Erick Tsiknopoulos (Sherab Zangpo)

Erick Tsiknopoulos (Sherab Zangpo) is an American translator of Tibetan to English, a teacher of Tibetan language, an English editor and proofreader, and a writer. His most notable works include the translations on his blog Sugatagarbha Translations and his current projects of translating the 29 and 31 Chapter Versions of the Sutra of Golden Light (Ārya Suvarṇaprabhā Sottama Sūtrendra Rāja Nama Mahāyāna Sūtra), and The Complete Yuthok Nyingthik. He is the founder and main translator of the Sugatagarbha Translation Group.

Brief Bio

Erick Tsiknopoulos (Sherab Zangpo), was born at 5:19 pm on October 15th, 1981, and grew up on the east and west coasts of the USA. He has been a student of Buddhism since 1999, began studying Tibetan Buddhism in 2003, and has been studying Tibetan language since 2004. He has been living in India and Nepal studying Tibetan Buddhism, Buddhist philosophy, and Tibetan language since 2007. He has lived and studied in Bir, Darjeeling, Norbulingka, Chauntra, Kathmandu, Dharamsala, and McLeod Ganj. In addition to frequent private classes with khenpos, geshes, and other Tibetan scholars, he has studied at the Manjushree Center of Tibetan Culture, the Thosam Ling Institute, Dzongsar Shedra, and the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. He currently studies Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan literature in public and private classes with Geshe Lobsang Drakpa, Geshe Lobsang Dawa, Dr. Lobzang Gyamtso, and Geshe Kelsang Wangmo, at Namgyal Monastery, the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, and Esukhia.

He has translated hundreds of Tibetan works into English, many of which are available for viewing on his website, Sugatagarbha Translations. Several of his translations have been published, including works by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche Jigdrel Yeshe Dorje, the 10th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche, Lamchen Gyalpo Rinpoche, Khunu Lama Rinpoche II, Dr. Nida Chengatsang, and Nyala Pema Duddul, as well as some Mahayana sutras. He has also translated various texts for Western Dharma centers. Fluent in spoken Tibetan as well as literary Tibetan, he has translated orally for several Buddhist teachers, including Khorchak Tulku Rinpoche, Geshe Tenzun Ludrup, Sangngag Tenzin Rinpoche, Khensur Denma Lochoe Rinpoche, and Geshe Lobsang Choegyel Rinpoche.

At present, his main translation projects are the 29 and 31 chapter versions of the Sutra of Golden Light, the 10th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche’s commentary on the 37 Bodhisattva Practices, and The Complete Yuthok Nyingthik (the main spiritual practice cycle for Tibetan medical practitioners), all of which will be published.

He currently lives in upper Dharamsala in McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh, India, close to His Holiness the Dalai Lama's main temple.

Erick is the main translator and founder of the Sugatagarbha Translation Group, and the main translator of most of the translations on the website Sugatagarbha Translations.

He is available for contact at emptyelephant@yahoo.com.

Main teachers

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Khentrul Lodrö Thayé Rinpoche, Geshe Lobsang Drakpa, Geshe Lobsang Dawa, Dr. Lobzang Gyamtso, Geshe Kelsang Wangmo

Other teachers

Lama Zöpa Rinpoche, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, His Holiness Sakya Trizin Rinpoche, His Holiness Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Geshe Tenzin Ludrup, Geshe Tsewang Nyima, Geshe Lobsang Tsöndru, Geshe Sönam Rinchen, Guru Döndup, Sertha Khenpo Chöying, Loppön Sönam Gyaltsen, Lama Orgyen Zangpo, Lama Chökyi Nyima (Richard Barron),Lama Shenphen Drölma, Lama Jamie Gatsal, Lama Inge Yeshe Zangmo, Lama Tsering Everest, Chagdud Khandro, Tulku Jigme Tromge Rinpoche, Tulku Jigme Thrinley Rinpoche, Ven. Thubten Chödrön, Sangngag Tenzin Rinpoche, Geshe Lobsang Chögyel Rinpoche, Lamchen Gyalpo Rinpoche, Gyume Khensur Lobsang Tenzin Rinpoche, Khorchak Tulku Rinpoche, Dr. Nida Chengatsang, Gen Dawa Tsering, and others

Study Background

Began studying Buddhism in 1999. Began studying Tibetan language in 2004. Has been living in India and Nepal from 2007 to the present. Has studied at the Manjushree Center for Tibetan Culture, the Thosam Ling Institute, Dzongsar Shedra (Dzongsar Chokyi Lodro Institute of Buddhist Dialectics), and the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, as well as frequent private classes with geshes, khenpos, and other Tibetan scholars.

