Preface to the Translation of Nāgārjuna’s Friendly Letter
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71294/ers.2024.05Keywords:
Nāgārjuna, Suhṛllekha, bshes pa'i spring yig, Mahayana, Tibetan Buddhism, Mipham Rinpoche, Kangyur Rinpoche, ṣaṭpāramitā, pha rol tu phyin pa drugAbstract
Abstract. The preface to the first Ukrainian translation of Nāgārjuna’s treatise Friendly Letter (2nd-3rd cen. AD) tells us about the history of the text and its study, as well as the specific challenges of working on the Ukrainian translation. The text is written in the epistolary genre and consists of 123 four-line verses. During the 8th-9th century AD, Friendly Letter was translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan. There are many traditional Tibetan commentaries on the tex, but only one Indian commentary, Extensive Commentary on the Friendly Letter: Clear Words, which has also survived only in its Tibetan translation. Two Tibetan commentaries – by Mipham Rinpoche (1846–1912) and by Kangyur Rinpoche (1898–1975) – became the main source for how the verses of the text are structured in this translation. Friendly Letter is a comprehensive and concise overview of Buddhist practices of the Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna, and it is the base of two key teachings in Tibetan Buddhism – “Mind Training” (blo sbyong) and “The Stages of the Path to Enlightenment” (lam rim). Perhaps the most important feature of this translation is its adherence to principles and guidelines laid out by ancient Tibetan interpreters. The prime goal of this Ukrainian translation is to familiarize contemporary readers with one of the iconic texts of Buddhist heritage and to involve them in the study of classical primary sources
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