Burxan baqšiyin nom xara šidi orošiboi: Oirat Collection of Bad Omens as an Example of Buddhist Ritual Text

Abstract

Goals. The article introduces an Oirat manuscript entitled Burxan baqšiyin nom xara šidi orošiboi which can be loosely translated as ‘Ordinary Magic of Buddha’s Teaching’. The manuscript kept at Rashchoilin Monastery of Bayan-Ölgii Aimag (Mongolia) is available on the online collection of Oirat texts created by Tod Nomyn Gerel Foundation. Mongolian copies of this text can be found in Olon Sume and Xarbuxyn Balgas collections dating back to early 17th century. This manuscript contains a list of unfavorable omens, each of them accompanied with a request to eliminate them (probably, addressed to Vajradhara / Vajrapāni who is mentioned in the beginning of the text) and respective magical dhāraṇī spells. The bad omens listed in the text are related to animal, bird and human behavior patterns, remaining typical even for contemporary Mongolic cultures. Natural disasters (lightning, thunder, hurricane), bad thoughts, curses, xarsi unfavourables associated with different categories of time, space, planets and stars, harming influence of various demonic creatures and various diseases are also considered unfavorable omens. The ritual described in the text (which may have accompanied the reciting of the text) during which one uses a black cow’s horn and a piece of black cloth seems interesting enough. It can be attributed to the ‘black’ rituals of folk Mongolian religion, the latter primarily aimed to suppress harmful influences through the use of attributes black in color only. Studies of such ritual texts will make it possible to extend our knowledge of the mantic practices and beliefs of Mongolic peoples, thus defining the role of Tibetan tradition in the formation of the corpus of these texts. The appendix to the paper transliterates and translates the manuscript mentioned.

Keywords

• ordinary magic of buddha’s teaching
• oirat manuscript
• collection of omens
• vajradhara
• unfavorable omens