Currently studies Pharchin/Prajnaparamita/Perfection of Wisdom (the Abhisamayalamkara with its Tibetan commentaries), Lamrim (Stages of the Path texts including Lamrim Chenmo), Tibetan Buddhist debate and dialectics, the Yuthok Nyingthik, the Sutra of Golden Light (gser 'od dam pa'i mdo), and Tibetan grammar, literature, and translation in public and private classes at Namgyal Monastery, the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, and Esukhia with Geshe Lobsang Drakpa, Geshe Lobsang Dawa, Dr. Lobzang Gyamtso, and Geshe Kelsang Wangmo.

Published Works

• Sunlight Blessings that Cure the Longing of Remembrance: A Biography of the Khunu Mahasattva, Tenzin Gyeltsen [Khunu Lama Rinpoche], by Lamchen Gyalpo Rinpoche
• The Lamp of Pristine Wisdom: A Commentary on Karme Chagme's Manjushri Sadhana 'Clearing Away the Darkness of Delusion', by the 10th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche
• The Noble One's Downpour of Blessings: A Commentary on Thangtong Gyalpo's Chenrezig Sadhana 'For the Benefit of Beings Pervading Space', by the 10th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche
• The Lamp of Advice Which Illuminates That Which Is To Be Adopted And Abandoned, by Khunu Negi Rinpoche (Khunu Lama Rinpoche II)
• The Negative Retributions of Guns as Seen in the Reviving Hell: An Extract from the Visions of Each Hell, by Nyala Pema Duddul
• The Maha-Lakshmi Sutra (Mahashri Sutra) (uncredited)
• The Prayer for the Swift Rebirth of the 9th Khalkha Jetsün Dampa Rinpoche, by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso
• Manjushri, Green Tara, and Medicine Buddha sadhana practice texts for Sakya Dokho Ling, a Sakya center in the USA
• several texts for Bon Shen Ling, a Bonpo center in New York City, USA (uncredited)

Active Projects

• The Extensive Sutra of Golden Light: The 29 and 31 Chapter Versions (Ārya Suvarṇaprabhā Sottama Sūtrendra Rāja Nama Mahāyāna Sūtra)
• Entry Point of the Conqueror's Heirs: A Commentary on the 37 Bodhisattva Practices, by the 10th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche
• The Complete Yuthok Nyingthik

Unpublished Works (completed)

• Melodious and Delightful Laughter: A Clearly-Expressed Chronicle of the Sacred Site of Drakda Lamtso, the Life-Force Lake of Yeshe Tsogyal
• and hundreds of others, some of which are available for viewing at the blog Sugatagarbha Translations

Early life

Erick Tsiknopoulos was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. His mother is of Norwegian and Swedish heritage, and his father of Greek, German-American, and Irish heritage. His ethnic heritage is thus 25 percent Greek, 25 percent Norwegian, 25 percent Swedish, 12.5 percent Irish, and 12.5 percent German-American. His father grew up in the Greek/Turkish island country of Cyprus, and emigrated to the US at the age of 9. His grandmother was a Greek immigrant who grew up in Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece. His mother grew up in coastal Northern California, the daughter of a Swedish-American logging mill worker and poet and a Norwegian-American school teacher. Both his parents were active members of the counter-culture revolution of the 60s and 70s, and spent most of their time living in the San Francisco Bay Area from 1969-1981. His father is a construction inspector, and his mother works in the special education field, particularly with the government program for special-needs and underprivileged children Head Start. He has one younger brother, Wesley John-Cyprian.

After being born in Gettysburg, his parents moved to Sacramento, where he spent the first year of his life. The family then moved back to the Gettysburg area, where they lived until he was 8 years old. At age 8 his family moved to Florida briefly, for about a year and a half, and returned to Pennsylvania in 1991. He spent the rest of his childhood and adolescence in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, about one hour south of Pittsburgh, where his parents still reside.

From an early age, Erick had a strong interest in reading. In particular, when he was young he was interested in mythology, the paranormal, legends, epics, adventure, fantasy, magic, and science fiction.

In high school he took a keen interest to foreign languages, literature, philosophy, Asian cultures, Eastern religion, and especially Buddhism. He began studying Buddhism at the age of 17. At the age of 18, during his senior year of high school, he formally became a Buddhist. From then on, he always read everything about Buddhism that he could. During his senior year of high school he began to attend Buddhist events, including the Pittsburgh Buddhist Conference (his first Buddhist event), a 5 Lay Precepts retreat with a teacher in the Thich Nhat Hanh lineage, and a meditation retreat at the Theravada monastery the Bhavana Society. During this time his library of Buddhist books grew considerably. In particular, he read various Buddhist scriptures and sutras, a habit which he still maintains.

