Dharma Realm Buddhist University launches graduate certificate program in Buddhist translation

Dharma Realm Buddhist University launches graduate certificate program in Buddhist translation
by Nancy Chu| August 16, 2021
The new program beginning this fall offers students the opportunity to “immerse themselves in ancient eastern languages at the graduate level.”


Dharma Realm Buddhist University, a small northern California university and community dedicated to liberal education in the broad Buddhist tradition, is launching a new graduate certificate program in Buddhist translation as part of their academic offerings following a successful pilot program. According to the program description, the yearlong program, “offers students the rare 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.”


The certificate program is centered on the reading and discussion of primary texts and consists of five courses: an introduction to translation theory and practice past and present; methods and theories of interpretation; a seminar on Buddhist, Chinese, and Western classics; a Buddhist Chinese course; and a translation workshop.


Program director and founder Heng Yi, a Buddhist nun, says, “Translation to me is a way of practice. As my spiritual growth deepens through the practice of translation, my heart also brims with joy and a feeling of fulfillment. Instead of saying that a translator brings benefit to others, it is more appropriate to say that a translator benefits by the work of translation. It is my wish for the certificate program to provide a space for all people to access the essence of the dharma.”


A graduate of the pilot program and translation fellow, Justin Howe, says, “Ultimately we learn that when we study the texts we are also studying ourselves. These texts become mirrors for how we understand ourselves. We view everyday life, the translation work itself, and the formal elements of spiritual practice not as separate elements but as all working together to transform us. The important thing is that we ourselves transform as translators.” Another pilot program graduate, Sophie Wu, says of her experience, “I’m allowed to grow on the path. I learned so much about how to translate and about who I am. It’s about transformation and cultivation.”


The program begins in fall 2021. Prospective students can find further information at www.drbu.edu.

 

Ven. Bhikkhuni Kusuma, pioneering female Buddhist monastic, dies at 92

by Martine Panzica| September 1, 2021
In 1996, Ven. Bhikkhuni Kusuma became the first female Buddhist monastic to ordain in Sri Lanka in 10 centuries.

Ven. Dr. Bhikkhuni Kusuma. Photo via Bhikkhuni Kusuma on Facebook,

The pioneering female Buddhist Monastic Ven. Dr. Bhikkhuni Kusuma died in Sri Lanka on Saturday, August 28, 2021 BuddhistDoor reports. She was 92.


Bhukkhuni Kusuma was an internationally acclaimed author, scholar, and the founder and abbot of the Ayya Khema Meditation Center. In her lifetime, she wrote several books and obtained two PhDs. In her early life, she studied molecular biology in the United States, and taught university English and Science. She was drawn to Buddhism by larger questions that she found science could not answer. In an interview with BuddhistDoor in 2018, she said, “Buddhism gives priority to the mind. There is no scientific evidence there. There is no physical evidence there. You cannot experiment on mental phenomenon, like feelings, recognitions, perceptions, volitions, memory.”


In 1996, Bhukkhuni Kusuma became the first bhikkhuni to be ordained in Sri Lanka in in 1000 years. The ordination was controversial and opposed by many at the time, so Bhukkhuni Kusuma and the nine others ordained alongside her lived in India for two years for their safety. Despite the initial opposition, Bhikkhuni Kusuma’s ordination and subsequent work has inspired the revival of the Therevada bhukkhuni order in Sri Lanka, with over 3000 bhikkhunis ordained.


Ven. Dr. Bhukkhuni Kusuma highly valued education and is held as a role model for Theravada bhikkhunis across the world. She authored many books, established a meditation center, and travelled across the world to speak. In 2018, she told BuddhistDoor “I wish that bhikkhunis — not only in Sri Lanka, but all over the world — will be educated, will be practicing, will be talking about the Dharma and giving that knowledge to the world. Then, it will be a different world altogether.”


In a post announcing Bhukkhuni Kusuma’s death shared by Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women on Facebook, Bhikkhuni Medhanandi, a close disciple of Bhikkhuni Kusuma wrote: “She was such a kind, gentle teacher and mentor to me – words cannot express how much she has taught me. I am going to miss her terribly but her teachings about the Dhamma will stay with me. May she attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana.”
:- https://www.lionsroar.com/ven-bhikkhuni-kusuma-pioneering-female-buddhist-monastic-dies-at-92/