Change LanguageSearch
Menu
  • Who We Are
  • What We Do
  • How We Work
  • Newsroom
  • Donate
  • Apply

Who We Are

  • Who We Are
    • Founder
    • Team
    • Annual Reports
    • Khyentse Network

What We Do

  • What We Do
    • Core Activities
      • Academia
      • Education for Children
      • Monastics
      • Practitioner Support
      • Teacher Training
      • Text Preservation
      • Tradition and Legacy
      • Translation
    • Supported Initiatives
      • Khyentse Vision Project
      • The Kumarajiva Project

How We Work

  • How We Work

Where We Work

  • Where We Work
    • Map

Additional

  • Newsroom
  • Events
  • Grants & Scholarships
  • Awards & Prizes
  • Donations
  • Contact
    • facebook
    • instagram
    • vimeo
    • youtube
    • linkedin

Join Our Sangha

  • Newsroom
  • /
  • Translation
  • Newsroom
  • /
  • Translation

Mid-Conference Update

Translating The Words Of The Buddha

March 18, 2009
March 18, 2009
By bain

Khyentse Foundation Translators’ Conference well underway:

On Monday morning, the Translating the Words of the Buddha conference began with an introduction by the conference chair, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, followed by statements from HH The Dalai Lama, HH Sakya Trizin, HH The Karmapa, and the late HH Mindrolling Rinpoche. These were followed by a keynote by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche in which he laid out his aspiration for the conference.

“I’d like to suggest over the next few days we start a process of mapping out exactly what needs to be done during our lifetimes and beyond, in order to ensure the preservation of Tibetan Buddhist texts. Basically, our agenda is to write the agenda for an ongoing translation conference, one that never closes, as all the attendees continue to consult and work together in pursuit of one goal.”

Sitting in the Manjushri Hall at Deer Park Institute, the group of more than 50 Rinpoches, translators and scholars began the process of turning Khyentse Rinpoche’s aspiration into a 100-year vision, under the guidance of a professional facilitator. After several hours considering and debating the merits a dozen alternative draft statements, the group reached consensus on the following 100-year vision:

To translate and make universally accessible the Buddhist literary heritage.
In particular, the group wanted to include the entire buddhist canon, not just texts from the Indo-Tibetan tradition, and also to ensure that access to texts is not limited because of distance or lack of funding.

On Tuesday morning, the group heard presentations from Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche (see the full address on the Facebook Page), and John McRae (on the BDK Tripitaka Project). There was also the first part of a four-part video from Peter Skilling (on translation of the Kangyur) and a letter from Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, in which he committed:

To direct 15 translators from the Dharmachakra Translation Committee to begin work on the Kangyur project and to train an additional 10 to 15 translators over the next five years. In this way, we will be in a position to provide 50% of the translators needed to complete the translation of the Kangyur within a 10 to 15 year period.

The group then articulated a 25-year goal that they felt would mark a significant step towards the vision:

To translate and make accessible all of the Kangyur and many volumes of the Tengyur and commentaries.
A number of questions had been raised on the first day about the practicality of translating of the Kangyur, and whether this project might potentially divert resources away from other important translation tasks. However, participants came to feel that this vision would inspire and excite the entire translation community—including both translators and sponsors—and that far from diverting resources, it would actually support and catalyse other translation activities.

The group then turned its attention to defining a 5-year goal: What needs to happen in the next five years to ensure adequate progress towards the 25-year goal. After a lively debate, they agreed:

To translate and publish a representative sample of the Kangyur, Tengyur and Tibetan commentaries and to establish the infrastructure and resources necessary to accomplish the long term vision.

Shortly after the 5-year goal was defined, Khyentse Rinpoche announced that the Khyentse Foundation has pledged to finance the translation of the 8,000-verse Prajñaparamita Sutra; on behalf of Tsechen Kunchab Ling, Khenpo Kalsang Gyaltsen pledged to translate the 25,000-verse Prajñaparamita Sutra; and on behalf of Kangyur Rinpoche’s Foundation, Tulku Pema Wangyal Rinpoche pledged to translate the entire Prajñaparamita—both the sutras and the related shastras. (Dr. Phillip Stanley of Naropa University estimated that the texts included within these commitments comprise 22% of the Kangyur and 9% of the Tengyur.)

Over the next three days, the group will discuss the details of how the 5-year goal can be achieved. Specifically, they will identify the most important issues to be resolved, and begin the process of finding solutions and devising practical next steps.

Related News

  • Translation

Translating Jigme Lingpa’s Treasury of Precious Qualities into Mongolian

September 25, 2024
By maryann
In 2022, Munkhzul Koski received a KF Ashoka grant to translate the first section of the Treasury of Precious Qualities by the renowned Nyingma master Jigme Lingpa, together with its commentary by Kangyur Rinpoche, into modern Mongolian.
Read More
  • Translation

Translating for Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche

June 4, 2024
By maryann
With Khyentse Foundation sponsorship, Gyurmé Avertin translates orally for the revered Nyingma lama Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche and is striving to making Rinpoche’s teachings available in English.
Read More
  • Translation

KF 2024 Prize for Outstanding Translation

March 6, 2024
By maryann
Trent Walker is assistant professor of Southeast Asian studies and Thai Professor of Theravada Buddhism in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan.
Read More
  • Translation

Aspiration is the King

February 5, 2024
By maryann
“Many dharma friends ask us why Rinpoche wants to translate Tibetan texts into Chinese when the Chinese canon is already so rich. In fact, we realized that nearly 90 percent of the Mahayana treatises and tantric texts had not been translated into Chinese, which is a great pity.”
Read More
  • Translation

Khyentse Vision Project Launches Its Reading Room and Publishes 108 Translations

January 12, 2024
By maryann
The reading room is the fruit of years of work by the project’s tech, translation, and editorial teams.
Read More
  • Translation

A Journey to Connect with Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo

March 7, 2023
By maryann
Khyentse Vision Project, a major translation initiative under Khyentse Foundation, was officially launched in July 2020 on the 200th birth anniversary of the First Khyentse, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820–92).
Read More

Join Our Sangha

  • Tara Altar
  • Khyentse Network
  • KF India
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Grants and Scholarships

Languages

  • English
  • 简体中文
  • 繁體中文
  • Português
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • vimeo
  • youtube
  • linkedin
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • vimeo
  • youtube
  • linkedin
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Settings
© 2025 Khyentse Foundation
Close Menu
Close

Choose Language

  • English
  • 简体中文
  • 繁體中文
  • Português
Close

Choose Language

  • English
  • 简体中文
  • 繁體中文
  • Português
  • Donate
  • Apply
Close
For more information, visit our donations page.
Close
Close