84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, a global nonprofit initiative founded by the renowned Bhutanese lama, author, and filmmaker Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche to translate and share the Tibetan Buddhist Canon, has announced that the Tibetan Buddhist teacher and meditation master Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche will offer an online sutra teaching on 1 August.
Jointly organized by 84000 and Shedrub Mandala, the umbrella for Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche’s Dharma activities, Rinpoche will give a live teaching on 84000’s translation of The Sutra of the Wheel of Dharma (Dharmacakrasutra) for Chokor Duchen. This festival falls on the fourth day of the sixth month of Tibetan lunar calendar and celebrates “Turning the Wheel of Dharma”—Shakyamuni Buddha’s first teaching at Sarnath on the Four Noble Truths.
“We are honored to have Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche teaching this brief, but classic presentation of the four truths which has remained central to the Buddhist tradition since its very early days,” 84000 announced. (84000)
The Sutra of the Wheel of Dharma is among the most famous and beloved texts of the Buddha’s teachings, laying out Buddhism’s fundamental Four Noble Truths:
The truth of suffering (duhkha)
The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya-satya)
The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)
The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (aryastanga-marga)
The historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, offered this as his first teaching taught after attaining awakening.
“The Buddha is said to have journeyed from the seat of awakening in Bodh Gaya to the Deer Park outside Varanasi, where he delivered this teaching to his five former spiritual companions,” 84000 explained. “Since this was the first time the Buddha turned the wheel of Dharma, this discourse also became known as The Sutra of the Wheel of Dharma, or, more commonly, The Sutra of the Turning of the Wheel of Dharma. This teaching is included in all the major canons of Buddhism, so that versions in Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan are found. We encourage you to read this brief but important text ahead of the teaching.” (84000)
The eldest son of the revered Dzogchen master Kyabje Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and the devoted practitioner Kunsang Dechen, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche was born in Tibet in 1951. Rinpoche spent his youth in India, studying for 11 years under the care of His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa at Rumtek Monastery. He also studied under Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche, Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen, as well as his father, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche.
In 1974, Rinpoche joined his parents in Kathmandu, where he assisted them in establishing the monastery Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling. As the abbot since 1976, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche has overseen the welfare and spiritual education of almost 500 monks and nuns. Among his numerous Dharma projects, Rinpoche has authored several books and founded meditation centers around the world.
Rinpoche’s teaching on 1 August will be offered in Tibetan, with translation into English by live webcast, and into Chinese, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Ukrainian via Zoom.
“A Teaching on Sutra | The Sutra of the Wheel of Dharma” with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche will be live-streamed at the following times:
Auckland: 1:15am, Tuesday 2 August
Canberra: 11:15pm, Monday 1 August
Seoul, Tokyo: 10:15pm, Monday 1 August
Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei: 9:15pm, Monday 1 August
Bangkok, Jakarta: 8:15pm, Monday 1 August
Kathmandu: 7pm, Monday 1 August
New Delhi: 6:45pm, Monday 1 August
Moscow: 4:15pm, Monday 1 August
Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm: 3:15pm, Monday 1 August
London: 2:15pm, Monday 1 August
Rio de Janeiro: 10:15am, Monday 1 August
Montreal, New York: 9:15am, Monday 1 August
Los Angeles, Vancouver: 6:15am, Monday 1 August
Click here for more details and to register for the teaching with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a long-term undertaking to translate and publish all surviving canonical texts preserved in the Classical Tibetan language—70,000 pages of the Kangyur (the translated words of the Buddha) in 25 years and 161,800 pages of the Tengyur (the translated commentaries on the Buddha’s teachings by the great Indian Buddhist masters and scholars) in 100 years. According to 84000, less than 5 per cent of the canon had hitherto been translated into a modern language, and due to a rapid decline in the knowledge of Classical Tibetan and in the number of qualified scholars, the world is in danger of losing an irreplaceable cultural and spiritual wisdom legacy.
Since its founding 12 years ago,* 84000—named for the number of teachings the Buddha is said to have given—has awarded more than US$6 million in grants to teams of translators around the world, including Tibetan scholars and Western academics. In just 12 years, with the endorsement of all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, 84000 continues to strive forward, supported by some of the most learned living teachers of the Vajrayana tradition.
Born in Bhutan in 1961, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche is the son of Thinley Norbu Rinpoche and was a close student of the Nyingma master Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910–91). He is recognized as the third incarnation of the 19th century Tibetan terton Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820–1892), founder of the Khyentse lineage, and the immediate incarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö (1893–1959).
In addition to 84000, Rinpoche’s projects include Khyentse Foundation, established in 2001 to promote the Buddha’s teaching and support all traditions of Buddhist study and practice; Siddhartha’s Intent, an international collective of Buddhist groups supporting Rinpoche’s Buddhadharma activities by organizing teachings and retreats, distributing and archiving recorded teachings, and transcribing, editing, and translating manuscripts and practice texts; Lotus Outreach, which directs a range of projects to ensure the education, health, and safety of vulnerable women and children in the developing world; and Lhomon Society, which promotes sustainable development in Bhutan through education.
* 84000 Launches Video Campaign to Mark 10 Years of Preserving the Tibetan Buddhist Canon (BDG)
See more
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma (84000)
Shedrub
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84000 Partners with UC Santa Barbara to Translate the Tibetan Buddhist Canon
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84000 Announces the Historic Publication of a Major Buddhist Sutra Never Before Available in English
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