Manichaean scripture

Manichaean scripture includes nine main books: the Seven Treatises of Manichaeism, all personally written by Mani in Syriac, the Shabuhragan written by Mani in Middle Persian, and the Arzhang, a series of illustrations painted by Mani.

The Kephalaia are not scriptural but rather a secondary literature on Manichaeism commenting on the scripture.[1][2]

Seven Treatises

Seven Treatises of Manichaeism, sometimes also referred to as the Manichaean Heptateuch,[3] are seven scriptures personally written by the founder of Manichaeism, Mani, and are the scriptures of Manichaeism.

Recognizing the shortcomings of the religions that preceded him, Mani was determined to create a world, unified religion. In Mani's view, the unity of religious thought in the past could only be achieved when the founders were alive. However, these founders did not write books themselves, and when they died, their disciples went their own way, leading their own religions into division and confusion. Mani said of Manichaeism "The religion I have chosen is ten times greater than any previous religion. First, unlike the previous religions, which were limited to one country and one language, my religion will be popular in every country, in all languages, and spread to the ends of the earth. Secondly, previous religions existed only when they had pure leaders, and once the leaders died, their religion immediately fell into chaos and their precepts and writings were neglected. But my religion, however, thanks to its living classics, its preachers, bishops, friars, and laymen, and thanks to its wisdom and writings, will endure to the end."[4]

  1. The Gospel of Mani may have been designed as a gospel of the gnostic type, perhaps intended to comment on or replace the Christian gospel.[5]
  2. The Treasure of Life expounds Manichean views on man and the universe;[6]
  3. The Epistles contains letters from Mani and his disciples. Explain the doctrine;[7] Discuss the correctness of Manichaeism from a perspective;[8]
  4. Psalms and Prayers contains hymns written by Mani and his disciples.[9]
  5. The Pragmateia describes the history of mankind;[10]
  6. The Book of Giants tells the story of the watcher and the giant at the beginning of the creation of the world;[11]
  7. The Book of Mysteries is grouped with the Pragmateia and the Book of Giants.[12] It focuses on the nature of the soul using Christian apocryphal imagery[13]

In the Manichaean Compendium these seven scriptures are compared to ships: Power, make seven of them for sailing."[14]

For various reasons, none of the seven scriptures have been found in their entirety. Existing fragments of scriptures in Coptic, Middle Persian, Parthian, Sogdian, Uighur and other languages have been discovered, but their specific ownership needs to be further studied.

Name comparison
English Name "Keflea" 148; "Sermon 25" Hymn 46-47; 139-40 Keflea 5 Sermons 94 Transliteration of "A Brief Introduction to Maniguang Buddhism Methods" Paraphrase of "A Brief Introduction to Maniguang Buddhism"
Gospel of Mani[15] Euaggelion Euaggelion Euaggelion Euaggelion 大应轮部（希腊文：evangelion） 彻尽万法根源智经
Treasure of Life[15] Thēsauros Thēsauros Thēsauros Thēsauros 寻提贺部（粟特文：smṭyh'） 净命宝藏经
The Epistles[15] Epistolaue Epistolaue Epistolaue Epistolaue 泥万部（中古波斯文：dēwān） 律藏经/药藏经
The Book of Mysteries[15] mMustērion mMustērion pTa tōn mustērion mMustērion 阿罗瓒部（中古波斯文：razan） 秘密法藏经
Pragmateia[15] Pragmateia Pragmateia Pragmateia Pragmateia 钵迦摩帝夜部（希臘文：pragmateia） 证明过去教经
The Book of Giants[15] nGigas nCalashire graphē ntlaice nnParthos Graphe [ ntlaice nnParthos 俱缓部（中古波斯文：kawan） 大力士经
Psalms and Prayers[15] mPsalmos + nShlel nShlel + 2Psalmos mPsalmos + nShlel nShlel 阿拂胤部（中古波斯文：āfrīn） 赞愿经

Controversy

In the Christian literature, there is another saying of the "Four Sutras of Manichae", which is not mentioned in the accounts of Manichaeism or other religions. There are many errors and it is not enough to believe. For example Kephalaia is not scriptural but rather a literary genre.[1][2]

Possible identification Hegemonius The Acts of Akilai (62.3) [16]Epiphanius of Salamis "Panarion" (66.2. 9) [17]Theodore Bar Konai "Skalia" [18]
Book of Mysteries Mysteria (Secret Sutra)MusteriaRaze
Kephalaia Capitula (Kephalaia)KephalaiaRishe
Gospel of Mani Euangelium (Gospel)EuangelionEwangeliyun
Treasure of Life Thesaurus (Treasure)ThesaurosSimatha

Shabuhragan
Main article: Shabuhragan

The Shabuhragan (Persian: شاپورگان Shāpuragān), which means "[the] book of Shapur", was a sacred book of the Manichaean religion, written by the founder Mani (c. 210–276 CE) himself, originally in Middle Persian, and dedicated to Shapur I (c. 215–272 CE), the contemporary king of the Sassanid Persian Empire. The book was designed to present to Shapur an outline of Mani's new religion, which united elements from Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Buddhism . Original Middle Persian fragments were discovered at Turpan, and quotations were brought in Arabic by Biruni: It is the only work of Mani's not written in Syriac[19] This book is listed as one of the seven treatises of Manichaeism in Arabic historical sources, but it is not among the seven treatises in the Manichaean account itself.[20]

