Buddhist Scriptures in 17th Century Mongolia: Eight Translations of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā

The article suggests an approach to studying Mongolian translations of Buddhist texts in the seventeenth century based on a hypothesis that emerged as a result of a comparative study of eight different Mongolian translations of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā sūtra. The comparative analysis was carried out in the light of canon studies, with a special regard to the way Buddhist sacred scriptures (in particular, texts from the bKa’ ‘gyur) were handled in seventeenth century Mongolia. The evolution of the manifestations of canonicity in Mongolian Buddhist text culture is described as a shift in attitude towards Tibetan source texts