Reviews Of Different Books

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222 REVIEWS usually renders Sanskrit adinava (cf. Mahavyutpatti 7309) for which see Edgerton's Dictionary. The meaning 'gentle' for des-pa is also from its use as equivalent for Sanskrit surata (Mahavyutpatti 2360; cf. Edgerton's dictionary) and pesala (Mahavyutpatti 2361). The fact that the gZi-brjid is so saturated with Buddhist terms justifies us in inquiring as to the Sanskrit terms which correspond with those Tibetan words whose meaning is not clearly defined in Jaschke's dictionary. Also, more information about Bon ritual would have been welcome. For instance, the text mentions in connection with the four actions of pacifying, prospering, empowerment and destroying which are well-known from Buddhist texts, a fifth action, called rgyun, 'Flow'. It would have been interesting to hear what Dr. Snellgrove's informants know about this rite. If they did not know about it, it would have been helpful to be told so, for it is also useful to know what can not be explained by a well-informed Bon-po priest. For the reviewer, who has no special knowledge of Bon-po texts, it would be presumptuous to try to find errors in the translation; though here and there one has the impression that a different interpretation could have been given. For instance, p.230.16-18: ma-g.yos dbyins-chen hbyams-yas la / cir-yan snan-bahi rlabs g.yos-pas ! ston-pahi bcud las rig-pa hbyun. Dr. Snellgrove translates: "and in this infinite unmoving expanse waves appear somehow and by their movement knowledge arises from this essence of emptiness." As often, the void (ston-pa) and the appearance (snan-ba) are opposed, and I wonder whether this pair of antonyms is not referred to here: "and in this infinite unmoving expanse somehow the waves of appearance are moving and knowledge arises from the essence of the void." In some rare instances Dr. Snellgrove's translation is incomprehensible. Why is ran-grol dug-lnahi gdan-thabs (p. 206.16) rendered as "the five animal thrones"? However, almost everywhere one is impressed by the fluency and clarity of his translation. We are greatly indebted to Dr. Snellgrove for having undertaken the translation of such a difficult Bon-po text. As this is only one of the many texts which he has studied with the Bon-po monk Tenzin Namdak, we may be confident that the veil which still covers the Bon-po literature will soon be lifted. Let us above all express the wish that Dr. Snellgrove may give us a survey of Bon-po literature, for at present our knowledge is almost entirely limited to the list of titles enumerated in the chapter on Bon in the Grub-mtha' sel-gyi me-lon (cf. Hoffmann, Quellen zur Geschichte der tibetischen BonReligion, pp. 207-209). Australian National University J. W. de Jong R. E. Emmerick, Tibetan Texts concerning Khotan (= London Oriental Series, volume 19). London, Oxford University Press, 1967. xiii + 160 pp. PS 4. 4s. The "Prophecy of the Li country" (Li-yul lun-bstan-pa) has been translated by F. W. Thomas in Tibetan Literary Texts and Documents concerning Chinese Turkestan, Part I: Literary texts (London, 1935), pp. 89-136. F. W. Thomas referred to it as "The annals of the Li country" (Li-yul-gyi lo-rgyus) but Dr. Emmerick follows H. W Bailey (BSOAS, XIII, 2, 1950, p. 392) in adopting the title which is given to the work in the colophon. Thomas's translation is based on the version in the Narthang Tanjur. In editing the text Emmerick has collated the Narthang, Peking, Cone and Derge editions. In his preface he remarks that there is a close agreement between the Narthang 2 Probably in the course of retyping the manuscript, several lines of the translation have been dropped. The following lines of the text are left untranslated: 82.2, 88.23, 132.13 (sgrib-gnis byan-zin tshogs-gnis rdzogs-pa), 212.10-13, 226.29..,