http://www.chronicleproject.com/stories_123.html The world\'s leading Dharma translators are gathering at Deer Park Institute in Bir, India for a conference convened by Khyentse Rinpoche and chaired by the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. Khyentse Rinpoche talks about the conference with a sense of urgency, stating that the future of the Buddhadharma could depend on the collective efforts of Dharma translators \"working together ... and coming up with a plan.\" en-us Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:57:25 -0700 http://www.rssfeedssubmit.com/rss-generator/ http://www.chronicleproject.com/images/interface/logo_100.jpg ttp://www.chronicleproject.com 100 71 http://www.chronicleproject.com/stories_123.html#eigth In what is being hailed as a landmark event in Buddhist history, 50 of the world's top translators and six incarnate lamas today pledged to translate all the Buddha's words into English within a generation. That, says Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, who convened the gathering, may well preserve Buddhism from "global annihilation".... http://www.chronicleproject.com/stories_123.html#third Warning of "how urgent and precarious" the survival of Buddhist culture and civilization has become, a Khyentse Rinpoche today urged the world's top translators to join together to rescue the Buddhist teachings "from premature extinction." "The survival of Tibetan Buddhism could depend on its translation into other languages," Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche told 50 leading translators in Bir, northern India. He reminded them that "the Buddhist heritage and culture that permeated Tibetan life for more than a thousand years has all but disappeared in India, its country of origin" and only survived by its translation into Tibetan. Khyentse Rinpoche said that when we look at the current situation, it's clear that the same kind of virtual obliteration of Buddhist culture could quite easily happen again." Khyentse Rinpoche told the translators: "By translating the Tibetan Buddhist texts into modern languages, you may well be saving a vast swat he of Buddhist civilization and culture from global annihilation. The living traditions of Dharma that still exist today--for example, in Japan, China, Thailand and Burma--have only survived because they had the foresight to translate the original sacred Buddhist texts into their own languages." Rinpoche had invited the leading Tibetan-English translators from all four Tibetan Buddhist lineages and major translation houses worldwide to come to Bir to plan for the future and "write the agenda for an ongoing translation conference that never closes because all the attendees continue to consult and work together in pursuit of a common goal." Part of that goal, he told the translators in the opening session of the gathering, is to translate into English the entire Buddhist canon, including the 108-volume Kangyur--the direct teachings of the Buddha. Such "a massive and extremely daunting task," he said, will require an "immense translation effort that can only be accomplished if we all join forces." It was precisely to promote such "ongoing dialogue and spirit of cooperation and mutual support amongst translators" that he had invited them to Bir, he said. The unprecedented gathering--sponsored by Khyentse Foundation and hosted by Deer Park Institute--is being chaired by Ponlop Rinpoche, who tomorrow will deliver a keynote address on translating the Kangyur. By Friday of this week, the translators aim to identify a 25-year and 100-year vision for translation of sacred Buddhist texts and to initiate concrete short-term actions aimed at realizing those goals. http://www.chronicleproject.com/stories_123.html#second To gather the energy and support of practitioners around the world, Khyentse Rinpoche has launched a compaign to gather 10,000 signatures for an open letter of gratitude to Dharma translators. The letter reads: Dear Dharma Translators, Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all you are doing to translate and transmit the Dharma to westerners. Without you, we couldn\'t practice or study the Dharma, so we are hugely grateful for your incredible gift to us! May your current deliberations in Bir, India, bring the Buddha\'s words and teachings to countless beings. With warmest wishes for a very successful gathering, [signed by ...] add your name to the list of signatures All names and personal messages will be presented to the translators on Friday, March 20th. Signatures should be received by the end of the day on Thursday, March 19th. Sign here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/dharmatranslation/?e http://www.chronicleproject.com/stories_123.html#first1 Letter of support for the Conference from the Dalai Lama, Karmapa, and Sakya Trizin http://www.chronicleproject.com/stories_123.html#fifth Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche Good morning everyone: Rinpoches, respected translators, great scholars, and everyone gathered here this morning. Over the last century, many key texts of the Buddhist literature of all traditions, not only Tibetan, have been translated into many world languages. Translators in the past have done amazing work with limited resources and tools. Their dedication and passion for translating the words of the dharma is a great beginning to share the wisdom of enlightenment with this world. First of all, I'd like to rejoice in their work, the work of the great translators and their great teachers, and aspire to bring the remaining wisdom still in the source languages to our target languages. http://www.chronicleproject.com/stories_123.html#sixth Photo by Corey Kohn; © 2009 Khyentse Foundation, all rights reserved, used by permission