Community Stories

In the sūtras, love is primarily understood as loving-kindness that is grounded in the realization of emptiness—the knowledge that there is no solid and enduring self to be found anywhere.

Have you ever wondered how the rituals and rules that govern the lives of monks and nuns got started? Or how wandering monks came to establish monasteries so they could live and meditate together in seclusion from the outside world? Read our deep dive with Dr. Bob Miller, 84000 research editor and a former monk, as he shares insights on three newly published texts that narrate the origins of monastic rituals and the first sanghas.

To mark the occasion of the Chinese New Year in 2025, we are delighted to share our publication, The Exemplary Tale of Puṇyabala (Toh 347), which emphasizes the Buddha’s teachings on the importance of merit as the foundation of Dharma practice.

The new year invites reflection and renewal, perfectly aligning with the Buddha’s teachings on awareness and meditation. It’s a time to set intentions, clarify our purpose, and cultivate a mindful approach to the future.

As 2024 draws to a close, we share some of our major accomplishments and widespread activities of the past year, thanks to the collective dedication of our community of supporters, translators, volunteers, team members, and so many others who make this invaluable work possible.

Carol Hu grew up in a Buddhist family and learned about Buddhism mainly through rituals and disciplines. Looking back, she realizes that she had only scratched the surface of what Buddhism is about.

“Buddhism has made a huge impact on my life. If we want it to thrive, especially in America and the West, it needs more exposure and awareness,” says Josh Capitanio, a Buddhist scholar and monthly donor to 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. “By translating the scriptures into English, 84000 is doing the most important thing we can do to set up the future of Buddhism in the West.”

Over ten years in translation, a complete English rendering of the great Mahāyāna sūtra, The Secrets of the Realized Ones (Tathāgataguhya), was published by 84000 in 2023. In this deep dive, Dr. David Fiordalis generously walks us through the narrative, the key passages, and some nuggets of wisdom. He also offers suggestions on how to read the text and truly absorb its meaning.

A consistent monthly donor to 84000 for over eight years, Donna Mitchell-Moniak has been a practitioner (first of the Native tradition and Patanjali’s sūtras, then Buddhism) most of her adult life. When she discovered 84000 as one of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s initiatives, she immediately recognized the value of connecting with the Buddha’s core wisdom teachings and helping to keep them alive.

Translator’s Path Takes Her From Nepali Village to Interpreter for Chӧkyi Nyima Rinpoche Dr. Catherine Dalton was 18 years old in 1998 when she first traveled to Nepal to teach English to Nepali children in a remote Buddhist village and fulfilled a childhood wish to visit Asia. She became interested in Buddhism while spending time at the local monastery. Back in the U.S., in her last semester of college, she took a class in Buddhist Madhyamaka philosophy. That class got her hooked.

Since 84000 launched our vast Reading Room more than thirteen years ago, the multi-layered database of Buddhist terms, places, people, and other information found in the collection of the Buddhist Kangyur and Tengyur published texts has continued to grow. It now contains more than four million nodes, or data points, across 350 translations—an average of 1,200 nodes per text.

Atisha Mathur has played a significant role in the 84000 initiative, a global nonprofit focused on translating and distributing the Buddha's teachings, particularly from the Tibetan Kangyur and Tengyur.

84000’s primary mission is to translate the Buddhist canon for diverse audiences—monastics and scholars as well as practitioners and general readers—while taking great care to make those translations accurate, available, and accessible. At the same time, 84000 strives to create a seamless and user-friendly reading experience that enhances the reader’s understanding.

Film producer Nanette Nelms became a student of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche in 2004, nearly a decade before he summoned her to produce Vara: A Blessing in 2013.

Film director Queena Li—creator of our tenth anniversary #SaveWisdomNow video—shares with 84000 how her interest in exploring the mind has inspired her creativity.

We sat down recently with Dr. Fumi Yao, the translator of The Chapter on Medicines, to learn more about how she came to specialize in the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya.

Building on our aspiration to revitalize interest in the foundations of the Buddhadharma, we took to the road (virtually, of course) to ask some of our friends from across the Himalayas which are their favorite 84000 Reading Room features, and why.

As we marked the anniversary of the Bir Conference 2009 that gave birth to our growing initiative, we sat down with Ivy Ang, who—appointed by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche to facilitate those historic six days—has since been with us every step of the way.

Last month, Deborah Dorjee—an instructor at Siddhartha’s Intent—kindly hosted a session during our twenty-four hour virtual sūtra recitation.

84000 Founding Chair Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche received a letter from a 94-year old Bhutanese that touches us deeply.

The best gifts we could receive on our birthday are stories of how our work has helped you! We're touched by Hasta Colman’s inspiring reflection on her own language-learning journey.

Professor Jens Braarvig talks to us about his translation of The Miraculous Play of Mañjuśrī.

DALeast describes street artistry, its connection to the Dharma, and the experience of illustrating Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s book on The Teaching of Vimalakīrti.

Rinpoche thanks supporters and urges everyone to spread the word: "Please talk about it. Please share our existence. Please share the information."

84000 is proud to have 3,118 donors as of September 2015. Click the link below to read more about one donor's story.

Watch our interview with Rinpoche on the meaning of 84000, why sūtras are important, and which sūtra has most impacted his life.

Our Reading Room now offer our readers the ability to study "The Long Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines" alongside both this commentary and the source text!

In a recent message to translators, Rinpoche paid tribute to our translators and emphasized on the importance of motivation.

Video interview of Julia Stenzel from Sakya Pandita Translation Group, on the Ākāśagarbha Sūtra and its translation process.

Catherine Dalton shares her experience working on an extensive account of the life and deeds of the Buddha, known as The Play in Full.