Journal of Turkish Language and Literature

SUBMITINFORMATION
EnglishTürkçe

Research Article


DOI :10.26650/TUDED2022-1119114   IUP :10.26650/TUDED2022-1119114    Full Text (PDF)

A Ritual of Buddhism in Old Uyghur: Bakçan Olur-

Burak Can Deveci

Buddhism has a wide range of rituals, most of which are mentioned with regard to practices carried out around monasteries. The term bakchan is used in Old Uyghur for one of these practices and mostly recommends dwelling in one place for a period of time, such as a residence or place of retreat during the three months of the summer rains. Accordingly, this article will attempt to identify the conceptual area of the term in light of examples from Old Uyghur texts and furthermore determine the protolanguage and the lexical cognates that are the source of the Old Uyghur form, emphasizing these sources’ dimensions of shape and meaning. In addition, this article will detail the different spellings of the Old Uyghur term according to different texts and interpret the factors that have affected the different spellings, as well as evaluate the compound verb structures formed by the Old Uyghur word using auxiliary verbs. The ritual appears to have emerged as a result of social pressure, and at its heart lies the principle of do not kill/do no harm, which is seen in all Indian beliefs and Buddhism. The article will separately discuss the effect and contribution of this principle regarding the development of the ritual in particular, as well as the bridge the ritual has created in Buddhism between migratory and permanent settlements. The article will seek out the importance of ritual, especially in terms of its contribution to the Buddhist community and monasticism.

Keywords: Buddhism, Old Uyghur, rituals, retreat, bakchan
DOI :10.26650/TUDED2022-1119114   IUP :10.26650/TUDED2022-1119114    Full Text (PDF)

Eski Uygurcada Budizm’e Ait Bir Ritüel: Bakçan Olur-

Burak Can Deveci

Dinî pratikler içerisinde önemli bir yer işgal eden ritüeller, pek çok inanış sisteminde bulunmaktadır. Bu inanış sistemlerinden biri olan Budizm’de de ritüellerin kapsamı geniş olmakla birlikte çoğunlukla manastır etrafında gerçekleştirilen pratik uygulamalardan söz edilmektedir. Manastırda gerçekleştirilen uygulamalardan biri olan ve Eski Uygurcada bakçan sözü ile karşılanan ritüel, genellikle “yaz yağmurlarının üç ayı boyunca ikamet; inziva” gibi belli bir dönem boyunca bir yerde ikameti salık veren bir uygulamadır. Bunun yanında bakçan sözünün Çin Budizmi’nin bir yansıması olarak Eski Uygurca metinlerde “yaz inzivası”nın yanında “kış inzivası”nı da karşılar şekilde kullanılıyor olması dikkat çekicidir. Buna göre, bu çalışmada kelimenin kavram alanı Eski Uygurca metinlere ait örnekler ışığında tespit edilecektir. Bunun yanında Eski Uygurca biçime kaynaklık eden ara ve ana dil/diller ve bu kaynaklığın şekil ve anlam boyutları üzerinde durulacaktır. Ayrıca Eski Uygurca sözcüğün farklı metinlere göre farklı imlaları hakkında açıklama yapılıp imladaki farklılaşma üzerinde etkili olan faktörlere ait yorumlarda bulunulacaktır. Eski Uygurca sözcüğün yardımcı fiillerle birlikte kurduğu birleşik fiil yapıları değerlendirilip bunların kullanımları hakkında açıklamalar yapılacaktır. Bununla birlikte genelde tüm Hint inanışlarında özelde ise Budizm’de görülen “öldürmeme” ve “zarar vermeme” ilkesinin başlangıçta ritüelin ortaya çıkışındaki etkisi ve katkısı işlenecektir. Budizm’de ritüelin gezginlik ve yerleşik düzen arasında oluşturduğu köprü ve özellikle Budist cemaat ve manastır düzenine olan katkısı bakımından ritüelin önemi Eski Uygurca metinler ışığında değerlendirilecektir.

