Buddhist Literary Heritage Project

 Here is the text of a letter sent to report on developments in the Buddhist Literary Heritage Project, spearheaded by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, who has appointed his trusted aide, Huang Jing Rui,  of Singapore, to take the project to the next level. Many of you have already received this, but for those of you who have not:

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Dear Friends, 

My name is Huang Jing Rui, and I am honored to be newly appointed as the interim executive director of the Buddhist Literary Heritage Project (BLHP). The goal of this new initiative is to see all of the vast and extraordinary riches of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist literature, particularly the Kangyur and Tengyur, translated into English and other modern languages and made universally accessible within a hundred years.

 

Over the past few decades, many groups and individuals have been working with great dedication to translate a wide range of Buddhist teachings into English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and other languages. The BLHP grew from the jointly expressed wishes of more than 50 such translators, teachers, and academics who met in Bir, India, in March 2009 at the Translating the Words of the Buddha conference.

 

Conceived as a project with its own activity and funding, and not simply as a forum for discussion, the BLHP clearly needs an effective organizational structure. At the Bir conference, the participants requested Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche to take on the interim responsibility of overseeing the establishment of the necessary structure.

 

In the six months since the conference, many interesting developments have taken place toward setting up that interim organizational structure, together with the key policies and strategic plans that will get the BLHP going. These steps include:

 

• May: Planning meeting 
• June: Editorial policy meeting 
• July: Appointment of executive director and working committee
• July: Confirmation of two “proof of concept” pilot translations
• September: Four-day working committee planning meeting

 

The Buddhist Literary Heritage Project will officially begin to operate in January 2010, managed by an interim working committee consisting of eight members:

 

• Chair: Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
• Executive director: Huang Jing Rui
• Committee members: Ani Kunga Chodron, Gene Smith, Ivy Ang, John Canti, Steven Goodman, and Cangioli Che

 

The BLHP interim working committee is committed to an open, inclusive, and collaborative approach that seeks the involvement of Dharma teachers, translators, academics, scholars, and researchers from all segments of the Buddhist community.

 

The BLHP has taken birth from the great aspirations of teachers, translators, and people like you, but it is still in its infancy. As we develop, learn, and move forward, we humbly seek your patience, understanding, and goodwill. Your ongoing support is absolutely necessary for the project to accomplish its objective of preserving and making available the precious teachings of the Buddha.

 

Finally, we wish to express our heartfelt thanks to all the past and present volunteers and donors, who have generously offered time, money, experience, expertise, effort, and goodwill to the BLHP. We look forward to your continued support.

 

Please feel free to forward this letter to anybody whom you feel might be interested in our project. Thank you.

 

Yours in the Dharma,

 

Huang Jing Rui

Executive Director

Buddhist Literary Heritage Project (BLHP)