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IN PURSUIT OF THE ORIGINAL The canonicity of the Kanjur has not been influenced by the epistemic potential of its texts, which in the case of the Bhiksu- and Bhiksuniprätimoksasütra’s Mongolian translations was very low, probably because the translations were not made specifically so that the discursive meaning could be easily extracted from the texts. The readability and comprehensibility of the Mongolian versions for common people were never among the priorities of the translators and editors who worked with the Mongolian Kanjur texts. The translations, thus, do not seem to have been prepared to fulfil an epistemic function and transmit meaning and knowledge. The Mongolian text is more likely to have been created with no intention of its being read and comprehended, but rather to support and guarantee the continuity of the tradition. A compromise was found to transmit the Tibetan text in Mongolian while staying as close to the original as possible without making the translation entirely verbatim. The final product is a text that is partly readable in Mongolian. Its meaning, however, is often different from the meaning conveyed by the Tibetan text, and in many cases it is odd and vague. The complex textual analysis of the Bhiksu- and Bhiksunipratimoksasutra’s Mongolian translations, thus, allows not only contributing to the investigation of the transmission history of the Mongolian Kanjur but also revealing and describing the features characterizing Mongolian Kanjur as a unique cultural phenomenon, which can be justly classified under the generic category of canon but at the same time definitely has its own peculiar nature determined by a specific combination of historical circumstances and socio-cultural conditions. Sigla and Abbreviations AK Altan Kanjur, Mongolian Kanjur manuscript, written in gold and preserved in the library of the Academy of Social Sciences of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot, China Co ne xylographic redaction of the Tibetan Kanjur printed in 1721-1731 sDe dge xylographic redaction of the Tibetan Kanjur printed in 1733 Lha sa xylographic redaction of the Tibetan Kanjur printed in 1934 H Mongolian Kanjur manuscript, preserved in the library of the Academy of Social Sciences of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot, China Jang sa tham xylographic redaction of the Tibetan Kanjur printed in 16091616; also known as the Li thang redaction K Peking xylographic redaction of the Tibetan Kanjur printed in 1684-1692, according to the xylograph preserved in the National Library of Mongolia, Ulan-Bator Tibetan Kanjur manuscript, preserved in the British Museum in London xylographic redaction of the Mongolian Kanjur printed in 1717-1720 sNar thang xylographic redaction of the Tibetan Kanjur printed in 1730-1732 zza a zzr 215
