Digital Version of the Tibetan Kangyur

Snow Lion Publications reports:

The Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (TBRC), a not-for-profit organization in New York, has just announced the release of a digital version of the Tibetan Kangyur. This great collection comprises 100+ volumes of scriptures believed by the Tibetan Buddhist tradition to be the direct word of Lord Buddha in has manifold manifestations. The Kangyur is kept on the shrines of most monasteries, retreat centers, and Buddhist laymen throughout the Tibetan Buddhist world. The Kangyur scanned by TBRC is from the Derge Parpu edition reprinted in India by H. H. the Sixteenth Karmapa.

This release of a digital edition marks the completion of a year long project of text preparation, scanning, quality control, and production. The 103 volumes of the original edition have been reduced to just 10 CDs which have been packaged in an attractive case. The volumes are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format readable on both PC and Macintosh platforms. This set is priced for practitioners, other individuals, and dharma centers at $195 inclusive of shipping anywhere. The pricing has been kept low in order that this extraordinary collection can be made available to all. This subsidized price covers the cost of text preparation, scanning of the original texts, quality control, burning on to CDs, materials, and handling and shipping. The price for libraries and academic research institutions is a very reasonable $1030, including shipping. (If you are ordering for a library, please don't cheat and use the individual price! The small amount being asked directly supports the scanning of further materials!)

Your purchase of a set of the Kangyur supports and TBRC's charitable mission of digitally preserving, cataloging, and distribution of the whole of Tibetan Buddhist tradition. To order, or for further information on this and other materials, go to http://www.tbrc.org. One may order using the online Charity Wave website, accessible from the TBRC website, and pay by credit card. It may be easier to pay by wire transfer or by sending a personal check in US dollars. To order the Derge Kanjur on the website, use TBRC Work Number W22084 and put this in any text box on the secure web site of Charity Wave.

The TBRC has also scanned and is now doing quality control on the Derge Tengyur! This collection represents the Indic language commentaries on the Kangyur which have been translated into Tibetan. TBRC expects that this will be available soon. A large number of other works of Tibetan masters are also available; for details see the website. The full catalog can be downloaded as a searchable *.pdf document at the URL: http://ww.tbrc.org. In this catalog one can search for titles, authors, and key words including the sectarian affiliation of the work or collection. The file is 1.4MB.

The Kangyur of Derge was produced under the patronage of the ruler Tenpa Tsering (1678-1738). The great Karma Kagyu scholar, Situ Panchen Chokyi Jungne (1699/1700-1774), was charged with the oversight of the project. The blocks were carved deeply and well. The established rule was that the blocks could only be printed in vermillion ink. Black ink was never allowed to touch the Derge Kangyur blocks. When the blocks were deemed by the Situ's editing team to be in a final form, a limited number of sets were struck and sent as offerings to the great lineage holders of Tibet. These were known as parpu or "first fruit printings". One parpu printing which reached the young 13th Karmapa Dudul Dorje (1733/34-1797/98) at Tsurpu was especially highly regarded. This parpu was brought to Sikkim from Tsurpu by H.H.the 16th Karmapa and was the original used for the "facsimile edition" which he issued between 1976 and 1979. Copies of this printing were acquired by the New Delhi Field Office of the Library of Congress and is found in a few research libraries in the US. Because of the reputation of the Karmapa, this "edition" spread widely throughout the Tibetan speaking Buddhist lands. It is this "facsimile edition" that has recently been reissued in Chengdu and has now been distributed throughout China.

The release of the digital set of the Derge Kangyur marks TBRC's commitment to sustaining, preserving and making available the rich heritage of the Tibetan people. In the near future, TBRC intends to issue the post-parpu additions to the Derge Kangyur as well as a searchable digital index with the accompanying Derge Tangyur. For those interested in further supporting TBRC's work, in order that other materials be made available, TBRC has an active program for the sponsorship of the digital preservation of its holdings. Currently TBRC is seeking support for the scanning of the Narthang Tengyur. The sponsorship of a single volume costs only $100. To find out more about TBRC's digital text preservation sponsorship program, please contact TBRC at . All donations for scanning of texts are tax deductible.