Erick Tsiknopoulos
Erick Tsiknopoulos (b. 1981) has been practicing Buddhism since 1999 and studying Tibetan since 2004. He engaged in an intensive study of Tibetan language and Buddhism for 11 years in the Himalayan region of India and Nepal from 2008 to 2019, primarily in Dharamsala and other towns in Himachal Pradesh, but also Darjeeling and Kathmandu, where he studied Tibetan literature and Buddhist philosophy closely with learned Tibetan scholars and experienced Buddhist teachers, and lived in a culturally and linguistically immersive environment within the Tibetan communities of South Asia. During this time he attended teachings with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and many other respected Tibetan lamas on a frequent basis. In particular, from 2008 to 2016 he studied modern literary Tibetan with Gen Dawa Tsering and others at the Manjushree Centre of Tibetan Culture, Buddhist tenets with Geshe Tsewang Nyima at the Thosam Ling Institute, Buddhist dialectics with various khenpos at Dzongsar Shedra, and Tibetan textual analysis, translation theory and Buddhist hermeneutics with Gen Lobzang Gyatso at Esukhia.
Erick has been working professionally as a textual translator since 2009, and since then has translated hundreds of Tibetan texts into English. Over the years he has completed important translations for numerous Dharma centers, organizations and individuals around the world, as well as his own translation projects. He thus has extensive experience in translating Tibetan literature, in particular Buddhist scriptures from the Tibetan Canon and Tantric ritual texts (sādhanā). He is familiar with most topics of Buddhist doctrine and Tibetan literary genres, including philosophical writings. Many of his translation works have been published in various formats, including printed books. His works have been cited in numerous books and academic articles. He has also served as an oral interpreter for several Tibetan Buddhist teachers in the USA, India and Nepal.
In addition to his prolific translations, he has worked as a Tibetan language instructor since 2011, teaching classical, colloquial spoken and modern literary Tibetan. His unique linguistic skills and broad depth of experience in translation and teaching are widely sought by educational institutions, Buddhist organizations and serious students of Tibetan language internationally. Having spent many years integrating into Tibetan society in Asia, he is highly fluent in colloquial Tibetan, which aids him greatly in both his translations and language teaching.
He is the founder of Trikāya Translations and the Trikāya Tibetan Linguistic Academy, and is a regular contributor to the Rangjung Yeshe Dharma Dictionary (under the auspices of the Tsadra Foundation). He aims to help make Tibetan literature, Tibetan language and the Buddhist teachings more widely available and better understood.
Erick Tsiknopoulos is available for commissioned translation work and online Tibetan language classes. Email: e.tsikno@gmail.com, tibetanteaching@gmail.com or trikayatranslations@gmail.com
- TibetanTranslations.com The main website of Erick Tsiknopoulos.