November 2008
November 20, 2008WORDS OF MY PERFECT TEACHER TRANSLATED INTO MONGOLIAN
In July, Khyentse Foundation awarded a special grant to the Mongolian Buddhist Revival Project of Kunzang Palyul Choling to print 1,000 copies of their translation into Mongolian of Patrul Rinpoche’s classic text, The Words of My Perfect Teacher.
Konchog Norbu, Gelong monk and In-Country Director of KPC’s Mongolian Buddhism Revival Project, wrote, “This is indeed an extraordinary day for the Mongolian people. Thank you so much for seeing fit to help us bring Patrul Rinpoche's precious Kunzang Lamai Zhelung into its first-ever Mongolian translation. What great benefit this will bring.”
This translation is particularly important because during the decades after 1924, under the Communist regime, the practice of Buddhism was declared illegal. All but 3 of Mongolia’s more than 700 Buddhist monasteries were destroyed, the monks killed or sent to Siberian labor camps, and the irreplaceable dharma texts looted or destroyed.
According to Konchog Norbu, “Only after Mongolia’s peaceful democratic revolution in 1990 was religious freedom restored… After 1990, the faithful that remained slowly began to revive their Buddhist culture. An important challenge for Mongolian Buddhists is reeducation of the population, and one strategy is to provide easily available translations of the Buddhist classics in contemporary language.
To read more about the Mongolian Buddhist Revival Project, go to tara.org.
INAUGURAL KHYENTSE FOUNDATION LECTURE IN TIBETAN BUDDHISM
A Four-Year Collaboration Comes to Fruition
On October 21, an enthusiastic audience of about 70 Buddhist scholars and practitioners welcomed Jacob Dalton to his new appointment as assistant professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and the Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies. This position was made possible through the establishment of the Khyentse Chair in Tibetan Buddhism at the University of California at Berkeley.
Professor Dalton was introduced by Professor Robert Sharf, Director of the Group in Buddhist Studies, who thanked Khyentse Foundation for the endowment that is jumpstarting an integrated curriculum of Buddhist studies that will benefit undergraduate and graduate students alike.
Professor Dalton’s talk, “Rethinking Tibet’s Dark Age: Demons, Tantras, and the Formation of Tibetan Buddhism,” drew upon his research on the Dunhuang manuscripts at the British Library in London. It explored the origins of Tibetan Buddhism, complete with colorful stories and myths about demons, gods, and goddesses during Tibet’s so-called “dark ages” of the late 9th and 10th centuries. For details about the lecture, see the Berkeley Buddhist Studies events Web site.
For the full story of how the Khyentse Chair was established, see the Five Projects Page.
THE SEARCH IS ON—AGAIN!
Status of Buddhist Studies in Universities Worldwide Survey
A Khyentse Foundation team of data collectors, experts in Buddhist higher education, and their advisors is hard at work to identify centers of excellence in Buddhist education all over the world, with a three-fold goal:
• To assess the status of Buddhist studies in universities around the world today • To identify areas where the support of Khyentse Foundation, as well as other charitable organizations, can be most useful • To publish the findings and make them available to organizations and individuals interested in promoting the academic study of Buddhism.
The team is collecting information from over 100 universities in 35 countries. By the end of 2008, they expect to complete the basic research and to begin reviewing and compiling all of the questionnaires and other information. And early in 2009, they hope to narrow the search to a short list of top institutions.
It has long been Rinpoche’s vision to encourage the academic study of dharma at the university level. The Khyentse Foundation Distinguished Professorship in Tibetan Buddhism, established at the University of California at Berkeley, is the first fruit of that vision. (See “A Four Year Collaboration Comes to Fruition.”) The survey is the Foundation’s effort to objectively explore opportunities to support Buddhist studies around the world. We are also working to establish cultural and educational exchange programs between traditional Buddhist institutes and major universities. If you are interested in more information about the Buddhist Studies in Universities Worldwide Survey, or if you would like to volunteer, please contact Lynn Hoberg at lynn@khyentsefoundation.org.
Quote: I feel that with this one contribution we’ve started the equivalent of 100 monasteries.
— Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, August 2006, on the establishment of the KF Distinguished Professorship in Tibetan Buddhism at UC Berkeley
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