Keywords: Budizm, Eski Uygurca, ritüel(ler), inziva, bakçan

EXTENDED ABSTRACT


Rituals in the early days of Buddhism were simply performed around monasteries; over time, however, they evolved into annual rituals and festivals and took on a social structure. Before Buddhism, rituals in South Asian religious beliefs were performed on the days of the lunar sabbath in particular. Buddha is known to have rejected the extreme ascetic attitude and to have accepted the middle way. Although Buddhism has a more moderate ascetic rule compared to other Indian belief systems, the aim is to dull desire, suppress bodily pleasures as much as possible, and bring spiritual pleasure to the fore. These retreats generally coincide with the summer rains in Buddhism, with the culmination of the retreat occurring in a ritual of repentance and confession.

Various opinions are found regarding the root and cognate languages of the Old Uyghur bakchan. While some scholars are skeptical, others directly cite the origin of the word as the Sanskrit bhakta-chinnaka [withdrawal from food, hunger] which then passed into Old Uyghur by means of cognate languages such as pakaccāṃ [period of rest from travel during the monsoon] in Tocharian B, pākäccāṃ in Tocharian A, pkc’n [summer residence duty] in Sogdian, which is equivalent to anju 安居 [tranquil dwelling; to live in peace] in Chinese. In Bhuddism, bakchan means to retreat from life by remaining within a monastery for three months during the rainy season, which is san anju 三安居 [the three months of summer retreat], yu anju 雨安居 [the rains, the rainy season, time of the summer retreat], or xia anju 夏安居 [the period of the summer retreat for meditation] in Chinese, or dbyar gnas in Tibetan. According to these, Sogdian is the lexical cognate that is closest to the Old Uyghur form in terms of form and meaning. In light of current knowledge, determining which of these three existing lexical cognates is the source of the Old Uyghur form appears difficult. However, the point that draws attention here is that the meaning of the forms in the lexical cognates’ languages and Old Uyghur are far removed from the meaning of the Sanskrit form, which is the source language. According to this, while the Sanskrit form of bhakta-chinnaka is the source of the Old Uyghur form, this effect did not occur in a semantic dimension. It is possible to say that the languages of the lexical cognates greatly influenced the meaning of the Old Uyghur form. In one Old Uyghur example, yay kısh b(a)kchan olur- [summer (and) winter are the time for retreat] indicates that the term bakchan has a different semantic value apart from the rainy season retreat.

The most common spelling for the Old Uyghur word is bakchan or b(a)kchan. However, the text Insadi Sutra shows the word to have a different spelling compared to other examples. This may be a case that directly relates to the text’s author and/or copyist. In addition, the change in spelling can be thought to have occurred due to the text being counted among the old Uyghur texts. According to this, the Insadi Sutra is one of the oldest dated texts of Old Uyghur, with the existing copy dating back to the 17th or 18th century. This text is also stated as being the first one written in the old period of the Yuan Dynasty. Considering this historical background, the Old Uyghur form of birkchan can be considered to have been influenced by Mongolian orthography and to have moved away from its earlier forms. 

The Old Uyghur bakchan is one of the expressions used in the texts of the religious circle of the Uyghur language and also one used to refer to a Buddhist religious ritual. The heavy rains and floods seen in the monsoon season in some parts of South Asia can initially be said to have completely hindered the bhikkhu and bhikkhuṇi from wandering around and begging. This season required wandering beggars to find shelter, and Buddhism adopted the rainy season retreat from early Indian religious traditions.

