A foundation is creating an archive of the Buddha’s words translated into modern world languages, and is commemorating its 10th anniversary with the release of an animated video.
Helmed by Khyentse Rinpoche, a Buddhist monk from Bhutan, the Khyentse Foundation is worried about the decline in the knowledge of classical Buddhist languages and the number of qualified scholars.
Based in New York, the foundation has been working since 2010 on its project ‘84,000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.’ It expects the project to take 100 years to complete.
“India’s greatest gift to the world has been this vast and incredible archive of wisdom,” explains Huang Jing Rui, executive Director at 84000. “Its study and practice has lived on in Tibetan for a thousand years already, but if we don’t act now, it may disappear forever”
It is said that the Buddha taught more than 84,000 methods to attain peace and freedom from suffering. As of 2010, only five per cent had been translated into modern languages.
84000’s primary focus is the translation of canonical Tibetan texts into English. After expert review, the translations are published in the online reading room read.84000.co.
People of Tibetan origin in Bengaluru say the project holds great significance to Buddhists worldwide.
The Chinese destroyed many monasteries housing these texts in Tibet, says Dr Jampa Yonten, a Tibetan medicine practitioner with a centre in Koramangala.
The translated versions, however, had spread throughout the world and survived. “A wider understanding of these texts will lead to them being preserved longer,” he says.
Khyentse Rinpoche was in Bengaluru in January and Yonten had attended his lecture. “His teachings are modern and interesting. He is the right person to head such a project,” he says.
Translation problems
Minyanka Rinpoche of the Drepung Gomang Monastery in Bengaluru says translation is not easy as each branch of Buddhism looks at the texts in a different way.
“There are interpretative teachings and definitive teachings, and each branch views them differently,” he says.
Most teachings are in Sanskrit or Pali, with the former being the preferred language of the Mahayana practitioners, he explains. 84,000’s current resources are focused on translating only the Sanskrit works.
“The teachings have a high relevance for everyone, not just Buddhists which makes accessibility important,” he says on the importance of translations.
“Animation and other modern forms of presenting the words of Buddha are not just welcome but necessary. We have to appeal to the younger generation,” says Yonten.
What’s in it
The translations cover the Kangyur or Kanjur (‘Translation of the Word’) and the Tengyur (‘Translation of Treatises’). Together, they constitute the holy texts for Tibetan Buddhism.
Animated video calls for sponsors
The three minute animated video, directed by Queena Li and produced by Blacksugar, recounts the origin and journey of project 84,000. From it’s conception in the Himalayas during a meeting of Tibetan scholars to the completion of a decade. 98 texts have been translated and over 250 are in progress. The video, which is narrated in English by actress Joanna Lumley and in Chinese by singer-songwriter Leah Dou, is also a pitch for donations. Interested parties may sponsor anything for a word to an entire sutra. The video can be found on their YouTube page - Translate84000
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