Training Tibetan Translators

Norwegian monk Ven. Viggo Johansen talked in Dharamsala, India in February [1997] to the four students of the first two-year Tibetan translator course, the Rinchen Zangpo Tibetan Translator Program, a project of the FPMT. They graduate in June and will work as interpreters for two years at FPMT centers.

Also present were Clair Isitt, the director (who participated in the first year of the program) and Ven. Sherab Gyatso, the English monk teacher of the program, who studies at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala. The students are Ven. Henrik Mathisen, a Norwegian monk; Christine Tung, a Chinese woman; Voula Zarpani, a Greek woman; and Markus Lodermeier, a German man.

Viggo: Please tell us what you have been doing for the past two years in India.    Henrik: During the first six months we concentrated mainly on colloquial Tibetan, and after this we started with a little bit of the literal language. Then we started with Geshe Sopa’s text, Lectures in Tibetan Religion and Culture, and about six months ago we started Du-ra (Collected Topics) and Lo-rig (Mind and Awareness) and Drub-ta (a text on Buddhist tenets), topics of Buddhist dialectics.

Viggo: What did your normal day look like?

Henrik: Usually there were two classes a day with teaching in the morning. In the beginning, Gen-la [Ven. Sherab Gyatso] was teaching mainly colloquial in the morning; then in the afternoon we would go away for Tibetan conversation where we’d sit down and converse with our conversation partners and practice whatever we learned in class.

Sherab Gyatso: We have a class in the morning, which I do, which lasts, with a break, roughly two and a half hours. Then in the afternoon some other activity, which would last about two hours: conversation partners, for example, and these days, conversation on Dharma subjects. Homework, catching up or reviewing, of course, they do in their own time in the evening or in between classes.

Markus: And every day we would have a different subject.

Henrik: In one week we would have different studies, like literary subjects, different topics of Buddhist philosophy, colloquial speech, etc; and now during the last term, more and more practice on actual interpreting.

Sherab Gyatso: The areas we needed to emphasize changed from term to term, depending on the development of the students.

Markus: Before, we had colloquial conversation partners five times a week; now it’s three times. And we have two times a week with our other teacher, Gen. Losang Togmey, who is also giving Dharma talks. We have Dharma conversations with him, in which we ask questions that were sent from the centers.

Viggo: How much homework do you have to do every day apart from the four or five hours of classes? How much do you have to work on your own? Have you had any free time?

Markus: When I have free time I like to go out and talk to the people. I tashi delek here and kusu debo? there! Usually all my free time I try to use as much as possible speaking Tibetan. With studying at home, I might do an hour a day, sometimes more than two hours.

Henrik: Yes, that’s a huge part of the practice: to hang around and talk, to try to create useful situations in which to use Tibetan.

Voula: When I don’t go out, I sit down and read about three or four hours. And sometimes when I close the book, I repeat to myself in Tibetan and try and put the whole thing in colloquial, as though I was explaining to somebody. Or I make up sentences. Sometimes I would stay for a few days with a Tibetan friend and talk with her.

One thing I have done from the very start, for example, with my sadhanas [practices] – I would read them in English, and then whatever few words I’d learned in Tibetan, I would start using them. In the beginning of course, it was very small words, very simple words. Then little by little I could see how the vocabulary was building up.

Viggo: Has anyone started dreaming in Tibetan?

Voula: When I do intensive study I dream in Tibetan, also every time I have been down in the monasteries in the south, because it was intensive. Many times I dreamt about Gen-la giving us a word in class … is that the correct spelling? Then I wake up in the morning all stressed out!

Henrik: Sometimes when I would be half asleep these Tibetan words would be rolling around in my head.

Viggo: Yes, I’ve heard you many times!

Henrik: You don’t get your rest!

Markus: Whenever I go out I try to think in Tibetan instead of English or German. And sometimes it goes very well and is very interesting – as when I am sitting together with Tibetan, German and English people, talking in three languages and Tibetan comes as easily as the English and German. I think this is a good sign.

Christine: In the beginning I would have a one-hour class with a Tibetan monk, and at 4:30, after conversation class, I’d have a personal Tibetan teacher come to my place every day and we would talk roughly two hours. So for the first year I spent most of my time in my place reading and having conversations with my teachers. Last year we went to Tibet, but while in Tibet I didn’t talk much. When I came back I found myself changed and started spending time in restaurants, talking and having tea, thinking in Tibetan.

