Dynamics of Devotion

Migmar Lama2022-11-16T23:40:43-07:00

Andrew Quintman (Wesleyan), Lara Braitstein (McGill), Heidi Nevin (Independent), Anne Klein (Rice), Holly Gayley (University of Colorado, Boulder), and Annabella Pitkin (Lehigh) take on the topic of devotion in translation. Annabella Pitkin skillfully facilitates discussion focused on three themes: literary and embodied devotion, translation as an act of devotion, and the cultural translation of devotion. Regarding the first, the group considers what terms are particularly difficult to unpack in English, posing questions like, “How does language serve to dictate devotion?”, and, “How does literature and its utterance help mediate the distance between subject and object?” While translators are positioned as […]

Dynamics of DevotionMigmar Lama2022-11-16T23:40:43-07:00

Reflections on the Translation Process

Migmar Lama2022-11-16T23:40:44-07:00

Jules Levinson (Independent), John Canti (Padmakara, 84000), Dominique Townsend (Bard), Lama Jabb (Oxford), Sarah Harding (Tsadra Foundation), and Nancy Lin (84000) share their reflections about the process of oral and written translation from some of the first instances of Tibetan language being rendered into English in the United States through the first Lotsawa Translation Workshop in 2018. The discussion weaves through topics like facing the fear of “imposter syndrome” as part of the process of translation, the importance of “kindness to the reader”, and how translators relate to the concept of form. The speakers create a gentle, encouraging, and humorous […]

Reflections on the Translation ProcessMigmar Lama2022-11-16T23:40:44-07:00

What Authority Can a Translation Claim?

Marcus Perman2022-11-16T23:34:09-07:00

Although we recognise the fundamental importance of translation in the transmission of texts written in languages that we do not know, the question remains as to what authority a translation can claim. The relationship between translation and original has been a source of heated debate for centuries, with widely differing views as to how ‘faithfulness’ in translation might be defined. There is a paradox at the heart of how we view translation, for though we acknowledge the inherent difficulties of the task, we also take translation for granted to the point where translators become invisible. This paper will consider that […]

What Authority Can a Translation Claim?Marcus Perman2022-11-16T23:34:09-07:00

The Proto-History of Buddhist Translation: From Gāndhārī and Pāli to Han-Dynasty Chinese

Marcus Perman2022-11-16T23:34:12-07:00

Discussions of the history of Buddhist translation usually begin with China, where in the middle of the second century Buddhist scriptures were translated into a non-Indian language for the first time. Yet the process of translation itself began many centuries earlier, when the words of the Buddha were rendered into a multitude of Indian vernaculars. Beginning with a brief sketch of these intra-Indian translations, I will then turn to the earliest Chinese Buddhist translations, focusing on the variety of “translation policies” used by their second-century translators and comparing them with the strategies subsequently employed in Tibet and elsewhere. I will […]

The Proto-History of Buddhist Translation: From Gāndhārī and Pāli to Han-Dynasty ChineseMarcus Perman2022-11-16T23:34:12-07:00

Translation for the Sake of Self and Other

Marcus Perman2022-10-30T21:56:01-06:00

In the search of where the true text resides and how translations will be transmitted to students and practitioners in the future, Professor Cabezón notes the importance of the social, economic, and political contexts in which Buddhist text arose and the contemporary circumstances in which we find ourselves as it relates to study and practice of Buddhism in the West. Then with characteristic humor and levity, Professor Cabezón encourages translators to embrace the art of decision-making in the unique method of self-study that is translation. Thanks to Maitripa College, you can read a transcript of the speech here.

Translation for the Sake of Self and OtherMarcus Perman2022-10-30T21:56:01-06:00

Be Kind to Your Reader

Marcus Perman2022-11-16T23:36:57-07:00

In this first keynote speech of the Translation & Transmission Conference series, we hear from internationally renowned scholar and translator David Bellos on a wide range of topics including his approach to translation, uses and misuses of xenisms, translationese, translation history, and an important reminder to “be kind to the reader.” In discussing the history of translation in the western world, Professor Bellos describes two, almost simultaneous, historical origins for translation in the middle of the third century B.C.E., where, for the first time, two texts were brought from one language into another, not just rewritten, or re-encoded, re-elaborated, they […]

Be Kind to Your ReaderMarcus Perman2022-11-16T23:36:57-07:00

Questions about Transmission and Translation

Marcus Perman2022-11-16T23:37:00-07:00

Professor Gyatso, one of the most creative thinkers in Tibetan studies, reflects on translation, transmission, tradition, and authenticity, while discussing a range of topics including the particular joys of translating Tibetan. Janet has been a pioneer in Tibetan Studies in so many ways starting with her early work on Terma and opening that area up to the inquiry of other scholars and to the general public. She is likely best known for her pioneering and groundbreaking work on autobiography with the publication of Apparitions of the Self and her recent book Being Human in a Buddhist World, winner of the […]

Questions about Transmission and TranslationMarcus Perman2022-11-16T23:37:00-07:00

Translation and Transmission

Marcus Perman2022-10-30T22:49:33-06:00

This panel synthesizes many earlier discussions about the connections between the processes of translation and transmission. Wulstan Fletcher acknowledges the bifurcation of “scholar” and “practitioner” and the basic assumptions associated with each label. Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo explores the limits of tolerance and the translator’s responsibility in terms of social justice issues. Donald Lopez speaks of the importance of all types of Tibetan texts when seeking historical context, and Jules Levinson discusses the point at which translators find themselves poised to develop literature and poetry for the sake of creative process.

Translation and TransmissionMarcus Perman2022-10-30T22:49:33-06:00