In the summer after graduation, he stayed at the Bhavana Society again for about one month, where he studied vipassana meditation and the lay ethical precepts with the senior American monk Bhante Rahula and Bhante Gunaratana, one of the foremost Sri Lankan Buddhist masters. He also took a strong interest in Chinese Buddhism, especially due to its syncretic approach.

Post High School and Early Twenties

After graduating high school in 2000, he moved to Humboldt County, California, first to Eureka and shortly thereafter to Arcata. His initial reason for moving there was to serve in the government volunteer program AmeriCorps, where he worked as an environmental educator for one year, mostly teaching elementary school children about recycling.

His experiences in Arcata, renowned as one of the most progressive and eccentric college towns in America, made a strong impression on him. Living there allowed him to explore a variety of different lifestyles, and provided him with an abundance of interesting experiences and encounters with various artists, writers, poets, activists, musicians, Buddhists, yoga practitioners, and travelers.

While he lived in Arcata he was also exposed to Tibetan Buddhism and Zen, which were to both have a profound affect on life and way of thinking. He became actively involved in the local Zen and Tibetan Buddhist sanghas, and attended many teachings with their visiting teachers. For a while he served as the librarian of the Arcata Zen Center. During this time he also had a kind of poetic apprenticeship with Crawdad Nelson, one of the most popular Northern Californian poets, and befriended many musicians, such as the well-known indie rock artist Zach Meints and his associates. He spent most of his time from late 2000 to early 2005 in Humboldt County and Arcata, in total a little less than 4 years.

In 2002, he traveled to Southern California and Arizona, going to various towns in an adventurous spirit, and worked a season at the Grand Canyon. After returning home to Pennsylvania for a couple months, he stayed at a Chinese Buddhist monastery for one month (the City of 10,000 Buddhas in Ukiah, California), where he studied Gwan Yin recitation, Ch'an meditation, and the Shurangama Sutra. In August 2002, he started college for the first time at the College of the Redwoods in Eureka, California. In college he began to study Japanese language, which would later become a major interest. He served another year-long term with AmeriCorps, where he worked as a reading and literacy tutor for elementary school students.

In 2003, at the age of 21, he met his first Tibetan Buddhist teachers with whom he felt a strong connection, the triple-khenpo and tulku Khentrul Lodro Thaye Rinpoche and the American lama Lama Orgyen Zangpo. Both of them were teaching right across from his house at the Arcata Veterans' Center. During this time, his reading interests and exposure to various ideas and philosophies greatly expanded. In the summer of 2003, he again spent time at the Bhavana Society in West Virginia, studying again with Bhante Gunaratana and Bhante Rahula. He then worked a season at Yosemite National Park, where he had many adventures in the high country of the Sierra Mountains and befriended many Japanese exchange workers. After that, he traveled to Mexico with a Japanese friend he had met in Yosemite, hitchhiking most of the way there and back. On the way back from Mexico he hitchhiked up the California coast. He then returned to Arcata, and began studying frequently with the Tibetan Buddhist teachers he had briefly met earlier that year, Lama Orgyen Zangpo and Khentrul Lodro Thaye Rinpoche. With them he studied shamatha-vipashyana from the Tibetan perspective, guru yoga, Red Tara, and other teachings. He started to become extremely interested in Tibetan Buddhism.

In 2004, he lived in Arcata and continued his studies of Tibetan Buddhism, along with his Japanese language studies. He also continued his study and practice of Zen, and developed a deeper appreciation for the writings of Zen Master Dogen. It was at the time that, being inspired by the translator Richard Barron and others, that he developed the aspiration to learn Tibetan language and become a Tibetan-English translator, after which he began to study Tibetan language for the first time.

In 2005, at the age of 23, he said a final goodbye to Arcata, and traveled to Japan, where he lived for 6 months. There he became relatively fluent in Japanese, and lived in the Saitama, Mie, and Kyoto prefectures. This was to be one of the most formative experiences of his life. It was the first time that he had lived in Asia, entered deeply into an Asian culture and language, and experienced Buddhism firsthand in a traditionally Buddhist culture. In Japan he worked as an English teacher part-time, and spent most of his free time studying Japanese, writing haiku in Japanese, and visiting Buddhist temples. His experiences in Japan made a deep change on his perception.