Viggo: You also had holidays in Tibetan settlements and lived with Tibetan families. How often did you do this?

Christine: Only once with a family.

Markus: If I didn’t go away to a Tibetan settlement, I wouldn’t have a holiday; I always liked to use the time and money of my sponsors to visit places where there were Tibetans.

Sherab Gyatso: People are encouraged to go away in the breaks. Perhaps the first family stay was not so successful, so we encouraged people to go where they wanted to.

Viggo: Did you have time off?

Sherab Gyatso: The classes were five days a week.

Viggo: Why did you choose to take this translator program? It is quite a commitment: two years of study then two years working for an FPMT center.

Markus: When I first heard about it, I was at a point where I didn’t know what I wanted to do in the future. I just knew I wanted to practice Dharma – thought it sounded really good. I didn’t do it because I want to be a great translator, but mainly for my practice, and to be a future translator for others. I will also go to different schools, not just FPMT, but for now I want to concentrate on this work for the FPMT.

Henrik: I did a little bit of Tibetan when I was back home in Norway, so I already had an interest in the language. My main focus was to study Buddhism; I didn’t have any big ideas about being a translator but thought it a good way to improve my studies. I heard about the course three or four months before it started but didn’t know anything about it before I came. I was interested in coming to Dharamsala. I have some kind of connection with Lama Zopa.

Voula: I wanted to get teachings from a lama, and it was always very difficult to arrange for a translator. There was a certain frustration in the process; always wondering if he really got the point, is he really translating what I’m saying to him. I thought, No, I have to learn the language because I want to communicate directly. There must be other people in my position.

Christine: I was nineteen and graduating from school. My uncle and my mother encourage me to come and study as they think I have a talent in languages. Then later I could help my lama and geshe do something in Taiwan. So I said, “Okay, now I understand.” My uncle gave me a ticket to Nepal and I liked it very much, so thought I would like India too. In March ’95 I came to India and I said, “Okay, I will try.” I heard about the school, so I joined the program.

Viggo: What did you expect? Were the two years as you expected? What changed in your motivation during those two years? How did your mind change?

Henrik: I wanted to learn Tibetan but didn’t really have it in my mind that I was actually going to become a translator. It has become much clearer to me that this is actually what I’m going to do – there’s a big need for translators, so we can really fill a gap.

Voula: For me the idea of becoming a translator was very clear. I had the motivation to carry me through. I wanted to learn it very thoroughly, properly, quickly. This was a source of frustration as I set very high standards for myself and expected to be able to communicate fluently by December; we started in June.

Markus: I never had any expectations other than wanting to be a translator. I came straight from school and many of the people in the course studied so much extra, but I never wanted to do this. I just said, I trust this teacher completely and he’s a good teacher. Also, I am a very lazy person. It’s difficult for people to come here, but once you’re here, it’s kind of easy to go on, and I believe we’re on a very good way.

Viggo: What was the most difficult thing to face? What was the best thing?

Markus: For me, the most difficult was sickness. My bad karma with India! As soon as I arrived in India, after one week, I got sick and was sick the whole time. I still have it and am frustrated and exhausted, using up a lot of energy which I could have used elsewhere. My favorite topic has been my bowel movements. Then, strangely enough, I was sometimes really homesick – missed my friends.

Henrik: I found myself being very impatient very often, especially in the beginning. I wanted to learn quickly, but Gen-la said it must be very slowly, formally and thoroughly. We sort of stretched it out, taking a long time, going in stages. In the beginning, it was a challenge. Talking was a big part of the problem as I didn’t know many people, and when you go out your Tibetan not being good enough. It got easier with Tibetan friends.

The best thing? Claire’s tea, and working on the computer. I think maybe the best thing in the course as a whole was having a Western teacher, and a teacher who knows both English and Tibetan.

Voula: Perhaps the most difficult thing was to pace myself, also not to exhaust myself, and to feel reassured that we were going at the right speed. It gets easier when you have friends apart from study. At other times I was very frustrated with myself and others, really doubting.

Perhaps the best thing was really seeing that I could communicate and that the level we have is very good. You just have to say “Good morning!” to a Tibetan, and they respond with “Oh, your Tibetan is excellent.” It’s very difficult to get the proper response, as they just want to be polite. After the first year I was getting the signs that everything was all right, and we were going at the right speed. I was very reassured it was getting better every day and felt the joy of how rewarding this really is. Perhaps best of all, I came to appreciate that this is a Western-organized course, and has a Western teacher as the main teacher.

