Buddhist luminaries, clustered in eastern Tibet in the nineteenth-century, composed numerous short texts of advice that are lively in their use of language and poignant in their pith instructions. In order to explore issues of translation in a range of such texts, Holly Gayley of CU Boulder and Josh Schapiro of Fordham University organized Translating Buddhist Luminaries: A Conference on Ecumenism and Tibetan Translation. The conference was held at CU Boulder on April 18-20, 2013 and included a public panel on "Ecumenism in Tibet" with Ringu Tulku, Sarah Harding, Michael Sheehy, and Douglas Duckworth.
Convening a group of fifteen scholars and translators, Translating Buddhist Luminaries stimulated an animated discussion about the ways in which to approach authorial voice and literary style in translating Tibetan texts. The group spent the conference reading a set of translations-in-progress circulated in advance by contributing participants. The featured translations were based on pithy texts of advice by nineteenth-century luminaries such as Patrul Rinpoche, Dudjom Lingpa, Adzom Drukpa, Bamda Tubden Gelek, Zhangton Tenpa Gyatso, and Mipham the Great. Tibetan Studies faculty and graduate students from CU Boulder and Naropa attended these sessions as observers, joined by area translators and Tsadra fellows and staff.
The translations that came out of this conference have been collected into an anthology, tentatively titled A Gathering of Brilliant Moons: Practice Advice from the Great Rim茅 Masters of Tibet, and under contract with Wisdom Publications. The anthology is dedicated to E. Gene Smith, founder of the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center. Below is the table of contents:
A Gathering of Brilliant Moons: Practice Advice from the Great Rim茅 Masters of Tibet
Introduction
Holly Gayley and Joshua Schapiro
PART I: Worldly Counsel
1. Facing Your Mind
Jamg枚n Kongtrul and Dudjom Lingpa
Translated by John Canti
2. Playful Primers on the Path
Dza Patrul Rinpoch茅
Translated by Joshua Schapiro
3. Dictums for Developing Virtue
Shangt枚n Tenpa Gyatso
Translated by Gedun Rabsal and Nicole Willock
4. Bold Judgments on Eating Meat
Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen
Translated by Geoff Barstow
5. A Letter to the Queen
Jikm茅 Lingpa and Gets茅 Mah膩pa峁囜笉ita
Translated by Jann Ronis
PART II: Meditation Advice
6. Advice for Solitary Retreat
Do Khyents茅, Dza Patrul Rinpoch茅, and the Third Dodrupchen
Translated by Holly Gayley
7. Encouragement to Pursue the Path
Bamda Tupten Gelek Gyatso
Translated by Michael Sheehy
8. How to Practice When Ill
Jikm茅 Lingpa
Translated by Wulstan Fletcher
9. An Intimate Exhortation
Tokden 艢膩kya 艢r墨
Translated by Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa
10. A Meditation Instructor's Manual
Dza Patrul Rinpoch茅
Translated by Sarah Harding
PART III: Esoteric Instructions
11. Pointing to the Nature of Awareness
Ju Mipam Rinpoch茅
Translated by Douglas Duckworth
12. Putting Buddha Nature into Practice
Jamg枚n Kongtrul
Translated by Tina Draszczyk
13. Instructions on the Great Perfection
Jamg枚n Kongtrul
Translated by Marc-Henri Deroche
Translating Buddhist Luminaries: A Conference on Tibetan Translation and Ecumenism was co-sponsored by the Tsadra Foundation and the Center for Asian Studies with additional support from the Center for Humanities & the Arts and the Department of Religious Studies at CU Boulder.