Notes on the Earliest Tibetan Buddhist Canons by Georgios Halkias
Georgios Halkias delivered a lecture as part of the Khyentse Foundation Goodman Lectures series, hosted by The University of Hong Kong’s Centre of Buddhist Studies.
Titled “Notes on the Earliest Tibetan Buddhist Canons,” Georgios shed light on the significance of the Karchag Phangthangma (PT), an imperially sanctioned collection of Vajrayana Buddhist texts.
The PT, completed after the establishment of the first Tibetan monastic community in 779 under Emperor Trisong Detsen, provides valuable insights into early Tibetan Buddhism.
Georgios emphasized the prominence of the Vairocana cult in imperial Tibet, evidenced by the inclusion of six Vairocana-related texts in the PT.
These texts reflect the official adoption of Buddhism in the Tibetan Empire and its integration into imperial temples and clerical practices.
Furthermore, he discussed the possible influence of Khotanese monks on the spread of Vairocana worship in Tibet, highlighting the historical and geographical connections between the two regions.
The lecture provided a deeper understanding of the early development of Tibetan Buddhism and its interactions with neighboring cultures.
References
- The Lost Buddhist Kingdom of Khotan
- Yarlung Rising: The Imperial Cult of the Sun Buddha, with Dr. Giorgios Halkias
