Tibetan manuscripts in general, and Bon manuscripts in particular, are often characterised by orthographic inconsistencies and multiple contracted forms (Tib. bsdus tshig or bskungs yig). While... Show moreTibetan manuscripts in general, and Bon manuscripts in particular, are often characterised by orthographic inconsistencies and multiple contracted forms (Tib. bsdus tshig or bskungs yig). While these features may be a nuisance to the reader, they deserve to be analysed more systematically: it is possible that these heterodox spellings and other scribal peculiarities, far from being random errors, may represent local writing conventions. On the basis of an extended study of facsimile reproductions of Bon manuscripts from Bsam gling monastery in Dolpo, Nepal, this chapter aims to explore the best way forward towards defining local orthographic styles and other codicological features. A major starting hypothesis to be tested is that {\textquoteleft}heterographies{\textquoteright} may help us to detect oral and written modes of transmission. Show less
There is no or desperately little reliable early evidence to support the historicity of the grand pre-Buddhist Bon Zhang zhung Empire of later Bon po sources and their western aficionados.... Show moreThere is no or desperately little reliable early evidence to support the historicity of the grand pre-Buddhist Bon Zhang zhung Empire of later Bon po sources and their western aficionados. Imagination is nonetheless plentiful. In the PIATS 2016, I discuss the oldest historical textual sources relevant to a heartland of Bon, which is variously conceptualised as Zhang zhung, Ta zig and 'Ol mo lung ring, with special reference to a central stronghold and main seat of power in Zhang zhung: the so-called Silver Castle of Garuḍa Valley or Khyung lung Dngul dNgul mkhar. If one carefully examines the genealogy of knowledge and the history of invention of that grand Zhang zhung Bon Empire and its legendary Khyung lung castle, one cannot help but notice that our ideas about them derive from surprisingly late discourse, which postdates any relevant historical and geographical realities by a long stretch. The later Bon Zhang zhung literary construct is to be distinguished clearly from a probably historical and probably also small principality by the name of Zhang zhung, that is located west of Central Tibet, roughly centred on the Kailash area and that seems to have had a northern extension as well. But, interestingly, that historical Zhang zhung in its descriptions carries no significant Bon po associations and in time also significantly precedes Bon traditions as we know them now. ... In the following, we will examine the earliest evidence for a {\textquoteleft}location{\textquoteright} of the origin of Bon, or at least for the origin of its narratives. We find those in non-Buddhist ritualistic narratives of the Dunhuang period. For an overview and analysis of Dunhuang historical narratives, I refer to PIATS 2006 (but see also Macdonald 1971). The analysis of ritualistic narratives is significantly more involved than that of historical sources. It requires fragile attempts at connecting clusters of narrative elements that in Dunhuang sources appear loosely assembled around important names and locations to the earliest, self-consciously Bon sources, such as the mDo {\textquoteleft}dus, the Klu {\textquoteleft}bum and other sources, with special attention to those names and locations, of course, that are already familiar from later strata of emerging Bon. The latter begin to emerge in around the 10th–11th century AD and thus may be closely contiguous with the redaction of Dunhuang materials. The nature of the rituals cannot be elucidated here, for reasons of space. Show less
De eerste publicatie in het Nederlands over het boeddhisme dateert, voor zover bekend, uit 1843. Het buddhisme en zijn stichter van de doopsgezinde predikant dr. J.H. Halbertsma (1789-1869)... Show moreDe eerste publicatie in het Nederlands over het boeddhisme dateert, voor zover bekend, uit 1843. Het buddhisme en zijn stichter van de doopsgezinde predikant dr. J.H. Halbertsma (1789-1869) verscheen in een oplage van 50 exemplaren en werd, gesigneerd door de auteur, verspreid onder vrienden en relaties. Halbertsma probeerde in zijn geschrift een parallel te trekken tussen Boeddha en Christus; een nieuwe benadering die een kantelpunt betekende in hoe men destijds tegen het boeddhisme aankeek. Nu, 175 jaar later, is het boeddhisme in Nederland gemeengoed geworden, maar de naam Halbertsma is nog niet vergeten. De bijdragen in dit boek schetsten de context en het tijdsbeeld waarin de publicatie van Halbertsma is ontstaan, met bijzondere aandacht voor de boeiende en soms obscure randverschijnselen waardoor deze historische tekst ook voor de hedendaagse lezer tot leven komt. Tenslotte wordt ook de positie en de geschiedenis van het boeddhisme in Nederland onder de loupe genomen.Deze uitgave in de reeks {\textquoteleft}De geschiedenis van het boeddhisme in Nederland{\textquoteright} komt tot stand in samenwerking met het Nederlands Boeddhistisch Archief (NBA). Show less
Based on a wide cross section of Tibetan and Greco-Arab medical sources, Henk Blezer argues that the articulations of the, apparently, novel category of “brown phlegm” disorders in Tibetan medicine... Show moreBased on a wide cross section of Tibetan and Greco-Arab medical sources, Henk Blezer argues that the articulations of the, apparently, novel category of “brown phlegm” disorders in Tibetan medicine may derive from an earlier Greco-Arab prototype of “black bile” disorders, particularly those of the hypochondriac subtype (that is, melancholia pertaining to the viscera below the sternal cartilage of the ribs, or in this case the diaphragm). The article builds on his earlier hypothesis, yet to be conclusively argued, that Tibetan canonical descriptions of “brown phlegm” disorders seem to show signs of a confluence or, perhaps, even a clash of “humoral” systems that seem to pertain to different medical epistemes (Greco-Arab and Indo-Tibetan in origin). He posits a plausible trajectory of development in the construction of “brown phlegm” disorders in Tibet, where treatises that presumably have developed later, eventually, seem to set the “brown phlegm” disorders apart as a so-called “combined disease” (that is a category of diseases in which several noxious substances, the so-called “humors”, appear together). Lastly, on a more speculative vein, the author addresses relevant surviving indications, if not traces, in Tibetan historical narratives for Greco-Arab influence on Tibetan medicine. Show less
In the previous century and millennium, I have been working on a good deal of facsimiles of Bon Manuscripts from Dolanji (mostly from the PL480 publications), together with several bonpo Geshes and... Show moreIn the previous century and millennium, I have been working on a good deal of facsimiles of Bon Manuscripts from Dolanji (mostly from the PL480 publications), together with several bonpo Geshes and monks. Many of the publications were reproductions of manuscripts from the library bSam gling Monastery in Dol po, Nepal, on loan in Dolanji (some made it back to Nepal, some apparently didn{\textquoteright}t). The exact possible earlier migratory routes and provenance of the original manuscripts is yet to be established clearly and comprehensively.While working on these manuscripts, I couldn{\textquoteright}t help but notice, in my peripheral vision, that there seemed to be system and regularity to the ubiquitous idiosyncrasies in orthography and to the system of abbreviation used in these manuscripts. Occasionally, I also started recognising writing styles and even personal hands. Many of these particularities seemed to relate to local conventions, as I was also advised by some of my erudite informants.* While I took note of some of the major characteristics, I felt that these apparent orthographic peculiarities deserved to be looked into more systematically: this workshop may be a good opportunity to do so.This paper is thus intended as a first and indeed very modest contribution toward a definition of local orthographic styles of Bon manuscripts, based on the digitized files available in my research archive (and on reproductions of the originals). I shall to report on discernible patterns and regularities.* I have discussed some of these typical orthographical features and hands with one of my informants, Lopon Trinley Nyima Rinpoche. He appeared able to identify some of the hands and the couleur locale, in fact with some measure of confidence. Show less