Christine: For me the first difficulty I encountered was that I was the only student from Asia. I was so afraid of Westerners and wanted to go back, as I knew nothing of Western culture. That’s the first difficulty I encountered. I did get discouraged in the beginning, although I always believed that I can do it, can do something after two years. But, earlier, sometimes I would feel that after I’d reached a certain point in Tibetan, no matter how much time I’d spend reading or taking, the next day it wouldn’t increase. I felt so much suffering! One of my Tibetan teachers said, “You are so bad. You have been here so long, how come you are talking like a Westerner?” I was really sad. But it all changed after I came back from Tibet. After that, I spoke Tibetan, really had the intention of learning Tibetan and becoming an interpreter.

The most rewarding thing for me was in the beginning. I don’t know why, but I had the courage to go to Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche once a week, and even though I didn’t really know what Rinpoche said, I could feel his meaning. Now when someone asks me to interpret for Rinpoche, I can both understand Rinpoche’s words and feel what Rinpoche really wants to get across.

Sherab Gyatso: One of the really difficult things was trying to organize the Tibetan conversation classes. It was very frustrating sometimes to try and organize a certain thing, make them work into a study plan, or prepare something, and it just didn’t work. It reflects a different way of behavior and thinking and a different way of studying and learning.

Markus: What was difficult for me in the beginning was that I came here for Tibetan and not problem solving. Many people brought their personal problems into the classroom where they don’t belong.

The most rewarding thing for me was going to Bodhgaya to meet my teacher, Ayang Rinpoche, and talking to him in Tibetan. He said, “You speak such good Tibetan,” and he asked if I could translate for him. Also, I was debating under the bodhi tree in Bodhgaya at Losar and he was standing there watching me. This made me very happy and I wanted to go home and study Tibetan and work with a teacher like this. Also, now we don’t have to rely on anybody to translate, and that is so nice.

Viggo: Thirteen people started the course, and four are left. What happened?

Markus: Some people say it was the teacher’s fault.

Voula: People come to this program with different expectations. It also depends on the people themselves when they come into this program.

Sherab Gyatso: This is completely my view. I don’t think it was any one thing: for instance, some people couldn’t reach the level of English required to engage in the course, plus there were personal clashes. But the one overall thing was what Markus has suggested already: some people brought their problems into the class as they were not clear in their minds what they wanted to do. They didn’t have the commitment. Those who stayed were clear they wanted to study Tibetan and Buddhism. For many of these people it was not what they expected at all. It wasn’t an extension of a Dharma center where you can pretty much do as you like.

Claire: There wasn’t the stability.

Viggo: How did it feel for you when people started to leave?

Markus: In the beginning it was quite amazing that the classroom was full. After half a year, and the long break in the winter time, we were down to seven or eight, and we started wondering what was happening. The only thing that scared me was that I was afraid if too many people left the teacher would not want to teach us anymore. Some people were scared and felt the rats were leaving the sinking ship. I just thought as long as he is teaching I am going to attend, even if I am alone. As more people left, the classes went more smoothly – there was less distraction, and those remaining knew definitely what they wanted. So now there’s a good group.

Sherab Gyatso: I feel that however many courses there may be in the future, this is probably the most important thing we have learned about it. We know the type of people we’re likely to get in the course and what percentages of dropout to expect. It doesn’t mean the whole thing is falling apart.

Voula: Some people had to go, they were slowing down the class too much and creating tension. It was a healthy process.

Viggo: Has speaking Tibetan helped your study and practice of Buddhism?

Henrik: In Tibetan you have concepts which sometimes you don’t have in English. I find it is much richer to do your practice in Tibetan. If you do it in Tibetan, you have a whole concept in one word, which you can’t put in English in one word. And many of the Tibetan concepts create more interesting pictures in the mind.

Markus: And of course you can always go back to your lama, the geshe, personally.

Viggo: It’s more precise, there’s more taste, somehow. It always seems to me to be an incredible benefit that in Tibetan there is only one sadhana, and in English there are so many translations. Which one is best? So would you say it is almost crucial to know Tibetan? Would you go that far?

Markus: I say it is definitely best to know Tibetan and do your practice in Tibetan. But if you don’t know Tibetan, there is always a way you can do your practice. I think if you don’t know Tibetan then it is very important to study a lot, find out about the whole concept, which you have to do anyway. But I think knowing Tibetan makes it easier and more available.