The Middle Persian word for "Shabuhragan" is "dw bwn wzrg'y š'bwhrg'n", meaning "the two sutras dedicated to Shabur "The Chinese translation is abbreviated as "two sutras". Mani wrote this book in Middle Persian and presented it to Shabur I, the king of Persia, as an outline of the teachings of Manichaeism. In this book, Mani described his religion as the perfection and continuation of other existing religions, and called himself the "Sealed Prophet": "Throughout the generations, the apostles of God have never ceased to bring wisdom and work here. Thus, they came in one age through the Apostle Buddha into the countries of India; in another, through the Apostle Zoroaster into Persia; and in another, through Jesus Christ into the West. After that, in this last age, the revelation came, which was prophesied to come to Babylon through Myself, Mani, the apostle of the true God."[20]

Book of Pictures
Main article: Arzhang

The Book of Pictures is an atlas illustrating the dualism of light and dark in Manichaeism. It was drawn by Mani and used to explain the doctrine to illiterate people. At this point, Mani believes that his religion is superior to the previous ones: "Indeed, all the apostles, my brothers who came before me, did not write a book. Their wisdom is just like mine. They did not paint their wisdom in the pictures like me."[21] The importance of the Book of Pictures is second only to the Seven Treatises. In the Parthian language, this collection is also called "Ādrhang".[22][23]

See also

References
  1. Gardner, Iain (2018). "Kephalaia". Encyclopædia Iranica (online ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation.
  2. Pettipiece, Timothy (2009). Pentadic redaction in the Manichaean Kephalaia. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-474-2782-7. OCLC 570278329.
  3. Brian, Nicholas (2011). Manichaeism: an ancient faith rediscovered. London New York: T & T Clark. ISBN 978-0-567-03166-2. OCLC 747034339.
  4. See Mary Boyce, A Reader in Manichaean Middle Persian and Parthian, Leiden, 1975, P.29; See JPAsmussen, Manichaean Literature, New York, 1975, P.12 for English translation. Therefore, Mani decided to write his own religious works personally so that his religion will exist forever. "The Gospel" praises the Trinity of the Supreme God; <ref>Mary Boyce, "The Manichaean Literature in Middle Iranian", p. 69.
  5. Schneemelcher, Wilhelm; Wilson, Robert McLachlan (2005-07-28). New Testament Apocrypha. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-22721-0.
  6. G. Haloun &. WB Henning, "The Compendium of the Doctrines and styles of the Teaching of Mani, the Buddha of Light", p, 206.
  7. G. Haloun &. WB Henning, "The Compendium of the Doctrines and styles of the Teaching of Mani, the Buddha of Light", p, 205–207.
  8. Mary Boyce, "The Manichaean Literature in Middle Iranian", p. 69.
  9. Mary Boyce, "The Manichaean Literature in Middle Iranian", p. 70.
  10. G. Haloun &. WB Henning, "The Compendium of the Doctrines and styles of the Teaching of Mani, the Buddha of Light", p, 207.
  11. The Book of Giants From Qumran: Texts, Translation, and Commentary by Loren T. Stuckbruck. 1997.
  12. Venter, Pieter M. (2014). "Mani (216–276 CE) and Ethiopian Enoch". HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies. 70 (3). doi:10.4102/hts.v70i3.2095.
  13. Burns, Dylan M. (2020-11-30). Mani's Book of Mysteries: A Treatise De anima. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-44546-8.
  14. "British Tibetan" (5), S.3969/3, page 224b
  15. 马小鹤：《光明使者：摩尼与摩尼教》（兰州：兰州大学出版社，2014）p.171-172
  16. MarkJ.Vermes, Acta Archelai, Manichaean Studies (MAS 4), 2001.ISBN 978- 2-503-51156-6
  17. Williams, Frank; translator. "Introduction". The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, Book I (Sects 1–46). 1987. (EJ Brill, Leiden) ISBN 90-04-07926-2.
  18. Baum and Winkler, Church of the East, 63
  19. Henning, W.B., The Book of Giants, BSOAS, Vol. XI, Part 1, 1943, pp. 52–74: "...Mani, who was brought up and spent most of his life in a province of the Persian empire, and whose mother belonged to a famous Parthian family, did not make any use of the Iranian mythological tradition. There can no longer be any doubt that the Iranian names of Sām, Narīmān, etc., that appear in the Persian and Sogdian versions of the Book of the Giants, did not figure in the original edition, written by Mani in the Syriac language."
  20. Chronology of Ancient Nations; ed. and trans. by A. Brinkmann; Leipzig, 1895
  21. In Iain Gardner and Samuel NC Lieu, Manichaean texts from the Roman Empire/ edited by Iain Gardner and Samuel NC Lieu. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004, p.266
  22. Haloun, A. & WB Henning, "The Compendium of the Doctrines and Styles of the Teaching of Mani, the Buddha of Light", Asia Major, NS3, 1952, pp.194–195,204–210
  23. H.-J. Klimkeit, Manichaean Art and Calligraphy, Iconography of regeligions XX, Leiden, 1982, pp.1,15–17
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