Oriental Studies (Aug 2018)
The Manuscript Сopy of ’’The Fifth Bogdo Gegen Jebtsundamba’s Precepts’’ (the Case Study of the Work of «The Jebtsundamba Lama’s Teachings»)</
Abstract
The paper is devoted to one of the most valuable Oirat literary monuments known by the name of The Vth Jebtsundamba precepts (oirat.‘Boqdo Jibzun Dambayin tabuduγār gegēni zarliq’). It belongs to such literary genre as “popular Buddhism” and was widely circulated to the Kalmyk people. Additionally, the preliminary analysis results of Oirat manuscripts and block prints show that the manuscript paper is also popular among the Oirat people from Mongolia and China, who are close relatives of Kalmyks. The author publishes a copy of previously unknown manuscript writings, which has been found among Xinjiang Oirats. It is of special value, since it contains the author’s name and the specific rebirth of Jebtsundamba, whereas Kalmyk copies of the manuscript mention only his title and they omit the information about his concrete rebirth. Moreover, the writing is mostly common in Mongolia (western aimags), in China (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) and in Russia (Kalmyk Republic), which once again underlines common cultural space between Oirats and Kalmyks. Thus, the author concludes that the Oirats because of historical events, residing in different countries, shared a single literary fund due to the unity of their religious and aesthetic views.