Viggo: Can I ask your opinion, Sherab? You know Tibetan and English very well.

Sherab Gyatso: Okay, I think it wouldn’t say much for the concepts of Buddhism, their transference from one language and culture to another, to say, “Oh, you have to study Tibetan, otherwise your practice…” I can see how successfully Buddhist concepts have traveled from one culture to another, so, obviously, I am not going to say, “Yes, it is essential to study Tibetan.” However, I feel the danger in present times is that Buddhism has been in the West for a short period, and already many people say, the suggestion is: we have understood enough, we have drawn enough from the culture, now we have the ability to be able to develop these things ourselves, on our own. It’s much too soon to say that, I feel. There’s a lot more we need – many many more years of studying the Tibetan culture to gain a deeper understanding of not just the individual words, but what context these things were spoken in, how they should be used, etc. It is not enough to just be able to go word by word though a sadhana and say, “This means this, and this means that and so forth.” So, yes, I would definitely say that Tibetan study is not for everyone, and you can do certain levels of practice perfectly well without it; however, there is a great need for people to study the language in more depth at this present time, when it is still a living language and the concepts are still living concepts. As time passes, year by year, that will get increasingly more difficult as survivors from the older culture die off. So now is the time to do a lot of study…

Viggo: Do you feel ready to start interpreting?

Markus: Yes, considering the months we have left, and the present moment as well. In order to get experience and get better, practice is the best thing. For two years it was an intensive program, but you have to start, you can’t just study and study. You have to do the thing in order to gain experience.

Viggo: So you feel confident to start to translate?

Markus: I think so, yes.

Voula: Of course, there are things you can’t do. Somebody asked me if I could do a translation of Yamantaka commentary. I said, “Well…” I had to laugh a little bit. But if I had time to prepare, yes, I could work with it.

Markus: At the beginning, I met many people since I go out a lot, and I told them, “I’m studying to become a translator in two years.” They said, “No way!” And many of them even said Tibetans are very skeptical about our Western teacher: “With a Western teacher? In two years? You’re crazy!” A friend of mine who has been a translator for about 10 years told some people from our course he really didn’t believe that we could do it. When I met this friend a year later, he was so surprised about my knowledge of Tibetan – the level I was at – and he had no more doubts about our ability to be translators. Many people who had doubts now do not. I tell them I’m going to be a translator in four months, and they say, “Oh, yes, you will definitely be a translator,” and that’s very encouraging.

Christine: Yes, I feel confident. I think now I have the basis. When I am working as an interpreter, the most important thing I have to do is preparation before a specific teaching. I know that I can interpret anything because we got such a good foundation here.

Henrik: Many people study for two years. It depends on the teacher. Many people ask me, “Do you think Tibetan is difficult?” I say, “No, not if you have a good teacher.” The difficulty in learning Tibetan is finding the good teacher. That’s why many people study for four years in Dharamsala, four or five years, and we are on the same level. They might have a bit more vocabulary, but as for fluency and how they are able to work with the language in relation to the teacher, I think we are pretty much at the same level as many of them.

Voula: I think it very much depends on how you use those two years. Even with this program, which is so well organized and scheduled, if you personally choose to spend your time doing something else, then the time is lost.

Viggo: If you have a private tutor you never know what will happen in the next month, or next six months, or whatever.

Voula: With a class, there’s group energy, which you don’t have when you study on your own. So if you are low, other people are in high spirits and they carry you over. Somebody else is low, and you are higher, so you can pull them. If you are studying alone and get disappointed, it is so easy to stop and give up.

Viggo: So now you have studied hard for two years, and you have a two-year commitment to work at a center. So you feel good about that? Is that okay with you? (Pause and lots of laughter.)

Henrik: Yes.

Voula: I tell you, in the beginning when I was thinking about a two-year commitment with the FPMT, it was like, “Get me out of here!” Now I don’t think about it like that at all. It’s just been two years coming along, and every day I just think it’s so wonderful, you can be so creative, I can be helpful, I can learn so much. You don’t look at it as a burden – there is a different attitude, a different way of approaching it.

Markus: Well, sometimes it scares me a bit, yes, thinking about the commitment. Also, I’m not just Gelugpa, since my main teacher is Drikung Kagyu and Nyingma. But I really try to see is more as a four-year course. I will definitely have one of the best chances to study Buddhism with a geshe, who is a walking Buddhist lexicon, you might say. So I just try to see it as an incredible chance to study. And the funny thing is, it’s a four-year course where you don’t have to pay anything. In fact, we’re very privileged. It’s amazing, really.

