. For Myang ral was his rebirth, and key texts of the Embodying the Sugatas revelation are said to have come from the King's manuscripts.
This informal blog piece considers the fact that all kinds of magical practices and complex nāga ... more This informal blog piece considers the fact that all kinds of magical practices and complex nāga cults were prominent components of the cultural context in which any historical Nāgārjuna must have lived. Current scholarship suggests that engagement with nāgas in particular will have pertained a fortiori within the elite educated brahmanic and Buddhist monastic circles with which Nāgārjuna is usually associated in his earliest biographies. I present seemingly strong evidence for the distinctively Indian magical practice of añjana, inter alia connected with invisibility magic and also nāga beliefs, that seem not to have been discussed before, but which have been clearly preserved in the early Chinese biographical sources on Nāgārjuna. This calls into question a widely held Buddhalogical opinion that such passages were necessarily Chinese fabrications somehow connected with 'Chinese alchemy', thereby lending support to the incorrect notion that Nāgārjuna the 'rational Indian philosopher' could not simultaneously have been involved in Indian magic, despite the vast traditional literature claiming he was. I draw an analogy with the great physicist, mathematician, and government servant, Sir Isaac Newton, who, along with mathematics and physics, simultaneously pursued a deep and life-long interest in the study of alchemy, the Philosopher’s Stone, the Temple of Solomon, and the various other occult topics on which he wrote so much.
A new theory of the origins of rNying ma gter ma, summed up in four pages. Or, at least one good ... more A new theory of the origins of rNying ma gter ma, summed up in four pages. Or, at least one good reason why the early Tibetan translators, and Guru Chowang in particular, were rather better Indologists than we are.
In a volume to honour Leonard van der Kuijp, we propose a new theory of who Padmasambhava was, t... more In a volume to honour Leonard van der Kuijp, we propose a new theory of who Padmasambhava was, through the medium of a study of a Dunhuang tantric scripture and its commentary (a couple of printing gremlins are emended on the PDF).
This article presents one of the very earliest surviving texts on Vajrakīlaya, from the Fortress ... more This article presents one of the very earliest surviving texts on Vajrakīlaya, from the Fortress and Precipice compilation (rDzong ’phrang) nowadays preserved in the rNying ma bKa’ ma. Displaying a number of genuinely archaic features, this text claims to be transmitted through gTer bzhad rtsal (= gNubs Yon tan rgya mtsho), who is a student of rDo rje Yang dbang gter (= gNubs chen Sangs rgyas ye shes). The teaching is one of the earliest, and possibly even the first to deal with the important topic of the Four Phurpas, around which most Phur pa teaching is presented and structured to this day. The teaching is presented in the voice of Padma Thod phreng rgyal po, who at the outset proclaims his identity with the deity Vajrakīlaya. The end of the text tells us that he wrote it at the rock cavern of Yang-le-shod. This article is dedicated to our esteemed friend and colleague, Dan Martin, who has done so much to illuminate the early history of Tibetan culture.
Produced in honour of my greatly esteemed colleague and friend Dan Martin, this paper demonstrat... more Produced in honour of my greatly esteemed colleague and friend Dan Martin, this paper demonstrates how Guru Chos dbang balanced Indian ideas with Tibetan ideas in his seminal gTer ‘byung chen mo. Finally, I translate 16 pages from the sDe dge Kangyur edition of the Āryavidyottamamahātantra. This particular passage details the discovery, opening, and re-closing, of magical portal-like Treasure Doors (gter sgo), and I suggest these Indian tantric traditions might have left an imprint on the later rNying ma gter ma traditions.
The eleventh to thirteenth centuries in Tibet witnessed the development of religious schools base... more The eleventh to thirteenth centuries in Tibet witnessed the development of religious schools based on the »New Transmissions« (gsar 'gyur) of Buddhist Tantras or the »Later Spread« (phyi dar) of Buddhism, in contrast to the »Early Transmissions« (snga 'gyur) of Tibetan Imperial times (seventh to ninth centuries CE). This period saw the beginnings of the system in which Buddhist monasteries became seats of religious and politico-economic authority throughout communities in Tibet. At the same time, in this culturally creative environment, followers of the »Ancient Transmissions« began to codify their textual heritage, resulting in the subsequent development of a rNying ma school, based especially on: i. the practice of the Inner Tantras (mahāyoga, anuyoga, atiyoga) and the Eight Sacred Word (bka' brgyad) tantric deity cycles; ii. the related textual corpus of scriptures known as the »Ancient Tantra Collection« (rnying ma rgyud 'bum); iii. popular accounts of and rituals connected with the early tantric masters and their spiritual and magical feats, and especially the cult of the tantric guru and »second Buddha«, Padmasambhava, together with his key disciples; iv. the traditions of revelation, in which revealers identified as rebirths of the tradition's cultural heroes continue to augment the textual heritage in each generation. Myang ral Nyi ma 'od zer was seminal to this development: himself a tantric revealer recognised as a rebirth of the emperor Khri srong lde'u btsan, he was responsible for a multi-volume revealed collection on the Eight Sacred Word deities, the Eightfold Sacred Word, Embodying the Sugatas (bka' brgyad bde gshegs 'dus pa); was central to the lineage of the transmitted texts (bka' ma) on the same deities; and produced the first full hagiography of Padmasambhava, while his immediate successors began the work of collecting the scriptures for the »Ancient Tantra Collection«, based on organising principles established in his work. This article probes how we should approach authority and authorship in this case. How far and in what sense should we consider Myang ral an »author« of the texts he revealed and why were the new claims to authority so compelling in this case? While Myang ral's involvement with vision and ritual rather than logical argument or debate clearly distinguish him from mediaeval Tibetan scholastics-even those within his own tradition of Early Transmissionsyet his impressive work in compiling and systematising the heritage from his mentors would suggest that the contrast may not be as extreme as it would first appear.
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In: Proceedings of the 7th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Graz 1995. General Editor: Ernst Steinkellner. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.