The 84000 Reading Room is an immersive online reading environment where anyone can have a direct encounter with the timeless words of the Buddha.
More than 95% of the Buddha’s teachings locked away in classical Tibetan are at risk of passing into obscurity, as the number of people who can understand them dwindles. 84000 has taken on the challenge of bringing the ancient words of the Buddha to the modern world through translation.
Based on state-of-the-art interactive web technologies, the Reading Room presents English translations of the words of the Buddha in a clear and easy to read format. Translations into other major modern languages will be added in the future. With its secure user-friendly technology platform, 84000’s online reading room enables readers to have the words of the Buddha right at their fingertips. Users who want to read offline will soon be able to download and print out translations in PDF format, or easily share them with others. Whatever the format, the translation will maintain the beauty it has in the Reading Room, thereby preserving the intent and meaning of the translation.
The Reading Room was first launched during Losar, on February 22, 2012. Users of the reading room are now able to:
- Read both the summaries and full texts of the completed inaugural translations.
- Scan the Kangyur sections and text titles in three languages––English, Tibetan and Sanskrit––and get a sense of the fascinating range of topics that the Buddha spoke about 2,500 years ago; and a peek into what will be translated in the future.
- Learn about key terms, person names, and place names through the integrated three-language glossary and subject classification system linked to each translation.
The Reading Room is still in its infancy, and will be updated regularly as more translations are completed. Plans are underway for more features to be developed in the near future:
- PDF versions of the translated texts will be available soon, making it possible for users to download, print and read them offline.
- All the glossaries will be cross-linked, providing a rich resource for Buddhist teachers, students and translators, as well as anyone who is interested in history, archaeology, culture and philosophy.
- The search mechanism will be enabled to recognize Sanskrit words with and without diacritical marks.
- The outlines and text titles of the Tantra and Old Tantra sections will be completed.
- Bibliographical details and/or links to translations that exist elsewhere will be added.
- The existing static display of the notes at the end of the translation will be replaced with a more user-friendly pop-up display within the text itself.
The Reading Room is being developed in collaboration with the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (TBRC).
Visit the Reading Room now to read an English translation.
We hope you enjoy your Reading Room. Please feel free to contact us at info@84000.co if you have any questions or feedback on the reading room. Thank you for your continuing support.
