A TEN YEAR REPORT 2010 – 2020 Guiding Values and Operating Principles

A TEN YEAR REPORT 2010 – 2020 Guiding Values and Operating Principles We are a project We place equal value of offering and on our three key 1 volunteerism 4 stakeholder groups At its core, 84000 is a project of In order to ensure the integrity of the offering and service. We remind those project we give equal value to the involved with us that at 84000 work is perspectives of three key stakeholder contributed out of a genuine wish to groups: Indo-Himalayan Dharma benefit the world, and is often motivated teachers, the international scholarly by devotion to the Dharma. community, and practitioners and devotees of the Buddhadharma. We We are committed to make every effort to maximize the strengths of each group, seeking out translation accuracy and complementary modes of partnership 2 readability with the aim of producing excellent translations for our target readership. As a project that strives to translate the entire Tibetan Buddhist Canon for the educated general reader, maintaining We recognize that the quality and readability of translation accomplishing our is a non-negotiable principle in ensuring vision will require the continuation of a 2,500-year living tradition. 5 perpetual effort By acknowledging that both language We nurture and and understanding are continually support contemporary evolving, we appreciate that our translations will need to be amended, 3 translators improved, and edited as time goes by. We appreciate every single application In preserving the words of the Buddha submitted by translation teams around for all future generations, there is no the world. While successful applications “rubber stamp” and no finishing line. will be supported by the award of a grant and nurtured by our editorial team, 84000 is also committed to encouraging and empowering interested and promising translators. Message from the Executive Director Dear Friends and Supporters of 84000, With loved ones around the world grappling with the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, lingering economic recessions, and pervasive instability, it has been a challenging year for many of us. Through the ages, the words of the Buddha have helped people to focus the mind in times of uncertainty, and to build resilience amongst vulnerable populations. This past year has certainly been a reminder of the continued—if not growing—relevance of the Buddha’s wisdom, and I can barely believe we are already celebrating ten years of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Ten years ago, we wondered how we would ever begin to embark on this immense journey, how we would find translation teams, how we would be able to manage—with integrity—such a vast and unexplored collection. This decade has been a litmus test for our vision, and not without its challenges. But with your support, we have commissioned 343 translations; have awarded over $7.5M in grants to teams of highly skilled translators around the world; assembled a committed and qualified team with an efficient editorial system that published 59 texts in 2020 alone; and we are innovating the ways in which these online publications can be accessed. We continue to maintain an even balance between Western-modeled academic approaches and Indo- Himalayan insight and scholasticism, and through this our publications have been widely read and appreciated. In short, we are progressing well toward the translation of the Kangyur, while also preparing ourselves for the 161,800 pages of the Tengyur. And so, with deep respect for the tradition of translation—and the historical precedents set throughout the centuries by Dharma kings and patrons whose dedication has ensured its survival thus far—we can confidently report that 84000 is successfully contributing with a long-term, collaborative, and non-sectarian effort to translate the Tibetan Buddhist Canon. Some of you will have been present at the 2009 conference in Bir, India, from which this initiative was born; and many of you have invested in us, whether through reading our publications, participating in our resoundings, or otherwise generously donating whatever resources you could. And for all this, we are so grateful. 84000 relies on the support of individual donors, and we appreciate every donation, no matter the size, since a drop in the ocean is no less important than the wave. But it would be remiss of me not to mention first and foremost our Founding Sponsors, without whose trust this project would not have been possible. And our Matching Funds Donors and our Sūtra Sponsors, for their significant contributions: the former have pledged to match all recurring donations made by our thousands of general donors, and the latter, through their sponsorship of specific texts, have facilitated the commissioning of translations—an activity that is integral to our operations and our ability to achieve our vision. As we walk this journey together, we are maturing and have developed the structure and processes that will enable us to realize our vision. This is a 100-year project, and today, it is in our hands—yours and ours—to protect this endangered archive of wisdom and to safeguard this precious legacy for future generations. We are humbled to have you with us. Yours in the Dharma, Huang Jing Rui 84000’s Origins I would like to see the words of the Buddha available in every major“ language“ in the world. - Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche When Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche first expressed his wish to see the words of the Buddha translated into modern languages, the Khyentse Foundation took the lead in hosting an historic conference in March 2009 at the Deer Park Institute, in Bir, India. More than fifty of the world’s leading Tibetan Buddhist teachers, translators, and academics, as well as publishers and patrons, gathered to discuss the translation of the Tibetan Buddhist canon—the Kangyur and Tengyur—into English and other modern languages. The participants agreed that the very survival of Buddhism depended on their working together to preserve the words of the Buddha for future generations, and 84000—a project of all Buddhists, for all Buddhists and beyond—was born. Leaders of Tibetan Buddhist lineages gave their blessings to this landmark initiative, and throughout the conference, participants shared their aspirations and discussed the practicalities and challenges of translating the entire Tibetan Buddhist canon first into English, and then into other languages. The vision of the conference was vast, the atmosphere was enthusiastic with healthy debate, and the final alignment on bringing the Buddhadharma to the world was inspiring. A complete list of conference participants is available in Appendix A. Khyentse 108 Founding Foundation Sponsors It is with deep admiration and appreciation that we acknowledge the Khyentse Foundation for all its efforts in sponsoring and organizing the historic “Translating the Words of the Buddha” Conference in March 2009. For the next four years, it was the Khyentse Foundation’s By offering yourselves as dedication and stewardship that nurtured founding members, you are 84000 into the full-fledged project we are proud to have become, and we are grateful to seeding a plantation of dharma have its continued and sustained support even in the hearts and minds of to this day. millions to come, not only In establishing this project, the Khyentse limited to one culture and race. Foundation provided key contributions to our ongoing efforts, including the commissioning - Dzonsgar Khyentse Rinpoche of pilot translations to bring us experience in Here, we must acknowledge the immense the complex process of translating, editing, debt of gratitude 84000 owes to our 108 and publishing them—experience that Founding Sponsors. They are the ones who proved crucial in practice and for our long- generously provided the seed funding that term planning—the organizing of our first few was so vital as we set off on this century- working committee meetings to set up the long journey. In addition to establishing the framework for our development, and supplying necessary financial reserve and funding for essential infrastructural and administrative the initial rounds of translations, the funds— support for the initial phases of 84000, between $50,000-$250,000 each—have incubating the project until it could become been used for: creating the infrastructure independent. Since then, the Foundation has for reviewing, editing, and pre-publication continued to provide core financial support to work; developing the tools and resources 84000. necessary for translation work; training It has been our great pleasure to witness the translators and editors; and helping to offset Foundation’s ongoing and progressive efforts both the costs of the initial planning, and both to nurture the source of the Buddhadharma the current and ongoing administrative and and to care for its future preservation and operational costs. propagation. We would certainly not be where We offer our heartfelt thanks to all our we are today without the Foundation’s vision, Founding Sponsors for enabling us to dedication, and support. safeguard this invaluable world heritage and to make it available for generations to come. How We Work For ten years, 84000 has worked tirelessly to preserve the heart of a living tradition Our 100-year vision is to translate the words of the Buddha into modern languages, and to facilitate engagement with them by providing universal access and interactive comprehension tools. In pursuit of our vision, 84000’s focus on translating the Tibetan Buddhist Canon and

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