Kangyur and Tengyur

The entire Tibetan Buddhist Canon is divided into two categories – Kangyur and Tengyur 

Kangyur (བཀའ་འགྱུར། – Translated Words)

The Tibetan translations of the Indian texts that are considered to be the words of the Buddha.

These are translations of the original Sanskrit, Pali, or Prakrit texts into Tibetan.

It contains, Vinaya and Tantras.

Sutras: the Buddha’s teachings and Discourses including Mahayana sutras like the Heart Sutra and Prajnaparamita texts.

Vinaya: Rules for monastic life 

Tantras: Esoteric teachings for advanced practitioners.

Tengyur (བསྟན་འགྱུར། – Translated Treatises)

The Tibetan translations of scriptural works by the great Indian Buddhist masters.

It includes the commentaries and treatises by Indian and Tibetan scholars explaining the teachings in the Kangyur, philosophical texts, works on logic, grammar, medicine, arts, and sciences.

The Tengyur is vast and contains works by renowned Indian masters like Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Asanga, and others, as well as Tibetan scholars commentaries.

It provides detailed analysis, interpretations, and practices based on the Buddha’s teachings.

They are the result of the combined effort of Indian and Tibetan scholars over centuries, keeping a large collection of Buddhist knowledge safe and available.