Translation Projects
Translating for a Planetary Culture
We’re dedicated to translating classic and especially modern contemplative and integral practices, texts, and teachings with the hope of opening and interconnecting linguistic communities and cultures, empowering us to more deeply collaborate, cross-pollinate, and support each other as citizens of this global, planetary culture.
Our translation work involves:
- Translation to make teachings, practices, and resources accessible and digestible in multiple languages, cultures, and communities across the world, especially underserved language communities.
- Supporting and catalyzing the creation of original contemplative and integral works, teachings, and practices in target languages and communities in their unique cultural voices.
- Collaborative approach to translating, including creating shared techniques, processes, and resources for all translators to use
- Supporting the rapidly growing multilingual sanghas, to preserve this linguistic diversity and the creativity that flows through it
- Creating resources, principles, and best practices for translators of any community
- Open-source sharing of everything we create in the spirit of collaborative effort and support of other individuals and communities in their own similar goals and efforts.
- Offering all of our translation work through transparent generosity (donations), a model created by Buddhist Geeks
- Spanish is our primary language of focus for translation at this time
Our Current Translation Projects
- Spanish – The Realization Process, Meditation Teacher Manual (Guided Meditations). Ryan Oelke teaming up with Imanol Osácar
- Spanish – Supporting the translation of the Buddhist Geeks Guide and Social Meditation Guide/Practices
- Spanish – Awakening in Life Guide, Recorded Meditations and Dharma Talks
- Spanish – Dedicated online dictionary for key vocabulary and evolving terminology in the world of meditation and dharma.
- Spanish – Introduction to Integral Theory/Dharma
The Unity and Diversity of Language
Language is one of the most powerful sources of both diversity and unification. Language influences how we see and interpret the world, and how we respond to it. Each linguistic community and culture offers unique ways of practicing, being, and responding. At the same time, language transcends and unifies cultures and nations, offering a common point of connection and communication. Our hope is, through our translation work, we help shine light on and amplify the multitude of linguistic voices in our world, and to bring us closer together by building collaborative, free flowing, linguistic bridges.
Language is also the primary medium through which we share our collective wisdom with each other. For example, the Buddhist tradition has flourished in the world from its earliest days until today because teachers, sanghas, and translators have worked hard to not only learn practices and wake up, but learning each others languages and sweating out translations so that the wealth of practices and teachings could be shared generously with other communities and cultures. We seek to continue this tradition of translation.