The Dīpaṃkara Translator Internship Program is an intensive program for intermediate-level students of the Tibetan language designed to facilitate the transition from language student to translator. Interns will work alongside translators from the Dharmachakra Translation Committee on active translation projects, gaining hands-on experience working in an intensive and collaborative environment in order to hone their abilities to read and translate Tibetan texts and acquire the skills necessary to undertake their own translation work. The texts chosen for the program will be drawn from theKangyur and will be published as part of the 84,000 translation project to translate the Tibetan Buddhist canon. Working with these classic Indian Buddhist texts in Tibetan translation will train future translators to read and translate this complex material and prepare them to make their own contributions to this important initiative.
Program Structure
Dīpaṃkara interns will participate in translation sessions for four hours each day, five days a week and will spend a similar amount of time preparing for class. They are expected to study with the same degree of diligence required of any intensive academic setting. Interns will be provided with a draft translation and other resources and will be expected to arrive at each translation session having prepared the day’s material, to be actively engaged in discussion of the text and difficult points translation and to bring their questions and comments. Wednesdays and Sundays are free days, but it is expected that interns will need to use some of that time to prepare the material for the translation sessions.
In addition to these sessions, interns will participate in the activities of Gomde’s Kumara Program, attending regular talks and discussions led by Rangjung Yeshe Gomde’s resident lamas, programs with visiting teachers and the center’s daily meditation practices.
Qualifications
Applicants must have a minimum of two years formal study of classical Tibetan or equivalent experience, a demonstrated capacity for advanced language study, excellent recommendations from language teachers or mentors, and background in the study of Buddhism. Though not required for acceptance, familiarity with Sanskrit and spoken Tibetan is helpful. The ideal applicant is respectful, diligent, and capable, and has a genuine interesting in translating Buddhist texts so they may be made available to a wide audience.
Cost
The cost of the program is $1000 for six weeks, inclusive of room and board onsite at Rangjung Yeshe Gomde, which is located on 250 acres straddling the Eel River in the forested mountains of Northern California. Interns will live with other students participating in the Kumara Program and will eat communally with all residents of the center. The cost of the program also includes participation in talks led by our resident lamas, community practice weekends and those programs presented by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Interns will be given free admission to seminars by visiting Tibetan teachers in exchange for the performance of staff duties during the program. Interns are invited to stay at the center following the completion of the intern program for a reduced residential fee.
The Summer 2012 Application Cycle is now closed. Please check back next season for registration.
Instructors
Catherine Dalton
After receiving a BA in Religion at Middlebury College, Catherine moved to Kathmandu, Nepal in 2001 to continue her studies of Tibetan Buddhism. From 2003 to 2011 she worked as an oral interpreter and Tibetan language instructor at Kathmandu University’s Centre for Buddhist Studies and directed the Centre’s Translator Training program for several years. Catherine received an MA degree in Buddhist Studies from the Center in 2008. She has been a member of the Dharmachakra Translation Committee since 2005, and her published translations include Middle Beyond Extremes (2005), A Practice of Padmasambhava (2009), Vajra Wisdom (2011), and the Lalitavistarasūtra (forthcoming). She is currently a PhD student in Buddhist Studies at UC Berkeley.
Ryan Damron
Ryan travelled to South Asia in 1998 and remained for nearly a decade, settling in Kathmandu. He studied Buddhist classics and taught intermediate Tibetan at the Center for Buddhist Studies at Kathmandu University and joined the Dharmachakra Translation Committee for its inaugural publication ofMiddle Beyond Extremes (2005). After leaving Kathmandu he spent a year as manager of Rangjung Yeshe Gomde California before beginning his academic studies. Ryan received his BA in South Asian Languages and Cultures from Columbia University in 2010 and is currently pursuing a PhD in Sanskrit at UC Berkeley. He has translated the Mahāmāyā Tantra for the 84000 project (forthcoming) and is currently working on a translation of its Sanskrit commentary, the Guṇavatīṭīkā.
