The global non-profit initiative 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, founded by the renowned Bhutanese lama, author, and filmmaker Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, has published a special, freely downloadable edition of the classic Buddhist sutra The Hundred Deeds. Originally translated by 84000’s editorial team and made available for the first time in English in early 2020, this special edition of the sutra is accompanied by a series of illustrations shared by children from around the world during COVID-19 lockdown, as part of a Dharmic collaboration that 84000 hopes will offer a sense of hope during the ongoing pandemic with an emphasis on a profound message: that simple deeds often have outsized consequences.
“The Hundred Deeds is a celebrated collection of more than 120 stories,” 84000 shared with Buddhistdoor Global. “It includes narratives of the Buddha Shakyamuni’s notable deeds and foundational teachings, episodes from the lives of other well known Buddhist figures, and a variety of engaging tales featuring people from all walks of ancient Indian life. In the majority of the stories the Buddha’s purpose in recounting the past lives of one or more individuals is to make definitive statements about the karmic ripening of actions across multiple lifetimes.”
Click here to download the special illustrated edition of The Hundered Deeds.
The original English translation of this text by 84000 can also be found in the 84000 Reading Room.
“84000 used the recent periods of lockdowns to engage parents and children in this exponentially beneficial project,” 84000 said. “By commissioning children to illustrate the many stories in the sutra, 84000 demonstrates how readers can reimagine the words of the Buddha, and share this text—one that its translators and editorial team, after a nearly a decade of work, had made available in English for the first time in February 2020—with loved ones.”
84000 is a long-term undertaking that aims 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) 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 the 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.
“In the contemporary world, karma is often erroneously conflated with fatalism. But as we see again and again in this text, understanding karma allows us to proactively shape our future,” 84000 explained. “Furthermore, this sutra demonstrates how spiritual realization in the Tibetan tradition is not solely the domain of monastics or meditation masters, and how lay practitioners—and even those who are outwardly the most unlikely candidates—can and do advance toward awakening together. By expanding our sense of potential possibilities, this text can be held up as a beacon of hope and a lesson in compassion and resilience in otherwise challenging times.”
Since its founding some 10 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—from UCSB, Oxford, and the University of Vienna, to Rangjung Yeshe Institute in Nepal. In just 10 years, with the endorsement of all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, 84000 has already translated more than 30 per cent of the sutras, and continues to strive forward, supported by some of the most learned living teachers of the Vajrayana tradition.
* 84000 Launches Video Campaign to Mark 10 Years of Preserving the Tibetan Buddhist Canon (Buddhistdoor Global)
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84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
The Hundred Deeds (84000 Reading Room)
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84000 Launches Video Campaign to Mark 10 Years of Preserving the Tibetan Buddhist Canon
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