His Holiness to Address Tengyur Translation Conference in Sarnath [Monday, 10 January 2011, 3:10 p.m.]
DHARAMSHALA:
His Holiness the Dalai Lama will address Tuesday (11 January) the
ongoing conference on the translation of one of the Tibet’s most
precious treasure of the Buddha’s teachings known as ‘Tengyur’ at the
Central University of Tibetan Studies (CUTS) in Sarnath. The
four-day ‘Tengyur Translation Conference: In the Tradition of the 17
Pandits of Nalanda’, which began on 8 January, is being jointly
organised by CUTS and the American Institute of Buddhist Studies at
Columbia University. The conference is aimed at focusing on
issues pertaining in particular to the translation of the Tibetan
Tengyur not only into English, but also Sanskrit, Hindi, Chinese and
other languages, according to the organisers. The conference
is part of the long-term project initiated by the American Institute of
Buddhist Studies at Columbia University and Tibet House US of
translating the Tengyur into English and other modern languages, and to
publish the many works in a collection called ‘The Treasury of the
Buddhist Sciences’. The project received the support of His Holiness
the Dalai Lama for its historic initiative to support, create, and
publish authoritative English translations, studies, and editions of
the entite Tibetan Tengyur and its associated literature. The
works of the foremost Indian scholars of Nalanda tradition are
presently preserved in the collection of their writings known as
Tengyur in Tibetan translation. It took teams of Indian masters and
great Tibetan translators over four centuries to accomplish the
historic task of translating them into Tibetan. Most of these books
were later lost in their Sanskrit originals, and relatively few were
translated into Chinese. The Tengyur is truly one of the Tibet’s most
precious treasures, a mine of understanding that Tibetans have
preserved in Tibet for the benefit of the whole world. The
Buddhist culture that flourished in Tibet can rightly be seen to derive
from the pure tradition of Nalanda, which comprises the most complete
presentation of the Buddhist teachings. Foremost Indian scholars of
Nalanda Monastic University such as Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Aryaasanga,
Dharmakirti, Candrakirti and Shantideva wrote the scriptures that we
Tibetan Buddhists study and practise. “When translated into
Tibetan, these works in turn inspired Tibet’s own enlightenment
renaissance. Accordingly, the Buddhist teachings in these Tengyur texts
are deemed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and many other great Tibetan
masters to be of the highest value,” the organisers said in a
statement. Expressing his support to the American Institute of
Buddhist Studies’ Tengyur translation project in 2007, His Holiness the
Dalai Lama had said: “At the present time, when there is a great
emphasis on scientific and technological progress, it is extremely
important that those of us who follow the Buddha should rely on a sound
understanding of his teaching, for which the great works of the
renowned Nalanda scholars provide an indispensable basis.”“…
It surely will require the intelligent and creative efforts of
generations of translators from every tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, in
the spirit of the scholars of Nālandā, although we may hope that using
computers may help complete the work more quickly,” His Holiness said.”As
it grows, The Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences series will serve as an
invaluable reference library of the Buddhist Sciences and Arts. This
collection of literature has been of immeasurable benefit to us
Tibetans over the centuries, so we are very happy to share it with all
the people of the world. As someone who has been personally inspired by
the works it contains, I firmly believe that the methods for
cultivating wisdom and compassion originally developed in India and
described in these books preserved in Tibetan translation will be of
great benefit to many scholars, philosophers, and scientists, as well
as ordinary people,” he added. Participants from different
countries like the US, Canada, Germany, France, Switzerland, Denmark,
the Netherlands, Russia, Taiwan, Japan and Nepal are taking part in the
conference. Kalon Tripa Prof Samdhong Rinpoche, who left Dharamsala for Varanasi yesterday, will also attend the conference.
