О сочинении дорампа Игнен-Чоймпела «Почитание величественного Хан-Бархана: „Драгоценность-чинтамани, быстро исполняющая желания“»

Introduction. The article deals with the xylograph Tegüs čoγtu qan gbar-mkan-u takilγ-a küsel türgen qangγaγči čindamani erdeni kemegdekü orusiba (Worship of the majestic Khan-Barkhan: „Chintamani-treasure, quickly fulfilling desires“) by dorampa Ignen-Choimpel; the treatise is part of the collection kept in the Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of Institute of Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian Branch of the RAS (Ulan-Ude). It aims to analyze the source along the following lines: i) to identify the author of the manuscript, ii) to transliterate the text and check the accuracy of its reading with a focus on its specific lexical features, iii) to identify the time and place of its compilation and publication, iv) to research similar works related to the cult of Mount Khan-Barkhan, and v) to examine the structure of the text and give a short description of its content. Methods and materials. The methodology of source studies, as well as the textological analysis used by the present researchers helped establish dorampa Ignen-Choimpel’s exceptional knowledge of Buddhist philosophy and of the Mongolian language. Comparative-historical, typological, and descriptive methods were instrumental in examining the transformation of the mountain worship ritual in the process of its historical development. Granted the role of mountains as an essential element in the worldview of many cultures, as well as the significance of the text for practices of Buryats of Barguzin region today, the present research is of much relevance. The article may be used as a source for studies of the factors influencing the current revival of the mountain cult and the present religious practices of the population in the region. Results. The text under study contains new data concerning the veneration of ezhins — host-spirits of local features such as mountains, the Barkhan mountain of Kurumkan region in Buryatia, in particular. Also, this is a piece of important historical evidence shedding light on the cultural and religious processes that took place among the Buryats in the 19th century. Conclusions. The research indicated the presence of syncretic elements in the text of the treatise, including borrowings of some shamanic traditional rituals associated with the mountain worship, as well as the presence of specific lexical elements such as archaic words and expressions. Importantly, Buddhist borrowings of shamanic deities and rituals familiar to the local Buryat people contributed to the promotion of Buddhism among the local population.

Родословная бурят хоринского рода харгана: на материале тибетоязычной автобиографии Галсан-Жинбы Дылгырова (1816–1872?)

Introduction. In the modern Buryat society, the knowledge of one’s own history, roots, culture, and language is becoming increasingly important. There is also a growing interest in genealogical research as many have started to search for data about their ancestors and their family trees in various archives. To illustrate, one may mention an increasing number of requests made for materials on the lineage and pedigrees of Buryats kept in the Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian Branch of the RAS. The aims of the present article are, firstly, to add to the data on the Khargana clan of Khori Buryats and, secondly, to investigate the background of Galsan-Zhinba Dylgirov (1816–1872?), an outstanding Buryat religious enlightener of the nineteenth century. The research is based on textological, comparative-historical and historical-biographical methods. Data. The article draws on the evidence contained in Dylgirov’s autobiography written in Tibetan in 1864-1872 and xylographed in the Tsugol Datsan. Dylgirov’s lineage is cited in the first chapter of the book and could be read only by few of those who were literate in Tibetan. Results. The lineage goes back to eight generations, including Dylgirov himself, and covers over 150 years. The origin of the family associates with the ancestor known as Shonoguleg who lived at the turn of the eighteenth century. Of particular interest are also legends and stories that supplement the family history. The examination of the lineage sheds light on the origin of the ethnonym Baatarzhan, a branch of the Khargana clan. Also, the family history contains new data on the Buryat self-governing administration before the first third of the nineteenth century. Clearly, the data of Dylgirov’s autobiography may be useful for further genealogical research.