Voula: And the center, they get an interpreter who is actually trained to do this particular work.

Christine: Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who is my main lama, is FPMT’s main lama, so a two-year commitment is fine by me.

Voula: I could see a very interesting thing happening in my mind, because I didn’t have the money in the beginning to join as an independent student. Of course, at times it was uncomfortable, but I knew from the very beginning I was going to be involved in it for four years. So I have never entertained any thought that, “Oh, I can cut this short.” When I was hearing other people say, “Oh, I can get the money and get out of it,” there was all this anxiety. But it’s good if you know from the beginning it’s four years, not two years.

Viggo: What about Western or Tibetan teachers?

Christine: I think it’s really better to start with a non-native teacher.

Sherab Gyatso: I think the combination is the ideal thing, to have both a Western teacher and Tibetans.

Markus: At the beginning when I went to lectures, I wondered why they had a Western teacher, thinking it’s so stupid, because I really didn’t have an idea. Then I found it much better to have a Western teacher.

Voula: Another good thing is, if you have a native language teacher, you start thinking, “Oh, I’ll never reach his level because it’s his language.” But if you have a Western teacher, it’s a very good example: “I did it, so you can do it, too! You can reach my level. I started from ABC like you did.”

Viggo: Sherab, you never had any doubts about this? About your ability?

Sherab Gyatso: Perhaps when I first studied the language my situation was not so different from the rest of the people here. I was still quite young and idealistic. You decide upon one thing, yes. You’re going to put some energy into it. At a certain age you’re quite unrealistic about what’s going to happen in the future, how things might develop and you just see what’s in front of you, what you want at a particular time. That’s how it was with me. I didn’t really think – now, is this possible or not? This is a similar sort of opportunity – to do it and not to worry too much about the future.

Claire: As the organizer, it’s very reassuring to have such a good teacher. He’s such a perfectionist that one could feel completely sure that, come what may, he would make the course work.

Markus: That’s what I like very much. Gen-la’s style was to go really slowly, hammering it into our heads; we spent a lot of time on the Tibetan alphabet, and I really liked this because we knew it well.

Viggo: So a new two-year program begins next year. What would you suggest for the next program? Should anything be done differently or the same? You are the first ones so you know what worked, what didn’t work. So you can share your experience.

Christine: The structure of the lessons is very good, so you don’t have to change that.

Markus: Definitely try to find Western teachers, people who know the language very well, and if there’s going to be more teachers, not just one main teacher, make sure that they work very well together.

Another thing, before I came to India, I told a friend of mine, “Oh, I’m going to practice a lot,” and she said, “No you won’t, you’re going to study. You’re not going there for practice, you’re going there to study Tibetan.” And that was my motivation. I came here to study Tibetan, and whatever practice I can do, I do. People should be aware of this, because it makes it much easier and the time is spent where it should be.

Voula: I agree with Christine that the structure of the lessons, and the way we progress gradually, is very well organized. The students themselves, they should be coming here to study, not so much to practice or to go around to every teaching that is given. I remember when I first came here, I was thinking: I will study, and I will take those teachings, and in the breaks I will be doing my preliminaries for a long retreat. [Denma Lochö] Rinpoche said, “How ridiculous! Why can’t you make up your mind what you want to do. Either you do this or you do that, you can’t do three or four things together.” So I think you should come here clearly to study as the main purpose.

Markus: People should be very clear about what it is about, aware of the commitment, realistic and not dreaming. Just see it as a four-year course and try and do your best. It’s very difficult to find such an opportunity to learn Tibetan. There are other schools but they are still developing and they haven’t found the right technique.

Claire: Those people who did leave, I think almost all of them continued their Tibetan study and found that the background they got within this program was enormously helpful. So that is very positive.

Viggo: Do you see a possibility to get some agreement among translations? At least within the FPMT? A standard translation for the various practices, such as the Thirty-five Buddhas, Lama Chöpa, all the sadhanas?

Voula: Sometimes I think that by doing this we might become very limited. Each translator, each writer, each interpreter, they put their own stamp on a piece of work. If I don’t like the way you talk, or the way you write, then I will have difficulties following what you say, or reading what you write, get frustrated and not be inspired enough. But if I read it from somebody else, I can find it extremely inspiring.

