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The Venerable Master vowed to translate the Buddhist Canon (Tripitaka) into Western languages so that it could become widespread in the world. In 1973, he founded the International Translation Institute at Washington Street in San Francisco for the purpose of translating the Venerable Master's commentaries on Buddhist scriptures into English and other languages. In 1977, the Institute was merged into Dharma Realm Buddhist University as the Institute for the Translation of Buddhist Texts. In 1991 and 1992, the Venerable Master purchased two bank buildings on adjacent lots in Burlingame (south of San Francisco) and officially established the International Translation Institute and the Administrative Offices of the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association there for the purpose of translating and publishing Buddhist texts. To date the Association has published more than two hundred volumes of Buddhist texts translated from Chinese into English, French, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Japanese. Five bilingual (Chinese and English) volumes of Sutras and Dharma talks are also available. |
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One of the Venerable Master's three great vows was to translate the Buddhist scriptures. In China's past, this vast and difficult mission was directed and supported by the emperors themselves. In the present age, the Venerable Master has encouraged his disciples to cooperatively shoulder this heavy responsibility, producing books and audio tapes and using the medium of language to turn the wheel of Proper Dharma and do the great work of the Buddha. All those who aspire to devote themselves to this sagely work should uphold the eight guidelines of the International Translation Institute--not being greedy for fame or profit, not being arrogant, not praising oneself or slandering others, not establishing oneself as the standard of correctness or looking for flaws in others' work, taking the Buddha-mind as one's own mind, using Dharma-selecting vision to determine true principles, and requesting the virtuous ones and elders of the ten directions to certify one's translations, and endeavoring to propagate the teachings by printing Sutras, Shastras, and Vinaya texts when the translations are certified as being correct. These are the Venerable Master's wishes, and they should be the goals that participants in the work of translation strive to achieve. |
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