Crisis, Timing, and Textual Preservation in a Degenerate Age: The Copying, Wearing, and Recitation of Buddhist Tantras in Tibet

For Buddhists, preserving the Word of the Buddha has been intimately linked to the astrological notion of a “degenerate age,” marked foremost by the decline of Buddhism in our world and increased incidence of crises such as epidemics, famines, and wars. A tantric scripture called the Only Child of the Teachings (Bstan pa bu gcig), one of the root tantras of the Tibetan Great Perfection Heart Essence tradition, presents itself as not only the offspring of the teachings but also as “the ember of the teachings” that can reignite Buddhism during the degenerate age and, when copied, worn, and ritually recited, confront symptomatic calamities, liberate the deceased from bad destinies, and even hasten the realization of awakening. Properly enlisting the Only Child toward these aims requires careful consideration of another tantra, called Ascertaining the Crucial Point of Timing (Dus gnad nges pa), which serves as the user’s manual for the Only Child by specifying the astrological, material, and ritual elements for the Only Child’s reproduction, wearing, and efficacious deployment. This paper examines the content of Ascertaining the Crucial Point of Timing in its broader context as a lens into understanding how scriptures can generate the reproduction, preservation, and ritual use of other scriptures, particularly during times of crisis, and what this generativity between texts implies about the creation and revitalization of tradition more broadly. It includes in an appendix a preliminary Tibetan edition and English translation of Ascertaining the Crucial Point of Timing.