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| Padma Publishing |
Padma Publishing, established in 1986 to make the written works
of the Vajrayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism available to Western
students, is Chagdud Gonpa Foundation's publishing arm. Padma Publishing
translates and publishes numerous traditional Nyingma sadhana texts,
ritual liturgies, and prayers as well as the contemporary teachings of
Chagdud Rinpoche and other Vajrayana lamas.
Longchenpa's Seven Treasuries
Padma Publishing is engaged in the long-term project of translating
into English the revered Dzogchen commentaries known as the Seven
Treasuries, authored by the fourteenth-century Nyingma master Longchen
Rabjam (Longchenpa). These masterpieces, admired by scholars for centuries,
synthesizes more than 600 years of development in the spiritual tradition first
brought to Tibet by Padmasambhava in the eighth century. Padma
Publishing editions include the English translation as well as structural
outlines, critical notes, lists of key terms, and glossaries.
Producing an English edition of the Seven Treasuries is a daunting
task, both scholastically and linguistically. Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche,
late head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, felt that such a project
would be a extremely important undertaking, but pointed out that these
comprehensive and profoundly intricate texts presented enormous challenges to
quality translation. Every line, and often each word, of Longchenpa's text
presents challenges. The Padma Translation Committee, headed by Richard Barron
(Lama Chökyi Nyima), established a multi-leveled editorial process, similar
to the traditional manner of translation projects in Tibet's great monastic
institutions. In addition to having received input and direction from Chagdud
Rinpoche, the translators have benefited from several visiting scholars, who
have lent their expertise in elucidating and clarifying difficult points in the
texts.
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