Translations

Khenchen Appey Rinpoche always emphasized the importance of both study and contemplation in the advancement of our Buddhist practice, and thus today, translation remains a key priority of our activity.

We primarily commission and sponsor the translation of Tibetan Dharma texts into English, but also fund translations into Chinese and other languages. An important emphasis of this work is the translation of the works of important Sakya scholars such as Rongtön and Gorampa.

We also translate English Dharma publications into Tibetan.

The aim of the translation work is to create both accurate and readable translations which are accessible to both scholars and practitioners. Translations commissioned or sponsored by KAF are published by either established Buddhist publishing houses or by our own publishing arm, KAF Publications.

Our Translation Team

 

Joona Repo

Joona Repo holds a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies and has held postdoctoral positions in Himalayan art and/or Buddhist studies at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Heidelberg University, and the University of Helsinki, as well as a visiting lectureship at Rangjung Yeshe Institute. His publications include research on Gelug history and Tibetan art, as well as translations of several Buddhist texts.

 

Gavin Kilty

Gavin Kilty has completed numerous translations including Ornament of Stainless Light: An Exposition of the Kālacakra Tantra, Mirror of Beryl: A Historical Introduction to Tibetan Medicine, and Tsongkhapa’s A Lamp to Illuminate the Five Stages: Teachings on the Guhyasamāja Tantra, and many others. He is also the translator of The Life of My Teacher: A Biography of Kyabjé Ling Rinpoche, by HH Dalai Lama. Gavin is a full-time translator for the Institute of Tibetan Classics.

 

Ian Coghlan

Ian Coghlan completed his geshe studies at Sera Je Monastery in 1995 and holds a PhD in Asian studies from La Trobe University. He is currently a translator for the Institute of Tibetan Classics and a research associate at SOPHIS, Monash University, Melbourne. His published translations include Vasubhandu’s commentary on the Abhidharmakosha—Ornament of Abhidharma, the first volume of the Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics series conceived by HH Dalai Lama—The Physical World, and The Principles of Buddhist Tantra with Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoché and Voula Zarpani.

 

Boyce Teoh

Boyce Teoh completed the two-year translator program at the International Buddhist Academy as well as two years of the traditional monastic shédra education in Namdrolling Monastery, India. He has engaged in a number of extensive retreats and currently works as a translator. His recent translations include Korchak Tulku Rinpoche’s Meditation in the Himalayan Buddhist Tradition, which was published by KAF Publications in 2021.

Toh Sze Gee

Toh Sze Gee graduated from the seven-year Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition’s Master’s Program (MP) with high honours. She has translated several important Gelug philosophical works such as Chökyi Gyeltsen’s General Meaning of the Middle Way and Gyeltsab Darma Rinchen’s Ornament of the Essence—a commentary on the Abhisamayalamkara—for the MP, amongst many other works.

Maria Vasylieva

Maria Vasylieva holds an MA in translation and textual interpretation from Rangjung Yeshe Institute and is currently completing a PhD in Buddhist Studies at International Buddhist College in Thailand. She works as a lecturer and translator at Rangjung Yeshe Institute.

 
 

Jay Goldberg

Jay Goldberg has translated many Sakya sadhanas and texts, including his work on The Beautiful Ornament of the Three Visions. He is also the translator of Jamgön Mipham’s Mo: Tibetan Divination System. Jay was a monk for fourteen years in Rajpur, India, as a disciple of His Holiness Sakya Trichen, and has interpreted for a number of great Sakya masters such as Her Eminence Sakya Jetsun Chimey Luding and Khenpo Appey Rinpoche.

Acharya Malcolm Smith

Malcolm Smith is a veteran of a three-year solitary retreat in the Sakya tradition and was awarded the Acharya degree by the Sakya Institute in 2004. He graduated in 2009 from Shang Shung Institute’s School of Tibetan Medicine. He has worked on translations for renowned lamas such as HH Sakya Trichen and Khenpo Migmar Tseten since 1992. His published translations include The Tantra Without Syllables, The Blazing Lamp Tantra, The Self- Arisen Vidyā Tantra, Self-Liberated Vidyā Tantra and Vimalamitra’s Buddhahood in this Life.

 
 

Our translation efforts are further supported by the kind guidance and assistance of the following Sakya khenpos:

  • Khenpo Dr Ngawang Jorden, IBA, Kathmandu

  • Khenpo Jamyang Tenzin, Sakya Monastery, Mungod

  • Korchak Tulku Rinpoche, Sakya Institute, Manduwala

  • Jhampa Losal, IBA, Kathmandu