THE SNOW LION NEWSLETTER

Tsadra Foundation: Supporting Excellence in Practice and Scholarship
by Drupgyu Tenzin
Director of Programs, Tsadra Foundation

As readers of the Snow Lion Newsletter will be aware from previous book reviews and articles, Tsadra Foundation is a New York-based non-profit that strategically invests in the future of Vajrayana Buddhism in a Western context. The foundation pursues this goal primarily through seeking out highly qualified advanced Western students, specifically those with significant contemplative training, and supporting their activities through fellowships and grants.

Taking its inspiration from the nineteenth-century non-sectarian Tibetan scholar and meditation master Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé, Tsadra Foundation is named after his hermitage in eastern Tibet, Tsa'dra Rinchen Drak. The Foundation's various program areas reflect his values of excellence in both contemplative practice and scholarship, and the recognition of their mutual complementarity.

Individuals sponsored by the foundation represent the various Tibetan schools, and their activities generally fall into the following program areas: translation, contemplation, development of Buddhist higher education, and publication.

The foundation is delighted to participate in the process of establishing a rich library of quality translations of important texts of the various Tibetan traditions. For the moment we are engaged in translation work into English and French. In keeping with the non-sectarian approach of the foundation we try to encourage representation of a variety of traditions and views in the texts translated. At the same time, we aim to translate works that will be of most benefit to individuals who are actively engaged in the contemplative process.

The life-force of any spiritual tradition lies in the well-spring of contemplative experience and realization. We therefore are firmly committed to making it possible for serious Western students to engage in deep and sustained contemplative training through individual or group long-term retreats. Individuals chosen for support are those who have completed at least one traditional three-year retreat or its equivalent, reflect the criteria of the foundation, and who have proven their competence in this area of training.

Buddhist higher education includes both scholastic and contemplative training. The foundation is aware how important it is that traditional Tibetan education structures of shedra (college of studies) and drupdra (hermitage retreat centers) take root in the West, and are appropriately adapted to a Western context. As well, out of appreciation for the source of our traditions, the foundation has chosen to support participants in several shedra and drupdra in Eastern Tibet.

Tsadra Foundation is committed to maintaining in print all the works translated by our fellows and grantees. In English we collaborate primarily with Snow Lion Publications who publish the Tsadra Foundation Series as well as the Treasury of Knowledge Series. In French we collaborate with Editions Claire Lumière who publish the Series Tsadra. We have also been able, through fortuitous connections, to participate in the publication of a number of Tibetan collections in China and in Nepal.

The foundation was established in 2000 with a modest scope of activity. As our budget has gradually increased, our activity has expanded. The foundation is currently sponsoring approximately 50 individuals (not counting participants in shedra and drupdra in Tibet); about half of these individuals are engaged in translation work, the other half in continuing their contemplative training in extended retreat. The fruits of the translation work, if not published elsewhere, appear in the Snow Lion Tsadra Series, in the Snow Lion Treasury of Knowledge Series, and the French titles in the Series Tsadra of Editions Claire Lumière.

In recent months, two new Tsadra titles have appeared among Snow Lion's new listings: Wisdom Nectar: Dudjom Rinpoché's Heart Advice in the Tsadra Series; and Systems of Tantra-the newest volume to appear in the Jamgön Kongtrul Treasury of Knowledge Series. The first, deeply inspirational, represents a jewel of an addition to any practitioner's library; the second represents one of the most complete and profound reference works on the principles of tantra to appear in English.

Previous titles in the Snow Lion Tsadra Series include Sacred Ground: Jamgön Kongtrul on Pilgrimage and Sacred Geography; Guru Rinpoché: His Life and Times; The Autobiography of Jamgön Kongtrul; Machik's Complete Explanation: Clarifying the Meaning of Chöd; and Timeless Rapture: Inspired Verse of the Shangpa Masters. Previous titles in the Treasury of Knowledge Series include Myriad Worlds, and Buddhist Ethics.

In English work continues on six additional volumes of the Treasury of Knowledge by the translators Richard Barron, Elizabeth Callahan, Sarah Harding, Ingrid McLeod, Michele Martin, and Ngawang Zangpo (Hugh Thompson). As well work is progressing on the biography of Tangtong Gyalpo (Cyrus Stearns); Taranata's Three Spiritual Models (Richard Barron); Buton's History (Lisa Stein); and Sthiramati's commentary to Vasubandhu's Treatise on the Five Heaps (Art Engle).

The foundation has also been for many years and continues to be a significant sponsor of the work of the members of the Padmakara Translation Group. Recent titles to appear in English include Introduction to the Middle Way: Chandrakirti's Madhyamakavatara with commentary by Jamgön Mipham (Shambhala); Nagarjuna's Letter to a Friend (Snow Lion); and The Adornment of the Middle Way: Shantarakshita's Madhayamakalankara with commentary by Jamgön Mipham (Shambhala). Recent titles in French include Taranata's Le Soleil de la confiance, la vie du Bouddha; and Mahasiddhas, la vie de 84 sages de l'Inde (both-Editions Padmakara.)

We are also contributing to the development of a shedra curriculum in a Western context by supporting The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoché's Nitartha Institute, as well as sponsoring developmental work on a graphical presentation-interface for this material. We were pleased to participate in the final stages of preparation of the first title to appear in the new Nitartha Institute Series, The Center of the Sunlit Sky: Madhyamaka in the Kagyü Tradition. We are also sponsoring several volumes of Tubten Jinba's Institute of Tibetan Classics project.

In Eastern Tibet we have sponsored 100 monks and 8 teachers for 3 years of training at the Dzongsar Monastery Shedra; given significant support to the resident Rinpoché and to participants in the 3-year retreat at Tsa'dra Rinchen Drak Hermitage ; and are currently sponsoring 100 monks and 5 teachers at the Palpung Monastery Shedra. In addition we are participating in the reconstitution of the rare woodblock collection of the Palpung Monastery Printing House.

The foundation has participated in a number of projects for reprinting of rare Tibetan collections. In the case of a number of the collections reprinted in Tibet-including the collected writings of the Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje, and the collected teachings on Dorje Purba (Vajra Kilaya)-the agreement was for a limited printing of 100 sets of which half were distributed free of charge to monasteries in Tibet, and half were distributed (by Tsadra Foundation) to selected monasteries in India, and university libraries in the West.

This is a brief description of some of Tsadra Foundation current activities. While the scope of our activities is wide ranging, our focus actually remains the same. As mentioned above, the foundation's mission is to seek out highly qualified individuals from all traditions who combine in their training both significant contemplative training and rich intellectual understanding and support their activities so as to aid in the continuing development of Vajrayana study and practice in the West. As we do so, however, we remain open to the changing environment and attempt to respond as the needs of this process change as well.

Please note that the foundation seeks out candidates for support and does not accept unsolicited proposals. It should also be noted that due to budget restrictions we are not able to support all those individuals who might merit our support.

It is clear that the process of Vajrayana Buddhism's development in the West is in its early stages, and that tremendous efforts are being made by many teachers, sponsors, and students representing many traditions, many approaches, and many different visions. We delight in and encourage all of these efforts. In order to enhance our effectiveness, however, we have chosen to focus our attention as described above. In this way we look forward to contributing in a small way to the continuity and authenticity of Vajrayana Buddhism in the West.

We are currently preparing our web site and soon full details of the activities of the Tsadra Foundation will be available at www.tsadra.org. We welcome you to visit our site and learn more about us.