In the early period, temples or monastic institutions did not exist, and monks mostly lived in the forest or under trees, traveling from village to village collecting food and spreading teachings. Although Buddha and some of the monks who followed him are known to have lived in one place during the rainy season, the monks continued their wanderings during the rainy season. The question was raised to Buddha as to why Buddhist monks were not allowed to stay in one place while ascetics belonging to other Hindu religious beliefs did not have to wander during the rainy season. With these factors in mind, Buddha later came up with a rule that required Buddhist monks to stay in a residence for three months during the rainy season. The three-month rainy season retreat usually begins with the full moon of Āṣāḍha. In general, however, some flexibility is given to setting the start date of the rainy season retreat, but it should definitely last the full 90 days. 


PDF View

References

  • Ağca, F. (2021). Dillik ölçütlere göre Eski Uygurca metinlerin tarihlendirilmesi. Ankara: TDK Yayınları. google scholar
  • Adams, D. Q. (2013). A dictionary of Tocharian B: Revised and greatly enlarged (2.bs). Amsterdam-New York: Editions Rodopi B.V. google scholar
  • Aydemir, H. (2010). Die alttürkische xuanzang-biographie IX nach der handschrift von Paris, Peking und St. Petersburg sowie nach dem transkript von Annemarie v. Gabain ediert, übersetzt und kommentiert in Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (Doctoral dissertation, University of Göttingen). Retrieved from: https://ediss.uni-goettingen.de/handle/11858/00-1735-0000-000D-EF93-4?locale-attribute=en google scholar
  • Barua, D. (2017). The Theraväda Buddhist observance of rains retreat: A comparison with Christian lent. Dialogue, Vol. XLIV, 215-256. Retrieved from: http://www.academia.edu google scholar
  • Buswell, R. E. Jr. (2004). Encyclopedia of Buddhism volume one A-L. New York: Macmillan Reference USA. google scholar
  • Buswell, R. E. Jr. & Lopez, D. S. Jr. (2014). The princeton dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton-Oxford: Princeton University Press. google scholar
  • Clauson, S. G. (1972). An etymological dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish. Oxford: Clarendon Press. google scholar
  • Csongor, D. (1952). Chinese in the Uyghur script of the T’ang-period. Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 2(1), 73-121. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org google scholar
  • DeGraff, G. (2013). The Buddhist monastic code II. California. google scholar
  • Dietz, S., Ölmez, M. ve Röhrborn, K. (2015). Die alttürkische xuanzang-biographie V nach der handschrift von Paris und St. Petersburg sowie nach dem transkript von Annemarie v. Gabain ediert, übersetzt und kommentiert. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. google scholar
  • Dutt, S. (1962). Buddhist monks and monasteries of India their history & contribution to Indian culture. London: Allen&Unwin Book Publishers. google scholar
  • Edgerton, F. (1993). Buddhist hybrid Sanskrit grammar and dictionary volume II: Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. google scholar
  • Elmalı, M. (2016). Dasakarmapathävadänamälä giriş-metin-çeviri-notlar-dizin-tiphbaskı. Ankara: TDK Yayınları. google scholar
  • Eliade, M. (2003). Dinsel inançlar ve düşünceler tarihi: Gotama Budha’dan Hıristiyanlığın doğuşuna. İstanbul: Kabalcı Yayınevi. google scholar
  • Erdal, M. (1991). Old Turkic word formation a functional approach to the lexicon I-II. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. google scholar
  • Giles, H. A. (1912). A Chinese-English dictionary second edition revised & enlarged. Shanghai-London. google scholar
  • Guanghua, W. (2002). ^^^if¥^i$^ Chinese characters dictionary with English annotations. Shanghai: Shanghai Jiaotong University Press. google scholar
