Mani Kabum
Mani Kabum (T. ma Ni bka' 'bum མ་ཎི་བཀའ་འབུམ་). A collection of texts focused on Avalokiteshvara, attributed to the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo and revealed as a "treasure texts" (terma) by three different Tibetan teachers: the siddha Ngödrup, Nyangrel Nyima Özer, and Shakya Ö.
Overview
The texts in the Maṇi Kambum focus on the compassionate bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara who is promoted here as the patron deity of Tibet.[1] In the Maṇi Kambum, king Songtsen Gampo is said to be an emanation of Avalokiteśvara who arrived in Tibet in order to spread the Buddhadharma.[2]
The Maṇi Kambum is an important work for the culture and history of Tibetan Buddhism as well as Tibet in general. The text is connected with the rise in popularity of Avalokiteśvara devotion in Tibet from the 12th to the 14th century.[3] It is also influenced by the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra, which is the source of the Mani mantra.[1]
The Maṇi Kambum is divided into three major sections or cycles:[4][3][2]
- The Cycle of Sūtras (mdo skor), revealed by Śākya Ö, which contains myths and legends of Avalokiteśvara and Songtsen Gampo.
- The Cycle of Attainment (sgrub skor) by siddha Ngöndrup, which contains several ritual manuals for deity yoga. These manuals are called "means of achievement" (sgrub thabs; Skt. sādhanas) and focus on Avalokiteśvara.
- The Cycle of Precepts (zhal gdams kyi skor) by Nyangrel Nyima Özer, which contains 150 short texts dealing with doctrine and meditation.
Text and translation
Tibetan text:
English translation from the Tibetan text:
- The Mani Kabum (selected chapters), Drikung Meditation Center, Boston
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Schaik, Sam van (2007-07-19). "Avalokitesvara in Early Tibet III: Om mani padme hum". early Tibet. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Alison Melnick and Christopher Bell. "Maṇi Kambum". Collaborative Documents of the Tibetan Renaissance Seminar, collab.its.virginia.edu. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kapstein 2013, p. 80.
- ↑ Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. ma ṇi bka' 'bum.
Sources
Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University- Kapstein, Matthew (2013), "Remarks on the Maṇi Kabum and the Cult of Āvalokiteśvara in Tibet", in Gray Tuttle; Kurtis R. Schaeffer, The Tibetan History Reader, Columbia University Press. Academia.edu page (download available)
Further reading
Print publications:
- Kapstein, Matthew. "The Royal Way of Supreme Compassion", in Religions of Tibet in Practice, edited by Donald S. Lopez Jr., Princeton University Press, 1997. [Publisher's page
- Phillips, Bryan (2004). “Consummation and Compassion in Medieval Tibet: The Mani bka’-‘bum chen-mo of Guru Chos-kyi dbang-phyug” (unpublished PhD thesis), University of Virginia.
Web publications:
Manikabum (Tib: Ma ni bka' 'bum), Wisdom Library. Excerpt from Tsewang Gyalpo Arya (2019), Tibet (Myth, Religion and History)- The Mani Kabum (selected chapters), Drikung Boston
