Tengyur

Tengyur – the commentaries on the teachings of the Buddha. This term typically refers to the commenataries that have been translated into Tibetan.

Ringu Tulku Rinpoche has said: All the teachings in Buddhism are divided into two types: the direct teaching of the Buddha and the commentaries. The teachings that come directly from the Buddha are called sutras in Sanskrit and kangyur in Tibetan. You might call them the scriptural or canonical teachings. The commentaries are called shastras in Sanskrit and tengyur in Tibetan. In Tibetan, this kangyur is 108 volumes, and the main tengyur, the translation of the commentaries that come from India, is 228 volumes. The commentaries later on by Tibetans and others can also be called tengyur.