  • Güzeldal, Y. (2019). Hint kökenli dinlerde manastır yaşamı ve tekke hayatı. Tasavvuf İlmi ve Akademik Araştırma Dergisi, 22(43), 55-84. google scholar
  • Irons, E. A. (2008). Encyclopedia of Buddhism. New York: Infobase Publishing. google scholar
  • Jhonston, W. M. & Kleinhenz C. (2000). Encyclopedia of monasticism volume 1&2. London-New York: Routledge. google scholar
  • Kasai, Y. (2008). Die Uigurischen Buddhistischen kolophone. Turnhout: Brepols. google scholar
  • Kasai, Y. (2015). Sanskrit word forms written in Bhrâmî script in the Old Uyghur Buddhist texts. Journal ofthe International Association of Buddhist Studies, 38, 401-422. https://doi.org/ 10.2143/JIABS.38.0.3134550 google scholar
  • Kasai, Y. & Ogihara H. (2017). Die Altuigurischen fragmente mit Brähmi-elementen. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers. google scholar
  • Lewis, T. (2016). A history of Buddhist ritual. In J. Powers (Ed.), The Buddhist world (pp. 318-337). London-New York: Routledge. google scholar
  • Lopez, D. S. Jr. (2017). Hyecho’s journey: The world of Buddhism. Chicago-London: The University of Chicago Press. google scholar
  • Maue, D. (1996). Alttürkische handschriften teil 1 dokumente in Bhrämi und Tibetischer schrift. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. google scholar
  • Maue, D. (2015). Alttürkische handschriften teil 19 dokumente in Bhrämi und Tibetischer schrift teil 2. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. google scholar
  • Matsui, D. (2017). fö^^ Ä'ET EE'7-(7.^),'; ^ >ijJmS&%^^$ [Uyhgur and Mongol inscriptions of the Dunhuang grottoes]. In D. Matsui & S. Arakawa (Eds.), ^SHS^HmÄSÄ^ [multilingual source materials of the Dunhuang grottoes] (pp. 1-162). Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Culture of Asia and Africa. google scholar
  • Monier-Williams, M. (1889). Buddhism: In its connexion with Brahmanism and Hinduism and in its contrast with Christianity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. google scholar
  • Moriyasu, T. (2004). Die geschichte des uigurischen Manichäismus an der Seidenstraße: Forschungen zu manichäischen quellen und ihrem geschichtlichen hintergrund. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. google scholar
  • Müller, F.W.K. (1922). Uigurica III: Uigurische Avadäna-bruchstücke (I- VIII). Berlin. google scholar
  • Ohnuma, R. (2007). Mother-love and mother-grief: South Asian Buddhist variations on a theme. Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, (23)1, 95-116. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org google scholar
  • Özbay, B. (2019). Huastuanift Manihaist Uygurların tövbe duası. Ankara: TDK Yayınları. google scholar
  • Prebish, C. S. (2002). Buddhist monastic discipline: The Sanskrit Prätimoksa Sutras of the Mahäsämghikas and Mulasarvästivädins. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. google scholar
  • Ruji, N. & Zieme, P. (1996). The Buddhist refuge formula. An Uigur manuscript from Dunhuang. Türk Dilleri Araştırmaları, 6, 41-56. Retrieved from: http://www.turkdilleri.org google scholar
  • Sadakata, A. (1997). Buddhist cosmology philosophy and origins (G. Sekimori, Çev.). Tokyo: Kösei Publishing. google scholar
  • Shimin, G., Klimkeit, H. J. ve Laut, J. P. (1998). Eine Buddhistische apokalypse die höllenkapitel (20-25) und die schlußkapitel (26-27) der Hami-handschrift der alttürkischen Maitrisimit: Unter einbeziehung von manuskriptteilen des textes aus Säyim und Murtuk. Wiesbaden: Westdeutscher Verlag. google scholar
  • Shögaito, M. (1978). W^g-WSW^ W®Äm©«ÄÄföt^VT [On the routes of the loan words of Indic origin in the Old Uigur language]. T 'f7 • TE Vf MmXftW [Journal of Asian and African Studies], 15, 79-110. Retrieved from: http://repository.tufs.ac.jp/bitstream/10108/21664/1/ jaas015004.pdf google scholar