Mid-Twenties

In 2005, he returned from Japan and moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he lived for 7 months with his good friend John Allen Gibel, a film-maker and yoga teacher. During this time he led a meditation group in his home, and helped to arrange for the visit of Lamchen Gyalpo Rinpoche to Pittsburgh. He also became more involved in his study of the Tibetan language.

In 2006, he again traveled across the country, staying at Dharma centers in the West and attending retreats with his Tibetan Buddhist teachers. He painted the inside of a prayer-wheel house at Iron Knot Ranch in Arizona, and attended a profound retreat with his teacher Khentrul Lodro Thaye Rinpoche in Oregon. He then worked a summer in Olympic National Park in Washington State. After that, he stayed at Ven. Thubten Chodron's monastery Shravasti Abbey in Washington for a month, where he studied monastic life and the bodhisattva levels. He then attended a month-long teaching on Rongzom Mahapandita's text 'Entering the Way of the Great Approach' with Khentrul Lodro Thaye Rinpoche at Rigdzin Ling in Northern California. After that, he lived in Cottage Grove, Oregon for 6 months at the Nyingma Dharma center Dechhen Ling. It was during this year that he began to receive the higher teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, and also began one of his major interests: integral philosophy, especially according to the theories of Ken Wilber and Spiral Dynamics theory.

In 2007, he lived in Dechhen Ling in Cottage Grove and then in Eugene, Oregon at a Sakya Dharma center for 4 months. He also studied massage therapy in the local community college. During this time, he studied classical Tibetan with the translator Chris Wilkinson. After that, he worked for a season at a hot springs resort in Alaska. Following that, he returned briefly to Oregon and then to his parents' home in Pennsylvania. At this time, he began his first experiments with translating Tibetan texts.

In December 2007, he finally attained the goal that was his true heart's desire for over three years: at last, at the age of 26, he traveled to India to study Tibetan.

In India in 2008, he stayed in Dharamsala briefly and then stayed in Bir. In February 2008, he returned to the US for less than a month due to personal circumstances. Upon returning in the same month, stayed briefly in Tashi Jong, and again stayed in Bir, where he taught English at Chokling Gompa for two months. During this period, he spent most of his time studying classical Tibetan in isolation at the top of Chokling Monastery's highest tower, and began to speak Tibetan with the locals for the first time. He then traveled to Darjeeling, where he studied spoken and literary Tibetan for about 5 months at the Manjushree Center for Tibetan Culture with Gen Dawa and Gen Lobsang. In Darjeeling he lived first at the Drukpa Kagyu monastery Dzigar Gompa and then in his own apartment. During this time he started to become skilled in the spoken Tibetan language. Due to the political unrest in Darjeeling at that time, when they local dominant political groups were threatening a two month strike and asked all foreigners to leave, he traveled to Kathmandu for one month. In October 2008, due to financial problems and other concerns, he returned to the United States for about 8 months, living in Pittsburgh and Uniontown.

Late Twenties

In June 2009, he returned to India, where at first he lived in Sidhpur/Norbulingka and studied at the Thosam Ling Institute with Geshe Tsewang Nyima and also with Dharma teachers in private classes, including Serta Khenpo Choeying and Loppon Sonam Gyaltsen. It was during this period that he began to work professionally as a Tibetan translator. He translated the Mahashri Sutra (Maha-Lakshi Sutra), and Melodious and Delightful Laughter: A Clearly-Expressed Chronicle of the Sacred Site of Drakda Lamtso, the Life-Force Lake of Yeshe Tsogyal (for the Jnanasukha Foundation) during this time, as well as many texts from the Zungdu (The Collected Dharanis). He also attended many teachings with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in McLeod Ganj.

In 2010, he translated the The Lamp of Advice Which Illuminates That Which Is To Be Adopted And Abandoned, by Khunu Negi Rinpoche (Khunu Lama Rinpoche II). Beginning in March of 2010, he studied Buddhist philosophy, grammar, logic, and debate at Dzongsar Shedra in Chauntra for about five months. He then moved back to Sidhpur/Norbulingka. He translated briefly for Chamtrul Rinpoche in McLeod Ganj. He finished his translation of Manjushri, Green Tara, and Medicine Buddha sadhanas for an Sakya Dokho Ling, an American Dharma center. In November of 2010, he conceived the project of translating the 29 and 31 Chapter Versions of the Sutra of Golden Light, and formed the Sugatagarbha Translation Group with Mike Dickman. He spend a few weeks in Tso Pema, where he translated The Noble One's Downpour of Blessings: A Commentary on Thangtong Gyalpo's Chenrezig Sadhana 'For the Benefit of Beings Pervading Space', by the 10th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche. During this year he also attended many teachings with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and also Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.

