On October 22, 2010, a talented Buddhist scholar, researcher, and translator received the fifth Khyentse Foundation Award for Excellence in Buddhist Studies, and the first awarded to an Asian recipient. For the past two years, Li Ying has been a graduate
student in the Research Institute of Sanskrit Manuscripts and Buddhist Literature of the School for Foreign Languages at Peking University. With the guidance of Prof. Dr. Qing Duan, she has been involved in translating the Pali Canon into Chinese, under a program in cooperation with the Dhammakaya University of Thailand.
Li Ying writes, “In the future, in addition to the translation work of the Pali canon and the study of Gandhari Buddhist texts, I will make good use of my Khmer language ability to explore Theravada Buddhism in Cambodia. The Khyentse Foundation Award for Excellence in Buddhist Studies is approbation to my initial endeavors, and a strong encouragement for my future study.”
Prof. Duan writes, “Li Ying’s dissertation will mainly be in the field of the development of Cambodian Buddhism. To my knowledge, this will be the first scientific dissertation in China dealing with Theravada Buddhism of Southeast Asia. For this she will travel to different places in Cambodia and learn the Thai language. … The award from your foundation will be a great encouragement for her and significant for her future career in Buddhist research fields.”
Photo: Florence Koh of Khyentse Foundation, Li Ying, and Prof. Bang Wei Wang, Director of the Research Institute.