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THE SNOW LION BUDDHIST NEWS & CATALOG
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Light of Berotsana Conference of Translators, September 26-28, 2008
by Lauren Cottrell
September 26-28 2008
Boulder, CO (US)
What happens when you get a room full of Tibetan translators? Five large heaps of gratitude for community. One of the themes that were repeated was how good it felt for people to commune with others in their field. So many translators work alone; the work in many ways demands this isolation. The opportunity to get together and discuss the issues that now face the task of translating the large corpus of Tibetan Buddhist literature into English was greatly appreciated by all attending.
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The format was small breakout groups that discussed issues such as balancing precision with literary values, what shall we translate, key terminology--which included the issues around standardization—and mentoring aspiring translators.
Jeffrey Hopkins gave an inspiring talk that included a heartfelt statement about his motivation to continue translating and to pass on what he had learned, stemming from the profound sincerity of his teachers. Was there a dry eye in the house?
Alak Zenkar Rinpoche also spoke to the group and encouraged people to continue in the six ways of addressing Buddhism through hearing, thinking, and meditating for self and explaining, debating, and composing for others. Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche set the historic sensibility and impressed upon the group the responsibility that they bear now to carry Buddhism forward. It was clear that another conference in the future will be well attended and that there was lots of enthusiasm for the development of electronic means to continue the conversations started at this conference. Large data banks of information and tools for Tibetan translators are available now and will grow with the hopes that this work will increase and sustain the transmission of Tibetan Buddhism to the West.
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