“Happy Year of the Wood Snake” from the Kumarajiva Project

At a recent gathering with Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche in Taipei, a young audience member posed the question: “In today’s world with all its commotion and distractions, how can we make the right decisions? Even when there are no outside disturbances I find myself getting caught up in thoughts and anxieties and flitting between past and future, unable to remain in the present.” Checking the audience, Rinpoche responded, “Where are the Kumarajiva group? Let us see what they can come up with. Everything they are translating is supposed to be your answer.” Rinpoche always points us to the wealth of knowledge in the Buddhist texts. Now, because of the Kumarajiva Project, Chinese readers are able to go directly to the source.

Last year, our translation team and senior editors completed translations of 408 pages from the Kangyur and Tengyur, including the forthcoming “An Exposition of the Five Aggregates” (Pañcaskandhaprakaraṇa), “An Exposition called ‘Drop of Logical Reasons’” (Hetubindunāmaprakaraṇa), commentaries on the “The King of Aspiration Prayers” (Āryabhadracaryāpraṇidhānarāja) by Nagarjuna, and the first chapter of the “Commentary on Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes” (Madhyāntavibhaṅgaṭīkā), written by Sthiramati. Preserved in the Tibetan Buddhist canon, these foundational Indian treatises are cornerstones of Buddhist philosophical thought and have been consistently cited by lineage masters over the centuries. We hope these newly completed Chinese translations will illuminate the path for those interested in the dharma.

In regard to translator training, three trainees now work directly with primary sources in Tibetan and Sanskrit under the expert guidance of senior translators. Watching these novice translators develop and begin to produce results has been deeply gratifying.

Additionally, following Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s vision and with Khyentse Foundation’s support, we have begun translating important Chinese Buddhist texts into contemporary Chinese. We also continue to explore the frontier where artificial intelligence meets translation and outreach efforts. Our close collaboration with UC Berkeley’s “Dharmamitra” project and “Esukhia,” a registered NGO in India dedicated to the preservation of the Tibetan language through education, language services, and research and development, focuses on building an extensive Chinese-Tibetan parallel text database to power AI-driven semantic search systems. The renowned Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association (CBETA) also invited us to present this collaborative project at the Humanities Research Leaders Conference held in Seoul in 2024.

Insights from Our Senior Editors

We recently interviewed three pillars of our project who have played a role in Kumarajiva’s growth. They shared their insights into the importance and challenges of Buddhist textual translation, as well as their aspirations for the project.

“Each sentence and passage in the Buddhist texts is like a work of art, guiding us to explore the infinite landscape of inner wisdom and to rediscover the innate brilliance of our fundamental nature.” — Dr. Kun-Chen Chang, senior translator and editor

“The project’s vision is very clear and it provides a stable platform for professional translators to work together; especially, it has the clear goal of focusing on the translation of Buddhist canonical texts.” — Professor Sherab Chen, senior translator and editor

Professor Guo noted that in an era when the influence of classical literature is declining, the translation of Buddhist texts seems all the more urgent and important: “In terms of linguistic heritage it’s like the last train—if we don’t act now, we might never have the chance again!” — Professor Guanxian Guo, Chinese Buddhist textual scholar

The full Chinese texts of the interviews are available on the Kumarajiva website.

Thoughts from Our Translator-Trainees

The qualities of a practitioner are apparent in each of the Kumarajiva Project’s translator-trainees. What compels them to willingly abandon more conventional pursuits for the path of Buddhist translation? The Kumarajiva outreach team interviewed a few of the trainees and asked them to share any challenges and insights that have occurred during their training. Here are some excerpts:

When asked about maintaining momentum and enthusiasm on what is a relatively lonely and challenging path, Jingjing Li in Italy shared: “My motivation for translating Buddhist texts stems from a profound love of the scriptures. … Through genuine engagement one can transform challenges into joy.”

Sabrina, now in her second year of advanced Tibetan training, reflected: “Persistence is one of the most important qualities on the path. As my practice deepens, I think more about how to act with the motivation of benefiting others.”

Ani Karma, based in Nepal, offered a striking metaphor with a gentle smile: “Practice is nothing extraordinary—it is just performing surgery on yourself without anesthesia.”

The trainees have chosen a path less traveled, walking alone yet united in purpose. As Yuan Sheng, joining the training from Sweden, said: “Happiness is a life choice which conditions our future. Though we may appear to be studying by ourselves and far apart, we are all fellow travelers in the same boat, moving forward together.”

A Special Opportunity to Support the Kumarajiva Project

The year 2024 marked an expansion of our mission, with new outreach team members joining us. They will be of great help in our continued efforts to promote the Buddha’s teachings and Buddhist texts. This past year we held nearly 80 online talks and teachings reaching over 12,000 participants, and our WeChat following has increased to over 10,000 subscribers. Thanks to the collective efforts of designer Hero Cao and our communications team Fangyi Yo, Xiaoxiao, Wanchen Wu, Ivy, Ani Karma, and Xiang Wang, we also successfully completed the redesign of the Kumarajiva Project’s official website. Special thanks to artists Ya-Chi Tseng and Yawen Zheng for contributing their beautiful artwork as well as to XMind Limited for sponsoring the server.

In 2025, for the first time, the Kumarajiva Project is launching a sponsorship initiative for two significant texts: “One-Hundred-Fifty Praises of the Buddha” (Śatapañcaśatikastotra) and the above-mentioned “An Exposition of the Five Aggregates” (Pañcaskandhaprakaraṇa). Both texts have entered the formal translation phase. We welcome you to join us in this meritorious endeavor. Whether sponsoring a single palm leaf’s worth of text or offering one-time or continuous support, every contribution counts. Each sponsor will receive a gift of a brooch pin, and online donations of US$125 or more will receive a limited-edition silk scarf with a design inspired by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s calligraphy and the metaphor of emptiness “The Snake and the Rope,” as in his book What Makes You Not a Buddhist. Click here to sponsor the texts.

Featured image above: New Year greeting card with the word “Snake” in Tibetan calligraphy by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.