  • Soothill, W. E. & Hodous, L. (1975). A dictionary of Chinese Buddhist terms. Taipei: Ch’eng Wen Publishing Company. google scholar
  • Strong, J. S. (2009). The Buddha: A beginner’s guide. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. google scholar
  • Şirin User, H. (2008). Köktürk ve Ötüken-Uygur yazıtlarında ‘imar etmek’, ‘yapı kurmak’, ‘inşa etmek’ kavramları. Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı Araştırmaları Dergisi, 14(1), 125-148. google scholar
  • Şirin, H. (2016). Eski Türk yazıtları söz varlığı incelemesi. Ankara: TDK Yayınları. google scholar
  • Tekin, Ş. (1980). Maitrisimit nom bitig die uigurische übersetzung eines werkes der buddhistischen Vaibhaşika-schule 2. Teil: Analytischer und rückläufiger index. Berlin: Akademie Verlag. google scholar
  • Tekin, Ş. (2019). Uygurca metinler II Maytrısimit Burkancıların mehdîsi Maitreya ile buluşma Uygurca iptidaî bir dram. Ankara: TDK Yayınları. google scholar
  • Tezcan, S. (1974). Das uigurischeInsadi-Sütra: Mit 69faksimiles auf 69 tafeln. Berlin: Akademie Verlag. google scholar
  • Tieshan, Z. (2015). 古代维吾尔语诗体故事、忏悔文 及碑铭硏究 Studies of the Old Uigur verse stories, ksanti texts and inscriptions. Shanghai: Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House. google scholar
  • Tilakaratne, A. (2012). Theravada Buddhism: The view of the elders. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. google scholar
  • Tokyürek, H. (2019). Eski Uygur Türkçesinde Budizm ve Manihaizm terimleri. Ankara: TDK Yayınları. google scholar
  • Ubeysekara, A. (2020, August 12). Significance of rains retreat (Vassa) in Theravada Buddhism [Web log post]. Retrieved from: https://drarisworld.wordpress.com/2020/08/12/significance-of-rains-retreat-vassa-in-theravada-buddhism/ google scholar
  • Wijayaratna, M. (1990). Buddhist monastic life: According to the text ofthe Theravada tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. google scholar
  • Wilkens, J. (2007). Das buch von der sündentilgung edition des alttürkisch-buddhistischen Ksanti Kılguluk Nom Bitig teil I-II. Turnhout: Brepols. google scholar
  • Wilkens, J. (2016). Buddhistische erzählungen aus dem alten Zentralasien edition der altuigurischen Dasakarmapathävadänamälä teil I-II-III. Turnhout: Brepols. google scholar
  • Wilkens, J. (2021a). Uigurisches wörterbuch sprachmaterial der vorislamischen türkischen texte aus Zentralasien III. Fremdelemente band 1: ec - bodis(a)v(a)tv. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. google scholar
  • Wilkens, J. (2021b). Handwörterbuch des Altuigurischen Altuigurisch-Deutsch-Türkisch Eski Uygurcanın el sözlüğü Eski Uygurca-Almanca-Türkçe. Göttingen: Universitätsverlag Göttingen. google scholar
  • Wogihara, U. (1979). 梵漢大辭典 Sanskirt-Chinese-Japanese Dictionary. Tokyo. google scholar
  • Yıldız, H. (2016). Eski Uygurcada mental fiiller. (Doktora Tezi). Gazi Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Ankara. google scholar
  • Yi, T. (1990). ffi^^iffilfc^^ffi. Beijing: Beijing Library Press. google scholar
  • Yoshida, Y. (2008). Die Buddhistischen Sogdischen texte in der Berliner Turfansammlung und die herkunft des Buddhistischen Sogdischen Wortes für Bodhisattva: Zum gedenken an Prof. Kögi Kudaras arbeiten an den Sogdischen texten. Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 61(3), 325-358. https:// doi.org/10.1556/aorient.61.2008.3.3 google scholar
  • Zieme, P. (1981). Uigurische steuerbefreiungsurkunden für buddhistische klöster. Altorientalische Forschungen, 8, 237-263. https://doi.org/10.1524/aofo.1981.8.jg.237 google scholar
  • Zieme, P. (2006). On some quotations in the Uyghur Insadi-sütra. Bukkyo gaku kenkyü Studies in Buddhism, 60-61, 1-14. Retrieved from: http://www.academia.edu google scholar
  • Zieme, P. (2007). Caitya veneration - an Uigur manuscript with portraits of donors. Journal of Inner Asian Art and Archaeology, 2, 165-172. https://doi.org/10.1484/J.JIAAA.2.302558 google scholar

