Tuesday, May 12, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Cosmology and Decline Prophecies
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Texts
The Age of DeclineA monumental Old Tibetan ritual-eschatological text from Dunhuang manuscript IOL Tib J 734. A prophecy of moral decline, a Bon ritual remedy tracing five sacred materials to their cosmic origins, a mythological hunting narrative, and a systematic catalogue of sixteen Tibetan kingdoms with their deities, demons, and priests. The largest eschatological text in the Dunhuang Bon corpus. All 356 lines. First freely available English translation.The Decree of the BoundaryA pre-Buddhist Tibetan cosmological prophecy from Dunhuang manuscript IOL Tib J 735. The decree of the Phyva and the Boundary explains how the good age ended, why earthquakes and eclipses occur, and how human evil weighs heavier on the earth than mountains. First freely available English translation.The Descent of the KalpaA pre-Buddhist Tibetan apocalyptic prophecy from Dunhuang manuscript IOL Tib J 733. The decline of the good age told through three movements: moral inversion (the honest become poor, the deceitful become rich), a survival prescription for the end times (comb your hair, wash your body, give beer to your brothers, pray), and a political prophecy naming a black-faced king from beyond the sea who rules for sixty years before the Six Great Ones rise. First freely available English translation.The End of the Good AgeA pre-Buddhist Tibetan mythological narrative from Dunhuang manuscript IOL Tib J 731. The end of a golden age, the heavenly horse descended to earth, three brothers separated, a wild yak's fatal challenge, and the forging of the first alliance between horse and human through an oath of blood vengeance. First freely available English translation.