For over two thousand years, translation has been an indispensable part of the history and transmission of Buddhism. When Buddhism first came to China from India, one of the most important tasks was the translation of the Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Chinese.
After two successful pilot programs, the two-semester Graduate Certificate Program in Buddhist Translation at Dharma Realm Buddhist University (DRBU) in Talmage —the only one of its kind in the U.S.— is fully underway.
The one-year program offers students the opportunity to immerse themselves in ancient Eastern languages at the graduate level with a curriculum that integrates translation of Buddhist texts with study, practice and service in a monastic setting. Similar to DRBU’s Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Master of Arts in Buddhist Classics, this program is centered around reading and discussion of classical primary texts with an emphasis on self-transformation.
The program consists of five courses: an introduction to translation theory and practice past and present; methods and theories of interpretation; a seminar focusing on appreciation of Buddhist, Chinese, and Western classics; a Buddhist Chinese course; and a hands-on translation workshop.
With a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from UCLA, Bhikshuni Heng Yi Shi entered the monastic order at the City of 10,000 Buddhas in 1993 and became a fully ordained nun in 1995.
A founding director of Dharma Realm Buddhist Association (DRBA), following the vision of her late teacher Venerable Master Hua who vowed to bring the Buddhadharma to the West and translate the Buddhist canon into the languages of the world, she is the program director for the Graduate Certificate Program in Buddhist Translation.
She explains that in addition to the spiritual exercises incorporated into the program, there is a large component of laboratory work where students research and translate the material from source languages—Pali, a sacred language of Theravāda Buddhism native to the Indian subcontinent; Sanskrit, the primary sacred language of Hinduism; and Chinese—to target languages determined by the native languages that are spoken by students enrolled in the program.
“This inquiry gives us very rich information as we look at the Tibetan, Chinese and Indic concepts through different angles. The more research information the students know, the more exposure they have to the materials, the better they can cater to a wide range of readers.”
In the Hermeneutics of Self Class, students study biographical stories and personal translation experiences—through dialogue and diary reading—of those who have inspired them to become translators.
“Additionally, through close study of primary sutra text, students progress towards transformation of the self,” she adds.
An Introduction to Translation Theory and Practice Past and Present introduces students to a variety of translation theories, Western and Buddhist, using similar skills and principles that are applied in Bible and Chinese translation theory.
“We like students to have exposure to many different texts to train their brains; you never know what kind of translation will be presented to you.”
In their reading seminar class, students are trained to enhance their translation skills through close reading of texts that cover Western, Chinese and Buddhist classics.
“The program is designed in a way for us to supplement each other. For example, Xuan Ooi, a recent graduate of the program, is close to being a Native English speaker; her Chinese needs support. For Xiajuan Shu, another recent graduate of the program, her mother language, like me, is Chinese and both of us need support in English. If we’re doing Sanskrit translation into English then we support each other. That’s how the group translation works,” she says.
Xuan Ooi lives in south Florida in her family home and has been attending the Translation Program online for the past year.
She received her M.A. at DRBU and stayed on to become a member of the seven-student cohort that piloted the second year of the program. Although Chinese is her first language, she has lived in the U.S for over 20 years, has an undergraduate degree in English and is fluent in English.
With her educational background, her focus is on the English side while she relies heavily on other members of the group in studying Chinese translations.
“We want people to be able to read and understand the texts we have translated, to know that a lot of the information comes from different traditions. How do we match the reader to all of this cultural and historical information? To make it legible and understandable in English?” She says.
“While I was studying for my M.A., I learned a lot about how to process my self—how to break down my issues, say, for example, of loneliness. With the help of Buddhist texts, I was able to write about the experience of how to open up and unfold.
“I enrolled in the translation program because I wanted to immerse myself, to continue to be kept accountable and maintain and cultivate my own spiritual practice.
“The M.A. Program is intellectual and cerebral and in the Translation Program, I was able to bring the intellectual and cerebral down into the body and face my own personal challenges.”
Xiajuan Shu, born and raised in China, enrolled in the same M.A and Translation Programs as Xuan Ooi, and was able to complete her studies while on campus at the City of 10,000 Buddhas.
While growing up in China, she was focused on American culture but, “coming here I realized how much I missed out on my own culture. Because of the Cultural Revolution, my generation was completely cut off from our traditional values; being in the U.S. has given me a precious opportunity to look back and really appreciate them,” she says.
“My dream was to express myself through writing and speaking but it was cut off because the Chinese educational system is so very science and grade oriented. Studying here has given me not only a deeper meaning of life but also reconnected me to the roots of Chinese culture and my love, my passion, for the language.
“DRBU has been a hidden jewel for me; the two years in the M.A. program brought me to a deep place, intellectually and spiritually. I just had a taste of something so wonderful and staying on to be part of the Translation Program, in a sense, saved me. I could buy one more year to think about what I really want to do with my life.”
Because of her language background, in studying the Dharma, the Buddhist texts, Xiajuan Shu works primarily on translating classical Chinese into English.
“With dual translation, I find a very intimate connection with the text. As a translator, I need to not only understand what the text means but I have to come up with a way to express it in the target language for others to understand.
“Sometimes translators understand it themselves but don’t know how to express it or they may be able to express it in one language but not in another. It’s yet another layer where many things can get lost—so many things have to be adapted for the target language and culture.
“I enjoy the challenge of the program and the opportunity to deepen my understanding of the text. I have to go deep, read it many, many times; it depends on the context—sometimes we spend two or three hours parsing one sentence or one word.
“In order to be a good translator, we have to be good cultivators and that requires us to expand our hearts and minds to understand all that this source material encompasses.
“In the group dynamic, I get to see myself so much more clearly. Sometimes I am too attached to my ideas; sometimes I am too timid to voice what’s true in me. I constantly dance between the two extremes—translation that emphasizes the middle way is a constant reminder for me to be a good cultivator.”
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