Dr. Dylan Esler (84000)Translating Etymologies: Etymological Allusions in the Root and Explanatory Anuyoga Tantras and the Indian Tradition of Semantic Etymology (Nirvacana)

29 April 2026

16:00, 29 April 2026. ESA-Ost, Raum 120 & Zoom

This lecture will look at some etymological allusions found in the root tantra of the Anuyoga tradition, the Sūtra of All-Embracing Awareness (Kun ’dus rig pa’i mdo, Toh 831), as well as its explanatory tantra, the Sūtra Comprising the Intentions (dGongs pa ’dus pa’i mdo, Toh 829). It will examine these etymological allusions in the light of the Indian tradition of semantic etymology (Skt. nirvacana) and will show how such etymologies can shed light, along with other factors, on the processes of localization and indigenous adaptation that informed the compilation of these scriptures on Tibetan soil or, in other words, the creation of buddhavacana for local Tibetan conditions. In this respect, some of the findings presented in this lecture will resonate with observations of a similar nature made by scholars studying some of the other scriptures of the Ancient Tantra Collection (rNying ma rgyud ’bum).

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Prof. Dr. Dorji Wangchuk (Director) & Dr. Orna Almogi (Co-director)
Khyentse Center for Tibetan Buddhist Textual Scholarship (KC-TBTS)
Abteilung für Kultur und Geschichte Indiens und Tibets
Asien-Afrika-Institut
Universität Hamburg
Alsterterrasse 1
D-20354 Hamburg