Editing Tangut people (section)

==Religion==  
[[File:Chrysographic Tangut Golden Light Sutra.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The ''[[Golden Light Sutra]]'' written in the [[Tangut script]]]]
[[File:PrayingTangutMan.jpg|thumb|Praying Tangut man]]
The Tanguts were primarily Buddhists. Tangut Buddhism was influenced by external elements. The entire [[Chinese Buddhist canon]] was translated into the Tangut language over a span of 50 years and published around 1090 in about 3700 fascicles. Buddhism in the Tangut state is believed to be an amalgamation of Tibetan and Chinese traditions, among which the [[Huayan]]-[[Chan Buddhism|Chan]] tradition of [[Guifeng Zongmi]] (Chinese: 圭峰宗密, 780–841) and his master [[Huayan Chengguan]] was the most influential. A number of texts previously believed to be of native Tangut origin turned out to be translations of [[Khitan language|Khitan]] source texts.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} The degree of Tibetan impact on the formation of Tangut Buddhism still remains unexplored, especially in the light of new discoveries showing that Tangut Buddhism owed more to the local culture in [[North China]] than to pure Tibetan or Chinese influences. Texts belonging to the Tibetan [[Mahamudra]] tradition demonstrate that Tangut Buddhism initially evolved along the [[Karma Kagyu]] rather than [[Sakya (Tibetan Buddhist school)|Sakya]] lines of Buddhist transmission.

A number of Tangut Buddhist institutions, such as "Imperial Preceptor" survived the Tangut State itself and could be found during the [[Yuan dynasty]]. One of the more definite sources of Tangut Buddhism was [[Mount Wutai]], where both Huayan and [[Chinese Esoteric Buddhism]] flourished from the late [[Tang dynasty]] up to the time of the [[Mongol conquest of Western Xia|Mongol conquest]].

Solonin (2005: unpaginated) links the Tanguts, the [[Helan Mountains]] and the Chan teachings of both [[Kim Hwasang]] and Baotang Wuzhu:
{{quote|The origins of the Tangut Chan can also be traced deeper than previously believed: information on Bao-tang Wu-zhu (保唐无住720～794) travels in North-Western China from the ''Notes on Transmitting the Dharma Treasure through Generations'' implies that at the period of 760's some sort of Buddhism was spread in the region of Helanshan, where the Tangut were already residing.　Concerning the late 8th century Helanshan Buddhism, little can be said: the doctrines of the lu (律) school and the teaching of Sichuan Chan of Rev. Kim (金和尚) seem to be known there.<ref>Solonin, K. J. (2005), ''[http://chinesebuddhiststudies.org/previous_issues/chbj1113.pdf Tangut Chan Buddhism and Guifeng Zong-mi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212082928/http://chinesebuddhiststudies.org/previous_issues/chbj1113.pdf |date=2015-02-12 }}'', Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal, No. 11, (1998). Taipei: Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies. {{ISSN|1017-7132}}</ref>}}

Worship of [[Confucianism]] also existed in the Western Xia, which has led to some{{who|date=September 2018}} claims that the Tangut religion was rooted in Confucianism, but this was incomparable with the degree of popularity of Buddhism. Tangut literature is dominated by Buddhist scriptures while secular teachings including the [[Chinese classics]] were rarely available in the Tangut language.

The Tangut state enforced strict laws pertaining to the teaching of religious beliefs and rigorously screened potential teachers. Before he was allowed to teach, a newcomer entering the state from Tibet or India first had to seek the approval of local authorities. Doctrines taught and methods used were carefully supervised to ensure there was no possibility that the Tangut people might misunderstand the teachings. Anyone found to be a fortune-teller or charlatan faced immediate persecution. Deeming it contrary to Buddhist ethical beliefs, the Tangut state strictly forbade religious teachers from accepting compensation or reward for their teaching services.

Although the state did not support an official school of Buddhism, it did protect all religious sites and objects within the country's boundaries.

As in China, becoming a [[bhikkhu|Buddhist monk]] required government approval and anyone found to have taken the vows of a monk without such government oversight faced severe punishment. Remarkably for the time, women played a role in Tangut religious practices by serving as [[bhikkhuni|nuns]], a position that could only be held by a woman who had been widowed or who was an unmarried virgin.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

Suchan (1998) traces the influence of the first several [[Karmapa]]s upon the Yuan and [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] courts as well as the Western Xia, and mentions [[Düsum Khyenpa, 1st Karmapa Lama]]:
{{quote|The first several Karmapas are distinguished by their important status at the Yuan and Ming courts of China where they served as the spiritual guides to princes and emperors. Their influence also extended to the court of the Tangut Xia Kingdom where a disciple of Dusum Khyenpa was given the title "Supreme Teacher" by a Tangut Xixia King[.]<ref>Rhie, Marylin & Thurman, Robert (1991). ''Wisdom and Compassion''. New York: Harry N. Abrams. p. 236.</ref><ref>Suchan, Tom (1998). The Third Karmapa Lama, Rang Jung Dorje (T: Rang 'Byung rDo rJe). Source: [http://kaladarshan.arts.ohio-state.edu/exhib/sama/Essays/T92.048Karmapa.html] (accessed: January 29, 2008)</ref>}}

After the fall of the Western Xia, the influx of refugees into Tibet led to the adoption of the [[Pehar Gyalpo|Pehar deity]] into [[Tibetan Buddhism]], eventually in the important role as the state oracle, the [[Nechung Oracle]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Buswell|first1=Robert Jr|author-link1=Robert Buswell Jr.|last2=Lopez|first2=Donald S. Jr.|author-link2=Donald S. Lopez Jr.|title=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-fWKngEACAAJ&pg=638|year=2014|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-15786-3|page=638}}</ref>