Translation: Theory and Praxis
In this first plenary panel of the 2014 conference, Translation: Theory & Praxis, Thupten Jinpa shares a bit about what Tibetans themselves have thought about and written about translation. Roger Jackson discusses some of the projects he has worked on over the years and gives examples of the problems that translators face. Sarah Harding delves into problems of intention and layers of interpretation, as well as the importance of translation and translators.
Event: TT Conference 2014 – Plenary Session
Date: October 3, 2014 – 11:00 am
Speakers: Roger Jackson, Sarah Harding, Thupten Jinpa
Topics: Translation
Sarah Harding
Tsadra Foundation Fellow; Naropa University
Sarah Harding has been a Buddhist practitioner since 1974 and has been teaching and translating since completing a three-year retreat in 1980 under the guidance of Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche. Her publications include Creation and Completion, The Life and Revelations of Pema Lingpa, Treasury of Knowledge: Esoteric Instructions, Machig’s Complete Explanation, and Niguma, Lady of Illusion. She is an associate professor at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, where she has been teaching since 1992, and has been a fellow of the Tsadra Foundation since 2000. Currently she is working on translating the zhi byed and gcod sections of the gdams ngag rin po che’i mdzod.
Thupten Jinpa
Institute of Tibetan Classics
Thupten Jinpa, PhD, received his early education as a monk and obtained the Geshe Lharam degree from Ganden Monastic University in South India. He holds a BA in philosophy and a PhD in religious studies, both from Cambridge University. Jinpa is an adjunct professor at McGill University. He is associated with the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, and is the main author of its Compassion Cultivation Training program. He is the board chair of the Mind and Life Institute, the founder and president of the Institute of Tibetan Classics, and the general editor for The Library of Tibetan Classics. Since 1985 he has been the principal English translator to H.H. the Dalai Lama. Jinpa’s published works include translations of numerous books by the Dalai Lama, Songs of Spiritual Experience, Mind Training: The Great Collection, and The Book of Kadam. His Tibetan publications include a first ever introduction to Buddhism in vernacular Tibetan and a comprehensive modern Tibetan grammar. Most recently, he co-translated Grains of Gold by Gendun Chöpel.
Roger Jackson
Carleton College
Roger Jackson is Professor of Asian Studies and Religion at Carleton College in Minnesota. He received a PhD in Buddhist Studies in 1983 from the University of Wisconsin, where he studied under Geshe Lhundub Sopa. He was for many years editor of the Journal of the International Association of Buddhists Studies, and currently co-edits the Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies. His scholarly work has focused on Indic and Tibetan philosophical, meditative, ritual, and poetic traditions, as well as modern Buddhist thought. Volumes he has co-edited include Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, Buddhist Theology (1996), and Mahāmudrā and the Bka’ brgyud Tradition (2011). His translations include Is Enlightenment Possible? (1993), Tantric Treasures (2004), and The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems (2009). Currently, he is nearing completion of a study and anthology of Gelukpa Mahāmudrā texts. His next project will be a global anthology of translations of Buddhist poetry.
