84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, a global nonprofit initiative founded by the renowned Bhutanese lama, author, and filmmaker Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, has announced that it will host an online event on 9 November with Buddhist scholar and translator of Tibetan Buddhist texts Dr. John Canti, senior editor on 84000’s translation team, on the theme “The Buddha in the God Realms.”
“This event promises to be an interactive and lively discussion focusing on the Buddha’s descent from the god realms in commemoration of Lhabab Düchen, an auspicious day that occurs this year on 22 November,” 84000 said in a message shared with BDG.
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.
Lhabab Düchen is a major Buddhist festival in the Tibetan lunar calendar, falling on the 22nd day of the ninth lunar month. The festival celebrates Shakyamuni Buddha’s return to Earth after entering Indra’s realm, known in Sanskrit as Tushita, where, according to tradition, he taught the Dharma for three months.
“John will share relevant narratives and passages from the Kangyur texts as he delves into the significance of this moment and its implications for understanding the different ways in which the gods were perceived in Buddhist India, Tibet, and other cultures, while also reflecting on possible contemporary viewpoints,” 84000 explained. “Join us and learn more about the Buddha’s descent into the god realms.
Dr. Canti is a founding member of the Padmakara Translation Group, a Tsadra Foundation Fellow from 2001–12, and was awarded the 2016 Khyentse Foundation Fellowship. With the founding of 84000 in 2009, he was appointed editorial chair and in 2023 he become senior editor.
Dr. Canti recalled: “I studied medicine and anthropology at the University of Cambridge. While still a medical student in the early 1970s, I studied with some of the great Tibetan Buddhist masters of the older generation, especially Kangyur Rinpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche, and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. I qualified as a doctor in 1975. After practicing medicine in the UK, and then in northeastern Nepal in the late 1970s, I moved to the Dordogne, France, where I completed two three-year retreats. I have remained primarily based there ever since.” (Khyentse Foundation)
84000 in Conversation with Dr. John Canti: “The Buddha in the God Realms” will be live-streamed at the following times, with simultaneous Chinese interpretation also available:
Auckland: 3am, Sunday 10 November
Canberra: 1am, Sunday 10 November
Seoul, Tokyo: 11pm, Saturday 9 November
Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei: 10pm, Saturday 9 November
Bangkok, Jakarta: 9pm, Saturday 9 November
New Delhi: 7:30pm, Saturday 9 November
Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm: 3pm, Saturday 9 November August
London: 2pm, Saturday 9 November
Rio de Janeiro: 11am, Saturday 9 November
Montreal, New York: 9am, Saturday 9 November
Los Angeles, Vancouver: 6am, Saturday 9 November
Click here for details and to register for “The Buddha in the God Realms”
Since its inception in 2010,* 84000—named for the number of teachings the historical Buddha is said to have given—has awarded in excess of US$6 million in grants to teams of translators around the world, including Tibetan scholars and Western academics. In just 14 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 Siddhartha’s Intent, Rinpoche’s projects include: Khyentse Foundation, established in 2001 to promote the Buddha’s teaching and support all traditions of Buddhist study and practice; 84000, a non-profit global initiative to translate the words of the Buddha and make them available to all; 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) and 84000 Announces that 25 Per Cent of the Tibetan Kangyur Is Now Freely Available in English (BDG)
See more
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
Give Each Month (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha)
84000 in Conversation with Dr. John Canti | “The Buddha in the God Realms” (84000)
Khyentse Foundation
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84000 Announces that 25 Per Cent of the Tibetan Kangyur Is Now Freely Available in English
84000 Announces World’s First Complete English-Language Catalog of the Tengyur
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