A report by Elio Guarisco 

In summer 2006 we concluded the fourth year of the Training for Translators at Merigar. Throughout these four years a considerable number of people (some more consistently than others) have participated with enthusiasm to the training. The texts used as the basis of familiarization with the understanding of the language ranged from modern writings such as Birth, Living and Death (written by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu); the ancient Dzogchen Tantras (Mejung and Kamyam), to Tantric literary works such as Gyalwa Yangonpa’s Hidden Explanation of the Adamantine Body.

These four years of training have provided some basis for the comprehension of the language and the principles of translation from Tibetan. Whether this basis will fully blossom into real knowledge and ability to translate depends exclusively on the individual efforts in reading, studying, and expanding one’s knowledge of the words and the meanings conveyed in Tibetan texts. 

I hope that the more experienced participants in the Translator’s Training will put into practice the knowledge they have acquired from the training for their own and others’ benefit. To fulfill the aspirations of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, expressed in the passage quoted above, in the future I would like to continue to be of some help to those who wish to study Tibetan language in order to become proficient translators or in order to have direct first-hand access to the Tibetan literature.

We now need to shift the focus of the Translator’s Training to new comers and beginners, in order to develop a new generation of translators. We hope therefore to hold a Translator’s Training in 2007 for these beginners (including those who have participated in the last two sessions of the Training held in 2005-2006). The focus will be to study shorter and more accessible texts that allow an easy grasp of Tibetan linguistic structure and meanings, as well as to read sources using the terminology that is widely used in teachings in our Dzogchen Community.

The basic requirements, as in the past, are: to know the Tibetan alphabet, to know how to read properly, and to have a general knowledge of written Tibetan language. 

As for the students who have already participated in the four years of Translator’s Training, we would like to now direct them toward the concrete application of the knowledge they have acquired. To do this we ask those among them who wish to continue on this path, to chose–individually, and not as a group–, a text of their liking to translate. The choice will have then to be approved by the coordinator of the training.  The coordinator will follow and help the each translator, once he or she has prepared a rough draft of the translation. This activity could be carried out at the same time of the 2007 training for beginners, or possibly at a later time. Details will be provided to the interested parties.

Since this new project will be entirely experimental, the Shang Shung Institute will not grant any financial support. In the event that a given translation proves to be of publishable quality, the publication will be done within the frame of the Shang Shung Institute itself, or as otherwise directed by the Institute. Those who wish to participate in this last project should contact me, Elio Guarisco, the coordinator, as well as the project manager Oliver Leick.

Who can participate in future Trainings?

Everybody who has a basic knowledge of Tibetan Language and Grammar and who can read Tibetan can participate. 

If you are interested please send your application and your short Curriculum Vitae to our Institute.