About Padmakara
Padmakara's logo
Padmakara is Songtsen's Tibetan translation department, focused on the preservation, translation and publication of Tibetan texts. Its principal aim is to preserve and communicate to a Western audience the major texts of classic and contemporary Tibetan literature, particularly works on Buddhist philosophy and practice. The organization was founded as a non-profit association under French law in 1987, in Dordogne, France (see Songtsen: location).
Padmakara is directed by Tsetul Pema Wangyal Rinpoche and Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche. Composed of translators and editors of a variety of nationalities, the Padmakara Translation Group does its best to convey, in as many languages as possible, all the depth and flavour of texts originating in the four great schools of Tibetan Buddhism, starting with those most recommended by great Tibetan masters such as Kyabje Kangyur Rinpoche, Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche, and Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.
Padmakara office
In addition to the work of the Translation Group, Éditions Padmakara publishes and distributes books (mainly Padmakara's French translations), practice booklets (both in French and English but also in other languages), and audio recordings (see publishing & distribution) or how to purchase books & audio. The technical and administrative side is run by an administrative staff whose members manage the publishing and reprinting of translated texts, respond to orders for books and practice texts, archive audio recordings of seminars and produce CD copies for students, manage the accounts, and perform various other day-to-day tasks.
Padmakara’s objectives
- To save an ancient tradition, over one thousand years old, from being lost
The wisdom of ancient Indian Buddhism has been preserved in its entirety in Tibet for over twelve centuries, and further enriched by the experience acquired by the great Tibetan teachers. Since the Communist occupation, this extraordinary body of knowledge has been threatened with extinction. To preserve the living oral tradition and the written texts upon which it is based is therefore a task of the utmost urgency.
- To present the Tibetan Buddhist teachings to a Western audience
This wisdom, still held by authentic teachers, is the subject of growing interest and study in the Western world, as more and more people feel the need for inner exploration in their lives. Padmakara’s wish is to make it available, in a variety of forms and in different languages, to all those wishing to understand it and put it into practise for themselves.
Activities
To achieve these aims, Padmakara has defined four main areas of ongoing activity:
- Preservation: Conservation, cataloguing, calligraphic copying or computerized transcription and reprinting of ancient Tibetan manuscripts, xylographs (wood block prints), and printed books.
- Translation: Accurate and literate translation of Tibetan texts and oral teachings into Western languages, through the collaboration of authoritative Tibetan scholars and trained Western translators, in a context of sustained study and discussion.
- Publishing: Publishing those translations as high quality books and distributing them internationally, some under Padmakara’s own imprint, Éditions Padmakara, and others through major publishers.
- Audio Archiving: Recording, archival and distribution on audio media of oral teachings given by contemporary Tibetan masters.
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