Publications Fund
The objective of the Publications Fund is to make Buddhist texts, ancient and contemporary, readily available to all those who wish to study the Buddhadharma.The Foundation is establishing an endowment of US$1 million to fund a number of core publishing projects, while raising separate project-based funds for other unique publication and translation efforts.
Original Texts
The Foundation has three original publications, the Introduction to the Middle Way: Chandrakirti's Madhyamakavatara with Commentary by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, the Longchen Nyingtik Practice Manual: Advice on How To Practice, and the newest addition to the collection, The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra. These publications are available free of charge to those who send a formal request. We hope to expand this list in the coming years as the translation and editorial team continues to collect, compile, and edit Rinpoche's teachings.Text Preservation
The Foundation supports the text preservation and conservation initiatives and the efforts of like-minded organizations such as the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (TBRC) and the Fragile Palm Leaves Project. Under the direction of Gene Smith, TBRC has acquired over 15,000 volumes of Tibetan texts, the largest collection in the world. These precious texts are scanned, formatted, and archived for future distribution. Fragile Palm Leaves collects, preserves, and publishes Pali texts; translates previously untranslated Pali texts into English, Thai, and other languages; and coordinates information about the Buddhist literature of Southeast Asia, both regionally and internationally. These preservation initiatives benefit not only Buddhists, but also the world at large by sharing the highly developed traditions of scholarship and practice, including metaphysics, ethics, philosophy, psychology, medicine, poetry, and art.Wisdom Masters Digital Library
The Wisdom Masters Digital Library project is a cooperative effort to archive and catalog the vast and profound literature of Tibet, and to make that literature widely accessible electronically. Based on the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center Archives, plans are underway to establish a facility in the Himalayas to format and produce printable master versions of the entire collection of Tibetan texts. Distribution of these unique and valuable Tibetan Buddhist texts will make possible study and research by Buddhist scholars, students, and practitioners for many generations.Translation
In order to ensure that authentic Buddhadharma can reach people all over the world, Khyentse Foundation has undertaken several new translation initiatives. Plans are underway to coordinate with translation teams all over the world, with the goal of improving translation standards. In addition, Khyentse Rinpoche has commissioned a number of new translations.The Foundation also supports the translation projects of other groups and provides scholarships for translators in training.
"When I was studying Madhyamakavatara at Sakya College, we had to share the root text with five other students and the commentary with eighteen students. Being a rinpoche, I was always given the morning slot between 9 AM and 10 AM, but then the text had to go. This was in 1974. Nowadays you can just make a photocopy or download from the Internet. And it’s [Khyentse Foundation advisor] Gene Smith's effort and vision that has made it so easy for us today. I don't want to embarrass him too much, but if you open your eyes, you can research yourself what he has done and you will understand. I'm very, very honored that he has joined us. I think what Khyentse Foundation is trying to do is facilitate the emergence of many more people like him in the future."
- Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, speaking about the importance of publication projects