Is the Mahayana or vajrayana canon closed?

[Dgj]

Can anyone offer information?

Are any of the canons closed? For example the Chinese Tripitiaka; is it a closed canon?

References would be greatly appreciated.

[Malcolm]

Can anyone offer information?

Are any of the canons closed? For example the Chinese Tripitiaka; is it a closed canon?

References would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, in one sense. The canon of translated texts is closed.

[Astus]

For example the Chinese Tripitiaka; is it a closed canon?

There are several Chinese canons, for example: Taisho 大正藏 and the supplement Xuzangjing (Zokuzokyo) 卍續藏 that are modern, 20th century editions, and older ones, like the Zhaocheng Jin 趙城金藏 (12th century), Qianlong 乾隆藏 (18th century), Northern and Southern Yongle 永樂 (15th century), the Tripitaka Koreana, and so on.

[Varis]

Can anyone offer information?

Are any of the canons closed? For example the Chinese Tripitiaka; is it a closed canon?

References would be greatly appreciated.

Depends on what you mean. The Taisho is a set of texts, and that set of texts isn't going to change. Add a bunch of new Tibetan texts, for example, and it wouldn't be the Taisho anymore.

If what you're asking is if there will be new sutras/tantra in Mahayana and Vajrayana in the future, the answer is yes. In fact, there already are new vajrayana teachings being received all the time in Tibetan Buddhism. As for Mahayana sutras, we know there will be new ones because Maitreya Buddha will arrive in the future and teach the dharma and therefore we can assume there will be new sutras.

[Astus]

As for Mahayana sutras, we know there will be new ones because Maitreya Buddha will arrive in the future and teach the dharma and therefore we can assume there will be new sutras.

There are also old sutras and other texts discovered, as in the case of the Dunhuang manuscripts, for which here's a list of concordances with the Taisho Canon.

Also about the Taisho Canon, one of its editors noted (The Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy by Junjiro Takakusu, 1st Indian Edition, 1956, p 2):
'In Japan, the Tripitaka Literature has been published at least four times, each edition adding new volumes. Recently it became my responsibility to complete its latest publication, which contains the Chinese and Korean compilations as well as texts newly discovered in Central Asia and Japan—a work of thirteen years—comprising 13,520 chüans or parts in 100 bound volumes of about 1,000 pages each.'

[Dgj]

For example the Chinese Tripitiaka; is it a closed canon?

There are several Chinese canons, for example: Taisho 大正藏 and the supplement Xuzangjing (Zokuzokyo) 卍續藏 that are modern, 20th century editions, and older ones, like the Zhaocheng Jin 趙城金藏 (12th century), Qianlong 乾隆藏 (18th century), Northern and Southern Yongle 永樂 (15th century), the Tripitaka Koreana, and so on.

Are these individual canons closed?

[Dgj]

Can anyone offer information?

Are any of the canons closed? For example the Chinese Tripitiaka; is it a closed canon?

References would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, in one sense. The canon of translated texts is closed.

Could you provide a source for this statement please? I don't disagree, but need a source lol

[Malcolm]

Can anyone offer information?

Are any of the canons closed? For example the Chinese Tripitiaka; is it a closed canon?

References would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, in one sense. The canon of translated texts is closed.

Could you provide a source for this statement please? I don't disagree, but need a source lol

The Tibetan Buddhist canon was closed when the Bka' 'gyur and bstan 'gyur were compiled in the 14th century. There are a large number of apocrypha in the so called Nyingma canon, whose provenance was not considered sufficiently vetted to be included. You need a book reference? Well, this is rather well commonly known. But you can look up bka' 'gyur and bstan 'gyur in Buswell and Lopez's Buddhist dictionary.

[Astus]

Are these individual canons closed?

Basically, yes. Their titles often designate the imperial era of publication (e.g. Yongle, Qianlong, Taisho), so to modify them would mean a new version published at a different time.

[Hazel]

What happens when a text is discovered in a cave somewhere? Has this happened for novel texts (i.e. not just a new version of an existing one)?

I'm thinking something like the Nag Hammadi Library (i.e. early Christian gospels found hidden away centuries ago for safe keeping). I know those aren't accepted by any major Christian church (that I know of), but I'm wondering if Buddhists would be more open minded on canon if it had the potential to be authentic.

[humble.student]

What happens when a text is discovered in a cave somewhere? Has this happened for novel texts (i.e. not just a new version of an existing one)?

I'm thinking something like the Nag Hammadi Library (i.e. early Christian gospels found hidden away centuries ago for safe keeping). I know those aren't accepted by any major Christian church (that I know of), but I'm wondering if Buddhists would be more open minded on canon if it had the potential to be authentic.

This happened, notably with the Dunhuang manuscripts. Supplements are usually published, or at least, have been historically in China and Japan, for instance. Even today, the process is ongoing, but typically in the digital realm.