Citations

Copy and paste a formatted citation or use one of the options to export in your chosen format


EXPORT



APA

Deveci, B.C. (2022). A Ritual of Buddhism in Old Uyghur: Bakçan Olur-. Journal of Turkish Language and Literature, 62(2), 325-352. https://doi.org/10.26650/TUDED2022-1119114


AMA

Deveci B C. A Ritual of Buddhism in Old Uyghur: Bakçan Olur-. Journal of Turkish Language and Literature. 2022;62(2):325-352. https://doi.org/10.26650/TUDED2022-1119114


ABNT

Deveci, B.C. A Ritual of Buddhism in Old Uyghur: Bakçan Olur-. Journal of Turkish Language and Literature, [Publisher Location], v. 62, n. 2, p. 325-352, 2022.


Chicago: Author-Date Style

Deveci, Burak Can,. 2022. “A Ritual of Buddhism in Old Uyghur: Bakçan Olur-.” Journal of Turkish Language and Literature 62, no. 2: 325-352. https://doi.org/10.26650/TUDED2022-1119114


Chicago: Humanities Style

Deveci, Burak Can,. “A Ritual of Buddhism in Old Uyghur: Bakçan Olur-.” Journal of Turkish Language and Literature 62, no. 2 (Dec. 2024): 325-352. https://doi.org/10.26650/TUDED2022-1119114


Harvard: Australian Style

Deveci, BC 2022, 'A Ritual of Buddhism in Old Uyghur: Bakçan Olur-', Journal of Turkish Language and Literature, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 325-352, viewed 4 Dec. 2024, https://doi.org/10.26650/TUDED2022-1119114


Harvard: Author-Date Style

Deveci, B.C. (2022) ‘A Ritual of Buddhism in Old Uyghur: Bakçan Olur-’, Journal of Turkish Language and Literature, 62(2), pp. 325-352. https://doi.org/10.26650/TUDED2022-1119114 (4 Dec. 2024).


MLA

Deveci, Burak Can,. “A Ritual of Buddhism in Old Uyghur: Bakçan Olur-.” Journal of Turkish Language and Literature, vol. 62, no. 2, 2022, pp. 325-352. [Database Container], https://doi.org/10.26650/TUDED2022-1119114


Vancouver

Deveci BC. A Ritual of Buddhism in Old Uyghur: Bakçan Olur-. Journal of Turkish Language and Literature [Internet]. 4 Dec. 2024 [cited 4 Dec. 2024];62(2):325-352. Available from: https://doi.org/10.26650/TUDED2022-1119114 doi: 10.26650/TUDED2022-1119114


ISNAD

Deveci, BurakCan. “A Ritual of Buddhism in Old Uyghur: Bakçan Olur-”. Journal of Turkish Language and Literature 62/2 (Dec. 2024): 325-352. https://doi.org/10.26650/TUDED2022-1119114



TIMELINE


Submitted29.05.2022
Accepted27.10.2022
Published Online30.12.2022

LICENCE


Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)

This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.


SHARE




Istanbul University Press aims to contribute to the dissemination of ever growing scientific knowledge through publication of high quality scientific journals and books in accordance with the international publishing standards and ethics. Istanbul University Press follows an open access, non-commercial, scholarly publishing.