Cathy Cantwell and Robert Mayer co-author much of our written output. The Academia.edu system does not allow a single page in two names, so this serves as our joint page.
Territorial deities-intended as semi-human, superhuman, and nonhuman beings like yakṣas, tree spi... more Territorial deities-intended as semi-human, superhuman, and nonhuman beings like yakṣas, tree spirits, aquatic deities, serpentine beings, stones and features of the land, etc.-populated both elite (typically textual) and vernacular (often oral) religious and ritual traditions over much of Asia, and in particular the large belt of territory called 'Monsoon Asia', extending from the Himalayan arch through South Asia to Southeast and East Asia. ese entities were-and, in many places, still areperceived as the owners of the land. ey were associated with fertility, water, rain, wealth, and kingship. Inhabiting complex and often hierarchical cosmologies, they were both beneficial and dangerous, and they presupposed shared ideas and practices around chthonic power, sacred space, supernatural efficacy, ancestry, and sovereignty. Integrated in the religious systems that we call Indic (like Śaivism, Buddhism, etc.), Sinitic (like Daoism or Confucianism), or simply 'animistic' or 'local', they formed part of an interconnected network of cosmological beliefs and worldly rituals set in a geographical theatre broadly dominated by monsoonal environments and often sharing climatic features, crops, fauna, agricultural practices and their calendrical events, etc. Although Nāgas and their kin have received some academic scrutiny, there is a dearth of research on their manifestations in the scriptural traditions and ritual/mantric technologies of the Tantric movements that shaped the religious landscape of 'medieval' Asia (roughly between the 6th and 14th centuries CE). Further, more often than not, studies published since the second half of the 20th century have discussed localized instances of such beings and cults, for instance framing the former as 'Nāgas' in South and Southeast Asia and 'dragons' in East Asia, without attempting a comparative approach, or elaborating a methodological framework that could take into account an extended geography and diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Finally, from a historical point of view, the dominant paradigm has been that of 'appropriation' of these entities from pre-Indic cosmologies that were incorporated into their later institutionalized counterparts from the late second millennium BC, all the way to the Guptas and post-Gupta periods. However, this perspective has often failed to consider the similarity of these entities, cults, and practices across geographies and cultures, simply assuming that they were exported from India to the rest of Asia. is raises questions about their genealogy, i.e. whether they are the result of cultural diffusion, independent origins, or convergence, or even belong to a hypothetical 'cultic substratum'.
Some years ago, Cantwell discovered that a substantial Dunhuang text, IOL Tib J 331.III, was repr... more Some years ago, Cantwell discovered that a substantial Dunhuang text, IOL Tib J 331.III, was reproduced verbatim within Nyang-rel Nyima Özer's (1124–1192) famous Treasure Text, Eightfold Buddha Word, Embodying the Sugatas (bKa’ brgyad bDe gshegs ’dus pa). This paper presents the main findings of an in-depth textual study of the core sections of the “’phrin las phur pa [Action Phurpa]” part of Nyang-rel Nyima Özer’s (Tib. Myang ral Nyi ma ’od zer) revealed corpus of the bKa’ brgyad bDe gshegs ’dus pa [The Eightfold Buddha Word, Embodying the Sugatas]. This suggests that at least this part of the Eightfold Buddha Word revelation represents the survival of an archaic form of practice on the tantric deity, Vajrakīlaya. Its six sections constitute a coherent whole covering complementary aspects of the tantric rituals, while the second section parallels in its entirety a text from the archaeological recovered manuscripts from a Library Cave in Dunhuang (IOL Tib J 331.III), which dates back over a century before Nyang-rel’s time. Here, a critical edition of that second section of Nyang-rel’s Action Phurpa is presented, taking account of all current extant versions, and supported by consideration of the accompanying materials found in the five other sections.
PDF screen-grab in 1,539 pages of the detailed catalogue of The Rig 'dzin Tshe dbang nor bu Editi... more PDF screen-grab in 1,539 pages of the detailed catalogue of The Rig 'dzin Tshe dbang nor bu Edition of the rNying ma'i rgyud 'bum (2002-2003, Cathy Cantwell with Rob Mayer and Michael Fischer). The original website had live links and a great deal of further analysis not available to this screen grab, including codicology, artwork, etc, and was hosted at CSAC (University of Kent) in association with The British Library. Thanks to Matthew Kapstein and Jeff Wallman, the full website might reappear at TBRC. In the meantime, here is a screen-grab pdf of the catalogue, taken by Bruno Laine from our original website, which at least shows every title, chapter heading, and colophon, for every text.
Cantwell, C. and R. Mayer 2007 The Kīlaya Nirvāṇa Tantra and the Vajra Wrath Tantra: two texts from the Ancient Tantra Collection, Vienna, The Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. vi, 289 pages, plus editions of texts on cd (529 pages).
Cantwell, C. and R. Mayer 2008. Early Tibetan Documents on Phur pa from Dunhuang, Vienna, The Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. ix, 228 (A4 sized) pages, plus photographs of manuscripts on cd.
This paper argues that ongoing scriptural revelation was not merely incidental, but can be seen a... more This paper argues that ongoing scriptural revelation was not merely incidental, but can be seen as the very essence of Indian Mahāyāna and tantric Buddhisms alike. A further focus is on the widespread appropriation and localisation of Indian Buddhist mythic themes relating to revelation in the Buddhist tradition-building and associated revelation of sacred text that characterised the Tibetan phyi dar period. Drawing on earlier work by Ulrike Roesler, Matthew Kapstein, and others, I discuss the creation of the rNying ma gter ma system as a prominent (but by no means unique) example of this process.
This short informal blog piece reviews the available evidence for Chinese influences on the Tibet... more This short informal blog piece reviews the available evidence for Chinese influences on the Tibetan gter ma traditions.
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