Insights into the tradition building processes among the bKah brgyud pas based on a mid to late-thirteenth century manuscript of hJig rten gsum mgons dGongs gcig

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Carmen Meinert, since 4/2022
• Subject Area: Asian Studies
• Term: from 2017 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 394349257

During the second wave of the transmission of Indian Buddhism to the Tibetan cultural sphere, starting in the 11th c., new schools formed and consolidated. Although Davidson in his 2005 monograph termed this dynamic with the catchy phrase Tibetan Renaissance, we still lack profound insights into the dynamics of the tradition building of that period. This project investigates the process for the Kagyüpas and asks for the sources that have served as supports for the protagonists, how the protagonists delimit themselves from competing groups, and which self-concept they develop as a whole and in their sub-traditions.One text, the Single Intention (dGongs gcig), first taught in 1226 and available through its commentary of 1267, proves to be an excellent historical and philological primary source, especially through the sensational find of an early manuscript of that commentary to be dated to 1290 at the latest. Its philological analysis and investigation concerning the contents are the two pillars of this project. The text has at its core ca. 190 theses of Jigten Sumgon (1143-1217) through which he attempts an evaluation of the entire transmission of Indian Buddhism. It identifies what he perceives as flawed transmissions and provides corrections based on the single intention of all Buddhas. As such, it allows us to have an in-depth view of the controversial debates between Kagyügpas and other traditions, and also among Kagyüpas themselves. We are thereby enabled to watch a traditional building in process at a time when the Kagyüpas perceived themselves primarily as a yogic tradition, a description that I prefer over, for instance, Jackson-s (1994) description of them as anti-intellectual.With the help of Stefan Hagel-s software Classical Text Editor the Paris manuscript will be digitally edited and prepared for the needs of linguists and philologists. It will thereby also be compared with the first block print edition of 1533-1537 to draw conclusions about the development of a self-concept of the Kagyüpas and the process of tradition building by tracing the transformations of the text during these 250 years.During the second phase of the project, I primarily intend to let the text of the Single Intention and its commentary speak for itself. Its succinct formulations by way of theses, the vast range covering almost the entire spectrum of the Indian Buddhist transmission, and clearly recognisable, open agenda to distil a sole, all-encompassing intention of the Buddha in all aspects of the teachings render it a first-rate source for my research. I have chosen three topics from the Vinaya, Bodhisattva, and Mantra sections of the text to illustrate how it serves the process that formed the Kagyüpas.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Dr. Jan-Ulrich Sobisch, until 3/2022