In 2011, he lived in Norbulingka, Kathmandu, and Darjeeling. Early in the year, he continued his studies with Serta Khenpo Choeying and Geshe Tsewang Nyima of Thosam Ling, studying Madhyamaka with both of them. He translated The Lamp of Pristine Wisdom: A Commentary on Karme Chagme's Manjushri Sadhana 'Clearing Away the Darkness of Delusion', by the 10th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche. He began his online Tibetan teaching service, 'Learn Tibetan at Home'. He helped Serta Khenpo Choeying found the organization and website for the Mipham Lineage Preservation Association, of which he is the main translator. He spent three and a half months in Kathmandu in the summer, and then moved to Darjeeling in October. In late 2011, he finished the translation of Sunlight Blessings That Cure the Longing of Remembrance: A Biography of the Khunu Mahasattva, Tenzin Gyeltsen [Khunu Lama Rinpoche], by Lamchen Gyalpo Rinpoche, reviewing the text with Gen Dawa, his old teacher from Manjushree.

Early Thirties/Present

Erick Tsiknopoulos is presently at the age of 31.

In late 2011 and early 2012 he lived in Darjeeling and continued his Tibetan language and Buddhist studies with his teachers Gen Dawa Tsering and Geshe Tenzin Ludrup. He continued to work on his various translation projects, finished his translation of the Sunlight Blessings Which Cure the Longing of Remembrane: A Biography of Khunu Lama Rinpoche by Lamchen Gyalpo Rinpoche, studied the Akashagarbha Sutra with Geshe Tenzin Ludrup, and translated on Sundays for Geshe Tenzin Ludrub's Dharma teachings. In the winter of 2011-2012, he traveled for two months in Dharamsala and Karnataka in South India.

In April 2012 he moved to Dharamsala, which he has now established as his permanent base in India.

In 2012 he studied philosophical tenet systems, the Seventy Topics of the Abhisamayalamara (don bdun bcu), and Collected Debate Topics at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives with Geshe Lobsang Tsoendrue and Geshe Sonam Rinchen, private classes through Esukhia with Dr. Lobzang Gyamtso on the 29 and 31 Chapter Versions of the The Sutra of Golden Light and The Complete Yuthok Nyingthik, and the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics with Geshe Lobsang Dawa. During 2012 he completed several translations of texts for the American center Bon Shen Ling. In May 2012 he began work on The Complete Yuthok Nyingthik. In August 2012 he began to study the 29 and 31 Chapter Versions of the The Sutra of Golden Light and The Complete Yuthok Nyingthik with Dr. Lobzang Gyamtso. In September 2012 he moved to McLeod Ganj, close to the Dalai Lama's Main Temple/Tsuklhakhang. In December of 2012 he finished his translation of The Negative Retributions of Guns as Seen in the Reviving Hell: An Extract from the Visions of Each Hell, by Nyala Pema Duddul.

In early January he translated for Sangngag Tenzin Rinpoche in Boudha, Kathmandu, Nepal. From early January to early March of 2013, he visited the USA for two months.

He currently studies at Namgyal Monastery, the Institute of Buddhist Dialects, and Esukhia, in various classes taught by Geshe Lobsang Drakpa, Geshe Lobsang Dawa, Geshe Kelsang Wangmo, and Dr. Lobzang Gyamtso, in particular Pharchin/Prajnaparamita, Lamrim literature, meditation, the works of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Lamrim Chenmo, and Tibetan grammar. He also reviews his translations (mainly The Complete Yuthok Nyingthik and the 29 and 31 Chapter Versions of the The Sutra of Golden Light every day with Dr. Lobzang Gyamtso, an accomplished scholar of Tibetan medicine and Buddhism.

He continues to work on his translation projects, the main ones beings the 29 and 31 Chapter Versions of the The Sutra of Golden Light and The Complete Yuthok Nyingthik.

External links

• The Complete Sutra of Golden Light -- The Sugatagarbha Translation Group's Project to Translate the Extensive Sutra of Golden Light: The 29 and 31 Chapter Versions
• Sugatagarbha Translations
• Learn Tibetan at Home: A Tibetan Language Teaching Service Provided by Erick Tsiknopoulos
• The Erick Tsiknopoulos entry on Rangjung Yeshe Wiki

Other Projects

numerous sutras, prayers, and commentaries

Internal Links

http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Sugatagarbha_Translation_Group

External Links

http://www.sugatagarbhatranslations.com
http://www.sutraofgoldenlight.com http://www.learntibetanathome.com

Can your oral/written translation skills be engaged?

Yes.

email: emptyelephant@yahoo.com