This post is by Jörg Heimbel.
In 2010, Paltsek Publications published the first thirty-volume set of a collection consisting of religio-historical and biographical works, titled Bod kyi lo rgyus rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs. This collection was published in traditional Tibetan pecha format along with a catalogue (dkar chag) in book format. The catalogue records the texts included in each volume and provides short biographies of their respective authors. In total, one hundred twenty volumes were announced for publication in this series; so far the first two sets have appeared. The first set (vols. 1–30) was published in 2010 and the second (vols. 31–60) in 2011.
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Bod kyi lo rgyus rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs thengs dang po. (vols. 1-30). Dpal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib ’jug khang (ed.). Xiling: mTsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2010.
Bod kyi lo rgyus rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs thengs gnyis pa. (vols. 31–60). Dpal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib ’jug khang (ed.). Xiling: mTsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2011.
Bod kyi lo rgyus rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs kyi dkar chag. Dpal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib ’jug khang (ed.). Xiling: Mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2010 and 2011.
The collection consists of biographies (rnam thar) of Tibetan Buddhist masters, religio-historical works, such as religious histories (chos ‘byung), abbatial successions (gdan rabs), genealogies (gdung rabs), and others (mkhan brgyud, rgyal rabs, deb ther, lo rgyus), etc. Although many of these texts, such as the religious histories, have appeared elsewhere, the collection provides important access to a variety of works that had been either presumed to be lost or even hitherto unknown to exist.
Sorting Rare Texts, Tibet
The majority of the texts included in this collection consist of manuscripts mainly written in various cursive (dbu med) scripts and only some in print (dbu can), as well as some woodblock prints (par ma). That these texts were reproduced as facsimile editions, though reduced in size, can be considered as one of the chief contributions the collection makes to the field of Tibetan studies. In doing so, it provides access to the unaltered originals.
The texts included in this collection are the result of ten years of work done by Paltsek Publications in locating and preserving old and rare Tibetan texts. These works originate about 50% from Drepung Monastery, to 30% from other Tibetan monasteries including
Pelkor Chode at Gyantse, Zhalu Monastery, or non-monastic libraries such as the Cultural Palace of Nationalities (Mi rigs rig gnas pho brang) in Beijing, and to 10% from privately owned collections. About 10% came from texts that were housed in foreign collections and libraries such as in Bhutan, Nepal, India, USA, UK, and Japan. Part of the texts stemming from the Nechu Lhakang of Drepung Monastery can be recognized from the marking “phyi” or “nang,” on top of each title page. (See the post “Rare Tibetan Texts 02“).
The succession of texts in the collection was arranged according to the thoughts of Zenkar Rinpoche Tudeng Nyima. Whereas the first volumes are dedicated to works related to the Kadam order (See the post “Rare Tibetan Texts 03“), the texts included in the succeeding volumes were arranged in a chronological order. However, this system was not consistently maintained throughout the collection.
Related Posts
Rare Tibetan Texts 01: The Drepung Catalog and Related Publications by Michael Sheehy
Rare Tibetan Texts 02: The Drepung Monastery Libraries by Maho Iuchi
Rare Tibetan Texts 03: Collected Works of the Kadam Masters by Kazuo Kano.
Jörg Heimbel pursues his Ph.D. in Tibetology at Hamburg University.
