Translator Insights

Go behind the scenes with our translators—discover their work, favorite texts, and “aha!” moments.

What Is a Bodhisattva? The Mahāyāna Ideal of Compassion and Wisdom

From Oral Tradition to Global Preservation: Buddhist Canons Explained

What’s That on Top of the Buddha’s Head?

The Lost Buddhist Kingdom of Khotan

Virtue, Mischief, and Everything Between: The Women of Early Buddhism

The Kangyur: Holy Relic, Time Capsule, or Goldmine?

Compendium of Dhāraṇīs

Heap of Jewels

Perfection of Wisdom

84000 and AI: Authority, Transmission, and Ethical Concerns

Facts and Figures about the Kangyur and Tengyur

Bridging Buddhist Wisdom and AI Ethics

Catherine Dalton: A Translator's Journey from Nepal to the Tibetan Buddhist Canon

Catherine Dalton

Disciples Named Pūrṇa

The Living Power of the 100,000-Line Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra

A Life Devoted to the Dharma

The Rains Retreat: The Origins of Buddhist Monastic Practices

From Wandering to Community: The Origins of Buddhist Monastic Practices

The Technology Behind Translating the Tibetan Buddhist Canon

84000 in 2024: Translation Milestones, Community Growth, and What's Ahead

The Buddha in the God Realms: A Teaching on Lhabab Düchen

Deep Dive with David Fiordalis | Exploring The Secrets of The Realized Ones

David Fiordalis

Planning the Kangyur Translation Project

Inside 84000's Reading Room: Ancient Buddhist Texts in a Digital Age

Publishing Translations from the Tengyur

The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines: A Conversation on Emptiness and the Bodhisattva Path

Q&A | Publishing Translations from the Tengyur

The Developer of the 84000 Mobile App on His Offering of Wisdom to the World

Distinguished Professor Donald Lopez on the Project's Progress and Promise

A Sūtra That Overwhelms the Mind

The Academic Study of Buddhism: Scholarship, Practice, and How to Begin

Dr. Fumi Yao on Translating the Vinaya

The Chapter on Medicines: Karma, Miracles, and the Buddha's Vast Activity

Ven. Konchog Norbu

Immeasurable Life: The Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra and Buddhist Longevity Practices

A Historic Publication: The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma Comes to English for the First Time

The People Driving Progress: Our Editorial Team

Sūtras for Wellbeing: Ancient Buddhist Protection from Illness and Danger

Sūtras for Wellbeing: Ancient Buddhist Prayers for Aspiration and Protection

The 84000 Story: Translating the Tibetan Buddhist Canon Before It's Lost Forever

Sūtras for Wellbeing: The Aspiration Prayer from “Destroyer of the Great Trichiliocosm”

Sūtras for Wellbeing: How the Buddha Healed the City of Vaiśālī

Gyurme Dorje 1950 - 2020

Translation, Philology, and the Mahāyāna Vision

From Reading the Torah to Translating the Sūtras: Larry Mermelstein on a Life in Buddhist Translation

From Monkey Mind to Markup: Mike Engle on Technology, Translation, and Working Behind the Scenes at 84000

Problems of Thinking: Tom Tillemans on a Decade as 84000's Editor-in-Chief

The Rice Seedling: Buddha's Teaching on Dependent Origination

Raktrul Rinpoche

One of the Few: A Tibetan Woman's Journey into Sūtra Translation

Gold Has a Price, But the Sūtras Are Priceless: The Story of Those Who Preserved the Buddha's Words

Adopting a Classic: John Canti on Revising Thurman's Translation of The Teaching of Vimalakīrti

Translating the Vimalakīrti Sūtra: A Five-Decade Journey with a Beloved Text

The Sūtra on Dependent Arising: The Teaching at the Heart of All Buddhist Traditions

Why the Buddha's Words Must Reach the World

H.H. Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche

Translators as the Eyes of the Universe: The Sacred Work of Translation

Tulku Yeshi Gyatso Rinpoche

Advice from the Tradition

The Art of Translation: Inside 84000's Editorial Process with John Canti and Tom Tillemans

Tribute to Our Translators

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

What’s in a Word?

Sarah Wilkinson

The Akāśagarbha Sūtra: A Buddhist Guide to Ethics, Purification, and Dream Practice.

Solving Ancient Riddles: A Translator's Journey into the Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Christian Bernert

Julia Stenzel on the Art of Buddhist Translation and the Akāśagarbha Sūtra

The Play in Full: A Translator's Perspective on the Life of the Buddha

Catherine Dalton

The Purification of Karmic Obscurations Sūtra: A Buddhist Teaching on Forgiveness and the Nature of Mind

Under the Bodhi Tree: The First English Sūtra Resounding

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

The Art of Translation: A Conversation with Dr. Annie Heckman