Manuscript of the gYu thog snying thig’s sadhana by Khalkha Damtsik Dorje from the Tibetan Fond of the Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan Studies at the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences: The 19th Century
Authors:   Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan Studies at the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ulan-Ude, Russian Federation, Zhabon Yumzhana Zh. 
Published: April 2023

The study of the written heritage of prominent Buddhist figures in Mongolia and Buryatia is an important area of research for Russian centers in the field of Tibetology and Mongolian studies, as it provides correct understanding and objective evaluation of all aspects of spiritual life of the Mongolian-speaking peoples and interaction of Mongolian-Tibetan cultural traditions. The present study is relevant because, in the Russian oriental studies, works considering texts from the cycle of medical teachings gYu thog snying thig, compiled by Mongolian authors, are almost non-existent. The main purpose of this article is source analysis of the work called bDud rtsi'i snying po (gYu thog snying thig rigs bsdus kyi sgrub thabs bdud rtsi'i snying po), the authorship of which is attributed to the Mongolian Buddhist figure Khalkha Damtsik Dorje (Khal kha dam tshig rdo rje, 1781–1855). In Western and Russian Tibetology, this work has not yet been specially studied. The study has used the handwritten version of this work, stored in the medical collection of the Tibetan fond of the Centre of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan studies at the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (COMX IMBT RAS). The article shows the particularity of texts created by Tibetan masters over the centuries and included in the gYu thog snying thig’s rich anthology, which we tentatively divide into three parts: Buddhist, medical, and ritual texts. According to our classification, the considered work bDud rtsi'i snying po belongs to the first group of texts, more specifically, to the practice of the “three roots” (rtsa ba gsum) of the generation stage (skyed rim): Outer, Inner, and Secret Guru Yoga practice. The composition is written in the s?dhana genre for the cycle of medical teachings gYu thog snying thig and has a structure corresponding to it: the preliminary part (taking refuge, the development of bodhichitta), the main part (visualization of the buddhas and ??ki??s, repeating the mantra), and the final part (dedication of merit to all living beings). The article shows that bDud rtsi'i snying po is an abridged version of the dPag bsam ljon ?bras s?dhana (gYu thog snying thig gi sgrub thabs rgyun ?khyer dpag bsam ljon ?bras), included by Khalkha Damtsik Dorje in the 10th volume of the collected works (gsung ‘bum). It has been established that these two versions differ only in text length and certain features in the description of some parts of the practice. A comparative analysis of key elements in the content of extensive and abbreviated s?dhana versions is provided. The study of these two s?dhanas proves that the author of the bDud rtsi'i snying po was Khalkha Damtsik Dorje. The introduction into scientific use of this previously unknown work of Khalkha Damtsik Dorje, found in the Tibetan fund of the COMX IMBT RAS, enriches the source base of modern research in the field of traditional spiritual practices and history of the development of Buddhism and Tibetan medicine in Mongolia and Tibet in the 19th century.