The Padma Translation Committee

Padma Publishing Translation Committee

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Padma Publishing's Translation Project

The Padma Publishing Translation Committee History Padma Publishing is Chagdud Gonpa Foundation's publishing arm. Currently under the direction of Lama Padma Drimed Norbu, Padma is devoted to translating Buddhist liturgies as well as producing books in Tibetan Buddhist studies. It was H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche's vision that the Seven Treasuries of Longchenpa be made available to Western students of the Dzogchen tradition, and for this reason he founded the Translation Project in 1987, inviting Richard Barron (Lama Chökyi Nyima) to assist Padma in its endeavors. To date, the Padma Translation Committee has produced two of the Seven Treasuries, as well as numerous sadhana texts, ritual liturgies, prayers, and other practice materials.

Longchenpa's Seven Treasuries Padma is engaged in the long-term project of translating into English the revered Dzogchen commentaries known as the Seven Treasuries, authored by the fourteenth-century Nyingma master, Longchen Rabjam (Longchenpa). This masterpiece, admired by scholars for centuries, synthesizes more than 600 years of development in the spiritual tradition first brought to Tibet by Padmasambhava in the eighth century. Padma editions include both the Tibetan source text (in Tibetan script) and the English translation, as well as structural outlines, critical notes, lists of key terms, and glossaries. Producing an English edition of the Seven Treasuries is a daunting task, both scholastically and linguistically. Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, late head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, felt that such a project would be a extremely important undertaking, but pointed out that these comprehensive and profoundly intricate texts presented enormous challenges to quality translation. Every line, and often each word, of Longchenpa's text presents challenges. The Padma Translation Committee has established a multi-leveled editorial process, similar to the traditional manner of translation projects in Tibet's great monastic institutions. In addition to having received input and direction from H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, the translators have benefited from several visiting scholars, who have lent their expertise in elucidating and clarifying difficult points in the texts. It is expected that the next volume of the Seven Treasuries will be produced some time in 2006. More about available translations of Longchenpa's Seven Treasuries and other work of the Translation Committee website