The Rangjung Yeshe
Tibetan-English Dictionary
of Buddhist Culture
The Tibetan-English Dictionary of Buddhist Culture from Rangjung Yeshe Publications presenting Dharma terminology as a lotsawa-tool for translations of Buddhist literature especially Mahamudra and Dzogchen. Meant to assist translators of Dharma scriptures of the three vehicles – Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Contains essential vocabulary for meditation texts. This Tibetan-English dictionary is a compilation from numerous translators and translation-groups in the tradition of Shakyamuni and Padmasambhava.
It is now online for free use: www.dharmadictionary.net A dictionary of current usage, that grows as we use it, and a dynamic Dharmapedia, with non-sectarian free resources for a “circle of lotsawas” involved in the translation of Buddhism from Tibetan to English.
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Exchange of ideas and methods for using Tibetan language electronic dictionaries, translation tools, conversion programs, Tibetan spell checks, typesetting, and other related topics. You can post questions and help each other.
List of current handbooks and tools for learning the Tibetan language, translating Buddhist texts, Tibetan-English Dictionaries and Software
Welcome to the Rangjung Yeshe Tibetan-English Dictionary of Buddhist Culture, Version 3 on CD ROM
276,000 entries, new search engines, translation tools, PalmPilot format, etc.
Publication date: August 2003, 962-7341-54-1, US $40
Available in the US from Snow Lion
The Dharma Dictionary is a lotsawa tool for translation of Buddhist texts – for you to use online, on your personal PC/Mac or palm size computer. It contains literally an ocean of Tibetan words and phrases, Dharma words, and the important terminology from the Tripitaka, both sutra and tantra.
An ongoing project involved in compiling Buddhist terminology and translation terms to bridge the Tibetan and English languages, this Buddhist dictionary helps translation of Dharma terminology. Begun in 1979, it has slowly grown to a collection of more than 276,000 entries, approx 20 mb. Comparatively, the original Tibetan-English Dictionary of Sarat Chandra Das had approximately 27,000 entries, and even though it was a must 30 years ago, it had almost no vocabulary related to specific Buddhist topics.
This project is supported by Rangjung Yeshe Translations and Publications, located in the Kathmandu valley of Nepal. The current version includes the dictionary of James Valby and Ives Waldo, and the vocabulary of Richard Barron. As a final addition Jeffrey Hopkins kindly consented to have his Tibetan-Sanskrit-English dictionary included.
Wish my best wishes for your assistance in translating the Buddhist scriptures into all the languages of the world,
Erik Pema Kunsang (chief compiler)
Also included:
Electronic search engines for quick-find thanks to Gerry Wiener, Xavier Franc, Leonardo Gribaudo and Andres Montano.
Translation tools thanks to Michael Kim and Andres Montano
The Dictionary in TomeRaider and Pop-Up (Unicode) formats thanks to Peter E. Hauer of Linguasoft and Quoc-Bao Do
PalmPilot format thanks toJong Bok Yi, and
Printable pdf files are thanks to Carles Blas Anglada
The Dharma Dictionary is a compilation of:
- entries from existing dictionaries,
- word-lists and glossaries
- examples of usage selected from translations
- terminology used by translators
- definitions and clarifications from classical literary works
- information about literary personages, places, scripture titles
The Dharma Dictionary spans a wide range of uses by including:
- extensive glossaries
- usage of Buddhist terms in present day works of translation
- a massive amount of dictionary entries
- a lexicography of places, people and literary works
- and an almost encyclopedic covering of topics of importance to the Buddhist world.
Due to numerous requests, the staff of the Dharma Dictionary Project have decided to make the work available to users – students, scholars and translators of Tibetan Buddhist literature – in order to further the understanding of the Buddhist teachings. The work is published as an electronic version on CD ROM so the dictionary can be a handy tool. As a text file, the dictionary can be imported into all known word-processors and data-base programs.
Proceeds from the dictionary will go to Buddhist retreat centers and full-time practitioners.
User Group Forum
Exchange of ideas and methods for using Tibetan language electronic dictionaries, translation tools, conversion programs, Tibetan spell checks, typesetting, and other related topics. You can post questions and help each other.
Join your email group “Tibetan-English_Dictionary-User_group” on the web for Exchange of ideas and methods for using Tibetan language electronic dictionaries, translation tools, conversion programs, Tibetan spell checks, Tibetan language fonts, type-setting, and other related topics.
New: www.dharmadictionary.net A dictionary of current usage, that grows as we use it, and a dynamic Dharmapedia, with non-sectarian free resources for a “circle of lotsawas” involved in the translation of Buddhism from Tibetan to English.
And … if someone want to know from whom I learned a lot of those Tibetan words … then look at Blazing Splendor