On the Collective Structure of Old Uyghur Uṣṇīṣa Vijayā Dhāraṇī Sūtra

Old Uyghur Turkic, which was the period when Turkic language came into linguistic contact with foreign cultural circles, is a period with a literary tradition based on rich materials developed especially on the basis of Buddhism. Uyghurs adopting Tantric Buddhism, which developed on the basis of the Mahāyāna Buddhism and which reacted against the boringness of Buddhism for centuries, presented rich materials to the Turkic language by creating dhāraṇī literature based on Tantric Turkish Buddhism during the Yuan dynasty. Except for the comments on the different religions adopted by the Uyghurs from the 8th to the 14th century, Tibetan Buddhism seems to have had a strong influence in the Turfan region in the 13th and 14th centuries despite the Islamic period. Tantric Buddhism, which is also seen in Uyghurs and has intense effects, is often called the “Method tool” because it is the end point of numerous special techniques and Buddhist practices to quickly reach Buddhahood. Some awakenings take place, especially through the use of mantras, images and Gods. These come from the aim of reaching Buddhahood shorter and faster than the long Bodisattva road with deep religious experience.This Tantric understanding adopted by the Uyghurs reflects the religious thought system that attaches importance to ceremonies, symbols, prayer and magic. Among the works of this literature, Uṣṇīṣa Vijayā Dhāraṇī Sūtra is known as “Purification of All Evil” olarak as a Tantric text based on the 13th or 14th century, based on the language and non-linguistic features. In this study, it is aimed to mention the formation of this collective structure and the religious function attributed to this morphology by the formation of this community structure, which generally produces terms in the meaning of high group related to the Buddha community.

Keywords

Old Turkish Language, Old Uyghur Turkic, Tantric Buddhism, Uṣṇīṣa Vijayā Dhāraṇī Sūtra, Dhāraṇī Literature, Plural, +lArIlIġ.