Our Mission

Since the introduction of the present Tibetan script in the seventh century CE, Tibet has been a rich and dynamic center of cultural and intellectual activity. Thousands of classical Sanskrit Buddhist texts were translated into Tibetan, and the Tibetan language became the primary medium for the growth and flowering of many aspects of central and inner Asian cultures and traditions. This combination of classical Indian influence and the confluence of many cultures through the shared medium of Tibetan as a literary language have given rise to one of the world’s most sustained philosophical and spiritual examinations of the human condition. Today this important world heritage is facing the threat of extinction.

We aim to pursue these through the creation of THE LIBRARY OF TIBETAN CLASSICS, a definitive reference library of key classical Tibetan works in contemporary languages, especially English. The series is projected to contain around 32 large volumes and the entire program of editing and translation, undertaken by scholars worldwide, is expected to last for up to two decades.

THE LIBRARY OF TIBETAN CLASSICS series will be a comprehensive resource of definitive editions of key classical texts covering all aspects of Tibetan thought and culture. The English translation of the series will represent an unprecedented resource for those interested in a comparative understanding and application of Tibetan classical insights to the development of contemporary scientific and humanities disciplines. For the wider world, the Classics Series, both in the Tibetan originals and English translations, will make a significant addition to global intellectual and literary heritage.

Affiliates

President and General Series Editor: Thupten Jinpa, PhD
Senior Academic Advisor: Anne Harrington, PhD, Harvard University, USA
Textual Resource Advisor: Gene Smith, Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center, New York.
Editorial consultant: Catherine Moore, MA, Condordia University, Canada
Project coordinator and administrator: Sophie B Langri, MA (Cantab)

For a complete list of our Advisors, Consultants and Scholars click here

Partners

To view a list of Tibetan-related educational institutions and organizations that represent partners in the project of creating THE LIBRARY OF TIBETAN CLASSICS: click here

Acknowledgements

The Institute of Tibetan Classics expresses its deep gratitude to Barry J. Hershey, Connie Hershey and The Hershey Family Foundation for its generous support of the Institute ever since its inception, which has continued to enable us to meet the core operational expenses, including funding all the translation and editing work of Thupten Jinpa in his capacity as the general series editor of THE LIBRARY OF TIBETAN CLASSICS.

ITC also acknowledges The Hershey Family Foundation’s generous funding of the entire cost of the project of compiling, inputting, editing and printing of the critical editions of the Tibetan texts (bod kyi tsug lag gces btus) of THE LIBRARY OF TIBETAN CLASSICS.

The Institute expresses its deep appreciation to Tsadra Foundation for its most generous funding of translation of five volumes now in progress and a further pledge for three more volumes from THE LIBRARY OF TIBETAN CLASSICS series.

The following individuals and organizations have also provided funding for translation of specific volumes from the series:

Richard Gere and the Gere Foundation
Klaus Hebben
Sandra Esner
Curtis Jones

The Institute has received financial support from the following individuals and organizations as well:

His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Healing the Divide, New York, USA
The school of Communications, Dublin City University
Goodricke Group Ltd., India
Tides Foundation, USA
Reed Foundation, USA
Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University, Montreal (Grant received in exchange for Thupten Jinpa’s tenure as the Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies)

Howard C. Cutler
Jane Kushner
K.C. Branscomb Kelley
Thupten Jinpa Langri and Sophie B Langri
Ly Bui and Lan Bui

The Institute thanks the Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies (CITS), Sarnath, India, for its kindness in allowing our Tibetan editors to have full access to its excellent library of classical Tibetan texts.
The Institute also thanks Gene Smith, our textual resource advisor, and his Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (TBRC), New York, USA, for helping us locate old woodblock editions of some of the rare Tibetan texts and providing us with scanned PDF images of many of these classical texts.
ITC thanks Graphic Minds, Montreal for its generous contribution towards the entire designing and development of this beautiful website.