The Blessing of a Thousand Images
he Tibetan language is evocative. It draws forth images and hidden meanings. It is said that "a picture is worth a thousand words."
One could equally say, "one Tibetan word is worth a thousand pictures."
Take, for example, a basic Buddhist word we are all familiar with: buddha. It is often translated as ”Enlightened One,” and is given the term sangs rgyas in Tibetan. Sang means woken up in the sense that the obscurations have been purified completely; rgyas means expanded in the sense that all good qualities have developed to their limit.
You can even break it down further to the meaning of the root words. The term sangs ba means to be cleaned out in the sense of emerging from a condition of impurity and becoming fresh and clean. One image is of a room, its windows thrown wide open, filling with fresh air. The second word, rgyas pa, means "extensive," "extending to include everything," or "being replete because of containing everything being described." Much more can be added to this. These are just the most basic definitions in the dictionary.
A translation may be beautiful, but it can never convey all the levels of meaning that are implied in the original language.
So one can see that practically an entire commentary could be written on just one simple term. Understanding the richness contained in the Tibetan language can generate a desire to learn it, thereby supporting one's understanding of the dharma. A translation may be beautiful, but it can never convey all the levels of meaning that are implied in the original language.
The challenges of translation
Throughout the world's history, it has always been considered of great benefit to be able to read a composition in the original language in which it was written, without
needing to pass through the filter of another's interpretation. Furthermore, the Tibetan library is vast. There are countless texts and liturgies that will never be translated in our lifetime, and not to have access to these would be a great pity, indeed.
While there are many translators nowadays, to translate something with flawless accuracy is extremely challenging and difficult. It requires many years of studying not only the mechanics of the grammar of both languages (the one you are translating from and into), but an understanding of the culture and spiritual practices, as well as guidance from a spiritual teacher. You and I may never attain the level of a great translator, but to be able to read something ourselves in Tibetan, I believe, can be very helpful and beneficial, and at the very least a great inspiration.
Connection to the lineage
The benefit of learning Tibetan refers not only to understanding philosophical texts, but also to understanding and reciting liturgies and prayers. Tibetan language is syllabic, and prayers are mostly written in a meter of seven or nine syllables. Some practices, such as cöd (gcod), require a melody (dbyangs) that is inextricably bound together with the Tibetan meter and, therefore, cannot be chanted in another language.
As one recites a prayer in Tibetan, one realizes that these same words have been recited by great masters and their disciples for centuries.
During practice there is also the sense of experiencing the blessings and connection to the lineage. As one recites a prayer in Tibetan, one realizes that these same words have been recited by great masters and their disciples for centuries. And just as the wind carries the aspiration prayers on a prayer flag, so, too, the recitation of sound carries with it all the blessings and aspirations, filling the ten directions.
That may sound very romantic, and while it may be true, we still find ourselves with the tedious rigor of loudly reciting ka kha ga nga... until our throats are raw, and memorizing the meaning of words until our brains are numb.
We're getting better all the time
I have been studying Tibetan for six years now and can completely empathize with anyone trying to learn. In the beginning I couldn't even get through one sentence without being stopped several times to have my pronunciation corrected. And just when you think you’ve got it they say, "okay, now faster"—one tongue-twister after another. And sometimes the recitation in the shrine room goes so fast, that afterwards you stand up with your head in a whirl, wondering what just happened.
But just like anything it gets better with practice. And as the Tibetan nuns always say to me, "slowly, slowly." Yes, indeed—we are not in a race. We just do the best we can, and perhaps the tedium of practicing can be somewhat relieved, and one can feel inspired through the understanding that comes with the blessings of a thousand images.
- Ani Zopa (an American national) is a Tibetan Buddhist nun who spends part of the year at Lotus Garden and the other at Samten Tse, in India. She teaches Tibetan to westerners and is a member of the Dharmashri Translation Group.
Photo credit: Prayer flag blows in the wind over Lotus Garden, Job reciting his Tibetan; The Tibetan alphabet ©2007 Mindrolling International All rights reserved