Buddhist Scriptures

Question: What do the theory and practice of translation mean? Dr. Berzin: The theory of translation has to do with rules of grammar and how you go from one language to another, without adding anything or leaving anything out. One tries to be faithful to the style of the text:...

Coordinating Multi-language Translation Projects I’ve been asked to give three presentations today and tomorrow, and I think the best contribution I can make is to share our practical experience from Berzin Archives on how to deal with organizing these topics – ...

Introduction The terms Hinayana (Theg-dman) and Mahayana (Theg-chen), meaning modest or “lesser” vehicle and vast or “greater” vehicle, first appeared in The Sutras on Far-reaching Discriminating Awareness (Sher-phyin-gyi mdo, Skt. Prajnaparamita Sutras; The Perfection of...

One night, without distraction, I dreamed a vivid dream: I saw a large and beautiful drum filling the world with golden light and glowing like the sun. Beaming brightly to all places, it was seen from ten directions. Everywhere buddhas were seated on thrones of precious lapis...

Then at that time the Tathagata spoke these verses: In numerous other inconceivable sutras, I have expounded empty phenomena in detail. Hence, here in this supreme sutra empty phenomena I will just briefly explain. As beings of slight intelligence, ignorant, are incapable of...

“O noble goddess, at a time when incalculable and still more incalculable eons – extensive, inconceivable and immeasurable – had passed, at that time, at that moment, the Tathagata, the Arhat, the Fully Enlightened One called Ratna-shikhin, perfect in wisdom and conduct, gone...

Introduction Dzogchen (rdzogs-chen), the great completeness, is a Mahayana system of practice leading to enlightenment and involves a view of reality, way of meditating, and way of behaving (lta-sgom-spyod gsum). It is found earliest in the Nyingma and Bon (pre-Buddhist)...

I’ve been asked to speak about some of the problems and methods that are used in translating Buddhist texts, primarily from Tibetan. In my education, I studied various Buddhist languages, first of all Chinese, and then Sanskrit, and Tibetan. Japanese is useful for...

The Diversity of Textual Versions and Editions The translation of Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior (sPyod-‘jug, Skt. Bodhisattvacarya-avatara) by Shantideva presents many textual problems. Written in Sanskrit during the first half of the eighth century C. E., several...

Then those hundreds of thousands of bodhisattvas approached the Tathagata Suvarna-ratna-kara-cchatra-kuta. Paying homage with their heads at the feet of the Tathagata Suvarna-ratna-kara-cchatra-kuta, they stood to one side. Having stood to one side, the numerous hundreds of...