Glimpses of The Oral History of Tibetan Studies

The Oral History of Tibetan Studies (OHTS) project collects memories of individuals who have contributed to the formation of Tibetan Studies as an independent academic discipline in the second half of the twentieth century. Through interview recordings, it explores two aspects: the development of the discipline itself, and the distinctive life-stories of the individuals involved. The project includes scholars and academics, Tibetan teachers and traditional scholars, artists, photographers, book publishers, and sponsors. The oral testimonies also provide crucial information on related academic fields, such as Buddhist and Religious Studies, Anthropology, and Asian Studies more generally, and present a kaleidoscope of broader social, cultural, and educational developments. Of particular interest is the interconnection with Buddhist Studies, as exemplified in the UK and through links with the International Association of Buddhist Studies. This report aims to introduce the project, its open access online archive, and future plans.

Buddhology and modern civilization [peer review of:] Buddhist Studies. Theologicak Almanac / Ed. by L. E. Yangutov. Ulan-Ude: BSC SB RAS, 2020. Issue 3, p. 280

The third issue of the theological almanac “Buddhist Studies” was published in December 2020 under the Institute of Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The issue retains the traditional structure of the annual book, which covers the problems of philosophy and soteriology, history of Buddhism, its historiography, translations of Buddhist texts, and other aspects of Buddhist teaching, as well as noteworthy events in life of the Institute and Buddhology overall. The peer review covers the central scientific problems, which manifest as the subject of research in the almanac and their importance for modern Buddhology. Brief analysis is conducted on the content of the journal and the fundamental theoretical problems brought up therein. It is indicated that Buddhism, as the world religion and philosophy, is oriented towards the formation of spiritual personality, traditional moral-ethical values, such as compassion, mercy, tolerance, peacefulness, etc. Such personality model deeply contrasts with the selfish consumer personality that is oriented towards wealth and sensual pleasure formed by the modern liberal-capitalist system. As a result of escalating moral-ethical crisis that takes place in modern society, and search for the ways to overcome it, attention of the researchers is drawn to the traditional spiritual teachings; therefore, Buddhology plays an important role in promoting the traditional spiritual values and countering the modern all-round crisis of the liberal model.

Об одном архивном документе 1917 года по истории взаимоотношений между российским генеральным консульством в Монголии и правительством Богдо-гэгэна

Goals. The article aims to give a brief review of the Draft Agreement on the lease of land plots to Russian citizens for commercial and industrial premises as a source on the history of relations between the Russian Consulate in Mongolia and the theocratic government of Bogd Gegeen. Materials and Methods. The typewritten document in Classical Mongolian is kept in the archives of the Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs affiliated to the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies (Siberian Branch of the RAS). The study employs the method of source study formulary analysis according to which the document can be referred to as an individual formulary. Results. The paper discovers that the investigated Agreement was written in 1917. It analyzes the structure and content of the document, its source characteristics to present the specific historical background of the document’s creation, the latter’s role and significance in the history of relations between Mongolia and the Russian Empire. The most important sections of the Agreement (preamble and attachments thereto) were translated by the author. Conclusions. The Agreement reflects the interests of Russian merchants and industrialists who sought to legally secure their special rights throughout Outer Mongolia, which, apparently, caused the anxiety of the Chinese Government and Chinese merchants. After the conclusion of the ‘Friendship Agreement’ and the Trade Protocol in 1912, the Mongols restrained from providing specific categories of land for quite a long time, and Russian citizens could not use all the rights under the Trade Protocol. The main representative of Russian interests in Mongolia was the Consulate General of the Russian Empire in Urga. Chronological analysis of the document gives some reason to state that the negotiation process took several years — from circa 1912 to 1917. The Agreement contains some valuable and important data on the country and its realias during those years.

