Tibet Foundation - Buddhism in Mongolia - Tibetan Studies
The Programme supports projects that advance Tibetan studies in Mongolia. Raising the standard of Tibetan language is an important part of the revival as it facilitates the accurate translation of Tibetan texts in to modern Mongolian, thereby bringing some essential texts not previously available to a wider readership. The ultimate aim of Mongolians is to translate the liturgy into modern Mongolian and to achieve this they require a high standard of Tibetan scholarship. It is particularly important to a lay readership that translations are presented in simple, modern terms that do not stray from the meaning of the original text. Proficiency in Tibetan also allows monastics and academics a greater opportunity to communicate with their Tibetan counterparts in the wider international arena of their studies. The projects Tibet Foundation support in this category are primarily concerned with publishing and educational exchanges.
Tibetan-Mongolian Reference Books for Translation
In 2000, the Programme agreed to provide financial support for the publishing of five books for furthering Tibetan Studies. The authors are Dr. Enghtor from the Institute of Oriental Philosophy and Dr Burnee, Head of the Department of Textology in the Mongolian National University. In July 2001 the authors published the first book in this series, a Tibetan-Mongolian dictionary that was followed in March 2003 by a Tibetan-Mongolian glossary of allegorical terms often found in Buddhist philosophy and literature. They also completed in 2003 a third book titled "The tradition of Mongolian translation: The Linguistic Study of the Mongolian Translations of the Tibetan 'Sutra of the wise and foolish'.
These books are the first of their kind to be available in Mongolia and not only serve to improve the discipline of Tibetan Studies in Mongolia, but have also raised awareness of Mongolian scholarship amongst the wider academic community. Dr. Burnee was invited to give a paper at the Tenth Seminar of the International Association of Tibetan Studies in September 2003 in Oxford.
Improving Tibetan Language Studies in Tertiary Academic Institutions
Much work in 2002 was dedicated to recruiting and employing two qualified Tibetan language teachers in response to requests in 2001 from the Buddhist Research Centre at Mongolia National University and the Institute of Oriental Philosophy. Both teaching positions were widely advertised in the Tibetan exile press in June 2003 before the Programme Manager traveled to India in August to conduct interviews for both positions, aided by a panel of experts.
Tibetan Teachers of the BIM programme Both teachers arrived in Mongolia in September and after an intensive two-week course in Mongolian language they took up their teaching positions. Minyak Kelsang is teaching modern Tibetan language at Mongolia National University and Tenpa Phuntsog, a Sakya monk, is teaching Buddhist Philosophy in addition to modern Tibetan language at the Institute of Oriental Philosophy, a private tertiary institution. Both Tibetan teachers will stay in Mongolia for two academic years, bringing modern Tibetan language skills to many Mongolian scholars. This will enable the scholars to deepen their Buddhist research and to improve their translation skills so they are able to translate Buddhist works from Tibetan into modern Mongolian.
In the case of the Buddhist Research Centre, this project is part of a three year plan of activities that they are implementing with funds from Tibet Foundation which has an emphasis on improving Tibetan and Buddhist Studies. It is a large and ambitious project incorporating publishing, research, translation and media broadcasts to benefit the full spectrum of those with a stake in Mongolian Buddhism.
