Professors Sara McClintock and John Dunne
Khyentse Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 Prize for Outstanding Translation. This year’s awardees are Sara McClintock and John Dunne, for their book Nāgārjuna’s Precious Garland: Ratnāvalī (Wisdom Publications, 2024).
The Ratnāvalī, the Precious Garland, is one of the best-known works of the famous Indian philosopher and poet Nagarjuna (c. 2nd century). In 500 verses, Nagarjuna offers a king guidance on the ethical and philosophical foundations of the Buddhist teaching from a Mahayana perspective. In so doing, he masterfully conveys profound religious ideas in an exceptionally graceful poetic form. The work continues to exert a strong influence throughout the Mahayana world, particularly within Tibetan Buddhism. In their English translation, Sara McClintock and John Dunne have succeeded in capturing both the precision and beauty of Nagarjuna’s original text, making this foundational teaching accessible to Western readers in a highly engaging form. A detailed introduction explains the work and situates it within its historical and religious background.
KF’s five-member selection committee unanimously approved Professor Jens-Uwe Hartmann’s nomination of Nāgārjuna’s Precious Garland: Ratnāvalī for this year’s award. Their decision was based on both the translation’s exemplary quality and the way in which it connects content with broader context.
About Sara McClintock
Sara McClintock is a Buddhist philosopher and scholar of religion whose interests converge at the intersections of ethics, metaphysics, truth, and story. They received a BA in fine arts from Bryn Mawr College in 1983, an MTS from Harvard Divinity School in 1989, and a PhD in the study of religion from Harvard University in 2002. They have studied and conducted research at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, India, and at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and they now serve as associate professor of religion at Emory University.
About John Dunne
John Dunne’s work is guided by the motivation to reduce suffering and enhance flourishing, and he brings that intention to his research, writing, and teaching on Buddhist philosophy and contemplative practice, especially in dialogue with cognitive science and psychology. He obtained a PhD from Harvard University in 1999 and currently serves on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he holds the distinguished chair in contemplative humanities at the Center for Healthy Minds. He is also distinguished professor in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, and recently served as department chair. Additionally, he is a member of Mind and Life Europe and a fellow of the Mind & Life Institute, where he previously served on the Board of Directors. His academic collaborations include a senior advisory at Rangjung Yeshe Institute in Kathmandu, Nepal.