43
The Great Song
to Mani
F i 1
- he Great Song to Mani is a late piece of Manichaean poetry, prob-
- ably composed in the thirteenth or fourteenth century. It was
JL. written in Turkish and is included in the same manuscript as an-
other song to Mani, this one copied in two different languages (Tocharian B
and Turkish). This second song, not given here, is much shorter. It rehearses
much of the same material about Mani, but adds references to the god
Ohrmazd and the god Zurvan, figures equated with aspects of the divine in
Persian Manichaeism (for example, the first man) and derived from the
Zoroastrian good god Ohrmazd (Ahura Mazda) and the divine principle of
infinite time Zurvan. Both songs praise Mani in terms that are distinctly Bud-
dhist, reflecting the years of exile that Mani was said to have spent in India,
where he was exposed to the word and worship of the Buddha.
In the Great Song, Mani is described as teacher of what Jesus taught and au-
thor of a gospel book (probably the Living Gospel), but he is also addressed as
Buddha Mani. The song alludes to aspects of the three jewels of Buddhism, the
Buddha (who is Mani), the dharma (or law), and the sangha (or religious
community). The four Buddhas of the song are most likely four prophets or
messengers, Seth, Zoroaster, Buddha, and Jesus. After the four comes Mani,
who attains his own incomparable buddhahood. He (and others) will escape
the cycle of suffering (samsara) and attain nirvana.