Viggo: It should be precise. Isn’t that important? I mean I’m asking you.

Voula: If you’re talking about precision, yes, that is something. But it’s not just going from word to word.

Markus: It’s difficult to say “precision,” because a hundred scholars have a hundred different meanings and ideas of what precision means in Tibetan translation. And some translators might be very precise in their translation but they are quite boring to read.

Sherab Gyatso: Precision: when you use this word, this presupposes there is a definitive way to translate any one particular word, that is the feeling. Now, if you were talking about Sanskrit texts we use in the translation of Tibetan, there were rules which were eventually made, and people decided, “Okay, we now have this word, and this is the way it’s translated” and so forth. And if you’re working with that, on that basis, where things are already decided, then you can talk about precision, then you have a very clear mark. But in one sense it’s an over-simplification to think you can have a precise translation of something. You’re interpreting something, trying to put it in as clear a manner as possible, and it’s not just a simple process.

When the group went to see His Holiness, he actually brought up this point, about the standardization of terms. I feel it’s not necessarily something that we can’t work towards, but if you feel it’s something that’s going to come about within five or 10 years or so, again that’s being unrealistic. The more people we have involved in this, the more heads you can bring into this, talk about and discuss these things, the better. Then you have a more fertile ground for a real standardization of terms.

Henrik: What people really need to do in the West is to practice and to study a lot – all of us, not just the translators. Then we can really see what kind of Buddhist society is going to develop in the West.

It’s really very difficult, as we don’t have all the conditions like in Tibet. We don’t have one language. English will be the biggest because most people speak it, but not one of us here is a native English speaker, so there are so many differences. In Tibet they had a king who supported the whole thing, gave the money. They did not have the problem of going to a publisher and having to be quick with the translations, which is a problem you face these days. I think people must become aware of what a skill it is to translate and how precious it is actually to have an interpreter. Without an interpreter there won’t be any Dharma teachings, and without a geshe – neither. So geshe and interpreter are both very important.

Voula: About this standardization of the terms: I think the more understanding deepens, things just get sorted out and become clearer and clearer. I think it cannot happen overnight or even within six months of an intensive course. A group of translators or people with experience can come together, but it’s definitely a process which takes time because of the deeper understanding involved.

Viggo: Do you think it’s a good idea for people to come together and discuss this as a possibility?

Sherab Gyatso: It may well be a good idea. The level of knowledge about the language and the concepts is increasing. This puts people in a better position to actually think about this, but it’s a bit premature to start talking about these things as the number of people who are actually qualified and doing good translations is not a lot.

As they develop their own style, and they want to have a particular style which distinguishes them from other people, so there’s a certain amount of, I’m not going to say ego, but a desire to express individuality. Now, if you’ve got lots of people, that’s a good thing, I think; but if it’s in the hands of a few people, then there can be no agreement. With a lot of people you get a certain amount of individuality, but you can have a consensus at least. If it’s just in the hands of a few people, then they are not interested in encouraging standardization of terms, they’re interested in their particular style. I don’t think we have the foundation that is required at the present time to seriously consider these things.

So, I’m a little skeptical, but I don’t think it’s a bad goal to work towards; it could clear up a lot. But the danger is, even if you create a standardization of terms, as happened historically in Tibet, then someone – a very well-respected person – does a translation at a certain time, and a hundred years later it’s revised. Using the same terms, they feel the person hasn’t got across the point. At the moment, I don’t think we have the background or basis for that yet, and the way to get that is just to have lots and lots of people devote their energies towards this particular task of just looking and comparing and learning about the language. The more knowledge people have of what is involved in this, then the more change one has of actually bringing about a future decision, whether it is the standardization of terms or a number of different ways of translation or setting standards.

 

From Claire Isitt

I really want to congratulate and thank the graduating students for giving so much interest, time and energy to their studies and for finally getting out there and dramatically adding to the world pool of reliable interpreters.

The major credit and thanks for this achievement must go to Ven. Sherab Gyatso, who is almost unique in his extensive knowledge of the Tibetan language, experience of interpreting and translating, and in having the wish and the ability to share that knowledge and experience with others.

Liz Fukushima offered invaluable support, tuition and good sense as assistant director.

Our Tibetan conversation partners were kind and patient: thanks to Ven. Konchog Drolma, Pema and Neema.

And for underwriting the entire program and thus enabling it to happen in the best possible way, thanks to our kind sponsor.

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