К изучению «Истории Кукунора» Сумпа-кенпо Еше Пелджора

Goals. The article provides a historiography of studies dealing with the famous Tibeto-Mongolian scholar Sum pa mkhan po Ye shes dpal ‘byor, introduces one of his important works — The Annals of Kokonor — and presents a translation of its first chapter. Materials. The paper investigates collected works (gsung ‘bum) of Sum pa mkhan po stored at the Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs affiliated to the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies (Siberian Branch of the RAS). Results. The Annals of Kokonor (Tib. Mtsho sngon gyi lo rgyus) is a text from Volume Two of Sum pa mkhan po’s gsung ‘bum, it comprises 19 large format folios. The treatise consists of four chapters, each representing a particular literary genre. Chapter One critically examines two old legends about the origin of Kokonor Lake. Chapter Two covers a religious and a secular history of Tibet and Kokonor from 1612 to 1786. Chapter Three contains a highly ornate description of the Kokonor Region, while Chapter Four narrates about the happiness and pleasure of Kokonor inhabitants who used to live according to the basic precepts of Buddhism. The closing part gives historical accounts of Dzungaria and China, as well as describes the geography of the region. Accordingly, the text can be viewed from different perspectives — those of history, religion, folklore, geography and poetry as well. There is one Russian translation by Ven. Bidiya Dandaron. However, that was not a scholarly edition and had just a small circulation, thus remaining unnoticed by most Tibetologists. The paper argues that the mentioned translation — although constituting an important contribution to the studies on Sum pa Mkhan po — is outdated by now, and a new critical edition and scholarly translation of Sum pa Mkhan po’s Annals of Kokonor is required.

Optimisation of the Largest Annotated Tibetan Corpus Combining Rule-based, Memory-based, and Deep-learning Methods

This article presents a pipeline that converts collections of Tibetan documents in plain text or XML into a fully segmented and POS-tagged corpus. We apply the pipeline to the large extent collection of the Buddhist Digital Resource Center. The semi-supervised methods presented here not only result in a new and improved version of the largest annotated Tibetan corpus to date, the integration of rule-based, memory-based, and neural-network methods also serves as a good example of how to overcome challenges of under-researched languages. The end-to-end accuracy of our entire automatic pipeline of 91.99% is high enough to make the resulting corpus a useful resource for both linguists and scholars of Tibetan studies.

Secrets of the Soviet Archive: Buryat Shaman Materials in the Book of B. Rinchen

For the first time, the author presents results of her long-term work on comparative analysis of the archive materials included in the collection of shaman texts of the Buryats of Russia “Les materiaux pour L'etude du shamanisme Mongol.” The book was published by academician B. Rinchen in Wiesbaden in 1961. As shaman texts were published without accompanying records, the scientific research cries out for comparison of texts from B. Rinchen’s anthology with archival materials of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IOS RAS) and those of the Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (COMX IMBTS SB RAS). Shaman materials are considered in the context of ethnocultural history of the Buryats. The author strives to reconstruct the archival data in order to identifying territorial and temporal context. The introduction of this unique material into scientific use seems significant. While working recurrently with shaman materials of the fond 62 of Ts. Zh. Zhamtsarano from the archive of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, a comparative analysis of archival materials and texts from the B. Rinchen’s book has been conducted. It has been identified that 19 songs from 56 texts contained in Rinchen’s book were copied from the fond 62 of Ts. Zhamtsarano. In the fond 753 of T. K. Alekseeva from the COMX IMBTS SB RAS 20 more texts have been found, that were included in the Rinchen’s book. The comparative analysis of shaman songs from the Alexeeva fond with Rinchen’s book reveals one major difference (minor variations notwithstanding): the description of rites clarify the text semantics. Repeated search and comparative analysis of materials has allowed the author to conclude that texts from the T. Alexeeva’s fond are not absent in the fond of Ts. Zhamtsarano from the archive of the IOS RAS. Thus, shaman materials published in B. Rinchen’s book can’t originate just from the C. Zhamtsarano fond, as has been formerly assumed. It is quite possible that the book mostly contains poetic songs from the fond of T. K. Alexeeva (90 of 134 pages). Thus textual comparative analysis of songs concludes that T. K. Alexeyva fond is of great scientific interest from ethnographic point of view. It is believed that future researchers may require its data for further research and publication of unique shaman materials with full supplementary records and names of collectors.