Gyurme Dorje 1950 - 2020

One of our most expert and productive translators, Dr. Gyurme Dorje, passed away in February, in hospital in Dundee, Scotland. Gyurme Dorje was present at the 2009 Bir conference from which 84000 first evolved, and was an enthusiastic contributor to the planning of the project. A prolific translator with a wide range of scholarship, his main work for 84000 has been the translation of two of the major Prajñāpāramitā sūtras. Although it is with great sadness that we announce his death, his life, personal qualities, and achievements as a translator and scholar are to be celebrated.

Language, Philology, and the Motif of the Courtesan: An Interview with Prof. Jens Braarvig

We recently published Professor Jens Erland Braarvig’s translation of ‘The Miraculous Play of Mañjuśri.’ The profound teachings of this Mahāyāna sūtra unfold within a wildly engaging story about a courtesan and a wealthy, banker’s son. Prof. Braarvig follows the historical diffusion of concepts into new languages, and we spoke about the importance of language, the act of translation, the value of independent projects in improving the current state of Buddhist studies, and about how Mahāyāna sūtras often employ unconventional personalities as carriers of the Buddha’s wisdom.

On Being Brave: Our Founding Chair on Technology and the Dissemination of Dharma

As we celebrate our 10th anniversary and look forward to the ways in which we can bring the words of the Buddha to the widest possible audiences in languages they can understand, our Founding Chair, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche shares with us the beneficial potential of today’s continually evolving technology and how it can—and should—be put to good use.