Derge Kangyur

The Tibetan version of the Tripitaka fills more than one hundred large volumes, each with more than 600 large pages.

The Derge Kangyur was carved under the patronage of the ruler Tenpa Tsering (1678-1738) under the direction of Situ Panchen Chokyi Jungney (1699/1700-1774). The Tengyur was completed in 1744 under the patronage of the next ruler of Derge, Lachen Puntsok Tenpa, under the editorship of Tsultrim Rinchen (1697-1774). These two collections were treasured in most of the monasteries, hermitages, and temples of Tibet and Mongolia and in the houses of well-to-do Buddhist lay families. It was because of these treasuries of Buddhist wisdom that the Mahayana tradition survived through many centuries from the time that the translations began in the 8th century.